We’re here for those who realise that the 13th Administration is still far from over concerning specific incidents that have shaped its tail end. We are here for those who have their sights set on the next set of leaders, hopeful for a change in fortune. Most importantly, we’re here because a lot remains in the balance, pleading that they are addressed lest the UCH Students’ Association’s next move be several steps backwards.
In the first part of this story, we addressed the excesses and inadequacies of the Reviewed USA Constitution. By our initial estimate, this second part was to address the performances of the USA executives and identify ways forward for the Association. However, given recent events, we will circle back to the constitution before proceeding. There is a need to address the conduct of the Friday, 20th January Elections and the actions and quality of Executives-elect. So that when someday, or never – depending on how much change arrives – these precedents morph into a hard-to-kill hydra of poor administration, we can point posterity in the direction of our actions as a fore-warning.
A Shadowy Electoral Process
On Sunday, 1st December 2024, the Electoral Commission was ratified. Two days later, the list of available positions, the cost of forms, and some of the directives for the voting process were made available to the general public. Subsection 5 of Section 36 Article XIII Chapter 6 states that the Electoral Commission “shall conduct election(s) within four weeks of formation“. Subsection 1 of section 41 of the same Article states, “The executive council shall be dissolved not later than two weeks before the date of the elections to a new executive council at the SRC meeting summoned for that purpose“. The actions of the Electoral Commission are well in line with the former, ensuring the entire process was conducted in less than four weeks – three to be exact. Consider the other two guides in customs and common sense; you have a different story.
This shortened period meant there were barely any campaigns. The deadline for the sale of forms was the 17th. The Screening took place on the 18th. Manifesto night was on the 19th. Elections on the 20th. This narrow timeline made it almost impossible for any form of campaigning to take place. We say ‘almost’ because some candidates did campaign, two to be exact – the President-elect, Adeniran Happiness, and Olatunji Susan, one of the aspirants for the office of Social Director. Members of the Association barely knew the candidates, talk more of their plans, and the rushed nature of the Manifesto Night did nothing to help matters. It’s absurd that we had a Manifesto Night where candidates answered an average of three questions in defence of plans that would steer the USA for an entire year. It didn’t help that the plans were underwhelming, but more later. A combination of minimal publicity, inactivity of some of the Electoral Commissioners, the electricity situation, and apathy brought about by the current set of Executives’ abysmal performance resulted in a process short of the standard in daughter associations.
The incoming Assembly has to amend the constitution so that either the electioneering process gets lengthier or there’s a clear time frame within the four weeks for the form purchases and campaigns. There should be a section that mandates aspirants to campaign (the nature of this campaign can be left to interpretation). Also, the mode of voting needs further definition. According to Subsection 4 of Section 36 of the same Article, the Electoral Commission “Shall draw up electoral regulation subject to the provision of this constitution. Such regulation shall be published at least two weeks before the date of elections“. That was not the case for this election as the procedure was sent just two days prior. One daughter association, in particular, scrambled to select the required twenty delegates for the polls a few hours before the close of voting (This section has been edited in line with new information obtained). The constitution (Subsection 1 of Section 37) is only explicit on the elections being by secret ballot. If it’s a process limited to a fixed number of delegates, common sense dictates that it departs the land of customs to become a constitutional proceeding.
From Section 41 above, the Executive Council should have been dissolved at least two weeks before the elections. That has not been executed; thus, the USA currently has Executives and Executives-elect (Apparently, the ‘before’ therein is a typo and should be ‘after’). Considering the state of affairs of the Association, it may be in good faith that this delay exists.
The Tale of the Promised 625,000 Naira+ and Other Stories
On 18th December 2024, when the UIMSA Press reached out to the erstwhile President of the USA, it was for two reasons. The 30-day deadline for him to refund the money misappropriated from the Christopher Osunbote Games had expired the day before, and there was a need to clarify where payment stood as of then. The second was to clarify certain sections of his manifesto, as discussed in an earlier 17th November conversation. Mr Uzor didn’t respond. A follow-up message was also unattended.
Two days earlier, the Press had contacted the Sports Director, Akinruli Isaac, for clarification on the refund. When he did respond, two days later and hours after the text was sent to Mr Uzor, he confirmed that only the medals had been made available. Screenshots from an 18th – 19th November 2024 conversation with Mr Uzor, provided after a confrontation with the Financial Secretary, Nnamdi Chikere, on the USA 1 WhatsApp group on Saturday, 21st December 2024, showed further evidence to the claim.
