I. The concept of accountability once visited Nigeria. No one can tell where she came from, for truly, her existence predates the idea of the federation and the tribes who existed centuries before the Royal Niger Company’s boundaries. She never returned. She was for the people, a being limited only by the frailness of humanity. She lived with us. Some believe she should never have made residence in the first place.
If I belonged only to the Nigerian Medical Students’ and University College Hospital Students’ Associations (NiMSA and USA), I doubt I would know what she looks like. I would neither expect all my leaders to imbibe her spirit nor that of her sibling, proactiveness. “Snap your fingers twice if you don’t understand what function both associations serve, sometimes.” I snap twice. I’m told to repeat the exercise for every episode of confusion I encounter. I’ve been snapping since 2024.
Away from the poetic, here’s the reality: Clinical medical and dental students of the University of Ibadan were out of school from December 21st, 2024 till the Medical and Dental Consultants Association of Nigeria, University College Hospital (MDCAN UCH) strike was suspended on April 22nd, 2025. Their counterparts at the University of Lagos and Obafemi Awolowo University were also out of school for about 7 weeks, due to the MDCAN strike in their respective institutions. At only two points in this entire ordeal did the organisation tasked with advocating for the interests of medical students do so publicly, a press release from the Vice President’s (Internal) office, and one from the regional office, NiMSA South-West, both in March.
This would have been shocking were there not precedence. Earlier in the year, medical students at the University of Ibadan experienced over 100 days of blackout. Our darling mother body, headquartered in Abuja, didn’t lend her voice publicly in any capacity. Similarly, for MSA-specific issues across the country, you’d be hard-pressed to find instances where NiMSA has intervened, except, of course, it affects one of its numerous, outrageously redundant Standing Committees.
To the Association’s credit, on the backend, there were substantial efforts towards resolving the strike. The UIMSA President, Inioluwa John, mentioned two separate meetings involving the NiMSA President, Ahmed Sardauna; one with the Presidents of the three affected MSAs, and another involving all four and MDCAN officials. It speaks to the proactiveness of the leadership and the level of accountability towards its members, never mind their level of influence within the association, that such were executed. That makes votes cast worth it, for the majority and minority who had their say.
Still, public relations required more. The NiMSA President’s office consists of 2 Special Advisers on Political Matters, a content creation team of 4, an Emergency Response and Advocacy team of 4, and a Presidential New Media Team of 8. Yet, none ensured that this issue received as much fanfare as the horde of birthday wishes, MB wishes, and webinar announcements that emerged in that time frame. Social media pages were also not utilised to that effect, at the South-West level. The Caucus meeting held last year was arguably more publicised than the lone letter circulated, talk more of fliers and other materials that should have been dedicated to the cause, but were not forthcoming. Even if the strike was the exclusive misfortune of just one MSA, there should still have been a greater effort on the front end, complimenting the meetings with stakeholders. And if this had been too much for the President’s office – 95-person strong as it is– the Vice President (Internal) could have taken up this crusade. But then, it’s NiMSA; everyone has a position, but not everyone is accountable, for reasons the founding fathers and mothers best understand.
What can I say about the UCH Students’ Association that hasn’t already been said in the past two tenures? The bar, beneath magma, descended further with the hushed conclusion of the inquiry into the misappropriation of funds for last tenure’s Christopher Osunbote Games. And when the USA sat on the fence by failing to state support during the January and February anti-blackout protests – excuses abounding – many looked on; unfazed by yet another disappointment from its coffers. But maybe, they shouldn’t have.
After all, why else would the Association’s executives issue a statement, with the sentence, “While we may not have spoken out earlier, we have been actively monitoring developments and engaging with relevant stakeholders to advocate for your interests”? Why else but a disregard for constituents and an inherent understanding that we wouldn’t utter displeasure? Also, a confused sense of what solidarity entails, per the line “We reiterate the deadline set by the University of Ibadan Students’ Union”. It’s a failure to acknowledge that the association exists first to protect the interests of its members. And that, contrary to the status quo, accountability requires being vocal, and visible, rather than subordinate.
For both associations, there has to be a shift in the approach to constituents’ needs. Of course, addressing stakeholders is key, but this shouldn’t be at the expense of direct communication, public engagement, and plain ol’ empathy. Since the value of NiMSAites isn’t dependent on participation at NiMSA events, the extent of interventions should be as far-reaching as possible from the get-go. Utilise as many directorates, standing committees, sub-committees, and offices, for the sake of the affected within the collective. For the USA, reactionary measures are not the solution. Be in tune from the very first set of complaints. And cease fence-hugging.
II. If you stare into the Alexander Brown Hall long enough, the abyss stares back at you. The air of frustration swamps you from all six blocks of rooms, and you know, sooner, rather than later, that you’ve arrived at a place where despondency is rife. In the weeks leading up to the Hall’s elections on April 19th, that air was different; lively, thrumming with electricity – voltage akin to the SU Elections much earlier, but sinister for reasons best discussed now.
Before the eventual disqualification of two aspirants, for the positions of Deputy Hall Chair and Hall Secretary respectively, six out of the ten offices were contested. The position of the Hall Chair had three aspirants, a number rivalled only by Lord Tedder Hall in the recent election season. Combine this with the high turnout for accreditation and you have a good picture of the political vibrancy that exists among tomorrow’s health professionals. However, because data doesn’t tell all, it’s also important to examine the context in which these figures exist. And in doing so, one would soon realise how problematic ABH’s vibrant political scene is.
