Adeleke tasks NANS South-West leaders on national development

Osun State Governor Ademola Adeleke has urged the newly inaugurated leadership of the National Association of Nigerian Students (NANS), South‑West Zone D, to position themselves as active agents of national development rather than wait for “future” leadership roles.

Delivering the charge at the inauguration of the students’ executive council in Ilesa, Adeleke, who was represented by the State Commissioner for Culture and Tourism, Mr Abiodun Ojo, told the campus leaders that they are “leaders of today” and must begin discharging responsibility from the present.

He called for the deliberate inclusion of female students in leadership structures, stressing the need for gender balance as a foundation for credible governance within NANS and the broader society.

Avoiding short‑term temptations

The governor warned the new executives against compromising their career prospects and moral integrity for financial inducements, urging them to remain focused on initiatives that foster personal growth, professional development, and national progress.

“We support student unionism and will continue to back your activities,” Adeleke said. “But let today be the beginning of your journey as responsible leaders. Do not trade your future for short‑term gains.”

Students as future leaders

Chairman of the Governing Council of Osun State College of Health Technology, Ilesa, Mr Abayomi Adegoke, who delivered the keynote address, described student unionism as a crucial training ground for future national leaders.

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He urged tertiary‑institution heads across the South‑West to create an enabling environment where student unionism can thrive, warning that muzzling student activism would deprive the country of a pipeline of tested, solution‑oriented leaders.

Adegoke also called on the NANS executives to shift from confrontational protests to constructive engagement with government, anchoring their demands on facts, data, and feasible policy alternatives.

Welfare and collaboration

The NANS Zone D Coordinator, Josiah Adeyemo, pledged improved welfare advocacy for students in the zone and appealed for full cooperation among the new leadership.

In related development, the Chairman of the Governing Council of the Federal Polytechnic, Ede, Professor Taiwo Olaiya, was recently honoured as patron of NANS South‑West Zone at a ceremony on the polytechnic campus, attended by delegates from the six South‑Western states.

The Rector of the institution, Dr Sani Man Yahaya, was also decorated by NANS for granting clemency to students expelled over the violent protest in May 2024, in which several buildings and vehicles were damaged.