 |
| LOL gives lifetime achievement award to Dr. Lateef Jakande as MKO’s son, Alhaji Jamiu Abiodun Abiola watches |
Last
Sunday October 19 was a great day in the lives of the youths of Surulere Local
Government area in the Lagos Central senatorial district, Western Nigeria as
the first edition of Surulere Got Talents 2014 held amidst pomp and
celebration inside the indoor sport hall of Teslim Balogun stadium,
Surulere, Lagos.
 |
| One-on-one with LOL |
 |
| LOL with his team |
The initiative which is
the brain child of Lagos State House of Assembly (LAHA) aspirant and chattered
accountant, Mr. Lukman Oyewole Lawal (LOL) had over two hundred youths of
Surulere descent screened with 15 extra-ordinary talented ones making the grand
finale of the talents exhibition which
produced three winners who went home with a sizeable amount of money prize. The
panel of judges were made up of top entertainment business consultants like Temitope
Ajenifuja a Nollywood director of photography and Music video director;
Roy,
the first runner up of Project Fame, Omole Oni, a music producer, Ahmed Ola Ibrahim, a
music producer and B. Boy Roshminder a dancing instructor and winner of the 2011,
2012 and 2013 battle of the year
contest. Famous event manager, Bisi Onadipe David moderated the
event while the duo of Abiola Olanrewaju (Spadix) an actor
and Tola
Aderinto internet broadcaster and On-Air-Personality at Gosporella
FM
were the masters of ceremony.
 |
| The GDA with Alhaji Abdul Jamiu Abiodun Abiola |
 |
| Alhaji Abdul Jamiu Abiodun Abiola with Mr. and Mrs. Lawal |
“If you look at Lagos today, some of us as I am talking to you now, I am a chattered accountant, I was privileged as a kid to have attended a Jakande school both at the primary and secondary school level and I can say that as well for a lot of my peers. We are doing well today because of such legacies. And most of the health care centers, talk of LASUTH, roads in Lagos, housing estates, education where did this man not touch? So, we have celebrated him today by giving him a life time achievement award. We noticed that we are gradually losing the ideals of good leadership in this country; so, we have carefully chosen people that we know are great role models that have left indelible marks in the sand of time and decided to honor them”.
 |
| The GDA with some fans of LOL |
 |
| Some contestants at the event |
Lukman Oyewole Lawal famously known as LOL, who is vying for a seat at the Lagos
state house of assembly come 2015, is a major contender for All Progressives
Party (APC) ticket for Surulere constituency 1 where famous actor, Desmond
Elliot is also a contender.
Lukman, an orphan who is a son of the soil and one of the brightest
Nigerian professionals is the founder of The Ultimate Youth Dream Initiative
(TUYDI) a leading citizen re-orientation and government policies assessment
organization which has been sensitizing Lagosians and Nigerians on the impacts
of several government laws and policies both at the national, state and local
government levels.
event which was a two-in-one occasion had a presentation of report on
governance and society situation audit in Lagos which is a direct subsidiary of
TUYDI’s citizen re-orientation and re-engineering impact assessment of laws and
policies segment. The most auspicious segment of the event was the grand finale
of the Surulere Got talent 2014 exhibition which brought to fore
numerous talents of Surulere residency who exhibited several talents in
singing, modeling, fashion and style, acrobatic dance, choreography, rapping
and other interesting talents.
The
event was graced by the first executive governor of Lagos state, Alhaji
(Dr.) Lateef Kayode Jakande who was the father of the
day. Others are Alhaji Tunde Thomspon, APC Vice Chairman at Surulere Local
Government Area, Lady Evangelist Dunni
Olanrewaju aka Opelope Anointing, MKO Abiola’s scion, Alhaji Abdul Jamiu Abiodun Abiola
and a host of other eminent personalities from Surulere and all walks of life.
