When mediocrity has lingered for a long time, complacency is almost inevitable, and with complacency, comes a direct, bogus, or subtle degradation. 

The Department of English, University of Ibadan, is made up of three categories or classes of students, the first being the undergraduate class or category, followed by the MA class or category, and the PhD class or category. However, the undergraduate category belongs to a national student association referred to as NASELS, that is, National Association of Students of English and Literary Studies, which spreads across the entire country. That is, the jurisdiction of NASELS stretches to most government-owned universities, at both the state level and federal, hence we have NASELS UI, NASELS LASU (Lagos State University), NASELS UNIJOS (University of Jos) and so on. Now, being the first department in the humanities in the country, in the first faculty, in the first university in the country, there are certain standards expected from NASELS UI. There are things that ought not to be heard of within the associations. 

Now, one protracted problem the association has grappled with remains this issue of this obnoxious active and passive apathy plaguing the association. The NASELS Press Organisation as a whole, has been on a somewhat subtle campaign against apathy, and the need for members of the association to begin to show willingness to participate in the collective governance of the association for a while now. The emphasis on the campaign against apathy can not be over done at the moment, at least not at this very precarious administrative moment. There are quite a number of things not following the order they should follow in the association, if the association is to hoist the banner of being democratic. If the association claims to be a democratically inclined association, with the mind of following through with the principles that makes democracy democracy indeed, then, there lurking elements of ‘mal-democracy’ looming just above the immediate sky of the association. One of these lurking issues include the absence of an operational legislative council in the department, which ought to be a great concern for members of the association. It is quite a  pity that the members of the association have shown total cluelessness to the gravity of such omission. 

The NASELS is domiciled in the Department of English, a major in humanities, now, wikipedia describes humanities as, “academic disciplines that study aspects of human society and culture, including certain fundamental questions asked by humans.” The birth of humanities stemmed from man’s thirst for logicality and sound reasoning, it has to do with humanism, where man begins to look inwards to find a pragmatic solution to whatever problems he has. There are other definitions for the term humanities, however, there will always be a motif of the sense of critical thinking and thoughts, because, when things like the human culture, way of life, belief system, traditional practice and so on is being studied, it can never been done to a reasonable point without the elements of critical thinking and reasoning. Hence, it will not be too much to expect that an individual who happens to be given to such studies as the humanities, should stand out when a certain narrative is being examined. 

Now, in the previous editorial piece, some direct consequences of the negligence of NASELSites was being highlighted, which are just some of them among other seemingly little things of seemingly no serious consequences. This editorial will go further into some other issues in the department that have become seriously very questionable, yet no question seems to arise from any quarters. It must be noted that the need for probing is not hinged on the mere fact that a probe must be done just for the sake of probing. But that, a probe needs to be carried out as and when due as soon as the need arises. When this is done, it quickly checks whatever anomaly that might have been getting started, corrects an anomaly that is about to start, and also to prevent such anomaly from repeating itself in the nearest or distant future. And in the case of NASELS, as a body, the press alone should not be left to this responsibility, afterall it is not just members of the press organisation who are in the humanities department studying humanities. The essence of learning is to ultimately put into practice what is being learnt. Unlike the sciences where everything is being subjected to literal laboratories, in the humanities, everything is being subjected to the metaphorical laboratory. Hence, in the case of NASELS UI members, the metaphorical labs can begin from the participation of the collective governance of the association. 

Having established the above to an extent, a case to be looked into directly in the association remains the issue of the statement of account of the association. What makes a body, the majority of the time remains money, which has over time been addressed by a plethora of aliases. Such as, funds, capital, dues, debt, cost, expenses, fee, fine, charges, balance, change, token, stipend, loan, and the list is ever-stretching. Now, when money becomes associated with a body or an association, no matter how little, such association or body has become an agent of consequential impact. Hence, money being what it is, is believed to have the capacity to alter anyone on a default, has always been a very sensitive matter, and has hence attracted as many effective and efficient managerial measures as possible. Sometimes these managerial measures contain elements of curbing, preventions, and protections or better still, securities. These measures in the light of a managerial sense, will include proper recordings and entries, for proper monitoring of the cash flow, and this to prevent a case of waste or loss as a result of certain figures not being accountable for. While in the sense of curbing, preventions, protection and securities, is to discourage mis-management, embezzlement of funds, mis-appropriation of funds, diversion of funds, and all other related issues. 

Still on the issue of the statement of account of the association, the old constitution by which the Similoluwa-led administration, ‘Team Rejuvenation’, was sworn in, made it clear that the statement of account of the association be published at the beginning of the session and at the end of the session, by the financial secretary of the association. The Similoluwa-led administration had Tishi Promise Ali as the financial secretary, who according to the constitution she swore by, was obligated to publish the association’s statements of account at the beginning of the session and at the end of the session. Trying not to sound hellbent on being harsh, by using words such as “violated”, she neglected and overlooked this obligation, and till the press night when she contested for the post of the vice president, she gave no explanation as to why the account statements of the association had not been published. To this particular issue, up till this present time of this release, there has been no call for accountability of how the expenditure of the association has been in the hands of the erstwhile financial secretary from members of the association. Although the press kept pressing the issue of the association’s statements of account, there seemed to be little or no regard for this call for accountability. However, as events unfolded, the past administration was dissolved, still no statement of account was published, and a new administration has been installed. 

