The Nation Newspaper

Tag: collapse

  • Two die in Lagos building collapse

    Two artisans died yesterday and another injured, following a building collapse at Lekki in Lagos.

    The building, at Nicon Town Estate on Admiralty Way in Lekki Phase One, was said to be under construction when it caved in around 11:40 a.m.

    The deceased, identified simply as Tasiu and Abdulahi, were reportedly crushed by the beams of the structure while they were mixing concretes for the parapet.

    They were said to have been trapped under the rubble and extricated by rescue workers.

    It was learnt that the building collapse might have been caused by the vibration of the mixer for the concrete.

    The State Emergency Management Agency (LASEMA) said another artisan, identified simply as Yakub, sustained some injuries and was rushed to a private hospital.

    The agency said the scene had been condoned off, adding that investigation would be conducted on the incident.

    When The Nation contacted the General Manager of the Lagos State Building Control Agency (LASBCA), Dotun Lasoju, he said the incident was not a case of building collapse.

    He said it was the roof gutter of the building that caved in way while concrete was being poured into it.

    Lasoju said: “As you can see from the pictures from the scene, the building is still standing fully. It was the form work of the roof gutter that yielded during concreting. The building did not collapse.”

    The LABSCA chief said nobody died in the incident.

  • Is Nigeria’s collapse unavoidable?

    Every country has its inner, intrinsic, structure. A country that is made up of one nationality (a people with their own homeland, culture, language, etc.) is different from another country in which many different nationalities, each occupying its own homeland, are combined. To exist in reasonable harmony, a country’s man-made structure (that is, its constitutional structure) must harmonize as much as possible with its intrinsic structure. When the leaders and rulers of a country organize their country in ways that are manifestly and defiantly disharmonious with their country’s intrinsic structure, they condemn their country to instability, discord, conflicts, and probably disintegration.

    The refusal of Black African countries to respect this wisdom is the principal reason why almost all independent Black African countries have been experiencing instability, conflicts and violence. Different European empire builders came, grabbed some expanse of African territory, ignored the African nationalities that inhabited each such territory, and called it a new country – with one name and one government. For the next 40 years or so, the colonial rulers were so busy trying to make profit from their African ventures, and they were so distracted by big troubles (two World Wars and a Great Depression) in their own continent, that they could not pay serious attention to issues such as appropriate constitutional structure for their African territories. In the course of the 1960s, under pressure from Africans demanding independence, and from a world that was becoming hostile to imperialism, the European colonialists hurriedly cooked up some sort of leadership for their African possessions and left. That is the basic story of every Black African country since independence.

    At that point of independence, a great task fell on the shoulders of the new African leaders of each of these countries – the task of organizing their country properly and giving it a chance to be stable and peaceful – so as to be able to develop and prosper. The core of this task was to ensure that each nationality in their new country (no matter how small) would be respected, and feel comfortably and proudly belonging, in the new country. In every country made up of many different nationalities and given only one central government by the colonialists, it was necessary to restructure by creating constitutions allowing the various nationalities to have some freedom to manage some important parts of their own affairs. That means we Black Africans should have chosen some sort of federal structures for most of our countries after independence.

    Unfortunately, in not a single one of Black Africa’s multi-nation countries did the leaders even ask what needed to be done in this all-important matter of living together as one country. Just a few examples will do. In Black Africa’s first independent country, Ghana, the various nationalities asked at independence to be allowed to manage some of their own affairs locally. A constitution of that nature was easily possible.  But the first ruler of the new country, and the great hero of Africa, Dr. Nkrumah, thought that their requests were dangerous to the unity of Ghana, and he launched a political fight aimed at stamping the requests down. That led to crises and big troubles – all of which could have been avoided. These troubles destabilized Ghana and (reinforced by economic troubles) ultimately destroyed the great hero.

    In nearly every one of our other countries, the leaders simply assumed too that their countries were already finished products as organized by the colonial rulers, and that all they needed to do was to make their governments strong and capable of stamping down any show of freedom by any of the component nationalities. And the results since then in country after country have been conflicts, military coups and barbaric military dictatorships, mind-boggling corruption, pogroms, efforts at ethnic cleansing or even genocide.

