The Nation Newspaper

Category: Southwest

  • Four petition rights group over unpaid N6.9m

    Four petition rights group over unpaid N6.9m

    Four ex-employees of Tec Ventures Company, Lagos have dragged their former employer, Mr Thomas Ejimadu Chukwure before the Committee for the Defence of Human Rights (CDHR), over alleged N6.9 million debt owed them since 2012.

    In a petition appealing for CDHR’s assistance, Messrs Sylvester Agwuibe, Eugene Emiantor, Hope Chigbo and Mrs. Augustina Chichi Nkemka pleaded with the human rights group to help them to prevail on Mr. Chukwure to pay them the amount which they alleged he is owing them as salaries.

    They stated that the company which started operation in 2001 with Messrs Agwuibe, Emiantor and Mrs Nkemka (the accountant) as the pioneer staff, grew into a multi-million Naira business enterprise due to the staff commitment.

    They told the CDHR that initially, their employer was treating them well, adding that it was as a result of their hard work and dedication to duty that they secured landed property for their boss at Agbara at the cost of N2.1 million and an additional N100, 000 for the agent who facilitated the purchase of the property. They also said another sum of N8 million was given to the managing director for land procurement from the company’s account.

    They maintained that their employer instructed them to pay his wife who is not a staff of the company N95, 000 monthly, the house maid N6, 000 and private tutor of his children N10, 000.

    They revealed that from 2008, their boss began paying their salaries at his convenience and by installment.

    “Some staff had to resign but some of us who remained loyal and faithful stayed, even though he did not pay our salaries in May, June, July and December 2012.

    “In December, 2012, he told us that he was closing down the company to enable him to source for fund to revitalise the firm. He took us outside and locked the company. That was how he cunningly terminated our appointments without due process.

    “In January, 2013, we called him to know the position of things only for him to accuse us that we stole his money and liquidated his business.

    “All agreements we entered into and signed concerning reward, leave allowances dividends and others he violated.

    “We had worked in his company for 12 years and we have nothing to show for our dutifulness. So, we want CDHR to help us regain our rights and entitlements and defend us from our oppressor and suppressor director,” they stated.

    When contacted for comment on the issue, Mr. Chukwure said he had stated his case to the CDHR  and there was nothing else he would say. He added that he would want all parties to the issue to be present to state their views.

    Countering Mr. Chukwure’s claim, the Coordinator of CDHR Isheri-Oshun Unit to which the petition was directed, Comrade (Mrs.) Chinazo Ifechigha who is also the Financial Secretary of the rights group at the state level said Mr. Chukwure honoured the CDHR’s invitation once and had refused to honour subsequent invitations aimed at resolving the matter.

    She urged Mr. Chukwure to appear before the rights group in order to resolve the matter so that all parties would be convinced that justice had taken its full course.

    Commenting on the issue, a member of the group and a Senior Lecturer in the Department of Curriculum Theory, University of Lagos, Dr Chinedu Ifechigha, said the pitiable plight of an average Nigerian worker, especially those in the employ of private entrepreneurs, has been a source of worry to labour analysts and activists who argue that the employers are not humane enough so much so that they pay the employees non-living wage.

    Some, he maintain, derive bestial pleasure in treating their workers in a shabby and callous manner, even as they could terminate the appointment of any of the workers in a feigned administrative restructuring.

    “The average Nigerian worker lives in the present. He neither has a gladdening secured tomorrow nor could he be proud of his yesterday.

    “Instead of caring for the well-being of the workers whose lives they have used and whose labour had become the foundation of the employer’s prosperity, they (employers) wear them out and discharge them, some with unreasonable reasons.

    The employees, most times, are discharged without tangible benefits on which they will fall back on in their old age. The employers should remember that all that is of value in the society is the product of labour,” he said.

  • Confession of a medical doctor-‘I sometimes consult Ifa to solve complex medical problems’

    Confession of a medical doctor-‘I sometimes consult Ifa to solve complex medical problems’

    Oba Adedayo Olusina Adekoya ( Erinsiba 1), Legusen of Legusenland, the traditional ruler of Ode Ule, Ogun State is a doctor, a thoroughbred herbalist and head of African traditional religion worldwide-Isese Agbaye. He told GBENGA ADERANTI that he sometimes resorts to divination to seek solution to the problems of his patients.

    What is your group all about?

    Isese is the religion of our ancestors, the umbrella body of All African religions, beliefs, practices, norms and folklores. The African religion is Isese Agbaye, it is the origin of all other religious practices.

    You said government has not been fair on issue of religion, what is this talk all about?

    First of all we want fairness; it is not fair to ignore some people.  Secondly, equity, whatever the data anybody bandies around we know we constitute the majority is this country. So when you concentrate attention on a section of the religion in the country and this attention is unfairly given, we feel cheated and we want fairness.

    The moral issues that are troubling the country are based on religious teachings.  You would not find any an Isese person after swearing with what he or she believes in telling lies. This is because you know that whatever you said will be counted against you. So, if an Isese  person swears in the name of Sango,  the god of thunder or in the name of Ogun the god of iron,  or in the name of Amadiora and went ahead to do the wrong thing,  that person will surely get punished. If we inject our indigenous religious beliefs into our national life, corruption will end in Nigeria.

    In order words, to reorganise our national life and make progress, we need to inject Isese into our system. Our foundation is Isese, we should build on it.

    But  Isese is Yoruba word, why Yoruba when there are other African languages?

    That is the problem we are having in Africa today. We’re all speaking the same language but we seem not to recognise this.  We’re speaking Huse language.  Go and write Igbo language in Yoruba alphabet, you will understand it pure and simple.  In Igbo language, when you say nti (ear in Igbo language) that is eti (ear in Yoruba language), when you say imi (nose) in Igbo language)  that is Imun (nose in Yoruba language), onu (mouth in Igbo language) that is enu (mouth in Yoruba language), tell me, what is the difference? So the first set of words or vibrations that we believe first came in sssh. Sssh  is nobody’s language, it is language for everybody, around the world.

