The acronym AMCOMS stands for Association of Mass Communication Students. This body, just like any other body in an organised environment, stands to represent members of a particular department/association of people.
Today, the 19th of March, 2021, the association, headed by its officials, held a very interesting Congress; the first for the 2019/2020 session. Before today, an announcement was sent to the general platform on WhatsApp and to the various classes. The announcement stated that “all amcomsites are expected to come out, en masse as crucial issues will be discussed”. The key word being ‘crucial’. Wonder why the P.R.O had to stress that.
In my interactions with students before the commencement of the Congress today, I gathered that there were indeed crucial issues to be discussed. According to some, rumours had been flying around within the week about the president and financial secretary being suspended for something. Most people were in attendance because they wanted to know the ‘something'.
At about 12: 56pm, the vice-president in the person of Agok Azumi Mercy, stood to address the audience. Opening prayer was led by Pwasollam Pusonnam Yiri, a 400 level student and fellow contestant with the present president of the association. After the prayer, in her opening statement, Mercy stated that the meeting would be chaired by her because of the unavoidable absence of the president with claims to illness.
Because of the rumours going around about the misconduct of the president and the financial secretary, majority of the audience refused to hear that a Congress which in the original working of things should be called by the President through the P. R. O, would have the president in absentia.
There was an uproar as people began to demand the presence of the president. The executives tried their best to give answers but it seemed the audience weren't satisfied as they continued to argue and throw questions at the executives. When these answers weren't given adequately, a good number of people exited the Congress venue. It was indeed a sight to watch. After more than 10 minutes of noise and heated discussions and arguments, a lady in the 400 level class who by every indication is an influential person in the department stood to address the audience very politely and reasonably and the place quieted down for a while. People were asked to move forward to fill up spaces of people that had left.
Nothing exactly reasonable was discussed as those who already knew the truth about the president's misconduct refused to let the issue die down. Many hands were raised in question. Among them was the question about the real reason for the president's suspension and why it was stated that he was Ill at the beginning of the meeting, why he was nowhere to be seen and why the executives failed to inform the general house through a press release or announcement about the issue and the decision they took to suspend the president and the financial secretary. It was not easy on the executives controlling an angry crowd. People refused to be controlled and the Secretary General finally announced in very specific words as was demanded by the audience, that about #559,000.00 naira of the association's money was misused by the president for his personal gain during the lockdown together with the financial secretary.
To be continued... Please follow the next post.
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