This interview is the third of the Tales of Leadership series. In the first and the second, we had chats with the 2K28 (100-level) and 2K27 (200-level) majority leaders, Mr Olajide Abimboye and Mr Femi Ogundeyi. In this, we interviewed Mr Arinzechukwu Eze, the majority leader of the 2K26 (300-level) class. A returning majority leader, he shared the difficulties of his journey thus far. He also saluted his classmates for the help they had rendered to make his work easier. When asked if he will ever decide to step down due to the amount of work he has to do, he firmly affirmed his resilience and commitment to the job. There are certainly many lessons to glean from his journey as a majority leader. Enjoy!
Q: Can you please introduce yourself to us?
Arinze: My name is Eze, Arinzechukwu Evans (a.k.a. Sublime), the majority leader of the 300-level MBBS class.
Q: Are you a first-time majority leader?
Arinze: No, this is my second tenure.
Q: What is your class’s name and what does it signify?
Arinze: The MBBS 2K26 class is also known as the Imperium class. The name signifies authority or dominion. Wherever we find ourselves, we don’t aim to be second; we aim to dominate. That’s basically the idea behind the name.
Q: Has there ever been any situation where your class demonstrated this?
Arinze: Of course. In everything we do as a class, we try as much as possible to demonstrate the meaning of the name, though I wouldn’t say we’ve achieved so much success. But as a class, we have participated in many competitions and in athletics. Amongst them, most of our successes have come from track and field events. Aside from that, I’m really proud of the individual achievements of my classmates. We won’t stop trying to be better across board.
Q: Your class’s performances in track and field events are truly impressive! I’ll move on to the next question. What led you to contest for the role of a senator?
Before I became a UIMSAite, I had actually been in some other schools [UNIBEN and UNN]. In those schools, I was active politically, but coming to UI, I had already made up my mind that I was not going to do anything in leadership. I planned to just focus on myself. But sometimes, leadership calls you. The desire to serve and help the class as a whole is the reason why I showed interest in being the ML. And sometimes, you might have a very beautiful vision for something, but you won’t be able to carry it out as you would like if you are not in charge of affairs. I have that urge to create a place where everyone is heard, where everyone is equal and an environment where everyone will grow. My desire is not just to direct people on a large scale, but also to have a personal relationship with as many as possible, and offer help in any little way I can. And for me, these are satisfying.
Q. Can you share with us what your election process was like?
Arinze: About my classmates voting for me, I can’t actually say it was because of what I told them. Although I can’t say I didn’t campaign at all, I still believe strongly in the fact that they voted for me because of the way I served in other spheres, before even thinking of contesting for the position.
Q: You mentioned that you had served in other leadership positions before becoming the majority leader. Can you share with us how leadership has been so far?
Arinze: I would like to restrict my answer to my experience in UIMSA. Coming into service, I prepared my mind for a lot of things, but you know the way life is, I still met some things that swept me off balance. The experience has been mixed. However, I have enjoyed leading on more occasions. It’s satisfactory enough to see the majority appreciate your effort as a leader.
Q: Alright, let’s bring it down to your class now. How has leading your class been so far?
Arinze: Well, the only time I didn’t lead my class was actually when we were in 100-level. Assuming the position of the majority leader in the following tenure, I knew that I was going to face a lot of backlash, and I had already prepared my mind for that. I also thought that I would have to do most things myself. But surprisingly, I have had help from most of the class members, even the ones who are not class executives. My classmates are the MVPs, because honestly, having someone to check up on you and ask you about most things concerning your life, academics, and all is really cool. They’ve really been there for me.
Q. So far, have there been any of your classmates’ habits that tend to stress you out?
Arinze: Before I became the ML, I asked questions from a lot of people who have done this before. I already learnt a lot about what the position is like. So, most of what my classmates do sometimes are things that happen everywhere.
Q: That’s proactive! Which one is more challenging between leadership and academics?
Arinze: Honestly, I can’t tell. My duties and academics are both very demanding. So, I will say they are both challenging and on an equal level.
Q: Since they are both challenging, has there ever been any time you considered stepping down as the majority leader?
