The Nation Newspaper

Tag: Lagos State

  • Rotary Club donates facility to school

    Rotary Club of Akowonjo, District 9110 Nigeria has donated four toilet facilities to Shasha Primary School, in Shasha, Lagos State.

    According to the club’s President, Bisi Taiwo, the gesture was in line with the focus of Rotary and to be of help to others.

    She said the club renovated one of the already existing toilet buildings in the school.

    “We reconstructed the building because the only things remaining were the foundation and the walls. We fixed the roof and the ceiling; we removed the previous water closet because they were broken and we fixed new ones, with wash hand basin, we fixed all the doors and did the painting. We spent about one million naira.

    “We began the project in January. There were four toilets; two for the boys and two for the girls.”

    She urged the school authorities to maintain the facility, noting that if they have issues they should inform the club.

    “Rotary has six areas of focus and we have been able to touch all the six areas which include Child and Maternal health care, diseases prevention and treatment, and this project we have inaugurated, water and sanitation. We have also done basic education and literacy, which include donation of books and other educational materials to schools,” she said.

    District Governor of Rotary International District 9110 covering Lagos and Ogun states, Kola Shodipo, said the toilet facility is to enable the students maintain hygienic environment even when they are in school.

    “We believe that apart from having an environment conducive to teaching and learning in terms of structure, materials, text books; teachers, other members of staff and the students also need restrooms in an environment that will enhance their self-esteem.”

    He urged the students, members of staff and management to ensure sustainability and maintenance.

    “This has been provided of the Rotary Club of Akowonjo. The school should take normal care of these facilities so that years later when we come as rotary, we will be proud that these toilet facilities that have been provided are maintained. That will also encourage us to do more in other areas of life,” he said.

    The Secretary to Alimosho Local Government Area, Hon. Dare Ogunkoya, said the local government and the school are happy about the project, noting that they are the kind of projects that other people should emulate.

    “We thank Rotary Club for what they have done and we implore others to take the issue of corporate social responsibility serious. If everybody is doing one or two things in their communities, the society would be a better place to live in,” he said.

  • ‘We don’t want to lose more lives’

    Perhaps, a number of lives would have been saved had any serious steps been taken to contain the excesses of tanker drivers and okada riders who have inflicted so much pain on residents of Oriade Local Council Development Area of Lagos State through their reckless driving.

    Apart from the recurrent gridlocks, residents, including school children, are being killed on daily basis due to their inconsiderate use of the roads in the area.

    Consequently, many families have been thrown into unending grief and sorrow, as most parents become apprehensive whether their children who left for school would come back safely.

    “The loss of lives must stop; we cannot continue to lose our children this way. Something must be done now to stop this,” a resident in the area said.

    But rather than allowing the people to take laws into their hands which sometimes result in violence, the Executive arm of the local council area has decided to enact a bill to regulate the activities of tank farm owners and allied operations within the local government area, especially on the Ijegun-Egba and Ibasa axis to forestall further dangers.

    Read also: Council presents N2.9b budget

    In a public hearing, the executive arm is seeking the views and opinions of the people on the proposed bill. The Executive Chairman of the local government, Hon. Ramotalai Akinlola Hassan, who spoke through the Council Manager, Adeyemi Adebola, said with the law in place, entry for all trucks to the depot would only be from Abule-Ado into Fin Niger Junction while exit out of Fin Niger will be only towards Alakija. She added that trucks will no longer be permitted to enter into Fin Niger and Alakija or exit through Abule-Ado.

    According to her, any faulty truck on MuminAdio Badmus Road must be towed within a given time frame while the same road shall not serve as repair workshop, even as she revealed that the local government, in conjunction with the Lagos State Traffic Management Authority (LASTMA) will take care of offenders.

    “Henceforth, Old Ojo Road and MuminAdio Badmus Road shall not be used as parking space for any tanker or truck except with parking permit duly authorised by the local government.

    “Again, okada and tricycles shall no longer load at Fin Niger bus stop as alternative routes shall be created for them to access MuminAdio Badmus Road with the exception of ‘koropes’ that will still be allowed to carry people but not at the Fin Niger Junction. This is to prevent unnecessary accidents that occur daily on MuminAdio Badmus Road,” she said.

    Hassan further stated that tanker drivers shall not be allowed to dispense or sell petrol or diesel to any black marketers along Old Ojo Road and MuminAdio Badmus roads, insisting that there shall be speed limit to be introduced for all tanker drivers which must not be strictly adhered to.

    Furthermore, operators of tank farms must comply with environmental impact assessment of the state government and ensure that water properly flowed into the river and also ensure that water did not flow back into the communities around them. She stressed the need for tank farm owners to acquire space as loading bay from where they issue call notices for loading products.

