The process of becoming a good leader is by emulating the good leaders of today. This week, our correspondent, Akinjobi Oluwagbemisola had the opportunity to interview one of the past Students' Union Vice President at one of the famous universities in Nigeria.
GWC: Can we meet you?
ZAINAB: My name is Oluotanmi Ibukunoluwa Zainab, I'm currently a 400-level student of Geography from the Faculty of Social Sciences. I love being impactful so I volunteer a lot, I belong to various organisations on campus including the Junior Chamber International, the University of Ibadan (JCI-UI), I'm also a member of Quantum Leaps Students' Assembly (QLSA) amongst others. I am an alumnus of the Young African Leaders Initiative (YALI). I'm also a data analyst and presently, I intern as a data analyst at the Nigerian Institute of Social and Economic Research (NISER). Finally, I'm the Vice President of the Students' Union of the University of Ibadan for the 2021/2022 academic session.
GWC: Wow! Your achievements awe me one after the other!
ZAINAB: Thank you.
GWC: You are the present Vice President of the students union at the university of Ibadan and I believe UI is a school where political positions like yours are highly competitive. How did you feel when you were announced the winner and sworn in?
ZAINAB: Hmmm…I was happy and at the same time, nervous. You know, the position comes with a lot of responsibilities and expectations. So, when I was sworn in, I was happy because I saw myself making changes and not just being the conventional type of leader. I was nervous because I did not know what was in store for me in the sense that I'll be working with a new set of people. I had a lot of expectations that I wanted to meet for students and I knew they had expectations of me too and being the person who does not like not living up to what I feel I'm supposed to do, I got nervous.
GWC: What are your aspirations for the future?
ZAINAB: I want to build a name for myself and at the same time, make a positive impact on the people around me. For the future, most people think I'll be an active politician but as for me, I'm indecisive about that because the future is uncertain; we just need to work hard and be prayerful. But, I would love to develop my skill set and be self-sufficient and when the opportunity comes, I'll go into politics. But my main aspirations are to develop myself and be self-sufficient outside politics.
GWC: Hmm…Self-sufficiency outside politics…
What has been your source of strength in times when you felt like quitting?
ZAINAB: My source of strength whenever I felt like quitting has been remembering the promises I made to students and myself. A lot of people believe in me more than I do myself and so, remembering the expectations of these people keeps me going. I get encouraged because I do not want to disappoint my family, friends, acquaintances and students who have put their trust in me.
Read: 4 Things Students Do That Makes Them Fail
GWC: What and Who inspires you?
ZAINAB: (Sighs) Most times, I get my inspiration from novels. Yes, I read novels a lot - Leadership novels,
and motivational novels like '7 Habits of Highly Effective People' by Steven Coven, 'Think and Grow Rich' by Napoleon Hill among others. I also get inspired by my uncle, Mr Olalere Oladayo who is always there for me when I need advice, calling my attention to things I need to build on and teaching me the way to go whenever I feel stuck. Also, there are a lot of Unibadan alumni doing great things for themselves and they inspire me a lot. Lastly, women leaders like Okonjo Iweala and Michelle Obama inspire me a lot.
GWC: What would you love to say to encourage other students who wish to enter university politics?
ZAINAB: One major thing is that they should not forget their primary reason for being in school, that is, their education. Most of our lecturers and university officials do ask us what we would boast about later in future when our university results are nothing to write about. So, don't forget your reason for attending school. Also, do not aspire for a position because you just want to be called by a name or associated with that position - It isn't right and at the end of it all, you'll be called out if you don't deliver well.
There are a lot of opportunities outside the university and whatever you do as a student is what will be used to judge you outside the four walls of your university. Another thing I'll like to say is that anyone who wants to enter any university politics must have a strong emotional stamina and mindset because there are times you'll be accused wrongly, rumours will spread about you and you will need a very strong emotional capacity to handle everything thrown at you.
GWC: On behalf of every aspiring student leader, I thank you ma.
Have you ever worked with a team you tagged as 'the worst'? What made you come to this conclusion?
ZAINAB: All the teams I've worked with have been great so far. While working in teams, arguments, misunderstandings and disagreements happen but I have learnt that a great team is established with enough understanding and communication, all of these barriers will be taken care of. Soft skills like emotional intelligence, communication skills and personal interactions have helped a lot.
GWC:What do you think about the Nigerian Academic Sector? What things do you hope to see improvements on?
ZAINAB: The major issue that the educational sector in Nigeria is facing is insufficient funding. With enough funding, there are a lot of things that will become better. The Federal government and the economy in itself have played a very large role in it. Aside from the incessant strikes, we also have the lack of facilities in various universities especially the public-owned universities - a lot of things are outdated and this drags learning processes. If these things can be improved upon, the Nigerian educational system will favour the students, society and the country a whole lot!
GWC: Wow! Our time is far spent! I had a very awesome time listening to you speak and I'm sure our audience had a great time reading this. Thank you for keeping the promises alive in you, thank you for taking it upon yourself to be better for your sake and ours too and lastly, thank you for those deep words of advice for aspiring student leaders.
ZAINAB: You're welcome. Thank you for having me.
GWC: To our audience, you can connect with our guest, and send in your questions for her or your well-wishes which will be greatly appreciated via her Instagram or Twitter.
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