To further ascertain the validity of the conversation with Mr Akinruli, the Press reached out to the USA SRC Speaker, Omotayo Goodluck, a day later. He confirmed that he [the former President] purchased the medals at the exact cost specified in the Healthweek Budget. He also mentioned that Mr Uzor was supposedly ‘working on reimbursing the money of those who paid for certificates[for the Healthweek symposium]‘. Interestingly, Mr Uzor had been invited for a subsequent sitting of the House but failed to show up. According to the Chief Whip, John Oluwagunwa, this was because he had just concluded the Nigerian Association of Dental Students’ Convention. While the sitting was happening, Mr Uzor was called upon but failed to respond. In his absence, it was explained that the payment for the medals, about 122,400 Naira, was obtained from the donation of Dr Omolara Abosede, and the medalsprovided to the Co-Head of the Sports Committee, Mr Charles Opara. To cut the tale short, Mr Uzor was to give about 625,000 Naira in prize money, refund the money collected for certificates, and portions of an outstanding 192,200 Naira of the Healthweek Expenditure, among others. He hasn’t. And so, in line with the SRC’s resolution, the case will be referred to higher authorities (the Dean of Faculty of Dentistry, UCH Management, and the Dean of Students Affairs, University of Ibadan).
Apologies for the lengthy recollection of history. It is but a necessary evil to show what state this body lies in at the moment. You see, all fingers point to the erstwhile President for bringing us here, and to be fair, he did. However, it is appalling how little accountability is being demanded of other Executives for their role in the situation. A little more oversight and understanding of constitutional roles — especially for the Treasurer, who has remained largely silent through this ordeal — and maybe this situation would have been nipped in the bud earlier. We might not have had to wait till upwards of half a million Naira went unaccounted for to begin calling out misbehaviour. Perhaps, if they had also been faithful to promises made in their manifestos, we would have had a better year as an Association. Alas, it’s too late, and come February, they would have walked into the sunset, possibly with plaques of service to boot, while the next set of Executives struggle with the pieces.
Manifestos, Accountability, and Worries
Of course, we won’t move on without an appraisal of their [outgoing Executives] performance, or more accurately, a comparison of what was promised versus what was delivered. There’s only so much hiding these ‘esteemed, distinguished, and exceptional’ Executives can do. At the end of it all, the truth will always remain.
Like the truth about the deliverables of the outgoing Sports Director compared to his manifesto. The one-page document had only three lines of plans, which weren’t expounded on in detail. How that escaped severe scrutiny beats us. How he managed to flunk such a limited plan is even more astounding. The first, ‘Involvement of the female members in most sporting activities’, was partly fulfilled with the Christopher Osunbote Games. However, seeing as there were minimal sporting activities for female members outside this, and female participation has always been at the core of COG, it could very well be said that this was not an achievement. The next, ‘Organising Friendly Inter-Association Games’, was also unfulfilled. The closest to this was the highly advertised match between the USA Football Team and the Healers Club on 1st June 2024. Mr Akinruli’s third plan, ‘Ensuring the continuation of USA Keep Fit,’ followed this pattern. ‘Continuing’ in his case meant the USA Keep Fit holding a grand total of two times in the tenure. We can’t call that success.
The Public Relations Officer, Lawrence Temidayo, fared better in this regard. His ten-point manifesto included social media management and a LinkedIn account set up plan doubled with a plan for organic followers’ growth on social media with a target of at least 1,000 organic followers on each platform. The LinkedIn account was brought into fruition with a follower count of 1,285 as of the time of publication, Instagram at 1,185 followers, and X missing the cut at 521 followers, mostly fulfilling this plan. There was a constant stream of engaging content across these pages, as well. His manifesto also included ‘Website design for the association’ which he delivered entirely on, with the Association’s website launched at the Healthweek Symposium. His plan to establish a magazine was partly fulfilled with the launch of the Chiasma Magazine, also at the Symposium. However, the magazine is yet to be compiled as of publication, with a call for articles having been made as recently as last month. While the above were successful, for other aspects of the plan, there wasn’t much progress. The publicity committees in daughter associations waned in strength, and releases from the Association had minimal circulation. The plan to publish on the noticeboards of the Alexander Brown Hall and School of Nursing hostels also stalled. He intended to provide a Public Address system, but this was eventually sorted by the preceding administration.
