The Nation Newspaper

Author: The Nation

  • Driving safety on wheel of technology

    Traffic officers agree that the way to go in protecting lives and property on the roads is to deploy technology, writes ADEYINKA ADERIBIGBE

     

    The tale told by Bola Omole, the Special Adviser to the Ondo State Governor on Transportation, set the tone last Wednesday, for the yearly conference of the directors/chief road traffic officers at the Events Centre, Agidingbi, Ikeja, Lagos.

    At the launch of the state’s computerised vehicle inspection centre, he had insisted that the cars on Governor Oluwarotimi Odunayo Akeredolu’s fleet be tested and the governor’s car, which was the first to be tested, had failed the test.

    “That was a car every one of us had assumed was okay. Yet, the computer test detected a brake failure. The experience punctured all assumptions that a governor’s car cannot have mechanical failure and further emboldened our desire to advocate that all cars, especially that of all public officers be tested,” he said.

    Omole’s experience signposted the need for the deployment of technology in all spheres of life, especially in the transportation sector, which resonated with the theme of the Vehicle Inspection Service (VIS) conference.

    VIS’ officials have insisted that checking the health status of any vehicles on the road is beyond debate.

    They argued that since the safety of lives and property is hinged on the healthy status or otherwise of all vehicles on the roads, it becomes imperative that to protect the lives, they must ensure that vehicles are certified.

    At a four-day yearly conference of directors/chief road traffic officers  in Lagos, last week, traffic officers across the federation again brainstormed on their responsibilities and how they could better deliver.

    Speakers challenged traffic officers to put the torch on its activities. They said the majority of those who have died by road crashes could be traced to the discretion or lack of it by VIOs who failed to take an unworthy vehicle out of the road before it constitute danger to other road users.

    Declaring the conference open, the Lagos State Commissioner for Transportation Dr Frederic Oladeinde, charged the VIO top echelon at the conference from across the country, to formulate a policy framework that would address the incidence of tanker accidents and wanton destruction to lives and property.

    He said the conference, which had as theme: Employing technology to enhance compliance and safety on our roads, is strategic as it epitomised the desire of the organisation to deploy technology to mitigate risk and increase the rate of traffic compliance by road users, thereby reducing road hazards to the barest.

    He said it is only by proffering such solutions that the nation could end the carnage that petrol-laden tankers and containerised trailers had become on the roads.

    He observed that while the VIOs seemed to have achieved landmark success in sanitising the health of smaller vehicles, the nation is facing the greatest threat as a result of the unhealthy status of articulated vehicles, which he described as “rickety” and accidents waiting to happen.

    Oladeinde listed among other technology initiatives deployed by the government in transportation to include the computerised vehicle testing centres, 15 of which are  opened in various parts of the state, the acquisition of AutoVIN (AutoVehicle Identification Number) machine, the first of its kind in the country to boost forensic activity, which has boosted the VIO’s forensic laboratory and aided the performance of her pre-inspection of all vehicles in the state.

    “There is also the Automatic Number plate Recognition (ANPR) devise, which condicts random enforcement by capturing plate numbers while simultaneously checking the data from a synchronised server, generate a fine which must be paid otherwise the system blacklists the vehicle and could be arrested anytime it is on the road again.”

    He reiterated that accident investigation has been a responsibility of the VIS and implored the public to call on the VIS Accident Investigation Unit anytime.

    The Managing Director of Temple Investments, operator of the Lagos State Computerised Vehicle Inspection Centre (LACVIS), Prince Segun Obayendo, said by adapting technology, such as the compterised vehicle testing, VIOs could reduce incidences of human error, thereby increasing the chances of saving lives.

    He said it was double jeopardy if the roads were not good and were using unsafe vehicles.

    He said it was gratifying that the  computerised vehicle testing, which started in Abuja, has been embraced by 15 states.

    The Chairman, Nigeria Insurance Association (NIA) Mrs Yetunde Ilori, challenged the VIS leadership to come up with policies aimed at promoting safety culture and voluntary compliance.

    According to her, because the road is a shared asset, it behooves on all to ensure compliance to acts capable of making it safe for all, adding that in preventing undue exposure to the risk occasioned by accident, insurance is available as the burden bearer.

    Read Also: FRSC begins ‘Operation Show Your Driver’s Licence’ in Lagos

     

    Mrs Ilori said the NIA has established an Insurance Guard to move from street to street and bus stops and garages spreading the awareness of the need to patronise insurance companies to help bear the risk in case of accidents.

    The Lagos Sector Commander, Federal Road Safety Corps, Hyginus Omeje, charged the VIOs to rise from the conference and resolve to go beyond talking to practise and leverage on technology in the discharge of their assignment.

    “The prevalence of broken down trailers and trucks on our roads called to question the integrity of the worthiness check the VIO have conducted on the vehicles,” he said.

    He charged agencies working in the road safety sector to put an end to the in wrangling among them and “work for the protection of the lives of the average road user, who could be anybody, including members of our family”.

    The Chairman of the conference of directors/chief road traffic officers (VIOs) of the federation, Sir Paul Bepeh, said VIOs adopted the theme because of their resolve not to be left behind by other parts of the world. He therefore charged his colleagues to join states like Lagos, which is deploying technology as the technology alternatives has proved to be more effective for better service delivery.

    “Many states of the federation have shifted from the manual vehicle inspection, which was cumbersome and less reliable to the more reliable computerised vehicle inspection scheme,” Bepeh said.

    He said the VIOs should come up with solutions aimed at controlling and regulating motorcycle and tricycle operations, which has become the most neglected across the federation.

    The Lagos State VIS Director Mr Akin George Fashola praised the government for its robust investments in technology which has made the state to stand out.

