This song always reminds me of Los Angeles '84. He performed this and Diana Ross performed Reach Out and Touch, but I can't remember which one of them performed at the opening ceremony and which performed at the closing ceremony.
Nene Cheryy was very famous in the 1990s and early 2000s. Her younger brother, Eagle Eye Cherry also became famous in the early 2000s and this is my favourite song of his.
President Buhari arrived the International Conference Centre and there was a line of people that were waiting to receive him. He shook hands with the people on the line, but Mrs Tinubu did not extend her hand for a handshake. Instead she curtsied. President Buhari looked at her and said, "Madam ****" (the second word was inaudible) and she smiled. He then asked, "How are you?" and she replied, "Very well sir".
naptu2: Much ado about handshakes (this is another old post that has been on my mind for years).
My British cousins were recently arguing over the question of who Boris Johnson shook hands with and who he didn’t shake hands with and that reminded me of an old post that I wanted to make but couldn’t because of lack of time.
President Buhari swore in new ministers a few months after he was inaugurated and some people noticed that he did not shake hands with some of the female ministers and they decided that he did not shake the female ministers’ hands because he was a religious extremist. They held this up as evidence that Buhari was going to “Islamise Nigeria” and declare Sharia law across the country.
I knew that their position was total nonsense because I knew that Buhari had shaken hands with women in the past, but more importantly, I knew why he didn’t shake hands with the female ministers (I’ve been there before).
I’m shocked that nobody has stated the real reason that he did not shake hands with the female ministers.
My experience.
A lot of people in positions of authority came to my house when I was a kid and I shook hands with all of them. Of course I also bowed to them, but I shook hands with all of them. I also shook hands with the elderly people that came to my house, including my grandmother.
However, there were certain encounters that stuck in my mind. I remember a time that a new official was appointed to a certain position. My neighbour’s family was very influential in the institution that the official had just been appointed to head and so he paid a courtesy visit to their house and I was in their house on that day. They introduced me to him as **** son. He looked happy to see me, but something happened that stuck in my mind. I extended my hand for a handshake and there was a momentary look of surprise on his face. It lasted for less than half a second, but I noticed it. He said, “You want to shake the ****” (he mentioned his new title) and then he shook my hand.
There was another encounter that I remember. It was kind of a family event. I got to a certain house and the woman of the house was greeting everybody at the door. I bowed and shook hands with her as I greeted her. I could see a look of absolute shock on her face as I shook hands with her. Much later, my sister whispered to me, “Did you see how shocked she looked when you shook hands with her”?
You see, in Yoruba culture, it is quite unusual for a much younger person to shake hands with a much older person. The younger person is expected to prostrate, stoop, bow, kneel or curtsey. The younger person will only shake the older person’s hand if the older person extends his hand for a handshake.
Similarly, it is unusual for a person in a much lower position in an organisation to shake hands with someone in a much higher positions/someone in a position of authority except if the person in a higher position extends his hand for a handshake.
Many Muslim women do not shake hands with men that are not related to them. This can be awkward for a man who extends his hand to shake a woman. Therefore, many men do not extend their hands for a handshake except the woman extends her hand first.
Think about it the way that you would think about a hug. Would you hug a woman that you’ve just met for the first time? Would you hug a woman that you’ve just met for the first time if she extends her hands for a hug? You would probably respect the woman’s space and only hug her if she extends her hands for a hug, right?
Read this https://medium.com/@hana.jafar09/why-you-should-ask-before-hugging-someone-7825f503ac06
Obasanjo
I was shocked when there was a furore about whether President Buhari shook hands with women, because President Olusegun Obasanjo had observed this practice in a very extreme manner and yet nobody complained.
I noticed that President Olusegun Obasanjo never shook hands with women who wore hijabs, even when the women extended their hands for a handshake. I noticed this for the first time during a national honours award ceremony. An honouree extended her hand for a handshake, but President Obasanjo clasped both of his hands together in front of his chest, instead of shaking hands with her. I later noticed that he did this to any woman that either wore a hijab or was from the far north, even if the woman was Christian and even if the woman extended her hand for a handshake. Yet nobody complained.
Buhari New ministers were inaugurated in 2015 and an incident during the inauguration ceremony led to the ridiculous claim that President Buhari does not shake hands with women.
