By Ben Adoga, Abuja
President Bola Tinubu has sought a stronger partnership between the Federal Government and Rotary International, commending the organisation’s pivotal role in Nigeria’s historic eradication of the wild poliovirus and urging expanded collaboration in healthcare, education, youth development and community economic empowerment.
Tinubu made the call on Sunday in Abuja at the Presidential Inaugural Dinner in honour of the newly inaugurated President of Rotary International, Rotarian Olayinka Hakeem Babalola, describing Rotary’s leadership of the Global Polio Eradication Initiative as one of the world’s finest examples of international cooperation in public health.
Represented by the Secretary to the Government of the Federation (SGF), Senator George Akume, the President said Nigeria would remain grateful to Rotary for its unwavering commitment to the anti-polio campaign, noting that millions of African children now enjoy healthier lives because of the organisation’s persistence.
Reflecting on Nigeria’s journey to becoming free of the wild poliovirus, Tinubu said the feat was achieved through “persistence, partnership, science and sacrifice.”
“Nigeria understands what it means for a nation once burdened by wild poliovirus to stand free of it through persistence, partnership, science and sacrifice, and we say thank you.
“Africa, and Nigeria in particular, remember the Rotarians who stood firm when the task was difficult, and the road was long. Millions of African children can live, walk and dream today because people of goodwill refused to surrender,” he said.
The President described Rotary as one of the world’s foremost humanitarian organisations, saying its values of service, integrity, fellowship and leadership align with his administration’s Renewed Hope Agenda.
He stressed that government alone could not deliver national transformation and invited Rotary, under Babalola’s leadership, to deepen collaboration with the Federal Government in primary healthcare, maternal and child health, education, literacy, youth skills development, enterprise and community economic growth.
“If we align Rotary’s culture of community service with the Federal Government’s policy direction under Renewed Hope, we can create results that are measurable, local and lasting. We can deliver hope not as a slogan, but as a lived reality,” he said.
Tinubu also congratulated Babalola on becoming only the second African in Rotary International’s 121-year history to lead the global organisation, describing his emergence as a source of pride for Nigeria and Africa and expressing confidence in his leadership.
In his remarks, Babalola said Rotary was expanding its humanitarian interventions beyond the End Polio Now campaign through the Together for Healthy Families programme, which is reducing maternal and newborn mortality in Abuja, Nasarawa, Gombe and Ekiti states by strengthening health systems and empowering families.
He also unveiled the Healthy Communities Challenge, an initiative targeting malaria, diarrhoeal diseases and pneumonia through pilot projects in Kebbi and Akwa Ibom states.
“Our greatest achievements are not measured by the meetings we hold or the plans we make, but by the lives we transform and the hope we create,” Babalola said, adding that Rotary remained committed to building healthier and more resilient communities through sustainable partnerships.
Former President Olusegun Obasanjo described Babalola’s emergence as “a full-circle moment for Africa,” recalling that the late Jonathan Majiyagbe became Rotary International’s first African President in 2003.
He urged Babalola to strengthen Rotary’s global structures, expand funding opportunities for African clubs, mentor emerging Rotarians and provide ethical leadership rooted in the organisation’s Four-Way Test.
Earlier, Chairman of the Presidential Inaugural Ball Organising Committee and Past District Governor, Wole Kukoyi, said the dinner also served as a fundraiser for Rotary’s humanitarian projects in Nigeria, Africa and across the world, while calling on donors and partners to support Babalola’s vision of expanding the organisation’s impact through service.
