₦airaland Forum

yuzedo: tommaki bro did u growed up in side vilegge hut? bro u neeed to tramvul to abroad, mayb gana or sera lone. wtf! wot a 21th centurry this grace!!

johnie: ^^^

So, it was the Phase 1 and Parkview people that were causing all the traffic between Falomo and Admiralty Plaza?

@Gidi_Traffic To be sincere wt u, I appreciate this new cable link bridge. Took me just an hour from Lekki to magodo --on a Monday evening!

The Lekki - Ikoyi bridge is free as the N250 toll fee comes with ice cream. Remember to ask for yours

Tolling has commenced on the Lekki-Ikoyi Link Bridge

Toll gate to law sch , hope it's dis way frm now on! Thanks to lekki ikoyi toll bridge @Gidi_Traffic , this is a smooth ride

#REPORT @naijalyricswiki: Suddenly living in PARKVIEW is not that cool anymore. Traffic is madt. cc @Gidi_Traffic

#REPORT [6:03 PM] @thetoolsman: There's already traffic on the LEKKI-IKOYI BRIDGE.. God help us in Lagos…

@MobolaOjo: HEAVY traffic outward BANANA Island. IKOYI. 5.55pm @Gidi_Traffic

@Gidi_Traffic Maybe they should restrict the use of the New LEKKI-IKOYI bridge to cars made after 2010 to reduce this BOURDILLION traffic.

Life rily made easy, driving frm Bourdillon rd Ikoyi dwn to Lekki now is a dream comes true #SayGoodbyeToOzumbaMbadiweTraffic @Gidi_Traffic

#REPORT “@ekesunvictor: @Gidi_Traffic this new bridge is really easing up traffic at Falomo but building it up at Park View”

@Gidi_Traffic To be sincere wt u, I appreciate this new cable link bridge. Took me just an hour from Lekki to magodo --on a Monday evening!

The Lekki - Ikoyi bridge is free as the N250 toll fee comes with ice cream. Remember to ask for yours

Tolling has commenced on the Lekki-Ikoyi Link Bridge

Toll gate to law sch , hope it's dis way frm now on! Thanks to lekki ikoyi toll bridge @Gidi_Traffic , this is a smooth ride

#REPORT @naijalyricswiki: Suddenly living in PARKVIEW is not that cool anymore. Traffic is madt. cc @Gidi_Traffic

#REPORT [6:03 PM] @thetoolsman: There's already traffic on the LEKKI-IKOYI BRIDGE.. God help us in Lagos…

@MobolaOjo: HEAVY traffic outward BANANA Island. IKOYI. 5.55pm @Gidi_Traffic

@Gidi_Traffic Maybe they should restrict the use of the New LEKKI-IKOYI bridge to cars made after 2010 to reduce this BOURDILLION traffic.

Life rily made easy, driving frm Bourdillon rd Ikoyi dwn to Lekki now is a dream comes true #SayGoodbyeToOzumbaMbadiweTraffic @Gidi_Traffic

#REPORT “@ekesunvictor: @Gidi_Traffic this new bridge is really easing up traffic at Falomo but building it up at Park View”

christ4mi: Hausa-fulani, only marry among themselves.
And the Dangote family marry among themselves, If ur last name is Dantata, or Isiaka Rabiu, or Indimi, then u can marry one of Dangote's daughters

naptu2: From the mid 1990s onwards, Obalende had become an eyesore. Commercial buses park anywhere they feel like parking, obstructing traffic and causing confusion. CD and cassette sellers blast loud music from giant loudspeakers. Companies and individuals pour water on the street to the extent that there's dirty and stinking water everywhere, even during the dry season. Hawkers block the side of the street, obstructing pedestrians (there were no pedestrian walkways) and they even encroach on the street, obstructing the flow of traffic. There were potholes on the streets that were probably partly caused by the awful dirty water that was on the road even during the dry season. Area boys often molested people and dispossessed them of their belongings in the early mornings and late at night.

