₦airaland Forum

manpeople:
Your answers would be availed online as i shall be going there with my Laptop.

We won't mind pictures too!

"Oliver twist"

Many thanks Man[/b]ofthe[b]People for your prompt reply.

We look forward to your report.

johnie:
BTW Man[/b]of the[b]People,

Do you mind posting your updates on the following thread?

https://www.nairaland.com/nigeria/topic-367311.224.html

This is so we don't derail this thread.

Thanks.

manpeople:
More information to be obtained this weekend as I shall be passing through the axis to see things for myself.

Hi Manpeople,

Any updates from your weekend trip?

Thanks!

Is there any info you can give this poster?

[quote author=baba_eko link=topic=367311.msg6235250#msg6235250 date=1276811112]Does anyone know anything about Sangotedo around Okun Mopo road. I drove to Okun Mopo Akinlade recently and the place is still scantly developed, mostly sandy areas with little or no building. Also, there are no good roads around that area, if one is driving and you steer to the wrong side, your car can be stuck in sand.

I want to know details of coming development towards Sangotedo and also, what about Okun Ajah ?[/quote]on this thread:

https://www.nairaland.com/nigeria/topic-367311.224.html#msg6235250

Lekki Phase 1 revocations: not if but when

18th January 2010 was to be 'D' (or 'R' for revocation) day. The Lagos State Government warned all Allottees of land in Lekki Phase 1 that if they do not develop their land by that date, their allocation/title would be revoked. The exact wording was: the Government has observed with great concern that some of the Allottees in the scheme have left their land allocations undeveloped after several years of the said allocation, thereby encouraging illegal activities of squatters with unsightly shanties have continued to fester within the scheme at alarming rate. The Government however explained that in order to put an end to the said illegal activities of squatters, clear the scheme of the present existing shanties and discourage unnecessary land speculation within the scheme; it is directing all the Allottees who have not taken physical possession of their plots of land should within the next three months do so after obtaining necessary building approval.


Any Allottee who refuses/fails to commence physical development on his/her plots of land in line with the deadline will have his/her allocation revoked and such land re-allocated to those who genuinely require land for housing development. Allottees should therefore note that building approvals for those who are ready to develop their plots of land in compliance with this notice would be fast-tracked.

This was in October 2009. In January 2010, another Notice issued by the Lands Bureau reiterated the warning but January 18, 2010 came and passed without any revocation notices being issued. Nosing around CASTLES learnt that there was an official but undocumented extension of the revocation period by three months as a lot of pressure was brought to bear by interested parties including the Residents Association of the estate. The basis of their arguments was that the period was too short bearing in mind the procedure for obtaining building approval in the country and the credit crunch which would affect the financial ability of the Allottees to 'move to site'. This 'extension' should have expired on 18th April 2010 but still there were no revocation Notices issued by Government. Some have speculated that the political face off between Governor Babatunde Fashola and Asiwaju Bola Tinubu/The Lagos House of Assembly could have contributed to this as quite a number of influential personalities would have been affected and this would have compounded the case against the serving Governor other have said that the pace with which a number of affected Allottees moved to site (some even without Building Approval) stilled the hand of His Excellency as even a casual observer in the estate would regard it as a gargantuan building site. Yet others have said that the reason for the Notice was to force Allottees to apply for Building Approvals which would contribute quite substantially to the Government's purse as the fees for each plot are in the hundreds of thousands of Naira.

Whatever the reason, the sword did not fall on the affected persons. However CASTLES has learnt that the plans to revoked affected titles has not been cancelled and it is a question of time as the list of affected plots is constantly being updated and surveys of the estate continuously carried out. When the order would be given will come as a surprise even to power brokers as they have the ability to turn on the pressure if they get wind of such action. The revocations would not be wholesale as exemptions would be given. Fresh purchasers of plots who have applied for Governors Consent on the transactions and those actively pursuing buildings approvals would be exempted. All others must wait with baited breath for the Fashola fiat on the revocation to come.

Source: http://www.castlesweekly.com/ShowArticle.aspx?ID=970

Is there any info you can give this person?

[quote author=baba_eko link=topic=367311.msg6235250#msg6235250 date=1276811112]Does anyone know anything about Sangotedo around Okun Mopo road. I drove to Okun Mopo Akinlade recently and the place is still scantly developed, mostly sandy areas with little or no building. Also, there are no good roads around that area, if one is driving and you steer to the wrong side, your car can be stuck in sand.

