BEING AN INAUGURAL SPEECH DELIVERED BY THE NATIONAL PRESIDENT, NATIONAL ASSOCIATION OF KOGI STATE STUDENTS (NAKOSS NATIONAL) ON THE OCCASION OF THE INAUGURATION CEREMONY
August 28th, 2021.
COMR. RACHAEL MOJIROLA BALOGUN

His Excellency Governor Yahaya Adoza Bello, the highly disciplined and far-sighted Governor, represented by the deputy governor Dr David Edward Onoja, the SSG Dr Mrs Folashade Ayoade Arike, Chief Pharmacist Abdulkareem Jamiu Asuku, the responsive, responsible and highly respected Chief of Staff to His Excellency, Hon Commissioner for Youths and Sport, all Commissioners present, Head of service, the most tenacious Special Adviser to His Excellency on Youths and Students Affairs Hon Jubril Oludare, Hon Babangida Onimisi SSA on students matter and all other protocols duly observed.

We are most grateful to God almighty that made this day a reality. We thank Governor Yahaya Bello the Grand Commander of youths and students of the Federal Republic of Nigeria who granted a platform like this the relevance it deserves, in the first place. To our teaming supporters, the Students community who kept my head above the waters during the process of the election, we say a very big thank you.
On the 14th of August, 2021, an event that would go down in history forever took place in Kogi State. The first Female President of our dear Association emerged and was commissioned to pilot the affairs of the over fifty thousand students of our dear state. I consider myself most privilege among fifty thousand vibrant and hard working students of kogi State who equally loved and coveted so much to be in this position today. I offer you my assurance that I would never take your trust for granted.
A strong relationship exists between Education, students and society. It is my strongest desire to maximize every available opportunities for us as an association so that the interests and concerns of our students are effectively and efficiently attended to within and not limited to the spectrum of educational institutions and the government but the society at large. Students’ Union leadership is formed to promote and defend the welfare needs of the Students’ Community, building things of recognized values around perceived opportunities for the students.
I have carefully followed trends, events and activities of recent administrations with exquisite admiration for their accomplishments, sadness for their failures and enormous convictions that through collective efforts this association can take the bold steps needed to guarantee the welfare of our students as this is most fragile and sacrosanct task set before us. I am confident that there are no limits to what NAKOSS can achieve under my leadership because I know we have an enormous strength. We have a dependable father, a leader and a mentor that cares.
During our evacuation operation in Jos, there was a student there who made a statement that no one there will ever forget. ‘I know we would be taken out of Jos safely because we have a Governor that cares.’ The student said with excitement.
As a student body we have an advantage, Governor Yahaya Bello is our open cheque and our surest anchorage. We must therefore utilize our strengths to deliver on the task set before us. We must work far more ambitiously to fulfill our obligations to the association so that we can achieve something sublime that would stand the test of time. To achieve this, the following, but not limited to, would be the guiding atlas of our programs:

1. Students Welfare
   This involves improving the lives of our members while they pursue their academic destinies by raising scholarship funds and seeking assistance for the students and expressing solidary in cases where our members are maltreated, violated or cheated in the course of their academic pursuits, protecting them when in danger. For example, barely 7 days into office we have already set a record in accordance with this mandate by reaching out to the state government for the evacuation of our students from the danger zone of Jos.
2. Empowerment and skills acquisition programs
   We will organize skill acquisition programs and trainings for our members. It is an open secret that academic qualifications are no longer enough for us to achieve our goals and fulfill our dreams as youths in the contemporary society. We will therefore partner with organizations, individual experts and necessary government agencies to organize capital skills acquisition programs such as coding, website design, graphic design, electronic data processing, solar panels installation, social media marketing, content creation, copy writing, Forex and crypto currency trading, desktop publishing, Youtube channel profiting etc.
3. Social Activities
   Organizing solidarity walks in commemoration of remarkable events for our state and the nation at large, for example, Kogi at 30 celebration, democracy day celebration etc. We will also partner with like mind organizations and NGOs in their program activities designed to improve Kogi State and the Nation at large.
4. Community Service
   Contribute to community and society at large by coordinating volunteer activities such as promoting environmental awareness campaigns, presenting gift items to charity homes and the needy, clearing of drainages, career choice training to primary and secondary schools in selected host communities.
5. Sports Development
   Organize friendly competitions in sports among major tribes in Kogi State to engage students and discover talents and to also consolidate on the efforts of His Excellency Governor Yahya Bello to unite Kogi State. Sporting activities such as football, volleyball, handball, swimming and athletics are potent tools used to unify a people, motivating them to become committed citizens of common dreams, visions and goals as they affect their collective progress, growth and development. For instance, the recent football competition between NAN JCC Chapter and NAKOSS has further united the students.
6. Academic and intellectual expositions.
   We will conduct essay writing competitions capable of drastically affecting the ethical conducts of our members and general aspects of their academic careers, to encourage hard work and to also celebrate our bright and intelligent Students. .
7. Giving of Awards
   Student Unions give certificate of service to hardworking members and also confer awards of excellence to deserving members of the society and students.
8. Healthy relationships and partnerships
   We will strive to forge healthy relationships and partnerships that will benefit our members with both Local, State and Federal Governments, interest groups, individuals and None governmental organizations at home and in diaspora. Such relationships and partnerships will be geared towards the improvements and growth of our Students and to also establish a positive image with prospective agencies, institutions and organizations that would outlive our tenure.
9. Participation in National discuss
   NAKOSS under us will be heard audibly when issues of National interests are discussed. We will do this by echoing our views through publication of articles on News outlets and National dailies and granting of interviews on Tvs when necessary.
   The above action plans are achievable if we dare to pursue them. We have all that we need to succeed and we have to succeed. I want to therefore urge the Executive Council to work with a renewed energy to protect our collective interests from unnecessary setback, ruin, repression and retrogression which are fruits of lack of cooperation, inter personal strives, disaffection and lack of team spirit amongst us.
   However, in my quest to serve the students of this noble association effectively and efficiently I have carefully selected the following comrades from all parts of Kogi State to assist me in piloting the affairs of the union to her expected Eldorado:

Comr. Leke Idris Playfair
The Honorable Chief of Staff

Comr. Ibrahim Adinoyi Aliu
Honorable Chief Security Officer/Protocols

Comr. Ibikunle Victory
The Honorable Chief Press Secretary

When we fail to challenge our team, we fail to get the best out of them. In leadership, tasks and relationships are tied together; the concern for the task must equal the concern for relationships. If imbalance is present, our mission will eventually fail.
I congratulate you all on your well deserved appointment as members of my cabinet. Your appointments are as the result of your positive contributions to students’ struggles as well as your kin interests in the matters that affect the students over the years. I enjoin you all to discharge your duties with all diligence and humility so much so that by the end of this administration you will be able to lay claims that you have contributed your very best to the improvements and growth of the students for a striking change and betterment of Kogi State in general.

Thanks!

God bless NAKOSS
God bless Kogi State
God bless Nigeria

Comrade Rachael Mojirola Balogun
The National President, National Association of Kogi State Students
(NAKOSS NATIONAL)