    South Sudan is our youngest country in Black Africa.  After decades of brutal sacrifices in bush wars, South Sudan, comprising about 80 different nationalities, wrenched itself free from Arab-controlled Sudan and became an independent country in July 2011. Many leaders of the different nationalities proposed that the nationalities should be given some freedom to manage much of their affairs locally, and that the central legislature should be “the voice of the nationalities”.  We were all very happy when the leader of the independence war, our brother Salva Kiir, as president of the new country, said during the independence celebrations that South Sudan would be a country “where cultural and ethnic diversity will be a source of pride”. Very many Black Africans (including this writer) rushed letters to the leaders of South Sudan congratulating them and begging them to be mindful of the fact that their country was a county of many different nationalities – and to avoid the mistake that other Black African countries have been making. Sadly, it did not work. President Kiir soon rejected all advice about a federal structure or decentralization. His Vice-President and many others (belonging to various nationalities), accused him of aspiring to a dictatorship. The nationalities plunged into conflicts – and became engrossed in mutual killings. International observers on the spot are now reporting that hundreds of thousands have been killed, and countless thousands are being killed month after month.

    It is the same pattern as this in almost all our countries – with only variations of detail. The Nigerian story is easily the most bizarre and most painful of all. Nigeria is the Black African country with the greatest promise of prosperity and greatness – the home of about one-fourth of all Black Africans, one of the most literate populations at independence, and the land of enormous natural resources (including great land, forest and mineral resources, and some of the richest crude oil and gas deposits on earth). To protect their economic interests in this naturally rich country after it would have become independent, the British colonialists sought to hand Nigeria, at independence, to “a friendly people”. Fearing the highly educated Yoruba and Igbo of the South, they maneuvered the constitution, the population census, the internal boundaries, the politics and the elections, and thus placed Nigeria’s federal power in the hands of the Hausa-Fulani of Arewa North who were the least educated and patently the least ready for the tasks of modern development. The British also established for the new overlords the direction by which they would be able to use their control of federal power to widen their dominance and to keep their control going indefinitely.

    But all of those were the acts of British foreigners fending for their own country’s interests. The duty of Nigeria’s new rulers of Nigeria was obvious and different – it was to make Nigeria stable, successful and prosperous. Unhappily, the group which the British foisted upon Nigeria, the Hausa-Fulani political leadership, chose not to work for the success and greatness of Nigeria. They chose to use their control of federal power to entrench their sectional control eternally over Nigeria – in the Nigerian military, in the Nigerian federal civil service, over all corners of Nigeria, to convert federal agencies (courts, electoral commission, police, secret service, etc.) into the tools of Fulani sectional ambitions, to use federal money to corrupt, emasculate, and enslave prominent citizens all over Nigeria, and to resist any attempt at evolving a true federal system that would have decentralized power across Nigeria. Even when some southerners (Obasanjo and Jonathan) have been allowed to sit on top of the system, their presidencies have changed nothing. Enticed and stupefied by the enormity of power and money under their control as presidents, they have simply gloried in it all – and even added to the centralization of power, as well as the despotism and the corruption.

    In the past 18 months, back in control of Nigeria under the Buhari presidency, the Hausa-Fulani leadership has gone back to the game of intensifying the centralization and the special privileges of the Hausa-Fulani. In just about one year, Hausa-Fulani appointees have been filled into more than 80% of positions in the leadership of virtually all federal agencies. Fulani herdsmen have become a special breed of citizens that are free to carry rifles brazenly in a Nigeria in which possession of fire-arms is a serious crime, a special breed of citizens who are free to slaughter non-Fulani and non-Hausa farmers across most of Nigeria with essentially no fear of arrest.

    Judging from the way Nigeria is now tottering fearfully, the rejection of the Hausa-Fulani system of control has reached the point of generating Nigeria’s collapse. Professor Ango Abdullahi said recently that it is the Arewa North that has been bearing the burden of Nigeria’s unity. He is wrong – very wrong. In fact, it is the Arewa North that has been destroying Nigeria. The future of Nigeria is now locked in one unavoidable reality: change structure, or perish.

  • Uyo church collapse: Family of detainee calls for pastor’s arrest

    The family of Anietie Ndarake, an architect and member of Reigners Bible Church in Uyo, the Akwa Ibom State capital, where a building collapsed in December, has called for his unconditional release.

    It urged the police to arrest the proprietor of the church, Bishop Akan Weeks.

