Bamigbetan Flags off Community Centre in Ejigbo

Mary Ekah

The Commissioner for Information and Strategy, Mr. Kehinde Bamigbetan recently flagged off a community centre at the Bungalow area of Jakande Estate in Ejigbo. The centre is to serve as a flagship project for forthcoming projects aimed at developing the estate and restoring it lost glory.

In his address, the Chairman, Bungalow Community, Jakande Estate, Ejigbo, Lagos, Deacon Peter Taiye Adediji said that by the inaugurating of the project, the association has laid a solid foundation for the development of the community.

The inauguration of Bungalow Community Centre, which also witnessed an award ceremony witnessed by handful of community members and other guests.

The project which started two years ago, Adediji said from the onset had a 7-point agenda under the caption, ‘That The Bungalow May Glow Again’, which was presented at the group’s inaugural session on August 22, 2015.

The 7-point agenda for implementation, he said included unity among people in the Bungalow community as well as celebrate and honour achievers in their midst and regularly arrange programmes that will bind them together. It also entailed fostering environmental friendly projects such as promoting clean environment, check-mate hawkers, provide street lights and encourage planting of flowers; security of lives and property by providing day and night guards and possibly have police patrol within the estate and improve electricity supply and have regular dialogue on how to have more power supply to the community amongst others.

Having put all the plans on ground, the association was for over one year financially incapacitated to execute its plans. “We made effort by writing letters soliciting for funds but that amounted to spending the little amount some individual members could spare to run the secretariat. Running the secretariat without funds became difficult. We, the executive, went into the cooler for paucity of funds, but the God given vision was burning in me,” Adediji recalled.

It was in the middle of this challenge that the Chairman, Bungalow Community, Deacon Adediji decided to take up the leadership risk to commence the laying of the foundation of the hall through self-financing last year, believing that other like-minded fellows would join when they see the progress of work.
But this was never to be; rather, “words came to me that people were insinuating that why starting the project when he knew he could not finish it, and such other discouraging statements. I was now in a dilemma asking myself how I would be able to solely shoulder the finance of this community project. I have to give God all the glory because it looks impossible but with God I was able to finance and get it done.”

Adediji was not discouraged but forged ahead until the project got to the zenith stage, where it was recently inaugurated.

By this feat, Adediji has been able to generate some form of employment to workers that would be working there. The centre, he explained further will also serve as a recreational centre as well as provide public toilet, water and lighten the environment while the activities of the underworld would be checkmated as they cannot use the field as a meeting point without being detected or challenged.
“It has also added to the beauty of the environment and as time goes on, it is going to be a centre of attraction within the community for hosting meetings, seminar, workshop and traders. It is going to be a rallying point for unifying the community,” Adediji noted.

While encouraging government and other like-minded individuals to join hands in building the community for the good of its residents, he added, “The sole effort of mine for a large community like ours may not go deep and far enough. This is why we are calling on the government to come to our aid in the area of providing good inner roads, up to date infrastructure for the teaming population, adequate security, and come up with programmes that would engage our youths to be gainfully engaged. We are ready to partner with the government for the betterment of our people. Bungalow community needs government presence and we should not be neglected.”

To the awardees, he said, “we want to tell you that what you have done is being recognised and appreciated. Please, don’t retreat to your cocoon. Come out and let us jointly develop this community. We need your moral and financial support to the course of the community.”

He noted further that the next step would be for the group to get decent tricycles that would be plying from the Jakande Estate into the inner streets of Bungalow community to ease the suffering of our people, adding however that none of these were government project that can be used any how without adequate caring.

“Out of financial pains have I embarked upon the project. I will therefore create time to be much more involved in the administration, maintenance and running. No one would be happy to spend so much money and after some years the place becomes dilapidated for lack of care and concern. To people in our neighbourhood let us come together and see what we can do to promote peace and development,” Adediji said.

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