The Nation Newspaper

Tag: ibadan

  • Students paralyse Ibadan

    There was confusion yesterday in Ibadan when students of The Polytechnic, Ibadan took to the streets, protesting lack of social amenities in their hostels.

    Human and vehicular movements were paralysed for nearly two hours as motorists found it difficult to pass through the major roads linking Sango-Eleyele to other parts of Ibadan.

    The students complained about epileptic power supply.

    They shouted anti-government slogans and barricaded entrances to their campus.

    Some of the students, who spoke with our correspondent on the condition of anonymity, said the epileptic power supply should be addressed to ensure smooth academic activities.

    One of them said: “Electricity supply is terrible in our school. We have made our grievances known to the polytechnic authority, but to no avail.”

    The institution’s spokesman, Alhaji Soladoye Adewole, said: “We all know that power generation is a critical issue in this country. We generate light for four hours a day for students between 6am and 8am and 8pm to 10pm, using a generator.

    “We started having problems with them when the generator became bad. It requires overhauling and this is taking us time.”

    He said there was no need for the protest since there was an effective means for the students to channel their grievances.

    Said he: “We once gave them the phone numbers of the polytechnic’s principal officers so that they can lodge complaints and cross-check facts from the school authority.

    “We understand that the students are not happy about the situation, but the matter should have been tabled instead of protesting.”

     

     

     

  • 2015: Oyo ACN inaugurates Ibadan City Elders’ Forum

    Action Congress of Nigeria (ACN), Oyo State chapter yesterday inaugurated the, Ibadan City Elders Forum to strategise ways that will ensure the success of the party in the 2015 general elections.

    The newly inaugurated executives of the forum are the Chairman of the State Universal Basic Education Board (SUBEB), Dr Busari Adebisi as Chairman; Alhaji Dauda Alawuje as Deputy Chairman and Mr. Abodunrin Ahmed.

    Ibadan City Forum consists of Ibadan North, Ibadan North-West, Ibadan North-East, Ibadan South-West and Ibadan South-East.

    The state chairman of the party, Chief Akin Oke, during the inauguration of the forum held at the South-West secretariat of the party in Alakia area of Ibadan, said that the forum has existed before the 2011 elections and there is an urgent need to resuscitate it now that the 2015 general election is just two years away.

    According to him, the re-enactment of the forum and inauguration of its leadership were part of the ongoing re-engineering and restructuring of the party.

    Oke urged party members to be more committed to its progressive ideals and work towards the progress of the party.

    Oke further said that the party in the state was divided into seven various zones, namely Ibadan City, Ibadan Less City, Ibarapa, Oyo, Ogbomosho, Oke-Ogun 1 and Oke-Ogun 2 for administrative convenience.

    In his acceptance speech, the forum’s chairman, Dr Busari Adebisi, urged party members not to relent on their efforts at sustaining the victory of the party in future elections, adding that four years was not enough to complete the ongoing transformation being experienced in the state.

     

  • Ibadan residents relish infrastructure upgrade

    Ibadan residents relish infrastructure upgrade

    Residents of Ibadan, capital of Oyo State, have continued to applaud the infrastructure upgrade.

    There is a predominant feeling that the ancient city is undergoing a massive makeover, the latest effort being the inauguration of the Mokola fly-over bridge.

    A day to the launch of the historical facility, residents of the city were in high spirits. They had waited to see the bridge commissioned so that the difficulties experienced on the ever busy road will come to an end. To show their eagerness and preparedness for the event, all the traders, artisans, members of the National Union of Road Transport Workers (NURTW), motorcycle operators popularly known as Okada, and members of the business community declared a work-free day to be part of the epoch-making event which attracted both the high and low in the society.

    All the major markets in the city were closed, while the traders in these markets came out en masse to attend the event. Some were decked in Ankara uniform, others donned peak caps and T-shirts bearing the portrait of Governor Abiola Ajimobi.

    Their city was changing and they were happy about it. Some have been converted to dual-carriage ways and beautified. Jobs are created. The state capital is looking neater and healthier. There is better access to quality health and education. Transportation and commerce have improved, while peace and order have been restored.

