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By Bianca Iboma-Emefu
Rotary Club of Ikeja GRA on Sunday , September,24th,2023 inducted new members, while inaugurating its 12th president in a grand ceremony at Marcellina’s Place, Ikeja-Lagos.
Rotarian Adeyemi Adesina, who is also the Bobaselu of Our Land, a highly traditional title conferred on him by HRM , Oba Abdulwasiu Omogbolahan Lawal, the Oniru of Iru, expressed delight as the newly installed President of the club, he vowed to impact the community and indigent.
Speaking during the investiture/fundraising ceremony, the newly inaugurated president of the club, charged the new members to give in their best, while pledging to focus on the seven major areas of the club by impacting more on the community.
He said Rotary is about service where one spends his time, resources and talents to impact the community.
Highlighting a N50 million fundraising project, where he said , we have been able to get a large chunk of the money but we still need N50 million to complete that, says Adesina.
He reeled out his focus for the 2023/2024 Rotary year, in line with the theme: “Create Hope in the World.”
Adesina said: “I’m ready with the help of my executives to lead the club beyond the level which past leaders of the club have lifted it
“We have set our goals for the year which we believe will surpass what we have done in the last Rotary year, but it is not just the president that will do it but it is all the members of the club that will come together and ensure we have better impact than they have done before.
“Our club’s pedigree of success over the last eleven years has placed an enormous burden on the current leadership of the club to be even more successful and I am confident that with the support of all the club members and our partners, far and near, we will not disappoint.
“We have identified specific areas where our club will be serving to change lives in our communities. Within the limits of the resources available to us, we have identified specific projects and interventions that we intend to execute in this Rotary year. These are in the areas of disease prevention and treatment, water sanitation and hygiene, basic education and literacy, maternal-child health, community and economic empowerment and support for the environment,” he said.
He said Rotary keeps demonstrating that service to humanity is important and our watchword is to transformed society and support humanity. It’s a noble cause and we try to encouraged each other for the good of society.We want the world to be a good place to live in.
Adesina added:”What I am expected to do is actually to have a positive impact on the world. And this starts from our family, our environment and our offices before we get to the world at large.
” Right now, we are trying to partner with Lagos State University Teaching Hospital,to develop a ‘Care Centre’ that would house about 36 beds.and we are trying to have an intervention to equip their mental health facility. Those are the major projects we are looking at.
We have equally intervened in the area of maternal health. We have done a programme on preventing maternal mortality and also our signature project, we call it ‘School in the Bag.’
“It is an avenue whereby we reach out to schools to give students books and writing materials. Also, this year, we have got a call from several schools that have genuine needs and we vow to attend to them.
Moreso,there’s a school we are considering remodeling and rehabilitating in ilishan (Ogun State). WAEC has told them that, if they don’t have a good hall, they would have to merge them with another school. So we have decided to meet that need.We are trying to ensure that these students write their exams in their school. So, we are going to take up the rehabilitation and remodeling of their hall to ensure that they have a conducive place to write their exams next year, by God’s grace.
“We are also working on the malaria project with the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation. Rotary has always had intervention on disease prevention, also create access to good water, good healthcare and good education for indigent and underprivileged Nigerians.
Rotary actually has a good Samaritan focus. It is just like the Bible that guides Rotary on what you need to do. It is well-defined. If you like to serve, if you want to see a positive impact in your community, I think Rotary is the way to go.
“Our 50 million fund raising efforts basically is to prepare us adequately to fulfill our obligations based on the tasks we have set for ourselves “.Life in Rotary is all about giving back to society. Rotary is one place where you can actually give and you can be sure what you are giving is getting to the right people.
“The Rotary family is a family of 1.5 million members all over the world. There’s no place in the world where we don’t have an impact. We have made a significant impact in Nigeria, where we try to achieve polio eradication.
He appreciated the chairman of the investiture committee, Past Assistant Governor of the Club, (PAG) Mrs. Bukola Bakare and her team for the great preparation to make this investiture a great success.
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