LAGOS – Wife of the Deputy Governor, Lagos State, Mrs. Oluremi Hamzat, yesterday, urged women to warn their children and wards against being used by unscrupulous politicians to cause election violence in 2023.
Mrs Hamzat stated this at women’s wellness, mental health and HIV awareness programme, where free medical checkup, eye checkup, vitamins, medical wellness awareness, HIV and mental health awareness are provided for women in Iru Victoria Island Local Council Development Area (LCDA).
The initiative was organized by the wife of Babajide Ibrahim Obanikoro, representing Eti-Osa Federal Constituency of Lagos State in the House of Representatives, Fatima with support from Evercare hospital in Lekki, Lagos.
Hamzat urged women to guide their children and ensure that politicians didn’t use them to perpetrate electoral vices, noting that many of such politician’s children are being shielded.
Speaking on the programme, Hamzat said it was important to continue to promote initiatives that would give women and children rights to full and adequate medical care, especially where social, cultural restrictions or discrimination may hinder access to such medical services.
She said: “It is gratifying, this event has shown clearly that all hands must be on deck, we can not leave it all for the government to do, we have to continuously contribute our own quota to the growth and development of our nation by coming up with initiatives that would be of benefit to all.
“Health is wealth to the individual and the society. A person can live without amassing wealth but cannot be comfortable without good health. Health is something we can’t buy with money but we can take care of it with timely health interventions such as this. Please, make good use of this opportunity and do your free medical checks. It is very important for us to have regular checks on both physical and mental health.
Fatima Obanikoro urged the National Assembly to formulate bills that would support women, adding that women play critical roles in the development of the country.
“To be honest, as a woman, I feel like women are not given a lot of attention. Given my position, I feel it’s a good opportunity for me to reach out to other women. This is an avenue for them to be happy.
Obanikoro, who lamented that she lost a friend four weeks ago to mental health illness, said the initiative necessitated the foundation’s inclusion of awareness on mental health.
