By Olasunkanmi Akoni

TUESDAY March 1, 2016 will go down in history of Lagos State as a day when the wife of the Governor, Mrs. Bolanle Ambode demonstrated her love and passion for children’s welfare.

It was a day when she donated ten conveniences which she built for the Ndubusi Kanu Park in Alausa Ikeja.

The park in question was one of the mostly visited parks in the state and it was instructive to note that the Lagos First Lady observed the absence of children’s toilets when she visited the park in December 2015 as part of activities marking the celebration of end of the year.

Speaking at the handing over ceremony, Ambode expressed her commitment towards improving the welfare and generating happiness for children, just as she charged parents to ensure that children and wards are always accompanied by adults at public places. The wife of the Governor said she was motivated to provide the conveniences at the park because of the need to separate children’s facilities from that of the adults.

According to her: ‘’At public places like this, little children should not share facilities with adults, for health reasons and for their privacy and protection; as parents we must not unduly expose our children to health risks. These facilities are partly meant to discourage open urination and defecation which can deface and pollute the environment,” she further said.

Ambode, who also announced plans by the state government to embark on mass provision of toilets facilities across the state, said it was time for parents to stop exposing their children to health risks through open defecation.

Privacy and protection

The first lady said on no account should children share public toilet  facilities with adults, adding: “More importantly, at public places like this, little children should not share toilet facilities with adults, for health reasons and for their privacy and protection. I am thankful to God, that what came up as a little idea, has become real,”  she said.

Ambode, who was represented by the state’s Commissioner for the Environment, Dr Babatunde Adejare, however, added that relaxation, recreation and leisure, remain  integral part of city life everywhere in the world.  While urging residents to create time to relax once in a while in order to boost their healthy physical, mental and emotional development, she advised them to be security conscious and ensure their wards are always accompanied to park by adults.

Speaking on the environmental challenges in the state, Adejare on his part, decried improper waste disposal across the state, saying that some parts of the state may experience flooding unless they adopt proper waste management before the rainy season, which, he said, would be intense.

The Commissioner warned people living in the flood prone areas to vacate their buildings ahead of the intense rainfall, saying that the consequence of improper waste management is massive flooding during rainy season.

Adejare also frowned at the usage of children for hawking and street trading, saying such action was unacceptable to the state government. He said apart from the risk involved because such children are constantly put under the risk of being killed by vehicles on the road, such development also prevent the children from going to school. He said an untrained child will definitely be servant to his mate in future, and even constitute nuisance to the society, therefore all hands must be on deck to stop parents and guidance from using their children for street trading and hawking.

Besides, Adejare said the state government would strictly enforce the provision of the law restricting street trading, adding that any child caught involved in the act would have his or her parents or guidance prosecuted in the court, while such child would be released.

Also speaking at the event, General Manager, Lagos State Parks and Garden Agency (LASPARK), Mrs Ambimbola Jijoho-Ogun commended Ambode for the gestures, assuring that the agency would ensure proper maintenance of the facilities.