The protocol was that, after being sworn in, the minister would sign the register and then shake hands with President Buhari while smiling for the camera. It was Kemi Adeosun’s turn to shake hands with Buhari. Being a Yoruba woman, she waited for President Buhari, who is older and in a higher position of authority, to extend his hand for a handshake. President Buhari, being a northern muslim, waited for Kemi Adeosun, who is a woman, to extend her hand for a handshake. Therefore, because neither of them extended their hand first, there was no handshake.
People picked up on this and said that President Buhari does not shake hands with women and then it became a self-fulfilling prophesy. Other women, because they had heard that Buhari did not shake hands with women, did not extend their hands for a handshake when they met him and therefore, the rumours that Buhari did not shake hands with women continued.
Some people said that "Buhari's refusal to shake hands with women was proof that he was a religious extremist, a bigot and that he wanted to Islamise Nigeria".
I knew that this was just complete nonsense. How did I know? The musician, Onyeka Onwenu was a supporter of President Goodluck Jonathan and he appointed her to head an agency (I’ve forgotten the name of the agency). The members of the board of the agency went to meet and congratulate President Buhari soon after he was sworn in. This was before ministers were inaugurated. President Buhari shook hands with Onyeka Onwenu at that event.
Besides, I had seen Buhari shake hands with women when he was a military head of state in the mid-1980s.
naptu2: Much ado about handshakes (this is another old post that has been on my mind for years).
My British cousins were recently arguing over the question of who Boris Johnson shook hands with and who he didn’t shake hands with and that reminded me of an old post that I wanted to make but couldn’t because of lack of time.
President Buhari swore in new ministers a few months after he was inaugurated and some people noticed that he did not shake hands with some of the female ministers and they decided that he did not shake the female ministers’ hands because he was a religious extremist. They held this up as evidence that Buhari was going to “Islamise Nigeria” and declare Sharia law across the country.
I knew that their position was total nonsense because I knew that Buhari had shaken hands with women in the past, but more importantly, I knew why he didn’t shake hands with the female ministers (I’ve been there before).
I’m shocked that nobody has stated the real reason that he did not shake hands with the female ministers.
My experience.
A lot of people in positions of authority came to my house when I was a kid and I shook hands with all of them. Of course I also bowed to them, but I shook hands with all of them. I also shook hands with the elderly people that came to my house, including my grandmother.
However, there were certain encounters that stuck in my mind. I remember a time that a new official was appointed to a certain position. My neighbour’s family was very influential in the institution that the official had just been appointed to head and so he paid a courtesy visit to their house and I was in their house on that day. They introduced me to him as **** son. He looked happy to see me, but something happened that stuck in my mind. I extended my hand for a handshake and there was a momentary look of surprise on his face. It lasted for less than half a second, but I noticed it. He said, “You want to shake the ****” (he mentioned his new title) and then he shook my hand.
There was another encounter that I remember. It was kind of a family event. I got to a certain house and the woman of the house was greeting everybody at the door. I bowed and shook hands with her as I greeted her. I could see a look of absolute shock on her face as I shook hands with her. Much later, my sister whispered to me, “Did you see how shocked she looked when you shook hands with her”?
You see, in Yoruba culture, it is quite unusual for a much younger person to shake hands with a much older person. The younger person is expected to prostrate, stoop, bow, kneel or curtsey. The younger person will only shake the older person’s hand if the older person extends his hand for a handshake.
Similarly, it is unusual for a person in a much lower position in an organisation to shake hands with someone in a much higher positions/someone in a position of authority except if the person in a higher position extends his hand for a handshake.
Many Muslim women do not shake hands with men that are not related to them. This can be awkward for a man who extends his hand to shake a woman. Therefore, many men do not extend their hands for a handshake except the woman extends her hand first.
Think about it the way that you would think about a hug. Would you hug a woman that you’ve just met for the first time? Would you hug a woman that you’ve just met for the first time if she extends her hands for a hug? You would probably respect the woman’s space and only hug her if she extends her hands for a hug, right?
Read this https://medium.com/@hana.jafar09/why-you-should-ask-before-hugging-someone-7825f503ac06
Obasanjo
I was shocked when there was a furore about whether President Buhari shook hands with women, because President Olusegun Obasanjo had observed this practice in a very extreme manner and yet nobody complained.
