The Nation Newspaper

Tag: lagos

  • Lagos on the march again

    Lagos is a cosmopolitan state where indigenes from different parts of the country live and converge to do business. Governing such a state requires some deft political moves, and the ability to read the mood of the populace. In the last three and a half years, Governor Akinwunmi Ambode has shown that he possesses the wherewithal to engender good governance in such a highly cosmopolitan state, as his performance has endeared him into the hearts of Lagosians.

    It is not a secret that there has been some rancour between the governor and major stakeholders of the All Progressives Congress, APC, on which platform he became governor in 2015. The strife pitched Ambode against those who were instrumental to his emergence as Governor of Lagos State, after Babatunde Raji Fashola. The seeming disconnect between Ambode and APC stalwarts manifested in different ways in the state.

    On his assumption of office three years ago, the governor embarked on an ambitious project of road networks, mostly in the nooks and crannies of the state. He also ensured adequate security by re-invigorating the state’s security outfit, the Rapid Response Squad, and securing the waterways through which some hoodlums and armed robbers had attacked banks in the busy Victoria Island and Ikoyi environs in the past. To further ensure the safety of Lagosians, he embarked on the clearing of notorious slums and shanties in Oshodi, by removing the makeshift shops that sometimes served as hiding places for criminals. In place of this, Ambode is replacing the shanties with a modern market which meets international standards and which will transform the area.

    However, Ambode’s success so far has not gone without its own pains. His government has engaged in tussles with traders in the Ladipo area of Lagos, which has led to the closure and re-opening of the market there on several occasions. The governor is concerned that the traders are not complying with sanitation rules or taking adequate steps to protect the health and safety of Lagosians. His ban on okadas on major roads has also been met with groans by people engaged in the transport business. About a million or so people are affected. Many of them took up okada riding due to the hardship experienced after losing jobs or being unable to find other jobs. It is a known fact that some inner roads in the state have been unmotorable, so okada is an alternative for many people. In addition, it has the advantage of helping to beat the notorious Lagos traffic.

    The governor’s attempts to clear Lagos roads of street traders has also not yielded results, as street traders are ubiquitously found everywhere, chasing after motorists on major roads in the metropolis. Side by side with the street petty traders, are the pick pockets who have defied every measure put in place to clear them off the roads. They all take advantage of the bad roads, especially in the raining season where the rains cause more traffic on major roads in the state.

    On a general scale, Ambode is seen to be carrying out a face lift of Lagos, with transformations like the Iganmu-Badagry ten-lane expressway, the Oshodi-Abule Egba BRT lane and the Oshodi-Lagos International Airport road, all of which are still under construction. The fortune of the ongoing construction of these roads took a nose dive during and shortly after the clash between the governor and major stakeholders in the APC last year. His deteriorating relationship with the leadership of the APC in the state seemed to make his bad relations with Lagos APC leaders even worse.

    The relationship between Ambode and the APC leaders is said to have deteriorated to the point that the leadership of the APC thought Ambode could not continue to govern Lagos for the next four years. In the first instance, Ambode was said to have allowed the gulf between him and the APC leaders to widen, due to his sudden taciturnity. It was not always so. Right from when it was first announced that he would take over from the former governor, Babatunde Fashola, the stakeholders thought he was relatively unknown, besides being a former accountant in the Lagos State Civil Service. But some APC leaders in the state continued to assure the others until he was accepted, to the chagrin of Fashola.

    However, no sooner had he been appointed than he began to fence out some people. He did away with Fashola’s appointees, while gradually distancing himself from other APC leaders in the state. His relationship with the speaker of the Lagos State House of Assembly Mudashiru Obasa, has also not been very rosy. Even his own appointees found it difficult to reach him, as he would not pick their calls. The APC leaders were not left out of the cold treatment, as it is rumoured that Ambode ignored calls or refused to return them. This was why Lagos stakeholders supplanted him with Babajide Sanwoolu.

    The move to replace Ambode with Sanwoolu caused rupture in Lagos. All entreaties to Lagos APC leadership, including from the president, could not stay their hand. At the end, Ambode, in a display of poor political brinksmanship, decided to contest face to face with Sanwoolu, despite advice and warnings from those who should know better. The contest was held but the rest is history.

    The last straw that almost broke the camel’s back and which threatened Ambode’s substantive position as governor is said to be his open confrontation with the Lagos State House of Assembly on the presentation of the 2019 budget. Ambode is said to have merely sent a copy of the 2019 budget to the House in December, without going to present it formally at the House. He is also said to have by-passed the Lagos State Assembly in a new spending spree, although he claimed he had acted within the law. His claims notwithstanding, the lawmakers responded by threatening impeachment.

    Ambode turned a deaf ear to all entreaties to soft pedal. For example, he ignored advise for him to seek the intervention of notable people outside the government, including the founder of the Redeemed Christian Church of God, Pastor E.A Adeboye. He is said to be holed up in his office, without speaking with his own associates. Some rumour peddlers even say he has been engaging in anti-party activities, to the extent of hobnobbing with Jimi Agbaje, the governorship aspirant of the People’s Democratic Party, PDP, and financing his bid to run in Lagos. But the PDP candidate has since denied these.

