Ekiti elders have called on President Bola Tinubu and other Nigerian leaders to work assiduously towards social equality in the country through deliberate efforts to bridge the widening gap between the poor and the rich.
The President, Ekiti Council of Elders, Prof. Joseph Oluwasanmi, urged Tinubu and other leaders, including governors, to prioritise programmes and projects targeted at eliminating poverty in the land and improving citizens’ social status.
Oluwasanmi spoke in Ado Ekiti, the Ekiti State capital, on Friday during the council’s Celebration of Octogenarians and 4th Induction into the Bluecap Category 2023, an event that also featured the dedication of the elders’ Resort Buildings.
Those inducted into the elders’ Bluecap Category (Octogenarians Club) were a former Deputy Governor of Ekiti State, Chief Paul Alabi; a business mogul, Chief Julius Ajayi; an engineer, Sir Gabriel Ayo-Ojo; a technocrat, Chief Sola Olagbemi; and an educationist, Chief Samuel Ojo.
Others were an ex-civil servant, Prince Micheal Fabunmi; a laboratory scientist, Mrs Ibiyinka Ojo; a socialite, Mrs Grace Ajakaye; and a community leader, Chief Adedara Ogunseyin, while a fellowship award was conferred on the Chief Imam of Ekiti State, Dr. Jamiu Kewulere.
Oluwasanmi, a 91-year-old professor of plastic surgery, said, “We are here today to celebrate. We are admitting a number of senior citizens who are 80 years and above into the octogenarians class. We are also renewing our faith as one and to enjoy at the end of the year which we have been doing regularly.”
He harped on the need for the country’s leaders to, through their policies and programmes, leave lasting legacies behind and prioritise the interest of the masses, saying, “The need to have good names that will outlive you is non-negotiable. Good names are better than gold and silver.
“The message for President Tinubu, Governor Biodun Oyebanji and other governors is that nothing is permanent. The position they are in is for some time. As such, they should focus on what will better humanity, and what they will be remembered for.
“It should not be about leaders riding in expensive cars, flying about in jets and choppers, living in expensive residences and amassing wealth when the citizens are wallowing in poverty when citizens cannot send their children to school when citizens cannot feed daily and are suffering. The leaders should look the ways of bridging the gap so that everybody can be almost on the same level.
“If you have a jet and your brother or neighbour cannot have daily meal, what is the essence of having the jet? We should let our lives and substance impact others positively,” he said.
Oluwasanmi challenged Nigerians to work hard and shun idleness to lead better lives as he advised citizens to embrace exercise to stay healthy and enjoy long lives.
The nonagenarian said, “Part of the secrets of living long is regular exercise. I walk. I don’t believe in a life of laziness and sitting idle with the hope that everything will be done for you. You should walk (exercise) every time. Nobody is too old to walk.”
Highlights of the event included the naming of the Wellness Centre of the Elders Resort Centre after Prof. Oluwasanmi in view of the development he has brought to the council. The club also named the centre’s hall after the late Mrs Dorcas Fayemi, mother of former Governor Kayode Fayemi.