It’s appalling that students who participated actively in main-campus politics opted for the same not-so-taciturn displays of spamming and meme culture to pass their point across. We’re young, but we aren’t so immature that we should have ignored saner forms of campaigning. We didn’t need a hundred stickers of the same fliers. We didn’t need to be crass with opponents’ slogans and hashtags. Especially since most failed to follow up with what exactly their candidates intended to do, or had done in the past. Many an aspirant shied away from physical campaigns like one-on-one engagement has become a relic. In its stead, repeated forwarding of the same graphics enjoining accreditation and soliciting support reigned supreme.
The alignments also bode troubling times for the Hall. It’s obscene, much worse than the worries in that Chimamanda essay. Brownites were rigid in their blocs – level and departmental – to the point where some admitted voting candidates they considered less qualified, but more respectful. When we face yet another crisis as a hall, I wonder if we’ll begin by asking our leaders what class they belong to. Perhaps the water situation, gym improvement, cafeteria quality, state of facilities, and everything else will look upon our Executive Council, proclaim their departments to be superior, and attain a higher state.
And this thing where sections of the Hall, in their displeasure with the Electoral Commission and Hall Assembly, resorted to insults and obscenities – this foul thing – we must kill. We must kill quickly, without mercy. Lovers of democracy shouldn’t be reactionary in the face of perceived injustice to the point where due process is first abandoned and then recollected at a time deemed convenient. That’s ill health. Again, our political climate can only be as vibrant as it is respectable.
In truth, the displeasure was not without reason. Explainers have been made concerning the Electoral Commission’s disqualification decisions by both the ABH Press, and again in a Hall Assembly sitting on the 23rd of April, which concluded with a 12-7 vote in favour of the decision. But these explainers do not quite capture contributing factors to the conspiracy theory that the Hall Chair, Ayotunde Oni, and the Electoral Commission Chairman, Esther Olaoye, among others, had colluded to ensure the Hall Chair’s Deputy Hall-Chair candidate, sitting Female Affairs Minister, Vanessa Osaretin, would be elected by all means. Custom and common sense both dictate that such an endorsement should never have existed in the first place. Campus politics is too fragile to allow sitting executives to make endorsements, not to mention engaging in back-and-forths via WhatsApp status updates. Also, there’s the Speaker, Omotayo Goodluck, whose interpretation of the service clause, per Oloruntola ‘Micky’ Michael’s report, complicated matters. Then there’s the fact that the immediate past Hall Assembly opted for Committee Ratification as proof of service, against better judgment.
The errors of that Hall Assembly, coupled with the lacklustre performance of the current Assembly, make the nature of votes in this past election most worrisome. Not a single floor rep announced their aspiration on the ‘We Are Brownites’ group, like is the norm in other halls. Only a minute number even felt the need to speak to floor mates about their ambition. Some floors were without aspirant reps. So when, inevitably, the Hall Assembly is sluggish, and unresponsive to the needs of constituents, and when something as minor as informing constituents of the reasons for the delay with certain repairs becomes impossible, we shouldn’t look to the Executive Council. We have sown the wind. Let’s reap cankerworms.
III. “Center of Excellence, the best of all” is the concluding lyric to the College of Medicine, University of Ibadan anthem. “For a mind that knows is a mind that’s free” concludes the University’s anthem. Abstract as they are for the majority of our days, both lines represent two truths that students of this great institution have come to live by: 1. This University produces some of the brightest minds anywhere in the world, arguably the best in the country. 2. Knowledge is everything. The difference between life and death can easily be knowledge. Both can be condensed into “The University of Ibadan provides you with the best opportunity to acquire knowledge that changes your life”.
Sadly, the hike in fees over the past two sessions has made it that not many can afford this opportunity. Students are applying for the Nigerian Educational Loan Fund at an alarming, yet understandable rate. A good number of the over 4,000 newly-matriculated UI students will be sworn to the brotherhood of indebtedness next session. As always, medical students are paying the highest fees. Yet, to say we are getting value for our money would be a lie.
In the run-up to his election as the UI Students’ Union President, Covenant Odedele, appeared to believe this sentiment. Speaking with the UCJ on the subject, he said, “We need to single out more certain fees that are not very justified. The goal for me is to make sure that no UI student has to leave school because they cannot pay school fees”. To keep the story short and simple, now is the time for the Union to make good on that promise. Not only that, but to also keep alive the spirit of the anti-fee-hike struggle. The peculiarities of resumption, particularly for students who participated in last session’s crusade, are such that time can slip by faster. But when your deadline is in June, with fees hanging in the balance, even the longest lectures seem abridged. So yes, it is time to make good on that. There are talks of measures in place; today’s Town Hall meeting is one of them. But we are the survivors of two Presidencies that have uttered similar promises. We’ve seen the current administration, including the Students’ Representative Council, uphold the whims of Management. Patience runs thin. Time demands that we watch less, acting more and demanding more.
In the spirit of demands, my attention must now fall to the University of Ibadan Medical Students’ Association. In the next 60 days, we will have new sets of leaders at both the Executive and legislative levels, or at least be well into the process. UIMSA’s politics is a continuum and what that means is that a handful of our current leaders will remain, taking on more tasking roles. For what it’s worth, you must demand more of yourselves, avoiding buck-passing. This is more important in the aftermath of the April 12th, 2025 Presidential release concerning the MDCAN UCH strike. In the event of such an occurrence, where the SU or another body reneges on an agreement, the burden falls on you to lead and co-ordinate such a demonstration, or at least mobilise a response that calls the Union to order. After all, we are the Union. The subjective nature of said release gave room to more than a few unwelcome interpretations. And soon enough, the focus shifted to political grievances and grudges.
As a final demand, let he and she who are not ready to lift the burden of UIMSAites, remain in their homes. We are way past the point of leadership without initiative. As this session has shown us, proactive decision-making can be the difference between 60 days and 100. So if that isn’t your style, do us a favour and sit. Don’t even run for Senate or Congress positions. Just sit back and enjoy the blessings of medical school.
Odin
