AFAS Leadership And the Penchant for Passing the Mug: Reflections on the State of Facilities

The tumbler will be empty in no time, the soberness will return, and the problem will remain, you only forgot…

When the purpose of a thing is being misplaced, abuse definitely is inevitable. Africa, as a case study, is notorious for misplacing the purpose of things, and narrowing it down to Nigeria, it seems as though the very seat of abuse has its legs firmly fixed in Nigeria. The painful and regrettable thing about the Nigerian situation is that, even when the purpose is known, there is this innate desire to abuse things, to abuse everything. Nigerians are very quick to blame and seldom willing to bear the burden of responsibilities, so, together with this innate desire to abuse things, are the implicit or explicit hypocritical elements in their disposition. There is this quickness to blame the Nigerian government for every single problem an average Nigerian is faced with. Be it in the person’s personal life, workplace, interrelations with others, or even romantic relationships at some point, there is always a way to link it to the fault of the Nigerian government, as it should be, right? However, it seems that Nigerians have forgotten that the system or, better still, the ideology of government in Nigeria is that of democracy. And by implications of the definition of democracy, which is, according to Abraham Lincoln, a government “Of the people, by the people, for the people”. It is quite a wonder if the Nigerian mass, to the least seemingly insignificant individual member making up the masses, really understands this definition in its depth and in its totality. It is a government of the people, an emphasis on “by the people…”, that is, the government should be run collectively, hence, everyone has a responsibility to play in their own capacity no matter how minor it seems, it is a valid contribution, as long as it benefits fellow citizens or members of the society/community we belong to, be it as an institution, an organisation, body, or an association.

Now talking about associations, bringing it down to the Faculty of Arts, normally, some problems should not be heard of within the faculty. Some of these problems are forgivable when they occur in the Faculty of Sciences or that of Technology, and other non-art-inclined faculties (no offence intended). Even faculties of Economics and The Social Sciences, to an extent, are not expected to have problems beyond the degree that is expected juxtaposed with non-art-inclined faculties. And this is a result of the faulty default design of the Nigerian academic curriculum, as making sure students are politically inclined, especially in matters that have to do with the government they belong to which controls almost every external aspect of their lives, to the impacting of their internal lives, have been confined to the arts department in Nigerian secondary schools, and almost no attempt to rectify this fault in tertiary institutions. Hence, it becomes an intellectual sore, when as an art student, coming to the Faculty of Arts, and consequently belonging to the Association of Faculty of Arts Students, not stopping there, but proceeding further to run for political post in the Faculty, certain minor issues still stands as a major issue in the faculty.

It should be understood, that among other things, one of the purpose and relevance of students associations on campus is to make the whole learning process a more productive one. Of this being more productive, it is expected that the student body or association will look more closely at seemingly little matters in the faculty to help improve the mode of learning at nuances where the faculty management fails to see to. The student association should look into these things, and make sure to mitigate these problems as efficiently and effectively as possible. Hence, the Association of Faculty of Arts Students, being what it is, in the faculty it belongs to, ought to understand this first as a primary function before any other thing. By further implications, the onus now rests on the Executive Council of the association to see to these minor things that can be done in the faculty, by the association, to improve the learning productivity of students in the faculty.

Now looking into some issues in the faculty that need mitigation, and as the faculty management is seemingly indifferent to these things, will not be too much of a project or initiative the Executives of the association can embark upon, or in the minimum attempt. And that is a sight in the faculty, that is fast becoming an eyesore, is the sight and state of the whiteboards used for lectures in the faculty. Unfortunately, the whiteboards in the New Faculty Complex (NFC Building), are beginning to look almost like an aged long abandoned equipment, in just less than two years of active usage. Although, there has been a reduction in the abuse of smart boards installed in the faculty, however, permanent markers have been used on some of these whiteboards, which are always very difficult to rub off, as permanent markers are not even meant to be used on them in the first place. In another instance, when these boards have been used, they are left without being wiped off, of which after a while, especially during the harmattan season, even these recommended temporary markers also become very difficult to wipe off from these boards. While on another hand, there are utterly no dusters or cleaning tools provided for use to wipe these whiteboards after every use. 

Another issue, bedevilling the Faculty of Arts, is the issue of toilets. This toilet issue can be conveniently said to be a protracted one, from one executive tenure to the next. First, it was the perpetual obnoxious smell from male toilets in the faculty, to the point that students had to hasten their steps as they approached the veranda leading to rooms 34, 33, and 32 (SLT). Now, it is alarmingly becoming an issue of females using the male’s toilet. Furthermore, as if that is not enough, the exact same incident of both genders sharing the same toilet is fast becoming a normal sight in the newly built, New Faculty Complex, which is equally a perpetually awkward experience an average AFASite goes through daily. To worsen the case at the NFC, the new toilets have neither bowls nor buckets to aid the usage of these facilities. Until when will the Executive Council of the Association of Faculty of Arts Students, take this matter as a serious matter, until hideous occurrences start happening? 

The last issue this piece will be spotlighting, which is not the least, is the excruciating experience AFASites have always been subjected to in terms of internet connectivity. Although this issue seems a major issue and not quite a minor issue. Nevertheless, it can also be categorised as one of the protracted problems students of the faculty have had as an academic plague. Why the issue of stable internet connectivity should be a concern of the Executive Council of the association is because the University of Ibadan operates a blended mode of learning, a mixture of both virtual and physical classes. In fact, some tests are taken online, and there have been instances students had to carry over a course as a result of network failure or downtime during these online tests or while submitting these online tests. 

In all, it will be foolery on the part of the Executive Council to begin to give headless excuses and reasons why looking into these issues are not feasible. These issues have been protracted, and are as old as any AFASite can think of at the moment. There has been a massive development in the upgrade of technology in the last decade, especially since COVID-19. Therefore, for the sake of emphasis, it is a complete and total show of ineptitude on the part of the students’ leaders if, even at the least, an attempt has not been made to check on what can be done on the issue like that of internet connectivity. On another hand, if the student leaders can resort to setting up as many committees as possible to see whatever their ambitions in the faculty are, nothing is stopping them from setting up functional committees to see to a seeming issue of maintenance of whiteboards in classes across the faculty. While on that of the toilet issues. If the President of the faculty is quick to approach the Faculty Management on disciplinary actions intended for him from the FLC, it has still not entered his mind to solicit the faculty’s management in mitigating issues of aiding the seamless usage of toilets within the faculty, either in the old faculty or the new faculty building. If the major issues like internet connectivity seem quite a task, at the very minimum least, foundational work/attempts can be made to see to the solving of the internet connectivity in the faculty, while the next tenure sees to its completion. The options of sponsors and even trying to call the attention of these service providers to assist in mitigating the problem of internet connectivity is also a pliable plan, however, whatever the situation may be, something can be done, or attempts can be made. 

Now that students’ dues paid to the faculty’s association have been squandered on organising parties and needlessly less productive and less impactful events, students in the faculty should simply remember the parties, and fruitless events when the whiteboard in room 33 falls to the ground. And as virtual classes remain less feasible within the faculty, let students understand that a lot of their money needs to be squandered on futilities. As the convenience in the faculty becomes very inconvenient and unconducive, let them remember, there is nothing the Executive Council of the Association of Faculty of Arts Students can do, it is not within their power and jurisdiction to do so. What can be done is to continue to pass the tumbler of beer, to drink and forget the problems, emphasis on “forget” the problem, not solve the problem.