Wale Jagun
The Chairman of Igbogbo/Bayeku Local Council Development Area (LCDA) of Ikorodu Division area of Lagos State, Southwest, Nigeria, Builder Sesan Daini, has assured that the six council chairmen in the Division, will organize a stakeholders’ forum to discuss issues surrounding the issue of census.
Daini, who said that Ikorodu has numerical strength and must be accorded necessary infrastructures and other needs, gave the assurance at the Award Dinner of the Lagos State Supervisors and Special Advisers Ikorodu Division Forum (LSSIKDF).
The dinner was held at the AiRoyal Hotels, Aga, Ikorodu.
The council boss, who was responding to the issues raised by various speakers at the dinner concerning the position and strength of Ikorodu Division, said that Ikorodu is more than the number that is being ascribed to her.
“I will work with my colleagues with the permission of our leaders to organize a major programme during which major stakeholders would be invited to thrash out census issues as it relates to Ikorodu”, he said.
“The present situation is majorly because of our assumed numerical strengths. We are more than what they claimed that we are.
‘In census, a lot of things are responsible, not only human beings. During census, houses, both uncompleted and completed, are counted, as well as schools, commercial activities, roads with street lights, untarred roads, health centres and others.
“So, it is the summation of all these that will determine your classification of needs”, he added.
While emphasizing the need for the stakeholders’ meeting, the Igbogbo/Bayeku LCDA council boss also said that resource persons and those managing census would be invited to see the need for effective counting in Ikorodu.
“I assure you that we would organize this and bring everybody around, including professionals. Fortunately, the present state coordinator for census in Lagos State, is from Lagos Senatorial District, Hon. Oladunjoye”, he said.
“We will bring her down and let her know the importance of working with division like Ikorodu. This is the only Division in Lagos State, that is still a local government. We must sit down to know the implications of a local government standing as a division’, Daini added.
The young council boss also called for unity among Ikorodu political leaders and groups, stating that a united Ikorodu would make her formidable.
“I want to stand on what Asipa Kaoli said and emphasised it with a Yoruba proverb: “A i rin po omo ejo lo n je omo ejo nya. Ti Oka ba siwaju, ti Agbalu tele….”. (young snakes endangered themselves walking separately, because nobody dare attack them if they all file out together)”, he said.
“It is time we work together; it is time we bury all hachets, unfortunately, for personal and selfish reasons, some people would not be interested in our unity even within our immediate confines, they will still not see reasons why we must be united, but we must look far beyond whatsoever anybody is thinking”.
Emphasizing what the Division stands to gain in being united, Daini charged that APC leaders and members must consider the interest of the party first and not their political caucuses.
“We must know that we stand to gain more being united than in disunity. APC is a party, Justice Forum is caucus or group within the party, so is Mandate. One way or the other, they both have their ways of operations, but nobody can contest for Governor, Senate, Rep and the Assembly seat on the platform of either Mandate or Justice Forum’, he said.
“You would contest on the platform of a party, so, you must consider that party before your group because the party gave birth to groups”.
