Chartered by Rotary International in 1967, Rotary Club of Ikeja continues to intervene in several areas of life to help the community and the needy. In the years gone past – as it is in the current Rotary year that runs till 30th June – Rotary Club of Ikeja has invested millions of Naira in impactful projects within and outside its jurisdictions, according to its president, Rotarian Sola Akinsiku.
At a recent media engagement, Akinsiku announced that, as part of the activities to mark the Rotary theme for month – Water, Sanitation and Hygiene (WASH) – the club would be at Ipodo in Ikeja to donate sanitary materials and other items to the community. Ipodo, Ikeja and Opebi are the three communities adopted by the Rotary Club of Ikeja, the president said.
Akinsiku also said that the club is constructing boreholes in partnership with other clubs to mark the theme of the month, in addition to other interventions.
“We also regularly invest in education. We have two schools we have adopted – Ikeja Junior High School, and Opebi Primary School. At Opebi Primary School, we made donation of books, writing materials and dictionaries. The text they use for Literature this year, we donated some copies to them; and produced notebooks and exercise books that we gave to them.
“Ikeja Junior High School has enjoyed the intervention of our club the most. We donated a multi-purpose sports facility for badminton, volleyball, basketball, etc. It is in excess of N10 million to put it together. And it was adjudged about the best secondary schools in Lagos State”, Akinsiku said.
On economic empowerment, the club president said that Rotary Club of Ikeja has something to do every week in this area within its community. He recalled that last 4th July, which was the first meeting of the current Rotary year, the club held a poverty alleviation and economic development programme. It made donation of sewing machines, hair dryers, cake-making products, and other items to the Nigerian Air Force Officers’ Wives Association (NAFOWA) Vocational Centre at its graduation ceremony. Akinsiku said: “We made a donation of almost N1 million worth of items to NAFOWA, which has an institute for vocational studies where they train people in all kinds of businesses”.
In the health sector, Akinsiku said the club has participated in the polio eradication programme, explaining that it built a centre at Isolo. “It’s like a community centre, we built it for them some 20, 30 years ago even before I joined. That’s where we had the polio vaccination exercise”, he said.
The president said that the club is working on the next big project, which is the sinking of borehole at the Moshood Abiola Polytechnic, Abeokuta, Ogun State. It is a partnership with four other clubs in Abeokuta, he explained.
Akinsiku also spoke about interventions at the Modupe Cole Memorial Child Care and Treatment, which is for people with special needs, as well as the Christmas Day celebration with patients of Lagos State University Teaching Hospital (LASUTH).
“Every year, we donate medical equipment on Christmas Day, and we also celebrate Christmas with the patients. During COVID-19, we weren’t able to do any celebration, but we still visited and gave them medical equipment. We also helped to boost the morale of their staff and we gave prizes to best performing staff, doctors in all areas. For most of the families here at the club, Christmas Day is LASUTH Day. I can’t remember the last time I was at church on Christmas Day. As from 7 am, we are there”.
Past District Governor, Prince Julius Adewale Adelusi-Adeluyi, who is the Doyen of District Governors, spoke glowingly about the impact of Rotary around the world. A charter (founding) member of the Rotary Club of Ikeja, who served as District Governor in the 1982/83 year, Adelusi-Adeluyi said that “Rotary has gone so large that the sun never sets on the club. There is no hour when a Rotary club or more is not meeting in one corner of the world”.
He described Rotary as a medium that is globally unique. “The club is encouraged to look for people of integrity, people of character to come together, look at the community’s various needs and better actualise their aspirations”, he explained.
Another past president of Rotary Club of Ikeja, 82-year-old Chief Olusegun Osunkeye described Rotary as a way of life as it promotes ethics, character, integrity, and service. “Integrity is expected to be latent in everyone, and when you now add the Rotary 4-way test and Objects of Rotary, you become a selfless being”, he said.
Osunkeye, an iconic Chartered Accountant, who served Nestle Nigeria Plc in various top management positions for 41 years, is a distinguished Rotarian of over 50 years membership.
