₦airaland Forum

Motorists to pay toll on Lekki road
By Miriam Ndikanwu 14 hours 1 minute ago

Motorists plying the Lekki-Epe Expressway would soon begin to pay toll on the road redeveloped by Messrs Lekki Concession Company (LCC), it was learnt yesterday.

Lagos State Governor Babatunde Fashola has lifted the January 3 suspension on toll collection by the concessionaire.

The governor stayed action on the collection in the wake of demonstration and criticisms by stakeholders on the Lekki corridor.

Fashola spoke at the presentation of next year’s budget estimates to the House of Assembly for approval.

He said the lifting of the suspension has become imperative because the state had lost N4billion to the non implementation of toll.

Justifying the action, the governor said: “The politically motivated resistance to the commencement of toll collection on the Eti-Osa, Lekki-Epe Expressway means that your government had to part with N4 billion for year 2011 which could have been used to provide more schools, inner roads, hospitals and social needs in Eti-Osa, Ibeju-Lekki and Epe areas.”

[b] He described the development as a sensible and necessary decision in order to maintain the much-needed and growing investor confidence in the Lagos economy, maintain credit rating and reduce credit risk.

“It was critical to maintaining the stream of emerging investments required to create business opportunity and jobs for young people.” he added.

He explained that the government had an obligation to pay the concessionaire N4billion in accordance with the agreement it signed with Messrs LCC to commence operation of the toll.

He, however, commended the Federal Government’s decision to lift the ban on toll collection, describing the decision as “sensible and necessary in order to maintain much needed and growing investor confidence in the Lagos economy, in order to maintain our credit rating and reduce our credit risk.”

“Regrettably, however, our financial realities cannot sustain such funding to the detriment of other developments that are crying out for funding in other parts of the state.

It is undeniable that Property values have appreciated in that area because of the road work on Eti-Osa-Lekki-Epe Expressway; we have also recently completed the Falomo ramp. It is only fair that the investors begin to collect their toll.”[/b]

http://www.thenationonlineng.net/2011/index.php/news-update/26329-motorists-to-pay-toll-on-lekki-road.html

Continued from https://www.nairaland.com/nigeria/topic-775701.0.html#msg9512960

That EU Referendum Debate

Here’s an exclusive photo of David Cameron in his office, preparing for the EU referendum debate in Parliament today. His ridiculous insistence on imposing a Tory three line whip* will mean that any attempt at a rebellion, by Conservative back bench MPs, will be met with threats to end any future promotion within the government.


David Cameron knows best.

Yeah right!

Whatever happened to an MP being able to represent the views of the constituents that voted for them. It’s a rhetorical question of course. There’s no such thing as a ‘free vote’, no matter which political party you belong to. Conservatives, Labour, Lib Dem et al. They really are all in it together.

Democracy is dead in the UK.

Welcome to the EUSSR.

With knobs on.

.

* three line whip – A tool used in the British Parliamentary system to undermine democracy

http://www.maxfarquar.com/2011/10/david-cameron-eu-referendum-debate-three-line-whip/

Graph Of The Week

I came across an interesting little gadget on the Google Books website … it’s called an Ngram Viewer. It enables you to search for any word or phrase, contained amongst the books in its vast library, over a set period of time. It will then produce a graph showing the prevalence of your chosen words or phrases in comparison to each other.

Just for fun (?), I decided to do a comparison between the phrases of ‘democratic government’ and ‘European Union’, during the 50 year period from 1958 through to 2008*.

Interesting result, eh.




* I wanted to do the last 50 years back from 2011 but 2008 is the latest year it will go to

http://www.maxfarquar.com/2011/10/european-union-graph-of-the-day/

Just A Coincidence

Let us consider two recent developments within the €urozone …

    George Papandreou, elected prime minister of Greece, ‘resigns’ and is ‘replaced’ by the unelected Lucas Papademos, an economist who was Vice President of the European Central Bank from 2002 to 2010 prior to becoming an ‘advisor’ to the Greek government.

    Silvio Berlusconi, elected prime minister of Italy, ‘resigns’ and is ‘replaced’ by the unelected Mario Monti, an economist who was European Commissioner for Competition from 1999 to 2004 prior to becoming an ‘advisor’ to the Italian government.

Just a coincidence?

Or is there a pattern developing here?

Just asking.

http://www.maxfarquar.com/2011/11/just-a-coincidence-or-an-eu-conspiracy/

End of an era: Italy's Berlusconi resigns
NICOLE WINFIELD - Associated Press | AP – Sat, Nov 12, 2011


ROME (AP) — A chorus of Handel's "Alleluia" rang out Saturday as Silvio Berlusconi resigned as Italian premier, ending a tumultuous 17-year political era and setting in motion a transition aimed at bringing the country back from the brink of economic crisis.

Berlusconi stepped down amid jeers, cheers and heckles of "Buffoon" from thousands of people who packed downtown Rome to witness his government's downfall after a stunning week of market turmoil that upended his defiant hold on power and threatened to tear apart the eurozone.

Respected former European commissioner Mario Monti remained the top choice to try to steer the country out of its debt woes as the head of a transitional government. But the job is Herculean, given the enormity of reforms required and Italy's often-paralyzed parliament.

