The Nation Newspaper

Category: Niger Delta

  • Hope for Maritime University douses tension in Niger Delta

    A public hearing on a bill to legally establish the controversial Maritime University, Okerenkoko in Delta State, organised by the House of Representatives, has restored hope that the institution will soon begin operation.

    The hearing, which was held a few days after the Vice-President Yemi Osibanjo visited Delta State and toured facilities in the Kurutie temporary site of the university, was said to have calmed frayed nerves in the region.

    Following the actions, most leaders and groups from the region were said to be happy that the All Progressives Congress (APC)-led Federal Government was determined to sincerely resolve issues that led to the renewed violent agitations in the Niger Delta.

    Ijaw youths, who were represented at the public hearing, commended President Muhammadu Buhari for his disposition towards reviving the university and steps he had so far taken to resolve the crisis in the region.

    The President of Ijaw Youth Council (IYC) Worldwide, Mr. Udengs Eradiri, who attended the public hearing alongside the IYC’s Spokesman, Mr. Eric Omare, said with the outcome of the event, the university would soon begin operation.

    Speaking to The Nation in Yenagoa, Bayelsa State, Eradiri said  the representatives of the National University Commission (NUC), the Nigerian Maritime Administration and Safety Agency (NIMASA) and others made a serious case for the university.

    The IYC boss said the suspended administrative bodies of the maritime university comprising the Governing Council, the Vice-Chancellor and the Registrar also attended the public hearing.

    According to him coming after the visit of Osibanjo to the region, the public hearing has strengthened the confidence-building process of the government.

    He said: “We thank the President Muhammadu Buhari for his body language because the APC stalwarts are the ones pushing and there was no opposition at the public hearing. Institutions from the executive also came and didn’t object to it.

    “So, we are thanking the government for its commitment to the establishment of the university. After the vice-President visited, the process of confidence-building had been strengthened by the public hearing”.

    He also said that the representatives from Itsekiri extraction, though did not oppose the establishment of the university, demanded that the government should pay them compensation for the land.

    Eradiri, however, advised the Itsekiri to allow the overall benefits of the university overshadow their demands for compensation.

  • Unknown importer

    Unknown importer

    Olufunmilayo Ransome-Kuti was thrown from a distance far enough to break her down. She was old already and just enjoying her son’s hospitality when the devils came in uniforms and messed things up. She died later, most likely as an after-effect of the cruelty of man to man. Or is it man to woman, in this case?

    It all happened at Kalakuta Republic, that small country Fela Anikulapo-Kuti founded but never got the United Nations to recognise.

    The government of that era said it probed the attack on Fela’s Republic, which occupied a conspicuous spot in Ojuelegba, Lagos mainland, and it found out the character behind it all was an unknown soldier. This ridiculous claim led to a hit song ‘Unknown Soldier’ by the late Fela.

    After the Unknown Soldier saga, we have seen others such as unknown armed robbers, unknown assassins and so on and so forth. Bola Ige, Marshal Harry and an endless list of others were killed by unknown assassins. Unknown robbers have rendered many penniless and lifeless. And security agencies have not been able to remove the veils on the faces of these unknown characters.

    I remembered the Unknown Soldier case because of the Nigerian Customs Service (NCS). This is the story: Exactly a week ago, the Customs said it impounded two helicopters brought in by unknown importer. It said the seizure of the two civil models Bell helicopters was done by its Murtala Muhammed International Airport Command.

    The Customs was not done. It said it immediately handed over the helicopters to the Nigerian Air Force for use in the fight against insurgency.

    Customs accused the importers of failure to produce the end user certificate from the office of the National Security Adviser (NSA), thus contravening Section 36 (2) of the Customs and Excise Management Act.

    The Customs Area Controller, Frank Allanah, said the duty value of the two helicopters and other accessories was about N9, 757,135,240.86. The choppers, said he, were detained at the Skyways Aviation Handling Company Limited (SAHCOL) shed.

    “The unknown importer could not produce end user certificate from the office of the National Security Adviser (NSA); an act which contravenes section 36 sub section 2 of the Customs and Excise Management Act (CEMA) laws of the federation of Nigeria  2004. Consequently, seizure was effected on November 7, 2016 in line with section 46 of CEMA.”

    Chief of Air Staff Air Marshal Sadique Abubakar said the configuration of the two Bell choppers and accessories is fitted for military combat operations.

    The day after, Rivers State Governor Nyesom Wike came out with information which exposed the agency’s underbelly and revealed the previous day’s event as nothing but a show of shame. And my heart was broken.

    Contrary to the Customs’ claim, the importer of the helicopters was not unknown. The importer is Rivers State government. The helicopters were imported in 2012 when Rotimi Amaechi was governor. Evidence shows that Governor Nyesom Wike wrote to President Muhammadu Buhari asking that the two helicopters be handed over to the Nigerian Air Force. He also wrote the Customs on the high duty charged for the helicopters.

    Wike said: “These helicopters were imported by the immediate past administration. When I assumed office, we wrote to the Federal Government that it was strictly for security use. What am I going to use armoured helicopters for?

    “In any case, where will the Rivers State Government get money at this time to import armoured helicopters? The previous administration imported it because they had the money.

    “I went to the Federal Government to give me a waiver for us to clear the helicopters, but the Federal Government refused. I wrote a letter to the President and to assure him that the helicopters are meant for security purposes, it should be handed over to the Nigerian Air Force. We stated that we cannot pay the custom duties because the helicopters are not for commercial use. They are to be used to monitor the creeks and track criminals.

    “I wrote to the President to give the helicopters to the Airforce.  It is shocking that the custom would turn around to claim that they impounded the helicopters. The Chief of Staff to the President admitted that I have done well when I wrote the letter to the President.”

    More facts were to come out when Amaechi issued a statement last Sunday. And after going through his statement, I felt ashamed about the obvious lies told by the Customs. What did the agency and its leadership hope to gain by lying? Shame guys, shame!

    I even had more cause to be sad when, from Amaechi’s statement, it became clear that $15m, which is like half of the cost of the helicopters, came from the Office of the National Security Adviser (ONSA). What this means is that the helicopters are jointly owned by Rivers and the Federal Government.  A waiver was actually granted by the Goodluck Jonathan administration for the clearance of the helicopters. They were to be operated and managed by federal security agencies in collaboration with the Rivers State government. But when the helicopters eventually came, Amaechi and Jonathan had fallen apart and the then president did not give the consent for their release. They were left to waste away at the airport, only for the Customs to lie to us that the helicopters, partly owned by the Federal Government, was imported by an unknown person. Cover you heads in shame guys.

    Another side of it that I will blame the Customs for is creating a room for Amaechi and Wike to clash yet again. Amaechi said Wike fed Jonathan with lies that led to his government’s inability to clear the helicopters. The governor has described the claim as hogwash. He said his former boss ordered for the helicopters because he could not provide good governance to the people.

    The micro-blog, twitter, was also another medium through which Amaechi threw jabs at his successor. In a series of late night tweets on Monday night, which have so much in common with his statement on the matter, he said Rivers would be safer if Wike had cleared and taken possession of the helicopters.

