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Why Lagos Residents Should Embrace Restriction Ban On Okada,Keke Napep

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That Governor Babajide Olusola Sanwo-Olu of Lagos State has gone ahead to implement the restrictions or as some people call it, ban of the movement of commercial motorcycles (okada) and tricycles (Keke Marwa) is no news.

The decision was met with criticism and condemnation of the government by several residents of the state owing to what they perceive as the inconveniences the policy or the decision would cause.

But beyond the inconveniences and disadvantages of the policy, it is necessary to trace the genesis of the restrictions and what it portends to the residents of the metropolitan city on the long run.

It should be recalled that the restriction/ban of Okada operations as recently announced by the Lagos State Government is not a new policy.

The Policy predates the current government as it took off in 2012 during the tenure of former governor Babatunde Raji Fashola.

What the Sanwo-Olu Government did was just to effect the policy, which was neglected by the government of Mr. Akinwunmi Ambode from 2015 to May, 2019.

Going down memory lane, in March 2012, about eight (8) years ago, Governor Fashola announced a total ban of Okada from all major bridges and the whole of Ikeja.

This ban was instigated by the Nigeria Police, who had been hapless from the incessant rise in crime in the highly populated state.

Three months later, it was extended to parts of Surulere and Lagos Island. Specifically the Business district, parts of Victoria Island and Falomo, Ikoyi.

For the other areas, government decided to regulate Okada riders and came up with a licensing scheme which stipulated that Okada riders needed to learn how to ride bikes and must obtain a riders licence (As is applicable in most countries).

This they did in partnership with the FRSC. This scheme was ignored totally.

As a matter of fact the two main Okada unions took the government to court over this.

The FRSC ended confiscating over 15,000 bikes for non-compliance. Still, riders were going about undocumented.

At that time, there were just about 50,000 Okada’s in Lagos. The government also introduced the use of crash helmets due to incessant casualties from accidents. This too was largely ignored.

Today, there are over 250,000 Okadas with 78% of the riders being indigenes of Chad, Niger and Mali.

The significant rise was within the last 18 months. The most significant development that jolted the Lagos State Government was the recent influx of over 40,000 Nigeriens and Malians under the guise of looking for a means of sustenance as Okada riders.

They were all undocumented, with no form of identification whatsoever.

The Lagos State Government quickly set up a committee to look into this.

Early January, in trying to enforce registration in Apapa, Iganmu Orile, where we have the largest concentration of Okada riders from Niger and Mali, government ended up seizing about 150 Okadas, whose owners did not have riders permit.

Within a few hours, irate Hausa/Fulani youths invaded Apapa- Iganmu LCDA headquarters at Marine Beach, chased all the workers away and set the office complex ablaze and also vandalised vehicles within the vicinity causing millions of Naira in damage. No serious government would watch and not take action, most especially with the insurgency in the North East.

What we should note here is that there is a total ban on Okada in Kano, Katsina, Zamfara, Sokoto, Kaduna, Kebbi and Niger State for security reasons.

Those, who did not study the situation properly have been condemning the government of Mr. Sanwo-Olu for its action.

However, they ought to know that Sanwo-olu’s government didn’t just wake up and effect the ban! It was as a result of a report presented by the Lagos State Security Council and they sought advise from the OPS as well.

The Corporate Okada companies were given ample time to implement government policy on the management of their riders but they simply just took the government for granted.

They felt that this is Nigeria, where people believe that anything goes.

In their own thinking government would not be that audacious with an outright ban.

With the millions of dollars raised at start-up, all the corporate Okada companies were interested in, was the revenue. They were interested in the N3,000 daily they were charging riders.

The companies became reckless after the Lagos State introduced N25M as annual licensing fees for 1000 riders and then N30,000 per bike thereafter.

This means that the companies would paying N295M if they had 10,000 Okada riders including tax and VAT on revenue generated.

Meanwhile the companies were earning over N1m per rider annually. They became very greedy and complacent and ceased to keep any verifiable database of the their riders with the required background checks. (This was largely done, to avoid charges).

The main concern of the owner of Gokada’ Bangladeshi was how to roll out Gokada in the thousands rather than making sure there was value added and compliance.

So most of this companies have themselves to blame. The Corporate Okadas market share in Lagos is less than 5%. TBC.

What the Lagos State Government is to sanitize the system and restore the lost glory of the state and make things work better in the centre of excellence.

The Sanwo-Olu Government means well for the residents of the state and this would be noticeable in its progressive programmes for the generality of the masses.

