Zik Hall Press Inaugurates New Editorial Board

By Oloyede David Oyewale

The Nnamdi Azikiwe Hall Press Organisation, has inaugurated a new editorial board, marking a transition of leadership in the hall’s press organisation.

The inauguration took place during the official handing-over ceremony held on December 24 at the Junior Common Room of the hall, bringing an end to the tenure of the outgoing board.

Members of the new Editorial board 

In a keynote address, senior campus journalist, Aduwo Ayodele, charged the newly sworn-in members to uphold accuracy, professionalism and courage in their reportage, noting that hall politics had become increasingly sensitive.

“The state of politics in the hall is like a fire on the mountain, and this makes responsible reporting more important than ever,” he said.

Aduwo urged the new board to see credible reporting as its strongest tool, advising members to work closely with the University of Ibadan Campus Journalists’ Union to maintain ethical standards.

Also speaking, a representative of the Elders’ Committee, Mr Meroyi, commended the outgoing editorial board for its service and encouraged the new leadership to build on the foundation laid by its predecessors.

Members of the outgoing Editorial board 

The new editorial board was sworn in by the UCJ President, Miss Adebumowa Jesutomiwo. The members of the newly inaugurated Nnamdi Azikiwe Hall Press Editorial Board are:

Akanni Oluwasegun — Editor-in-Chief

Oloyede David Oyewale — Deputy Editor-in-Chief

Fafure Kehinde — Managing Editor

Adebiyi Emmanuel — General Editor / Health Editor (UCH)

Mr Idris — Chief Correspondent

Awards were presented to members of the outgoing board in appreciation of their contributions, after which the board was formally dissolved by the immediate past Editor-in-Chief of Sultan Bello Hall Press, Mr Fiyinfoluwa Ibrahim.

The ceremony was attended by the Zik Hall Chairman, Mr Sotomi Daniel; the Speaker of the Hall Legislative Council, Oladoja Ayomide; editors-in-chief of various hall presses; and the newly elected UCJ President, Miss Adebumowa Jesutomiwo.

A House Without Pillars: Zik Hall’s Election Reform and the Cost of Removing Oversight

Many years ago, a man bought a house and decided to make several changes to its structure. This on its own is a beautiful idea; the house has to be made fitting for modern times and also adapted to the needs of its owner. Each step of the renovation was fuelled by ambition and curiosity, yet he never paused to understand the house’s silent architecture, the hidden lines of strength that held it upright through storms and years. In his zeal to remake, he overlooked the heart of its stability—the single, unassuming piece that bore the weight of everything else. When he finally removed it, the house did not creak or groan in warning; it surrendered quietly, a collapse of

forgotten wisdom and unseen support. And in that instant, he learns that cornerstones and foundations are rarely obvious, and the true strength of any structure—be it house or life—often lies in what is least noticed.

 This story is fitting with a similar narrative of what led to the fall of the Roman Empire and then Soviet Union, where some brilliant minds trying to institute institutional change lacked the basic knowledge of how the institutions worked. Yes, change is important. We must all try to embrace it with open-mindedness; however, we cannot afford to be so open-minded that our brains begin to fall out.

Over the years, Zik Hall Press Organisation has consistently played a key role in the hall's electoral process. And this is not just a grand saying. Right from the planning to the screening process to the election proper, our members in the past and the present have sacrificed so much to make the process as seamless as the members of Nnamdi Azikiwe Hall deserve, as it is their professional responsibility. Every single session, the electoral committee has at least two pressmen on the committee, a representative from Zik Press, and at least one or two other Zik pressmen representing other communities in the hall. This arrangement is not arbitrary. Journalism, by its very nature, demands objectivity, accountability, and scrutiny. As members of the fourth estate, pressmen are trained to look beyond personal bias and insist on evidence, fairness, and due process. 

 However, a few months ago, a tide of change came, and we decided to be open-minded about the changes, at least for once. During the constitutional review of the hall, Zik Hall Press was removed from the entire process. There were no additional changes to the process, just that the section guaranteeing the press as a member of the committee was removed. The entire narrative was blindsiding, albeit even questionable, because what level of democratic inclusiveness will result from an electoral process without press men? But not to make unnecessary waves, we decided to be open-minded about this change. And consequently, the events of the past week and a half have shown how wrong the decision to remove the press is.

