₦airaland Forum

yuzedo: All the Ashawo in Nigeria that promised us free punny if Nigeria win shall know my name: Great Yuzedo 1 of Banana Island!

brokoto: 27 July, 1991, Lagos. Nigeria 7-1 Burkina (Yekini (4), Siasia, Elaho, Finidi). Am I correct?

Reference: Yes. When it comes to the Nation's Cup Cameroun is our perenial nemesis not Ghana or other overhyped entities. 84 with Clement Temile as top ace. Keshi made a stand for Nigeria at that tourney. 88 in Maroc even after Henry Nwosu magical headed opener. Then 2000 in Lagos. But we've had good success against the Lions as well. Incidentally the football fortunes of both countries declined about the same time though we have recovered faster.

tessyade: I also remember that every other time Nigeria got to the Nations cup final without winning the cup (aside Algers '90), it's cameroun that stopped us.

[size=14pt]Emenike out of AFCON final[/size]

[img]http://mtn.ensight-cdn.com/content/emenike%20prayerful%20afcon~2.jpg[/img]

By MTNFootball.com - Saturday Feb 09, 04:35 +0200

Nigeria’s AFCON hopes have been dealt a massive blow after top scorer Emmanuel Emenike was ruled out of Sunday’s final by a muscle tear. 

The Super Eagles are gunning for a third Nations Cup title after they won the tournament in 1980 and 1994.

MTNFootball.com can exclusively report that a scan has showed the Spartak Moscow striker, who leads the goals chart at this year’s Nations Cup, suffered a thigh muscle tear of the right leg and so will miss the tournament final against Burkina Faso.

A top team official informed MTNFootball.com: “Emenike has been ruled out after a scan showed he suffered a thigh muscle tear of the right leg during the semi-final against Mali. It’s a big, big blow for Nigeria.”

The big, all-action centre-forward, who has emerged as one of the shinning stars at only his first AFCON, has fired four goals, just short of the 10 goals scored by Nigeria to propel them to the Sunday’s championship game.

One of his goals was the opening Group C match against Burkina Faso, which underlined his power-play style as he literally bulldozed his way past his markers to give Nigeria the lead.

The 25-year-old striker has missed training for the past two days and both he and team officials have worked overtime to assure he will be fit for Sunday.

Villarreal striker Ikechukwu Uche and Russia-based forward Ahmed Musa could be the likely replacement for the injured star now.

Uche has struggled for form at this competition since he lost his starting XI role to Emenike, while Ahmed Musa has not been at his most lethal best even though he scored in Wednesday’s 4-1 demolition of Mali.

Musa has been played by CSKA Moscow at centre-forward in the first half of the Russian Premier League with telling effect as he has scored a total of nine goals in all competitions thus far.

He may have struggled with his form but his confidence would have been boosted by his well-taken goal against Mali in Durban.

Ideye, who has regained top form and crowned it with a goal on Wednesday, could also be pushed as top striker with Uche or Musa now playing behind him.

ayswags: and what are we supposed to do with this

THE GUARDIAN
CONSCIENCE, NURTURED BY TRUTH
LAGOS, NIGERIA.     Sunday, October 19 2003

[size=14pt]Divergent Views Trail Introduction of Green-White Commuter Buses In Ajah[/size]
BY KEKELOLA OYEBOLA

CONFLICTING claims have continued to trail the decision of the Lagos State government to replace the yellow commuter buses popularly called "danfo" by City Buses in Ikoyi and Victoria Island routes, even as the government has approved special commercial buses for Ajah residents.

The new buses are however, painted green and white as against the popular yellow and black. Feelers within the Ajah community showed that residents are yet to enjoy the benefits of this new transport system as investigation by The Guardian showed that most commuters are still often stranded at the various bus stops within the area.

It would be recalled that shortly after the announcement of the new policy by the Lagos government, a sizeable number of the National Union of Road Transport Workers (NURTW) members went on rampage to register their anger.

Mr. Taoreed Modile, Financial Secretary, NURTW, CMS/Ajah branch, said government's change of heart was made possible by their chairman, Alhaji Adesina Ajayi who went to table the union's problems before the state government.

"After Alhaji Adesina had the discussion with the government, it was agreed that commercial buses willing to comply with the government directive should change the colour of their buses from yellow and black to green and white. We were then given numbers after which we are allowed to ply the route', he said.

Inspite of this measure, Modile still feel the arrangement which in his view was aimed at oppressing the masses even more,

"This new policy has affected everybody operating on the danfo buses together with their family members. We have been used to this route. But with this new policy, where does one start from?" he said. "This is not the first time that such policy has been tried in Lagos. Similar measure was taken during Adele and Ajose's time but they did not prevent others from plying the route."

The white and green buses charge N60 from CMS/Obalende to Ajah. Many commuters said they feel better with this development. "The mere fact that one is able to go straight from CMS to Ajah is a welcome idea. Before, it was really terrible when one waited endlessly for buses only to alight at Jakande to board another bus," says Mrs. Omolra Jokotola, a secretary who works in Ikeja.