Next, we have the Vice President, Blessing Mordi, whose four-point plan (Welfare, Fostering inclusivity and diversity, Health Week, and Fundraising) was, for want of a better term, underwhelmingly executed. There were to be ‘fitness challenges, sports events, and even nutrition programs’ to encourage students to adopt healthy lifestyles. The Welfare committee was also to conduct regular surveys to not address the concerns of members. We didn’t see anything. Inclusivity was to be fostered via a Freshers Welcome program, which was held. However, the turnout at that event was so low that it was concerning. Where she did succeed was in setting up a diverse Healthweek Central Planning Committee with members from the daughter associations. Fundraising, in light of the economic situation and also the erstwhile President’s need to ‘misappropriate’, certainly left much to be desired.
Then, there’s the High Chief himself, Mr Uzor, whose manifesto has returned to him void. Under ‘Welfare’, he promised frequent celebrations of members on social media, which was not fulfilled. There was to be the organisation of an ad-hoc committee on security with representatives from daughter associations, including members residing in BQs and private hostels within the hospital, that will be charged with working with the CSO of the hospital to get information on security issues and measures, and making transport easily accessible to members of the Association and disseminating wishes to members planning to sit for examinations. Again, void, with the exception of the exam wishes. For ‘Social’, he promised to organise hangouts and excursions and, above all, bring a concert to UCH for the students. With the Vice-president, he was to organise a befitting cultural day event during the health week. There’s a lack of fulfillment, and there’s what we got for the latter: an embarrassment of members.
Under ‘Sports’, he promised; I. The formation of a standard team II. The organisation of friendly matches among daughter associations III. A novelty game with the hospital management and IV. To keep and uphold the Christopher Osunbote Games. Mr Uzor is 0/4 for these plans. It takes a lot of effort to fail at upholding the Games, in particular, but the erstwhile President was certainly up to the task. A glance at the ‘Academics’ (organise programs to promote intellectual interests of members), ‘Fundraising’, and ‘Others’ (compiled an Alumni database) sections show the same thing; zero-to-minimal fulfillment.
Imagine if all of the above plans were executed. Better still, imagine if even 60% were executed. This Association would have had a year worth remembering by every account. It must be said that while we recognise that hindrances existed for some of these plans, the major hindrance was the Executives themselves, who stood in the way of progress. It’s not customary to include a scorecard of the performance of Executives on their plaques/certificates of stewardship. But as it stands, with the level of performance across board, that might have become necessary.
More on Manifestos, Accountability, and Worries
We’re not done here. At the Manifesto Night on 19th December 2024, there were not up to 50 people in attendance. And unless the eventual delegates read through the manifestos, sent to the USA WhatsApp groups upon request by a member of the Press — highly unlikely — that meant the bulk of the 115 votes cast were done at random. As we prepare for the handover, let’s examine what we are to expect.
The incoming Sports Director, Falola Joshua, has a five-point plan encompassing revitalising sporting activities, promoting inclusivity in Sports, enhancing facilities and access, collaborating with partners, and integrating health and well-being. Like his predecessor, he promises regular inter-departmental competitions and also inter-school competitions, although ‘how regular’ wasn’t defined. There are to be fitness challenges and recreational sports days, which are also not expounded on. When asked about the USA Keep Fit, he promised to hold it on a tri-monthly schedule. Again, like his predecessor, he promises to continue the Annual Sports and Games event. At this point in time, the COG Games need more than just continuation. It needs improvement. Hopefully, the Sports Director-elect will see that.
For inclusivity, he promises to establish gender-inclusive activities. This particular plan sounds like a rehashed version of Mr Akinruli’s ‘Involvement of female members in most sporting activities’. We will need a lot of convincing that this is not just another promise, even before the COG Games. Mr Falola proposed partnerships with professionals for mentorship and scholarship opportunities, as well as collaborating with organisations like Exercise is Medicine On Campus (E-I-M OC). Thoughtful plans, indeed, and helpful if executed. There will supposedly be workshops on injury prevention, nutrition, and the benefits of an active lifestyle. It’s a lot to fit into a year, so we’ll be on the lookout.
