The Nation Newspaper

Category: Southwest

  • This is Lagos…City of aquatic splendour, dry taps

    This is Lagos…City of aquatic splendour, dry taps

    In this prelude to an investigation on contaminated sachet water in Lagos, HANNAH OJO examines the Lagos water crisis and the sketchy alternative Lagosians are forced to embrace.

    The Third Mainland Bridge, the longest bridge in West Africa, looms high above the Lagos lagoon connecting the mainland and Island. Makoko, a community of small shanties, tiny wooden houses standing on stilts, is close by. Makoko, like Lagos, is surrounded by water yet its residents have none to drink. This has earned Lagos a moniker: the city surrounded by water yet little to drink. Just like the Third Mainland Bridge, lack of potable water connects the mainland and Island. Welcome to Lagos, West Africa’s commercial nerve centre, the city that keeps attracting immigrants yet struggles to meet their water needs.

    With a booming population of 24 million people and a Gross Domestic Product (GDP) set at $91 billion, Lagos has the fifth largest and fastest growing economy in Africa. Despite its avalanche of skyscrapers, veritable human capital, and its aquatic splendour, the city suffers perennial water shortage. It is a bitter twist of irony that the fifty-year-old state, despite its resource and infrastructural development, has not been able to solve its water problems. This does not stop the government from dreaming big; it desires to transform the city from a mega city to a smart city.

    Read also: INVESTIGATION: Poison on parade (1)

    Lagos ranked among the top ten choice destinations for rural–urban migration in the world, according to a 2014 Facebook data which compared users home town with their residence.  As if to corroborate this, Governor Akinwunmi Ambode, at a media parley in 2016, disclosed that  86 immigrants enter Lagos every minute; hence the urgent need for the state to provide facilities for its teeming population.  However, the steep rise in population has not been matched by a complementary increase in the supply of water.

    Many Lagosians rely on other sources but the government for water supply at a high cost. While some residents construct wells and boreholes, some just buy water.

    “I never grew up with government water supply so I am used to sourcing water from alternative sources right from childhood. It is a huge cost for me because I fetch a paint bucket for N10 while the water vendors charge as high as N50 for a gallon. This is ridiculous and frustrating but I don’t have a choice,” Femi Olutade, a millennial Lagos resident, told The Nation.

    Read also: INVESTIGATION: Poison on parade (2)

    The Lagos State Water Corporation is responsible for water supply across the state. Bedeviled by continuous population increase, poor infrastructure, failed public-private partnerships, inadequate budget allocation, poor labour practices and unstable power supply, the corporation falls short. And providing enough water to meet the needs of the citizens remains a dream, just like Lagosians waiting for government water supply from their dry taps.

    “The population increase is one of our major challenges. With the research we have carried out, we need about 700 million gallons a day  (MGD)for 22 million Lagosians. The gap is about 500 MGD which we are trying to close,” Muminu Adekunle Badmus, an engineer and Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of the Lagos Water Corporation, told The Nation.

    The Environmental Rights Action (ERA), a non-governmental organisation (NGO) states that only 10 per cent of the population has access to water supplied by the Lagos State Water Corporation (LSWC). With four major water works and additional 48 micro and mini water works scattered in various parts of the city, the corporation produces about  215 MGD, according to the CEO. A report by ERA states that despite the number of water works, water supply remains abysmal due to some dysfunctional water works.

    The Lagos Water Corporation will need $3.5 billion to execute a Water Master Plan. This includes the construction of additional large water schemes by 2020 to cover the water needs of the which is estimated to be 733 MGD by then.  While Lagos plans to make this a reality, more immigrants keep pouring into the city, the shortage in water supply remains, along with implications for Lagosians.


    Leo Heller, the UN’s special rapporteur on human rights to water and sanitation, said the huge deficit in the provision of water by the government is “unacceptable …for millions of the megacity’s residents”. Heller added that it is worrying how the water shortage makes Lagos residents vulnerable.

    The shortage has led to the unregulated proliferation of boreholes, which is regarded as a threat to the stability of the state’s water table, which experts claim might subside if exploited beyond a certain limit. Asides its implication for nature, there are also public health risks. Many times, boreholes are sited indiscriminately close to soak-aways posing health risks.

    Kabir Ahmed, an architect and chairman of the Lagos State Water Regulatory Commission, an agency responsible for regulating water supply and wastewater management, revealed that 50 per cent of residents who visit hospitals do so as a result of water-related ailments.

    “The indiscriminate citing of boreholes, pit latrines, soak-aways has also been polluting the water source because you observe traces of coliform bacteria in various water sources across the state,” Ahmed told The Nation.

    The average cost of digging borehole in Lagos cost between N200,000 to N350, 000 depending on the water level.  In recent times, the human cost of lack of potable water supply in the state has been dire. In February 2016, 25 children from Otodo-Gbame, a slum (now demolished) in the Ikate Eti Osa Local Government Area, died after drinking the community’s pathogen-infected water. In March this year at Queens College, a government secondary school in Yaba, Lagos mainland, three students died and scores of others were hospitalised as a result of a gastroenteritis epidemic contacted through contaminated water sources.  Water-borne diseases, such as typhoid, cholera, diarrhea and hepatitis remain a major burden to public health. Experts said the spate of illness is not surprising since water and sanitation are key drivers of public health.

