The Nation Newspaper

Tag: bridge

  • Suicide bomber dies in attempt to blow off bridge

    A suicide bomber targeting a military check point near a bridge in Benisheikh, headquarters of Kaga Local Government, at the weekend went off midway before his target, killing himself, eyewitnesses have said.

    A security source, who does not want to be mentioned, said the bomber was apparently targeting  the soldiers and the bridge so as to cut cut-off movement in and out of Maiduguri.

    The Benishiekh bridge is one of the major bridges on the Kano/Jos/Damaturu Maiduguri Highway, the only safe route to Maiduguri from all axes, as other roads have been taken over by the Boko Haram insurgents.

    An eyewitness in Benisheikh (Abdurahaman, not real name) said: “Yesterday after Zuhr prayers, a Volkswagen Golf car, dark ash, was seen driving towards the military and civilian JTF check points before the bridge after the GSS Benishiekh. Before it could reach the military check point, the vehicle exploded in the middle of the road, killing the driver who was alone in the car and suspected to be a suicide bomber,” he said.

  • Bridging digital bridge between young and old

    Bridging digital bridge between young and old

    Young folks helping older folks find their way in the digital world. Many elderly people have never used the Internet, because it just seemed too complicated to them. Young people by contrast use digital devices more frequently than their toothbrushes. What happens when you bring together these two groups? In this Austrian “qualtitätszeit” (quality time) project, young persons looking for a job assume the role of trainers who open up the digital world to their grandparents’ generation.

     Vienna – Mrs. T. sounds a bit desperate on the phone. “Listen, I was just looking in my thingamajig for the pictures you sent me yesterday – now all of a sudden they’re gone! Did I break something?” The “thingamajig” is a tablet that her daughter gave to her some time ago – to make the possibilities of digital communication enticing and to also keep her mentally fit.

    In the meantime, the 79-year-old woman is busy writing e-mails to her grandchildren and other relatives, she occasionally googles and is able to store photos that have been sent to her device. Everything else, though, seems rather overwhelming – and makes her nervous. The instructions she receives from her daughter in long-distance conversations don’t really help her and it’s impossible to overhear the somewhat irritated tone of her voice.

    Many senior citizens share Mrs. T.’s fate – people who until now have not had much to do with digital technology in their life. The path into the digital world is like climbing the Grossglocker (Austria’s highest mountain) in felt slippers.

    “Often these are just little things which people who didn’t grow up with are unable to grasp when using the computer and the Internet,” as Daniela Weinholtz and Kornelius Pešut from the Verein für Medienarbeit und Generationen (MuG) observe. An experience that they have had in the course of their many years of working as trainers at “Internet-for-all-campus”, a training service for users of all age groups that is offered by the Austrian Mobile Phone Provider A1.

    Such workshops find wide acceptance. But there is even greater demand for affordable one-on-one coaching sessions. In order to support people who have no or just limited access to digital media and their use for socio-economic reasons, because of their age or language, the 34-year-old media educator and the 31-year-old media designer have launched the “qualitätszeit” project.

    This way two things can be accomplished in one go. It would be possible to reduce the digital divide in the population, while, at the same time, creating a bridge between the generations. Interested young persons are to be trained as “digital coaches” and to be able to gain professional experience through the project.

    “Young people often come with an almost natural understanding for electronic media,” says Weinholtz. “They have a knack for these things.” Their feeling competent here and being able to make a valuable contribution for others is supposed to strengthen their self-confidence and to help them find a way into the professional world.

    In one- to two-day workshops the contents of which are to be developed together with the saferinternet.at initiative backed by the EU, interested young people are supposed to receive the necessary understanding for the generation of their grandparents. For instance, that older people do not learn less well, but at a slower pace. Today many children only rarely have a chance to experience this – grandparents live too far away or still work.

    By the same token, the project is supposed to give older persons a different view of “young people today” – one in stark contrast to the one depicting them as often lacking respect and interest, something that Socrates is supposed to have already complained about.

    But do older people simply accept that younger people could be competent purveyors of knowledge? “The conclusion that can be drawn from many professional discussions and meetings is that the new media are one of the few areas in which the older generation accepts young people as experts,” as Pešut says.

    As a win-win situation the “qualitätszeit” project would like to open up for both groups a low-threshold meeting venue for technical issues. And what motivates the entrepreneurs? “Even if it sounds a bit kitschy, the Internet is a window to the world, which we would like to help as many people as possible to open,” says Weinholtz. The digital divide is not a myth, even in a country like Austria, as she stresses. A look at the statistics shows that nearly 61 per cent of Austrians between 65 and 74 have never used the Internet.

    The two persons responsible for the project see a nice, barrier-free shop in which people can learn – and laugh – in a coffee house atmosphere as a suitable setting. Each technical amateur should be able to come by whenever he/she has special questions regarding laptops, smartphones, digital cameras and other electronic devices or wants to get tips on putting together a photo book or Skype with relatives and friends who live far away. Weinholtz and Pešut hope to be able to get their learning workshop up and running at the beginning of next year. Short consulting sessions based on the principle of “pay as you wish” should be covered. For individual coaching sessions and house visits that are already being offered now, 25 or 35 euro per hours are being charged. People with small pensions, minimum insurance or asylum seekers should be able to have access to these courses by just paying a nominal fee.