Well, the Lagos State Government moved into the area about a year ago and started changing things. A new bus park was built for danfo buses and bus drivers that park on the street, outside the bus park are made to pay a hefty fine. The old LSTC terminus has been renovated and is now a BRT terminus. The traders at Obalende saw what happened at Oshodi and appealed to the governor that he shouldn't arrest them because they are now ready to comply with environmental laws (there's a video of that somewhere on Youtube). The government has not stopped them from carrying out their business, but they've been told that they must stay beyond the sidewalk. Anyone that strays onto the sidewalk or the road, will have his goods confiscated and he would be arrested. The roads are being reconstructed, there's now a raised pedestrian walkway/sidewalk and the drainages are also being reconstructed. The roundabout is being beautified (a garden has been planted there and gardens are springing up in different parts of the bus stop). Men of the task force (mobile police, kai and civil defence) are permanently stationed at the roundabout, so the place is safer. Huge lights have been set up at the new bus park, the BRT terminus and other parts of Obalende. The street lights now work.

And then there's the MacGregor Canal! I'm going to show you pics of that canal from the 1950s, 2008, 2009 and 2013.

watchinglagos: As we inch pile after pile, beam of steel after beam of steel, you can be sure we will deliver the project, he says.

Lagos State Governor, Mr. Babatunde Fashola (SAN), Sunday inspected the on-going urban regeneration residential development in Isale Gangan, Central Lagos assuring that although there would be challenges ahead, his administration was not looking back in its drive to deliver the project.


The Isale Gangan Residential Development is an 11-storey, 54-flat housing project being developed by the Lagos State Urban Renewal Agency in the historic Isale Gangan area in Central Lagos. The 11-Floor development being done with the agreement of all the families who owned the small pieces of land used for it would comprise of two floors for parking, two and three bedroom flats, two lifts, staircases and escape staircases among other features.


Fielding questions from newsmen after the inspection, Governor Fashola said although there are challenges on the way to the completion , the important thing was that the project has moved from a dream to a plan and from a plan to reality adding that the structure was being built to ensure that it would stand the test of time.


“There are challenges ahead before the project is completed, no doubt, but the important thing is that it has moved from a dream to a plan and from a plan to reality. The race to the finish line is quite challenging but we are not looking back. And as we work pile after pile, track after track, beam of steel after beam of steel, you can be sure we will deliver the project”, the Governor assured.


Giving background information about the project, Governor Fashola, who said the area suffered collapse of buildings several years back, pointed out that the unfortunate incident created an opportunity for his administration to decide to renew the area and put some solid residential structures in place.


“Some of the developments here were done during the “developers’’ era” when foundations came up in the night and five years later the building collapsed”, the Governor said adding that the space for the project was created from small pieces of land whose owners merged together for the housing development which, when completed, will revert to the land owners.


“We encouraged the families who own small pieces of land in this place to merge together in one piece and we helped them form an agreement so we can create space and build this place for them with all the amenities which will enable them live the kind of life they have been used to, have parties and so on, drive in and park their cars in their homes”, the Governor further explained.


According to the Governor, “this place will be a residential home for all of the families who own small pieces of land here. Each of them now has an apartment here instead of the small piece which cannot contain a house. We have helped them merge into this very big space so their lands are now in the vertical space. We have relocated them to Ipaja so that after the completion of this project those who want to return here can do so but those who do not want to return can let theirs out. But each family that owns land here has already been resettled”.


“These are some of the resettlement schemes that we do that we do not make too much noise about; but the beneficiaries know it and they understand it”, Governor Fashola said.
Assuring that the project would be structurally stable, the Governor declared, “The more difficult work is already almost completed, piling to secure the structural stability of the house. You can see the type of construction, the type of piling, over 200 piles already here and more to come. There are piles that have gone as deep as 27 metres here and you can see the width and diameter, so you can see this is a building that cannot collapse”.


The 11-floor residential building, being constructed by Anatolia International Limited, consists of nine residential floors with a total of 54 flats made up of 36 2-bedroom flats and 18 3-bedroom flats. Each floor contains six flats made up of four 2-bedroom flats and two 3-bedroom flats while the ground and first floors are for parking lots.