Residents of the state should commend the sensitivity of the Sanwo-Olu government to provide succour with the release of 65 buses and ordering additional 550 buses to ameliorate the challenge facing commuters.

The Governor knows the implications of the restrictions of the movement of okada and Keke Marwa and he is thinking outside the box on a daily basis to provide succour.

The major reason for the restrictions/ban should not be lost on the discerning residents of the state, it is meant to reduce crime and protect lives and properties as hoodlums have reportedly perfected the use of okada to commit crime with impunity.

Metro

Woman nabbed for stealing infant during christening

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Woman nabbed for stealing infant during christening

Woman nabbed for stealing infant during christening

 

The Nasarawa State Police Command says it has arrested one Khadija Aliyu for allegedly stealing a seven-day-old baby girl during a naming ceremony in the Keffi area of the state.

This is just as the command also arrested an ex-convict, Hussaini Mohammed, for allegedly stealing motorcycles in the same area.

it was reported that  in a statement by the command’s Public Relations Officer, Rahman Nansel, on Sunday, that the suspect was arrested at about 6:30 pm on Saturday.

Nansel said the suspect had pretended to be pregnant and, while the christening was ongoing, she sneaked into the house and stole the baby who had been laid to sleep

 

She was said to have carried the baby on her back, covered her with a veil, and escaped before being tracked down by police operatives.

He said, “At about 6:30 hrs, police operatives attached to the Keffi Division arrested one Khadija Aliyu for stealing a seven-day-old baby girl during a naming ceremony in Keffi.

“The suspect, who had been claiming to be pregnant, attended a naming ceremony at Behind INEC office, Keffi.

 

“While the event was ongoing, she sneaked into the house, stole the baby that was laid to sleep, carried the child on her back, covered her with a veil, and escaped before she was later arrested.”

 

In another incident, Rahman disclosed that Mohammed was apprehended for allegedly stealing motorcycles in the same area.

According to the PPRO, Hussaini, who was recently discharged from a correctional facility, was apprehended during the investigation into a case of stolen motorcycles.

Nansel said, “During the investigation, three motorcycles suspected to be stolen items were recovered from the suspect as exhibits.”

He added that the Commissioner of Police, Umar Shehu Nadada, called on members of the public with cases of stolen motorcycles to visit the Angwan Lambu Division in Keffi with proofs of ownership and lay claims to the items.

PUNCH Metro reported in July 2023 that a 19-year-old woman from Ishehi Hamlet in Misau Local Government Area of Bauchi State was arrested by the police for allegedly stealing a newborn baby.

The suspect, Hajara Usman, had allegedly stolen the infant after conspiring with an 18-year-old man, Ibrahim Usman, of Dugurgama Hamlet.

 

The Bauchi State Police Command’s Public Relations Officer, Ahmed Wakil, said the suspect was arrested after a resident of the Galawa Area of Akuyam District in Misau LGA reported the incident at the Akuyam Police Outstation that his daughter’s newborn baby was stolen at about 4:30 am.

 

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11 states Received Alerts Over planned Release Of lagdo dam By Cameroon By shonibare Timileyin

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FG unveils plans to bring back 12,400 japa doctors

11 states Received Alerts Over planned Release Of lagdo dam By Cameroon

By shonibare Timileyin

 

 

The Federal Government on Tuesday alerted Nigerians to the water release from Lagdo Dam in Cameroon.

The FG made this known in a press statement signed by the Director General/Chief Executive Officer of the Nigeria Hydrological Services Agency, Umar Muhammed.

The statement noted that the authorities of the Lagdo Dam in Cameroon will initiate controlled water releases starting from Tuesday, September 17, 2024.

It said the water discharge is anticipated to progressively escalate to 1000m³/s over the next seven days based on the inflow from the upstream Garoua River.

The Nigeria Hydrological Services Agency wishes to notify the general public that the authorities of the Lagdo Dam in Cameroon have communicated to the agency that they will initiate controlled water releases at a rate of 100m³/s (8,640,000m³/day) starting today, 17 September 2023.

“The water discharge is anticipated to progressively escalate to 1000m³/s over the next seven days based on the inflow from the upstream Garoua River, which serves as the primary source into the reservoir and a significant tributary to the Benue River.

“Nonetheless, the dam operators have indicated that the planned water discharges will be gradual to avoid surpassing the conveyance capacity of the Benue river system and triggering substantial flooding downstream in Nigeria. The overflow from the Lagdo Dam is projected to cease once there is a noticeable reduction in the flow into the Lagdo reservoir,” the statement read in part.