I want to know details of coming development towards Sangotedo and also, what about Okun Ajah ?[/quote]on this thread:

https://www.nairaland.com/nigeria/topic-367311.224.html#msg6235250

‘There is need to construct proposed Coastal Road simultaneously with Lekki-Epe Expressway to serve as alternative’ .
Tuesday, 08 June 2010 00:00 Nigerian Compass  .Mr. Wole Akala, the Executive Director of First Marina Trust Limited is the Chairman of Lekki Residents’ Association in Lagos. In an interview with journalists penultimate week, he spoke about

the state of infrastructure development in Lekki Phase 1; efforts of the Lagos State Government and residents to promote orderliness in the estate; reaction of residents to the issues of Land Use Charge and the alleged revocation of plots of land in the axis. He also spoke his mind concerning the Lekki-Epe Toll road; expectations of residents and the need to construct the proposed Coastal Road as an alternative route to allay fear being expressed by the people. DAYO AYEYEMI was there.

WHAT is the level of infrastructure development in Lekki phase 1?

I need, to update you on the current infrastructure, that we have in Lekki. Well, I have the privilege to be living in Lekki for like 9 years now, so I have a comprehensive knowledge of the developmental stages of infrastructure there. Some seven years ago, you would recall that we have what is very close to Tsunami then. It was then that the government realised that we have a fundamental drainage problem. But again, I will give it to the administration of Bola Tinubu . He came and I think the government did a comprehensive survey of where the problem lied and they were able to channel a major drainage probably into the Lagoon. And even since then, we have been recording pockets of flood because of the nature of the place being a reclaimed area and an island. So, what we have been recording is not totally out of place. So I will say that the drainage issue has been addressed. What we have in our hands now is to maintain, is to keep regularly by cleaning it and keeping the drainage free which is more of maintenance.

So what are we doing as to that? My administration decided to have a kind of a zonal driven administration. Something of this nature, we believe it is better managed by each of the zone. We withdrew a little of where we think it is the exclusive right of the zone from what we consider as the exclusive right of the centre. And in some cases, they are interwoven. In the case of drainage, it is interwoven. You have to first clean your nuclear drainage while we limit ourselves to the major drainages that flush into the lagoon. So that is the plan we have in terms of drainage. When we talk of how well, it is still an ongoing thing because Lekki is still evolving, it’s still emerging, people are still building, so we don’t have a choice than to continually improve on that drainage system that we have on ground.

Another infrastructure that it is important is the road network. Again, if you compare what we have today with what we have just a year ago in Lekki, it is just a paradigm shift. And this is because of what? Within the last one year, I can sit down here and tell you that the government of Lagos State have embarked on more than 50 roads within Lekki. It has constructed more than 50 road projects and as I am talking, they have more that 10 ongoing projects but that is not to say that we don’t have some major roads that are not being attended to. And the reason is this; the immediate past administration did not enjoy the kind of cordial relationship which is being enjoyed with the New Towns Development Authority (NTDA). Lagos State gave the management of Lekki to the NTDA. I don’t know whether by law or anything so to say, we have just being lucky to have a very cordial relationship with them. How does that interprete to what I am talking about now? We discover that they don’t live in Lekki; they just take decisions in their various offices, and the decisions at times need inputs from the residents. We realised that they have been doing roads but some are more important than the other. At times, they concentrate on some sojourning roads and abandoned the main roads.

At times, we seem not to appreciate the efforts of the government because they are not carrying the residents along; they are not taking inputs from them. So we have been able to break such barriers now that on regular basis, at least, I can tell you that since this administration came into existence, at least once in a month, we have cause to meet with the NTDA people. Exactly a week ago, they came on a site visit to Lekki to sensitise themselves we what we have been talking about. And most importantly, I told them that if nobody has brought it to their knowledge, road 14 is a very strategic road which needs to be done urgently; because if they do it, it has a link to many roads such as Fola Osibo, Admiralty Way, Durosimi Eti and other strategic roads. This road we serve like a kind of link. And they confided in me that anybody could have been telling us that that road has been awarded. They authoritatively told me that the road has been awarded but it is just awarded this year. This gives a ray of hope but again I want to say further that I would have loved to have the contractor who they awarded the road to so that I can directly relate with him.

The other one is how to deal with the power supply. I will say the situation is very deplorable now and in fact, it is a national disgrace but what we do is to talk to them from time to time at least, to eliminate what we consider as local problems. If it is an issue of transform, that becomes localized; if it an issue of feeders station, it becomes localized; so we put pressure on them to get all those ones rectified and put in place. Water itself is not flowing too well. The reticulation has been disturbed by the road construction. This is so because we have not been consulted and contacted. We would have come out with a plan in order to know the sequence of how to approach these things because they are all interrelated; but again, we are on top of all these things. One thing is to identify the problems, all these have been identified and the next thing is to address the problems.

