The Nation Newspaper

Category: Lawal Ogienagbon

  • Sign of things to come

    It was the first day of the partial closure of the Kara bridge – Berger Junction section of the Lagos – Ibadan Expressway and it was a bitter experience for thousands of motorists. A trip that takes less than 10 minutes took hours. It was early Tuesday morning and for many residents of that axis the short trip from their homes to Berger became a long and tortuous one. I knew there was trouble as soon as I drove out of the gate leading into the Arepo community at about 7.13 am.

    My heart sank as I saw the huge number of vehicles running away  from the main road. I instinctively knew that the Long Bridge was congested. That was the only reason motorists would leave the road to take the undulating and highly dangerous path which residents of Arepo and Wawa call ‘’alternative route’’. It is no alternative route, but so called for want of a better name.

    If it were really an alternative route, construction giant Julius Berger, which is handling the rehabilitation of the road from Sagamu Interchange to Berger, would have made it motorable long before now. You take this path at night at your own risk. The path connects Wawa to OPIC at the intersection of the road leading into Sparklight Estate. In other climes, the path would have been made motorable and lit up for use during any emergency work on the expressway. Policemen and road safety personnel would also have been deployed there.

    But as it is now, motorists are left to their fate on that unsafe path. Since they do not have a choice, they take it whenever the express is choked up. This was the case on Tuesday as they struggled to beat the traffic on the express caused by the ongoing work at the Kara bridge – Berger axis. The work, which began on Monday, would last 120 days. It was to start on August 3, but was shifted because of the conventions of the Redeemed Christian Church of God and the Mountain of Fire and Miracles Ministries as well as the Eid-El-Kabir festival.

    Traffic was not too bad on Monday because the road had not been partially closed then. The real test for this 120-day exercise came on Tuesday following the closure of the road on Monday evening. There was chaos on the road the day after the closure. What could have caused this chaos barely 12 hours after the closure? It is easy to blame it on the impatience of motorists and what some people call ‘’road indiscipline’’.

    I beg to disagree. That is not really the case even though, you cannot rule out that fact in some cases. What really caused the problem was bad planning by Julius Berger, the Federal Ministry of Works and Housing and the road safety agencies. Were they prepared for what happened on Tuesday? They were not. They had assumed that they could appeal to the sentiments of people and all will be well. They should have envisaged what happened on Tuesday. The episode should serve as a lesson to them because whether they like it or not, it will still happen again and again as long as the work is on.

    Motorists did not do anything wrong by taking the route that bursts out at the OPIC intersection; they were only following the instructions of the ministry, Julius Berger and the road safety workers to take alternative routes. The problem is they did not prepare this particular ‘alternative route’ (is it even in their plan?) well for this four-month exercise. The route despite being dangerous has its uses for those living around that area. This is why Julius Berger should have worked on it before now because it is unmotorable whenever there is a downpour.

    The firm just like the government  assumed that the people would find their way. They sure did and the consequence was what we saw on Tuesday. What happened on Tuesday is not good for anybody’s health. It is unthinkable to imagine that this is what motorists will go through for four months on that road. The Tuesday experience has shown that motorists are on their own during the road repair. There will be no help, whatsoever, from Julius Berger despite the postponement of the exercise for one month to ensure that everything, especially, the alternative routes, are in place.

    Why was the exercise postponed when they knew that nothing would be done to minimise the people’s suffering when it starts? If they had started on August 2, we would have by now gone through the first month of suffering, while waiting and praying for the remaining three months to fly past. But now, we have four months stretched out before us to endure this unnecessary suffering all because a road is being repaired. No government in the world treats its citizens like this, except of course, Nigeria’s. How sad.

     

  • A judge and her millions

    There are many who believe that women are not corrupt. They see them as angels who can be trusted with anything, especially money. These people will tell you that it is safer to keep money with a woman than a man. This myth has been exploded with what is happening in the society these days.

