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Tag: lagos

  • Lagos suspends operation at Ahmadiyyah Hospital

    Lagos suspends operation at Ahmadiyyah Hospital

    The Lagos State government yesterday announced that it had placed Ahmadiyyah Hospital,Ojokoro under surveillance following its contact with the Lassa fever index case.

    In effect, the hospital has been barred from service delivery until further notice, according to Health Commissioner, Jide Idris.

    Besides, government is closely monitoring the 15 in-patients and 25 health workers in the facility believed to have had contact with the Lassa fever patient.

    The monitoring will last 21 days.

    “Contacts tracing is ongoing; and currently we have 92 contacts and all are being followed-up,” Commissioner Idris said in a statement in which he also assured residents of the state that there was no cause for alarm.

    His words: “In the wake of reported cases of Lassa fever in some States of Nigeria, the Lagos State Government has confirmed the occurrence of the first case of Lassa fever in the State.

    “The patient, a 25 year old, male, undergraduate of Ahmadu Bello University, Zaria, Kaduna State was reported to have fallen ill after he arrived Lagos and was taken to Ahmadiyyah Hospital, Ojokoro on the 9th of January, 2016 with complaint of fever, sore throats and difficulty in swallowing.

    “He was subsequently placed on admission for six days and was thereafter referred by the private hospital to the Lagos University Teaching Hospital (LUTH) on the 14th of January, 2016 because the fever was persistent and his condition was not improving.

    “He was confirmed as a case of Lassa fever on the 15th of January, 2016 at LUTH.

    “The patient is presently being managed at the Lagos University Teaching Hospital (LUTH) and his condition is stable.

    “Ahmadiyyah Hospital where the first case of the disease in Lagos was reported is now under surveillance and there will be no service delivery in the facility until further notice.

    “The fifteen (15) in-patients as well as 25 health workers in the facility are being monitored for the next 21 days. Contacts tracing is ongoing; and currently we have 92 contacts and all are being followed-up.”

  • Lassa Fever: 92 under watch in Lagos, govt assures residents

    Lassa Fever: 92 under watch in Lagos, govt assures residents

    Ninety two persons are being monitored by the Lagos State Ministry of Health following the confirmation of a Lassa Fever case in the state.
    Those placed on 21 days compulsory monitoring include 15 in-patients who were admitted alongside the index case as well as 25 health workers who attended to them at Ahmmadiyah Hospital, Ojokoro in Alimoso Local Government Area.
    The State Commissioner for Health, Dr. Jide Idris who confirmed the development on Saturday however called on residents to remain calm over the outbreak of the disease.
    He said everything possible is being done to curtail the spread of the virus in the State.
    Idris confirmed that the index case, a 25-year-old male undergraduate of the Ahmadu Bello University, Zaria, Kaduna State, was reported to have fallen ill after arriving in Lagos and was taken to Ahmmadiyyah Hospital, Ojokoro on January 9 with complaint of fever, sore throats and difficulty in swallowing.
    He said the patient was subsequently placed on admission for six days and was thereafter referred by the said private hospital to the Lagos University Teaching Hospital (LUTH) on January 14, 2016 owing to the fact that the fever was persistent and his condition was not improving.
    According to Idris, the patient was confirmed as a case of Lassa fever on January 15, at LUTH, and is currently being managed to the extent that his condition is now stable.
    Idris added that the phone numbers and addresses of the persons being monitored have also been collected for proper tracking.
    Any of the persons in that category with temperature above 38.5, according to Idris, would be isolated so as to prevent the spread of the disease, while they have also been advised on the need to maintain little or no contact with others, at least for now.
    The Commissioner said: “Though Lassa fever and Ebola Virus Disease belong to the same Viral Hemorrhagic fever group, Lassa fever is milder and can be treated and cured if defected early. Therefore, any persistent fever should be reported to the nearest public health facility.
    “Residents are urged to watch out for the signs and symptoms of Lassa fever which typically occur with incubation period of 1-3 weeks after the patient comes into contact with the virus. Early symptoms of the disease include fever, headache, chills, diarrheas, nausea, vomiting, sore throat, backache, and joint pains.
    “Late symptoms include bleeding from the eyes, ears and nose, bleeding from the mouth and rectum, eye swelling, swelling of the genitals and rashes all over the body that often contain blood. It could progress to coma, shock and death,” he said.
    While stating that drugs and other materials have been prepositioned at the designated facilities across the State, Idris said isolation centres have equally been prepared to manage suspected and confirmed cases, adding that the State Government is fully prepared to manage the situation and as such people should not panic for whatever reasons.