I noticed that President Olusegun Obasanjo never shook hands with women who wore hijabs, even when the women extended their hands for a handshake. I noticed this for the first time during a national honours award ceremony. An honouree extended her hand for a handshake, but President Obasanjo clasped both of his hands together in front of his chest, instead of shaking hands with her. I later noticed that he did this to any woman that either wore a hijab or was from the far north, even if the woman was Christian and even if the woman extended her hand for a handshake. Yet nobody complained.
Buhari New ministers were inaugurated in 2015 and an incident during the inauguration ceremony led to the ridiculous claim that President Buhari does not shake hands with women.
The protocol was that, after being sworn in, the minister would sign the register and then shake hands with President Buhari while smiling for the camera. It was Kemi Adeosun’s turn to shake hands with Buhari. Being a Yoruba woman, she waited for President Buhari, who is older and in a higher position of authority, to extend his hand for a handshake. President Buhari, being a northern muslim, waited for Kemi Adeosun, who is a woman, to extend her hand for a handshake. Therefore, because neither of them extended their hand first, there was no handshake.
People picked up on this and said that President Buhari does not shake hands with women and then it became a self-fulfilling prophesy. Other women, because they had heard that Buhari did not shake hands with women, did not extend their hands for a handshake when they met him and therefore, the rumours that Buhari did not shake hands with women continued.
Some people said that "Buhari's refusal to shake hands with women was proof that he was a religious extremist, a bigot and that he wanted to Islamise Nigeria".
I knew that this was just complete nonsense. How did I know? The musician, Onyeka Onwenu was a supporter of President Goodluck Jonathan and he appointed her to head an agency (I’ve forgotten the name of the agency). The members of the board of the agency went to meet and congratulate President Buhari soon after he was sworn in. This was before ministers were inaugurated. President Buhari shook hands with Onyeka Onwenu at that event.
Besides, I had seen Buhari shake hands with women when he was a military head of state in the mid-1980s.
President Buhari arrived the International Conference Centre and there was a line of people that were waiting to receive him. He shook hands with the people on the line, but Mrs Tinubu did not extend her hand for a handshake. Instead she curtsied. President Buhari looked at her and said, "Madam ****" (the second word was inaudible) and she smiled. He then asked, "How are you?" and she replied, "Very well sir".
9jaRealist: If the highlighted is factual... Then it merely proves that at the time of the demolition, it was NOT planned/promised that occupants would be returned.
Granted that these events happened well before my time, but I have personally seen documentation even preceding Raji Rasaki's administration to evict the Maroko population as squatters. Even Maroko residents themselves have at best argued from time to time that not "all" of them were squatters, but rather that "some" of them bought land from the Oniru family. Nonetheless, it's not disputable that MAJORITY were squatters.
Anyway, most of us are here to LEARN, so I am glad to have learned some new facts that I was previously unaware of. Thanks! >
I did charity work at Maroko from 1981 till 1985. I also did charity work at Ikota and Jakande from 1993 till 1997. (I also visited Ikota for just one day in 1991).
What I'm writing is based on those experiences and also based on the fact that I'm a news addict and I follow what happens in Nigeria religiously.
Some people might be surprised that I said that I'm not for or against the eviction. That's because I know a lot of things that support the eviction and I also know a lot of things that are against the evictions. There were actually a lot of people that had title to the land (which is why they went to court), in fact, like one person lamented to me, he had a 2 storey building at Maroko and they allocated one tiny flat at Jakande as compensation.
The other thing that annoyed them was that Babangida visited Maroko a few months before the eviction. He commissioned the Peoples Bank at Maroko and at Ajegunle. At Maroko, he promised to develop the place for the residents and he said that he would send Governor Rasaki to the people. That's one of the things that angered them.
9jaRealist: No, it was not... There was NEVER any promise to return the displaced to Maroko.
Maroko was deemed largely unsafe and a den of thieves (and of course it was both)... But the primary reason it was demolished (and only a military man could have done it) was the many of residents were legally SQUATTERS!
Btw, whatever one may say about their relocation to Ikota and Jakande... Those places were still much BETTER than the tin and wooden shacks at Maroko.
To make omelettes, you gotta break some eggs... There's hardly any development without some form of dislocation, we just have to minimize the impact. >
Lastly, the third mainland bridge.
