IF YOU ARE DEMANDING FOR EQUITY THEN YOU MUST BE ABLE TO PRESENT YOUR CLEAN HANDS! ~ HON BALOGUN ROTIMI OLATUNBOSUN

Hon Rotimi Balogun Olatunbosun Is A Doctor, A Real Estate Practitioner & Entrepreneur. Based in Ikorodu for over 25years we need not say much about his level of experience over the region. A youth inclusive minded individual and a Leader in all Sense of the Word.

Ikorodu News Network had a brief chat with him on the eve of his birthday for the first time to understand the mindset and aspirations of this vibrant pace setter that mostly likes to implement things without gaining public attention.

INN: What Can you say about IKORODU today?

Hon Rotimi: Ikorodu is a very dynamic place to be, it is growing fast currently if you want to compare us to Badagry or Epe, Ikorodu is on another level entirely.

INN: 2020 was predicted to be a year of huge Economic growth but out of the blue comes CoVid-19 Pandemic, Next month will be half of the year, What can you say about our current status Globally?

Hon Rotimi: All we can say is thank God for everything so far. The only constant thing in life is change, And when we can adjust to it then we will have little or less challenges. CoVid-19 is a wake up call for us all to know that at any point in time anything can happen. It is an adjustment nobody anticipated. Even for me it was very difficult at first, But here we are today.

INN: Looking at Ikorodu and it’s Festivities, Economic activities that makes up the year and how this virus has halted projections, Can you do alittle bit of Forecast for us post CoVid-19?

Hon Rotimi: The Pandemic has brought in a lot of damages to our Economy and adjustments, But I would say in all fairness its a bitter sweet adjustments, Because even the measures we are taking to prevent CoVid-19 is also going to help us now in preventing Tuberculosis and diarrhea.
What am picking out of this health Crisis is the fact that it’s preventive measures are actually good for humanity in general. And we should adopt it post CoVid-19.

INN: How would you advice NCDC today looking at the ignorance of some Nigerians towards preventing the spread of the CoVid-19 Pandemic?

Hon Rotimi: If you are Demanding for equity then you must be able to present a clean hand too, NCDC is actually doing a fantastic job for Nigeria so far to contain this crisis. But the issue is people are not convinced enough about their directions, People are beginning to loss confidence in that sector. You can’t treat someone and not let them know how you made it possible. You can’t cure a disease and not disclosed the antidotes, you can’t test without disclosing a transparent results. If you beat a child you can’t prevent him or her from crying!. If NCDC wants Nigerians to be less ignorance of the realities of this killer virus which we all know, They need to be more transparent in their findings and treatments. Before CoVid-19 Pandemic people were dying of malaria, typhoid, Lassa Fever is still there, But at the end of the day the process should be done transparently, Can’t you see that the live scores is beginning to look like a game to some people?

INN: Lagos State Government has done alot as regards CoVid-19 Pandemic in our State, What is your advice to them as they prepare for their next line of actions?

Hon Rotimi: As for me I think the Lagos State Government has done Tremendously well concerning their approach towards containing this Pandemic in comparison to other states which is actually expected of them, because the bigger your head implies the bigger your responsibilities.

In terms of funding, The government has done some strategic planning and it’s good for the growth of the state. I also heard the State House Of Assembly is summoning the Governor for a brief on his expenses as regards CoVid-19 Pandemic, That’s not an issue because I believe the Government will be prudent in their Presentations.

But my advice for the government is simple, the Task Force been put in place to combat this challenge in Lagos State are not as effective as they are supposed to be. We know Lagos is big and harbours a large number of people who also desperately in  need. But at the end of the day if the government can vamp up the effectiveness of the Task Force just like Ekiti State Or Rivers State the message would be clearer.

INN: To you as a leader what have you been able to contribute to Ikorodu during this period of CoVid-19 to support our communities?

Hon Rotimi: Though we didn’t make noise about it but we produced about 600 quantities of Hand Sanitizers which my Wife did and we distributed it across Ikorodu. We also financially supported about 348 distressed individuals through a data correlation plan which we did randomly as a soft palliative measure to assist vulnerable families. We supplied food items to some areas and finally we tried to create awareness about the dangerous realities of CoVid-19 in which we spoke with some Okada riders and people in rural areas here in Ikorodu.

INN: What is the way forward for our Youths in Ikorodu, Most especially in this times where we are battling cultism from within?

Hon Rotimi: ‘Youth Inclusiveness’ is the way forward!

• Bring the young ones into the wealth making process of our communities.
• Empower them on what to do so they can become productive to the society.
• Enlighten them to the point their eyes would be opened to see the disadvantages of the dangerous lifestyle they are living today.

Make them know that their contributions matters to the growth and development of our beloved Ikorodu and see how they will adjust.

Some of our Youths are good sportsmen and women, They already have an inbuilt gift from God in them but no clear direction that is why they turned to this part of destruction.

Let me give you an instance, So we have some companies here in Ikorodu and with them we have some major contracts awarded in order to develop the inner Communities. Now the local government should lias with companies in their community to create a ‘Social Responsibility Platform’ that will enlist youths across the Division and run a steady orientation programme to train them, So that when projects are brought to the communities, it’s from these enlisted youths they would select and pay to handle such projects and not bring outsiders to execute the job, Believe me if such a habit is cultivated on a regular basis, It is even the youths that would eventually become the vigilantes of our communities not destroyers of our heritage.