₦airaland Forum

Smart choices. God bless the Federal Republic of Nigeria!

Nothing special. They're both key figures in the ruling political party.

The Lagos State Government has given okada (motorcycle) riders in the state 21-day ultimatum to leave restricted routes.

The government met with okada unions on Thursday at the state secretariat, Alausa, Ikeja, Lagos, where the ultimatum was given.

The Secretary to the State Government, SSG, Tunji Bello, who chaired the meeting, said the government decided to give the riders 21-day ultimatum for the unions to sensitise their members to vacate the restricted routes before enforcement would begin.

He said. “We have held a meeting with the okada unions on what should be done. We had a meeting with security agencies before now on the resurgence of okada riders on the highways.

“They said they thought that the government had relaxed the law; there is no relaxation. We have decided to give them three weeks for enlightenment because we are not doing anything new; what we are doing is to re-enforce the law.”

Bello said when the law was introduced in 2012, okada accidents reduced.

He said, “We are not going back to that era again. For three weeks, they will educate their members on the need to leave the road. We need to save members of the public and the only way to do that is to restrict their movement and enforce our traffic law.”

The SSG stated that enforcement was relaxed during the last elections so that political parties would not capitalise on the enforcement for cheap political gains.

“We relaxed enforcement during the general elections because we didn’t want crisis and violence. We needed to avoid crisis at that time so that political parties would not capitalise on it. The enforcement will be in full force after three weeks. This is a law already in place and it has to be obeyed,” he said.

The Permanent Secretary, Ministry of Transportation, Oluseyi Coker, said the law restricting okada riders from major roads was still in force as the government had not suspended it.

He said, “We are doing this so that when we start enforcement, they will not say government did not caution them. The violation is much and we want the unions to educate their members.

“The Lagos State Government will do it right. We assure the residents that there will be normalcy on the road.”

Source: Punch Newspaper

Asa is arguably Nigeria's biggest musical export of our generation. A worthy successor to Baba Fela and King Sunny Ade in terms of the influence she wields globally.

Good move!

The joy of fatherhood

God bless you Sir.

A good start!

Beremx:
I am sure you bought the soap from those women who sell the soaps on trays. Their soaps are all fake.

If you wanna buy next time,buy in a shop

I actually bought it from a supermarket in my neighbourhood. When I told the shop owner about my discovery, she said the company salesman supplied it directly.

flyca:
3 Tablets

Thanks.

Fellow Nairalanders,

I bought half pack (3 tablets) of Dettol Anti-Bacterial Cool Soap yesterday. When I opened the first one, what I saw was quite startling. Unlike the traditional blue colour which I have been used to, the soap was green with greyish pattern all over it. I proceeded to open the second one and it was the same.

I then searched the internet to see if there is any official statement from Reckitt Benckiser Nigeria Ltd on change of colour but saw nothing of sort. That left me wondering if it was fake, spoilt or otherwise. The particulars on the wraps are as follows;
NRN: 02-4311
BN: CDC-011N
MFG: 02/15
EXP: 02/18

Have I missed an advert/info on the new look or am I being paranoid? Your responses will be appreciated. Find the pictures attached

Fellow Nairalanders,

I bought half pack (3 tablets) of Dettol Anti-Bacterial Cool Soap yesterday. When I opened the first one, what I saw was quite startling. Unlike the traditional blue colour which I have been used to, the soap was green with greyish pattern all over it. I proceeded to open the second one and it was the same.

I then searched the internet to see if there is any official statement from Reckitt Benckiser Nigeria Ltd on change of colour but saw nothing of sort. That left me wondering if it was fake, spoilt or otherwise. The particulars on the wraps are as follows;
NRN: 02-4311
BN: CDC-011N
MFG: 02/15
EXP: 02/18

Have I missed an advert/info on the new look or am I being paranoid? Your responses will be appreciated. Find the pictures attached.

Jarus:
For the second year in a row, JarusHub nominated as Nigerian Career Blog of the Year.


Kindly go here and cast your vote for JarusHub in "Best Career Blog/Job Category" (Number 4), and mobilise your friends to do too.


http://nigerianblogawards.com/vote2014.php

Done. Best wishes and may God continue to strengthen you.