    In his speech, Adebola reiterated the urgent need to regulate the way tank farm owners operated in the area, including the allied operators such as the tanker drivers, okada and keke NAPEP operators.

    He said: “We want to regulate their activities so that people can go into their premises safely, do their businesses safely so that we don’t continue to record casualties that have been experienced in the past.”

    Adebola expressed his worry that accidents occur in the area almost on daily basis. More disturbing, he said, is the fact that school children were being killed due to the recklessness of the tanker drivers. He added that the traffic gridlocks on the roads could prevent school children from reaching their homes on time.

    “We cannot continue to watch this happening, that’s the reason we want to control the activities of tanker drivers and okada riders. They need to ride cautiously,” he said.

    “The councillors are coming up with the bylaw. We have told all the stakeholders that we intend to sanitise the environment. They have come up with some suggestions. We want the executive arm to make an input to the draft and at the end of the day we come up with a bylaw and anybody who goes against the bylaw will be sanctioned.

    “Even though the Federal Government has given them the license to operate, their operations are causing hardship to our people. That is why we have to regulate their activities.

    “We have said a truck can only come in through one way and exit through another way. That’s the regulation and anybody who contravenes that will be sanctioned. We are going to get rid of okada from Fin Niger Junction and provide alternative route for them so that we stop this incessant killing of people and those who don’t comply will be punished.

    Leader of Council, Hon. Jamiu Abiodun Kasali said convening public hearing on critical issues affecting the people either positively or negatively was a responsibility vested in the legislative arm of government.

    “The executive had viewed critically the activities of tank farm operations, the activities of tanker drivers, the hardship being experienced by residents, the behaviour of okada riders and keke NAPEP operators, the activities of union members at the Fin Niger Junction and decided to regulate their activities,” he said.

    This, he said, was to ensure the business activities of tank farms did not engender hardship for the residents, motorists and all road users. We decided to call for this meeting to hear from our people and seek their opinions, he added.

  • Mosque offers prayers for Akiolu

    The Lagos State Central Mosque has offered prayers for Oba Rilwanu Akiolu’s victory in court.

    An Ikeja High Court on March 29 declared Akiolu as the bona fide king of Lagos after 16-year legal battle.

    During special prayers after  the Jumat service last Friday, the congregation thanked God for seeing Akiolu through the tussle.

    The Bashorun of Lagos, Alhaji Sikiru Alabi-Macfoy, said : “We are praying for a successful reign of Oba Akiolu after winning the 16-year court case. We are happy that the decision made by the Lagos State Government that he’s the most competent and the lawful person to assume the throne has been validated by the court’’.

    He added : “He (Akiolu) has modernised the palace. He interacts with religious bodies. His doors are always open to all Lagosians. So, we thank God who vindicated us and established him as the rightful Oba of Lagos. We thank God and pray that he will continue to excel in his duties to the glory of this country and Lagos State’’.

    Read Also: Court declares Rilwan Akiolu bona-fide Oba of Lagos

    The Bashorun of Lagos urged Lagosians to move closer to him and tap from his wisdom.

     

  • PHOTOS: Flooded Lagos roads after rainfall

     

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  • Appraising the Tinubu phenomenon at 67

    I must have written volumes on why I have always thought that Asiwaju Bola Ahmed Tinubu, former Senator, two time governor of Lagos State and national leader of the All Progressives Congress (APC), stands in a class of his own, to be separated from the rest.

    I am not used to talking or writing platitudes. And I thank my Creator that He has given me an insight, laced with spiritual understanding, to be able to hazard safe guesses in our politics, especially that of Lagos, which I suggest I know like the lines on my palm.

    When a musician sang and warned that the head of a kitten must never be likened to that of a lion, that they may look alike but never the same, it is only the naive that will not understand the import of that statement. Some had trivialised the Tinubu phenomenon, but they haven’t been able to walk their talk in dismantling the solid achievements of the man who celebrated his 70th last week.

    Bukola Saraki, with all his inherited and acquired wealth, tried it and got all his fingers burnt. I notice the young champion of Kwara is still sounding deviant as if the political polar-axe that shook him to his foundation is nothing to be worried about; something like the case of a boxer who had been pummelled and battered to a wobble but still thinks he can trudge on to the sound of the gong.