In the just concluded screening process, allegations of irregularities have been raised and levelled against the members of the committee, most especially its chairman, Adetunji Samson. This is a chairman that conducted an election so chaotic at his faculty that the dean of students had to intervene. While the logic behind his selection as electoral chairman might seem unarguable, given the fact that he is the image that comes to the mind of many when the average Zikite is being described. His political affiliations and character issues make him a poor choice of candidate. How sure are we he will not be out to get his own ideal choice of executives and floor reps for the hall? We have an electoral commissioner who only two sessions ago had his character scrutinised so intensely by the electoral committee he broke into sweat trying to question the character of others.

This whole situation is directly the fault of the hall chairman, Daniel Sotomi. The constitution of the hall empowers the chairman to pick every single member of the committee. He is constitutionally empowered to pick three co-opted members for the committee. Although there are still some people that he did not pick, like those from the Christian, Muslim and L & D communities, he is still the one submitting their names to the legislative council. So, in a way, the names being submitted are people he must have been satisfied with. So far, this session, Sotomi has not wielded this power appropriately. It is pathetic that of all the available individuals who could have done it, the hall chairman decided to pick a close friend of his for the position of electoral committee chairman. Even the renaming of the committee from the familiar ZIKCOM to NAHEC feels symbolic—not of progress, but of change for its own sake.

The reason why press men are trusted in contexts like these is because they can at least be trusted to look beyond their own convictions and bias and into what is concrete and convincing proof. But if members of the committee cannot hide their disgust for the character of the candidates and can even say to their faces that 'I will not let you qualify' or 'I will not screen you', it calls into question why they have been charged with that responsibility in the first place. This makes any reasonable person question the validity of the disqualified candidates in the process.

This election process has been and will still prove to be the most shambolic election process that Zik Hall has ever witnessed. A lot went wrong, from the composition of the committee to the choice of the chairman to the obvious and most irresponsible manner in which the press was undemocratically left out of the process. 

At this point, it is a waste of breath to clamour for a return to the status quo. Everything has to be overhauled. There needs to be a top-to-bottom shakedown. Average Zikites must be able to decide who conducts their own election through a congress. The committee must decide on its own chairman. These are a few steps, but they are not minor steps. And hopefully, the hall can move forward into a future where their leaders are popularly and legitimately chosen. 

The creative minds who thought it wise to draft a constitutional amendment where the press is left out of the electoral committee will now have to figure out one in which the people of Nnamdi Azikiwe Hall will be able to get a more transparent election process. Otherwise, it risks repeating the mistake of the man who renovated his house without understanding it, only to discover, too late, that the quiet structures he removed were the very things holding everything together.

On Elections and Structure Building Aficionados

Before the world became so civilised, as the Yoruba would say, ‘when our eyes were still on our knees’, the process of selecting a leader or taking a leadership role often came with a lot of eccentricities. This is because such a position and/or office is considered almost sacred or divine. The candidates are exposed to various different bizarre conditions to test how well they can handle it. In some contexts, they are made to undertake an arduous task or accomplish a deathly feat. In some cultures, challengers for a position are made to engage in a duel, often to the death, to see who breaks whom. This they considered the true sign that the candidate is worthy.

The thinking back then was not so refined, but the underlying intention remains extremely valid. It was a kind of aristocracy, where the most gifted, talented or powerful get to lead, as they are the ones who are considered able to solve the problems facing the society. But nowadays, even with our eyes properly in their sockets, we have lost sight as a society of what should actually be important to us.

The election period in our dear University of Ibadan never fails to deliver with its own drama. From the departmental to the hall and faculty levels, even in the internal workings of various student organisations, there is enough material in our politics that would make for a thrilling sitcom. First, we have the ones we can all perceive: the campaign materials and tactics and the endless cajoling and persuasion tactics that feel like gaslighting. Then we have the not-so-subtle election tactics where the candidate relies on some form of alliance to get votes.

Here, the aspirants for various positions tap into a complex network of hall, faculty, religious, club, societal, and godfather sentiments to push their candidacy. They look for the influencers, the ones whose say can bring attention to them. They pander to the demands of these individuals. These individuals, the aficionados, then bear the burden of that aspirant's campaign and begin to literally direct him on who to go to, where to go and how to go about issues. The candidates subsequently become robots who lack a level of individual thinking themselves.

This was evidenced during the last SU press night, where most of the candidates came with empty manifestos and well rehearsed PR jargon. When asked to grade the current SU VP, one of the candidates for the post of VP graded her an eighth describing the current UISU vice president as a role model, someone she aims to emulate. This answer on its own should not be that bad; everyone deserves the right to whoever they want as mentors or role models, except for the fact that the individual she aims to emulate almost completely disappeared during her own administration. There are other instances in which there were no connections between the plans and the words coming out of the mouths of the candidates, instances in which their plans were out of touch with reality or even failed to cater for students in the school. These are the kinds of candidates these “structures” are pushing, and then we gather and wonder why things are not changing.