    In spite of the denial, the Lagos Assembly members picked up on the rumours by claiming that if the budget is passed, they are not sure Ambode would not deploy Lagos’ funds to cater for the opposition. Despite the allegation, Ambode remained defiant, believing himself to be in the right. There were claims from some quarters that the assembly members were only desperate to find a way to fund their individual campaign expenses. Also, the assembly members had been accused by a non-governmental organisation of misappropriation of N28.8 billion as the running cost of the house, while threatening the governor with impeachment.

    Just as the battle line was being drawn in the sand between Ambode and the Lagos Assembly members, Asiwaju Bola Ahmed Tinubu, the national leader of the APC, and other APC leaders in Lagos demonstrated leadership and quickly intervened. They later publicly declared, through Tinubu, that there will be no impeachment for the embattled governor, and that all issues had been resolved.

    The resolution seems like the lull that Lagosians have been praying for in the gathering political storm in the state. The people of Lagos would have been the victims of this eleventh hour crusade against the governor. It is now time for the numerous stalled projects in Lagos State to be given the much needed attention that will crown this welcome resolution and ensure an enduring legacy for the governor. With his track record in office as governor, it is a pity that Ambode was caught in a web of conspiracy. One also hopes that Ambode and his party leadership are getting nearer to true reconciliation, because the performing governor can still be useful for APC in the future.

  • Lagos seeks return of Lander stool from British Museum

    The Lagos State Government has formally made a request to the British Museum in London for the return of an extremely important sculptural woodcarving, known in the United Kingdom (UK) as the Lander Stool. The sculpture was believed to have been taken from Nigeria in 1830 by one of the earliest known explorers of the interior, Richard Lander, who was instrumental in pioneering the colonisation of Nigeria.

    Already,  Governor Akinwunmi Ambode, has commenced the building of a new cultural facility, the John K. Randle Centre for Yoruba Culture and History, in  Onikan, Lagos,  and appointed international exhibition designers Ralph Appelbaum Associates (RAA) and architects, SI.SA.

    Richard Lander was a celebrated figure in the UK, who was given the Royal Geographical Society Founder’s Medal in 1832, but died of a musket ball wound, shot by inhabitants defending their territory during his final trip through the Southwest region.

    The formal request by Lagos State was delivered to the British Museum over the weekend by Commissioner for Tourism, Arts and Culture, Mr. Steve Ayorinde, who represented Governor Ambode at a two-day symposium on emerging museum projects in Africa at the British Museum.

    Edo State Governor Godwin Obaseki, who also attended the event on Saturday, announced  his government’s intention to formally seek the return of some Benin bronze artefacts from various British museums once it completes its new Royal Museum project.

    Both Lagos and Edo states were joined by Ghana at the colloquium to outline plans for their various new museum projects. Of the three participating entities, only Lagos is ready with the J.K Randle Centre, which  has reached 85 per cent completion stage and is slated for unveiling in May before Governor Ambode leaves office. “The J.K Randle Centre”, according to Ayorinde, is a world-class cultural institution “that will enable the Yoruba people to reclaim their heritage from a colonial narrative, and present for the first time a high standard cultural and resource centre for millions of people in the state”.

    The Centre, according to him, will be a befitting and conducive gallery space that can host on a permanent basis some of the Nigerian artefacts expected to be returned from Europe and America.  The Lander stool, one of the very first works taken from Nigeria, will form a fitting centre-piece to the opening exhibition that is expected to take place at the Centre, as it represents the very beginning of the colonial story that led to the formation of the Royal Niger Company and ultimately the colonial state of Nigeria.

    The Lander Stool is currently in storage in the British Museum and is an important element of the restitution debate.

    Prominent academics from around the world have expressed support for the initiative by the Lagos State government. Prof. Rowland Abiodun, a prominent Nigerian academic at Amherst College in the US and adviser to the J.K Randle project, described the Lander Stool as “highly significant in the colonial story” and of the new Centre. He said: “The John K. Randle Centre of Yoruba History and Culture will not just be a monument. Rather, it will also serve as a living realisation for posterity, of the fountainhead of the arts, history, thought, philosophy, religion, politics, language, and indeed, the essence of the intellectual tradition of Yoruba people and their descendants globally.”

    Similarly, one of the architects of the project, Mr. SeunOduwole of SI.S, said, “Reclaiming artefacts from the British Museum for the Centre will be a significant achievement. This will give Nigerians the opportunity to see their lost history.”

    Also, Dr. Will Rea of the University of Leeds commented: “The Lander Stool is a material representation of the earliest contacts between Britain and the Yoruba. It is highly appropriate that it should be displayed in this new heritage space that the Lagos State Government has made possible.”

    Ralph Appelbaum Associates Director working in the UK and Nigeria, Mr. Philip Hughes, said that “Africans are reclaiming their stories, and the Richard Lander pieces are at the very beginning. No doubt, the success of the early explorers and the taking of artefacts led to a thirst for more expeditions. It is a privilege to work with Nigerians to narrate that fascinating story.”

