Lagos Offers Okada Riders Job Opportunities

The Lagos State Government is working on a number of options to engage genuine commercial motorcycle operators, recently thrown out of jobs as a result of the implementation of the new traffic law, in meaningful ventures.

The Commissioner for Transportation, Mr. Kayode Opeifa, dropped the hint in Lagos on Wednesday, stressing that the move was meant to give only the registered operators a new lease of life.
Many of the okada riders, as the commercial motorcycle operators are called, have had to abandon the business, as the new law prohibits them from plying major roads and bridges in the state. According to the new traffic law, only those with 200cc engine capacity can operate in the permitted areas.
Some aggrieved operators have been protesting against the new policy and a few people sympathetic to their cause have urged the state government to rescind its decision in view of the multitude that will be affected.
But Opeifa, who spoke at the 11th Business Forum of the Lagos State University’s MBA Heritage held on Lagos Island on Wednesday, said that there was no going back on the decision.
He said, “We are resolute about the Road Traffic Law; there is no going back on it. But we are going to re-certify the okada operators resident in Lagos.
“We are going to start a registration process, and in the process, if we discover those who have skills, we will send them to the skill acquisition centres established by the state government to hone these skills.”
Opeifa, who spoke on the theme, ‘Effect of Transportation on Nigeria’s Economy,’ stressed that okada could not be regarded as a means of transportation, as nobody wished to bequeath it as an inheritance to their children.
The commissioner, therefore, said the state government would re-register the operators with a view to providing the genuine ones adversely affected by the policy other job opportunities.
“Some of them could be absorbed into the LAGBUS as conductors and drivers. We also have agriculture, where some of them can also be useful. Apart from our farms in Lagos, we have bought landed property in Ogun State and Abuja, and we are going to buy more in Benue for agriculture. So, the options are there for them,” he said.
According to him, the state government plans to assist some of the okada riders with the acquisition of skills to make them employable or to become self-employed.
Opeifa also said some of them would be assisted to own bakeries after undertaking the needed training.
But the Managing Director, Megavons West Africa Limited, Dr. Rotimi Oladele, expressed the view that the okada business could be reorganised, and urged the state government to re-brand it as a community transport system.
Although Oladele, who was a keynote speaker at the forum, commended the state government for its efforts in transforming Lagos, he said there was still a need for a truly masses-oriented means of transport, which the okada business represented.
“Let us re-brand them as community transport system, license them and restrict them to their domiciliary local government areas,” he said.
Opeifa said there was a need for the development of multi-modal transportation system for the economy to grow.
“The groundnut pyramids were moved from the North down to Lagos by the railway; likewise, cocoa and some other farm produce. The system worked then, and all that seems to have died now,” he said.
Opeifa advised that the review of the Constitution currently going on should whittle down some powers of the government at the centre, so that states and local governments could develop the modes of transportation that suited them
InformationNigeria.org

Boko Haram Is Fighting A Good Cause – Ex-Military Governor Of Kastina

One time Military Governor of Katsina State, Gen. Lawrence Onoja (rtd.), has said Boko Haram Islamist sect was fighting a good cause, lamenting, however, that it was spoiling its case by killing innocent Nigerians.
Onoja said he would have joined the sect if they had started killing election riggers, who carry ballot boxes home, thumb-print and announce results from their houses instead of resorting to killing innocent people.
He made this known in Minna, Niger State, while contributing to steps towards achieving peace in the country, especially in the northern region, pointing out that the sect has “a genuine case”.
He said: “If you look at it from the beginning, they (Boko Haram) have genuine case. I have told people that I would have been a member of Boko Haram before they started killing innocent people.
“But if they had started going after those who rig elections; those who carry ballot boxes to their houses, thump-print and start announcing fake results the next day, which is what most people are doing; if they go after such people, I will join them. What we don’t want is to start wasting innocent people’s lives.”
InformationNigeria.org

