In order to move forward effectively, it Is paramount to take a moment to reflect on the journey so far. Just as we must acknowledge the end of a journey or the start of another, we must also take the time to assess how the previous one panned out. Moreso, this is especially true for the largest medical school student association in sub-Saharan Africa, the University of Ibadan Medical Students’ Association (UIMSA). The UIMSA Press organisation, as part of its constitutional mandate, is saddled with the responsibility to undertake this task at the behest of all UIMSAites. With this in mind, it’s now beaming the searchlight of accountability on the just concluded “New Dispensation” executive tenure. And at the centre of this review is the office of the Assistant General Secretary.
One key office within UIMSA’s political arm is that of the Assistant General Secretary, which plays a critical role in serving UIMSAites. This office, as stipulated in the constitution, is responsible for assisting the General Secretary in their duties and deputizing for them when necessary. Additionally, the Assistant General Secretary is tasked with assisting the Vice President in coordinating social and cultural activities for the association and carrying out any other duties as assigned by other articles of the Constitution and by the Executive Council. Consequently, the success of any executive tenure also hinges on how well the Assistant General Secretary was able to perform these duties.
The Assistant General Secretary role was filled by Olamide Favour Jayeoba in the “New Dispensation” tenure. Thereupon, to comprehensively evaluate her performance, we will be utilizing her campaign manifesto and the account of stewardship document presented to the UIMSA senate as a benchmark. This will enable us to ascertain how well she has fared in fulfilling her campaign promises.
In her manifesto, Olamide Favour Jayeoba outlined the following plans:
- Execute her duties as stipulated by the Constitution
- Continue and improve upon projects initiated by her predecessors
- Publish an online calendar outlining the activities of the association for each month
- Organize social events to help students destress
Projects
The Assistant General Secretary, Olamide Favour Jayeoba, ran her campaign on the premise that included improving the efficiency and capacity of the UIMSA Usher Program both within and outside the College of Medicine. She also promised to utilize the association’s social media pages to promote the program, reduce errors and improve the monthly birthday graphics. Additionally, she pledged to release a UIMSA newsletter.
According to her account of stewardship document, these projects were successfully implemented. Olamide headed the UIMSA Ushering Team and was able to organize and work with clients requiring their ushering services. The UIMSA Usher program made ushering teams available to not only UIMSAites but the College of Medicine as a whole and to clients outside CoMUI in various programs and fora. She also wrote and sent out the Association’s email newsletter to 1000 subscribers, which received great feedback and reviews from UIMSAites. She grew the subscribers to the newsletter from 560 at the start of her tenure to 1000. The newsletter was timely, and during the strike period, it provided valuable advice, information, and trending topics and opportunities.
In terms of the monthly birthday graphics, the data available to celebrate UIMSAites on their birthdays was updated. The graphics were effective, however, there were some delays in the release of the monthly birthday graphics, which should have been released on a more timely basis at the beginning of every month of the year.
Online Publication of Monthly Calendar
Another notable campaign promise made was to keep UIMSAites informed about the plans and activities of the executives, as well as the minutes of the Senate and Congress meetings, on a monthly basis. This was to be achieved by working with the publicity team to improve communication and encourage participation. This plan was actualised and included in the newsletters.
Organising Social Events
Finally, it’s important to remember that the Assistant General Secretary, who rode the wave of goodwill among UIMSAites to electoral victory, also pledged to organize social events, aside from those to be held during the Health Week, like movie nights, games evenings, and other imaginative outdoor events to help UIMSAites de-stress because medical school can be difficult and exhausting. In order to make sure these events happen, she promised to work with the vice president’s office and the executive council. However, apart from the ones planned during the Health Week in which she participated in different social committees, our investigation was unable to uncover any proof that these events had taken place. It is evident that these promises were not fulfilled.
In conclusion, the performance of the assistant general secretary can be evaluated as having both successes and failures in meeting her campaign promises. The successes she achieved were praiseworthy and deserving of commendation. The Press made an effort to interview her regarding her unfulfilled promises and challenges encountered, but it was unsuccessful due to her impending MB examination. Nevertheless, the “New Dispensation” executive tenure has played a crucial role in advancing the association and has now handed over the reins of leadership. Hopefully, both UIMSAites and history will judge the tenure favourably.
Thomas Jolly
ARTICLE EDIT
This article has been edited to reflect that the plan to circulate the online calendar was actualised and included in one of the newsletters.