    He said: “I am deeply troubled that Gov Wike has abandon & dump the 2 Survellance helicopters that would make R/State a far more secured & safer place

    “Wike took an oath to protect lives & property, yet he plays politics with the lives of Rivers people. Sad, very sad.”

    Although Wike did not personally reply him, some people with sympathy for the governor took him on. One of them even went to the ridiculous extent I dare not mention here. To those with sympathy for the governor, there was no nexus between the helicopters specially-built to track criminals and a safer Rivers!

    Those who supported Amaechi with their tweets hailed him for expressing his concerns over the ‘loss’ of the helicopters.

    My final take: I am still baffled why Customs chose to follow a bad route. It was simply needless. What sense is there in abandoning a tarred road and choosing a path riddled with thorns and broken bottles? Unfortunately, its miscalculation has renewed a rivalry only heavens know when it will end. It has also unfortunately introduced us to another unknown character. This time it is the unknown importer. It is time government agencies stopped lying to us. They are not paid with tax payers’ money to lie but to give us quality service.

  • Motorists groan as ‘hoodlums’ make driving in Port Harcourt a nightmare

    Motorists groan as ‘hoodlums’ make driving in Port Harcourt a nightmare

    These days,  vehicles and motorcycles are blocked in Port Harcourt, the Rivers State capital by men in white and green T-shirts, with “Rivers State Government” boldly written at the back. They claim to be checking wrong parking, without having identity cards. They are in the habit of impounding vehicles and driving it to an expansive yard on the site of the new Rivers State School of Nursing, directly opposite the old University of Port Harcourt Teaching Hospital (UPTH).

    Quite unfortunately, the school of nursing, which could not be completed by the Rotimi Amaechi administration has now been turned into a den for illegal acts.

    The old UPTH was demolished by the Amaechi’s government, with the construction of Mothers and Children Hospital started at the site by the administration, but could not be completed till the end of the tenure on May 29, 2015.

    The yard for seized vehicles and motorcycles (school of nursing, Port Harcourt) now has many shanties, with the uncompleted buildings also turned to barracks/accommodation by many policemen, civilians and miscreants, with the bushy environment becoming an eyesore, while many teenage girls having little children litter the yard.

    While Niger Delta Report was at the yard from 9:30 a.m. on undercover investigation to 8:30 p.m., the hoodlums and their friends were freely smoking Indian hemp, taking hard drugs and drinking alcohol, while claiming to be on duty.

    Besides seizing vehicles, the mindless and rough-looking youths also harass commercial vehicle drivers over stickers and hackney permit, while attracting outrageous sums of money.

    The vehicles-impounding squad is headed by a man identified as Boma, whose wife has a liquor shop in one of the shanties in the yard.

    Once vehicles and motorcycles are towed/moved into the yard, behind the popular Sharks Stadium, the tyres would be deflated, keys seized by the miscreants and demand of money from N45,000 would be made, without receipts/booking documents, thereby confirming the hoodlums’ illegalities.

    For the fear of losing their vehicles to armed robbers or to prevent them from being vandalised before daybreak, contacts would then be made through the telephone by the victims, for their colleagues, relatives, friends and associates to assist in raising the money, which might be as high as N100,000 or more, before the keys of vehicles/motorcycles would be released, making the yard to always contain many impounded vehicles and motorcycles.

    Victims would then begin another round of agony of pumping the tyres, with many vulcanisers on standby, but charging N500 per tyre, instead of the usual N50, under normal circumstance.

    Investigation also revealed that from the N500 for pumping each tyre, the vulcaniser would only get between N100 and N150, while the balance would go to the leaders of the hoodlums, which they would share every evening.

    The last point of harassment, before impounded vehicles and motorcycles would be allowed to leave the premises was the main gate, where the usually-drunk gatemen would still insist on collecting N1,000, before opening the gate, claiming that the hoodlums would not share the collected “loot” with them.

    Not minding the number of hours spent by the victims to plead with the terrible gatemen, exit would be denied, until they collected money.

    While in the midst of the miscreants, with identity concealed, the ignorant hoodlums, unaware of who their employer was, claimed they were engaged by the Chairman of Port Harcourt City Local Government Council, popularly called PHALGA, Hon. Christian Chiokwa, who insisted that he and his council were not aware of the activities of the criminals.

    Chiokwa, through his spokesman, Mike Iwezor, noted that he, as a complete gentleman and a child of God, would never be part of illegal activities/engaging hoodlums, especially with his council having competent and committed officials/employees, saddled with the responsibility of legitimately collecting taxes and levies.

    Shortly after a senior pastor’s car was towed into the yard, the cleric made some calls and wanted one of the secretaries to speak with the person on the other end, but the lady in her early 20s declined, while the pastor threatened to report the harassment to Governor Nyesom Wike, his friend, the secretary said: “Na the same Nyesom Wike we dey work for. Go ahead and report us. Nothing will happen,” and she walked away, ignoring the elderly cleric, who complained loudly that they had on the way to the yard, forcibly collected all the money he had on him.

    A secondary school teacher was driving in highbrow D-Line (Direct Main Line), Port Harcourt, when his phone rang and he parked his car by the road side to answer the call, with the car’s hazard lights on, but Boma’s boys towed the car to their yard and accused the young tutor of obstructing traffic, forcing the teacher, who had just N2,000 on him, to contact relatives, who brought huge sum of money, which he refused to disclose, to avoid being trailed, before his car was granted “bail.”

    There was also the case of senior employee of a popular company, who went to a first generation bank near the Federal High Court on Station Road, Port Harcourt to transfer money to his family in Lagos.

    After the transaction at the bank, the easy-going man drove out and linked Station Road to return to his office in Mile One, Diobu in the Rivers State capital, not knowing that the ‘hoodlums’ in unmarked car behind, saw him as he drove out of the bank.

    The top official continued driving, until he got to the ever-busy junction by Post Office Bus Stop and he decided to allow a car, whose driver had indicated that he wanted to enter the road to the Rivers state secretariat, while also slowing down to allow a police van coming from the Port Harcourt office of the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN), near Government House, to pass.

    Shortly after the imposing Spar Shopping Mall, the bandits blocked the car of the senior official, accused him of obstructing traffic, one of them took over the steering, while three others jumped into the car and insisted that they must drive it to their yard, which they did, with demand of N45,000 made, but the chief executive gave them the N5,000 on him, which they collected and refused to release the car, in spite of pleading from 10 a.m. to 8 p.m., making him to return home without the car.

    The ‘hoodlums’, who impounded the car, having earlier indicated that they were working for PHALGA chairman, the senior official simply contacted Chiokwa (the local government boss), who detailed top official of the local government to accompany the man to the yard, only to see Boma, a known face, whom the PHALGA official confirmed had been into touting and thuggery for many years.

    In spite of the PHALGA’s official pleading with Boma to release the car, he was adamant and still insisted on collecting N45,000. The LG official then met with one of the sub-chairmen of the yard, who was well-known to him and who acted reasonably, thereby disclosing that Boma and others were working for the Rivers State Ministry of Urban Development and Physical Planning.