    A sketchy alternative

    As taps run dry as a result of the state’s inability to provide water, many Lagos residents have been affected by the high cost of sourcing water from water vendors popularly known as “mai ruwa”.  These water vendors, who buy water from tankers and houses with boreholes, resell to members of the public, increasing prices when there is the lack of power supply and fuel scarcity to power generators. The hygiene of the water supplied by these sellers remains questionable, increasing risks of contamination.


    Nature abhors a vacuum. Packaged water in small sachets retailed on the streets has also served as an alternative source of water for many Nigerians since the close of the last century. Popularly called “Pure Water”, as they are supposed to be treated, their quality and hygiene status have been questionable. There are indications that the quality of sachets of the pure water sold in Lagos do not conform to the highest standards of purity.

    The sachet water phenomenon is also considered as an environmental nuisance owing to the waste generated by consumers who litter the streets with sachets. Many times, these sachets end up blocking the sewage and causing flooding.

    In 2013, Dr Sola Oguntona and Prof Oluwole Adedeji of the Lagos State University carried out a research testing contamination of sachet water produced in the industrial area of Ikeja,  Lagos.

    Six samples sachets of pure water were randomly selected from the open market and studied by an examination on the physical parameters and inorganic constituents. The result showed that all the sachet water samples were acidic. The samples also showed high level of heavy metals and chloride.

    Despite doubt over purity standards and the likelihood of contamination, many Lagosians are forced to consume sachet water due to lack of choice.

    “People are paying for the failure of the government to provide water on the table. The so-called pure water is unsafe and not environmentally sustainable. We don’t endorse sachet water as an alternative or as a means of getting water to the people,” Akinbode Oluwafemi, Deputy Executive Director of ERA, told The Nation.

    Public-Private Partnerships (PPP) under contention

    The government plans to bridge the water gap through public-private partnership (PPP).

    “In the area of environment, we will improve water supply through PPP and increase the capacity utilisation of water treatment plants….”, Ambode announced during the presentation of  the 2017 budget proposal of N812.998 billion to the House of Assembly.

    The state government’s plan to encourage private sector participation in the water sector has been questioned by Our Water Our Right Campaign, a coalition movement of civil society organisations and labour unions.

    “We are also challenging the state government in terms of their approach which is to think that privatisation is the silver bullet to solving the problem of water in Lagos. From examples of different countries of the world privatisation has failed. Privatisation is going to cause a lot of problem for the poor people in Lagos. There is going to be access and pricing problems as well as social unrest for the 80% of residents of the state who depend on the informal sector,” Oluwafemi said.

    However, the government  has maintained that PPP is not privatisation, stating that the Lagos Water Corporation will retain ownership of the assets while the state government regulates the sector.

    Nigeria is classified as a water-short country, whose water resources is likely to reduce from 2,506 cubic metres per year in 1995 to 1,175 cubic meters in 2025, if not properly managed, according to UNICEF. The human right to water requires, among other things, that drinking water be affordable and accessible. The possibility of achieving this reality by 2020 appears distant to Lagosians.

    Reporting for this story was supported by Code for Africa’s impactAFRICA fund and the Bill & Melinda Gate Foundation.

  • Home coming as Rotary DG visits Gbagada South Club

    Home coming as Rotary DG visits Gbagada South Club

    It was a home-coming trip when District 9110 Governor (DG) of Rotary International Dr Adewale Ogubadejo visited his club – Gbagada South penultimate Thursday. There were a lot of backslappings and handshakes as members received one of their own who had just been inaugurated as the number one man in the district.

    Welcoming the DG, the club’s President Ademola Olutusin said they were glad to see him. He noted that the DG started from the club in 2003 and became its president four years later. He said their club had become a pacesetter and a force to reckon with, adding that by Ogunbadejo’s meteoric rise in Rotary, he had brought glory to the global association and the club. Hard work, determination and commitment, he said, were the ingredients of success in the club.

    The DG was welcomed at Oworonshoki Primary School Complex by its Head Instructor Ms Maria Johnson Udoidung and pupils. She said Rotary officials were visiting the school for the third time in three year. She said Rotary had always donated some computers and their accessories during each visit, gestures that were commended by the government. Ogunbadejo said they were in the school again to make some donations, which he listed assets of computers, tables and chairs. He praised for maintaining the ones earlier given to them, advising them to do so.

    The Ogunbadejo and the club members visited the Oworonshoki Police Division, Alaketu of Ketu,  Oba Adio Isiaka Oyero, and Ketu Health Centre, where the club made some donations.

    At Ketu, Olutusin said they were in Ketu  to present some materials to the  Health Centre, adding that they could not have done so without paying home to the  monarch, who is a member of the association. The club donated a generator, mosquito nets and other items to the centre.  Oba Oyero said he was pleased to receive Ogunbadejo and his entourage in his palace. He thanked them for identifying with an institution in his domain, saying that the items would boost health care delivery in the area. He noted the good work of the club.