    He said the VIS journey, which began in 1963, when it was carved out of the Nigeria Police has become central to and has contributed to the safety of lives.

    The Permanent Secretary, Ministry of Transportation, Mr Olawale Musa, charged the VIOs to be more committed and devote themselves to ensuring the safety of lives.

    “Your action and inaction have a major impact on the safety of us all. If you do not perform your duty and you allow vehicles of doubtful status on the road you may not know whose life or lives such may claim. That is why we enjoin you to do your job and help sanitise the roads by taking away all vehicles with doubtful health so that they do not constitute danger to others,” Musa said.

  • Traffic Radio to raise awareness on waterways

    The General Manager, Lagos Traffic Radio, Mr. Tayo Akanle, has restated  the station’s readiness to support the Lagos State Ferry Services Corporation (LAGFERRY) in its sensitisation’s drive on water transportation.

    Akanle said the initiative was part of efforts to decongest the roads.

    The Traffic Radio boss staed this when he led the station’s management on a visit to the Managing Director/Chief Executive Officer (CEO), LAGFERRY, Mr. AbdoulBaq Ladi-Balogun.

    He said the Radio’s audience base and strong online would aid the enlightenment of Lagosians and boost patronage of the ferry service as an alternative to movement.

    He said access to information on the waterways would enhance the choice of commuters in Lagos and enrich the synergy between  the agencies.

    He maintained that since the expansion of its frontiers to include the provision of traffic information on other modes of transportation, such as flight schedules and movements on the waterways, rather than roads alone, the station has positioned itself to improve its social service.

    According to him, “The partnership will not only be of an immense benefit to Lagosians, it will also lay credence to the commitment of Governor Babajide Sanwo-Olu to deliver a reliable, safe, efficient and effective transportation system that will enhance the mass movement of Lagosians”.

    Read Also: World Bank official in Lagos, renews partnership with state government

    Ladi-Balogun said the partnership was timely and pledged the corporation’s readiness to leverage  the alliance.

    He stressed that LAGFERRY’s target is a 30 per cent movement of commuters, adding that the agency has some of the best ferries in the country and would soon take buy more.

    He said the corporation intends to play a significant role in the multi-modal transportation initiative of the present administration to decongest the roads, stressing that the policy would be in full effect within the next two years, with Mile 2 and Marina being the major hubs.

    Meanwhile, the Lagos Zonal Office of the National Inland Waterways Authority (NIWA) has rolled out safety campaign across key operational jetties in the state to ensure accident free ride on the waterways.

    Kicking off the campaign designed to help operators comply with regulations on movements on the waterways, Zonal Manager Engineer Sarat Lara Braimah, who led the safety mission, said vessel owners provide passengers with life jackets.

    The campaign took off at the CMS jetty, where Braimah addressed passengers on the importance of using life jackets and instructed boat operators not to  board any water vehicle whose operator failed or refused  to wear life jackets.

    “This campaign is targeted at zero tolerance for unbecoming attitudes inimical to safety issues on the waters and everyone who may wish to use the waterways must embrace it. Life is important and NIWA in Lagos, would not stand by and watch stakeholders disobey safety matters,’’ she explained.

    The Lagos Zonal chief noted that the campaign would cover Ikorodu,  Badore, Epe, Liverpool, Badagry and Ajegunle waterfront jetties throughout the festive season and would be rounded off in January 2020.  It would be reviewed to stem any unwholesomeness by users.

    Braimah added that the campaign and would introduce patrol strategies as a backup to this one to one reach out.

    ‘’We expect feedback from the stakeholders on any potential challenge that may create anxieties particularly to smooth operation of boat services and any life threatening practices among boat operators,” he added.

    The Lagos Zonal Office is also targeting students and pupils from riverine communities for a special “must use” compliance of life jackets as part of the ember months campaign and a new safety measures to encourage use of water transportation in Lagos.

    She also concluded, that NIWA Lagos, would also impound boats and life jackets which did not meet operational specifications.

  • SSA regime: Group drags NPA to National Assembly

    A group, Association of Professionals for Safety in Shipping in Nigeria  (APOSSIN), has petitioned the National Assembly over the pronouncement of the Nigerian Ports Authority(NPA) instructing shipping operators to stop paying for personalised security services offered in the Secured Ancourage Area (SAA).

    The SAA is being operated by the Nigerian Navy, in collaboration with a private firm, Ocean Marine Solutions (OMS) Limited.

    APOSSIN noted that the directive was not only ill-advised but also counter-productive. It said that NPA is not empowered by any law to  make such pronouncement on an arrangement by another agency of government to deliver on its mandate.

    This submission, the body claims, is because the SAA is outside the port limits and hence not under the administrative control of the NPA as security of the maritime domain statutorily rests on the Nigerian Navy.

    Its Chairman, Adewale Oluwafemi, regretted that NPA, which has not been able to secure facilities around the port, is now gunning for the SAA. Oluwafemi said the SAA has brought some safety and trust for global shipping lines calling at the nation’s ports in Lagos.

    He said NPA’s inability to provide security at the ports were buttressed by the complaint from the General Manager of Greenview Development Nigeria Limited, Apapa, Lagos, Yakubu Abdullahi, of attack of its terminal by sea thieves.

    The body, therefore,  charged the ports landlord, noting  that it should  concentrate on providing security for ships that are berthed at the ports instead of coming after SAA.

    In similar vein, APOSSIN’s Secretary Emeka Ikechukwu said the SAA is an initiative of the Nigerian Navy and OMS that has brought stability and security to ships.

    He said the  SAA was established as a result of demands from ships making port calls to Lagos to give the captains extra comfort  on anchorage awaiting allocation of berthing space. The facility, he said, is intended to compliment government efforts and not a replacement.

