A former commissioner of the Lagos State Independent Electoral Commission (LASIEC), Alhaji Musibau Oyefeso, has established a foundation to sponsor the education of out-of-school children.
Oyefeso announced this at an event to celebrate his 60th birthday held in his hometown, Ijebu-Aiyepe in Ogun State. He said the gesture was part of activities marking the birthday.
He used the opportunity of the event to distribute food items to 250 people. Residents of the town were also offered free medical services.
The gesture, he said, was to cushion the effect of the economic hardship in the country.
Dignitaries including traditional rulers in the town, government representatives, religious and community leaders, friends and family members, applauded Oyefeso’s move.
According to Oyefeso, the foundation will give every child in that community an opportunity to access quality education.
“I discovered that the question of out-of-school children is a matter that is fundamental to our independence. And if we do not address this head-on, it will continue to affect the society,” Oyefeso said.
He said the war against insecurity which the government is fighting is caused by a lack of proper education.
“The government is spending a lot on insecurity and it started owing to lack of proper education of some people which caused a gap between the rich and the underprivileged.
“Government alone cannot tackle the challenges of Nigerians. Wealthy individuals should be meticulous in spending and use their wealth to alleviate poverty in the country.
“No matter how wealthy you are, your resources can never solve the hardship in the country but spend as much as possible to alleviate the suffering of others,” he said.
The husband of Senator Idiat Adebule, Alhaji Saheed Adebule, commended the celebrator for the initiative.
Adebule said it was thoughtful of Alhaji Oyefeso to use his birthday celebration to try to help the poor.
“Life is about giving. When you give, you will have more in return. I am happy to see him lifting the underprivileged and making them happy. He could have thrown a lavish party instead. This is highly commendable,” he said.
The coordinator of Oyefeso Free Medical Outreach, Dr Tijani Olatunji, said over 200 people were diagnosed and most of them were not aware of their poor health status.
Olatunji noted that major health issues discovered included non-communicable diseases like hypertension and diabetes.
“Most of the inhabitants of the community are elderly, so we felt that there is a need to check their blood pressure and their sugar level. The majority of the people we attended to had severe hypertension. We gave them medication and also referred them to the teaching hospital for further care,” he said.
The medical practitioner urged governments to come to the aid of the elderly as the cost of drugs is very high.
He advised Nigerians to go for checkups and seek medical help from proper facilities in the event of any health issues.
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