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| A cross section of inductees |
On Saturday, June 7, 2014,
members of the Lagos Icon Lions Club, District 404A-1 Nigeria, held their Charter
Presentation, Fund Raising and Investiture of Lion Princess Ann Mary Obikansi
as the Charter President and Induction of other officers for 2013-2014 Lions
Year.
The event which took place at Ogun Hall, Lagos
Airport Hotel, Ikeja, Lagos, began with the Call to Order at exactly 6.14 pm by
the President of the club that gave birth to Lagos Icon Lions Club, Lion Rev. Abayomi
Ogunkorode. This was followed by the National Anthem.
After the recitation of
Lions international Purpose led by Lion Olu Akinsiku, Lion Rev. Ogunkorode in
his welcome address expressed gratitude to God for making the event a reality.
“It is with utmost humility I welcome you all to this occasion, the chartering
of a club - the Lagos Icon Lions Club. I cannot but commend the efforts of the
club members that made the occasion a reality through Lion Elder Johnson
Efunkomaya, Lion Otunba Odeniyi, Lion Remi and many others.
“We are here to witness
the public presentation of Obikansi and to install others who will work with
her. We solicit your support so that we can better the lives of the physically
challenged persons, the sick and the blind, among others,” he said.
He charged the inducted members
by saying that, “to be unique is not only by being a lion but in deed and in
truth. Let us have the flag flying”
He urged the new members
to live up to expectation by being role models, persons of inestimable quality
and so on. “My prayer for you is that you blossom and blossom the more. Keep up
the standard.”
The chief host of the
occasion, District Governor 404A1 Nigeria, Lion Tokunbo Jegede, described Lions
Club as a club with a difference. He gave kudos to the club members and
emphasized that the club meets every third Sunday of the month along
Ogudu-Ojota Road, Lagos. Jegede welcomed new members that indicated interest in
registering to be part of the club.
In the same vein, the
guest speaker, who indicated interest to become a member, Prof. Rasaki Ojo
Bakare, Dean, Faculty of Humanities and Social Sciences, Federal University,
Oye Ekiti, Ekiti State, stressed the need for all and sundry to support the
club in helping the blind.
He asked everyone to close
their eyes for a few second and asked them to imagine what the blind go through
on a daily basis.
Prof. Bakare attributed
lack of information as one of the major causes of cataract and noted that about
288 million people are blind, globally. “82 percent of blind persons are over
60 years while 60 percent of them are women. 1.2 million Nigerians are blind. Two
out every three Nigerians are blind from the causes that are preventable. This is
common among the illiterates than the literates. “
He thanked Lions Club
members for helping the blind and noted that a lot needs to be done to
alleviate their suffering.
After her investiture, the
Charter President, Princess Obikansi, in her acceptance speech thanked the
guests for honouring their invitation, and added that “the journey before us is
a great one and I believe with God, all things are possible.”
Set up by Melvin Jones in
1917, Lions Club International is the world’s largest service club organization
that has members in more than 45, 000 clubs worldwide. Its vision is to be the
global leader in community and humanitarian service, while its mission
statement is to empower volunteers to serve their communities, meet
humanitarian needs, encourage peace and promote international understanding
through Lion Clubs.
Among notable
personalities that graced the event were: His Royal Majesty, Elegbeda of
Egbeda; Oba Samsudeen Ayinde Balogun, Chief Launcher of the event; Elder
Akinsola represented by his wife, Deaconess Akinsola, Hon. Ben Bakare, Launcher;
Chief Executive Officer of Petrochemical Limited; Chief Mrs. Chioma Ezeala, the
Co-launcher of the event; Engr. Folusho Ojo, Women Leader of All Progressive
Congress, Lagos State; Mrs. Omolara Vaughn, First District Governor; Lion
Olaitan Onalaja, Past District Governor; Lion Kola Oyekanmi, the District
Cabinet Secretary; Lion Elder Johnson Efunkomaya and Region 3 Chairperson; Lion
Yemi Ajiboye, among others.
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