The Lagos State women’s wing of the Arondizuogu Patriotic Union (APU) on Saturday contributed and donated money to assist widows and indigents in the community.
The appeal fund, raised at the APU’s 2024 Thanksgiving, Investiture of Matrons/Awards Giving Ceremony was to institute a pool fund that would act as a buffer to aid widows and indigent with seed capital to begin business or to support existing ones.
The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that the event held at the Abati Barracks, Surulere Lagos, had the theme “The Role of Women in Community Development”
It reports that the event attended by some influential Arondizuogu Imo, sons and daughters featured women’s traditional dance, awards to women leaders of the wing, and a public lecture to arouse people to humanitarian works.
Speaking at the event, the Keynote Speaker, Prof. Cecilia Igwilo, urged women to remain role models to community development to steer others to sustain community development.
“As family moulders your are expected to nurture the younger generation to conform to family values and community aspirations for the development to transcend to generation to come.
“Be neat, wise, generous, control your tongue, avoid gossip and be friendly to make the community conclusive to attract people come home to establish businesses to engage youths,” she said.
Igwilo, an Arondizuogu daughter, first Nigerian woman professor of Pharmacy and lecturer at the University of Lagos, told the women folks not to see monopos as a disease.
According to her it is a stage in the life of woman that requires change in life style and feeding habits to remain healthy.
She urged the women to eat more fruits, drink more water and relax to surmount the body changes that accompany monoposal stage.
She called on the men folks to pay listening ears to their spouses to foster healthy communications that advance family bonds and share family visions capable of bearing positively on community development.
Mr Innocent Ike, a Chief Guest at the event, said that, the community has what it takes to establish a pool of fund to assist widows and indigents in the community.
Ike, former Managing Director of the Polaris Bank and an indigene of the community, said that, it behoves the community to render aid to families whose bread winners have passed on to ensure the dependents were catered for.
He made a donation of ₦10, 000,000 pledged to steer others to support the appeal fund that would be given as seed capital to support widows and indigent in the area.
Earlier in his remark, the President General APU, Mr Peter Obiagwu, said that, the APU women have continued to be the rallying point of community development in the ancient Aro Kingdom.
Obiagwu noted with nostalgia development milestones achieve by the women at home, said that, the proposed fund would go a long way to care for the vulunarable in the community and give them sense of belonging after the death of their husbands.
He pledged that the men folks would yearly support the women to ensure that the fund was funded through individual donations.
The President APU Women’s Wing, Lagos, conveners of the event, Mrs Ijeoma Enekwa, noted that the body has been a pillar to the overall performance of APU general.
According to her the Lagos branch has continued to be a force to reckon with therefore the event will recognise with awards to those outstanding women leaders that has made great impact in the organization and the development of the community.
“It is my advise that everyone should give the women body to help them fulfill their visionary projects”, she said.
By Uchenna Eletuo
