From left: Chairman, First Bank Plc, Mrs. Ibukun Awosika; Husband to the new President, Rotary Club of Ikoyi, District 9110, Broada Martyns Akarutu -Balogun his wife the new President, Rotarian Nkeiruka Akaruka-Balogun; and the Past District Governor of Rotary Club of Nigeria, District 9110, Dr Kamorudeen Omotoso during the Investiture of Rotarian Nkeiruka Akaruka-Balogun as the 35th President held in Lagos at the weekend.

Chairman of First Bank Plc, Mrs. Ibukun Awosika has charged Nigeria’s political and business leaders on the need to put always smiles on the faces of the less privileged in their midst as against the current crave for massive wealth acquisition even at the detriment of the nation and its citizens.

Awosika, who was the guest speaker at the official investiture of Rotarian Nkiruka Akarutu-Balogun as the 35th president of the Rotary Club of Ikoyi and inauguration of the board of directors of the club, which held in Lagos at the weekend, criticised many Nigerian politicians and business leaders who are in the habit of trying to stockpile wealth for generations yet unborn instead of giving to the poor and the less privileged in the society.

According to her, most of the time, such stockpiled wealth is grossly mismanaged because that inherited it would not know the efforts it took to gather and store such wealth, a development that makes it better to invest in humanity and the act of making people happy.

He also reminded them that whether anyone likes it or not, a man or woman born into the world has a very short time to live on the face of the earth and must of necessity go when the time comes, which no one has control, arguing that it is always better to liv in the hearts of people by touching their lives positively.

“When you choose to bring laughter to people, as a matter of natural law, you will not lack laughter in your own family. Life has a time frame, and so at a particular stage or time, you must go so you need to share now that you are alive.

“It is God that ultimately gives the power to make wealth and so whatever we have in terms of wealth, we hold in trust for him. It is wiser to give because those who give live happier and healthier”, the First Bank boss said.

While condemning those politicians and business leaders in the country over their unguarded quest to acquire wealth at all cost, she insisted that such people run the risk of being forgotten immediately the ill-gotten wealth is wasted and squandered, insisting that it was better to put smiles on the faces of people by meeting their needs than wealth stockpile, which is often mismanaged.

Ibukun, who sits on the board of many companies including Cadbury Nigeria plc, is also an ordained pastor and founder of Christian Missionary Fund, through which she carries out faith-based organisation works with hundreds of missionaries spread across the country to change lives with the provision of medical, educational and other supplies.

 The new president while speaking during the event, disclosed that she joined the Rotary Club because of her burning desire to bring succor to people across the globe, saying that her heart bleeds when she sees people live in degrading squalor and unpardonable deprivation to which many people are confined to in Nigeria and Africa at large.

“I found in Rotary a platform to fulfill that growing urge. One of the things I really cherish in Rotary is our selflessness. We do not seek to outdo our predecessors, we simply project Rotary ideologies as we add value to humanity. We build on golden blocks of our past leadersand their illustrious regimes. It is in this spirit that I call on every Rotarian to join hands with this regime”, she said.

On her part, the immediate past President, Rotarian Adetoun Agbe-Davies, while speaking at the vent, highlighted some of the projects executed in the past one year to include support for routine immunization and strengthening of immunisation/ child health/reproductive health in Etiosa Local Government, increase in safe blood in Lagos by supporting the Lagos State Blood Transfusion services.

Others include basic life support training for 20 health workers in the Police Medical Service s and 10 health workers involved in immunization activities in Eti-Osa LGA in July 2018 and April 2019 as well as donation of 100 Lagos State Ministry of Education approved dictionaries to Davidhall College, Ikoyi, among several others.