Queenites should not be uninterested in matters that affect the hostel – OLUWOLE GBENUOLA, MAJORITY LEADER, QUEEN ELIZABETH II HALL SRC

 

QEHP: Good afternoon, can we meet you?

Gbenuola: Good afternoon, my name is Oluwole Gbenuola Fopefoluwa. I am currently the majority leader of Queen Elizabeth II Hall in the SRC. That is, I represent Queenites with the majority vote in the Student Union Student Representative Council.

QEHP: Explain what the SRC means.

Gbenuola: Well, I get asked this question a lot with my position in the SRC. First of all, The SRC simply means the Student Representative Council. Now we all know that we have the Senate or the House of Rep and we have the Executive, i.e. the President and his ministers. In the Student Union at UI, we have the Executives; the President, the Vice president, the Treasurer, the PRO, and the rest of them. The legislative arm makes policies that govern the whole of UI student affairs. You know issues that border on things that pertain to students. That is the policy-making arm of the union; that is the Student Representative Council. It is a council made up of elected individuals from polls. Queens Hall for instance has a slot of 20 members, i.e. we’re allowed to have up to twenty people to represent Queens Hall in the SRC to represent the interest of students in Queens Hall and generally the populace of the University of Ibadan. We make policies. We are known as the legislative arm of the Student Union at the University of Ibadan. 

QEHP: Thanks for giving a thorough explanation. What are your roles as the Majority Leader?

Gbenuola: First of all, I’ll explain how a person becomes the majority leader. As I said earlier, we have 20 slots for Queenites to join the SRC. Among everyone, the person with the highest vote, according to the constitution is officially instituted as the majority leader of that Hall in the SRC. 

The majority leader is a leader in a constituency among SRC members. She is a leader who unites everybody. Take the Queen Elizabeth Hall SRC members for instance, when decisions are being made, she calls for meetings, unites everybody to go in the same direction and ensures that the interest of the hostel is met. Also, we represent the overall interest of the constituency—the whole of Queens Hall. Each of the 20 members represents a hundred students in Queens Hall i.e. one member to 100 students. When we come together, we are all representing members of Queens Hall. My position is to lead all SRC members that are Queenites to ensure that we make the right decisions. 

The majority leader also works with the principal members of the SRC.  For instance, when there is a need to pass information across, that needs to get to each hostel, the principal officer or principal officials of the SRC chamber will reach out to the majority leader who represents the other 19 honourable members of Queens Hall. Or for instance, if the Speaker of the House (Council) needs information that needs to be directly passed across or wants to collate the opinions of the honourable members from each hall. She reaches out to the Majority leader who calls for a meeting (virtual or physical) where she can sample the opinion of the honourable members and then return to the principal officers with the information gotten. 

When there are issues within a hall, the majority leader is tasked with the responsibility of relating them to the house. That means the majority leader has to work with the executives of the hostel. So, if there are issues that the executives have to tender to the SRC, they go through the majority leader who mentions it to the honourable members and then tables it before the whole council. So, when the Speaker calls for the constituency report, I step out to speak about issues concerning the hall.

QEHP: What are the challenges of the SRC in Queen Elizabeth II Hall?

Gbenuola: The major challenge that comes to mind is the fact that Queenites are unaware of their rights to join the SRC. The SRC is a platform for you to voice your opinions, for the good of the school in general. I’m surprised that most people don’t know about the SRC. Last year, we had slots for 20 Queenites to contest to be elected into the SRC. Only 16 people showed interest in the whole of Queens Hall. When it was time for elections, many people were asking me “What is the SRC?” I wondered why a 400-level student would be asking me, “What is the SRC?” So what do you expect of 100-level people? It is a major issue. They don’t know that the SRC has the power to check and balance the work of the executives. 

For a body that does so much work, it’s a burden that people don’t know about the SRC. Queenites are supposed to know that they can go through the honourable members to table their requests before the council, the highest student decision-making body in the whole University. 