This article would have been titled 'Elections and Structure Building Experts', but this would not be fitting, as having a liking for a certain hobby does not make one an expert. Engaging in regular SUB pitch football does not translate into one developing the technical skills and dexterity of a professional footballer. In the same way, building “structures” and “alignments” by these individuals does not mean these structures deliver any positive returns on the long-term future of our student populace.

For all the “structure building” that has been done, is being done and will, unfortunately, at least for the near future continue to be done, the central idea has always been about position, to decide who gets which position and how Candidate X will edge out Candidate Y. Unfortunately, these architects of wonderfully cantankerous structures lack the initiative to build structures that will champion resistance to the various harsh policies meted out by the school management on students. It is rather all about which person gets to sit closest to the VC and take pictures with management staff. This situation gives off a mental imagery of stakeholders in this sham acting as kids, fighting over who gets to sit on Father Christmas's lap, who gets to be his bodyguard, who gets to carry his gifts and who gets left with nothing.

Ordinarily, candidates should be getting in on their own character, persuasiveness and the convincingness of their plans, not on how much who is helping or endorsing them. But since this key ingredient is missing, we now have candidates who are going for positions getting stumped on the basic union history and demographic questions. Asking for the bare minimum from candidates and aspirants now looks like a herculean task. But then, if a candidate cannot be bothered to know more about the people he wants to represent and the issues facing them, how then can we be convinced of his or her ability to bring fruitful changes? How can we plant stones and expect to reap sweet potatoes?

But then, what else can we expect when our elections have become less of a process where the candidates find an innovative or unionist approach to solving issues and more of one where the candidates look for how many electoral commissioners they can get into their own pockets. What else can we say of a committee that is not of the students in any way, a committee comprising individuals who themselves are chasing a recommendation letter at the end of their tenure? What kind of objectiveness can we expect of an electoral commissioner who, in a flagrant nonadherence to his duties, decides to team up in a stakeholders meeting to decide who holds which student union election?

Above all else, what is even more concerning is that this “structure building” and “alignment creation” should not be yielding any effect on anyone in any way. As students committed to intellectualism, we should be able to decide the people we want to see in office without being blinded by any forms of sentiment. And this brings us back to the issue of political apathy. During the last SU election, barely 8,751 students were accredited. This time, it is looking like the numbers will be lower. Real-time observation at the NFLT manifesto night showed that the turnout for the campaigns of the aspirants this time around was rather lukewarm. Even though the candidates came with their noise engines, the hall was barely full, an indication of the growing acceptance for the status quo. It would appear that apathy is winning.

Meanwhile, given the fact that the candidates campaigning have no solutions to the fundamental problems facing our union, they don’t campaign to the segment of the student populace that has more questions for them. These students consequently don’t bother posing questions to them or even engaging in the election process at all. Instead, election periods are now a period where those who are undecided soon find their minds made up for them at the last minute, by the forces of structure, of course.

At the end of the day, even after managing to get “our guy” into said office, what do we get? Nothing, except maybe for the bragging rights. “The president is from my hall”; “I will call the house sec for light”, and “I will ask the PRO to check for me”. There is no guarantee that the candidate will actually perform well. On occasion, he or she might respond to the calls of those who get him into the office. But other than that, the rest of the students are left in a limbo.

 

The Kitchen Boys: On The Living Conditions of Zik Hall Kitchenette Residents

By: The Muffin Man 

Bayo (not a real name) resumed very late. He was broke and desperate at the time when the normal rooms were being allocated, so he would not have been able to pay even if his name had come up during the allocation process. But when he resumed fully, he started reaching out to people to assist him. But when all other options seemed to have dried up, he, along with a group of boys, went to meet with the porters to get bedspace in the kitchenettes.

"We went to meet the porters, and I said, 'If you can manage the kitchenette.' Actually, they wanted to allocate four people here. So, we told them that this place is quite jagged up. It can't contain four people like that. That was when they allowed us to be three. They then asked us to pay. We paid money for this kitchenette, around #60,000. We also asked them to fix it, because this place was quite naked. It was naked, as I was here before. Therefore, they fixed all the sockets," he said.

Accommodation in UI

The first semester of a session is a rather difficult period for most occupants of Nnamdi Azikiwe Hall. For individuals who are not freshmen or finalists, the whole process of securing accommodation is not exactly a jolly one. Given that primary consideration is given to medical students, students on IT, first-year students and final-year students, the rest have to justle, hope and pray for the spaces left when the previously mentioned set of people are satisfied. 