  • Lagos seeks return of historical sculpture from British Museum

    The Lagos State government has formally made a request to the British Museum in London for the return of an extremely important sculptural woodcarving, known in the United Kingdom (UK) as the Lander Stool.

    This followed the decision of Governor Akinwunmi Ambode to build a new cultural facility at Onikan, Lagos, called the John K. Randle Centre for Yoruba Culture and History, and the appointment of international exhibition designers Ralph Appelbaum Associates (RAA) and architects, SI.SA.

    The Lander Stool sculpture is believed to have been taken from Nigeria in 1830 by one of the earliest explorers of the interior, Richard Lander, who was instrumental to pioneering colonisation of Nigeria.

    Richard Lander was a celebrated figure in the UK who was given the Royal Geographical Society Founder’s Medal in 1832, but died of a musket ball wound, shot by inhabitants defending their territory during his final trip through the Southwest.

    The formal request by the state government was delivered to the British Museum at the weekend by the Lagos State Commissioner for Tourism, Arts and Culture, Mr. Steve Ayotinde, who represented Governor Akinwunmi Ambode at a two-day symposium on emerging museum projects in Africa at the British Museum.

    Edo State Governor Godwin Obaseki, who also attended the event on Saturday, announced the intention of his administration to formally seek the return of some Benin bronze artefacts from various British museums once it completes its new Royal Museum project.

    Both Lagos and Edo states were joined by Ghana at the colloquium to outline plans for their various new museum projects.

    Of the three participating entities, only Lagos is ready with the J. K. Randle Centre, which has reached 85 per cent completion stage and is slated for opening in May before Governor Ambode leaves office.

    “The J. K. Randle Centre,” according to Ayorinde, is a world-class cultural institution “that will enable the Yoruba to reclaim their heritage from a colonial narrative and present, for the first time, a high standard cultural and resource centre for millions of people in the state”.

  • Debtor charged with N900,000 theft

    A 43-year-old businessman, Pius Eke, who allegedly borrowed N900,000 from a leasing firm but failed to pay back, was on Monday charged with stealing at an Igbosere Magistrates’ Court, Lagos.

    Eke, 43, is facing a three-count charge of stealing and issuance of dud cheques before Mrs A. A. Famobiwo.

    Prosecuting Inspector Steven Molo alleged that the defendant committed the offences between December 2016 and February 2017, at No. 20, Ogunlana Drive, Surulere, Lagos.

    He said Eke stole N900,000, belonging to Micro Leasing Ltd.

    Molo told the court that Eke obtained the said sum from the firm with a promise to pay back but did not do so.

    The court heard that following demands for repayment, Eke, on April 24, 2017 and May 24, 2017, issued two Skye Bank cheques of N69, 640 each to the firm.

    But both cheques were dishonoured when presented due to insufficient funds.

    The offences, according to Molo, violated sections 287, 321(b) and 411 of the Criminal Law of Lagos State, 2015.

    Eke pleaded not guilty.

    Magistrate Famobiwo granted him N100, 000 bail with one surety in the like sum, among other conditions.

    The case continues on February 26.

  • Why we must build a wall around Lagos (and Nigeria must pay for it)

    In celebration of my 75th Birthday on 13th January 2019, I was hosted to a sumptuous dinner at The St. Regis Hotel, Houston, Texas by Lagosians living in the diaspora. Many of them have been living in the United States of America for several decades and were entirely sold on the American dream – if you can dream it, you can achieve it through sheer grit. The American branded slogan: “The land of the free and the home of the brave” as well as the exhortation on the Statue of Liberty:

    “…Give me your tired, your poor, your huddled masses yearning to breathe free, the wretched refuse of your teeming shore. Send these, the homeless, tempest-tost to me, I lift my lamp beside the golden door!” were apparently borrowed from Lagos two hundred and fifty years ago and now it is payback time.

    For me, the most agonising part of what was otherwise a truly excellent celebration was the showing of the epic documentary film: “A TASTE OF 1930’s MIDDLE-CLASS LAGOS” (Lagos Has Always Been At The Cusp Of Urbanisation)

    It captured Lagos in all its majesty, glory and splendour – providing ample evidence that it was a city that firmly connected with civilization.

    The streets were clean and everyone appeared to be at peace with each other.

    The camera dwelt nostalgically on the leading men and women as well as institutions of that era.

    • Sir Adeyemo Alakija
    • Ayo Lijadu (1933)
    • Samuel Akinsanya (1935)
    • Ade Doherty (1936)
    • Abimbola Awoliyi (1932)
    • Nyong Essien (1938)
    • Dr. Curtis Adeniyi-Jones (1931)
    • B. O. Amobi (1937)
    • S. A. Fashola (1938)
    • J. C. Ulasi (1936)
    • E. A. Mould (1938)
    • Asifo Egbe (1939)
    • Saka Tinubu (1935)
    • Eric Moore (1931)
    • Stella Jane Thomas (1939)
    • Kitoyi Ajasa (1931)
    • Rita Akeje-Macaulay (1939)
    • Udo-Udoma (1939)
    • Dr. J.K. Randle Swimming Pool (Onikan) 1930 Included in the array of superlative and captivating catalogue of legends of that time was a snapshot of Chief H.O. Davies; Sir Louis Mbafeno and Ernest Egbunna (1938). The camera was even granted the indulgence of straying beyond Lagos to Yaba which was its immediate suburb – displaying neat row upon row of houses, each with its own pristine garden.