President Giorgio Napolitano will hold consultations Sunday morning with each of Italy's main political forces before proceeding with the expected request that Monti try to form a new government.

Napolitano has scheduled back-to-back, 10-minute meetings all morning, indicating the talks won't drag on and that by the open of markets Monday, Italy may well have charted a new political course.

Late Saturday, Berlusconi's party said it would support Monti, albeit with conditions.

In front of Napolitano's office, where Berlusconi handed in his resignation late Saturday, protesters uncorked sparkling wine and danced in a conga line, shouting "We're free!" Several dozen singers and classical musicians — complete with music stands and chairs — performed Handel's "Alleluia" to rejoice in the end of Berlusconi's scandal-marred reign and welcome Monti into office.

"I think he (Monti) is going to bring trust back to Italian people who are losing it, are a bit fed up with what's going on and have lost the trust and the respect" they had for Berlusconi, said Sophie Duffort of France, who was in the piazza Saturday night.

Berlusconi supporters were also out in force, some singing the national anthem, but they were vastly outnumbered.

His resignation was set in motion after the Chamber of Deputies approved economic reforms demanded by the European Union which include increasing the retirement age starting in 2026 but do nothing to open up Italy's inflexible labor market.

The Senate approved the legislation a day earlier and Napolitano signed it into law Saturday afternoon, paving the way for Berlusconi to leave office as he promised to do after losing his parliamentary majority earlier in the week.

Berlusconi stood as lawmakers applauded him in the parliament chamber immediately after the vote. But outside his office and in front of government palazzos across town, thousands of curiosity-seekers massing to witness his government's final hours heckled him and his ministers.

"Shame!" and "Get Out!" they yelled, many toting "Bye Bye Silvio Party" posters as they marched through downtown Rome in a festive indication that for many Italians, like financial markets, the time had come for Berlusconi to go.

It was an ignoble end for the 75-year-old billionaire media mogul, who came to power for the first time in 1994 using a soccer chant "Let's Go Italy" as the name of his political party and selling Italians on a dream of prosperity with his own personal story of transformation from cruise-ship crooner to Italy's richest man.

While he became Italy's longest-serving post-war premier, Berlusconi's three stints as premier were tainted by corruption trials and accusations that he used his political power to help his business interests.

His last term was marred by sex scandals, "bunga bunga" parties and criminal charges he paid a 17-year-old girl to have sex — accusations he denies.

In the end, his downfall came swiftly: Just last week Berlusconi boldly told a G-20 summit in Cannes, France, he was the only one who could steer Italy out of its economic morass. A week of battering on the markets and the defection of several party members later, his fate was sealed.


Italy is under intense pressure to quickly put in place a new and effective government to replace him, one that can push through even more painful reforms and austerity measures to deal with its staggering debts, which stand at euro1.9 trillion ($2.6 trillion), or a huge 120 percent of economic output. Italy has to roll over a little more than euro300 billion ($410 billion) of its debts next year alone.

Markets battered Italy this past week amid uncertainty that Berlusconi would really leave and questions over whether Italy's divided parliament could rally around a replacement. But Italy's borrowing rates pulled back after Napolitano made clear he intended to tap the politically neutral economist Monti to try to head an interim government to push the reforms through.

The yield on benchmark Italian 10-year bonds fell to 6.48 percent Friday, safely below the crisis level of 7 percent reached earlier this week.

Greece, Ireland and Portugal all required international bailouts after their own borrowing rates passed 7 percent. The Italian economy would not be so easy to save. It totals $2 trillion, twice as much as the other three countries combined.

An Italian default could tear apart the coalition of 17 countries that use the euro as a common currency and deal a strong blow to the economies of Europe and the U.S., both trying to avoid recessions.

The head of the International Monetary Fund, Christine Lagarde, said Saturday that Italy's political transition over the next few days should send a "clear sign of clarification and of credibility" that the country is now on the right path to get its finances back in order.

Speaking to reporters in Tokyo, Lagarde had high praise for Monti, saying she had great esteem for the "quality" economist with whom she had long enjoyed a "extremely warm" and effective relationship.

The IMF has a key role to play over the next few months in overseeing Italy's efforts to pull itself back from a Greek-style economic disaster, monitoring how it implements reforms to rein in debt and spur growth, which is projected at a scant 0.6 percent this year and 0.3 percent next year.

Amid market turmoil last week, Berlusconi was forced to ask for IMF monitoring of Italy's finances, a humiliating prospect for the eurozone's third-largest economy and an embarrassment for the long-defiant Berlusconi.

By Saturday, he was resigned to reality and held a working lunch with Monti in a clear sign the political transition was already under way, news reports said.

While the euroskeptic Northern League remained opposed to Monti's nomination, some lawmakers suggested they could support a Monti-led government for a few months to enact the additional EU-demanded reforms before elections are held in early 2012.

In a statement issued late Saturday, Berlusconi's Peoples of Liberty party said its members would support Monti, but added that they would also ensure that Monti's Cabinet, legislative agenda and the timeframe of his government meets their requirements.

Napolitano appealed for lawmakers to put the good of the country ahead of short-term, local interests — an indirect appeal to members of Berlusconi's party and the allied Northern League to work with the new government.