    The ‘hoodlums’ told Boma that they saw the senior executive driving out of a bank and he should be able to afford the N45,000 demanded.

    When it became obvious that Boma did not want to release the car, in spite of the intervention of the PHALGA’s official, the senior executive opted to contact top military chiefs at the newly-created 6th Division of the Nigerian Army in Port Harcourt, to come and take the car by force, which one of the touts eavesdropped on and quickly ran to Boma to alert him as the PHALGA official and top executive of the renowned firm were driving out of the yard in the LG official’s car.

    Boma jumped out of one of the shanties and ran to the road, asking the senior executive and the LG official to meet with one of his secretaries to pick the key of the impounded car.

  • Bayelsa dazzles with diagnostic centre

    Kingsley Michael travelled to Halley Street in the United Kingdom (UK) for a medical diagnosis. He spent his hard-earned foreign exchange to visit a foreign medical centre on Halley to go through a Computerised Tomography (CT) Scan.

    Michael left Nigeria for a medical mission abroad because he was scared of prevalent cases of wrong diagnosis in the country. He was convinced that no medical centre in Nigeria had updated medical equipment to correctly detect his ailment.

    But Michael regretted ever going abroad for diagnosis when he visited Bayelsa State recently. His friend took him to a newly built diagnostic centre along Imgbi Road, Amarata area of Yenagoa, the state capital. He took his time to tour the Bayelsa Diagnostic Centre (BDC) built by the state Governor, Mr. Seriake Dickson.

    “I wasted my time going abroad for medical diagnosis. If I had known that such place with such modern medical equipment existed, I wouldn’t have gone to London. The CT Scan they used for my diagnosis in London is the same equipment in Bayelsa centre”, he said.

    Indeed, BDC is a complete suite of diagnostic solution. A visit by the Niger Delta Report to the multi-billion naira centre revealed dazzling and eye-catching modern medical equipment. Housed in a three-storey building with aesthetic beauty, the medical facilities in each department, are the latest in the country manufactured between 2013 and 2016.

    At the reception, a client (a name adopted by BDC for a patient), is welcomed by an interactive computerised system operated by amiable and adorable female receptionists. The receptionists take down the client’s request through the device and in real time, send the request to the appropriate medical unit. Technicians in the unit process the information and immediately give a signal to usher in the client.

    In fact, BDC is built to undertake all kinds of diagnosis. It is described as the best centre for X-Ray, mammography, Magnetic Resonance Imaging (MRI), CT Scan, ultra scan, endoscope and cardiovascular investigations. The equipment speaks for themselves.

    The x-Ray machine is a 2013 model and is unique for positioning of clients especially in trauma cases. It has a sliding bulking system to position clients involved in accidents. Instead of manually moving parts of the body for imaging and aggravating fractured parts, the bulky system, which makes the machine rotational helps for the movement.

    The machine is also designed to assist in special procedures such as intravenous Urography. All parts of the body from the head to the toes can be captured using the modern machine. It is so advanced that captured images can be stored in the Cloud and burnt into a compact discs.

    In mammography, the unit is equipped with the state-of-the-art machine to detect any form of beast cancer. Technicians at the centre describe the pink machine  (colour pink for cancer awareness) as 2013 A Linum series. Its uniqueness lies in its ergonomics, ability to automatically rotate and help clients position their breasts to image an area of interest. It is built to accommodate different sizes of breasts and its image has amazing clarity.

    Also, the department for Magnetic Resonance Imaging (MRI) for radio frequency and magnetic films makes the BDC thick. The machine has strong magnetic fields, radio waves and field gradients to generate clear images of the inside of the body including the brain. Health technicians say the MRI 1.5 equipment at BDC are only four in Nigeria as a whole with the ability to detect seizures, brain tumor, bleeding in the brain and other ailments affecting the tissues.

    Furthermore, the computerised Tomography Scan (CT) scan is a Toshiba aquilium prime, 2013 model. Dr. Ogonja Kanu, a consultant radiologist, says it is the latest model of the prime in Nigeria. “This is the only one in the country with I60 slides. The higher the slide the faster the scan. It takes just four seconds to conduct a brain scan.

    “It can do the chest, abdomen and the whole of the body. It has automatic injector to eliminate human interference in a scan procedure. Instead of pausing the process to allow a nurse or doctor inject the patient, the machine does the injection itself. The machine is not common”, he says.

    The BDC also boasts of the 2015 Toshiba ultra-scan machine. It is said to be the latest version currently in the country. It has four dimensional for wide range of studies in colored investigations. It has the facility for fabia, which helps for a proper diagnosis of a sickler to convert Hemoglobin S to F to stop sicklers from going into crisis.

    The latest machine for endoscope capable of picking the smallest particles in the body also exists in the centre. Experts say the model is the first of its kind in the country.

    To sustain the operations of the centre for effective management, Dickson has hired a private firm, Trigent-Craton, which has offices in Lagos and Port Harcourt, Rivers state to run the BDC. The government also makes efforts to give the centre uninterrupted power supply. There are three big generators to ensure that all the equipment are constantly energized.

    Isaac Olagbide is the the Operations Manager of BDC. Having worked and lived in the UK for 20 years, Olagbide says he is amazed at the facilities in the centre and the vision of Dickson on health.

    To eliminate wrong diagnosis, he says the centre operates telemedicine with real time exchange of medical procedures with expert radiologists in Canada, UK and America. According to him telemedicine allows foreign experts to have a second look at a medical procedure and compare notes with radiologists at the centre.

    “I never knew we can have such fantastic and state-of-the-art equipment in this part of the country. In fact, there is no reason why anybody should travel out of Bayelsa State or Nigeria to do any diagnostic investigations.

    “We have state of the art equipment. Our consultants that do our reporting are top professionals in the country and at the same time we engage at telemedicine whereby we have radiologists or cardiologists outside the country looking at all our images and reporting on them.

    “In terms of laboratory, we are in partnership with other South African laboratories as well whereby we use them as referral centers. For example, for quality checks we send the same samples to South Africa to run and and we compare notes.

    “The centre has the facility to stop wrong diagnosis. A lot of money had been spent to acquire the latest automation. The latest equipment because the more modern equipment is the more we are able to diagnose ailments.

    “We also have many consultants looking at all our images. We have a Chief Medical Director that lives in the US. He is one of the top surgeons in the US at the moment. The people posted here went through a lot of inductions and our clients are amazed at the kind of services they receive here. Our prices are very comparable. Dickson is on a mission to improve the healthcare of the people in the state”, he says.

    Addressing people that require diagnosis, he adds: “If you require any CT procedure, MRI, laboratory investigations, cardiology or endoscope, you don’t need to travel abroad at all.

    “Come to BDC and a report you see here take it to any part of the world it is going to be exactly the same. We can do it here and send the report to your doctor any place in the world”.

    Undoubtedly, the BDC is one of the signature projects of Dickson and he has been receiving kudos from different quarters. Recently, former ministers, governors and other office holders in the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) visited Dickson and seized the opportunity to tour the BDC.

