The Nation Newspaper

Tag: residents

  • Residents protest killings by herdsmen

    Residents of Asaba, the Delta State capital, yesterday protested the alleged killing of some indigenes by suspected Fulani herdsmen.

    Commuters were stranded as the protesters occupied the ever-busy Asaba-Benin Expressway, making it difficult for East-bound commuters to continue their journey.

    The protest resulted in a gridlock which stretched some kilometres.

    The protesters carried placards bearing inscriptions: “Fulani herdsmen must leave our state”; “Okowa, intervene now”; “The killing, rape of married women must stop”; “Our crops have been destructed” and “Our women cannot go out again”.

    The protesters, mainly vigilante, were under the auspices of Anioma Security Watch, Delta South Security Network and Urhobo Security Network.

    They said the government failed to protect the residents by allowing herdsmen to kill law-abiding residents.

    A letter by leaders of the protesters – Jacob Godwin, Henry Onwuamalieze and Warri Eric – accused the government of paying more attention to protecting oil facilities or installations at the expense of human lives.

    The letter, titled: “Insensitivity of Government and the Inevitable War Against Fulani Herdsmen”, faulted government’s drafting of security agents during “election to cow perceived enemies and the electorate to win such elections, but failed to address the deadly Fulani herdsmen”.

    Over 63 communities in Delta State have been invaded by suspected Fulani herdsmen, who allegedly raped women and destroyed farms.

    They were said to have killed 23 in six months.

    Police Commissioner Alkali Baba Usman told reporters last week that the command had arrested 23 suspected Fulani herdsmen, who allegedly killed farmers and raped women.

    Though security agents were visible throughout the protest, the situation became charged when they attempted to disperse the protesters.

    Eric Warri, who spoke with our correspondent, said: “We are protesting because Fulani herdsmen have been killing our people. They have raped our people and destroyed our farmlands.”

    Commissioner for Information, Mr. Patrick Ukah, urged the residents to be patient.

    He said the menace of the herdsmen was a national security issue.

  • Residents hail military for reopening road

    Residents of Buni Yadi and Buratai have hailed the military for reopening the 135-kilometre Biu-Damaturu Road.

    They spoke yesterday in interviews with the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN).

    The residents said the reopening of the 132-kilometre road, three years after it was closed, following insurgency, would revive socio-economic activities.

    One of them, Alhaji Abdullahi Yaro, who fled the area at the peak of the insurgency, expressed joy.

    He said residents of Buni Yadi, Buni Gari and neighbouring communities in Gujba Local Government of Yobe State would return. “We are happy with this development. We can now return to our areas.

    “I travelled to Buni Yadi with my family, relations and friends to witness this historic event.

    “Some of us will stay back and clean our homes so that we can bring back our wives and children,” Yaro told NAN.

    Mallam Ado Salisu praised  the military in displacing Boko Haram insurgents and restoring peace.

    He said he would revive his transport business and bring back his family to Buni Yadi after two years of living in an Internally Displaced Persons’ (IDPs’) camp in Damaturu.

    At Buratai town in Biu Council, Alhaji Abubakar, an auto mechanic and Hajiya Fatima Mohammed, a food vendor, expressed delight at the reopening of the road.

    Abubakar told NAN that it would revive his auto mechanic business.

    He said for the first time in three years, customers patronised his workshop on the Biu axis.

  • Residents lament varsity closure

    Residents lament varsity closure

    Mobile policemen have been deployed in the university community of Akungba-Akoko in Ondo State yesterday to ensure strict compliance with the order by the Adekunle Ajasin University management for students to vacate the campus.

    The university was shut last Saturday following the protest that greeted the death of a student, Ojo Afolabi.

    The absence of students, who formed about 80 per cent of the town’s population, had started affecting the socio-economic lifeline of its residents.

    A trader, Mrs Ajaratu Ajimo, said the closure was affecting her means of survival.

    Another business centre owner, Sule Ogundele, who had just paid his annual rent prayed for quick resolution of the impasse.

    It was noticed that many motorcyclists have relocated to neighbouring towns , such as Ikare, Supare, Arigidi-Akoko, Oke-Agbe and others to make ends meet.

     

  • Ekiti estate residents petition police over planned eviction

    Ekiti estate residents petition police over planned eviction

    Residents of Fajuyi/Irewolede Estate in Ado-Ekiti, the Ekiti State capital, have petitioned Inspector–General of Police Solomon Arase over alleged plan of the Ayodele Fayose administration to evict them.

    Copies of the petitions were sent to Commissioner of Police James Etop; Director-General Department of State Services (DSS) Lawal Musa Daura;  DSS State Director;  Registrar of the State High Court and the National Human Rights Commission.

