A Non-Governmental Organisation (NGO) Labo Foundation in collaboration with Hapas Community Development Initiative has raised awareness to the plight of slum dwellers in Agberin community along the Oworonshoki corridor of the expansive Lagos lagoon.
The attention of government was drawn during the disbursement of food stuff to dwellers of the riverine community through an initiative tagged Meals4All.
Powered by Labo Group, a firm with interest in real estate, entertainment and automobile through its charity arm, Labo Foundation, the outreach also drew support from Nigerian Breweries which provided drinks.
At the outreach, beneficiaries, including the aged and unemployed youths, were given food items such as rice, beans, garri, palm oil and malt drinks.
In alignment with directives on social distancing by the Ministry of Health in the campaign against COVID-19, beneficiaries were spaced while hand sanitisers where administered.
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Dwellers of communities such as Agberin community in Oworonshoki are among the hardest hit by the harsh economic effect of the COVID19 scourge said Funke Sodade, Founder, Hapas Community Development Initiative.
Sodade stated her organisation has reached over 20,000 since 2012 through similar exercises within Lagos high-density communities such as Oshodi, Shomolu, Mushin, Bariga and Ajegunle.
She said: “Interventions from organisations such as the Labo Group and Nigerian Breweries is important and critical.
“This is because when the harsh effect of the pandemic bites hard, dwellers of communities such as this are the worst hit. People like you and I have some form of social insurance such as savings etc unlike the dwellers of shanty communities who do not have any income to protect them from the shock of health or economic pandemic.”
According to Olabisi Akanbi, CEO, Labo Group and founder, Labo Foundation, the private and public sector would need to do more to make life easy for residents of communities such as Agberin in Oworonshoki and other city-slum dwellers.
Speaking at the exercise, he said: “All over the world, the distribution of wealth and resources is uneven. For those who are blessed, it is by the grace of God.
“I believe that giving doesn’t kill or rob anyone, the private and public sector have nothing to lose by helping the poor in our society. Food is essential to all human but not everyone has access to it.
While calling for intervention that would increase earning power of the vulnerable as a lasting solution, Sodade noted: “They are plagued with poor sanitation as there are no infrastructures such as drainages, toilets, walk ways and roads.
They build their homes on shafts covered by cloths or trampoline. This makes dwellers prone to sickness, life expectancy is low as with income. It’s a myriad of problems. Lagos is such an interesting place with a tragic paradox.
“The dynamics is such that we have extremely wealthy and poor people living in one place. This is classic of any developing nation. Particularly, slum dwellers are at a great disadvantage because they cannot afford the high rent of a metro city like Lagos. You find that dwellers cluster where rent is free or informal. This is characteristics of Oworonshoki especially the Agberin community.”
Also commending the initiative, Mr Ogunlaja Isaac, 80, Deputy Chairman of Agberin Street, said that he has been a resident of the community for the past 40 years.
According to him: “Due to neglect by government, we have taken to providing basic amenities for ourselves even though we have written to the authorities countless number of times.
“During electioneering campaign, they come here and make promises but after they get elected, we don’t see them again nor do we see their impact.
“When the rains come, life becomes unbearable for us. Infact, we are no better than animals during such periods. We are human beings, we need government to look into our plights.”
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