We thank God that, once again in the history of ARSSU, gallant men and women have responded to the call to lead our union.
In my personal capacity, I wish to extend my warmest regards to the outgone executives for holding the fort through storms and gales. You have done what you could do and we appreciate your efforts. God bless you and open more doors for you as you move on in life. [ads1]However, kindly make yourselves available to coach and mentor our new executives.
To the Electoral Commission, I wish to say you are an epitome of voluntary service, which is one of the depreciating core values of ARS. In the face of criticisms and sleepless nights, you did your work to the end. May God never rest till he sees to your needs.
To our newly elected executives, thanks for availing yourselves to do the work of God.
We count on you to champion our cause to the best of your abilities. As our leaders, we hope to remind you that the best way we can all benefit is when you collate our ideas and redefine them to fit into the association’s goals and objectives.
Our local adage has it that, “if a fish will spoil, it starts from the head”. If you people do not take your responsibilities seriously, we will all fail as a union and i know none of us wants that. In this regard, i will like to make few suggestions to the leadership.
1. Setting of clear goals.
Productivity is measured relative to set standards. Without goals for the union, we can never say we have done enough or too little. Therefore i suggest that as a matter of urgency, let’s come up with smart goals which will inform the activities of all chapters and everything we do as a union should be in tandem with these goals.
2. Forward with the Gospel
Just as our motto has it, our core mandate requires that we carry out evangelism as a union. I believe you will do well to come up with national guidelines on when and how evangelism should be carried out as a union at the chapter levels as we as national level.
3. Help our members grow.
The growth of an organization is the sum of how much the members have grown. We believe that it is in your best interest to add value to members in ARSSU. This could be done through organisation of seminars and skills trainings to equip our people with knowledge and skills in problematic areas. I believe this will also promote sense of belongingness among members and will give us that competitive edge over our colleagues even after school.
4. Broaden our funds base
Finance has always been a major challenge for the union. I suggest that we develop working dues system and also carry out activities which will inspire people to want to contribute to our cause. I believe if we carry out educational activities or liaise with groups in the church such as “Plant a Child”, we could carry out initiatives which will benefit our junior brothers and sisters and also inspire them to achieve higher. We can also seek external sponsorships to champion pertinent education programmes on pertinent topics such as child labor, teenage pregnancy, education for all etc. All these, i believe will not only make people see the essence of contributing towards the union’s activities but will also open doors for external collaborations which will bring in more funds.
5. Partnerships and collaborations.
ARSSU as union, cannot do everything but is a well recognised body which can provide a good platform for many other collaborations. There are various groups within the church that are doing wonderful things. Most of these people are either former ARSSU members or are still active. We can collaborate with these groups and while they ride on our recognition, we ride on their achievements. That way, it becomes a win-win affair. Collaborating with these groups will also help ARSSU members to learn new skills from these experiences.
6. Chapter empowerment
With the structure of ARSSU, a weak chapter means a weak National. Let us come together and strategize on how best our local chapters can be strengthened. Once in a while, let’s have a forum for the patrons and communicate their roles in achieving the aims and objectives of the union. Let’s organise training programs for our executives so that the assumption of office equips them with relevant skills of that office. Every chapter should be encouraged to communicate their achievements and setbacks on the ARSSU National platforms so that we can learn from best practices and mistakes.
7. Membership Drive.
One of the main targets of the former administration is to get 1000 in, especially at the branch levels. Though we have not seen any record as to how far this target has been met, I believe it is still a laudable goal that we can pursue. It will be prudent to select and train ARSSU Ambassadors at every branch of the church and at any point in time, they will be responsible for teaching our younger ones and coordinating activities in their branches. Let us work towards encrypting ARSSU on the hearts and in the minds of the younger generation so that when they grow, they shall not depart from it.
8. Let us make ourselves relevant.
Our fathers and mothers are finding it difficult to be abreast with how things are working nowadays. It is not our duty to make them look stupid. What we need to do is to gently make them aware of “new” ways things are done. I will therefore suggest that ARSSU champion the cause of providing current record keeping assistance at our mother branches and during anniversary. Our colleagues in the IT and secretariat services could help us with database templates so that data will be easier to keep and access. This does not leave out those in account, education, health etc. Imagine what revolution there will be in ARS if in exhibiting our intellectual prowess, we use our professional skills to make things easier for our families and friends. We can then stand on these evidences of our relevance and make certain demands which will auger well for the union as well as the church.
There are a lot more suggestions but as and when they come up, we will push them forward. We trust in your abilities and I believe the Lord is with you.
To my fellow members, I am yet to see a thriving tree without a root. We need to be strong in support. We are the future of this church and our actions and inactions will determine our future and what we will leave for our children. We can’t do everything but let’s make our membership count. Elections are over, campaigns are over, let’s all join hands and build the kingdom of God. Who we are today is God’s gift to us, what we make of ourselves is our gift to God. What gift do you want yours to be?
I wish you all the very best.
Thank You
By Julius Evame Agbagba.