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 Politics › Re: Fashola Suspends Lekki Expressway Toll Collection by Pifa: 1:39am On Dec 31, 2010 |
kalokalo:If a contract like that were signed where I live, the politicians who signed it would be out of office by now. Ask Grey Davis, the former governor of California who was thrown out of office by a recall drive because he signed a contract that put California at the mercy of Enron and its impetuous upward drive in rates paid by California's utilities. |
| Politics › Re: Fashola Suspends Lekki Expressway Toll Collection by Pifa: 1:24am On Dec 31, 2010 |
eku_bear:The complaint I've read is that the so-called alternate route is not passable. Residents in the area also complain that the concessionaire had fenced off the road in such a way that they had no access to the alternate routes. For them to reach any destination traversed by the toll road, they had to take the toll road. That’s holding them hostage to the commercial interest of the concessionaire. How long have you been in California? |
| Politics › Re: Fashola Suspends Lekki Expressway Toll Collection by Pifa: 1:10am On Dec 31, 2010 |
kalokalo:I am glad you were able to clarify some of the legal angle of the contract. But the issue is not whether it was a legal contract or not; the issue is that the state has not provided alternate route(s) for those who cannot or wish not to pay the toll, thereby committing the citizenry to forced patronage. |
| Politics › Re: Fashola Suspends Lekki Expressway Toll Collection by Pifa: 12:54am On Dec 31, 2010 |
GAR3TH:@GAR3TH This is not an issue of “nothing is built for free”, or the minuscule budget of Lagos, nor is it about the state’s teaming population. I wrote earlier that if indeed the state had not and would not provide an alternate route for motorists who do not wish to pay the toll, then it would amount to a concept in law known as “forced patronage”. I cannot speak for the law in Lagos, but in civilized societies that could be a ground for invalidating the contract. I do not have anything against PPP. But I do have plenty against forced patronage and citizens have a right to protest forced patronage. The Lekki FTZ you mentioned is not a municipal responsibility; providing passable roads is. No commercial interest is compelled to do business in the FTZ. It is a privilege for businesses that can afford to do so and meet the state’s guidelines for operating within the zone. |
| Politics › Re: ‘I Am Withdrawing From Public Life’ - Soyinka by Pifa: 9:51pm On Dec 30, 2010 |
Kobojunkie:That pretty much sums it up. Mr. Soyinka is one of the very few Nigerian leaders I hold in high esteem. |
| Politics › Re: Fashola Suspends Lekki Expressway Toll Collection by Pifa: 9:30pm On Dec 30, 2010 |
@PhysicsQED and babapupa You have good arguments regarding tolling of thoroughfares in modern metropolises around the world. Even here in the liberal enclave of California (California is not as liberal as people think, but that’s another subject), the state was at the forefront of the private toll-road program since 1986. And it was by legislation. However, quite a few of the PPP toll roads that were built at the time have since gone bankrupt or have been taken over by public agencies. The toll-road model has worked quite well in other US states, as PhysicsQED correctly noted. But the BIG difference here – and I believe this is the argument of objectors to tolling the Lekki expressway – is that private toll roads and public structures of similar genre around the world were built from scratch by their private investors. They acquired the land and paid compensation to land owners in the right of way, built the toll road and supporting infrastructures, operated and maintained it. The Lekki expressway, objectors to tolling contend, was built with taxpayers’ money. The concessionaire simply improved the road (admittedly) and then set about fencing the tolled section such that you are compelled to use their tolled section, even for making short trips within the neighborhood in which you reside or run a business. They further contend that the government has failed to provide an alternate route for motorists who do not wish to use the toll road. The second argument, in a court of law, is a winner, if indeed the government has failed to provide an alternate route to the toll road. It would amount to what lawyers call forced patronage (as opposed to voluntary patronage). Without providing an alternate to the toll roads, the state government is essentially holding them hostage to the commercial interest of the toll road concessionaire, objectors to tolling say. It is an abrogation of the state's municipal duties and a winning argument in court. Diversion: Private toll-way operators and their collaborating