By Adewale Banjo
Lagos Marvel Lions Club ,of Lions Club International District 404 B2, has donated traffic booth to Ifako/Gbagada Police Station to assist them in controlling traffic.
This, the club said, is to address traffic congestion in Gbagada/Ifako axis and enhance the safety and working conditions of men and officers of the Nigeria Police Force.
Gbagada roundabout is popular due to its commercial activities, so the donation was well received by members of the Nigeria Police.
Divisional Police Officer at Ifako/Gbagada Police Station, Sofunmi Owolabi, who was represented by the Divisional Crime Officer, Tim Umoh, said the donation will help them maintain traffic prevention and be more effective.
Owolabi said: “This is one of the yearnings of the Nigerian Police, that organisations like the Lion Club, should join hands to help prevent crime and hardship in our environment. This gesture from the Lagos Marvel Lions Club has been long expected, having presented us with this donation, we are happy this will add to our capacity, traffic wise.
“The Gbagada roundabout, the place where the traffic booth is located, is a strategic point. It is a point where all sides can be viewed easily. This booth will help our traffic wardens, especially during rainy season and hot weather.They can stay comfortably doing their job without any issue.
“I want to thank the Lions Club members for their efforts. They have proven themselves to be helpers of the community by donating the traffic booth. This will help ease the movement of traffic in this busy vicinity, especially when it comes to directing vehicles on which routes to take. Aside from that, the traffic officers will be sheltered from harsh weather. This is also an achievement on their part. For this, we are grateful to Lagos Marvel Lions Club,” Owolabi said.
The club’s president, Oluwagbemi Salomeh, said they had taken the step to ensure the initiative becomes reality in line with global best practices and it is part of Lions effort to ensure a safe, clean and sustainable environment across the world.
Moreso, the initiative is meant to provide shelter and protection against any environmental hazard that traffic control police officers might encounter in the line of duty.
Oluwagbemi said while presenting the control booths, they understood some of the challenges the traffic officers are going through, while working under harsh climatic conditions.
“There is an understanding that anywhere there is a need, there is a lion and that was what happened here in Gbagada. We realised during the rainy season, traffic officials suffer a lot because of the harsh weather, looking for shelter, which should not be because they are helping the citizens, they are doing a good job stopping traffic, so it came to my mind and I spoke with my club and we agreed to do the project,” Oluwagbemi.
Oluwagbemi solicited more support that will further boost and encourage the performance and activities of the police to enable them to fulfil their mandate for the common good of the society.
“The initiative is timely and very necessary at this point in time, because the rainy season is here and the officers need shelter against sun, rain and other environmental hazards that might pose serious danger to health while on duty.”
Oluwagbemi stated clearly that the signifi-cance of the project, falls under one of the Lions Club global causes on the safety environment. According to her, the organisation as-sessed the communi-ty and discovered the need to give the booth to the traffic unit of the Police, which will also serve the best of time.
She advised the police to imbibe the culture of protecting the lives of the citi-zens, as that was the oath they swore, add-ing that, they should see their jobs as humanitarian services just like the Lions Club International whose purpose is to serve.
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