    It’s a price that the team of “qualitätstzeit” can only offer with the help of funding and sponsors. Funding promised by the Austrian Federal Ministry for Family and Youth in July has made Weinholtz and Pešut confident that the project will be able to be launched on time. As they calculated, the startup costs amount to about 120,000 Euro a year. What for some company is a walk in the park can mean “top” or “flop” for a project that seeks to counteract the digital divide and bring together the generations.

     

  • ‘This bridge is saving our lives’

    ‘This bridge is saving our lives’

    31-years after the Ogun State House of Assembly passed a resolution calling for the construction of a flyover across the Sagamu-Benin Expressway at Mobalufon junction in Ijebu-Ode, the bridge has finally been built –– to the relief of motorists and pedestrians. ERNEST NWOKOLO reports.

    Princess Titilayo, daughter of the reigning monarch of Igbekebo in Ese – Odo Local Government Area of Ondo State, His Royal Highness, Oba Emmanuel Egbukuyomi, heaved a sigh of relief and joy recently when told by a friend that a fly – over bridge now runs across the Sagamu – Ore Expressway at the chaotic and treacherous Mabolufon junction in Ijebu Ode, Ogun State

    Titilayo who is married with a kid, said the building of the bridge was a long overdue life – saving intervention for cyclists, pedestrians, motorists, commuters and street traders. She said:”that is nice. Whoever conceived the idea and executed it must be lauded for his concern for the safety of road users and smooth traffic flow that would now be engendered by it.

    “People coming from Ijebu -Ode town and going to either Ondo or Eastern part of the country or Ikorodu in Lagos State, would not have to cross that expressway again directly at a grave risk to their lives. Also, those coming from either Ondo, Ikorodu or in the direction of Sagamu would not have to cross it before veering into the Ijebu – Ode town.

    “The flyover would have come handy to save travellers’ lives, that of the pedestrian and street traders. Many travellers, street traders and cyclists have died there while some survivors are living with one form of impairment or the other.”

    Titilayo, an English teacher at a public Secondary school in Lagos state, is neither an Ogun state indigene nor does she lives in Ijebu – Ode but it is understandable why she is enthusiastic about the flyover.

    Barely out of the secondary school about 12 years ago, providence saved her from losing her life in a fatal accident at the Mabolufon junction but she bears scars that served as constant reminder of that dreadful experience.

    ”It was an incident I can’t forget. It was a trailer that collided with my bike, far back in 2002 at Ijebu – Ode Expressway (Mabolufon junction),” she had told The Nation.

    It happened that Princess had paid a visit to her sister who is married to a lecturer at the state – owned Olabisi Onabanjo University (OOU), Ago – Iwoye, and after spending some days, decided on November 2nd, 2002, to return to her Igbekebo home town in Ondo.

    On arriving at the Lagos Garage, Ijebu – Ode from Ijebu – Igbo, she boarded a commercial motorcycle to Mabolufon junction where she would take a bus for the onward journey to the Sunshine state and while the cyclist tarried at the junction to enable speeding vehicles going in the direction of Lagos from the East pass before crossing the expressway, a lurching danger turned up around 1:30pm: a truck that lost control roared from the rear and swept her and the cyclist away as well as others equally waiting to cross the highway.

    When the dust finally settled, about a dozen of persons, including postgraduate students of OOU, were crushed to death when the truck fell on them but Princess and a few others survived.

    Narrating it, she said: “When I returned to the scene to see if I could see some of my items, I discovered that the truck had pulverised the bike, I saw on the ground, particles of brains from crushed skulls and I don’t know if the bike man that carried me made it  as ten dead bodies were removed from the spot.”

    Experiences like the one above had happened before 2002 and had also continued to occur ever after, even on a more scaring scale at the Mabolufon junction, prompting many to wonder whether there were vampire spirits inducing accidents for the purpose of collecting victims’ blood.

    A teacher and trade unionist living in Ijebu-Ode, Comrade Badejo Abosede, who described the junction as a “death trap for years,” said residents and travellers had always looked in expectations for respite.

    There is no readily available official data on the number of lives that have been lost at that spot within a given period but a resident of Mabolufon area of Ijebu – Ode told The Nation that over 75 persons might have lost their lives there in the last couple of years and scores of others maimed while the monetary cost and attendant challenges was put at about N25million.

    That the Mabolufon junction was such an Achilles heels of travellers first came to the attention of the Ogun State government in the second republic during the administration of the first civilian governor, Chief Olabisi Onabanjo.

    The Nation learnt that the then Ogun State House of Assembly which was worried and saddened by frequent loss of lives at that location, did pass a resolution recommending that a bridge be constructed to run overhead  across the expressway at Mabolufon to check such reckless loss of lives there.