    The public has seen how some women in top positions are being accused of embezzling billions of naira. They dip their hands into public till at will and when they are caught, they beg for soft landing. Are women that virtuous or is it just a matter of imagination? Some of them are so cunning in their ways. They use the names of minions to perfect their scheme.  This is what former Benue State Customary Court of Appeal President Justice Margaret Igbeta allegedly did.

    She was said to have hidden N840 million in her maid’s name. Unknown to the maid, she was a wealthy woman living as a pauper in her madam’s home. With a cool N840 million in the bank, her ladyship retired into a life of bliss until the bubble burst.

    The Independent Corrupt Practices and Other Related Offences Commission (ICPC) has brought an application for interim forfeiture of the money before the Federal High Court in Abuja until the judge gives an account of how she came about the cash. How did she make the money? Was it as a judge or as a lawyer while in practice? Nigerians will like to know as her case comes up in court.

  •  Their pound of flesh

    IT was a tough call for President Muhammadu Buhari, the anti-graft czar of our time. The Supreme Court on Monday raised an ethical issue during hearing in a case in which he was a party. Though the case was struck out, the panel of justices wondered whether his lawyer, who works in the Federal Ministry of Justice, was representing him in his official or personal capacity.

    The lawyer said he was representing the President in his personal capacity. The justices frowned at his response, wondering why the President should use tax payers money to fund a private case. His action, they said, offended the Code of Conduct for public officers.

    In a way, they are accusing the President of wrong doing. Coming from a bench where some members are facing corruption charges, the insinuation is not lost on the public.

  • A judge as butcher!

    His name is Butcher and he is a judge in the commercial court in the United Kingdom (UK). The judge has become popular in Nigeria, especially in government circle, where he is seen as more of a butcher than a judge. Literally, a butcher cuts up and sells meat in a shop. But this is no such butcher.

    From the bench, he ordered Nigeria to pay a firm, Process and Industrial Development Ltd (P&ID) $9.9 billion for breach of agreement. Since the arbitral award, officialdom has been running from pillar to post trying to explain how the country found itself in this multi trillion naira judgement debt. The $9.9 billion award is equivalent to N3.24 trillion, which is nearly half of this year’s N8.83 trillion budget.

    So, you can understand where they are coming from if those close to power are complaining. Like everything Nigeria, we brought this undeserving judgement on ourselves. We had all the time in the world to stop the case from getting this far, but the government did nothing. As usual, they decided to play politics with a mater that is not political and which should have been handled with all the seriousness it deserved.

    It all started on January 11, 2010 when the Ministry of Petroleum Resources signed a gas supply and processing agreement with P&ID. The deal was for the firm to build and operate an accelerated gas development project at Adiabo in Odukpani Local Government Area of Cross River State. The deal went awry, with P&ID accusing the government of reneging on its obligation after the firm entered into negotiation with Cross River State for land for the project.

    At this stage, there was still time to settle the matter amicably but the politics then did not allow that. The late President Umaru Yar’Adua was then battling for his life in hospital and the hawks around him grounded the machinery of government. They did not allow the man to transfer power to then Vice President Goodluck Jonathan before he was admitted into hospital. Perhaps, if the right thing had been done then, the nation would not today be struggling to wriggle out of this humongous debt.

    Arbitration is an alternative dispute resolution, it is not like a court where the parties have to argue to no end in order to prove their cases. At arbitration, all the cards are laid face up. The parties come out plainly, as everything is written in black and white, and admit their fault unlike the court scenario where all manner of lies are told in order to cover up the truth. Since it knew it had a strong case, P&ID resorted to arbitration.

    At the arbitration tribunal comprising Lord Hoffmann, Anthony Evans and Nigeria’s Bayo Ojo (SAN), former attorney-general and minister of justice, Nigeria argued that P&ID’s failure to acquire land for the building of the gas processing facilities was ‘’a fundamental breach of the agreement’’. According to it, no gas could be delivered until this is done. The tribunal rejected Nigeria’s argument and upheld P&ID’s request for damages.

