Editorial: Beyond the Aweda Bolaji Precedent: Will the May 17 Congress Chart a New Course?
L-R: Odedele Covenant, incumbent UI’SU President; Aweda Bolaji, Erstwhile UI’SU President
The only thing new in the world is the history you do not know _ Harry S. Truman
On May 1, 2025, the University of Ibadan Students’ Union convened a town hall meeting aimed at addressing the growing concerns over the increasingly burdensome school fees and other pressing issues troubling students. At the town hall meeting, it was resolved that the union will compile and present all the concerns raised, together with the faculty and departmental presidents report, to the school management for immediate attention and necessary action.
Additionally, it was reportedly noted that a student congress would likely be conveyed on or before Saturday, May 10 to address the broader student community. However, as of the time of writing this piece, no official statement has been released by the union to inform the students on the feedbacks gotten from its meeting with the management. In stark contrast, what has dominated the front pages and platforms of the Students’ Union is the promotion of the Freshers’ Week, ignoring the core issues currently troubling students.
In a new revelation, on Saturday, May 10, during the Students’ Representatives Council sitting, the Students’ Union presidential, Covenant Odedele presented the Union’s report, followed by a deliberation, a call for Congress was ratified by the Council to be held on Saturday, May 17, to allow students express their concerns regarding fee increment and other related issues.
According to the University of Ibadan Students’ Union constitution, the student congress is the highest decision making body of the students and its resolutions override any decisions not in alignment with the will of the congress. The congress is a constitutional assembly of students within a university or tertiary institutions, where issues affecting the student body are debated and critically assessed. The congress holds absolute political power and ensures prevailing issues are attended to with utmost consideration and democratic principles.
However, recent happenings surrounding the calling, handling of congresses, and upholding the resolutions demand that we, student leaders and students, hold the forthcoming congress in high esteem, as it is a constitutional gathering of students that determines the course of our journey on campus.Therefore, it is imperative that we issue a reminder to the Odedele-led current administration not to thread the similar unconstitutional and repulsive path Aweda took.
From a closer look, the calls of the forthcoming May 17 congress and the August 25, 2024 congress were not born out of contrasting circumstances, but rather stemmed from a shared reality: the persistent, burdensome, and inexplicable increment in school fees, coupled with welfare factors and the quest for true representation and accountability from student leaders.
It all began in the aftermath of the July 16th & 17th students-led protests where students took to the streets to demand reversal of the increased fee and improvement in the living learning conditions. Following this was a letter signed by over two hundred and fifty students (as stipulated by the constitution) addressed to Aweda, demanding a congress to be convened on Saturday, July 27, to review the course of the actions taken during the protest and to chart a way forward in the struggle. Sadly, Aweda neither reacted nor acknowledged the valid 250 signatories, giving the excuse of the short notice and the need for the verification of the signatories. This disregard prompted eight students to formally petition the SU leadership (executive council and the SRC), demanding the immediate call for the overdue congress and the urgent assessment of the July 16 and 17 demonstrations.
However, quite grudgingly, it took 28 days from the submission of the first letter for Aweda to call for a congress., to be held on August, 17 2024. Before that, the Students’ Representatives Council already gave Aweda a 3-day ultimatum, to lapse on. August 2nd, to call for Congress. Unfortunately, the congress initially slated to hold by 7:00 am didn’t start until about five (5) hours later due to the low publicity surrounding the congress. For the May 17 election, it was decided that the Public Relations Officer, Adekanmbi Ezekiel, must utilize the resources at his disposal to ensure the congress gets maximum publicity. This was not spontaneous, but an idea born out of the bitter experience of the low publicity given to the August 17 congress.
As if logistics failure was not enough to dampen the spirit of the congress, the situation took a different turn when he could no longer bear the resolutions being made on his behalf, Aweda stormed out of the students during the heat of the congress, leaving the attendees in dismay and disbelief.
To make matters worse, Aweda Bolaji went to doctored the resolutions of the very congress he had walked out on. Despite several attempts to make him amend this incorrectness, he didn’t budge. Tragically, his actions and inactions have contributed significantly to the current crises plaguing the University of Ibadan Student community.
Auspicious or Suspicious Times?
As the bearer of the auspicious times political campaign, one cannot help but wonder what exactly is auspicious about this perilous time for students—a time when students keep battling with unaffordable fees that has forced some to drop out while others remain indebted to loans; a time of electricity supply, exploitation of students by road transport workers, poor living and learning conditions, among others.
Interestingly, during his pre-election interview with a UCJUI correspondent, Odedele Covenant revealed that his motivation to lead stemmed from a passion to educate and contribute to the development of students in the University of Ibadan. He went further to pledge he would consistently uphold the stance of the students in negotiation with the school management, carry out periodic congress in a creative way, while “being a president that would ensure would ensure the day to day challenges of the students are very much attended to.”
Those who do not know history are doomed to repeat it_ Geroge Santayana
As of the time of writing this piece, the Odedele-led administration has yet to release a statement confirming the congress nor has any formal publicity been embarked upon. This silence raises an unsettling question: has Covenant forgotten that a congress is set to hold on May 17 or has he chosen to go by the Aweda’s discredited tactics of riding on short notice and bulaba.
Notably, the purpose of this piece is neither to provoke public sentiments against Odedele Covenant nor to prematurely condemn his administration. Rather, it serves as a call to responsibility, to keep him on his toes as the leader of all the University of Ibadan students, with his office not immune to scrutiny, criticism or accountability. Covenant must take a deliberate step to depart from the bad precedents—late calling of congress, walking out on the congress, falsification of congress resolution, unilaterally misrepresenting student interest —laid down by Aweda, and must ensure to forge the right path suitable to represent and support the students against the various crises.
