The Nation Newspaper

Category: Southwest

  • Don urges Osun to make Yoruba language compulsory in schools

    A senior lecturer in the Department of Public Administration at the Obafemi Awolwo University, Ile-Ife, Dr. Taiwo Makinde, has made a case for Yoruba language compulsory in primary and secondary schools in Osun State.

    The university don canvassed the option during a lecture she delivered in Osogbo. The lecture was titled: “Yoruba Must Not Die: Our Children Must Not Lose Their Identity.” It was organised by the Awolowo Centre For Philosphy, Ideology and Good Governance, at the St. Charles Grammar School, Osogbo, Osun State capital.

    Praising Governor Rauf Aregbe-sola’s policies and programmes in promoting the Yoruba language and culture, Makinde said scholars should be encouraged to work on the lapses confronting the language.

    According to her, doing so would make the Yoruba language be brought to a level that it can be used in teaching of various academic disciplines.

    Mrs Makinde said when the language is made compulsory in schools in Osun State, it would enable more pupils to offer the subject in the Joint Admission Matriculation Board examination, thereby providing opportunities for them to study it at the university level.

    She said: “Teachers of Yoruba Language should be encouraged to improve themselves through the processes of training and re-training. Most importantly, there is need for re-orientation of the people – young and old – to sensitise them to appreciate the beauty of Yoruba as a language we should be proud of.”

    Makinde said there was need for the lecture and sensitisation on why Yoruba language must not die because of the noticeable gradual extinction of the language due to deliberate destructive contribution of the government, the school and parents.

    The Director General of the Awolowo Centre For Philosphy, Ideology and Good Governance, Moses Makinde, a Professor of Philosophy, said it has become urgent that concrete steps were taken to preserve Yoruba language to ensure the people’s continued existence.

    The Principal School 1 of St. Charles Grammar School, Osogbo, Mr. Okunola Famoriyo, who was the chairman at the programme, called on the management of the Awolowo Centre For Philosphy, Ideology and Good Governance, the organiser of the event on preserve the Yoruba language and extend it to other schools in the state, especially the private ones.

  • Ekiti 2014: Groups vow to resist rigging

    Pan-Yoruba groups across the Southwest, last Saturday, vowed to resist any attempt to rig the forthcoming governorship election slated for June 21 in the state, adding that it would be a major test of the dignity of the Yoruba people.

    The groups, under the auspices of Oodua Nationalist Coalition (ONAC), comprising self-determination and Pan-Yoruba groups from nine Yoruba-speaking states, including parts of Edo and Delta states, said the adoption of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) candidate last Saturday signals the form that the election would take.

    “We urge authorities to realise that the rigging of elections in 1964 and 1983 led to violent uprising. The rigging of 1983 led to a military coup, while the 1964 rigging eventually led to civil war. The crisis began in the Southwest and took 30 months of bloody conflict to resolve. Nigerian political leaders appear to have learnt nothing from history,” the groups said at the conclusion of a two-day conference at Ado Ekiti.

    The groups adopted the incumbent, Dr. Kayode Fayemi as the sole candidate of the groups in the election, describing Fayemi as the Pan-Yoruba candidate because of the progressive bent of his administration.

    Leaders of other ethnic groups drawn from Ekiti and other parts of the Southwest especially Hausa-Fulani, Tiv, Igbo and Ebira communities were also at the event. The groups also set up what it called Pan-Yoruba Campaign Movement for the election of Dr Fayemi on June 21.

    The groups expressed worries that the PDP in the state is beating its chests that they have the support of the president to ‘turn Ekiti state into ashes in the name of power,” saying that such arrogant posture will only burn out the patience of the people of Ekiti state and the entire Yoruba nation.

    The groups suspect the current registration of voters in Ekiti state, saying: “It gives us a lot of concern and suggests that INEC has shown a prelude to massive election rigging in Ekiti state. We call on INEC to conduct a free and fair election and resist attempts to turn Ekiti state into an axis of turbulence.”

    “We warn politicians that have not learnt anything from history. The Yoruba people must not be taken for granted. The Ekiti election is a Yoruba affair; it is also a local and international affair. We do not want the current democratic experience to fall. But we warn that any attempt to rig the forthcoming election in Ekiti may lead to mass resistance and the eventual torpedo of the emerging electoral culture.

    “In the past, we did not see anything to defend, but now the Ekiti people and the greater Yoruba family have seen what is worth defending in Ekiti State”, the groups stated in the communiqué, which was signed by 55 groups and was proclaimed on behalf of the groups by Mr Popoola Ajayi and Mrs Adenike Ojo.

