Former President, Olusegun Obasanjo, has advised some Lagos street boys known as “zone boys” brought in by a famous female drummer, Aralola Olamuyiwa, to rediscover themselves.
The famous female drummer, popularly known as Ara, led the penitent girls and boys in the area to Obasanjo’s penthouse residence, the Olusegun Obasanjo Presidential Library, in Abeokuta, Ogun State.
The project was facilitated through the support of the Lagos State Government in a project called “Eko Inspire Me” with the aim of taking the beneficiaries off the streets.
During the mentoring session, the boys and girls from the area informed the former president about the challenges he was facing.
While advising them, Obasanjo told the beneficiaries how they faced tough challenges at different times before reaching the top and that God did not create them as street boys or girls. He said they would have to reinvent themselves.
He said: “God did not create them as street boys and girls. That’s the first thing.
“Secondly, as we heard from them, they also knew when something fell in their lives and what went wrong. So the process of rediscovering themselves has begun within them.”
The female drummer thanked Lagos State Governor, Babajide Sanwo-Olu for supporting the project.
“Little by little, we hope to get off the streets. We also want to participate and strengthen them”, he added.
One of the mentors, Precilia Ogba, said: “I never believed in my life that I would lay eyes on our former president, Chief Olusegun Obasanjo. Even taking a photo with him is a privilege and a miracle.”
