“Queenites are not made for Queens 101.” - An interview with the Queen Elizabeth II Hall Chairperson

 

 On November 2, 2022, QEHP had an interactive session with the Queens Hall Chairperson, Ajayi Toluwanimi Elizabeth on her challenges since assuming office, her accomplishments, and the legacy she intends to leave after completing her tenure. 

QEHP: Good evening, can we meet you? 

A.T.E: Good evening. My name is Ajayi Toluwanimi Elizabeth. I am a 500-level student of the faculty of Veterinary medicine. I hail from Ekiti State. Apart from academics, I own a small event planning business – Beaconmay Events and Hostessing. When it comes to extra-curricular activities, I represent my faculty in different sports but I major in athletics and football. I love music. I have a small instrument that I play – the omele gangan. I happen to be the only female child. 

QEHP: What do Queenites have to look forward to in terms of extra-curricular activities this session?

A.T.E:  Before ASUU went on strike, we created different groups like the sporting committee. The Sports Minister came up with different groups for various sports including Judo which I was quite surprised about because it is an uncommon sport. For now, we want Queenites to settle down. People are still moving in and out, they are trying to balance their academics so we do not want to rush anyone. Hopefully, we would kick-start towards the middle of the semester because for now, I don’t think the university is saying anything about sports yet. However, training would start in the next two to three weeks for games like football and track and field.

QEHP: Was there any spillover of unresolved issues from the last administration into yours? And how did you handle them?

A.T.E: Issues?

QEHP: Well, there was an issue with the hall package during the last session and we suppose your administration had to pick up from there.

A.T.E: Yes, we had to pick up from that stress and it was a little bit tough because we had to face the whole ‘you did not deliver our package early’. We did a lot of work to calm everyone. We told people to come with their receipts and shared the packages accordingly. Because it is a new administration, we had to carry on. Those that have not received their package can still come. Most Queenites have been coming and what I did to make it easier for my administration was that someone from the previous administration who is still a resident in the hostel was given the role of sharing the packages. So when they call me, I direct them to her.

QEHP: Is there anything different you would like to do in your administration?

A.T.E:  A lot. I am looking forward to doing a lot. In the sense of political stability: I mean, Queens hall lacks a lot of enthusiasm when it comes to women in politics and leadership. I believe Queenites restrain themselves a lot. There is this particular syndrome – it is the past glory thing: whenever they hear Queens hall, it is like ‘they are big girls’. Big girls but when it comes to making crucial decisions in school, we are not seen. That is when you start hearing ‘go to Idia, go to Awo’, what is wrong with Queens hall?  We are not made for Queens 101, we are made to stand out there and voice our opinions. We want Queenites in different parastatals; as stakeholders in their departments and faculties. So I am looking forward to grooming the new ones in our midst. I have been seeing some beautiful signs in our 100-level and 200-level girls; they have the energy. What  I have noticed is that our former leaders saw this fire in us when we were in our younger years but they did not groom us so the fire died down and we all resorted to the past glory thing. Times are changing and women are leading in top positions. It is not until you graduate before you can do something, own a business, and make decisions in top positions.

QEHP: How has the strike affected your administration?

A.T.E: Thank you very much for that question. Before we went on that unfortunate strike – I call it an unfortunate one because we had plans for the whole session. I know by now, we should be rounding up with the session. In the course of our planning for the Freshers’ welcome, we got at least four sponsors and due to the strike, we lost them. We kept reaching out to them during the strike but they also lost hope because no one knew when we were going to resume. They ended up telling us that whatever we will be doing, we should move it to the hall week. For the Freshers’ welcome, we just had to think of something and streamline the event to one day because UI has cut down our lecture weeks and we understand that all lecturers have been bombarding their students. We just want to give them a taste of gyration by including the social night. 

QEHP: You are an entrepreneur yourself, so what do fellow entrepreneurs in Queens Hall have to look forward to?

A.T.E:  As we speak, the Financial Secretary is the committee head for entrepreneurs in Queens hall. We have a plan to promote ourselves. We want to bring everyone into a platform whereby we grow together. We cannot have the same clients; so how do we grow together and have more knowledge about what we do? These are the things the platform hopes to address. Social media is a vast and good platform to market yourself so we are working on those things. We planned to have a Finfest during the strike – we intended to bring entrepreneurs in the outside world to talk to us but we have decided to move it to the second semester. So yes, different activities have been going on and the Financial Secretary is in a better position to give you more details on this.

QEHP: How do you intend to get Queenites to follow the numerous rules and regulations in the hall?

A.T.E: Rules and regulations are there to make sure that things are in order. It is in the Code of Conduct that there are repercussions for any rule breached. And I believe that we don’t have to chase after ourselves to follow rules because if you do not want to follow rules, then you should not live in a hostel or a place that is governed. If you have decided to stay in the hall and you still refuse to follow the rules, then you would have to face the repercussions. 

QEHP: How is your relationship with your executives and the hall management?

A.T.E: Thank you very much for that question. Well, we are all humans and I believe we all have our special characters. Individuals have their attributes so you just have to find a way to relate with each of them individually and when you have to address everyone generally, you do so. The same thing applies to the hall management. It is like you have to balance the relationship and well, it has been okay.

QEHP: Do you have any messages for Queenites? 

A.T.E: Queenites should expect growth from my administration. I would have said the best but the best is relative. They should expect growth in aspects of academics (because we are planning on bringing back tutorials), political stability, business growth, sporting engagements, e.t.c. I want Queenites to push themselves towards academic excellence. It is not easy but we can try.