    The residents said this runs contrary to a court ruling, urging status quo on the matter still pending in court.

    The Chairman of the Residents Association, Ayo Orebe, said in the petition that the governor was acting on wrong advice by the Attorney General and Commissioner for Justice, Owoseni Ajayi, to evict them on April 1, contrary to a court ruling urging the parties to stay further action until the determination of the suit.

    “You will recall that we had earlier written two letters to your office over forceful ejection from our houses in breach of the purchase agreement between house owners and the Housing Corporation.

    “The first letter was dated August 6, last year, entitled: “Petition Against the Ekiti State Housing Corporation and State Government Over Forceful Eviction”.

    “The second letter was dated September 17, last year and entitled: “Petition against the State Housing Corporation and State Government Over Illegal Revocation of Property”, which was necessitated by revocation letters served on 17 residents for daring to sue the government.

    “The revocation letters were served on us, despite a case before Justice Bamidele Omotoso of the State High Court, Ado-Ekiti,” Orebe explained.

    He added that on December 9, last year, Justice Omotoso ruled in the presence of the police, government and Housing Corporation’s counsel that the parties must not take any step on the matter, until the case was determined.

    Orebe attached a copy of the court ruling to his petition. He also said on January 11, 2016, the court quashed the revocation letters served on the residents by the Housing Corporation during the pendency of the suit.

    “We thought the two rulings of the court ought to have curbed the illegalities and impunity of the Housing Corporation and the government, but this was not so.

    “The governor invited the residents to a meeting on March 17 in the Governor’s Office, Ado-Ekiti, where he threatened to evict the chairman and residents, especially the 17 whose names appeared on the cause list, irrespective of the court ruling of January 11.

    “It was shocking that the Commissioner of Justice, who was present at the meeting, misinterpreted the court ruling by advising the governor to evict the residents.

    “The case is still before the court and the next adjournment is today for hearing of the first and second defendants’ motion to amend their witnesses’ statements on oath,” he explained.

    He urged the police chief to advise the governor to obey the law to avoid action that may precipitate crisis in the state.

  • Why there are many divorce cases in Abuja – Residents

    Why there are many divorce cases in Abuja – Residents

    Some residents of Abuja on Monday identified some causes of divorce among couples.

    In separate interviews, they cited infidelity, lack of commitments, carelessness and undermining the importance of dialogue in dispute resolution, among others, as some of the causes of divorce.

    They noted that most of the causes of divorce were avoidable by respecting the law of marriage and being faithful.

    For instance, Mr Michael Eke, a civil servant with Revenue Mobilisation Allocation and Fiscal Commission, identified insubordination, wife battery and interference from outsiders as other causes of divorce.

    He advised couples, especially those with crises in their relationships, to imbibe the culture of dialogue in resolving matrimonial issues and save their marriages.

    Eke said that the effects of divorce were indicated in the children of such affected home, insisting that such children were often delinquent.

    “Children from such homes are prone to abuse such as child labour and rape, among other social vices, especially the females.

    “Most couples take things that matter most for granted and a marriage that is taking for granted has a good chance of ending in divorce,’’ he observed.

    Eke said that marriages could be protected from crumbling if the couples had the fear of God in their dealings.

    Sharing similar sentiments, Ms Joyce Chukwuma, a staff member of Federal Ministry of Information, Abuja, cited infidelity, religious differences and infertility as parts of the causes of divorce in some cases.

    She urged couples to shun extra-marital affairs to build a lasting family and decent society, noting that divorce “builds up slowly when people overlook things that matter most.

    “Lack of commitment to the principles of marriage has also been identified as one of the factors leading to divorce.

    “When partners seek physical and emotional support elsewhere; when one party is not ready to forgive other, then divorce comes in.

    “The social effects of this (divorce) for the children can be traumatic as they may feel unloved or isolated’’.

    In her opinion, Mrs Mariam Abdullahi, a house wife in Abuja, urged couples to avoid misunderstanding, advising them not to always look for faults.

    “When couples start listening to what people are saying, they can start having issues which, if not well tackled, can lead to divorce,’’ Abdullahi said.

    She called on couples to dwell more on the culture of togetherness, cooperation, making win-win decisions and preventing anger from degenerating into break up in relationships.

    To reduce the rate of divorce, Mr Obinna Okemuo, a banker, advised that potential couples should go into marriages when they were primed for the union.

    According to him, getting married at a very young age increases the likelihood of divorce because those who marry in their teens have much higher divorce cases.

     

  • Ikpeazu assures residents of adequate security

    Ikpeazu assures residents of adequate security

    Abia State Governor Okezie Ikpeazu has vowed to  checkmate criminals in the state.