    Do you know the meaning of Yoruba?  Yoruba is actually an Arabic word, ‘Yar bawa’ that is the daughter of bawa, that was what the Fulanis were calling the people who were preventing them from colonising what we now call South West of Nigeria.

    I’m not a Yoruba man as a matter of fact.  I’m an Ode man. You find ugbo in Ilaje, you find ugbo in Ijebu, that is where they call Ijebu Ugbo not Ijebu Igbo as the place is popularly referred to. You find ugbo in Akwa Ibom, you find ugbo in Ibo land, we are the same people.  In other words, go to any indigenous shrine in the world, you’re going to meet something that is very common, that is a stone, meteorite that came from the sky. You are also going to find a container; Are we not the same people?  We are speaking the variance of the same language, that is Huse language.  That religion does not belong to Yoruba alone; it belongs to all of us.  You find people in Kalabari in Nigeria, the same people you find in Kalahari Desert in Southern Africa, speaking the same language, the same tradition, the same culture, are we still different people?  People have migrated and they are speaking variance of the same language, based on environment they have migrated to a long time ago, that does not mean they are different people.  We’re all the same people.

    People would want to ask why would some people come together to review ‘dead practices’ like isese?

    They are living practices. If 70 per cent of Nigerians are practising something, then, it is not dead. When you say something is dead, it means nobody is practising it. Look at the source of the two latter religions, that is the Christianity and Islamic religions they all derived from the sacrifice Abraham made and was documented in the Bible. Now Judaism derived from that.  It was in Deuteronomy they said when Abraham went into the bush or forest and he finished that sacrifice, instead of using his son as advised, he used a ram but there was a stone on which he slaughtered that ram that stone is a meteorite which is what Yoruba people call edan ara.

    Islam and Christianity thrive on faith and you see the manifestation in miracles and other forms of super natural things.  Do you have this in Isese?

    Isese is all encompassing. I was describing to someone how priests and priestesses manifest when they are taken-over by the spirit, they predict, tell you things. If some people went ahead to package the presentation in such a way that suits their needs in a particular system, I think you will not say the thing did not derive from somewhere. That you modified it does not mean it did not come from a place.  Although that place that it was coming from may not be able to claim direct authority. They are all modifications of Isese and I can assure you that as an Isese person, healings happen, miracles happen.

    Many Nigerian believe in Isese, yet they have failed to openly identify with it, what could have been the reason?

    It is not that people don’t want to associate themselves; it is because the mode of organisation is very different from the western mode of organisation.

    In the western mode of organisation, you would want to show off, Isese is very humble, Isese is not glamorous.

    You went abroad when you were young that means you’re from an aristocratic background?

    Sincerely speaking and with all sense of humility, yes.

    Could you tell us about your family?

    I could trace my generation to 35 generations and the most recent is Kalejaiye Adeokun, he was mentioned in Rev Johnson’s book, ‘The History of the Yoruba People’. He was my great grandfather. He was a warrior, a trader, he was stupendously rich.

    Was your father a traditional ruler?

    His father was but he was not.  My father was supposed to be the Alaye Ode but he refused, he now told his uncle to assume the throne.

    You said you brought back your ancestors’ crown 222 years after it was taken to Ile Ife, how did you do this?

    By accident, by divine design that was going on that I was a tool.

    How did your crown come back?

    It was while I was working for Isese people that Sese Eefun crown that was taken to Ife in 1792 was returned.  The crown was taken for sanctification because 140 people died which was too much blood. They were supposed to do the sanctification for a maximum of 21 days and return the crown but I don’t know why they didn’t bring it back and since that time, Ode Ule had its crown at Obatala shrine in Ile Ife. But somehow, something started pushing me that I should go there, that is the only way I can explain it.

    The Sese Efun crown that went to Ife, was the one I brought back as Oba Amero in 2005. Between 1792 and 2005, the thing was there. I didn’t know, I was just doing my own.

    As the Chairman Council of Arts and Culture (in Ogun State), the Isese people wrote to me that they wanted to be using June 12 Cultural Centre (in Abeokuta) for their meetings.  I said if we call the place a cultural centre the people should have a space to do their meeting without charging them money.  That was how the marriage between me and them started.

    From there, we started the Nigeria Holy Land Project, whereby we now declared Nigeria Holy Land of Isese. People now started coming on a pilgrimage here from abroad and we go to them on cultural exchange. We go abroad to teach them about our values and things like that and they too come here for their spiritual uplifting.  We have been doing that. It was while we were going on pilgrimage we went to Ife, we declared Ife the Holy City so we used the platform of Professor Wande Abimbola’s Orisa World Congress in 2011 as first pilgrimage.  We were able to inject that principle into the pilgrimage to Nigeria, the holy land of Isese, Ile-Ife the holy city and some other shrines in Yorubaland where people should visit.  We initially had the Isese headquarters in Brazil but we now had to move it to Nigeria because there is no sense in us saying we’re going on pilgrimage to Brazil for something that started here, so we came to the source. That was how everything fell into place and I became Oba Isese Agbaye, as well as Oba Amero Obatala. It was during one of the visits that the idea of returning Sese Efun crown struck my mind, the rest is history.

    What was growing up like?

    Right from the time I was a child I was told by my mother that whenever they wanted to wake me up in the morning ‘I would say don’t wake me up, the king is sleeping.  Don’t you know that nobody wakes an Oba up when he is sleeping?’ that was when I was 18 months old. It was the same time I took 18 kernels of ikin ifa which I gave my uncle to keep for me.

    I remember that as a child people were always coming around me, they would eat, we would play.  It reached a stage and my mother said to me: ‘Look oga, you know we are teachers, we’re salary earners’. She said she was not chasing my friends away’ but I should please limit the number of people who were coming to our house.  A that time I was already entering secondary school.  I went to HSC but I had to retake my Advance level GCE because I was determined to read Medicine. We had no physics, chemistry and biology teachers and those were the subjects I was doing. I had to go to The Polytechnic Ibadan to retake my A level papers and from there I gained admission to the University of Ife to read Medicine. I was among the first set of medical practice managers.