    Several leaders of the groups who spoke at the two-day meeting said the Ekiti election is crucial to the survival of the progressive movement and its transformation agenda in the South West states. The gathering was attended by about a thousand delegates drawn from the south west states. National leader of the TIV community, Mr. Yaro Gowon said he was in Ekiti to join forces with Pan-Yoruba groups to ensure victory for Dr Fayemi at the poll.

    It stated “We have an historical duty to defend the gains of the past three and half years. In 1965, our people rose up against attempts to impose alien values on us. The recalcitrant posture of the Federal Government eventually led to the civil war that engulfed the country. In 1983, our people laid down their lives in defense of the gains of democracy under the Unity Party of Nigeria, (UPN) led by the late Chief Obafemi Awolowo.”

    The groups added: “Today we have seen the transformation of the government in Ekiti state. We have seen gains in the area of education, health and the drive for over all human development. We are here to defend the radical tradition of the people of Ekiti state and the revolution that has made Ekiti state the destiny of local and international interests.”

  • Akoko community killing: OPC leaders, monarch have no case to answer, says DPP

    The controversy over the murder of Igbekele Oyeleye in 2009, by unknown persons in Arigidi-Akoko, in Akoko North West Local Government Area, Ondo State, over chieftaincy tussle still lingers on.

    There was a public outcry recently by some aggrieved indigenes, calling on the government to probe Oyeleye’s killing whose corpse is still in the mortuary at the Federal Medical Centre, Owo, where it was deposited five-years ago.

    However, the Department of Public Prosecutions (DPP), of the Ministry of Justice has entered a ‘no case’ submission against the three accused.

    The accused according to a petition by one Mallam Gani Ashiru, to the Commissioner of Police are the National Coordinator of Odua Peoples Congress (OPC), Otunba Gani Adams, who is an indigene of the town, his personal assistant, Mr. Segun Akanni, and Arigidi’s monarch, Oba Yisa Olanipekun, the Zaki of Arigidi-Akoko.

    Speaking during a protest by some members of Arigidi community at the Governor’s office, Akure, the spokesman of the group, Mr. Amos Ogunleye, said many residents of the community now live in fear over alleged attack on some of them by supporters of the embattled monarch.

    He appealed to the state government to release the White Paper on the report submitted by a commission of inquiry set up to look into the crisis in Arigidi community in 2011.

    However, the OPC coordinator, Adams, has cautioned that those who are fond of accusing him and Oba Olanipekun of killing Oyeleye should stop such accusation or face prosecution since the DPP has already entered a ‘no case’ submission on the case.

    According to the legal advice sent to the Assistant Commissioner of Police, ‘D’ Department by the DPP and signed on behalf of the state Attorney-General by a senior legal officer in the Ministry of Justice, J. M. Itiola, the petitioner has no credible evidence linking the suspects to the alleged killing.

    The legal advice conclude thus; “In view of the above, I have so many unresolved doubts in my minds considering the gap in the period of years between the incidences and the fact that several other names were mentioned in connection with the incidence, who were never arrested or interrogated.

    “I am of the view that the issue is premised on malice and to this end, I humbly suggest that the uninve-stigated and unresolved doubts should be resolved in favour of the suspects, while the statements of the purported eyewitness, Mrs. Beatrice is considered an afterthought.

    “I therefore humbly advice that all the suspects in this case, i. e. pages B1-Oba Olanipekun, B2-Otunba Gani Adams and B3-Segun Akanni, be let off the hook for lack of credible evidence.”

  • Ehingbeti 2014: Lagos lists priority areas for agriculture

    Lagos State government has identified some key agriculture value chains it hopes to leverage to achieve food sufficiency for the residents of the state as power again occupies the front burner at the seventh edition of the biennial Lagos Economic Summit, popularly called Ehingbeti.

    Speaking on how the state government intends to harness power for the development of the agriculture sector, the Commissioner for Agriculture and Cooperatives, Prince Gbolahan Lawal, said the agriculture value chains being focused are poultry, rice production, cassava cultivation, aquaculture, vegetable, post-harvest as well as abattoir and lairage.

    Speaking on the theme of this year summit: “Powering the Lagos Economy: Real Opportunities, Endless Possibilities” which takes place at the Eko Hotel and Suites from April 8 to10, the commissioner said like every other sector of the economy, inadequacy of electric power has impacted negatively on the agriculture value chains; a development he noted was a threat to food sufficiency in the country as well as the African continent as a whole.