The PRO-elect, Shodimu Victoria, presented a five-point plan that could be adjusted. Under ‘Internal Publicity’, she promised to revamp the Association’s social media presence via engaging content, increasing followers, and maintaining regular updates. Solid, even though there are unclear targets in this regard. At the Manifesto Night, she had the specific number of followers per platform but failed to show precisely what the plan of action was for those platforms. She also mentioned the establishment of a blog, worrying and pointing to a poor level of preparation since a blog already exists on the USA website.
Her plan for External Publicity is almost a duplicate of that for Internal Publicity: Social media campaigns, video content, and strategic partnership. We’ll give her the benefit of the doubt for the first two. For the partnerships, it’s essential that these are prioritised as quickly as possible. Members of daughter associations do not receive information as they ought to, and this would harm possible collaborations with related student organisations. Therefore, it is pertinent that this is addressed first, before anything else. The third part, Creating a Calendar of Events, if executed, would be beneficial to publicity. However, it would have to emerge immediately after the year plan is approved and corrected as time goes on when changes occur. Her Website optimisation plan involves content strategy – appreciable, a maintenance schedule – also noticeable, and integrating social media platforms – worrying since it already exists. In summary, Miss Shodimu has work to do.
Social Director-elect Uma Oluchi’s four-point plan is quite explicit but still needs some definition. For instance, her Talent Exhibition plan to showcase ‘gift possessed by members’ has no specified date, so one can’t tell for sure when exactly this will be and what format it will take. During the Healthweek? Before? It’s unclear. She also aims for female empowerment and enlightenment through a skill acquisition program that would include games and activities to ‘foster positive community’. The worry here is cost and feasibility. Can this be combined with the other activities of the Association? If yes, there has to be a plan to ensure maximal participation due to the growing culture of apathy in the USA. The final two aspects of ‘Effective Representation’ (committee involving all daughter associations plus a partnership with the PRO) and ‘Collaboration’ (with other student bodies and organisations in UCH), while not as defined, could portend well for the Association. There were no references to Healthweek — bar her being Deputy Chairperson per the Constitution — and fundraising, leading to concerns about her vision of the Association, which are concerns that she will have to address in the course of the tenure.
The General Secretary-elect, Ejirinde Peace, presented a simplified three-point plan. At this point, it must be noted that none of the Executive-elect appeared with manifestos in the expected format, opting for slideshows or, like in the Gen. Sec-elect’s case, a Word document with her name as an over-the-top watermark. In their respective daughter associations, these formats would not be acceptable. But let’s move on from that. Miss Ejirinde’s plan of ensuring the USA Secretariat is commendable. However, she failed to highlight the state of the Secretariat, and if at all, some renovations are necessary — quite frankly, improvements are needed. She also plans to have Regular Updates, a feedback mechanism and a Database for all members of the Association, an ambitious plan that would serve future administrations quite well if achieved. We’ll wait to see how that plays out. Her last plan is an Alumni Database, much like erstwhile President Me Uzor promised. ‘Having the details of all finalists’ looks good on paper. Execution is a different matter altogether.
Like the PRO-elect, the Vice-President-elect, Ibrahim Suliat, also has a five-point plan. The first two are improved publicity and improved participation in the Healthweek. For those who witnessed the last Healthweek, it’s clear that the major problem wasn’t publicity but participation. Miss Ibrahim plans to fix that by collaborating with Presidents of daughter associations, sending daily broadcast messages of appreciation, and giving an Award for Most Participatory Daughter Association at the Healthweek. This is an innovative approach, but it could be improved. There is a lack of personalisation of these invites that could be fixed by engaging publicity on a class level within each Association and even virtual visits to the Central groups/communities of these daughter associations. The distance has to be bridged.
Her plan for fundraising appears to lean on the Alumni body, a questionable tactic in today’s climate. For Welfare, she plans to hold proper check-ups on the well-being of members of the Association in collaboration with the Vice Presidents of daughter Associations through Google Forms. The outgoing VP promised something similar and failed. We’ll be watchful of Miss Ibrahim. She intends to continue the Freshers’ Orientation program, but again, the event needs more than just continuation. It needs to be improved on. The noticeable absence of other aspects of Health week, or specific additions or innovations, is a slight worry. We hope time proves us wrong.