"All political forces must act with a sense of responsibility," he said.

http://news.yahoo.com/end-era-italys-berlusconi-resigns-210043160.html

Can someone remind me again - when will this ultimatum expire?

^^^

Second that.

Can someone remid me again - when will this ultimatum expire?

I noticed that the KAI officials have stopped herding pedestrians into their black maria. Thank God!

What they do now is to persuade pedestrians to use the foot-bridge. That's what they should have done in the first place!

I was annoyed this morning when I saw a pedestrian insisting on crossing the road (arguing with the traffic policeman and Lastma official stationed there) instead of using the bridge. Lucky for him the KAI officials and their Black Maria were not there. I wish I was able to get a picture of the guy!   

Our people never learn!

Pic 1-3: Heavier pedestrian traffic on the bridge
Pic 4: Their Black Maria parked at the round about on Wednesday.

Sept 2011: Govt will do the road - Perm Sec.
Oct 2011: Govt will not do the road - Commissioner

Flip-Flop!

FG awarded repair contracts in 2009 and here in 2011 no work done.

Pathetic!

Friday, 28 October 2011 00:51

[size=14pt]Lagos’ll not work on Ikorodu road – Govt [/size]
Written by Agency reporter


Lagos State Government on Thursday said it would not embark on the construction or comprehensive rehabilitation of the major road that leads to Ikorodu.

The government said it would only embark on palliative work to mitigate the effect of the floods ravaging the area. It added that the rehabilitation would commence after the floods had subsided.

In a statement by the spokesman for the Ministry of Works and Infrastructure, Biola Fagunwa, the state government said the contract for the road had been awarded by the Federal Government, which had effectively prevented the state government’s planned intervention.

Fagunwa, however, said the state government promised a prompt action when the flood subsided. He said by that time, the palliative rehabilitation of the road would commence to ensure it was motorable.

He said, “There is a subsisting Federal Government contract on the road which is preventing the state government’s planned intervention.

“The rehabilitation contract which was awarded by the Federal Government in 2009 to Messers HAJAIG Constructions Nigeria Limited covers the 13.2km length of the road, but activities have ceased in the area in the past one year. This has remained a major hindrance to the state’s plans. Equally, Ikorodu to Sagamu and the NNPC to Oke Afa were awarded by the Federal Government to Messers Impresit Bakalori Plc and PW (Nig.) Ltd. respectively in November 2009 for varying periods of not more than 12 months.

“In the circumstances it is difficult for the state government to re-award contracts that have not been legally terminated by the Federal Government to another contractor. The only option for us is to continue with palliative works until the subsisting contracts are terminated or projects completed.”

Fagunwa explained that the palliative works on the road would only involve crushed stones and filling of damaged portions.

He added that with the volume of rainfall and its persistence, it would be difficult to carry out any comprehensive job now.

He said the government was also looking at other bad roads in the state and had deployed directors in the works ministry as road managers for all the strategic roads in order to improve the response time for effective and appropriate rehabilitation.

He stated that the directors would monitor the roads and report their conditions to the appropriate authorities for action.


http://www.punchng.com/index.php?option=com_k2&view=item&id=2627:lagos%E2%80%99ll-not-work-on-ikorodu-road-%E2%80%93-govt&Itemid=542

Lagosians lament lawlessness, unending gridlock, wasted time, and high fares on Lagos-Badagry Expressway

DRIVING to work on Monday, Femi Salami, who works in a steel fabrication company in the Volkswagen area, noticed large numbers of people waiting at Barracks Bus Stop on the Mile Two- Badagry Expressway, Lagos.

Glancing at his watch, he saw it was 10.10a.m., the time by which Lagosians would ordinarily have long settled down at their places of work or shops.

A minute later, he drove past Mile Two, then Maza Maza and First Gate Bus Stops, where he still saw more commuters waiting.

Wondering when the hundreds of waiting commuters would get to their destinations, Salami could also not help wondering how long the traffic pains caused by the Lagos-Badagry 10-lane road project would end.

Even before the crowds at the different bus stops, commuters had already been feeling the pain of indiscriminate increase in fares by transporters.

A commuter, Deji Junaidu, who lives at Mile-Two Housing Estate but works at Iyana Oba told The Guardian: “The increase in fares was how the bus owners reacted to the gridlock caused by the road works and which reduced the number of trips they make.

“Though laudable, the road project has created a whole lot of problems for us.

“Apart from the high fares, we must also contend with the chaotic traffic and the stress associated with it.

“A bus ride from Okokomiako to Mile Two, which sometime in the past, took just 15 to 20 minutes now lasts as long as one and half or two hours.

“On real bad days, commuters have been known to spend three hours from Okokomiko through Iyana-Iba to Mile Two Bus Stop,” Junaidu said.

The increase in fares by commuter bus operators has become a burden to Lagosians.

“From LASU Gate to Mile Two that was N100 has been hiked to N200.

“Sometimes, it goes much higher, especially when it rains” another commuter, Chidi Anoli, said.

Blaming the high fare and the traffic congestion on the on-going construction work, he said: “The journey from Okokomiako to Mile Two can be a test of patience, decorum and will.

“When the Lagos State government began the 10-lane carriageway, we were happy.