    It was as if Yaba was eager to compete with Lagos for beauty and elegance. It even had its own rallying song: “Ayaba Ayaba Yaba is a city Yaba so so lovely Yaba boku na dey…” Back to Lagos, the camera zoomed on Lagosians enjoying their well-earned leisure and recreation as well as sports at the Lagos Lawn Tennis Club.

    Everything went well until the exotic wines and champagne chose to play havoc. From a corner of the vast hall there was mischievous applause when some one started protesting loudly. Then he delivered his bombshell demand: “We want a wall around our beloved Lagos and Nigeria must pay for it!!”

    What had started as a mild applause suddenly acquired fresh momentum and traction. Thereafter, matters went haywire as the demand for the wall became a crescendo. It took the intervention of an elderly gentleman who introduced himself as Professor Yusuf Olatunji to calm matters. According to him, he was born in Isale Eko area of Lagos. He was one of the first set of babies to be delivered at Massey Street Hospital and he had found fame and fortune in the United States of America as an authority on authentic African drumming and choreography. Over the years, he had lectured at several leading American universities – Harvard; Princeton; Yale; Massachusetts Institute of Technology; Stanford; University of Chicago etc.

    Professor Olatunji literally turned the table on us when he proceeded to show a short film of his recent visit to Lagos to spend Christmas and the New Year. It was a litany of anguish and woes – rubbish heaps everywhere; traffic gridlock; the uncompleted (abandoned) monorail; restless youths/miscreants wandering all over the city; armed robbery; ritual murders; kidnapping; “419” (Advance Fee Fraud) kingpins; Joblessness, homelessness, hopelessness galore; road rage; suicide with the Third Mainland Bridge as their favourite jumping off pad; the stinking toilets at the Murtala Mohammed International Airport plus leaking roofs and no lights; people sleeping under bridges etc. To cap it all were the trailers ad tankers that had taken over the roads and bridges causing total chaos in Apapa (which used to be part of an expansive serene and tranquil “GRA” Government Reservation Area) with obvious threats of danger that may trigger the collapse of Carter Bridge as well as the roads linking Apapa, Western Avenue (Funsho Williams Avenue), Abebe Village (no connection with Dr. John Abebe!!) and Ojuelegba Road.

    Then the camera shifted to the front page of “RollingStone” magazine of October 24, 2017 which featured a little boy in a basin/bowl swimming in the flood waters that had overwhelmed the slum dwellers of Makoko on the shores of Lagos. It was also featured on the front page of “The Punch” newspaper.

    The scale of human degradation and abject poverty was beyond belief. It took one back to the middle ages.

    Even more amazing was the huge surprise – former President of the United States of America Barack Obama gate-crashed the party!! There he was in T-Shirt and jeans accompanied by his delectable wife, Michelle whose book: “Becoming” is already a blockbuster.

    She was the first to speak:

    “When they go low we go high.”

    The rest of her speech was drowned in the spontaneous standing ovation which erupted.

    Barack ever so gently persuaded his wife to surrender the microphone. Thereafter, he held us spellbound when he launched into his inimitable brand of oratory:

    “I listened to Professor Olatunji and watched the film. Things are never as good as we think, when they are going well, and never as bad as we think when they aren’t.

    Let me tell you what I believe. I believe in a vision of equality and justice and freedom and multi-racial democracy, built on the premise that all people are created equal, and they are endowed by our creator with certain inalienable rights.

    And I believe that a world governed by such principles is possible and that it can achieve more peace and more co-operation in pursuit of a common good. That’s what I believe.”

    He was rewarded with wild applause that went on for over ten minutes.

    He was not done yet.

    “Too much of politics today seems to reject the very concept of objective truth. We see the utter loss of shame among political leaders where they are caught in a lie and they just double down and they lie some more. When you look at American (Lagos!!) history, there’s always been a push and pull – between those (like J.K. Randle) who promote the politics of hope and those who exploit the politics of fear.”

    The audience went into rapture.

    That was the juncture at which the Pulitzer prize winning American Journalist, Thomas Friedman, interrupted proceedings and insisted that rather than adopt the United States of America’s model which (arguably) has become obsolete and is crumbling under President Donald Trump, Africa would be better served by buying into the political culture of China which is anchored on the concept of “one game at a time” reinforced by “the political tradition of selecting able and capable people and governing the country with the support of the people.”

    Ironically, it was Alhaji Sani Sanda whose family roots are in Kano (which he has never visited) but he along with his father and grandfather were born in Lagos, who insisted on chipping in what he described as a word or two. He then proceeded to enthral the audience with his voyage into nostalgia – how he grew up in Isalegangan area of Lagos (Agarawu Street) speaking Yoruba as his first language. It was much later that he learnt to speak Hausa, the language of his ancestors.