    The amazed audience was wondering how the governor was able to achieve these feats within two years in office when past governors failed to accomplish much in four years or more. Some have asked “where did the governor get the money to execute this project”. But that is the kind of governor they have been yearning for after many years of stagnation and bad governace.

    The commissioning of the flyover was accompanied by two other multi-million naira projects; the ultra modern market at Scout Camp, and the new Garage Modern Motorpark, Ibadan.

    The people’s faces glowed in appreciation for the good work of the governor. Now, there is unfettered movement of people, goods and services in most areas of the city as a result of a good road network.

    That the Mokola fly-over bridge, the first to be accomplished in the last 35 years by any civilian administration was successfully constructed and completed within a span of two years was still a like a dream to many.

    Indeed, for an average motorist, Mokola Roundabout was a no-go area most especially during peak hours, with a journey from Dugbe to Ojoo which should not take 20 minutes, taking  not less than  two hours. A commercial motorist, Kazeem Adelaja,  said  he always prayed in the morning not to be hooked up in the vehicular bottleneck so as not to waste precious time and fuel in the process.

    He said: “The Mokola Roundabout is a problem to an average motorist in this city, and we often find out that the bottleneck is caused by impatience on the part of the road users. On my part, I always tried everything to avoid the place so that at the end of the day I would not waste my money burning fuel unnecessarily.”

    Senator Ajimobi who described   the  road as critical in the transportation network of Ibadan in terms of commerce, education and overall well-being of the citizens, said  the flag-off  of the construction of the bridge on the  ever-busy Sango-Mokola-Dugbe Road, was a testimony of his administration’s commitment to ensuring that the citizens of the state live a better life.

    The governor who visibly expressed joy to be a vehicle of transformation, said: “It is a testimony to the fact that we desire good and robust life for the people of Oyo State. This particular flyover was conceived as part of the overall vision and mission of this administration to restore, reposition and transform the state and her citizen’s transportation to higher efficiency and effectiveness.

    “The completion of the bridge is expected to translate to less stressful journey for her citizens, especially the people of Ibadan and visitors to the state capital.”

    As early as 7.00 am, a large crowd of ordinary people thronged the Mokola area  with most of them singing and drumming to celebrate what they called a “monumental and unprecedented achievement” in the history of the state. Twisting their bodies to the sweet drum-beats by local drummers who thronged the venue of the event, the people could not hide their excitement.

  • Ibadan residents relish infrastructure upgrade

    Ibadan residents relish infrastructure upgrade

    Residents of Ibadan, capital of Oyo State, have continued to applaud the infrastructure upgrade in the city.

    There is a predominant feeling that the ancient city is undergoing a massive makeover, the latest effort being the inauguration of the Mokola fly-over bridge.

    A day to the launch of the historical facility, residents of the city were in high spirits. They had waited to see the bridge commissioned so that the difficulties experienced on the ever busy road will come to an end. To show their eagerness and preparedness for the event, all the traders, artisans, members of the National Union of Road Transport Workers (NURTW), motorcycle operators popularly known as Okada, and members of the business community declared a work-free day to be part of the epoch-making event which attracted both the high and low in the society.

    All the major markets in the city were closed, while the traders in these markets came out en masse to attend the event. Some were decked in Ankara uniform, others donned peak caps and T-shirts bearing the portrait of Governor Abiola Ajimobi.

    Their city was changing and they were happy about it. Some have been converted to dual-carriage ways and beautified. Jobs are created. The state capital is looking neater and healthier. There is better access to quality health and education. Transportation and commerce have improved, while peace and order have been restored.

    The amazed audience was wondering how the governor was able to achieve these feats within two years in office when past governors failed to accomplish much in four years or more. Some have asked “where did the governor get the money to execute this project”. But that is the kind of governor they have been yearning for after many years of stagnation and bad governace.

    The commissioning of the flyover was accompanied by two other multi-million naira projects; the ultra modern market at Scout Camp, and the new Garage Modern Motorpark, Ibadan.

    The people’s faces glowed in appreciation for the good work of the governor. Now, there is unfettered movement of people, goods and services in most areas of the city as a result of a good road network.

    That the Mokola fly-over bridge, the first to be accomplished in the last 35 years by any civilian administration was successfully constructed and completed within a span of two years was still a like a dream to many.