Ordinarily, individuals who are interested in getting a room in Nnamdi Azikiwe Hall have to get an accommodation form for about ₦200 from the porters. Upon resuming, they then check the released lists to see if their names appeared in the lists that are being released. Some of these students hold on to hope of securing a bedspace, shuffling between staying with friends and sleeping in reading rooms or off campus, at a period where the academic rigour was already heating up. And oftentimes, when the first, second, third or maybe even the fourth list gets released, they are stranded when they then realise that there are no more rooms available. They then scramble to get more permanent and/or convenient options, depending on their pockets. 

This has been the narrative in Nnamdi Azikiwe Hall for a while now. Mojeed, another kitchenette resident, when he found that there were no vacant rooms left, when he heard there were kitchenettes available, he went to ask for it, and he was fixed up in one of the repurposed rooms. The wiring and louvres had been fixed, but he had to fix the lighting and electrics himself. 

This session… 

The signs started appearing last semester. But obviously, the winds of this change had started blowing a little while before then. In halls of residence like Tedder and Indy, their kitchenettes were being repurposed to serve as rooms for students. Between that time and now, Indy press has written at least three articles on the matter. But it was not until the beginning of this session that Nnamdi Azikiwe Hall saw her own changes. First it started as repair works being done in some of these rooms; before long, there were real-time signs that these rooms are no longer the officially delegated cooking areas. 

The Kitchen Boys Lament

When Zik Press reached out to one of the occupants of these newly converted rooms, he revealed that he was stranded and very desperate; he just had to pay. For most of the students Zik Press interviewed, the financial, psychological, and emotional benefits of staying on campus are one of the reasons why they paid to live there. However, with the various issues these people are dealing with, staying in a kitchenette does not appear to be all worth it.

For starters, the kitchenettes in Zik hall are designed to have cabinets and cooking surfaces. But even now that these rooms have been officially reassigned as official living areas, none of the cupboards and cooking surfaces have been moved. The occupants just move around in that space everyday. Most of the kitchenettes that Zik Press visited showed signs of a desperate need for renovations. 

However, some of the residents of the kitchenettes we visited expressed scepticism about our enquiries. On one occasion, the occupants of one of these rooms, seeing the questions we had, asked us, rather hastily, to leave, perhaps due to a fear of intimidation or eviction.

In the meantime, kitchenette occupants keep facing various challenges. For one thing, staying in the kitchenettes as they are currently is a big security risk. Most of these repurposed rooms had doors whose materials had weakened with time and had almost fallen off their hinges. The only thing keeping the individuals living in those rooms and their properties is the grace and protection of the Supreme Being, as it would appear that the only thing those doors can do is to cover the doorframe.

Speaking to one of the residents, Mojeed stated that they often had to deal with lights and privacy issues. He even stated that rats would oftentimes sneak in through the cracks and holes in their doors and eat their foodstuff. Bayo also concurred saying, "This place is not safe. I usually get scared in the night because someone could just break in. The latch on my door can barely hold it."

Another kitchenette occupant added that some of the hall excos don't know they are supposed to be living there. According to him, they have had to explain several times to Emiola Waliu's defence team members that the porters assigned them to move in there.

Furthermore, these rooms pose a ginormous electrical risk to the people living in and around them. As it stands, in most of the kitchenettes (both the ones that are currently being occupied and the ones that have not been fully converted) there are big electrical distribution boards called pattresses. 

While some of these experts stated that having one in rooms is not so bad, having them exposed is hazardous. In fact, one of the occupants of these rooms has on occasion lamented about the issue of smoke and occasional sparks from these boxes.

A need for urgent intervention

Zik Press visited all the other kitchenettes in A-Block, B-Block and C-Block, and we found traces of failing facilities. The windows and louvres were barely hanging on. In most cases, especially in C-block, the doors were almost entirely ripped off. As it stands, only the kitchenettes that are currently being occupied, like the 4 in B-block and the 2 in A-block, have experienced some form of repair of the electrical fittings and window installations. 

The other kitchenettes, especially the two remaining in A-block and the ones in C-block, lie in a state of disrepair. And these raise critical questions about habitability and safety in the baluba kingdom.

Editor's note: Names have been changed to protect the identity of the individuals concerned.

Cartoons: A Collection Of Zik Press Sketches For Those Who Think The Living Situation In This School Is Funny

Throughout this session, Zik Hall Press Organization at various points released different sketches, some of them lifelike, some of them life-esque. Enjoy. (Or whatever).

