Why I Resigned as the LSS President

It had been 19 days since Rasaq shocked the faculty with a resignation letter and for the first time, he would be publicly shedding light on all that transpired. I didn’t know what to expect but I knew I needed this extra piece of the puzzle.

With a cup of coffee in my hand, I stared at the man on the other side of the table, searching for answers in his eyes. Noticing the awkwardness, he chuckled and said, in a soft tone, “Shall we begin?”

What happened? What led to the resignation?

It started as far back as October. I was interviewing people that wanted to apply to be VPs in AIESEC when I got a call saying that there was a letter from the DSA nullifying my election. The person that reached out to me assumed I was aware and was even upset that I was being nonchalant about the news. On the contrary, no one reached out to me, neither was any letter sent to me. After getting the news, I had to rush to school. When I got to school, I saw the letter and was told that petitions were written against me and the authorities had taken an action. I was not even given a chance to make my case before the decision was made.

Nullified on what grounds?

There are three rules for one to be eligible to run in an election. First, you must not have matriculated in another university. Second, you must be on a grade point above 3.0. The third one is you must not have a pending carryover. The letter that the DSA sent stated that I had violated the third rule.

You ran for an election, knowing fully well you had a pending carryover?

Quick back story: In year 3, I had an issue with a course called Intellectual Property. My tests were not recorded. I wrote letters and was guaranteed that it would be resolved. However, the broadsheet came out and it still wasn’t resolved. When I was running for the election, I didn’t consider that to be a problem and I will explain why. A carryover is a course you’re mandated to write again. That means you cannot carry over an elective like Intellectual Property (IP). In fact, on my academic profile, there is no course tagged as a “carryover”. When the letter came, the question became how does this qualify as a carryover. I saw the Staff Adviser to the LSS, the sub-dean and even the Dean and everyone had the same opinion: a failed elective is not a carryover.

What happened next?

I wrote a letter back in an attempt to clarify the misunderstanding. However, the response I got was that their stance remains the same and the essence of the rule was that a student must not have failed any course before. It begs the question, “if the rule is that the student must not have failed a course before, why don’t you just say that instead of saying the student must not have a pending carryover?” because they mean two different things.

Is there any document that clearly states the electoral guidelines?

Yes, there is. They release electoral guidelines before every election but the problem is the guidelines do not have an interpretation section. That means, the wielder of the power can interpret it to mean one thing today, then interpret it to mean a totally different thing tomorrow. In fact, when I got the letter, I checked the Faculty’s prospectus and it still wasn’t clearly defined what a carryover is. As witnessed, the lack of a single interpretation is of grave consequence. I didn’t have any viable means of fighting back and defending myself.

It seems like there was so much obscurity in how the matter was handled. Do you think at any point, foul play was involved?

I wouldn’t even bother myself with whether there was foul play or not. What I blame myself for is allowing for the issue to be in the first place because it is only where there are openings, one becomes vulnerable to attacks, if any.

It’s clear that there’s a lot of clerical inefficiency and ambiguity regarding the electoral process. Moving forward, what changes do you think can be made to rectify the defects in the system?

There should be a screening process during which the authorities do checks on the people running for election. Whatever disqualification will happen should be within this period, not after. It’s unfair that one will expend energy, time and resources to emerge victorious and some weeks after you’re being told to step down.

You mentioned you’ve been trying to rectify this issue since October. At what point did it dawn on you that you were never going to convince the authorities to recognize you as the President?

I would say it was when I last met the Dean. I was looking for ways through which we could exploit loopholes in the rules. It became an impossible task. So he reminded me that I was primarily here for my academics and by August, I would be done. Sincerely, between October and January, I lost so much time. Also, there were times when I would attend events but to avoid having issues with the authorities, I never introduced myself as the President of the LSS. In fact, during my short stint, you’ll never see a circular or broadcast message that read, “From the Office of the President”. Even though I was trying to appeal, I still needed to play safe. I mean, I want to graduate, go to law school, and leave here without any issues. It became too much for me to handle, physically and psychologically.

It has been said that the LSS is merely an event-planning committee, lacks any power, and cannot defend or protect students’ interests. As someone who was privileged to act in a presidential capacity, what do you have to say about this?

It does. However, the problem is in exercising this power. One of the things we are always made to know is the sanction that comes with going against the authorities. I understand where both parties are coming from. On the part of the school, I understand how disastrous the last protest was and why they are trying to prevent a repeat of that event. However, on the side of the students, not having a strong and active students’ union is what is clipping our rights. It is through the SUG that the LSS and other Faculty associations can exercise powers. Right now, everyone is just scared, me inclusive. If I had a trust fund of $10 million, maybe I would consider being rebellious. Unfortunately, I’m still a young boy, struggling. How many risks can I take?

How do you think your resignation impacted other law students?

I truly cannot say for certain but if I’m to use the Tade-Cannon set as an example, I would say there would be a question of legitimacy. I can’t speak for everyone. Some people move on fast, some don’t while others become indifferent. Initially, I wanted to stay low and let the conversations about the event die a natural death. However, I read the Vox Pop post and someone said something about how the people who voted for me deserved an explanation.

During the elections, each candidate was trying to prove that they were more competent than the other. Now that the elections are over, I’m curious — what are your current opinions about Laolu, the new President? Also, if there’s one piece of advice you could give him, what would it be?

I don’t have anything against him. If there’s something I learnt from the past president, Subomi, it is if you’re able to do something for the good of the Society, it is a big win for everybody. It is not about who leads, it’s about how much you were able to contribute back to society. Laolu is someone I’ve known since year 1. We’ve always had a good rapport. The best I can do is to wish him well and pray things go according to plans.

There are rumours that he was pressured into taking the job, the same way you were pressured into resigning. Can you confirm whether that is true?

I don’t think so. A day after I told the Dean I was going to step down, I went to his office and when he was asked, he mentioned his fear of not wanting to experience a repeat of what happened during Tade-Cannon set. He hinted at not taking the job and the Dean reassured him that it was just an offer on the table and he wasn’t mandated to take it. From the tone of the Dean and the Staff Adviser to the LSS, I don’t think they put any pressure on him. If there was any pressure, I think it would have come from his friends and associates.

What would have happened if Laolu rejected the offer?

I think it would have been a big statement to the school. We would be telling them that it is not every time they get to wield this power. Although, it’s more likely that the Vice President would fill that vacuum. If she and the other members of the Executive team were opposed to that, then a caretaker committee would have been set up.

Since the resignation, have you and Laolu had a one-on-one conversation?

No, we haven’t. At least, not yet.

Is there any particular project you had in mind that you would want to witness come to life?

Yes, sure. I have a friend, Fawaz Haroun who reached out to me, saying we should build a website where law students can access study materials. We worked with the Welfare Committee to bring it to life. Can’t wait for it to be launched.

I understand that your term as AIESEC’s VP has also come to an end. What would you be directing your energy towards henceforth?

I would say a lot of things. Being the LSS President made me miss out on other opportunities. For AIESEC, it’s a very difficult decision but I think this is where I would be closing the chapter. I have a job I’m starting this month. Also, my brother is running for House of Assembly in 2023 but because of my work as LSS President, I wasn’t able to be an active member of his campaign team. I think I would be able to support him more now. I would also take my passion for scriptwriting more seriously. Basically, I’ll be trying to make money and enjoy life.