Governor Fashola, who was conducted round the project by the Managing Director of the construction company, Mr. Chahid Raffoul, was accompanied on the tour by the Commissioner for Works and Infrastructure, Dr. Olufemi Hamzat among other top government officials as well as community leaders and residents who turned out to welcome the Governor.

http://www.watchinglagos.com/2013/02/fashola-inspects-11-floor-54-flat-isale.html

naptu2: Isale-Gangan (2009)
https://photos-g.ak.fbcdn.net/hphotos-ak-ash3/71944_488646687789_2122206_n.jpg

naptu2: Isale-Gangan (1950s)
https://photos-b.ak.fbcdn.net/hphotos-ak-ash3/73075_488646267789_6662908_n.jpg

naptu2: Now I'm going to give you links, stories, pictures, etc (if the anti-spam bot doesn't ban me), but before that I'm going to give you some background.

I believe that Fashola came to complete what Jakande started. Many of Fashola's policies are not really new, but he is returning Lagos to what it was in the 1950s and also completing or improving what Jakande started in the 1980s (I also have to admit that some of the projects were started during Tinubu's administration). (I'm smiling right now because I remember that my family were staunchly opposed to Jakande's education policies).

Lagos HOMS: Jakande (well, Lagos State Development and Property Corporation [LSDPC) built the famous Jakande low cost houses and offered them for sale to Lagosians. The key to the success of this scheme was mortgages. You pay a small initial deposit and pay the rest over the next twenty or thirty years. This made it affordable to the average Lagosian. However, there was a flaw in that model and Fashola has thought of a way to address that flaw. Multi-millionaires bought a lot of the flats and resold them at higher rates. I know one such man who still has several flats in several low cost estates in Lagos.

With Lagos HOMS you must swear an affidavit that you do not own any other house in Lagos and you are not allowed to let out the flat (that is, you must be the one occupying the flat) for the 20 or so years it will take you to pay off the mortgage.

There are also several other programmes and policies that I will post here tonight (if sleep doesn't take me away), including the skills acquisition centres, the Lagos Micro-Finance Institution, Kaiyero and other markets, Isale-Gangan urban renewal (I'll even show you pics of Isale-Gangan in the 1950s and 90s), the Destitute's Home, etc.

Eko Ile: [img]http://img1.nairaland.com/attachments/468902_1_jpgf3ccdd27d2000e3f9255a7e3e2c48800[/img]


[img]http://img1.nairaland.com/attachments/468904_3_jpg799bad5a3b514f096e69bbc4a7896cd9[/img]


[img]http://img1.nairaland.com/attachments/468903_2_jpg156005c5baf40ff51a327f1c34f2975b[/img]

mekusxxx: Print version ‘Area Boys’ Burn Rehabilitation Centre
February 17, 2010 17:16, 105 views

By Kazeem Ugbodaga

The multi-million naira Lagos State Rehabilitation and Skills Acquisition Centre, Tekunle, Lagos State has been burnt by area boys taken to the centre for rehabilitation.

The centre was built by former Governor Bola Tinubu about six years ago to rehabilitate area boys and drug addicts arrested on the streets of Lagos.

Tekunle is an Island at a remote area of Lekki and has often been described as a ‘place of no return’ because of its inaccessibility.

Area boys taken to the Island, after sometime adjust to the environment and learn useful skills such as tailoring, carpentry, vulcanizing, among others for a period of nine months after which they are sent back into the society to live meaningful lives.

However, P.M.NEWS gathered that scores of area boys sent for rehabilitation went on the rampage recently and razed the centre.

Equipment bought with millions of naira and the buildings in the centre were burnt by the area boys, bringing to an end the rehabilitation programme of the Lagos State Government for social miscreants.

It could not be ascertain why the area boys went on the rampage.

P.M.NEWS gathered, however, that the trainees revolted when they were being flogged for refusing to carry out certain instruction.

Officers of the Lagos State Taskforce on Environment and Special Offences unit, it was further learnt, saved the day as they stormed the centre and arrested scores of the area boys who carried out the act.

Chairman of the Task Force, Bayo Sulaiman, when contacted told P.M.NEWS that those arrested had been charged to the Tapa Customary Court, Lagos Island for arson.

He disclosed that the suspects were currently being remanded at the Ikoyi Prisons, adding that the state’s Attorney-General and Commissioner for Justice, Mr. Supo Sasore, was handling the case for the government.

