We get it. You read this title on WhatsApp and consider from the offing: great, another political hit piece from the Press, how original. Political journalism at a time when the standards of the body of journalists in the University of Ibadan have slid from previous heights can be futile at best, and farcical at worst. But still it continues, for better or worse. Much of journalism revolves around politics, because in truth, politics of all fields has the greatest currency socially. And the greatest impact. The role then of the Press in acting as checks against political overreach cannot be overstated.
For the sake of the public, you, our dear readers, and even the gallery of pressmen populating the Union of Campus Journalists today, political writing cannot and should not be mistaken for simply a means to criticise politicians and political structures for the sake of it. We, the UIMSA Press Editorial Board, and well-meaning campus journalists in general, do wish our politicians well and campaign for systems of government which support us all at all levels. We remain entrenched within this political sphere at varying levels, and in many instances, we choose to get even more directly involved. Consider these names: Olusegun Obasanjo, Moshood Kashimawo Abiola, and most recently, Covenant Odedele. Politics is a noble choice of career, and in some way, we must all be politicians. In that regard, it’s an interesting question to ask of our campus politicians, and all who get deeply involved in this practice as students. What comes next? Some tend to drop out of the political space entirely, citing the struggle and strife that come with dealing with men, but many still try to make that leap to mainstream politics, and, leveraging their youth and their links to student bodies, they prove valuable assets to our gerontocracy, helping assert control over a teeming youth population.
The thing, you see, is that for all our bluster in our youth on the role that politicians of a more elderly constitution play in stagnating this country, we are the very manacles they use in strengthening their grip over the Federal Republic of Nigeria. And indeed, when by right of succession, we are granted full privileges in our own old age, we will see that our little finger is thicker than our fathers’ loins. How does this concern Adewole ‘Mascot’ Adeyinka and Jesugbemi Matthew Olaniyan then? Student Union President and House Secretary in the 2021/2022 session, they oversaw a session that, at that time as well, coincided with national elections and saw Mascot come under fire for declaring the support of UItes for the Bola Ahmed Tinubu Presidential Campaign, a blunder he attempted to rectify in conversation with Indy Press, even going as far as pandering to the then-popular Peter Obi Labour Party movement, as though we were all born yesterday. But still, Mascot and Jesugbemi are elderly statesmen of this formerly great Union, with Mascot himself actually continuing as a UI student in a post-graduate program at the Faculty of Veterinary Medicine and remaining a fixture on campus. Because these men then are deeply embedded within University of Ibadan Students’ Union structures, with Jesugbemi Olaniyan having also served as Deputy Speaker of the Student Representative Council in the prolonged 2019/2020 session, which was punctuated by the COVID-19 pandemic and industrial action, it would come as something of a surprise to the public to see them willfully misinterpret the constitution of the University of Ibadan Students’ Union, and in fact, be at the forefront of a situation that calls into question the role of the Union as a pawn in partisan politics. Yet, this is only a surprise to students who have not yet come to appreciate the relationship between the UISU and student leaders in general with political actors.
How big of an issue is political sponsorship in halls, faculties and the Union itself? And why should we be worried? In the University of Ibadan, as leaders, we operate in a cash-strapped society, navigating a framework severely bound by the inability of the federal government and university administrators to fund key capital projects and, in doing so, create an environment truly conducive to learning. As a direct consequence, much of our infrastructure in this school is owed to politicians on the campaign trail.
Recognising the tens of thousands of votes constituted by students enrolled in the University of Ibadan, candidates for Governor, the Senate, or the House of Representatives campaign passionately for our support, and seeking to gain something from this interchange, we in turn shake them down for some money, which more often than not, appears in the form of capital projects. A new TV here, a solar pump there, transformers, some essay competition, maybe an event or two. This often carries the representative branding—the Akala 2011 PDP television has, after all, served Nnamdi Azikiwe Hall for a great many years despite the failure of Adebayo Alao-Akala to ultimately succeed in winning his second term as Governor of Oyo State that year.
