THE ICONS ORGANIZATION — a frontline platform for accurate, timely, and unbiased news coverage.

            John Alabi  “Education is the best legacy,” so they say. But what happens when access to the rewards of one’s academic labour becomes increasingly difficult for a university undergraduate? Who should be held accountable? Delayed result uploads are not a new challenge within the Obafemi Awolowo University (OAU) community. Each semester, students begin with renewed determination to excel and improve their CGPAs. Some remain on campus during breaks, while others spend countless hours studying lecture materials, revising PDFs, and preparing for another academic session. Yet, after all the sacrifices, many are met with disappointment. The experience becomes a recurring cycle of uncertainty, with one unanswered question leading to another. Students enter examination halls without a clear understanding of their performance in previous courses, forced to predict their academic standing without knowing their strengths, weaknesses, areas ...

        Ezekiel Ogunniyi If you walked into Awo Café for the second day of the GreatIFE Students’ Representative Council (SRC) business meeting expecting the usual fireworks that often accompany the constitution of the electoral committee and petition body, you would have left disappointed. Perhaps that disappointment says more about us than it does about the House. On that day, the GreatIFE SRC sat, debated, voted, and swore in a new Electoral Commission and Petition Committee without a single disagreement, without a President storming out, and without security personnel stepping in to separate warring factions. Depending on who you ask, that is either proof that GreatIFE politics has finally matured or proof that its fire has simply burned out. Barely a year ago, the same chamber descended into what could only be described as pandemonium when the Speaker announced a thirteen-member electoral committee instead of the expected fifteen. The Union Presiden...

        Ijeoma Anele & Phebian Ojewande Obafemi Awolowo University (OAU), Ile-Ife, on Friday, July 10, concluded its annual July 10 commemoration with a symposium themed “Redefining Student Unionism: Combating Cultism While Strengthening Collective Participation in the Digital Era.” The symposium served as the grand finale of a three-day programme held from July 8 to July 10, 2026, in honour of the five students who lost their lives during the July 10, 1999 cult attack on the university campus. The commemoration featured a series of activities, including an anti-cultism rally, the screening of the July 10 documentary, public engagements, and the concluding symposium. These activities were aimed at preserving the legacy of the fallen students, promoting consciousness, awakening the spirit of activism, and renewing commitment to the fight against cultism within the institution. The event attracted a diverse audience, including serving Students’ Uni...

         Sofiat  Yusuf Students, Departmental and Faculty students' representative council (SRC), guest speakers, and other dignitaries, today June 18, converged at Oduduwa Hall, Obafemi Awolowo University (OAU), for the Great Ife Students’ Representative Council (SRC) Legislative and Tech Summit. The summit, themed “Reimagining Leadership in a Digital Age,” brought together student leaders and professionals to examine the evolving dynamics of leadership, technology, and entrepreneurship. The event was organised by the Great Ife SRC and featured alumni of the university, including the host, Damilare Fashina. Proceedings began with an opening prayer delivered by a member of the council, followed by the recitation of the Nigerian national anthem and the GreatIfe anthem. The Chairperson of the Parliamentary Summit, in her opening remarks, stressed the urgency of redefining leadership in contemporary times. “The question is not whet...

             John Alabi & Fawas Adedeji  Earlier today, the office of the Welfare Director of the Great Ife Students' Union, held the maiden international health conference, tagged "Surviving to Succeed: Addressing Health, Well-being, and Welfare Challenges in the Student Environment," at Hotel De Treasure Event Centre, Ibadan road. This event, as  convened by the union Welfare Director, Musab Osunleke, was organised to create awareness about students' mental health, and ways to monitor their well being in the midst of their various academic pursuits and expectations.  Prominent speakers and panelists at the event include the Managing Partner, Interdym Rutgers, at the State University of New Jersey, USA, Dr. Bashir Agboola, as the keynote speaker. Dr Oluwagbemi, a consultant family physician at Iwosan Lagoon Hospital, the Director of Nursing services at the Lagos State Ministry of Health, Bernice Aketi, Dr. George Uchen...

            Ezekiel Ogunniyi                                    Photo Credit: ACJOAU Oyelakin Juliet, a resident of Moremi Hall, with no other option moved to her friend's hostel off campus, after the peaceful demonstration held at the campus gate by the student on Tuesday, 28 April, over the university’s transportation crisis, Awolowo Hall renovation, and other related concerns.  Just a day after the protest, of which the management declared a 3 week break, with the Division of Student Affairs (DSA) issuing quit notice to the hall residents, the National Association of Nigerian Students, (NANS) South West Zone D intervened, with the hope for the reversal of the break.  Juliet's expectation after the intervention was that the break would be reduced to one week as demanded by the national students union. "Originally, I did not want to go home, but ...

          Oluwaferanmi Fadairo  In the recent statement issued by the Great Ife Students' Union, on the efforts and progress made so far on students welfare, and convenience for their academic environment. The statement gave updates and progress on pressing issues like the new transport system, proposed renovations in Awo Hall, and e-portal upgrade. The union stated the effort made on the new transport system challenges, noting that after a series of meetings (where they expressed the frustrations of the students) with the Vice Chancellor, noting that the management emphasized the need for patience, saying that the shift in the transportation system is to maintain the University standard, mentioning that the management already proposed sourcing private investors, to introduce more buses for the convenience of the students. The Union also reacted to the proposed renovation in Awo Hall, where the management recently issued an eviction ...