    Speaking in Umuahia, the state capital, when he received a delegation of the Aba Chamber of Commerce, Industry, Mines and Agriculture (ACCIMA) at the Government House, Ikpeazu said there was no cause for alarm and urged the people to be vigilant.

    Ikpeazu recalled that the state had a peaceful yuletide while kidnapping and violent crime started by mid January. He noted that crime as a social problem could not be entirely wiped out.

    The governor attributed the increase in crime to the protests by the Indigenous Peoples of Biafra (IPOB), which he said is usually infiltrated by hoodlums who hide under the protest to perpetrate crime.

    He assured the delegation that something was being done to check multiple taxation and that his administration will soon embark on de-silting of drains in Aba, in readiness for the rainy season.

    ACCIMA’s President Sir Emmanuel Nwagbadolo complained of the disorder that has characterised Aba, including ritual murder, kidnapping and incessant touting, noting that three individuals died from ritual killing in the last three weeks.

    Nwagbadolo called on the government to nip the problems in the bud as they tend to discredit his government, recommending that all forms of touting, multiple taxation and kidnapping be checked by the government.

  • Residents lament abandoned road

    Residents lament abandoned road

    There was chaos on Monday in Abule-Egba/ New Oko-Oba axis of Ojokoro Local Council Development Authority (LCDA) of Lagos state following the shutdown of Owode Street, a major link road to New Oko-Oba and Fagba.

    Commuters around Jonathan Coker, Charity, Agbe and Olaniyi strets were left stranded because of the heavy traffic. School children and workers trekked long distances to link Abule-Egba.

    According to investigations, the traffic gridlock was caused by the breakdown of Owode Street following Saturday’s down pour.  The street had always been used as alternative route by motorists trying to link the Lagos/Abeokuta Expressway from Oko-Oba, Fagba and Jankara.

    Owode Residents Association Chairman, Mr Samson Seriki said:  “Owode Street is a major exit point for all motorists, including Okada riders, Marwa operators and private cars to the Abeokuta expressway, over the years; it has eased traffic from the surrounding areas because motorists can divert to this road. But for over three years, the road has been decrepit. Any time it rains, it becomes completely useless both for diversionary purposes and for residents of the street.”

    A portion of the road was cordoned off yesterday with used tyres and stones to prevent cars from getting stuck in the mud.  Several commercial buses, tricycles popularly called Marwa and Okada riders were parked on the street. “We are unable to use the road and this road which has been saving us is now unusable; we have appealed to Ojokoro LCDA, but nothing has been done. That is why we are now appealing to Governor Akinwunmi Ambode to save us”, another resident, Alhaji Saludeen Tiamiyu, said.

    Tiamiyu said essential service vehicles like ambulances, waste disposal vans and school buses have been unable to access the street.

    Some of the executives of the Tricycle Riders Association, who spoke to The Nation, said they had spent a fortune trying to fix the road when all entreaties to the council authorities failed.  They complained that despite paying dues running to several thousands of naira daily, the council has failed to put any palliative measure in place.

    “This is the worst road in the Abule-Egba area. It has been abandoned for a long time, the government knows about it but they have refused to do anything,” one of the officials who did not want to be named told The Nation.

    The residents appealed to Ambode help them out before the rainy season.

    Ojokoro LCDA Executive Secretary Mrs Fausat Hassan-Olajoku, who visited the street with council engineers and other members of her transition committee, promised that something would be done to make the road accessible again.

    “The time for talking is over, this is the time for action,” she said.

  • Group sensitises residents to clean environment

    Group sensitises residents to clean environment

    A non-governmental organisation (NGO) has stressed the need to improve the health condition of people living in the rural areas of Lagos State. Sharing With Others says this can be done through the provision of potable water, garbage bins, adequate training for community health workers and the dissemination of health-related information.

    Last week, Sharing With Others took its campaign to the Lagos suburb and riverside area of Ibeju Local Government Area to sensitise residents to the benefits of environmental cleanliness and hand washing techniques to prevent communicable diseases.

    Many of the residents gathered to listen to Folasade Ogunsola, who is a Prof. of Clinical Microbiology and the first woman Provost of the College of Medicine University of Lagos (CMUL).

    She spoke on “Your Life is in Your Hand-The Interplay between the Use of Our Hands and Healthy Living”.

    “Out of an estimated 170 million Nigerians, 53-65 million people have no access to drinking water; 33 million engage in open defecation; 60-100 million people have no access to improved sanitation; 194,000 children die annually from diarrhoea and another percentage from other respiratory diseases.

    “Also, before aged 70, 80 per cent of the male population and 76 per cent of female have chances of dying from diseases such as cancers, cardiovascular disease, diabetes and chronic respiratory disease.

    Topping the table of killers of toddlers less than five years is malaria. Others are infections; diarrhoea, HIV/AIDS and measles.