    After working I started Lose Clinic, I later went to Germany. I worked in the best hospitals in the Western Europe.  By the time I came back, I stayed at Ode Remo, back then the whole place was in a shambles, I felt concerned because by virtue of my training at Ife, you’re supposed to be an instrument of social change. So in the whole of this area right now, there is no place that does not have its own health centre or comprehensive health centre because I engineered a lot of things.

    Some traditional rulers feel they are superior to their colleagues, this is causing serious wrangling, what can you say about this?

    Ifa will tell you nobody is superior to anybody but if you are now feeling superior, you are inferior. I know where my own crown came from we don’t have to argue about that. All I know is that things change, we are at the confab now, who knows what will come out of that? If somebody had said 50 years ago that Legushen crown would come back they would say forget about that, but things change. Look at the former Soviet Union, could anybody have said in 1960 that it would break up? No. That is why Isese says you should not think you are either superior or inferior to anybody; just be yourself and relate with your creator and do everything good to make the world a better place.

    Why are you jettisoning medicine?

    I’m not jettisoning medicine, I still practice. The thing is that first of all, if I was in the government practice, I would have retired by now, secondly, in the private practice, what I was doing in this area was just ‘sacrificial philanthropy’, sacrificing my time, my everything. I was supposed to start my practice in Lagos, but I just said there was no hospital in Ode, the nearest was 40 kilometres away, the General Hospital at Shagamu. I just said I had to go for it and I went for it. I came here and started it and by the time I spent 10 years here, I had seen more than 250,000 patients. I now found out that pushing myself to do all that thing was not enough that I had to make sure we create the infrastructure people would come in to use and with Isese people supporting me, I was able to do all these.

    Does that mean as a traditional ruler you still attend to patients?

    Yes, i still do it.

    You are a traditionalist and a western medical practitioner, how do you cope?

    I do both traditional and western medicine. We call it in medicine integrated medicine that is what World Health Organisation calls it. I practise both.

    How effective is the traditional medicine?

    Very effective.

    You said it is possible to do caesarean operation using traditional method; could you explain this?

    Yes I mentioned it that instead of doing a caesarean for a woman that has abnormal presentation. If you soak a ring in the necessary herbs and (make the) necessary preparation, just overnight, it is already working and you point it to the pregnancy that is the application.

    We (western) educated people call it is miracle, it is not miracle, it is normal. Because we don’t understand the process does not mean it is miraculous. People don’t understand how these things work and we are not ready to investigate all those things and we want to keep telling ourselves that until we are sure of how it works we are not going to accept it, it is wrong.

    Have you had any cause to consult ifa to solve medical problem?

    That is what we call integrated medicine, we consult regularly and it has been very effective and efficient because most of the things we use chemical for may actually not be that the chemistry was wrong, it could be a spiritual thing. What we call spiritual is what we cannot understand, but these are physical forces that we cannot yet perceive, so because we cannot perceive them we say they are spiritual. Somebody just discovered gravity because that was the first time they discovered that there must be some forces drawing those things down, he says; ’I have discovered it,’ does it mean such things have not been existing before? It is just that we have not reached the level of identifying those things. When there is going to be earthquake, animals that have senses would have picked the vibration and would have left.  The last tsunami, it was the sick animals that were caught, all of them (healthy ones) had left the area. Some villagers around the area where tsunami had always been happening know the signs, they went underground. That we have not been able to develop censors to a particular thing does not make it spiritual, it is still physical.

  • Felled by Boko Haram: A soldier’s family’s agony

    Felled by Boko Haram: A soldier’s family’s agony

    A progressive military career; promising education and a chance of the good life, – Private Sheriff Tijani had it all going for him until Boko Haram bullets stopped his dreams. Now his family is fighting to have Army authorities pay his dues. SEUN AKIOYE reports

    It took Saubana Tijani and his wife, Musili the whole of three months to stop crying, but that was even temporarily. At their 94, Jibowu Street, Abule-Egba residence, the surge of sympathisers and mourners is yet to abate. Neighbours took turns to visit and stay with the family to console and share in the loneliness, which tragedy had forced on once happy family.

    “They just killed my son, Sheriff, who was my hope; they killed him. Nothing can bring him back now,” Musili wailed, putting both hands on her head while biting her lips. A neighbour admonished her to take courage and leave everything to fate. He implied that, the tragedy was destined and whether she liked it or not she must accept her fate.

    This is exactly what is difficult for the Tijani family. On the night of February 11, 2014, their world seems to have come crashing into several pieces.  Saubana had received a telephone call from someone who claimed to be calling from a Nigerian Army base in Borno State, where his son Sheriff was serving as a private. The caller had bad news; Sheriff Tijani of the 301 Artillery Regiment posted to Borno State to combat the Islamic insurgents Boko Haram had “paid the ultimate price for the defense of his fatherland.” It was a brief telephone call, but it was enough to change Tijani’s life, maybe forever.

     

    “I would not have allowed him join the army”

     

    Everybody had nice words to say about 27-year-old Private Sheriff Tijani. Prior to 2011, when he joined the Nigerian Army, he had been a role model for many youths in his neighbourhood. Though, born to poor and impoverished family, Sheriff had a strong determination to break out of poverty. As soon as he completed his secondary education he began to do all manner of work to keep body and soul together.

    “He was a very humble and hardworking boy; there was no job he could not do. The last job he did before going to the Army was a pure water van driver. He was very determined and courageous,” a neighbour said.

    Everyone attested to his good character, neighbours everywhere the family had lived came to mourn with them. They said he was unassuming and did not have a wicked heart. He was loved by everyone as he was always willing to help even when he was in need himself. Then in 2011, Sheriff took a decision that shocked not a few. He joined the Nigerian Army.

    Sheriff’s decision to join the Army was a secret he revealed to very few members of his family, it was not certain what the motivation was but the military seemed a perfect choice. Standing at almost six feet tall with broad shoulders and a square face, it was easy for the Army authorities to enlist him.

    “He didn’t tell me he was going to join the Army until he was leaving for the Basic Training. He told me to let him follow his destiny so I had no choice than to let him. I would have allowed him, anyway because the Army is a respectable Force,” Saubana said.