    The commissioner said for instance, absence of or inadequate power supply has been a major setback for farmers who engage in hatchery production, poultry processing, layer birds and broiler production as a result of high mortality of birds, increase in the cost of production and feed as well as post processing loss.

    He stated, however, that by attracting investors into the power sector of the state economy, the government was poised to reverse the ugly trend. ‘‘Electricity is very crucial in the hatchery sub sector of the poultry industry in Lagos State. It will reduce the cost of production of day-old chicks by about 50% which will invariably reduce the cost of producing broilers, cockerel as a result of economies of scale due to expansion of operations. The attendant market prices of these products will also reduce substantially’’, he declared.

    Lawal said that with improved power, there would be significant increase in capacity utilization and output, revealing that the state poultry facilities alone were expected to increase by 30% in the first year and over 75% in the third year aside the multiplier effect on farmers in the private sector.

    According to him, operations like feather plucking, digital scale weighing, chilling and cooling were 100% dependent on electricity but inadequate power has made most processing facilities in the state to be operating at less than 15% capacity due to high cost of diesel.

    On rice cultivation which requires irrigation, he informed that the high cost of powering irrigation facilities with generating sets has adversely affected the cost of production and milling thereby resulting in high cost of locally-produced rice in the market.

    He said the availability of power would not only enhance rice production twice in the year, it would also result in almost 100% yield and a further increase in production from the present two to three metric tonnes per hectare to between four and five metric tonnes per hectare in the first year of intervention.

    In the same vein, the commissioner added that electricity was a key factor for rice parboiling, drying, de-stoning, milling, processing and packaging, hence adequate power was capable of guaranteeing all-year availability of quality locally-produced rice. ‘‘It will trigger the cultivation of rice from the present figure of about 1000 Ha to over 3000 Ha in the next few years of intervention. More jobs will be also created’’, he stressed.

  • I am the only paramount ruler in Igboho, says Alepata

    I am the only paramount ruler in Igboho, says Alepata

    Against the backdrop of persistent claims by three traditional rulers to being the paramount ruler of Igboho, Oke-Ogun, Oyo State, the Alepata of Igboho, Oba Johnson Olayide Oyeyiola Igbaroola III, has restated his superiority to the other claimants to the title and he has the ruling of the Supreme Court and the backing of the state government on his side. SINA FADARE reports.

    The traditional ruler of Igboho in Orelope Local Government, Oyo State, Alepata of Igboho, HRH, Oba Johnson Olayide Oyeyiola Igbaroola lll, has said that he is the only paramount ruler of the town and the only one with beaded crown in the kingdom.

    In the light of fresh controversy over who among himself, the Onigboho and the Onibode, is the paramount ruler of the town and the entire kingdom, the Alepata said, he is not only recognised and addressed as such by the Oyo State government but that the Supreme Court had equally ruled in his favour.

    Alepata, who disclosed this during an exclusive chat with The Nation in his palace at Igboho, said that contrary to insinuations from some quarters that there is any other ruler in the town, there is no longer any controversy about it after the judgment of the Supreme Court that declared him as the authentic beaded crown Oba of the ancient town.

    “Aside the facts that l am the only permanent member of the Oyo State Council of Obas and Chiefs, l am equally the permanent Chairman of Orelope Traditional Council. Any other person(s) claiming to ascribe whatever title to himself is only dreaming and could not read the correct handwriting on the wall.”

    According to him, the tussle over the headship of the traditional stool in the historic town has been settled with the Supreme Court Judgment delivered on Friday, May 13, 1994, in the Suit No: SC.294/1991, titled: Alhaji Lawani Atoyebi & Anor v. The Governor of Oyo State & Others.”

    In the lead judgment, Justice Modibo Alfa Begore, affirmed the ruling of the Court of Appeal that “The trial Judge, after reviewing all the evidence of 3rd defendant and his witnesses and recent situation whereby he regarded Alepata as the superior ruler of Igboho and that Onigboho was under him. Trial Judge never relied on traditional history alone, but found that recent situation dating for several years convinced him that the Alepata must be overlord of Onigboho and not the other way round. He relied on the inquiry held in 1957 (Exh. 12) and that of 1982 resulting in the government of former Western Region of Nigeria recognising Alep-ata as the superior chief of Igboho.”

    Belgore averred that: “Upon the foregoing, the government has all along found in favour of superiority of Alepata as the overall ruler of Igboho and that any other chief in that town including Onigboho ranks after him. This conclusion is based on tradition history after various enquiries.”