    If in the approach to Saraki’s political de-robing, those with the discernment, predicted enough was enough with his political leadership, they sure knew the man was on the way down the ladder. How some people now equated Tinubu with Saraki and felt the sing-song of “O to ge” (enough is enough) in Kwara could play out in Lagos, suggests to me strongly that their understanding of high wire political dynamics was suspect and not as deep as many had ascribed to them. Instead of the “O to ge” song being replayed at the last elections in Lagos, what broke forth from thousands of mouths is “O to pe”, meaning it is worthy of celebration.

    Great men and women of history have their time and season; willy-nilly, no one else rules the roost with them.

    In spite of the perfidy of trusted aides, Chief Obafemi Awolowo remained impregnable in the West in his time and season but because no dynasty lasts for ever, his hold on the politics of his region loosed, at his death. It is to be fair that we must all accept that for now, Tinubu holds the ace in this area. That may sound bad music to some ears, but like a strand in the slogan of the “enfant terrible” of Mushin politics, Hon Funmi Tejuoso goes: “Nwon o r’ogun e se, Babalawo o ni gba story,” meaning there’s no unravelling of her political mysticism yet.

    I have a tip for those whose pre-occupation is to dip the Tinubu magic: work harder, because, like kerosene, this nimble man of the moment does not sleep; he keeps improving in sharpening his political skills, by the second.

    Happy birthday to the undisputed and indisputable political leader of the West, nay Nigeria!

     

    Abeokuta… Like Houston in Texas

    Driving out of Bush International Airport into town last week, the thought of Governor Ibikunle Amosun’s Ogun State flashed across my mind.

    Bush Airport is in Houston, Texas in the United States of America. The first attraction as you drive some 30 minutes away from that airport is the spiral flyovers that litter everywhere. Even in their clusters, they look so majestic that you cannot but be in awe of the engineering mesmerism on the parkway.

    My mind flipped and Ogun State came to mind, where outgoing governor Ibikunle Amosun implanted in our minds bridges and flyovers in major towns across the state, to remind us that he was ready to live in the future. Ogun State’s level of development, to be sure, is not yet ripe for the experimentation of flyovers there, but there is honestly no problem in being futuristic. After all, the problem with the future itself is that it is even on hand before you know or realise it.

    When that future dawns, the flyovers of Abeokuta (exempted), Ilaro, Otta and Ijebu Igbo will come handy, unlike now when the need for them is somewhat minimal. If in spite of the many flyovers I saw in Houston the traffic snarls on that long stretch on Sam Houston Parkway were that many, one begins to wonder what would have become of that road stretch if the flyovers that sprang up like mushrooms were not there. The gridlock would have been out of this world.

    Let Amosun ensure the completion of those flyovers before he bids the governorship in Ogun final goodbye, so that he will forever be remembered as the man who tried to import Houston into Ogun State.

     

    Losers are orphans indeed

    I had often heard it said that losers are orphans while winners have many parents. That realisation confronted me at the Murtala Muhammad International Airport in Ikeja, Lagos the other day, as I prepared to take off on a short trip abroad.

    I donned my BOS cap, with Governor-elect Jide Sanwoolu’s picture emblazoned on it, as well as my APC logo and I walked the length of the departure hall from point one to the last with the gait of which I’m now accustomed, hoping that I would find something donning a PDP or an Accord party cap; but alas, I didn’t find any.

    Why? Is it because they didn’t have the candidate they could be proud of, or is it that their contact with wearing caps expired at the conclusion of the elections, especially once the candidate they backed had lost? This thought made me realise yet again the beauty and joy of victory. Thank God He didn’t make me follow a loser at the outset.

    With assured steps, I carried on in the departure hall with the Sanwoolu cap on my head and those who had seen the cap during the hustings, either nodded in approval or showed curiosity. Of course, I couldn’t care less what anyone felt about my cap and I.

    The airline, police and immigration officials I encountered while going through clearing formalities showed much interest because of the fez cap I donned while it conferred on me the courtesies I might not have enjoyed, were it not for the cap on my head.

    Victory is truly sweet and I thank my principal for the good luck that was his lot at the polls, for which it is possibly today to toast ourselves as beneficiaries of a genuine mandate.

  • Mile12 market needs upliftment, says consultant

    THERE is need for the government to provide basic amenities at Mile 12 market, Lagos, an expert has said.

    The consultant to the market, Femi Odusanya, stated this in an interview.

    He said the popular market has remained in a dilapidated state for years, thereby posing a health challenge to the public.

    He bemoaned the government’s attitude to the market, noting that it is for this that members of the Arewa Perishable Foodstuff Market Association have sponsored projects in the market with the hope that the government would encourage them by coming to their aid.

    Odusanya said: “This is not an ideal market if you compare it to what is obtainable in advanced and even developing countries. Almost everything in this market was self done. The contribution of the state government is very minimal. So, we are calling on the state government to come and rebuild the market because that is the most important need of the market.