    But a neighbour said he would have discouraged him from going into the military if he knew. “He didn’t tell anybody, if I knew when he wanted to join the Army, I would have discouraged him. He was such a lovely boy, nobody could believe he would have a heart for the military,” the neighbour said.

    Sheriff’s reputation for hard work and diligence followed him to the military; he successfully completed the 66 Regular Recruits Intake on February 3, 2012 and the Counter Terrorism and Counter Insurgency Centre, Quick Response Force Training, Batch 3, 2012. He was thereafter posted to the 301 Artillery Regiment General Support Gombe, from where he was drafted to Borno to fight Boko Haram.

    Perhaps not wanting to cause unnecessary panic in his family, Sheriff did not tell his parents the full danger in his new posting. “I used to call him at least three times everyday but when he was moved to Borno, he said I would not be able to get him as network is disabled in the place he was serving,” the father said.

    In spite of his work as a soldier, Sheriff did not lose touch of his dream to get education. According to his younger brother, Idris, he had obtained a form for a part-time course in one of the universities. “He was determined to go to school, no matter what it will cost,” Idris said.

    All his parents have now is memories, of the things he had promised and what he could have been. “He surprised us with gifts all the time; he had bought a land where he wanted to build a house for us so we can leave this place. We didn’t know that until he died, he also was going to send me on Hajj,” Saubana said.

    He remembered his son’s last words to him. “When he was leaving on February 3, he gave me N5,000 and said ‘Daddy don’t think about anything, all will be well,’ I didn’t know that would be the last time I would see him.”

    This recollection brought fresh oppression to Musili. She hissed several times and folded her hands across her breast. Sheriff was her passport to get out of poverty, all which has crashed, at least for now.  Recently, she returned to her trade of selling oranges and whatever fruit is in season on a small table in front of her house.

    Now, she has added boiled corn to her business. It didn’t bring in much but kept her busy from the oppressing thoughts of her dead son. Her husband too has returned to his business of electronic repairs. His shop is filled with disused television and radio sets which has been abandoned by customers. Sheriff had planned that he would stop the business but his death meant Saubana would be stuck in the same business for a while.

     

    Failed promises

     

    “When we went to Gombe, after his death, the military authorities promised us a lot of things including funding the burial expenses, paying his gratuity, paying us his three months’ salary and giving us some compensation. We have not received any thing from the military since then,” Saubana said.

    But it was not that the military never cared when Sheriff was cut down by the bullets from Boko Haram. The military called and sent a condolence delegation to the family while promising the “military is a family” and would not forsake them.

    The military promised to pay the family after three months, but the family is still waiting; so are the neighbours too. “It’s not like we are after the money or whatever compensation, but the Army must fulfill the promise it made,” a neighbour said.

    Musili was not as impressed as the neighbour. Again, she threw her head sideways and asked: “How many millions can bring my child back?” It was a rhetorical question, it needed no answer.

    Director of Defence Information, Major General Chris Olukolade expressed suprise that the family had not been compensated. He said when all the processes had been followed after the death of a serviceman, the family should receive the entitlement.

    He said: “Has the family gone through all the processes? if they have done that, they should have received the entitlement.”

    How does the Tijani family see the fight against Boko Haram? Musili wants God to stop the insurgency. “God should stop Boko Haram. After my son died, so many people have died. You heard about the school children that were kidnapped, this is not good,” she said and for a moment forgetting her own sorrows while concerning herself with the misfortune of others.

    With the tragedy, would the family allow any other member to join the military? “Never, unless they want to give my son another job but not as a soldier,” Musili said. But the father was more flexible, he would allow his son to join the military if he would not be a combatant.

    “I can allow my son to join the Army but not as a combatant. If I am not too old I would like to join the Army too because it is a prestigious career,” he said.

    While the family waits on the military authorities to fulfill their promise, youths in the neigh-bourhood organised a candle light session for the departed. Over a hundred young people turned up to mourn his death. “He was loved by everybody, if you were here during the candle light, you will see that he will be missed not only by his family but everyone in this neighbourhood,” a sympathiser said.

  • St. Peter’s Anglican Church looks back on 100 years of service

    St. Peter’s Anglican Church looks back on 100 years of service

    After 100 years of fellowship and soul winning, the St. Peter’s Anglican Church, Idimu celebrates with thanksgiving, for a Church which started from the ‘Forest of Demons.’ SEUN AKIOYE reports

    A multi-million naira building, impressive architecture, filled-up car park, hundreds of worshippers, glitz and glamour. That was the scene at St. Peters Anglican Church, Idimu, Archdeaconry as it celebrated its 100 years of existence.

    But behind the glamour and the success of the Church is a very interesting story, one which evokes courage and humility at the same time.  It is a story which resonated many times as parishioners, fondly referred to as centenarians, gathered to give thanks to God for a challenging but spiritually rewarding centenary celebration.

     

    The hunter who became a preacher

     

    The history of St. Peter’s Archdeaconry is closely linked to two unlikely personalities; a hunter and a shoe-maker. Without them the history of the Church would never be completed – or perhaps would never have been  written.  According to written history, a hunter, Tako Sanbelalu, a native of Idimu, introduced Christianity to the town in 1913.

    No one can say how Sanbelalu himself became a Christian but it was suggested he must have been converted by the missionaries in Lagos, as he was a friend of Bishop James Campbell (1876-1945), a journalist who founded the West African Episcopal Church (WAEC) in 1903.

    But, it was not a tea party for Sanbelalu trying to convert a largely pagan community, with the help of his friend, Abraham Ojetade, a shoe-maker turned teacher and later preacher. They laboured to erect the first building in Idimu town, in 1914. The church they established was called the African Church but owing to incessant communal clashes between the Idimu and Isheri people, the church was forced to move location a number of times.

    Four years later, the fruit of the labour of Sanbelalu was reaped when Bishop Campbell came to the church and baptised 22 converts, including 15 adults and seven children whom Sanbelalu had won. Shortly after, Sanbelalu went to Ikorodu, where he died and in 1924, teacher Ojetade took over the leadership of the church.

    He introduced innovations which also captured the attention of the pagans in Idimu.  To win souls for Christ, he organised open air crusades preceding it with high velocity publicity and musical concert. An expert player of the Gumbe drum, Ojetade would organise dances around the town while playing his drum. His talent at music drew many non-Christians to the concerts and subsequently to the church.

