The Federal University Lokoja (FUL) has appointed one of its students, Samuel Ogirima Joseph, as Vice Chancellor for One Day in an initiative designed to expose students to university governance, leadership and accountability.
Joseph assumed the symbolic position during a ceremony held on Tuesday at the office of the Vice Chancellor at the university’s Felele Main Campus in Lokoja, Kogi State.
As part of the programme, the student Vice Chancellor was conducted round the offices of the university’s principal officers and participated in a mock Senate sitting, giving him firsthand exposure to the processes through which academic and administrative decisions are made.
Speaking after assuming the position, Joseph pledged to use the opportunity to strengthen relationships between students and the university management and promote a more collaborative environment for teaching and learning.
He commended the Vice Chancellor, principal officers, lecturers, staff and students for the confidence reposed in him, describing the opportunity to occupy the position as a rare responsibility.
Joseph said he would work towards fostering stronger relationships among students, staff, management and other university stakeholders, with the goal of contributing to the development and visibility of FUL.
He also announced a tree-planting campaign as his first assignment, an initiative he said aligned with the university management’s environmental vision.
Earlier, the Vice Chancellor of FUL, Professor Solomon Gbenga Ibileye, said the initiative was introduced to deliberately prepare students for leadership and accountability by involving them in the governance structure of the university.
Prof. Ibileye said the experience would help students understand that university education extends beyond classroom learning and includes an appreciation of leadership processes, institutional decision-making and their consequences.
“We have vacated the seat of VC to Samuel Ogirima Joseph for today and this is to enable him experience and drive the seat of VC and to coordinate activities for one day, hold meetings, preside over certain decision-making processes and connect with different interests within the University community,” he said.
According to the Vice Chancellor, Joseph began the day by participating in a meeting of principal officers before presiding over a mock Senate session.
“He has presided over dummy Senate session. This has afforded him how academic policies are framed in FUL, decisions we take in Senate chamber and how it affects his colleagues and he is today the ambassador of students in the policy-making body of the University,” Ibileye said.
The Vice Chancellor said the student’s decision to launch a tree-planting campaign was particularly significant because it aligned with the university management’s plan to develop a greener campus.
“One important thing he did this morning was the pronouncement of Tree Planting campaign. And this speaks to his strength as student who already has the sense of direction of where this University is heading to as his vision tally with the Vision of the Management to green the University environment,” he said.
Prof. Ibileye said the university intends to champion tree planting as part of its ambition to make FUL one of the greenest universities in Nigeria, Africa and beyond.
He disclosed that the selection process for the Vice Chancellor for One Day programme involved rigorous scrutiny, adding that Joseph emerged as the pioneer beneficiary and, coincidentally, is a student of the Department of English and Literary Studies.
The Vice Chancellor congratulated Joseph, the students, parents and the wider university community on the initiative and urged students to remain committed to their aspirations.
He encouraged students to work hard and pursue their dreams, saying they could also aspire to occupy leadership positions within the university and beyond.
The Vice Chancellor for One Day programme is intended to give students practical exposure to institutional leadership, decision-making and accountability while creating a stronger connection between the student body and university management.