More sinisterly, though, this money sometimes simply trickles down into the pockets of student leaders, predicated on the promise that boys will be mobilised when it is time to vote. One such ugly incident entered the sphere of public consciousness with one Michael Eyitayo admitting to having received, alongside others in Tedder Hall and indeed, seven other halls in UI, a lump sum from 2019 APC Gubernatorial candidate, Adebayo Adelabu, even tagging former SU President, Aweda Bolaji, to this post. Despite the money reportedly having been meant for ‘bread and akara’, Eyitayo admitted to spending this sum with his friends at Klazz Restaurant, Tedder Hall, which notably does not sell bread and akara—a despicable act of disobedience. Aweda, fully understanding the unconscionable stupidity of such an admission, did not respond to his friend on X.
We must argue still that such a system is a product of the political landscape that surrounds us. Were we not to interact with these politicians during the elections and try to garner something from this exchange, we can be rest assured that we would not see these people throughout the duration of their tenures when they do assume office, and elections represent our only opportunity to seek any benefits from our leaders.
One such instance is the case of Adebayo Adelabu and we, the medical students of the University of Ibadan, domiciled in Alexander Brown Hall, University College Hospital. As reported by ABH Press at the time, Adelabu’s presence in Alexander Brown Hall in 2019 while seeking votes in the Governorship race involved a significant sum of money and many sweet words, in fact. Yet, in the years that followed, having lost the Gubernatorials to Engr Seyi Makinde and gone on to serve as Minister of Power, Adelabu largely neglected the issues of the University College Hospital, and the helpless students he’d promised so much to just years earlier. A definitive resolution of UCH’s issues with the Ibadan Electricity Distribution Company (IBEDC) would not come until February 2025, with Adelabu finally visiting the University College Hospital, having allowed a national and international power-related disgrace fester in his home city for several months. The time was ripe, it seemed; even then, things were shaping up for another shot at the Oyo State Gubernatorials before he eventually lost the APC Primaries to Sharafadeen Alli. Critically, sweet words came into play here again. Adelabu promised that before the end of 2025, a solar-powered mini-grid would be installed in UI and UCH, a promise that even now, at the end of 2026, has not been actualised, with the College of Medicine, UI, still suffering severe electricity issues this year.
As defined by UIMSA Press in her March 24th Editorial political interference in the University of Ibadan has got to the point where the ruling party, heading a government largely described as corrupt, oppressive and anti-student still maintains an active on-campus presence with a host of current and past student leaders, including the candidates for Student Union President in the build-up to the 2024/2025 session, Odedele Covenant and Ayomide Oluwole, involved in the mobilisation of University of Ibadan students for the cause of the All Progressive’s Congress (APC). Mascot’s mandate only continues, and with APC actively sponsoring projects across this campus today, including the new solar-powered tank in Alexander Brown Hall, a project linked to APC’s Oyo Gubernatorial candidate for the 2027 elections, Sharafadeen Alli. This picture will not change anytime soon, and today, it is not out of place to see APC caps and shadowy figures at official events. In fact, it must be stated categorically that July’s viewing of the FIFA World Cup final at Alexander Brown Hall was sponsored by Ibadan North House of Representatives candidate, Umar Farouk Arisekola-Alao. An insipid show was made of this very occurrence, with special reservations made for Arisekola-Alao’s representatives and Alexander Brown Hall’s ever-vibrant student leaders in the foreground of the seating arrangement on that day, a feature antithetical to the community and egalitarianism of football.
But we are not hopeless idealists who would fail to understand the reality in front of us. Should Sharafadeen Alli be elected as Governor of Oyo State, will he ever visit the University College Hospital or interact with we, the medical students, throughout his four-year term? No, he will not. Will Arisekola-Alao ever seek us out to hear our grievances and figure out how to represent us better when it’s crunch time? That’s impossible. This is about the relationship of we, Nigerians, with our governments. As long as we remain in a system in which the only real representation we can expect is during the build-up to elections, we will make do with that, and enjoy at least our running water and sugary popcorn. The deeper underlying issue is demanding accountability from our governments such that they become truly responsible to we, the people, and institute policies that benefit us long-term, rather than just placating us at intervals with a TV here, a sound system there, and maybe, bread and akara.