  • As Lagos light up project reaches top gear

    The Victorian Society of London in the late 19th Century witnessed a series of murders committed in the East End slums by a man the media called Jack the Ripper. He did it in the ill-lit corners and alleys of the city, suggesting that lack of flood light was a strong factor aiding the commission of serious crimes including robberies and killings.

    Taking a cue from the studies that followed the operations of Jack the Ripper under the cover of darkness, successive city administrators of the colonial capital rapidly started work on lighting up inner London and most parts of this highly industrialized capital.

    Now nearly 130 years after, here in Lagos, Nigeria, before our very eyes, we are witnessing the strategic deployment of the lessons of lighting up a city to erect enduring security architecture.

    This is one of the dividends of democracy the government of Akinwunmi Ambode is dropping in its path as it seeks to fulfill the governor’s campaign promises.

    He did pledged barely few days into his administration that he will burden himself with the gigantic task of lighting up Lagos in his tenure. In less than 200 days of his stay in Government House, Ambode went on to set up the Lagos Power Advisory Committee, which he asked to liaise with the Ministry of Power for the implementation of his plan. The eventual goal is to flood Lagos with light all day, all week in the next two years.

    Ambode’s dream isn’t only for the major urban centres. He has spoken of feeding all the highways in this mega city that used to be the nation’s capital. Needless to say, the state hasn’t lost its prestigious status as the financial hub of Nigeria, the country considered as the economic power house of Africa.

    By early January, the administration had succeeded in fulfilling  its promise at key points of the state. A nocturnal check from Berger to Lekki, Ikorodu to Lagos Island and the entire Ikeja axis as well as Victoria Island and Ikoyi reveals the citizens of the Ambode era savouring more active street lights than the preceding generations did.

    The point to note also is that Ambode does not believe that there are enough roads yet to match his promise to turn Lagos into Africa’s New York: a 24-hour economy. How to do that? The governor wants to add modern roads. It is belabouring  the point to ask if he would also kit the streets to come with lights. It has become a sacred duty for Ambode to ensure electricity is available in every street under his watch.

    Such is this solemn vow that he is planning to start having BRT operations at night. Indeed he can’t have a 24-7 economy without a road transportation system in tandem. New York  that was famously described by legendary singer, Frank Sinatra as a city that never sleeps, and such other big world cities derived their popular appellation partly from having a ceaseless public and private transit profile. These cities don’t go to sleep because their cab, bus, air, sea and rail operations don’t go to sleep.

    We must also refer to another idea of Ambode to live out his dream. He is pleading with individuals and corporate bodies to light up their streets and neighbourhood. He says the state will work out a plan to duly recognize “such gestures in due course.” This is the sincere invitation of a humble governor to involve fellow citizens in the noble business of governance.

    Observers are quick and discerning enough to note that these seeming aesthetics of lighting up Lagos and beautifying its landscape are in the main, a part of the objective to secure Lagos and prevent murderous and criminal Jack the Rippers from wreaking havoc in the state. The security equipment worth N4.8b in the form of helicopters, power bikes, marine patrol facilities, vehicles etc the governor recently gave the Police would amount to little if the streets and alleys remain unlit. These places would serve as the black spot and dens of hiding for fleeing criminals if they are left the way they are: in complete darkness. That is what miscreants feed on at dusk and deep into the dark night.

    When Ambode talked of a plan to have BRT function all day and far into the night, he added a condition: it would be so when all the street lights are fully operational. He underscored the complementarities of fully functioning flood-lit streets to the presence of equally well-equipped security personnel.

    It was the same quest for sanity in the polity and a good life for the people that led the governor last week to demolish the home of criminals that went by the name Owonifari Market at Oshodi. The goal is to create an enabling environment undergirded by security, safety of lives and the prosperity of the citizens.

    I believe that is what Ambode meant when on May 29, 2015 he presented his inaugural speech to those who elected him as their governor. As he concluded his short but vision-laden paper, he spoke of creating an “iconic infrastructure for the benefit of all.”

    What does an “iconic infrastructure” mean? At the academic level, it may suggest an idealistic craving by society for the translation of its dream about what the society values, wants or desires for its sustenance. For me, it is the totality of what a government should offer as its irrevocable duty to the people. It means offering the ultimate in development in all its ramifications: compassionate governance, security, prosperity, dream fulfillment, sense of participation in governance, capacity building for each individual. This is iconic infrastructure.

    And just like any other projects he has ventured into since May 29, 2015, Ambode  has left no one in doubt of his determination to make sure that all streets and corners in the state are light up. A drive from Ojodu Berger to Ojuelegba at night and from Ikorodu to Island has clearly shown that the governor is on the verge of again fulfilling his promise of lighting up the state in the next two years.