About two thousand young people who came to cheer their favorite artistes for
the Surulere
Got Talent 2014 event equally graced the event.
 |
| And the winner is… |
 |
| Some female contestants shares pictures with asabeafrika’s GDA |
The
event which kicked off with prayers from several Muslims and Christian clerics
had the initiator, Lukmon Oyewole Lawal welcoming the crowd of guests and
well-wishers who include both the young and the old from all walks of life. LOL as he is fondly called said the
need to create such a platform to harness youth’s intelligence that will
promote a robust future for the young ones is very essential to the development
of a nation. The accountant who was orphaned at age 7 lamented the rate at
which society generally has forgotten their role to the youths and how legion
of youths have been left alone to drift into confusion, inertia and all sort of
vices that does not guarantee the development of the nation. LoL stressed further that it was
necessary that adults of his generation stand to the occasion and remember that
it is only by giving the utmost attention in terms of quality education and quality
mentorship would the crop of today’s leaders conveniently hand over the baton
of leadership to a well prepared leaders of tomorrow. Oyewole noted with
passion the presence of the 80 years + elder statesman and politician, Dr.
Lateef Jakande in the gathering reminding the crowd of guests what his
leadership legacy has done to several young people in the last thirty years
particularly in Lagos. LOL claimed
he was one of the beneficiaries of the Jakande
schools of cheap but quality education legacy. Nearly moved to tears, LOL lamented how education which
supposed to be the birthright of every young person in the society has suddenly
been monetized beyond the reach of the ordinary child, thereby pushing many of
the leaders of tomorrow to becoming prisoners of tomorrow. He assured the
people of Surulere that this is one of the reasons he is offering himself for
service come 2015 as he advised that the “me and my family’s comfort alone
syndrome” must be aborted and individuals should care about the larger society”
 |
| Jubilant crowd raises Orenzi up as he was announced the winner |
 |
| The second runner up, Joy andSerah gets their reward |
“I think Mr. Lukman Oyewole Lawal is a great initiator and a great inspiration to the youth. I pray God gives him more wisdom and courage to continue to serve the youth and do what he is doing because I believe the platform he created will become a train that will drive many more youths in Surulere to their next level of self discovery…”
event later kicked started with the performances of several of the talents who
came out to exhibit their various talents in different ways from Music to
dancing, to modeling and choreography. It was such an exciting moment as the hall
erupted in wild jubilation with the judges taking note of those who did well in
their performance.
An
interlude came when Lukman Oyewole Lawal
briefed Lagosians and friends of Lagos in a thirty minutes documentary and
video-analysis presentation where he highlighted the benefits of over 45
different laws of Lagos state government under Barrister Babatunde Raji Fashola
(SAN) which has led to development in several sectors of the Lagos society. LOL who buttressed his points with data
facts and figures x-rayed among many other popular policies the famous road
traffic law which banned Okada riding on high ways and it consequent results in
private and public hospitals. Others are
the community development association law, the parks and garden environment law,
the disable people’s law which encourages maximum employment for disabled
people in Lagos state and several other laws and policies of government that
has added to the life and style of Lagosians since 2008.
 |
| First runner up Golden Anyuigo gets his reward |
 |
| APC Chairman in Surulere, Alhaji Tunde Thompson, LAHA aspirant and Chief Organizer, LOL and a judge, Roy gives the Ultimate Winner, Orenzi his reward |
A
life time achievement award was later presented to Alhaji Dr. Lateef Jakande
by Lukman
Oyewole Lawal for LJK’s dedication to youth and ordinary people’s
development during his short rule as Lagos state governor between 1979 and
1985. The Organizers noticed that Dr. Jakande’s political efforts in certain
populist driven sector of the Lagos society has survived the test of time and
remain indelible in the minds of both the old and new generation of Lagosians.
