ABEOKUTA – As the world prepares to usher in the new year, a Nigerian non-profit organization, Lyceum Foundation, has launched a food drive aimed at feeding the hungry and the less privileged in the Abeokuta, the Ogun State capital.
The Founder of Lyceum Foundation, Dr. Yinka Ola-Williams said the initiative was aimed at ensuring that no Nigerian goes hungry during the festive season.
The village food outreach which took place at St. Simeon’s Anglican Primary School, Olopa, Abeokuta in Obafemi/Owode Local Government Area of Ogun State, witnessed quiz competition, spelling bee, and fun fair for the pupils.
The foundation equally took the eradicate hunger drive to the Laderin community in Abeokuta with gift items such as bags of rice, 100 cartoons of noodles, and ready-made clothes for the aged among others.
“We have so many multifaceted problems in. Nigeria, unfortunately, hunger should not be part of them. In a country like Nigeria, nobody should go hungry, nobody should go to bed without a meal,” Dr. Ola-Williams said.
According to him, millions of women and children in Nigeria go to bed hungry due to food shortage and increasing food prices.
“I think we should be our brother’s keeper. If people have been hungry from January to December, I think this season in the year, nobody should be hungry in Nigeria,” he added.
Dr. Ola-Williams called on Nigerians to emulate the spirit of kindness and generosity, saying that if everyone can feed at least one person, the country will be a better place.
“If me, I can feed two people. You too can feed five people. A company can feed 10 people. We will see that in this yuletide season, nobody will be hungry in Nigeria, although this is not a permanent intervention, but at least it’s still better than nothing,” he said.
The Lyceum Foundation has already begun distributing food items to the needy, including rice, noodles, and other essential commodities.
“We have over 100 cartons of noodles. We have several bags of rice with money. Our parents donated generously, and the school also contributed to it,” Dr. Ola-Williams said.
He emphasized the need for Nigerians to teach their children the importance of kindness, compassion, and generosity, saying that it is the key to building a better society.
“One of the problems we have in Nigeria is that our leaders are not compassionate. Our leaders don’t think about the citizen. For us to have a new Nigeria, we need to go back to school and start teaching children how to be kind, and start teaching children how to be generous,” he added.
Dr. Ola-Williams also called on Nigerians to take responsibility for the welfare of their fellow citizens, saying that it is the only way to build a threat-free society.
“For us to have a threat-free society in the future, we must ensure that every child in Nigeria is taken care of, that every child in Nigeria cannot be used any longer,” he said.
The Lyceum Foundation’s food drive is an appeal to Nigerians to join hands in tackling hunger and poverty in the country.
Lyceum Foundation, the operator of Lyceum Montessori School and Lyceum College which celebrates seven years of empowerment distributes nutritious packed food and gift items to the pupils.