    Aside this, Alepata, pointed out that in 1985; the Oyo State government sent him a letter of confirmation as the paramount ruler of Igboho town. The letter reads: “I am directed to inform you that government has received the report of Administrative Inquiry into the above subject matter and has, after a careful consideration of the report, approved that (1) The Alepata should be confirmed as the most Senior Traditional Ruler in Igboho. (2) The Onigboho should be recognised as a Traditional Ruler in Igboho and as the second in rank to the Alepata; and (3) The Ona-Onibode has no right to assume the headship of Igboho but his position as a traditional ruler in Igboho has been reaffirmed.”

    The said letter was dated January 2, 1985, was sent from the office of the military governor with reference no CB.141/13/1/Vol.1/238, signed by Mr F.B Adisa.

    He argued that going down the memory lane from the days of his forefathers when Alaafin first visited Oke-Ogun area of the state, he had been accorded a leadership role.

    “When there was Fulani invasion of old Oyo Empire, Alaafin and his people were forced to vacate their home. When he got to Ebiti, he met our forefather, Gbage, who came from Ilesha. Today, we can also contest the royal stool of Owa-Obokun of Ijeshaland. Alaafin Ofinran saw that Gbage was a powerful man, who had a lot of charms and very formidable in the act of warfare and hunting expedition. Alaafin Ofinran was so amased that this (Ebiti) was a settlement that was so peaceful. So, he inquired, who was the head usually called Baale and Gbage was sent for.

    “That time, Alaafin was very powerful in Yoruba kingdom, he was welcomed by Gbage. Alaafin Ofinran told Gbage that he was looking for where he could settle down with all his people and entourage. Gbage, who knew  all the terrain because of his hunting expedition after he had killed numerous, dangerous and carnivorous animal, told him that after they might have rested for seven days, they  would embarked on a search mission, looking for a place to settle the Alaafin and his people.

    “Any time Alaafin wanted to see Gbage, he will say that “go and call me that hunter who used to killed animals with spots on its skin” (Baba to ma  n pa eran patapata) that was how Gbage was changed to Alepata, “Baba to n le eran patapata  pa”

    The traditional ruler pointed out that aside this; he was the only Oba in the town who the current Alaafin, HRH Oba Lamidi Olayiw-ola Adeyemi III, sent a letter of certification to after he was enthroned as the Alepata of Igboho.

    Against this backdrop, he explained that an official letter was written to him by the state government that made him one of the permanent members of the council of Obas and Chiefs.

    Part of the letter that was signed by Mr O. A. Akanmu and dated April 23, 2008 with reference No:CB.161/1/Vol.X1/306 reads; “l write to inform you that the Oyo State Executive Council at its 7th meetings of March 5, 2008, had noted the need to enlarge the Oyo State Council of Obas and Chiefs in accordance with the provision of schedule 1 of Cap 37, Oyo State Law2000. It is the light of this development that you have been appointed as a permanent member of the Oyo Council of Obas and Chiefs”

    Oba Alepata noted that around year 2002, when some chiefs were parading themselves with the title of an Oba, which the government did not recognise, a letter of warning was sent to all of them to stop such arrogation of such paraphernalia of office.

    The letter from the Oyo State Ministry of Local Government and Chieftaincy Matters with Ref. No CB.161/5B/3/52 and directed to all the Chairmen and Traditional Rulers in the state reads:

    ”The state government has observed with dismay and surprise the bastardisation of the institution of traditional rulership in Oyo State in recent time. It is a rape on our revered custom and tradition and also a taboo for various professional organisations and societies assuming certain titles of our Traditional Heads and also parading themselves as His Royal Highness.

    “It is against the foregoing that the Chiefs Law Cap 21, Section 21 (1-4) forbids any one, who is not an Oba to address or parade himself as such. It is an offence punishable under the state law.”

    The traditional ruler of Igboho, therefore, enjoined the Oyo State government to separate the Council of Obas from that of the Chiefs so that those who are notable chiefs in their respective kingdom will not unnecessary arrogating to themselves the title they do not qualify to bear.

    “This at the long run will give total respect to the traditional  institutions and most of the needless crises that had been witnessed in the past due to this anomaly  will be a  thing of the past.“

  • Centre invites professionals to help achieve jobs, wealth creation in Ogun

    Centre invites professionals to help achieve jobs, wealth creation in Ogun

    Seven years old Technology Incubation Centre (TIC), Abeok-uta, is repositioning itself, ostensibly to enhance its chances of creating not only wealth but also the targeted 5,000 jobs or more for budding young entrepreneurs, among  the youth of Ogun State within a couple of years.