    Uwem Ndarake, the detainee’s older brother, addressed reporters yesterday in Uyo with his relations.

    He said the bishop knew everything about the collapsed church building.

    The distraught brother noted that as a committed member of the church and a professional, Anietie felt obligated to visit the site from time to time.

    He said: “He (Aniette) was not contracted or paid to supervise any aspect of the construction work. He had no hand in the drawings or designs. Neither did he work at the site as someone paid to offer professional service.

    “Bishop Weeks controlled everything at the site. He paid those working there. We are aware that he personally paid people to remove the scaffold that held the weight of the ‘drum or fulcrum’ of the truss of the roof.

    “It was after removing the scaffold on Friday evening, from what we gathered, that a crack was noticed on the wall. Why did he order the removal of the scaffold against advice? Why did he keep threatening workers at the site to act against sound advice? We want Akan Weeks to release Anietie immediately.”

    The family urged the Federal Government to appoint coroners who would conduct an inquest into the building collapse. The panel should also determine the number of persons who died. We request that the Nigerian Society of Engineers (NSE) be allowed to independently conduct an investigation and make its report known to the public.

    Uwem expressed worry about the state of his brother’s health, adding that the police had denied him administrative bail.

    The designers of the structure and the roof as well as other persons who supervised the project, including Bishop Weeks, were released after making statements to the police.

    This happened several days after the incident.

    Two persons were detained in police custody since December 12, last year. The suspects are: Ndarake, and Mr. Idongesit White, the roof contractor who merely interpreted the design according to the specification of the structural design handed over to him.

  • Uyo church collapse was human error, says Emmanuel

    Uyo church collapse was human error, says Emmanuel

    Akwa Ibom State Governor Udom Emmanuel yesterday attributed the Reigners Bible Church building collapse to human error.

    This was the preliminary verdict of the seven-man panel set up by the government headed by Justice Umoekeyo Essang (Chairman).

    Its members are: James Utiaruk, Essien Nkanga, an Assistant Commissioner of Police (ACP) Abibo; Prophet John Linus, Asuquo Okon and James Amiang.

    Mrs. Emem Victor Daniel of the Ministry of Justice in Uyo, the state capital, is the Secretary.

    Speaking yesterday at the 2016 Akwa Ibom Christmas carol at the Uyo Township Stadium, Emmanuel said the state had not fully recovered from the shock.

    The governor noted that what fell was a church building (man’s handiwork) and not God’s promise.

    The roof of the church on Uyo Village Road collapsed during the consecration service of Apostle Akan Weeks as Bishop.

    The govrnor was the special guest of honour at the event.

    Twenty-six persons have been confirmed dead while scores of others were injured.

    Emmanuel said: “Ever since God created the sun and put it there, we have never had a blackout. The sun has never run out of gas. The collapse of the building was man’s error. That is why we have set up a high-powered panel of enquiry to determine what went wrong.

    “We dedicated two days of mourning to the souls of the departed. We activated the full machinery and resources of government to aid the rescue and evacuation of victims of the tragedy. We have also assured the victims’ families of government’s resolve to stand by and with them during this time of mourning.

    “Ever since Mary Slessor and other blessed missionaries came to our shores and evangelised our ancestors, we have come to see the church as a shelter of refuge. The church has given us hope and inspiration. The church has showered blessings on us and raised our moral tone and texture.”

    The governor said he led the team of rescuers and called in specialist physicians from across the nation.

    He assured Akwa Ibom residents everybody’s life mattered and the state government would save their lives in any situation.

  • Uyo Church Disaster: Governor inaugurates panel of enquiry

    Uyo Church Disaster: Governor inaugurates panel of enquiry

    Governor Udom Emmanuel of Akwa Ibom has inaugurated a Panel of Inquiry to unravel the mystery surrounding last Saturday’s Reigners International Church building collapse which claimed dozens of lives.

     Inaugurating the Commission in Uyo, the state capital, Emmanuel charged them to do a thorough job of unraveling the immediate and remote causes of the incident and make recommendations to government.

     The seven member panel has Justice Umoekeyo Essang, as Chairman, with Engr. James Utiaruk; Arc. Essien Nkanga; Assistant Commissioner of Police, ACP Abibo; Prophet John Linus; Engr. Asuquo Okon and Engr. James Amiang, as members, while Mrs. Emem Victor Daniel of the Ministry of Justice, Uyo, would serve as Secretary.

