Exhaling the 11th time - Chronicles Of A Monotechnic's Students Week
By Teniola Mudashir Oladipupo
'We have definitely evolved' - Odimnfe Favour declared, emphasizing
that the activities of the students’ week of the Nigerian Institute of Journalism,
Ogba Lagos is not what it used to be. The annual week-long celebrations
involving an array of colourful events come up every May in the academic
calendar of Nigeria’s premier monotechnic. Inaugurated in 2011, it has over the
years, featured several youthful and educational activities, providing the
students with opportunity to have a breathing space away from regular academic
routines.
HND 2 Class Governor, Gbemile Tosin, championed the 2012 edition.
In 2018, Mrs Patricia Kalesanwo
who was then the school’s Students Affairs Officer said that the week was of high
value to students, adding that “It helps to reduce pressure on the students,
in order to help them concentrate better in classes and exams.” – The
Eagle.com.ng
Students Affairs Officer, Mrs Patricia Kalesanwo, others at XLR8 2019 pageantry
KEY FEATURES AND PROGRAMS OUTLINE
Each year, a series of events are held
from Monday through Saturday in the first week of May. In 2017, the organizers came
up with some activities, tagged “pre-students’ week” to create awareness for
the one-week programme. It included an awareness walk and community service and
ended with a Bonfire on the Saturday preceding the main events. The Bernard
Victory-led Students Representative Council administration in 2019 added a religious
event, dubbed Honor God to the pre-students’ week activities. “The NIJ Honour
God is a praise concert set aside for the students to give all accolades to
God,” Victory mentioned to EkoHotBlog in 2019.
Thus, each consecutive edition has
featured the following:
- FRIDAY (HONOR
GOD)
A dual faith-based program held
simultaneously by the Muslim and Christian students in the school campus.
- SATURDAY (BONFIRE)
Students play music, dance and play
various games in a picnic style around a bonfire in the school compound.
- MONDAY (CARNIVAL,
GROOVING & CONCERT)
The carnival is the
official opening event. The students, dressed in various colorful costumes go
on a
roadshow around the Ogba
environs, basically, having fun as well as creating awareness for the
school. There is a music
stand in the school with a DJ treating the students to different raving
musicals after the roadshow. The
opening Mondays usually end with a grand concert in the evening featuring
A-list artistes presently making waves in the entertainment industry.
- TUESDAY (CULTURAL
DAY & GYRATION, MOVIE NIGHT)
This typically features various
activities showcasing the cultures of major ethnic groups in Nigeria. From
costumes, food to music, each group goes all out to outdo the others in a
friendly competition of the best. It is usually the singular most colourful
event of the entire week with students having prepared for weeks prior. The
movie night is another fun event where the students either premiere a
movie produced in-house or screen any other but usually an educative film. Some
past editions have featured films produced by students in the broadcast
department of the school.
- WEDNESDAY (SPORTS
AND MEDICAL CHECK-UP DAY)
The sports day is one of the most
anticipated by the students especially those in different football teams. The
day climaxes in the final playoffs of the Provost Cup – a fiercely contested
intra-school football tournament with a gold-plated trophy and cash money to
look forward to as the grand prize for the champions from the female and male
categories. There is also track and field events which was introduced this
year. It featured relay races and 100-meter races for the male and female
categories featuring athletes from the ND and HND levels.
Other sporting activities in the day
include Table Tennis, Scrabble, Chess and Snooker games.
Earlier in the sports day, medical
experts in different fields of medicine are invited to provide free screening
of vital body organs and sensitize students and other attendees on better
living.
- THURSDAY (MOCK
ASSEMBLY, CAREER TALKS & NIJ GOT TALENT)
Mock assembly provides an opportunity
for students to relive their high school days as they all show up each dressed
in their respective secondary school uniforms. The students sing and recite
popular educational rhymes. They also mimic some lecturers on campus.
The Career talk is another important
event in the week which features symposiums and insightful speeches facilitated
by experts from various fields of endeavour. It is a mentorship program where
students get up close with the professionals, it also features a robust Q&A
session.
The day usually wraps up with the NIJ
GOT TALENT – it provides the avenue for students with special talents in
writing, photography, dancing, singing, scripting and poetry to exhibit these
talents and walk away with cash prizes.
- FRIDAY
(PAGEANTRY)
Every year, students look forward
with bated breath to who becomes the face of the institute as the Mr. and Miss
NIJ in a keenly contested event of the intellects and cuties. In times past,
the school has witnessed sublime beauties and sophisticated guys emerge as winners
of the pageantry. This year was no exception as beauty yet again met with brains.
- SATURDAY (AWARDS
AND DINNER NIGHT)
The day witnesses the grand finale,
crowning the efforts of the week-long events. On this night, outstanding
students from the institute, collaborators, as well as lecturers who have
distinguished themselves from others get honoured with the ‘NIJ Students’
Stellar Award for Excellence’. It features live performances from celebrity
artistes and talented students.
Another important feature throughout
the week were the vendor stands in the school where student entrepreneurs and
alumni alike provided many goods and services, from delicious ice-cream and shawarmas
to facials for students who would go the length to look their best. Music from
the DJ stand was also a constant factor in all the days.
THEMES AND SRC ADMINISTRATION OVER
THE YEARS
The 2022 edition was themed EXHALE
and organized by the SRC administration led by Adedapo Adesanya as its
president, Odimnfe Favour as financial secretary while Ifeoluwa Opatola chaired
the planning committee.
According to Adedapo, the year's
students’ week was titled Exhale because it would be an opportunity for
students to relax after all the exhaustion that the year has brought.
