Mohammed Shosanya
Lagos State Governor,Babajide Sanwo-Olu,Wednesday flagged-off the distribution of 80,000 10kg bags of rice donated by the Dangote Foundation as part of the Aliko Dangote National Food Intervention Programme.
Speaking during the event, which was done by Lagos State government, in conjunction with Dangote Group at the Lagos, House, Ikeja,Governor Sanwo-Olu implored the private sector and well-meaning Nigerians to join hands with state, as well as Federal Governments, to ameliorate the pains of the vulnerable through various interventions.
He stated that his administration would continue to explore various strategies to ameliorate poverty through Eko cares, improve economic empowerment and give the people opportunity to grow.
Sanwo-Olu, who commended the Dangote Foundation for extending the kind gesture to the vulnerable in the state, as well as providing support for the state government, said that Dangote has feelings for the people.
He said that there are challenges in different parts of the world, adding that we are not alone in the tough time.
Commending Dangote Foundation for coming to the rescue of vulnerable citizens of the country, Sanwo-Olu said that the gesture demonstrates that the Foundation stands for humanity, empathy, as it goes beyond the pursuit of wealth.
He enjoined other wealthy individuals to emulate the Dangote Foundation.
He said that this is a time to collaborate with the government to tackle the challenge of hunger in the society.
The state Commissioner For Agriculture, Abisola Olusanya, said among others, that the donation to the people of Lagos State by the Foundation was coming at a good time within the food ecosystem as the administration had been doing a lot through the Eko Cares in ensuring the downtrodden were being taken care of.
Chairman of the Foundation, Aliko Dangote, said the gesture was necessitated by the prevailing high cost of food in the country, ensuring that all 36 states get their fair share of the one million bags of 10 kilogramme bags of rice through partnership with non-governmental organisations and faith based groups.
Dangote said that over the past 30 year, the Foundation has been able to provide support and assistance, especially during the holy month of Ramadan, to the needy in the society.
He said that it is one of the tenets of the Islamic Faith, which emphasises charity and to encourage responsibility to the community, and this is not only Ramadan but it coincides with Lent.
He said: “Our traditional Ramadan food distribution has been focused on the Muslims community but we recognized the current circumstances where a significant proportion of Nigerian are facing severe hardship. This informed this gesture.
“This is why we are extending the Ramadan initiative to the 36 states and the Federal Capital Territory, to reaffirm our commitment to supporting the people in line with our core values and the holy month of Ramadan.”
He said that the Foundation’s aim is “To ensure that before the end of Ramadan, we would have reached all the 774 local government areas of the country. We are distributing 80,000 10k bags of rice in Lagos in and 12,500,000 loaves of family size bread in Lagos, which will begin daily.
“The distribution of rice is another demonstration of our commitment to upholding the values and the spirit of the holy month of Ramadan. We are fagging off this program in Lagos today as we did in Kano on Saturday and our goal is to ensure that before the end of Ramadan, we would have reached all the 774 local government areas of the Federation.
“This distribution of rice is another demonstration of our commitment to upholding the values of compassion and solidarity that is the core of humanity.
“Through the distribution initiative, we are trying to improve some of the burdens faced by humanity across Lagos.”
Dangote said that each 10kg bag of rice represents a symbol of hope and compassion, a gesture to remind our brothers and sisters that they are not alone in this, as he believes that every individual has a right to succeed.
He urged the wealthy to remember the less-privileged during the fast,
and advised the well-to-do follow suit.
Chief Executive Officer, Dangote Foundation, Amina Yusufu, said that every year during Ramadan, the Dangote Foundation gives out different foods products.
She noted that this year, given the state of stress around food, the “Dangote Foundation decided that we do not only food for Ramadan for Muslims but to extend it to all faiths, and to give one million kilograms of rice across the country to the 774 local government areas of the country”
According to her: “This is the second highest from what we did in Kano State, Dangote’s own state.
The criteria is on multi-dimensional poverty and secondly, the criteria around Ramadan. That’s how we ended up with some states getting 10,000 bags of rice and some on average 20,000 to 25,000 bags of rice.
“We are doing the distribution using NGO, Christian organisations, Muslim organization working hand in hand to make sure that the rice is really getting to the needy.”
Also, Aliko Dangote’s daughter, Amina, said has decided to do the intervention that would be delivered to the 774 local government over Nigeria.
“The rice would be distributed to the very needy ones at this tough times across the 774 local government and LCDAs across the country.
“We have been doing this for a while but we didn’t publicize it because our chairman believes this between him and God but this year we decided to publicize it so that we can encourage and inspire others to do”, she added.
