ROTARY CLUB OMOLE GOLDEN BATTLES INFANT MORTALITY TO A STANDSTILL, DELIVERS NEONATAL BUILDING TO IFAKO-IJAIYE GENERAL HOSPITAL; AS FAVOUR MADU BECOMES NEW PRESIDENT OF CLUB IN IMPACTFUL INVESTITURE CEREMONY
By Oki Samson, Trek Africa Newspaper
L-R: Assistant Governor, Rotary District 9110, Rtn. Samuel Ayetutu; Immediate Past President, Rtn. Ogwu AliHassan; President, Rotary Club of Omole Golden, Rtn. Favour Madu and a Past President during the Investiture of Rtn. Madu as the New President held NECA event center, Alausa Secretariat, Ikeja Lagos.
Due to the high infant mortality rate in the Ifako-Ijaiye axis of Lagos and in line with one of Rotary International’s 7 focus areas which is child and maternal health, the Rotary Club of Omole Golden has delivered a state-of-the-art neonatal facility to the Ifako-Ijaiye General Hospital. The project which is a long-standing project of the towering, humanitarian club started about 7 years ago with the humble beginning of the donation of one incubator per Rotary year to the secondary health centre.
However, the humanitarian club needed to expand the scope of the impact.
Speaking with Oki Samson of Trek Africa Newspaper at her investiture as the new President of Rotary Club Omole Golden, Rtn. Favour Madu elucidated the idea of the neonatal project. ‘The neonatal project is a longstanding project. We found that there is high infant mortality there. In fact, we found that 2 set of twins were lost there and that is why we started 7 years ago giving them 1 incubator every Rotary year. So we found that there is no more space in the hospital, we need to build a building where the machines will be placed. Now, we won’t even have to move the previous incubators, we will have a new set in the building.’
‘In Rotary Club, there is a guideline to the project we do. We have 7 areas of focus which looked at education, child and maternal health, disease prevention and treatment, literacy, and environment. If you look at our projects, you will find these areas of focus there. We have science laboratory that we want to renovate at Ajuwon High School. My predecessor has done a part of it and I am going to finish it.’
Cross section of Rotary Club of Omole Golden Past President with the President, Rtn. Favour Madu (m) during her Investiture.
On what government can do to support their efforts, Rotr. Madu added: ‘The only area we need the government is to give us approval and they usually give us. Anytime we want to commission the projects, they are also around to commission it.’
Chairman of the occasion, Otunba Olufemi Okenla ‘Rotary has got every good governance process in place. That is why I support them wholeheartedly in everything they do. More so, it is an international organization with structure in place, so the structure enables them to do the good things they are doing. For other NGOs, it is about government ensuring that they are well-regulated and their funds are well-monitored.’
President, Rotary Club of Omole Golden, Rtn. Favour Madu
On the neonatal project, ‘I supported the neonatal project in Ifako-Ijaye General Hospital. From estimates, we understand that Ifako-Ijaye is suffering high infant mortality rate and if we can do something like this to reduce infant mortality, it is very good.’
Speaking at the investiture ceremony, the District Governor of Rotary Club District 9110, Rtn. Remi Bello charged the new leadership of Omole Golden to do more. ‘We have been charged by the Rotary International President that we should do more service projects. Service projects are projects we render for the community to know that Rotary exists as people doing good in the world.’
L-R: President, Rotary Club of Omole Golden, Rtn. Favour Madu with the District Governor, Rotary Club District 9110, Rtn. Remi Bello at the Investiture ceremony
‘So it is in pursuant to do more that is why you see all that is going on in all our clubs. It is not the question of the size or quantum. It is the spirit behind it. The Bible called it ‘widows mite’, all she had she gave not that she had millions’, he enthused.
The investiture ceremony had a different flavour with the infusion of a panel session to shine the light on what Rotary club is and what people need to know about service to change lives. The panel session moderated by one of the past president of Rotary Club of Omole Golden, Rtn. Ayetutu Samuel had the likes of ‘the Merchant of Hope’ herself, Titilola Vivour Adeniyi with years of experience in public administration, real estate bigwig and chartered engineer Ernest Mbanefo, public health expert Dr. Emmanuel Zamba, and awardwinning comedian and actor Charles Inojie. They were able to share insights from various standpoints to impart the audience that listened with rapt attention.
The Assistant Governor of Rotary District 9110, Rtn. Samuel Ayetutu who spoke on the idea of the panel session said: ‘The organizers of this event chose to do something different in an attempt to make our audience have value for their time and money spent here. It is a two-way thing. We want them to see that something novel is happening different from the investiture ceremonies they have seen and we do not want them to go away without having a good knowledge of what Rotary stands for. So they brought professionals who can discuss the concept of service to change lives in their own individual background so that we can aggregate what each and every person can do in an attempt to see that the world is a better place.’
‘For the new president, it is a one-point advice. It is to tell her that she is blessed to be leading this club at this time when it has a large number of people who are resourceful, committed, dedicated, and passionate about serving humanity. All that she needs to do is to be guided by wisdom to harness all that each and every member is willing to bring to the table for the betterment of humanity’, he concluded.
Rtn. Ogwu AliHassan, immediate past president of Omole Golden, ‘My tenure had a lot of turbulent times but we stood strongly as Rotarians to deliver projects and programs that will help the less-privileged in our society. One of such is to help our people to keep themselves safe during the pandemic. In the same year, we were able to renovate the Chemistry laboratory in a high school and equipped it with reagents and materials. We also provided water facility for the school. Another is the neonatal building that was handed over to Lagos State Government towards the end of my tenure. We give hope to the hopeless.’
Some of the projects that the Favour Madu-led Rotary Club of Omole Golden has earmarked for the year 2021-2022 include eye screening for cataract surgery, adoption of 7 beautification projects, back to school project, Save the Environment tree planting project, Spelling Bee competition for secondary school students, microcredit scheme for petty traders, Christmas gift to orphanage homes, among others.
The well-attended investiture ceremony had captains of industry, professionals from various fields of expertise, media icons seated in the auditorium. Among them are the MD/CEO of Revolution Plus Property, Bamidele Onalaja and MD/CEO of Justrite SuperStores Limited, Mrs. Tosin Temitayo Aderinwale.
President, Rotary Club of Omole Golden, Rtn. Favour Madu
L-R: MD/CEO of Justrite SuperStores Limited, Mrs. Tosin Temitayo Aderinwale Receiving An Award from the President, Rotary Club of Omole Golden, Rtn. Favour Madu
President, Rotary Club of Omole Golden, Rtn. Favour Madu (2nd left) presenting a gift Souvenir to the immediate past President, Rotary Club of Omole Golden, Rtn. Ogwu AliHassan (4th right)
Cross section of Panel Speakers with Rtn. Favour Madu (m) at the Investiture ceremony 
Assistant Governor, Rotary District 9110, Rtn. Samuel Ayetutu