Speaking
to this blog after receiving his award, Dr. Lateef Jakande the first
executive governor of Lagos said “I am very proud of the organizers. I am happy
that Lagos is giving back what we gave Lagos years ago, the youth is the strength
of every nation and for me my doors are always opened to the young ones any day
any time. They are our light and we must endeavor to light them up with wisdom
and knowledge. Lukman and his team have done well and I am sure he is a leader
to watch out for. I pray for all the young people that came here today, that
they will all be great in life”
her own word, Gospel Music star, Lady Evangelist Dunni Olanrewaju aka
Opelope Anointing who ministered at
the event said “We are in need of unique people like Honorable Lawal, we are in
need of a unique leadership. I am proud we are having it now and I want them to
keep it up; I trust God will continue to support them”
Alhaji Jamiu
Abiodun Abiola an author and business man gave his kudos to the organizers
“It is a fantastic event that encourages a lot of youths to do more, that is
the most important thing now, getting the young ones to stand up for something
and be positive in their thinking”. The 5th son of the late business
mogul and symbol of democracy, Bashorun
MKO Abiola thanked the organizer, Lukman Oyewole lawal for his
foresight “LOL is fantastic and he is a very intelligent man and I have always
prayed for him. I pray Nigeria will appreciate his political will”
 |
| A jubilant crowd of youths hailing the judges’s decision |
 |
| LOL and his team with the star winner |
Abia state born Chinedu Okoro a modeling
contestant who has lived in Surulere for ten years has this to say about his
exploit on stage “I was only interested in giving my audience the Wao
factor about a girl in the fashion garb changing in front of the
audience and becoming a boy and equally walking out in their presence and you
are like ‘this is wao; that is what I tried doing with my catwalk” On what he
feels about the event, Chinedu said “I have been living in
Surulere for ten years; this event has brought out a lot in terms of talent
discovery; singers, dancers, comedians, models and all sorts of great
talents. It has been a very big platform
and if the organizers can continue this way, it is going to stop a lot of joblessness
and idleness in our society and talents can be turned into entrepreneurship
Imo state born Stanley Otulaka, a musician “It is a wonderful event being the
Ultimate youth empowerment initiative. I like it, I love the idea, and it is a
great platform to discover world talents in Surulere”. He spoke further “I have
been in Surulere for over ten years now and I think this is the first time a
thing like this is happening courtesy a politician. I think Mr.
Lukman Oyewole Lawal is a great initiator and a great inspiration to
the youth. I pray God gives him more wisdom and courage to continue to serve
the youth and do what he is doing because I believe the platform he created
will become a train that will drive many more youths in Surulere to their next
level of self discovery because with this, a lot of young people have learnt
quite a lot of ways they can become successful with their talents, including me
as well. I believe this platform will enhance the dream of the youth to grow
and become great”
 |
| The Winners and their Fans |
 |
| LOL and his new talent stars talks to a TV Host from NTA |
Ogun state born Ibukunoluwa Moreen who
displayed her soul jazz talent at the event said “I feel so awesome and
wonderful. This is my first my talent exhibition and I am very happy I got a
time-out as a musician. I have been in Surulere all my life but I have never
seen an initiative like this before. I think the organizers have given us a
chance to discover our hidden talents and horn it for the betterment of the
society, one will surely never be the same again after this experience” On how
she came about the event “I heard about this program just a day before and I
quickly file in for the auditions because I felt it was a great opportunity for
me to display my talent and I thank God I was picked as one of the lucky 15, I feel fulfilled right now even if I don’t win
the big prize. So, it is the best initiative and I thank Mr. Lukman Oyewole Lawal
for finding the gut to create this kind of a platform that will enhance
creativity in Surulere”.
 |
| MCs, Abiola Olanrewaju and Tola Aderinto |
 |
| Cross Section of guests at the event |
The first runner up, Imo state born Golden
Anyaugo came second in the competition. Anyaugo an over one
decade resident of Surulere is a secular musician and composer who sings both
gospel and other songs. He went home with a sum of two hundred thousand naira while the gospel singing twins from Surulere,
Joy
and Serah came 3rd with a humble sum of a hundred thousand naira.
Ogun state born Oredapo Oladapo Oreoluwa aka
Orenzi an 18 year’s old
professional dancer and Surulere resident of three years won the ultimate prize
of five hundred thousand naira and became the face of The Ultimate Youth Dream
Initiative for the next one year and ambassador for Surulere Constituency 1. Orenzi who is the lastborn in a
family of four said Surulere Got Talents
has changed his life for good as he is ready to start a new phase of his life
as TUYDI ambassador “I am not just going to be a TUYDI ambassador, I am now a
Youth ambassador for the entire Surulere Constituency 1, and that comes with
lots of responsibility” the artistes enthused amidst jubilation from a crowd of
fans.