Yes, a lot of people do not know that you were instrumental to the construction of the famous Third Mainland Bridge, tell us the full story
By the way, I am very much in support of what Governor Ambode did, by speaking up about his frustration concerning the Airport/Oshodi Expressway. Sometimes, you need to blackmail the Federal Government to get some of these things done. I did the same thing with the Third Mainland Bridge.
I remember General Babangida had come back from a trip and I had gone to receive him, despite the fact that we were using siren, it was tough passing through traffic because we passed through Yaba to Dodan Barracks.
So when we got there, I saluted and turned back. I could see that he was looking very unhappy. Akhigbe had tried with the issue but the next day, I went to Babangida and said, sir this traffic situation is bad, can you please let us sit down and discuss how to finish this bridge.
General (Mamman) Kotangora, who was the Minister of Works, said the end, that is the Oworonshoki side is a built up area and it will be impossible to navigate it. I said sir, can you please give me the map, they said it is with Julius Berger.
When I left there, I went to Julius Berger, I got the map, and in the process of checking that map, I saw the Coastal Road up till Calabar, that was how I began the Coastal Road. That map is there, we can still look at it. So I went to him and said, Sir I know this is a Federal Project but it is my people that are suffering, can we do this 50-50. If we can’t pay, you can take it from source.
That was how we then introduced the Development Levy, it was for the Third Mainland Project mainly. That was when Gani Fawehinmi took me to court. I was not bothered because I knew we were doing something that will benefit majority of Lagosians.
We then started work, we had got half of the way, I think that was around 1989, I believe I had just lost my wife. Babangida now said, there was no money. I said that is not possible. I told him, I have been to Abuja, I saw what is happening there, so I told him: the method you are using in Abuja, let us use it in Lagos, even if we are going to use oil to exchange for the funds because Lagos was too critical to the nation’s economy.
Bode Emmanuel used to be the Chairman of one of the construction companies, that is how we became close. I told him you are a Lagosian, please let you company continue the job, we are working on payments, I also called Julius Berger and gave them assurances. There was one Dafinone that also came to our rescue, we then also told Government to collect some of the money from source too.
That was why I was on that site every day to ensure that work was going on as scheduled.But we had a problem at Oworonshoki, one Baale and one Imam, came, they were complaining about the houses that were in the right of way, I told them, please this road is greater than all of us, nothing must stand in its way.
They were still complaining. I just kept quiet, I went to the Army Engineers, I think Ihejerika was in charge of the Army Engineers, I told them I want that place cleared for the road in 24 hours. I told them that they should clear everything on the path of the bridge on the weekend, so that they cannot go to court and stop us. Fadayomi was my Commissioner of Justice and Baba (Teslim) Elias was with us, I also went to Rotimi Williams, they said start the operation by Friday and before they can go to court on Monday, you have completed your operation. I loved that idea.
I was happy with the kind of advice I got . Just as we were talking, one man came in from Julius Berger, a very nice man that I worked closely with during the project.
He said, I should not use Army Engineers that there was another way we can do it, that if we use the Army, we will be blackmailed.I said I don’t care. We cleared the bridge area, there were no houses for many metres, but today, the plan was to allow space in case there is future expansion.
But today I have seen houses on both sides, when I noticed that Ambode was doing some work there, I thought he will bring down those houses, that is the difference between the civilian and military government. We do not care about re-election, we just get the job done. When we cleared the place, off course, the people went to court, but the deed had been done and that was how Justice Esho used the word Executive Rascality, and you the media starting singing about it, but we did not let that disturb us. Today, we are all enjoying the Third Mainland Bridge.
Another thing we did that made me happy was those beggers we cleared in Ebute Metta and sent them to Kano. I read the Quran very well, there is nowhere where you should be a beggar permanently. Sanusi said the right thing. How come there are no beggers littering the streets of Saudi? I saw them as a nuisance dirtying the state, I was happy that Babangida did not react when I took that action.
Now, lets talk about Maroko, the every contentious issue, what made you take that decision
Honestly I have no regrets for what we did at Maroko.That area I know very well, Victoria Island stopped at Adetokunbo Ademola area, the other places was marshy land. We used to carry out training exercises there. General Garba used to take us there anytime we had promotion exams because that time in the Army, you cannot move up except you pass your exams. I don’t know what operates there now.