    It is a collaborative efforts of the Federal Government, state and local governments in Ogun to nurture the start-up development and growth of innovative business ideas and technologies via Technology Incubation Programme (TIP).

    And aside Abeokuta, the state capital, there are two extensions of TIP in the state – Odogbolu ( Ogun East) and Owode – Yewa (Ogun West).

    Penultimate week, the centre brought into its fold, professionals from tertiary institutions, marketing, NAFDAC, research institute, Standards Organisation of Nigeria (SON) and Ministry of Commerce and Industry to help it evaluate feasibility studies and business plans of potential small and medium scale entrepreneurs desirous of using the facility to incubate their business ideas and innovations.

    The professionals – are also expected to provide advisory role on linkages to other source of funding for financial support to the aspiring entrepreneurs as well as on product marketing and export potentials for products produced by them.

    The Nation gathered that since its establishment in May 2007, the centre has provided no fewer than 500 direct jobs to youths and there are about 20 young entrepreneurs producing different products using local raw materials and whose investment worth at inception, was put at N24m beside 200 unemployed, who were sponsored for training in various vocations by the Ogun State government.

    The TIC Manager, Dr. John Oni, who recalled that the facility was established by the Federal Government to serve as an “industrial nursery and designed to use locally generated technologies and raw materials” for wealth creation, said the invited professionals are needed to move the place forward.

    Members of the team include Olootu Layi Labode, National Institute of Marketing of Nigeria(NIMN), Pharm. Ugochukwu Ilo (NAFDAC), Engr. Enebi Onucheyo (Standards Organisation of Nigeria) and eight others.

    The state Commissioner for Commerce and Industry, Otunba Bimbo Ashiru, who inaugurated the 11-member  committee, advised them to use their experience in various callings to assist the centre attain its objectives of “jobs and wealth creation.”

    According to Ashiru, the TIP is an avenue to engage the youth and other enterprising minds needed to diversify the economy and steer the nation away from dependency on the oil sector and imports.

    The commissioner urged the budding small and medium entrepreneurs of the centre to leverage on the N1bn Ogun State – Bank of Industry Industrial Matching Fund and develop their various businesses to success stories.

    According to him, aside the link road, the state government built to the centre,  also request for provision of Industrial borehole, 500KVA transformer and connection of the Odogbolu extension are being looked into.

    The chairman of the advisory committee, Olootu Layi Labode, assured that products and discoveries at the centre would be made to get to the public as well as get certification and approval by government regulatory authority.

    According to Labode, who was former chairman, Ogun State Council of Nigeria Union of Journalists (NUJ), it served neither the manufacturer/entrepreneurs nor the public any purpose if goods produced do not get to those who would make use of them.

    He expressed the confidence that with the team, the centre could be positioned to create over 10,000 jobs in the state within a short space of time.

  • Police parade Pastor, 30 other suspects in Ondo

    Police parade Pastor, 30 other suspects in Ondo

    Nemesis may have caught up with 31 suspected criminals in Ondo State, who were paraded by the police in Akure, the state capital last weekend. DAMISI OJO reports.

    The police in Ondo State have arrested a 28-year-old Pastor, Okpara Emmanuel Chigozie over his alleged involvement in the kidnap of a Two-year-old girl in Akure, the state capital.

    Pastor Chigozie, founder of a Pentecostal church in Owerri, the Imo State capital was one of the 31 suspects paraded by the Ondo State Police Command last weekend at the command headquarters in Akure, during the maiden press briefing of the new police commissioner Isaac Eke.

    The Pastor was arrested in his apartment in Owerri by detectives from the State Criminal Investigation Department (CID), Akure.

    His arrest followed a report lodged at the Okuta Elerinla Division of the command on March 12, that a two-year-old girl had been kidnapped in the area. Police detectives immediately swung into action and arrested a 25-year male suspect Chinonye Anufor, which eventually led to the arrest of the Pastor.

    According to the Commissioner of Police, socks of the kidnapped girl, her pair of canvass and about 15 SIM cards with eight assorted types of phones were among the items recovered from the Chigozie’s apartment.

    During an interview with reporters, the suspect said, “I was called at the age of 18 to preach the word. I am a graduate of Delta State University. When I finished from school, I was serving under Prophet Elijah Kalu, who later prayed for me and said I should go and open my own ministry.