However, Mr. Samson Peters who works at Lekki, said they still experienced hardship going from CMS to Ajah in the mornings. "If you come here early in the morning, you are bound to see people going to Ajah queuing up from under the bridge to CMS garage. While we feel happy about the little improvement, more could still be done to alleviate people's suffering. Whatever is delaying more buses from coming should be dealt with so that all these would become a thing of the past."

Mrs. Esther Iriwere, a nurse, is more concerned about the hours being wasted while the new arrangement is being worked out. "I have been given queries since this thing started. Before, I wake up at 5.30 a.m so as to get to my place of work at Alausa by 8 a.m in the morning. Now I wake up at 4 a.m only to still arrive late to work. Something should be done urgently."

Mr. Tony Ogbemudia, a member of the Independent Drivers' Association, the body that runs the T & M vehicles said more than 200 buses have been given number and permission to ply the Ajah route. "Very soon we are hoping that all our buses would have been painted and numbered. Then, there will be more than enough buses to ply the route in addition to those of the NURTW who are also changing the colour of their vehicles to the new one."

Efforts by The Guardian to reach the spokesperson for Cross Country Ltd, owners of city buses to find out their future plans, and other measure put in place to ensure compliance from their drivers failed. He was said to be indisposed.

[size=14pt]The City Bus Palaver[/size]


When the Lagos State Government recently banned commercial buses plying routes on Victoria Island and Ikoyi areas of the metropolis, it introduced City Buses under a government regulated scheme. But this new scheme has imposed untold hardship on commuters, as they now wait endlessly at bus stops. Justice Ilevbare and Ibrahim Sule write on the issues at stake and steps being taken by government to redress the situation

At Obalende, downtown Lagos the penultimate Friday, a frantic mass of commuters were stranded they waited endlessly for hours for buses that would take them to their destination points on highbrow Victoria Island and Ikoyi. The sea of human heads milled around in utter bewilderment, signposting a near-collapse of the commuting system.

It was the second day of the Lagos State Ministry of Transport' launch of a new public transportation scheme. That scheme, by which private commercial bus operators were banned from plying the V.I and Ikoyi routes, is intended to sanitise traffic in these highbrow areas of Eti-Osa Local Government . But the new scheme offers no succour for commuters, particularly school children

The yellow and black private buses popularly refer to as Danfo , had from the previous day been barred from plying the roads of Ikoyi and Victoria Island by the state government. Scores of mobile policemen and officials of the Lagos State Transport Management Authority (LASTMA), were on hand at all entry points to the two neighbourhoods to prevent defiant drivers. Children and women went through untold hardship as they struggled for limited buses that were allowed by the new scheme to operate on those routes. The scenario could best be described as the biblical camel passing through the eye of a needle: a situation where close to five thousand commuters struggle to get seats in a bus that has provision for just 18.

Mr. Chinedu, a trader at Balogun market, Lagos, was also stranded at one of the bus stops for several hours. He berates the new scheme by the government, saying: "How do you introduce such a noble scheme on routes where thousands of buses ply daily and replace these buses, with just two hundred buses?. I am amazed at the calibre of the vision of those in charge of the affairs of the country. It is simply not done anywhere. You cannot stop a such large fleet of buses from plying such a wide areas, where hundreds of thousands of people commute, overnight".

If getting to Ikoyi was a battle, to get out from the elite neighbourhood was a war. Chinedu was stranded at Keffi by Awolowo road junction in the hot, scorching sun for more than two hours. This was because of his resolve not to ride Okada on the busy Awolowo road.

Commuters were also stranded for hours endlessly at Tafawa Balewa Square, CMS and Jakande bus stop in Lekki, resulting in a chaotic situation on the Lagos Island and Eti-Osa council areas.

Students of the Marine and Oceanography Research Institute, Victoria Island, joined by some hoodlums went on rampage. They destroyed 17 buses belonging to Cross Country, operator of City Buses the outfit that has the sole right to ply the routes.

Tajudeen Jimoh, a commuter bus driver who plied Obalende and Falomo, wondered why anybody would choose to deprive him from his means of making legitimate income. He told THISDAY that the new scheme was just a ploy by those high-up to cornered the lucrative routes for themselves and their fronts. He wondered why a democratically elected government chose, in his view, to treat people contemptuously.

Jimoh said the most painful aspect of the crisis was that the National Union of Road Transport Workers (NURTW), failed to come to the defence of its members. "They are only interested in collecting union dues from drivers at every bus stop. Or have they made any pronouncements on the issue? I am asking you because you are a journalist."

Attempts by THISDAY to speak with the state chairman of the union, Chief Adeshina Ajayi were rebuffed at his office by some members of his staff. They would neither inform him of the presence of reporters wishing to speak with him, nor say how other principal officers could be reached. They simply asked reporters out of the Ebute-Ero, Lagos office.

