•LION ABDULKARIM YUSUF Reveals His Stewardship
Lion Abdulkarim Yusuf is the outgoing President of Lagos Ikoyi Lions Club. A few days back, he visited the City People’s office at Gbagada to present the City People Publisher, Dr Seye Kehinde the award plaque in recognition of his outstanding support in showcasing the Club Service activities in the City People Magazine. He took time out during the visit to talk about his tenure as President of the club. Below are excerpts.
Looking back, how was your tenure?
It started with the investiture which took place around August last year and it was fantastic. It was for kids so we served over 1500 less privileged people and we had our signature by serving cooked food or giving out raw food. We gave out books for literacy and other things to open up their library for motherless baby homes. Our signature project was the Oye Williams Garden which we opened on Awolowo Road to cater for people to relax because on that road there is no place for people to relax. So if you are coming from Falomo, you can stop to relax there. It is a garden named after our Charter President Lion Oye-Williams who is late. She was the wife of Akintola Williams. The year has been very wonderful and eye-opening especially when you see the smile you put on the faces of the less privileged. When it comes to food, you cannot imagine how many people go to bed with one meal per day and how many millions eat just anything with hardly a balanced diet. We are privileged because we eat and don’t think much about where the next meal will come from. When you see these little children smile when they take these food packs, it cannot be expressed in monetary terms. This is the satisfaction lions get from providing service, to the less privileged. This is what we have been able to do throughout the year. It has been wonderful, and fantastic and it has prepared us for higher and greater services.
Our last project for the year took place some Fridays ago at the Resort Centre for the Blind in Spencer Street, Yaba. What we did was so inspiring. They requested musical instruments and some administrative equipment.
So we provided them with drums and with my research on the impact of music to the life of the visually impaired it was enlightening. When we delivered the drum set, one of the blind students was so excited that once the drum set was arranged, he played the drum happily. He already knew what the set was like and where to beat. It was a mixed reaction from laughing to crying for us.
That was our last outing for the Lion’s Years. The kids were excited, so these are the things we do that give us the drive to keep doing more. It is only with organisations, that help project to people out there that can cover up where the government cannot be because the government cannot be everywhere. It has been a wonderful journey and we are getting to the bus stop.
Throughout the year, District 404 A1 Constitutes 120 Clubs, we got 13 awards. One of the awards that stayed with us throughout the year is the publicity award. It has been a wonderful year and we look forward to giving more to the less privileged. It is not about having much, even in the little that you have, the ability to share that little with someone gives you joy. Sometimes, we think it has to be money but in most cases, it can be by way of advice. So we appreciate our partnership with you City People because we have been able to project most of our services to the outside world and we won that award. We have kept up with it since July last year at our first cabinet meeting right up to this moment.
How does the club go about getting the next President?
We normally use election, you elect the President, First Vice-President and Second Vice-President so that there is a succession plan. In every cycle, once the President is moving out, the first Vice President is supposed to automatically become the President but he/she will still have to be voted just for confirmation. Once he takes that place, you have the second Vice-President move to become the first Vice-President then elect a fresh person to take over as second Vice-President.
What is the scale of duty as the Marketing Director of the district?
We have a lot to market because we engage in a lot of activities. We have 5 focus areas which are Paedriatic Cancer, Diabetes, Environment, Vision and Feeding the hungry. We do activities at the club level and the district level. There are so many other activities we do at the district level like Peace Poster Competition which is a competition for the visually impaired. It is an international competition too so we need publicity when we do it at our district level. Even for diabetes, we do it both at the club and district levels. We do the Helen Keller activity which holds 4 times a year. The first one will hold during the present district governor’s presentation in August which is a 3-day, programme. We do training, seminars and banquet dinners.
Then the second cabinet meeting will be held outside Lagos because the outgoing district governor is from Warri so we have been having activities. Now, the coast is back to Lagos. The present district governor places a lot of emphasis on publicity which is why I am organising a Press Conference for him to roll out his plans for the year. That is my schedule and I work along with the plans of the district governor. When we talk of the signature project, we talk about the outgoing governor commissioning a project which is the eye centre in Warri. Usually, most of their projects are funded by Lions Club International Fund, which is the arm that funds global issues. The incoming district governor will roll out his plans and eventually state clearly what his signature project will be. That signature project must impact fully on the lives of the less privileged.
The one before had Lion Olushola Dada Dialysis Centre which was also funded by Lions and Lions Club International. That institute is the biggest in the whole of West Africa. We did that and handed it over to UNILAG because they needed it and wanted to use it as a training institute for Medical Students for Renal Research. So, if the incoming district governor has the privilege to face the press and tell them what his plans are, it will help a lot.
What will you as the outgoing President be remembered for?
Currently, the incoming District Governor considered me fit to head Lions Alert. Lions Alert is a drafted programme for Quick intervention in times of disaster. What are the steps the Lions are expected to take? I was put in region one and I am looking at how to generate a standard template.
Right now, I am working on developing a template in conjunction with Red Cross.
When there is a disaster, Lions need to know and have calculated steps to take to have an intervention. There are higher positions like the Zone Chairperson, District Region Chairperson and other high-level appointments within the cabinet of the district governor. Automatically, after serving as the President, you move to an office called the Lions Club International Foundation (LCIF). This is the financing arm for the Lions Clubs International. I am moving from the office of the President to that office. Now that office will require that I raise funds for global intervention. Usually, it is 1,000 dollars minimum. If I am able to raise 1,000 dollars per person that person will be given a special pin called the Melvin Jones Fellow Pin from the international headquarters. Individuals that are not Lions are encouraged to donate to that fund. Most of our activities come from that fund. What will I be remembered for? For being a President who put in his very best.
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