    He could not recall any harassment, tension or conflict in Lagos until the military took over. Since then, whatever fault lines may have existed have been recklessly exploited and cynically exacerbated.

    Not to be left out was an Ibo, Obi Ezenwa who was my classmate at Lagos Government School (a primary school). His father was a policeman who had two wives and six children. All of them lived in one room in the police barracks. Regardless, everything in the barracks was spick and span. How the father was able to juggle his challenging domestic arrangements must have been in the realms of the superhuman.

    Anyway, Obi went on to St. Gregory’s College and thereafter gained admission to Howard University, to study architecture. According to him, he runs a flourishing architectural practice in Philadelphia and he has expanded into the hospitality business where he has reaped a huge fortune. His message was direct and poignant: he owes his success to Lagos. It was Lagos (not America) that made him what he is. His wife, Ancora is American and they have two sons who are engineers and a daughter who is a doctor (with paediatrics as her specialty).

    Obi literally brought the roof down when he revealed what had hitherto been a closely guarded secret – he and I used to follow masquerades “Bamgbose”; “Ajolojo”; “Salumogi”; “Oya”; “Lapampa”; “Bajulaiye Ineso”; “Ulasi”; “Alapasonpa”; “Iga Olowe Salaye” etc all over Lagos. This was in addition to vigorously practising acrobatic stilts dancing when we were kids.

    Perhaps, it was inevitable that Professor Sheila Maclain would interject with her distinctly Afro-American combative dissertation:

    “We owe it to posterity to tell our story the way it is from our own black perspective. This is a serious moment of history (and for history). All over America, the image of Nigeria and Nigerians revolves around Advance Fee Fraud (“419”). Even more worrying are the tales being peddled around about the inferiority of black people compared with white people. I quote Professor James D. Watson:

    “All our social policies are based on the fact that their (Black people) intelligence is the same as ours – whereas all the testing says not really”.

    Then came the distress call by Professor Lateef Akindele of Georgetown University: “Another angle to it is the notion that we just need to peel off our skin and what erupts is primitiveness. I don’t want to spoil the party but someone needs to explain to me why the government of Nigeria would appear to have done nothing to counter the terrible damage done to the image of the country by the eye-witness report of Nima Elbirgir on CNN of Nigerians (perhaps some of them Lagosians!!) being auctioned as slaves inLibya.”

    The climax of the evening were the three riveting videos/podcasts which were attributed to CBS. The first one had already gone viral as it caught an immigration officerred handed demanding bribe in dollars from an American visitor. The second one was on the police which according to Rotimi Fasan’s auditors’ report performed poorly: “Our uniformed personnel are poorly paid, kitted and housed, yet they are assigned weapons albeit decrepit and obsolete, with which they can at least do a lot of damage to their superiors in uniform and unfortunate ‘bloody civilians”.

    What was probably a pirate edition of another CBS bombshell captured two young men who were arrested in Surulere, Lagos for undisclosed reasons. In the commotion that ensued, it was the Chief Imam of Surulere who intervened vigorously and protested that the two young men were regular worshippers at his mosque. In fact, they had just finished praying together. Hence, if they were to be arrested, he must accompany them to the police station. All three were bundled into the van and driven off at top speed to the nearest police station. From there, they were driven to the SARS (Special Anti- Robbery Squad) station where they spent the night sleeping in the open air as the cells were already full. Mosquitoes had a feast (or banquet) all night. In the morning, they were moved to Kirikiri Prison which rejected them as there was no more room.

    Next stop was Badagry Prison where they were dumped pending trial. The Chief Imam was immensely distressed at the number of inmates, some of them teenagers as young as fourteen years old, who were awaiting trial. The Chief Imam managed to get access to a mobile which enabled him to raise the alarm. Apparently, the matter spilled over into social media and it took the intervention of the Chief Judge of Lagos State before all those who had been wrongly arrested for minor infractions were released.

    Regardless, the Chief Imam was incandescent with rage and kept protesting that if someone of his status could be treated so diabolically, what would the police do to mere mortals?

    Before we could hear the police side of the tragic event, the scene shifted to cultism in Lagos. The brilliant son (a medical student) of a Chartered Accountant, Chief Patrick Ebere somehow got involved in cultism at the University of Lagos. During a violent clash between his gang and another gang the son of a powerful Lagos Chief ended up dead.

    The police swiftly arrested all the culprits. The rest of the story is somewhat hazy but putting “two and two together” suggested that the bereaved father insisted that his son’s death must be avenged. Perhaps, it was pure co-incidence that Chief Ebere’s son died in police custody and a heartbroken Chief Ebere died shortly afterwards.

    CBS will have to offer the police the right to reply. Anyway, the camera zoomed off to the shocking scene of a lady who stripped bare on Bourdillon Street in broad daylight and was gleefully dancing the “Shaku Shaku” dance. Again, on the Marina, just before the exit that leads to the Cathedral Church a man had stripped completely naked while passing cars tried to avoid hitting him. It was chaotic.