    “Just like on land where organisations and even individuals on their own free will employ private security to secure their assets, in spite of all the available security provided by government; the facility is for those that wish to utilise the services. It is operated by the Nigerian Navy but logistically supported by OMS – a private-sector initiative to add value to government efforts.

    “It was established in collaboration with Nigerian Navy on  February 27, 2013 to offer dedicated security patrols services for vessels that demand extra protection while waiting offshore Lagos for berth allocation or conducting Ship-To-Ship, (STS) operations.

    “It is purely a service rendered on demand and was never made compulsory for vessels making port calls to Lagos. It provides a minimum of three security boats patrolling the area 24/7/365. The boats are operated by the Navy but logistically supported by OMS,” Ikechukwu said.

    Read Also: An open letter to Nigerian Ports Authority

    According to the duo, it is a well-documented fact that in the past six years of SAA, the facility has delivered 100 per cent success as there has not been any successful pirate attack on any vessels using SAA. The success story has made it a comfort zone and preferred location for captains of vessels coming to Lagos.

    Warning the shipping community not xxxbe deceived by the NPA announcement that security is free, it said if the patrol boats OMS is supporting to protect the area are withdrawn without replacements, the vessels would be exposed to attacks.

    APOSSIN admonished that while the NPA is waiting for the arrival of the boats promised, which it terms as a fraction of the solution, the logistics to run, maintain and keep them in water all the time is very huge and even much greater.

    “Experience has shown that this is seldom provided in sufficient quantities to the services, of course because of other competing needs of national importance. This is the gap OMS is filling for the Navy to maintain the required presence at the SAA. OMS is working under the Nigerian Navy (not NPA), who operates the Secure Anchorage Area, a relationship that has been communicated and NPA duly acknowledged the occurrence by publishing the Marine Notice in 2014. The SAA arrangement is working and has helped to reduce the piracy occurrence in the region (check the IMB latest report on the Gulf of Guinea) and most importantly, at no cost to government,” Ikechukwu added.

    Oluwafemi said the $2,000 charged  daily is not anchorage dues as described by the NPA but meant to offset the cost of acquisition of the patrol boats, and provision of the logistics to operate them to achieve the 24-hour presence for detering the criminals.

    It will be recalled that the NPA, through its Managing Director, Hadiza Bala-Usman, at a quarterly stakeholders’meeting, said the agency was set to take delivery of patrol vessels to enhance waterfront security at the ports, therefore directing shipping firms not to pay any anchorage dues to private security firms as it would take responsibility to secure vessels at the ports anchorage.

    Bala-Usman, who was represented at the meeting by the Executive Director, Marine and Operations, Sekonte Davies, assured that it would soon acquire three platforms for the Navy to enable it provide the needed security.

  • Why dry ports are ‘dry’

    Dry ports globally are to stimulate business, especially where there are no seaports. But the reverse seems to be the case in Nigeria as facilities designated as dry ports exist only in name. MUYIWA LUCAS writes.

     

    Nurudeen Ismaila, a freight forwarder, is not  happy. This is because of his inability to deliver consignments to his client in Kaduna with ease and cheaply. For him, if the Kaduna Dry Port, the country’s pioneer dry port, inaugurated almost two years with fanfare, was efficient, the  story of cargo movement would have been different.

    Like Ismaila, several others have continued to lament the state of the dry ports, especially the facility in Kaduna, as it is yet to deliver the much-expected gains in terms of generating business, jobs and other benefits expected  from such facility.

    A dry port, according to experts,  is an inland intermodal terminal connected by road or rail to a seaport; and operating as a centre for the trans-shipment of cargo to inland destinations.

    The concept of dry ports in Nigeria was muted during President Olusegun Obasanjo-led administration. Around 2003, the administration approved the creation of Inland Container Depots (ICDs) in various parts of the country, with emphasis on areas lacking seaports.

    Toeing this path, the Minister of Transportation, Rotimi Amaechi,  in November 2017, said the Federal Government had approved six ICDs,  one in each of the geo-political zones.

    The ICDs are located at Erunmu, Ibadan for Southwest; Isi -Ala Ngwa, Abia, in the Southeast; Funtua, Katshina; Zawachiki, Kano for the Northwest; Heipang, Jos, for Nortcentral and Jauri, Maiduguri  for  the Northeast.

    Notwithstanding the laudable initiative, nothing has been gained from its establishment. Several factors are said to be responsible for this.

     

    Legal framework

    The Federal Government has not put a legal framework in place for the establishment or creation of dry ports. Whereas the Customs and Excise Management Act (CEMA) allows the Nigeria Customs Service (NCS) to issue licences to bonded terminals which can offer dry port services at micro levels, dry ports require legal backings to come into existence.

    The Ports Act number 38 of 1999 (as amended) establishing Nigerian Ports Authority (NPA) is silent on dry ports and may very well require legislative amendment by the National Assembly. This  has not been done before Nigeria went ahead declaring the Kaduna Dry Port a port for use.

    In Part VI, Section 30, the Act talked about declaration of ports but did not accomodate dry port as part of the maritime, import, export or free trade area. The Act in Part VI, Section 30, under the headline “Declaration of ports” was explicit on the Power to declare places, etc., as ports, their limits and approaches: (1) The Minister may, by order, ‘’(a)declare any place in Nigeria and any navigable channel leading into that place, to be a port within the meaning of this Act; (b) specify the limits of any place declared, as a port in accordance with paragraph (a)of this subsection; (c)declare any navigable channel leading into a port to be an approach to that port, within the meaning of this Act.

    ‘’(2) The places specified in the Second Schedule to this Act, shall be deemed to be ports, and the limits of those ports shall, until other provision is made in accordance with paragraph (b)of subsection (1) of this section, be the limits declared and in force immediately before the commencement of this Act, including-[Second Schedule.](a) all ocean beaches within 100 metres of the high- water level; (b) the waterways, creeks and swamp and below the highest astronomical tide level and all beacons, moles, piers, jetties, slipways, quays and other works extending beyond natural line of the high water level.’’