    “I later opened Believers Prayer Ministry, at No. 36, Umudagu Road, by Veronica Hardel junction, Orji, Owerri.

    “Last week Wednesday, a boy called Lukman came with one brother (Sly) and said a lady gave birth to his child but wants to take the baby away because he could not give her money, He said I should come and talk to the woman to release the child to him.

    “They came to me with a guy in army uniform and we all came (here) together. We were four in number and we came in a Toyota Camry car. When we got to the place they showed us the house.

    “So, in the morning he (Sly) just called us and said the wife was coming out, when we got there we saw her and we collected the baby from her. On our way we stopped, that was when he told us that it was a lie that he is a kidnapper, that the man owed him some money that he was working for the man before. So, we took the child to Yenegoa in Bayelsa State and dropped her there,” the Pastor narrated.

    He, however, confessed to the crime, stressing that he was very sad and remorseful.

    Similarly, another gang of kidnappers was arrested by men of the Ondo State Police Command and equally paraded before the public. The gang was led by a University undergraduate, Olanrewaju Adeku-nle, currently on teaching practice at a secondary school in Ibadan

    The gang was intercepted by the police along Ajagba/Agadagba Road, in Ese Odo Local Government, Ondo State.

    One 28-year-old, Gasiakpo Niakpo, a student of Niger Delta University Bayelsa was also apprehended on the spot with one Henry Doye Messiah, while another suspect, Edward Onwei escaped into the bush.

    Items recovered from them included a Toyota Solara car with Reg. No. AKD 731 AR and a case file, which the command said would soon be transferred to Oyo State command for further action.

    Niakpo who confessed to the crime said “we never intended to kidnap anybody, it was a friend that called me that there was a fraudster (Yahoo boy) who has been evading police and EFCC, that we should go and collect money from him, we never intended to kidnap him”

    He said they were arrested by the police while coming to Akure to a new generation bank where the guy was supposed to get money and pay them as ransom.

    Niakpo said their plans were never to kidnap him but to harass him with the police in order to extort money from him.

    Among other suspects paraded were cultists  arrested during police  raids in the State Capital as a follow up to the murder of one Sunday Eniola who was shot dead during a fight between two rival cult groups last week at Tipper garage, Akure.

    The CP said in the course of the exercise, one Taiwo Olamilekan (a.k.a) Olorunwa was apprehended with bullet wound on the left leg.

    According to him, on interrogation, the suspect confessed that he is a member of “Eye” confraternity , saying he sustained the gunshot wound during an encounter with the other cultists

    The police chief said one Sunday Eniola who was earlier shot dead was equally said to be a member of the “Eye” confraternity.

    Other suspects paraded were armed robbers who stole motorcycles and goats.

    However, the new police chief has  assured the people of the command’s readiness to combat crimes and flush out criminals in the state.

    He said the command would create a robust symbiotic relationship with member of the public, corporate bodies and the media through an open door policy.

    The commissioner however solicited maximum cooperation from the  people  on useful information to achieve the desired goal.

  • Lawmaker gives bursary to needy students

    Lawmaker gives bursary to needy students

    No fewer than 780 students of tertiary institutions from Badagry Federal Constituency benefitted from the bursary allowance given by a member of House of Representatives, Hon. Rafeequat Onaba-miro, at the Badagry Grammar School, Lagos State.

    She said the gesture was to assist parents to reduce the hardship they face while training their wards at the higher institutions of learning.

    Onabamiro said, having faced similar challenges as a student, one of the ways to give back to society is to assist needy students who struggle to receive an education.

    She noted that the lack of access to education endangers the mind and exposes it to disease. She, however, expressed disappointment that her efforts to better the lots of people have not been well complemented.

    According to her, some structures she provided to make life better for them were compromised. She said: “It is with great sadness I report that despite all counsels given and promises made by recipients of three buses for commercial transportation, these young men have run them aground within a short time.”

    She advised parents to be more responsible in the growth of their wards. “It is very important that parents guide their children because if they are not well trained at home, it will influence their conduct in the public.”

    Onabamiro maintained that the beneficiaries of the bursary award cut across the 20 political wards in her constituency. They were chosen after thorough scrutiny to ascertain that the students were actually in the institutions they claimed. “

    In the last two years and nine months, a number of economic programmes, financial and humanitarian services have been rendered for the benefit of our people. It is my hope that these programmes have bought about a positive economic return to the beneficiaries.”

