Kunle ADELABU, Azeez MATANMI, Aminat SULAIMON & Juliet IBE
The Arewa community in Ikorodu on Wednesday, October 24, conferred the honourary title of ‘Seriki Yaki’ (Commander of Arewa) on the Majority Leader of the Lagos State House of Assembly and the flag bearer of the All Progressives Congress (APC) for the Ikorodu Constituency I seat at the Lagos State House of Assembly, Hon. Sanai Oyeniran Agunbiade.
The conferrement took place during the lawmaker’s ‘thank you visit’ to the Ayangbure market (Sabo market) in appreciation of the traders supports for his relection aspiration.
Alhaji Shittu Idris, the Seriki of Arewa community in Ikorodu division, announced to the gathering the decision of the Arewa community to honour Hon. Agunbiade with chieftaincy title.
The announcement was greeted with a deafening shout of ‘Seriki Yarki’ by the hundreds of members of the Arewa community at the event in demonstration of their support to the new chief.
Alhaji Idris, who spoke through an interpreter, described Hon. Agunbiade as a great man who will never be forgotten by the Hausa community in Ikorodu due to his support and care.
“You are a great man with great vision. You have shown us love and support and these we shall never forget. Because of you, members of the Arewa community in the division shall give their votes to your party, APC”.
“On behalf of my people, I am assuring you that APC shall win in the six councils in Ikorodu division. We are going to give all our votes to you in the coming election. That is a promise.
“Because of your supports and assistance to us; because you have been part of us and bringing development to our community, we are conferring on you the title of ‘Seriki Yaki’ (Commander of Arewa) to show our love for you and our acceptance of your leadership”.
The brief conferment ceremony involved Alhaji Idris other elders of the Arewa community giving water to Hon. Agunbiade to drink after which they too drank the same water.
Meanwhile, Arewa community, while registering their concerns, requested that the lawmaker should assist their members who are yet to get their Permanent Voters’ Card (PVC) in getting them to enable them participate in next year’s general elections.
The community also requested for the establishment of a polling unit close to the Sabo market.
‘We are also requesting that you should help us in bringing a polling unit to Sabo because of our large numbers. We are ready to exercise our civic rights but the situation where we have to walk several miles to cast our votes is very discouraging.
“In the absence of the polling unit, we are asking that you should help us with the transportation of our members from Sabo to their resoective polling units because it has not been easy for them over the years to move during elections.
The community also requested for the inclusion of their members in the lawmaker’s campaign committees.
Hon. Agunbiade, while responding, thanked the leadership and members of the Arewa community for their supports for him and his party over the years.
He stated that he had visited to thank the Arewa community for supporting him and his party and also for maintaining peace in Ikorodu division.
“My coming here today is to appreciate you for three things. I want to sincerely appreciate the Seriki Hausa, Seriki Fulani and Seriki Kasuwa and the entire members of Arewa community for your untiring supports for our party over the years.
“We also want to thank you for maintain peace and unity in Ikorodu division with other tribal groups.
“The third reason is to say thank you for your supports and for voting for me in the just concluded APC primary elections. Thank you very much. Notwithstanding that I didn’t come to you for campaign, you came out enmasse and voted for me in various wards and today, I’m the candidate of APC in Ikorodu Constituency I”.
While also thanking them for donating a big flex banner towards the campaign of all the APC candidates, the three term lawmaker observed that a name is missing on the banner and urged that in subsequent prints, they should ensure that all the candidates are included because they are one-united family under the APC.
“I can see that you have our Governorship, Senatorial and Assembly candidates (Mr Sanwo-Olu, Hon. Osinowo and myself, Hon. Agunbiade) on the flex banner, but our House of Representatives in person of Hon. Babajimi Benson is missing. In APC, we are one-big-united family.
“We are thanking you for this banner that you are donating for our campaign, but you must make another one that would accommodate all our candidates including our candidate for the House of representatives, because we are all members of one party”, Hon. Agunbiade humbly requested.
Responding to requests of the Arewa community, Hon. Agunbiade stated:
“Regarding the polling booth that you requested for, we are still working on that. Our party at the state and local government levels are working on that and we are hopeful that those saddled with that responsibility would increase the numbers of the polling booths and pray that our own would be part of it.
He promised that the issue of transportation during election would be looked into by the party at the state and local government levels and also pledged that he would see to the inclusion of members of the community at various levels of his campaign.
He also thanked the Arewas for working together as one under the APC and to this end, Mr Zaki Idris was presented to Hon. Agunbiade as the Arewa APC Chairman.
After the event, Hon. Agunbiade and key members of his entourage retreated into the Seriki Arewa’s inner chamber for a private meeting.