    Perhaps, Onabanjo might have built that fly – over provided for in the House’s resolution but the lifespan of his government was cut short by the December 31, 1983 Buhari – Idiagbon military coup.

    While the resolution remained largely advisory and perhaps ignored by successive governments in the state, 31 years after it was first conceived, lives kept getting wasted there needlessly with each passing year.

    Former Speaker of the state Assembly(1999 – 2003), Hon. Muyiwa Oladipo, said a resolution of the House is merely advisory, and is not binding on the executive to act upon if there was a resolution in the past recommending a fly – over across that junction.

    Oladipo who is the current Commissioner for Local Government and Chieftaincy Affairs, noted that Onabanjo was a forward looking and progressive leader, and would probably have constructed the fly – over as at the 80s but financial constraints and his short-lived administration didn’t help the situation.

    The former Speaker who recalled that between 36 and 50 persons died on a particular day at that junction not long ago, said the state can’t continue to allow precious lives to be lost there unnecessarily hence the current measure in place.

    Governor Ibikunle  Amosun, last year, awarded the contracts for the construction that stretches into the Ijebu – Ode – Ikorodu road.

    Many said what propelled the Governor to embark upon the billion naira project was the gory incident of Tuesday September 18, 2013.

    In the morning on that particular day, no fewer than 37 people lost their lives at the said junction in an accident involving a truck, two commercial buses and several motorcycles.

    The truck which was carrying fertilizer lost control due to over speeding while trying to avoid collision with another truck that dashed into the expressway way headlong from the Ijebu – Ode –  Ikorodu road.

    Coincidentally,  Lagos State – bound passenger bus that took off from Ondo State had just pulled – up at the time to drop a passengers at the junction, when the truck crashed into it, killing those inside, some that had already disembarked, hawkers and some cyclists that had rushed out in a scramble for the passengers.

    The driver of the passenger bus had taken – off in the morning at the  Ajebandele park, Ondo State, and had stopped at the junction to drop one Mrs. Adebowale Ayomide, a nurse and an employee of the Ondo State government.

    The nurse was waiting to collect the balance from the N1, 000 she gave to the driver, who also came down to split the N1, 000 note around the Mabolufon junction and while waiting, the killer-truck rammed into them.

    Though the driver and Mrs. Adebowale survived the accident, but not without severe injuries that sent both into coma following severe fracture while the driver also had his leg chopped off from above the knee region by the truck.

    And because of the gravity of the accident and numbers of people affected, the Secretary to the Ogun State Government (SSG), Mr. Taiwo Adeoluwa, visited the victims at the State Hospital, Ijebu – Ode, and also personally donated N200, 000 for their treatment.

    The hospital’s Chief Medical Director (CMD), at the time, Dr. Wellington Ogunsanya,  told The Nation that victims who suffered from “severe fracture, head injury, lung – limb fractures were referred to bigger trauma centres at the Olabisi Onabanjo University Teaching Hospital (OOUTH), Sagamu and the University College Hospital (UCH), Ibadan for special care.

    Today, Mobalufon bridge is completed and already in use with  residents of Ijebu – Ode and motorists not only lauding  the project, but also saying it is saving their lives and time from a location hitherto notorious for fatal and ghastly accidents as well as routine gridlock.

    Mr Gbenga Aroyewun, the Publisher and Editor -In- Chief of the Obanta NewsDay, a grassroot magazine published in Ijebu – Ode, told The Nation that the Mabolufon fly -over was a plus to the state government as it has put a halt to the accidents on the expressway that occur often when vehicles moving to Ijebu-Ode from the Itoikin-Ikorodu road or Lagos end attempt to cross the highway.

    Aroyewun said such vehicles now safely use the flyover instead of risking head-on collision with those coming from the Benin-Ore end of the expressway as were hitherto the case.

    According to him, aside serving as life saver, it is also bringing succour to motorists who had  to  contend with the chaotic traffic gridlock there in the past as there were neither traffic light nor presence of the officials of the Federal Road Safety Corps (FRSC), the state’s traffic agency – TRACE and the Traffic Wardens to control vehicular and pedestrian movement.

    Also, Comrade Badejo Abosede, a public school teacher and trade unionist, said it was a long overdue rescue effort that came at last from the present state government.

    Lauding Senator Ibikunle Amosun for the initiative, Abosede who is of the Academic Staff Union of Secondary Schools of Nigeria, Ogun State chapter, noted that the junction until now “was a death trap for years” but said it gladdens the heart that sanity has returned to the location.

    For an Ijebu – Ode based legal practioner, Mr Olajide Banjo, the fly -over  is saving the lives of cyclists, padestrians, motorists, Ijebu people and others travelling to the eastern part of the country from Lagos end and also those coming from the Benin – Ore direction of the highway.

    The state’s traffic agency, Traffic Enforcement and Compliance Agency (TRACE) said since road users started using the bridge following its completion four months ago, respite has returned to the junction as no case of accident whether major, minor or a narrow escape of it has been recorded.