“We still have the worries of 2020
breathing down our necks so it was an opportunity and we seized upon it”, – He
said.
A theme is chosen each year by the
organizers to project the programs line-up and the psychology behind the
edition. Some of the past editions and the themes include:
UNUSUAL IS OUR SLANG – 2014 with Matthew
Ojebola as the chairman, planning committee.
BEYOND ORDINARY – 2017; organizing team
headed by Emmanuel T. Edward.
LIGHT UP – 2018 with Richard Robert
as SRC Chairman while Bunmi Awolusi led the planning team.
XLR8(Pushing beyond Boundaries) –
2019 was organized by Adebayo Damilare (Blackboy)
IGNITE – 2020 by Michael Aperture led
administration
EVOLUTION – 2021 was organized by Emmanuel
Akinnagbe’s planning committee with supervision from Thomas Damola and her SRC
team.
SPONSORSHIP AND PUBLIC PARTICIPATION
The planning and organizing of the
events have been majorly carried out by the student body and funded by the
institution, however, support and collaborations from various sectors of corporate
Nigeria, both public and private have gone a long way in ensuring the success
of the SW activities. Year after year, the organizers have reached out and
gotten sponsorship and partnership deals from financial institutions, the media
and government agencies.
Notable among them are:
Coca-Cola, Pepsi, UBA, Zenith Bank, and Zaron Cosmetics. Others are IndoMie, FanMilk,
Munch it as well as Minie me. Nigezie and City105.1 FM are some of the media organizations
involved in years past. Agencies like NDLEA and FRSC have also provided support
in the past.
Worthy of note is the bevy of
celebrities in the entertainment and media industries that have graced events
with their esteemed presence over the last 11 years. Ace Comedian, AliBaba was
a panelist in 2014. Media personalities, Denrele Edun and Iyabo Ojo were also
invited as panelists at the 2017 pageantry while filmmakers Tunde Kelani and
Yomi Fash-Lanso came to mentor the students in 2018. Other celebrities include:
Small Doctor, Kenny Blaq, Cute Kimani and several others.
EVOLUTION OF THE EVENTS OVER THE
YEARS
Students and stakeholders who have
witnessed some editions of the student’s week have expressed their opinion,
considering the many aspects and factors that goes into the planning and
organizing of the events to ensure their success. This was premised on the
activities of the 2022 edition dubbed EXHALE.
National Diploma 3 student, Aisha Yusuf revealed that the sports day activities topped the chart as the most outstanding this year in her own assessment. While the six-day events started off with Carnival and Concert Day on Monday, June 20, and ended on Saturday, June 25, Aisha maintained that the sporting events on the third day encapsulates the students' week.
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Speaking on her experience, the lady
who has witnessed two editions, 2021 and 2022 expressed her disappointment at
the previous edition, praising the just concluded one as having surpassed the
last.
“They tried, though 1st & 2nd day
were kind of boring, but from the sports day till dinner, it was fun and I
really enjoyed. The sports day was really fun, even though I am not a football fan,
I still enjoyed my time”.
However, she believes there is need
to re-stretagize going forward, thus the need for proper planning, adding that
"the incoming president, he/she would have taken note of everything, where
they missed it so they will know how to serve us better at the next year’s
edition."
Meanwhile, the outgoing President of the Students Representative Council (SRC), Adedapo Adesanya has said that the students collaboration tops all other factors for him as he is very enthusiastic about representation and participation.
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Speaking extensively, he said:
"I witnessed four, with each one peculiar than the last. Each was dynamic
in its own right, and it reflected the mindset of students for whom the event
was held.
Having people from each class be a
wholesome part of the event was spectacular. I couldn't ask for more.”
"I think one thing I did was to
open myself up to ideas, criticisms, help, and wasn't afraid to take the back
seat on some things because four shoulders are better than two, now imagine
like multiple shoulders.” - he further stated.
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He however shied away from commenting
on the standards of the past editions saying:
“I am not one for comparing because
comparison is the thief of joy but like I said earlier, every edition is
unique, and amidst economic uncertainties, we were able to achieve a lot and
such resilience stands out.”
On the part of Odimnfe Favour, the outgoing SRC financial secretary, she believes that the student’s week has improved from the yester editions in value especially with regards to carrying every student along in the planning. She recalled how previous editions have fallen short of involving students from the lower classes in organizing the events.
Provost Cup Women Champions at the Awards and Dinner Night, EXHALE 2022 |
In her words: “When I was in ND1, we
were not involved even though I was also a member of the SRC then, we only came
to have fun, same for ND2”.
“This year, I can proudly say that we
carried along every member of the SRC, every member was involved every day and
students were in charge of the programs irrespective of their class, there were
ND1 & 2 students handling critical positions and they delivered. That is a
major evolution over the years”- she stated further.
She however admitted that future
editions can be better planned but students of the institution should be more
willing to collaborate.
"While we are working on
becoming better in communicating our ideas and plans to students, they in turn
need to work on being available and participating, as participation is very key.”
- she concluded.
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Ifeoluwa Opatola, graduating ND2
student and planning committee chairperson also agrees that EXHALE 2022 was better
manned than last year’s in the area of time management and participation.
“This year, we were a bit time
conscious and we carried our student along well, the new students were really
involved and that’s because the Exco of the SRC were accommodating. The last set
didn’t involve us much.”
– Ife declared.
She implored the school management to
grant more resources to enable future handlers plan better while advising that
the organizers to start out early and be more dynamic with the activities.
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