    The church was not without its challenges, due to bad leadership at the helm of the African Church; the status of the church was changed to the Anglican Church in 1930. Also, the church endured untold persecutions from the pagans necessitating another movement. This time the only available space was the inhabitable forest called Igbo Oro or the Forest of the Demons.

    But, the church cleared a path and moved into the forbidden forest. The pagans expected them to die one after the other but that was not to be.  Around 1942, soldier ants began to attack the church building leading to its collapse four times. The pagan finally had something to jeer about, “God ran away from the Idimu Church to Agege,” they said.

    Help came to the Idimu Christians in 1948, when Bishop Adelakun Howells led what was known as the Touch Bearers mission to Idimu who brought the resources and built another building which was dedicated on of July 6, 1963. This time, the church stood.

     

    ‘Here we are,

    100 years after’

     

    On June 29, 2014, 100 years after it was founded and 84 years after it was condemned to the forest of demons, descendants of the original Christians and hundreds of other converts met inside a new auditorium, situated on the same spot inside the ‘forest of demon’ to celebrate. The atmosphere was lively and devoid of fear and intimidation which characterised the founding church. Members of the church had sewn a uniform Ankara bearing the picture of the cathedral.

    The Rt. Revd. Olusola Odedeji, Bishop Diocese of Lagos West mounted the pulpit and spoke to the congregation. Taking his message from 1 Samuel, chapter 7, verse 12, he said the members cannot afford to relax. He enjoined the centenarians to work harder and build on what the martyrs left.

    He reflected on the town’s dark past and the church’s troubled beginning. “This used to be the den of cultists in those days but the blood of the martyrs is the seed of the church. The church has triumphed,” he declared.

    The current vicar of the Archdeaconry, Venerable Taiwo Arowolo is a jovial and well disposed person. Easily exited, he has a mannerism of saying ‘Do something for the Lord’ which is his way of asking his members to clap.

    Arowolo extolled the virtues of the founding fathers describing them as fathers of faith. “They laboured for us and handed down to us a good thing. They had faith in Christ and converted many unbelievers, spreading the gospel,” he said.

    There have been many challenges and according to Arowolo, “100 years is not 100 days” but the church has evolved a principle which allowed it to weather the storm. “Many members want a bible-based church where you can pray and have testimony. I usually tell my members that God is here and they already have their testimonies. Also, we are not a one man church, we render account, the leadership is very transparent,” Arowolo said.

    Among those who graced the occasion was 85-year-old, Mrs. Janet Bamigbaiye, whose husband was the first vicar of the church. She remembered his time at the head of the church. “It was a small house then even the membership was not up to a hundred people, but look at what God has done now,” she said.

    The church has tried to continue on the path of the founding fathers. It has also been able to retain its youthful congregation by engaging them positively in handicrafts and skill acquisition. Arowolo said the youth were given the freedom to be creative and to find their path in the church.

    So, 100 years after, the church has a message not significantly different from that preached by Sanbelalu.  “We are thanking God for the victory, this place was Igbo Oro, now a church is here. We have won many souls and evangelising. But the work is not done as there are still many souls out there,” Arowolo reinforced.

  • Raising bar of capacity for neighbourhood watchers

    Raising bar of capacity for neighbourhood watchers

    As part of ongoing career evaluation training programme for law enforcement officers in Lagos State, Neighbourhood Watch officers were taken though basic skill enhancement training aimed at improving their efficiency. ADEYINKA ADERIBIGBE reports

    Lagos State government’s strides at boosting the capacity of its officials have been further proven as hundreds of personnel under the Neighbourhood Watch scheme recently concluded a two-week capacity training exercise.

    The Neighbourhood Watch is the third agency of law enforcement officers to be trained as part of the on-going Career Evaluation Training Programme for Law Enforcement Officers in Lagos State. The officers comprise of registered officers and volunteers spread across the various Local Government Areas and Local Council Development Areas in the state.

    The training programme was to ensure that the personnel are more proficient and deliver more ethically and professionally sound service to the people of the state.

    While addressing participants at the training held at the NYSC Orientation Camp at Iyana-Ipaja, Lagos, the Senior Special Assistant to the Governor on Transport Education, Dr. Mariam Masha said the training was primarily to train the full time registered officers of the Neighbourhood Watch all over the state and avail them with skills to serve and operate seamlessly.

    Dr. Masha remarked that government is obligated as a matter of responsibility, to ensure that Neigbourhood Watchers have the prerequisite skill to perform their assigned tasks of law enforcement within the local communities.

    She added that the necessity for the officers to be abreast of new developments in their assignments, increased proficiency, skills and professional service delivery to the public whom they serve are other derivable benefits from the training programme.

    “The training is being designed to equip the officers with appropriate re-orientation and professionalism in the discharge of their assigned tasks and responsibilities,” She empha-sised.

    The officers were exposed to courses in community relations and law enforcement, health and lifestyle, people’s leadership, emotional intelligence and team building exercises

    The training, which was divided into two phases saw the volunteer officers engaged in capacity building exercises led by staff while the second phase of the training saw the officers worked with members of the community through the various Local Government Areas (LGA) and Local Council Development Areas (LCDA) on their roles and responsibilities as community members in safety and security within their environment, as well as the basic principles of being vigilant and on disaster preparedness and management in the event such an occurrence happens.

    As part of their field assignments, the officers engaged several local communities and people of Ikotun, Badagry, Ikorodu, Maternity Centre in Agege, Epe and Campos Stadium in Lagos Island, Oke-Odo in Yaba LCDA and many other communities in the entire length and breadth of Lagos State spanning the five divisions and the three senatorial districts of the state.

    Not  a few of the participants commended the training initiative saying it has exposed them to critical guides that will assist them in carrying out their responsibilities in their various domains while seeking for more of such programmes towards boosting their capacity and preparedness for emerging challenges in the society.