    One of the beneficiaries, Sule Sego said the bursary will assist most of the students because things were really difficult. “What our House of Representatives member has done is a big relief to some of us, who are struggling to remain in the school.

    She has demonstrated that the progress of Badagry youths is in her mind.” He urged other politicians to come to the aid of youths who deserve assistance not only in their educational pursuit but setting up small-scale businesses as part of a measure to arrest the escalating insecurity in the country.

  • Jakande’s payback time for constituents

    Jakande’s payback time for constituents

    In one fell swoop, Hon. Ayodeji Jakande, a member of the House of Representatives and son of a former Governor of Lagos State, Alhaji Lateef Jakande, distributed materials worth millions of naira to empower 500 people in his constituency, writes TAJUDEEN ADEBANJO

    The son of a former Governor of Lagos State, Alhaji Lateef Jakande, Labib Ayodeji, is gradually stepping into his father’s shoes.

    Since his election in 2011, as member of the House of Representatives representing Somolu Federal Constituency, the young Jakande, has silently embarked on projects aimed at improving his constituents.

    With a state-of-the-art, Information Communication Technology (ICT) Centre at CMS Primary School, training hundreds of youth, luxury buses conveying pupils to and from school, executing first phase of his ‘Operation hundred thousand books’ aimed at making 100,000 exercise books available free to school children and annual football competition, the lawmaker surely knows what it takes to keep young minds busy and focused.

    Also, to engage the adults, Hon. Jakande has built a Skill Acquisition Centre, where different vocational trainings are offered. Boreholes have also been provided in areas lacking potable water, while transformers have been given to at least four streets in Fadeyi, Bariga and Somolu to boost electricity supply in addition to the provision of street lights in six areas.

    As if these were not enough, on Thursday, February 20, Jakande empowered no fewer than 500 people at Baptist Academy School Grounds, Obanikoro.

    The event that coincided with his 44th birthday saw the beneficiaries turning out in large numbers, early enough to herald the commencement of the poverty alleviation and welfare programme.

    The materials distributed included grinding machines, sewing machines, hair dryers, generating sets, tool boxes, deep freezers and cash.

    Hon. Jakande thanked the people for their supports and used the opportunity to present his score card.

    He thanked his father for his presence and pledged to maintain the integrity, pedigree and virtue which “our family name has earned and which our patriarch worked hard for. It is my fervent prayer that I uplift and maintain the height of my family name.”

    Jakande did not forget to thank the people of his constituency.

    “I am indebted to you and promise not only to surpass my father’s public service records but also to reward you for your overwhelming support to me at the general elections. You remain my hub around which I revolve at the National Assembly, hence the reason why we are gathered here today.

    “Since assumption of office, I have made it a personal duty to highlight a few democratic dividends for the peoples’ benefit and this will continue for long.”

    He rallied supports for the All Progressives Congress (APC) in the next general elections.

    “May I at this juncture appreciate the effort of my mentor, the man who is for the total emancipation of the entire nation, Asiwaju Bola Ahmed Tinubu, for helping me chart my political course and giving me renewed relevance with the people of Somolu. I also thank Senator Oluremi Tinubu, for the support over the years. When people come into your life and make a difference, it is only proper to acknowledge God in them. I consider myself lucky.

    “I equally appreciate my leaders in APC, the party with the vision of making a great change in the history of this country,” he said.

    While lauding the Speaker of the House of Representatives, Hon. Aminu Tambuwal’s leadership style, Jakande said his presence has fired up his passion for governance.

    “Mr Speaker Sir, your leadership style which I call ‘Borderless Politics’ is no doubt huge on my mind. I make bold to add that; since the advent of our democracy in 1999, you are the only Speaker truly with a Nigerian mandate and the good people of Somolu join me in thanking you for finding time out of your tight schedule to be with us. May you have your heart desires,” he prayed.

    Tambuwal, the special guest of honour, was full of praise for the father of the lawmaker, Alhaji Jakande, who was also present at the event.

    According to him, politicians all over the country should emulate the good works of the second republic governor of Lagos State.

    He hailed the young Jakande for his lofty ideals of presenting empowerment items to members of his constituency, describing the act as Godly and timely.

    He urged the beneficiaries to make good use of the items as it was a way of not only eradicating poverty but also make them self-reliant.

    Excited by the gesture, an APC stalwart, Senator Anthony Adefuye, described the programme as timely.

    Adefuye, a one-time member of the National Assembly canvassed a second term tenure in the lower chamber for Hon Jakande.