When asked to give details on how the area boys burnt the centre, he declined, saying that our reporter should go to the Ministry of Youth, Sports and Social Development to get such information.

When contacted, the Permanent Secretary, Mr. Kamal Junaid said: “I don’t know anything about it; you can contact the Public Relations Officer or the Special Adviser to the Governor on Youth, Sports and Social Development.”

Special Adviser to the Governor on Youth, Sports and Social Development, Dr. Dolapo Badru, could not be reached.

One of his aides who picked the call said his boss was in a meeting and that we should call later.

Since the inception of the centre, about four sets of area boys had been rehabilitated and empowered to live meaningful lives in the society.

Some of them had told stories of their wretched past and how their lives changed when they were rehabilitated at the training centre.

With the burning of the centre, it appears the laudable plan of the state government to rehabilitate the notorious area boys has been dealt a mortal blow.

Eko Ile: https://i56.tinypic.com/30tl4sx.jpg

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Press Releases

Fashola Hands Over Mushin Skills Acquisition And Vocational Centre
…Says 13,422 men, women have so far been trained through them

Feb 15, 2011 - Lagos State Governor, Mr. Babatunde Fashola on Tuesday handed over the 17th Skills Acquisition and Vocational Centre in the State located at Mushin, revealing that the State has so far trained about 13,422 men and women.

Governor Fashola who spoke at the official commissioning of the Mushin Skill Acquisition Centre said from Amuwo Odofin, Badagry, Egan, Egbeda and Ejigbo, through Eredo, Iba, Ibeju Leki, Igbooye, Ikorodu and Kosofe to Lagos Island, Shibiri in Ojo, Surulere and Agege, the State has continually turned out thousands of young men and women with productive skills with which they are putting food on thousands of tables and contributing to the economy of the State.

The Governor said apart from the sustained support which the State gives to the ordinary people, Government has evolved a people oriented policy of facilitating training for the young people to acquire skills and granting them access to credit to start their own businesses, Government has also created a database for them to establish their location and for them to relate with themselves through the compilation and publication of the Lagos State Business Directory which is similar to "Yellow Pages".

He said beyond all the support for ordinary people, the State has evolved a people oriented policy of patronizing the local manufacturers and entrepreneurs over the foreign producers.

He recalled that the 2010 Lagos Carnival is a clear testimony of the practice as the over 93, 000 pieces of costumes used for the carnival that could have been imported much cheaper was commissioned for local production.

He stressed that the decision to site skill acquisition centres in different parts of the state was part of the administration's resolve to encourage young people to acquire vocational skills and create an avenue to make money and sustain themselves.

Governor Fashola expressed his worry at the recent policy shift by the Federal Government which allows importation of furniture, toothpick, textiles and vehicles of 15 years into the country.

He described the step as an economic tragedy for the nation which is not defensible and called for its reversal.

Governor Fashola stressed that the frenzy of importation has killed the local economy leading to high rate of unemployment and noting that smuggling could be tamed by well structured security mechanisms rather than throwing the flood gates open of goods to all sorts.

"This policy decision is not the answer to the problem of smuggling. The answer to the problem of smuggling lies rather in a methodical and multi-dimensional response. It includes the strengthening of the Customs through technology such as scanners, to improving the local productive capacity of our people and reducing dependence on imports and its attraction", he added.

He said if the Federal Government reverses the policy on importation and concentrate on stimulating the growth of the local industry through accelerated electricity supply, "our freight forwarders, our customs and our ports will become busier from a positive reversal of fortunes that is driven by an export oriented economy rather than an import driven economy".

He urged the people to vote massively for all the candidates of the Action Congress of Nigeria in Lagos because it is the only party that can deliver the goods which is very visible for everyone to see.

He urged the people of Lagos State not to give the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) any chance to rule in any part of the country anymore, adding that it is a party that is rebranding on a vision that is giving Nigerians insecurity and inflicting a nightmare on the people.

Earlier, the Commissioner for Women Affairs and Poverty Alleviation (WAPA), Mrs. Adejoke Orelope-Adefulire, said the location of the centre in Mushin is informed by the administration's policy of tackling poverty and women empowerment at the grassroots.