    Read also: Scarcity of LAKE Rice hits Lagos markets

    “This is a food market where consumable goods are sold; hygiene is key to sustaining a healthy life. We want an ultra-modern market where people can drive in, have car parks, people moving at ease without wearing boots and shade to protect from the scorching sun and rain.’’

    He was hopeful that the in-coming government would respond to the plea through having a Public-Private Partnership (PPP) template for the reconstruction of the market, urging governor-elect Babajide Sanwo-Olu to put the market on its priority list.

    Also, the expert called on the Federal Government to fix the bad roads, leading to the market, which, he said, have remained a burden in transporting goods from the north as well as hasten the construction of the railways.

    “We need the Federal Government and state government to assist the stakeholders and the players in the agric business value chain by providing good roads.

    ‘’The time we spend on the road, we incur lots of losses, which invariably affect the price.  It is even a plus that the Federal Government is trying to fix the rail. If they can fast-track that, that would really assist the farmers and the agric business players in the sense that it will reduce the number of days for goods to be transported down to Lagos and prevent post harvest wastages,” Odusanya added.

     

  • Adebule wants more women in leadership positions

    The Lagos State Deputy Governor, Dr Idiat Adebule, on Thursday called for strategies to increase the number and influence of women in economic, political and business leadership positions in the country.

    Adebule made the call at the 2019 Women Directors Luncheon organised by the Institute of Directors, Nigeria (IoD) at Ikoyi, Lagos, with the theme: “Are You Board Ready?: Strategies for Success’’.

    She said: “Data reveals that women remain heavily outnumbered in both the legislative and executive arms of government, considering their population.

    “Similarly, it is still a man’s world within the corporate boardrooms and leadership.

    “Therefore, we need to adopt practical solutions that can improve women’s path to leadership roles in proportion to our numbers.

    “We must also speak up and stand for other women, work hard to assert ourselves and adopt women mentors that will be ready to invest time and energy into guiding others.

    “By doing this, we will increase women’s participation and help to position women as the next frontier of development in Nigeria.’’

    Also speaking, Hajia Aisha Abubakar, Minister of Women Affairs and Social Development, urged women to be courageous by taking bold steps towards breaking the barriers working against them.

    Abubakar urged women to be continuously strategic and innovative in the alliances they build, to enhance their visibility in governance at all levels and in all facets of their lives.

    “The ministry will continue to remain committed to the quest for gender equality and total social inclusion,’’ she said.

    Read Also: Adebule hails Nigerians for re-electing Buhari

    In her keynote address, Mrs Yvonne Ike, Managing Director, Head Sub-Saharan Africa, Bank of America, Merrill Lynch, said that having more women in decision-making positions would trigger socio-economic and political growth in any human endeavour.

    Ike identified experience, good character, confidence, enquiring mind, listening skills, resourcefulness, negotiating power and assertiveness, as some of the requirements for the woman to make it to corporate boards.

    She also suggested that a good way of getting women into management board was by scouting and grooming them from an early stage in their careers, preparing them for the future.

    In his address, Alhaji Ahmed Mohammed, President, Governing Council, IoD Nigeria, said that gender diversity was important and had positive effects across organisation and society.

    Mohammed said that women generated 37 per cent of Gross Domestic Product (GDP) globally, despite making up 50 per cent of the population.

    He called for an action-oriented initiative that seeks to enhance the leadership of women in bringing transformative changes focusing on peace, security and development in the country.

    In her remarks, Dr Aisha Abdurrahman, Chairperson, Women Directors Committee, IoD Nigeria, said that the luncheon was to help the woman rediscover her path and prepare her to take up leadership positions in the public, private and business world.

    “This luncheon is to help the woman rediscover her path, prepare her to take up leadership positions in terms of capacity and confidence and reinforce the woman’s ability to thrive in the corporate world, businesses and the society at large.

    “We are also here to share ideas, knowledge, add value, promote professional competence, integrity as well as support women in leadership positions.

    “It is time for more women in the boss room than in the other room,’’ Abdurrahman said.

    The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that the IoD is a prime leadership forum in the organised private sector formed in Nigeria in 1997, to help directors fulfil their legal and professional responsibilities for the benefit of the individual, business and society as a whole.

  • Lagos screens over 250 intending pilgrims

    THE Lagos State Christian Pilgrims Welfare Board (CPWB) yesterday screened over 250 intending Jerusalem Pilgrims.

    The exercise was to ascertain their fitness for this year’s Easter pilgrimage and validate their traveling documents.