    After the tour, a former Governor of Adamawa State, Boni Haruna, said: “Bayelsa State is having it better for health care delivery system. You know that a lot of money is spent by lNigerians going overseas to threat themselves.

    “I remember some years back , I had to go to the  US for surgery and what I have seen here ,I now know that  I don’t have to go to the US again. So I want to take this opportunity to congratulate his excellency.

    “It takes a man of vision to have this kind of facilities and with increasing cost of things for us to have this kind of facilities is commendable. I am impressed and I want to urge Nigerians to take advantage of this faciltiy, I have already booked my place to come and have a review of my case, I don’t need to go  to the US again”.

    On why he built the diagnostic centre, Dickson says he is unhappy with increasing cases of wrong diagnoses of ailments adding that it remains the bane of the country’s health sector. He said that the problem compelled him to build the facility and make huge investment in the health sector to create heath tourism in the state for Nigerians and Africa.

    The governor described the project as world-class and called on the people of the state to make good use of it.

    “What we are addressing now is diagnosis. Because what is killing our people is wrong and inaccurate diagnosis. So we are addressing that. We are building hospitals and this place will feed most of them”, Dickson said.

  • Asaba boys’ adventures

    It was in The Carnivorous City, which I read a fortnight ago, that Lagos became larger than life to me. I was born in Lagos and have lived almost all of my forty years in the city and have some good knowledge of the horrors, glamour and glitz of the city. My late father, too busy with his businesses, hardly had time to take me round. But journalism, which has taken me to almost all the states in Nigeria and some parts of the world, changed all that. Chasing deadlines saw me crisscrossing Lagos, from the mainland to the Island and so on. Yet, I was stunned when I was reading The Carnivorous City, Toni Kan’s latest novel. I read it faster than I thought I would.  And that only happens when a book is good.

    The first line Soni is missing did the magic of enslaving me in Toni Kan’s world or was it Abel’s world? What happened to Soni and who was Soni? These were the posers that saw me looking for answers about two Asaba boys and the people around them.

    And like Reza did for the heart of Hajiya Binta Zubairu in Abubakar Adam Ibrahim’s award-winning Season of Crimson Blossoms, Toni Kan succeeded in scaling the fence and landed in my puddle and made me his slave for hours. He ordered and I simply obeyed.   There were moments of shocks and excitement. The elegance and simplicity of the language added to my determination to see the end of it. And there were several moments of creaking beds!

    Toni Kan, whose real name – a bird whispered to me – is Anthony Kanayo Onwordi, is no stranger to those who read Hints, published by the man who is now Minister of State for Petroleum Resources, Dr. Ibe Kachikwu. He was famous for closing his column in the magazine with this sentence: “Things kan only get better.”

    Things really got better for an Asaba boy, Abel, who Toni Kan used as a springboard to open a new Lagos before me. If you need to find your way around major spots in Lagos, whether on the Island or mainland, just grab a copy of The Carnivorous City and chances are that you will not miss your way.

    In this gripping prose, there were echoes of the civil war and Asaba’s role in it. In these lines, we are reminded of the horror of war and the after-effects: “Abel still lived and worked in Asaba, a small town made slightly bigger by its newfound status as a state capital, especially the annexation of Okpanam.

    “Okpanam was the home town of Chukwuma Kaduna Nzeogwu, Nigeria’s first putschist, while Asaba was infamous as a theatre of war, where federal troops, led by Muratala Muhammed, allegedly called for a meeting of all adult men and gunned them down in cold blood.”

    And talking of the after-effect of wars, these lines capture it all: “Growing up, Abel did not know all this, but he remembered seeing fellow students at St Patrick’s College dig up bones and skulls as they made ridges and hedges for agricultural science practicals.”

    The shocking moments are myriad. One of such was when Abel’s father came home earlier than planned because someone had died at a tennis court only to find his wife in bed with the neigbour’s kid brother who also happened to have had sexual knowledge of Abel’s aunt.

    The boy, not much older than Abel, ran off naked with his clothes under his armpits. Abel’s father fell to his knees, with his tennis racquet in his hands.

    In Carnivorous City, we see destiny at work. Man can propose but God has the enormous capacity to dispose and that was exactly what happened to Abel, whose ambition back in Asaba was to just be the vice principal of a school like his father. He ended up being a lecturer in Asaba but destiny was not through with him.

    While he was in Asaba playing it cool, his brother, Soni, was in Lagos playing it hard. He was a Lagos Big Boy, not because of his intellect, not because of his contributions to this city of promise but because of the money he made from crime. Aside crime, he was also a terrible womaniser. From small girls to widows and married women, he was willing to have them all. To protect herself, his wife was in the habit of packing condoms in his travel bag.

    For someone who lived such a dangerous life, he was more or less on Charly Boy Show where anything can happen. And so, he disappeared. His body was not seen. Only his car was found in a ditch. A widow he had an affair with said: “ Soni will never be found, not alive. This is Lagos. Some people have to die. Their blood is sacrifice to the hungry beast that is Lagos. That is how it is…Do you know the things your brother was into? Bad things, criminal activities. Do you know the kind of men whose wives he was sleeping with? Your brother had many enemies. Too many people had reasons to wish him dead.”

    Soni’s fate changed Abel’s plan and to Lagos he came with the thought of finding Soni (better known as Sabato Rabato) and returning to the quiet embrace of Asaba. But days dragged by, weeks dragged by and before he knew it, months knocked on the door and there was no trace of Soni, his beloved brother whose disappearance was the opportunity he had to know how much his brother loved him.

    Since Soni did not find his wife good enough for a next-of-kin, Abel found himself having to unlock his missing brother’s accounts and getting money to run his office and his home and he came across greed in a city that was a sharp contrast to his beloved Asaba.

    For me, Toni Kan’s characters are remarkably unforgettable. Many of them I see every day in Lagos. I see them in police officers who will rather take gratification than serve the nation. I see them in men whose means of livelihood are unknown yet they have almost everything at their beck and call. I see them in men who will rather make their brothers their next-of-kin and I wonder why did they get married?

    I also see Toni Kan’s characters in failed journalists who publish rag-sheets as excuse to blackmail people. I see them in prayers merchants who claim to commune with God. I see them in men who will take advantage of anything and everybody, including family. Blood, to them, is not thicker than water.

    And there is something I am particularly happy about with this arresting narrative; Toni Kan did not attempt to deny me of the right to use my head after reading the last line. He leaves me with things to ponder about. I still wonder how Abel’s nosey Auntie Ekwi will feel learning that he and Ada are now making the bed to creak with excitement. I wonder if the widow Abel had affair with will gloat about the coming to life of her prediction that it was only a matter of time before Ada and Abel start sleeping together. How will Calista feel ‘losing’ Abel again and this time to his missing brother’s wife.

    I also wonder if Santos forever varnishes and allow Abel and Ada live happily after or he will come back like a typical blackmailer to ask for more money to keep the secret of Abel’s involvement in the death of Mayowa the fraud who called himself a publisher.

    Another thing still on my mind is the reaction of Zealinjo to her uncle becoming her ‘step daddy’.  How will Abel’s mother take the new development? These are issues Toni Kan left for me to figure out and I am glad for the assignments.