    What should be the damages became a contentious issue among the members. Hoffmann and Evans calculated it to be $6.597 billion, but Ojo, in his minority report, put it at $250 million. The matter also came up before the United States (US) District Court in Columbia and the US District Court of Appeal which ruled in the petitioner’s favour. But can a sovereign country like Nigeria be bound by the decisions of these domestic courts?

    Yes, says P&ID, which claims that Nigeria is bound by a treaty to pay up having waived its right to immunity as a sovereign nation when it signed the agreement. In its application seeking the enforcement of the award, the firm said: ‘’The final award is governed by the New York Convention. So, Nigeria’s status as a foreign sovereign does not deprive the court of jurisdiction to confirm the award”. Justice Butcher agreed and the rest, as they say, is history.

    The law, we are told, does not help the tardy. Nigeria’s indolence has put it in this awkward position. Our nonchallance of yesterday is costing us a fortune today. Apparently just waking up from slumber after being slammed with this multi trillion naira award, Solicitor-General of the Federation Dayo Apata said the court lacked the power to give such an order against a sovereign state. Speaking legalese, he said what is actually being touted as “default judgement is default entry”.

    ‘’Under the Foreign Sovereign Immunities Act (FSIA), a defendant has up to 60 days to answer to a petition filed against it.  Where no response is entered for the defendant, the court clerk, upon application by a petitioner makes a default entry, which in this case was made on June 5, 2018’’, he added. Well said. But why didn’t the country follow through the plan to pay the firm  $850 million in 2015?

    What stalled that arrangement? If the firm agreed to accept $850 million four years ago and we refused to pay up after entering into that agreement, who then do we blame today for the multi trillion naira award slammed on us? The government and its officials, of course. There is nothing they can say that will absolve them of blame. They have let Nigerians down at a time it mattered most. This is not how to defend our sovereignty.

    This is not the time to grandstand or play to the gallery. Those talking from both sides of their mouths should watch it. A court has confirmed the arbitral award. We should just go back there and sort things out. We should be spared such statement as ‘’we know the implication of that judgement and its impact on monetary policy. That is why the CBN is going to step forward and very strongly too to ensure we defend the country and defend the reserves of the Federal Republic of Nigeria’’.  How do we do that when they have our balls in their hands?

    Did Nigeria default in its pact with P&ID or not? If it did, is the arbitral award justified or not? Justice Butcher may have butchered us with his verdict, but can we blame him for doing his job? The fault is in us and not in him for upholding the scale of justice.

  • Diezani fights for gold

    What is it about luxury goods that make some women lose their heads. No matter how much of these items they have, they crave for more and are even ready to lose their lives than to forfeit these goods. Those in power among them like to flaunt these items because they have them in super abundance. Whether as First Lady or a cabinet member, it does not take long to identify a woman with a penchant for jewellery, costly shoes and related items which they believe confer them with status.

    It is not the status that matters to some, but the kick they derive from showing off to the world their collections. It is easy to know a woman who is crazy about shoes, jewellery, exotic wrist watches and the like. By their appearance, you will know their taste. As the First Lady of Philippines between 1965 and 1986, Imelda Marcos was known for her acquisition of shoes. As the Filipinos wallowed in poverty, the mother of the nation displayed her collection of shoes with reckless abandon.

    Her home was more of a boutique than an abode as everywhere was filled with shoes. Before she and her husband Ferdinand were forced out of power by the people, she had 3,000 pairs of shoes. What did she need all that for? At 90 today, she will be hard pressed to answer this question. Where are those shoes now? Or better still, what is left of them. Because she and her husband fled the Malacanang Palace to escape the people’s wrath, many of the shoes were carted away by the invaders.