    Indeed, for an average motorist, Mokola Roundabout was a no-go area most especially during peak hours, with a journey from Dugbe to Ojoo which should not take 20 minutes, taking  not less than  two hours. A commercial motorist, Kazeem Adelaja,  said  he always prayed in the morning not to be hooked up in the vehicular bottleneck so as not to waste precious time and fuel in the process.

    He said: “The Mokola Roundabout is a problem to an average motorist in this city, and we often find out that the bottleneck is caused by impatience on the part of the road users. On my part, I always tried everything to avoid the place so that at the end of the day I would not waste my money burning fuel unnecessarily.”

    Senator Ajimobi who described   the  road as critical in the transportation network of Ibadan in terms of commerce, education and overall well-being of the citizens, said  the flag-off  of the construction of the bridge on the  ever-busy Sango-Mokola-Dugbe Road, was a testimony of his administration’s commitment to ensuring that the citizens of the state live a better life.

    The governor who visibly expressed joy to be a vehicle of transformation, said: “It is a testimony to the fact that we desire good and robust life for the people of Oyo State. This particular flyover was conceived as part of the overall vision and mission of this administration to restore, reposition and transform the state and her citizen’s transportation to higher efficiency and effectiveness.

    “The completion of the bridge is expected to translate to less stressful journey for her citizens, especially the people of Ibadan and visitors to the state capital.”

    As early as 7.00 am, a large crowd of ordinary people thronged the Mokola area  with most of them singing and drumming to celebrate what they called a “monumental and unprecedented achievement” in the history of the state. Twisting their bodies to the sweet drum-beats by local drummers who thronged the venue of the event, the people could not hide their excitement.

     

     

     

     

     

    given the harrowing experience that they had suffered in the past and lauding the government for coming to their rescue.

    The elated former governor of Lagos State, and National leader of the Action Congress of Nigeria (CAN) in his address lauded Governor Ajimobi whom he described as an actualiser, performer and

    extra-ordinary leader in Oyo State, for the project which he said would impact positively on the lives of the people of the state. He particularly commended the Ajimobi administration for making the people the cornerstone of its economic policy, saying “we all can see developments in all ramifications’’.

    Senator Tinubu who told the people of the state that the flyover bridge and all the projects inaugurated were just tips of the iceberg, assured that more good things would still come while

    lampooning those who he said had had the opportunity of presiding over the affairs of the state but failed woefully, but who were now forming “an unholy alliance’’, stating that their alliance would fail as the people of the state were now wiser and could read between the lines.

    He said,  ” I read recently that some of them were collaborating, the old enemies who dealt themselves out of office with guns, cudgels, sticks, and cutlasses. They say they want to collaborate again, ah!

    They have failed because they will fail now again.  They were down before, they were down again. No matter what evil they put together they will continue to collapse like a pack of cards. If they forget,

    we helped them before,  let their conscience tell them. I Bola Ahmed Tinubu did what I have to do to protect the integrity, the character , the content of our democracy and the freedom of our people through him, but what did they pay back? Today, here we are .  They left the

    office of the governor in shambles and they return the state backward and rotten. Now, the office is clean, free and you see rapid progress, you see a government that made the people the cornerstone of economic policy. You see civilization in Ajimobi administration.

    You see restoration, you see commitment and radical transformation and

    urban renewal. They even refused to paint the buildings in the Secretariat where they work. They were enemy of progress,  they were enemy of change and they were enemy of the people.”

    Also speaking, Governor Okorocha, commended his Oyo State counterpart for transforming the state, particularly Ibadan where he said he built one of his schools taking care of indigent students while Governor Amosun congratulated the people of Oyo State for voting a “performer’’ as the governor, saying the result of their decision was the all-round transformation being witnessed in the state now.

    Goodwill messages were also given by the Deputy Governor of Lagos State, Mrs. Adejoke Oorelope Adefulire and the National President of Central Council of Ibadan Indigenes (CCII), Chief Bayo Oyero among others.

    Senator Ajimobi, in his address, said the bridge was a dream come true and a historical mileage in the state and berated the opposition whom he said embarked on a campaign of calumny since the day the construction of the bridge began, urging them all to acknowledge excellence wherever they saw one.

