The Man who wants to be AGS: A Story of Broken Lofty Promises
By Oluwapelumi King
It was not that long ago, or perhaps it was, that Olamilekan Adeniyi popularly known as Mojuba solicited support for his candidacy for Assistant General Secretary of the Association of the Faculty of Arts students. Although he was the only candidate going for the position, it seemed that many of Afasites were buoyed by promises and by his vision at that time to contribute to a better and more successful association in his role as Assistant General Secretary. It was on this basis they elected him into the office.
Olamilekan Adeniyi drafted 4 major plans and promises in his manifesto. He promised and assured Afasites that they were all feasible and very achievable. This article will be looking at the 4 plans and analysing whether he has managed to achieve them so far or not.
The First plan bordered on being a point of contact for all Afasites and newly admitted students by having a good relationship with every student and also being relatable to be easily accessed to make complaints and other things they need the executive to attend to for the benefit of every Afasite both physically and virtually and by spearheading communications and discussions between Afasites and Executive members where necessary. This plan not only bordered on infeasibility but also was cutting into other people’s roles i.e. the PRO. The avenue for expressing complaints was also addressed in the PRO’s manifesto which he solely took upon his office to fulfil. The Creation of AFAS Complaints was done and facilitated by the PRO. The Assistant General Secretary is not among the people in charge of the AFAS Complaint Centre. In recent months, it was observed that the PRO has been more of a point of contact for Afasites than the AGS himself. It was also noted that the AGS has not been the spearhead of any discussion between Afasites and the Executive arm so far. This may be attributed to the fact that he spearheading discussions has not been deemed necessary.
The second plan bordered on the promotion of student entrepreneurs in the faculty by creating a student entrepreneur directory which will serve as a record of all entrepreneurs in the faculty. He also promised to achieve this by working hand in hand with the PRO to have a WhatsApp TV for FREE online advertisements in one business or the other in order to promote their services. In the first part of this plan, it is either there is no student entrepreneur directory of any sort or it does not contain all names of Afasites Entrepreneurs. The AGS would have been in the best position to clarify but did not respond to messages at the time of publication. In the second part, although the AFAS TV is solely under the auspices of the PRO, the PRO confirmed it is the brainwork of all Executive members and they all contributed equally hence the AGS could have been said to work hand in hand with him. However, on the second part, online advertisements for AFAS Entrepreneurs particularly those with big businesses are not free. However, for those with small businesses or new businesses or enterprises, it may be done free for them. This was confirmed in a conversation with the PRO.
The third plan was the observation of a monthly day of feedback where Afasites’ views and opinions will be solicited on the administration of their association. He promised to achieve this by having a one-on-one interaction with all available Afasites and by distributing Google forms on WhatsApp groups to enhance comprehensive response. To date, there has not been any monthly day of feedback from the office of the AGS. There has not also been monthly distribution of Google forms on WhatsApp. He was also not able to do one on one interaction with a sizeable number of Afasites to get feedback on the administration of the Executives. Surely, the excuse of them not being available cannot stand. The closest Afasites came to give their feedback was at the AFAS Congress which was organised by the entirety of the Executive Council. Shockingly, the AGS has not managed to fulfil this.
The Fourth Plan focused on the organisation of a mental health seminar to orientate freshers of the faculty on Mental health. The best time to organise this kind of seminar would have been during the Fresher’s week however there was no organisation of a mental health seminar during the week by any office let alone the office of the Assistant General Secretary, maybe it will be organised during the AFAS week but that remains to be seen.
The Assistant General Secretary has failed to deliver on many of his promises. A large percentage remains unfulfilled. He should endeavour to do so before his tenure expires otherwise, he will be leaving behind a legacy of broken promises, lies and deceit and this is not a good legacy for someone who is planning to occupy the same position at the Student Union level.
Finally, it is perhaps not an exemplary action for someone who wants to hold a position at the SU level to not respond to the Press when he is given a right to respond. Shying away from accountability is never a good leadership quality.
