Full Speech Deleivered By Mr. Babatunde Jafar At His Inauguration As ALSI President

Read the full speech deleivered by President of the Association Of Lagos State Indigene (ALSI) Mr. Babatunde Jafar Sanuth on the occasion his inauguration.

The President appealed for support from all stakeholders to build a better Lagos, Nigeria.

Below is the President’s full speech..

On behalf of the new Executive, I wish to acknowledge the trust and honour bestowed on us to lead this important Association as we understand and appreciate responsibility expected of us.

I want to thank the founding fathers and all previous Executive of the Association for laying the foundation that we shall built upon to an enviable level beyond our current imagination.

I am aware of the enormity of work and tasks that will propel our Association to a self-sustaining level, we shall put our hands on the plough with the belief that progress and success will be associated with our tenure. However, we wish to solicit for your support in all ramification as two good heads are said to be better than one.

As you are aware, our Association is an indigenous one in a society that is heterogenous in nature and has become the way of life. This call for caution, change of tactics, constructive engagement and capacity building so that whatever we desire should not be on sentiment but competence.

This is an herculean task but I am sure we equal to the task given the calibre of the past leadership and the followership.

We have developed a blueprint for the Association which will be subjected to Committees review and adoption with immediate effect. Data base development would be our first Agenda as well as gap closing within the old and new members.

The proposed projects and programmes are designed to improve the capacity and capability of members economically, socially, politically and development wise. It requires a lot of mentorship, counselling and creation of business opportunities.   

I am sure when we knock on your doors for support and assistance, you will gladly open the door for us as we request your active involvement in the Committees’ work which is expected to be concluded within three months.

This Executive will focus on viable and sustainable Institution building with a lot of decentralisation to the Local Government level. A healthy competition will be instituted amongst the Local Governments such that we will be busy throughout the year assisting or supporting from the Centre.

Some of the actvities to be embarked upon include:
Grassroot network
Counselling and mentorship
Scholarship and Bursary
Micro-credit and Cooperatives
Youth development and
Reorganization

Lagos is home to over 22 million people as of date. We are not sure whether we are in majority with respect to number from Badagry through Ojo, Alimosho, Ikeja and Ikorodu nor from Epe through Ibeju-Lekki, Etiosa to Lagos Island. What we are sure of is that we are the real indigenes of the State. However, a website will be launched where we will all have to register for a robust database of our people.

We should therefore brace up and play the prominent roles so that coming generations will be proud of us. Sometimes, we see ‘Alajogbe’ before seeing ‘Alajobi’ and this is a reality of life that we cannot run away from.

We shall cooperate with all Associations and Agencies that have similar objective in our State since we have no other State that we can call our own on reasonable and realisable terms. We are not an island and we must not forget where we are coming from as well as where we are going to in this political economy of ours.

We are generous in spirit, compassionate at heart, fair-minded and tolerant. These virtues put us ahead at all time.

I am aware of the situation that led to our emergence and the delay involved in the process, we shall aggressively mend fences and protect the bond that hold us together.

To those who did the yeoman’s job, I extend my deep appreciation.

Despite the challenges that we may face, the future is bright, and we shall all reap the fruits of our bountiful efforts.

Teamwork is better than individual efforts and I pledge to be a level-headed and a purposeful Team Leader.

In concluding this address, I wish to thank each of you personally for your contributions to this collective and progressive effort.  

Our Traditional Rulers will continue to be the repository of our knowledge, encouragement and impetus to achieve greatness. We are grateful to them. To all indigenes and non-indigenes of Lagos, we are partners in progress, and everyone will be accorded the respect and rights they are entitled to.

With your help, I know we can make Lagos a greater and better place for all male and female residents. I appreciate the honour and confidence reposed in us.

Thank you and God bless our Country, State, Local Government and our Association.