Osinbajo’s Wife Opens up Her Experience with Rehabilitating ‘Area Boys’ in Lagos 

By Onyebuchi Ezigbo in Abuja

Wife of the Vice President, Mrs. Dolapo Osinbajo, has said she spent about 10 years during her pastoral work under  the notorious Lagos fly-over bridges with ‘area boys’ in an effort  to re-shape their lives. 

She explained that most of the youths that loiter in the dark corners of the bridge are not children of the poor but come from wealthy or well-to-do background.

Osinbajo, who was speaking at a ‘Teens Career Conference’ organised at the weekend by The Everlasting Arms Parish (TEAP) of the Redeemed Christian Church of God (RCCG), Garki, Abuja, also revealed that during her interactions, she discovered that these youths were into all kinds of hard drug.

According to her, the indiscriminate use of hard drugs by these youths often turn them into tools for criminal activities thereby endangering the innocent members of the society.

While recounting her experience as a worker in RCCG under notorious bridges, Osinbajo, who is a ground daughter of the late sage, Chief Obafemi Awolowo, said: “When I became a worker in the church, the first place I worked was the teenage church and for 10 years I was in the children’s church. For 10 years, I was under the bridge; under the bridge in Lagos with ‘Area Boys’. 

“So every kind of drug they take, there is no one I didn’t know. I have seen it before and I have seen the effects as well and I will like you to know that the ones that use it are not different from you. Some of them too have parents in the church. Some of them have parents with very big names. There are some streets in Lagos that the names of the streets are names of people, some of which have their children under the bridges. There were people whose parents lived in America and yet their children were under the bridge. So, do not even imagine that it cannot happen to you, but you must be an example in your conduct.” 

She said rather than pretend that it is only children from poor parental background that usually ends up in such potable situations, parents should try and monitor the activities of their children and wards’ especially at this teen stage.

Osinbajo told the hundreds of teenagers at the event not to allow anybody despise them, saying: “Your gift and talent will be ruined if you are not an example in word and character.” 

Also speaking to the junior school children, the former Minister of Education and Co-convener of the Bring Back Our Girls (BBOG) movement, Dr. Oby Ezekwesili urged them to use their teenage years to decide on what they want to be in life. 

She lamented that most of the reform initiatives started during her time as Minister of Education have been abandoned.

“If we do not reform education in this country, the 65 per cent of the children in the public school system that are failing are usually the children of the poorer segment of the society. So, what it means is double jeopardy. 

“You are going to create what I call inter-generational poverty, dynasties in families simply because you have failed to make public education effective and productive and able to grow the competitive skills that they need in order to move from one level of society to the next level of society,” she said