THIS IS A NEW DAWN!

My dear Unilorites, this is a new dawn! You have spoken, you have won. At the end of intense and hard-fought campaigns by all parties, you spoke through the ballot. In every faculty, departments, levels and cliques, Unilortes stood in the sun, some in the rain, you walked long distances, you were stressed, but yet, you waited patiently to vote.

With a heart full of gratitude to Almighty God, I want to thank Unilorites for the great sacrifice and overwhelming mandate you have given to me, to preside over your affairs for a whole 365 days.

We have, by this election, reaffirmed our unity as one people under God; reiterated our faith in democracy; and underscored our determination to fully join the other universities where only the will of the people is the foundation of leadership. I will not let you down. I will not let the University down.

Fellow Unilorites, we are all winners. In this context, no victor and no vanquished. You have proven to the world that we are capable of holding free, fair and credible elections. With the evident of national spread of victory, we have demonstrated that even in our diversity, the progress of the school remains paramount to all.

I congratulates other candidates. I regard them not as opponents, but as partners, in progress. You are my leaders, please do not forsake me.

Through the course of my campaign, I said that I had no enemies. Let me say it again, I have no enemies to fight, and unlike President Buhari who said and I quote "I belong to Nobody, I belong to everybody", I Shobowale Luqman belong not to somebody but people, yes, I belong to Unilorites.

Indeed, I reassure all Unilorites that I am going to run a union that is committed to fairness, equity and justice for all.

The progress we seek for our university is in our collective hands. I am confident that with this new spirit of general reawakening and our sense of collective ownership of the Unilorin project, a firm foundation has been laid for participatory leadership and progress.

Together we will remake our university to emphasise the most noble of our values, and together we shall recreate a great union wielded in unity and harmony; a union marching towards collective progress in which no one is left behind.

Elected to be the 30th President and the 10th King, the election is a renewal of hope.

Now, we must all unite. We must quickly move away from partisan battlegrounds and find a common ground. We must show the world that this university, the most sought-after university in Nigeria will always find love, the courage and the path to move forward as one. Let us join hands to build a prosperous union. On my part, I promise to run an all-inclusive era.

My special thanks go to all incumbent student Union executives led by Comr. Idris Alao (Observation), senators led by Dt.Sen. Abdussalam Oriire(Malawi), faculty executives, most especially Faculty of Arts (The Heartbeat of Unilorin) led by Comr. Samuel Babajide, departmental executives, most especially Department of History and International Studies led by Comr. Alawode Saheed, the department that has Comr. Burhan Abdul-Azeez (Sultan of Unilorin), I and all members of the class of the Titans. Special thanks to the Student Affairs Unit, I'm with you on making this university a greater one.

I wish to express my profound thanks to the Chairman of the Stakeholders of the Faculty of Arts, my able and amiable leader, Comr. Taofik Adekunle (Africanus), you made a president out of me, I'll forever be grateful.

Now is the time for all Unilorites to reach out to their neighbors. I want all of us to join hands in brotherhood, religion or preferred candidate notwithstanding. We are all Unilorites and I will be a President to all. This is a new dawn we crave. What is now required is a new commitment, solidarity and rededication.

Come, join me, let's continue on the road of transformation.

Let us all thank our merciful God to this day. Let us all continue to pray God's guidance in the year ahead.

I thank you and may God bless Unilorin.


Shobowale Luqman (Eminent)
Student Union President-Elect,
Aloha001-Elect
University of Ilorin.