     The Commission which would commence sitting on Friday,  is saddled with the responsibility to: “investigate and probe the immediate and remote causes of the collapse building; examine the roles played by any person, institutions and authorities, as well as establishing the consequences of such roles.”

     “It commission would also identify and indict any person, institutions and authorities responsible either remotely or immediately and appropriate sanctions and examine all the circumstances surrounding the collapsed structure and make recommendations to the government.”

     Meanwhile, from the 10 hospitals and clinics hosting several victims of the Church crash, over 50 patients were discharged on Thursday.

     Among those sent home from the hospitals were the Chief Press Secretary to Governor Udom Emmanuel, Ekerete Udoh; the Chief Protocol, Edmond Uffang, and others.

    Meanwhile, institutions and individuals affected have continued to mourn victims of the accident.

    The Alumni Association of the University of Uyo that lost some students in the crashed commiserated with the government, the Church and the people of the State.

    The President of the Association, Prof. Gabriel Umoh, described the incident as tragic and prayed for the reposed of the souls of those affected and the fortitude to bear the loss by the families of those affected.

    Sympathisers have continued to throng the scene of the accident to offer prayers for the repose of the souls of their dear ones and for God to heal the wounds nursed by families of those affected.

  • Umana, PFN shocked by collapse

    Managing Director of Nigeria Oil and Gas Free Zones Authority (OGFZA), Umana Umana, has expressed sadness at the collapse of a building belonging to Reigners Bible Church in Uyo, Akwa Ibom State capital.

    The police, last night, confirmed 27 dead in the incident.

    Several were injured and are receiving treatment at an undisclosed hospital.

    In a telephone interview with our reporter, Umana said he received news of the collpase with shock.

    He said: “I received news of the accident with shock. It is sad and tragic. My thoughts and prayers are with the families of victims, even as I confirm my condolences to the state government and the people of the state.”

    Also, the Pentecostal Fellowship of Nigeria (PFN) has urged its churches to hold special prayers for Reigners Bible Church.

    PFN’s State Chairman Dr. Sylvanus Ukafia gave the directive in a statement yesterday in Uyo, the state capital.

    The statement reads: “The Pentecostal community shares the pain of Reigners Bible Church at the sad event of the collapse of its building during the Bishopric Ordination of its presiding pastor, Bishop-Elect Akan Weeks, and stand with them in prayers and support.

    “The PFN urges all Pentecostal churches to hold special prayers for the church in their services on December 11.

    “Furthermore, the PFN urges all churches to take special offerings for the medical assistance of those injured and send same to the Reigners’ Bible Church. Church members who can are also urged to donate blood, where necessary, to those in hospital and make other donations as may be required in the course of treatment of those injured.

    “We assure Reigners Bible Church that they are in our thoughts and prayers. We pray for the comfort of the Holy Spirit and may this cloudy period give way to a new dawn of hope for the church.”

  • Economy: Moving from collapse to recovery

    It is interesting that almost all stakeholders who have tried to discuss our current economic predicament believe that the Nigerian economy is in “recession”. But is this a correct characterization? If these stakeholders are in error, then, we can conclude that the nature of the problem is not generally understood, and if policy makers are in error in this regard, then policies designed to revive the economy will be ineffective, and may aggravate current problems.

    What economic condition is Nigeria now experiencing? Let us quickly dismiss what it is not. First, it is not depression, where national output, incomes, employment levels and rate of inflation are all negative. Second, it is not deflation, where price levels and interest rates decline as well as aggregate expenditure in the domestic economy, as is now happening in Japan. Third, it is NOT recession which is characterized by negative growth in national income for two consecutive quarters (six months) without incidence of inflation. Fourth, the closest term to describe the current Nigerian situation is stagflation, which is decline in national income combined with inflation. We can argue that while stagflation is the closest description of the present state of the economy, that state is actually worse than stagflation, in the sense that inflation is accompanied by absolute reduction in national income and employment level, as well as a chronic external deficit. If we accept the fact that Nigeria is experiencing something worse than stagflation, then the appropriate package of policies that can revive the economy is significantly different from that being proposed by government, external donor agencies and by the organized private sector to tackle recession.