    His words, “I remember that on Thursday, December 22, 2011, when we flagged off the construction of this fly-over bridge, we provoked the unbelief and disdain of cynics and political opposition. To them, the construction of the bridge was akin to building the biblical Towers of Babel, with its impossible tendencies.  Even when the bridge was being constructed, we became the butt of jokes of the opposition who, either out of mischief, naivety or their well-known cynicism, mocked the

    absence of an erect bridge, months after its flag-off. Unknown to them, the essential components of the bridge, being mostly pre-fabricated, were undergoing construction in the company’s yard.

    Now that the bridge has been completed, they have shifted their mischief to the cost of the project, choosing to ignore the comprehensive features of the project which among others include the upgrading of 1.2km long service roads and intersections, beautification of roundabout and space under the flyover, construction of new water mains, street lighting and the payment of compensation to the numerous property owners whose properties in this commercial centre of the city were affected. “

    A resident, Mrs. Mojisola Babalola, after the commissioning was full of praises to Senator Abiola, for not only fulfilling a  promise to deliver on the project but also changing the landscape of the entire area making it one of the beautiful areas in the city of Ibadan. She said, “the governor indeed has etched his name in the heart of many people with the completion of this project and we could not but be grateful for the flyover bridge.”

    Present at the occasion are the former governor of Lagos State and National Leader of Action Congress of Nigeria, Asiwaju Bola Ahmed Tinubu, the National Chairman of ACN, Chief Bisi Akande, Governors Ibikunle Amosun (Ogun), Rauf Aregbesola (Osun) and Rochas Okorocha of Imo State,  Lagos State Governor, Mr. Babatunde Raji Fashola represented by his deputy, Mrs. Adejoke Oorelope Adefulire, the Aare Musulumi of Yorubaland, Alhaji Abdul-Azeez Arisekola Alao, the Alaafin of Oyo, Oba Lamidi Olayiwola Adeyemi, Chief Kola Daisi, the Chief Judge of Oyo State, Justice Badejoko Adeniji, the Speaker of the state House of Assembly, Mrs. Monsurat Sunmonu, the Iylode of Ibadanland, Chief Mrs Aminat Abiodun, an educationist , Chief Emiola Adesina, Chief Bode Amao, Ambassador Olu Saanu, executive members of the Central Council Ibadan Indigenes (CCII), National Secretary of the Action Congress of Nigeria (CAN), Chief Lai Mohammed, members of the state executive council and party leaders amongst others.

     

  • Boko Haram: Tears as bodies arrive in Ibadan

    Boko Haram: Tears as bodies arrive in Ibadan

    Govt consoles families

    THE grim import of the murder of 10 Ibadan traders by the Boko Haram sect was felt yesterday in the Oyo State capital.

    Women were crying as the bodies were offloaded from a truck. Men were shaking their heads in deep dejection as the caskets were lined up in a row at the Bodija market.

    The traders, who were beans sellers, went to Borno State — the heart of the sect’s insurgency— to buy beans for sale in Ibadan when they ran into an ambush by the deadly sect members. They were killed in a most gruesome manner.

    A survivor of the attack, Taoheed Adewuyi, 32, recounted the chilling moments of the attack, in the early hours of Friday in Munguno, Borno State. They left Ibadan on Thursday.

    He said: “God saved me from the attack. They stopped us along the way and asked us to come down from the vehicle and lie down. They thereafter started shooting us one after the other as we lay on the ground. I was the third on the row. I was shot but the bullet did not hit me very well. I was gone. It was after an hour that I discovered that I was still alive.”

    Asked how he was so sure that the attackers were Boko Haram members, he said: “When they discovered that one of the victims was still breathing, one of the attackers went into their car pulled a knife with which he ‘slaughtered’ him. I almost cried out at that time but I could not do so. Our man who was slaughtered was Ninalowo (a.k.a AY).

    “I’m sure they were Boko Haram members”.

    The bodies were received at the Ibadan/Egbeda toll gate, amidst tight security, by a delegation of over 1000 traders and sympathisers, led by the Babaloja of Oyo State, Chief Dauda Adisa Oladapo. The dead are: Seye Adegboyega, Jelili Popoola, Ojo Mosobalaje, Fatai Kareem and Femi Oyetunde.