SmartFaces:
He is 36years of age, still lives with his mum, feels very lazy and scared to do anything for himself to generate income, depends on his mum for virtually everything because she is rich, had never taken any form of responsibility what so ever, yet he wants to marry her.

The guy should follow @LekeAlder on Twitter and read yesterday's edition of #Letr2Jack. If that doesn't help, the problem is bigger than we think.

A woman gave this cake to her husband on his birthday.


Is she encouraging him or what?

http://www.splendormag.com/2015/03/weirdest-cake-ever-see-cake-woman-gave.html?m=1

Impressive.

This is sad! Violence in any form should be condemned by all irrespective of political affiliation.Why can't we learn to co-exist peacefully?

The news seems unverified though. OP, what's your source?

He must be one hell of a patient and hardWorking guy. Being bilingual/multilingual will take an individual to places he/she only imagined.

Tragic! Time for America to apply strict gun control measures.

Insightful!

Micheal Opeyemi Bamidele whose picture you put up there (3rd pics) was never a Governor in Ondo State. He served as a Commisioner in Lagos State and is presently a member of the Federal House of Representatives from Ekiti State (his State of origin).

Similar stories with pictures and source were posted much earlier today. How do Mods select stories for front page?

Covered in a stream of sweat as he made for the narrow entrance leading outside the block, Okoli Nwabueze (not real name), cursed and grumbled angrily. He was deep in slumber by the time the fan in his room stopped rolling that afternoon and so couldn’t make it out on time to enjoy cool, ‘precious’ breeze. Lacking proper ventilation, electricity supply was the only means to keep the temperature within the room normal. Last year, when he paid N140, 000 as rent and related charges for 12 months to move into Agboye ‘Estate’, a gigantic structure with over 500 rooms stretching on about four plots of land on Oduntan Street, Ketu, Lagos, this was not what he expected. The situation leaves him deeply frustrated.

“The heat inside my room is crazy,” he said, nodding his head in complete dejection. “There is no ventilation and so whenever there’s power outage the place becomes very hot. This was not what I expected when I paid for the house last year. I never knew I was moving into a prison yard. I can’t use generator or other household appliances even after paying so much as rent. This is really crazy,” he fumed.

Lamentations all the way

Okoli is not the only one burning with rage in this vast and hugely populated building – the poor and extreme conditions of living is getting other tenants deeply concerned, too. Apart from paying N6, 000 as monthly charges for a single room – not more than twice the size of the space inside a commercial bus in Lagos – occupants who agreed to speak with our correspondent after they were assured their identities would be protected for fear of being victimised by the owner of the house, Onamo Agboye, said they are forbidden from using power generators, electric kettles, air conditioners or even host important social gatherings like naming ceremonies or birthdays within the facility. They were assured of constant electricity supply when moving in but they soon found out that the big generator set stationed at a section of the compound is not meant to service their interest but the comfort of the landlord alone. To make matters worse, the only entrance leading in and out of the compound closes at 11:00pm daily. Once the clock ticks, nobody goes in or out anymore, they revealed. In case of an emergency, chaos is inevitable.

“There was this day I was coming from FESTAC and I encountered traffic around Maryland, I didn’t get to Ketu until about 11:30pm. The security men at the gate of the house did not allow me to go in. I explained to them that I was new and that I didn’t know about the time of the closure but they refused to listen to my plea. I slept inside the church opposite the house that day,” Lanre Adamolekun, another tenant told Saturday PUNCH.

The regimented nature of the building – like a Nazi facility – has left devastating consequences on some occasions. Injuries and heartbreaks have come in different forms.

“My wife almost died from pains after falling into labour around 2:30am. The security men did not open the gate for us until two hours later because they said their boss would be mad at them for opening the gate at such hour of the night. They saw her condition, that she was dying but they refused to consider her pains. By the time we got to the hospital, she had become too weak to push by herself. She had to give birth through a caesarean section . That was the moment I decided that the house was not a place to live,” Anthony Onyekwere told our correspondent in a telephone conversation during the week. He has since relocated his family to the Agric area of Ikorodu, a fast rising town within the metropolis.