    The club rounded the visit by hosting the DG to a dinner.

  • Special case for French at UNILAG lecture

    The saying that there is strength in unity has made countries to cooperate on issues of common interests.

    With this saying, West African countries also crave for integration as demonstrated in their desire for a regional currency, market liberalisation and common efforts to increase agricultural output, technology and infrastructure.

    West African states also seek through integration to be linked to and recognised by other parts of the world through many channels such as language.

    In the light of this, the need for effective communication among West African countries to facilitate the integration was the focus of an inaugural lecture by a professor of French Language Education, Dr Carol Opara.

    Opara, Head of Department of Arts and Social Sciences Education, University of Lagos, delivered the institution’s 8th Inaugural Lecture for the 2016/2017 academic session recently in Lagos entitled: “Quest for Sub-Regional Integration: The French Language Education Factor’’.

    According to her, Nigeria is a key player in the West African integration process and needs to ensure effective communication with other countries in the sub-region through implementation of its bilingual policy of French as a second official language.

    “French as Nigeria’s second official language has great potential for achieving objectives of the integration that will improve Nigeria’s economic prospect and security and foster peace in the West African sub-region.

    “Nigeria is surrounded by French speaking countries — Republic of Benin in the West, Republic of Niger in the North — as well as others such as Mali, Chad and Cameroon.

    “Remember that when people understand the language of their neighbours, they are bound to live in peace, which is a global concern now.

    “Wars and misunderstanding can be avoided if people could speak with one language, as they will understand themselves better.

    “There is unity in language as it bonds people together irrespective of the colour of their skins and cultural affiliations,’’ she said.

    According to Opara, French is a language of diplomacy and integration as it is spoken in the five continents.

    She, nonetheless, observed that since the decision of the Addis Ababa and Yaounde conferences of 1961 and 1963, respectively, for ministers of education in West Africa to adopt French as a second official language, Nigeria had not done well in implementing the policy.

    “It only started opening up to that policy in 1998 when it was revisited, and eventually adopted it in the National Policy on Education,’’ she said.

    She identified incompetence by some French teachers, overpopulation in classes and inappropriate teaching methods as some challenges hindering effective implementation of the policy.

    “Also, some teachers may have the certificate but not proficiency in the language; they are just qualified on papers but do not have the competence for proper impartation of the language,’’ she noted.

    She said effective teaching and learning of French would assist Nigerians in getting international jobs and making them highly competitive in the labour market.

    She called for the appropriate method for teaching French to facilitate the development of the language, insisting that institutional strategies must also be right and appropriate.

    She suggested that security operatives should also be trained in French language to forestall aggression from French speaking countries.

    According to her, if Nigerian soldiers and other security personnel can speak French, they will be able to alert authorities when there are threats to invade the country.

    “There is need to train our border officials too in French language to communicate effectively with trans-border traders and other travellers to enhance free movement of goods and people in West Africa.

    “This will manifest in increased trading activities and investors from other member states will be able to do business in all places within the sub-region,’’ she said.

    She observed further that although French language teaching in school curriculum was comprehensive enough to foster the intended integration “it is deficient in implementation.’’

    She therefore called for strong advocacy and monitoring to effectively implement the policy.

    “To harvest the huge benefits of integration, Nigeria must adopt French Language as a compulsory subject, not only from Basic 4 to Basic 9, but up to the university level.

    “This may take a while, but the effort will be quite rewarding and University of Lagos, being a leading university in Nigeria, should play a leadership role in this regard by introducing French as a general/university-wide course.

    “This will give students an internal leverage and make them more competitive in the international labour market,’’ she said.

    Opara also called for an integrative curriculum to reflect the new objective and status of the language.

    In his remark, Prof. Rahamon Bello, the Vice-Chancellor, University of Lagos, noted that rapid national development and integration required emphasis on language of communication.

    He restated that Nigeria should embrace French language to enhance integration and social interaction.

    Similarly, graduate of Linguistics Chisom Ilo, agreed that ability to speak French would widen the chances of Nigerians to secure international jobs.

    She noted that since “French is spoken in many countries; Nigeria should not be left out, calling for early exposure of students to French to stimulate their interest in the language.’’

     

    • Popoola and Nwachukwu are of the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN)

     

  • Man, 35, docked over alleged impersonation in Osun

    A 35-year-old man, Suleiman Sadiq, was on Monday brought before an Osogbo Chief Magistrates’ Court in Osun over alleged impersonation. Sadiq is facing a two- count charge bordering on impersonation.

    The Prosecutor, Mr Onochie Ekwon, told the court that the accused committed the offence on May, 16, at about 10:00 a.m. at No. 42, Omigade St., Ogo-Oluwa area of Osogbo.

    Ekwon alleged that the accused presented himself as an official of the State Security Service Department with intent to defraud unsuspecting persons.

    He said the offence contravened Sections 484 and 108(1)(2) of the Criminal Code Cap. 34, Vol.11, Laws of Osun, 2002.

    The accused, who had no legal representation, pleaded not guilty to the charge.