    National Council of Managing Directors of Licensed Customs Agents (NCMDLCA) President Mr. Lucky Amiwero said there was no legal framework. According to him, dry ports don’t exist in Nigeria, by law, as it has to be legally provided for and recognised as either port of destination for imported cargoes or port of origin for export cargoes.

     

    Support infrastructure

    The basic infrastructure that should support any port are lacking. At present, there are no good roads leading to the dry port in Kaduna from Lagos, Port Harcourt, Warri,  Onne or Calabar.

    Cargo laden trucks are forced to stay longer on transit causing delays and increasing the already high cost of doing business. The rail system is not fully ready. Dry ports are supposed to be supported by inter-modal transport components such as rail system that will move cargoes from and to the facility.

    This is why stakeholders are of the view that, in this instance, the country has put the cart before the horse by establishing and hurrying to celebrate the creation of a dry port when rail infrastructure is still being worked on. This remains a  factor in promoting business for a dry port.

     

    Read Also: How maritime sector can optimise AfCFTA regime

     

    Waking up

    Perhaps Amaechi must have had this in mind when he placed orders for some wagons for the Lagos-Ibadan railway, which upon completion, is expected to bring the Ibadan dry port to life. When this is done, it will have a positive effect on the cost of patronising dry ports and by extension add value to the cost of doing business.

    Further initiative to improve the situation of traffic along and around the seaport that will eventually feed the dry ports are on the horizon.

    For instance, the Managing Director, Nigeria Railway Corporation (NRC), Fidet Okhiria, in May said the newly acquired 18 wagons were to boost the ICDs by moving cargoes from Apapa sea port to dry ports in Kaduna and other states.

     

    Poor marketing/sensitisation

    One of the factors affecting the effectiveness of the dry port, according to experts, is the failure of the government to do enough marketing and sensitisation about the Kaduna ICD before it was inaugurated.

    Experts explained that neighbouring landlocked countries, which  require proximate port services should have been negotiated into patronising the project. It is more economical for Nigeria’s neighbouring landlocked country, Niger Republic to  transit her imports through the Kaduna ICD or Kano Inland Container Terminal, but the country has continued to patronise the Republic of Benin seaport which is over 1500 kilometres to Maradi, Niger’s southern commercial hub. Besides, the shipping community is yet to begin stemming cargoes to the dry port as a known port of destination. This has adversely affected patronage of the facility.

     

    ANLCA reacts

    Association of Nigerian Licensed Customs Agents (ANLCA) President Iju Nwabunike said this development is costing the country over 100,000TEUs loss (Twenty-foot equivalent unit of container traffic) yearly.

    He said the revenue loss to Nigeria as a result of this is huge because Benin is paying high transport cost for moving her transit cargoes from the Cotonou Port to Maradi.

    Nwabunike, who spoke in Lagos, said it would be cheaper for Niger to transit her cargoes from the Kaduna Dry Port (about 250 kilometers to Mardi) or Kano ICD (about 150 kilometers to Maradi); than from the Cotonu Seaport, which is over 1,500 kilometres to Maradi.

    Nwabunike, also a Director of Inland Container Nigeria Limited (ICNL), operators of the Kaduna Dry Port, regretted that since the Dry Port was inaugurated with fanfare by President Muhammadu Buhari in January last year, it has been confronted with challenges, including ineffective rail transporting system and poor state of the roads from Lagos to Kaduna.

    He, however, said the most daunting challenge is the failure of the shipping firms to fall in line with global standards by sending cargoes directly to the ICDs. He expressed fears that the action of the shipping firms might be aimed at sabotaging the success of the ICD initiative of the Federal Government.

    Nwabunike further warned that unless the Kaduna Dry Port is up and running effectively, Nigeria would lose the over 100,000TEUs Niger’s transit cargoes. This is because Benin Republic has already started construction of 1500 kilometers standard gauge rail line from Cotonu Port to Maradi, Niger Republic. According to him, over 800 kilometres of the new Cotonou-Maradi rail line has been completed.

    “When that rail line is completed, it will reduce the cost of transportation of cargoes from Cotonu to Maradi,” he warned, adding that the only advantage Nigeria has  over Benin to snatch the Niger transit cargo traffic from them is the low cost of transportation the country offer to Niger shippers.

    The closed borders has also made the situation worse. Nwabunike said this development has turned neighbouring countries against Nigeria. “In fact, they almost mobbed us during our recent visit to that country to explain to them why they should use the Kaduna Dry Port. This is quite understandable given that this country, Niger, is more emotionally attached to Benin which is their fellow French-speaking nation, than to us,” he said.

     

     

  • Taming the Nyanya-Mararaba traffic gridlock

    For civil servants, private sector employees, traders, labourers and artisans who live in the Nyanya-Mararaba axis of Abuja but have their workplaces in different locations at the federal capital, commuting to and fro daily has become a nightmare, writes GBENGA OMOKHUNU

     

    The traffic snarl on the Mararaba road has become a daily occurrence over the years; Saturdays and Sundays are no exemption. The road is the only link to neighbouring Nasarawa State. Mararaba, where hundreds of workers in Abuja live, is in Nasarawa State. There are no signs to show that one is on Nasarawa soil a few metres away from Nyanya as the two communities have practically fused into each other. It’s a replica of what obtains in Lagos where people live in places like Abule Egba-Agbado-Ijaiye axis in Ogun State but commute to different parts of Lagos daily to work. And so the bedlam that is the traffic situation along the Lagos-Abeokuta Expressway leading to Abule-Egba-Agbado-Ijaiye, is replicated on the Abuja-Keffi road that leads to Nyanya-Mararaba-Masaka axis. And just like the Lagos-Abeokuta Expressway, the Abuja-Keffi road also has just about two lanes on both sides.

