Great Ife Students' Union Takes Swift Action to Address Unjust Locking of E-Portals

By Adegboyega Ifeoluwa [Ifelaw PR]

Great Ife Students' Union has taken immediate action in response to the recent incident involving the unjust locking of some students' e-portals.

In a press release by the Great Ife Students' Union P.R.O.; Omisore Elijah (H20), the union has demonstrated its commitment to promptly resolving the issue and advocating for the affected students. By engaging with the authorities, the Students' Union has successfully secured a commitment to reopen the affected portals by August 18th. Recognizing the importance of preventing future irregularities, they have proposed the establishment of a panel to investigate the incident and implement preventative measures.

Announcing this action in a press release, the Great Ife Students' Union is prepared to take further steps if the promised actions are not fulfilled within the designated timeframe. 

However, they urge students to remain cooperative during this process. Assuring students that their concerns will be addressed, the union emphasizes that their voices will be heard throughout the investigation and decision-making process.

Through its swift response to this incident and active commitment to finding a resolution, the Great Ife Students' Union showcases its dedication to the well-being and rights of its members.

Great Ife Students' Union Announces Regulated Price List to Combat Extortion

By Ifeoluwa Adegboyega (IfelawPR)

In a bid to tackle the issue of extortion, Great Ife Students' Union has unveiled a new regulated price list. 

This announcement comes as a response to reports of some motorcycle operators taking advantage of students by imposing inflated fees.

Great Ife Students' Union; In a press release, emphasized the importance of adhering to the new price list and warned against falling victim to deceitful practices. By implementing this regulated price list, the union aims to eradicate instances of extortion within the OAU community.

Please find the students' union's recently published report below:

"We are using this medium to inform our union members about the approved and agreed prices.

We are very much aware of their cunning acts, and sometimes they being adamant in nature, to pitch forth their individual and self-centeredness hiked fee, beware union members, and do not be bamboozled...."

However, to ensure the effectiveness of these measures, Great Ife Students Union has requested the cooperation of OAU students. Any incidents of extortion should be immediately reported to union officers, with specific details about the individuals involved.

OAU Peeps Gets New Editor As Ayomide Emmanuel Bows Out

Adegboyega Ifeoluwa, popularly known as Ifelaw, has been announced as the Editor-in-chief of the one of the foremost online campus News Agencies in Obafemi Awolowo University, for the 2022/2023 academic session. 

The outgone EIC, Ayomide Emmanuel, who is now the Chairman, Guild Of Editors, ACJOAU, whose tenure elapsed on July 27, 2023 hands baton to the new EIC, Ifeoluwa Lawrence.

Adegboyega Ifeoluwa, is a part 3 student of the Department of English and Literary Studies, Obafemi Awolowo University. Ifeoluwa would be serving as the sixth Editor-in-chief of the agency. 

Prior to his appointment, Ifeoluwa was the Media Chief of the OAUPeeps News Agency.

In his word to the outgone EIC, the founder and managing director of OAUPeeps News Agency, Mr David Adetula said, "Thank you so much for your time leading OAU Peeps, Ayomide. I wish you the very best on your new role".

Going forward, every communication and business relating to the agency is to be discussed with the new Editor-in-Chief. He can be reached via editor@oaupeeps.com

Awo Boys Gets New Executives for the 2022/2023 session

The popular comic group, Awo boys gets new Executives that will steer the affairs of the group. 

At exactly 10pm on Thursday,  20th of July, 2023, the outgoing President, IamKenny, announced the new leadership of the popular comics group. 

The new executives are, Ganiyu Abullah Abiodun PKA Dean as the general secretary, Kolebaje David, as the costume manager and OLUKANMI Abidemi Abeeb ÀBÍMỌ́ as the president of the group.

The new president of the popular comic group, OLUKANMI Abidemi Abeeb ÀBÍMỌ́, is also the President of the Linguistics and African Languages Department.

BREAKING: Electoral Commission Sets Date For Inauguration Ceremony Of Elected Union Officers

By Ayomide Emmanuel

The GreatIFE Students' Union Electoral Commission has announced the date for the Inauguration ceremony for the Students' Union Elect. 

