MONDAY, JULY 11, 2011
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CITYBEATS
QUOTE OF THE WEEK “The Lagos State government’s efforts to curb the occurence of building collapse can only yield results when everyone conscientously complies with all relevant regulations, especially those that impacts on human life. Senator Oluremi Tinubu speaking on a collapsed building in Lagos last week.
‘Please, rescue us from flood’
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NE man’s meat is another man’s poison. So, holds a popular saying. While some crave for the rains, many fervently pray against it, even on mountain tops, particularly when it comes with loss of lives and property. About six streets - Akin Olugbade, Church, Alhaja Mama, Bilesanmi Adedayo and Jemi Alade in the Egbeda-Idimu Local Council Development Area (LCDA) of Lagos State – are submerged. They are among the streets in the metropolis that will never pray for rain, not even drizzles. The early morning down-pour
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By Dada Aladelokun
last Sunday did the havoc. An unlucky 16-year-old boy almost drowned. Two persons had, the previous Wednesday, lost their lives in the same area during a downpour. Mrs. Florence Adebowale whose son, Segun,16, was resuscitated at a nearby hospital, said Segun had gone to the bathroom to ease himself when she started hearing shouts for help. “All the neighbours rushed out and I was shouting Segun, Segun even as I rushed to the backyard. As I got there, other neighbours standing
Two people died in this same flood issue last week and if not for the prompt action of the people, we would have lost another person
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by the entrance of the corridor just pointed to the flood. Just then, two men emerged and jumped into it. A few minutes later they brought out Segun and so we quickly rushed him to the hospital. If not for the neighbours, the boy would have gone,” she said. The rains started shortly after 4am. Mike Okwara, chairman of Akin Olugbade Landlord Association, explained that the problem with the area was the absence of a functional drain that would take the water down to the LASUIba Express Road. “We have made representation to the state government about the flood in this area. We met with the then Commissioner for the Environment, Muiz Banire, who assured us that the area would be looked into in 2008. But this is 2011; nothing has been done even though, on several occasions, the
officials of the Ministry of the Environment were here. That is all we have seen. “Two people died in a similar flood last week and if not for the prompt action of the people we would have lost another person. A lot of us relocated last week when it was flooded only to return a few days later but here we are again, we had to move out again. “We are tax-paying residents who should at least enjoy some government benefits such as simple functional drains. As you can see no road is accessible here now and it will remain like this until another four days that is if there is no constant rain. We don’t want to lose another life even if we have to lose property but not lives like that of last week. “We appeal to our leaders in government both here in the EgbeIdimu Council Area and Alausa to help out in the drains. One of the promises former deputy governor Mrs. Sarah Sosan made to this area when she was campaigning in 2003 was that the drains would be done, but here we are, back to square one,” he lamented. Mr Ajibola, a resident of Jemi Alade Street, one of the affected
streets, said members had made representations to the former deputy governor through her husband, retired Commander Sosan, on the need to construct the drains to avert further disaster in the environs. “Some four years back, a house collapsed in this vicinity, the only grace at that time was that there was nobody in the building before it came down. Another life was lost here in 2006 when a woman slipped and fell into the flowing flood. “We have even on our own carried out the survey of this place when the Environment officials came here and were talking about survey. We submitted it to them in their office. We just hope and pray that the government will fulfill this promise. The difference between this government and any other one is its integrity. We pray they will still keep up to that,” he said. The Egbe-Idimu Local Council Development Area, Chairman, Mr. Waheed Bello, could not be reached for comment. He did not pick his call neither did he return the text message sent to him. However, a breather seems on the way for the residents and others in the state as the state government has reiterated its determination to tackle flooding, especially in floodprone areas.
Cleric condemns violence
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CLERIC has criticised the Boko Haram Islamic sect for unleashing violence in some parts of the North. The Episcopal Vicar, Ikeja Region, Rev. Fr. John Aniagwu, urged the group not to give Islam a bad name through its violent streak. Speaking at the Feast celebration/ inauguration of St Anthony’s Police Catholic Chaplaincy, Mopol 20 Barracks, Ikeja, Lagos, Aniagwu said: “The way the founders of Islam practised Islam is not the way the Boko Haram group is practising it. “They should not hide under Islam to commit atrocities. Their practice negates the real concept of Islam.” In his welcome address, the parish priest, Rev. Fr (ASP) Paul Omotosho, said it has not been easy combining police and priestly work, saying, “for I’ve come to discover that the police is a special apostelate and that is why we thank God. I am proud to tell you that in the Police Barracks in Nigeria, this is the first that has a grotto.” He also stressed the importance of prayer safe-guarding lives and property. On why they were building churches in Police Barracks, he said a signal came from Abuja that every police barracks should have a Catholic Church, a Protestant church and a mosque. His words: “Thus, we appeal to our big parishes to help build churches in the barracks around them; help us run them till we have enough manpower to handle them for we have
• The affected streets
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LAWMAKER at the Lagos State House of Assembly representing Epe 11 constituency, Segun Olulade, has stressed on the need to educate Lagosians on the activities of the House so as to dispel misconceptions. He stated this in an interview with CityBeats in his office at the Assembly complex last week. According to Olulade, many people blame the House if anything goes wrong in their constituencies or if things don’t go the way they expect.
By Ebele Boniface
less priests. We even solicit for individuals to help in this cause too.” Father Aniagwu said people should no longer fold their hands and watch them kill and maim innocent people but they should, pray to God to make them have a change of heart and the politicians who use them to unleash terror on the populace. On the establishment of police chaplains in barracks, the Lagos State Police Command Public Relations Officer, Deputy Superintendent of Police (DSP) Samuel Jinadu, said police barracks is a complete community and police officers and men including their families need prayers daily for God’s protection, provision of good health and peace saying the: “Church also promotes morals discipline, spiritual strength, especially prayers to meet challenges of policing daily and protection against the work hazards.” A group, Organisation of Responsible Men and Women for Peace in Nigeria, has condemned Boko Haram sect. In a statement, the group said: “Boko Haram people have been using dangerous weapons to destroy lives and properties. These acts, we believe threaten the security of the nation. Therefore, it is our view that those already caught as members of the group be urgently tried in accordance with the Law of the land in order to serve as deterrent to others.”
Lawmaker decries misconception about Assembly By Oziegbe Okoeki
He said: “We need to project the House in the right direction and we need to let the people know what we are really doing here. There is a lot of misconception about the House. For example, people expect us to fix bad roads and all that. “There is need to let them know that some of these things are not our responsibilities as lawmakers.”
He said he also had misconceptions about the House until he became a member and now knows better. “It is quite different from what you see outside,” he said. He said: “People think that here you, just come around, sit down and maybe talk for two or four hours and go home and at the end of the day you are paid; that they are not even doing anything. But we do a lot of research here. We do public hearing. We go into committee stage, three times a week; Mondays, Tuesdays
and Thursdays, we are having our sitting and it is a continuous thing. “At times, we close by 10pm. We are working on one issue or the other. We take note of issues and people’s opinions and we look at it and research on it to find out what is really going on in those areas, we go out to even investigate some matters that are brought to us. But people think the few hours we spend in plenary is all what we do here. And that is the perception I used to see the House
before coming here. But it is more than that. Now that I am here I know that it is a different ball game, I know that you have to do a lot of things, Olulade said. Olulade said he would also want the Seventh Assembly to make laws that are people oriented and that the people will appreciate. “Laws that the people will be happy about; that yes, this is the kind of laws that protect their integrity and project their state as a state of excellence,” he added.
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