    The Magistrate, Mrs Olu Oloyade, however, granted the accused bail in the sum of N500, 000 and two sureties in like sum.

    Oloyade said the sureties, who must reside within the court’s jurisdiction, should show evidence of tax payment to the Osun government.

    She adjourned the case to October 5 for hearing.

  • Ekiti community gets water bays

    Ekiti community gets water bays

    Residents of Ayegbaju-Ekiti in Oye Local Government Area of Ekiti State recently had cause to smile when six water bays constructed by a son of the soil, Mr. Michael Ale, the National President of the Association of Professional Rig Owners and Borehole Drilling Practitioners (AWDROP), were commissioned for public use during the body’s mid-term assessment meeting. The body also brainstormed on the water situation in Nigeria ans offered advice on how it can be improved. ODUNAYO OGUNMOLA reports.

    Water is life, so says a popular and age-long axiom. But access to this essential commodity is still low in Nigeria which prides itself as the giant of Africa. Access to water and sanitation hygiene are important components of the Sustainable Development Goals (SGDs) which Nigeria is still struggling to achieve.

    With public water supply gradually becoming a pipe dream owing to corruption and inefficiency of water corporations in the country, Nigerians are resorting to self-help to get potable water for domestic and industrial use.

    Statistics reveal that only 30 per cent of Nigerians have access to safe drinking water with the remaning 70 per cent of the population at the mercy of waterborne diseases which account for an appreciate level of mortality rate.

    It is against this background that the Association of Professional Rig Owners and Borehole Drilling Practitioners (AWDROP) converged on Ayegbaju-Ekiti in Oye Local Government Area of Ekiti State, the hometown of its National President, Mr. Michael Ale, to brainstorm on the water situation in the country.

    The association held its midterm assessment meeting in the sleepy community which was attended by executives from all parts of the federation. Six borehole-driven water points were also commissioned as part of community development efforts of the association which are being replicated in other states.

    The meeting hosted by Ale also had in attendance National Vice President, Southwest, Alhaji Oluwatosin Yusuf; National Vice President Northwest, Alhaji Abubakar Musa and chairmen and other executive of state chapters.

    AWDROP members expressed concern about lack of patronage by governmental agencies who prefer to patronise “quacks” which they said was responsible for unresolved issues relating to provision, suply and regulation of water in Nigeria.

    Ale said AWDROP is not just lamenting the water situation but is taking the bull by the horn by drilling not less than 100 boreholes in different communities rehabilitating in Nigeria at the expense of its members to give ordinary Nigerians access to water.

    The AWDROP chief, who is a geologist with a bias for water drilling, noted that his hometown, Ayegbaju-Ekiti, was chosen as the starting point for the self-sponsorship project because “charity begins at home.”

    Ale said: “We are here in my hometown, Ayegbaju-Ekiti commissioning a water project called “Okun Inu, Eye Ode,” which means “inner strength, outer beauty.” It is part of our water in community project of the association where we are bringing to life water and rehabilitating. Abandoned and dilapidated boreholes in our communities across the country.

    “You can see a sign of Donald Trump, this is part of my campaign promise for the President of the United States of America (U.S). I had promised that I would drill about 100 boreholes in different communities in Nigeria if Donald Trump wins the election and this is being done in fulfilling that promise. We have six water points in this community as I am starting from my community. They say charity begins at home.”

    “I grew up in this community and had stayed here for a very long time without water. So, bringing the water here is a way of encouraging other communities to do this for themselves. We can all do one thing or the other for our community’s needs in terms of every social infrastructures such as water, electricity, hospital and so on.”

     

  • 3,000 enrol in Oyo health insurance scheme

    No fewer than 3,000 people have enrolled in the recently launched Oyo State Health Insurance Scheme (OYSHIA).

    The Commissioner for Information, Culture and Tourism, Mr.  Toye Arulogun, said  enrolees included members of the State Executive Council, lawmakers  and top government officials.

    Arulogun urged members of the public to take advantage of the ongoing registration for the scheme at the nearest government and accredited hospitals.

    He said the scheme would enable residents to benefit from cheap, affordable, accessible and unique health insurance programme.

    “The exco members were led in registering for the scheme by the deputy governor, Chief Moses Adeyemo,  to demonstrate the commitment of the state government to quality health care and health insurance,’’ he said.

    The Executive Secretary of OYSHIA, Dr Sola Akande, had during a sensitisation exercise said that citizens of the state had embraced the scheme.

    “We are enjoining members of the public to register for this first of its kind scheme by any state government which covers almost all the ailments and is free of charge for  pregnant women and children between the ages  one-five  years.

    “The insurance scheme was carefully designed to benefit the rich and the less-privileged in the society.

    “The agency is committed to providing one doctor per local government, nurses and pharmacist, apart from the medical personnel of the accredited hospitals, as well as the provision of adequate drugs that can last for two years,” he said.

  • ‘Ajegunle‘ll become toast of investors’

    ‘Ajegunle‘ll become toast of investors’

    The newly elected chairman of Ajeromi-Ifelodun Local Government Area  Fatai Ayoola has promised to attract investors to the community.  He made the promise shortly after winning the council polls.

