The Nation Newspaper

Tag: nuisance

  • ‘Apapa gridlock, nuisance to environment,’ say Residents

    The Apapa Government Reserved Area Residents Association (AGRA) has risen in unison to protest that trucks and trailers constitute menace to their environment. Consequently, the Association has warned that the continuous queues of trucks and tankers, blocking the network of intersecting roads, bringing traffic in all directions to a standstill, will no longer be acceptable. It therefore, issued a 21-day ultimatum to the Federal Government to rid all bridges and roads in the area of trucks to ease movement.

    The Association’s president, Sola Ayo-Vaughan, a retired army Brigadier-General, has heaped the blame on the government, accusing it of inability to implement its own laws.

    He regretted that the problem, which originally started within Apapa, had snowballed into a Lagos traffic, making movement in the area and its environs a nightmare.

    The retired army general lamented that the bridges, which were built to facilitate movement of vehicles, have been converted into a permanent parking lot for trailers and tankers, thereby restricting vehicular movement. “Turning bridges into a parking lot is unacceptable anywhere in the world because of the inherent danger that may consequently cause calamity.

    “The government has been warned of the looming danger, which is inevitable if this practice continues. It is a matter of time. It is worthy to note that government officials and the Chief Executive Officers of the companies, government parastatals operating in Apapa and Tin-Can Island ports do not reside in Apapa,” he said.

    According to him, the government agencies and shipping companies operating in the area are aware of the situation, but do not care because of the financial benefits they derive from it.

    He alleged that shipping companies were feeding fat on unearned container deposit and demurrage, while terminal operators were having a field day collecting crazy storage charges from importers by restricting trucks in ports under the guise of no network.

    He added that truckers are also benefitting from the chaos by hiking their rates from N70, 000 within Lagos to N600, 000.

    “Residents and workers in Apapa are in this mess alone and if we don’t stand up for ourselves, nothing will happen. Anything short of physical mobilisation at this point will be meaningless.

  • Lagos and the nuisance of land grabbers

    Buying a  piece of land in Lagos State and putting up a structure on same is usually a tall order, no thanks to the belligerent activities of land grabbers and land speculators popularly known as Omo oniles who make life unbearable for intending house owners through their frivolous demands. There have been many instances where unsuspecting buyers paid for land only to be told to come and pay again to reclaim their land, or settle some aggrieved family members who were not factored into the sharing formula of the previous payment. Omo Oniles simply have no regard for the law of the land as they have become a law unto themselves charging and fining prospective land owners’ different absurd bills as it pleases them.

    They also ensure the buyers are not free from their strangulating grip as they exact different fines on them, at every stage of the development of their properties. Prominent among such fines are foundation bill, lintel bill, decking bill, roof bill, fencing bill and a whole lot more. The value of such bills could sometimes be equivalent of the total value of the land or a little less depending on their scale of relevance and location of the property.

    In addition, they employ the use of force and threat in collecting these monies from their victims who are at their mercy with no option or defence. Some of their victims have had their structures demolished, as the Omo Oniles storm their sites in commando-like style, wielding harmful weapons and attacking the workers on site. Property owners are often mercilessly beaten up, wounded and forced to stop work until payment is made. Through this trend, land grabbers have successfully stalled the development of many projects.

    Consequently, in Lagos, individuals and organizations planning to put up structures have learnt to factor the cost of Omo Oniles into their expenditure. This has not only hindered development; it has also made individuals and organizations to consider relocating to neighbouring states where the activities of land grabbers are not so pronounced.

    The activities of land grabbers are not only illegal, but anathema to society, development, peace and progress. They speculate on land with little or no recourse to land use laws, as they engage in the illegal sale of government land to unsuspecting individuals. They sometimes even dispossess people of land that are legitimately bought from the government. They also sell lands with no proper planning or cognizance of a mapped out environmental outlay, this is especially so, with new satellite settlements in the suburb of the state. Some houses within such locations don’t have a pathway for movement as other houses have been erected on their path; more appalling, some are built under high tension wires.

    Although some of the notorious Omo Oniles are known but the society is helpless in dealing with them. To stem the tide of Omo Oniles nuisance, there is a need for accurate and efficient record keeping were the history of every property is preserved and conscientiously kept and protected. The courts are congested with land cases because landed properties are not properly documented.

    It is not in doubt that the state has recorded enormous loss to the unlawful activities of these hoodlums, most of whom are layabouts, opportunists and exploiters who go about rubbishing the image of the state. It is in order to decisively tackle this nuisance that the Lagos State Government recently inaugurated a Task Force to check the menace of land grabbers in the state.

    The Task Force is saddled with the task of reducing to the barest minimum activities of individuals or corporate entities that use force and intimidation to dispossess or prevent people or organizations from acquiring legitimate interest and possession of property acquired through the state government or private transactions. The force is also empowered to co-ordinate the efforts of various agencies of government charged with enforcing the state government rights over lands in Lagos; and to work with all security agencies to ensure enforcement of state government and private property rights in Lagos State.

