Faced with the same task, other halls of residence and student associations in the University of Ibadan community have leaned into their own creative sides in carving out their own emblems, some leaned a little too far while others did not even lean in. There are logos so basic, it could be the logo of a government-owned primary school; ones so over the top, it could be the emblem of a nightclub; and others that would fit just right as the badge of a South American football club. Talking about the Nnamdi Azikiwe Hall emblem, the image the hall adopted has at its centre the University of Ibadan's own crest shrunk in scale; surrounding that crest is a bold circular navy blue border inscribed with the words NNAMDI AZIKIWE HALL at the top and UNIVERSITY OF IBADAN at the bottom. On either side of the emblem is a laurel wreath, and at the base area is a banner ribbon with the words “QUALITY OF GREATNESS”. This has been the logo that Zik Hall has been using for as long as we can confirm, although it was recently reedited to lean more into the navy blue feel, but that's beside the point.
Say what you will about the hall and the peculiarities of its occupants, you can't deny the fact that their attitude correlates directly with the deep-lying and not-so-subtle message their logo is passing across. The laurel wreath in most contexts is used to symbolise excellence and distinction. In ancient Greco-Roman cultures, it was used to honour outstanding and eminent personalities. Consequently, it makes it difficult to argue against the logic that the people whom this logo represents view themselves as an eminent community in the University of Ibadan. If anything, for an organisation to confer this wreath on itself is a confirmation of the fact that this organisation views itself as the pride of the University of Ibadan, the prime community, and the de facto head and trailblazer among other communities of its calibre in the school.
This stance might be perceived as arrogant, but indeed history, both the ones written down and the ones passed down by word of mouth, has established this fact. We have heard stories of how Zikites and Zik Hall were at the forefront of various student movements, how the hall was the hub of innovation, intellectualism and political consciousness, and how the hall used to be a community where one brother's success existed for the pride of the collective, and the victory of the collective was a source of pride to each individual. We have heard history alright. We have heard stories of the kind of feelings the mention of Zik Hall strikes in different contexts in the University of Ibadan. But nowadays it seems time has watered down these stories, including all that eminence and feelings of authority. They have been seemingly reduced to mere echoes.
If one were to ask a current 100-level Zikite what it means to be a Zikite, he would probably respond with a quip about living in darkness, enduring declining facilities and catching thieves every other week. A 200-level Zikite would probably speak of how he has not witnessed any of the huge political strength that Zik Hall is acclaimed to have. Three hundred level Zikites will probably have more dramatic stories, but their experiences will not be anywhere close to those of the guys before then. The only ones who probably would have a relatively richer testimony, as eyewitnesses themselves, are the current 400-level Zikites. This is a testament to how vastly things have changed.
It is very difficult to proceed with this article without mentioning several of the articles we have published over time on the issue of the decline that Zik Hall and the Zik spirit have suffered. Ordinarily, Nnamdi Azikiwe Hall is a kind of hall in which slacking and any kind of ineptitude are not acceptable. However, over the years everything that can slack has slacked. Anyone with an observant eye can see how far things have fallen off, from our social life to our often-spoken-about political strength. And today, we would like to bring attention to this issue, this time relative to the broader University of Ibadan context.
A good place to start is perhaps the state of our facilities. At the beginning of the semester, it was a very underwhelming factor for some of the freshmen Zik Press spoke to. Although, over the last three or so sessions, the hall has seen renovations on several different levels. The porter's lodge was rebuilt, toilet doors were repaired, window nets were replaced, and the SCR and JCR were renovated. Some of these changes still feel like plastering over a big flesh wound without proper stitches, like the government's miserly treatment of the education sector or the seeming abandonment of the hall by the management in renovations that other parts of the school have seen. It's so perspicuous, it's difficult to say one is imagining it. There are rooms currently dealing with electricity issues, rooms dealing with stench issues, and rooms dealing with broken windows. Even the hall itself is dealing with light and water issues. It would appear that for every issue every other Uite in every other hall of residence can dream to complain about, Zikites get to sigh and say, “First time?”
Apart from that, the recent woes of the hall in the political space are a further indication of how far we have declined. As easy as it would be to point fingers and apportion blame, it is an issue that starts from the bottom up. First we have apathetic citizens, individuals who have consistently failed to know more about the sociopolitical clime in the hall and who would rather not pull their weight in making things better. Then we have officeholders who occupy positions out of the delusional conviction that the office belongs to them, and with a lukewarm consensus saying, “He is next.” These are the kinds of people contributing to key decisions in our hall. It then comes as no shock when they fail to live up to their constitutionally apportioned duties or even the promises they themselves bring forward (N.B. – Over the course of the next few weeks, the reviews of each of these offices will be released). All these, combined with several other issues, have contributed to the issues the hall is having even at the SU level.
According to medical professionals, sneezing is a reflex action by the body. It is a kind of protective mechanism that the body employs to defend itself from irritants and allergens. It can also be a sign of further health problems. In the context of what we are currently discussing, the situation in the hall has persisted for so long. It is a situation that a lot of Zikites have groaned and moaned about, following which they have adjusted and readjusted. This is an urgent cry for help to the relevant stakeholders: the school management, the hall management, the student union, alumni and every well-meaning individual or authority, even the ordinary Zikites themselves. The poster boy for excellence has become the poster boy for everything that is wrong in the school community.
The Baluba giant has been sneezing for so long; it appears only this time the issues are not appearing in other parts of the school. Or better still, the issues are being attended to in other areas, just not in Nnamdi Azikiwe. The sternutations have carried on for so long; the only one who actually looks remotely sick is still Baluba Kingdom, while the other areas have, thus far, managed to look perfectly healthy. The appropriate stakeholders can help in addressing all the issues that the hall is currently facing to bring succour to its residents. Even the ordinary Zikites themselves need to look inward to figure out a way to reignite the spark that will bring the hall back into the pride of place in which it belongs.