Excerpts of media interaction with Rotarian Sola Akinsiku…
Identifying communities to assist
We intervene in areas of focus that must be in our own immediate community. Every week, we have something to do. Like today (the press conference), what we just did is in line with the expectation of Rotary International. From time to time, we speak with the media so that we can use the platform to enlighten the public about Rotary. During our first meeting this Rotary year (July 2022), we held the first poverty alleviation and economic development programme. We call it economic empowerment programme. We donated almost N1 million worth of items to the Nigeria Airforce Officers Wives Association (NAFOWA), which has an institute for vocational studies where they train people in all kinds of businesses. We donated some sewing machines, hair dryers, cake making products. We attended the graduation ceremony of that set and presented the items to the best graduating students.
We also regularly invest in education. We have two schools we have adopted – the Ikeja Junior High School, and Opebi Primary School. At Opebi Primary School, we made donation of books, writing materials and dictionaries. The text they use for Literature this year, we donated some copies to them; and produced notebooks and exercise books that we gave to them. Ikeja Junior High School has enjoyed the intervention of our club the most. We donated a multi-purpose sports facility for badminton, volleyball, basketball, etc. it is on excess of N10 million to put it together. And it was adjudged about the best secondary schools in Lagos State.
We have also carried out a number of projects in that school. This year’s tree planting exercise took place there. We were at Igando, the Internal Displaced People’s (IDPs) location, one of such locations in Lagos, where we made donations of items frequently used. As a matter of fact, when we did the need assessment, they said, ‘sorry no food but bring bathroom slippers.’ So, we took about 300 pairs of bathroom slippers, bath towels, toothpaste, body creams, because these are what people use frequently; some other organisations give them food.
Our intervention and community needs
Now, there are two major platforms. Number 1, we have communities such as the Ipodo community, Ikeja community, Opebi community, and so some of these needs are the needs that we see. This month is a month of environment, water, sanitation and this time next week, we will be donating some items to Ipodo market – sanitation materials. You can take that one for granted that they would need them. We also receive a number of invitations for interventions regularly from communities, colleges, hospitals even individuals. We may not be able to meet all the requirements, but as far as we can go, the best we can do, we do.
We also intervened in Modupe Cole, a school for people who need special attention. When we first went there, we took some bags of rice, bags of garri, noodles and all those things there. They said, ‘please give us more food’, and we went back with some bags of rice. But the one we have done consistently in more than 40 years is the Christmas Day with the then General Hospital, now Lagos State University Teaching Hospital (LASUTH). Every year, we donate medical equipment on Christmas Day, and we also celebrate special day with the patients. During COVID-19, we weren’t able to do any celebration, but we still visited and gave them medical equipment, we also helped to boost the morale of their staff and we gave prizes to best performing staff, doctors in all areas. For most of the families here, Christmas Day is LASUTH day. I can’t remember the last time I was at church on Christmas Day. As from 7 am, we are there. We don’t pray to meet the same people every year, but the hospital management will be expecting it because that’s the only form of entertainment that they have; and I can say that it costs so much money. At the SOS Children’s Village at Isolo, last year, we built an e-library for them. This year we added some computer sets, we also gave them a 16-inch television.
Health projects
We participated in the polio eradication programme. We have a centre at Isolo that the Rotary Club of Ikeja built. It’s like a community centre, we built it for them some 20, 30 years ago even before I joined. That’s where we had the polio vaccination exercise. Mothers in the neighbourhood brought their children, all of these are paid for – classrooms here, borehole there.
The one we are planning now, the next big one is the sinking of a borehole at the Moshood Abiola Polytechnic, Abeokuta. We got a request from that school for a borehole, and we are working on the commissioning before the end of this Rotary year. But it is going to be in collaboration. We have four Rotary clubs in Abeokuta that are partnering with us. As a matter of fact, they reached out to us, expectedly so. A current member, a past District Governor, of course a past President, Oba Adedapo Tejuoso is a member of this club and there’s a Rotary club in his domain that is also part of the project. So, it’s the next big one. I can’t envisage how much, but it’s huge. You saw how we raised money now at this meeting, N300,000. Sometimes, we raise more than that. So, when we have a project that is N100,000, N200,000, we don’t really have to scratch our heads on where to get the fund from; it’s from the generosity, the largeness of heart of members that have made it possible to fund most of our projects.