    As we await another Ambode’s magic wand in a critical area that would fundamentally transform the state to take its rightful status as a megacity, one only hope that the passion that the governor has exhibited in the past few months will not wane.

    • Anibaba, an economist, wrote from Gbagada, Lagos.   

  • Lagos intensifies effort on ‘Light Up’ project

    The Lagos State Government has begun the Light Up Lagos Project, an initiative aimed at lighting up the state.

    Most major highways and streets have been lit, with massive repairs of street lights being carried out in strategic places.

    In keeping faith with the actualisation of the project targeted at creating an enabling environment that will ensure 24-hour power supply to residents in the next two years, Governor Akinwunmi Ambode set up an Advisory Council chaired by Deputy Governor Idiat Oluranti Adebule.

    Ambode urged individuals and corporate bodies to light up their streets and neighbourhood, with a promise that such gestures would be rewarded and recognised.

    A source said: “If you notice, in the past few months, if you move from Berger to Lekki, Ikorodu to Lagos Island, Ikeja, Victoria Island, Ikoyi and so on, it is very clear that there are more street lights in Lagos today more than ever before.”

    Commissioner for Energy and Mineral Resources Wale Oluwo confirmed government’s efforts.

    Oluwo said to underscore the administration’s commitment , arrangement has been concluded on having Bus Rapid Transport (BRT) buses to work at night once the project is completed.

    He said: “This is one of the campaign promises made to the people by the governor and just like he has fulfilled others, this project will not be an exception.

    “The intention of government is to light up all highways in the state.

    “In fact, the governor  will build 114 roads-two in each local government and local council development area  with walkways and street lights.

    “We are assuring Lagosians that the process of lighting up every corner of the state has begun in earnest and we are not going to stop until we achieve our aim,” Oluwo said.

  • Lagos APC to Igbo leaders: don’t fan embers of disunity

    Lagos APC to Igbo leaders: don’t fan embers of disunity

    The All Progressives Congress (APC) in Lagos State has warned Igbo traders against fanning the embers of ethnicity.

    This followed the bad blood generated by the relocation of traders from the demolished Owonifari Market in Oshodi to Iso Pakodowo Market.

    In a statement by his spokesman, Joe Igbokwe, the APC described as a wrong assumption that the government’s decision was a declaration of war on Igbo traders as punishment for their opposition to the APC during the last general elections.

    The party described as defeatist and self-persecution for some pro-Igbo groups to conclude that their members are not wanted in certain parts of the country.

    The statement reads: “Ohaneze Ndigbo in Lagos at a briefing alleged that Igbo traders are being intimidated by the Lagos State government as a result of the fallout of the 2015 elections.

    “Before you know it, other Igbo groups went to town with their defeatism attitude.

    “Former Governor Babatunde Fashola had planned to evacuate the market right inside the Oshodi Round-About loop since 2007 when he came into office. The location of that market was an eyesore.”

    The statement said a committee that was set up to plan the relocation in 2007 was frustrated by politics, mistrust, blackmail and ethnicity.

    The statement added that members of the committee, including former Commissioner for Economic Planning & Budget Ben Akabueze, Igbokwe, market leaders and other stakeholders held several meetings before they were stopped by the former governor, who forged ahead to secure Iso Pakodowo Market, now called Oshodi Resettlement Market.

    According to the party, the plan to relocate the market has been on the front burner u in the last eight years.

    The party urged those earning their meal tickets in Centre of Excellence to support the government in its efforts to change the face of the nation’s commercial hub.

    “We must be wise enough to know when to shift ground for the good of the commonwealth.

    “Defeatism attitude and persecution complex is not the way to go at a time like this,” it said.

  • More private schools open to the poor in Lagos

    Bridge International Academy has opened two more private schools for children of low-income earners in Lagos, bringing to a total of four schools in Nigeria.

    The schools were opened in Egan, a densely-populated township in Alimosho Local Government Area, and in Igbogbo in Ikorodu Local Government Area, last Saturday amidst fanfare.

    Dr. Shannon May, a co-founder of the academy, said the school management moved to open more schools because of increased enrollment. She said low-income parents, who wanted to give their children the best education, over-subscribed for placement in the schools opened last September.

    This was because the schools, which use international teaching standard, are highly subsidized.

    Dr May said pupils of the would be able to compete with their peers globally.

