Romanus Okoye
Lagosians have told Governor Babajide Sanwo-Olu to focus on more serious matters bedeviling the state, like fixing dilapidated roads, COVID-19 et , than video of a small boy and his mother that went viral.
A four-year-old boy in the video was seen begging the mother to calm down and not punish him and the Lagos State governor, had anchored his message on that, urging Lagosians to calm down, take it easy with themselves and the government especially this Sallah period.
The governor had tweeted: “I saw a video of a charming young boy online asking his mom to ‘calm down’ as she was set to punish him for a misdemeanour. I was moved by his sobriety, which reflected in his promise of “last chance”, when confronted with the fact that he is a regular offender.”
Continuing, the governor said the exchange was indeed funny, but it depicted the efforts parents put in moulding children into responsible adults. “I want to assume that his mom indeed calmed down because the appeal was moving enough to make anyone change their mind,” he said. “Interestingly”, the governor said, “the video inspired this special message to the good people of Lagos State because of the deeper meaning it conveys.
“Fellow Lagosians, we need to ‘calm down’ as we enjoy the coming holiday and festivity. It is a commemoration of Prophet Ibrahim’s heart of sacrifice and faith in Allah. We need to emulate and demonstrate his sense of self- restraint at this time the world is combating the scourge of COVID19.
“I urge every Lagosian to ‘calm down’ and not get carried away. Like the rest of the world, we are still in the middle of a pandemic and need to remain extremely careful to keep the gains of the sacrifices we have all made in the past months. Let’s calm down!
“As an aside, I would like to meet the young boy since we both now have exclusive rights to the phrasal verb ‘calm down’. In line with this commitment, we embarked on the reconstruction of Herbert Macaulay Way from Oyingbo to Yaba. Our plan to fix inner roads and highways within the metropolis remain a top priority.”
On a television programme, Thursday morning, the boy’s mother confirmed that the governor had contacted her but did not disclose what transpired.
While reacting to the governor’s tweet, some Lagosians had this to say. Adetutu Balogun said, “Sanwo ‘Calm down’ like this and decrease BRT fares by 46%…” A.R.T. Omuvwie & Co, tweeted: “Calm down like this and fix Badagry Expressway way, Tedi-Muwo Road and Old Ojo Road. Please safe us from Traffic Robbers.”
Another whose name is Oshomah tweeted: “So there were Covid-19 patients, the Lagos state spent N1million/day on . You need to calm down.”
Also commenting, Morris Monye Factor tweeted: “Roads all over the state are in a tragic mess. But we will calm down.” Fola in Versace asked the governor, “How does this affect Apapa road?”
Umar Sa’ad Hassan stated: “N1Million a day for one COVID-19 patient. What the US spends on a patient all through the infection. Lagosians, you are urged to ‘Calm down.” Prosper calls the governor’s attention to another video:” Sir, please there is a video of a US doctor saying there’s a cure and a prevention. I’m sure you are aware of this what’s your take on this sir?”
Agreeing with the governor, Yusuf Ibrahim Adeniyi tweeted that calming down is necessary especially during this general pandemic. “We all need to calm down.” On a lighter note, Rafiat Atanda tweeted, “Yet, another reason to love the amazing human behind His Excellency @jidesanwoolu’s tweets. Message conveyed in a cerebral, humorous way.”