By UCJ UI Election Watchroom
While future events may not be told with certainty, they may be predicted with a high level of accuracy. When the odds are good, it is called hope and optimism. When bad, it is rather not said. After all, man should not use his mouth to profess negativity. But profession or not, the touch of hope that shines brightly will still glimmer and slowly end in tenebrosity.
In the last school year at the University of Ibadan, one phrase filled the air that students breathed. “Auspicious Times” appeared on walls and notice boards. It showed up on WhatsApp statuses and in UI social media groups. It even crept into the dreams of those who longed for real change in how the Students’ Union, known as UISU, was run. Before this, school fees had gone up sharply, and student complaints fell on deaf ears. The words “Auspicious Times” rang out loud, growing stronger when Covenant Odedele was named the winner. He received 4,572 votes, beating Oluwole Ayomide, who got 1,561 votes. The election in February 2025 saw 12 people run for eight top roles, and Odedele, often called “Visionary,” promised a fresh start for the over 30,000 students on campus. Many believed his words would bring action on key problems like fees and welfare.
Inauguration, Early Tests, and Lingering Hurts
On 7 March 2025, Covenant Odedele took the oath of office with seven other leaders of the executive council. The new team faced tough tests right away. One big issue was getting students to accept the NELFUND loan scheme. This government programme aimed to help pay fees, but many students did not trust it. They saw it as a way to push debt on young people instead of fixing the root causes of high costs. By May, the Students’ Union leaders released a statement pushing students to apply for NELFUND, which went against what many expected from a union meant to fight for free or low-cost education. The union’s stance clashed with past Congress decisions that rejected fee hikes and loan plans as unfair burdens.
Critics say NELFUND lets the government off the hook for funding schools properly. It turns education into a loan business, leaving graduates in debt for years, much like in other countries, where even leaders like Barack Obama paid off loans long after school. At UI, the union’s push for it felt like a betrayal, especially when fees jumped to over N400,000 for some courses the year before. Another sore point was the ongoing trial of three students known as the UI3: Aduwo Ayodele, Mide Gbadegesin, and Nice Linus. Their trouble started in May 2024, right after the previous union leaders were sworn in. At that event, they held up signs against the fee rise, a peaceful act to highlight student pain. Though few students spoke out loud, they hoped the new leaders would step up and defend them. Instead, Odedele’s UISU stayed quiet or took soft diplomatic steps that seemed to side with the school. At a September congress, the president said the students did not show up for a disciplinary meeting, shifting blame.
The UI3 case dragged on into 2025. Aduwo and Gbadegesin got four-semester suspensions on 14 July. Linus faced disqualification from the Students’ Representative Council (SRC) while her studentship still hangs in the air as the students’ disciplinary council is yet to make a decision. Groups like Amnesty International slammed the punishments, calling for their end and upholding the right to protest. The Federal University Oye-Ekiti Students’ Union joined in, demanding reinstatement and joining the #FeesMustFall push. This silence bred doubt: if local leaders won’t stand for student-activists, who will they stand for? And who will stand for students?
Money Troubles and Questions of Trust
Even though the SRC cleared the leaders indicted in a three-part UCJ UI report, the damage to trust lingers. The first big claim hit hard: the President, General Secretary, and Treasurer, as signatories to the Union’s account, were alleged to have taken a N2 million loan from the Central Bank of Nigeria without SRC okay. They were also alleged to have moved millions of Naira to the Treasurer’s personal account. At the 20 September congress, the union executives said the money went to union work, and was not embezzled. But reports from the audit committee painted a different picture that hardly anyone would have believed otherwise. The SRC hit them with seven days of community service for breaking rules, but not for theft, as they were later found not to have embezzled any money.
The second issue involved Assistant General Secretary Emmanuel Olawoye. His role was to plan welcome events for new students, but audits found gaps in his records worth N1.5 million. Both the audit and event monitoring committees spotted mismatches and stated that he did not provide sufficient proof for spending when summoned. Upon proper scrutiny by the council, he was cleared of all charges but penalised for ‘procedural breaches’ and lack of communication between him and the committees that indicted him. This raised fears of fund misuse in core student activities. The House Secretary, Seun Adeyemi, was equally cleared of misconduct and penalised for ‘procedural breaches’, with the council recommending him to do better in informing the council even in cases where he has to spend money urgently. The three instances could have been averted if the executives had communicated better with the SRC and its committees.
Then came the dinner on 19 October at the International Conference Centre, part of UISU Week. What should have been a highlight turned sour. Students paid N3,000 each but left hungry, no food served properly, just complaints across campus. Days later, the union apologised in a memo, blaming the late purchase of tickets. The UISU Week, meant to build unity, instead sparked anger over basics like feeding people who paid up. These money woes point to deeper flaws: lack of open books, ignored checks, and leaders who act alone. In a union funded by student dues, every naira counts. Past admins faced similar claims, but Odedele’s team promised better. Instead, probes show a pattern of shortcuts that erode faith.
A Growing Fear of Being Left Alone
The worry of leaders turning away from those they should support spreads like a disease among students. It starts small but grows, leaving the union weak. At UI, this fear shows in low turnout at meetings, quiet chats in halls, and doubt in every memo. When the UI3 fought fees and got punished, the silence from Odedele hurt more than the suspensions. When NELFUND failed thousands, the union’s push for it felt like siding with the problem, not solving it. And when events flop, or funds vanish, apologies come too late.
This is not just about one team. It reflects how unions can lose sight of their job: to speak for students, hold power to account, and build community. Odedele ran on vision and change, vowing to tackle welfare head-on. Yet nine months in, the shine of “Auspicious Times” has dulled. Congresses get cancelled by leaders, like the one in September meant to fix fee talks. Press queries go unanswered, from missing students to protests. It leaves UITES asking: Is this how to run a students’ union?