    The Zonal Commander, Ijebu – Ode TRACE Corps, Cmdr Tommy Hamzat, said the fly – over has reduced accident at the spot by 99.9 percent.

    Hamzat said:”it is really helping to save lives and accident by 99.9 percent. We have not recorded any accident again at the junction since motorists and cyclists do not cross the expressway directly.”

    Hamzat however rued that despite this provision, some motorists in a bid to save time, occasionally avoid the bridge and attempt to cross the Highway directly at a great risk to their lives, that of the passengers and other road users.

    According to him, the agency would be monitoring the spot to check such reckless drivers who would want to dash into the expressway headlong instead of using the fly – over.

    Also, an Ijebu – Ode based transporter and member of the National Union of Road Transport Workers(NURTW), who identified himself as Segun, said it was a huge relief to everybody particularly the commercial transport operators who bear the brunt of such crashes.

    Segun said in every case of accident, aside the passengers who equally suffer and perhaps lose their lives, the transporters suffered double tragedies. Where the owner is the driver, he could be killed or maimed in an accident and his accidented vehicle too, may turn out to be a write – off in severe cases.

  • Photo: Washed away bridge

    Photo: Washed away bridge

  • The other side of Apete bridge

    The other side of Apete bridge

    Students of The Polytechnic, Ibadan (IBADAN POLY) have joined residents of Apete in calling on the government to repair the bridge linking the school to the community. OMOLARA OMONIYI (HND II Mass Communication) reports.

    Apete Bridge in Ibadan, the capital of Oyo State, is in the news again. The bridge collapsed in 2011 after a flood that killed many. The bridge was the only link between Apete and communities, such as Ijokodo, Agbaja and Sango. After it collapsed, residents built a makeshift wooden bridge to reconnect Apete with neighbouring communities.

    On June 28, the makeshit bridge collapsed, killing 10 persons, following a downpour. It was the second time the bridge would collapse since it was built three years ago.

    The collapsed structure connected The Polytechnic, Ibadan (IBADAN POLY) to Apete.

    For its proximity to the school, Apete is the choice place for students who prefer to reside off-campus. The number of students living in the community is unknown, but it is believed that many, who could not secure accommodation on campus, are staying there. Through the wooden bridge, students accessed the campus in less than 10 minutes.

    But since its collapse, they have been spending more time and money getting to school.

    CAMPUSLIFE gathered that the makeshift structure became impassable last year when parts of it broke. To prevent disaster, the wooden bridge was closed, forcing students to take the Ajibode route, which is about 20 minutes  to the school.

    Before it was repaired, motorists cashed in on the situation to exploit students, who spend hundreds of naira on transport fare on the long journey.

    Students and residents felt relieved when the government mobilised a contractor, Nairda Construction Company, to reconstruct the concrete bridge last year. But the students and the community are complaining that the pace of work is slow.

    Residents repaired the wooden structure and restricted vehicles’ movement on it, pending when the concrete bridge would be completed.

    When the wooden bridge collapsed, the students and residents, took to the streets, destroying properties. The timely intervention of the Operation Burst team saved the day.

    CAMPUSLIFE gathered that residents used various means to draw the government’s attention to their plight.

    A resident, who simply identified herself as Mrs Folasade, berated the contractors for what she called the slow work pace.

    A meat vendor, who gave his name as Ibrahim, said: “Apete has suffered a lot in terms of infrastructure, despite its closeness to the Polytechnic. The roads are laden with potholes; no electricity and residents live in fear of armed robbers, who are taking advantage of the situation. We are urgently in need of help from the government.”

    Secretary to the state government, Mr Ismail Alli, attributed the delay in completion of the concrete bridge to climate condition, citing design revision and project alteration as part of the problem.

    Adesola Mohammed, a student living in Apete, said: “The people that are supposed to save students from inconveniences are the ones who have closed their eyes to the plight of students. The best we can do is to plead for a quick repair of the concrete bridge to make movement easy.”

    Hakeem Adeboye, another student, said: “They left the bridge like that until it claimed lives. This should make them to move into action and complete the main bridge being constructed.”

    Last week, the government said it has constructed a pedestrian bridge on the river which has since been opened.

    Commissioner for Works Mr Bimbo Kolade told reporters that though the bridge is strong enough for vehicular movement, it would only be used by pedestrians for the meantime, until the completion of the main bridge.

    Kolade assured residents that another pedestrian bridge would be constructed on the other side of the bridge in two weeks.

    According to him, the second pedestrian bridge, on completion, would serve pedestrians and commercial motorcyclists with the exception of vehicles.

  • Relief underway for Apete residents as govt rebuilds bridge

    Relief underway for Apete residents as govt rebuilds bridge

    Happy days are around the corner for residents of Apete, a suburb of Ibadan, as the pedestrian bridge linking the area with the rest of the Oyo State capital washed away recently by flood is being restored while a permanent bridge is under construction. BISI OLADELE and OSEHEYE OKWUOFU report.

    As the dust settles on the political hype ignited by the flooding of the pedestrian bridge at Apete, a suburb of Ibadan, the Oyo State capital, the Oyo State Government Monday began rebuilding a new bridge to bring succour to residents of the area. The new bridge was billed to be fully in place by yesterday.