governments have three patronage models they follow: a) Forced patronage, which I described earlier. In some form of “forced patronage” the private entity constructing the road may ask its partnering government for a no-compete clause in the PPP agreement. The clause may prevent the partnering government from constructing relief roads that may compete with the private toll road and thereby starving it of traffic and revenue. The inclusion of such a clause in the PPP agreement lead to the demise of one of the pioneering private toll roads in California in 2002, after political outcry threatened to undo the whole PPP scheme in the state. b) Patronage based on convenience or relief to a congested corridor. Here, a private entity builds an adjunct road in a congested traffic corridor to provide relief to motorists who are willing to pay for the convenience of lighter traffic en route to their destination. c) A third model is patronage based on restrictive geography. This is a case where the geography compels you to use the toll ways. Good examples are the toll bridges that connect the northern and eastern parts of the San Francisco Bay to the city and to the technology enclave of Silicon Valley. One may bypass the tolled bridges going into San Francisco (there are four of them), but it will cost an extra hour or so in traffic. There is convenience attached to this model, also. |
| Politics › Re: Envoy Says Ojukwu’s Health Improving by Pifa: 12:23am On Dec 30, 2010 |
It's good to learn that he is responding well to treatment. It's always a dicey issue when you had to airlift someone 3000 miles to a hospital after he just suffered a stroke. The probability of permanent damage to the patient's organs is significant. |
| Politics › Re: Chukwuemeka Odumegwu Ojukwu Is Dead? by Pifa: 12:55am On Dec 29, 2010 |
dayokanu:And while on the diversion of street naming, people such as Mr. Wole Soyinka should have prominent honors to their name in the eastern part of Nigeria. Mr. Soyinka, after all, was sympathetic to the Igbos’ agitation for freedom from persecution. That will be a right step toward reconciliation and integration (not too late) particularly between the east and west. |
| Politics › Re: Chukwuemeka Odumegwu Ojukwu Is Dead? by Pifa: 12:30am On Dec 29, 2010 |
dayokanu:What then is your antipathy toward naming a street in Lagos after Mr. Ojukwu? He certainly has more principle than some of the semi-literate generals (and usurpers of democratically-elected government) whose names adorn the airport and thoroughfares in Lagos. |
| Politics › Re: Chukwuemeka Odumegwu Ojukwu Is Dead? by Pifa: 12:19am On Dec 29, 2010 |
lagbaja20:It is pathetically silly to put Boko Haram on the same pedestal as the Igbo's agitation for Biafra (and freedom from persecution in northern Nigeria) and MEND's struggle for resource control. The Boko Haram people are thugs who terrorize the neighborhood at the instigation of their political benefactors. The Igbos and MEND could be called freedom fighters. MEND were freedom fighters until they became MEND Brothers Kidnappers, Incorporated. What was Boko Haram fighting for? |
| Politics › Re: Chukwuemeka Odumegwu Ojukwu Is Dead? by Pifa: 12:02am On Dec 29, 2010 |
lagbaja20:I am not obsessed with Lagos at all. I happen to be a Lagosian (ethnic Lagosian, if you will), although I don't have a Nigerian surname, nor is my mother a Nigerian, and I've spent all but ten years of my life outside Nigeria. Perhaps that is why I don’t have the same visceral attachment to ethnicity as some of you have. But I just don't see why a street in Lagos cannot be named after Mr. Ojukwu simply because he is not from the west or because Mr. Awolowo does not have one named after him in Enugu. Maybe the east would reciprocate, if Lagos made the first move. Lagos, after all, has always been the foremost trailblazer in contemporary Nigerian culture. It should all be done in the name of reconciliation. Yes, reconciliation! Whatever happened to that? |
| Politics › Re: Chukwuemeka Odumegwu Ojukwu Is Dead? by Pifa: 11:38pm On Dec 28, 2010 |
Why don't you guys leave this thread to those who respect this man and wish him well? I don't have the disposition to engage in silly banter with you, so I will only respond to those who are interested in substantive exchange. I wouldn't like to see this thread degenerate into another tribal sin assembly. You've made your point: you don't think much of Mr. Ojukwu nor do you subscribe to naming a street after him in any other part of Nigeria other than the east. Those of us who think highly of the man should not be disturbed when we come to this thread to learn about the man's health or to wish him well. I've said this before and I'll say it again: there is no one in Nigerian history who has acted on his principled belief to the extent that Mr. Ojukwu did. If Ojukwu had a contemporary in the west at the time of the civil war, Nigeria would certainly wear a different motif than it does today. |