    He said the youth would pilot the scheme to turn the suburb community to centre of commerce and industry. He noted that adequate training had been given to the youths to get them focused for task ahead.

    Ayoola, who is a member of the All Progressives Congress (APC), said: “My vision for the council is to make ‘AJ’ a mega city inside a mega state. I will like to improve on what my predecessors like of Hon. Rabiu Oluwa, Hon. Kamal Bayewu have done.

    “I am drawing inspiration from Asiwaju Bola Tinubu, Babatunde Fashola and the home and wonder boy Akinwunmi Ambode. These leaders have impacted in the Centre of Excellence. I will be leaning on that to set a path for our people in Ajegunle community.

    “It will be based on four-point agenda which comprised of roads construction, healthcare provision, upgrading of social facilities and providing primary education facilities. We are also going provide uniforms and writing materials for our school as well putting in place e-library to enable them catch up with the trend in the education sector.

    “We will empower women to enable them contribute to the growth of Ajegunle in positive ways. We will take very serious the issue of security, so that people can go about their business without molestation.

    “There is a programme going on, where the youths are training to divert them from drugs and crimes. The likes of Henry Nwosu, Daddy Showkey etc speak at the training.”

    The APC candidate said teachers interest would not be compromised. He called on them to lead the vanguard for a better Ajegunle community.

    “We have reached out to teachers, non-indigenes by giving them councillorship slots. We have a councillor representing the interest of the Southsouth, Southeast and have promised the Arewa the position of Liaison Officer with the council.

    “My deputy is from the Igbo extraction, Madam Nkem Igwe. With this, we have been able to reach out to interests that constitute Ajeromi-Ifelodun council with that we gained their confidence.

    Ayoola said Ifelodun/Ajeromi would be rid of crime and corrupt tendencies.

    “It is not a Nigerian thing alone, it has even attained global phenomenon. We need the collective effort of concerned people to nip it in the bud. I think it’s equally not right for people to keep asking for what they do not deserve.

    “The scarce resources available must be judiciously used and explanation must be provided to the people how their money is being spent. That is to say that if we can apply the budget simply to what it is supposed to achieve, I believe that will be in great way to narrow down the cases of corruption.”

    He explained that the council would look inward to generate its revenue, stressing that friction arising from revenue collection would be minimised.

    “The past administrations have issues with lock up shop owners. They had problems with the Igbo marketers and being a home boy, someone who was born and brought up here, I promised to look into the areas of disagreement and promised.

    “I thank God that they have been listening to our appeal, in fact they gave N2 million to the council out of the backlog owed the previous administration. We will open up roads; waste to wealth will be given attention.”

  • Lagos-Abeokuta Expressway logjam: BRT to the rescue

    Lagos-Abeokuta Expressway logjam: BRT to the rescue

    Troubled residents and motorists on the Lagos-Abeokuta Expressway will heave a sigh of relief following the introduction of Bus Rapid Transit (BRT) by the Lagos State government on the route. But as the project progresses, motorists groan, report TAJUDEEN ADEBANJO and OLATUNDE ODEBIYI.

    Traffic wardens at different interchange points battle to ensure free vehicular movements; impatient commercial motorcyclists otherwise called Okada riders beat traffic light at every given opportunity; bus conductors call their destinations and some touts working for the National Union of Road Transport Workers (NURTW) chase commercial bus (Danfo) drivers picking passengers on the road instead of queuing in the garage.

    Welcome to Oshodi, the biggest terminal for commercial bus operators in the country hosting over two million passengers daily.

    The craze that traffic in this axis is will soon give way with the Akinwunmi Ambode-led administration’s Bus Rapid Transit (BRT). It will move between Abule-Egba and Oshodi. The passengers estimate on the corridor is about 230,000 per day, but it can go up to 300,000.

    BRT is a transport option, which relies on the use of dedicated ‘interference’ free segregated lanes to guarantee fast and reliable bus travel. It is a high performance public transport bus service which aims to combine bus lanes with high-quality bus stations, vehicles, amenities and branding to achieve the performance and quality of a metro system, with the flexibility, cost and simplicity of a bus system.

    The BRT buses run on physically segregated lanes and thus make them faster in a situation where there is traffic congestion. It is one of the major options available to the Lagos State government to tackle the huge public transport predicaments in the state.

    The regulator of the BRT scheme, the Lagos Metropolitan Transport Authority (LAMATA), has boasted that the heavily congested Oshodi-Iyana-Ipaja-Abule-Egba route would reduce by 40 per cent after the completion of the project.

    The road, the prototype erected at Iyana-Ipaja, shows that it would have two BRT lanes to run in the middle, starting from Abule-Egba towards Oshodi. The service lanes of the expressway are also to be repaired and made more motorable for the Danfo buses.

    A driver, Jide Oni, believed that it would have adverse effect on Danfo drivers’ business.

    But a passenger, who simply identified himself as Segun said, it would ease traffic gridlock on the road.

    “The way the construction was going, we might be left with just one lane. Imagine hundreds of buses packed on a single lane. The traffic might be worse than what government could think of,” Oni said.

