Political Profile Interview: “Campus Politics Has Given Me Value”— AFAS General Secretary, Adedeji Wilhelm

Ayodele Aduwo

In this interview, Adedeji Wilhelm, General Secretary of AFAS-UI, discusses his political trajectory as a student leader. He shares his opinion on the nation’s politics and his reservations regarding the Students’ Union.

AFAS Press: Please, introduce yourself.

Adedeji: My name is Adedeji Wilhelm, I am the present General Secretary of the Association of Faculty of Arts Students, University of Ibadan. I am a core believer in the saying, “Meden Agan”, that is nothing in excess. It is like my philosophy in life, I always ensure that in everything I do, I don’t do anything in extremity or deficiency.

AFAS Press: In what capacities have you served previously?

Adedeji: So I have previously served as the Assistant General Secretary (AGS) of the National Association of Philosophy Students (NAPS). At the same time, I was the only departmental representative in the forum of Assistant General Secretaries of the Faculties, under the administration of Team Inclusivity—that is under Addo’s administration as the UISU AGS. I also served as a facilitator during the UISU Sports Festival the same year. In my 200 level, I served as the Secretary to the Director of the Socials of the Association of the Faculty of Arts Students. In that same year, I served as a member of the Association of Faculty of Art Students Academic Committee and as an examiner. I also served as a tutor on the NAPS Academic Committee. I was the Secretary of the logistics team at the UISU Freshers’ Welcome party during the Team Inclusivity administration. I was a member of the publicity team for the National Association of Osun State Students, and also Team Inclusivity under Oma as UI SU PRO. I was a member of the council of Sport-loving AFASites during the administration when the Sports director was impeached. And, presently, I am the Association of Faculty of Art Students General Secretary, and also the new Chairman of the Association’s Academic Committee. I’m also the Assistant of the Head of the AFAS Help-Desk Committee.

AFAS Press: How did your journey into politics begin?

Adedeji: My journey into campus politics started when I was in 100 level. The first time I experienced campus politics was when I and some other members of my class decided to give full support to the then President of the National Association of the Philosophy Students, in the AFAS election at that time, which was the Bambam vs Akoem election. Though it wasn’t a victory for NAPS, but that was my inception towards my own servitude and efficient work in politics. I started as an Assistant General Secretary and it paved the way for me and the rest of my political journey. I started working also, in different capacities, and my ability and capabilities have been forthcoming ever since.

AFAS Press: What is your guiding principle in campus politics?

Adedeji: Like I said earlier, I don’t really know too much about politics, but I believe in service. I always believe that it is not about how you want to help people, but it is about how you can be at people’s service. And you can only say you are/have been successful when you have carried out that service diligently. As I stated earlier, my guide to life has always been not putting anything in excess and not doing anything deficient. Keeping everything at the limit, and not overdoing or delivering subpar, doing the right thing at the right time. These are my guiding principles.

AFAS Press: Serving as the association’s General Secretary, what are the challenges you have experienced?

Adedeji: The first challenge was that there are limits to what I can do within my capacity, as prescribed by the constitution. There are also limits to what I can do as a representative of the people in the Association because I always try as much as possible to carry out some things that might not be within my capacity, but the first thing I always ensure that I do is to inform the person in that capacity of my decision to do that thing; and if I notice they are not doing anything about it, then I go ahead and do something about it. But most times, they say that they are not asking me to do it, and some people always say, “why are you doing that for me?”. Sometimes, I get challenged because I’m doing something someone else is supposed to be doing, but I don’t think there should be a limit to serving the people, because once the people have given you their mandate, there shouldn’t be a limit. There are a lot of limitations within my capacity, but I have ensured to diligently do every other thing that is within my capacity. Also, sometimes the management poses limitations, it has happened a couple of times, but still, we keep pushing on.

AFAS Press: How has campus politics impacted you positively?

Adedeji: Campus politics has helped me grow. I started as a newbie, without any knowledge of politics or anything at all, not even leadership. The campus politics has given me the value of the ability to do the right thing at the right time, diligence in service and the like. Also, it has taught me not to limit myself to some particular level, because there’s no limit to what you can achieve, so long as it’s achievable.

AFAS Press: Why did you choose to serve as the General Secretary, and not in other capacities?

Adedeji: This is a very interesting one. First, I learned that one can’t serve three times in a particular Association. I have served as the Assistant General Secretary of my department, and I have a very good knowledge of how correspondence works, so I decided to put that to work. According to the constitution that was in play, the job of the Vice President is not a position where my abilities can be put to work, and I believe I should be in a capacity where I can function properly. I mean I am someone who loves a very good academic environment where everyone can learn and grow. I don’t like sitting around, doing nothing, and I perceive the position of the Vice President is about sitting around and the likes of that. Then, for the Presidency, let me just say, that I did not want to bite more than I could chew at the moment. So that was what I perceived, which didn’t give me the audacity to go for anything Presidency at that moment.

AFAS Press: What are some of your achievements as the incumbent General Secretary?

Adedeji: Yeah, to the glory of God and the support of the people, I’ve been able to achieve those things I had never thought I would be able to achieve. Even when I was going for the position, a lot of thoughts were coming to my head, “what if I am not able to do this at the end of the day?”. But to the glory of God and the support of the people, I’ve been able to achieve a lot. The first is that I created an initiative to ensure the cleanliness of our marker boards. I started that quite late, but later on, things went as planned, and I was very happy that things were going properly. I wasn’t able to achieve a very great feat in regards to the students’ academy, because I had a little limitation. The first limitation was that the committee wasn’t established by my office, so I couldn’t do anything in regards to that, because I believe I should have capable hands in place. And about the tutorial, my work was limited when the Vice President took over. Also, we did the cleaning of the Secretariat; but as time went by, the door broke down recently. The solution we sought the other time wasn’t sustainable, so we are looking forward to a sustainable solution this time around. And about digitization; the e-library expansion is in place presently, but some other departments are not ready to give out their materials and stuff like that, but I don’t know why, but we will keep working to get that in place. Thank God, everything has been very good.