Still in continuation, not long into the tenure of the administration, after some sustained pressing from the press, the erstwhile sent an almost fiscal unintelligible list, containing listed items and figures written against them. Without exaggerations, the document the erstwhile financial secretary sent to the NASELS UI WhatsApp family page on May 30, 2024, labelling it “statement of account for the association”, remains at best either a useless imaginary list or a fiscal nonsense. It is a big pity that such a stunt can be pulled in an association where humanities is domiciled. What the erstwhile financial secretary plainly did was to mimic exactly what the Nigerian politicians, government parastatals, and lawmakers do to Nigerians, and how they see Nigerian. With the degenerated state of the country at the moment, news headlines such as “python swallowed 36 million naira…” or “monkeys attack National Assembly, carts away 3 billion naira…” will no longer attract readers as such, as it is fast becoming a norm. When a particular parastatals is being called upon for accountability, instead of detailed statements of accounts, or expenditure reports, what Nigerians get is a plethora of occurrences with stories that do not add up. If a building does not catch fire, a principal public officer will slump at a probe panel while in a live session. 

At this point, most people might not think it to be something much of a big deal, however, this is a record that has to do with money. And any sane individual will agree to the fact of the crucial impact of money. Hence, NASELS, like an organism, like any other functioning association literally runs on money. Hence, the importance of a plenary accountability can never be overemphasised. The erstwhile financial secretary, daring to submit such a list, with more audacity to tag such a list as a statement of account for association is an ignoble slap to the whole association. There’s barely anyone in the association who does not know what a statement of account looks like, including the erstwhile financial secretary herself. Such an act is nothing but a play on the intelligence of every NASELSites. For a government parastatal to be bold enough to give unhearable absurdities as financial reports, such must definitely have had a starting point, and with what the erstwhile financial secretary is trying to pull, it becomes clear how these acts have festered in the Nigerian system overtime. A proper statement of account without a visible trace to movement of cash, having no single reference as to which financial institution is responsible for the managing of funds, showing no balance met in the association’s account, nor balance left in the association’s account, what was spent on what, what time it was spent, and what purpose it was spent for, and other proper details remains at best, fiscal nonsensical documents or presentations. Although, the erstwhile president of the association, Similoluwa Akomolafe, hinted on providing a more comprehensive statement of account later. Now, a baffling question is this, did the president of the association dare accept such documents as a statement of account indeed, and by further commenting on it telling NASELSites to accept the fiscal unintelligible document as the association’s statement of account? 

Now, as it stands, there is a tendency for a repeat of history, as the new administration has already released a public notice, stating that it will also collect funds with an account that is not associated with that of the association. The question remains, why should this be so? The funds of the association should not rest in the personal account of any individual at any time beyond a number of constitutionally stipulated hours. Hence, the new administration is already informing the association that it will violate the constitution as a matter of necessity. And this alone raises a lot of questions, if there really is a binding and a valid constitution the association is bound by? It seems as though, these crop of public officers that have served in one capacity or the other, and some serving, understood little or nothing of the gravity of being a public officer, and by extension or inheritance current public officers are yet to understand the gravity and importance of being a public officer, especially at a level that can be referred to as a grassroot level or compared a grassroot level. 

Sometimes, to do the right thing comes with a price, comes with a cost, nevertheless, the reality of these prices to be paid and cost, will never suffice as a moral ground to condescending to unethical actions. It is very unethical, that the dues of a NASELSite will be paid to an individual’s account. It is not too much if the association’s account is made functional by every possible means. The payment of any dues or collection of any funds on behalf of the association, should be put on hold till all issues surrounding the association’s account have been reconciled and resolved. It is quite understandable that there might be worries about the program of the administration being affected by this, but the reality is that the right thing must be done without compromise, or a double thought, the sacrifice for making things is always worth it. It is very inappropriate that the association’s funds, a public fund, rests in the account of an individual. When all fiscal activities are placed on hold, just to resolve this association’s account issue, the temporary embargo will serve as a catalyst to hasten the resolve and reconciliation. If a haphazard make-shift kind of temporal alternative is condescended to in a particular administration, what stops the next administration from condescending to a more steeper alternative.

In summary, the apathy of NASELSites has proven to be a threat to an healthy development of the association, hence, it should be checked at once. The matter of governance should not just be left in the hands of a few selected individuals, it should be a collective thing. Members of the association ought to turn up during congress where issues of concern to the association are being discussed and deliberated about. As earlier stated in an earlier publication titled “Motif Stance of Apathy Among NASELSites”, a sustained practice of this apathy will lead to “…a subtle introduction to a collapse of the rule of law.”. First, it was the appointment of academic director from nowhere, followed by a modification of the constitutional requirements to form a quorum for the congress, and now, a public notice to violate the constitution, there are still more disrespect to the rule of law to come if this apathy is sustained.