    Residents were full of joy that they could use the route again to transport their children and wards to school, access markets, offices and others 10 days after the bridge was washed away by a heavy flood.

    A resident of the area Alhaji. Rasheed Ajisafe said: “Before the collapse of the bridge the Okada operators would collect just N30 from Ijokodo to Apete but now you will have to plead with them before they will collect N150 to pass through Ajibode road to Apete .

    “And that means I will be paying N300 from Ijokodo to Apete alone everyday and how much am I making as profit from my shop. Remember also that some residents have children who attend schools and they will pay same fare for them. So, you came now imagine what the people of Apete are facing just because of the bridge since 2011. But, we are happy that something is being done by the governor to address this problem once and for all.”

    The bridge, which serves as a temporary measure pending the completion of the main bridge, was washed away by a heavy flood during a downpour on June 28. The development, which irked residents of the area, triggered moves by opposition parties to exploit the situation to warm themselves into the heart of residents. They criticized the Governor Abiola Ajimobi administration, saying it abandoned the residents.

    But the government, which explained that it took several steps to bring succour to residents of the area by awarding contract for rebuilding of a wider, stronger and more durable bridge as well as opened up the area by reconstructing the Apete-Ajibode-UI road, among others,  said opposition parties were only trying to reap where they did not sow.   It said apart from bequeathing dilapidation infrastructures to the current administration in 2011, no other administration in the state has addressed infrastructural decay as much as the Ajimobi administration has done.

    The governor sympathised with the people over difficulties inflicted on them by destruction of the bridge and pleaded with them to exercise patience. He assured them that a new pedestrian bridge would be constructed within 10 days.

    “The contractors have met with us. We have given them target and they have been mobilized to meet the target. The temporary pedestrian bridge will be ready by this week-end, and people will be able to cross the river. We have told our supervisors and the Ministry of Works to supervise them to ensure timely completion,’’ the governor said.

    Unlike the former frail and weak structured pedestrian bridge, the new one  has solid iron pillars and strong platform to facilitate easy access and secured movement of people across the river .

    The Commissioner for Works, Mr Bimbo Kolade, also assured at the weekend that the bridge still under construction was strong enough to last the time the permanent bridge will be completed for use.

    The All Progressives Congress (APC) in the state also insisted in a statement that the two previous administrations by the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) under the leadership of former governors Rashidi Ladoja and Adebayo Alao-Akala, left decayed infrastructures for the current administration.

    The statement signed by the party’s Chairman, Chief Akin Oke stressed that:”The inaction in building and maintenance of infrastructure by Governors Rashidi Ladoja and Adebayo Alao-Akala left a huge burden that the APC-led government is carrying.

    ”Apparently, understanding of basic English language is at issue here. Alao-Akala was able to mention only two bridges his government constructed in almost six years of being in office. Ladoja was too engrossed in the violent exchanges between his faction and that of Akala to perform meaningfully in office.

    “If 26 bridges fell within less than a year of their governments, and sufficiently aware that they both lifted no finger in the sustenance of our environmental infrastructure while in office, it is only logical to conclude that the decay they passed over to us is in acute manifestation now.

    “However, not only has the Ajimobi government almost finished the construction of the 26 bridges within two years, in spite of its dwindling earnings, it has gone ahead to change the landscape of infrastructure in the state. One of the bridges perfectly constructed is the Bodija bridge that is the delight of all. Essentially, what the APC maintains is that the two of them ran a government of backwardness and the backlog is the burden we are bearing today.

    “We maintain that they should stop politicizing the Apete bridge because they were vicariously liable for its collapse in the first place,” said the party.

    The governor, also in a reaction through his Special Adviser on Media, Dr Festus Adedayo, said: “Flood is among the most devastating natural disasters all over the world due to its phenomenal impact on numerous lives that are lost, destruction of property and degradation the natural environment. Noteworthy to mention is that flooding is attributed to consequences of human action. The flood disaster was occasioned by heavy downpour of 7.5 hours rainfall (187.5mm) intensity on 26th August,2011.”

    Specifically on Apete bridge, the statement said: “The state government, immediately the disaster occurred, constructed a make-shift bridge for the residents and awarded the contract for the reconstruction of the damaged bridge. However, upon the serial complaints of the residents of the area, government had no other alternative but to call the contractor to hands off it. Being a government that abides by the dictates of process and order, the re-award of the bridge contract went through due process to showcase the government as an open and transparent one.

    “Construction work is now ongoing on the bridge but government has stepped up the completion of the Apete/Ajibode road which is an alternative road to the residents. Its completion is expected in December. Another alternative route has been well paved to ease the pains of the residents.

    “Government came back aftermath that devastating flood, to the drawing table. It immediately set up a panel to look into the overt and covert causes of the flood, with a view to recommending appropriate solutions. That panel came out with the list of a total of about 2500 houses which it recommended for demolition. But after a critical look by government, being a humane one, the number was reviewed downwards, with the belief that massive dredging of rivers and streams, as well as construction of bridges across the state would ameliorate the situation. This we did and we thank God that the result is what we have now – a great reduction in the destructive powers of the flood.

