THE GOVERNMENT, THE GOVERNED, THE GOVERNORS: WELCOME TO THE NEW SESSION

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Just like the popular Olamide hit single of 2012, let us start this piece by saying first of all, but we won’t go down low. However, we can claim to be in high spirits, although the dangers of ASUU strike threaten that spirit. Regardless, we must welcome everyone to the new session. To our freshers, we say “welcome to the faculty of Arts, where anything can happen in student government.” To the staylites, we say “good job for enduring”, and to the finalists, “hey, there’s just two semesters left”.


During the climax of the last session, the faculty witnessed a top tier level of commotion which, every Afasite would agree with, gave us a source of comedy. The fisticuffs amongst the members of the executive cabinets, the apparent inertness of the legislative council which is slowly becoming an all-accommodating body for budget approval, and the redundancy of the CPS, a body whose job in the faculty still remains a mystery, all provided a wonderful show of every definition of every textbook there ever was about what leadership should never be. However, we will let sleeping dogs lie and allow what had been, to remain in its aestivated state. But, to ensure a congruous avoidance of repetition, we must mark out where things went wrong last session, what to do to avoid that, and where we stand as a governmental entity in the faculty.


The Government
Abraham Lincoln rightly defined democracy as government of the people, by the people, and for the people. This definition gives a broad but simple understanding of what government must be. All affairs of government must place its priority on the will of the people. The people are the most important factory in any government. What, in this world of people’s government, is AFAS’ government? Last session’s display of childishness from the executive council showcases the path this session’s government must not tread. Afasites must witness a session of unprecedented accountability, transparency and utmost care for the welfare of the people. Afasites are not asking much, we just need a good government. Nothing more, nothing less. How can this be achieved?


First things first, the FLC must rise up to be a house that knows her job. It must break free from being reduced to a house whose sole job is to approve budget, and see to it that it can call erring members of the executive cabinet to order, and stand in the shadows of the executive council to monitor and ensure that the interest of Afasites is never, at any point in time, betrayed. In all this, there must exist synchronicity. There is a reason government is a thing of everyone and for everyone. It is not just so because the word exists, it is so because it is most appropriate. No one wants a semester filled with mishaps and shouts of misappropriation of funds. That, in itself, is a shameful attribution to anyone that ever walks on the surface earth. The government must place itself in the best light as possible. In AFAS, there are three tiers of government; the executive council, the Faculty Legislative Council, and the Council of President and Secretary (whose role, it would seem is to serve as the judiciary to an extent).


The Chinese yin and yang wouldn’t be so famous if they are wide apart. There must exist a bond for things to work together, the yin must mix well with the yang. This should be what our government should aim at. All tiers of government must give in to working for the interest of Afasites. We understand that in attempting to serve, views might oppose and ideas might conflict, however, if the end goal of all the ideas and views serve just one purpose: the unabashed interest of Afasites, then there should not be a problem finding a middle ground.


The governors


Some things exist, just so the other might be. For the existence of government, it is paramount that there be governors, and that is where the student leaders come in. They are the one in charge of steering the affairs of the government. To achieve a sane, peaceful, fun filled and satisfying session, they must be willing to give their all for those who have elected them to be in the office. Now, when we say governors, we are not just referring to members of the executive council, the other two tiers of AFAS government are inclusive. It is imperative to note where the governors of last session went wrong to present us one of the most catastrophic ending to a session.


One thing, the greatest we must say, that reigned supreme in last session’s administration was that there was no unity. The President, and vice president, social director and financial secretary all seems to exist on very contrasting existential planes. Like the distance from Mercury to Pluto, they were worlds apart. This blighted their administration and Afasites bore the brunt. Furthermore, too many cases of misappropriation of funds flew around during this administration. There was the case of data subscription being very suspicious, and then there’s the almighty dinner budget and funds, which hitherto, we do not understand exactly how much money really went into it, and then there was the AFAS extra package which, just like the biblical pharaoh, we see no more. All of these are occurrences which should never happen in the faculty. Perhaps, we must reiterate this, the point of being in office is to serve, and not to do whatever you want, and yes, it is a team’s effort. One worrying thing about this would be that the social director of last session’s discordant administration is the new President. This raises the question if he is indeed capable of leading members of his cabinet well ensuring that there is no disunity amongst them. Nonetheless, we must hope that he is a good leader, who does not put his personal ego first. It must be re-iterated that unity is very important. Also, it is important to say that our student administrators should pay some attention, no matter how little, to the development of the faculty. It would seem that every year, what we simply do is recycle our social events and add glamour, but this session, it is important to look beyond the horizon, and see to doing tangible things in the faculty. This is not saying social events should be neglected, this is merely a call for our student leaders to think more and hard on what they could do to place the association on a high pedestal.


To the members of the FLC, it is imperative to know that their role in the faculty is also to ensure that the excesses of members of the executive council are checked. Last session, in one of their plenary sessions during the first reading of the constitution amendment proposal of the new Speaker of the house, rt. Hon. Olasoji, members of the house were of the opinion that even if the unapproved amount spendable by the executive is further raised, they will still go past that raised amount. This was said in a manner that makes one realise that the house does not seem to be capable of calling members of the executive to order. The tone seems more like withdrawal, screaming that whatever the members of the executive council do, they can get away with it. In fact, towards the end of the session, some of the letters addressed to the house was either not properly addressed to the house nor there was it graced with the presence of a date. Some did not even have the signature of the then President. The house, from certain indications seem to have been relegated to only a budget approving council. However, we must note that for the Chinese yin and yang to be truly mixed to achieve said inner peace, the legislative council must be able to exercise a certain level of power that allows it to call any erring members of the executive council to order.


The governed


Government works very well when the people are actively involved. The governed should not just see themselves as the subject, rather as stakeholders. The have all rights to hold the student leaders accountable. To do this, they must be involved, actively. One can’t hold one accountable for what one knows not, therefore, for accountability, it is important to be in the known. This has taken us to the juncture of demanding that members of the legislative council give report to their constituency every other week. This ensures accountability and transparency. Also, it makes it certain that Afasites are not in the dark regarding matters that affect them. It also helps to make them know where and when to demand order from the student leaders.


The Press as partners in progress


New year, new system; new session, new system. This is a most popular mantra, but for the press, our role remains the same. We want the development of the faculty. This has not changed. The press should never be seen as the enemy, as we are not.


In conclusion, ladies and gentlemen, not to lose track of what the topic suggests, welcome to the new session. It promises to be another fun filled year, whether for good or bad, or ridicule or perfection, madness or sanity, whatever the session has install for us, we really can’t wait for it.

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