One of the issues that was brought before me when I joined the SRC was the fact that we do not have a legislative council in Queens Hall. It was a common joke. Queenites that are SRC members are not the legislative council of the hostel. All the male hostels have HRCs i.e Hall Representative Council which is the decision-making council of hostels. Most HRCs are elected floor Reps. 

But then, one of the amazing things about the current executive administration is the fact that they have worked towards establishing this. Now, we have floor Reps who make up the HRC, due to the work of our executive members in Queens Hall. This session, Queens Hall can boast of being the first female hostel to have an HRC. Well, it can’t be called an HRC because it has not been constituted fully. But, now we have elected floor reps and floor reps are the ones who make up the HRC which is amazing work, kudos to the executive members in Queens Hall. Now, I can go to the SRC with my full chest boasting that Queens Hall has elected HRCs like other male counterparts' floor representatives. So, that’s very amazing.

QEHP: Has much has Queenites shown interest in terms of joining the SRC?

Gbenuola: Well, last semester, the interest of Queenites to join the SRC was very depressing. I had to be informing people and it seemed more like I was being extra in creating awareness. People could just not understand. But it was amazing this semester, even as of the end of last semester. I started getting feedback from people telling me how they were interested in joining the SRC, to represent Queenites at the Student Union. I kind of give credit to the executive members because there was a meeting that was held spearheaded by the hall chairperson. She mentioned the SRC and people showed interest. After that meeting, I started getting feedback from so many people telling me they wanted to join the SRC and asking about the SRC. And so yes, in recent times, the interest has been getting better. But I want the awareness to go out there more. I want Queenites to know that they have a right to contest and have a place in the student representative council as Queenites.

As I mentioned earlier, the SRC members that are Queenites are at the student union level. We are not the legislative arm of Queens Hall. That is a different body that is not constituted but is in progress. I am, alongside my honourable members, a part of the legislative arm of the whole of the Student Union. I represent Queenites' interest in the Student Union level at the SRC. Meanwhile, there should be a legislative arm in Queens Hall. 

QEHP: As a legislative arm of the SU in Queens Hall, what have been the SRC’s achievements, especially with you being the majority leader?

Gbenuola: As I mentioned earlier, one of the greatest achievements as the majority leader of Queens Hall in the SRC would be the work of having, for the first time in a very long time in Queens Hall, elected representatives. We are the first that I know of among the female hostels. And working with our hall chair with the other executives to accomplish this is one of my major achievements in the SRC. And I’m super glad because it’s so amazing to work with them. 

QEHP: Don’t you think that the Queens Hall constitution needs a review? 

Gbenuola: Yes, I do believe it does need a review. Every legal instrument should be reviewed and brought up to date to accommodate change and development. It’s a lot of work but it’s righteous, applaudable, and necessary work. To all those who strive towards it or pave way for it, I doff my hat. 

QEHP: Is there anything you have to say to Queenites to encourage them to join the SRC?

Gbenuola: Yes! So many things. Queenites need to join so that our interests are well represented in the hall. Amongst the three female hostels, Queens Hall has a slot for twenty members, Idia has 22, and Awo has about 24 based on the size of each hostel. There are more male hostels than female hostels. So, Queenites should join so that their interests are well represented. It is not a female-male thing, but a hall thing. Queens Hall should not be left behind as a hall. Queenites should not be uninterested in matters that affect the hostel. As a hall, we should be at the forefront of everything to ensure that decisions are well made not only for the hall but for the whole of UI. There are many Queenites that are not in the hall, but then they are still Queenites. We have friends in other hostels but we want to ensure that when we cast our votes, and put our opinions and voices out there, the things that can affect our friends' hostels, departments, and faculties, are things that they can bear with, that they are things that are not going to be difficult for them. To ensure that their voices, opinions, worry, problems, and issues are properly tendered before the Students Representative Council, and to ensure that the right policies are passed at the Students Representatives Council. We need Queens Hall to have a voice, and we need to know that we are voices for the whole populace of the University of Ibadan. 

QEHP: Thank you for your time. 

Gbenuola: You’re welcome.