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

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34—SATURDAY Vanguard, APRIL 13, 2019 On going project planet construction site at Oshodi, Lagos. Photos Kehinde Shonola As Ambode leaves . . . What falls on Sanwo-Olu Continues from page 33 passengers and it will further compound the traffic situation if they have to join other vehicles after loading within the same area”.. According to him, the feasibility study carried out on the Oshodi Interchange revealed that no fewer than 300, 000 passengers board vehicles to different destinations from Oshodi. “But with the facility we are currently constructing, it is designed to service one million people daily when it becomes fully functional. Some of the facilities included in this interchange are 18- lifts and one elevator and will be equipped with Closed Circuit Television, CCTV camera to ensure adequate security.” Otunola disclosed that more than 70 percent of work on the 70, 000 square meters project has been achieved. “The terminal will be all encompassing, that is, passengers will have the opportunity to shop and relax before embarking on their trip. As an extension of the project, a Public Private Partnership, PPP hotel would be built within the axis. Also, a shopping mall would be available for passengers,” he added. 10-lane airport road to be ready before May 29 Despite the strategic importance of the airport road as it provides access to the major and busiest airport in the country, the Federal Government abandoned its responsibility to repair it. The road, being the access to the nation’s gateway became so bad that it was a source of monumental embarrassment which had negatively affected the country’s image. When Governor Ambode came on board, he saw the dilapidated airport road as an eyesore to Lagos. He therefore sought and obtained the permission of President Muhammadu Buhari to reconstruct the road and expand it into a 10-lane road. The reconstruction and expansion of the Murtala Muhammed International Airport Road into 10 lanes is a massive project that will take care of the traffic gridlock in the area with attendant low travel time. The sight on leaving the Lagos airport was an eyesore before Ambode’s reconstruction initiative. For a first time visitor, the sight on leaving the airport in any city creates a first impression. That of Lagos with furniture and mechanic According to him, the feasibility study carried out on the Oshodi Interchange revealed that no fewer than 300, 000 passengers board vehicles to different destinations from Oshodi workshops around Mafoluku painted a bad image of Nigeria’s commercial city. Managing Director of Planet Projects, the firm that designed the airport road expansion, Mr. Biodun Otunola, said it was specifically planned to accommodate more vehicles by expanding existing carriage to three-lane Expressway and the construction of two-lane service road on both directions as well as construction of Ramp Bridge to provide a U-turn from Ajao Estate to Airport and a flyover at NAHCO/Toll Gate in addition to drainage works. Others facilities included in the project are construction of Pedestrian Bridges at Ajao Estate and NAHCO/Hajj Camp, construction of Slip Road to provide access to Ajao Estate, construction of Lay-bys and installation of Street Lights, among others. Commissioner for Works and Infrastructure, Ade Akinsanya, said that the poor state of the road that accommodates about 50,000 vehicles daily, was not acceptable for Lagos status as the fifth largest economy in Africa and the nation’s commercial hub. He said in order to fast-track the project, three groups of workers would work on the project day and night, and upon completion, the project would be linked to the Oworonshoki reclamation project, which is also ongoing and is aimed at transforming the corridor to a major entertainment and tourism hub. The contractor handling reconstruction of Oshodi-Murtala Muhammed International Airport Road, Messrs Hi-tech Construction Company, had through its Project Manager, Sachi Ramsunder, recently disclosed that the six-kilometre project was about 75 percent completed and that work on the project has been intensified in order to complete it before May 29th, when the tenure of the Ambodeled administration will come to an end. Residents applaud Ambode An artisan, Sunday Owunka, commended the state government for expanding the airport road and the Oshodi interchange, saying both would reduce the stress which commuters experience daily within the axis. Another resident, Emmanuel Odewale, said that the state government must be commended for embarking on expansion of the airport road into 10-lanes. “I must applaud the state governor for mandating the contractor to intensify construction work on the road. I passed through the road and I saw the contractor on site. I believe the aim was to ensure that the project is delivered before May 29th, when Governor Akinwunmi Ambode, will be handling over to the governor-elect, Babajide Sanwo-Olu.” A student, Debola Ademola, told Vanguard that she could not wait to experience the facility, saying she had seen the design and believed it would change the face of Oshodi. “I have read about the facilities that would be included in the Oshodi Interchange. It will be good for most of us who are students, because it will afford us an opportunity to get whatever we need before embarking on our journey”. A banker Mr Sulaiman Odumakin said the project will change the face of Oshodi and minimize criminality in the environs and called on the government to boost security in the area. Chairman, Lagos State branch of National Union of Road Transport Workers, NURTW, Mr. Tajudeen Agbede also commended Ambode for the initiative, and expressed the readiness of his members to support the government to make Oshodi Interchange project a reality. These and many other projects in Ikeja, Epe and some other places, ordinarily, could project Ambode as surpassing or setting unprecedented landmarks at least in recent times in Lagos. And while this is not to probe why he was not given a second term, it also raises concern over his inability to address the minor things that touch the lives of the masses like portholes that lead to avoidable traffic jams, filth in Lagos following failure to clear refuse, the menace of criminals, Okada and truck drivers etc. This, no doubt quietened the voices of the masses who would have risen in his defence during the party primaries. But again, this is not about politics. It’s about the legacies Ambode initiated or built that the incoming government must complete for the interest of Lagos and Nigeria. They are massive projects that will be part of the story when Ambode leaves office.