She said the numerous skill acquisition programmes of the Ministry has offered diverse opportunities to all classes of Lagosians to learn various vocations after which they are provided with needed capital and conducive environment to start practicing their trade.

Mrs Orelope-Adefulire said that so far, over 60,000 grassroots women and youths have been trained in year 2010 alone through the Acquisition centres.

In his welcome address, the Chairman of Mushin Local Government, Mr Babatunde Adepitan said the construction of the Skills Acquisition Centre in Mushin at that particular spot is another miracle of the century which could be better compared to what happened at Oshodi.

He said as a responsible Government the Council received the gift with both hands and has complimented the efforts of the State by immediately constructing all the roads leading to the centre.

In a message of solidarity Commissioner for Environment, Dr Muiz Banire who is also an indigene of the area commended Governor Babatunde Fashola and his team for a job well done in transforming Lagos State.

He said the site of the project was hitherto a major security risk for the residents of the area just as it also constituted an environmental disaster spot, saying through the resourcefulness of the present administration, it has been transformed.

The ceremony was attended by the Deputy Governor, Princess Sarah Adebisi Sosan, members of the State Executive Council, members of the National Assembly and State Assembly representing Mushin and political leaders as well as enthusiastic residents of the area who trooped out to receive the Governor witness the event.

[size=14pt]Street-Kid Turned Vulcanizer Makes N5,000 Daily.[/size]

About 13 years ago, Samuel Tanimola ran away from home in Ifo, Ogun State, at the age of 10 years. He came to Lagos and settled down in Dopemu area of the state.

Tanimola, who is now a vulcaniser, told our correspondent that he was fed up with the living condition at home.

However, things were not as easy as he had hoped. He had no friend and knew nobody in the new place he found himself, yet he had to feed.

Tanimola joined hordes of street children roaming the streets and feeding through the use of their wits until he was eventually arrested by the Environmental Task force on Special Offences in 2004.

He said, "I ran away because I was not happy at home; it was a polygamous setting and my mum was not living with us.

"Although things were tough on the street, it was better than home. I even tried to escape when the police raided Dopemu that day. They grabbed as many of us as they could lay hands on and took us to the remand home at Oregun. I was so scared that I imagined the worst."

For two years, Tanimola remained at the Oregun Juvenile Centre under close supervision without any contact with the outside world.

Then in March 2006, Tanimola was transferred to the Correctional Centre for Senior Boys, Isheri, where he stayed another three years.

He said, "The centre at Isheri was much better than the one in Oregun. We were allowed to go out and then return to the centre. But at Oregun, we could not go out. It was while I was staying at Isheri that I decided to learn a trade and become a vulcanizer. I have no interest in school."

PUNCH Metro learnt that Tanimola was reunited with his family in 2009. His father did not, however, return to the centre after his first visit until November 2010, when his son was formally empowered to become self reliant.

Now 23 years, Tanimola plies his trade at the Vehicle Inspection Office at Ojodu, a place which he secured through the efforts of a permanent secretary at the Lagos State Ministry of Youths, Sports and Social Development.

He said, "I have moved out of the centre; I now live at Akute. Business is good; there are just two of us here. On a good day, I make as much as N5,000; sometimes N3,000, and on some days, nothing at all.

"On the whole, I can take care of myself. I used to think that it was over for me but now I am happy."

The Special Adviser to Lagos State Governor on Youths, Sports and Social Development, Dr. Enitan Badru, said, "About 10 to 20 children come into our correctional centres monthly- most of them minors, caught roaming the streets or even committing crimes. Those caught committing crimes, usually face the justice system.

"These children often run away from home or were brought to Lagos by relatives. Others, fed up with life in the village, heard of a place called Lagos and got into a bus to come here, sleeping under the bridges and motor parks.

"When these children are brought in, we try to trace their families and reunite them. When we are not able to do that, we go to the courts and secure the right to keep the child and find the best means to help the child live a fulfilled life."

He said Tanimola was an example of the fact that street children could be made to become useful citizens with love and patience.