Project cost
It’s possible to know as we have a treasurer. Our documents are public documents. We have a treasurer; we have a system of audit. The man I took over from is a Chartered Accountant, the one that will take over from me is a Chartered Accountant, so the issue of integrity is settled.
Key message
One of the things to tell the public is that Rotary is about being your brother’s keeper; it does not belong to a particular religion or profession. You can see that we have females around us, and it’s not for the very rich. It’s all about the largeness of your heart, the size of your heart and not the size of your pocket. And of course, you can attest to it now that it is not a cult. I remember two, three years ago, we were having this same programme here, somebody said that all along he had been thinking that to be a member, you must be a CEO, which is okay; you must have money, which is okay, because out of the little you have, you are able to give. It’s all about giving; all religions, all scriptures emphasise on giving. The Bible tells us there will always be the poor around us. In fact, I have given you that which I have given you because I know there are people you will give to. The key message is that Rotary is for service; people out there join rotary for service. Rotary is all about integrity, even integrity in leadership. A Rotarian in Nigeria is a Rotarian in Ghana, a Rotarian in Nigeria is a Rotarian in Kigali, a Rotarian is a Rotarian in anywhere in the world.
Rotary’s advice for Nigeria’s incoming administration
The 4-Way Test – and now Daddy (Past District Governor Adelusi-Adeluyi) added a fifth one. You know it must be the truth, it must be fair to all concerned and all that; and you must enjoy doing it. If you don’t enjoy doing it, I think you’re being coerced. But in Rotary, you voluntarily enlist to be part of a group of people who willingly have decided to invest within the limit of what is available to them in making our society a better one for all. You have two tubers of yam and there’s a family that has not eaten in three days; you cut one tuber in two, that’s Rotary. You really don’t have to have N2 million before you give, even with the N2,000, you can give N20, N200 to help.
Rotary and ethics
Every society, every community, every vocal human entity will have procedures for discipline. Rotary International has a constitution and every club is allowed to have a set of byelaws to guide the conduct of everyone. Rotary is not a club you apply to. Before I invited someone, I must have done my due diligence and everyone in Rotary was invited by somebody. I remember a past president of blessed memory, a friend of 30 years, who had been asking me to come to Rotary. I was very busy then. One day, there was a function at Sheraton Hotel – his investiture as president for the Rotary year – and my wife was there with me. My wife said to me the array of people I’m seeing here – is that not Chief Michael Ade-Ojo? People will bring their likes; if there is integrity in you, discipline in you, there’s a procedure, there’s a constitution. There’s also a set of byelaws that every Rotarian must respect. But more importantly, individuals don’t come in today and the next day they induct you as a member. You come and watch what they do, and as you come, they are also watching the kind of person you are.
Succession and the new generation
One thing about Rotary Club of Ikeja is that we are mindful. We have our own approach to the tradition of Rotary. I remember a Past District Governor said to us: “Rotary Club of Ikeja, you be a mega club. Clubs of your size should be like 200 or 300”. We are 58 now. And one of our elders said: “Sorry, we are mindful of the need to grow with caution”. We have a membership director who is working on Interact and Rotaract Clubs. We are also pulling together one or two community clubs – one in Lekki Foreshore, another one in Iperu.
Life after presidency…
The initial motivation can only get higher, and the initial motivation is to serve humanity. If in the course of doing that you’re invited – you don’t contest for positions in Rotary, you don’t say I want to go to the District. Even now that I am serving as president here, I’m also serving on a committee of the District. And someone said you’re the first president I will see that is serving here and also serving at the District. Serving is not something you contest for in Rotary, you don’t have to buy forms, you don’t have to lobby, you don’t have to use BVAS (Bimodal Voter Accreditation System). So, let’s say tomorrow the District says, ‘come and do this’; if for whatever reason, you are unable to, ‘I’m sorry I can’t right now’. It’s not something you aspire to. My only expectation is that I should be able to do more than I am doing now. If at today’s meeting I have contributed N2,000, at the next meeting, I want to contribute N2,500. If today three people are sponsoring the university education of an individual, tomorrow I want to be on that list. That’s my aspiration, and if at any time I’m called to serve, why not? if I have the time and the resources, I will gladly take it.
