By Motunrayo Oderinde.
On June 4, 2024, the president-elect of the Archaeology and Anthropology Student Association held a meeting with the Stakeholders committee on whatsapp, where various matters of discussion as it concerns the administration of the department, and students’ affairs were tabled in the meeting. Issues such as, the collection of the basic package for the 2022/2023 academic session- which took the larger portion of discourse, payment and breakdown of dues, and the creation of specialized groups and a departmental TV.
In pursuance of the issue of the collection of basic package, on June 9, 2024, the Press had separate virtual interviews with the former president, Kehinde Joshua, and the President-elect, Tochi John. The interview conducted at different hours helped to shed some light on the matter. Although, there were certain disparities in their responses, they both, however, gave some assurance to a certain extent.
During the Stakeholders meeting, the president-elect addressed the house and then directly addressed the package issue, stating that they- himself and the other executives, are still working on obtaining packages from the previous tenure. He clarified that, as the then General Secretary, he was not responsible for packages, but the President and Vice President were working on it. Prior to his interview with the press, he stated during the meeting with the stakeholders that getting the package was a 50/50 chance of success, but during his interview with the press, he mentioned that they were now making progress, which he gave a success rate of 7 out of 10.
During the Stakeholders meeting, the Chairman of the Committee- Honorable Solafunmi Alawusa, expressed annoyance, insisting that something concrete must be done about the packages, as students cannot continue to pay dues without receiving due benefits. She emphasized that, “This is unacceptable; something must be done about it!” Other committee members shared their anger and demanded that efficient action be taken on the matter. One member suggested that the president-elect involve the former president to resolve the issue, so as to ensure that his administration wouldn’t be faulted. The President-elect responded by expressing his concerns on how he has been painstakingly working with the former president on the issue.
He explained that one of the issues they are facing is getting funds for the package. He further explained this issue during the press interview, saying, “I will only know tomorrow after my meeting with the Liaison Officer- Mr. Akinsete, concerning getting access to the association’s account, as the only thing left now is getting funds for the package.” He commented on their inability to access the association’s account. When asked how he plans to ensure this matter is resolved adequately and not swept under the rug like the past two administrations, he replied, “I’m working on it to ensure every student gets their package once they resume. The 2022/2023 administration will surely deliver their package.” If this is true or just another false promise is yet to be known.
However, the interview with the former president took a new turn as he had his own opinion on the cause of the delay, which was not mentioned by the President-elect. The interview started with the press inquiring from the former president, the reason for the delay in students getting their package. In his words, “it is quite unfortunate that the distribution of packages has to be this long. But it should be noted that three major problems contributed to the delay.” He stressed that the student package was delayed because of “low turnout on the payment of basic dues, increase in price of commodity, and the inability to access the association’s account.”
He explained that the executives do not have access to the association’s account, which is in the care of the Liaison Officer. He also confirmed that they were currently working with the new administration, which has partial access to the account already. This statement corroborates the new President’s statement that all hands have been on deck concerning the issue.
On a final note, he stated that, “as a realistic person, I pray it yields soon…”
The interview ended with the press asking two rather sensitive questions. One, “what do you have to say concerning the rumour of your administration treasurer embezzling the association funds?” Two, “what will you do if you find out through the bank statement that student fees were tampered with?” In response, he stated that, “well, as we don’t have access to the account to know how much we have in total except the one in our records, I won’t like to comment on that. We only collected cash from the students at the onset of the administration, and after the freshers welcome, every other funds were being remitted to the account, which were later shifted through bank tranfer to the association’s account, and we have the documents of people that paid with the receipts to back it. As far as I and my executives are concerned, we do not have any record of recklessness with funds or embezzlement rather, what we have is a situation where, we had to reimburse funds even from our own pockets. On the second question, I prefer not to say anything concerning that…”
The disparities seem to outweigh the corroborative guarantee of a positive outcome, and it seems like the fate of the basic package being collected from the last administration hangs in the balance. Shall we continue to hold out hope and allow for the benefit of doubt, as it concerns the integrity of the Kehinde-led administration? Or shall we let bygones be just that, and anticipate what the Tochi-led administration has in store for the student body?
AASA PRESS UI 