PROGRESSIVE COALITION DG, SAHEED BALOGUN, COKER AGUDA LCDA BOSS, IBRAHIM, OMOBOLANLE OBE, HUNDREDS OF YOUTHS DIALOGUE IN LAGOS; GIVES NOD TO ‘SANWO-AGAIN’ • Pleads with youths to get facts right, know the law before you react
By Oki Samson, Trek Africa Newspaper
L-R: Director General, Progressive Coalition group, Amb. Saheed Balogun with the Executive Chairman, Coker Aguda LCDA, Hon. Rasaq Ibrahim Olamilekan during the Lagos Youth Dialogue Themed: A Clarion Call To Expunge Stamped Fallacies Against Gov. Babajide Sanwo-OluAnd His Government held at the Coker Aguda LCDA Secretariat.
About 300 Lagos youths yesterday gathered in Coker Agudu LCDA Secretariat in order to dialogue and bolster efforts to get Gov. Babajide Olusola Sanwo-Olu a second term at the Lagos House, Alausa, Ikeja, Lagos State. Led by Amb. Saheed Balogun and his Progressive Coalition group, the youths challenged themselves on misconceptions, half-truths, and fake news which has been fed to youths using various methods including social media.
They also used the opportunity to reel out the facts about the achievements of Gov. Sanwo-Olu’s administration since 2019. The ‘Lagos Youth Dialogue’ event also had representatives of the Arewa Community and Ndigbo youths. The panel session which had speakers such as Olaseinde Samuel, Amb. Moji Oyetayo, Mr. Olalere Samuel, Mrs. Zainab Shitta Bey, Fatai Aliu, Debo Daramola, and Comrade Adesina was highly engaging.
L-R: Executive Chairman, Coker Aguda LCDA, Hon. Rasaq Ibrahim Olamilekan; Former Chairman, Coker Aguda LCDA, Hon. Omobolanle Akinyemi Obe and Nollywood Actor, Mr. Ayo during the Lagos Youth Dialogue Themed: A Clarion Call To Expunge Stamped Fallacies Against Gov. Babajide Sanwo-OluAnd His Government held at the Coker Aguda LCDA Secretariat.
In his opening remarks at the ‘Lagos Youth Dialogue’, the convener of the 80-artiste-strong Progressive Coalition, Amb. Saheed Balogun disclosed: ‘We organized this meeting for youths. We want them to speak about what they think is right and wrong. We want them to talk to each other. I was born in Enugu, grew up in the North, but I am a Yoruba boy and now in my 50s, I have seen it all. I understand that you are angry but please, there is a way to redirect your anger.
When you are angry, use your sense ask questions, investigate to know what you are doing so that you won’t bring the wrong people in. For us to be giant of Africa, the youths must be careful. The social media carries a lot of fake news, you have to investigate.’
‘My message to youth is that you should investigate before you act; know the law before you react; don’t follow social media, ask for the antecedent. Gov. Sanwo-Olu completed the work of Babatunde Raji Fashola and Akinwunmi Ambode and did his own so I am wondering where the issue is. During the strike, LASU and LASPOTECH were not on strike’, he told Trek Africa Newspaper.
L-R: Former Chairman, Coker Aguda LCDA, Hon. Omobolanle Akinyemi Obe and a Management Officer of Coker Aguda LCDA during the Lagos Youth Dialogue Themed: A Clarion Call To Expunge Stamped Fallacies Against Gov. Babajide Sanwo-OluAnd His Government held at the Coker Aguda LCDA Secretariat.
The host of the program and Chairman of Coker-Aguda LCDA, Hon. Rasaq Olalekan Ibrahim also present at the discourse shared: ‘We are bringing youths together to dialogue about our nation because when you build the youths, you build the nation. We discuss and look for way forward as a people in the grassroots. Lagos is our own, it is our house that we have to build.’
On the 2nd term mandate of the Governor, the council boss popularly known as RIO said: ‘I must thank Gov. Babajide Sanwo-Olu for what he has been doing. If you look at the projects he has rolled out from the beginning of his tenure, it is clear, it is something we can see. He deserves to go for 2nd term, he is a smart governor, he is a capacity governor. I want to apologize to every youth that in every area that we might have failed to deliver, we apologize but we have to come together. We have to support him to build the Lagos of our dreams. Let us support him, let’s push for him so that he can deliver.’