A certain politician who sees himself as personifying Lagos, was said to have made a comment years ago, when he was still directly running the state. After a hard day’s job attending to the affairs of Lagos, with its intrigues and power play, this man allegedly got up, stretched his arms and torso before announcing to those in his company that he was tired and wanted to go to bed. Nothing is wrong with that. However, his alleged choice of words did not escape the notice of those in the room and possibly the entire state in its import. ‘Ore Eko. Ekofelo’sun.’ (Lagos is tired. Lagos wants to sleep). Two weeks ago almost to the day, the man who, on the other hand, is widely acknowledged and believed to truly personify Lagos also became tired and went to sleep. He didn’t wake up. He was 99 years and six months. He would have been a hundred years in September. He was the last of the Lagos titans. Alhaji, Senator, Dr Hassan Adisa Babatunde Fashiro popularly called HAB, was not only conversant with the history of Lagos as shown in the books he authored, he was widely acknowledged and respected as the historian of Lagos. And because he once held sway over the affairs of Lagos when it was not yet a state, and had remained an important component of the social, cultural and even political affairs of the state across generations, he can be said to personify Lagos. HAB was one of the early indigenes of Lagos with a law degree. And like most educated men of his time, he got involved in politics. He cut his political tooth under Chief Obafemi Awolowo becoming the second Assistant General Secretary of Action Group in 1953. The people he rubbed shoulders with professionally and politically were the founding fathers of our country. He later became a Senator at the time when senators were well regarded. But despite his political success, what stood him out in his chequered life were his deep How the Ambode Treatment turned into a catchy anecdote in Nigeria’s political phraseology is one that associates of the outgoing governor of Lagos State will rue for a long time to come. Nevertheless, the episode that made Governor Akinwunmi Ambode to be the first governor of Nigeria’s most populous state to be stopped from seeking reelection is one that is bound to escalate in the near future. It would indeed, turn into a learning curve in fashioning relationships between sitting governors and godfathers who help them into office. Following this week’s roll-out of the schedule for the next set of governorship elections, permutations on where the Ambode Treatment would be next served are now being imagined. It is certainly not in Kogi or Bayelsa. The first two of the seven states involved in offseason governorship elections. Governor Yahaya Bello’s political godfather is in Aso Rock and detached from the ugly events unfolding in Kogi State. So long as news of the months-long arrears of salaries is filtered from President Muhammadu Buhari, the governor may have no issue grabbing the All Progressives Congress, APC ticket for a second term having recently forcefully taken over the state executive of the party. The election in Bayelsa State does not involve a sitting governor. So, conspiracy theorists will have to look further for the possible reenactment of the Ambode Treatment. Their sights are now set on Edo. Even before the conclusion of the 2019 general election, political stakeholders there had started making permutations. Day Lagos honoured a respected son involvements in the religious and cultural affairs of his state and his administrative skills. In the area of religion, he was a deeply religious man. He wore Islam literally on his sleeves. He was a practitioner, a teacher, a chronicler and a reformer. He was once an executive member of the Many of his children are married to people of other faith without any objection from him revered Supreme Council for Islamic Affairs representing Lagos. He was at a time, also appointed President of Nigeria Muslim Council among many notable appointments. In fact, his early pilgrimages to the Holy land were performed in one official capacity or the other including one that was at the invitation of the Royal Saudi Arabian Government itself. It is notable however, that in spite of his deep religious mien, he was, like most indigenous Lagosians, a very liberal and accommodating Muslim. Many of his children are married to people of other faith without any objection from him. He was as deeply committed to the affairs of Lagos as he was to his faith. He showed a keen interest in policies and programmes that affected Lagos Ambode’s treatment for Obaseki? That scenario began to unfold penultimate week after stakeholders in the state chapter of the APC began to take positions in the possible conflict between godfather and godson. It was a rehash of what happened in Lagos State. Now the comparisons of the political scenarios in the two states are quite interesting. The governors in the two states were foisted by former governors who fought off bitter opposition to plant their chosen professionally inclined and seemingly apolitical surrogates. Both governors in their first two years comparatively tried their best. Both governors are under the oversight of nationally renowned chieftains of the APC. The two are said to be distasteful of the political class who brought them into office. The refrain in Governor Obaseki’s case was that he was so much revolted by the way politicians reaped from the election that brought him in that he was wont to tell them that they had been sufficiently settled! It was as such no joke that some of those who hitherto dictated the pace and pattern of politics in the state have come into hard times. especially to people of Lagos extraction. He was a trustee of the Association of Indigenes of Lagos State for many years. He was also very close to royalty having been born into a White Cap Chieftaincy family. His longevity also made his association