    What is left of them are now in the Marikina Shoe Museum. Imelda did not fight for her shoes but for her life when it came to a crunch. In the face of imminent danger from a rampaging crowd, she fled her fortified home, forgetting about the shoes she went round the world to collect. Another woman like her is Diezani Alison-Madueke. Diezani was not a first lady; she was just a minister. She was however much more than that. She was a super minister who had the ears of her boss, former President Goodluck Jonathan. Anything she did had the seal of authority of the number one citizen under who she served.

    Her colleagues who knew where power lies came to her in order to reach the president. She loved and still loves the good world. She spent our money not on any consequential official work but on mundane things like gold, wrist watches and what not. By the time the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) took stock of these items, they were valued at N14.4 billion only. Isn’t that chicken feed for someone of the status of Diezani? What is the big deal about N14.4 billion worth of jewellery that the people are shouting ‘’crucify her’’ all over the place?

    EFCC has drawn Diezani’s ire for seizing her collections of 2,149 pieces of jewellery and a customised golden iPhone. She has joined issues with EFCC in court, stating that these items cannot be permanently forfeited to the government. EFCC is praying for their forfeiture because ‘’it is reasonably suspected they were acquired with proceeds of unlawful activities’’.  She said to make her forfeit the items would amount to denying her of the right to own property as enshrined in the Constitution.

    Can somebody please ask her if she acquired them with her hard earned money. If she did, what is the source of that fund? She has a right to own property, but it should be property legitimately acquired.

  • The fugitive

    The arrest of Hamisu Bala Wadume is cheery news to many Nigerians. Wadume escaped after his arrest on August 6 in Ibi, Taraba State.

    He was being taken away in handcuff and leg chain by the police when some soldiers opened fire on them at a checkpoint and he fled.

    His arrest is the first step towards unravelling what happened on August 6. Who is Wadume? A kidnapper? A misunderstood person? Was he helped to escape?

    Who helped him? And more important, under which circumstance did some of the policemen who arrested him die? Wadume should be able to provide answers to these posers because he saw everything. Will he sing or has he sworn to a oath of secrecy?

  •  Buhari’s riot act

    There is no doubt that something drastic has to be done about the insecurity in the land. It is getting worse by the day. The government has thrown virtually everything into it, yet the problem persists. One of the election promises of this present government is to ensure the security of life and property.

    It is trying to live up to its promise, but it needs to do more. We will only be deceiving ourselves if we say all is well in the country. Even those who initially said Boko Haram has been ‘’technically defeated’’ will think twice today before they repeat that statement. It is no longer only Boko Haram insurgency; banditry, kidnapping, killings, and robbery have been added to it.

    Perhaps, upon assessing the situation, President Muhammadu Buhari directed the military to take the war to the hoodlums. Indeed, enough is enough. For how long will we allow bandits to make life unbearable for the people. It is time to finish them off. And the President told his soldiers so unequivocally.

    Addressing the 17th Army Brigade and Nigerian Air Force 213 Operational Base which comprises Operation Hadarin Daji in Katsina, he said : ‘’This group was formed to secure the geo-political zone from bandits. I don’t think you should spare any bandit. Identify and eliminate them. Pursue them anywhere you can find them and eliminate them’’. Yes, there should be no hiding place for bandits.

  • Dead or alive

    IT was a mission accomplished but the victory turned sour, with the killing of some of the policemen. They were killed by those who under normal circumstances should have lent them a hand in that operation. The friction between the police and the army did not start today but what happened on August 6 should not have led to a bloodbath, except there is more to it that the public does not know about.

    The army and the police are key to the security architecture. The army protects the territorial integrity of the nation; the police maintain law and order. Whether or not they have cordial relationship,  they owe it a duty to work together in the interest of the society. But what do we get from them?  Unhealthy rivalry which has cost the nation a lot in man and material resources.

    The August 6 tragedy should not have happened at all. The usual cause of friction between the police and the army is when  one kills the other. But this was not the case in this instance to  warrant what led to this black Tuesday. The police were on a mission to arrest a suspect and they successfully did. But getting out of town with the suspect became a problem for the policemen. Self preservation,  they say, is the first law of nature. Having been arrested,  Hamisu Bala (Why Do You Mean) Wadume did the next best thing – he raised a false alarm.

