Accountable but Unnoticed: A tenure that balanced everything but attention and visibility

This report is based on an interview conducted with Okelola Esther Adeola, the current Treasurer of the Department of Sociology, and opinions gathered from students across different levels. The purpose of the report is to present an overview of her tenure, achievements, challenges, and general performance in office, using information obtained from the interviews.

Okelola Esther Adeola is a 300-level student in the Department of Sociology, Faculty of the Social Sciences. She currently serves as the Treasurer for the 2024/2025 academic session.

During the interview, Esther described her tenure as an opportunity to learn and handle responsibilities related to financial management in the department. She stated that her main focus has been on transparency and accountability. According to her, she ensures that all transactions are well-documented, and she regularly visits the bank to handle departmental transactions and collect statements of accounts. She also mentioned that she keeps receipts and proofs of payment for every expenditure and works closely with the Financial Secretary to make sure all financial matters are properly managed.

She reported that she is planning a Financial Literacy Program aimed at teaching students how to budget, save, avoid debt, and earn extra income while in school. The program is intended to be held online and feature a financial expert. As at the time of the interview, preparations for the program were still ongoing, and publicity was yet to start fully, though a flyer was said to be in progress.

In terms of challenges, Esther stated that balancing academics with her duties as Treasurer has not been easy. She explained that managing both responsibilities requires planning and prioritizing. She also admitted that some of her plans, such as the financial literacy program, took longer to organize due to time and scheduling issues.

When asked about the department’s financial situation, she said there has been no major case of deficit or surplus. She added that she tries to ensure every expenditure aligns with the approved budget. She mentioned that her budgeting strategy involves careful planning before spending and prioritizing important items. She gave an example of the departmental picnic, where she and other executives planned the budget together to avoid waste.

On her working relationship with other executives, Esther said it has been smooth and cooperative. She stated that they communicate often and work as a team to ensure transparency in financial matters.

She also pointed out that one of the major financial problems in the department is limited funds to meet all needs. To solve this, she said she has suggested reaching out to sponsors, alumni, and business organizations for support. According to her, some responses have been encouraging, but efforts are still ongoing.

To assess public opinion, students from different levels were interviewed.

Among 200-level students, one described the Treasurer as hardworking and committed, while another said they do not know much about her because they have not been in touch with her. Some students in this level said they had seen the flyer for the upcoming financial literacy program.

Among finalists, one student said there has been no reason to question her performance or service delivery, and that there has been no known controversy about her. Another finalist said they had not heard about the financial literacy program at all.

Among 100-level students, most responses showed a low level of awareness about her and her activities. One student said they had never heard about her or felt her impact, while another said they had not heard about the planned program.