Chilling discoveries

From afar, the massive building looks like a ship sailing on the Atlantic with different national flags flying at the top with scores of bulbs arranged at strategic spots.

During a visit to the house during the week, our correspondent observed that the sanitary conditions were in poor state, while hygiene was also a big issue. In most of the blocks which are constructed only inches away from each other thus making free flow of air almost impossible, at least 12 rooms shared a single toilet and bathroom. On the average, two persons occupy each room, bringing the number of users of a single toilet to 24. An official who works at the building confirmed to our correspondent who posed as a potential tenant that there were presently 370 tenants in the house. Meaning that on the average, there are 740 adults living in the compound. This is aside children and visitors who make frequent stopovers to their loved ones. Unhygienic as this sounds, it is a situation that has existed for a long time and shows no signs of improving soon.

Behind the compound is a vast swamp of stagnant sewage and dirt – the perfect breeding ground for mosquitoes and other deadly insects that combine to inflict maximum horror on the occupants. The section is also home to snakes, scorpions and other dangerous crawling animals. Together, they make life for many of Agboye’s low-income earning occupants hellish.

“We are slaves to malaria and typhoid in this place,” Yemisi Adebambo, said. “Ask people around especially parents with children and let them tell you how much they spend on malaria and typhoid in a month. The mosquitoes here are the deadliest I have seen in my life, no thanks to the swamp at the back of the building; that is their breeding home. Even if you have mosquito nets in your room, you must buy malaria medicine in a month, you can’t escape it. If you are not even careful, you will meet snake or scorpion inside your room. We have killed many of them in our block this year. Ask anybody, they will confirm what I am saying,” the young mother of four told our correspondent.

A new notice pasted on strategic points within the facility which our correspondent stumbled upon, now also forbids tenants from accommodating a visitor of any kind beyond seven days without the approval of the landlord. According to the notice, such persons would be classified under the illegal tenant category of the management’s laws. Others in this category include: persons living in the room of a relation or friend who has travelled even if their rent was yet to expire; those sharing a room without the approval of the landlord, and also persons squatting in a room with a sitting tenant. Those under this category who wish to escape the wrath of the management are urged to obtain a regularisation form at N5, 000 and return with four passport photographs to have their status changed. Defaulters, however, risk urgent ejection and other severe consequences, according to the strong-worded notice.

The landlord of the house, who described himself to Saturday PUNCH as a philanthropist, said he established the place to help the masses and that if Nigerians were like him, the country would have been a better place to live in.

“I am a philanthropist; I do this to help the people. If others were like me, Nigeria would have become a better place. I cannot say much for now but come back in two days’ time (Wednesday, November 12, 2014) when I will give you three hours to interview me. Your paper will sell so well,” he said.

But what our correspondent found at Agboye ‘estate’ is far from what you see in an environment established by a philanthropist. Tenants are ejected without prior notice while monthly rent is increased at will without proper consultations with the occupants. Tenants cook by the entrance of their rooms as there are no kitchens while the passageway in most of the eight blocks in the premises are enveloped in darkness day and night except of course if there is electricity supply to light up the bulbs. In the alternative, occupants light candles to illuminate the place.

The monthly rent for a single room in this highly populated building – N6, 000 – is one of the most expensive in mainland Lagos, higher than in places like Yaba, Palmgrove and even Ikeja, the state capital. In addition to the high rent, tenants pay additional N2, 000 for electricity and other utility bills. New tenants who come on their own are made to pay a certain amount to a woman who acts as in-house agent. Without ‘settling’ her, your tenancy documents won’t be signed. But for those coming through an agent outside the place, they could pay as much as N140, 000 – about N34, 000 higher than the usual amount. In additional, a new tenant is made to perform a mandatory ritual – present a specified number of malt drinks and a bottle of wine to the management of the ‘estate.’

Disturbing as it sounds, the travails of many Agboye ‘estate’ residents, a school housing several professional institutes now converted to blocks of residential apartments, is only a fraction of the accommodation challenges many Lagos residents now face. Confronted with outrageous rents and all sorts of living conditions by house owners, many of the city’s low-income earning families and individuals are forced to accept cheap alternatives that offer no succour in the real sense. Rather, their troubles have been compounded in many of these places, with their rights grossly abused by greedy house owners who ‘lord’ over their lives in every form.

