Victor Ayoola Accounts for Manifesto Promises, Explains Shift in Academic Plans

 

By: Shogbanmu Fathia 

The Assistant General Secretary of the Agronomy Club, University of Ibadan, Otayemi Victor Ayoola, has accounted for the implementation of the promises contained in his manifesto, highlighting his work in digital documentation, communication, secretarial duties and academic support.

In his manifesto, Ayoola promised to implement a digital filing system for departmental records to ensure that the history and progress of the department would be preserved and easily accessible to future executives.

Speaking on the implementation of the promise, he said, "In the academic aspect, I believe it was because I made sure the department's e-library was made available to all levels."

He explained that the e-library contains "slides and past questions for each level on the Google Drive," adding that it would be updated at the end of the session for the next Assistant General Secretary.

On communication, Ayoola had promised to work with the General Secretary to ensure that information on dues, events and academic notices was communicated clearly and well in advance across student platforms.

He identified the Agronomy general WhatsApp group as one of the platforms used during his tenure. Asked how consistently the information was communicated, he said, "They were communicated well and beforehand on the general and also on the announcement platform."

Ayoola's manifesto also identified organising meeting venues and managing correspondence as areas where he intended to improve efficiency, with the aim of saving everyone time.

On meeting arrangements, he explained that "effective communication on where and when meeting will occur was implemented" and attributed this to his work with the General Secretary.

Regarding correspondence, he stated, "I vetted and handled correspondence (official letters and emails), with urgency, also drafting responses for the General Secretary's approval."

Asked what specific process had become faster and whose time this had saved, Ayoola explained that he assisted the General Secretary with secretarial duties and took on tasks assigned by the President and other executives.

"As I said earlier, I assisted the General Secretary in his secretarial duties and also took on tasks given to me by the President and also assisting other executives when necessary," he said. "So, yeah, I believe I helped them save time."

The interview also examined what had been done for students, particularly freshers.

Ayoola said he initially attempted to organise departmental tutorials for freshers but could not proceed with the plan to hire a paid tutor because of the cost involved.

"I had a few people in mind who did tutorials and were very good at it cos I wanted the best of hands for my freshers but the prices were exorbitant," he said.

He said he subsequently considered reaching out to 200-level students because of their experience with CCMAS grading points, but added that "almost all of them didn't do very well in the courses that would need to be taught."

Ayoola said he instead worked with the Faculty Assistant General Secretary and other departmental Assistant General Secretaries to organise faculty tutorials for courses students found difficult.

He also said he planned to organise a mock examination for freshers with his committee.

With the tenure drawing to a close, Ayoola said he had fully achieved his secretarial duties, while his academic duties were still being concluded. His account reflects a mix of implemented measures, adjusted plans and activities that remained ongoing as the tenure approached its end. Whether the remaining academic commitments will be delivered as stated remains to be seen.