1. Different Strokes For Different Uites

Everybody get wetin dey do them!

A representation of life on campus for different students.

First released: December 5, 2025

2. KeepQuietOrGetClamped

Disclaimer: No person was harmed in the making of this cartoon. Just a couple of individuals who were taking pictures, or writing stories... But that's because they weren't wearing an ID card.

Wear an ID card today.

First released: March 15, 2025

3. #BringBackMyBlackTrouser

And my condom boxers!

First released: June 15, 2025

4. The honeymoon phase of campus politics

The reality hits on day two when the great leader stops answering his phone.

First Released: Unknown 

5. The two things students need: Water and 'TRUSTING THE PROCESS!

Wahala for who dey shower. Sha invest in deodorant, my dear brother.

First released: May 25, 2025

6. Suspicious Times = Times you shouldn't ask questions or demand change

Make Dem no use you write four page essay

First released: August 12, 2025

Credits: The God who gives inspiration and the pencils he used—

Submarine 

Meroyi 

Akhimien

Satire: Mgt Rolls Out Plans For A New Toy Line

The Muffin Man 

The management of the University of Ibenju, in conjunction with an organisation named Puppet Co, has rolled out plans to launch an all-new toy brand. The launch was announced in a communiqué issued by the school and made available to several different media outlets all over the continent.

According to this communiqué, the launch will begin in phases, with departments and some certain faculties getting the first batch of products. The letter further revealed that the new toys have been extensively screened and scrutinised for any obvious or subtle flaws as well as issues with patent infringement. These extensive tests were done to ensure that these products were fitting for the school standard.

According to an official our reporter reached out to at the media and public relations unit of the school, a pageant or display ceremony of sorts will be held for the newly launched toys. During this pageant, some of the toys with the highest ratings by the evaluation board will be put before the students in a poll. The toy with the highest vote count gets to be the new mascot of the university.

Leaked Documents Reveal

From some sets of documents from our sources at the VC's office, student affairs and the Puppet Co development team, our reporters were able to glean that this project had been in the works since the reinstatement of the Ibenju Student Union some decades ago. At its inception, the project was thought to be a massive waste of resources and also a few light years away from being feasible in any way.

"However, the target population proved to be the most accommodating and unbothered set of individuals. So the project will be tested on every scale to find a one-size-fits-all, the one that works in all contexts. And as such, the management has deemed it fit for the project to carry on. However, there were a couple of holdouts among the target population, but those were taken care of quietly," one of the documents obtained read in part.

The Story of the New Toy Line

Some of the brains close to the situation stated that the plan was in accordance with the management's decision to meet with world best practices and more importantly, contribute to making life easier for humankind in general.

According to information received by our reporter from one Mr Aigolai Giviu at the student affairs division, this project is set to complement the recently established Ibenju robotics unit with a view of replacing that unit altogether.

"As we all know, machines are the new way forward. So we are looking to move on from creating insensitive machines and robots to more lifelike toys and puppets for people who like to get hands-on. As effective as machines and robots can be, everything becomes boring and underwhelming where the owners have nothing to do."

"In fact, the idea is not to create robots who simply try to solve problems and only use computer logic. It is always obvious they are being controlled, so they might not appeal to the students. This is why we are using toys that students can take with them wherever they go because at the end of the day it is about feelings, emotions and empathy," he said.

Puppet Co Reps Speak

When the PR Director of Puppet Co., Mr Sino Hevil, was reached out to for comment, he stated that the funding and initiative were provided entirely by the school management who left quite the wiggle room of creativity for them.

"We fiddled with the zombie model, but we realised that it was not quite what the school wanted due to the ineffectiveness of previous models. At some point during development, we were faced with the daunting task of deciding whether the new toy was supposed to entertain, educate or lead. This unclarity delayed us for a couple of weeks."

When asked what was different about the newly launched toy line, he also reiterated that it was lifelike. "The details are in the eyes," he said. "We tried to make the new models a little more lifelike."

ISU Senior Specimen Speaks

When reached out to for comments, Arigidana Jegede, the outgoing ISU Senior Specimen, whose position is now being rebranded Senior Mascot, stated that the collaboration was a laudable initiative.

"I mean, what else can I say about a management who cares so much about the welfare and wellbeing of their students that they have gone to lengths such as this to help them stay safe and comfortable?"

 "We are grateful to our mummies and daddies at the management level for their insight and sagacity," said he.

Editor's Note: This piece is what learned and educated individuals call a satire. Any resemblance to any place, institution, or being, living or dead, is entirely in your head.