How do you receive the news of the new Land Use Charge in Lekki?
What I will say to that is that it is the perogative of the government to come up with charges. Although we have the right to challenge whatever the government have done constructively. And how do we do this? We have to get some other similar estates all over the federation or within our own area and get exactly what they are paying so that we can make a constructive argument. But on that, I can tell you that we just came in and again, it’s a matter of priority. We have not got to that state of fighting or soliciting for the government to reduce charges yet. We are much more concern about security and putting infrastructure in place; but that is the way we are going to approach it. If they bring it formally to us and they want us to pick it up as an issue for the estate, of course we are there to serve them. The government has the right to levy charges and we have the right to bring constructive argument backed with figures to them in the event we need to press for reduction.

Recently the government revoked some plots of land in Lekki Phase 1 on the basis that owners of such plots refused to develop them after many years of allocation. How did you receive the news?

I will not agree that the government revoked plots; rather they just have the intention. The intension was clear that they want to revoke but they haven’t revoked. I have it on record that the residents’ association placed adverts in the papers after the expiration of the timeframe the government gave, praising the executive governor of Lagos State on the good things he has done not only to Lagos in general but to Lekki particularly. But then, we seized that opportunity to appeal to the government to soft- pedal on the issue of revocation been proposed; and we gave him reasons that this is not the best of time for the government to say that people should go if they are not interested to develop their plots. It is going to be double barrel attack on people because the economy is there biting very hard; people are struggling and in fact, survival is the key word now and the government should be sensitive. Yes, the argument is that the government want to use that to combat crime, they realised that a lot of shanties habour crime and they want to attack crime from that angle; but as you are doing that, let us be looking at the other side effects of the decision on the general climate of the country. We tried to appeal to them to see the issue from another angle. Trying to revoke people’s land is not something good and again, they should put a reasonable time for people to go in and develop their plots of land. I was privileged to tell you that the message got across to the governor and based on that, he instructed the appropriate authority to at least put it on hold. So that is why I will tell you that to the best of my knowledge, I am not aware of any land that has been revoked.

How are you and other residents of Lekki axis taking the issue of Lekki-Epe Toll Road?
Just like I mentioned in one interview TV Continental granted me about two days ago, I said that whichever way we want to look at the road construction; not only the Lekki-Epe Expressway, we have the Bourdillon-Lekki Bridge. Whichever way anybody wants to look at it, these are two laudable projects. How they are being managed, that is a different ball game entirely. This is a debate for another day but I will say something that, as for me, I have been living there for nine years, human memory has been very short, I remembered the way Lekki was when I moved in and I can put side by side what I am seeing today. Lekki can compete with any part in the world. I am privilege to have travelled to many places in the world, so I can talk like an authority in that area.

Lekki is an estate that in another year, whoever has a property in Lekki will be proud that he has a property there. He can invite anyone from every nook and cranny of the world, they will not be able to fault that environment in terms of standard. That is my opinion and I will like to say that Lekki is elitist; the majority are enlightened and well traveled; so if they want to really face the reality, I don’t believe that they have an objection to the value that the road is going to add to their property. To speak their minds to some extent, I want to say the residents are happy with it, but whether they now want to pay, that is human approach- I mean no human being want to part with any dime.

I will tell you that I have a lot of people that are against paying especially the one on Lekki-Epe Expressway because what they are saying is that that one is not a new road. It is a kind of a refurbished road unlike the Osborne-Lekki Bridge that is a new one. So to them, and because that one is a new initiative, they consider it decent to pay. On the Lekki-Epe Road, I am already facing a lot of battle from the residents. That is not to say that some people do not think we should pay, they just think the payment should be reasonable.

People in Lekki are also yearning for alternative road. What is your view about this?
It is a concept we have put to the Lekki Concession Company (LCC) and the company has been to our estate several times to enlighten people on what they are doing. What they call the alternative route is, if you come out through the first gate of Lekki, you negotiate the roundabout as if you are going to Epe, on the immediate right, you come in to Oniru and thereafter, you can find your way to Victoria Island. It is an alternative route. But the question is that, is the alternative route done in a proper way to really do the job of being an alternative route? You can imagine if on that Lekki-Epe axis, we are experiencing that kind of traffic, and they now say that well, maybe half of you and because you cannot afford the money, you can go through Oniru Road? Is Oniru designed enough to accommodate the traffic? Structurally, I mean in terms of space, is Oniru road has been designed to accommodate that? If you ask me, I will say no. They can tell us there is a route there but I will not consider that as a proper alternative route. If you ask me what do I consider as proper alternative route? I know there is supposed to be this Coastal Road. The Coastal Road, I know will be wide enough, will run through Victoria Island, run through Epe axis, and I think there is need for them to start doing that road simultaneously as they are doing the Lekki-Epe Expressway. If they can start that, I will, to some extent believe in them that they have alternative road.