“We knew it would be of great benefit to this axis, but the snag is that the government failed to create an alternative route.”

He bemoaned the effect the intractable traffic was having on businesses along the route .

“ Sometimes, I open my shops around 11.00a.m. instead of 8.00a.m. and get home late in the night.

“When you open late, you do not make much sales and that is problem.

“The government should do something about the traffic, tell the contractors to create alternative route to reduce the suffering, which is becoming unbearable.”

A dealer in industrial chemical, Kola Lawal, lamenting the problem, told The Guardian: “It is tough having to pay more than double to get home.”

A junior worker in the Lagos public service, who lives in Okokomiako, told The Guardian she now spends almost N500 and from work at the Secretariat, Alausa, Ikeja.

Lamenting the cost of transportation on the route, Ade Bamigboye, who works in a company along the Oshodi/ Apapa Expressway said the 10-lane construction might have begun to hurt those it was meant to help.

“ Because of the traffic jam along Mile Two to Okoko, I sometimes hire a motorcyclist or I will not get home till 11.00p.m. or sometimes mid-night.

“Granted that the construction is the major cause of the problem, these could have been eased if traffic officials are always around to help.

“It is a fact that there are hardly any Lagos State Traffic Management Agency (LASTMA) official along the road anywhere after Mile Two.

“ I have seen LASTMA officials at work as late as 8.00p.m. along Isolo-Ejigbo-Ikotun Road.

“Why can’t the government post some of LASTMA officials to this route?” he asked.

He continued: “LASTMA would, at least, check the excesses of commercial bus and tanker drivers who often stop or park indiscriminately.

“The Danfo drivers are particularly notorious for making life unbearable for other road-users as they either stop or park indiscriminately while picking or discharging passengers.

“As a result of this, bus stops at Agboju, Alakija, Abule-Ado, Trade Fair under Bridge, Volks and Iyana-Iba are often blocked.

“Those unruly drivers worsen the traffic problem caused by the on-going construction. That is where LASTMA can be of help”, he said.

Another factor that contributes to the chaotic traffic is the lawlessness, frequently displayed by military personnel whose barracks are along the route.

This much was acknowledged by a member of the Lagos State House of Assembly, Sultan Adeniji-Adele.

“The road leads my constituency and I can tell you that the problem on that road is not just the on-going project.

“Some military guys are causing some of the problems as they drive against traffic on the road with the belief that no one can stop them,” he said.

Meanwhile, the Assembly has called on LASTMA, the Traffic Division of the Nigerian Police, Badagry Division and other relevant agencies to urgently resolve the traffic crisis along the expressway.



http://www.ngrguardiannews.com/index.php?view=article&catid=3%3Ametro&id=65484%3Asour-tales-on-a-highway-&tmpl=component&print=1&layout=default&page=&option=com_content&Itemid=427

Friday, 28 October 2011 03:17
Bi-Courtney repairs expressway
Written by Sesan Olufowobi

The concessionaire of the Lagos-Ibadan Expressway, Bi-Courtney Highway Services Limited, on Thursday said it had fixed a portion of the road that collapsed at the Redemption Camp area.

A statement by BCHSL spokessman, Dipo Kehinde, said the firm had been working to keep the expressway in motor-able condition, while preparing for proper reconstruction scheduled to start in November.

Kehinde urged stakeholders to shun the propaganda by some people who were bent on stopping the progress of work on the highway.

He said, “We noticed that a portion of the road was falling apart, so, we moved in to repair it. Those who ply the highway know that BCHSL has kept on working, on a daily basis, to keep the road in motor-able condition, while we prepare for the major work next month.

“We have positioned five groups of workers on the road. Two groups for patching failed portions; two for cleaning, and one for repairing a failed portion at Ogere, where we are also improving the temporary trailer park to clear the bottleneck at that location.”

Kehinde said the company had completed its preparation and would finish the proper construction of the road before the projected date.

“In the last two months, BCHSL has worked on long stretches of the road at Ibafo. This work has contributed appreciably to ease traffic congestion normally experienced along the stretch. We have overlaid long stretches at Fidiwo, Sapade, Alapako, and Kilometre 90, near Ibadan; Fatgbems, at Isheri; Ibafo, and RCCG area. All potholes were patched,” Kehinde said.

http://www.punchng.com/index.php?option=com_k2&view=item&id=2629:bi-courtney-repairs-expressway&Itemid=542

Gunmen kill prison official in court

By Our Reporter

•Judge’s car sprayed with bullets •Court registrar shot


IT is like a scene from an action-packed movie.

A judge adjourns an alleged robbery and kidnapping case, ordering the suspect to be remanded in prison custody. The court rises and a prison warder leads the accused out of the courtroom.

Suddenly, gun shots ring out. There is pandemonium, with litigants and court officials running for dear lives. By the time the dust settles minutes after, the prison warder lies dead. Gone is the accused. Also gone are the gunment.

It was no movie, but real on Wednesday in Kogi State where unknown gunmen suspected to be members of a robbery gang whose member was standing trial attacked the Ihima High Court.

The Media Officer of the State High Court, Mr Saqeeb Saeed, in Ihima, Okehi Local Government Area, confirmed yesterday that the attack took place on Wednesday.