[size=14pt]No Hiding Place For Beggars —fashola[/size] by Eko Ile: 5:16pm On Feb 16]

The war against begging in Lagos rages on as Governor Babatunde Fashola has vowed to eradicate all forms of begging in the state.

The governor stated that the law against begging must be enforced to ensure that beggars were stamped out of the streets of Lagos as their activities constituted nuisance to the public and the government.
Gov. Babatunde Raji, rages war against begging in the state

Gov. Babatunde Raji, rages war against begging in the state

[b]Fashola, who spoke after he visited the State Remand Home and Skill Acquisition Centre, Isheri, and the premises of Eko Transport in Oshodi on Thursday, said there was no reason why people should beg for alms on the streets of Lagos when they could easily learn some vocational skills.

“When we say people shouldn’t beg on our street, we mean it. The reason is that begging is not an option here. Everyone must contribute to this economy and those who have drug problem or illness have the choice to visit our remand homes where we feed them, rehabilitate and treat them.

“So, we have provided a choice and there is a law against street begging and we will enforce it,” he stated.

The governor added that several people had been trained at the vocational centres and had become very useful to the society, stressing that those begging for alms could also make themselves available for training in order to become useful to the society as well.

He explained that the Lagos State Remand Home and Skill Acquisition Centre, Isheri was developed over the last years essentially out of nothing. This, he attributed to the hard work by the deputy governor and her team.

The governor said the Wood Work section at the centre was where a lot of the state’s school furniture and stuff were being made currently, adding that the boots worn by officials of the Lagos State Traffic Management Authority and Neighbourhood Watch were being made at the footwear centre.

“We have been to the refrigeration unit of the centre where they teach them basic refrigeration, maintenance, operational and management skills. We also saw the centre where the young ladies were making foot mats, dresses and all of that. They would move on as they finish to the African Growth Opportunities Act Centre (AGOA) in collaboration with the US Government where they can begin to export some of their work,” he said.

Fashola explained how the centre played a key role in developing skilled manpower even from among the indigent, saying that, “clearly, they are products of our technical colleges and also destitute and people with drug problems taken through rehabilitation and introduced to the Centres to learn a skill and go back and become useful members of the society.”[/b]

—Kazeem Ugbodaga

naptu2: Skills Acquisition Centers. The Lagos State Skills Acquisition Centers are set up for people who do not have jobs, to enable them to learn skills that will enable them earn a living. Any unemployed person can attend the skills acquisition centres, but there is also a special set of people who are sent to the centres by the government after being screened. These set of people are the area boys, homeless, street traders, beggars, etc.

Below is the process for the special class of attendees:

[size=14pt]The Process[/size]

1)The environmental laws of Lagos State (laws against street trading, begging, etc) have been in place at least since the 1970s (probably earlier). They've been reviewed quite a number of times (Akhigbe, Rasaki, Tinubu).

2) The process was fully established by the Tinubu Administration.

3) Beggars, street traders, destitutes, area boys, psychotics, etc are arrested by the Task Force on Environmental Offences.

4) They are given a choice: (a) go to prison (b) go to rehabilitation centre (c) return to your state of origin.

A) The law stipulates punishment for those who commit these offences. They include prison term, fine, forfeiture of goods.

B) Rehabilitation centres were set up (the most famous/infamous was at Ita-Oko Island). At the centres the inmates are sorted. They are tested for drugs. Those who are drug addicts are detoxified. Those who have mental illnesses are sent to the asylum. The inmates (apart from the lunatics) are then taught skills (skills acquisition centre) so that they'll be able to earn a living. When they complete the course, they are given a loan with which they will start a business and made to sign an undertaking that they will not return to the streets.

C) Return: Those who choose to return are transported to their state of origin. The state government is usually informed ahead of time (although I know of 3 instances in which their state governments claimed that they were not informed) so that they can make arrangements to cater for the people. Most of the people who have chosen to return are from the northern part of the country (note: they chose to return).

naptu2: Students of the skills acquisition centres make the costumes that are used for the annual Lagos Carnival, while sponsors of the carnival bear the cost (participants in the carnival are given the costumes for free).

Upon graduation they are given interest free loans by the Lagos Micro-Finance Institution (LASMI).