    Segun doubted his conclusion, believing that government must have done her homework well before venturing into the project.

    The driver told our correspondents to look at the partition.

    “This is what I’m saying Oga journalist,” he said.

    After alighting at Iyana-Ipaja, the erected prototype for the project before the bridge showed two lanes for the commercial bus operators.

    After speaking with some Danfo drivers and passengers at Iyana-Ipaja, who lamented the logjam at Super Bus Stop near Abule-Egba, The Nation correspondents joined another bus to the place.

    There (Super Bus Stop), work has reached advance stage. Workers in LAMATA branding reflective jacket were working on drainage and demarcating concrete for the BRT lanes.

    Efforts to speak with the workers on site proved abortive. They mentioned one Julian as the only person allowed to speak with press. Julian was unavailable at every spot The Nation correspondents were directed to go and see him, trekking for over 30 minutes from Super Bus stop to Abule Egba Bridge and back to the bus stop.

    Some of the Danfo drivers lamented that big drainage dug at Super Bus Stop has made the place a no-go area.

    “We had to look for alternative route to get to our destinations. That of course added to the already hours wasted in the traffic. It’s also affecting our delivery,” Ola Akin, a Danfo driver said.

    Another Danfo driver, who did not mention his name, hailed the government for embarking on the project.

    A resident in the area, Oyewole Ogunbanjo, lamented that the construction work has increased traffic in the area.

    Ogunbanjo said: “Moving from Oshodi to Iyana-Ipaja is now tripled the number of hours we usually spend on the road side. The transport fare has also increased, because the traffic has made the drivers to increase the fare. The traffic is usually worse whenever it rains and it makes our journey tiring. I wish government can do something fast to ease the traffic in the area while the BRT lane construction is ongoing. There is nothing that we can do as residents to make the journey better for us, we just have to cope with it and I hope the construction would not take forever.”

    He noted that the government needs to think well on some of the decisions taken on road construction.

    “This Iyana-Ipaja road is small, the roads are not wide and they have come to construct BRT lane in the middle of the road. The space that would be left for other vehicles would be small. How would this gesture make transportation better in the area? If all motorists except the BRT have a narrow road to pass through, how would there not be traffic? I think the only option for government is to expand the roads. The expansion would also affect more people, because they would have to demolish some shops and houses on the road side which would make life inconvenient for others.”

    He said that not everybody would make use of the BRT.

    “Someone like me cannot queue for BRT, to and from my office in Oshodi every day. The long BRT queue is not what everyone can tolerate as it amounts to a waste of time. I can’t wait to enter BRT and I don’t think the construction of BRT lane would ease traffic in this area. The only thing that can ease traffic from Oshodi, through Iyana-Ipaja to Abule-Egba is train transport. If government can think of making train available along these routes, it would help to bring an end to traffic and life would be better for all,” he said.

    A passerby, Azeez Bamigbose, said the BRT lane construction is presently affecting the traffic on this road, saying, it has reduced the size of the road and vehicles have to manage the little size roads left.

    “We hope that the traffic on the roads would be reduced when the rods construction is completed,” he said.

    A National Union Road Transport (NURTW) worker, Adegboyega Adekunle, said when the road is completed, there would be no issue between the BRT and the yellow commercial buses.

    According to him, passengers would have more options on which vehicle they wish to board.

    “Usually BRT is cheaper than the yellow buses, but there can be long queue at the BRT bus stops; passengers would have to choose which pays them. The BRT would have their lane while the yellow commercial buses would also have their lane. Business would continue as usual in the area. Both buses would have their own passengers and none would affect the other.

    “The only fear is that government may have to expand the roads for the commercial yellow buses and other motorists, because the space left on the road, after the BRT lane is taken out would be small. Government may have to demolish some of the road side shops in order to expand the roads, else traffic would be built up on the express road,” he said.

    Another passerby in the area, Adewumi Bankole, described the initiative as good.

    She is, however, concerned on how the BRT lane would be constructed on the bridge that leads to Abule-Egba from Iyana-Ipaja.

    A roadside trader, who simply identified herself as ‘Iya Benedict’ pleaded with government not to chase them away from their selling point.

    “When the BRT lane is completed, there may be need to expand the expressway from the look of things. Government should please not make life uncomfortable for us. They should not stop us from our means of livelihood, but should do all its work considering all of us in mind,” she said.

    The Nation learnt that the work would entail an uninterrupted median BRT service, 11 pedestrian bridges, one bus depot and two bus terminals to be located at Iyana Ipaja and Abule-Egba.

    The BRT, according to LAMATA Managing Director Abiodun Dabiri, said: “The Oshodi-Abule Egba corridor is one of the busiest bus corridors in West Africa, with over 5,500 buses moving passengers per day. It is a critical link for millions of people living in Alimosho, Egbeda, Iyana-Ipaja, Ijaiye, up to Tollgate into Sango Ota in Ogun State.”

    He noted that the route was also strategic because Oshodi, with the proposed transport interchange project, was emerging the transport hub in Lagos.

    Acting Commissioner for Transport Prince Olarenwaju Elegushi said: “What we are doing along the Abule Egba axis is in line with the overall plan of the government to change the face of public transportation system in Lagos.”