    Recognizing the causes of the current Nigerian economic predicament is a major step to resolution. Some of these causes are policy mistakes of previous and present governments, wrong attitudes of Nigerians to production and consumption, and a curious tendency of accepting policy advice from stakeholders who place their individual interest over that of the country. We shall be specific.

    1. Failure to refine crude petroleum at home due to constant breakdown of the four refineries;
    2. Excessive importation of food and other agricultural inputs which Nigeria is well suited to produce, due to irrational dependence on shared oil revenue;
    3. Continued depreciation of the naira exchange rate which propels cost-push inflation arising from imports; especially petroleum products, industrial inputs and food;
    4. Sustained tight monetary policy implicit in high and rising interest rates which discourage investment by small and medium-scale enterprises;
    5. Recent trend of introduction of new taxes at Federal and State levels which is a leakage from the national income stream as it discourages production and consumption;
    6. Failure of the National Assembly to pass the Petroleum Industry Bill (PIB) which is expected to liberalize the downstream segment of the Petroleum and Gas sector with huge potential to increase output, incomes and employment;
    7. Failure of the political party in power, past and present, to restore a proper federal structure with considerable devolution of powers to federating states which was destroyed when the military overthrew the First Republic in 1966. All federal governments have resisted the restoration of the federal system that provided a solid foundation for stability, peace and mutual respect during the First Republic. Current political discontent and agitation in oil-producing states resulting in destruction of production and pipeline facilities reduces output of crude oil and gas, in the process destroying the environment, reducing earnings of foreign exchange as well as electricity supply. The solution to the constitutional problem is negotiation among the geopolitical regions, and definitely not the militaristic approach adopted by the Federal Government in 2016.
    8. Shortcomings in the implementation of The Treasury Single Account (TSA) which suddenly drained large sums from the commercial banks with adverse effects on liquidity, lending capacity, employment in banks and solvency, and increased exposure to bank distress.

    Current economic problems arise from WRONG exchange rate policies adopted since 1986 under the Structural Adjustment Programme (SAP). Before then, the country operated a fixed exchange rate regime which provided a stable environment for the country to attain middle-income status during the Gowon Regime. Proponents of SAP and flexible exchange rate system argued that the naira was “over-valued”. From the initial exchange rate of N1= $1 in 1986, the exchange rate has deteriorated to N310.00= $1.00 on the inter-bank market and N475= $1 in the parallel market as at October 5. The orthodox theoretical argument is that depreciation of the national currency raises domestic prices, improves the balance of payments position and increases gross national income. But empirical results of depreciation of the naira indicate that the policy reduces national income as well as worsens the balance-of-payments position. This confirms the position taken by experts that the Nigerian foreign exchange market is unstable. The implication of this is that to obtain the desired results of improved balance of payments position, increased national income and reduction in the rate of inflation, the country should find a way to appreciate (raise the value of) the naira. This would involve devising policies to tackle destabilizing speculation against the naira, increase exports and devise a strategy of taming the parallel foreign exchange market by integrating it with the Bureau De Change and subjecting it to Central Bank control. Appreciation of the naira then results in lower rate of inflation increased national income and improved balance of payments position.

    Nigerian monetary policy has been restrictive since the introduction of SAP. The Central Bank, in its inflation-targeting strategy of monetary policy, regularly mops up so-called excess liquidity by selling securities to banks, resulting in rising short-term interest rates. This discourages lending and makes the structure of lending interest rates prohibitive to investors. This works against increased national output and employment. The assumption of the Central Bank is that lending is for consumption, which would have been tenable if the inflation was demand-pull. In cost-push inflation, rising short-term interest rates, in addition to reducing output, may also compound inflation. In the current Nigerian situation, easy monetary policy is preferred.

    Fiscal policy should be significantly restructured. Government’s commitment to increasing non-oil revenue should continue. The percentage of expenditure on recurrent items should be reduced while capital expenditure is significantly increased to accommodate additional infrastructural facilities. In the short run, budget deficits should be employed to expand national income and employment opportunities. Sale of national assets should not be considered.

    In this era of globalization, application of new technologies, particularly ICT and the development of entrepreneurial capabilities make a country more competitive in world markets as well as increase the productive capacity to satisfy domestic demand. This policy, working closely with fiscal policy, increases national income, improves the balance-of-payments position and reduces inflation.

