By Tajudeen Adebanjo
No less than 3,000 people have been benefitting from the free Iftar (Breaking of Fast) centre created by the Itire-Ikate Local Council Development Area (LCDA) in Lagos.
The daily feeding of fasting Muslims has attracted many to Itire, where the centre is located.
According to the Chairman of Itire-Ikate LCDA, Dr Ahmed Apatira, the gesture was meant to provide food for those who don’t have means of sustaining themselves during the Ramadan period.
The initiative, Apatira said, was in line with the directive of the Lagos State government.
It would be recalled that Lagos State Governor Babajide Sanwo-Olu announced a daily food kitchen programme to feed at least 100,000 youths in the state.
“Since our governor made the feeding programme announcement, we have been providing cooked food for the people. We are operating in three centres – Itire, Ijeshatedo and Ikate. Each of the centres has three serving points; this was done to reach out to more people. We even created a Mobile Food Distribution Programme, whereby buses take the food round to the communities for distribution to people whose houses are far from the feeding centres,” he said.
According to him, over 3,000 people are being fed daily.
The council boss said he made slight adjustment to the initiative to accommodate Muslims that are fasting.
“We continue the morning cooking and distribution in Ikate and Ijeshatedo but shifted the Itire centre to evening to serve those who want to break their fast.
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I also partake in the meal to assure the people that the food has quality. I always go to Itire centre to break my fast with the people. My Vice-Chairman just finished eating his own meal here a few minutes ago,” he said.
Apatira said there were no criteria for the beneficiaries, saying “All you need to do is to walk into any of the feeding centres and collect the food with water. We provided canopy and chairs for those who want to eat at the centre. There is also room for take away and those who come with their plates or coolers are also allowed.”
Some of the beneficiaries hailed Governor Sanwo-Olu for the daily food kitchen programme.
They thanked Apatira for implementing the initiative at the council level and created time to monitor it.
Taofik Oresanya said he preferred the cooked food to the raw ones distributed earlier on.
“There were no criteria for selecting beneficiaries in this kind of initiative. I saw people coming from this centre with food and water and I decided to try my luck. They didn’t ask for anything; I joined the queue and collected the food,” he said.
Mrs Khadijat Olaniyonu said she was impressed with the quality of the meal.
“The cook did well; I enjoy the meal. I even took some home for my children. This is far better than distributing raw food. I wish they continue till after Ramadan,” she said.
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