    The administrative/medical screening is a statutory prerequisite programme organised by CPWB to orientate intending pilgrims for the yearly exercise.

    CPWB Public Affairs Officer Olasimbo Uvieshe, in a statement, said the orientation and screening were designed to ensure that prospective pilgrims were equipped physically and psychologically.

    Addressing the prospective pilgrims at the Chapel of Christ, Alausa, Ikeja, CPWB Board Secretary Mrs. Yetunde Gbafe said the exercise had curbed absconding and unruly conduct by pilgrims.

    She said since the pilgrims would be travelling to another country, there was need to orientate them about the values, customs and behavioural expectation of the Israeli government during the pilgrimage.

    Gbafe advised the pilgrims to be good ambassadors of the state by ensuring that they comport themselves while there.

    Read also: Ambode seeks PPP to develop Lagos

    The board Chairman, Bishop Olusola Ore, urged the prospective pilgrims not to see the visit as tourism, but a spiritual journey that should stir up spiritual rebirth.

    The board’s Assistant Director, Finance and Accounts, Dr. Olayinka Kilanko, assured the pilgrims that the government was working with the relevant agencies to ensure their safety during the exercise.

    An intending pilgrim,  Adebayo Michael, implored the government to put structures in place for the physically-challenged, who intended to visit the Holy Land.

  • Ambode lauds NYSC for election role

    Lagos State Governor Mr Akinwunmi Ambode has praised the National Youth Service Corps (NYSC) for its role in the success of the general elections.

    Ambode said this at the swearing-in of 2019 Batch A corps members at the NYSC Orientation Camp in Iyana Ipaja, Lagos, where he was represented by the Permanent Secretary, Ministry of Special Duties and Inter-Governmental Relations, Dr Yusuf Jimoh.

    “May I on this note specially commend the National Youth Service Corps for its invaluable role and contributions to the just concluded elections. The success of the 2019 elections has further proven that the scheme is indeed an enduring legacy of its founding fathers. Our political trajectory becomes more definite with the NYSC as an instrument for sustaining our democracy,” he said.

    The state NYSC Coordinator, Prince Mohammed Momoh, said a total of 2,658 corps members (954 male and 1,614 females) took the oath of allegiance administered by the Chief Justice of Lagos, Justice Opeyemi Oke, represented by Justice Olabisi Akinlade of the Lagos High Court at the ceremony.

    He urged them to take the programmes of the three-week orientation camp seriously, especially the entrepreneurship aimed at preparing them for self-employment.

    “The Skill Acquisition and Entrepreneurship Development (SAED) programme has been specially designed to salvage the deepening threat of unemployment in our country. I therefore encourage you to go the extra mile to participate in the programme in order to derive the maximum benefits and position yourself as an entrepreneur ready to take the many business opportunities out there. Remember the race for excellence has no finish line,” he said.

  • Abisoye is LSETF’s Acting Executive Secretary

    Lagos State Governor Akinwunmi Ambode has appointed Mrs. Teju Abisoye as the Acting Executive Secretary (ES) of the Lagos State Employment Trust Fund (LSETF) with effect from April 1, pending confirmation by the Lagos State House of Assembly.

    Prior to her appointment, Director, Strategy, LSETF, Abosede Alimi, in a statement, said Mrs. was director of Programmes and Coordination at the LSETF.

    In this role, she was responsible for the delivery of targeted programmes designed to enable access to finance and financial inclusion for Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises (MSMEs); as well as enable skills development and other structured interventions to boost job and wealth creation in Lagos State.

    Commenting on the appointment, the Chairman of the LSETF, Mrs. Ifueko M. Omoigui-Okauru, said: “We are pleased to have Teju assume the role of the Executive Secretary of the fund. Teju brings to this role her superior understanding of the vision, core values and strategies of the LSETF as she has been at the forefront of coordinating the delivery of the fund’s programmes. She has demonstrated exemplary leadership, deep knowledge of the interventions needed to tackle unemployment and about gender parity.”

    Also commenting, Mrs. Abisoye expressed her commitment to achieving the fund’s mandate of job creation and tackling unemployment.

    “I am grateful to Ambode for the confidence reposed in me to serve in this role and to direct the affairs of the trust fund. I am very grateful to my predecessor and the pioneer Executive Secretary of the fund, Mr. Akin Oyebode, for his exemplary leadership and laying the foundation for me to build on. I look forward to leading the team and strengthening the impact of our work in the State.”

    Mrs. Abisoye is a lawyer with extensive experience in development finance, project planning, execution, monitoring and evaluation of humanitarian projects, government interventions and investment opportunities.