Sexy Omotola Jalade Is The Highest Grossing Actress In Nollywood

Omotola Jalade-Ekeinde continues to prove that there is more to her than her curve-ridden figure as she emerges biggest box-office actress of the year.
The actress was recently honoured in the UK as the first-ever African BEFFTA (Black Entertainment, Film, Fashion, Television and Arts) Film Icon for her contribution to the film industry in Africa, Europe and globally.
The year 2012 will be one in which the duo of Omotola Jalade-Ekeinde and film maker Obi Emelonye won’t forget in a hurry as the duo grabbed the headlines in spectacular fashion judging by the quality of the kind of jobs they both did.
The movie, Last Flight to Abuja produced and directed by award winning Obi Emelonye first grabbed the headlines when it reportedly sold more than 8million in its first week at the cinema!
Omotola’s popularity and box-office credibility was put to test when the movie, opened at the cinema. The premiere till date remains the biggest premiere of any movie with six packed halls, a record no premiere has beaten. Last Flight to Abuja also starred Hakeem Kae Kazeem, Jim Iyke, Jide Kosoko and others.
Last Flight to Abuja is still showing at the cinema and it has already grossed 24 million, thereby making it the highest box office earner this year! No other movie has come close to this record so far.
It would be recalled that the same movie director produced Mirror Boy a movie that made 18 million at the cinema..
The year 2012 has been incredible for super star, Omotola Jalade Ekeinde; from being the highest paid actress to being the busiest on locations of big budget movies, now famously called “the new Nollywood” Omosexy has had a full calendar and bag as well.
It will be recalled that the sexy superstar starred in the acclaimed Ties That Bind alongside Hollywood’s Kimberley Elise, Kofi Adjorlolo, ama K, Khareemar Aguiar among others..
Still in 2012 Omosexy as she’s fondly called played the leading role in the High budget Tarila Thompson’s movie ,”Up Creek “still in post production. She was also on call for Teco Benson’s film “Blood on the Lagoon” also in post production.
The multiple award winner thereafter went on to star in the movie AMINA alongside British actor Wil Johnson and Vincent Regan , a movie written, produced and directed by Christian Ashaiku, where she plays the character of a woman suffering from mental disorder. The movie recently premiered at the prestigious Empire Leicester square London to great reviews.
As icing on the cake the actress was recently Honored As the First ever African BEFFTA Film Icon for her contribution to the film industry in Africa, Europe and globally. BEFFTA (Black Entertainment Film Fashion Television and Arts) award is Europe’s biggest award ceremony celebrating achievements of black and ethnic personalities in showbiz globally.
Omotola is a United Nation World Food Programme Ambassador and Amnesty International Activist. The talented actress is a role model who gives back to the youths through her own charity, Omotola Youth Empowerment Programme (OYEP).
InformationNigeria'org

Four people left injured after two trains collide in Lagos Posted about 25 mins ago | 0 comment Many passengers escaped death when two trains collided in Lagos on Wednesday. Four people were however injured. It was learnt that the accident was due to the absence of signal operator at the Mushin Station terminus in Lagos. An eyewitness, who identified herself simply as Bisi, said when one of the trains, which was coming from Ijoko in Ogun State got to the terminus, it stopped for passengers to disembark. Bisi added that as the Iddo-bound train driver was waiting to be cleared, the train coming from Iddo rammed into it. It was gathered that the signal operator had gone to defecate and asked his assistant to take over but his assistant forgot, leading to the collision. A trader near the rail track, Ngozi Nelson, told PUNCH Metro that the accident occurred because the train operators were not properly guided. She said, “The train from Iddo was coming with high speed unknown to the driver that there was another train on the track. “By the time the driver got to where the train was stationed waiting for direction, his brakes failed.” A tailor in the area, who craved anonymity, said the impact of the accident threw the entire neighbourhood into chaos. “We thought it was a bomb blast. It was when we got there that we found out it was train collision. Some passengers sustained injuries. But I do not think anybody died,” he said. The man, who looked downcast, said the accident was unfortunate. “The trains have been removed as you can see. It was not as serious as people exaggerated,” he said. As at 2pm when one of our correspondents was leaving the terminus, officials of the corporation were clearing some of the debris of the accident. Meanwhile, the management of Nigerian Railway Corporation has confirmed the accident. The NRC Assistant Director Public Relations, Mr. David Ndakotsu, in a statement on Wednesday, said no one died in the accident. He said, “The two trains involved in the accident at Mushin Railway Station were mass transit trains, one coming from Iddo to Ijoko and the other from Ijoko to Iddo. “There were no fatalities. However, three out of the four injured persons were treated at Railway Clinic and have since been discharged. “The NRC management has since set up a committee to investigate the cause of the accident. Normal services have since resumed in Lagos.”