A ticking time bomb

A medical expert, Professor Oladapo Ashiru, told Saturday PUNCH that living in a crowded house like Agboye, poses severe health risk to the occupants. He said except government addresses the factors pushing people to live in such environment critically, the consequences could be harmful to the society at the end.

“If you live in a crowded house where ventilation is poor and a lot of people have to share a single toilet and bathroom, there is a high possibility of infection because oxygen sharing capacity is greatly reduced. There would be poor hygiene in the environment and stress on the bladder as a result of people waiting for each other to use the toilet.

“In such a place, there will be prevalence of malaria, diarrhoea. People in such a place would be visiting hospitals regularly because of the risk they are exposed to.

“The solution I think is for people to spread out to other parts of Lagos. There is too much concentration of people inside the city but if people spread out to other parts, the pressure would be reduced on existing infrastructure.

“Also, government should invest in water transportation so that people can easily move around the state. If this is done, people can live in rural areas where there are still large expanse of land and work in the city without crowding the city itself. The government must also develop proper housing estates in rural areas as well to further address this problem,” he said.

Former Dean, Faculty of Social Sciences, University of Lagos, Ayobami Makanju, a professor of psychology, told our correspondent that occupants of highly populated houses like Agboye risk having their egos dented. The situation, he said, could lead to deviancy and all sorts of psychological problems if not handled properly.

“Living in houses where there are so many occupants is a big problem for the individual’s psychological development. Every human needs their personal space and once you are denied this, it affects you in every way. It affects reproduction, blood pressure and the physiognomy in general.

“The problem also leads to stress because people are forced to stay on the queue to take their baths and also use the toilet. In the process, some are forced to take their bath in the open at odd hours.

“But the danger of it all is that it affects your ego and psyche. If you live in a place where the condition is not different from what you have in a prison yard, then you could start developing negative behaviour and begin to exhibit gangsterism traits. Places like this are the breeding ground for all sorts of deviant behaviour, especially when you see people who live normal lives and in conducive environments,” he said.

A civil engineer, Akin Ogunbanwo, told our correspondent that if the pressure becomes unbearable on the structure of a crowded house like Agboye ‘Estate’, it could lead to catastrophic consequences.

“In case the foundation is not properly piled and regular checks and maintenance work not done to strenghten the pillars, deckings and walls, a house with this type of pressure cannot escape disaster. It is a matter of time before it collapses completely,” he said.

A disaster of such magnitude in this crammed and highly populated building is best imagined.

.

SOURCE
http://www.punchng.com/news/a-jungle-in-the-city-story-of-a-500-room-house-where-tenants-live-as-prisoners/

This is disheartening!

Uzeustace:
Some of you will be surprised how much think tanks, foreign research organizations, NGO's, multilateral organizations like AFDB, IFC, IMF, World Bank, etc., pay in Nigeria...I have read the thread, it appears that there is a certain fixation on oil and gas jobs. O&G now has a lot of squeeze going on there right now....shale oil, divestment, auction of oil blocks etc. With my experience though, when one start thinking of having a family (and with getting older), how much that a job pays do not matter much again, is all about stability people! Earlier in my career, I worked in an economic think tank that payed 250k a month after tax, my seniors earned 450 and 600 respectively.

You are right. However, the challenge with most of these foreign NGOs and donor agencies is that they usually recruit for specific projects with a lifespan of two years or less. Even a number of UN agencies would offer a renewable contract of between six months and two years.

No fewer than six students were injured during a clash among some students of the Obafemi Awolowo University, Ile-Ife, Osun State, on Sunday evening.

While some of the eyewitnesses described the fight as a power tussle between students who were loyal to the President of the Student Union, Ibikunle Isaac, and those of the Vice-President, Oladejo Olufunmi, others described it as a cult attack.

They all, however, agreed that the clash was an aftermath of President Goodluck Jonathan’s visit to the institution.

It was learnt that the Education Rights Campaign members had just concluded a meeting at the Students’ Union Building when the fight broke out.

Among those involved in the fight were some union executive members, suspended students of the university, members of the Security Committee of the SU and ERC members.