    The guilty, we are told, are afraid.  Wadume seemed to have prepared well for a day like this. Through his philanthropy, he has wormed his way into the hearts of many in Ibi, a small fishing community in Taraba State,  where he ruled the roost. From a nobody (see The Nation of Tuesday), Wadume suddenly became a multi-millionaire, dispensing favours to family and friends. There is no doubt that the army and the police also benefited from his patronage. If not, Wadume would not have lasted this long in his kind of work.

    People with his tendencies know what to do to beat the law. They put the security operatives in their domains on their pay roll. Once that is done, the coast is clear for them to do whatever they like. But should dog eat dog in order to save a suspect? What happened to esprit de corps? What happened in Ibi is a shame on our security institution. It shows that even among themselves our security personnel are not safe. You cannot trust the soldier to watch the policeman’s back and vice versa. It should not be so.

    Something must be wrong somewhere for our security operatives to take sides with suspects at the expense of their colleagues. If a soldier is ready to sacrifice a policeman for a suspect then we are in trouble as a nation. Here, we are talking of three policemen and not one shot dead, with two others or more lying critically ill in hospital. How did we get to this pass? That our security operatives will become hired guns for those they should bring to justice. No matter their inter-agency rivalry, our security agencies should close ranks when it comes to fighting crime.

    If they do not unite in crime fighting,  society will suffer. There are many Wadumes in the land. It will take the cooperation of our securuty agencies to bring them to book. If they work at cross purpose, criminals will seize the land. Look at what bandits,  kidnappers, insurgents and robbers have turned the country to. The people can no longer sleep with their eyes closed. Yet, we have the police, army, navy, air force,  Department of State Service (DSS), Directorate of Military Intelligence (DMI), National Intelligence Agency (NIA) and Defence Intelligence Agency (DIA). Is crime rate on the rise because they are all on the take?

    That cannot be, but what happened in Ibi has left the citizenry with no choice than to doubt the integrity of their security operatives.  Men of the 93 Battalion, Takum,  have questions to answer on the Ibi tragedy. If they could kill three policemen and some civilians all because someone – a kidnap suspect at that – raised a false alarm that he was being kidnapped, where then is the suspect, who was in handcuff and leg chain? How did he get away despite being shackled?

    Such a suspect could not have got away without being helped as he could not have gone far in that condition. Who aided his escape? Men of the 93 Battalion and their captain described as Wadume’s friend should know. The nation is waiting for them to produce the suspect dead or alive. May the sacrifice of the slain Inspector Mark Edaile, Sergeant Usman Danzumi and Sergeant Dahiru Musa not be in vain. They deserve medals of honour.

  • The revolution that never was

    Give it to him. Omoyele Sowore, founder of the African Action Congress (AAC), has a way of drawing attention to himself. The SaharaReporters publisher is also good at forcing the hand of government. When a few weeks ago, he unveiled his plan for what he called #RevolutionNow protests, the former students leader set tongues wagging. Not a few asked: “What is Sowore up to this time?” As a veteran of many battles, he knew what he was doing, but many in government did not.

    In his characteristic manner, he wanted to draw the government out and he succeeded in his mission. I had hoped that the government would just look the other way and allow him and his co-travellers to hold their rallies in the 21 cities they were billed for. Rather than do that, state security officers went to smoke him out of his hotel room in the wee hours of Saturday. Really, you do not talk of revolution and expect the security agencies not to act. But they should have known better.

    Sowore may have used the word “revolution”, but going by his antecedents,  he is the last person that will seek a forceful change of government, which is the meaning of revolution. What did he have in mind when he spoke of #RevolutionNow protests? The protests in the slogan should have given the game away. But the police and the Department of State Services (DSS) read it differently. They saw a revolutionary in the making and quickly moved to stop him before he could ‘’overawe’’ the government! The intention of the champions of #RevolutionNow was not to unseat the government.