The election which held on 30th of May, 1st and 3rd of June 2023, has produced elected officials in the Students' Representative Council(SRC), Hall Executives Council(HEC) and Central Executive Council(CEC) respectively.

Consequently, the Electoral Commission regard the occasion to signify the beginning of another chapter in the Union and would be honoured to have students join them in celebrating this exiting milestone. 

In a Press Statement made available to OAUPeeps News Agency, the Electoral Commission announced that the generality of the Great Ife Students are invited to the Grand Inauguration Ceremony of the newly elected union leaders(CEC, SRC and HEC).

According to the commission, the Inauguration Ceremony will hold on Wednesday, 12th of July 2023 by 10am at Afrika Amphitheatre. Furthermore, former Union Officers most especially the previous administration to be present as award and certificate of service will be presented.

Student Unionism: “Leaders Isọnu” And Their Dogmatic Followers

 

By Ajibade Abdullah Adewale

Leading Leader, Capacity Leader And Leader Isọnu. What type are you?

Heading towards my department a few days after the Great Ife Students’ Union Elections, I got drawn in by the conversation I overheard between two guys conversing in Yoruba language. One of them said something along the lines of “I told you that those people are Leaders Isọnu. They thought they could manipulate us to support their average candidate. Thank God, we didn’t give in, now they have failed”. 

His voice, struggling between mildness and frustration, echoed; “Àwon wèrè” -“mad fellows”. Initially, I thought he was upset about the loss of his candidate in the elections. However, my postulation was swiftly buried when he further told his friend that, had the students’ favourites not emerged, those people ( the acclaimed leaders) would have jubilated even when it is a failure for the faculty.

That’s when I grasped the crux of the whole discussion. A set of students in that faculty who might have been positioning themselves as leaders projected a candidate who was not well-received by the students. They resisted the action and the aftermath is that the majority’s choice emerged while the acclaimed leaders’ choice suffered defeat. 

Ratiocinating on this scenario, my mind traversed many antecedents within departmental and faculty associations and one can only say that it is a recurring pattern of events.

Between Stakeholders And The Students’ Interests

In many student associations, it is not novel to have a set of students coming together or being selected with the major aim of representing the association on strategic matters since everyone can’t be at the helm of decision-making. Over the years, the leadership of such associations and maybe students, have supported this act, leading to the formation of the “Stakeholders”. 

Candidly, having representatives is a necessary strategy, especially in the political sphere of student associations. However, in recent times, I have observed that some of these representatives are now self-proclaimed and have strayed from their purpose. Rather than focusing on satisfying the needs of the student population, they have become more interested in furthering personal interests. Unfortunately, this often leads to situations where qualified candidates are frustrated or indirectly intimidated to give up on contesting. 

To make it clearer, what they do is project a candidate with average qualities but with audience appeal and can conveniently play the pawn on their chess board while shunning the one with the right qualities since he is a threat to their selfish agenda. They go ahead to negotiate with other camps in the guise of representing the students but they end up satisfying their greed. Meanwhile, when this puppet emerges and fails, the stain will be on the association and faintly on the acclaimed stakeholders, “Leaders Isonu”, best put. 

 Sadly, when one traces the reason for the failure, it is most likely a result of the leader’s excessive demands coupled with the puppet’s incompetence.

We have witnessed how products of permutation, not competence, failed. Likewise, the opposite. However, should a product of their usual type of permutation perform? two things are involved. First is either he abandoned them after emerging, which is almost impossible, or he found ways around satisfying them likewise serving the students populace.

“Leader Isonu” With No Standing

Just like anyone defeated will try to figure out the reason for his loss, after a recent election on this campus, the defeated contestant felt so bad that the feeling was already forming wrinkles on his face. Powered by curiosity, I approached him for a  remark about the conduct of the elections. Instead of a direct response, he only retorted that his “ acclaimed leader has failed him again” He proceeded that he worked solely to pull that number of votes while his acclaimed leader didn’t offer anything obvious or behind the scene. 