    With the traffic gridlock comes psychological trauma, stress, anger, anxiety and frustration among motorists and commuters alike. Often, the traffic build-up results in missed appointments and shattered expectations as consequences.

    The heavy traffic situation along that road has become a source of worry to the residents, as motorists and commuters moving to join the road from adjoining locations like Karu, Jikwoyi, Karshi, Orozo, Kurudu, Gbegi, Gbagalape and other places are also caught up in the heavy traffic. This has forced many residents to ply the route to leave their homes as early as 4 am. The hold- upstarts to build up as early as about 5.30 am, snaking up to Aso Rock Villa junction in Asokoro, a distance of about 10 kilometres. Even at that, some people do not get to work until 10. And they are always apprehensive about the homeward journey at the close of work, as they are subjected to the same experience on the way home.

    Some commuters who spoke with THE NATION said they spend hours on the road that ordinarily, should have taken them less than 30 minutes. Incidentally, that is the only access road to the city. The situation usually gets more chaotic during the rainy season, worsened by the absence of traffic policemen, traffic wardens or Road Safety officers at such periods. Many residents of these areas who could not stand the hassles have since relocated to other satellite towns outside the city centre.

    The commuters blame the situation on the government, which they say, did not take into consideration this menace while planning the road network in the city. Others blame the development of the daily influx of people into the capital city. But to some others, the demolition exercise in the city and the suburbs by a former Minister of the Federal Capital Territory (FCT), Mallam Nasir el-Rufai a few years ago had worsened the situation. Also, the sale of government-owned houses in the city by former President, Olusegun Obasanjo, forced many people out of the city to the satellite towns and environs. These, they say, have compounded the traffic situation on the road. Many civil servants who could not afford to buy the houses they occupied in the city, or who were not even allowed to benefit from the policy, had no alternative than to relocate out of the city.

    The problem is also compounded by hawkers and traders selling their goods by the roadsides and who present their unique problems as they struggle daily with motorists for the right of way.

    A civil servant, Mrs. Joy Omoba who lives in the axis told our correspondent of her experience as a pregnant woman in the hold-up.

    She narrated how she boarded a bus going to the city from Mararaba and was stocked for over an hour on the road. According to her, “I became very uncomfortable, sweated profusely in the bus that was choked up with people and with the petrol and clutch odour. I felt like vomiting. I hadn’t gone even halfway into my journey before I told the driver to drop me because I could no longer bear the inconveniences.

    “Shortly after Nyanya, at Kugbo, I was forced to tell the driver to drop me. When I got down, I had to look for a place to sit down, bought a bottle of coke with biscuits from hawkers at the roadside to resuscitate myself. And since the hold-up was still very heavy, I began to trek slowly not minding my condition until I got through.”

    Apart from pregnant women suffering these inconveniences which could result in a forced abortion sometimes, she said it has created problems in some marriages arising from suspicions between couples. Some spouse, particularly men, often suspect infidelity in their partners’ claims when they attribute the long delay in homecoming to the traffic snarl. Mrs Omoba also pointed out that the situation has affected night fellowship among family members as most of the times they return late while others may have gone to bed, preventing them from having dinner together.

    On the side of motorists, they observed that the situation is not often very healthy for vehicles as some of them suffer from overheating, breakdowns, dents from reckless drivers, and even serious accidents resulting from break failures and loss of control by drivers with serious consequences.

    Read Also: ‘Lagos has zero tolerance for disobedience to traffic rules’

     

    Succour in the offing

    It was gathered that the Federal Capital Territory Administration (FCTA) and government of Nasarawa State have begun moves for the establishment of a joint development commission that would focus on areas of common interests.

    The move is expected to eradicate the persistent gridlock along the congested road.

    FCT Minister, Malam Muhammad Bello and Nasarawa State Governor, Abdullahi Sule, were said to have recently deliberated on this issue at a meeting in Abuja.

    According to the Minister, the joint commission would enable the two territories to harmonize their plans, work towards joint spending, development and accruing revenue sharing.

    The Minister had said, “Relationship between the FCT and Nasarawa State is very close because the boundary between us is only imaginary. If you go there, you will find it difficult to see any difference. There is a need for us to see how we can improve the linkages. The founding fathers of the FCT envisaged that the surrounding territories would become greater Abuja.

    We hope that the Apo-Karshi road, when completed, will ease traffic on the Nyanya-Mararaba axis, but it will not be enough because of the many communities that will spring up there.”

    Bello assured that he would not allow illegal parks to appear on the side of the FCT, even as he was said to have urged the governor to do the same on the side of his state.

    The minister also disclosed that the FCTA was seriously working on commencing construction of the rail line that connects the two places. He called on Nasarawa State to also collaborate with the FCT if the state has a rail development plan.

    The Nasarawa State Governor, who spoke earlier, said that his visit was to seek partnership with the FCT Administration for the construction of a modern bus terminal on the side of the state to remove all illegal parks along the road to help solve the protracted traffic situation in that axis. Governor Sule also suggested the building of roadside barriers that would prevent roadside trading and promised to clear all illegal activities on the road shoulders, even as he said he has been able to move traders into the state-owned international market.

     

    Work in progress

    The Executive Secretary, Federal Capital Development Authority (FCDA), Umar Jibrin, in his presentation on the proposed ONEX-Mpape-Ado/Gurku-Nyanya by-pass, said the ongoing construction of the 40-kilometre road linking the FCT with Nasarawa State would help in decongesting traffic in the area. Jibrin also revealed that the future road project composed of 18 kilometres for the FCT and 22 kilometres for Nasarawa State, adding that the FCTA has undertaken to do the contract design. He listed traffic decongestion, socio-economic growth and provision of job opportunities to both professionals and artisans as major benefits of the project.