    Their plan was to draw attention to the shortcomings of the government more than two months after its second coming. Those in power read ulterior motives into Sowore’s move because he contested the February 23 election and lost to President Muhammadu Buhari. So, the thinking in government was that an election loser could not be up to anything good with such a plan. It was then decided that he must be stopped before he caused trouble. Sowore, like many of his compatriots have had it up to their throats with the government, but one thing is for sure, they will never seek to ‘’overawe’’ the President.

    Losing an election should not be used as an excuse to  stop a contestant from criticising the government. To seek to use that to stop people from speaking out against the government will amount to denying them their right to freedom of expression, thought and good governance. The government does not have the monopoly of wisdom. It needs ideas from others, especially the opposition for the good governance of the country. Speaking out against the government is not a crime and it must not be made to look like one. Sowore may have assumed too much with his slogan #RevolutionNow.

    By that slogan, he was not out to lead a revolution; he was only using it to remind the people of the need to hold the government accountable. He knows that you cannot talk of a revolution with a sitting government in place, except the people are so resolved to push it out. The people may be disenchanted with the present administration, but they know they can only change it at the polls and not on the streets marching. For now, revolution is not the way to go and that may be why, the #RevolutionNow protests ended before it even started on Monday.

    If only the security agencies had bide their time, they would have seen that the much expected #RevolutionNow was only full of sound and fury, signifying nothing. Declaring it as treason, as Inspector-General Mohammed Adamu did, even before the day of the event, was a panicky measure. To compound things, the DSS arrested Sowore. At the end of the day, they may spoil an otherwise good case by their hasty actions. They should have allowed Sowore and his people be and let the citizenry determine the fate of the AAC founder as they did at the February 23 presidential poll. They have held Sowore for over 48 hours now, without bringing any charge against him. If he should go to court to enforce his right, chances are that he may win. In the course of writing this on Tuesday, DSS went to court to seek an order to keep him in custody for 90 days.

    The security agencies should not assume that they can think for the people. Nigerians are no fools. They can no longer be led by the nose. They know when to take to the streets and those who can lead them out. More important, they know the cause they should support and the one they should not be part of. Sowore has called for his revolution and seen the answer. The people spoke loud and clear – revolution is not the way to go. The people, and not the police with their guns, stopped the protests on Monday. If the people had turned out in large number for the protests, the police would have been overwhelmed. No amount of shooting and teargas would have stopped such a people.

    By the way, we should draw a line between revolution and protest. There is nothing wrong in protesting against government, but revolution is a different ball game. If a revolution fails, the consequences are dire for its champions. But has Sowore committed any offence under the present circumstance because of his call for #RevolutionNow protests? Was it a call for revolution or for protests? It was more a call for protests and not for the taking up of arms against the government. The government should rest this matter now and release Sowore and others arrested on Monday.

  • This too shall pass

    I AM NOT am alarmist, but talking from experience I can imagine what motorists will go through when work begins on the Berger – Kara axis of the Lagos – Ibadan Expressway on Saturday. That portion of the road will be partially closed to facilitate the work. By partial closure, Julius Berger, the contractor, means that the road will be narrowed from four lanes to two or even one, if need be. With the heavy traffic on that road, this will inevitably lead to congestion.

    Since Berger began working on the road, motorists have not been finding things easy.

    I remember when the firm was working on the Long Bridge, it was hell using the road for those of us living along that route. Going and coming was hell. You left home in the morning with trepidation. When returning from work, no matter how late, you also did so with your heart in your mouth. This is why the residents are in jitters over the planned partial closure of that section for three months beginning from Saturday, which is just 48 hours away. The residents knew what they went through in the past and they do not wish to relive that experience.

