Reprieve from perennial flooding has come for residents of four Local Governments and Local Council Development Areas which the drainage channel 6c passes through, just as the State has successfully desilted the major channel which housed mountainous refuse for over 10 years.

Speaking with newsmen after an inspection tour of the major primary channel in Idi-araba and Surulere on Thursday, the Permanent Secretary Office of Drainage Services, Engr. Lekan Shodeinde, said the affected Local Governments and Local Council Development Areas are enjoying a new lease of life in Surulere, Mushin, Odi-Olowo and Itire-Ikate, adding that over two metres high refuse was evacuated at the Akobi Crescent end and LUTH tributary.

Shodeinde, who was represented during the tour by the Director, Drainage Maintenance, Engr. Olalekan Ajani, said at the inception of the present administration, most of the major primary channels were not functional and accessible because of the high volume of refuse covering all the drains due to neglect.

The Permanent Secretary said that flooding has become a thing of the past in the area since the regular clearing of drainage system 6c commenced in 2019, just as some residents of Akobi Crescent, Idi Araba and Ishaga confirmed that the roads are no longer clogged during rainfall.

He said the drainage channel which is about 13 kilometres in length and about 10 metres in depth is one of the most strategic, which had made the areas involved very popular in the rainy season for the wrong reasons.

According to him, “The present administration is determined to make the State flood-free by ensuring that the major waterways that belong to the Federal Government and the primary drainages to be maintained by Local Governments regularly are kept clean”.

Warning against the unwholesome act of drainage blockage by residents, Shodeinde gave an assurance that the Ministrý’s Emergency Flood Abatement Gang (EFAG) team will continue to work throughout the year across Lagos.

He hinted that canoes would be provided for the EFAG operatives to clear any floating objects noticed on channels immediately after rainfall.

The Permanent Secretary also enjoined residents to support government efforts by ensuring the regular clearing of drainages in front of their houses to ensure the free flow of water.

LASG

ForAGreaterLagos

President Muhammadu Buhari extends heartfelt condolences to the Fasasi family on the death of renowned singer and songwriter, Olanrewaju Fasasi, popularly known as Sound Sultan, aged 44.

The President notes that Sound Sultan’s demise is not only a loss to the Nigerian music industry, but to the country as a whole. As a celebrated rapper, singer, songwriter, actor, he lived an exemplary life, achieved several milestones in his career and contributed greatly to the development of the Nigerian music and entertainment industry through his artistic genius, creativity and talent, which has inspired many young Nigerians in the industry.

The deceased, President Buhari affirms, was kind, generous, and deeply passionate about issues in the country, which reflected in his music and art, and as an avid basketball fan, he made telling contributions to the development of local basketball in the country.

The President prays for the eternal repose of the soul of the departed and divine peace and comfort for the family, friends and associates.

President Muhammadu Buhari has congratulated the Prime Minister of Ethiopia Abiy Ahmed over the decisive victory won by his party in the just concluded parliamentary elections, returning him to office for another five years.

Reacting to the outcome of the elections as announced over the weekend, the President told the Ethiopian leader: “On behalf of the Nigerian people I send you and the people of Ethiopia our well wishes for your courage and commitment to the democratic process and urge you to continue with the good policies of your government that endeared you to the people.”

President Buhari, who also reflected on the instability rocking Ethiopia appealed to parties and factions in the country to come together to halt their country’s march to civil war to save their people from depravations of conflict.

He lamented that instability in one part of Africa is a threat to stability elsewhere: “Instability is a grave threat to African progress. African countries cannot attain their development goals if every group resorts to violence and destabilisation instead of seeking peaceful resolution of conflicts through dialogue.”

President Buhari assured the Ethiopian leader that Nigeria will continue to support the unity and territorial well-being of his country and of all African States.

The leadership of Cisco Africa Team today, Tuesday 13th July 2021, expressed the organisation’s willingness to partner with the country’s Digital Economy sector in order to further drive the vision of the Federal Government in the digitalisation process. This gesture is as a result of the giant strides recorded by the sector under the leadership of the Honourable Minister of Communications and Digital Economy, Dr Isa Ali Ibrahim Pantami.

Speaking at a virtual meeting initiated by Cisco, the Senior Vice President, Public Policy and Governmental Affairs for Europe, Middle East, Africa and Russia, Ms Pastora Valero, while commending Dr Pantami on what she described as his unprecedented legacies in the Nigerian Economy in establishing a burgeoning digital sector that has caught global attention, urged the Minister to consider avenues of partnerships and collaborations with Cisco. “We have keenly followed your progress and would very much like to be a part of your vision in driving the sector and are open to partnerships in that regard.”

In her remarks, the Senior Director Policy and Governmental Affairs, Africa, Charmaine Houvet said “Pantami’s policies were in line with global trends and the potential for development in Nigeria cannot be ignored. The leadership that the Honourable Minister has brought to bear in the sector is highly commendable and Cisco is willing to be a part of this journey.”

In his response, Dr Pantami remarked that “we are championing a paradigm shift in the country leveraging on technology to give preference and priority to proven skills over paper qualifications. Particularly, digital skills”. He drew the team’s attention to the National Digital Economy Policy and Strategy (NDEPS) Document particularly, pillars two and seven, centred around digital literacy and skills and digital societies and emerging technologies, with the objective of capacity building through digital skills acquisition.