    The other are: Ninalowo Saheed, Saburu Lanlehin , Lekan Oladokun, Sola Adeoye and Nurudeen Lawal.

    Bodija Market Union spokesman, Akeem Emiola gave the list of the victims.

    Security was tight as the bodies were brought into the ancient city at about 3.30pm in two white Fiat buses marked Lagos GGE 96 XD and Abuja AA317 RBC.

    Security was tight at the scene. There were 12 police patrol vans, one Armoured Personnel Carrier (APC) and police trucks were deployed to forestall crisis.

    It was gathered that majority of the victims were mainly apprentices in the business.

    Two of the traders, Ibrahim Ademola and Taoheed Azeez Adewuyi, escaped narrowly.

    Emiola said he could not confirm that 25 people were killed as being speculated in some quarters. “We cannot confirm that. What we know is that 10 of our people were killed; may be it’s true that 25 people were killed, we don’t know.”

    As the brown caskets were being brought out of the vehicles, the traders, families and sympathisers who had waited hours wept uncontrollably. They lamented the havoc Boko Haram had created for the family of the victims.

    Four other traders were allegedly killed by the sect on May 5.

    Shops and stalls were firmly shut at the market yesterday.

    The market and its environs wore a gloomy mood.

    Oladapo urged the Federal Government, which has declared a state of emergency in Yobe, Borno and Adamawa, to take drastic measures against the Boko Haram insurgency.

    “Is it after they have killed all of us that the government will act? Many of us have been killed,” he lamented.

    Oladapo said the death of the traders would lead to scarcity of beans in the market, adding that most of the traders are no longer willing to travel to the North.

    At the scene, Oyo State Commissioner for Trade and Investment Mr Adebayo Olagbenro Kareem said: condemned the killings, saying the government would address the crisis.

    He prayed for the repose of the deceased and urged their families to take it as the will of God.

    Fatai Kareem, a brother to one of the victims, said they were calling his younger brother’s phone number but he did not pick it up while on the trip. Unknown to them, he had been killed.

    “ Our mother died just last year and we are still mourning her. Now it is our brother. He was the youngest of the six children of our parents. We cannot tell the members of our family about his death because it is going to be very devastating.

    “I did not know that the day he was traveling to buy beans will be the last day I would see him. Boko Haram men have done their worst and I know God will judge them accordingly.”

    Abiala Emmanuel, a friend to one of the victims, said the late Sola Adeoye was preparing for his brother’s marriage next week.

    “We were friends for over three years. He was a cool person who could not hurt a fly. He was kind and generous towards his parents. I learnt they used matchette to cut him and that his body was not found,” Emmanuel said.

    Emmanuel, who was wailing, recalled that it was the second time the deadly sect has killed traders from the market.

    The head of the Hausa community in Bodija market Alhaji Isiyaka Hassan, called on the government to provide adequate security in the community.

    The Hausa community in the market also gathered to mourn the slain traders.

    The Sarkin Hausawa, who spoke in Yoruba, said what happened to the traders was disheartening.

    He said: “It is disturbing because it is beyond our powers and disheartening because of the innocent souls that were killed without any just cause.”

    He called for adequate security in the market for fear of reprisal from angry traders against Northerners.

    Hassan prayed God to rescue Nigerian from the hands of evil men who kill under the guise of religion.

    He recalled that the traders in the popular Bodija were brothers and sisters, who have been living in peaceful for decades, irrespective of tribe or religion.

    “We are brothers and sisters here without any quarrel. We share things together and we don’t have any cause to disagree. It is the evil people who are planning to a division among us, but Isha Allah they shall not succeed “, Hassan said.

    Those in the neighbourhood expressed fear that the traders could become violent.

    A banker, who simply gave her name as Tonia, said: “We expect the security agencies to be on standby to curtail violent reaction from the traders who are in a tense mood because of the tragic news.”

    A woman trader, Mrs. Titi Odejayi, urged the government to ensure protection of lives and property.

    She said: “We warned our people to stop going to the place (North) until peace is restored. How can you risk being killed because of means of survival?

    “The government should seek a lasting solution to the issue of Boko Haram.”