He said Justice Moses Gwatana had adjourned the case against Abdulrazak Nasiru, who was ordered to be remanded in prison custody.

The accused was released to an official to take to the Okene Medium Security Prison in a Nigeria Prisons Service pick-up van.

Saeed said before the van took off, the attackers, numbering between 10 and 12, apparently lurking around a primary school near the court, stormed the premises, wielding dangerous weapons and shooting indiscriminately.

“They shot dead the warder whose name was not immediately known and released the accused while the court officials, litigants and helpless security agents, scampered for safety during the operation that lasted 10 minutes,” he said.

The News Agency Nigeria (NAN) learnt that although the judge escaped unhurt, his official KIA Sorento SUV was sprayed with bullets. Mr Bakare Sunday was shot in the ear.

Saeed said the body of the prison official had been deposited at the Obangede General Hospital mortuary. The court registrar has been admitted in the hospital for bullet wounds.

Kogi State High Court Chief Registrar Mrs Comfort Toluwashe has lodged a complaint with the police, saying the accused was initially involved in an armed robbery in which a man was kidnapped.

http://www.thenationonlineng.net/2011/index.php/news/24412-gunmen-kill-prison-official-in-court.html

Great thread Onila!

onila:
pultizer prize


Award winning photo, this image was shown worldwide by every media house around the world. Barcelona '92 Olympics. 4 by 100m relay final. The Nigerian quartet was made up of Faith Idehen,Beatrice Utondu,Christy Opara-Thompson and Mary Onyali. Nobody gave our girls a chance. USA won. Nigeria took the bronze medal(our first medal ever by women in track&field) and these girls went wild with jubilation that captivated the world. They didn't kno where they were comin' from, God bless Nigeria.

I can never forget this scene and these heroines.

This IOC 'Celebrate Humanity' ad captures one on the iconic moments of the Barcelona Olympics- the celebration of the Nigerians women's quarter who even though won a "mere" bronze, celebrated as if they had won the gold!

[flash=600,600]
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6RrQaZM3zys[/flash]

Tears still flood my eyes when I remember that day or see this picture.

Classic!

Another iconic scene at Barcelona that year (though not involving Nigeria, unless the guy is somehow of Nigerian descent), is that of Derek Redmond who despite a hamstring injury completed his race with the help of his dad who came down from the stands to walk him to the finish line. In Interestingly, Sunday Bada of Nigeria featured in that same race.

[flash=600,600]
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kZlXWp6vFdE[/flash]

[flash=600,600]
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HFKpZnok10s[/flash]

Only 8 replies?

Mods, please move to relevant section. Thanks!

Real-Life 'Slumdog Millionaire' First to Win Big
By Candace Smith
Posts .By Candace Smith | ABC News Blogs – 9 hours ago


Sushil Kumar (L) joins his hands together past Bollywood actor Amitabh Bachchan after winning about $1 million …

Sushil Kumar, 26, grew up in one of the poorest states in India. His family was so impoverished that they couldn’t even afford a television set. But today he is a millionaire and television superstar, the first contestant to win $1 million on the Indian version of “Who Wants to be a Millionaire.”

With the roar of audience applause in the background, tears streamed down Kumar’s face as Indian superstar and host of “Kaun Banega Crorepati,” Amitabh Bachchan, handed him and his wife of five months a check Saturday for 50 million rupees, the equivalent of a little more than $1 million, after he answered all the show’s questions correctly. The moments after his win were captured by Indian news-station NDTV.

Kumar is a tutor and government clerk who lives in a home with his wife, mother and five brothers in the small town of Motihari, in the state of Bihar. Before appearing on the show, he made the equivalent of $120 a month. Growing up, he was a voracious reader and very precocious, tutoring other students to enhance his own mind. When current neighbors saw how he would answer question after question, they persuaded him to try out for the show.

He took the preliminary test in July and received a call Oct. 16 that he would be on the show. He flew to Mumbai three days later for the Saturday taping. It was his first time on a plane and his first visit to a big city.

His rags-to-riches story echoes the plot of the 2008 Oscar-winning movie “Slumdog Millionaire.”



“I never thought in my wildest dreams that I could do this,” Kumar told BBC News.
Host Bachchan said, “You have created history. Your grit and determination has made you come so far in this show.”

Perhaps because Kumar came from such modest beginnings, his plans for the money are simple as well. As the Associated Press reports, he will buy a bigger home for his family, give his brother some cash to start a small business and will use some of the money to pay for a course to prepare him to take India’s civil service exam, which could provide him a secure job.

And just as he was a child who dreamed of access to books to fuel his fervid desire for knowledge, he plans to build a library in Motihari so other children have access to the books and resources he never had.





http://gma.yahoo.com/blogs/abc-blogs/real-life-slumdog-millionaire-first-win-big-133931964.html

NDLEA to release Baba Suwe to family, lawyers for independent scan
On October 26, 2011 ·
By ROSEMARY ONUOHA

LAGOS—The National Drug Law Enforcement Agency, NDLEA, Tuesday, said it had informed the family and lawyers of detained ace comedian, Mr. Babatunde Omidina (Baba Suwe), of their readiness to release him to them for an independent scan to bring the matter to a conclusive end.

