Let us take the discussion to the roots, let us discuss the structure of a democratic student union government, what an ideal student union government should look like and how it ought to operate and function with a view to delivering the expected dividends to the students’ populace.
An ideal student union government is usually structured after the Presidential system of government operated by the Nigerian federal government. And so an ideal student union government has the three arms of government namely; the Executive, the Legislature and the Judiciary, each distinct in its composition and functions as clearly set out by the Constitution of the student union government. The Executive arm of the student union government comprises the President, the Vice-President, the Secretary-General and Assistant, the Treasurer and Assistant, the Financial Secretary and Assistant, the Public Relation Officer, Director of Transport, the Director of Sports, the Director of Socials, the Director of Welfare among others. The composition of the different offices of the Executive arm of the student union government varies from institution to institution, but always in line with the constitution of the student union government of the institution in question. In some institutions, the Constitution of the student union government provides for the election of every officer of the executive arm of the student union, whereas in a few other institutions, only the President and Vice-President are elected, then the President appoints the other officers of the executive arm of the student union. In the later case, the President is clearly an Executive President, unlike the former where every officer in the executive arm of the student union is elected in his/her individual capacity. I will revert to this later.
The Legislative arm of the student union government comprises of the representatives of the different constituencies of the student union government drawn from the various departments and faculties in the institution. While in some institutions, the student union government operates a bicameral legislative arm having the Senate and the House of Representatives just like the two chambers of the National Assembly. In such institutions, the legislative arm is led by the Senate President, who presides over the Senate, and the Speaker, who presides over the House of Representatives of the student union government. The Senate has other officers such as the Deputy President of the Senate and the Scribe of the Senate, in addition to other principal officers of the Senate like the Whip and Leader of the Senate appointed for the smooth running of the Senate. In the same vein, the House of Representatives of the student union government has such other officers as Deputy Speaker and Clerk of the House, in addition to other principal officers of the House like the Whip and the House Leader appointed for the smooth running of the House. However, in some other institutions, the student union government operates a unicameral legislation in which there is only one chamber of the legislative arm referred to as the student representative council (SRC), and is led and presided over by a Speaker, and like in the bicameral legislative arm, there is a Deputy Speaker and Clerk of the House in addition to other principal officers of the House.
And finally, the Judiciary as an arm of the student union government comprises of judges that sit to adjudicate on issues bothering on the affairs of the student union. The Judiciary is headed by a Chief Judge who is usually a final year Law Student, but in institutions where the Law faculty is non-existent, one of the Judges elected from the various faculties is elected from among the Judges as Chief Judge.
The Executive arm of the student union government is in charge of the day-to-day running of the student union government including formulation of policies and execution of the policies. Whereas the Legislative arm of the student union government is saddled with the responsibility of making laws and enactments for the good governance of the student union, vetting and approving the annual budget of the student union as presented by the executive arm, and also performing oversight function of project supervision as well as investigative proceedings on officers of the executive arm of the student union government.
For optimal performance and good administration of the student union government, it is recommended that all the officers of the executive arm of the government are elected in their own individual capacity, rather than a situation where only the President and Vice-President are elected, and then the other officers of the executive arm are appointed by the Executive President which implies that those officers of the executive arm will be more loyal to the President than to the Constitution of the student union government and the students.
Comrade Igwe Patrick Afubera writes from Abuja.
patrick.afubera@gmail.com