| Politics › Re: Chukwuemeka Odumegwu Ojukwu Is Dead? by Pifa: 10:19pm On Dec 28, 2010 |
dem_people:Thanks very much for the update. If you can, please post updates about his recovery. I have a good deal of respect for this man. |
| Politics › Re: Chukwuemeka Odumegwu Ojukwu Is Dead? by Pifa: 9:30pm On Dec 28, 2010 |
ode remo:I don't see why some infrastructure in the east could not be named after someone from another part of the country to honor him or her. Why are Nigerians so ethnically biased? Are there not streets named after people of other ethnicities in Lagos? Why not one for Ojukwu? |
| Politics › Re: Chukwuemeka Odumegwu Ojukwu Is Dead? by Pifa: 8:46pm On Dec 28, 2010 |
No, I am not going crazy at all. I see Mr. Ojukwu as a citizen whose principled actions Nigerians should respect: He was the only one to ever fight for what he believed. That, to me, is worth emulating and is worth the recognition of having a street named after him. Can you say that about any of the semi-literate generals whose names adorn the streets of Lagos and some of the state’s infrastructure? I’ve never hidden my admiration and respect for Mr. Ojukwu. I am sure he is not perfect; he has flaws just like all of us on earth. But it shouldn’t take away from his stature among Nigerian leaders. And one more thing, mister: the civil war ended over three decades ago. You can remain glued to the inertia of the past, or you can free yourself and join the march toward the future. |
| Politics › Re: Chukwuemeka Odumegwu Ojukwu Is Dead? by Pifa: 8:03pm On Dec 28, 2010 |
He was responding to treatment, according to the last piece of news I read about his condition. It's likely that he will suffer some permanent speech impediment and/or diminished motor skills. These are common after a stroke, although I hope he will escape those and that his intellectual skills will remain unaffected. Question for those of you living in Lagos: Does Mr. Ojukwu have a street named after him in the state? If no street is named after him, then the government of Lagos should rectify this oversight with urgency. He is certainly more deserving of such recognition than many of the semi-literate generals whose names adorn the streets of Lagos and some of the state's infrastructure. |
| Politics › Re: Prayer For Ojukwu by Pifa: 1:28am On Dec 28, 2010 |
I just read about Mr. Ojukwu’s illness in this forum. I hope he is responding well to treatment in the UK. He is one of a handful of Nigerian leaders for whom I have much regard. |
| Politics › Re: Breaking News! Pa Enahoro Is Dead! by Pifa: 4:42pm On Dec 16, 2010 |
PhysicsQED:PhysicsQED, |
| Politics › Re: Breaking News! Pa Enahoro Is Dead! by Pifa: 7:02am On Dec 16, 2010 |
Was the deceased related to one Peter Enahoro who was a newscaster with the television station in Lagos back in the late 70s? I remember watching Peter on TV when I was a child in Lagos. |
| Business › Question About Ip Laws In Nigeria by Pifa(op): 6:55pm On Dec 14, 2010 |
Could someone please tell me if there are intellectual property laws in Nigeria and how the courts enforce such laws, if at all they do? Does anyone know any patent attorney in Lagos, Nigeria? |
| Politics › Question About IP Laws In Nigeria by Pifa(op): 1:09am On Dec 14, 2010 |
Could someone please tell me if there are intellectual property laws in Nigeria and how the courts enforce such laws, if at all they do? Are there patent lawyers in Nigeria? I think Nigeria is a signatory to the International Patent Protection Treaty, but I am not sure. Does anyone know? |
| Politics › Re: The Case Of The Pregnant Prisoner by Pifa(op): 9:19pm On Aug 25, 2010 |
It's a slight relief that at last, her case has the attention of the state governor. At the same time, it is quite disturbing that something like this happened at all. The fact that she had to be remanded in prison for over seven months because the magistrate handling her case failed to show up in court on four occasions should raise questions about the judicial system in Lagos. The judicial board in Lagos, if there is such a board, should take steps to terminate the magistrate's appointment to the bench. The supervisor of the court system in Lagos should also face reprimand for not filing an order of removal after the magistrate failed to appear in court the second time. This case also exposes some deficiencies in the judicial system in Lagos. When a defendant who is unable to afford legal counsel is arraigned before a court, it should be the court's responsibility to appoint a public defender to file a legal defense in the defendant's behalf. Had Next newspaper