Many passengers escaped death when two trains collided in Lagos on Wednesday. Four people were however injured.
It was learnt that the accident was due to the absence of signal operator at the Mushin Station terminus in Lagos.
An eyewitness, who identified herself simply as Bisi, said when one of the trains, which was coming from Ijoko in Ogun State got to the terminus, it stopped for passengers to disembark.
Bisi added that as the Iddo-bound train driver was waiting to be cleared, the train coming from Iddo rammed into it.
It was gathered that the signal operator had gone to defecate and asked his assistant to take over but his assistant forgot, leading to the collision.
A trader near the rail track, Ngozi Nelson, told PUNCH Metro that the accident occurred because the train operators were not properly guided.
She said, “The train from Iddo was coming with high speed unknown to the driver that there was another train on the track.
“By the time the driver got to where the train was stationed waiting for direction, his brakes failed.”
A tailor in the area, who craved anonymity, said the impact of the accident threw the entire neighbourhood into chaos.
“We thought it was a bomb blast. It was when we got there that we found out it was train collision. Some passengers sustained injuries. But I do not think anybody died,” he said.
The man, who looked downcast, said the accident was unfortunate.
“The trains have been removed as you can see. It was not as serious as people exaggerated,” he said.
As at 2pm when one of our correspondents was leaving the terminus, officials of the corporation were clearing some of the debris of the accident.
Meanwhile, the management of Nigerian Railway Corporation has confirmed the accident.
The NRC Assistant Director Public Relations, Mr. David Ndakotsu, in a statement on Wednesday, said no one died in the accident.
He said, “The two trains involved in the accident at Mushin Railway Station were mass transit trains, one coming from Iddo to Ijoko and the other from Ijoko to Iddo.
“There were no fatalities. However, three out of the four injured persons were treated at Railway Clinic and have since been discharged.
“The NRC management has since set up a committee to investigate the cause of the accident. Normal services have since resumed in Lagos.”
 DailyPost

Nigeria, China’s Sinohydro Sign Accord for 3050 Megawatt Power Plant

Studying Without Power

Nigeria signed a memorandum of understanding with China’s Sinohydro Corp. to build a 3,050- megawatt hydropower plant on the West African nation’s eastern Mambila Plateau, Power Minister of State Zainab Kuchi said.
Sinohydro will build the power plant at its expense and operate it for nine years before transferring ownership to the Nigerian government, Kuchi told reporters today in the capital, Abuja.
The company will work with China National Electrical Equipment Corp. to build another 700-megawatt hydro power station on northern Zungeru River, with China’s Export-Import Bank providing 75 percent of required funds, according to the minister. Nigeria will provide 25 percent, or $309 million, she said.
Africa’s top oil producer and most populous country of more than 160 million people is seeking increased investments in power to meet demand which is more than double the current output of about 5,000 megawatts. The government has ended state monopoly of power utilities and sold generation and distribution companies to private investors.
The two hydro power projects planned with the Chinese companies are expected to be completed by 2014, the minister said.
 BusinessNews

Will Nigeria break up in 2015?

Bayo Olupohunda

In 2014, Nigeria will mark the centenary of the amalgamation of the Southern and Northern protectorates which gave birth to present day Nigeria. As a former colony of the British, the country has existed for close to a century after a forced marriage of convenience in 1914, half of those turbulent years have been spent as an independent, sovereign nation having gained independence in 1960 and becoming a republic three years later. As the country approaches a century of nationhood, it is ironical that instead of celebrating the birth of a nation and a shared destiny, there are latent fears that the “mistake of 1914″ may manifest in the break-up of the country in 2015- a year after the centenary date. Will Nigeria as we know it today cease to exist in 2015 as predicted? Will the country implode and eventually be balkanised to reflect the years after amalgamation? Can the country continue to exist under this present warped federal structure?