  • Joy as UCH reopens N500m comprehensive health centre

    Joy as UCH reopens N500m comprehensive health centre

    Residents of communities in Oke-Ogun, Oyo State, heaved a sigh of relief last week when the University College Hospital (UCH) reopened a N500 million comprehensive healthcare facility in Sepeteri to end years of agony of travelling to Ibadan, particularly for tertiary healthcare services, BISI OLADELE reports

    Indigenes of Sepeteri and other communities in Oke-Ogun, the northern part of Oyo State, last week rolled out the drums to celebrate the reopening of a healthcare facility by the University College Hospital (UCH), Ibadan.

    The Sepeteri Comprehensive Health Centre was a dream come true for the UCH, the communities as well as the senator representing Oyo North Senatorial District, Hosea Ayoola Agboola.

    Sen. Agboola, who is the Deputy Chief Whip, had adopted the hospital as his constituency project for last year.

    The facility will bring great relief to residents of the 10 local governments who had always endured a long journey to Ibadan, the state capital, where the UCH is located for tertiary health services.

    For an area the size of some smaller states in Nigeria and mainly comprising of several agrarian communities, the reopening of the hospital was an answer to their prayer, hence the celebration that marked the commissioning of the project.

    The hospital was first opened for use in 1987, by the then Minister of Health, Prof. Olikoye Ransome-Kuti. But, it soon went moribund due to funding challenges. The facilities deteriorated and workers were redeployed to the main hospital in Ibadan, leaving the mass of residents labouring on a long journey to the state capital to access tertiary healthcare.

    Oke-Ogun communities have primary and secondary healthcare centres controlled by the state government. But a tertiary health institution is needed to complement the services rendered by those hospitals.

    An elated Chief Medical Director (CMD) of the UCH, Prof. Temitope Alonge, could not hide his joy for the realisation of what he described as his dream.

    According to him, he developed the dream since participating in the National Youth Service in Benue State in 1985. He added that the dream was fired in him while serving on the Telemedicine Committee at the UCH some years ago. Telemedicine is used to deliver medical services to distant communities using the instrument of television technology.

    Alonge expressed joy that the dream of resuscitating the health centre became a reality due to the commitment of Sen. Agboola, the Oyo State government and Sepeteri indigenes, among other stakeholders. He lauded the Oyo State government for its cooperation on the project, stressing that its cooperation and that of notable indigenes helped a great deal in making the project a reality.

    He noted that the centre would greatly improve access to quality healthcare for residents in the entire Oke-Ogun area, thereby improving the quality of life for them.

    He called on indigenes and other stakeholders to sustain their commitment to the project for continued success.

    The Chairman, Board of Management of UCH, Col. Austin Akobundu (rtd), recalled that the establishment of rural comprehensive health centres was the brain child of the Federal Government in the 1980s. He disclosed that the one in Sepeteri was one of the two centres allocated to be run by the UCH, adding that it was commissioned on March 24, 1987. The second centre, according to him, was cited in Okuku, in the present Osun State.

    Akobundu said that the centres were, however, abandoned due to poor financing but that “the appeals of the management of the University College Hospital, Ibadan, for support to reopen and resuscitate delivery of healthcare in these centres caught the attention of the distinguished Senator Hosea Agboola, senator representing Oke-Ogun area of Oyo State.”

    He said that the senator allocated his 2013 Constituency Appropriation to the remodeling, renovation and equipping of the main hospital complex at Sepeteri, construction of a model primary health centre and construction of the first stand-alone Snake Bite Centre in the Southwest.

    He added: “The project included the procurement of a standard ambulance, utility vehicles, various laboratory and medical equipment as well as a standard X-ray machine.”

    The UCH Board Chairman also acknowledged the tremendous support given to the project by illustrious indigenes of the town including a former Minister of Agriculture and Rural Development Otunba Bamidele Dada and another notable indigene of Oke-Ogun, Prof. Dibu Ojerinde. While Dada endowed an Ophthalmic Unit in the hospital, Ojerinde procured furniture, mistresses, pillows and beddings for the entire hospital.

    Akobundu explained that by such supports, the facility was upgraded from a health centre to a general hospital.

    The Deputy Governor of the state, Otunba Moses Alake Adeyemo, who also hails from Oke-Ogun, also expressed happiness on the project.

    He disclosed that discussions on the project started in his office, hence his joy in seeing it accomplished.

    Adeyemo said the facility would open more access to residents of the area, stressing that the idea was in line with the Governor Abiola Ajimobi’s transformation, restoration and repositioning agenda.

    According to him, the Oyo State government has distributed equipment worth N600 million to all hospitals across the state. That, he said, was in addition to the Free Health Mission programme which saw hundreds of thousands of urban and rural residents benefit from free treatment and drugs.

    The Deputy Governor also disclosed that the current administration was tackling the scourge of malaria head-on by deploring facilities and free treated mosquito nets to the majority of families in the state. Overall, Adeyemo said the state government geared its efforts towards making life better for the citizenry.

    He pledged that the state government would support joint management of the hospital for effectiveness.

    Sen. Agboola said he decided to adopt the centre as his constituency project for the year 2013 after assessing the huge impact it would make on residents of the entire Oke-Ogun area.

    The lawmaker pointed out that he succeeded in inputting the project in the last year appropriation because it was the most important project he believed he could deliver to his constituency at this time.

    Agboola also lauded the management of the UCH for supervising the project as well as indigenes and other stakeholders.

    The centre has many units including those dedicated to common ailments in the area such as the Snake Bite Unit, Primary Health Care Centre and Ophthalmic Unit. It also has an X-ray Unit and staff Quarters.

    At the commissioning were traditional rulers in the area, politicians and notable indigenes.

  • Agency, firm, battle child labour in Oyo community

    Agency, firm, battle child labour in Oyo community

    “Oke-Ogun is a border town through which children come into Nigeria from neighbouring countries like Togo and Benin Republic. These traffickers give these children Nigerian names and sell them for child labour.”

    Those were the words of Mr. Ayodele Olaniyi, State Controller of Federal Ministry of Labour and Productivity. He spoke at this year’s World Day against Child Labour organised by Oyo State Steering Committee on Child Labour of which he was chairman.