     

    • Paper delivered by Professor Osagie on behalf of recipients of honorary degree awarded at the 42thgraduation ceremony of the University of Benin, November 26.

  • Plateau to rescue education from collapse

    The Executive Chairman, Plateau State Universal Basic Education Board (PSUBEB), Prof Mathew Sule, has lamented the deplorable standard of education at primary and secondary levels such that a Primary Four pupil cannot speak English language.

    Sule, challenged the new Education Secretaries for the 17 Local Government Education Authorities (LGEA) to work towards rescuing the system from total collapse.

    The Chairman, who made the remark while swearing-in the education secretaries, said: “The future of the children of Plateau State is at stake; we need to safeguard the future of our children now if we must have good leaders of tomorrow.

    “The task before the education secretaries is enormous, you cannot afford to fail, as you will be closely supervised to ensure that we get our education right and to also return the state to its original position as the best in the northern region.

    “With your swearing-in today as education secretaries of your respective LGAs, you are expected to guarantee quality assurance and control of education, accurate data collection and documentation, ensure infrastructural development of schools, develop the skills of teachers, promote community participation, prudent and transparent resource mobilisation and management and ensure cooperation with education unions.”

    He encouraged them to work in harmony with their various councils to deliver on their terms of reference, while assuring them of support.

    Earlier in a welcome address, director of personnel management of PSUBEB, Mrs Nanlop Gupiya, said the constitution of the education secretary is considered a major step towards revamping the falling standard of education in the state.

  • ‘How Tinubu saved Nigeria from imminent collapse’

    ‘How Tinubu saved Nigeria from imminent collapse’

    Chief Lanre Razak, the Balogun of Epe, former Epe Council Chairman, Transport Commissioner and governorship candidate on the platform of the defunct All Nigeria Peoples Party (ANPP), spoke with reporters in Lagos on the Buhari and Ambode administrations, the contributions of Asiwaju Bola Ahmed Tinubu to the sustenance of democracy, the anti-corruption battle and other issues. EMMANUEL OLADESU was there.

    How will you rate Governor Akinwunmi Ambode’s performance in the last one year?

    Lagosians and indeed, those of us who are resident in Lagos, are very lucky to have Mr. Ambode as a governor. We have been lucky in the past sixteen or seventeen years in Lagos State. Former Governor Bola Ahmed Tinubu came and laid a very solid foundation for governance in Lagos state especially in the areas of revenue generation and solid programmes that meet the needs of the people. As a result, it was not difficult for Mr. Babatunde Fashola, SAN to step into his shoes and continue and now we are lucky that we have a financial expert who is so good in fund management, prudent in handling public resources in charge of Lagos state. He is a man that hit the ground running. Look at all the projects he has been putting in place since he came in. Go to Alimosho, you see bridges and roads; in Ajah, they are working seriously on the terrible traffic situation there constructing an overhead bridge. Even in Epe, you would see road construction going on. Ambode is the only governor out of the governors that did not request for a bail out from the Federal Government; he is paying salaries and pensions as at when due. The civil servants in Lagos State are very happy with him and there has not been any strike by workers in the state since the governor came on board. Ambode is a middle age person with a lot of energy to burn and that is why Lagos is making tremendous progress during his tenure. We are very happy about this progress.

    Why is the state reluctant to conduct local government elections, if indeed, the governor has performed well?

    That is far from being correct. You see, elections require a lot of things before they can be conducted. A state requires time for planning; you must consider security and ensure there is no loss of lives while conducting elections. The new Lagos State Independent Electoral Commission (LASIEC) has just been put in place and they are working on the logistics needed in conducting the elections. Preparatory to that, the governor has dissolved the 20 local governments and 37 local council development areas, LCDAs and appointed administrators so that those who are there will not take advantage of incumbency to perpetuate themselves in power. He wants a level playing field for the exercise and that he has created. Of course, those who want to be in government at all costs and have nothing to offer and maybe you are talking about members of the People’s Democratic Party, (PDP) who are grumbling. We have seen their antecedents and how they looted the funds of Nigeria at the federal level and these are the same people crying that they want to be in charge of our local governments. We do not need to hurry up because somebody wants to be in government at all costs. We want to conduct election and get it properly done and ensure that due process is followed.

