by Oluseun Fatope
Historically, the University of Ibadan Students’ Union (UI’SU) has stood as a beacon of organised student resistance and intellectual advocacy in Nigeria. From the hallowed halls of Kunle Adepeju Building, the Union has traditionally wielded its influence through a very specific medium: the official letterhead. For decades, a signed memo from the SU President wasn’t just a piece of paper; it was a manifesto, a directive, and a shield for the average UIte.
However, under the current administration led by Adeboye Temidayo (T.S. Adeboye), a troubling shift has occurred. The official communication that bridges the gap between the executive and the students has seemingly been replaced by a digital mirage. There is a growing, palpable suspicion that the current council is suffering from a chronic absence of accountability, masquerading as modern accessibility. By trading formal institutional presence for the ephemeral nature of social media, the Temidayo-led council is not just changing how they talk to us; they are fundamentally altering what it means to lead.
From Calculated Presence to Aesthetic Newsletters
What we know before now is that UI’SU executives have addressed issues with what could be described as “calculated presence.” Even when past administrations are being agenda-driven or using overly verbose, incomprehensible jargon to mask a lack of action, they at least respected the gravity of the Student Union letterhead paper. Those documents served as a formal record of the Union’s stance on school fees, welfare, and victimisation.
Under the Temidayo tenure, however, the letterhead has been relegated to the status of a monthly magazine. It has become a vehicle for “Monthly Newsletters,” glossy summaries of activities that feel more like PR campaigns than administrative accountability. When actual, pressing issues face the students, be it the hike in auxiliary fees or the deteriorating state of campus security, or the erratic power supply, the letterhead is nowhere to be found. The Union seems more interested in documenting its existence through “vibe-check” newsletters than in addressing the systemic failures of the university management through formal, documented protest or negotiation.
The Covenant Legacy vs. The Temidayo Shift
To understand the depth of the current communicative decay, one must look back at the Covenant Odedele-led Council. While Odedele was no stranger to the usage of a WhatsApp status, he can be said to be the innovator, he understood the hierarchy of communication. Major issues were met with the weight of the Union’s seal. There was a clear distinction between a personal update and a presidential directive.
Temidayo has not just changed this approach; he has arguably worsened it. The current president has effectively transitioned the SU leadership into a “WhatsApp-mainly” entity. Crucial matters affecting the lives of thousands of students are now relegated to a typed message in a WhatsApp chat box or a series of slides on a status update, often accompanied by a digital fancy ‘E-signed title, “T.S Adeboye”.’
This is not digital transformation, but institutional laziness. By moving the Union’s primary voice to a platform that disappears in 24 hours, the administration avoids the historical scrutiny that comes with archived, formal documents.
The Danger of the Digital Signature
The “WhatsApp-ification” of the UI’SU is not just an aesthetic problem; it is a security and credibility nightmare. When a Union President decides that his primary mode of communication is his WhatsApp status or a WhatsApp broadcast message, he invites several systemic risks; in an era of deepfakes and easy screenshot manipulation, a WhatsApp message is the easiest form of communication to forge. Without the physical markers of a formal letter, the dry-ink signature, and the official stamp, any malicious actor can circulate a “typed” message claiming to be from the President.
Accountability requires a trail. A WhatsApp status is ephemeral. It allows the leadership to “say” something without truly “committing” to it in the eyes of history. It creates a culture where the Union can backtrack on promises by simply letting the status expire.
The Customer Care Delusion
The fundamental misunderstanding of the Temidayo-led council is the definition of their role. The UI’SU Leadership office is not a customer care service position.
Customer Care communicates hourly to soothe frustrations and manage “brand” reputation while leadership communicates to organise, to protect, and to demand change.
The constant barrage of WhatsApp messages and status updates, adorned with the fancy “T.S. Adeboye” digital signature, provides a false sense of activity. It feels like the Union is “working” because they are “posting.” But updating a status is not updating a policy.
The students of the University of Ibadan do not need a “Social Media Manager” in the President’s office; they need a President who understands that true accountability is written in ink, backed by action, and delivered through the formal channels that the university management is forced to respect.
If the current executive council continues to hide behind the blue light of a smartphone screen, they will find that when the history of this Union is written, their legacy will be as fleeting as a WhatsApp status—viewed for a moment, then gone forever. It is time for the Adeboye-led council to put down the phone and pick up the mantle of leadership. Real power isn’t found in a “view count”; it is found in the courage to hold the line, on and off the paper.
EDITOR’S NOTE: During the course of writing this story, several efforts were made to reach out to the SU president as what he has to answer on the subject of this story, but he did not respond to any of the messages.