Another driver spoken with said he was not surprised by the unbecoming attitude of the officers of the NURTW. "Since they don't work but make fortunes everyday, how do you expect them to come to our aid?". he asked.

Various commuters who spoke with THISDAY said it was unfortunate that a government popularly elected by Lagosians could expose them to such unnecessary hardship. The spokesman for Self-Employed Commercial Drivers Association of Nigeria (SECDAN), Mr. Richard Omijie, said the new scheme was capable of improving the welfare of Lagosians, but it was not properly done. He decried at a situation where his association, was not consulted by the state government, whereas a rival body NURTW, was given a chance to be involved in the scheme. "Where are their buses that they will use in plying the routes?. They (NURTW) are just interested in extorting money from drivers. But we who are hard working, law abiding are not being given a chance to participate in the scheme,".

Bowing to the protests by commuters, the Lagos State Government last week Monday licensed two operators to run shuttle buses on the routes.

Also on Monday, the State House of Assembly intervened in the crisis by summoning officials of the Transport Ministry and owners of the Cross Country transport firm.

In a motion he moved Hon. Jide Akinloye representing Eti-Osa constituency noted that the number of City Buses on the roads were simply inadequate .

The assembly urged the ministry to bring in more operators to reduce the sufferings of commuters. The lawmakers however advised the people not to sabotage the government's attempt to sanitise the transport sector.

When contacted for comment of the issue, Transport Commissioner Mr. Muiz Banire told THISDAY that the state government was not going to watch the scheme frustrated by a group of selfish and unpatriotic individuals. While warning those constituting a nuisance in the areas to stay clear, he said: "if the vandalisation and violent protests that occurred in Obalende , CMS and Jakande bust stops continue then such recalcitrant groups would be made to face the full wrath of the law".

According to him, the introduction of the scheme in those areas was necessitated by the need to have effective control and management of the transport system and to stem the menace of touts, otherwise known as Agbero, whose extortion of commercial vehicle drivers has become worrisome.

"Disorderliness, for example picking and discharging passengers indiscriminately at bus stops, where they are not designated as such, improper dressing and appearance of vehicle drivers and conductors, and many more problems informed the need to re-organise that sector and also to be able to control them effectively".

Banire refuted the claims by many that government is depriving the people of their means of livelihood. Government is not depriving the people of their livelihood, he said, rather government is creating jobs for many more people. "what we have said is that nothing stops those who are still interested to partake in the scheme, infact that is what they have done now. They have their own green and white colour codes and their own number, they call themselves CMS Taxi and Motors Nigeria Limited (T&M), which is the second carrier on those routes".

The commissioner said the basic requirement of owners of commercial vehicles who are still interested in plying the routes must include keeping their vehicles in good shape, have functioning trafficators, mirrors and comfortable seats, "So once you do all these, you then register under your company, which will issue you a number. So that whenever such vehicles commit any crime, the company would be held responsible".

On the fare being currently charged, Banire said that it was the cheapest so far around. "Now they charge N50 for normal express shuttle service, and N20 for normal service. So you can see that it is far much cheaper. If you are going to Ajah, it is the same N20 you pay on long buses, while the express shuttle which is the small buses cost N50,".

The Law lecturer-turned politician who said the scheme was still been test-run, pointed out that when formally launched, it would have taken care of all the defects currently encountered by the commuters. "What we are doing is test-running, we hope to put everything in place when the state governor formally launches the scheme soon. At the moment, City Bus alone have 270, with the Labour Transport making an addition of 30 long buses to complement the ones on grounds presently."

He declared that the services provided will be improved with coming of the second carriers (T&M), which commenced operation within the week. Also the buses are in good condition and ready to serve the people and alleviate their sufferings.

According to him, already, people are happy. NURTW and its state executives have signed an agreement, they also formed the second carriers (T&M). "The people are already benefiting from the scheme. The initial reactions of the people is expected, you expect such reactions like that when you are putting in place a change, and particularly a fundamental change.

"Traffic wise, there is better management on Victoria Island. The only thing is that the people were crying that the buses are not enough, but with the coming of the second carrier, that is the end of the matter".

Banire, described the transport situation in Lagos as far from what he expected. He said that the Lagos State Government is already putting measures in place to see to the realisation of this. " You can see the successes so far in the past four years. We are still going ahead, and that is part of what we are doing now. My vision for the state, is to have a state with effective and efficient transport system, where people especially are based on inter-connectivity".

The City Bus which has it terminals at TBS, CMS/Outer Marina, Obalende and Femi Okunnu Housing Estate (Round About), also has major bus stops in Ikoyi and Victoria Island with different routes and their routes numbers.

THISDAY was at the Oregun terminus of Cross Country to get the management's comments on the issue, but was referred to Yaba by the security who claimed that their head office is at Yaba.

At the Yaba office, all attempts to get official comments proved abortive as the staff neither agreed to speak with the reporter nor gave any hint relating to the issue. Further attempts to get the Yaba Office on phone was fruitless as the phone kept on ringing for hours without response.