Cross section of the Panelists at the Lagos Youth Dialogue Themed: A Clarion Call To Expunge Stamped Fallacies Against Gov. Babajide Sanwo-OluAnd His Government held at the Coker Aguda LCDA Secretariat.
In the same vein, the former Chairman of Coker-Aguda LCDA, Hon. Omobolanle Akinyemi Obe told Trek Africa Newspaper, ‘I am deeply honored to be part of this program. Most of the fallacies on social media are false. Gov. Sanwo-Olu has done very much particularly for the youth. Talk about KAI, LNSA, LASTMA, he gave employment to teachers – these are graduates who have been out of jobs for years. He created a ministry called Wealth Creation and Entrepreneurship that he can’t employ everyone but he can create opportunities.’
‘In other states, it is really impossible, those infrastructure he is doing – the light rail, the roads, hospitals, social infrastructure, housing projects, environmental cleanup, etc. I was at Gbagada General Hospital and I was wowed. What about COVID, when they said that dead bodies will be picked in Lagos but it didn’t happen like that. He was a first responder, he had sleepless nights so that we can be safe. What about security, taking care of Police – vehicle, ammunition, insurance.’
Chairman, Coker Aguda LCDA, Hon. Rasaq Ibrahim Olamilekan addressing the youths Lagos Youth Dialogue Themed: A Clarion Call To Expunge Stamped Fallacies Against Gov. Babajide Sanwo-OluAnd His Government held at the Coker Aguda LCDA Secretariat.
‘On the Endsars issue, they are just trying to give a dog a bad name in order to hang it. if Gov. Sanwo-Olu can go to Magodo when there was issue there, he wanted to talk but the policeman said that he is not going to take any instruction from him because he is answerable to his superior, how then can you say that he ordered a battalion when there is a GOC. If an CSP cannot take order from Sanwo-Olu how can a GOC take order from him? Youths need to listen and get facts right not just distorted ideas. Don’t let us listen to propaganda to take Lagos from us. In my household, we will vote Sanwo-Olu. We will re-elect him.’
On his part, the youth leader, Lagos Central Senatorial District, Eshinlokun Matthew said: ‘This is a dialogue between our Governor and the youths so that we can understand what our Governor has been doing for like 3-and-half years. Gov. Sanwo-Olu is Sellable Governor, Talk and Do Governor. When we had Covid-19, we were able to come out of it, he sustained our income, look at the blue rail, he is also planning the red rail. And he is also doing empowerment for women and youth. He said he must touch the lives of people. He needs more time to work.’
Former Chairman, Coker Aguda LCDA, Hon. Omobolanle Akinyemi Obe (m) addressing the youths during the Lagos Youth Dialogue Themed: A Clarion Call To Expunge Stamped Fallacies Against Gov. Babajide Sanwo-OluAnd His Government held at the Coker Aguda LCDA Secretariat.
‘We don’t want them to be misled. On the Endsars issue, it is not possible for Governor to go there and order the Army to shoot the youths. I want our youths to get the proper information. In Lagos, you can come out anytime, anyday to work, can you try that in Anambra?’
Former Lagos Mainland LGA Chairmanship aspirant, Hon. Oluseye Olofin added: ‘Based on the general perception of Gov. Sanwo-Olu, he has done wonderfuly in his first term. Lagos State is ranked one of the best in Africa in terms of infrastructure development. It is not an easy task to manage a cosmopolitan city like Lagos with teemig population and the 5th largest in Africa.’
He told Trek Africa Newspaper, ‘Our Governor has been able to maintain the record of a brighter rewarding future for Lagos. in education, colleges of education and polytechnics have been upgraded to universities. Lagos has improved on existing transportation system that we have by acquiring more BRT, more ferries, constructed the blue rail, while red rail is coming. This will reduce transportation problem in Nigeria. Babajide Olusola Sanwo-Olu has employed more than any state governor. It is a misconception to say that Babajide Sanwo-Olu has not done enough to get a second term. We want the good work to continue.’
Former NANS President, Olalere Samuel Owoseni remarked: ‘In recent times, the social media has become another hemisphere for youths to vent but most of the messages are not properly checked. This is eaten deep into our governance system. This is why we are engaging ourselves as youths that in 2023, there are fallacies about this government while we tell them the truth. I advise our youths not to be sentimental, tribalistic, religious bigot, and cast our votes based on performance of contestants. Our future lies in our hands, what we do today determines what we have.’