     

     

  • Driving indigenous carriers’ profitability

    The increasing failure rate of indigenous carriers is forcing airlines to think out of the box to avoid being listed among disappearing airlines. To reverse the trend, some airlines with half a decade of operational experience have embraced sustainability models, such as route scheduling/planning, fleet variety, KELVIN OSA OKUNBOR reports.

     

    Aircraft fleet variety is increasingly becoming a strategy adopted by Nigerian carriers to keep their operations afloat.

    Fleet variety is a model adopted by an airline to have various brands of airplanes: Boeing, Embraer, Bombardier, Airbus, MacDonald Douglass, ATR, Fokker, Beecraft, Learjets, Hawker Siddley, among others, in its fleet.

    This is opposed to an arrangement called fleet commonality, where an airline uses the same airplane type – Boeing, Airbus or Embraer – in its fleet.

    Such a decision, experts say, is key for airlines, which are economic enablers moving passengers and cargo from one point to another.

    Airlines as key players in the logistics value chain are thinking out of the box on how to deploy suitable equipment in delivering on their mandate.

    To achieve this feat, operators are evolving models that meet the needs of airports and passengers to keep their airline profitable.

    Data from the Nigerian Civil Aviation Authority (NCAA) shows that out of the active scheduled airlines- Aero, Arik, Medview, Dana Air, First Nation Airways, Overland Airways, AZMAN Air and  Max Air, in the last five years, only Air Peace has embraced fleet variety as a strategy to keep its operations profitable.

    An official of the Authority confided in The Nation, that at the inception of the Air Peace on October 24, 2014, the airline seemed to have worked out an operational model of fleet variety to drive its profitability in the harsh business environment.

    Experts say the use of the right aircraft, route scheduling and planning remains key in keeping any carrier profitable.

    In the last decade, many airlines have kissed the dust because their managers failed to adopt models that would have achieved cost recovery.

    Former Secretary-General, African Airlines Association  (AFRAA), Mr Nick Fadugba, said carriers fail  because their owners failed to adopt the right strategies, which include wrong choice of equipment, over taxation by aeronautical authorities and failure by the owners to think out of the box.

    Investigations by The Nation revealed that Air Peace seems to have put its strategy on track when it designed the hub and spoke  model a few years ago. Hub and

    Spoke is an arrangement that allows airlines to serve fewer routes using few but suitable aircraft that allows for passenger connections. It helps airlines to improve the efficiency of their services.

    To achieve this feat, the carrier kicked off the “No City Left Behind initiative “to integrate cities across the country with low capacity aircraft.

    This model, experts say, is critical to connecting the entire country into the national air link to promote economic activities across the value chain.

    Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of the carrier Allen Onyema said many Nigerian carriers failed because their managers do not understand the appropriate operational model that will enhance the efficiency of operations.

    He cited fleet variety and its management as a key factor in airline success.

    Experts say the growth trajectory of an airline could be attributed to its modest route expansion programme driven by passengers needs assessment.

    To drive the route expansion of the airline, Air Peace in September signed an agreement with United States aircraft manufacturer – Boeing Company for the acquisition of 10 Boeing 737-800 aircraft. The reason for the new generation aircraft type was driven by its fuel economy and suitability for long and medium-haul flights.

    With the acquisition, the carrier became the first airline in West Africa to add the equipment to its fleet.

    Boeing Vice President, Sales for Middle East, Turkey, Russia, Central Asia & Africa, Marty Bentrott said: “Africa is a growing market for commercial airplanes and we are proud that airlines like Air Peace are selecting Boeing aircraft to be part of that growth,” adding: “This order reflects the strong demand that we are seeing for the 737 MAX as airlines choose the airplane’s superior performance and reliability.”

    The Sales Director, Boeing Commercial Airplanes (West and Central Africa), Mr. Larry Tolliver, said such strategy by an airline to get the right fleet for its operations was enough demonstration of understanding dynamics in the rapidly-changing market.

     

    Options for Boeing 737

    Max airplanes

    Investigations by The Nation revealed that the carrier opted for the Boeing 737-800 Max airplane because the equipment offers 130 to 230 seats and the ability to fly up to 3,850 nautical miles. Besides, the aircraft type will save the carrier more than 20 percent fuel costs compared to its single-aisle airplanes.

    “We are excited to add the 737 MAX to our fleet as we expand our network to offer more destinations and serve more passengers. The fuel efficiency and superior operating economics of the 737 MAX will ensure that the aircraft will play a major role in growing our business in the years to come,” Onyema said, adding that the MAX 8, in particular, offers airlines 13 more seats than its closest competitor, seven percent lower costs for each of those seats, and 300 miles more range.”

     

    Embraer to the rescue

    To confirm the airlines’ preference for variety, the firm many months ago signed an order for 10 Embraer regional jets, with purchase rights for 20 more jets.

    Onyema said the carrier will exercise its purchase rights for the 20 additional Embraer planes by the end of the year to expand its domestic and African routes.

    He said: “We need those Embraers; they’re very beautiful planes,” he said. “We may call up those rights very soon. There are so many places to serve in Nigeria, west and central Africa and down to the southern part of the continent.

    “It’s also great that we will be the first E2 operator on the African continent. We already have the ERJ145s in our fleet. So, we understand the high standards of Embraer products.”

    “Deliveries of the 10 E195-E2 planes will start next year and will be deployed to domestic, African and Southern European destinations.