    Mr Kolawole Ojelabi, LAMATA’s External Relations Specialist, told The Nation that would be completed in about 15 months.

    Reacting to people’s complaints on the traffic the construction is causing on the routes, Ojelabi said that cannot be avoided.

    “This is why we have the officials of the Lagos State Traffic Management Authority (LASTMA) along the routes and the contractor’s flags men to control the traffic,” he said.

    He appealed to motorists along the routes to drive with caution, obey traffic signs and avoid over speeding.

    In terms of the number of lanes that would be available on for other motorists, he said two lanes would be available to them.

    He admitted that the coming of BRT in the area would affect operators of Danfo buses because the state government Bus Reform Programme (BRP) is meant to take all the informal buses off the roads.

    He said: “We could have medium capacity buses that would be along the axis as well as all over the state. We could have buses that could contain between 22 and 40 passengers. An average Danfo would contain about 14 passengers. If you have a bus that would take 40 passengers, it would reduce the number of buses on the road, which would in turn have an effect on our health. If we have less number of busses on the roads, the level of emission from buses would be reduced. So in a way, all these airborne diseases, including cancer and lung diseases would also reduce.

    “All of these have its evaporating effect on the economy. When we have vehicles that could do turn around in good time, those who come to get jobs would be able to get jobs, one can travel far distance, and this has a lot of multiplier effect.  The Danfo drivers cannot understand this now. If you know the history of BRT in Ikorodu, you would know that it was initially through some acquisition. We are not going to ban the yellow buses; they would still be running on back corridor. The public will have choices and it would be a new situation for everybody.

    “It is going to be on a Public Private Participation (PPP). It is the private sector that would run the buses. That is what we have on Ikorodu road. LAMATA is not the owner of the buses; LAMATA is not the one that pays the drivers, so it is going to be thrown open to the members of the public. Those who have the capacity to run large bus operations are the ones that are going to employ the drivers. LAMATA does not want to be involved in the employment of the drivers or the operations of the buses. Ours is to provide infrastructure and make sure that we regulate the way these buses operate.

    “Lagos is a state with over 20 million population; So what we are saying is that we cannot solve these problems at a go, it is something that has to be done overtime and it is something that we have done on Ikorodu road and we are perfecting it, so that when we are extending it to other corridors, all those mistakes and drawbacks that you have seen on Ikorodu road, they would be not transferred to other corridors. On the attitude of the drivers, we are currently working on it, go and look at the attitude of the drivers of Blue buses on Ikorodu road and now use that to compare with others and you will note the difference. So that tells you that we are taking it gradually. It is not something we can solve in one day.

    “For the Iyana-Ipaja corridor, if you notice that picture very well, you would notice the bus stop area is bigger. There is a passing link. So if a bus is stopping at the bus stop and the buses coming do not need to stop, there is a passing link which the buses would go through.

    “We would install Intelligence Transport System (ITS) to cater for a breakdown on the corridor. The driver would just press a button to alert other drivers that there is a breakdown somewhere.

    “Commuters can also download BRT App.  It would show you the location of different buses at different points in time, that is part of ITS. Lagos BRT that is what you would download, you would download the app and with it you can monitor how the BRT buses are operating. If you are living in Abule-Egba for instance and you want to know when the next bus is coming to Abule-Egba bus station, maybe there are six buses on the queue, one would come in seven minutes, and the other would come maybe 10, another in 15minutes. So you can decide the one you want to enter and you don’t have to wait for too long at the bus stop.”

     

  • Lagos neighbourhood corps: A working communalism model

    One major challenge that confronts security operatives all over the world is the issue of intelligence gathering of relevant information that would aid the process of apprehending criminally-minded individuals. This remains a problem on one hand because the confidence reposed in the security operatives by the society overtime has not been convincingly proven beyond reasonable doubts. On the other hand, when informants provides security information, information provided usually lacks needed details that would assist in arresting supposed criminal suspects.

    The popular slogan usually attributed to the Nigeria Police Force is; ‘Police is your Friend’ whether or not the officers of the Force have been acting as friends which they claimed to be is evident to all. Often time, the ‘friends` of the police have had reasons to spend days and even months behind bars for giving the police privileged information.

    Drawing from the above foregoing issues bothering on protection of information sources and inaccuracies in the information provided in some other cases, in our clime here in Nigeria, the issue of inadequate law enforcement officers is another issue that has made crime rate grown far above the capacity that they can be curtailed and contained.

    In Nigeria, the total number of police officers according to a past Minister of Police Affairs, Chief Caleb Olubolade, is 370,000 to about 170 million Nigerians, this grossly shows that the current workforce of the Police did not meet the United Nations recommendation of 222 police officers per 100,000 persons.   By implication, the relative law and order in parts of the country is absolutely by God’s grace and mercy. Statistically, one police officer is attached to over 400 Nigerians.

    Among this inadequate number also are some officers serving as personal Aids to political office holders as well as traditional rulers, captains of industries and many more thereby reducing the numbers of these officers far below one police officer per 400 Citizens. Also of note is the high concentration of these officers in the cities which in the effect has grossly made the hinterlands minimally protected.

