13042019 - KILLING FIELDS OF NORTH WEST:They killed my husband, our three children in my presence – Zamfara survivor

SATURDAY Vanguard, APRIL 13, 2019—33
On going project planet construction site at Oshodi, Lagos. Photos Kehinde Shonola
As Ambode leaves . . .
What falls on Sanwo-Olu
By Olasunkanmi Akoni, Bose Adelaja
& Monsuru Olowoopejo
In less than two months, the baton of
leadership in the governance of Lagos
state will exchange hands. The
incumbent governor, Mr Akinwunmi Ambode
will be handing over to the governor-elect, Mr
Babajide Sanwo-Olu and the new
government, like every corporate entity, will
inherit both assets and liabilities from its
predecessor.
When Mr Sanwo-Olu assumes office on
May 29 this year, he will be
confronted with heaps of
refuse. There is no part of
Lagos which is not littered
with refuse and it is just a
miracle that epidemic has
not broken out in the city.
The challenge of clearing
Lagos streets of dirt is one
headache Sanwo-Olu will
have to contend with as he
rolls up his sleeve to
commence work. The new
government will also inherit
bad roads. Many roads in
the city are bad. Some were
in bad shape before the
Ambode government came
on board and some
deteriorated in the recent
past. The new governor
should therefore be ready to
fix the roads if he wants to
quickly worm his way into
the hearts of Lagosians.
Sanwo-Olu should also
be ready to inherit the
nuisance Okada riders and
truck drivers have become
in Lagos.
The motorbike riders now
The new
governor should
therefore be
ready to fix the
roads if he wants
to quickly worm
his way into the
hearts of
Lagosians
occupy some roads and how they operate on
the roads is sheer madness. They don’t obey
traffic rules, always operating against traffic,
causing accidents and beating up people
including policemen who dare challenge them.
When they were banned from the roads of
many Nigerian cities many hoped that Lagos
government would be impressed by the sanity
that prevailed in cities like Abuja, Owerri,
Asaba, Warri, Enugu etc where they have all
been banned. Accident and crime rates
dropped tremendously in those cities.
Unfortunately, the sanity in those cities meant
nothing to the government in
Lagos from the Tinubu era to
Fashola and now Ambode. The
truck drivers have joined them
and what we have in Lagos now
is a menace. And that’s a city
that wants to promote tourism?
However, as Sanwo-Olu
takes over refuse and potholes
and the menace of Okada and
truck drivers on Lagos roads,
there are a number of
monumental projects spread
across the state which Ambode
started and which should not be
abandoned by the incoming
government.
The projects are many and
they are massive and will no
doubt impact positively on the
lives of the residents of Lagos
when completed. These are
projects they will continue to
remember Ambode. They are
huge legacies. Some of the
projects are on going while
others are at the various stages
of completion.
Some of the notable capital
projects at various stages of
completion are: Oshodi
Transport Interchange; Oshodi-
Abule Egba Bus Rapid Transit BRT; 10-lane
Murtala Muhammed International Airport
Road; Agege Fly Over Bridge; Oyingbo Bus
Terminal; Reconstruction of Teslim Balogun
Stadium, among others.
$70m Oshodi interchange; signpost
for 24hrs transport system
Worried by the narrative that had
accompanied Oshodi over the years, Ambode,
two years ago, disclosed that his aim was to
give Oshodi a new slogan, “if you do not spend
a night in Oshodi, you have not visited Lagos.”
According to him, “Oshodi is known for all
kinds of notorious activities and we want to
totally do away with that belief and the best
way to go about it is to give the people world
class facility and make them to live better
lives”. To actualize the dream for the axis,
Ambode therefore unveiled Oshodi
Regeneration Project, which would see to the
development of Oshodi interchange and other
facilities put at $70 million by the contractor,
Mr. Biodun Otunola.
Oshodi, which is regarded as the busiest
transport interchange in West Africa with over
5,600 buses in 13 different motor parks loading
daily, has more than 200,000 passengers
boarding per day.
“We have a solution to the Oshodi menace.
The Oshodi Interchange you see today will
be replaced with an iconic, world class
transportation and commercial hub. That is in
keeping with the vision of this government to
transform the key city centres of the State to
reflect the mega city status of Lagos, aimed at
improving the physical structure, security and
more importantly creating the 24-hour
economy which we promised.”Ambode
enthused.
The on-going redevelopment is expected to
consolidate all the 13 city and interstate parks
into three multi-storey bus parks and
terminals occupying four floors.
The first terminal is being constructed at the
Mosafejo Market axis, for inter-state
transportation,
the second terminal is at the former
Owonifari Market while the third terminal
built adjacent the NAFDAC office will be for
intra-city transport.
These terminals are being designed with
standard facilities to include waiting area,
loading bays, ticketing stands; drivers lounge,
parking areas and rest rooms. The facilities
will also include accessible walkways and
pedestrian bridges/sky-walks to link all the
three terminals. There will also be bus lanes,
lay-bys, green parks to soften the environment,
proper waste management, fencing and a
dedicated security team for the area. In
addition, a shopping mall covering over two
hectares will be situated in the old Mosafejo
settlement for recreation and entertainment
among others.
Ambode had assured that, “when we
complete this project, we would have
completely rebranded and remodeled Oshodi
from a decadent situation to an iconic state.
The crime rate in this area will be drastically
reduced, if not eliminated. This model allows
the effective allocation of tasks and risks in
the development of the interchange and also
ensures that finance can be easily obtained
for the project.
“The regeneration would definitely redefine
the economic outlook of the area, as
government’s goal is to make every nook and
cranny of Lagos economically viable “.
Managing Director of Planet Project that
designed the Oshodi interchange, Mr. Biodun
Otunola said construction of tunnel has been
added into the project to “take commuters from
each depot to the terminals to prevent buses
from halting traffic flow within the axis. This
is because on ground in each terminal, there
could be about 70 buses waiting to commute
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