  • Chris Ogiemwonyi and the rest of us

    Chris Ogiemwonyi and the rest of us

    Last week, I chanced upon the news of an Edo-based newspaper, The Navigator Newspaper, bestowing 2016 ‘Man of the Year Award’ on Engr. (Dr.) Chris Osa Ogiemwonyi. Engr. Ogiemwonyi, FNSE, KSC, emerged the unanimous choice for the maiden edition award of The Navigator Newspaper for the ‘Edo Personality of the Year’, 2016, the piece of news stated.

    Broadly speaking, Engr. Ogiemwonyi’s pedigree as an astute administrator, carrier civil servant, industrialist, manager of men, humanist, philanthropist and politician of immense credibility has been unimaginably remarkable. As an erstwhile Minister of State for Works and a frontline gubernatorial aspirant on the platform of the All Progressives Congress, APC, ahead of the September 28, 2016 Edo gubernatorial election, Engr. Ogiemwonyi demonstrated that he is a great politician of repute.

    After the less than credible APC primaries election that forcefully foisted Mr. Godwin Obaseki on the party and state, it takes a selfless and unblushing individual to accept such barefaced robbery to remain in the party. In good conscience — which is largely missing in politics as a game of impossibilities — the actors in political manipulation can’t earnestly vaunt for the sanctity of the polls. That is one of the reasons this award is an icing on the cake of Engr. Ogiemwonyi’s nobility.

    The award mirrored and fast forwarded Engr. Ogiemwonyi’s productive and unparalleled carrier at the Nigeria National Petroleum Corporation, NNPC, where he rose stoutly to the zenith and held the world spellbound as the precursor of ‘Local Content’ and development angel of all time. The psychologist, William James could not be wrong when he said, “One of the deepest drive of human nature is his desire to be appreciated”. This is the crust of this award.

    In other words, those who seek to be appreciated or hope to approach the ‘Hall of Fame’ next time need some lessons from Engr. Ogiemwonyi’s enviable public service during his 34-year sojourn in the turbulent oil industry as a top-notch, and his political carrier of late. No one can deny his philanthropic gesture especially his yearly sponsorship of free Breast and cervical cancer (for women between ages 18 – 65) and prostrate cancer screening exercises (for men above 40years). The event usually happen on the occasion of his birthday anniversary. This programme has saved numerous Edo indigenes and residents who would have succumbed to the deadliness of these terminal ailments.

    As part of his contributions to the economic life and wellbeing of his immediate community, Engr. Ogiemwonyi has a huge palm plantation that provides direct and indirect employment for all ages of peoples, a development that has enhanced the socio-economic standards of the community.

    Adequate and functional boreholes have equally been sunk across the communities to provide clean, drinking water, a situation that has drastically reduced the risk of the people contracting diseases that thrive in unclean and unpurified water, which had hitherto been the only one available in the community.

    The history of award across times to honouring outstanding individuals for their exemplary leadership, groundbreaking work that have impact positively in the lives of people in all space; lasting social change and human development has been long in coming. Through his uncommon abilities, Engr. Ogiemwonyi has strengthened civil society and local communities as a visionary leader who inspires young Edo citizens and Nigeria to become ownership of businesses.

    As unpopular as the Navigator newspaper might seem, it is relieving that it focuses in the areas of industry, character, honest contributions toward alleviating poverty in the society, integrity and sincerity of purpose in the pursuit of people-oriented endeavours, policies and programmes, accessibility and commitment to the advancement of humanity as the basis for its nomination.

    First, I congratulate the 65-year old engineer for this award as the best ‘Edo Personality of year 2016’. Second, I congratulate him for being a generational leader living ahead of his time with celebrated integrity. Thirdly, I congratulate him for not losing his head in the hazing labyrinth of a self destroying nation called Nigeria, a nation of antihero.

    • Ikhide, a social activist, writes from Lagos.

  • Man urges Emmanuel to fulfill job promise

    Physically- challenged Innocent Ntia has appealed to Akwa Ibom State Governor Udom Emmanuel to fulfill the promise of automatic employment made to him.

    Wheel chair bound Ntia made the appeal at the Correspondents Chapel of the Nigeria Union of Journalists in Uyo on Wednesday.

    He said the governor promised to offer him automatic employment during the first anniversary of the Family Empowerment and Youth Re-orientation Programme (FEYReP)

    He said: “FEYReP is Mrs Martha Emmanuel’s pet project aimed at improving the lives of the youths in the state.

    “I was privileged to be a beneficiary of their programme and was given a wheel chair on June 2, 2016 in one of FEYReP’s projects tagged: “Right to Rise.”

    Ntia, who is a 2010 graduate of Policy Studies/Administration of University of Calabar, said the governor made the promise on Sept. 24, 2016 during the first anniversary of FEYReP.

    “After my presentation, the governor ordered the Head of Service, Mrs Ekereobong Akpan, to announce an automatic employment for me.

    “The governor made the offer after I had told him I am a 2010 graduate of Policy Studies Administration from the University of Calabar and a Diploma holder in Local Government Administration in 2005.

    “When the Head of Service made the pronouncement, she ordered my credentials and other data to be collected that I will be invited immediately for documentation”, Ntia said.

    “I have not heard anything from him since the promise. As I speak with you, I am just coming from the office of the HoS; I was told that Wednesday was not visitors’ day.’’

    Ntia attributed his condition to accident he had on April 3, 2013 while on a church mission to Edo State, adding that he had been on wheel chair since then.

    “My wife left me after the accident in 2013. Life has not been easy since then and appealed to the governor to use his good offices to help him out of the difficult situation.”

  • Landslides: Bayelsa community faces extinction

    Landslides: Bayelsa community faces extinction

    Signs that the Okoloba community in Kolokuma-Opokuma Local Government Area of  Bayelsa State may cease to exit are everywhere. A significant part of Okoloba lies in ruins.. About four compounds consisting of over 10 houses are buried in rubbles with their occupants displaced.

    Canoes, fishing nets and other items worth millions of naira have been swallowed by the earth in a coastal seism known as landslide.

    Mr. Bubaraye Yeigba, his wife and 10 children are victims. Yeigba’s house is among the devastated buildings. His wife and children are part of the population of Internally Displaced Persons (IDPs) created by the erosion.

    Yeigba, who looked frustrated and stressed, said there was a sign that the earth was troubled. He said a line criss-crossing some buildings appeared on the surface of the earth. But on the faithful day, January, 9, he woke up to see the floor of his house cracking and swallowing the building.

    “We remembered the past experiences of some residents in the area and knew there was a problem. We tried to rescue some of our properties but before we could pick any, everything had gone down with the rubbles. We saw everything going down. Within a short time, the things went down”, he said.

    He recalled that on the first day, six houses and over 30 boats worth millions of naira were destroyed by the landslide. He said the tremor continued to expand and in his last count, 16 buildings had gone down with the erosion.

    In fact, there are widespread fears in the community. Even persons, whose buildings have yet to be affected were in panic moods. The victims were seen accommodated temporarily in their neighbours’ houses. Yeigba and his 10 children now live in his brother’s house.

