Oyo State Government through the State Mobilisation for Socio Economic Development (OYMASED) has advised events planners for this year’s Valentine programme to be conscious of Crowd Control and use of drugs in their event to avoid any unexpected problems.
This advice was given by the Director General (DG) of OYMASED, Dr. Morohunkola Thomas, while addressing Journalist in the OYMASED office located in Ibadan.
DG OYMASED stated that in the past, event without proper planning for crowd Control and the use of drugs has claimed life of innocent citizens in the state.
He said Valentine is a special day recognised and celebrated in the world but safety precautions such as crowd control and actions against drug abuse must be put in place to avoid any unexpected problems.
Thomas recalled that early in the year, OYMASED organised stakeholders engagement meeting to address some issues such as crowd control, youth crime and drugs abuse, among others.
He stated further that after the meeting, among the conclusions of the stakeholders are: participants in any gathering must be well identified under a leader who will be at the event to identify, monitor and coordinate the group. Also,Organisers of events must provide for welfare of the participants, and relevant agency must be informed for security reasons.
The DG also recalled that the stakeholders at meeting identified drug abuse as one of the causes of serious mental issues among youths which will definitely affect their future.
Thomas, then, called on all events planners for this year’s Valentine celebration to have a proper plan in place because without a proper plan, a day error may not be corrected in years.