    He spoke on the grounds that Oyo State, in 2012, rescued 23 children who were under 16 years of age from one of the villages in Oke-Ogun area of the state.

    The development informed the decision of the committee to hold the programme tagged “Extend Social Protection: Combat Child Labour; it is Evil” in Oke-Ogun area in order to tame the rising incidence of child labour in the society. It was organised in collaboration with British American Tobacco Company, Nigeria.

    Olaniyi revealed that when they met with parents of some of the rescued children, they confessed they deliberately sold their children out because they didn’t know the negative consequences.

    He, therefore, informed them that those children who are not educated take to criminal activities and terrorise the country, adding that such children could be members of Boko Haram that is currently terrorising Nigeria.

    In the circumstances, he urged parents to train their children to enable them become better citizens and contribute positively to nation-building, even as he reminded them of the fact that education in the state is free. He urged them to desist from using their children to earn money.

    He further stated that many of these children are under five years and at most under 15 years of age who are subjected to rape, rituals and other immoral conditions.

    “They are doing hazardous work by operating dangerous tools and machinery. We have found many of these children in this community. They are exposed to harsh work conditions and consequently abused, he said.

    Continuing, he said: “We took pictures of children who are victims of this undue hardship. I, therefore, take a swipe against women who allow their children to go through this hardship and even members of law enforcement agencies who are perpetrators of this dastardly act.”

    Corroborating Olaniyi’s view, the Deputy Director, Rural Development, Oyo Ministry of Agriculture, Mr. Ramoni Afeez said more than 200 million children in the world are subjected to child labour. He reasoned that parents of most of these children are not educated. He accused the parents of being aware of the menace of this evil act, warning that they should desist from it.

    He noted that study has confirmed that children who carry heavy loads are prone to mental retardation, as he urged the parents to enroll in adult education established by the state government so that they can be better informed.

    Secretary to the agency, Pastor Marcus Williams said the agency has been fighting child labour as far back as 1996. He said many must have been surprised at seeing the pictures of children that have been subjected to child labour, adding that they are not far from the community.

    He said: “We even find the children this morning undertaking strenuous task far away from their parents. Many of these children sell groundnut to you. But, do you one day deem it fit to ask them ‘where are your parents?’

    “They are doing hazardous work by operating dangerous tools and machines. We have found many of these children in this community. They are exposed to harsh work conditions and consequently abused.

    He said it was because of this that the agency, in collaboration with BAT, is committed to taming the repulsive trend in order to enhance their well-being, saying they are achieving this by working with security operatives to fight the menace.

    In his message, Head of Leaf BAT, Iseyin Agronomy Limited, Mr. Thomas Omofoye said the event was taking place for the first time in Itesiwaju Local Government Area, even as he urged the parents to take the opportunity to end child labour.

  • ‘Government alone can’t tackle insurgency’

    The District Governor, Lions Club International District 404A Nigeria, Tokunbo Jegede has said the security challenges facing the country may persist unless Nigerians agree that it is not the duty of government alone to protect lives and property.

    He noted that a situation whereby people would only blame government alone each time there was a security challenge without contributing their quota in curbing the menace may make it so difficult for such country to tackle the problem.

    Jegede spoke at the Charter Presentation and Installation of the Royal Lions Club in Owo local government area of Ondo State. At the event, the club successfully elected a new executive led by Mr. Moses Philips Otuaga (an engineer).

    The District Governor said those nations which had at one time or the other faced the problem of insecurity were able to tackle the challenges due to the maximum cooperation given to them by their citizens.

    The District Governor explained that the Lions Club has not been able to do more for victims of the insurgency currently ravaging some parts of northern Nigeria because the club had not expanded yet to that region.

    His words, “One of the principal things we do, is to rise to the occasion when there are challenges like natural disaster in a community. Of course Nigeria has been facing such issues in some part of the country. We are still making plan to open up the club in the northern part of Nigeria. Apart from Abuja and Benue we do not have any Lions Club at all in the northern region. We are trying to form the club there as soon as possible.

    “There is no way we can assist if Lions Club is not functioning in such areas. For instance, the Club in Ondo State, there is no way we can gather relief materials to the areas where we have challenges in the north. We must be very careful. You can’t say because you want to give service, you kill yourself in the course of that, but you render service when you know the resources are there. Due to this, we are always with them in prayers and condemning the bombing and killing acts.”

    The new Owo Charter President, Otuaga described the association as a service club that is committed to adding value to our communities.

    Otuaga, whose tenure would end in 2015, said, his administration intends to conduct free eye screening exercise, donate to the physically challenged schools and hospitals as well as beautify Owo community.

    Six eminent Nigerians, who have one way or the other rendered services to their fatherland were honoured at the event. They include the Rector of Rufus Giwa Polytechnic, Owo, Prof. Igbekele Ajibefun, wife of the Lion District Governor, Mrs. Kofo Jegede and Pro-Chancellor and Chairman Governing Council, Achievers University, Owo, Dr. Bode Ayorinde.

  • Lawmaker empowers the needy in Ekiti

    Lawmaker empowers the needy in Ekiti

    Relief and joy were thick in the air when a member of House of Representatives, Hon. Bamidele Faparusi took bold steps at helping poor members of his constituency say bye to deprivations and want.

    It was at Ode-Ekiti, headquarters of Gbonyin Local Government Area of Ekiti State when the All Progressives Congress (APC) empowered some of his constituents with vehicles, motorcycles, tricycles and other materials estimated at over N20 million.

    Most of the beneficiaries are from Gbonyin/Ekiti East/Emure Federal constituency, where Faparusi currently represents at the lower chamber of the National Assembly.

    He lamented that the long years of neglect caused the people by the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP)-led administrations had caused a lot of damage to the economy of the state,

    Faparusi said that the gesture, which is in tandem with Governor Kayode Fayemi-led administra-tion’s eight-point agenda on human capital development, was a sincere effort geared towards alleviating poverty among the people that had hitherto been neglected by previous administrations in the state.

    He said the programme would further complement infrastructural facilities like ICT centres, libraries and town halls that the governor had built in major towns like Omuo, Ilasa, Emure, Ode and other communities in the federal constituency.

