Lagos State Deputy Governor, Obafemi Hamzat has said that the importance of social clubs in the development of the society cannot be overemphasised, noting that they play a crucial role in reshaping and strengthening the community.
The deputy governor highlighted this during a courtesy visit by the Executive of Ikoyi Club 1938 to his office at the Roundhouse, Alausa, Ikeja, stating that social clubs foster connection, promote personal growth, and encourage collective progress and initiatives.
Ikoyi Club is planning ahead to hold its 86th Anniversary.
According to Hamzat, clubs like Ikoyi Club are extremely important, saying that they helped the fabric of the society as they contained people from different backgrounds, diverse opinions, among others with the focus to reshape the society for the better.
The deputy governor, while noting that what the clubs do is important for Lagos and the country, stated that their ability to transform and uplift the nation through social cohesion was indispensable.
He, therefore, charged Ikoyi Club to help build the nation being an important part of the society, stressing further that the organization should help mode and moderate public opinions, discuss issues without being abusive, and let the more intelligent topic take the most of the discussion as, according to him, people see things from different lenses.
Reiterating that the country’s problem is the negative public commentary as it modes people’s opinions on issues affecting the country, Hamzat said Lagos was doing a lot of things in terms of engaging the youth and providing them with the facilities they needed to survive in the modern age of technology.
Speaking further, the deputy governor stated that Lagos was poised to become the Financial Centre of Africa, saying this means it would have a free trade zone for financial services.
This was just as he quickly recalled that Lagos was the first city in Africa to attend the Lord’s Mayor Show over the past 300 years, where the state was able to showcase its heritage and culture to the world.
“Beyond that, Lagos is the first city in Africa to attend the Lord’s Mayor Show over the past 300 years, where the state was able to showcase its heritage and culture to the world,” he said.
Earlier in his address, the Chairman of Ikoyi Club, Mr. Mustafa Zibiru-Aliu, stated that the purpose of the visit was to invite the deputy governor to the club’s 86th Anniversary and to be the keynote speaker at the event with the theme: “Ikoyi Club: Repositioning for Modern Age.”
Mustafa expressed the readiness of Ikoyi Club to change the narrative of the people that it is for the old men and not the youth, saying that the invite to the deputy governor was to enable him debunk the narrative and the club “is repositioning itself to the modern age which is for everyone, irrespective of age, background, and so on.”
“We are inviting you to tell people that believe that our club is for old men and not the youth. We want them to know that the club is repositioning itself to the modern age which is for everyone, irrespective of age, background, and so on,” he said.
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