On the 3rd of June, 2023, Miss Jayeoba Olamide of the 2k21 class was co-opted as the Vice President of the Association, the second-ranking office on the executive council. Before this, Miss Jayeoba had served as the Assistant General Secretary for the 2021/2022 tenure and also on various Healthweek planning committees for the past three tenures. As a co-opted member of the executive council, Miss Jayeoba was required to turn in a Letter of Application, in lieu of the conventional manifesto, in which she stated her plans to:
- Execute her constitutional duties (as listed in the 2022 revised UIMSA constitution, Chapter 3, Article IX)
- Ensure the effectiveness of the Alumni Relations Committee
- Organise an alumni evening and
- Organize an excursion for UIMSAites
Achievements
In line with the execution of her constitutional duties, she chaired the central Health Week planning committee for the 62nd annual Health Week which focused on inequalities in healthcare and addressing these disparities. In the usual fashion, the Health Week featured the Community Health Awareness Program, a Bonfire, an Interclass Debate, an Interlevel Quiz, the Ulympics, a Symposium, a Variety Night, and a Dinner and Awards Night.
However, a few upgrades were noted in this Health Week. The partnership between Dominos Pizza/ Cold Stone Ice Cream added a unique flare to the Sunset Safari bonfire, especially with the giveaway of 20 free cups of ice cream to lucky UIMSAites. This coupled with the Community Health Awareness Program being sponsored this time by Senator Sharafadeen Alli as opposed to the regular in-house funding as well as the symposium being sponsored by The Steno Memorial Foundation, owned by an alumnus of the Association, Dr. Femi Sanni hints at Miss Jayeoba’s strength in networking and securing partnerships for the association.
This year’s CHAP was also held at two locations as opposed to the usual one which, seeing as the CHAP is a focal point of the health week, was a commendable development.
A slight blemish would be the Dr J. A. Adeniyi Interclass Debate, which was postponed due to scheduling conflicts with some classes’ academic activities from the original date of March 2nd to March 6th. Other than this, the event which did not hold in the previous tenure, provided a platform for orators within the association to prove their mettle.
The penultimate event of the week, the Silhouette Symphony held at Cruzer Lounge, Eleyele was where things went slightly awry. One might ask why the promised transportation, especially the bus for Clinical students was in such poor condition that several UIMSAites had to decline and sort out their transportation. This came on the heels of a two-hour delay due to an avoidable time clash with that day’s football finals, and the event was off to a strained start. However, thanks to the warming performance from Tega Ethan and 2k24’s Medial Geniculate Body, a horror comedy movie, some light games and refreshments, the night managed to redeem itself in the eyes of UIMSAites -only for the same blunder to be committed during the finale of the week (the dinner) which started an hour late. With this longstanding unrepentant history of lateness in UIMSA events one might wonder if the vendetta against punctuality is truly a Nigerian thing as opposed to the obvious explanation of faulty planning.
Beyond the Health Week, Miss Jayeoba was also responsible for organizing six other CHAPs during her tenure within and outside of UCH. She also spearheaded the Hepatitis B vaccination drive in collaboration with Alexander Brown Hall, the Art Contest for World Heart Day, and the acquisition of a sphygmomanometer and glucometer for the association.
On alumni relations, during her time in office, the association’s alumni database was purportedly expanded from 25 to 334 contacts by including the 2023, 2022 and 2012 graduating class members. In collaboration with the financial secretary, an alumni newsletter was also introduced. The alumni evening, however, seems to have been merged with the ICOMAA Student’s Day instead of the original plan to have it as a standalone event. Whether this was due to cost or time availability is unclear.
She also handled the provision of welfare packages for the 2k25 and 2k18 classes during their MB exams and UIMSA’s first excursion in a long while to Lekki Conservation Center and Wave Beach.
Challenges
In her account of stewardship, Miss Jayeoba stated that she faced the following difficulties in office:
- Inactive committee members
- Difficulty raising funds for outreaches
- Lack of interest of UIMSAites in activities of the Association.
- Several adjustments to the dates and time of events to accommodate members that had clashing school activities.
- A limited number of designers, which caused graphic designers to be overworked, leading to delayed graphics for publicity.
Recommendations
Her recommendations for the next administration are as follows:
- Committee members should be properly educated on their roles, and committees should have a punitive measure for dormancy in committees.
- Fundraising workshops for committee members.
- The Senate and Congress should take an active role in Health Week Fundraising.
- One month’s advance notice for UIMSAites for paid events such as dinners, variety nights, etc.
- The possibility of a lecture-free period for Health Week should be explored.
- More graphics designers should be recruited into the Association’s design team.
- Retain most vendors used for dinner, particularly food and decoration.
- Efforts should be put into sustaining the partnerships/sponsorships from this Health Week.
- Reach out to new provosts to widen the alumni database.
- Explore the alumni network more for fundraising.
Final Words
Based on objective assessment and the general feedback of UIMSAites, it is fair to say that Miss Jayeoba performed quite well during her time as Vice President of the Association as regards the execution of her duties and overall activeness in UIMSA. With a feedback rating of 8/10 for all events of the health week, she certainly raised the bar Let us hope that the incoming Vice President might maintain this standard at the very least, and at best, raise the bar even higher.
Opeolu Oreoluwa