Source: http://www.compassnewspaper.com/NG/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=52715&Itemid=710

Thu Jun 17 11:58am EDT

Kaita's red card could be this World Cup's worst
By Brooks Peck



It was hardly Zidane headbutting Materazzi in the 2006 final, but Sani Kaita's straight red card for kicking out at Vasilas Torosidis in the 33rd minute of Nigeria's 2-1 loss to Greece looks likely to be the silliest foul/sending off of this World Cup.

[Photos: See more of Sani Kaitahttp:///bXjkoE]

With Nigeria up 1-0 after an early goal, Kaita and Torosidis came together in an awkward clash as they both chased down a wayward ball and Torosidis collected it for a throw in. Torosidis made like he was going to shove the ball at Kaita, who almost reflexively kicked out at the Greek defender, grazing his leg with his foot. Well, Torosidis made the most of it and went to the ground with dramatic flair to be sure the referee saw what happened. He did and Kaita was sent off. Have a look,


https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dgj1l9vUyhU&feature=player_embedded

Kaita immediately regretted the act and trudged off the pitch with his shirt covering his face. Greece went on to score a pair of goals while a man up - including the winner from Torosidis himself - and earned their first ever World Cup victory. And they have Kaita to thank for that. 

Of course, there are a lot of matches left to go and you never know what Rino Gattuso will do under a full moon, but this could be hard to beat. 

Photo: Getty Images

Source: http://g.sports.yahoo.com/soccer/world-cup/blog/dirty-tackle/post/Kaita-s-red-card-could-be-this-World-Cup-s-worst?urn=sow,249204

My sentiments exactly.

I remember that in the world cup Michel Platini played last (Espana 82, if i can remember correctly), there was only ONE black player in the french team  - Jean Tigana who I beleive was of Malian descent.

While others are studying us and exploting our weakness(es), we are making the same mistake.

Watch all our old international matches, particularly at the world cup from Peter Rufai, through Shoromu down to Enyeama, set pieces have been our archilles heel.

Imagine the same Juan Sebastian Veron who provided the freekick that produced the only goal in our match against Argentina in 2002 doing the same in 2010.

The only difference is that this time the header was from Heize not Batistuta.

Too bad!

2010

Argentina's coach,  Maradona, based on his past experience with Nigeria came up with a perfect startegy to score at corner kicks (http://g.sports.yahoo.com/soccer/world-cup/news/south-korea-will-have-to-stop-argentinas--fbintl_ap-wcup-argentina-skorea.html):


But Argentina’s players have been heaping praise on Maradona this week—and united in crediting him for Gabriel Heinze’s diving header from a corner, which proved just enough to beat Nigeria.

“Diego prepared us for a move like that,” Veron, who supplied the corner, said Tuesday. “Luckily, it came off first time.”

The players said Maradona had been studying how Nigeria defended corners, and concluded that it would be best to exploit a perceived vulnerability by floating the ball to the edge of their area for an onrushing Argentine player to strike, as opposed to placing it nearer Nigeria’s imposing defenders.

“Heinze’s goal was the work of Diego,” said defender Martin Demichelis. “Diego prepared everything to perfection.”



2002:
Batistuta scored from a corner-kick in their 1-0 win over Nigeria at Korea-Japan 2002 (http://www.usatoday.com/sports/scores102/102152/20020602WCS--NIGERIA---0.htm#RCPS):

IBARAKI, Japan (Ticker) -- They don't call him "BatiGol" for  nothing.

Selecting Gabriel Batistuta proved to be the right decision for coach Marcelo Bielsa as the striker scored the lone goal in Argentina's 1-0 victory over Nigeria in the opening Group F match.

"Gabriel Batistuta has waited a long time for this World Cup, he did well and all the other forwards did well," Argentina midfielder Juan Sebastian Veron said.

Argentina's all-time goal-scoring leader, Batistuta's 63rd-minute header raised his total to 56 goals in 76 appearances.  However, the 33-year-old forward was replaced with nine minutes left and was treated on the bench for an apparent right calf injury.