    “There are 600,000 bacteria living per square inch of the skin of every person. That means, we carry 0.6kg of bacteria at every given time, which can be passed to others through coughing, sneezing, singing, talking and touching others with dirty hands.”

    She urged them to regularly wash their hands and bodies and clean their environment to keep their surroundings free of rodents and insects-carriers of such ailments; noting that all have a part to play in ensuring that diseases are prevented by timely visits to the hospital at the slightest symptoms. This, she said, will go a long way in helping them and ensuring better treatment for the diseases.”

    She, however, warned that prevention is always better that seeking a cure for diseases.

    Chairman, Lagos State chapter of the project, Dr Femi Ogunbekun, a medical doctor and native of Ibeju-Lekki Local Government Area who has been practicing for 42 years said the lecture was the 3rd in the series and was aimed at educating the rural and riverside areas on healthy living as well as how to tackle communicable and non-communicable diseases

    Another trustee of the initiative and a retired Prof. of French language, Ibiyemi Mojola, said the main thrust of their endeavours is to ensure that the communities are exposed more to how to prevent diseases.

     

  • ‘Residents’ health our priority’

    ‘Residents’ health our priority’

    To ensure high level of cleanliness,  Executive Secretary of Ikoyi-Obalende Local Council Development Area (LCDA) of Lagos State, Toyin Caxton-Martins has embarked on a campaign to eliminate rats, the cause of Lassa fever. She has supervised the fumigation of the Police Officers’ Wives’ Association (POWA) Market at Ijeh and Obalende in the council area.

    The Executive Secretary said one of the priorities of the council was to promote and complement Lagos State Government’s policy on environmental health by involving market women and men and other stakeholders.

    Caxton-Martins said the gesture will ensure an atmosphere conducive enough to safe food, healthy living and prevention of contagious diseases.

    She said: “It isn’t enough to rid the environment of rodents and other infectious creatures. We will also intensify our efforts on massive education of the public on the causes and consequences of keeping their environments dirty.

    “To have sustainable development, our people have a great role to play by co-operating with the government.

    ”This would make our people healthier and productive which, in turn, would translate to better quality life.”

    The council boss enjoined residents to always ensure that their surroundings are frequently fumigated to avoid unnecessary spending of their hard earned income on treatment of diseases that are preventable.

  • LASTMA sensitises residents on traffic management

    LASTMA sensitises residents on traffic management

    The campaign and advocacy unit of the Lagos State Transportation Management Authority (LASTMA) has held a sensitisation programme for residents of Oduwaye and neighbouring communities in Gbagada area of Lagos State ahead of the construction of a multi-million naira flyover being built by the Deeper Life Bible Church in that area.

    The programme, which took place at the premises of Deeper Life Cathedral, Oduwaye Street, adjacent to the flyover site, was meant to prepare the residents and intimate them of measures that had already being put in place to reduce traffic congestion during the construction.

    LASTMA Deputy Controller of Operation, Mr. Philip Femi Ogunwale said the construction  is massive and would likely lead to traffic build-up in Gbagada area, saying that during the construction, LASTMA would deploy men and materials to reduce the hardship.

    The flyover upon completion, according to him, would ease traffic gridlock in the area as residents will no longer need to access the underground, but move via the flyover bridge.

    “The traffic gridlock that they normally experience, especially when they have programmes in the Cathedral will no longer be there. Those who have no business in the church will just pass through the bridge and go their way,” he said.

    The LASTMA’s Deputy Controller of Operation said the agency has put measures in place to ease traffic congestion in the area during the period. He enjoined residents to co-operate with LASTMA and the contractors handling the project until the construction is over.

    Community Development Association (CDA) Chairman, Araromi/Sawmill, Gbagada Chief Olukayode Onasanya hailed the project, lamenting the poor state of inner routes in the neighbourhood, saying many residents will suffer untold hardship should the construction commence without making the inner route accessible.

    Onasanya said: “We are happy about the project because it’s for the development of the area. But, if they want to do it, they have to take care of the access roads too. When it starts and everything is blocked, all motorists going to Araromi, Sawmill, Shoniyi Kiniun-Ifa to Ifako will find it difficult to connect their streets.

    “If there are access roads like Bakare Dauda Street through to Ope Odu, those coming from the express will just pass through that route and will not bother coming here at all. For Shoniyi, there is a route at Yetunde Brown, they will take that place and go to Shoniyi. They will not need passing here at all.”

    The Flyover Project Architect, Pastor Kayode Dada, said the contract had already been awarded to Julius Berger Construction Company, with the project expected to take off immediately.

    He said the flyover would be constructed alongside a four-level Motor Park for worshippers in the cathedral to be able to park their vehicles.