    “The thing is still happening. Everyday, the earth is still going down. About 16 houses have gone. We are all living in fears”, he cried out.

     

    Landslides and Okoloba community

    Indeed, landslide or coastal erosion is a common natural disaster threatening the existence and survival of Okoloba. The phenomenon eats up the costal community in piecemeal destroying the land and expanding the coast. It renders the land desolate and irreclaimable. Environmental experts believe that if nothing is urgently done, Okoloba will go into extinction.

    Findings revealed that similar incidents occurred in the community in 2008, 2013 and 2015. “By my experience in this community, this thing happens every three years”, Yeigba said, adding, “each time it happens, people are displaced, houses and properties worth millions of naira are lost”.

    Similarly, Mr. Iselema Gbaranbiri, a former local government chairman of Kolokuma-Opokuma and currently Governor Seriake Dickson’s Representative in the council, lamented that Okoloba might cease to exist.

    Giving a brief history of the natural disaster in the community, Gbaranbiri said: “I remember while I served as an executive chairman in Kolokuma-Opokuma in 2013, there was a very severe landslide situation that occurred that claimed a number of houses and other properties worth millions of naira.

    “People were displaced. In 2015, the same issue occurred. But this recent one happened at Olodani. I rushed to the site to ascertain the magnitude of the damage. It has become a perennial menace in the community because even in 2008, there was a landslide that devastated the residents. In a space of nine years, an average of about two and half years, there have been occurrences of landslides”.

    But an environmental expert, Mr. Alagoa Morris, said other communities not only Okoloba have life-threatening problems of coastal erosions. Morris, who is the state Coordinator of Environmental Right Action (ERA) said Anibeze community in Sagbama Local Government Area was also at the verge of extinction because of erosions.

    He said: “Anibeze has lost roads, school buildings, churches, generator houses, electric polls and since the time of old Rivers State they have been crying for help. But up till now nothing has been done. This is just to let you know that there are other communities that are suffering similar thing. We visited Okoloba before in 2013 when it happened”.

     

    Why it happens

    Morris believes that the nature of tidal waves in the coast of Okoloba partly contributes to the landslide phenomenon. He compares the waves in Okoloba to Anibeze river. “If you look at the tidal current, it is similar to what you see in Anibeze. This part of the river is curving like a ‘C’ and it is high while the opposite side is lower”, he said.

    Also, Gbaranbiri, gave an insight into the regular occurrence of landslide in the community. He said: “The back shore has got a bit close to the river and so the water percolating at the back shore is on the increase and this results to sliding here and there.

    But an online encyclopedia, Wikepedia, says that Landslides occur when the slope changes from a stable to an unstable condition. A change in the stability of a slope can be caused by a number of factors, acting together or alone.

    It listed the natural causes of landslides as groundwater, erosion, earthquakes and volcanic eruptions. It, however, says that human activities such as deforestation, cultivation, vibrations from machinery or traffic, blasting, earthwork and construction can aggravate landslides.

     

    How to solve the problem

    In his expert opinion, Gbaranbiri advised that a shore protection using iron pilling sheets should be done in the community. “This will permanently put it to rest. But this is beyond the reach of the state government. We are calling on the National Emergency Management Agency (NEMA) and the Federal Government to quickly intervene because our fear is that if nothing is done the community may go into extinction”, he said.

    He, however, said that in 2008, a shore protection contract was awarded in the community by the Niger Delta Development Commission (NDDC). But the shore protection contract could not see the light of the day.

    Also, Morris called for the engagement of expert services to solve the problem. He said that the experts should look at the best protective method suitable for the environment. He also called on the Federal Government to pay the over one trillion naira it owed the NDDC.

    “That money is Niger Delta money. We are having too many ecological and environmental challenges which need money and the Bayelsa State Government should also channel all the ecological funds to solve some of these problems”, he said.

    Furthermore, all the victims of the disaster beg the Federal Government to quickly wade into the plight insisting that the problems had overwhelmed the state government . “We are begging the federal government to kindly assist us. We can’t afford to keep losing our ancestral homes to landslides. We have humanitarian crisis already and we don’t want a recurrence”, Yeigba said.

     

    State government’s interventions

    Residents of Okoloba are, however, happy with the actions so far taken by the state government led by Governor Seriake Dickson, to ameliorate their plight. A team of the government led by the deputy Governor, Rear Admiral John Jonah (retd) visited the scene to assess the damage done by the disaster.

    Jonah was accompanied by the Commissioner for Information and Orientation, Mr. Jonathan Obuebite, his Budget and Planning counterpart, Mr. Joshua Ongore, Chief of Staff, Government House, Mr. Talford Ongolo and Chairman of the Bayelsa State Emergency Management Agency, (BYSEMA), Dr. Zedekiah Izu.

    He appealed to the Federal Ministry of Environment, agencies and other humanitarian organizations to assist the government in combating coastal erosion and other environmental disasters. He lamented the loss of houses and other valuables to the incident and urged the Federal Government to participate more effectively in the protection of Bayelsa environment.

    He said that the state’s environment had suffered serious degradation because of erosion and oil exploration adding that many communities in the state, including Koluama, had been washed away by ocean surge and coastal erosion.

     

  • Dazini’s misfortune (2)

    There was a gentle tap on her shoulder. Gentle enough to wake her up to reality. She opened her eyes, but she could not see the person who tapped her shoulder. She cleared her eyes with her left palm. And she saw clearly. She was no longer in the sitting room where she and her mum had shed uncontrollable tears.

    The whole place was beautiful. And sweet-scented. She was puzzled. She wondered what she was doing there, and how she had gotten there. There was no one around she could ask.

    But she could not but be fascinated with the beauty of the garden-like environment. This must be another Garden of Eden, Dazini thought. In no time fear seized her entire being. But just before she decided to scream, there came again a gentle tap on her shoulder. She turned to see who was there.

    She did not see anybody. The fear in her increased a thousand fold. The tap came again. And she turned again. Still there was no one. Then came a voice. A voice more than terrestrial.

    “Welcome!”

    She was startled. And she jumped up.

    “Who are you and where are you?”

    She did not get any reply.

    “I said who are you and where are you?”

    Still there was no reply.

    “What the hell am I doing here?”

    And the reply came.

    “To answer for all you deeds on earth…”

    She laughed.  A rancorous one at that.

    “Do you mean I’m dead and no longer on the earth?”

    “Yes…”

    “You can’t be serious…”

    “I’m more than serious. The difference between the state of sleeping and dying is very minute. I hope you know that.”

    “What is your name, who are you and where are you?” she cut in.

    “I’m Mr. Judgment…”

    “Mr. Judgment? Can’t you show your face?”

    All Dazini got for a reply was a chuckle.

    “Answer me now…”

    Mr. Judgment did not say anything.

    Tears gathered in her eye-lid. She could not believe that she was dead. The last she knew before finding herself in this perfect environment was that she was crying with her mum. To think that in such a short interval somebody who identified himself as Mr. Judgment was telling her she no longer belonged to earth sickened her.

