EndSARS: We’ll walk for peace with you, LASU students assure Sanwo-Olu

 

.Gov calls for homegrown research to understand COVID-19

IBRAHIM QUADRI

In apparent response to the rejection of some civil society activists turning down Lagos State Governor, Mr Babajide Sanwo-Olu’s invitation for peace walk, students in the State tertiary institution have assured the Governor, they are ready to walk along with him.

Sanwo-Olu had on Thursday commissioned the newly built students arcade at the Lagos State University in Ojo.

The LASU students Arcade is the largest Student Union Building in any Nigerian tertiary institution.

The President of the Student Union Government, Comrade Oladipupo Uthman Badmus and Speaker of the Students Union Representatives, Rt. Hon. Mustapha Adejuwon, who led hundreds of students to welcome the Governor  described him as Youth-Centric Governor.

They commended the  Governor’s giant strides in Lagos State, especially in the education sector.

The student union president however announced that all students of the State owned tertiary institution have resolved to walk with the Governor for peace and prosperity of the State.

Governor Sanwo-Olu donated two big buses to the Students Union as well as other gadgets and equipment for students’ use.

In a broadcast on Tuesday November 30, Governor Sanwo-Olu said he would be leading ‘A Walk for Peace’ in December to herald the healing of the land, extending an open invitation to the youths, members of the diplomatic corps, civil society groups, students and the media as well as other stakeholders to join him in the Peace Walk.

The invitation for peace walk was coming in the aftermath of controversies surrounding the report of Judicial Panel of Inquiry submitted to the Governor, set up following the ENDSARS’ protest in October 2020.

The Governor specifically invited Folarin Falana (Falz), Debo Adebayo (Mr. Marcaroni), Dele Farotimi, Temitope Majekodunmi, Segun Awosanya (Segalinks), Adedotun (Just Detoun), Seun Kuti, Commissioner of Police, Hakeem Odumosu and Commander of Rapid Response Squad (RRS), CSP Yinka Egbeyemi and others to join him in the historic march.

However, Falz and Mr. Marcaroni had rejected Sanwo –Olu’s invitation for the Peace Walk.

“I humbly decline the Invitation of Mr Governor”, said comedian Debo Adebayo, aka Mr Marcaroni shortly after the Lagos Governor invited him to a peace walk for the healing of Lagos on December.

In a riposte on his verified Twitter handle, Marcaroni argued that ‘genuine peacemaking will begin by first implementing the recommendations of the panel’.

@mrmacaronii: I humbly decline the Invitation of Mr Governor. The Government themselves set up a panel.

“The panel has made recommendations. I believe that genuine peacemaking will begin by first implementing the recommendations of the panel. Then we can begin to trust the government.

On his part, Mr Folarin Falana, aka Falz, described Sanwo-Olu’s invitation as a joke, nothing that it is disrespectful to invite him for a peace walk, while justice has not been served since the alleged killing of protesters at Lekki Toll Gate.

Sanwo-Olu made the call while delivering a lecture at the Lagos State University (LASU) during 2021  Annual Governor’s Lecture organized by LASU Alumni Association.

The lecture was titled, ‘Education Leadership and Technology As Viable Options For Economic Recovery and Nationhood: The Experience of Lagos State.’

In the early days of November, laboratory technicians at Lancet Laboratories in Pretoria, South Africa, found unusual features in samples they were testing for the coronavirus.

Essentially, a gene was missing in what would be a normal genome profile of the virus. PCR tests weren’t detecting one of their expected targets, a signal that something about the virus had changed.

Just a few days later, the same phenomenon was reported at Lancet’s Molecular Pathology Department in Johannesburg.

According to the Nigeria Centre for Disease Control (NCDC), three cases of the Omicron variant had already been discovered in the country.

Sanwo-Olu in his lacture said, “We have a lot to learn from countries whose economic growth can be tied to technological innovation.

“A case in point is how quickly scientists were able to develop effective COVID-19 tests and vaccines without which our world would not have been able to regain a sense of normalcy after several months of physical and economic lockdown.

“As the world battles to contain the Omicron Variant of the coronavirus, we should be promoting national identity through homegrown groundbreaking research that helps us to better understand the new variant while deploying digital solutions in key policy areas to prevent another economic crisis and to solve our infrastructure/security needs.

“If we are able to successfully do this, we will safeguard our identity as a future-ready, resilient, and independent nation that is prepared for lasting economic prosperity.”

The Govenror thereafter recommended that, “In order to properly harness educational leadership and technology for economic recovery and nationhood, it is imperative that we close the digital divide through equitable access to quality education and technological innovations that promote real time understanding of economic processes. This should encompass expanded investments in digital infrastructure.

“We must also continue to make substantial technological investments in our academic ecosystem. In addition, our tax and revenue system should be reviewed to completely accommodate a digital economy.”