Alaafin, OBJ want successful Nigerians to give back to communities

FORMER president, Chief Olusegun Obasanjo and the Alaafin of Oyo, Oba Lamidi Adeyemi, have urged successful Nigerians to give back to their respective communities.

The duo made the plea on Wednesday in Iseyin, Oke Ogun area of Oyo State, while inaugurating a library donated by Alhaji Ahmed Raji to the community.

Obasanjo, who was the chairman at the occasion, said the gesture of Alhaji Raji should be emulated by successful Nigerians so that communities would benefit from them.

He said that Nigerians should not leave development of communities alone to the government, saying “the duplication of such projects, as donated by Alhaji Raji will fast-track development.”

In his own remarks, the Alaafin of Oyo said: “The importance of a library in educational development cannot be overemphasised. The acquisition of knowledge is a prerequisite for human capital development.”

The Aseyin of Iseyin, Oba Abdulganiy Ologunebi,  pledged that the Iseyin community would make judicious use of the facility.

The traditional ruler said the era of students complaining of lack of study materials had become a thing of the past with the donation of the library.

The donor, Raji, said his decision to build a library was to ameliorate the problems faced by students in their quest for education in the area.

“We don’t want the students to experience the problems we faced when we were growing up, when the non-availability of books hampered educational advancement. The gesture is to give back to the society,” he said

The event was attended by traditional and community leaders, members of the judiciary and the Nigeria Bar Association (NBA) from across the country.