    Something else that the camera captured were the piles of rubbish everywhere along with giant potholes as well as epileptic electricity supply and totally inadequate water supply even in the most exclusive parts of Lagos – Ikoyi; Victoria Island; Banana Island; Lekki etc.

    Even more riveting were the photographs of a mobile community “of tankers and trucks” that had been blocking the access route between Apapa Ports and the rest of Lagos. Some of them had been parked on Eko Bridge for several weeks perhaps months.

    Somehow, the drivers had devised their own unique survival strategies that extended to having their prayers, meals, baths, haircuts, pedicure etc in their trucks and their environs. Perhaps, the camera lingered too long on the activities of sex workers/ladies of the night who availed the truck drivers of their services after nightfall. However, the government appears to have paid skant attention to the toilet needs and waste disposal of the truck/tank drivers who have resorted to the most primitive means of both body and waste disposal.

    Before we could proceed to the last video/podcast, Professor (Mrs.) Ajoke Subair who graduated from Princeton University announced that she is “a Lagosian to the core” but she is unable to fathom what is going on in the city she loves so much. According to her, Lagosians have lost their identity. All the old values are gone and real Lagosians have no influence – indeed, nobody seems to take them seriously. They are the only ones who take themselves seriously. All they do is hold all night parties even in the United States of America or wherever they find themselves. In the meantime, Lagos is crumbling.

    She was rewarded with another standing ovation which climaxed with everyone yelling:

    “We must build the wall and Nigeria must pay for it.”

    Once the ladies took over proceedings, there was no stopping them. It was Anike Bashua who is from a royal family in Lagos that insisted on raising the issue of the raw deal which the government has been doling out to the J.K. Randle family over their property at Alausa, Ikeja (where the Government has built its Secretariat without paying any compensation); Eagle Club, Surulere; Nigerian Ports Authority Sports Ground, Surulere; acquisition of “Love Garden” (now known as MUSON Centre); demolition of Dr. J.K. Randle Swimming Pool; bulldozing of Chief J.K. Randle Memorial Hall etc. Also, we are yet to unravel the whereabouts of the hundreds of millions bequeathed by Late Chief J.K. Randle to Ahmadiyya College, Agege and Ansar-Ud-Deen College, Isolo; and Holy Cross School, Catholic Mission Street, Lagos. The same mystery has engulfed the bequest to CMS Grammar School, Bariga.

    That was probably what prompted evangelist Pastor Professor (Mrs.) Olabanke

    Fabunmi-Beckley who was visiting from Canada to invoke the spirit of Ifa deities for the protection of the J.K. Randle family as well as long life in good health for the celebrant. It was Dr. (Mrs.) Olukemi Akerode who is a top banker with Goldman Sachs in Houston who sent the audience wild with jubilation when she announced that she had just learnt that J.K. Randle had been appointed by Zenith Bank as its Receiver Manager to recover a debt of about U.S. $100,000,000 (one hundred million dollars) from ERIN Petroleum Nigeria Limited which also operates from Houston.

    According to her, it was most gratifying that Zenith Bank would be reciprocating the goodwill of Lagos by giving the job to a Lagosian and demonstrating its confidence in the integrity and professionalism of the Past President of the Institute of Chartered Accountants of Nigeria and former Chairman of KPMG Africa. Over to you Jim Ovia!! In the meantime, J.K. Randle International is about to launch its office at J.W. Marriott Towers, the Galleria, Houston. To God be the glory.

    When it was time to say the closing prayers, Professor (Mrs.) Yinka Akeju who bagged a Ph.D. in philosophy from Yale did not confine herself to thanking the Almighty for his faithfulness, steadfastness and abundant blessings. Instead, she seized the opportunity to pay a special tribute to her friend and colleague Professor Sophie Oluwole who had just died after firmly establishing herself as a pioneer of African philosophy in her seminal works:

    “Witchcraft, Reincarnation, and the God-head” (1992); and “Philosophy and Oral

    Tradition” (1997) set out to correct the assumptions that Africans (particularly Lagosians) cannot think – that they that are not thinkers and that are primitive. Professor Akeju deposed that thanks to Professor Oluwole’s research of Yoruba Ifa oral tradition (Ifa is the West African religion and system of divination which has been adopted by Ewe, Igbo and Yoruba peoples) there is ample evidence that Lagos is more than ten thousand years old and its history predates the Awori settlers and the invaders from Benin. Professor Akeju’s doctorial thesis was that what we call Lagos is actually a piece of Paradise/Garden of Eden which got broken off at the dawn of creation. Hence, the Island is God’s gift to mankind for the exclusive enjoyment of those who are humble, generous and God-fearing.

    Professor (Mrs.) Olatilewa Ajenifuja-Adebo from Oxford University and a Consultant with the World Bank prevailed on us to listen to a riveting extract from a recent World Bank report on the total control which the National Union of Road Transport Workers (NURTW) exercises over the alternative modes of transportation in Lagos – motorcycles; tricycles (“Keke Marwa”); mini-buses (“Danfo”) whose operators are compelled to pay dues on a daily basis to the union. The amounts involved are truly staggering and are fuelled directly into what is virtually a parallel government!!

