#EndSARS: Rotary tasks Nigerians to embrace peace, shun violence

The Rotary Club of Omole Golden, District 9110, has called on Nigerians to embrace peace, even as it enjoined the youth in the country to always channel their demands through the appropriate quarters and avoid violence to enable government meet their demands.

President of the Club, Mr Alih Hassan Ogwu, who spoke against the backdrop of #EndSARS peaceful protest and the destruction that attended it, gave this admonition after his installation in Lagos, noting that demanding for a change is a global phenomenon while government must prevent conflict from happening.

Ogwu, while noting that peace is a panacea to the progressive development of the country, said it was also the responsibility of government to listen to requests made by the citizens with the aim of engendering peace and development.

“As for the youths, there are various ways to push our demands to the government, not through violence as Rotary do not preach violence, rather we preach support for government because, there are ways your own actions will change the direction of government if properly channelled, he said.

“Rotary as an organization is non-religious and political and has peace and conflict prevention as one of its area of focus. If you have peace you have a better society but a society without peace is a society in danger.

“At Rotary, we train leaders, and we train them to make peace with the government and their fellow human being, as well as be the agent of change to impact on the community,” he added.

Ogwu, the new president, Rotary Club of Omole Golden, District 911 for the year 2020/2021, noted that his installation, though coming at a time when the world is battling COVID-19 pandemic and the country recovering from the attacks it suffered after #EndSARS protests, affirmed that the Club would not be deterred to do the needful in caring for humanity.

Ogwu, while recalling that the Club had in the last one year donated laboratory to school, a billboard at hospital, water borehole, among others, said Rotary Club, District 911, the major focus is to complete the ongoing Neo-natal building at Ifako Ijaye General Hospital, among other projects.

This was just as he promised that the club would continue in its stride to eradicating polio disease, provide sustainable water and health facilities, and intervention in the education sector, urging the members to continue to be a global network of change to the world.

The Executive Secretary, Lagos State Employment Trust Fund (LSETF), Mrs Teju Abisoye, who was the guest speaker at the occasion, acknowledged that about 74 per cent challenges facing businesses after the economic lockdown and the recent #EndSARS protest were issues around funding, stressing the need to leveraging technology to push products and services.

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Abisoye, who spoke on the topic: ‘Recovery and Resilience for Small Businesses’ in the Post COVID-19 Era,’ while noting that most of the businesses had spent few months responding to the crisis while many Small Scale ventures had crippled, advocated the

need for business owners to look inward by being more creative in the delivery of their services, ascertain the current strength of their financial operational efficiency, as well as find a way to key into the new normal business climate.

She disclosed that LSETF had designed an economic acceleration programme which is tied to the Federal Government’s economic recovery plans, saying this was put in place to enable the people to have access to financing and activate businesses from all sectors.

Speaking, the outgoing president of the Club, Mr Babajinmi Ajibola, said had been able to connect to the world in line with this year’s themes reads: ‘Rotary connects the world,’ calling on members to galvanize support for the new leadership.

NIGERIAN TRIBUNE