    “Bridge International Academy is established to work with parents who live in very difficult economic conditions. As they struggle to meet up with their family daily needs, it hurts on their children in terms of education. We believe every child – rich or poor – should have the best education.

    “We believe that no matter the condition of parents, whatever situation they go through should not determine the fate of their children. We want to ensure that every child has equal access to best education that can make them stand out anywhere in the world,” she said.

    May said there are plans to establish 50 of such low-income schools across the country, especially in the North, where quality education is out of the reach of the poor.  To this end, she said the academy is considering partnering with the Kaduna State government to establish a school in the state.

    Director-General, Office of Education Quality Assurance, Lagos State Ministry of Education, Mrs Ronke Soyombo, represented by Director of Planning and School Registration, Dr. Olatunde Oluremi, praised the founders of the academy for supporting the government to provide quality education to underprivileged children.

    “I implore the beneficiaries of the uncommon gesture offered by founders of Bridge International Academy to take full advantage of it by manifesting improved performances in their education,” she said.

    The Academic Manager, Abayomi Babajide said the school’s teaching method was technologically-driven to impart knowledge in the pupils based on the prevalent practice in the 21st Century.

    Praising the gesture, Egan Alafia Community Development Association (CDA) chairman, Dr. Bisi Babalola, said residents of the community were elated by the efforts to give their children qualitative education at affordable cost, noting that the gesture would lighten the burden of many low-income families living in the community.

    A parent, Mrs Adebanke Joshua, said she did not regret withdrawing her daughter, Kofoworola, from a fairly expensive school and enrolling her in the academy last year. She said her daughter’s performance gradually improved after a term.

    Two of the first set of pupils to enrol, Niniola Emmanuel (Primary 3), and Goodness Abolu (Primary 1), were given scholarship. Also, the first 100 pupils enrolled got free school uniforms and school kits.

    The academy was co-founded by May and Jay Kimmelman, and its objective is to provide qualitative education to 10 million children in slums across the world.

  • Lagos to bar Danfo from Broad Street, Apongbon

    Lagos to bar Danfo from Broad Street, Apongbon

    Yellow buses popularly known as Danfo are to be barred from Broad Street and Apongon as part of the strategies to free Lagos Island of traffic gridlock, the government said yesterday.

    Special Adviser (SA) to Governor Akinwumi Ambode on Central Business District (CBD) Mr Agboola Dabiri told reporters that the measure is aimed at making life stress free for motorists

    “You must have observed that the traffic within Apongbon from Broad Street has been terrible and if you are not careful, from beginning of Apongbon to Surulere can take like five hours,” he said.

    He said Apongbon towards Broad Street part of it to Funsho Williams (formerly Western Avenue) would be cordoned off such that commercial buses would find it difficult to pick and drop passengers.

    Buses, he said, move down from Marina through the bridge instead of taking Apongbon and Broad Street.

    “Our ultimate target is to make Broad Street and Apongbon zero tolerant to yellow buses,” he said.

    Dabiri said the challenges caused by street traders on the Island were also being addressed by creating barricades to make it difficult for them to operate.

    “As of today, we have sealed under the bridge with barb wires, we have enclosed the traders under the bridge within the barb wires so as to prevent them from moving,” he said.

    “Each day, millions of people visit Lagos Island for trading, we will do our best to maintain best standard in the CBD”, the Special Adviser added.

     

  • Lagos begins work on 114 roads

    Lagos begins work on 114 roads

    The Lagos State government is to begin the construction of 114 inner roads, estimated at  N17.5billion across its 20 Local Governments and 37 Local Council Development Areas (LCDAs).

    Chairman of Conference of Executive Secretaries Kolade Alabi announced this yesterday at a briefing with commissioners of Information and Strategy Steve Ayorinde and Local Government and Community Affairs Muslim Folami Coker.

    Alabi said the development was to keep the promise by Governor Akinwumi Ambode to improve on the access and inner roads in the state.

    He said the project would be executed to standard requirements with street lights, sidewalks and covered drains, adding that it would be completed in six months.

    Alabi listed some of the benefitting roads in the first phase as Mathew and  Famuyiwa Olayiwola streets in Agege; Orile Agege, Ogundele and Fashola street; Alimosho, Jolaosho and Alhaji Idowu streets; Amuwo Odofin, Adebola Olojobi and Eko Akete; Ikorodu, Bolaji Benson and Adeniji Kemi streets, among others.

    He said the full list can be found on the state’s website.

  • Making the Lagos ETF law work

    SIR: The signing of the Employment Trust Fund Bill into law by the Lagos State Governor, Akinwunmi Ambode, is not only commendable and a step in the right direction, it should also serve as a template  for other states in Nigeria, especially at this time of fiscal doldrums, rising unemployment and youth restiveness across the country.