The agency, however, said there was no cause for alarm.

“The agency unequivocally states that there is no need for alarm as major flooding downstream in Nigeria is not anticipated since the flow levels along the Benue River are still within cautionary limits.

“Nevertheless, it is of utmost importance for all states bordering the Benue River system, namely: Adamawa, Taraba, Benue, Nasarawa, Kogi, Edo, Delta, Anambra, Bayelsa, Cross Rivers, and Rivers, along with the government at all levels (federal, state, and LGAs) to heighten their vigilance and implement appropriate preparedness measures to mitigate potential flooding impacts that may arise due to an increase in flow levels of our major rivers during this period.

“The agency will continue to diligently monitor the flow conditions of the transboundary Benue River and the national inland rivers, and consistently provide regular updates on water levels across major rivers to prevent further flood disasters,” it added.

The dam is located in the Northern Province of Cameroon, on the Benue River, in the Niger basin. The lake covers an area of 586

The release of water from Lagdo Dam has long been a cause for concern for many in Nigeria as it affects many states because it serves as the entry point of River Benue.

Last week, there was a devastating flood in Borno State which killed over 30 persons and affected over a million citizens in the state.

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Cleric Cries Out For Help as wife gives birth to 11 babies

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Cleric Cries Out For Help as wife gives birth to 11 babies

Cleric Cries Out For Help as wife gives birth to 11 babies

 

A 56-year-old Islamic cleric based in Ajasse-Cotonou in the Benin Republic, Alfa Yahya Nafiu, has confirmed that his wife delivered 11 babies in Nigeria’s neighbouring country between July and August this year.

Yahya, an indigene of Onikeke compound, Popo Giwa area, Ilorin, Kwara State capital, said his wife, whose name was given as Chognika Latoyossi Alake, a native of Ajasse-Cotonou, gave birth to the 11 babies in a traditional birth attendant’s home in Porto Novo in Benin Republic between July 7 and August 14, 2024.

He, however, lamented that two of the 11 children were lost at birth leaving the rest nine surviving.

 

 

In a telephone conversation on Wednesday, Yahya said, “Yes, it is true that my wife gave birth to 11 children after a long period of pregnancy. They are eight boys and three girls. The babies were delivered in two separate months, July 7 and August 14 at a traditional birth attendant’s home in Porto Novo. She gave birth to six children in July and the rest five in August. We lost two of the children at birth. One out of the first six died while one of the last five children also died but I’m grateful to Allah that the rest nine children and their mother are alive”, he said.

 

 

He, however, lamented that his family was having financial challenge due to the huge amount of money required in taking care of the babies and their mother as well as transporting the babies to Ilorin.

“One other major challenge that we are  now facing before we could bring the children home to Ilorin to show them to my parents is how to raise money for the marriage rites, as well as medical bills and police report”, Yahya said.

He appealed to both the Federal and Kwara State governments as well as well-to-do people in society to come to his aid by giving him financial assistance to take care of the babies whom he described as a favour from Allah.

 

Also, the Chief Imam of Iponrin in Ilorin East Local Government Area of Kwara State, Alhaji Zakariyau Nafiu, who is the elder brother of Yahya confirmed that Latoyosi, who is the third wife of his brother, gave birth to 11 babies in Cotonou.

He said, “My brother’s third wife, Latoyosi, gave birth to 11 children in Cotonou. As it is customary of the Ilorin people, we have informed the Emir of Ilorin, Mai Maitaba Olola wa Alhaji Sulu-Gambari of the birth of the children and other people who are supposed to know of it.”

Also reacting to the news of the birth of the babies, the national president of the Ilorin Emirate Descendants Progressive Union, Alhaji Abdulmumini Abdulmalik, confirmed that the father of the children hails from Onikeke Compound, Popo Giwa area of Ilorin.

 

 

He expressed delight that an Ilorin indigene living in Cotonou, Benin Republic had been blessed with decuplets.

“While welcoming the decuplets and congratulating the parents on this uncommon blessing, we rejoice with the Emir of Ilorin, Alhaji Ibrahim Sulu-Gambari, during whose reign this glorious history of an Ilorin indigene having decuplets is recorded”, he added.

Abdulmalik appealed to both government and public-spirited individuals, especially the philanthropists in Ilorin Emirate, to support Nafiu financially and materially to enable him to fulfil his parental responsibility.

 

 

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