    Berger, the Federal Ministry of Works, the Federal Road Safety Corps (FRSC), the Traffic Compliance and Enforcement Corps (TRACE) of Ogun State and related agencies will promise heaven and earth to ease motorists’ pains  during the period, but when it matters most, none of them will be around. Make no mistake about it, this work will take a toll on human and material resources. Those that will bear the brunt most are the residents and workers in the immediate vicinity of the firm’s operation. They will not be able to access their homes and workplaces easily.

    The most important aspect of the work to be done during this period is how to manage traffic. The public is jittery because it knows it cannot rely on Berger for help. Those that should be of help will not be there when they are needed most – when traffic is heavy with no room for vehicles to manoeuvre. Traffic on that road is highly unpredictable. How do you explain having a gridlock on the road between 2am and 5am?

    As they did in the past, Berger, the works ministry, FRSC and TRACE have promised to make things easy for road users. They did not tell us how they will do that, except to urge us to obey traffic and also use what they called ‘’alternative routes’’. In a situation like this, you cannot rule out chaos. I saw a glimpse of what to expect from Saturday on my way to work on Tuesday.

    Berger workers were placing boulders to narrow the lanes. This alone led to traffic build up from Berger to Kara. We know that the road is being rehabilitated for the good of motorists, but their discomfort should be minimal pending the completion of the work.

    Talking about ‘alternative routes’, how good are they? Those in authority are quick to direct motorists to these ‘’routes’’ whenever there is an emergency like this, forgetting that for some there may be no alternative route to their homes because of their location on the expressway. How do you expect a resident of Sparklight Estate or Magboro or Arepo or Aseese to go and take any of the listed ‘’alternative routes’’? The routes, according to FRSC, are Epe – Ajah – Ijebu Ode, Lagos – Ota – Itori – Abeokuta and Ikorodu – Sagamu. For such a resident, these are no alternative routes, but a voyage of discovery. When they are not Mungo Park or Christopher Columbus, must they drive round the world in order to leave or get home?

    What they need is the construction of link roads near the expressway, which would serve as alternative routes during emergencies like this. To now ask people to travel round the world in order to beat traffic near their homes is not proper. The government should always consider the people’s interest in whatever it does and avoid taking last minute remedial measures that may achieve nothing. Even those suggested alternative routes are not good. They need to be rehabilitated just as the Lagos – Ibadan Expressway. Motorists are, however, forced to take them whenever the Lagos – Ibadan Expressway is locked down.

    Another way out may be to get all articulated vehicles off the expressway during this period. These trailers and trucks can be diverted to these alternative routes until the job is completed. But is it still feasible to do that now? It appears too late in the day because of the need to hold talks with them and convince them on why they should avoid the expressway between August 3 and October 31 in the public interest. Going forward, the nation should start thinking of creating a dedicated lane for these long vehicles as a way of addressing the recurring gridlock on the expressway.

    For now, road users wait with bated breath as they look forward with anxiety to the partial closure of the only way to and from their homes. May we survive the envisaged suffering and hardship. Certainly, this too shall pass.

     

    The common touch

    BORNO State Governor Babagana Zulum is not your typical Nigerian governor. He stands apart from many of his peers with his way of life. He is simple, ascetic and down to earth. They are not made like that anymore. Borno is lucky to have him as governor.

    He is the kind that the state, which is being ravaged by Boko Haram, needs at a time like this. The prof, who rode bicycle to and from work as a teacher, paid a nocturnal visit to some hospitals on Monday. He was shocked by what he saw – many patients in a state of helplessness without doctors and nurses to attend to them. He sent anonymous distress calls to those on call, they ignored him.

    They thought it was ‘those disturbing patients’ again. Your Excellency, you saw firsthand how those who should save lives allow people to die from their acts of dereliction. In all, 10 doctors and scores of nurses were absent from work. If there was an emergency that night, your guess is as good as mine as to what would have happened to the patient. We need not tell the governor the action to take. Indeed, when the righteous rule, the people rejoice.