[dropcap]T[/dropcap]he Lagos State Sector Commander of the Federal Road Safety Corps (FRSC),Mr Hyginus Omeje has disclosed that 56, 767 driving licences were yet to be collected by their owners.
Omeje who disclosed this on Saturday in an interview with the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) urged the owners of the licences to collect them as the command would soon embark on “Operation Show Your Driving Licence.’’He added that the corps would embark on the mission across all units of the command.
“We are embarking on this assignment so that motorists will come to our office to collect their driving’ licences.“We have no backlog of new driving licences in Lagos State. “There are 56,767 licenses yet to be collected by their owners.“We have sent SMS to their owners that their licences are ready for collection but they ignored responding to our messages,’’ the FRSC boss said.
Omeje frowned at the attitude of some road users driving without valid licences saying that such licences remained the only certification to drive on the road. According to him, the fine for a driver driving without a valid licence is N10, 000 and the offender must produce the licence within 24 hours.
Omeje said that if after 24 hours such offender could not produce a valid licence, the vehicle of such offender would be impounded. He said that in such situation, it would be assumed that the driver was not licensed to drive.
Omeje said that the corps was not interested in the fines or depriving anyone the comfort of his vehicle, but advised motorists to do the right thing and be safety conscious. He, however, revealed that between Feb. 26 and March 2, no fewer than 4, 644 licenses were collected by the applicants. (NAN)
[dropcap]S[/dropcap]etraco is doing what ULO could not do in two years, Governor Ifeanyi Okowa of Delta state has expressed confidence that commercial activities will be in full swing at the Asaba international Airport in July, this year. Speaking during an inspection visit to the airport, the governor expressed joy that the contractor handling the reconstruction of the runway, Setraco had proven that the project could be delivered within three months.
According to him: “It took two years for ULO to construct 900 metres of the runway but it gladdens my heart that in just three weeks, Setraco has done 1.1kilometre of the runway.
“From the work programme, it may be possible for Setraco to complete the project in three and half months, the speed with which they mobilized to site is wonderful, we thank God for intervening which made us to re-award the contract,” the governor said, emphasising, “We are confident that in another four months, there will be a lot of bigger planes landing here.”
Engr Jihad Yahgi, Area Manager, Setraco who explained the level of work done so far, disclosed that apart from the runway, the company was in the process of completing the water channels at the airport.
He assured Delta State government that work would be completed on schedule according to specifications.
[dropcap]T[/dropcap]he West African Examinations Council (WAEC) on Saturday identified examination malpractice as a major challenge militating against its operations in its 64 years of existence. The council’s Head of Test Administration, Mrs Frances Iweha-Onukwu, disclosed this in an interview with the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) in Lagos.
According to her, the scourge is a canker worm that has eaten deep in the fabric among candidates, not only in Nigeria, but also in member countries. She, however, noted that the council was gradually winning the war as it kept introducing new cutting-edge technology to stop the ugly trend.
“One major challenge we are battling against, since inception, has been that of examination malpractice, but we are happy that we are winning the war.“We know that the candidates might want to beat our technology, but we will continue to make sure that we check them in any way they try.”
According to Iweha-Onukwu, another major challenge is the ‘rogue website.’
“Tackling ‘rogue website’ has been a serious challenge the board is facing.”
NAN reports that a rogue website is one that subverts a legitimate web site by appearing to replace it. Iweha-Onukwu said that perpetrators of such act use rogue website to distract lazy candidates, who, instead of studying hard for their examination, busy themselves logging onto the rogue website.
She, however, said that many operators of the fake sites were being apprehended with the help of security agents.The official said her desire was to see the council compete favourably with international examination bodies like the Educational Testing Service (ETS) among others.
[dropcap]T[/dropcap]he Delta State Commissioner for Police CP. Muhammad A. Mustafa, mni, today paraded 35 suspects encapsulating 16 suspected Kidnappers from 4 kidnap cases, 7 suspected cultists from 1 cult case, 4 suspected robbers from 5 robbery cases, 3 suspected murders from 2 murder cases and 5 suspects from 4 other cases.
