The Ooni of Ife, Oba Enitan Ogunwusi on Tuesday presented three locally made motorised modular fumigators to the Lagos State Government as his contribution to the fight against the coronavirus pandemic.
The monarch also handed over a large-sized drone sprinkler to the state governor, Mr Babajide Sanwo-Olu, which would be used for aerial fumigation purposes.
While handing over the items, the Ooni commended Sanwo-Olu for his efforts so far in fighting the pandemic in Lagos, as well as other state governors and world leaders who are working hard to bring an end to the pandemic.
However, being the epicentre of the pandemic in Nigeria, the Ooni said Lagos deserves all the support.
He encouraged him and the palace to throw their hat into the ring by coming up with the disinfecting machines to help protect the environment.
The monarch said the fumigators, which were locally fabricated are environmentally-friendly.
He also explained that the equipment converts the liquid sanitizer to fog, which according to him, travels faster and stays longer in the air to fight the coronavirus and any other virus in the community.
Responding to the gesture, Sanwo-Olu expressed appreciation to the royal father, describing him as an enabler and a notable part of governance in Nigeria.
He added that Oba Ogunwusi has equally helped the government in educating the rural people not only on the presence of the pandemic as a reality and not a myth but also by encouraging them to provide a local answer to the scourge.
“Thank you, your majesty, for showing our people the ‘can-do spirit’, thank you for using your office and institution as a strong enabler to be able to communicate and pass on this strong message to our citizens. You are a critical part of governance because you are one of our traditional institutions,” Sanwo-Olu said.
“I want to commend you, for using your office as an institution to let our people know that what we are going through is real, it is not something that anybody has conjured, but it is something we can come together and solve collectively.
“It is good that you are leading this conversation today. You are the first that would able to tell our people that COVID19 is real, you have shown we can also look inward and take up a local solution, and you have taken it upon yourself to not just sit back and criticize, but to give back and encourage our local industry and economy, to be very creative and see what kind of local solutions you can bring about.”
Meanwhile, speaking further, Oba Ogunwusi, charged other Nigerians to join hands with the government in the fight against COVID-19.
He urged the people to look beyond palliatives by coming up with more local solutions to save lives during and after the COVID-19.
“Our people should look inward for solutions that are social and local as the present situation calls for home-grown interventions to support our doctors and other frontline warriors.”