A South West Chieftain of the New Nigeria Peoples Party, (NNPP), Ambassador Olufemi Ajadi Oguntoyinbo on Sunday put smiles on the faces of staff and inmates of the Agodi Correctional Centre, Ibadan, Oyos State as he celebrated his birthday with them.
Ajadi donated food, drinks and essentials like medicine, detergents, toiletries, solar lights among others to the centre to improve the conditions and well beings of inmates and the staff.
He also gave gifts to best behaved male and female inmates, and trophies to the winners of the football and table tennis champions sponsored by Ajadi Foundation.
While also working with authority of Agodi Correctional Centre to free like seven inmates by paying their fines, Ajadi also promised to help provide Solar panel and Inverter to power the Solar borehole at the centre, and a bus for Centre.
Speaking after the donation, Ajadi said he came to the centre to celebrate his birthday just to make the Inmates happy and feel the good atmosphere of celebration.
“I started the idea of celebrating my birthday at the correctional.centres two years ago at Ibara Correctional Centre in Abeokuta, Ogun State.
“You know we have been celebrating my birthday with large numbers of people, giving them food and drinks, but two years ago I changed that, we started looking at people in the Correctional Centres and we believe we should make them happy.
“I believe they have been separated from their families for one reason or the other. That is what took us to Agodi Correctional Centre this year.
“I know government alone cannot provide the needs of the people at the Correctional Centres and so I have made up my minds that at least once in a year, on my birthday I will make the Inmates happy.
“The Correctional Centres inmates have been abandoned. Nobody give them recognition. They are the people that needed to be celebrated. That is why we started this celebration two years ago at Ibara Correctional Centre.
“Going round the Agodi Correctional Centre in Ibadan today, I am not happy. The condition of the inmates are nothing to write home about.
“If you see where they are staying, it is not the best. I know the government is trying but it should do more.
“We see how people in the Correctional Centres in developed countries are treated. I plead with the Federal government to do more for the inmates for the period they will stay there in the Centres.
” I also want to implore the Federal Government to please recognise those working in such environment like Correctional Centres and give them better working conditions.
“I want the government to treat the Warders the same way they are treating the Police and the military especially in terms of renumeration.
“The government should improve the facilities in our Correctional Centres because it is not all the inmates that are condemned criminals.
“We have many people there awaiting trials who have not been pronounced guilty for any offence. At the end of the day, some of these people may not be found guilty of the offences they are remanded for.
“I know President Bola Tinubu’s administration is a listening one and will improve the conditions of the Correctional Centres
“I also called on well to do Nigerians to come to help the government in providing adequate facilities in the Correctional Centres.
“They won’t carry money to heaven. They should put smiles on the faces of inmates at least once in a while”.