with royalty to span many Obas. He lived to witness the reigns of at least six Obas at very close quarters. This made him to be quite familiar with the circumstances and intrigues of the Lagos monarchy. It also made him to be an unofficial, but respected chronicler of monarchical successions. Now to his administrative skills. He was not the only Town Clerk of the Lagos City Council. But he was the most visible and the most revered. Possibly because he had raised the bar during an almost ten year tenure which witnessed remarkable achievements. It was during his tenure that the famous Health Personnel Training Institute at Harvey Road, Yaba was established. This institute was to train nurses, sanitary inspectors and health workers for Nigeria and indeed, the West African sub-region. His tenure also witnessed the setting up of a Municipal Transport Service for Lagos.Another first credited to him was the setting up of public libraries in the municipality and an Amusement park at Apapa. But what people remember him for was the building of the three storied Lagos City Hall, an architectural delight of its time. SATURDAY Vanguard,APRIL 13, 2019—35 The APC was able to push Ambode because the PDP in Lagos was largely rudderless.That is not the case in Edo where the party is united, popular and on the ground However, it is still premature to hazard a guess on why Ambode was punished. His reported contempt for people was certainly not enough. Indeed, other political calculations that are bound to unfold may reveal reasons why he had to go. After all, no one has been able to point at a single offence he may have committed against his godfather. The 114 interior roads he delivered within his first 100 days, and other completed or ongoing infrastructure projects including the Oshodi Exchange, Pen Cinema flyover, Airport Road, Berger are among key infrastructure landmarks the governor could have used to sell himself for a second term. Well, he would also have had to face serious questions from citizens who ply the Mile 2-Badagry and the Mile 2-Apapa Express-ways who quarrel that he left the two roads far worse than he met them! But on balance, he would have soldiered on if physical performance was considered as the barometer for a second term. It is within that context that the unfolding drama in Edo State is now playing out. Penultimate week chieftains of the I first met HAB Fashinro roughly ten years ago at the celebration of his wellattended 90 th birthday party. It is inexplicable that a man of his stature escaped me during my years of personality interviews at the Punch Newspapers. I tried to somewhat make up for the lapse by requesting to do an interview with him for ‘City Mail,’ a newspaper for the Lagos metropolis which I was publishing at the time. I found Pa HAB to be sprightly and articulate for his age. He was also very friendly and unassuming. He regaled me with unforgettable stories about the Lagos of his time. And about the rivalry between local football teams. He knew the story behind every building and every cultural event in Lagos. But what I won’t forget so easily were the songs—social, cultural and adversarial songs. He sang them so simply, but with relish. He also took time to explain the folk tales behind them. He was a great man deserving of all the honour he got during the one week of his passing when all the who’s who in Lagos dropped everything to pay him homage. Even the Obas who are traditionally bound not to visit the dead sent their staffs of office. It would have been fitting to have hosted his 8 th day reception at the Lagos City Hall which was built under his tenure and the rehabilitation of which he showed concerned interest in after it was razed by fire; especially in the Banquet Hall, which bears his name. But it would have been unrealistic and impractical given the sheer number of people that came to pay their last respects on the day. Even the Balmoral Hall, as big as it is, was choked at some point. Politicians—in coming and out going were represented; the different lineages of indigenous Lagosians were represented; the social elites were represented; the business community, including the richest man in Africa, was not left out. It is rare to see such a turnout for a man who has not held any public office in decades. But it would not be surprising to those who knew him. HAB Fashinro lived a life of transparency, character and integrity. And of simplicity in spite of his vast connections. It is only right that he would be so honoured. Oredo Local Government Area chapter of the APC in Edo State met and adopted Obaseki for a second term as governor of the state. The governor is from Oredo. However, within hours sounds of dissent started emitting from expected quarters to the contrary. It was a replay of the endorsements and rebuff that trailed the Ambode affair last year. It is doubtful if Obaseki has the political capacity to fight the godfather. There are indications that the Edo governor may have impacted positively especially, given claims of the inflow of high-tech companies like Microsoft, HP into the state in the proclaimed scheme to turn the state into the technological backbone for the state. But will such count if push comes to shove in the battle for Edo State? Other local issues may count for Obaseki, notably the Benin factor and the presence of one of the country’s most dynamic opposition state chapters of the Peoples Democratic Party, PDP led by Chief Dan Orbih. The APC was able to push Ambode because the PDP in Lagos was largely rudderless. That is not the case in Edo where the party is united, popular and on the ground. Willy-nilly, even before the rain, the ground in Edo is wet and set for a muddy fight!
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13042019 - KILLING FIELDS OF NORTH WEST:They killed my husband, our three children in my presence – Zamfara survivor

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