INTERVIEW: We’re not puppets to school authorities- UNIZIK SUG PRO

UNIZIK SUG PRO, Giant Comrade Hilary Onwusoizu. Photo Credit- Hilary Onwusoizu/Facebook

Giant Comrade Hillary Onwuasoizu, popularly known as Fabulous is the 31st Public Relations Officer of the Student Union Government- SUG, Nnamdi Azikiwe University, Awka. His role as the PRO comes at a period when fake news and misinformation have become viral, snowballing into a normal ordeal, breaking the fabric of reality that could threaten the safety of individuals as well as the unity of the society in particular the university community. In a bid to combat the spread of fake news and misinformation that has become a thorn on our flesh, Crisp.NG; a media platform dedicated to solution journalism and youth affairs decided to engage Comr. Onwuasoizu in an exclusive interview on strategies, challenges, and the experience so far in an era of fake news.

What are the primary channels, you currently use to disseminate information to students at UNIZIK and how effective do you believe these channels are in reaching the entire student body?

Well…thank you for the question, for the channels I mostly use WhatsApp to disseminate information to students, with reasons been that it is much common among the student body and has a strong effect at the grassroot level. WhatsApp is good for a number of things ranging from student/class updates; which is the lecture update across the various departments and faculties. I made WhatsApp my priority for sharing information among the student body of UNIZIK because, I believe there is where we have more influence and the audience of students. For this channel that I have incorporated, I believe it is effective in reaching a good number of students out there. When I began, I created a channel on WhatsApp and so far, it is growing and reaching a good number of students up to 10,000 and above effectively with accurate information.

How do you ensure that critical announcements, like changes in academic schedules or union activities are communicated promptly and accurately to avoid confusion among students?

Ok!!! Really good question because, there is a lot of fake information out there, coming from a lot of bloggers and influencers. However, for me, one of the ways I have ensured that information are accurately shared in occasions of emergency changes in academic schedules or other social activities within the university environment is through the public relations officers at the departmental and faculty levels and personally, I developed a channel, which I use for the job of sharing reliable information as regards to school activities. Moreover, I collaborate with the PROs in the departmental and faculty levels, and I created a WhatsApp community for course representatives and this is because I believe in grassroot leadership. On my own end, I deliver information to the best of may capacity and then use the PROs and course representatives for the part, I personally cannot reach.

What challenges have you observed in the dissemination of accurate information to students, and how do these challenges contribute to the spread of fake news?

You know this is the media, and I want you to believe me that the job has its own challenges. One challenge that I have observed are information desperados, these are people that are eager to post information and not usually concerned with verifying the source of the information or identifying how the credible that information can be before been shared. These information desperados have their own channels and their own power. Often times, the information shared are not accurate but they are still shared by these information desperados because they feel they have the influence, or no prior authority to limit their ability in sharing news across the campus, and when they do these things, it creates panic amongst students, various questions are been thrown most times to me, if such news were legit or not. During my manifesto, I made a promise to give students timely and verified information. How I have been able to weather this storm of information desperados amongst students the student body of UNIZIK and the panic that comes with misinformation is by been effective in my office, there is something my predecessor told me before I came on board and I like to consider it as an advice, there are times when the information wouldn’t come to you, you just have to be the one to go get that information and deliver it to the student body. I took it upon myself to have a place in where information is been sourced from. It is not easy as it requires me to make more comprehensive research about the information rather than just be the first to make a report and post it through the applicable channels that I have adopted.

Can you identify specific instances where fake news has significantly impacted the student community in UNIZIK and what were the consequences of such information?

The effect of fake news to student are immeasurable, but there are some instances that I have experienced since I became the SUG PRO and it is about the UNIZIK aspirants. A lot of information is shared during the university’s admission season most times from these individuals I call information desperados, making these aspirants have fears and doubts about gaining admission into the university. Another one is when information is passed from the school management and not all are for students, some can be for specific people like the heads of departments, you know some sort of sensitive information and when there are been shared, they could be some breach and these information desperados could pick it up and then share to students. There is information, you can receive and it is more than your capacity and you can’t comprehend and doing so could create panic and affect students who have received such information.

What measure does the SUG currently have in place to verify the accuracy of information, before it is shared with students and how can these measures be improved?