    Another trader, Mutiu Jamiu, who linked the surge in food stuff to insecurity in the North, said: “The situation in the North demands urgent attention before it spreads to other parts. Already, we are experiencing the pain of the trouble.”

     

  • Olubadan, others urge development of Ibadan master plan

    The Olubadan of Ibadanland, Oba Samuel Odulana Odugade and prominent indigenes of the city yesterday urged a holistic implementation of the Ibadan master plan to foster development.

    They said they believed that only through the development of the Ibadan master plan would the city witness progress.

    They spoke at the 2013 Adegoke Adelabu Memorial Lecture, entitled: ‘Master plan for Ibadan’. It was organised by the Ibadan Foundation.

    The guest lecturer, Prof. Tunde Agbola, noted that despite its status as the largest city in the country, Ibadan has witnessed socio-economic setback due to poor planning.

    Agbola, who described Ibadan as an artefact with human imprint, said: “For any city, the master plan serves as a source of information, a programme for correction, an indicator of goals and a technique for coordination.

    “Ibadan has sore points, hot spots and many blighted areas. The survey stage would have identified these.

    “It seems the whole of Ibadan is one huge slum that deserves a programme of attention. All the local government areas of the city were surveyed and the results were stunning.

    “While the five urban council areas have a concentration of slums, the six rural councils have decaying and deteriorating neighbourhoods.”

    Guest of honour, Seyi Makinde, enjoined the Planning Committee to inaugurate a panel to brainstorm on the issues raised at the forum to create a platform for the master plan.

    He said: “A city can be a playing ground of the rich or the battle ground of the poor. It is only when we plan that the poor can be happy and the rich can safely sleep with two eyes closed. We, therefore, need to plan the city. This calls for the development of a master plan.”

     

     

     

     

     

  • ‘Why there is power failure in Ibadan’

    The Power Holding Company of Nigeria (PHCN) in Ibadan has explained the reasons for the poor power supply in the state capital and its environs in the past few days.

    The Principal Manager, Public Affairs, Ibadan Electricity Distribution Company, Tokunbo Peters, said the poor power supply was as a result of a sharp drop in supply to Ibadan.

    He said in most cases, a Business Unit, which requires 45 megawatts (MW) for its customers is restricted to just 10MW, while in some cases the six Business Units were placed on zero allocation.

    The management of the company, he said, appeals to the company’s customers in Ibadan and the surrounding towns to bear with it during this critical period as it is not unmindful of the discomfort and inconvenience, which the load-shedding may have caused them.

    It implored members of the public to refrain from invading PHCN offices or molesting its employees on account of the load-shedding since the company does not generate electricity, but only distributes whatever megawatts it receives from the source.

    The management said: “Mass protest and invasion of PHCN offices would not translate to improved power supply. Customers should be mindful of the fact that PHCN employees live amongst them and they also endure whatever hardship or discomfort that is created by the poor power supply situation.

    “Concerted efforts are being made to improve power supply to customers at Felele, Challenge, Odo-Ona area of Ibadan and environs as PHCN has constructed another 33kv Feeder from Ayede 132/33kv Transmission substation to the interchange 33/11kv Injection substation. As soon as the new 33kv Feeder is commissioned, there will be much improvement in power supply to customers in Felele, Odo-Ona, Idi-Ayanre, Elewura, Orita-Challenge and environs.”

  • Gifted teenagers thrill care-givers in Ibadan

    Gifted teenagers thrill care-givers in Ibadan

    The occasion was meant to bring partners, volunteers, care-givers and the less-privileged together, but it turned out to be a time for merriment.

    Children in orange vests and T-shirts stod at the entrance of JOGOR Centre in, Ibadan the Oyo State capital, where Help Initiative, a not-for-profit governmental organisation, held its dinner.

    The disadvantaged children are being taken care of by some Nigerians.

    When they eventually got to the stage to perform, they proved to many that behind what the world perceives as a disadvantage, were bundles of talents. The children of Heritage Home in Oluyole, Ibadan, were the first to perform and they held the audience spell-bound.

    While some of the children have been in the orphanage since they were born, life played a cruel joke on some of them as they are deaf and dumb.