    “Government also engaged in massive sensitization measures, especially with the residents and stakeholders of flood-prone areas on one-on-one basis, as well as on the radio and television.

    Part of the pro-active measures government took was to work in partnership with the World Bank.

    “Because the task of reconstructing these bridges is so massive and is beyond the state government alone, immediately after the last year flood, the governor met with officials of the World Bank and did a presentation on the case of Ibadan flood disaster, upon which the Bank sent its representatives to the state for an assessment. The report has culminated in the Bank, with the support of the Federal Ministry of Finance, agreeing in principle to grant the state government emergency relief. Only recently, the World Bank approved the sum of $200 million for the construction of some bridges and roads damaged during the flood.

    Part of the fund is to channelize the 30km Ona River and complete the Upper Ogunpa River, along with helping to solve the state waste management challenges, from storage, collection, transportation to disposal sites, so as to turn them into sanitary landfills and to eventually begin a waste-to-wealth programme. An absence of these efforts has often been a major cause of flood disasters,” government said.

    Another part of the government’s efforts at ensuring that the flood disaster of last year does not reoccur was to also partner with the World Bank on the Eleyele Dam. “The report, which came out after this partnership, discovered that the Eleyele dam had not been silted in its 47 years of existence.

    Immediately after the 2011 flood, Governor Ajimobi had to urgently rush to the World Bank office in Abuja, as a result of the predicted heavy rainfall. He further made a presentation to World Bank officials in Washington through teleconferencing in Abuja to show the emergency nature of the Eleyele Dam. This led to the palliative measures taken by the state government in the reconstruction of Eleyele Dam’s broken slabs. Perhaps, if this had not been done today, the flooding situation would have been more chaotic.

    “Even though flooding is a natural occurrence, the Oyo government has done every humanly possible thing to ensure that there is no reoccurrence of flood disaster in the state. It is however not resting on its oars.” The statement added.

  • Community tackles flood with N7m bridge

    Community tackles flood with N7m bridge

    Residents of Gaun-un, an Ogun State community, have completed a self-help project to fight flooding; now they want the government to give their community a touch of civilisation. DADA ALADELOKUN reports

    Residents of Gau-un, a rustic neighbour of Magboro community in Ifo Local Government Area of Ogun State, have with a N7 million Akisa Bridge, helped themselves to move against incessant flooding and its attendant agonies that had for years, given them nightmares.

    Obviously, but for lack of adequate pecuniary muscle to do so, the residents, who turned out in their Sunday best for the celebration, would have gleefully hired their choice musician for the outing.

    Amid hearty songs, residents trooped out in good numbers for the carnival-like event. It was like a dance competition. Youths of the community dined and wined.

    Sumptuous meals were washed down throats with assorted drinks as the revelry shook the neighbour-hood. Well-wishers from neighb-ouring settlements were there to rejoice with the residents.

    “But this celebration appears too much over a bridge…” This reporter wondered to the hearing of the Mr Rasaq Sanni, who chairs the community’s parent body, Araromi Community Development Association (ACDA).

    After drawing a thoughtful sigh, Sanni chuckled and said: “This is a community of about 3,500 inhabitants. He who feels it knows it. Flood had dragged us through hell here. We once had to move in and out of here with canoes at varied costs. The worst came when in October 2009, the Oyan Dam water was released. Many of us were displaced while some lost valuables to flooding. That was when we thought of contributing money to build a bridge to make our only major route passable. Our traditional ruler, Oba Usman-Seidu Akanbi Gbadewolu 1 was impressively supportive. The first bridge cost N1.2 million.

    “Again, in September 2010, the dam was opened and the attendant flooding gave us worse tears as it damaged the bridge beyond repairs. Then, we had to start all over again to plan for a more durable bridge. That was how we started this newly complete bridge that we are commissioning today. Some donated money while many contributed materials. Three families here – Adejonlu, Balogun Oko-Osi and Olalere – really supported us. This is why this celebration is worthwhile.

    “It is good that we are here celebrating today. In those days when flood terror reigned, nobody would go out. I have had to stay indoors with my family for days, especially whenever the dam was released. We thank God for the resilience of most of the residents who bore the anguish with incredible equanimity, patience and understanding, Dupe Onabanjo, the ACDA’s Vice-Chairman cut in.

    Another resident, Mama Sola, a petty trader, told The Nation that flood nearly forced his family to relocate in 2010, “when the situation here became almost unbearable.

    “I suspended my petty trading; there was no space to display my wares as flood water had taken over everywhere. In fact, that was when my prayer to God was for Him not to allow flood water to sweep my children away. Today, the situation is better with this bridge. The community has done well for itself. All we want now is for the government to remember us in the other areas of development,” she said.

    After the curtains drew over the outing, it was time for the residents to look into other areas of their need as Sanni hosted an ad-hoc meeting with other officers of the ACDA on other areas of their need.