The Student Union Government is an organization on behalf of students’ welfare in UNIZIK and even at that we have some form of limitations to our roles and powers within the university environment. If it was in our power to put an end to the spread of misinformation, it could have been done long ago, but it isn’t that easy. Thereby the procedures that we have taken is by creating a community and sensitizing the student about this official news platforms that we have created and the need for students to belong to these communities or information platforms from the SUG. These news platforms are verified and authentic to deliver news about the school and the management. We also sensitize students, make them aware that these platforms which are created by the SUG for news are verified, accurate and any other platform aside the ones we have formed are not authentic like ours and using these sources of information is at the student’s risk.

How can the PRO collaborate with student influencers, campus media, and social media platforms to combat fake news and promote credible information?

This question is relative to one of the things I tried working on since I became the PRO, but because of certain circumstances that appeared, I couldn’t do that. You know, there are lots of WhatsApp TVs and student influencers but bringing them to collaborate with myself and the SUG wasn’t feasible, the level hasn’t been good with theses information personalities, so I just put my effort together with the departmental and faculty PROs as well as the course representatives and these individuals are influencers on their own and in their own environment. Asides these people, others who have no direct hands in students’ politics or welfare like the WhatsApp TVs, there is only war between the SUG and them, no common grounds. You know, we are in the Gen Z age and anytime the need or the opportunity for a collaboration with this student influencers, they often demand money, they view the collaboration as an instrument to promote our activities and therefore it comes at a cost, not minding the fact that this is something about students and we are limited financially to accept their demands in making a concerted effort in news gathering and dissemination. The challenge here is the demands and the criteria given to us because we now exist in a Gen Z era and everyone is after their pocket rather than the goal and interests of the students.What strategies do you propose to educate students on identifying and avoiding the spread of fake news particularly in platforms like WhatsApp and X or other commonly used social media platforms by students?The strategy I will propose is the need for individual change; change must begin from us. You have to be good informant first and don’t be a person who is only interested in sharing information without a proof of a reliable source. Ensure that this information is verified and to be on the lookout for only credible sources. The next step is to be on the groups that have been created by authentic information sources.

How can the SUG leverage technology, such as official apps or social medial accounts, to create a centralized and trusted source of information for students at UNIZIK?

I have thought about the need for official apps created by the UNIZIK SUG for information dissemination but that is not something that can be done easily. I mean the administration duration is not something that is enough for me or any to do something as big but still beautiful as building an official app, so with the limited time frame we only try to do the one that is within our reach and in creating an app, we have to spend for that. The SUG purse has so much divided and creating funds for an official app or website is good but it will demand so much from our budget which itself is not big enough to carry out some petty union activities. Even though we have reached out to some credible media platforms to support our cause, it still hasn’t provided a strong positive outcome. So, sometimes we get demotivated, other times when we contact these organizations or individuals, we don’t get any feedback at all. You know, there is one thing to have an idea and a different thing for someone to cooperate with that idea and bring it to reality, because it requires an exchange and the exchange are monetary.

There are people who see the SUG as a moribund institution, at the beck and call of the school management. What’s your take on this?

I believe this question is a thing of the student, not something pertaining to students in UNIZIK but across the country. But actually, we are not a puppet to the school authorities. However, know that in this struggle, there are processes and levels we must pass through. These processes, otherwise known as the 3Cs is what we use. The first is the Consultation, then the Consolidation, and finally we have the Confrontation, but it is in the final process that has become the peak of the issue that has made students feel that the SUG is nothing but a puppet to the school administration. For student leaders, it is not like we are just mindless followers of the school management, but sometimes the students that we are concerned for do not give us the encouragement or the support to do our job effectively. There is a motivation you have when you have the support of the students but now, we have student that are less concerned about anything that is happening within the school. For example, last semester we had a confrontation with transporters inside the school, due to the increased fuel price, the transport fare within the campus was increased from N200 to sometimes N300 or N400 and it was something like a burden for students but when we decided to intervene, it was difficult, you will still see students pay N300 even when they are told not to. They will just ignore our warning and sometimes students don’t back the student leaders or sometimes, our processes are not known to the significant part of the student body which is the consolidation and consultation stages.

One common issue is SUG-School Management relationship, what strategies do you put in place to handle conflict of interest, especially on policies that affect students?

Yes, in some decision, we have at least some interests, I may not say that the school management don’t have the interest of the students but we are closer and our lives is more relatable to students so it is more convenient for us than the school management. Sometimes they might be clash of interest in some things but as a leader, you must have a great level of intelligence, to find common grounds in situations with the school management. This where we have the first-two Cs which are confrontation and consolidation. Yes, there must be issue but the best thing is to dialogue and use our intelligence as student leaders to find a middle ground with the school administration on some very disturbing school issues.

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