    There had been several agitations for the decentralization of the police force in Nigeria such that each state would be given the power to control its own security operatives and would exercise jurisdiction over their affairs but this proposal had over the years not received the needed attention for so many reasons partly because of political undertone and affiliations.

    Lagos State being one of the States that are badly hit by the centralized police force arrangement had over the years devised peculiar ways of meeting the increasing security challenges of its citizenry some of which included the establishment of the Lagos State Security Trust Fund (LSSTF), Lagos State Task Force (LSTF), Rapid Respond Squad (RRS), Neighbourhood Watch for securing the State hinterlands among several others.

    Governor Akinwunmi Ambode upon assumption of office realized the need to deter criminal activities, increase vigilance, creates a greater sense of security and reduces fear of crime, addresses quality of life issues, enhances homeland security presence at the community level and thus approved the rebranding and modernization of the existing Neighborhood Watch into what is now known as Lagos State Neighbourhood Safety Corps, LNSC.

    That rationale behind the establishment of this agency was premised on the belief that Lagos communities especially the suburbs can be better protected by those living within the community themselves through the promotion of community communalism. The inauguration of the corps was a follow-up to the passage of an executive bill for its establishment in June 2016.

    Specifically, LNSC was a response to what Governor Akinwunmi Ambode described as diverse security challenges demanding the intervention of a supportive Safety Agency. As indicated in the law, the corps was established to assist the Nigeria Police and other security agencies in the maintenance of law and order across all communities in Lagos State, register all private home guards, provide useful intelligence for crime prevention to the police, facilitate the arrest of perpetrators of criminal activities across all communities, and the balancing of communal interests in resolving disputes.

    An integral part of the recruitment process of the 5,700 corps to enforce the law, was the fact that the officers were recruited from within their residual localities where they already have a grasp understanding of the terrain and some other necessary security information as it affects the residents of these areas.

    Governor Ambode had always hinged the prosperity of Lagos on a tripod of security, job creation and infrastructural development. It is the conviction of the state government that a safer Lagos will attract more investments from local and foreign investors believing that when investments are domiciled in the State, definitely, more job opportunities will surface.

    Every resident owes it a duty to preserve and protect the place that provides the beneficial opportunities for all. The approach in use in Lagos to address security issues is also an indicator that some tough challenges may not necessarily need a ‘military-like’ approach, but rather a deliberate and purely systematic approach peculiar to that challenge and the environment especially when such challenge borders on security\safety.

    In other words, government can creatively design peculiar ways of addressing some societal vices without necessarily altering the provisions of the constitution.

    The cooperation of Lagosians for the crystallization of the noble intention behind the establishment of LNSC is of uttermost importance as these officers cannot make appreciable progress without the support of members of the society.

    Also, officers of the LNSC should learn to jealously guide the confidence repose in them by Lagosians, by protecting the sources of security information that would aid in the apprehension of criminally minded individuals and generally assist in maintaining peace and tranquility across the length and breadth of the State.

     

    • Afolabi is the Public Affairs Officer for Lagos State Neighbourhood Safety Agency (LNSA).

  • Ogun govt seeks support of market leaders on cleanliness

    Ogun State Governor Ibikunle Amosun has sought the support of residents, especially market men and women, in its drive to salvage the state from environmental degradation.

    Represented by the Commissioner for Local Government and Chieftaincy Affairs, Chief Jide Ojuko, at the foundation laying of Olofinmoyin Ultra-Modern Market in Sango Ota, a suburb of the state, the governor expressed disappointment with how traders were unmindful of keeping where they make their daily bread neat, adding that this could expose them to diseases.

    Amosun warned against the filling of the highway with refuses. He said the government would not condone such attitude, saying any market found unclean and with refuse would be closed. ‘’Cleanliness is holiness,’’ he said.

    Ojuko said the governor’s plan was to finish the projects he embarked on, including rehabilitation of roads, and construction of bridges before the end of his tenure. He urged the residents to key into the government’s development plan to make the state a better place to live in.  He noted that development comes with sacrifices, saying maximum sacrifice needed to be paid for the overall development.

    “An environment that is not clean will encourage all sorts of unscrupulous elements, to guide against this; leaders of each market should expedite actions and prevail on their members to imbibe the culture of cleanliness. We should not wait for an epidemic to happen before we start doing the right thing,” the Commissioner added.

    He appealed to the contractors handling the construction to use quality materials and to speed up the work to deliver on schedule.

    Ado/Odo Ota Local Government Chairman, Prince Oladele Adeniji,  appealed to the transport union leaders to warn their members against obstructing the highway by picking and dropping of passengers on the roads, this hinders the free-flow of traffic.

    He also warned street traders against blocking the highway with their goods; and that this made it difficult for vehicles to find its way in case of brake failure.

    Prince Adeniji sought collaboration between market and the union leaders on how the market and garages ‘environment clean and neat.

    The contractor, Alhaji Rufai Alao, an engineer, thanked the government for awarding the contract to him, pledging to use quality materials and deliver the job within the stipulated time.