not pursued this story with the first installment on July 18 (they've run about six or seven installment to date), the injustice served Ms. Comfort Monday might not have been brought to the public’s attention. It's frightening to think that perhaps many more cases of the unjustly incarcerated clog the prisons in Lagos and no one has taken any interest in their cases because they almost invariably involve the poor, uneducated souls who have no connection up the ladder of influence. Even more troubling is the flimsy evidence the police used to arraign Ms. Monday. No learned prosecutor – certainly not where I live – would ever arraign an accused person on the quality and quantity of evidentiary material used to railroad Ms. Monday to prison. It doesn't help that she is semi illiterate, a juvenile, and perhaps could not fully comprehend the gravity of the charges against her. I would like to think that when the dust has settled a bit, the state governor, his attorney general and the state's chief justice would review this case for deficiencies in the state's judicial system and address such deficiencies with urgency. ps. thanks to the few who had shown interest in this case. |
| Politics › Re: The Case Of The Pregnant Prisoner by Pifa(op): 5:04pm On Aug 08, 2010 |
I found the telephone numbers of The Office of the Public Defender in the state of Lagos. |
| Politics › The Case Of The Pregnant Prisoner by Pifa(op): 10:37pm On Aug 07, 2010 |
Some of you who read the on-line news outlet, 234next.com, may be familiar with the story of a juvenile who was impregnated by someone in a position of trust within her environment. She is also accused of stealing by her guardian who provided no concrete proof to the police but somehow got the police to arraign her on theft charges. The young woman was unfortunate enough to have her case assigned to an irresponsible magistrate who should have noted her age during her first court appearance. The said magistrate also failed to sit on the bench on four occasions to preside over her case. The magistrate's oversight and failure to show up in court has resulted in the young woman being remanded in jail as a minor which, as I learned from comments made by other posters on 234next.com, is illegal in the state of Lagos. The accused, Ms Monday has spent seven months in jail awaiting trial. She gave birth to a baby boy last week while still imprisoned. Since she is poor and has little education, she has had no legal representation until Next started to run her story on June 18. As if all the above was not enough hardship, the “law” in the state of Lagos, according to a prison official quoted by Next, may eventually take away her child because of the circumstances surrounding his birth. As for the question of paternity, I find it difficult to believe that the justice system in the state of Lagos cannot fund a simple DNA test to determine paternity if, as Ms. Monday claims, points to her guardian Mr. Nadu, the man who accused her of theft and got the police to imprison her. It is also salient to note that whoever impregnated Ms. Monday must have started having intercourse with her while she was underage. This would constitute statutory ra pe in my part of the world. But I learned that statutory ra pe law does not exist in Lagos (is this true?). Instead, the law has something called “unlawful carnal knowledge”, which I am not sure is applicable to having sex with a minor. Someone please advise, if you know. My question to those of you living in Lagos is this: Is there an organization there that can help this woman regain her freedom? I am prepared to fund her bail and contribute to her legal defense (yes, I do believe she is not guilty). My wife has been bugging me to do something ever since I showed her this story on Aug 1st. She is not a Nigerian, but I am sure that if she could get a license to practice in Lagos, she would pack up and go there to defend Ms. Monday. Could anyone living in Lagos please find the telephone number of the Office of the Public Defender in Lagos and post it here? I would be very grateful if somebody in Lagos could undertake this little task. http://234next.com/csp/cms/sites/Next/News/Metro/Crime/5594508-147/the_pregnant_prisoner___.csp http://234next.com/csp/cms/sites/Next/News/Metro/Crime/5596138-147/pregnant_inmate_gets_legal_representation_.csp http://234next.com/csp/cms/sites/Next/News/Metro/Crime/5601847-147/prison_inmate_gives_birth__.csp |
| Politics › Re: Lekki - Ikoyi Link Bridge Construction Update - July 2010 by Pifa: 3:48pm On Jul 17, 2010 |
paddy_lo:Sorry. I confused this waterway with the large body of water that separates the mainland from the island. My memory of Lagos is rather sketchy. Yes, you're quite right; it will be too shallow to allow cargo ships passage through. Are you resident in Lagos? If you wouldn't mind, please post more photographs of developments like this in the future. |