Confirming the development to Vanguard, Airport Commander of the agency, Mr. Hamza Umar, said the agency made this position known to the family members and his lawyers when they visited their office on Monday.

He also said they were told to take him to any independent scan examination of their choice under the watchful eyes of the agency, assuring that they were prepared to release the actor should the independent scan say otherwise.

However, Vanguard gathered that 72 hours after this assurance was reportedly given, neither the family nor the lawyers had returned to the agency to inform it of their decision.

Umar said the agency was ready and anxious to collaborate with the family and lawyers to bring the matter to a close.

Baba Suwe, who has been in the custody of NDLEA since October 12, over alleged possession of cocaine, was said to have made a series of excretions but no drug has been found on them. The NDLEA said the actor will continue to be under their observation.

Baba Suwe was nabbed aboard an Air France aircraft to Paris at the Murtala Muhammed International Airport, MMIA, Ikeja, Lagos, about 10p.m. on Wednesday, October 12 when he allegedly tested positive to drug ingestion and had been placed under observation since then.

Baba Suwe had on Monday asked a Federal High Court in Lagos, presided over by Justice Okechukwu Okeke, to vacate an order he gave, which empowered NDLEA to detain him for additional 15 days.

The request formed part of a motion on notice he brought, pursuant to Order 26 Rule 11 of the Federal High Court (Civil Procedure) Rules, 2009. The artiste, while asking for an order of the court discharging or vacating the order issued by Justice Okeke, argued that the application for the order obtained by NDLEA was grossly irregular and constituted an abuse of the processes of the court.

In the motion filed by his counsel, Bamidele Aturu, Baba Suwe also argued that the application for the order obtained by the respondent was contrary to public policy and constituted a wanton violation of his fundamental rights.

http://www.vanguardngr.com/2011/10/ndlea-to-release-baba-suwe-to-family-lawyers-for-independent-scan/

Analysis

The United States entered Somalia in December 1992 to stop the imminent starvation of hundreds of thousands of people. Although it succeeded in this mission, the chaotic political situation of that unhappy land bogged down U.S. and allied forces in what became, in effect, a poorly organized United Nations nation-building operation. In a country where the United States, perhaps naively, expected some measure of gratitude for its help, its forces received increasing hostility as they became more deeply embroiled into trying to establish a stable government. The military and diplomatic effort to bring together all the clans and political entities was doomed to failure as each subelement continued to attempt to out-jockey the others for supreme power.

The Somali people were the main victims of their own leaders, but forty-two Americans died and dozens more were wounded before the United States and the United Nations capitulated to events and withdrew. American military power had established the conditions for peace in the midst of a famine and civil war, but, unlike later in Bosnia, the factions were not exhausted from the fighting and were not yet willing to stop killing each other and anyone caught in the middle. There was no peace to keep. The American soldier had, as always, done his best under difficult circumstances to perform a complex and often confusing mission. But the best soldiers in the world can only lay the foundation for peace; they cannot create peace itself.

http://www.history.army.mil/brochures/somalia/somalia.htm

[b]The battles of 3-4 October were a watershed in U.S. involvement in Somalia. The already complex mission and difficult environment took a dramatic turn with those events. The situation required constant innovation and rapid decisions from all the troops and commanders involved, under conditions that did not allow the American soldiers to take advantage of their great technological superiority. Experience, common sense, group cohesion, and superior tactical training were the virtues that made survival in the new environment possible as the decision-makers in Washington grappled with what to do next.[/b]23


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The Withdrawal from Somalia

In the aftermath of the 3 4 October battle, U.S. military presence in Somalia increased significantly, although temporarily. A company from the 24th Infantry Division (Mechanized) was immediately dispatched from Fort Stewart, Georgia, with Bradley fighting vehicles along with an attached platoon of MI Abrams tanks. They were soon joined by the 1 st Battalion, 64th Armor, with additional support assets. Another unit of the 10th Mountain Division-the 2d Battalion, 22d Infantry-arrived in Somalia soon after, along with a Marine expeditionary unit (MEU) and additional special operations personnel including more AC-130 gunships. These forces were organized under a new Joint Task Force Somalia under the command of Maj. Gen. Carl F. Ernst who was placed under General Montgomery's tactical control but remained under the operational control of the theater commander, General Hoar.

However, it soon became clear that the Clinton administration was focused on using those forces to facilitate the withdrawal of U.S. troops rather than use them to punish Aideed. General Montgomery had clear guidance: protect the force, protect the UN, and bring the force out with a minimum of casualties. In a national security policy review session held in the White House on 6 October, the president directed the acting chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, Admiral David G. Jeremiah, to stop all actions by U.S. forces against Aideed except those required in self-defense. He also reappointed Ambassador Oakley as special envoy to Somalia in an attempt to broker a peace settlement and then announced that all U.S. forces would withdraw from Somalia no later than 31 March 1994. Shortly thereafter Secretary Aspin stepped down, taking much of the blame for what was deemed a failed policy. For all intents and purposes, the United States was now determined to withdraw from Somalia as quickly as possible. All additional forces sent would be used solely for self-defense of U.S. soldiers rather than for further offensive operations.