Pantami identified the need for partnership in the areas of training and urged Cisco to “establish training academies across Nigeria, especially in underserved areas in order to empower citizens with the requisite skills required to maintain global relevance”.

The Honourable Minister in response to Cisco’s prayers, immediately set up a technical team to draw up a Memorandum of Understanding in that regard.

By Uwa Suleiman

There’s this recent cartoon in Daily Trust Newspaper that sends me holding my sides in laughter each time I see it. And I tell you that I’ve viewed it over and over again.
Two bandits are in flight, really showing a clean pair of heels. This news item kicks you into the cartoon: ‘Scores killed as troops, vigilantes, ambush Kebbi students’ kidnappers.’ The first fleeing bandit says; ‘I think this is the language the President is speaking about!’ And the second bandit responds: ‘I think these are just the Alphabets.’

Hahahahahaaaaaaa. I can’t stop laughing again and again at that cartoon. Lol. President Muhammadu Buhari don vex. Troublers of Nigeria are in trouble, and are being given bloody noses: insurgents, bandits, secessionists, all violent criminals.

After his decoration with the rank of Lt. General on Wednesday, new Chief of Army Staff, Farouk Yahaya, said all types of violent deviants are being sent to God to answer for their crimes, and the summary judgment would continue, till the country is cleaned of vermin. Good. That is a direct reaction to the new language of the President.

The background. Chairman of Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), Professor Mahmoud Yakubu, had led a team to State House recently, chronicling attacks to the Commission’s facilities in certain parts of the country. He expressed worry that with the trend, immediate and future elections were imperiled.

The President listened very patiently, as he usually does. Then he responded, as any father, whose home was under threat of destruction, would. He pitied those who were trying to turn the country into a tailspin, and said those of them who fought the 30 months Civi War would not look on, and see the country destroyed. “Soon, we will talk to them in the language they understand,” he submitted.

It was a true riot act. The new language yielded results immediately, so much so that the President has now been dubbed by some of his admirers online as Dean of Faculty of Linguistics. Hahahahahaaaaaaa. (This laughter again).

And different segments of the country are hearing the language. It is not limited to criminals alone. Even the opposition People’s Democratic Party (PDP) is being spoken to in the language it understands. And it is screaming blue murder.

PDP is being ravaged and savaged politically, and if care is not taken, the Party could become an empty shell before 2023. The vessel is leaking, and taking in water massively. It may have to scream May Day, May Day soon, and evacuate.

The irony of it all is that whenever the PDP is making gains politically, all is jolly well and good. But when it suffers reversals, then democracy is threatened in the country. In 2015, by the time the dust of general elections settled, the All Progressives Congress (APC) had 24 Governors. PDP had 12, and All Progressives Grand Alliance (APGA) had one. PDP, which had always vaunted itself as Africa’s largest party, threatening to rule us for minimum of 60 years, was looking like King Lear at his worst. It had been knocked off its perch at the national level, also in many States, and its snout yanked from the country’s honeypot. It was terribly unhappy.

By combination of schism, implosion and explosion, APC did not manage its success well. By 2019, the number of its governors had dwindled to about 19. And PDP was reaping the harvest. But APC retooled, got itself straightened out, and returned to winning ways. Gov Dave Umahi of Ebonyi State ported into APC. Followed by Ben Ayade of Cross River. And now Bello Matawalle of Zamfara State. APC is equally swelling in terms of lawmakers and membership, both at the Federal and State levels. The winner takes it all, the loser standing small.

PDP, at its lugubrious worst, is screaming and kicking. They are plundering us! Democracy is in danger! Oh, really? Since when?

Welcoming Matawalle into the APC early last week, President Buhari said the party was becoming more popular “because of its impressive performance record and commitment to good governance.”

True. But PDP never wants to hear that, and it accounts for all the obfuscation we see in the country. We have security challenges, very severe ones, no doubt. And those challenges are being frontally confronted, with the criminals “being sent to God to account for their crimes.” But PDP has made it a passion to daily trumpet negative developments, as if those were the only things happening in the land. All they want is to tar the APC with the brush of infamy so much that the people would forget massive infrastructural works round the country, better accountability in public finances, doing a lot more with a lot less, giant strides in anti-corruption, gradual economic improvements, all despite the security challenges. What PDP has its eyes on is the diadem of presidential seat in 2023, and it is throwing everything into the fray. Hate speech, fake news, disinformation, misinformation, outright lies. The people must not see any redeeming virtue in the APC government, it has resolved.

But the beauty of democracy is that the people have the final say. They always do. They did in 2015. In 2019. And they would in 2023, and beyond. Also, they know the truth, irrespective of the attempts to pull the wool over their eyes.

Democracy would remain a game of numbers. It’s not a cinch that you must win the presidency, if you hold sway in more States, but it does help. With APC’s control of 22 States now, (and counting) to PDP’s 14, it appears that the goose of the opposition party is being cooked. And with the language of the Dean of Faculty of Linguistics, PDP can only come to more grief. The security challenges in the country would be surmounted soon, there would be commissioning of massive infrastructural works in 2022, and the people would know which party has been serving them, and the one that took them for a ride for 16 years.

With the way things will turn out in the months ahead, one political party will wax stronger and stronger, while the other one will wax weaker and weaker. A third force may be unlikely before 2023, at least not in a way to make much impact.

Can the PDP come in from the cold? Doubtful. It may do well then to get blankets, very thick ones, as the chill bites harder.

Adesina is Special Adviser to President Buhari on Media and Publicity