reporters David Oladimeji
The Agiliti Community Development Association, at the weekend laid the foundation for the construction of Police Station for the community which is expected to cost N15 million.
Speaking at the ceremony, the Chairman of the CDA Aare (Asiwaju) Haruna Omolajomo said the event was historical because today marks a watershed in the life of this Community as the CDA which consists of seven (7) CDAs in Agiliti such as Agiliti Central CDA, Agiliti Estate CDA, Oko-Guava CDA, Agility II CDA, Ola-Oluwa CDA, Oshorun CDA and Fountain view CDA.
He said the project was not achieved on a platter of Gold as everyone has actually toiled and worked extra hard to get to where we are today.
He however said that the Community still lacked some basic social amenities such as Recreational Centre, Sport Arena for our Youths, Health Centre, CDA Secretariat and public Secondary School etc. Effort are on by this community to ensure these are provided.
Aare (Asiwaju) Haruna Omolajomo said: “However, we are appealing to our government especially the Ikosi-Isheri Local government to come to our assistance in this regard. We would equally wish to continue to thank the State Government for the multi-million naira road they constructed for the people of Mile 12 and Agiliti. Our prayer still stands at the completion of this road to link us with Olowo Ira.
He said issue of having Police Station in Agiliti spanned more than twenty (20) years until God answered our prayer now. The whole Community is very grateful to the Aina royal family who made available this spacious land free for the Police Station they did not collect any dime. “So we say a big thank you to them”.
“My great people, there is no doubt that criminal activities in parts of Kosofe Local Government has increased terribly despite efforts by relevant Security Agents to curb the ugly trend. One would also recall that ever since the fracas of Mile 12 crisis of March 3, 2016, it has become evident to the Lagos State Government, Nigeria Police Force, Security Agencies and the entire residents of Agility Community and environs to see the urgent need to locating a moderns operational Police Station in Agiliti.
“Kindly note that Agiliti Community is predominantly located in a Penninsular and bounded by several high rising Community like Magode GRA Phase II, Unilag Estate Magodo, Magodo Phase I, Golden Estate Isheri, Maidan Orile, Mile 12, Shangisha, Omojuwa Estate, River-stretch from Kara, Majidun, Isheri North and Agboyi creeks etc.
“The community had therefore suffered untold hardship and several reprisal attacks and external aggression in 1990, 1993, 2016 and even this 2021, with loss of lives and properties. The community had also experienced in the past regular burglary, street cultism, oil bunkering, ritual killing, robbery and snatching of bags etc. What is very painful was the dastardly actions of Hausa/Fulani attacks on Agiliti residents on March 3rd, 2016.
“When the dust settled, many people were found died, properties worth billions of naira were destroyed and the victims on our record shows 86. What’s more! Often times, before response from Security teams arrives, the criminals would have escaped. Though as residents, we are not just folding our arms to the security challenges. We have engaged Guards and Local Vigilantes to assist the Police while useful information is being provided.
“Alhaji Dantata (late) once stated that “if you don’t to after your need, you will never have it, if you don’t ask, the answer is always no. if you don’t step forward, you are always in the same place “Besides as a student of history. I am conscious of the fact that the “ability convert ideas into reality is the secret of outward success. “We therefore use this opportunity to sincerely plead for everyone here to generally donate to this project N15million is not a small amount.
He assured the community of probity, accountability and honesty in the spending of any money contributed or donated. It is our prayer to complete this project within six (6) months as we still have other projects such as the Community Entrance Arcade, CDA secretariats (Town Hall) etc to handle. Let us act like Revered. Doctor Martin Luther King of USA that we should think of what we could do for our country and not what our country could do for us.
“On behalf of the entire over 400,000 good people of the seven (7) CDAS in Agiliti, I sincerely welcome you to this great historical event.
I thank you all for creating time to attend this great ceremony out of your tight schedules. I also thank you for your patience in listening to my welcome speech. Let us not forget to act like Dr. Martin Luther King by thinking big of what to donate for this project. Our account details are: Agiliti CDA, Union bank, Alc no. 0161681570
In his own speech, Pastor Olu Arikawe said he felt delighted to welcome you all to first of its kind in the history of IKOSI-ISHERI LCDA, where community comes together through a self-help community effort to build a police station in the Agiliti community.
Arikawe said the ever-escalating insecurity challenges in Nigeria has become a clear and present danger to all everybody.
“Over the past two decades the rampaging monsters of Boko Haram terrorism, banditry, army robbery, killing by armed herdsmen and kidnapping for ransom have spread their tentacles from the Northeast, across the Northwest through the North central go political zone down to the Southern states.
“ Criminality is local, our security challenges in Ikosi Isheri LCDA and especially Agiliti environ is not too different from the general national security issues but is more localized to cultism market insecurity with respect to parking of commercial vehicles while lading and off looking of goods in the markes, drugs or substance abuse.
Arikawe lamented that It’s a fact that the issues of insecurity in the nation has invincible social sponsors like poverty and unemployment, these contributes to frustration and anger that can result to one taking to armed robbery, kidnapping or pitching tent with questionable character.
Although many of today’s social problems are global in nature, the solution to crime prevention must be localized. This is why the foundation laying ceremony of Agiliti people station becomes a necessity.
He said it is highly important to have a security agent in our community e.g A police station that we are having the foundation today. To start with, a police is a body of officers representing the civil authority of government. Police typically are responsible for maintaining public order and safety, enforcing the law, and preventing, detecting, and investigating criminal activities. These functions are known as policing. Police are often also entrusted with various licensing and regulatory activities. Following that definition, policing thus may be performed by several different professional organization, public police forces, private security agencies, the military and government agencies with various surveillance and investigative powers.
“The best known of these bodies are the public constabulary forces that patrol public spaces, often in marked cars, and whose members wear a uniform. They are the most visible representatives of the civil authority of government, and they provide the model typically associated with police organizations.”, he added.