| Politics › Re: Lekki - Ikoyi Link Bridge Construction Update - July 2010 by Pifa: 7:53am On Jul 17, 2010 |
paddy_lo:But why does the bridge terminate at a roundabout on each end? That doesn't make much sense for easing traffic congestion. The design should have incorporated entrance and exit ramps for more seamless transition to the thoroughfares on both ends of the bridge. What is the fascination with roundabouts in Lagos, anyway? |
| Politics › Re: National Anthems: Which One Is Better? by Pifa: 7:32am On Jul 17, 2010 |
I didn’t know Nigeria had a new national anthem until they played it during the World Cup. The old one was what we sang when I was a school boy in Lagos. |
| Politics › Re: Lekki - Ikoyi Link Bridge Construction Update - July 2010 by Pifa: 6:58am On Jul 17, 2010 |
@Paddy_lo Would you know if the center spans are high enough to allow merchant ships passage into the interior waters of the state? I love the design! It reminds me of a few bridges in Europe designed by the Spanish architect, Santiago Calatrava. The cables should be festooned with lights so that they will glow at night like Christmas trees. The Golden Gate and the Bay Bridges in San Francisco are lighted as such. ---------- diversion: That brings back memories of the relatively few years I spent in Lagos. On New Year’s Eve, my parents would drive us to the Marina to watch the merchant ships light up the sky with fireworks and blare their horns to ring in the new year. This was the Lagos I remember: no kidnappers, no concrete walls shrouding buildings from public view, no one lived behind barricades, no armed robbers. Mom would pack a few things to munch on, and little me and my siblings would carry folding beach chairs from the car to the Marina. We would sit with other Lagosians and watch the lights and water show until well past midnight. |
| Travel › Re: Eko Atlantic City. . Construction Update July 2010 by Pifa: 6:28am On Jul 17, 2010 |
babapupa:Thanks for replying. I've looked at the map of the project, but I did not see the beach area. The Bar Beach I remember started at the end of the thoroughfare through Victoria Island. I remember that the road ran by the television station and the facility that printed Nigerian currency. diversion: I remember going with my older siblings to a contestant's show for school children at the television studios on VI. When you went on the show, they put you as a challenger against the reigning champ. You chose from a list of categories from which you answered questions lobbed at you by the host. If you answered more questions correctly than the reigning champion, you knocked that person off and you became the new champ. Other contestant would come to challenge you until you faltered (or stayed as champ). Those were fun days. I don't suppose they still have that show on television in Lagos. |
| Travel › Re: Eko Atlantic City. . Construction Update July 2010 by Pifa: 4:52am On Jul 17, 2010 |
Question for paddy_lo and babapupa: Is this project going to wipe out the Bar Beach? My recollection of the VI area is sketchy, but I do remember going to the Bar Beach with my parents when I was young. |
| Business › Re: Highway To Cameroun : White Elephant Project? by Pifa: 2:56am On Jun 21, 2010 |
Why would you think of this project as a “white elephant”? First, you have to think of its value to the residents along the corridor where the highway is being built. Many of them may be traders who have long-established trade relationships with partners on the other side of the international border. This is no different from what Lagos is doing along the Lagos-Badagry axis. So, the highway to Cameroon, as well as the Lagos-Badagry expressway, will facilitate cross-border trade. The highway will also add value to the diplomatic relationship between Nigeria and Cameroon. The unresolved issue over the Bakassi remains a potential flash point between them. Therefore, any action that facilitates communications, commerce, diplomatic and cultural exchanges between two neighboring countries is always beneficial to both parties. Isn’t Cameroon a member of the West African Economic Union (is that the actual name?). If so, then the road can fulfill the long-term goal of seamlessly connecting the countries within the union by road, rail, water and air. Beside the above, the road may well facilitate the passage of tanks into Cameroon to take back the Bakassi peninsula. Bakassi, as you may recall, was signed away by Gowon, another one of those semi-illitrate military dictators from northern Nigeria. Note: the last paragraph about tanks rolling into Cameroon was a jest. The factual statement about Gowon was not. |