    The state government has vowed to deploy the full force of the state and the law to tackle the issue permanently, noting that the havoc and chaos being caused by land grabbers would no longer be tolerated. Consequently, henceforth any person who uses physical force, threats or arms to dispossess people of their legitimate property will be treated as a criminal in accordance with Sections 52, 53 of the Criminal Law of Lagos State, which stipulates a two-year jail term for any person found to have forcefully entered or dispossessed a legitimate land owner of his property. According to Section 281 of the criminal law, land is part of items that can be stolen.

    A few days back, the Lagos State House of Assembly made good its promise to move against the threat of Omo Oniles in the state. The House passed a bill to prohibit forceful entry and illegal occupation of landed properties, violent and fraudulent conduct in relation to landed properties in Lagos State and for connected purposes into law. If found guilty, by the provisions of the bill, land grabbers, popularly known as Omo Oniles will face a maximum 21 years and minimum of five years imprisonment respectively. The bill, passed at its plenary, after scaling through Third Reading was later sent to Lagos State Governor Akinwunmi Ambode for his assent. The passage of this bill into law is, no doubt, a massive step towards a lasting solution to the activities of the land grabbers in the state.

    It is heart-warming that the state government is coming up with the legal and institutional framework to tackle the menace of Omo Oniles once and for all. A society that thrives on lawlessness cannot attract meaningful development and growth. The citizenry, especially masses who daily struggle to make ends meet would, without a doubt, benefit from this renewed attempt to sanitize the land sector in Lagos State. Meanwhile, it is crucial that the state government demonstrate sufficient political will to follow through this fresh process in order to repose the citizenry’s confidence in the rule of law.

    On its part, the citizenry must brace up to fully support the government in this new bid to restore law and order into the society.

    Aruya is of the Features Unit, Ministry of Information & Strategy, Alausa, Ikeja, Lagos.

  • ‘Children affected by insurgency ’ll not be nuisance to society’

    ‘Children affected by insurgency ’ll not be nuisance to society’

    THE President-elect, Muhammadu Buhari, said yesterday that one of the biggest burden of the incoming government is the challenge of ensuring that children affected by the Boko Haram insurgency in the Northeast does not constitute security risk to the nation.

    Buhari said he was aware of the contribution of women to national development, and therefore, will not marginalise them in the scheme of things under his government.

    Addressing a delegation of Women Leaders of the All Progressives Congress (APC) in the 36 states and the FCT, he lamented that Nigerians rescued from the Sambissa Forest were either women or children, adding that the men have either been killed or have escaped.

    He said the activities of the Boko Haram insurgents have left women with the responsibility of taking care of the children.

    He noted that government’s attention in looking after women and children would need to be practical because the women have been left with the responsibility of bringing up the children at the critical stage of their lives.

    He said: “I have listened to the marathon speech by the National women leader. I believe that the success of the APC will be associated with her. I am happy that you recalled that the first opportunity I had to lead this country under a different system, there was a policy by the Federal Government that at every level of government, there must be at least one woman in government.

    “I have certainly taken into account the importance of women in the society. Besides, I have to thank you very much for your votes. The fingerprint on the card reader did not show whether majority of the votes were from ladies or from gentlemen. But I know that there are many supporters among the women group all over the country.

    “Looking at the human aspect, if you watch the people coming from Sambissa forest under the Boko Haram and others that escaped, you will discover that they are women and children and the women are left to take care of the children. The men have either been killed or have escaped.

    “So, really, government attention in looking after women and children will have to be practical because they have been left with the responsibility of bringing up the children at the critical stage of their live.

    “If they lack the parental care, they lack the education, then, they are going to be a liability to the nation because they will grow up without strong religious affiliation, which is very important for the society. If they are educated, their ambition to have a decent life will be realised. This will again affect the security of the nation and this is our number one problem”.

    Addressing the complaint of the women leaders of non-representation in the transition committee, Buhari said the appointment of women into the committee was not based on party affiliation, adding that he has never met any of the women appointed into the committee personally.

    Speaking earlier, the leader of the delegation and National Women Leader of the APC, Hajia Ramatu Ali, told the President-elect that though they were happy about his election and has express confidence in him, they were not comfortable with the fact that they were not consulted in the appointment of women into the transition committee both at the states and federal level.

    Pleading for inclusion of women in the incoming administration, she said: “Our prayer sir is that we will not be put to shame and we believe that it is only when included in the helm of affairs that we will be able to carry out some of these promises because he who wears the shoe knows where it pinches most.”