       Ezekiel Ogunniyi  The Students’ Union of Obafemi Awolowo University, Ile-Ife, has issued a stern warning to students against the illegal sale or transfer of allocated bedspaces at exorbitant prices. In a statement released on Thursday, 30th October, and signed by the Union’s President, Adelani David Oluwatodimu (Itabi); Secretary-General, Habeeb Oke Isa (Opeyemi); and Public Relations Officer, Oreoluwa Joseph Olowosile (Wà á là), the Union described the practice as “disturbing” and exploitative. According to the Union, some students have been engaging in the black-market trading of bedspaces officially allocated by the Division of Students’ Affairs, often at inflated prices that take advantage of those still struggling to secure accommodation. READ ALSO: http://theiconsorg.blogspot.com/2025/10/ballot-and-sell-mmm-of-oau.html “Bedspaces are not commodities to be traded for personal gain,” the Union warned, stressing that the act violates univer...

        Eniola Adeyeye & Adelusi Taiwo "Great Ife is not for thuggery. Great Ife is not for violence. Great Ife is for peace, justice, and all." With these powerful closing words, the Great Ife Students’ Union Electoral Commission and the Election Petitions Committee affirmed their commitment to a peaceful, democratic campus community in a statement released on Wednesday, 18th June 2025, condemning the recent violent attack on Hon. Fatoyinbo Azeez, Chairman of the Union’s Transport Management Committee and other students. READ ALSO: Great Ife Election Season Begins: Campaign Ban Lifted, Official Timetable Released The electoral petition committee assured the student body that they stand firmly with the victims and will not relent until justice is served through proper Union procedures and the university’s regulatory framework. The releases stressed that the Union must remain a citadel of progress, unity, and intellectual engagement, free from violence...

By Kehinde Ayodele  Barely 24 hours after the lifting of the ban on campaigning on Tuesday, June 17, the long-anticipated election timetable was released by the electoral commission. READ ALSO: Electoral Commission and Electoral Petition Commission Appointed Amid SRC Sitting Chaos Based on the released election timetable, the collection of nomination forms is set to take place between June 18 and June 19, the press conference and screening of contestants will occur between June 20 and June 21, the debate for CEC aspirants is scheduled for June 23, CEC manifestos are due on June 24, SRC elections will take place on June 25, CEC elections are set for June 26, and the official collation and announcement of results will occur on June 27. HEC debates and manifestos are scheduled for June 28, HEC elections will take place on June 30, and lastly, the swearing-in of elected candidates will occur after examinations. During its announcement regarding the lifting of th...

          Bukola Fatoba  The Great Ife Students' Representative Council's (SRC) business meeting, held on Sunday, 15th June 2025, at Ajose Lecture Theatre, took an unexpected turn as tensions flared over the appointment of the 2023/24 Academic Session's Students’ Union Electoral Commission, leading to a significant disruption in proceedings. The sitting, convened to resume the recess and proceed with the address of outstanding agenda items from the previous sitting, commenced with the presentation of sessional reports from various halls of residence. This was followed by a debate and subsequent approval of the statements of the reports given by the Hall Chairpersons. These segments proceeded peacefully, without any form of disruption or uproar. Meanwhile, the atmosphere shifted dramatically when the union assembly moved to the appointment of the Electoral Commission, whose responsibilities are to oversee and conduct the forthcoming Students’ Uni...

By Kehinde Ayodele  In a bold stance, the Great Ife Students' Union has declared that students will boycott all upcoming examinations if the university fails to issue long-overdue student identity cards. This declaration was made public in a press release on Saturday, May 24, 2025, after months of unheeded appeals and broken promises by the university administration. The union, through its executives, expressed deep frustration over what they describe as “persistent administrative negligence” regarding the production and distribution of ID cards. READ ALSO: Campus Hustlers: Inside the Lives of OAU’s Student Entrepreneurs “We are tired of delays. We are tired of excuses,” the statement read. The Students' Union emphasised that despite multiple engagements, written communications, physical meetings, and follow-ups, the management has failed to deliver on its obligation to provide student identification cards, a basic necessity for academic and social life. The consequ...

By Israel Bakare and Sinmisola Ajibola  The Students' Union Students' Representative Council (SRC) sitting held on Sunday, May 11, at Ajose Lecture theatre centred on ratifying the hall committees and nominating and ratifying members for the select committee, transport committee, security committee, and judicial committee. As previously reported by the Icons Organization, since the inauguration of the current administration of the Great Ife Students' Union, the Transport Management Committee (TMC), along with the Security Committee and other relevant committees, had not been ratified, even though a semester had passed and the second semester had begun. Oladepo Oladele, the Speaker of the SRC, remarked that the meeting on May 11 was their first business session. READ ALSO: TMC, Security Committee, and Others to Be Ratified This Month, Says S.R.C. Speaker Before ratifying the committees, it was clarified that the interim security committee was operating under coll...