The CP while parading the suspects disclosed that 7 locally made guns, 2 live cartridges, 3 Ak47 riffles, 193rounds of ammunition’s and 1 vehicle was recovered stressing that the success recorded so far is a credit not only to the Police, but to all well-meaning persons who have been assisting us by providing us with timely and useful information in the fight against criminal elements in the state.
Mustafa further said that It is equally important to acknowledge and appreciate the collaborative efforts of sister security agencies, taking cognizance of breakthroughs in recent past wish is evident in facts of the different cases as in one of the cases which he said “following information received through discreet Intelligence gathering that one Ignatius Ogboi, a business man and Pastor of Salvation Army Church Mbiri, Ika North East LG, Delta State who specializes in sponsoring kidnapping/armed robbery operations within Agbor, Umunede and its environs, operatives of SAKCCS Asaba led by the O/C , stormed his residence with a duly signed search warrant, arrested him and recovered a loaded English Made double barrel gun, three thousand eight hundred and seventy one live cartridges, some prohibited drugs and undisclosed amount of money believed to be ransom collected from victims.”
The CP informed that In line with the directive of the Inspector-General of Police for total enforcement of the firearm Act banning the possession and use of illegal and prohibited firearms, ammunition, weapons and devices locally fabricated or modified that can cause death or injury to persons, the Delta State Police Command has constituted a task force headed by the Assistant Commissioner of Police in-charge Operations Department, ACP. Wagbara Peter to immediately commence the mopping up of the afore-listed categories of weapons in the state.
Consequently, the general public, individuals and groups such as vigilantes and neighbourhood watch, town unions, hunters and watch night men or any group or association under any capacity or guise other than statutory Security Agencies recognized and gazetted by the Federal Government of Nigeria to bear firearms of specified category, who are currently possessing and using prohibited/illegal firearms such as pump action gun of all categories and the likes for whatsoever purpose in the state are hereby given twenty-one (21) days with effect from today, 1st March, 2018, to surrender them to the Commissioner of Police through the Area Commanders of their places of domicile.
No license will be given or recognized in respect of prohibited firearms and ammunition except if granted by the President and Commander-In-Chief of the Federal Republic of Nigeria upon the recommendation of the Inspector-General of Police. I therefore implore concerned citizens, general public, and Local Government Authorities to prevail on their vigilantes, neighbourhood watch, civil security outfits and watch night men and others attached to any organization including public and private institutions in the state to surrender within the time limit of 21 days, all the prohibited firearms in their possession. Anyone found with prohibited firearms after the expiration of the 21 days will be arrested, investigated and prosecuted, as the police will not hesitate to apply the full weight of the law on any individual or group whose conduct, under any guise, run contrary to the law of the land.
Speaking further CP Mustafa stressed that members of the public should be vigilant enough to report to Commissioner of Police, Area Commanders and Divisional Police Officers nearest to them anyone bearing, possessing or in custody of the above mentioned prohibited firearms anywhere in the state and to continue to repose confidence in the police and give us necessary cooperation in our desire to reduce crime to the barest minimum level in the state.
Collapse Asaba-Drainage that killed Mr Okon Bassey
[dropcap]T[/dropcap]here is a growing tension among workers employed by Chinese Construction firm, China Civil Engineering Construction Corporation (CCECC), over the rising cases of deadly body injuries inflicted on them in the course of working on the Jesus Saves/DLA drainage project along Nnebisi road, Asaba.
Deltans have expressed their fears and displeasure over the frequent tragedy being experienced in the course of the construction work by China Civil Engineering Construction Corporation (CCECC), handling the completion of the water Storm project in Asaba.
These worries are coming on the wake of a fatal injury dealt on one of their colleagues by an excavator operator on Thursday, 22nd February 2018 and the painful death of another on Saturday, 24th February 2018, when the deceased, Mr. Okon Bassey from Akwa -Ibom got crushed under the rumbles of a collapsed manhole at a section of the drainage at the Federal Medical Center (FMC) main gate.
According to a co-worker to the deceased who pleaded anonymity and also an eye witness to the sad event, narrated that, Mr. Okon was with them when they went to dismantle the boards of the manhole at the FMC main gate. Suddenly the top soil which was soft due to the heavy down pour the previous night, collapsed on on him crushing him through the manhole into the drainage and by the time they got to his rescue, Bassey had lost his left lower leg completely.
