By Bilesanmi Abayomi
The Lagos State Commissioner for Agriculture, Abisola Olusanya, has suggested ways to avoid violence in the 2023 general elections.
She spoke to the Kosofe Post in Alausa recently at the official launch of BOSYOPS, which she initiated.
She said, “The youth, we are the voice; like you rightly said, we make up over 65% of Lagos, and indeed, I was saying Nigeria is made up of the youth. If we don’t come out to vote, then we don’t have any right to continue to complain and say that this is going bad, that this is not working, and that people are actually ‘Japa’ out of the country.
“The power is in our hands. It is for us to use it. And for us to use it, it means we must come out to vote. For us to come out to vote, it means we must collect our PVCs, if we have registered. And the truth of the matter is that it is a responsibility that God has given each and every one of us to decide who our leaders should be.
“So we as the youths should not be laid back; everyone should rather clamor to get their PVCs and vote.
She urged women and youths to shun violence and related social vices.
“There’s no need for violence during elections. There’s a need for a crisis to emerge during elections.” It’s simple to vote. And when you are voting, make sure you don’t sell your vote; vote and exit the polling units. When you exit, step back and let others vote and just wait to see the result, as it should be for every citizen in this country; it’s our right,” she said.
She urged everyone not to create crises, saying, “There’s no need for any sort of thing that will culminate in people losing their lives or getting injured.
“Everyone has the right to vote, and everyone should exercise that right and allow others to exercise that right free and fairly.”
Olusanya, who reeled out completed and ongoing developmental projects, urged Lagosians to vote for continuity.
According to her, “We know Lagos, where more than 60% of the population is made up of youth. And therefore, it’s important that we rally our energies together for the greater good of Lagos. The agenda has always been the theme agenda. In a bid for Babajide Sanwoolu’s re-election for a second term, we are seeking a greater Lagos. And for that reason, we found that it was important to harness the energies of the youth, to harness the economic powers of the youth, to harness everything that the youth and body stand for, and to help support a second term.
“Continuity is important. There are so many landmark projects, so many legacy projects, that have actually been embarked upon. We can start off with the Blue Line, the Red Line, and the rail project, which is up for commission in the next three days. We have the largest logistics park in Africa, which actually has commerce. You have the massive (merge Children’s Hospital project; you have the Badagry Seaport project. You have so many viable and pioneering projects.
“And this man started with these projects. So it’s important that we give him a platform to actually come back and finish his laudable ideas. and as a team. If you look at the economic landscape globally, the country as a whole, and Lagos, it’s important that that spirit of Lagos has embodied each and every one of us in such a way that regardless of the challenges, regardless of the trials, regardless of the temptations, if I’m putting it that way, there’s still that thing that drives us as Lagos.
“There’s still that thing that drives all of us as Lagosians. But the thing is that there’s only one rallying point, and that is the governor, who is the CEO of the state. So it only behoves on us to come together and support him for the greater Lagos’s rise,” she said.
She described the group as “a group for the youth, by the youth. That is essentially what we embody as entrepreneurs from different walks of life.
She noted that “we have people who have actually benefited from being in Lagos and living in Lagos. And it’s just a matter of rallying everyone together to ensure that all that we have done, all this well, would come together in bringing in Babajide Sanwoolu for his second term. The group will use technology to drive her campaign strategy, among others.”
Explaining, she stated, “We have to bring WiFi to our bus station. We’re going to have the life of the carry card, which is actually a 360-degree card for all means of transportation across the network. We will be loading free WiFi passes even on those.
“And then there are so many other elements. But more importantly, it’s a platform for the youth to be able to voice their opinions. So we’ll be launching the app, which will be more or less like a feedback platform. And not just the feedback platform, but for people to actually be registered and for us to truly know what the voting combination of the youth is like and be able to do that feedback between our sales force, channel the energies, and show the governor that this is what the youth are.
“In sum, it’s not for this election. And that is what I want to say. This group is not just for the election. In fact, the election is just short-term for medium- to long-term. It’s more about the energies of the youth and confirming the voice of the youth as one.
“How can we channel it in such a way that the government hears us, that those in power, and that includes myself, how do we actually realign ourselves to ensure that we are not moving off cost and we are really solving the needs of the people?”
She noted further that the technology-driven app feedback mechanism will promote “government of the people by the people for the people.”
She said, “We have been solving the needs of the people, but every now and then the time comes when groups have to come together from different walks of life, like when people have to come together to form these groups and for us to be able to channel with regard to voting for this election.
“The youth, we are the voice, like you rightly said, with over 65% of Lagos, and indeed, I was saying Nigeria is made up of the youth. If we don’t come out to vote, then we don’t have any right to continue to complain and say that this is going bad, that this is not working, and that people are actually Japanese out of the country.
“The power is in our hands. It is for us to use it. And for us to use it, it means we must come out to vote. For us to come out to vote, it means we must collect our PVCs if we have registered. And the truth of the matter is that it is a responsibility that God has given each and every one of us to decide who our leaders should be,” Olusanya said.