After few years that Great Ife Students’ Union got proscribed, the ban was lifted late 2021. Another election was conducted and some persons were elected into the office of president, vice president etc and finally the elected officers were inaugurated today.
The programme commenced with the recitation of OAU anthem after which the Dean of Students’ Affairs was invited to give his speech. He started off by recognizing the dignitaries:The VC, Prof. Eyitope Ogunbodede,The University Registrar,The Librarian (Dr Femi Zaccaeus), Dr Oguntuase, Prof Isiaka, the respected Awo boys and Commissioner of Police.
Prof Aransi gave the highlight of the four days retreat where he mentioned that the VC gave a robust speech admonishing the newly elected student union leaders to follow the path of past leaders like Femi Falana and the likes. He advised them to embrace accountability.
He also made mention of other people like Dr Olabisi Ayodele, Head of the Department of Sociology and Anthropology who spoke on legislating peace in the University.The former SUG President who ran a peaceful tenure also addressed the newly elected officers. He said
“A good student union leader should consult first those around him”
He also advised them to carry along the DSA in any activity.
The Dean of Students’ Affairs further added that the reinstating of the SUG was experimental and that they should try to make the experiment work.
Finally, he wished them success as they take over the mantle of leadership.
Afterwards, a brief documentary of the election across various voting points, interview of some students, campaigns and the manifesto were projected.
A Spoken word artist, Memunat Ali was invited to give a presentation then the chairman of the electoral commission, Ajayi Oluwafemi popularly known as FM Castro gave an electoral speech where he advised the newly elected officers to be responsible and not get carried away by the euphoria of the activities. He concluded by appreciating Great Ife students for their support and those who made his stay in office a success.
Subsequently, Prof.Eyitope Ogunbodede, the VC also gave his own speech. He said his tenure was almost over hence, he wanted the SUG to be very responsible and avoid unnecessary waste of life.They should not allow people outside engineer things that would cause commotion during their tenure. He went further to commend the electoral petition commission that even though there was no petition, they have done well.
The VC concluded his speech with the remark:
“OAU is great because OAU has always been in the forefront of everything that is good in the country.The greatness of OAU is not just in Aluta”.
After he gave that speech, he further sworn-in the Speaker, Ajayi Toheeb Babatunde after which the Speaker read out the Oath for the other SUG officers to take.