According to an Entrepreneurng report, 95 percent of the homeless youth in Lagos State, according to African female talking drummer Aralola Olamuyiwa, are the result of failing families and poor leadership.
The percussionist, known affectionately as Ara, stated that research done as part of her “Eko Inspire Me” project revealed that many of the homeless kids migrated from other states in search of “greener pastures in Lagos state.”
She continued, saying that additional research revealed that youngsters between the ages of 13 and 15 continue to visit Lagos every day without a place to stay or guardians. She made this statement at the official start of the street kids’ talent search in the state of Lagos.
She emphasized that a significant portion of the rise in the number of homeless children in Lagos State is due to parents.
Olamuyiwa stated that the goal of her “Eko inspire me” project was to identify and assist street performers in realizing their potential.
She continued by saying she intended to establish an academy where the homeless kids could be housed, treated, and given a new direction.
“We realized as we started this work that it is not something we can solve like that in the blink of an eye because this youth troops into Lagos every hour,” she continued.
It reminds me of ocean sweeping. It is not a Lagos or Nigeria issue, I must add unless something is done. It is a worldwide problem. There is an economic solution for every social issue, including homelessness.
With Eko Inspire, we hope to assist the government in eradicating, eliminating, or drastically lowering the number of street children, homeless adolescents, and neighborhood boys and girls.
As a mother, I can tell that some of them are as young as five years old and immigrated from another state. Approximately 95% of them are not from Lagos; instead, they are from Osun, Oyo, Ogun, Ondo, Ekiti, Kwara, Anambra, and Imo, which may astonish you.
We are constantly appreciative of the support of the governor, Babajide Sanwo-Olu. As Mr. Governor, he lacks the authority to obstruct anyone’s entry into the country. But I’m hopeful a policy that at least addresses this issue will be in place soon. However, Ara advised parents to care for their children on their own.
She continued, “I am also calling for parents to look after their children; stop having kids you can’t look after. We must set up a system that can halt this.
“As I also emphasized, this is a worldwide problem; it is not specific to Nigeria. We must deal with it. We are going about it uniquely. I’d feel more fulfilled if I had a school with at least 100 beds where we could take up homeless kids, rehab them, reorient them, and then reintegrate them.”
Nevertheless, today, we’re talking about talent in sports, music, and dance, including people who have these skills. We will hold a table tennis competition starting from here. The winner will walk away with everything in the grand finale.
The table tennis event will therefore begin from this location today. where the concept was first created, Oshodi.