Sadly, Mr. Bassey who just joined the team few weeks ago, was skeptical about coming to work that very day and died few hours after the incident. Another worker who also pleaded anonymity said that, two days ago, one of their carpenters lost his foot to an excavator, just after the excavator was used to lift him up and a generator from the depths of the drainage and he is now undergoing treatments as sponsored by CCECC.
Speaking further, he lamented that the payments they receive is also not co-measurable to the labour they put in, as they have to work round the clock all week and that the payment was too poor for the nature of their jobs and its possible hazards. He stressed that they had made an appeal to the management of the company for an upward review of their salaries or they will stop work, but the company insisted that they should continue work in wait of an upward review of their salaries soonest.
We have made all efforts to meet with the Chinese firm image maker on ground to get the company’s view on the growing numbers of work hazards and the alleged poor payments and why their field workers were not insured as stipulated by Nigeria Labour law .
Moreover,our Investigations revealed that, since the commencement of the drainage project months ago, both commercial transporters in the State capital and the construction workers have had their fair shares of the fatal accidents of a CCECC worker which was shielded from the public and the press.
[dropcap]D[/dropcap]elta state government has approved the construction of ten thousand housing units for civil servants by Greenfield Assets Limited in Illah, Oshimili north local government area of the state.This was made public by the state commissioner for information, Mr. Patrick Ukah, after the state executive council meeting held inside the EXCO chambers in government house, Asaba, on Tuesday.
He said that the approval is to alleviate the housing challenges facing civil servants in the state, especially Asaba, the state capital, with a view to making them more comfortable to meet the demands of their offices.
Also approved is the Phase 1 of the completion of the Udu Harbour Market, as well as the construction of concrete drains and discharge channel from refinery road through Aribogha street, Jesus is Lord Street to the natural waterway by Regal Clinic, Jakpa Road, Effurun, in anticipation of the raining season.
In its avowed determination to connect all communities to major cities in the state, Mr. Ukah said that the government approved the continuation of the construction of Ibusa/Achalla/Asaba Road (Phase 1: 4.125 km) in Oshimili North local government area, in addition to the construction of Ogulagha/Youbebe/Biniebiama Road (1,500 metres) in Burutu local government area and the rehabilitation of Orogun-Emevor road and Erhieta Road (4.6 kilometres).
Also approved is the completion of the New General Hospital Road with a spur to Joy Ariguzor Street, off Okpanam Road, in the state capital territory, the construction of Arhagba–Orogun Road (11.294 kilometres) in Ughelli North Local Government Area and the construction of Upper Ojekpolor Street, (1,150 metres) in Ika North East local government area.
Chief (Com.) Daniel Chukwudi Obiorah The Onwa n’etilora 1 of Anam Kingdom
[dropcap]T[/dropcap]he popular cliché, ‘first impression sticks’ is not applicable to Chief (Comrade) Daniel Chukwudi Obiorah (The Onwa n’etilora 1 of Anam Kingdom).If you profile and categorize him based on the spur of the moment kind of judgment, then you have done so using the wrong barometer and faulty premise. This is because at first encounter, you are confronted with a man you could pass for a middle income earner. He wears no airs and there are none around him. He is as simple as air itself. The calm ambience he exudes is just natural. He is just being himself.
However, many would be shocked to later learn that this unassuming Youngman who mingles with the lowly and the downtrodden without discrimination is workaholic, a business czar, corporate tiger and sits atop multi-billion dollars investments spanning several interests.Chief (Comrade) Daniel Chukwudi Obiorah (The Onwa n’etilora 1 of Anam Kingdom) is a tested Philanthropist, an achiever-a job creator,and an employer of labour . And he makes no noise about these.In Nigeria those often considered the greatest are the politicians, fraudulent exploiters, violent conquerors and evil geniuses turned heroes and heroines, who have out done others by stealing the community’s common wealth and sharing crumbs amongst their praise singers but Chief (Comrade) Daniel Chukwudi Obiorah (The Onwa n’etilora 1 of Anam Kingdom)people by giving them comfort with he ultimate fulfillment to them,his people.