Ambassador Oakley arrived in Mogadishu on 9 October, determined to obtain the release of U.S. helicopter pilot CW2 Michael Durant, captured at the second crash site by Somali forces loyal to Aideed. After intense negotiations, Aideed agreed to release the wounded Durant and a previously captured Nigerian soldier on 14 October as a "goodwill gesture." Despite this gesture and a unilateral cease-fire declared by Aideed, it quickly became apparent that the U.S. role in Somalia was ending and that the UN would receive no substantive cooperation from the warlord and his clan.

24


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Soldiers of Task Force Ranger take cover and return fire during
the 3-4 October battle.

After several months of comparatively limited activity and few further instances of violence, U.S. forces began withdrawing. Most of the American troops were out of Somalia by 25 March 1994, ending Operation CONTINUE HOPE, the follow-on mission to RESTORE HOPE. Only a few hundred marines remained offshore to assist with any noncombatant evacuation mission that might occur in the event violence broke out that necessitated the removal of the over 1,000 U.S. civilians and military advisers remaining as part of the U.S. liaison mission. All UN and U.S. personnel were finally withdrawn almost a year later in March 1995.

All attempts to reconcile the Somali factions had proven futile, and the international community gradually lost its patience with the total lack of political results. Operation UNITED SHIELD, the final UN withdrawal from Somalia, was completed on 3 March 1995. The United States, as part of the international community, had made major contributions to the Somalia humanitarian operations for over two years. Starvation had been stopped and hundreds of thousands of lives saved. The U.S. had accomplished much in the initial stages of the operation, but the political situation had unraveled even as the food supplies increased, allowing Somalia to slide backwards into disorder and anarchy.


http://www.history.army.mil/brochures/somalia/somalia.htm

PS: I Have the pictures but would not post them as they dishonour the memories of the fallen soldiers.

I think some Nigeria soldiers were also killed by the Somilian militia in those days.

Famous, Infamous and Iconic Photos
U.S Soldier dragged through Mogadishu

It was a media war that the United States lost in Somalia, ironic since its involvement was forced by the pictures of famine-stricken people there. In one of the clearest and earliest examples of the CNN effect, the war was repeatedly dogged by the dozens of press photographers. It is an anticipating media, not snipers or enemy combatants, that greeted the U.S landing forces in Mogadishu in December 9th 1992.

For a war that began with memorable images, it is both fitting and ironic that it ended because of another set of dramatic images. The photos taken by Canadian photographer Paul Watson, of a dead American soldier being dragged through the streets of Mogadishu spelled the beginning of the end for U.S.-U.N. peacekeeping force. Domestic opinion turned hostile as horrified TV viewers watched images of the bloodshed—-including this Pulitzer-prize winning footage of Somali warlord Mohammed Aideed’s supporters dragging the body of U.S. Staff Sgt. William David Cleveland through the streets of Mogadishu, cheering. President Clinton immediately abandoned the pursuit of Aideed, the mission that cost Cleveland his life and gave the order for all American soldiers to withdraw from Somalia by March 31, 1994. Other Western nations followed suit.

When the last U.N. peacekeepers left in 1995, ending a mission that had cost more than $2 billion, Mogadishu still lacked a functioning government. The battle deaths, and the harrowing images prompted lingering U.S. reluctance to get involved in Africa’s crises, including the following year’s genocide in Rwanda. In 1996, Osama bin Laden cited the incident as proof that the U.S. was unable to stomach casualties: when “one American was dragged in the streets of Mogadishu you left; the extent of your impotence and weaknesses became very clear.” Never before or since had a photo altered a nation’s political destinies so much so.

[In the topmost photo, the soldier's genitals are exposed. When Time magazine decided to print it, they decided to cover them up in a controversial decision. Right after Watson took that photo, the crowd turned more violent, and they forced him to enter into a leaving car. He bolted from it and took the middle picture. The people in that photo looked a lot meaner and their eyes were focused on Watson, who defied the order to leave. It was this middle picture that AP ran (AP had tough policies against nudity). Supreme irony was that, as Watson noted, "decision was made to censor something sexually offensive, while the outrageous violence of desecrating a corpse is deemed safe for the general public's consumption."

Time magazine's Stephen Mayes replied: "[It] exposes the sensitivities of a nation that is militarily strong enough to confront one dead soldier but morally too insecure to risk the exposure of a single genital, even in such a non-sexual context?”]

http://iconicphotos./2010/03/10/u-s-marine-dragged-through-mogadishu/

Soldiers' corpses dragged through Mogadishu
Updated 3/21/2007 4:52 PM | Comment | Recommend E-mail | Print |

MOGADISHU, Somalia (AP) — Masked gunmen dragged slain soldiers through the streets of Somalia's capital Wednesday, then set the bodies on fire as jeering crowds threw rocks and kicked the dead after a fierce battle in a neighborhood loyal to Islamic insurgents.

At least 16 people were reported killed and dozens were wounded in the hours-long firefight, which was some of the heaviest fighting in Mogadishu since a radical Muslim militia was driven from the city in December after six months in power.

An Associated Press photographer saw six corpses — all soldiers for the U.N.-backed interim government or their Ethiopian allies — burned and mutilated while masked men shouted "God is great!" Women in head scarves and flowing dresses pounded one charred body with rocks.