After not looking sharp early, Batistuta elevated above a group of players at the far post to get on the end of Veron's corner kick, beating goalkeeper Ike Shorunmu to the short side. "It was a big loss, but we have two more games," Shorunmu said. "We lost concentration."

Bielsa was forced to choose between Batistuta and another world-class marksman, Hernan Crespo, to start at center forward and his decision made him look like a genius.

1994
It was a hastily taken Maradona free-kick that led to one of Argentina's two goals against Nigeria.


When are we going to learn?

This excerpt from the website of Hi-Tech (the engineering company working on the expansion of the Lekki Expressway), though dated, claims that the coastal road is planned to be an eight lane highway:


"the Estate, on its nothern boundary, has a direct access to the existing Epe Expressway, while the southern boundary has access to a beautiful unspoilt tropical beach on the Atlantic coast.

The Planned expansion of the existing Epe Expressway to 6 lanes is due to commence in 2005, while the construction of the 8 lanes Coastal Highway accessing the southern boundary of the Estate is due to commence in 2006. These`major axial roads will provide excellent accessibility to the Estate from either boundary."

See http://www.hitech-company.com/EkoAketePropertyDevelopment.html


I hope this coastal road would not turn into another fourth (4th) mainland dream bridge.

Tinubu when campaigning for  a second term asked us to "imagine" a 4th mainland bridge.

Almost eight years after, we are still imagining it!

BTW Man[/b]of the[b]People,

Do you mind posting your updates on the following thread?

https://www.nairaland.com/nigeria/topic-367311.224.html

This is so we don't derail this thread.

Thanks.

Lagos, subscribers agree on Lekki II development

By Akinpelu Dada
Published:Punch, 31st May 2010
The failure of the Lekki Peninsula Scheme II to attract swift development 16 years after it was created has been a source of worry to the Lagos State Government and subscribers, who were allocated plots in the prime scheme. The scheme was meant to be an extension of the popular Lekki Peninsula Residential Scheme I.

Fear of possible revocation of the right of occupancy to the plots had gripped most of the allottees following consistent government prompting for them to move to the site and commence development.

Pointing to similar lines of action in Lekki Residential Scheme I and Magodo GRA, where the government had revoked the Certificates-of-Occupancy of undeveloped plots of land, the allottees had taken the various government notices seriously.

But our correspondent gathered that they had been hampered by the marshy terrain of Lekki II, which had prevented over 90 per cent of the subscribers from building there.

At a stakeholders‘ forum convened by the government earlier in the month, indications had emerged that the worrying state of affairs might soon give way to unprecedented development in the highbrow enclave, located around the Sangotedo area, of the Lekki-Epe Expressway.

Part of the resolutions reached at the forum was the resolve of the allottees to partner government on sand-filling their swampy plots so that they could commence developments as soon as practicable.

The allottees, especially those whose plots fell within blocks 37, 38 and 39, had complained of inadequate funds to reclaim their plots, which needed massive sand-filling before they could erect any structure there.

Based on the popularity of the earlier Lekki Peninsula Residential Scheme I, real estate savvy investors had immediately subscribed to the new scheme, which had over 2,000 residential.

But their hopes of immediate development was dashed when they realised that the area was water logged and that the relevant government agencies were initially reluctant to provide the necessary infrastructure.

Speaking at the forum, the Permanent Secretary, Lands Bureau, Mr. Gbenga Ashafa, said that the meeting was the initiatives of the newly appointed General Manager of the New Towns Development Authority, Dr. Adeyemi Isiba.

He said Governor Babatunde Fashola had welcomed the idea of convening the meeting and advised that a democratic approach be adopted on the issue with the government collaborating with the allottees and seeking their opinion rather than imposing any decision on them.

According to Ashafa, the Fashola administration has reiterated its commitment to finding solutions to the problems that have posed a threat to the realisation of its various programmes, especially in the area of development of residential schemes.

He urged the allottees to interact freely and come up with different ideas to solve the problem of slow development of Lekki Peninsula Scheme II.

Isiba said that he had visited the scheme and was highly disappointed by the level of development that had taken place so far, noting that the infrastructure already provided was deteriorating at an alarming rate due to the inability of subscribers to take possession.

He said that the reality of the scheme was that the allottees needed to raise the street and floor levels by about one metre by sand-filling their plots in order not to encounter flood problems.

He, however, said that the issue had been looked into from an engineering point of view and it was concluded that joint sand filling by both parties would be the best solution.

The statement quoted some of the allottees, Mr. Olatunbosun Oke, Mrs. Atotileto and Miss Ayo Ajose-Adeogun, as commending the idea of the forum and expressing their support for the joint sand filling proposal.