    Ironically, the World Bank has concluded that if the citizens of Lagos could enjoy comfortable conventional transportation at affordable prices, the poverty level would drop by almost twenty percent – to the detriment of NURTW which has a powerful vested interest in keeping motorcycles, tricycles, dilapidated buses and other “oppressors” on the road thereby causing chaos and anarchy in direct competition with cars and other vehicles (especially “BRT” buses).

    Right until the early hours of the morning, the guests remained glued to their seats.

    Thankfully, before dawn CNN carried as “Breaking News” confirmation that both the President of Nigeria, General Muhammadu Buhari of APC (All Progressive Congress) and his challenger in the forthcoming election, former Vice-President Alhaji Atiku Abubakar of the PDP (Peoples Democratic Party) had agreed that:

    “We must build a wall around Lagos and Nigeria must pay for it.”

    Indeed, Alhaji Atiku Abubakar was on his way to the U.S. to personally deliver the message to President Donald Trump. No Lagosian is entitled to a better birthday present.

    Donald Trump’s swift response was: “It is Mexico which must pay for it.”

    Indeed on “Saturday Night Live” (broadcast on NBC) it has become the catechism.

    As for Trevor Noah, (the comedian on “The Daily Show with Trevor Noah”) he has hooked on to the front page of “Sunday Vanguard” newspaper and its bold headline:

    “HOW WE SNEAK INTO FEMALE HOSTELS TO STEAL PANTS FOR MONEY RITUALS.”

    Sadly, Richard Quest of CNN has latched on to it as the main item for the World Economic Forum in Davos. The Quest verdict is firm and direct.

    “Its cheaper for Nigeria to build the wall than clean up the stench from this bizarre stealing of female pants.”

    Bashorun J.K. Randle is a former President of the Institute of Chartered Accountants of

    Nigeria (ICAN) and former Chairman of KPMG Nigeria and Africa Region. He is currently the Chairman, JK Randle Professional Services.

    Email: jkrandleintuk@gmail.com

     

  • Gay leader, teenager held for alleged sodomy

    ….As police lunch manhunt for cleric, business moguls

    The police in Lagos have arrested a 16-year-old boy and an alleged kingpin Prince Chinecherem, 32, for engaging in homosexuality.

    Chinecherem, the police claimed, was a ringleader of a gay gang who engaged in their illegal acts in Lekki.

    According to Lagos state Police Commissioner Imohimi Edgal, Chinecherem was using the teenager as commercial sex worker, explaining that aside sleeping with him, he also gave him to other men requiring his service.

    Their case, Edgal said was worst because both men were tested and found to be Human Immune Virus (HIV) positive which means their customers might have contracted same through them.

    Already, the police have declared two prominent pastors and some business executives wanted for allegedly having canal knowledge of the minor and belonging to the illegal group.

    It was gathered that Chinecherem during interrogation, gave the identities of other members of the group including the prominent persons being hunted.

    Narrating how they were apprehended, Edgal told reporters that on January 22, at Ejigbo, a teenager was seen sneaking out of Chinecherem’s house in a suspicious manner.

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    He said curious neighbours accosted him and asked what he had gone to the house to do but he could not answer satisfactorily.

    He was thereafter asked to open a plastic bag he was carrying and the neighbours saw used condoms with semen inside.

    “At this point, the boy revealed that Prince Chinecherem was his lover. The matter was immediately reported to the Police at Ejigbo and the said Prince Chinecherem was arrested for interrogation. After preliminary investigation, the matter was called for further enquiry by the Gender Section of the Command.

    “Both the suspects and the survivor were taken for medical examination and the result revealed that the survivor has long been introduced to homosexual act. The worst is that both of them are infected with HIV virus which causes AIDS,” he said.

    Edgal further disclosed that the suspects would be charged to Sexual and Special Offences Court in Ikeja and that the boy had been sent to health counselors for health talk on how to manage the situation.

  • Lagos is fourth richest city in Africa, says report

    A New report has ranked Lagos ahead of Abuja and fourth among the 10 wealthiest cities in Africa with a cumulative wealth of $108 billion.

    The report published on property news outlet africapropertynews.com was based on the The AfrAsia Bank Africa Wealth Report 2018.

    The report said though Lagos is not the capital of Nigeria, it serves as the gateway for 80 per cent of Nigeria’s exports and one of the world’s fastest-growing cities.

    The report showed that South Africa still boasts the main concentration of wealth in Africa.

    South Africa was placed as the most developed nation on the continent, with four of Africa’s 10 richest cities.

    Johannesburg, South Africa’s commercial capital, valued at $276 billion was named Africa’s richest. It came first in the ranking followed by Cape Town valued at $155 billion and described as the city with the highest prime residential rates in Africa. Cairo (Egypt) with $140 billion value was ranked third and then followed by Lagos.

    Other cities that made the list include: Durban (South Africa) $55 billion, Nairobi (Kenya) $54 billion and Luanda (Angola) $49 billion.

    Also named at eighth position was Pretoria in South Africa with $48 billion, Casablanca (Morocco) $42 billion and Accra (Ghana) $38 billion at 10th position.

