By Olasunkanmi Akoni
Nigerian women have been urged to support in the nation-building by coming together to give back to humanity especially, the indigents in the society.
Mr. Akinyele Oladeji (Chairman of the occasion), Dame Abimbola Fashola (Former First Lady of Lagos State), Mrs Folasade Ashafa (newly sworn-in President of Ikeja Viva La’mour Lions Club), Princess Adejoke Orelope-Adefulire (Former Deputy Governor of Lagos state) and Senator Gbenga Ashafa at the investiture of the new President of IKEJA VIVA L’AMOUR LIONS CLUB on 1st October 2019 at the 10 Degrees event Centre, Lagos.
President of the Ikeja Viva L’amour Lions Club, Lion Folashade Ashafa, wife of Senator Gbenga Ashafa, made the call during her public presentation as 14th president of the club, held in Ikeja, Tuesday.
Speaking at the programme, Ashafa, who got up the rung of the Lions Club ladder as the 14th Club President stated the focus of her tenure as a leader who will be committed to selfless service into the plights of the less privileged and give succour, especially to the children and women at large.
She added that the Club would focus on eye defects, through various surgical operations, raise support for Paediatric Cancer, youth empowerment, hunger relief in the community, environment intervention through tree planting and beautification, free diabetes screening for school children amongst others.
“Nigerian women I urge us all to come together and give back to humanity, women do it better because we have the compassion to do it and in Viva L’amour we serve with love and passion, so whatever it is we give, we give it heartily with love that is the meaning the club’s name in French.
“We are going to take care of the eye, that is the core project in Lionism we are known to do surgeries, cataract anything that has to do with the eye, but in my own tenure, I am focusing on children.
Commenting on the impact of women in nation-building, Ashafa said: “if given the chance, women will do better.
“Nigerian women have always been there; we are at the foremost, we have always been there playing it to the best and if given more chance, we will do it better, I believe so. And urge other women to come on board and even do more to the less privileged,” Ashafa stated.
Chairman of the occasion, Mr Akinyele Oladeji, Managing Consultant, CSDC Consulting in his address gave a succinct statistics of health issues confronting Nigerians for which the Lions club could promptly intervene.
Speaking with newsmen, Oladeji said that Nigerians are worse off regarding cataract and river blindness treatment “as quackery is also taking its toll on the people.”
“50 per cent of global blindness is caused by cataract, statistics have shown, that about 486,000 Nigerians are in need of one cataract surgery or the other, when you compare statistics of Australia to here cataract surgical rate in Australia is 6300, per million population per year, in Nigeria it is a 100 people per million operations per year.
“The statistics is made worse by the fact that fifty per cent of those who even have surgery at all, patronise traditional butchers, the Mllams by the roadsides that goes about brandishing very very awesome credentials that they can make you see better than light and this now goes to contribute more into the blindness of our people.
“41 million of that particular group is said to be in Africa and 1.7 million people in Nigeria in 40,000 communities are affected by one form of River blindness or the other. So that is to say that the intervention of the Lions Club in the area of vision is very very apt.”
Oladeji also added that women, if empowered, would help reduce poverty to the barest minimum in the society, noting that “90 per cent of our informal sector is made up of women and if encouraged the problem is nearly solved.”
The Guest Speaker Lion Isiaq Kayode Oshinuga SVDG District 404B-2, Nigeria who expressed joy for charting the course of the Club for 14years, stated that the newly installed President should raise the bar of service to humanity.
Mr Tosin Ashafa son of the newly installed President while speaking with newsmen, pledged his total support to her mum in ensuring her tenure to be successful.
He said that his mum has “a heart of gold” which makes her feel the plights of the less privileged and take action to give them succour.
The event which coincided with Nigeria’s independence day celebration had in attendance prominent individuals like ; Former Minister of Aviation Demola Seriki, Mr. Kunle Adebayo Chairman Tasty Food Eatery, Air Vice Marshal Anthony Okpere,Wife of the Works Minister Mrs Abimbola Fashola, Mrs Adejoke Orelope the Executive Director Sustainable Development Goal and Senior Special Assistant to the President of the Federal Republic of Nigeria among other dignitaries.
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