Planners Can Be Executioners Too: A Review of The Hall Chairperson, Mojoyinoluwa Agbonde

 

By Aishat A. Akano

Society is a community of people who come together to share a common value or belief. And in this society we have different levels, those at the top, middle and the bottom (however, I'll like to make the division be – those that lead and those that are being led). At the top, we have people who have earned that position because of their wealth, property, birth, intellect, talent, or even respect or trust from people.

 One of the caliber of people who occupy this top portion of the community: leaders. In every community, there are people who hold leadership positions. They are assigned with the role of managing the affairs of the populace, and to ensure that there is a smooth running of everyday activities. 

Of such a system is Queen Elizabeth II Hall. Towards the end of last session, several candidates emerged to run for positions within the hall. One of the candidates is Moyinoluwa Agbonde who vied for the position of the Hall Chairperson, and she eventually won the election.

The tenure of Team NewDawn led by Mojoyinoluwa Agbonde came to an end on Tuesday, March 18th, 2025. Now, it is only right for her tenure to be assessed and reviewed by the concerned and intellectual occupants of the great hall.

Beforehand, Agbonde had occupied the position of general secretary and had fulfilled all the duties and plans that she promised Queenites. This has resulted in a number of people looking forward to how well she was going to deliver in an even more demanding position. Well, Agbonde has done the job of “raising the bar” once again. 

Agbonde divided her manifesto into four major parts: Inauguration of the’ Honours List, The Hall Chairperson’s Grant, Leadership Committee, and The Alumni Verse.

The first plan of Agbonde was to initiate the Queen’s Honors List, a programme which recognizes and awards exceptional Queenites who excel in six categories: leadership, press, literary and debating, humanitarianism/volunteering, academics, and sportsmanship. 

The six categories, which were initially five but changed due to separating Literary and Debating from the Press, were awarded to individuals who were found worthy of the category in which they fall under. Agbonde fulfilled the promise of presenting the winners with medals and recommendation letters by the Hall Management with the Hall's letterhead on it. In addition to these, their names were also featured on the Roll of Honour recently put up by Agbonde in fulfillment of her manifesto.

The second plan is the Hall Chairperson's Grant which was initially just meant to be a bursary for stationery but was extended to examination support packages. In courtesy of Nosakhare Ijebor (PRO 2020/21, QEIIH) and Olatope Ilori (Finance Minister 2022/23, QEIIH), the first initiative of this grant was benefited by three Queenites, Olaitan Esther, Onifade Atinuke and Esther Adedoyin. The winners were granted ten thousand worth stationery each. 

Though, the grant was not given to the the winners through the initial order that Agbonde had announced that it was going to be released, which was to request a letter to be written by the Dean of Students to the Manager of the University Bookshop to issue a voucher. She made sure that the winners got what they have been promised and in a good condition. While she was asked about why she changed her initial plan, Agbonde noted that she realized that the procedure was a flexible one and not as rigid as she thought, and she had made sure to take the necessary steps by monitoring the entire process herself. 

The second initiative of the grant which was sponsored by Olajumoke Ambali, 2017/18 Hall Chairperson made provisions for examination packages for students during the preparatory period of the first semester examination. According to Agbonde, she confirmed that forty Queenites benefitted from this initiative. The packages that were distributed consisted of rice, oil, seasoning, and other food provisions.

The third plan aimed at improving the state of political leadership among Queenites in the Hall and beyond. Agbonde created a committee which consisted of political leaders and political aspirants and these two were placed in the positions of mentors and mentees to develop and train Queenites for political posts. This plan was carried out and then there were sessions both online and physical that were anchored by students who are versed in the areas. It is worthy to note that this plan establishes this session as one who recorded a number of successful political advances at the SU, faculty and departmental level.

The fourth plan is the Alumni Verse which can be divided into two. The first is the Alumni of the Week which is a celebration of an alumnus from the Queen Elizabeth II Hall. The Alumni of Week ran for 26 weeks starting from the beginning of the first semester till the end of the second semester. This particular section of the Chairperson's plan establishes how consistent and dedicated she is to the affairs of the Hall. 

The second part under this plan is the Alumni Newsletter which is a publication that features the Alumni Verse, Alumni of the week, Celebrants of the month, Lingo Corner among others. This Newsletter was released five times, in five months – July, August, October, November, December. In an interview with Agbonde, she noted that these plans were aimed towards connecting the hall with her past residents and to also create a healthy atmosphere to request for support from old Queenites.

Agbonde also noted that the realization of this plan birthed the Rita Adachukwu Essay Contest. The essay contest was announced on February 6th, 2025 and was closed on 28th of February, 2025. Mojoyinoluwa Agbonde noted that the submissions are still being graded, and that it has taken a while for the results to come out because of the huge turnout from Queenites. 

Mojoyinoluwa Agbonde’s tenure has been a busy one, and one that pushed Queenites beyond their comfort zones. All the plans of Agbonde were achieved and this serves as evidence that if a student leader is truly driven by passion to serve and lead her community forward, such a leader would go extra miles to achieve all the vision that she has drawn. 

Mojoyinoluwa Agbonde once again has proven to not just be a good planner, but even a great executioner. As her tenure has come to an end, Queenites hopes that political leaders emerging in later years can continue this legacy and even make a better and great community for Queenites, after all “Queens Hall is home”.