Coming to the crux of the matter, dear reader, you must scroll up again and view the featured image of this article. Have you done that? Great. You must understand, dear reader, this is a disgrace. You see, it is one thing to interact with politicians under the proverbial table, take what you can, offer them even less and be on your way, playing along in this little game. But for our student representatives to be pictured like this, resplendent in full political jobber regalia of branded T-shirt just like any gullible market woman, for our portly speaker to don this branded face cap that so contrasts with his smart, albeit ill-fitting suit, it is not right. We appear just like any of the others, gullible Polytechnic students, incorrigible thugs from the National Union of Road Transport Workers. This fills us with so much chagrin, to see the University of Ibadan embarrassed in this matter.
This paints a definitive picture—Rt Hon Adedeji Dhikrullahi Stanley Olajide, popularly known as Odidi-Omo, Allied Peoples’ Movement (APM) candidate for Oyo South Senatorial District and two-term member of the House of Representatives, and now, honourable member of the 13th assembly, is now one of us, a UIte, endorsed by we, the students, in whatsoever dealings of his. Yet, in inducting Odidi-Omo into the Students’ Representative Council and the Students’ Union, have we followed due process? Article III(ii) states, The Students’ Representative Council (SRC) may confer honorary membership on any person or persons in students and academic matters, especially, as relating to the Union and the University of Ibadan. A person shall be conferred with an honorary membership of the Union through a motion to that effect, supported by not less than ⅔ of the membership of the SRC present and voting at a special meeting. Any persons so conferred with honorary membership of the Union shall be awarded a certificate signed by the President of the Union and the Speaker of the SRC.
Now to centre this on its initial premise, it does appear a good deal. A decorated career legislator contributes to our legislative summit and the training of legislators across the University of Ibadan, in some ways a continuation of Olamide Omotunde’s mandate when he organised the first of these legislative summits and invited Rt Hon Adebo Ogundoyin and Governor Seyi Makinde to much fanfare. But while we appreciate the continual raising of the bar, what with this 50 million Naira injection and the confirmation of APM presence at this summit, a natural continuation of the Oyo State People’s Democratic Party, which chaired the last, we must be wary of this phenomenon that extends from dinners across this campus to the Face of Preclinicals organised by MB;BS and BDS students at the conclusion of their studies in the main UI campus. So very often, our events take on so much scale and cost while we lose sense of why we really organise these seminars and celebrations, and what we seek to emphasise. In raising the proverbial bar year-to-year, we still cannot afford to set it at a point where it becomes an overburdened barbell, far too weighty for our juniors who come after us to lift above their chests. Rerack your weights!
Of considerable weight here is that aided by a former Student Union President, and a former House Secretary/Deputy Speaker of the SRC, the present SRC Speaker, Mr John Oludele, has unilaterally misinterpreted the constitution of the University of Ibadan Students’ Union to suit this agenda, and ensure that his legacy project is secured to the tune of 50 million Naira. As reported by Indy Press, at its second emergency session on Wednesday, August 5, 2026, the Council resolved to issue a memorandum affirming the political neutrality of the University of Ibadan Students’ Union. At the time of this publication, no such memorandum is forthcoming. And it will not come, because the University of Ibadan’s Student Representative Council will not dissociate herself from Odidi-Omo at a point when they stand to gain so much.
In six days, the Honourable Odidiomo Students’ Legislative Summit will be held at the International Conference Centre, University of Ibadan, and in the aftermath of this fanfare, Rt Hon Adedeji Dhikrullahi Stanley Olajide will walk away having gained social currency amongst University of Ibadan students, representative of young Nigerian intellectuals, veritable pawns in political machinations today and tomorrow, and Rt Hon John Oludele will have secured his own legacy as speaker despite whatever defects came before now, because crucially, he’d have shown University of Ibadan students who know no better the power of grandiose gestures and theatre. Everyone will be just fine.
“The greatest threat to freedom is the absence of criticism.” That, that very Soyinkaism, dear reader, is why we continue to write on politics.