Other stakeholders present at the forum also supported the idea and commended the government for using a democratic approach to handle the problem instead of unilaterally imposing unrealistic conditions and fees on them.

Source: http://www.naijaproperties.com/news_193.php

Thanks Man[/b]ofthe[b]People

Please keep us updated.

Lagos, Allottees Partner To Develop Lekki Scheme II

The Lekki Peninsula Scheme II is to witness rapid development as allottees have resolved to partner with the Lagos State government to sand-fill the swampy plots.

Allotees, especially those whose plots fell within blocks 37, 38 and 39, complained of inadequate funds to reclaim their plots, which needed sand filling before they could erect any structure.

The scheme was established in 1994 as an extension of Lekki Scheme I in order to provide home ownership to the people of Lagos State, Nigeria.

The Scheme with over 2,000 residential plots had been fully subscribed, but had no development in place despite availability of infrastructure.

Worried by the low development of the scheme a stakeholder meeting was held where the allottees decided to partner with the state government in sand filling the swamp.

Permanent Secretary, Lands Bureau, Mr. Gbenga Ashafa, said the idea of the stakeholders meeting was the initiative of the newly employed General Manager, New Towns Development Authority, NTDA.

According to him, the present administration had reiterated its commitment to finding solution to the problems that has posed a threat to the realisation of its various programmes, especially in the area of development of schemes.

Ashafa enjoined the allottees to interact freely and come up with different ideas aimed at finding solution to the present problem of low development in Lekki scheme II.

General Manager, NTDA, Dr. Adeyemi Isiba, said he visited the scheme and was highly disappointed by the level of development that had taken place so far.

He added that the level of infrastructure in Lekki Scheme II was deteriorating everyday in the absence of development by allottees, lamenting that some parts of the scheme had been turned into refuse dumps.

“I felt so bad and I think we cannot just fold our arms and watch our infrastructure deteriorate; we need to act fast. The reality of Lekki II is that the street level and the floor level is about one metre; this will pose a lot of problems, like flooding for the allottees if their plots are not sand filled to the level of the road,” he said.

Source: http://pmnewsnigeria.com/2010/06/11/lagos-allottees-partner-to-develop-lekki-scheme-ii/

manpeople:
The work is expected to flow from the Alpha Beach to Okun Ajah road. it is not to serve as an alternative route to the toll gate express as unconfirmed report has it that it would be checked towards the Alpha beach axis. That is another sad part.

Kindly explain what you mean by it being "CHECKED towards the alpha beach axis."

Is it being handled by the Local government or the state government?

Any sign of commncement of work on the site?

Thanks!

manpeople:
Guys, top of the day.

I was at Okun-Ajah over the weekend in my usual shunting for genuine land from reputable familes and was infomed at the Baale's palace that work will commence soon at the Alpha/okun ajah axis. This I went further to confirm from the Chairman of Okun-Ajah Community Development Association.

What exactly is planned?

Work on the Alpha beach - Okun Ajah road?

Is it going to be the alternate access route for the toll plaza/expressway?

Welcome to Goal.com's regular feature: Goal.com World Player of the Week. Each week our worldwide team of editors will put forward a selected candidate, as chosen by Goal.com International, who deserves recognition for achieving something special that matchday. It won't necessarily be the best player in the world - at least not usually - but whoever we nominate will have done something amazing. It might be for a particularly awesome performance or for something praiseworthy off the pitch - either way, the person in question deserves special attention…

Goal.com World Player of the Week #56: Vincent Enyeama
Club: Hapoel Tel Aviv
Country: Nigeria
Age: 27
Role: Goalkeeper
Castrol Ranking: n/a
Achievement: Man of the match performance against Argentina

When Lionel Messi describes you as 'phenomenal' you know you have done something right. And that is exactly the compliment that the Argentina number 10 paid to Nigeria's goalkeeper, Vincent Enyeama, after the sides met in their opening Group B World Cup match on Saturday.

The shot-stopper put on a majestic display to limit the South Americans to only one goal during the meeting. Gabriel Heinze may have beaten Enyeama with a header but the Argentinians could not further breach his goal. The Hapoel Tel Aviv netminder made a string of world class saves to keep the Super Eagles in the game right until the end.

Gonzalo Higuain and Messi tried to beat the 27-year-old but were met only with sturdy resistance.

Indeed, Diego Maradona's team were hanging on close to the final whistle as the west Africans pushed for an unlikely equaliser. And they had Enyeama, singlehandedly, to thank for that platform.

A better goalkeeping performance in this World Cup you will be unlikely to see.