    How would you assess the contribution of Asiwaju Tinubu to the emergence and growth of the APC?

    With all we have seen; with the revelations from the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission, EFCC so far, Nigerian was at the verge of collapse at the time President Muhammadu Buhari’s administration came in. If it had not been the big sacrifice of Asiwaju Tinubu, we will not have the merger of the political parties to form the All Progressives Congress, APC and once we don’t have the merger, the PDP would have continued to govern. I mean you have heard the huge amount of money distributed to Independent National Electoral Commission, (INEC) officials, Police and to all those who conducted the 2015 general elections. It is unprecedented in the history of this country that somebody would have access to such huge funds and then distribute just to win elections at all cost. That is the situation we were then and if Tinubu had not sacrificed a lot with his colleagues, who supported him; though we agree that a tree cannot make a forest; his contribution to the party is enormous. His sacrifice is enormous and that is why we have tremendous respect for him. He is the father of democracy in this country; he is the man who brought Nigeria out of the woods. He is the man who saved Nigeria from imminent collapse. You can imagine how much was withdrawn from Nigeria’s treasury for the last elections at a time when a lot of pensioners did not have their money, at a time when all our health institutions were in shambles and at a time when most of our roads were in terrible shape. Even some of the military officers who were expected to prosecute the war against Boko Haram were busy sharing the money.  Over N90 billion was allegedly shared by the military officers who are being prosecuted by the EFCC. It is a wonderful achievement for Tinubu who was able to bring in Buhari, who has what it takes to dare these military guys. We have to give credit to the former governor of Lagos state Bola and his colleagues who supported him. It has never happened in the history of Nigeria, a merger has never succeeded in this country before now. It has succeeded now because people took the bull by the horn and made a lot of sacrifice and that is why we have these results.

    Did you notice these attributes in Tinubu when you chaired the committee that screened him as a senatorial aspirant for Lagos West district on the platform of the defunct Social Democratic Party (SDP) in the aborted Third Republic?

    I believe that it is his destiny and no one should underrate any human being because his was fixed by destiny and that is why he is there. Mark you, leadership is primarily the act of creating confidence. Asiwaju Tinubu had come to those who genuinely knew him and they accepted his leadership. He had come to perform wonders in all areas of leadership and human endeavors. He is not just coming in as a political leader; he is coming in as a patriot, a committed Nigerian, a man who is ready to sacrifice a lot in ensuring the unity and continued survival of Nigeria. It was not difficult to discover the qualities in Bola Tinubu when he was the senatorial candidate for the SDP because whatever he touched, he wanted the best. He is a man who would not sleep, who would not rest on his oars, a man that when he puts his hand on the plough, he never turns back, until the best is gotten and that is why he is getting the job done.

    Are you satisfied with President Buhari’s performance so far?

    I am absolutely satisfied. We are lucky to have him and by the time the complete foundation is laid, we would be a better country; better for you, better for me and better for everybody. So, my appeal is for Nigerians to understand him, have a little patience with him and give him the desired necessary support so that we can have a better Nigeria.

    What do you think has given rise to the suspicion that Buhari may sideline those who helped him to get to power?

    I don’t believe such suspicion. Human beings are so difficult to replace, it is not firewood! You may have the intention of sidelining people, but some factors would make it impossible for you to do so and I don’t see Buhari doing so. He is a man of his words and I do not see him sidelining those who helped him save this nation from imminent collapse. I strongly believe Buhari to be a thorough and godly person.

    But the President has been accused of targeting his opponents in the PDP in the war on corruption

    That is not correct. The President has been asking for those who have sufficient evidence to produce such information. The fact that you accuse a person and you do not have cogent evidence that is beyond any atom of doubt does not mean such a person would just be picked up. In the list of people that got money from the Office of National  Security Adviser (ONSA), who and who in other political parties benefitted that have they left out? Those who participated in the looting of Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC) fund, let them give a list of those involved who were left out. It is very easy to cry foul and make noise when you are wrong and people are dealing with you. It is just like the issue at the National Assembly now where Deputy Senate President Ike Ekweremadu is writing the world that they want to truncate democracy in Nigeria.

    The question still remains: Did he forge the Standing Order of the Senate without going through the due process? As a leader you are suppose to be a shining example and a role model to the world. If what they have done is indeed what they have done, are they standing up to say because they are in a specific arm of government, the law cannot apply to their actions? People also make noise because they want to create situation for you to leave them for what they have done wrong. They should go ahead and prosecute those who committed offences against this country.