    For little Olaoluwa Matthew, who is deaf and dumb and attends Foster Memorial College (Deaf), Onireke, Ibadan, Oyo State, life couldn’t have been crueler. But when he talked, the lively hall became dead silent. Some could not control their emotion as tears rollied down their cheeks.

    What he lost in hearing and speech, he has gained in intelligence and mannerism. As he spoke in sign language, a teacher from the school of deaf and dumb interpreted. Many guests did not doubt the intelligence of this ‘special gift’ teenager. He spoke with confidence and the humility of a cleric. He was full off guts and during the dinner, he exhibited the traits. The crowd, the emotions of the guests did not make him shudder as he made his presentation and testimony without blinking and eye.

    At a point, some women in the hall broke into silent tears. “I thank Mrs Febisola Okonkwo of Help Initiative; I remember when I was at the rehabilitation Centre at Moniya. I thank God for using Mrs. Okonkwo Febisola to direct us on what I should do. She rescued me from the situation I was. I never knew I could get to the level I’m in my life; she has been assisting me morally, spiritually and even financially, most especially in the area of education. Now, I’m in SS2 . It is by the grace of God and Mrs Okonkwo that I’ve attained this level in life and I know by the grace of God I’ll attain greater heights in life,” Matthew said.

    Recalling how he became deaf, Matthew said he was never born deaf, he was hale and hearty at birth. His present predicament started when he turned six. His parents had made several attempts to make him regain his hearing and speak again, but all had been in futility.

    He said in the process of taking care of him, things became difficult for him and his family, but help Initiative through Mrs Okonkwo came to the rescue, and as today, he is better of with the assistance of Help Initiative who is currently sponsoring his education.

    Matthew is burning with an ambition, he wants to become civil engineer and he is working towards actualizing that ambition.

    Matthew said he does not have complex, to him all men are born equally and with special gifts.

    For those with challenge akin to his, he said he always try to assist them “Anytime I see people of ‘other gifts’, (people that are not physically challenged), “I do my best to help them,” said Matthew boldly.

    Like Olaoluwa Matthew, petit 18-year-old, Tega Akpoture belongs to the class of people with ‘other gifts’. At the dinner, like the rest of her colleagues, she was full of life and ready to enjoy her life to the fullest.

    “I became deaf at the age three when I had a minor accident, I fell down and I became deaf,” she told The Nation.

    According to her, her parents made several attempts to reverse the problem but the situation could not be reversed.

    Like Matthew, she has an ambition; she wants to become a medical doctor or a banker.

    Apart from her ambition, Tega has plans for the people with special gifts. “When I become successful, I want to motivate and help people who are physically challenged too,” said Tega.

    But for Mrs Rukayat Raimi she would not forget in a hurry how Help Initiative has succeeded in lifting her burden. Apart from being empowered by Help Initiative, the education of two of her children is being sponsored by Help Initiative.

    “She (Mrs Okonkwo) just came to our street one day with her team, we did not take them seriously when they asked us register. My son went to have a meeting with Mrs Okonkwo, while the meeting was going on Mrs Okonkwo asked them a question and my son performed better than others. Help Initiative went to school to enquire about his performance in school, they later came back to me and advised me to take care of him because he is a brilliant child,” Raimi explained how she met Help Initiative.

    When Help Initiative discovered that the burden of taking are of her brilliant children were too much for her, they offered to assist by offering her two children scholarship and empowered Mrs. Raimi by giving her money to equip her shop.

    Speaking at the event, the the Special Guest of Honour and President Zonta International, Ibadan, Oyo State, Mrs Sade Ajasin while commending Okonkwo for her selflessness services in helping humanity, he decried materialism and individualism which has permeated the society. “When someone finds people like Mrs Okonkwo who has passion for helping the less privileged, selflessly without thinking of any benefit or show off, we all need to encourage her, to encourage her initiative by donating generously and offering our services to the cause whenever we are called upon to do so.”

    According to Ajasin, Help Initiative is “because it is the channel between the giver and the taker, a kind of link between the donors and the beneficiaries. The goal of help Initiative is to reduce poverty by helping less privileged in the society, “she said.