The place where I stay now in Lagos is part of the extension. Anyway, I had planned to begin some redevelopment in the area, but one of these days we went to Epe, and Babangida was in the vehicle. We were returning at about 8pm and we were attacked by robbers.
Before them, I had been getting terrible reports from the area and on two occasions, I have had to ensure that the Inspector-General removed the DPO of the area.
Anyway, we were returning from Epe, we passed the first wave of attack, and then there was this terrible one around the present Lekki Phase one. We heard gun shots. I asked my Oga (Babangida) to continue, I jumped out of the vehicle and confronted them. We pursued this people and they all ran into Maroko.
The next morning, I called the Baale, I ordered him to fish out those people, he began to give excuses. I kept quiet but later went to apologize to Babangida for the incident.
Before taking the Lagos appointment, I had asked Babangida that he must hold me responsible for any action I take. I am a very principled person, even my children know this, and when they complain, I tell them once a soldier, always a soldier. Anyway, I went to Babangida, I told him sir this Maroko incident, I said I wanted to level the place. He said Rasaki, you cannot do it. I said have you forgotten about our agreement, he said, no don’t do it.
At that period, I called Mr Adeyemi, he was Permanent Secretary of Environment in Lagos State, he said he cannot do it and that baba Jakande tried but he failed. I said me, I am a soldier, I am trained to make the impossible possible.
I said I have heard you sir. Babangida was travelling outside around that period, I called my group, I have a team of officers that I trained at NDA.I went to signal, I went to Armoury, I told them by Monday morning, I don’t want to see Maroko standing.
Babangida was going for two weeks so I gave the people, one week notice, we went again on Friday and by Monday, we levelled the place. What we saw was shocking, we saw shallow graves, we saw fake hospitals, I wanted to prosecute the Baale but for the plea of Oba Oyekan.
We moved some of the residents who had genuine papers to Abesan Estate. Whatever you say about it, you have to give it to Babangida, when the people like Oniru family, Dideolu Estate came with their claims, he said we should give the land them. Look, we demolished houses owned by military offices too
So that was how we did Maroko. I have no regrets at all.If we did not clear Maroko, the people in Victoria Island and Ikoyi would have had no rest.I did it with good conscience.
I think Fashola should have done same when he wanted to flush out Makoko. That shanty is not benefitting anybody.
So how do you feel when you pass through the area today
I feel very happy that the shanty town has become modernized and decent.
Have you heard that you had a nickname, who build this gadder
(laughs heartily) Of course, I heard it and when I checked the dictionary. I discovered that there was nothing wrong in what I said since gadder and bridge mean the same thing, I am a telecommunications engineer, so I just laughed over it.
Any regret?
Yes, I was not happy that we were not able to do the Ijanikin Road to meet the Ring Road. I had just six months.We wanted to do a road passing through the (Federal School of Arts & Science) FSAS pass the Officers Mess all the way to Niger Dock Area. Babangida said I should award the contract. I used to drive around myself and I see things.
The road was to cost N2.2billion at the time. That would have solved the problem we have today at Mile 2. That is what I see that Ambode is doing and I commend him. We were to also do the 4th Mainland Bridge.
Are you happy when you come to Lagos these days
I am happy because each time I come in, there is always something new.
So Lagos is 50, what would you like to say to Lagosians
I congratulate Lagos. My Lagos of the future is a Lagos that looks like Sweden or Denmark. By improving the human resources in Lagos, developing ICT Industry and improving the Acquatic Economy.I have travelled very wide, and seen things, I believe with the IGR of Lagos, Lagos would be a Mega city
Lastly, there was an issue you brought up at the CONFAB on special status for Lagos
Yes, I am a strong advocate for a special status for Lagos. I want us to have 50 oer cent share of whatever monies we make here in Lagos. Look at NPA, the ship for instance, it is the people of Lagos that bear the brunt of the environmental pollution. The useless smelly oil, the fumes etc. So why can’t Lagos have 50 per cent of the money realised from this activity. We were the first to put up a decree on environmental pollution.
I kept speaking to Babangida about it and they eventually said they were working on ecological fund.I did not receive it, but Otedola did. When Tinubu came, I used to tease him that he should have gone to join the army, he did a lot of things, without caring about the political implication.
We also fought for Population to be added as criteria for sharing, Lateefat Okunnu was my Deputy then, she was in the Federal Ministry, and brought her experience to bear.