Arinze: Yes, there have been some instances like that, two of which were personal. But one thing that has been keeping me going is that I shouldn’t run away from difficulties. What if I have other duties committed to me and I face similar challenges? Will I keep stepping down? So, whenever I feel like giving up the duty, I just keep reassuring myself, and it works.
Q: What are the methods you have put in place to ensure that the management of the class is not too difficult?
Arinze: Honestly, I am someone who doesn’t really like getting people to do something on my behalf. Even though I have put someone in place to do it for me, I will still want to go there and do it myself. But over time, I have come to the understanding that it is detrimental to be so. So one of the things I did was choose capable hands and put them to take charge of a particular aspect of the class as a committee. We have about 10 of them now, and everyone is doing really amazing.
Q. Do you have anything that you can consider to be the peak of your service to the member of the class?
Arinze: This is an ambiguous one! What I actually consider to be the peak might not even mean anything to a lot of people out there. However, one thing I find very important in my journey so far is the way I relate with a reasonable number of the class members beyond just academics; that has been the most important part of my leadership.
Q: That’s great! What has it been like serving on the UIMSA Senate?
Arinze: Serving on the Senate floor has been a thrilling experience so far, although it’s not easy. It gives me the chance to learn more about leadership with the corrections, processes, and the opportunity to relate with beautiful minds beyond my class. Inasmuch as having to sit through overnight meetings is very tasking, I don’t regret being a part of it.
Q: What are the opportunities you’ve gotten from being the class leader for a while now?
Arinze: To me, the opportunities I have gotten from being the class leader so far are the relationships with the HODs, the course coordinators, and so many other people that ordinarily, you might not get the chance to meet on a personal level. There have been some cases where some of these lecturers have actually told me that if I have anything that I might want to share with them apart from my duty, their office is always open. And to be frank, that’s a big one for me right there. Additionally, being able to serve and lead a class of that size, I also see it as an opportunity.
Q: How have you been able to maintain balance between your academics, leadership, and other aspects of life?
Arinze: For me, balance is something I have to keep learning. It’s a very important aspect of life. But there are some things I do that have helped me cope with my duties. One is delegating duties and putting capable hands in a certain aspect of the class. I stopped thinking I should do it all myself. This has freed up a little space for me to do some other things, and in my academics, I figured I would waste a lot of time if I just went straight into carrying slides and big textbooks, so I watch videos first before studying the materials. Things are not still balanced this way, and that’s why I say I keep trying to discover better ways I can do things.
Q: Do your classmates see you more as a leader than as a friend?
Arinze: During my first tenure serving, I already made it clear to most of my classmates that I would love to be more of a friend than just a class leader. And over time, people began to trust me. Right now, I can say a number of my class members see me as their friend, while there are still some of them who don’t see me as that.
Q: Which of your classmates can you trust with the leadership of your class if you were to step down?
Arinze: I strongly believe that everybody is a leader. Some people tend to exhibit the behaviour more, which has made people think it is inborn, but that’s not true. So, having worked with a whole lot of my classmates, I’m sure they’ll be able to handle the duty. If I start calling names now, it will look like I’m giving a list of all my class members. However, if I am to choose, I will narrow it down to the senators I have worked with, both my past tenure and this current one. Honestly, they are all amazing minds that could take good care of the class.
Q. Going forward, would you ever consider stepping down as the majority leader?
Arinze: Right now, I don’t think there will ever be any personal reason for me to step down as the majority leader. I have grown past that. But then, it all depends on the people I am leading. Once I start getting substantial negative feedback, I will gladly leave the position. I do take feedback from personal discussions with people to evaluate myself, and so far, I think it is still good. I don’t think there is anything else that will make me consider stepping down.
Q: We’ve come to the end of the interview. Do you have anything you would like to share?
Arinze: I thank UIMSA Press for the opportunity to share my story. I also thank my class members and executives., They’ve been phenomenal! And to everyone willing to become a leader one day, you should really know what you are going for, know what you really want and prepare your mind for a lot of scenarios that you possibly can’t even think of on a normal day. As I have said earlier, I strongly believe that everybody is a leader.