Students' Union Bus Donation Drive: A Step in the Right Direction, But Where's the Map?

By

By Adedoyin Oguntade 
The Great Ife Students' Union made public, in October, the crowdfunding for the union's commercial buses and bikes. This initiative was put in place in a bid to end the transportation crisis. Over time, the town gboro drivers have held a monopoly on transportation. Recently, in September, they moved to increase the price of transportation from ₦150 to ₦200.

The Students' Union vehemently resisted this, and for a few days, the Town gboro buses were not operating. The Students' Union provided buses that conveyed people at the rate of ₦100. This particular scenario appears to be just one of the numerous cases of Town gboro drivers trying to showcase their power. All of these factors culminated in the union's decision to end the transportation crisis through the provision of its buses and tricycles. This initiative can be seen as a laudable one with the potential to provide a lasting solution to the transportation crisis.

Despite all of these factors, the path to the procurement of the buses and tricycles does not appear to be fully mapped out. Since the crowdfunding plan was made public on October 19, no information has been revealed about how many buses and tricycles the Students' Union intends to purchase, the targeted amount, and, by extension, the amount of money that comes in at intervals.

 
In a conversation with Babatimehin Kinfeosi, the Secretary General of the Students' Union, at the beginning of the session, she explained to Icons correspondents that she could not reveal information about the crowdfunding yet because the union had not yet held a meeting to discuss all its dynamics. According to her, the bus crowdfunding initiative was not one of the top priorities the union was dealing with at the time.

A Need For Accountability
The Great Ife Students Transport Project (GIST-P), despite being a good initiative, still has some boxes to tick. Making public the targeted amount of money needed and the number of vehicles the union expects will go a long way in ensuring accountability. The student community needs to be kept abreast of updates about the project. Consistent updates about the targeted amount and the amount raised will encourage potential donors to be interested in contributing. The plans regarding how the project is to be achieved should be properly mapped out and revealed to the public.


The Great Ife Students Transport Project (GIST-P) was listed among the projects in view in the newsletter released by the office of the Secretary-General. This reveals that plans are being made toward achieving the project. What is truly needed at the moment is legitimacy.

When the crowdfunding post was made on X (formerly Twitter), certain individuals in the comment section asked about the targeted amount for the project, and the response given was that it would be made public.

The Great Ife Students Transport Project, as a commendable initiative, will become prominent and successful soon enough if accountability is prioritized. The entirety of the Great Ife community should be informed and kept abreast of matters relating to the project, from the targeted amount to the number of vehicles the union plans to purchase.

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Breaking Barriers: Exclusive Interview with the Only Female Bus Driver on OAU Campus

By
Image
By Esther Ademola The Icons Organization, in collaboration with Great Ife Network, recently conducted an exclusive interview with Mrs. Elugbaju, the sole female driver on the OAU campus. Standing out as the only woman among the Towngboro drivers, Mrs. Elugbaju has sparked curiosity about her motivation. During the interview, she shared insights into her experiences and shed light on her journey as a female driver in a male-dominated field. Question : Can you introduce yourself? Mrs Elugbaju : My name is Mrs Elugbaju. I am one of the driver of buses in the campus, I'm the only lady. Question : How did you become a bus driver especially in a University like Obafemi Awolowo University? Mrs Elugbaju:  I'm a civil servant. This is just a part time job for me. After office hour like 5:00pm, I do bring my bus and I will be loading from campus to gate and from gate to Campus like around 7:30pm-8:00pm then I will go back. READ ALSO: OAU Secures Two Gold Medals in Judo at FA...
Read more

Fresher's Week'24: Students' Union Holds Freshers Inter-Faculty Debate

By
Image
By  Adetunji Oluwafemi The Great Ife Students’ Union on Monday, 3rd November 2024, held its planned inter-faculty debate for freshmen. The debate is part of the events that have been prepared for Fresher’s Week 2024. The event experienced a slight delay, as the venue was moved from the 1000-seater to Oduduwa Hall by the order of the school management, which requested that the initial venue be vacated because the office of the Vice President, responsible for the event, failed to seek permission before using it. The event began at 12:35 PM. Faculties were paired and assigned topics: the Faculty of Administration and Science had the topic "Corrupt Democracies are Preferable to Dictatorships"; the Faculty of Agriculture and Dentistry debated on the topic "Subsidy is a Necessary Compromise of the Government, and Should be Implemented in Areas of Essential Public Domains"; the Faculty of Arts and Technology had the topic "Civil Disobedience is a Moral Wea...
Read more

Nights of Horror: Men Invade Moremi Hostel At Night. Here's what they did

By
Image
MOREMI HALL: A Tale of Night Stories: When Will It End? In the quiet corridors of Moremi Hall, a disturbing series of events has shaken the residents, raising questions about security and the unknown intentions of an elusive intruder.   It all started two weeks ago when the inhabitants of Moremi Hall were awoken to the cry of a lady, "Ole! Ole! (the Yoruba name for thief). At exactly 5:00 am, a guy who was wearing a mask was seen darting across the corridors. He was said to have stolen phones, and while he tried to escape, he was seen by some ladies who raised the alarm.   An eyewitness who will like to remain anonymous said he ran out of the kitchen and jumped down from the second floor to the ground. He sustained minor injuries, and to reduce the chase, he let go of the phones, which he had put in black nylon.   The Moremi residents were able to recover their phones, but he escaped through a gutter, and no one knows where he went. The porters were informed i...
Read more