 |
| LOL welcoming all to the Surulere Got Talent Show |
 |
| LOL making a point to the audience on Impact Assessment of laws and policies |
Speaking
to asabeafrika
after the event, the initiator Lukman Oyewole Lawal aka LOL gave glory to God for the success
of the event “To the glory of God we have been able to do a first of its kind
initiative in Surulere. We auditioned 200 young people and we had about 15 shortlisted
to take part in this grand finale and we are so happy because we can actually
confirm that we have a lot of talents and we are taking their talent to the
next level by empowering them in the right attitude, in skills, in training and
mentorship. You will notice that gold as an item didn’t become valuable until
it went through fire and a high level of refinement. We don’t want people to just be overnight
stars and spend the rest of their lives as paupers. We want them to be well
prepared and well groomed for stardom. This creative platform should be able to
re-direct their cause in life. They should stop being drug addicts or
frustrated by any means. So, we are
starting something today and we pray the almighty God will see us through. We want
to be able to measure the impact on their lives in the next decade”
 |
| A cross section of contestants |
 |
| Cross section of judges |
founder of the Ultimate Youth Dream Initiative and Surulere LAHA aspirant, 2015
went ahead to appeal to people of good will to join in the campaign for a
better society with youth development as primary focus “We are calling on other
members of the society as well, that, ‘comfort for me and my house hold
syndrome’ should stop in Nigeria. You must look at the larger society. You must
give back because there is gross inequality of qualitative education. Some
people have qualitative education; so many others don’t have it. So, they end
up being in our prisons, in our jail houses. We have a lot of young persons
awaiting trials in various prisons across the country. Last week, there was
jail break at Kirikiri maximum
prison in Lagos state. We have been talking about all these things. The people
in prison are living in gory conditions because the system did not prepare them
regarding qualitative education, which ought to be their birthright in the
first place. That is why they have turned out to become the bad products of
society; we want all these to stop in Nigeria. We are supporting education, we
are supporting talent enhancement, we are supporting wealth creation, and we
are supporting health care. We are carrying out what we call citizen’s
re-orientation and re-engineering. Nobody can fix this country for us, nobody
can make our society a better place; it is we the youth that can do it”.
 |
| A contestant in action |
 |
| The event moderator, Bisi Onadipe David |
On
why his organization bestowed a lifetime achievement award on the First
Civilian Governor of Lagos state, Alhaji
(Dr.) Deji Jakande, LOL explained to asabeafrika “Alhaji Jakande, the
first executive Governor of Lagos state is an embodiment of great legacy. If
you look at Lagos today, some of us as I am talking to you now, I am a
chattered accountant, I was privileged as a kid to have attended a Jakande
school both at the primary and secondary school level and I can say that as
well for a lot of my peers. We are doing well today because of such legacies.
And most of the health care centers, talk of LASUTH, roads in Lagos, housing
estates, education where did this man not touch? So, we have celebrated him
today by giving him a life time achievement award. We noticed that we are
gradually losing the ideals of good leadership in this country; so, we have
carefully chosen people that we know are great role models that have left
indelible marks in the sand of time and decided to honor them. That is what we
intend doing every year. Alhaji Jakande for me is an icon, we
must celebrate him and we must continue to pray for him and his family and we
are happy that he graced this occasion”.
 |
| A soul music contestant Tobi Maureen |
 |
| A contestant, Stanley Oyulaka in action |
 |
| Some comedians from Surulere |
 |
| The Gospel twins, Joy and Serah in action |
 |
| Cross section of dignatories on the high table |
 |
| The GDA with lead compere Abiola Olanrewaju aka Spadix |
 |
| Lady Evangelist Oladunni Olanrewaju appreciating God at the event |
 |
| Cross section of spectators at the event |
 |
| A branded T-Shirt of the auspacious event |
 |
| An Islamic cleric delivering worship songs at the event |
 |
| One-on-one with Fashion contestant, Chinedu Okoro |
 |
| One-on-one with Music contestant Stanley Otulaka |
 |
| One-on-one with Soul Music contestant, Ibukunoluwatobi Moreen |
 |
| LOL giving a data based account of about 45 laws of Lagos State Government since 2008 and it’s impact on the citizenry |
 |
| One-on-one with Lady Evangelist Dunni Olanrewaju aka Opelope Anoiting |
 |
| Lady Evangelist Dunni Olanrewaju, The GDA and LOL |
 |
| Alhaji Tunde Thompson, Vice Chairman of APC, Surulere LGA gives a honorary award to 1st executive governor of Lagos state, Dr. Lateef Jakande |
 |
| LOL joined by guests gives a lifetime achievement award to Dr. Lateef Jakande |
 |
| One-on-one with Dr. Lateef Jakande |
 |
| LOL gives one of the judges Roy a pleasant gift |
