Fashola spends 45th birthday with the less privileged

Lagos State Governor, Mr Babatunde Fashola (SAN) on Saturday celebrated his 45th year birthday, sparing a thought for the less privileged children in the society whom he visited and spent time with.Governor Fashola who visited the Motherless babies home at Lekki, the Senior Boys Approved School in Isheri and the Heart of Gold Children’s Hospice in Surulere pleaded with
the well to do in the society to give a little back to the society.Governor Fashola said he is delighted that he has in his little way been able to effect some improvement in the structures of the Motherless Babies Home in Lekki through the assistance of his friends, promising that other equipments for the clinic are on the way to the country.He added that last year during his 44 birthday, when he visited the Lekki Motherless Babies Home, he promised to do something for the inmates and is thankful to God that he is alive today to fulfill the promise of a state of the art clinic which he commissioned.Governor Fashola took time to mentor, dance and sit with many of the children during the course of the visit which also had the First Lady, Mrs Abimbola Fashola in attendance.Governor Fashola who lamented the poor state of the road that led to the Motherless Babies home, off Admiralty Way said all the rich who live in the Lekki neighbourhood must decide on whether to continue to invest in Jeeps worth millions of Naira or make an investment by community efforts to fix the road and let everyone enjoy.He reminded everyone that the State has a very limited budget which must reach everyone in all parts of the state, adding that the government has difficult choices to make at all times in terms of provision of social amenities.

Governor Fashola explained that he is always celebrating his birthday with the less privileged because he is always connected to his roots and would rather celebrate in the midst of the disadvantaged as he enjoys it and it is his own concept of an ideal celebration.In his words: “I have continued to connect with my roots. I am here today because I am lucky. I also had an opportunity. When you look at the abandoned children who need rehabilitation, they had no care. I am here because I had care and attention. People dedicated time to me. I will rather do these than celebrating”.Governor Fashola commended the efforts of Mrs Laja Adedoyin, the proprietor of Heart of Gold Children Hospice, Surulere in taking care of challenged children without any form of backing by the state.

Governor Fashola said: “Madam, you are the real hero, because you are not appointed or elected but has chosen to do this selfless service .Many people will simply walk away from them but you have chosen to pick and mentor them individually”.He promised to work with his friends to see what can be done to add value to what the proprietor of Heart of Gold Children Hospital has been doing, especially considering the constraint for space that she is contending with.At the Lekki Motherless Babies Home, he appealed to retired doctors and nurses and medical personnel residing in the Lekki vicinity to give out of their time by coming over to the home and give quality care and counseling to the children at the home who would benefit immensely from such.The Lagos State Governor said the door is open to all such retired volunteers who may not know precisely how they can give out of their valued time in providing quality service to the less privileged children.

The Governor admitted that the challenge he observed at the Senior Boys Approved School in Isheri is that adequate facilities to impart skills are not available, but promised to respond and make it a rehabilitation and vocational centre with a standard that everyone can be proud of.He added that the State Government intends to give new opportunities to the boys and rehabilitate them towards helping to improve the quality of their lives.The Commissioner for Women Affairs and Poverty Alleviation, Mrs Joke Adefulire informed the Governor that the Lekki Motherless Babies Home currently has about 62 children in its custody and thanked the Governor for providing the clinic which she said would provide medical support for the children.

Mr. Soji Abayomi who spoke on behalf of the inmates of the Senior Boys Approved School in Isheri pleaded with the Governor to empower the boys and ensure their full integration into the society, while they also sang a birthday song for the Governor.The Proprietor of the Heart of Gold Hospice, Mrs. Adelaja identified the melting pot nature of Lagos as being largely responsible for the high incidence of child abandonment in the state.She identified the periods of April to October every year as the most prevalent period of children being abandoned.In her remarks, the Chair person of the management committee of the Lekki Motherless Babies Home, Mrs Rebecca Aikhomu thanked Governor Fashola for the provision of the clinic, but pleaded for the deployment of additional medical hands to the home.

Fashola spends 45th birthday with the less privileged
My Naija News - Wednesday, 06 May 2009

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