    “We are operating a mixed fleet of 25 aircraft including Boeing 737s and 777 widebodies, Embraer ERJ145 regional jets and Dornier 328 planes. Air Peace plans to grow its fleet to 45 aircraft as the new Embraers join in 2020.”

    Read Also: Push for airlines’ ownership of airport

     

    Appraisal of  five years in  operations

    Investigations by The Nation in the last five of operations by Air Peace reveals that besides having the highest number of serviceable aircraft also has the highest number of flights.

    Data from NCAA shows that Air Peace last year flew not any fewer than three million passengers. The carrier, it learnt, would exceed the milestone in the year as some of its aircraft ferried out for offshore maintenance arrive the country.

    In a statement, the airline’s Chief Operating Officer, Mrs. Oluwatoyin Olajide, said through effective deployment of a variety fleet, the carriers have altered the travel narrative.

    Olajide said: “In 2020, Air Peace projects it would more than double the number of passengers carried to about seven or eight million people as it introduces more long-haul services and gets deliveries of more aircraft.

     

    City pairs /Under-served airports

    To ensure every part of the country is linked by air, the carrier a few years ago launched its novel initiative christened: ‘No City is Left Behind’ to capture secondary airports not served by other carriers.

    This drive, experts say, has seen direct flight connections using medium-range equipment, such as the Embraer Regional Jets and Dornier Jets to cater to the needs of passengers on the Lagos-Abuja-Kebbi, Lagos-Akure, Lagos-Makurdi, Lagos-Asaba, Lagos-Benin, Lagos-Osubi, Lagos-Kano and Lagos- Sokoto routes.

    These routes network, experts say, has created a hub and spoke connection for the airline using suitable operating equipment.

    International aero: Politics /evacuation

    As Nigerians slug it out with foreign carriers, which have invaded its market carting away millions of dollars yearly in ticket sales, agitation remains rife on why the government should intervene by either reviewing the bilateral air services agreement it signed with many countries or at the least reduce multiple entry points into its market.

    Air Peace has, in the last five years, been calling on the government to empower indigenous carriers by getting more involved in international aero politics.

    The absence of a national carrier in the last one and a half decades exposed the underbelly of the industry in what role such airline could plan in times of national emergency.

    But, Air Peace rose to the occasion about two months ago, when its Onyema volunteered two Boeing 777- 500 to evacuate Nigerians trapped in xenophobic attacks in South Africa.

    The patriotic gesture by the carrier was  commended by the Federal and state governments and individuals as well as the National Assembly.

    Experts say the carrier was used an instrument of diplomacy.

     

    Regional /Intercontinental operations

    Though many indigenous carriers were designated on regional and international routes, many that activated the designation have since disappeared from the flight radar for several reasons. But, in the last five years, through the deployment of a variety fleet, and adequate planning, among others, Air Peace has maintained the lead in flights in the West African subregion.

    Besides, Accra in Ghana, Lome in Togo, Dakar in Senegal, Banjul in The Gambia, the carrier has remained consistent with its flight’s connections to boost trade, investment, and tourism in the sub-region.

    Only recently, the Republic of South Africa gave the nod to operate daily flights between Lagos and Johannesburg.

    Experts say the carrier, with its suitable variety of aircraft fleet, continues to stimulate competition on the Lagos-Dubai route with its operations into Sharjah in the United Arab Emirates, a move calculated to break the dominance of the Gulf carriers – Emirates, Qatar Airways and Etihad Airlines.

    It is believed that the airline’s foray into Dubai will be a forerunner for its proposed flight operations into London, India and New York.

     

    Clamour for Govt’s intervention

    Operators believe sufficient intervention by the government will assist indigenous carriers to develop the air transport sub-sector.

    They said reduction or harmonization of aeronautical charges would reduce the burden of operators, who, they said are faced with a myriad of challenges, which include an absence of local refining of aviation fuel, poor airport, and air communication facilities.

    Onyema said of the challenges: “We thank President Muhammadu Buhari for creating an enabling environment for the growth of aviation in Nigeria through waving customs duties on commercial aircraft, engines and spares as well as granting value-added tax (VAT) waiver.

    “Without these noble gestures from the government, airlines would not have been able to achieve this level of growth  growth.

    Indeed, if this tempo is sustained, then stakeholders are convinced that Air Peace will soon become what Emirates airline is to UAE to Nigeria.

  • ‘Price of rice will stabilise soon’

    Agency Reporter

    Governor Atiku Bagudu of Kebbi says the bumper harvest recorded this farming season will help stabilise the price of rice in Nigerian markets.

    Bagudu, who is the Chairman Presidential Taskforce on Rice and Wheat Production in the country, made the statement on Monday in Argungu Local Government Area of the state in an interaction with rice farmers in the area.

    “The bumper harvest the rice farmers have recorded this rainy season will bring down the price of locally produced rice to curtail smuggling of foreign rice into the country and make it affordable to the common man,” he said.

    Read Also: ‘Rice smugglers’ accounts frozen’

    Bagudu told the farmers that the state government would soon procure and distribute mini rice milling machines to them, to enhance the quality of rice they packaged for markets.

    “Already youths have been trained on the operation of the machines who will impart such skill to rice farmers in the 21 local government areas of the state,” Bagudu said.

    One of the farmers, Alhaji Abubakar Usman, told the governor that they had recorded bumper harvest this year and would sustain the tempo in coming seasons.

    Usman however appealed to the state government to support them with fertilizer, pesticides and rice milling machines.

    (NAN)

  • Sex scandal: Six Ojukwu varsity lecturers fingered

    By Emma Elekwa, Onitsha

    About six lecturers of the Chukwuemeka Odumegwu University, Igbariam, Anambra state, have been fingered in a sex-for-grade.

    The Nation gathered that the lecturers had sexually harassed several female students while others who would not succumb to their sexual advances were witch-hunted.