    For the first time since she found herself in this environment she took a proper look at herself and discovered that she was naked. Stark naked.

    She soon became more confused when she was transformed into a different environment, where a full moon forced its way out from a sheet of dark-blue cloud, showering the area with silvery beams. You could see people walking down the different sides of the asphalted road. It was night fall already and the number of vehicles on the road had drastically reduced. Many of them had been parked in garages.

    The canopied trees lining the road created the illusion of mercury bright drops. Dazini was over-powered by some strange feeling and she could not but whistle. The moon and the dark patches of the cloud soon got entangled in some fierce battle. In the end, the moon had its way. And the area got more dosage of gentle rays of light.

    The beauty of the area could have filled Dazini with joy and satisfaction. But her heart was heavy. A thought was yet to take shape in her mind when Mr. Judgment spoke again. This time, she was back in the environment she likened to the Garden of Eden.

    “Do you like this environment?”

    She did not answer.

    “Do you like this environment?”

    She first hesitated, but later answered in the affirmative.

    “You sure like good things…” commented Mr. Judgment,” but I’m sorry to inform you that you are not home yet. This place is not meant for looters like you.”

    She could not protest.

    “Bye forever,” announced Mr. Judgment.

    Then a being she could not describe appeared from nowhere, grabbed her and dragged her towards an inferno she had not seen anything like before. And made to drop her inside…

    ***************************

    “Ye, ye,” she shouted and was back to life in her beautiful London mansion.

    “What is it?” Madam Ikuku asked, jumping up from the floor where they had both fallen asleep after minutes of shedding hot tears.

    Dazini cleaned the sweat on her face. She was shaking.

    “What is the problem?” Madam Ikuku asked again.

    Then, the dreaded six-letter word headline Dazini forfeits $153m to Fed Govt came to her mind again. And the tears increased. It had indeed been another long night filled with scary dreams.

    She was too saddened to notice that it was only 422a.m. Sleep had been murdered and thrown out of the window.

    “How did I get here?” she asked herself.

    It all started when a long-standing family friend, Dr. Luck Than, accidentally found himself in power as the president and pulled her out of what she thought was a well-paying job. First, she was put in-charge of the Ministry of Works. Her first major assignment was a tour of the Lagos-Benin Expressway. The road was a death trap. There were craters almost on every one kilometre. Some of the craters were big enough to swallow a danfo. She was shocked at her discovery and she wept and the cameras caught her and she appeared on the front pages of many a newspaper.

    She could not fix the road before she was moved to another ministry, where she was off the public radar for some time. Then what appeared to be her breakthrough, which time soon turned to her doom, was her movement to the Ministry of Petroleum Resources.

    By this time, she had become the golden fish and there was no hidden place for her. Men courted her friendship. Women were not left out. Black and white people and even albinos fell over one another to be in her good books. Bank executives, oil sheiks and politicians either prayed to find her favour or get some juju to make her see things their way.

    Her face became an everyday feature in the media. The blogs scooped around for gossips about her. Twitter, facebook and what have you heard about the grace of this woman and could not but join in telling her story, real or imagined.

    It seemed like a roller coaster. But like life itself, everything has an end. Dr Than was defeated in an election that many thought might end in bloodshed.

    A phone call cut into her thought. The time was now 7a.m. She stood and walked to where the phone was and she sighted The Carnivorous City for the second time in about 24 hours. The caller was Jide Luko, a business associate and one of those who benefitted from her magnanimity as minister. Luko’s firm, Twelve Energy Limited, got a juicy oil bloc, cheated the government in the payment of signature fee, took loans from banks and never paid back, among many other atrocities. He became so rich that he owned an estate in Beverly Hills and went around the world with a famous model, Aomi Candle.

    “Hello,” she said on picking the phone.

    “Hello Madam, I am almost in your house as agreed,” Luko said.

    It was only then it occurred to Dazini that she was supposed to be going with Luko to see an Oncologist.

    “I have forgotten,” she said. And before Luko could say anything else, she added: “Can we reschedule? I am not really in a good shape. The last 24 hours has been terrible and it all started with that report about me forfeiting $153m to the federal government.”

    “I am sorry, my sister. I can understand what you are going through, especially with your state of health, the international probe and the media trial back home. That is enough to break down anybody. I will get the Oncologist to reschedule. He is a very good friend and I am sure he will willingly create time whenever you are ready.”

    “Thank you my brother and God bless you,” she said, as she hung up.

    She called Atete to get her Tramadol. She took two and told her mother she was going in to rest. Madam Ikuku followed her daughter in and together they mounted the bed. They did not fall asleep immediately. They tried some chit-chats, with Madam Ikuku doing most of the talking. She talked about what a blessing she had been to her and the fact that she would always be proud of her no matter what the world thought. Dazini was close to crying at some point, but she avoided it because she knew it would not change her misfortune. Sleep soon took control of their lives.

    ***************************

    Dazini wakes up. Her mother is no longer with her. The Tramadol must have really knocked her off. She checks the wall clock. The time is 8pm. It means she has slept for about 12 hours and she still feels like sleeping. She needs to eat and take her medications. She stands up and picks a shirt and trousers from the wardrobe to cover herself nakedness.

    As she makes for the sitting room, a voice seems to tell her: “This is the time to call your pastor. This is the time to make peace with God. This is the time.”

    She has heard and ignored the voice before. Now, she feels like she is getting to a point of no return and who else but God can save her soul and make her whole again?

    Dazini decides right there that the time has come to give God a chance to perfect things in her life and turn her misfortune around. She no longer wants to be hunted by Dazini forfeits $153m to Fed Govt or any other thing.

  • Amaechi digging deep for change

    A cursory look at the changes recorded in Nigeria’s transportation sector last year , will leave any one in no doubt that the desired change Nigerians yearned for and promised by the present administration of President Muhammadu Buhari is  becoming a reality.

    In the transportation sector, more and more developments are been achieved on almost a weekly basis through the collective effort of the Hon. Minister, Rotimi Chibuike Amaechi and his team. The feat recorded by the Minister and his team cannot be disputed. It is such that when one thinks about performance of political office holders, one thinks about the name Rotimi Amaechi.  Amaechi has become associated with performance and concrete achievements.

    Amaechi ensures that repositioning of the transportation sector is key pursuant to the task expected of him and bearing in mind that transportation plays a crucial role to the development of Nigeria society. Amaechi swiftly swung into action to addressing the challenges bedeviling the sector which in turn triggered concrete solutions to the benefit of all.

    Aside from the routine inspection of facilities, Amaechi had partnered with specialists in the transportation domain both local and foreign just to improve on the already dilapidated sector. Seminars and symposiums which brought together men and women from all walks of life were held, ideas were exchanged, issues were resolved and results achieved.

    Projects like the commissioning of Abuja-Kaduna rail way by the President, Muhammadu Buhari were feat achieved by Amaechi in 2016. The ongoing reconstruction work in some airports  like the Nnamdi Azikiwe International Airport, Abuja and the Port Harcourt International Airport, Omagwa in Rivers state and others  across the Country kick started last year under Amaechi’s watch, and hopes are that by the end of 2017 our Airports would have attained international status for smooth operations.