    He spoke to The Nation again after the parley, saying: “Our battle is not over. Now is the time for us to look unto the government because we all pay tax here. And during elections, we have never shirked our civic responsibilities.

    “Since we settled here till date, we have been living on power generators as if we are still in the dark ages. Government must hasten the process of providing us with electricity. The money we spend on fueling generators here is unquantifiable. We have been on the neck of successive administrations in the state and we will never get tired of reminding them that we are here.”

    Lamenting the absence of motorable roads in the area, Sanni added: “Even the Akisa Bridge must be expanded while the Akisa River must be dredged to allow for free flow of flood water during raining seasons. We lack healthcare centre; there is no police post here to prevent crimes and ensure security of lives and property. The only public primary school here is dilapidated; only God knows when we shall be blessed with a public secondary school. Governor Ibikunle Amosun’s administration listens; we want them to heed our call for better life here.”

    As other residents clustered around the reporter to bemoan their fate, it was clear that the residents were hungry for better days.

  • A community in need of bridge

    A community in need of bridge

    Of all their needs, a bridge appears to be the most urgent. So much depends on it, but it is in bad shape.

    Karatudu and Ungwan Romi are two fast-growing settlements located side by side in Chikun Local Government Area of Kaduna State. The two communities are on the outskirts of Kaduna metropolis. Karatudu is behind the Federal Housing Estate along the Kaduna-Abuja Highway. The community lacks basic amenities such as access roads, schools and even a police post. As the rains begin to set in, the worries of the community mount. They will have to raise money for their children’s school, and for them to do that, they must go to the market.

    The road to the market sinks the heart. Why? The Karatudu Bridge, which is yet to be completed almost two years after a fresh contract was awarded. Work on the project has stopped because, according to officials of Tiger Cat, the firm handling the project, there is no money to go ahead with it. The people are also concern because according to some of them, the contractors have started trimming their staff because of lack of money.

    Contract for the construction of the bridge and access road linking the Federal Housing, Karatudu and Ungwan Romi was awarded in November 2012 by the Kaduna State government with a 25 percent mobilisation fee paid by the government.

    Before the award of the contract, residents of Karatudu had suffered untold hardship especially during the raining season as they had to made do with a make shift structure which served them as a bridge and was often washed away whenever there is a heavy rain fall. Then came the Chikun local government who awarded contract for the construction of a bridge across the Romi river to serve the communities.

    After erecting two pillars, the contractors abandoned the project allegedly for lack of money. But residents of the area accused the contractors of sharing the money meant for the project with politicians and cried out to the late governor, Patrick Ibrahim Yakowa for help.

    Their cry yeilded result in 2012 when the government awarded the contract for the bridge. Sarkin Karatudu (Village Head), Daniel Karatudu told The Nation that the community is unhappy that the bridge has not been completed and appeal to the government to do everything possible to ensure that it is completed before the rains sets in fully.

    he said the community was very happy when the contract was awarded because they felt that at last, government has remembered them.

    “When the contract was awarded by the Yakowa administration, we heaved a sigh of relief. You can see that Ungwan Romi where our children attend school is only a stone’s throw from here. But during the rainy season, our children spend close to N300 daily to attend school because they have to travel through the Federal Housing to Gonin Gora before going to school. As you can see, going through these places is like taking us back and that journey takes nothing less than twenty minutes. But with the bridge, that will only take us less than five minutes and the children will not have to pay transport fare to school.

    “So, our joy knew no bounds when the work started. But for a long time now, the work has stopped and the contractors are telling us that they have not been paid by the government and so, they cannot continue with the project. We are at a loss because the rains are coming again and yet we don’t have any bridge to use. If they knew that they will not complete the project, they would have left the old one we were managing so that we don’t have under go much suffering. But now, we don’t even have any to manage. If you go to the place, you find out that the community are trying to put up a make shift there, but once it rain, it will be washed away”.

    The traditional ruler said they have been appealing to the youths to be calm as he believe that something will be done about the project and appeal to the governor to come to their aide. He said “God used Yakowa to award contract for this project in order to put a smile on our face. The same God has called him. We appeal to Governor Yero not to abandon us now. God has made it possible that he is the one on the seat now. He should hear our cry and pay the contractors so that the project will continue before the rains so that we can always send our children to school. We know that he is a listening governor”.

    Another elder in the community who would not disclose his name, said then non-completion of the bridge is frustrating them as they are forced to spend heavily to get to the market for their children to go to school. He claimed that often, people fall into the river and die while trying to cross. He accused the government of abandoning them in the community. He said “look at us here. We have a large number of voters in this place and more people are moving into this place. Unfortunately, we don’t have a secondary school for our children, we don’t have a market and we don’t even have a police post here. Our road is bad and the bridge we have been managing has been pulled down to pave way for the one the government says they are constructing for us. But for the past one year, the work has been abandoned and the contractors complain of lack of money. As I speak with you, they have started laying off their staff and moving their equipment away from here. That is a clear sign that they work has been abandoned. We don’t know what we have done to deserve this kind of treatment”.