Chief (Comrade) Daniel Chukwudi Obiorah (The Onwa n’etilora 1 of Anam Kingdom) is a courageous and dogged fighter, unassuming, highly principled and very modest in all aspects of life. His lifestyle and philosophy is worthy of emulation. A great philanthropist who has empowered numerous youths in Anam Kingdom and Delta State.
In this interview with Grassroots Publishers, he explained why he finds love in humanitarian services.
Excerpts:
Briefly tell us about your background?
Chief Daniel Obiora ( Onwa N’Etili Ora 1 of Anam Kingdom) hails from Anam in Anambra West local government area of Anambra state. I am from a very noble and humble background. I was born into a royal family of six as the fourth child. My respected Father who was also a Chief until his death. Then my lovely mother who has been a source of inspiration and motivation for me. I came from a family of farmers. After my primary and secondary education, I proceeded to Benin-Republic for further studies.
Why do you like helping people?
There is saying that goes: “If you want happiness for an hour, take a nap. If you want happiness for a day, go fishing. If you want happiness for a year, inherit a fortune. If you want happiness for a lifetime, help somebody.” For it is in giving that we receive. It is not how much we give, but how much love we put into giving. Making money is happiness; making other people happy is a superhappiness. The sole meaning of life is to serve humanity. We make a living by what we get; we make a life by what we give. Therefore, my foundation for giving is passionate; it is inborn. Life is like a circle; the more we share with others, the more the society gets better and the better we are.
What are some of the positive impacts you have made?
Some of my interventions are designed to alleviate the social, cultural and environmental issues, which is aimed at reducing the impact of poverty among the most vulnerable while creating equal opportunities for all for exponential impact on even the global society. I have engaged most seriously in Youths supportive programmes because youths they say are the leaders of tomorrow. I have also given scholarships to indigent children; provided equipment to hospitals to enhance proper health care services in Anam Kingdom.
Do you have any political ambition?
I don’t have any right now. Really, I don’t have. I have to focus on making sure that the youths are engaged and that is my joy. My major priority now is how to make life meaningful to people around me. I am not thinking of politics now.
What are the things you detest most?
Well, I do not like people telling lies particularly when they are obvious. I do not like booth licking. I want to be seen as a straight person who will just live his. Another thing I don’t like is somebody who has the skill and has refused to use it or somebody who has refused to acquire skill. You know you really cannot work with such person. So, like I said, the only way out is just to do the right thing.
What legacy would you want to leave behind?
I will want to be seen as a good person who has improved the quality of work and lives of people around me and more importantly the less privileged and youths. In spite of all I have said, I consider myself to be very, very lucky. There lots of people who are not as lucky as I am, it is not because I am special, it is just because the Almighty God made it possible for it to be so. Some people don’t have who pay their school fees yet they are very brainy and diligent students. Such people if identified in the society, I want to be seen as somebody who they can relate with, make them know that it is not the end of the world and that help can actually come from places that they least expected. I want to also use this opportunity to advice the elites to imbibe the idea of contributing to the service to humanity as the government alone cannot do it.
[dropcap]T[/dropcap]he man identified as Tunde Owolabi popularly known as ‘Money Talks’ was caught using his elder sister’s son, who was just 7 years old for money rituals in Ikoyi, an area on the Island in Lagos.
An internet fraudster, otherwise referred to as Yahoo Boy has been arrested in Lagos after he was caught trying to use his sister’s son for money rituals.The man identified as Tunde Owolabi popularly known as ‘Money Talks’ was caught using his elder sister’s son, who was just 7 years old for money rituals in Ikoyi, an area on the Island in Lagos.
The story was posted on Facebook by a man identified as Odueko Olumide John,and according to him the suspect took security operatives to where he dumped the boy’s corpse. The suspect was pictured with the decaying corpse of the boy while he was being handcuffed to another unidentified suspect.
In his post he wrote:
Luck ran out of another Yahoo big boy named Tunde Owolabi ( aka Money Talks) caught using his elder sister’s 7-year-old son for money rituals in Ikoyi, Lagos State.
He is alleged to be in Police custody and helping the police with investigations.