An analysis of the historical forces that have shaped the evolution of present day Nigeria can be traced to the period leading to the amalgamation and after it. The union itself has been criticised for not taking into consideration the intractable differences between the North and South-both of which, Nigerian leaders, historians and even the British have agreed, had no related identity to exist as one. But in spite of the wide gulf, the colonialists felt the need to place all territories in Nigeria under one political and administrative authority in the ultimate economic interest of Her Majesty, the Queen!

This was achieved on January 1, 1914 when the two protectorates were amalgamated to form the Colony and Protectorate of Nigeria under Lord Lugard as the Governor-General. The historical roots of many contemporary problems in Nigeria today date back to the period after amalgamation. Years after the forced merger, the period of decolonisation and growing nationalism exposed the fundamental differences why the amalgamation was deemed a mistake. Political leaders on both sides of the divide could not agree on the direction the country should go. The three principal ethnic groups that dominated the national scene: the Igbo in the East, Yoruba in the West, and Hausa/Fulani in the North, do not really belong together; hence each has its own ideology. From the 1950s onwards, latent forces of disunity remained, but did not become active until after independence. The British, of course, realised the imperfections of the Nigerian Union, they had ample opportunity to restructure it along the regional lines actively canvassed by all interested groups from the 1940s upwards. For obvious reasons, they chose to ignore and there lies our present problems. Today, the possibility of a break-up stares us in the face. From those halcyon days of British political ingenuity of 1914 to the present turbulent period of Boko Haram insurgency in the North, deepening ethnic mistrust, widespread poverty, events have changed dramatically leaving vestiges of political bitterness and a country hurtling to the brink. Will Nigeria survive or will the country crumble under the overbearing weight of the imbalances that are threatening to make it a failed state? The signs that the country may implode began to manifest shortly before and after independence. All the three ethnic blocks that emerged after decolonisation, growing nationalism and during the fight for independence, had begun to tout the idea of secession. At the negotiation for independence for example, the Sarduana of Sokoto, Ahmadu Bello, was quick to consider secession. His argument then was that Northerners would not rush into independence if it meant replacing European domination with southern domination. That line of argument is still valid till today as the major ethnic groups continue to tear away at one another on who controls the centre.

Also during the 1950 constitutional conference, the country was sold into a proposed representational ratio that favoured the North. At the vanguard of Northern interests were leaders, who declared that the North must have 50 per cent of the seats or it would secede. It is on record that the idea of secession was first hatched by the North, nursed by the West, and executed in the East. The Sarduana first called for secession when he became afraid of southern domination in the early 1950s. The Emir of Zaria during the constitutional conference of 1950, called for Northern secession if the North was not given 50 per cent of the seats. Northern politicians in 1953 through the Northern House of Assembly and House of Chiefs called for confederation and separation in opposition to a motion for self-government sponsored by the Action Group. The idea of secession was equally nursed by the Action Group in 1954 when it insisted that a secession clause be inserted into the proposed constitution. When the Easterners through the Premier, Dr. Michael Okpara, threatened to secede because of the problems of “the mistake of 1914″, the Sardauna himself was quick to point out to him that there was no secession clause in the nation’s fundamental laws, notwithstanding, the East seceded and declared for the sovereign state of Biafra.