    One of the youths in the community who operates a commercial motor cycle, John Idris said the only condition for them to participate in the forthcoming elections is for the government to complete the bridge for them. He said “we are tired of this kind of treatment from the government. We are tired of promises that are not fulfilled. Look at this place, we are suffering here and nothing is being done about it. Go and tell the governor that if he does not complete this project, he should not expect our votes come 2015. We will give the vote to another person”.

    Project Manager of Tiger Cat, the construction company handling the project, Engr, Khalil Iyad told The Nation that the delay in the completion of the project is basically that of finance, pointing out that once money is available to remaining work on the entire project will be completed within four months. He said “the major project is basically finance. We have actually forwarded so many certificates to government for payment and we have been soliciting pleading with the government for payment so that we can move on fully with the project. We have done 75 percent of the project and have placed certificates for payment since June 2013, but none have been cleared”. However, there seems to be some ray of light at the end of the tunnel for the project as according to Iyad the governor has assured them of payment saying “the governor has assured us that he has taken some loans just to pay contractors and consultants. So, we believe strongly that Insha Allah, within a week of two, we will be paid and the work will continue. What is remaining on that bridge is just the slap decking which is the final phase of the bridge”.

    A visit to the site of the bridge revealed that there is still much work to be done on the bridge to make it usable by the benefiting communities. But Iyad said this is not so, pointing out that the only work remaining on the bridge is the slap decking which he said is the final phase of work on the bridge. What about sand filling the approach to the bridge on both sides which has not been done? He said “when our certificates are cleared, we have to pay compensation for some of the buildings there and run them down before we sand fill the area. When the finance is there, the bridge is just two months work, but the project as a whole might take four months to finish”.

  • Complete our bridge, Ondo community pleads

    Complete our bridge, Ondo community pleads

    The Okeigbo community in Ondo State, has appealed to the state government to complete the bridge on River Ooni.

    An indigene of the community Ayodeji Olapade Snr, said since 2010, when contractors of the state government deployed their equipment and materials in building a dam in the area, the bridge was affected.

    He said, “when the people of the community saw the contractor moved to site, they were very happy, because the dam would have brought to an end the problem of water shortage in the area. But their joy was short-lived when the contractor allegedly left later, without completing the work,” he lamented.

    “During the building of the dam on the river, the big structure on which the bridge was built had its foundation dug. Shortly after the contractors and their employees left the site, a petrol tanker slipped off the bridge and plugged into the river with one of the occupants drowned. The driver was fortunate to have escaped death.”

    Olaopade, who is of the Okeigbo Economic Committee (an arm of its Consultative Forum), the community’s economic think tank, said since that incident, many passengers and motorists had either died, or had their vehicles plunged into the river. Also, he said activities in the area had been paralysed because they were cut off from their neighbours.

    Noting that the bridge is “the major link of Okeigbo with our kith and kin in the southwest,” he added: “We, therefore, appeal to the appropriate authorities to come to our aid by ordering the contractors to go back to the site before the rains. The only alternative road is the Ife/Ondo Express road. Unfortunately, the bridge on same river, which serves as boundary of Ondo and Osun states is now a death trap. Many vehicles have fallen into it, especially when the river overflows its bank.”

  • Trading on the bridge

    Trading on the bridge

    Almost all the pedestrian bridges in the Federal Capital Territory (FCT) have been taken over by traders. GBENGA OMOKHUNU reports

    BEFORE the Minister of Federal Capital Territory (FCT), Senator Bala Mohammed started building six pedestrian bridges in the metropolis, pedestrians were knocked down by speeding cars everyday.

    This ugly incident lingered for many years before Mohammed in 2012 listened to the outcry for pedestrian bridges.

    The Minister remarked at a public function that the development was a great concern to his administration. He then identified six critical locations where the pedestrian bridges should be constructed which included: Nnamdi Azikwe Expressway by Tafawa Balewa (Old Secretariat); Nnamdi Azikwe Expressway by Olusegun Obasanjo (Wuye Junction); Shehu Yar’Adua Way by Okonja Iweala Way (V.I.O Mabushi); Shehu Yar’Adua Way by Ladi Kwali Street (Sheraton Junction); Nnamdi Azikwe Expressway by Ahmadu Bello Way (Banex Junction) and Nnamdi Azikwe Expressway by Shehu Shagari Way (Nicon Junction).

    The bridges which were supposed to be completed six months from the date of the contract. Some of them remain unfinished.

    Abuja Review investigations revealed that the completed ones are sometimes hardly used by pedestrians. Why? Petty traders have since converted the bridges to veritable business posts. At night, the bridges come alive offering a variety of articles.

    When Abuja Review visited one of the bridges at Nnamdi Azikwe Expressway by Shehu Shagari Way, at the popular Nicon Junction bus stop, traders were seen enjoying their trading with their customers without fear of been arrested. Products displayed at the bridge included Shoes, under wears, fairly used cloths, Belts, fruits, groundnuts and so on.