Ademola Aderemi
Development Association (CDA) of Unity Estate, Offin-Ile, Igbogbo Bayeku Local Council Development Area (LCDA), recently embarked on a house-to-house distribution of foodstuff to residents of the community.
The gesture, according to the CDA leaders, was to cushion the effects of the prolonged stay-at-home order of the Federal Government and to also extend their generosity to members of the CDA in this moment of crisis and difficulty in the country as a result of the coronavirus pandemic.
Chairman of the CDA, Mr. Olugbenga Onasanya, said the gesture became necessary due to the level of hardship that is biting hard on the people at this period. He lamented that though the Lagos State government had embarked on similar palliative measures, such were not enough for the teeming population of the state.
“As a community, we considered it necessary to bring smiles to the faces of our brothers and sisters during this period. All the members of the executive of Unity Estate CDA contributed money to this cause. We want to touch the lives of the residents of this community and we want to support all our members during this trying period. It is not easy coping under this condition and I must confess to the fact that Nigerians, especially, residents of those states that were locked down, are facing a lot of challenges at the moment. So, we cannot leave everything to the state government because the COVID-19 pandemic is a global threat to the world economy and we are all affected. That is why members of the executive of the Unity Estate contributed money individually and collectively to make this possible. We didn’t dip our hands into the pocket of the community.
“We discovered that the palliative measure of the state government was not enough to cater for all the residents of the community, so we decided to reach out to the people by initiating a door-to-door distribution of foodstuff, noodles and other food items to residents. We have responded positively to the cries of the people of this community”, he said.
Vice chairman of the CDA, Mr. Bashir Alabi, said apart from the urgent palliative, the leadership of the community was also embarking on other community development projects. This, he said, include the construction of drainages across the community to check flooding in the rainy season. He explained further that the community was determined to explore the various options toward making the CDA the best in Offin and its environs.
“We are building the Unity Estate Community Secretariat, where we shall be holding our meetings. We are also planning to make our community safe from intruders by building gates across all the roads leading to the community. For example, work in on going to fix the gate at Lajoro to add to the existing ones.”
Vice chairman of the Community Development Committee (CDC) for the area, Otunba Hammed Odebiyi, said the leadership of Unity Estate had done its best by showing kindness to residents of the community. He noted that the little support would go a long way in reducing the pain experienced by the people in recent times.
“I must appreciate the effort of the leadership of this community. They have shown kindness and generosity to their members and I pray that God will continue to bless them,” he stated.
Secretary of the community, Mr. John Akinwowo, said leadership is all about sacrifice. He stressed that the little the CDA were able to do was done as sacrifice to the people of the area.
“It is not as if we are all wealthy, but as leaders of this community, what we did by contributing personally to support our members was to show that we care about their welfares. We are always ready to respond to the needs of the residents of this community. We will continue to do our best to improve the social and health services of the people, that is why we were being elected to serve as leaders.”
Other members of the leadership of the CDA are Monday Asuelumen, Alade Olufemi, Kayode Odunuga, Ajulo Victor, Pastor Daniel Olawoyin, Mrs. Balogun, Mrs. Aminat Abiola, Akande Kayode, Owolabi Solomon, and Akinloye Gbadamosi.