    They should go ahead and deal with those who stole our money and made the people poor. You need to go out at night and see the number of people sleeping under the bridges in Lagos state. You need to conduct social research and know what percentage of Nigeria is in absolute abject poverty. I am not an economist but the money that they alleged some military officers stole is about N90 billion. I am sure that if they distribute N2 million each to every Nigerian, you would know how many Nigerians that money can cover. By the time these Nigerians use this money for their trades, you know how much it would impact on their lives and remove poverty from our lives.

    Do you believe that immunity to governors and deputy governors is hampering the war on graft?

    We include that clause in the 1999 Constitution as amended believing that it would save the governors from unnecessary distractions. But, we have since discovered that some used it against the nation and against the people. We have advocated for immunity to be removed. Look at Governor Ayodele Fayose of Ekiti State, look at the public funds they brought together for his election and he is lying that he got the money from Zenith Bank. I cannot imagine that Zenith Bank would use depositors funds as much as that and give it to an individual for election. The BVN number, the tellers, the record of payments; they are all there. Because the money they took to Ekiti was too much for Ekiti, they could not finish it for election.

    There is law in this land and those who committed offences against the nation should face the law.

  • Address human factor in building collapse, urges ATOPCON

    Address human factor in building collapse, urges ATOPCON

    The immediate past Lagos State Commissioner for Physical Planning and Urban Development, Toyin Ayinde, has said the spate of building collapse in the country is a signal that quality is being compromised.

    Ayinde, who spoke at this year’s Annual General Meeting (AGM) of the Association of Town Planning Consultants of Nigeria (ATOPCON), stated that aside the quantity of building materials, labour is also a vital aspect of quality.

    Ayinde was represented at the AGM by Mr. Moses Ogunleye.

    Ayinde, who noted that though  town planners, like other professionals in the build industry are facing challenges, said it was rather unfortunate that the industry is at the receiving end.

    “When incidents of building collapse still stare us in the face, it is a signal that quality is being sacrificed, but that really is the essence of ATOPCON, an association intended to foster quality consultancy services and healthy peer review,” he said.

    Ayinde, therefore, charged the experts and others to ensure that the level of awareness for quality must be raised if professionals were to remain relevant to the built environment.

    ATOPCON, he maintained, needs to enlighten professionals and other colleagues who might just see the association as another elitist movement designed to strangulate some people out of practice.

    Rather, the former commissioner said the association was seeking to bring together experienced professionals, who could learn from one another, and thus cause an improvement in service delivery.

    “There is no better time to convince more people to be committed to quality practice. There, indeed, lies our future. Sustainable systems have always survived on quality service, and ours should not be different. I therefore urge us to begin to think through the various challenges faced in the built environment and the construction industry, and to evolve viable solutions that will make us the pride of the society,”Ayinde said.

    Similarly, a Mass Communication lecturer at the University of Ilorin, Dr. Kadijat Kadiri-Bello, while delivering a lecture titled: “Rebranding town planning firms,” said there was the need for town planners to rebrand and take their place in the built environment.

    This, she cautioned, was not just about change in name, logo or colour, but also about professionals being open to adopting a consistent definition of branding, including evolving and sustaining transparency within their operations.

    ATOPCON’s immediate past Lagos chairman, Mr. Joseph Akande, said it had become imperative for the body to evolve new ways to deliver services. If imbibed, Akande said, it would lead to great improvements in the image and integrity of town planners before the general public, clients and professional colleagues.

    ATOPCON President, Mr. Olaide Afolabi emphasised that the aim of the association is to ensure the evolvement and nurturing of sustainable human settlement and cities.

    This, he explained, would be achieved if its members promote  urban and regional planning practice.

    “Our message to the Lagos State government is that it should  continue its efforts in the development of the city into a true mega city and ensure physical planning is used as an important and vital tool in guiding development plans, schemes and policies within the city.

    ‘’As is obtained in other climes, countries with sound, proactive physical planning and policies develop rapidly and sustainably.  Lagos cannot afford to be left out in creating an enduring liveable city and, as town planning consultants, we have to live up to the calling of our profession and its ethics,” Afolabi said.