    Alhaji Jakande thanked the Speaker for being a true Nigerian noting that no leader of the House of Representatives has ever been non-partisan in relating with people like Tambuwal. The statesman urged other leaders to emulate the Speaker.

  • Ex-soccer star turns destitute

    Ex-soccer star turns destitute

    •Imogene pleads for financial assistance

    It the height of his football career, Peter Imogene, an indigene of Abraka, Delta State, was a master of the game.

    An accomplished footballer, with some of Nigeria’s great football clubs of the past, such as Bendel Insurance of Benin, Calabar Rovers of Calabar and Water Corporation of Ibadan. 57-year-old Imogene, built his life around football such that when his playing career was over he took to coaching and was making a success of it. That was until two years ago.

    Today, his world has been reduced to rubble so to speak as a strange ailment that struck him in 2012, while on the way from Bauchi in the northeast where he was employed as a coach to his home town, Abraka, in the southsouth region has left him unable to fully use his legs.

    The ailment later diagnosed to be stroke has left him paralysed and with a swollen leg. He now lives as a destitute on the streets of Akure, the Ondo State capital, where he now begs for alms to keep body and soul together. All his life savings had gone into treating the disease but no improvement to his deteriorating health condition.

    Though married to three wives and has five children, Imogene today is alone with no family member around, as they all abandoned him shortly after his problem started.

    “Oh! I have lost everything”, he usually laments when telling his story to passers-by most of whom have now become his friends. “I was a well known player in 70s, I played for Bendel Insurance, Calabar Rovers, Ibadan Water Corporation and so many other clubs. My wives abandoned me immediately I got this disease and they thought I am probably dead by now because none of them has made any attempt to search for me. I don’t know where my children are, but I think two of them might be in Delta State with their mother.”

    He has become the ‘landlord’ of one of the newly constructed bus stop built by Governor Olusegun Mimiko’s administration around State Library at Oyemekun road in Akure. This is where he stays during the day and also sleeps at night with neatly arranged empty cartons serving as his bed.

    Come rain come sunshine, Imogene has made the bus stop his abode and always keeps the place clean despite his challenges.

    “In the morning, I normally go to the back of this bus stop to clean myself because this is where I live. This place has been serving as a house for me. And God has been protecting me during the night. Akure people have been caring for me. Some of them will bring food and also give me money. That is why you will always see people around me. Some of them are my friends.

    “I got to Akure six months ago after I have spent about a year in Lagos State. Though, I don’t know how I got to Lagos State. I am just regaining my senses, I lost everything. My family abandoned me, they want me dead, by now they believe I am dead but I will always be grateful to God for saving my life. I am just getting myself back together gradually.”

    When asked how he got to Akure, Imogene told The Nation, “I came to Akure by myself. Nobody brought me from Lagos. When I was in Lagos I was battling with my ailment (stroke) and I started going to a church from where I contacted this swollen leg. When I got this leg pain, I nearly ran mad because I could not recognise myself again.”

    Talking about his past, the ex-footballer said, “I had my first son in 1984, but I don’t know where the boy is now. I think I have five children. I saw my last child four years ago, because we were both staying together at Bauchi. All my life, I was into sports. I think I have three wives. I take life so easy, nobody was after me. I am the only boy of my father who has so many wives. My belief was that I can do whatever I like. Though, I have never being in good terms with the other wives of my father.

    “The problem started when I was returning to my home town from Bauchi where I worked as a football coach with my immediate family when this breeze fell on me and that was how I became paralysed.  I lost everything to this illness and my wives abandoned me. I don’t know how I got to Lagos. I was abandoned, I had nowhere to stay, I was also staying in a public place like this in Lagos. This place is cleaner than where I was staying in Lagos.

    “I will continue to say that I am the luckiest man you can ever think of because I was almost going naked. I think it is a spiritual battle. It is only God who knows. All my family members provoked me including my father. I had little property when I was into football. We don’t save money that time. You know how footballers of those days do live their lives. I became a coach with some football clubs in Bauchi. All I know was that I lived happily.

    “It is now that my eyes are getting opened. I have started feeling where I am staying now. This is where you will see me from morning till night. I am very open to the people. God has always been my protector at night, as no evil person has come to me at night.

    Imogene is pleading with the government or philanthropists to provide him with an accommodation.

    “I am begging the government if they can provide an accommodation for me. I want to recover again, up till now I don’t know what is happening.”

    As for his family, the ex-footballer said, “I don’t want to meet or see my family again, except my children. They thought I am dead. I believe I am facing a spiritual battle and for this reason, I must be far away from them.”