Finally, there’s Madame President’s plan, the TAS Plan – Transparency, Accountability, and Stability. Considering the transitional state of the Association, these three are more important than ever. It’s why the ambiguity existing within this plan calls for concern. For Transparency, Miss Adeniran intends to run an Open Government whereby the activities, decisions, expenditures, and financial reports of the Association are made available to the public via a specialised online Database, with regular public disclosure from elected officials. It’s a genuinely admirable plan; however, this complete transparency could have repercussions in terms of fundraising, with individuals not being as willing to contribute once they’ve had a glimpse of the Association’s account. A balance between openness, especially on the floor of the House, and communication of financial and audit reports while still conserving the financial details of the USA from the public should be aimed at.
For Accountability, she plans to create a detailed Budget, ensuring that all transactions are in line with the budget while regularly assessing Financial management practices. This is more in line with the duties of the Financial Secretary and Treasurer. Also, it must be stated that the problems with regard to Accountability have had to do mainly with securing the funding to meet this budget rather than the spending itself since most Councils — including the outgoing one — still spend as is budgeted. Regardless, it’s commendable to aim for a net positive in this regard. The final aspect, ‘Stability’, is mostly ambiguous. She intends to create a culture of collaboration and teamwork by organising programs of interest that align with the interests of students. In time, we’ll see how this plays out. An extension, Partnership, involves collaborations with other student bodies and communities. Collaboration appears to be a recurring plan for the incoming Executives, which is gladdening to say the least.
From what is above, it is clear that the USA can achieve a lot during this tenure. However, what precedent shows is that good-looking plans do not equal impact or improvement. There has to be execution; otherwise, the cycle repeats itself. Executives of the 14th Administration, be warned that we, as an Association, are watching. We are watching closely. Do not betray our trust. Do not even spare such ill actions a thought.
And So….Moving Forward
We’re at the end. To conclude, what else can be done for the UCH Students’ Association? First and foremost, the next Student Representative Council needs to be filled with individuals who are knowledgeable, capable, and efficient. Knowledgeable in the sense that Honorables are well versed in the constitution and aware of the customs of the USA. If they have to sit down with past members of the Assembly for one-on-one sessions on ‘How Not to Lead the USA Astray’, then so be it. If there has to be training by outgone Honorables, so be it. But whatever it will take to drill the knowledge deep into the minds of SRC members, it must be done. Capability has to do with looking out for the interest of members of the daughter associations. Honorables have to communicate the happenings on the floor of the House and also reach out to members of their constituencies to ensure their needs are brought to the floor. For efficiency, we need people who won’t ghost at meetings and who are willing to show up as many times as required so that proceedings aren’t marred by wrongdoing.
Next up is the bye-election process, which is slowly becoming a part of the culture of the USA. Honorables must apply as much scrutiny as possible to individuals who use and vet their capability to hold these positions. As we have seen with the last administration, when the dust settles, no one cares if an Executive came in mid-way through the tenure or at the beginning. What people care about is the ability to perform. The desperation to fill these offices must not overshadow the requirements. Else, we’ll be flirting with a danger of epic proportions.
Members of the Association also have to show more interest in the affairs of the Association. We understand that most members already see the Association as secondary. That’s understandable. But the unavoidable truth is that the failure or success of the USA affects us. Take the blackout situation as an example. In the early days, proper communication from the Executives would have been beneficial for USA members. In fact, the alternatives that places like the School of Nursing hostel and Alexander Brown Hall got could have been sourced earlier if there was a more extensive, united front, making these demands for students. Instead, we had to struggle in the dark, oblivious to the level of the challenge and unsure of any potential remedy. Engage the Executives, both online and in person. Make requests of your Honourables. Failure to ask questions and make demands is equal to an acceptance that nothing can change. And honestly, nothing will
Finally, Executives should be ready to adapt to situations that fall outside their manifestos and constitutional duties. Not every situation will have a precedent. And not every need of students is explicitly stated in white and black. A recent example is the 500 Naira charge placed on delivery vehicles at the Gate. A good number of USA members had no idea who to complain to, and despite making complaints on association groups – complaints visible to the USA Executives on these groups – there was little done to provide clarification for USA members as to the purpose of the charge. Executives must be willing to offer aid and fill in the gaps that exist for students within the Association. Prepare your mind for it. Serve wholly and with the expectation of the extraordinary.
May posterity bear us witness to what we tried.
Odin