    A friend of Help Initiative, Taiwo Akinlami, while praising Help Initiative, she said the privileged in the society should look and those who are not privileged. According to him, the amount of money being wasted and which could have channeled to helping less privileged is huge.

    Akinlami, a lawyer, therefore, called on Nigerians to support Help Initiative and see those who are not less fortunate as people with ‘special gifts’

    The dinner was organized to sensitise partners and donors to the plight of less fortunate in the society. He therefore urged guests and the society to donate generously to the initiative.

  • Golden Tulip opens in Ibadan

    Golden Tulip opens in Ibadan

    Golden Tulip Hotel, located in the Monatan area of Ibadan, Oyo State has been opened for operation. The hotel was declared open by Nigeria’s former president, Chief Olusegun Obasanjo, who was represented by former Osun State Governor, Prince Olagunsoye Oyinlola.

    Declaring the hotel open, Chief Obasanjo praised the proprietor of the hotel, Chief Fatai Akinbade, for investing in the hospitality industry. Chief Obasanjo, who said he had earlier visited the hotel, commended the quality facilities put in place by the hotel.

    Speaking on the new hotel, Alhaji Akinbade said the opening of the hotel was a dream come true. He described the project as very challenging and gave glory to God for the success.

    He said: “This has been a journey of 14 years and honestly, it has been very rough. I never had any savings before I started this.

    “All I used was to divert whatever I had to it. Thank God we are ready to commission it today. Thank God I started and today it has been completed for commission. Why I decided to go into the hospitality industry? My background as a civil engineer and builder informed the basic interest because it was not even the hotel itself that really attracted me, but the kind of designs and finishing that hotels used to carry. I travelled a lot. Each time I travelled, I used to look at the finishing, design and construction.

    “So, that started giving me the interest that spurred me into it. Each time I discovered that being in this industry will make you to create employment. Some people prefer saving their money, others prefer investing in some faceless things that don’t really give then any stress. But this industry involves so many things and it also involves human beings, so it creates a lot jobs for people. For instance, the hotel started with over 150 people. That means 150 Nigerians have been taken off the unemployment market. These are the things that really led me into it.”

    Akinbade said the need to maintain high standard made him to opt for an international hospitality management group. He said: “We were with Protea before. I discovered that in Nigeria today, especially in this part of the country, we didn’t have an international hotel and Nigerians could not give that standard, hence we had to look for an international management. When we discovered that Protea could not make it, we looked for an even better international hospitality management group which is Golden Tulip. It is worldwide. We believe that being with them will give us those things we expect from the industry.”

    On the issue of long gestation to recoup one’s investment in the hospitality industry, Akinbade said was prepared to wait. He said: “ If I had been able to wait 14 years before we could get to this level, I think I should be able to wait. In any business, you can’t recoup your investment in one day. This type of project will last a generation. Premier Hotel was commissioned in 1964, and up till today, it is still there. That is one of the problems that Nigeria has: people want immediate return on investment. That is why you see many petrol stations today because they know the moment you have petrol stations, you start selling and that is why we don’t have any solid investment. People want quick returns on investments. You see them jumping form one business to the other.”

  • Two suspected rapists arrested for defiling minors

    Two suspected rapists, Jelili Yusuf (17) and Sherif Gbadamosi were on Monday arrested by men of the Oyo State Police Command. The suspects, it was learnt were arrested in different locations by the policemen. Yusus who resides at Gbodu Bode area in the state capital was arrested for allegedly having unlawful canal knowledge with 14-year-old Amos Bukola, while Gbadamosi of Ori Aje Ood-Oba allegedly defiled 4-year-old.

    The Police Public Relations Officer (PPRO), DSP Olabisi Ilubanafor who confirmed the incidents in Ibadan on Monday, said one Modupe Amos of Gbodu Bode area had reported that Gbadamosi had entered the vicitm’s matrimonial room and had canal knowledge with her According to her, the suspect had sexual intercourse with the victim without her consent. She added that the victim raised alarm but nobody to assist her. Ilubanafor said that the 4-year-old victim who was staying with her grand mother, Mrs Sidikat Olasupo was taken to Adeoyo General Hospital for medical examination where it was discovered that she had been defiled by the suspect. She added that the suspects had been detained at the state Criminal Investigation Department (CID) for further investigation.