AFAS Press: How would you describe students’ sense of inclusion in AFAS?

Adedeji: So about the sense of inclusion, the association is supposed to be an all-inclusive one, and that’s exactly the definition of an association. So, the first thing I’d like to hammer out is that a lot of people had reservations about the administration before ours, and I think that contention and rivalry are the reason for that apathy. So, some people are not interested in anything that has to do with the association and the administration itself, but we should not forget that whatever concerns the association and the administration, concerns us all. So, this disparity led to disorientation, which the new students came into and got that impression, and that made them also distance themselves a very long yard away from what the association could offer them. But I think the first thing we should understand and do is to try to have a kind of orientation that cuts across every level and every department, informing them of the need to be associated with the administration, because there’s no way we want to isolate ourselves from the administration and expect the administration to grow. Also, as the Executives, I think we can always do better, yes.

AFAS Press: How would you rate the current Students Union leadership led by Samuel Samson Tobiloba?

Adedeji: About the Student Union leadership, there is a saying that we always put forward whenever we are vying for a position. We say, “they should perceive us as humans, and they shouldn’t believe we can do it alone. They shouldn’t believe that the stress is easy for us also” but we shouldn’t forget that we swore an allegiance, we swore a covenant that we will be doing this and that when we win the position. The Students Union hasn’t been what we thought it was going to be. Over the two or three years that I have spent on this campus, they haven’t been what we expected them to be. It is supposed to be a students’ union, I mean, a body where everyone can feel safe, where everyone can have a say in everything that has to do with them because, in the end, every decision made still has to do with the students. If the Students’ Union cannot serve the purpose of representing the students in the place of decision-making, then what’s the essence of the Students’ Union? Over the years, well, they’ve been trying.

I don’t think it’s normal for the UI SU to focus on acquiring a bus when we have some other pending issues like the state of the Students Union building. The SRC Chamber is not something to write home about when it comes to the state of furniture and interior setting. It should be something they should look into, instead of selling three dilapidated buses to buy another one and having their names inscribed on the bus. It’s not too good. So that’s it, I don’t have too much to say. I think the Union is neglecting what it is supposed to do, to do something else.

AFAS Press: How would you describe Nigeria’s mainstream politics?

Adedeji: I have a lot to say about mainstream politics, but my worldview is a bit complex, because I always like to look at the root of every problem first, before finding a durable solution. I think it’s a kind of politics where everyone wants to take whatever they want to take, leave, and never implement what they promised they would do. And there are the few ones that are good and genuinely want to perform their duties as expected, but how can they get a chance when the majority care more about their pockets and other selfish interests? It’s a case of the uninterested and bad ones outnumbering those who want better for the country. So that’s the first thing about mainstream politics that I would like to point out.

Another thing is that the root cause of most of our problems has not been deciphered, in fact, we have decided not to look into the root cause of our problems. Rather, we have decided to go on with whatever we have, with whatever is thrown at us, and just make do with them. I think that is what led us to where we are presently. The economic issue and every other crisis is based on the fact that a lot of people have decided to persevere in the ruins, and are decided to be indifferent about the state of the nation.

Also, asides the set of people who have their pockets full—people who can afford necessities as well as luxuries, no matter the economic state, some people do not find all these problems bearable at all and they are at the bottom of the chain; they are the ones who should be focused on. Not everyone can afford ‘japa’, and they deserve an environment that protects them. I mean, look at the situation of the country— the insecurity, economic crisis constant hike in prices, deteriorating education system, etc. In fact, no sector is in an impressive or even manageable condition, not even the power sector or the housing sector.
Our government is not doing anything, they are just in power to amass every single benefit. I always wonder why senators should be acquiring SUVs and other luxuries when they are supposed to be utilising the funds for the improvement of the country.

So, I have a lot of things to say when it comes to mainstream politics, but time may not permit me. So, instead of looking at the problem outwardly, we should look at it intrinsically—where exactly does this problem come from? Let us look for solutions to the causes of the problems, not accepting everything that comes our way and persevering, persevering, persevering, and in the end, nothing is coming out of our perseverance.

AFAS Press: There are students probably looking up to you. What piece of advice would you give students who would like to venture into campus politics?

Adedeji: The first advice will always be, whatever you know you are not capable of doing, don’t venture into it, because you are going to be having thousands of people as your responsibility. And if you know you can’t carry the load, just don’t go into it and end up disappointing them. So, the best thing is to groom yourself and ensure that you have that leadership quality that can afford you that position you are interested in. Ensure you have a good heart, because it is even a good heart that should lead you to make promises and ensure that you fulfil the promises. If you can’t serve people, if you can’t put your energy and efforts into anything, for the service of others, then, why are you going into politics?
Student politics is not something you venture with the mentality that you are going to be enjoying some frivolous years ahead. No, it is a place you go to learn and even unlearn those things you thought you had known from the past. And then, it is of service to others— an efficient one, a diligent one, and definitely not one that you just sit around and watch the things play out. Don’t be a lazy and inefficient leader.