INTERVIEW: MR JOHN OYEWOLE AYOBAMI SPEAKS

 

MR JOHN OYEWOLE AYOBAMI SPEAKS




NNAGBORO VIVIAN


“Are you telling me that I have to put all my eggs in one basket”

After the recently concluded FATSSSA elections Mr. John Ayobami emerged as the next social director of the association. It was later found, that he must have run a simultaneous campaign for a seat in the Zik hall SRC which he won. Chapter 4, article 11, section 1, subsection 2 of the FATSSSA constitution states ‘A member of the association holding elective post in one of the departmental associations or in the halls of residence is not eligible to contest, except he resigned his previous post’. Some have said Mr. John may be violating this clause of the constitution.

The press was able to reach out to him to get his own side of the story. This is what Mr. John had to say.

PRESSMAN: Good evening, I’m Vivian from FATSSSA press. I would like to ask you a few questions. How are you doing?

MR JOHN: I’m stressed

PRESSMAN: What’s stressing you?

MR JOHN: School life

PRESSMAN: Sorry.

PRESSMAN: I want to ask if you’re the same Ayobami John that is the social director-elect for FATSSSA and if you’re the same Ayobami John that won a seat in the SU SRC for Zik hall.

MR JOHN: Yes, I am.

PRESSMAN: Are you aware of a clause in the FATSSSA constitution that may forbid this?

MR JOHN: There is no clause. I’ve gone through the constitution.

PRESSMAN: There is actually.

MR JOHN: Let me see it

PRESSMAN: *Reads the clause out for him*

MR JOHN: So how does that?

PRESSMAN: You’re not supposed to hold more than one at the same time.

MR JOHN: The constitution is not that explicit. Come again let me walk you through it.

PRESSMAN: *Reads the clause again*

MR JOHN: The one you’re saying regarding must not contest, it is about contest. Everything happened after and that is one side. The one I was elected in the department, I resigned before I contested. The one of hall of residence, it is in the hall of residence. It’s not like I’m a floor rep at Zik house. This is UI SRC, UI house not department, not in the hall of residence. Go to Zik if you want to make your findings, go and ask them the constitution. The constitution is binding people in the Zik, house of the Zik not UI SRC and if you don’t know the president-elect will also be a member of SRC. So, what’s stopping me from holding two positions while the president is also a member of SRC. You guys should be happy that you have someone representing you people in faculty and someone representing in hall at the same time. I don’t know how you guys come up with the conclusion of a thing. Probably, you should talk to someone in the house or someone in the judiciary council to get the full understanding of the constitution. If you don’t have the full constitution, if you don’t have understanding of the constitution talk to someone to explain it to you. This doesn’t contradict to any position I’m holding. I hope I’m clear enough.

PRESSMAN: You’re clear

PRESSMAN: So why did you go for these two offices at the same time?

MR JOHN: Are you telling me that I have to put all my eggs in one basket?

PRESSMAN: No, I’m asking you why you went for the offices and what was the motivation?

MR JOHN: I have to be useful to my faculty and to my hall at the same time, I sleep there, I live there.

PRESSMAN: You want to be useful, how?

MR JOHN: Aside that I’m a member of defense team in my hall. I want to be useful to my hall.

PRESSMAN: In what way?

MR JOHN: There are other positions. I was told to run for social director of my hall, I told them I was already running for that at the faculty. So, I had to just let that go and run for something lesser. It’s just a means for me to be useful to the hall. Aside being the member of the UI SRC representing the hall, I’m also a defense team member in my hall. So, I am in so many things whereby, it’s an opportunity for me to be useful to UI, to my hall, to faculty and to the university at large.

PRESSMAN: You’ve said you want to be useful and I’m asking you in what way do you plan on being useful?

MR JOHN: Sitting down, listening, sharing the opinions, representing the opinions, of peoples from the hall. Is that not enough?  I’m spending my time and my time is my life. So, what else should be more useful than that.

PRESSMAN: Thank you for your time.

MR JOHN: You’re welcome.

 

NOTE: The validation of constitutional right or wrong is the duty of a judiciary. 

However, in the absence of one, the FHR could be relied on to take up the duty. 

FATSSSA Press has only published its piece for the general education of FATSSSAites and would continue to shine light on this or other issues in the same vein. 

The beauty of a democracy in this regard is that students themselves pick up the Constitution, study the clause in dispute, and then come to their own self-deduced conclusion, in terms of the aims, and goals of the wordings of that clause.

 

This interview with Mr. Ayobami John was conducted physically and recorded on Thursday, 28th October, 2021.



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