When I heard this, my body was already responding with sympathy until he said “ Leader na leader”. That’s when I knew that his defeat was a result of a marriage between a leader with no proper authority and a follower who held onto dogmatic beliefs. It is perplexing to see how someone who recognized his acclaimed leader’s incompetence still accepted him moronically. 

Before you think he might be helping in other ways, the so-called leader is the one benefiting from the financial strength of this individual. It’s concerning that this “leader” hasn’t even learned the basics. No ideology, nothing. Just vibes and selfish permutations. 

What Next?

Inferring from the last union elections, some students were said to have stood against the decision of the stakeholders of their faculty who wanted to use a candidate to negotiate their greediness. While this is a positive development, it remains to be seen whether they are also truly committed to becoming responsible leaders that prioritize the interest of the students. Well, only time will tell whether they champion the ethos of putting the students’ needs first and demonstrating competence in leadership.

Lastly……….. 

“Followers who tell the truth, and leaders who listen to it, are an unbeatable combination.”—Warren Benn

Are you a Leading Leader, a Capacity Leader, or  Leader Isọnu?

 

Breaking: ACJOAU Withdraws From Electoral Debate

The Association of Campus Journalists OAU Chapter has announced her withdrawal from the Great Ife Students' Union Elections Debate. 

In a Press Statement made available to OAUPeeps News Agency, the association decides to withdraw from the election debate because of the circumstances surrounding arrangements and therefore decides to set the tone for election monitoring. 

The association decided not to participate in the election debate as a result of a last-minute in-house ruling and the leadership does not feel assured of the arrangements made available by the Electoral Commission. 

The Association however promised to support the future activities of the commission and assures Great Ife Students' to do everything possible to ensure effective election monitoring.

The statement read thus:

The leadership of the Association regrets to inform the general public of her withdrawal from the Great Ife Students' Union Elections Debate which, according to the formal invitation that we got, should hold today Monday, 29th of May, 2023, by 3pm. 

As we all know that by convention, the Association of Campus Journalists, OAU usually handles the Students' Union electoral debate and has, over the years, done it well. However, we will like to inform the general public of our withdrawal to participate during this time. This resolution is coming after a last-minute consideration of the terms, conditions, and modalities of the debate set down by the Electoral Commission. 

As a result of the Association's last-minute in-house ruling, the leadership does not feel assured of the arrangements made available by the Electoral Commission and cannot continue as initially arranged.

Having communicated our intent to withdraw to the Electoral Commission and having promised our support in their future activities, we want to assure the Commission and Great Ife students' community of doing everything possible to ensure effective election monitoring. 

Observers are recognized, safe, and protected in the course of doing their job. 

As part of our safety procedure, we want to state that our election Reporters and Monitors will be with ACJ tags signed by the leadership of the Association. This is to ensure due recognition as they go about doing their job. As the Association continues to build on its existing good reputation, we appeal to everyone to follow voting guidelines and conduct themselves in the best democratic way possible. 

We are doing everything humanly possible to ensure that prompt and real-time election updates are not missed and adequately published in a coordinated form. And we assure everyone involved in this election of fair, accurate, and fact-backed reporting. 

Thank you for your usual cooperation, and we hope the forthcoming CEC and SRC elections go well. 

Great Ife Electoral Commission Lift Ban On Election Campaign, Releases Guidelines

By Ayomide Emmanuel

Following the constitution of the Electoral Commission by the Great Ife Students' Representative Council on Tuesday, 16th May 2023, the Electoral Commission which consist of 13-men Committee which cut across the 13 faculties of the University to oversee the conduct of the forthcoming, Students' Union Election. 

In a Release made available to OAUPeeps News Agency, the Electoral Commission has decided to lift ban on election campaigns. 

According to the release, by virtue of the powers conferred on the Electoral Commission as contained in the Great Ife sacrosanct constitution in Article IV, Section 60 (4), “the electoral commission shall organise and effectively supervise all union elections and bye elections with utmost good faith”. After careful consideration and evaluation, it is on this note the electoral commission has decided to lift the election ban, thereby allowing the commencement of campaigns, which shall take place with immediate effect, Thursday, May 18, 2023.

