Encomium
As usual, Dr Korede Oluwatosin, CEO and Managing Director of Standard Life Care Hospital, Oreniwon street, New Oko Oba, Ojokoro, Abule Egba Lagos, has reached out to the people of Ojokoro and its environs, this time around in a bigger way than ever.
The event that held a couple of weeks back turned out so huge and converted the hospital to a Mecca of sort as the beneficiaries of the kind gesture and humanitarian services of the amiable doctor cum politician besieged the premises from far and near for this year’s episode of the annual thanksgiving.
The hopes of those that attended the event were not dashed, as usual, by the organizers as they all had every reason to smile at the end of it all.
Apart from about 600 children from the community and beyond that were lavishly feted, scores of beneficiaries of the programme from far and near also went back to their various destinations with good packages in terms of cash and gift items to start the New year on a happy and wondrously joyous note.
In a similar manner, the hospital under the leadership and coordinatorship of Dr Korede, organized a free vision screening programme some weeks back whereby people with one eye problem or the other were attended to free of charge with free reading glasses distributed while treatment of those with pathological cases were heavily subsidized. Those that benefited from the one week humanitarian programme were in their hundreds as those outside the community irrespective of tribe or religion also came to be part of the free eye screening exercise.
All these and much more endeared the amiable doctor and rotarian cum politician into the minds of many within and outside the community, especially the political class. Little wonder the persistent call by the people Ojokoro, old and young ones to have Korede contest for any of the elective posts come 2023 under the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC) having proved his mettle as a grassroots politician and community leader per excellence in the whole of the area over the years aside his selfless services for the people of the community as medical doctor and rotarian.
However, the amiable doctor turned politician had vied for the Lagos House of Assembly ticket in 2015, 2019 consecutively under the platform of the APC, but was asked by the party leaders to step down for the incumbent lawmaker, Hon Lanre Makinde on the two occasions which he needed as a party loyalist and as a good friend of the latter.
Now, the renowned gynecologist is said to be embarking on wide consultations with the party leaders in the constituency on his next political move as 2023 is drawing nearer.
One of the community leaders in the area who spoke with The Message International magazine under the condition of anonymity extolled the virtues of the brilliant doctor cum politician, describing him as God sent and a man with the heart of gold; if given the chance to represent the constituency at any cadre, will surely not be a misfit.
“Dr Korede has always been a very nice community leader. Aside the fact that he has spent a lot on the development of the community, he has also empowered many residents of this Ojokoro and even beyond, especially the less privileged. He’s also an amiable politician, a grassroots one to the core, and he’s loved and admired by many. He’s a care giver. His hospital offers a lot of opportunities for the people of this community in terms of employment and access to good medical services at affordable charges. The hospital also has all what it takes to operate an IVF centre which he made open to any family looking for the fruit of the womb in that regard at affordable charges. He has really tried for the community and the people therein. So, I believe if given a political office, he will surely do more for us. That’s almost everybody wants him to contest in the coming elections.”
When contacted on his political move come 2023, Korede simply reacted, “Let’s leave everything in the hands of God now. To me, 2023 us still far. As a party loyalist, I always listen to the voice of the elders in the party.
“What’s overriding in my heart is the well being of the people of Ojokoro, and by extension Lagos as a whole. And I thank God, our party, APC, is not doing badly. And as a rotarian, I will keep doing my best to put smiles on the faces of the needy in anyway humanly possible by the special grace of God”.