    Government is also doing its best to ensure that the nation’s airports compete globally with developed and developing countries by ensuring a total radar coverage of the nation’s airspace as well as efficient and effective emergency rescue unit, and also imbibe a maintenance culture for all infrastructures in the public transportation sector.

    The change promised by the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC) is at the door steps of Nigerians, particularly dividends ushered in by Amaechi’s Ministry.

    Amaechi is not taken for granted the fact that the office he occupies is a privilege, hence the need to prove his mettle. Under his watch the Ministry recorded the completion and flag off for commercial operations of the Abuja-Kaduna Standard Gauge Railway and Commissioned by President Muhammadu Buhari in July,2016, signing of Addendum 1 for the Coastal Railway Line; Lagos-Calabar with additional line from Benin City-Agbor-Asaba-Onitsha and Onitsha Bridge on 1st July,2016, signing of the commercial contract for the execution of Addendum No 3; Kano-Kaduna of the Lagos-Kano Railway Modernization Project on 31st September,2016 and completion of the Controller Pilot Data Link Communication(CPDLC) at Kano and Lagos for improved communication between the Pilots and Air Traffic Controllers.

    Other achievements are, completion of 5kw SOLAR DC System for NAVAIDS sites at Bida and Okitipupa enroute sites which lead to the elimination of power surges and power outages, signing of an MOU with Chinese Company, China Railways Construction Corporation (CRCC) for the completion of the Itakpe-Ajaokuta-Warri(Aladja Jetty) Railway Line and the extension from Aladja-Warri town Port, Refinery and Industrial Park; and Itakpe-Kaura-Baro-Abuja with siding from Eganyi-Jakura.

    Installation of low level Windshear Alert System at Katsina Airport to enhance safety of Aircraft operations and retention/upgrade of NIMET ISO 900;2008 certification (ie) ICAO certification of quality meteorological services provision to airlines by NIMET and the Isuring of Inland Container Nigeria Limited(ICNL) Bonded Terminal, Kaduna earler recommended for upgrade by the Nigerian Shippers’ Council (NSC) was upgraded to the status of a Dry Port thereby making it the first Inland Dry Port in the country.

    Again, the upgrade and  rehabilitation of Airport  Terminal building s  at Kaduna, Port Harcourt, Maiduguri ,Enugu, ongoing construction of new International Terminal Building at Abuja,Lagos,Kano, Port Harcourt,Enugu as well as rehabilitation of Car Parks and service roads at Ibadan,Akure,Lagos,Illorin,Benin,Owerri,Enugu,Yola,Kano,Kastina and Sokoto Airports are visible projects engineered by the Amaechi’s leadership in the transportation sector.

    The developments of strategies to enhance patronage and efficient utilization of the Eastern Ports of Calabar,Onne, Warri, Koko and Port Harcourt is also an enviable to achievements to boast of.

    The ministry has also secured the Federal Executive Council approval for the development of Badagry Deep Sea Port in Lagos and Continuous monitoring of the implementation of International Ship Port Facility Security (ISPS) Code in Nigeria leading to significant improvement in the complaint levels of the ports facilities among others.

    For Amaechi, the change agenda must be pursued vigorously. The Kaduna-Abuja rail line among other things will impact on housing as the poor are able to live in their houses in Kaduna and come to work in Abuja.

    It will also impact on agriculture and the economy, as agriculture produce is conveyed from Kaduna to Abuja at much cheaper rates. Transportation is also provided for majority of Nigerians who reside between Kano and Abuja at a cheaper rate.

    When Kaduna/Abuja road is maintained it would last longer as heavy cargoes are now conveyed by rail. Aside all these, thumps up should be for Amaechi for partnering with the Chinese Government and the China Exim Bank for their financial support.

    Most importantly is the priority attached to transportation by President Muhammadu Buhari, and the CCECC for keeping faith and doing a good job.

    Amaechi is also not leaving any stone unturned in developing the sea ports in the coastal states with capacity to handle modern shipping activities and establishment of  Inland dry ports and usher in effective upgrade of the rail system with a view to restoring its lost relevance. This will make the sea ports more efficient and competitive, thus improving human capital development. Amaechi no doubt, represent hope of modern transportation in Nigeria.

    Nigerians and the rest of the world are already enjoying the dividends of change in Amaechi’s Ministry. Amaechi planned to work out modalities of creating a prominent role for Nigerian sea ports within the ECOWAS community, encourage private sector participation and promote the enabling legal frame work for private sector participation in several projects including air, road and port.

    Amaechi’s plan of developing the sea ports in coastal states with the capacity to handle modern shipping activities and establish inland dry ports will make the sea ports more efficient and competitive, thus improving human capital development.

    Already, steps are also been taken by government to ensure and encourage manpower training and retraining and maintenance capacity with a view to adopting other development measures.

    Needs had also been put in place to increase enlightenment and effective media policy in the sector to encourage feedback mechanism on how to manage interface with the public for attitudinal change with respect to traffic laws in the transportation sector.

    The ministry’s 2017 budget carefully considered speedily developing an integrated master plan that would dwell on all elements of transportation and things that would ensure implementation and sustainability of all the transport facilities to achieve set goals of the present administration.

    Amaechi had also signed contractual agreements with China Civil Engineering Construction Company (CCECC) on the Lagos-Calabar coastal rail way project. The first and second segments of the projects run through Calabar-Uyo-Aba-PH-Yenagoa-Otuoke-Ughelli-Warri-Sapele-Benin-Ore-Ijebu-Ode-Lagos, with a target of covering all the seaports along those routes in good time.

    The Kano-Kaduna segment of the Lagos-Kano rail modernization project was signed with (CCECC) the Chinese firm with a sum of $1.685 billion and the Calabar-Port Harcourt segment 1, extending to Onne deep sea port of the coastal rail project at the cost of $3.4 billion with the Chinese engineering firm.

    Amaechi spoke briefly during the contract signing, describing it as “symbolic”.  Amaechi is pursuing a virile and visionary transportation system that will stand the test of time. The expectation to complete all ongoing projects in the transportation sector is in top gear; this is an indication that he is determined to succeed in other to make Mr. President’s change mantra a reality.

    Amaechi utmost concern is to ensure continued safety of lives and property in the sector and leave Nigeria as one of the best country to reckon with in terms of modern, effective and efficient transportation. Amaechi is galvanizing his vision in the transportation sector, more importantly is the fact that his vision to manage public affairs in a way that changes are for the better by developing and using the human resources allocated to his Ministry in a manner that benefits the generality of the people.

    As we pray to God for a successful 2017 year, we hope that leaders in authority will follow the right path and do more justice to their areas of appointments.

    Nigerians are eagerly waiting to see the change promised by the present administration translate into good life in all ramifications.

    And for Amaechi, all over the world people do remember leaders who make indelible impacts in their lives especially in project delivery. Amaechi will certainly be remembered in the annals of history for his roles in bettering the Nigerian project; this may not be immediate but certainly in time to come.