    Faparusi explained that the beneficiaries were carefully selected in a manner that was bereft of political considerations, saying they include artisans, technicians, non-indigenes, community associations, vulnerable groups, students and other critical stakeholders in this constituency.”

    The lawmaker said APC is the only party that has a well-structured blueprint for human capital development.

    “Governor Fayemi has done creditably well through the implementation of social security for the elderly, urban renewal programme, huge investment on Ikogosi Warm Spring, renovation of all schools, laptop per student and teacher in schools and gender empowerment, among others.

    One of the beneficiaries, Mr Samuel Adeyemi, lauded Hon Faparusi for having offered effective representation since 2011 when he was elected.

    Adeyemi said: “The APC has robust rural development and intervention programmes. It is the only party that will make promises and stand by them. It has people-oriented programmes that can make lives better for the common men.”

  • Ibadan comes alive with mega stores, high rise buildings

    Ibadan comes alive with mega stores, high rise buildings

    Ibadan, the capital of Oyo State, is enjoying a boom of sort in real estate business as shopping malls and multi-storey buildings spring up in the ancient city. OSEHEYE OKWUOFU reports.

    If you have not been to Ibadan in the last couple of years you may be pardoned for thinking you are in a wrong place when you get to the Oyo State capital now as the architectural face of the ancient city is fast giving way to modernity

    The largest city in West Africa, has in the last few years, especially since the coming of the present administration in Oyo State, witnessed an increase in the number of high rise/multi-storey buildings and modern shopping malls, a development that has equally impacted on the economy of the city as well as the way the people do their shopping.

    For decades the only imposing structure in Ibadan was the 25-storey Cocoa House situated at Dugbe,  the city’s Central Business District, with a few lesser high rise buildings in the same area while shopping was largely restricted to a few super markets and stores also in the CBD.

    But, that is now changing, no thanks to private investors that have pumped billions of Naira into real estate business in the city, taking advantage of the massive infrastructural development being carried out by the state government in the capital city and elsewhere in Oyo State.

    The Cocoa Mall recently sprang up in the centre of the city from the premises of the defunct Daily Sketch newspapers, bringing along with it mega stores and the likes. And just when people thought probably that was enough, the Ibadan Mall, penultimate Thursday opened opposite the High Court premises along the ever busy Ring Road.

    The imposing mall which housed other stores including the popular Shoprite became the second after the commissioning of the Cocoa Mall, where Shoprite made its first debut in the capital city.

    The business climate was set for what was arguably the biggest event in town. There was massive turnout of people who have been waiting anxiously to have a taste of the assorted goods on display.

    An elated customer, one of many who came to patronise the big stores, Alade Okediran a civil servant described the Ibadan Mall as an evidence of economic growth and good things coming into the city.

    He noted that apart from affordable prices, Shoprite would offer the people multiple alternatives.

    Okediran said, ”I loved it as one of the first people to visit here and see for myself what Shoprite has to offer and now that I have seen and purchased some of the products I have this extraordinary feeling that truly Ibadan is witnessing an unusual growth. And it is nice for the people. We need to move forward and join other countries of the world. What I see here is great.”

    It was gathered that the magnificent edifice which stood on the former Ibadan refuse dumpsite was constructed by Broll Nigeria Limited, owners of the Ibadan Mall.

    With finest floor tiles and colourful interior decorations, the Mall enjoys the patronage of other store owners aside from the big Shoprite store that has almost 70 percent of the shop space inside the Mall.

    Shoprite being the first to open its store with fun-fare parades choicest  West Bakery, seafood, barbeque, butchery, dairy, hot foods, liquor, and toy world sections among others.

    Mr. Fatai Oshungboye, Ibadan Mall Shoprite Branch Manager, who spoke with The Nation expressed confidence on the Shoprite brand, adding that it was the brand that actually drives the crowd to patronise the Mall. He described the patronage at the Mall as very wonderful when contrasting it with what obtains in other stores.

    Apart from the Shoprite stores that had opened for business, the multi million naira mall still has some sections under construction with electrical fittings, painting, laying of floor and wall tiles and installation of cooling system yet to be completed. According to the Shoprite branch Manager, the unoccupied stores would in a couple of weeks come on board.

    Not too far away from the Ibadan Mall is the Cocoa building premises inside which is located the Cocoa Heritage Mall which consists of no fewer than 140 different stores and big super markets including the Shoprite stores which had continued to thrill the inhabitants of the ancient city.

    Other areas like Challenge, Mokola, Sango, Sabo, Oremeji, Agodi, Eleyele, Oke-Ado  and Ojoo have seen the emergence of high rise buildings and big stores with increased economic activities in different places.  The imposing magnificent buildings with assorted offices in some places were up for let with sign-boards containing names and addresses of property agents inscribed boldly. In other parts of the city, it was observed that developers have bought over many old properties and redeveloped them to modern architectural designs and thereafter put them on lease.

    A renowned property developer in the city, Chief Olajide Idowu, described the inflow of investments in real estate as a welcome development. He said the growth in real sectors of the economy is in conformity with the sermon on sustainable economic development currently being preached all over the world.

    “Many advanced countries of the world started through the involvement of core private investors that brought about much sought after economic growth and development. Don’t forget the role played by property developers, it is a critical sector of the economy that must not be overlooked in any given economy. With more interest in this sector, the sky is the limit”, he said.

    An industrialist, Mr Moses Adeleke, who spoke on the accelerated economic growth being witnessed in Ibadan noted that the growth would not have been possible without an enabling and conducive environment in the state.

    Adeleke, however, called on the government to invest more in the power sector to assist manufacturers in their effort to grow the economy, lamenting that many investors could not survive on diesel to run their generators in the face of poor public electricity supply, a situation, he said stifles production and economic growth.

    Despite the challenges, Adeleke alluded to the ongoing transformation in the physical infrastructure and economic growth in the city and ascribed the development to the provision of enabling environment by the state government, which has made urban renewal and massive road construction a major plank of its development programme.

    Analysts are also pointing at the atmosphere of peace that now pervades the city and the entire state since the coming on board of the Abiola Ajimobi administration in Oyo State as another factor responsible for the rise of the real estate sector.