The post sparked outrage as Facebook users rained curses on the suspected ‘yahoo boy’
The rate at which young guys now use other humans for rituals is quite alarming and it goes to depict the lack of adequate security and surveillance system in the country.
Just some few days back, a guy was allegedly caught trying to clean other people’s urine with a white handkerchief. He was suspected to be doing so for rituals purpose and this enraged the people of the area that he was beaten brutally.
A lady also sometimes narrated how she was saved from the hands of her former boyfriend who happened to be a Yahoo Boy. According to the lady, she overheard the guy talking with his friend on how he disposed the human excreta he ate the day before in his neighbour’s trash can.
[dropcap]I[/dropcap]nsecurity of lives and property is a common knowledge and experience since Nigeria’s independence. Insecurity can cause all sorts of issues for individuals that ultimately impact the whole of the society. The fever and nightmare this has created in the psych of law-abiding citizens, high and low, is reminiscent of the violent characters, actions and nuances in all civilian governments or democratic governance that preceded the current administration.
Since after the promulgation of Republican system of government in 1963, through the second and now this sixth republic, it has been tales and reportage of weeping and lamentation over loss of property and lives among the diverse populations of all ethnic and religious groups in Nigeria. The insecurity in each period differs from one another in degree and sophistication of violence. The social insecurity in Nigeria today exists at epidemic and endemic proportions. There is the scourge of the Boko Haram, which insurgency in the most parts of the North, especially the Northeast, is said to have claimed more than fifteen thousand lives. There are, in addition, other violent insurgency related movements and militancy in the south-south, namely Niger Delta Avengers, which perpetrate the orgy of destruction of oil and gas infrastructure as well as kidnapping, maiming and killing of citizens and expatriates in the process. There is also the Independent People of Biafra, IPOB, whose agitations and face-off with the Police and the Army have often led to loss of lives and property. There has also been cases of Herdsmen/Farmers’ clash which has recently claimed thousands of lives and rendered many homeless; Political unrest and Ethno-Religious crisis. The epidemic and social implications of these violent struggles, among others, have impacted negatively and vertically on the nation and people’s infrastructure, apart from the loss of lives. The other forms of social and existential insecurity are widespread and epidemic violent crimes deliberately and consciously committed by groups against groups, person against persons, and every one against every one. This is a nationwide horizontal phenomenon that has depleted human and economic resources of this country. The outrageous and violent clashes of Fulani herdsmen with farmers and ordinary citizens in all the geo-political zones of the federation, resulting to deaths and conflagration on properties, are no less a threat to social security and an interesting subject of phenomenously of insecurity than armed robbery, kidnapping and political assassinations. The Southern Kaduna killings in which over eight hundred lives were lost are equally worrisome. The disturbing dimension to this epidemic nature of social insecurity is the gradual horizontal extinctions of the rural populace from their natural subsistent agrarian setting through violent death and destruction of their means of livelihood. Social insecurity at horizontal and vertical level of the society is so much on the increase in recent times that former Nigerian Head of state, General Ibrahim Babangida, once urged all political leaders, traditional rulers and all Nigerians to see to the security of the country. According to Babangida, “in our collective and individual resolves, we should keep Nigeria’s unity, irrespective of sectional, religious, cultural religious. Yet the offensive, epidemic and endemic nature of the Boko Haram insurgency, Niger Delta resistance, Fulani herdsmen and farmers’ clashes and wide spread kidnapping, assassinations and deaths as a result of robberies in some states is a collective threat to national cohesion. However, the highest risks factor in the current insecurity scenario is unemployment bug, which is both a time-bomb and national emergency, which, if goes out of hand, will explode cataclysmically. The National Bureau of Statistics unemployment report showed that unemployment rate rose from thirteen point three per cent in the second quarter of 2016 to thirteen point nine percent in the third quarter.
A truly national and federal policy to contain an imminent time bomb implied in the ever increasing youth unemployment is a matter of urgency, especially as there is a delineated phenomenological and horizontal link between it and social problems such as terrorism, kidnapping armed robbery, ethnic irredentism and insurgency.In charting a pathway out of this social syndrome and malaise, efforts on the parts of leaders must be geared beyond the government’s program to enthroning good governance, accountability, patriotism, commitment and justice as a normative superstructure for fiscal and infrastructural development of the society. It is on this sync that fiscal, true federalism and state police are found to be indispensable to a true, one, virile and progressive Nigeria.