Some of the students, who suffered varying degrees of injuries, were rushed to nearby hospitals for treatment.

One of them, Tedy, was allegedly stabbed with a pointed object suspected to be a screw driver, while another student, David, was dealt a matchete cut on his head.

It was gathered that the door to the SU President Office, where some students hid, was broken while the occupants were thoroughly beaten.

There are, however, two sides to the cause of the fight.

While some of the students said it was as a result of ideological differences, others inferred that it was related to the protest held during Jonathan’s visit.

Jonathan, traditional rulers and some politicians were at the OAU for a conference, where Jonathan was endorsed ahead of the 2015 polls.

The campus fracas took a dangerous dimension when students of the school engaged one another at the school gate with weapons.

Chief Security Officer of the university, Mr. Paul Ogidi, said there was no cult attack in the institution.

“It is true that our students fought. There was no cult attack on our campus. We did not witness any attack, but a fight among our students,” he said.

But the Vice-President of the Students Union, Funmi Oladejo, insisted that what happened on the campus could be likened to 1999 cult attack that claimed the lives of students.

She denied the fight as being factional, but hinted that the controversy that surrounded the presence of Jonathan on the university campus last Friday contributed to the cause of the fight.

She said, “I was to have a meeting at the SUB yesterday (Sunday) around 6pm. On getting there, I met a student, Sanyaolu Oluwajuwon, inside the gutter, where he had been seriously beaten and I wondered what happened. After a while, the injured students went to show the injury to others and that enraged many students.

“Meanwhile, what started the fight, I heard, was that ERC were having its meeting when the President and the PRO passed through the place and saw them. He then called his boys to come, saying some people were having an opposition meeting at the SUB.

“After beating them up, they ran away except Teddy that waited. We later realised that those that ran to town went to hire cult members, who came with machetes.   We eventually caught four of them. Two were students and two were non-students.

When asked if the fight was connected to Jonathan’s visit, she responded, “As far as I am concern, that is to mess up the whole issue. They want to make it a partisan stuff and that is out of sense. Our unionism is known to be independent and non-partisan. So, the case of Jonathan’s visit was sardonic. They (Ibikunle’s faction) wanted to pay back the opposition that greeted Jonathan’s visit.”

It was learnt that the two of the arrested people involved in the fight were taken by students to the Awolowo Hall of the university, while the security officials took another two students involved in the fight.

The President of the SU, Isaac Ibikunle, told our correspondent that none of his loyalists were cult members.

He promised to call back to give his “full reaction” after a meeting expected to be held between members of the executive and the parliament.

The Public Relations Officer of the union, Oludare Bamidele, said, “It remains a sardonic issue that suspended students are beating legitimate students on OAU campus right now. Is this intellectual struggle? The act of dragging a security official to be beaten is an affront to law and arrival of the hobbesian state of nature.”

Osun State Police Public Relations Officer, Mrs. Sade Odoro, said those involved in the fight were not cultists.

She said, “OAU students truly fought and they were taken to the police station. The police counselled and released them after a while.”

Public Relations Officer of OAU, Mr. Biodun Olarewaju, confirmed that the students fought over Jonathan’s visit to the institution.

He said, “There was no cult invasion in OAU. Our campus is too fortified for that to occur. Our security go on regular patrol and we are in collaboration with external security forces.

“What happened was just a fight between two groups of students.

“Some believe that it was wrong for another to take picture and welcome the President, Jonathan, while others believe it is not, especially when it is done without their consent.

“It is just a friendly fight. All that happened was that a group felt they were not carried along.”

Source: The Punch Newspaper

This is getting more interesting.

When all is said and done, all we want is peace in 2015 and beyond. May GOD grant our political leaders the wisdom to pilot the affairs of the nation without heating up the polity. GOD bless the Federal Republic of Nigeria!

Quite possible. Might depend on family history

Given the fact that Ekiti State is a homogeneous one with the people having shared values, culture and food amongst others, It would be fascinating to see both parties relate like the brothers that they are and not divide the State along political party lines all the time. After all is said and done, what matters is the development of Ekiti State and the wellbeing of its people. GOD bless Ekiti State; GOD bless Nigeria! May peace continue to reign in the land.