  • FRSC nuisance in Lagos alleys

    That informed the setting up of the Federal Road Safety Commission by government in 1988 was the realization that ‘there was no concrete and sustained policy action to address the carnage on Nigerian roads’, then rated as one of the worst in the world. Twenty six years after, I am not sure if that rating has changed dramatically for the better with FRSC Kano Sector Commander, Ibrahim Garb’s current troubling statistics of casualties on our roads. He recently told News Agency of Nigeria that ‘2,499 persons were involved in various road crashes in 2013 across the state’. Of this figure, 1,692 persons were males while 807 were females.

    Some of the major functions of the commission, among many others include, ‘making the highway safe for motorists and other road users, recommending works and devices designed to eliminate or minimize accidents on the highways and educating motorists and members of the public on the importance of discipline on the highway as well as clearing obstructions on any part of the highways. While some of these activities have received good attention by the commission, there is clear evidence going by the activities of some of the men of the commission in Lagos who hide at obscure corners and dangerous alleys to intimidate and harass motorists that not much attention is paid to educating motorists who in fact see the presence of FRSC boys as constituting a nuisance. Some of these blind hideouts include the street opposite Marwa Gardens, a stone throw from the Lagos State governors office, the street adjacent Yaba College of Technology and other corner streets on other parts of the mainland and on the island.

    From accounts of some victims of highhandedness by FRSC officials and personal encounters with some cheeky FRSC officials, I find it hard to disagree with those who see their presence on Lagos city alleys as aggravating the pains of Lagos motorists they are mandated to educate and help. A few years back, precisely in 2008, a friend’s young daughter who lived with us was arrested opposite Marwa Garden which has remained a notorious hide out for FRSC boys. She didn’t have a fire extinguisher. It was less than 300 yards from Prima Garnet where she was scheduled to have a job interview. She pleaded to no avail as she was dragged to their old toll gate office where she packed the car and returned home to look for money. Of course she missed the interview and possibly a dream job in the advertising industry. The Lagos road safety boys killed her dream. As I write this piece this on February 3, they are hiding on this side road frisking commercial trucks.

    A few weeks back, a colleague called around 9 am cursing and swearing on the phone. The FRSC officials who have now replaced ‘weiting you carry bribe seeking police men’ at check points, long outlawed by the new IG had arrested his wife at an obscure corner in Lagos Island for not carrying fire extinguisher in her car. The visibly angry colleague wanted me to tell Chidoka who was said to have worked briefly at The Guardian after his education in 1995, how the public feel about the activities of some of his overzealous boys. I told him I never met the high achieving Corps Marshal but would convey the sentiments to the appropriate quarters.

    I have also had two personal experiences with some FRSC officials in recent times. One gave me an insight into the rip-off currently going in the name of new driver’s licence while the other experience provided a possible explanation for why road safety official chase after commercial trucks on the high ways around Lagos while paying no attention to trucks and trailers without traffic indicator lights and those that are clearly not roadworthy on account of fumes they emit.

    Coming out of the church some weeks back, I was accosted by a young boy probably in his early 20s in front of their Ojodu office. He demanded for my driver licence and car particulars. When he moved closer and saw me, he said I should go because according to him, he had thought I was a young boy from afar. But I took the advantage of my deferential treatment to ask for his advice as to how people like us who did our driving test in the grass land that the present Lagos secretariat was in the early 70s and when the current site of FRSC headquarters was a thick forest. He broke down the cost and asked me to send the money not to him but to any of their headquarters staff I know to help me process and secure a date for ‘capturing’.

    But my encounter, last week, at the Ogudu portion of the express way finally convinced me why many of them should be sent to the highways where their services are mostly needed while LASTMA is allowed to take care of Lagos. Pulling out of a filling station in a pickup utility double cabin van into the man express, an FRSC utility van with four young men driving dangerously and endangering other road users overtook my vehicle forcing me to stop abruptly. One of then came out and demanded for my driving licence and vehicle particulars. I called his attention to the vehicle licence boldly pasted on the windscreen and asked why he wanted to see my driving license. He then said the vehicle wasn’t carrying a ‘C caution’ sign. I told him I borrowed the double cabin vehicle, from my estate gate where I left my broken-down vehicle and driver to enable me meet up with my students exam in University of Lagos. I assured him I would obtain the item which I understand cost about a N100 at new garage on my way to school.

    But his senior came down walking with a swagger. He surveyed, I am not sure whether the vehicle or its driver with disdain after which he gave three conditions: provide additional vehicle papers to enable him book me, drive the vehicle along with one of his officers to their old toll gate office failing which he would be left with no option but to tow the vehicle down to their office. The drama last for over 40 minutes before they let me off. I however called their attention to the fact that besides their utility car that did not carry ‘C Caution’ sign, I counted over 20 similar vehicles without ‘C caution’ sign. Their answer was that they have to make example of some since they cannot possibly arrest everyone. I agree with them. But I was sure I became a target because I drove a rickety van as against the more expensive utility vans driven by those who appear to be big men.