Compelling factors that threaten the corporate existence of the country have emerged in recent years. The thickening mistrust among the major ethnic groups jostling to rule the country has further widened the fault liness that have existed since independence. How this will play out in future is uncertain. Today, ethnic militias championing or promoting ethnic nationalism have proliferated across the country. It is one of the reasons why Nigeria could distingerate. In 2011, when the North lost the Presidency to President Jonathan Goodluck, violence broke out in the region. By far, the greatest threat to the continued existence of Nigeria is the emergence since 2009 of the Boko Haram sect in the North. The members want to impose strict Sharia law in the country. If they succeed, Nigeria could be another Somalia where the Al-Shabab jihadists control a large portion of the country. The spate of bombings targeting churches are meant to provoke violent reactions. If this happens, it may spiral into an all-out war that may dismember the country. This has become a possibility as the government has failed to stop the insurgents from causing instability in the country. There are genuine fears that the bombings may spread all over the country. If it does, the government that has not demonstrated the capacity to stop the terrorism in the North may find it difficult to stop violent reprisal across the country.

The enervating and disturbing poverty rate is also one of the main reasons why the country is hurtling to the status of a failed state. Deepening poverty across the country has led to growing crime rate. This has manifested in kidnapping and other violent crimes. The capacity of law enforcement agencies to combat these crimes is limited. Nigeria is currently one of the most dangerous places to live in the world.

What use is a state that cannot guarantee the safety of lives and property of its citizens? The prediction by the US National Intelligence Council and other think tanks that Nigeria may break up in the nearest future should not be seen as an end in itself. It is a metaphor of the tragedy of a country living on a borrowed time.

Punch

Okada ban: “Fashola should re-brand, license and restrict them” – Dr. Oladele

The Lagos State Government is working on a number of options to engage genuine commercial motorcycle operators, recently thrown out of jobs as a result of the implementation of the new traffic law, in meaningful ventures.
The Commissioner for Transportation, Mr. Kayode Opeifa, dropped the hint in Lagos on Wednesday, stressing that the move was meant to give only the registered operators a new lease of life.
Many of the okada riders, as the commercial motorcycle operators are called, have had to abandon the business, as the new law prohibits them from plying major roads and bridges in the state. According to the new traffic law, only those with 200cc engine capacity can operate in the permitted areas.
Some aggrieved operators have been protesting against the new policy and a few people sympathetic to their cause have urged the state government to rescind its decision in view of the multitude that will be affected.
But Opeifa, who spoke at the 11th Business Forum of the Lagos State University’s MBA Heritage held on Lagos Island on Wednesday, said that there was no going back on the decision.
He said, “We are resolute about the Road Traffic Law; there is no going back on it. But we are going to re-certify the okada operators resident in Lagos.
“We are going to start a registration process, and in the process, if we discover those who have skills, we will send them to the skill acquisition centres established by the state government to hone these skills.”
Opeifa, who spoke on the theme, ‘Effect of Transportation on Nigeria’s Economy,’ stressed that okada could not be regarded as a means of transportation, as nobody wished to bequeath it as an inheritance to their children.
The commissioner, therefore, said the state government would re-register the operators with a view to providing the genuine ones adversely affected by the policy other job opportunities.
“Some of them could be absorbed into the LAGBUS as conductors and drivers. We also have agriculture, where some of them can also be useful. Apart from our farms in Lagos, we have bought landed property in Ogun State and Abuja, and we are going to buy more in Benue for agriculture. So, the options are there for them,” he said.
According to him, the state government plans to assist some of the okada riders with the acquisition of skills to make them employable or to become self-employed.
Opeifa also said some of them would be assisted to own bakeries after undertaking the needed training.
But the Managing Director, Megavons West Africa Limited, Dr. Rotimi Oladele, expressed the view that the okada business could be reorganised, and urged the state government to re-brand it as a community transport system.
Although Oladele, who was a keynote speaker at the forum, commended the state government for its efforts in transforming Lagos, he said there was still a need for a truly masses-oriented means of transport, which the okada business represented.
“Let us re-brand them as community transport system, license them and restrict them to their domiciliary local government areas,” he said.
Opeifa said there was a need for the development of multi-modal transportation system for the economy to grow.
“The groundnut pyramids were moved from the North down to Lagos by the railway; likewise, cocoa and some other farm produce. The system worked then, and all that seems to have died now,” he said.
Opeifa advised that the review of the Constitution currently going on should whittle down some powers of the government at the centre, so that states and local governments could develop the modes of transportation that suited them.
 DailyPost