  • Ambode commissions ‘Great Hall’ of Ikorodu

    .Governor, Ex-minister Ogunlewe bag awards

     

    Lagos State Governor Akinwunmi Ambode on Wednesday commissioned a 1,500-seater facility built by the Oriwu Club of Ikorodu.

    The building, known as ‘The Great Hall’, was described by the Club as the largest in the Ikorodu Division and one of the largest in the state.

    Ambode, a grand patron of the Club, said the facility “will be of immense benefit to members, non-members and all the good people of Ikorodu.”

    He was represented at the event by Commissioner for Physical Planning and Urban Development, Rotimi Ogunleye.

    The governor praised the club for consistently empowering the less priviledged, among other socio-economic acts of philanthropy.

    Ambode added: “I’m impressed by the level of passion and commitment demonstrated by the members of this great club towards ensuring that Ikorodu takes its rightful place among the five divisions of the state.

    “This, I believe, is the primary essence of community-based clubs, and for this, the state government will always support you. Through your activities, you have continued to complement government’s efforts, particularly in promoting social stability and community development.”

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    He pledged to sustain “more than a passing interest in the development of Ikorodu”, in line with the state’s policy “of an all-inclusive government.”

    Oriwu Club president, Olukayode Anibaba, described the event as historic and praised the governor “for making the project a reality.”

    Anibaba said: “Over 11 years ago, Oriwu Club under the leadership of Senator Adeseye Ogunlewe commenced the long walk to the realisation of constructing the Great Hall.

    “I had the singular honour of serving in the exco and leading the supervision of the construction team in building the edifice you are witnessing today up to the German Floor with all the columns in place. I give glory to God Almighty.”

    The event featured the presentation of awards to Ambode “in appreciation of his service to humanity,” among others. The governor was also made a honorary member, but his membership won’t take effect until May 29, when his tenure ends.

    A former Minister of Works and former Oriwu Club president, Senator Adeseye Ogunlewe, was also honoured for his services to humanity and contribution to the project’s success.

    The Ayangburen of Ikorodu, Oba Kabiru Shotobi; Olubeshe of Ibeshe, Oba Richard Abayomi Ogunsanya and Sekumade of Ipakodo, Oba Basiru Aremu Sotonwa graced the occasion.

    Other attendees included club members and other prominent Ikorodu indigenes.

  • No bomb on Abuja-Lagos Air Peace flight – FAAN

    The Federal Airports Authority of Nigeria ( FAAN ) has described as false the alarm that a bomb was planted on an early morning Air Peace flight from Abuja to Lagos on Wednesday.

    Mrs Henrietta Yakubu, General Manager, Corporate Affairs of FAAN, made the rebuttal in a statement on Wednesday in Abuja.

    Yakubu siad that the passenger, who allegedly raised the alarm, was said to have a history of mental illness.

    She said that the passenger had been handed over to the security agencies and medical experts for assessment.

    She said: “Following the false information, officers of FAAN’s aviation security swiftly evacuated passengers, crew and cargo on board the flight and a bomb squad immediately conducted a thorough check on the aircraft and baggage, which confirmed the information to be false.

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    “After due diligence test has been carried out on the aircraft, a fresh boarding call has been made and passengers have boarded the flight for take-off to the Murtala Muhammed Airport, Lagos.

    “FAAN will like to re-assure passengers and all airport users that our airports are safe and secure.

    “They should carry on their lawful activities without any fear,” she said.

    News Agency of Nigeria reports that there was panic in the aircraft on Wednesday morning, after a passenger raised an alarm that a bomb was planted in the aircraft.

  • Four pregnant women, 158 others return from Libya

    A fresh batch of 162 Nigerians, including four pregnant women, have voluntarily returned from Libya with the assistance of the International Organisation for Migration (IOM).

    The Coordinator, Lagos Zonal Office of the National Emergency Management Agency (NEMA), Alhaji Idris Muhammed, confirmed the development to the News Agency of Nigeria on Wednesday in Lagos.

    Muhammed said the Nigerians arrived at the Cargo Wing of the Murtala Muhammed International Airport, Lagos, at 3.30a.m on board a chartered Libyan Airlines aircraft.

    He said the returnees comprised of 100 females, including four pregnant women and 62 males.

    The coordinator, while welcoming the returnees, urged them to be agents of positive change by joining the campaign against irregular migration.

    “Migration is protected by International and national statutes for movement of people through proper regularisation of papers that will protect and save you against risks of irregular migrations,” Muhammed said.

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    He disclosed that NEMA recently hosted a team from European Union on monitoring and evaluation of the special EU intervention on assisted voluntary return of migrants.

    According to him, NEMA interfaced with them on the ways of improving the present EU Assisted Voluntary Returnees programme being run by IOM.

    He said gaps were identified, especially on logistics.

    Muhammed said that efforts were being put in place to close such gaps to make the process much smoother for the stakeholders and the returnees.

    He said the exercise, which began in April 2017, is expected to end by April, 2020.

    According to him, no fewer than 8,808 returnees have so far been repatriated back home to Nigeria from the volatile North African country.