    I have heard Governor Fashola admonish his LASTMA boys that the reason they are on the road is to make the traffic move. I think Chidoka should leave management of traffic on Lagos alleys to a well focused Fashola while his FRSC boys who have become a nuisance to Lagos motorists are posted to high ways where there is so much to be done to rein in trailers that move around in the night without brake lights or traffic indicator lights all of which pose more danger to motorist than road worthy utility vehicles without ‘C Caution’ signs.

    And if FRSC already has enough men on high ways to ‘give prompt attention and care to victims of accidents’, those creating problems in Lagos alleys can be kept in the office to ‘Conduct researches into causes of motor accidents and methods of preventing them and putting into use the result of such researches.’

  • Education as nuisance to the society

    Apologies to Dr Segun Oni of the Faculty of Education, University of Lagos (UNILAG), for the headline of this piece. He was the one who used the line to describe the current state of the nation’s educational system at all levels.

    The Encarta dictionary defines nuisance as somebody or something irritating or something not allowed by law because it causes harm or offence, either to people or to an individual person. The same dictionary further states that an educated person is one that is well taught, cultured and knowledgeable.

    Education is a tool for national development but how has it become a nuisance to the society? In October 2009, a member of the House of Representatives, Dipo Oyedokun, gave an astonishing revelation that over 40 million Nigerian youths are jobless in a country of 160 million. The figure represents 26.9 per cent of the population.

    Education becomes a societal nuisance when the products of our prestigious ivory towers turn out to be of little benefit to the society as a result of lack of appropriate skill for self-independence and unwillingness to engage in selfless service to fellow citizens. This becomes a burden on the society as witnessed in the large number of underpaid and jobless graduates in the Nigeria.

    An educated person is expected to possess basic skills, which ought to distinguish him and make him a better person than an illiterate. Such skills include knowledge, values, intelligence and a good sense of judgment. But reverse has been the case as the so-called graduates have, over the years, demonstrated lack of necessary skill to succeed even in personal business.

    An average university graduate is expected to have undergone courses on entrepreneurship, which is a vital tool for creativity and self-independence. But most students take those courses for good grades and not to get the maximum benefit from it. Little wonder they end up as job seekers and not job providers.

    Our tertiary institutions are today theatre gang murder. Recently, a cult clash in the Lagos State University (LASU) claimed the life of at least three undergraduates of the institution, thereby causing fear among students.

    Many students are engaging in examination malpractice to get admission into tertiary institutions. In many cases, examination date have been postponed, questions changed as a result of leakage and corruptions by some lecturers. This disturbing depravity has over the years made the Nigerians to lose faith in our education system.

    Some wealthy Nigerians have been sending their wards for schooling oversea and the implication of that is our economy loses over $2billion to such act.

    The situation is further aggravated when we consider the performance of our students in external examinations such as West African Examination Council (WAEC) and National Examination Council (NECO).

    In WAEC for instance, the average failure are 72 – 75 per cent in 2008, 2009, 2010 and 2011 in a country that prides itself as the giant of Africa, which is ambitious to be among the best 20 economies in the year 2020.

    The sorry state of the educational system has been blamed on the fact that our education system operates on faulty and outdated curricula. Our students’ desire for education is geared towards the acquisition of certificates only and not knowledge.

    Several Nigerian graduates do not fit into R.S. Peters criteria of who an educated person should be as highlighted by Isiche (Ph.D) in his book, Philosophy of Education.

    In the book, a graduate is expected to have a body of knowledge and understanding of basic principles. This implies that a supposedly educated person must not only be knowledgeable but he must also understand the reasons behind the knowledge. It is not useful if a person can answer a question but finds it difficult to explain how he arrived at the answer.

    The second criterion in R.S. Peters’ book is “cognitive criterion” that requires an individual to possess great knowledge in his field of study and related discipline. Such person must be able to deliver when called upon to solve problems. That the country is lacking in this quality of graduates is not an understatement. We have many graduates, who cannot not speak, write or express themselves in the clearly even in their mothers’ tongue.

    The third is “commitment criterion” that requires an educated person to be conversant with the standards emanating from his field. Graduates must be aware of new trends and practices and also work assiduously towards making meaningful contribution to the development and progress of his discipline.

    The fourth is “transformation criterion”. This, in my opinion, is the most important of the four R.S. Peters’ criteria. It serves as combination of the first three. It means that an educated person must be totally transformed in deed and in action as a result of the education he has acquired; he must see things differently, analyse issues saliently and be a responsible member of the society.

    It is obvious that quite a number of today’s youths do not fit into the four criteria as highlighted by R.S. Peters. Let all hands be on deck towards the realisation of these progressive criteria in other to revive our ailing education system.

     

    Modiu, 300-Level Mathematics and Education, UNILAG