Congratulations to Vincent, Goal.com's 56th World Player of the Week!

Honourable Mentions:

Mesut Oezil - Germany

Ran the show for the Germans as a traditional playmaker, providing key passes as die Nationalmannschaft destroyed Australia. A player in the mould of Wolfgang Overath and Thomas Haessler.

Asamoah Gyan - Ghana

Netted the vital penalty to give the Black Stars a 1-0 win over Serbia, Africa's first three points of the World Cup. The Rennes forward ran Nemanja Vidic ragged.

I hope we'll be able to maintain this.

mykali:
in that 2nd pic . . .he looks like a Grandfather giving his Grandson some advise.

johnie:
World Cup-bound Cameroon, who fell behind after a Rigobert Song blunder, moved to second in Group D on three points from two matches, one behind Gabon, who were earlier held 0-0 by Tunisia.

Song, who was also at fault for the goal his side conceded to Gabon in their opener, headed a Zambian cross onto his keeper, who only managed to parry the ball towards striker Jacob Mulenga, who tapped the ball home.

Inter Milan striker Samuel Eto'o then recaptured his scoring instinct with perfect timing to put Cameroon ahead.

Eto'o, a pale shadow of his brilliant self since the tournament started, thought he had struck the winner when he fired home a crossed shot from inside the box in the 72nd minute.

More like the grandfather telling the grandson he would do everything to avoid any howler this time.

Mon, Jan 18th, 2010 9:29 am BdST Dial 2000 from your GP mobile for latest news   



LUBANGO, Angola, Jan 18 (bdnews24.com/Reuters) - Cameroon, finalists in 2008, came back from the brink of elimination to scrape past Zambia 3-2 and revive their African Nations Cup campaign on Sunday.

World Cup-bound Cameroon, who fell behind after a Rigobert Song blunder, moved to second in Group D on three points from two matches, one behind Gabon, who were earlier held 0-0 by Tunisia.

Tunisia have two points, one more than Zambia, who will face Gabon on Thursday in the last round of matches.

Victory against Tunisia will secure the Indomitable Lions' place in the last eight, but that game could well have meant nothing had it not been for a defiant fightback.

It took only eight minutes for Zambia to take the lead thanks to the 34-year-old Song, playing in a record eighth Nations Cup finals for Cameroon.

Song, who was also at fault for the goal his side conceded to Gabon in their opener, headed a Zambian cross onto his keeper, who only managed to parry the ball towards striker Jacob Mulenga, who tapped the ball home. Zambia held on until the 68th minute when keeper Kennedy Mweene failed to control a seemingly harmless cross that went under his belly before crossing the line.

Inter Milan striker Samuel Eto'o then recaptured his scoring instinct with perfect timing to put Cameroon ahead.

Eto'o, a pale shadow of his brilliant self since the tournament started, thought he had struck the winner when he fired home a crossed shot from inside the box in the 72nd minute.
Paul Le Guen's side, however, conceded a penalty converted by Chris Katongo in the 81st minute, only for Mohamadou Idrissou, who had started on the bench, to head home with four minutes left from a Geremi cross.

The lively encounter was in sharp contrast to the rain-hit curtain-raiser between Gabon and Tunisia in Lubango.

The Gabon Panthers dominated throughout but proved too clumsy to snatch their place in the quarter-finals with one game to spare.

With the rain pelting down after the break, Gabon were denied a last-minute penalty when Ammar Jemel brought Daniel Cousin down in the area.


Source: http://www.bdnews24.com/details.php?id=151262&cid=19

News item relating to the renovation of the school:


Ikota Primary School gets LCC’s support
Tuesday, 08 June 2010 01:13 Philip Okafor

The pupils and teachers of Ikota Primary School, Ikota in the Lekki Peninsula of Lagos State were in a festive mood on pen-ultimate Friday when the LCC Safety First and Beautification project was handed over to the school’s management.
The initiative aimed at ensuring that adequate road safety standards are in place for the pupils as well as provide for them an environment that is conducive for both work and play. It was sponsored by the Lekki Concession Company (LCC) as part of its community support and development programme.

The project, which resulted in a welcome facelift for the school’s premises as well as provided its pupils and teachers with basic infrastructure, involved the construction of a car park with walkways and road safety signs, the installation of goal posts with nets and planting of grass on a football pitch, landscaping and beautification of the school’s premises, the provision of a water supply facility and the donation of a power generator.

Maintenance work on the initiative will be sustained by LCC over the next two months, after which responsibility will be transferred to the school’s management.