    The N25 billion Employment Trust Fund Law is designed to address the high rate of unemployment in the state through granting of soft loans to individual residents for the purpose of making them self-employed, which will in turn create wealth. These loan facilities, according to the government, range from N100 thousand to N1 million or as may be applicable in each case. The beauty of this law is that only one percent interest would be charged on the loan. Equally gratifying is the fact that this initiative would be funded by the state government through an annual budget of N6.25bn which shall be injected into the fund for the next four years. To walk his talk, the governor has also appointed a 10-man Board of Trustees to manage the fund.

    There is no gainsaying the fact that a mega city like Lagos State, with over 20 million residents deserves a programme such as this. However, genuine steps need to be taken to ensure that this noble idea does not go the way of past similar policies. Transparency and meritocracy should be deployed by the board in administering the fund. For instance, it must ensure that such sentiment as religion, tribe, gender or partisan politics do not play major roles serve as in determining eligible beneficiaries. Mechanisms must also be put in place to ensure that those who receive the loans deploy same for the purpose they obtained them for. It is recommended here that effective bio-data capturing of the beneficiaries should be ensured, while a team be set up by the board to monitor how the loans are being utilized and the result thereof. A technical team to be saddled with the responsibility of scrutinizing the proposals by the applicants and offering technical advice and/or assistance should equally be put in place.

    Similarly, efforts must be made by the Board of Trustees, in conjunction with the state government, to ensure proper and effective public awareness campaigns about the conditions and requirements for the loan facilities. This will help eliminate the issue of corruption that usually bogged down an innovation like this. The board should also, on annual basis, set a goal for itself with respect to the number of beneficiaries for the loan each year, and this should be followed up by quarterly reviews to ensure that these targets are realised.

    Effective management of the fund also entails that the state House of Assembly has a crucial role to play beyond the passage of the law. To this end, the state legislature must ensure an effective oversight on the proper utilization and disbursement of the fund. Experience has shown that the frequent “disappearance” of funds allocated for government project such as this in recent times is largely the failure of the parliamentarians to discharge their oversight function. Official bureaucracy that clogs the easy access to government scheme like this must be avoided or at best minimized. The procedures in accessing the fund should be made a bit flexible just so the essence and objectives of the Fund are not defeated.

    Every effort must be made to prevent politicians and other unscrupulous elements from hijacking this initiative. Thankfully, the composition of members of the Board of Trustees is a strong signal that the government is determined this time to avoid the errors of the past where partisanship had always clogged the progress of related policy. But more fundamentally, it is the collective efforts of critical stakeholders, including the media that would ensure the successful implementation of this programme.

     

    • Okoro Gabriel, Esq.,

    Lagos.

  • Lagos vows to take security to grassroots

    Lagos vows to take security to grassroots

    The Lagos State Government yesterday vowed to improve on measures put in place to secure lives and property by taking security to the grassroots.

    The state government also counselled parents and guardians to be extra vigilant on the movement of their children and wards especially at nights.

    Briefing the State House Correspondents after the monthly Security Council Meeting chaired by Governor Akinwunmi Ambode, the state’s Commissioner of Police, Mr. Fatai Owoseni, said in a bid to improve on the successes recorded during the 2015 yuletide, government has resolved to take security to the grassroots to protect the residents, and reduce fear as well as threat of insecurity drastically.

    Owoseni, who briefed journalists in company of heads of other security agencies in the State, said the council reviewed the measures put in place in 2015, and strategized on how to improve on the successes so far recorded.

    He said: “One of the main issues that the council looked at is an after-action review of all the measures put in place in 2015 especially during the yuletide that culminated in us having a peaceful celebration.

    “Having reviewed that, we looked at how we can sustain some of them that have been helpful to us and of course improve on other measures we think needs improvement. That basically were the major things that we have done and we have resolved that we will sustain those positive measures with a view to making Lagos safer and more secured for social and economic development.”

    He assured residents that security situation in the state would always be better.

    According to Owoseni, “the council also resolved that we improve on our dominance of the security space and that we should take security to the grassroots so that every part of Lagos and every citizen of Lagos will be more secured and the fear of threat of insecurity will be drastically reduced.”

    Owoseni also thanked Lagosians for their corporation and support, and urged them to keep on supporting all the security agencies in the state in the New Year.

    He said: “We want to thank them for the support that they have given to the government and security agencies in 2015. We continue to count on them; we continue to appeal to them that everyone has a civic obligation to ensure his or her security.