How come you are not in politics, like other Generals
I tried it but I have seen that it is not for me. People do not like men like me who are principled with intergrity. Also, I am a man of tradition, I cannot stomach the way these young boys are abusive and the general lack of discipline, when we used to go to Baba Adedibu’s house, you will see all these boys jumping on his bed, doing all manner of things, dirtying the whole place, When I was involved, they all wait outside my gate. My wife and some of my children are there.
That is enough, we will contribute from where we are.
9jaRealist: No, it was not... There was NEVER any promise to return the displaced to Maroko.
Maroko was deemed largely unsafe and a den of thieves (and of course it was both)... But the primary reason it was demolished (and only a military man could have done it) was the many of residents were legally SQUATTERS!
Btw, whatever one may say about their relocation to Ikota and Jakande... Those places were still much BETTER than the tin and wooden shacks at Maroko.
To make omelettes, you gotta break some eggs... There hardly any development without some form of dislocation, we just have to minimize the impact. >
That was not the primary reason that it was demolished. The man that demolished it has stated the primary reason why it was demolished and that was because it was a den of robbers. In fact, Governor Rasaki narrated an incident that occurred when he and President Babangida secretly went to inspect projects at Epe. They were attacked by armed robbers on their way back (near the present Lekki Phase 1). He wanted to dethrone the Baale because of that incident.
Brigadier Rasaki said that he repeatedly asked President Babangida for permission to demolish Maroko because of the robbery issue, but Babangida refused to give him permission because of the people that will be displaced. However, when Babangida went on a one week trip out of the country, Governor Rasaki used the opportunity to demolish the place.
There were lots of buildings at Maroko that were made of bricks and concrete. It wasn't a stick shanty. In fact, some of the people that were relocated had multiple storey buildings at Maroko, but they ended up having to stay in stick shanties at Ikota and Jakande (because they were allocated flats that had not been built).
Governor Otedola said that the demolition of Maroko was done in error and he promised to give them back their properties (those that had evidence), but he said that he would give them back the land through the Oniru.
Several of the residents there had title to the land. There were many squatters, but there were also many people that owned land there. For example, St Theresa's Catholic Church was a fully built brick building at Maroko, but they were reduced to having services under a rafia canopy at Ikota. Ditto for St Kizito's Clinic.
I'm not for or against the demolition, but history must be told correctly.
LAGOS MAINLAND LOCAL GOVERNMENT NEWS OYINGBO MARKET UPDATE
..... Local Government Boss addresses issues.
..... Promise to work with Market stakeholders to get market re-open.
The Executive Chairman of Lagos Mainland Local Government, Hon. Mrs Omolola R. Essien, on Tuesday 26th Nov 2019 discussed, sympathized and warned market men and women in Oyingbo area of the council to desist from street trading, selling and keep their environment clean or face sanctions.
Hon. Essien gave the warning on the back of the locked oyingbo market at a meeting with the market men and women, she emphasized on the state of the environment which is not yet in accordance with the rules of the Lagos State Waste Management Authority ( LAWMA)
The chairman, who addressed the stakeholders in Yoruba language, said she had visited the market at least three times and always met it dirty.
She said the local government will try its best to get the market opened for business very soon but the market men and women all have huge roles to play to enable the market remain open afterwards.
Hon. Omolola Essien said any offender caught will henceforth be punished, as she would not listen to pleas from anybody.
Council treasurer, Mr Karounwi Rufai further buttressed the LGA boss point . He said "the state of the environment has become a big issue to the government and It is better for us to curb it now before it gets out of hand.
The Civic Centre on Ozumba Mbadiwe Way, Victoria Island, Lagos was on fire between 11pm on Wednesday, November 27, 2019 and 12am on Thursday, November 28.
The fire began at the Christmas lights on the exterior of the building and it was quickly put out by the fire service before any major damage could occur.
I wanted to respond to your suggestion on reformed port operations but Naptu2 did it faster. Here lies the reason why we have serial border closures from time to time.
bigtt76: Thanks Durchmann ......I agree absolutely but its because the government made it that way. If they can decongest the ports, make clearing faster and stress-free, trust me no amount of reduction the Togolese or Beninoise make to their port charges will make our businessmen still embrace their ports.