•Late Briafan Warlord, Col. Joseph ‘Hannibal’ Achuzia•Late Briafan Warlord, Col. Joseph ‘Hannibal’ Achuzia
[dropcap]C[/dropcap]ol. Joe ‘Hannibal’ Achuzia joined the Biafran Army in May 1967, Achuzie had been a soldier in the Nigerian Army but fled to the southeast in fear of anti-Igbo sentiment among his fellow soldiers. After Biafran soldiers were forced to retreat across the River Niger Bridge into Onitsha on September 20, 1967 Achuzie was promoted to Major and given command of the Biafran 11th Battalion, responsible for defending the area between Atani and Ndoni from an imminent Nigerian attack. After the Biafran 18th Battalion under Colonel Assam Nsudoh was forced to retreat from Onitsha after 8 days of bloody house-to-house fighting, the 11th Battalion under Maj. Achuzie linked up with the 18th Battalion east of the city and made plans to counter-attack.
The 18th Battalion swung south along the Old Market Road while the 11th Battalion under Maj. Achuzie swung north along the New Market Road in a coordinated Pincer movement. The majority of the 5,000 man Nigerian 2nd Division stationed in Onitsha were either massacred or taken prisoner by Achuzie’s men. Two separate counter-attacks were made by the Nigerian 2nd Division in the days following the Biafran assault but were both thwarted by the 11th and 18th Battalions stationed in Onitsha. Achuzie was given total control of the Biafran 11th Division on January 19, 1968 by President Ojukwu once the Nigerian 2nd Division under Murtala Mohammed reached Awka, giving the Nigerians a direct route to Onitsha. The 11th Division under Maj. Achuzie managed to hold off the Nigerians for 2 months until an offensive launched on March 20 resulted in the Nigerians breaking through the Biafran defensive lines surrounding the city, the final battle would last less than 24 hours. The Nigerians were forced to pay with heavy casualties but they managed to capture Onitsha and forced the Biafran 11th Division to retreat to Nnewi.
On May 19, 1968 Maj. Achuzie was transferred to Port Harcourt and made commander of all Biafran soldiers within the city. Port Harcourt was subjected to heavy Nigerian artillery bombardment while defending Biafran troops fiercely resisted. During five days of heavy fighting, Port Harcourt’s airport and army barracks changed hands on numerous occasions but by May 24 most Biafran troops had been pushed out of the city into the surrounding areas. Maj. Achuzie stubbornly continued to fight against the Nigerians before narrowly escaping death after almost being run over by an armored car; it was then that Maj. Achuzie abandoned fighting and retreated to Igrita. On September 22, 1968 Maj. Achuzie took part in an attempt to re-capture the Obiangwu Airstrip from the Nigerian 22nd and 44th Battalions but was instead forced to retreat. On March 15, 1969 the Biafran S Division under Major Timothy Onwuatuegwu made a frontal assault on the 16th Brigade but was forced to halt after suffering heavy casualties. Maj. Onwuatuegwu placed half of his men under the command of Maj. Achuzie and were able to get within 1 km of the city. Major Achuzie demanded total control of the S Division but was refused by Onwuatuegwu and the two men almost shot each other after drawing their guns. President Ojukwu stepped in and gave Major Achuzie control of the S Division for one week, continuing the frontal assault on Owerri. Achuzie’s plan ultimately failed and he retreated after suffering heavy casualties, Ojukwu then immediately restored Onwuatuegwu as commander. On January 9, 1970 President Odumegwu Ojukwu officially placed all remaining Biafran soldiers under the command of Maj. Achuzie and gave his vice president Philip Effiong his title of President. Three days later on January 12 Effiong, Achuzie, and other Biafran officers made their way to Amichi and later Owerri to broadcast their final surrender to General Olusegun Obasanjo.
After Achuzie was released from prison in 1970 he officially retired from military activities and moved to Asaba, his home-town. He lived there as of February 2018 when he died.
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