From Muhammad Ahmad Saka, in Bauchi
Former President Olusegun Obasanjo has flagged off the distribution of hearing aids to over 10,000 indigent people in the Northeast, starting from Bauchi State where 2,000 people would benefit.
Speaking at the occasion today (Sunday) in Bauchi, Obasanjo said that many people suffer deafness unknowingly, until medical checks reveal to them their hearing capacity.
He narrated how he was abroad and couldn’t hear clearly while someone was talking to him and he insisted that nothing was wrong with his ears when the man asked for his permission to check on his ears and he agreed.
Shockingly to him, after the result came out, it was revealed that he was 25 per cent deaf. “After my result came out, I had to ask the man to also check on my Chief Security Officer then but shockingly enough, he was more deaf than I was,” he said.
He said that his experience informed the beginning of his Olusegun Obasanjo Foundation where thousands of Nigerians had benefited from its ear treatments and provision of hearing aids.
He thanked the Bauchi State Governor, Bala Mohammed for all his efforts towards the development of the state.
Bauchi State Governor, Sen Bala Mohammed appreciated former President, Obasanjo for the legacies he left behind for Nigeria.
Governor Bala thanked Obasanjo foundation for choosing Bauchi as one of the states that will benefit from this laudable programmes that will help a common man, and appreciated the former President for accepting to commission two road projects executed by his administration for the development of the state as well as easy transportation from one point to the other.
Similarly, former President Olusegun Obasanjo, visited the Palace of the Emir of Bauchi, and Chairman Bauchi State Council of Emirs, Alhaji Rilwanu Suleimanu Adamu.
Obasanjo told the emir that all hands must be on the deck to tackle the security threats headlong in the country through community policing.
He said that community policing, where everyone knows their neighbours, is crucial for easily identifying and addressing security threats within communities.
The former President expressed concern about the current state of insecurity in Nigeria and urged immediate action to address the situation.
Obasanjo said, “The best form of security is community policing because everyone knows his/her neighbours within the community. With that, it is very easy to identify the bad eggs.”
He said “The situation of insecurity in Nigeria today is so bad unlike during our terms in office when we prioritise security of lives and properties across the country. We need to do something urgently about this.”
The former President called on the traditional institutions to step in and encourage community policing within their environment in order to reduce the spate of crimes.
Obasanjo said, “During our service to the nation, we did everything collectively, our decisions were taken together in order to have a uniform focus. My brother, Ahmed Adamu Mu’azu is seated here and he will bear me witness. Whatever we achieved then, was a collective effort.”
“We need peace, unity and collective support in this country if we must move forward. Things can be right and good again in the country, all we need to do is to get united and do things collectively,” he said.
The Emir of Bauchi Alhaji Rilwanu Suleimanu Adamu commended the former President Olusegun Obasanjo for accepting the invitation to come over to Bauchi to identify with the people of the state.
He expressed the happiness of the people of the state over the various interventions by the State Government for the good of the people.
The Emir stressed the importance of peace, unity and inclusivity in the country saying that it is the only way to be progressive just as he stressed the need for peaceful coexistence among the various people of the country.
Some of the people that benefitted from the Obasanjo Foundation hearing aid expressed gratitude that Allah helped them to hear through the assistance of the Obasanjo Foundation and the Bauchi State Governor.