The savings made from the reduction at Togo/Benin end is spent on transporting by road to the final destination in Nigeria. This would be cheaper if Nigeria make port clearing seamless and stress-free like Togo and Benin offers. The government is the main enabler of smuggling in Nigeria. Review your policies and see if smuggling would be attractive.
It's actually both, not either or.
1) Nigeria needs to make its ports and methods of transporting goods more efficient. We've all seen the long line of trucks that took over all the approaches to Apapa and Tin Can Island ports. People should be able to easily move goods to and from the ports. In this regard, the return of the rail lines into the port (via the new Lagos-Ibadan standard gauge line) will help.
2) The bureaucratic bottlenecks that hamper clearing of goods from the ports is another issue. Hopefully this will be tackled with the Ease of Doing Business policy.
3) The reform of the Customs Service is absolutely important, particularly with regards to improving aerial surveillance and reducing corruption.
4) But it's also important that there's cooperation between both governments, particularly in the area of the repackaging of goods from Asia. I think that Nigeria should also get Ecowas involved because it is a violation of the Ecowas protocol. I don't think that either Obasanjo or Buhari believes that closure of the border is the solution to the problem (it isn't). Rather they both closed the border as a means to force Benin Republic to the negotiation table. In Obasanjo's case, the closure of the border forced Benin to hand over Amani Tidjani and agree to a joint border force.
Lagos to register places of worship ‘to ensure sanity’
Published November 27, 2019
The Lagos State Government says plans are on to register religious houses in order to ensure sanity in the state.
The Commissioner, Lagos State Ministry of Home Affairs, Mrs. Uzamat Akinbile-Yussuf, made this known on Tuesday in Alausa, during a stakeholders meeting with the Nigeria Inter-religious Council.
Akinbile-Yussuf said the registration, which was supposed to commence by mid 2020, would help to identify worship centres that are being used to perpetrate illegalities in the state.
She said that having a database of all religious bodies in the state would enable ease of reference, as well as ensuring effective communication.
“We need to know our number; then we can know what we need, we can know where we belong, we can know what we are doing.
“So, we are coming up with the registration forms and we need your cooperation as religious bodies that represent us at the local government level.
“We will ensure that we have it on a platform that will be automated, then you can do it anywhere, it is not compulsory that you come to Alausa for the registration,” the commissioner said.
She said that once the platform is ready, religious bodies would be trained on how to use it for registration and at no cost.
Akinbile-Yussuf said that the purpose was to have easy access to churches and mosques in order for them to benefit from government programmes.
She said the Ministry of Home Affairs would collaborate with the Ministry of the Environment and Water Resources through the Lagos State Environmental Protection Agency to eradicate noise pollution emanating from places of worship throughout the state.
She said that Lagos could only be a 21st Century economy if there is good environment devoid of noise pollution.
“We want to charge NIREC officials to ensure that they promote good environment by addressing all complaints by communities over noise pollution,” she said.
Akinbile-Yussuf also charged religious bodies to continue to ensure peaceful co-existence, as well as eschew violence and acts that could lead to wanton destruction of lives and property.
According to her, religious bodies should help government in community policing by monitoring, preaching, lecturing and praying against criminal acts in the state.
She said that the ministry would embark on training and retraining of religious leaders, in order to ensure development and inclusive governance in the state.
Goke7: Without a YeKini, this Super eagles team(not the u-23 Atlanta Squad) did not achieve anything. They never won a trophy so what's the hype. Apart from a Finidi, Oliseh and Okocha, Ikpeba(who were not even regulars in 1994). What did this post 1994 team achieve? Nothing.
I understand what you mean, but they did win a trophy without Yekini. That was the 1995 Afro-Asian Cup.
Yekini was injured for much of 1995 (he didn't take part in the Confederations Cup) and I remember that he wasn't in the second leg of the Afro-Asian Cup final in Lagos. We had already defeated Uzbekistan 2-3 in the first leg in Tashkent, but I was worried when we were at 0-0 with Uzbekistan in Lagos. Our two most dangerous players (in my opinion), Yekini and Amunike were not on the pitch. Then Amodu brought in Amunike towards the end of the match and he scored with his first touch to give Nigeria the Afro-Asian Cup title.
Music/Radio › Re: Youssou Ndour- Living Legend (7 Seconds) by naptu2: 11:16am On Nov 29, 2019