The executive chairman of Eti-Osa local government, Olanrewaju Elegushi, commended the initiative, describing it as being in line with the modernization earmarked by the local government council for public schools in Eti-Osa. “We thank the management and staff of LCC for this gesture. We appreciate it very much and we look forward to having more of its kind in the future,” he said.

Stressing the importance of ensuring that a proper maintenance culture is imbibed by the beneficiaries of the initiative, Eleguish added that such disposition would facilitate the sustainability of the project. Also speaking, the headmaster of the school, Adebola Onanuga praised the effort of LCC, assuring of the school’s commitment towards making the initiative a sustainable one.

Charles Imevbore, head of corporate affairs and communications, LCC, reiterated the company’s interest and commitment towards ensuring that appropriate measures are taken to ensure the safety of children in the area.



“The Ikota Primary School Safety First and Beautification project is the pilot in a series of community development initiatives of this kind to be implemented by LCC,” he said, promising of that the company would identify other areas of partnership with the Eti-Osa Local Government towards the sustained development of its communities.

He thanked the people of Eti-Osa for the kind assistance given to LCC since the commencement of the rehabilitation and upgrade of the Lekki-Epe Expressway, stressing that the project would have been impossible without the partnership and support.

This project is one of several initiatives undertaken by LCC over the past few months, in furtherance of its community support and development initiative. Other completed projects include the donation and installation of electricity transformers and substation installations to four different communities in the Eti-Osa local council development area.

Source: http://www.businessdayonline.com/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=11679:ikota-primary-school-gets-lccs-support-&catid=89:learning&Itemid=347

As tension builds ahead of the start of a tournament that's taken four years to finally get here, some managers are lashing out at the press, while others are moaning about how their country is never the favorite to win, but Maradona - for his madness and insanely expensive toilet seats - has decided to keep things fun.

After a little training session intra-squad match, Maradona let the winning side fire shots at the losing side's rears and even bent over for a bit of punishment himself. Granted, this activity isn't terribly unusual and can be spotted at training grounds everywhere, but it's not the type of thing you typically see days before playing in the World Cup. 

Don't be surprised if a relaxed Argentina side get off to a fast start is all I'm saying. Also don't be surprised if half the players find it difficult to sit down for the next few days. 

See video here:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SVWlPr8QH8Y&feature=player_embedded

Source: http://g.sports.yahoo.com/soccer/world-cup/blog/dirty-tackle/post/Maradona-takes-light-yet-stinging-approach-to-t?urn=sow,247015

No that's not Hulk Hogan!

No, that's not Djibril Cisse either!

Its Rigobert Song!

Yes, the same "old" Song!

johnie:
Recently, I observed that the sign board had been vandalised with the logo of LCC removed from the sign board.

While I understand the grievance of the people with the issue of non provision of an alternate access route and support their right to peaceful protest, I believe all forms of violent protests and vandalism should be condemned.

There is a school located very close to the second toll plaza that has been "beautified" by the LCC.

The beautification project, from what I could see from the outside, basically covers the construction of a football playing flied, landscaping and erection of various road safety signs within and around the school. The bulding have also been painted and some roffing sheets replaced.

LCC erected a sign board very close to the express way signaling the project.

Recently, I observed that the sign board had been vandalised wth the logo of LCC removed from the sign board.

Pic 1: The vandalised sign board
pic 2-4: The school compond seen from the express way (observe the safety signs in yellow an white/red, football field, replaced roofing sheets as well as painted buildings)

[quote author=phuck_NL link=topic=367311.msg5930329#msg5930329 date=1271863438]Like joke like joke, una no go gree post this pics abi?
Una well done ooh. Okay, the first person to post the pics go receive 100 dolls. [/quote]I'm waiting for the USD100.00!

Graffiti & Poster

The campaign aganist the tolling and fencing of the expressway is revving up.

Graffiti, posters and boards denouncing the tolling and fencing of the road are springing up.

Boards:

The former entrance to the Palms Shopping Mall and Total Filling station from the express way has been fenced off.  Some sort of wire mesh fencing has been erected along with the concrete fence.

I am not quite sure why the mesh fence is being used in some places and the concrete in others. Probably for landscaping? or temporarily?

Pic 1 & 2: Wire mesh fencing at the former entrance (seen from the express way)
Pic 3: Concrete fence (seen from the Palms Shopping Mall entrance)

[quote author=X-2-X link=topic=367311.msg6136907#msg6136907 date=1275478116]+1. Johnie, your efforts are very much appreciated.

@Mod's, when will we get this on the front page?[/quote]Thanks X-2-X. Your assistance in resizing the first set of photos is appreciated.