Adopt Viable People-Oriented, People-Friendly, Result-Friendly, Economic Policy, Samson Tasks FG

Some eminent members of De-Zenith Club of Lagos, Zenith Abayomi Samson during the End-Of-Year Party/Annual Convention of the club in Ikeja, Lagos, at the weekend.

 President of the De-Zenith Club of Lagos, Zenith Abayomi Samson, has tasked the Federal Government of Nigeria to adopt an all-encompassing policy that would cater to the needs of Nigerians and the nation's economy.

Samson, who gave the charge at the End-Of-Year Party/Annual Convention of the club in Ikeja, Lagos, at the weekend, noted that “If the economy is well taken care of, there will be more room for people to be engaged economically, and they will rely less on palliatives from the government or from non-governmental organisations.”

Samson, who is also the Managing Director/Chief Executive Officer of Christabit International Limited, said: “When a person is economically engaged, there will be dividends, there will be profitability, and people can stand without necessarily living on palliatives. Palliatives cannot be continued, it is just temporary.”

“If you give palliatives today, will you continue to give it tomorrow?, he asked.

De-Zenith Club's President also suggested that the Federal Government should adopt an economic policy that is viable people-oriented, people-friendly, result-friendly, as well as result-oriented.

Samson said that the mission statement of the club, which has its motto as “God Is Our Foundation,” is to leverage on the comparative advantages of one another as members of the club and become better individuals.

He said: “When you become a member of our great club, my strength becomes your strength and your strength becomes my strength. When we have an assemblage of strengths, we become so powerful and a journey of five years can become a journey of three months.

“For instance, it's a synergy. We have people from different disciplines in this club - we have lawyers, employers of labour, among others, based in Nigeria, in the United States, in Canada. We leverage these advantages and that is the essence of our forming this club.

“One of the reasons is that after your nuclear family, your extended family, this club should be your next place. Whatever your nuclear family can do for you, we can also do. 

"For instance, when we discovered that a member was not financially okay, we came together and donated money for him. We gave it to him to use it to start up a business.”

Speaking on how the club has been able to bring succour to humanity, De-Zenith Club’s President noted that there are some cardinal points, including “Ourselves, and others, and humanity. 

"For instance, we went to Little Saints Orphanage, Abule Egba, we donated food items and cash to them. There's an organization in Ajegunle, we donated cash to them for construction of a library for the students.

“In our budget for 2024, we have already gotten approval from the Senate, we have set aside some funds as scholarships for children of the less-privileged. What we intend doing is to go to schools and randomly select some schools, visit the schools and their teachers, have conversations with them about brilliant students whose parents are poor. That selection process is devoid of nepotism or any influence.

“We will select the indigent students and sponsor them for three years’ scholarships.

He affirmed that the club gets its funding from personal donations, annual donations, and from good-spirited members that can donate in millions, adding: “Any time we have specific projects, people donate towards them to get the project executed.”

Senate President, De-Zenith Club of Lagos, Zenith Adebisi Odeyale, who is based in the USA, while proffering solution to the hardship that Nigerian citizens are going through in the country made some recommendations.

Odeyale said: “I strongly encourage the well-to-do in the society to try and make it a point of duty to help the less-privileged. Try and help just one person with anything as little as N500, it goes a long way.

 “The act of giving comes from the heart and if everybody can share that common goal, I promise you that we will have a better society.

“It takes one person at a time. You don't have to have a whole lot to make an impact. Just a little will go a long way and that is what we try to preach to our members and to people outside.”

Some of the top members of De-Zenith Club of Lagos, Zenith Abayomi Samson during the End-Of-Year Party/Annual Convention of the club in Ikeja, Lagos, at the weekend.

Odeyale, while emphasizing the qualities an individual can possess before become a member of the De-Zenith Club of Lagos, said: “Our club is open to people with a good heart. We do not open our doors to just anyone.

"There are criteria we consider before admitting one as a member, before one can be deemed to be eligible. They include honesty, uprightness, a good character, among other virtues.

“As the Senate President, it's part of our culture and our duty to ensure that we screen every intending member before they are admitted to the club.”

Highlight of the event was the recognition and presentation of awards to notable members for their outstanding performances in the past Zenith year. 

On how to improve the club’s source of funding so that more people can benefit from it, he said: “If we want to rely on the government or agency, we would probably do nothing. 

"Our funding is from personal and individual purses. We are self-funded, so we intend to continue in that path. We don't want to wait until we have bags of money before we do charity work among ourselves. We are all self funded.”

Speaking on what De-Zenith Club of Lagos has done in terms of giving to the society in the last one year, he said: “Within the club, we have members who are financially challenged. We ensure that we intervene in various capacities. To give an overview of how much we have been able to support within the last one year, let's say with some millions of Naira.”