    It was also reported that a particular lecturer allegedly turned his office to a hotel room where he would either sleep with female students or suck their breasts.

    Some female students of the institution, in a statement on Monday, vowed to liberate the institution and its students from the molestation.

    A statement titled, “Sex for Grades in Anambra state University: A Scandal of Gigantic Proportions,” released by some former and current female students of the institution, described the act as shameful.

    The students alleged that about six lecturers in the institution were fingered as involved in the act.

    The petitioners urged the institution’s Vice-chancellor, Prof. Greg Nwakoby, to urgently do the needful to save the situation from the scourge.

    The statement partly read, “This shameful act is happening in departments such as English, Political Science, Mass Communication, Banking and Finance, Micro Biology, Philosophy and so on.

    “We recommend that close-circuit television (CCTV) cameras be mounted in and around staff offices in the institution.

    “Dear amiable vice chancellor, a lot is happening in our Alma mater; but many female students are afraid to speak out because of the fear of being victimised by other lecturers, who are friends to the ones exposed.

    “We suggest that you set up a more accessible process, where such evil cases could be reported. Also, plant your spies in all departments, if you can.

    Read Also: Sex-for-grades: Female victims set to submit petition to UNIBEN authorities

    “These monsters will fight back and deny, but we want them to know that we are fully armed to the teeth and ready for them.”

    Reacting, the Vice-chancellor of the institution, Prof. Greg Nwakoby, said he had set up a committee to investigate the allegation.

    He promised to protect any student who summoned courage to approach the committee or to his office with any case against any lecturer.

    He said, “We have set up a committee to investigate cases of sexual molestation levelled against some lecturers of the university by some “faceless ex-students” of the university, currently trending on social media.

    “The general public should also be rest assured that some mischief makers are at work, because, there is no petition on my table on this matter.

    “No student has reported any case of sexual harassment to my office or to any officer of the university.”

    The VC however said he would not rely on social media gossips to take disciplinary actions against the indicted lecturers.

  • Just in: IPPIS not fit to run in universities – ASUU

    Onimisi Alao, Yola

    The Yola Zone of the Academic Staff Union of Universities (ASUU) says the Integrated Payroll and Personnel Information System (IPPIS) designed by the Federal Government is not fit as a system to run universities.

    The Union said the design of IPPIS is faulty and bound with “high scale corruption and padding,” and that it will crash public varsity education if allowed to prevail.

    The Yola Zone which comprises ASUU members from state and federal universities in Adamawa, Taraba, Yobe and Borno states, said at a press conference in the Adamawa State capital, Yola, on Monday, that the zone reviewed IPPIS during a meeting at the Modibbo Adama University of Technology (MAUTECH), Yola, on Sunday, and concluded that it is bad omen for university education.

    The ASUU Yola Zonal Coordinator, Prof Augustine Ndaghu, who presented the text of the press conference to reporters at the NUJ Press Centre in Yola, said, “The major contentions of ASUU’s rejection of IPPIS is the inability of the IPPIS template to capture the peculiarities of the Nigerian university system, usurpation of university autonomy as well as erosion of previous agreements between FGN and ASUU, beside the fact that IPPIS is not backed by law.”

    Explaining how it views IPPIS as not capturing the peculiarities of Nigerian universities, Prof Augustine said IPPIS, for instance, does not provide for remuneration of staff on sabbatical, external examiners and assessors, as well as promotion arrears and earned academic allowances.

    Read Also: ASUU accuses AGF of imposing IPPIS on varsities

    He added, “In the same vein, IPPIS does not permit timely replacement of staff that suddenly become unavailable due to brain drain, sickness or death or other unforeseen circumstances.”

    On IPPIS usurping university autonomy, the ASUU Zonal coordinator said IPPIS violates university autonomy and contradicts the principle of superiority of the governing council in the control of university funds, employment and promotion of staff.

    He said, “Universities all over the world have a tradition of independence and complete separation from the structure of the civil service. The attempt to bring Nigerian universities under a general practice meant for the civil service will not only undermine university autonomy but also run down the smooth operations of public universities.”

    The ASUU Yola Zonal coordinator stressed that the introduction of IPPIS in federal universities will run down the system “just as the situation now in public primary and secondary schools.”

    He concluded that IPPIS “will only compound the problems of irregular flow of funds for personnel cost rather than resolve it.”

  • PDP apprehensive as INEC deploys extra RECs, Commissioners in Kogi, Bayelsa

    By Gbade Ogunwale, Abuja

    The leadership of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) has expressed misgivings over plans by the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) to deploy additional Resident Electoral Commissioners (RECs) and National Commissioners in Kogi and Bayelsa states.

    It said that the move is to allow the electoral body complements the effort of its staff on ground and strengthen the electoral processes in the conduct of the November 16 governorship elections in the two states.

    However, reaction from the PDP indicates that the party may not be comfortable with the decision.

    In a statement Monday by the spokesman for the PDP, Kola Ologbondiyan, the party said it’s instructive to let the INEC hierarchy know that the party already has a due diligence report on each of the commissioners.

    Read Also: Bayelsa PDP recruiting armed thugs, says ex-militant leader

     

    “Our party recognises that while some are of clean records in their previous responsibilities, there are others who are known to be of questionable character and fared far below expectations in their responsibility,” the party said.

    It cautioned the INEC chairman, Prof. Mahmood Yakubu, to note that the deployment of officials with known integrity issues is capable of triggering crisis and jeopardising the credibility of the electoral process.

    “It is also important to state that Kogi and Bayelsa elections present an opportunity for INEC to show that it has become committed to free, fair and credible election without being influenced or manipulated.

    “The PDP therefore invites the INEC chairman to rescue whatever is left of the commission’s image with these elections by allowing the will of the people to prevail”.