 The electoral commission arrived at this decision to commence the election activities due to reasonable circumstances surrounding the electioneering processes. Greatest Ife! Articulate Ife! The university academic calendar stipulates that examinations are to commence 5th of June, 2023 which translates to that the commission only have 2weeks to complete the whole electioneering process.

 The commission however plead to the entirety of Great Ife students to join hands with the Electoral Commission in commencing the election, who want the Great Ife students and stakeholders to cooperate with the commission for the essential for the smooth conduct of the elections and the consolidation of our union. In respect to this announcement, the commission urge the entire students to actively participate in the electoral process. To promote participatory democracy and good governance for Great Ife students Union prosperity, the Commission uses the medium to encourage the totality of Great Ife student union members to embark on their ambition to starting of campaigns. While the election process serves as an avenue for healthy competition, would like to emphasize the importance of conducting campaigns in a respectful and peaceful manner. 

Consequently, the Commission implore all aspirants (CEC, SRC & HEC) and their supporters to read and get familiar with the campaign guidelines which are clearly stated below:

 1. Eligibility Criteria 

A. Contestants MUST be registered students of the university for the 2021/2022 academic session.

 B. Contestants running for the positions within CEC and SRC must have successfully completed AT LEAST one academic session in the 1 university. 

2. Campaign Guidelines 

A. All campaign activities should focus on the issues and be centered around the candidate's proposed solutions. A political campaign or slogan shall not be tainted with abusive language directly or indirectly likely to injure physical, psychological, religious, ethnic, or sectional feelings against another candidate will result in automatic disqualification. 

B. The use of the halls' public address system for campaign purposes is strictly prohibited. c. Colored posters are not allowed to be used by contestants. d. Contestants are prohibited from writing or posting bills on walls, water tanks, and roads. 

3. Conduct and Harassment:

 Contestants and their supporters must refrain from any form of harassment during the election process. Harassment includes any actions or behavior intended to intimidate, coerce, or harm others. 

4. Disqualification Risk: Any contestant who violates these guidelines stands the risk of being DISQUALIFIED. 

5. Incumbent Members' Responsibilities:

 Incumbent members of the CEC who are contesting positions within the CEC must hand over all union properties in their possession, including keys to their offices. This measure ensures the protection of sensitive election materials and promotes a level playing field for all contestants. 

The electoral commission will closely monitor the campaign activities to ensure compliance with the rules and regulations. We are committed to upholding transparency, fairness, and impartiality throughout the entire electoral process. These guidelines aim to ensure a fair, transparent, and respectful election process, fostering an environment that encourages constructive campaigns and discourages misconduct. 

OAU Awo Boiz Debunk Affiliation With Late Ahize Death

By Olukanmi Abidemi Abeeb ÀBÍMÓ 

The Obafemi Awolowo University popular entertainment group known as  Awo Boiz have made a release to debunk the affiliation to the death of late Ahize, who was allegedly beaten to death for stealing.   

In a statement made available to OAUPeeps News Agency,  the group express their sincere sympathy for horrific event and death of Ahize, a student of Faculty of Technology Obafemi Awolowo university and also send their condonlence to his family, friends and the entire University.

The Statement Read Thus;

As we express our sincere sympathy for horrific event and death of Ahize, a student of Faculty of Technology Obafemi Awolowo university we send our condonlence to his family, friends and the entire University.

On behalf of OAU Awo Boiz group, we are writing to the entire students of Obafemi Awolowo university to desist from linking the whole sadden incident to Awo Boiz group because Awo Hall Executives are different from OAU Awo Boiz group. 

Our group is just like every other entertainment groups on campus which have been serving as the father of all entertainment groups on campus for our hilarious comic acts and well-cultured display. In fact, none of us was in the Hall when this unfortunate incident occurred but our group name is in respect to the legacy of Late Obafemi Awolowo.

On this note, our entire fans and OAU community  should know that we are law abiding set of student who understand the principles of the university, not a preachers of jungle-justice and no harm or arrest has been done on any member of our group, we are all fine. Our special regards to those that checked and checking on us.