Mellanby Hall Chairman- Bada Lateef
The outcome of a football match cannot be determined before it is played. At best, one can only surmise from the methods the players adopt, what the outcome of the match will be. As it is with football match, so it is with the running of an administration.
That explains why the Mellanby Hall Press has stood at the sidelines watching passively how this administration is being run. Though ardent fans, we have deliberately avoided all forms of guesswork. We believe that the players should be given the leeway to strategize and exhibit the best of their skills. However, having watched Captain Bada Lateef and his Changez team for a while, we have decided to step in to do a quick evaluation of the administration. Where need be, we will suggest some realistic approaches to this administration. They cannot undo the steps that have been taken and the goals that have been missed but they can make some modifications so that the match will end successfully.
There seems to be a sudden legislative revival in some halls of residence and Mellanby Hall legislative council is not left behind. Some weeks ago, we heard of the suspension of the Tedder Hall chairman and Independence Hall Administrator General over allegations of misappropriation of funds and maladministration. The Mellanby HLC recently invited some members of the executive council to give accounts of their stewardship. It is commendable that such is emanating from a house whose languor has raised serious apprehension in the Hall.
First, we need to take a quick look at the House. The House since its inception on 28th June, 2014, has been quiescent. Having been in a somnolent state for the past three years, one will expect that the new honourable members will bring vibrancy and resuscitate the house. The reverse has regrettably been the case. The silence of the house on pertinent issues is deafening. In fact, they released their first publication last week.
A visit by Mellanby Hall Press to the last sitting of the house revealed to her chagrin that the house is really dying gradually. It was observed that the speaker has not attended any sitting this semester. The clerk was also absent at the meeting. Furthermore, at the last sitting, rather than address issues that are pertinent to the welfare of Mellanbites, some members of the House were more interested in their personal welfare and the fact that the executive council has only given them N15,000 out of the N 110,000 they requested in their budget. Some did not even come with writing materials.
The height of it is the fact that some members of the Legislative House do not own a copy of the Mellanby Hall Constitution! The constitution being the grundnorm of the hall is the most important tool in the trade of the legislator. A situation where honourable members do not possess it goes a long way to prove the assertion that many of these honourables contested to secure bedspaces. How will they legislative effectively for the hall and be a competent watchdog of the executives when it is not knowledgeable in the law. This is a call to action. The house should sit up and be more proactive.
On the other hand, the executive council has not fared any better. The most commendable thing about this administration is their ability to conceal their deficiencies. Worrisome is the fact that they are making more efforts to conceal their defects than they are to correct them.
The government is far from the people. The hallmark of every government should be the ability to carry the led along in their activities. That is not the case for Mellanby Hall executive council. It is on record that there has not been any congress this semester. The constitution designates the congress as the supreme decision making body of the hall (Section 8), yet many decisions have been taken without a Congress being held in the hall.
The citizens are left guessing what the government has in store for them. No feedback whatsoever. These past weeks when the hall seem to be suffering from serious electricity problems, it appears our executives were not making any efforts with the other hall executives to ameliorate the pains of the people. There was never a time when the hall chairman or any of the other members of the executive council informed the people of the efforts being made to resolve the issue. There is a joy inherent in knowing that we have a set of leaders who take the issue of our welfare seriously. Alas! Mellanbites have been denied this joy.
Again, the welfare of the people seems not to be paramount. It is not unusual to hear the interior minister saying that it is not his responsibility to pump water in the tanks. As a result of this we see that there is usually no water sometimes in the morning even when there has been light all through the night.
We must admit that despite the numerous shortcomings, the administration is not a total write off. We must commend their efforts in certain areas especially with respect to the purchase of a new generator, the repair of the notice boards and the repair of the public address system.
As the hall week draws closer, we advise that efforts should be made to make it a memorable one. The executives should look beyond the overt glamour and exhibitionism that have characterised previous hall weeks but should rather plan for ways to impart on the lives of Mellanbites. Unnecessary expenditures should be avoided. The executives should hold programmes that have educational and social benefits for the members. These programmes should be well organized and programmes which are impossible to organise should not be held. Rather than wasting money to organizing lifeless programmes, such programmes should be totally disregarded.
It is said that a people get the leaders they deserve. The complacency of the people will ultimately transform into complacency for those at the top. If the people should sit up and demand good leadership, the leaders will sit up and lead well. The people who are being led should demand the dividends of good leadership and should not keep mute when things are going awry.
We leave you with this saying: “Every job is a self-portrait of the person who did it. Autograph your work with excellence.” The things we do now will definitely outlive us. Posterity awaits!
Complaints, comments, suggestions, rejoinders and requests should be sent to mellanbypressui@gmail.com
Speaker, Mellanby Hall