A similar scene in Mogadishu grabbed the world's attention in 1993 when militiamen shot down a U.S. Black Hawk helicopter during an attempt to capture a warlord and dragged around dead American soldiers. The Clinton administration pulled out U.S. troops, and U.N. peacekeepers soon followed suit, leaving Somalia to years of anarchy.

One masked man, Abdinasir Hussein, said he dragged a soldier's corpse behind his motorbike. He told AP he wanted to show that Somalis will defeat the "invaders," referring to the troops from neighboring Ethiopia that helped government forces defeat the Islamic militia.

"I'm happy to drag an Ethiopian soldier on the Mogadishu streets," Hussein said.

Ahmed Mohamed Botaan, a clan elder in the neighborhood where the battle erupted before dawn, said he counted 16 bodies, seven of which were government soldiers. Mogadishu's three hospitals reported at least seven dead and 36 wounded.

The fighting began when Somali and Ethiopian soldiers entered the insurgent stronghold in southern Mogadishu seeking to consolidate the government's control. But hundreds of masked gunmen were waiting, and shooting raged for hours.

An insurgent group known as the Popular Resistance Movement in the Land of the Two Migrations, which is linked to the ousted Council of Islamic Courts, claimed it was the target of the government offensive but said its fighters repulsed the attack.

"They were unable to bear the pain of bullets coming from all four directions," the group said in a statement posted on the Islamic militia's website.

A government official, who agreed to discuss the combat situation only if not quoted by name, said the offensive focused on parts of the city controlled by the Habr Gedir clan, which supported more radical elements of the Islamic militia and opposes the interim administration.

The official said there would be more fighting. "The next week will be very hot in Mogadishu," the official said.

President Abdullahi Yusuf's Darod clan and the Habr Gedir are traditional enemies. Habr Gedir elders accuse Yusuf of favoring his own clansmen and recruiting only Darod into the new Somali army, aggravating Somalia's complex mixture of clan, political and religious disputes.

The United States has supported Yusuf's government and accuses the Islamic militia of having ties to al-Qaeda terrorists.

The U.S. ambassador to Kenya, Michael Ranneberger, who also represents American interests in Somalia, condemned Wednesday's bloodshed but said Washington believes things are better in Somalia.

"On balance we do feel that the situation in Somalia is moving forward in a generally positive way," Ranneberger told reporters in Nairobi, Kenya.

Somalia has been without an effective central government since 1991, when clan-based warlords ousted a longtime dictator and then began fighting among themselves.

Yusuf's administration was set up with U.N. help but it has failed to assert control across the country. The African Union has deployed a small peacekeeping force to defend the government, but daily violence grips Mogadishu and civilians caught in the middle are suffering the most.

"The government should learn from today's defeat. Its soldiers were dragged through the streets," said Zainab Abdi, a mother of two children.

She urged the government to reach out to the leaders of the Islamic militia, who are in hiding and promising to wage an Iraq-style insurgency.

"Otherwise, civilians will keep dying," Abdi said. "Who will the government rule if their people are killed every day?"


http://www.usatoday.com/news/world/2007-03-21-somalia_N.htm

Brings back sad memories of the American soldier whose dead boby was dragged tied to the back of a truck through the streets of Mogadishu.

And the name of one of the warlords- Farah Aideed, I think.
Sad! Realy Sad!

.

Arrival at the Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting (CHOGM) in Australia.

http://pmnewsnigeria.com/2011/10/24/in-pictures-president-goodluck-jonathan-arrives-australia-for-commonwealth-summit/

Lagos govt plans Ikorodu road expansion
On September 21, 2011 · In News ,
By Olasunkanmi Akoni

IKEJA- Lagos State Commissioner for Works and Infrastructure, Dr. Obafemi Hamzat, has said the state plans to expand Lagos–Ikorodu Road and construct a new road to link the town with Lagos-Ibadan Expressway by Ojodu- Berger.

Meanwhile, Permanent Secretary, Office of Infrastructure in the state, Wasiu Olokunola, who spoke at the 2011 lecture on “Entrepreneurship Opportunities in the Civil Engineering Profession,” urged young engineering graduates to reduce their dependency on white-collar jobs by embracing programmes and activities that would make them self- reliant.

Hamzat, who spoke on a radio programme, yesterday, said the plan was informed by the large population of people in the axis and the need to ensure unhindered movement of goods, services and part of strategy to bring succour and relief to residents of Ikorodu and its environs.

He said work on the expansion of the current route would begin soon and would include the creation of an exclusive carriage for BRT route. He added that Ojodu-Berger-Ikorodu route was being mapped to avoid extensive demolition that a present route plan entails.

While calling on the Federal Government to protect the roads by providing train services to undertake haulage of goods and services, he said the use of heavy duty vehicles in movement of goods and services was having untold consequences on roads across the country.

Delivering the lecture, organised by the state Chapter of the Nigerian Institution of Civil Engineers in Lagos, Olokunola said that engineering offers vast opportunities across its wide spectrum of specialisation, adding that the nation offers engineers more opportunities that were yet to be tapped.

http://www.vanguardngr.com/2011/09/lagos-govt-plans-ikorodu-road-expansion/

Where is that name and shame thread again? [Furiously goes out searching for the thread]