Still On The Move:::The New Roads....

The New Tinubu Square...

Legendary Lagosian::Baba Kokoro Goes Home..

Nigeria: Baba Kokoro Goes Home on Thursday

May 5, 2009 by bunmi

The burial ceremony of Pa Benjamin Aderounmu a.k.a. Kokoro, will begin on Thursday, 7 May in Lagos.

According to the burial committee and the President of PMAN, Admiral Dele Abiodun, Artistes’ Night will flag off the two-day event, when PMAN members, both elite and up coming, will converge to give their last musical respect to one of the oldest members of the union.

Before this, Pa Aderounmu will be laid-in-state at PMAN headquarters from 10a.m. to 12 noon that day.

On Friday, 8 May, the second lying-in-state takes place at his residence, Millennium Housing Estate, by Afonja Police Station, Mosalasi bus stop, Shasha, Lagos, at 9 a.m.

Church service takes place at the same venue at 11 a.m., after which his remains will be buried at Ikoyi Cemetery. Entertainment of guests will follow at his residence in Shasha.

Pa Aderounmu died during a brief illness on Sunday, 25 January, 2009.

The burial was initially slated for April but has to be rescheduled due to logistics reasons.

Meanwhile, the entire Aderounmu family has expressed appreciation to the government of Lagos State and Babatunde Raji Fashola (SAN), the governor, for their support which has made the burial arrangement possible.

Aged 84 years, the veteran musician is survived by wife, children and great grand children.

A Few Good 'MAN' - Babatunde Fashola, Lagos State Governor

Gbenga Badejo

Postcard from Lagos


I never thought I would ever have to write a full article about a Nigerian
politician, a very positive review for that matter. This was not for lack of optimism on
my part, but for the lack of vision and purpose on their part. The reality is that a good
Nigerian politician is difficult to come by. The vast majority of the politicians elected
into government are self-serving, corrupt and worse of all visionless. They are corrupt
nationally, regionally and locally. They are corrupt in the South and in the North, in
the East and in the West.

The Governors in the North marry multiple wives, in the South-West; they publicly stick
with one wife but go through young mistresses faster than mach 2. The Ibo Governors
ingratiate themselves with royalty; the Yoruba ones think they are royalty, the
South-South Governors lobby to become Knights, the Hausa Governors have too much time on
their hands and Yar'Adua, the President, gives his daughters to two of them as third and
fourth wives respectively.

Worse still, the legislators are clueless. Their main pre-occupation is junketing abroad
on endless fact-finding missions. Yet they are concerned with how they are perceived at
home and at the ready to threaten with arrest anyone that challenges their plain-to-see
indolence and hopelessness.

Nigerian politicians are ego driven; they will commandeer an honorary doctorate degree
from Universities to which they are the ‘Visitor’ and get their friends and families to
congratulate them with full page newspaper advertisements. Annoyingly, they assault our
intelligence and overwhelm reason with false eulogies in these congratulatory
advertisements, many of which often share the same message. They celebrate 47th, 56th and
other meaningless birthdays; they collect meaningless titles from any monarch. The
Nigerian politician gives the impression that theirs is a gadabout government,
purposeless yet whirling in self congratulation.

After the era of visionary and selfless leaders like Awolowo, Azikiwe and Ahmadu Bello,
we are lumbered with the misfortune of having so-called usurpers who think they are doing
us a favour by carrying out what they are elected to do. So State Governors have their
ugly photos plastered over the covers of notebooks distributed to school children
majority of whom have to contend with window-less, teacher-less schools. Some of the
politicians also erect massive billboards with their photos and political slogans beside
every road repaired and every well sunk. On being sworn to office, the vast majority of
them took to corruption and the euphoria of office like a pig to filth. They stink to
high heavens and they carry a lot of innocent blood on their hands and head.

Refreshingly, Babatunde Fashola, the Lagos State Governor is a departure from this filth.
He is a breath of fresh air compared to anyone who has held any executive position in
Nigeria in over 40 years. He is so different that you can hardly believe he is one of us.
He is genuinely and determinedly interested in changing the lives of his constituents for
good. Like many other Lagosians, I have developed an air of breathless excitement as I
watch Fashola transform the hitherto impossible city.

The recently introduced commuter bus systems have made travelling affordable and easier
for a good number of people. Major road works are being carried out, drainage systems are
being rebuilt. If you go on Mobolaji Bank Anthony in Ikeja or Akin Adesola in Victoria
Island at night, you may think you are in London. Many roads in the Lagos metropolis now
light up at night powered by solar energy. Fashola must have realised that the
environment affects people’s behaviour, and has therefore engaged in a massive drive to
beautify the city, left, right and centre. Lagos roads are now being swept almost round
the clock.

The Lagos State Signage Agency has seen to it that posters and overhead fliers that
hitherto deface Lagos roads are now a thing of the past.

Wherever you go in Lagos, you can see the government of Babatunde Fashola at work without
seeing his face. He is rebranding Lagos State without making any noise about it. He just
lets his work speak for him. Unlike many Nigerian politicians, he is not involved in any
populist, short-term projects; he appears to be planning ahead for the next 100 years.
Fashola genuinely has the interest of the people at heart.

Do not get me wrong, if you are visiting Lagos for the first time or have lived abroad
for a considerably long period, you may not notice much. However, having lived in Lagos
for over a year now, the transformation is truly astounding. Fashola has proven that good
governance is possible. He is also governing from a position of service. Never has he
once made Lagosians believe he is doing them a favour. Fashola has class.

He is also very wise. He shows deference to traditional and religious leaders, but he
does not collect titles from them. He collected an award from a newsmagazine as one of
the best performing governors in 2008 but returned it when he realised it was a Greek
gift.

Fashola is also a cultured person who is not carried away by power. He is one of only
three Governors in Nigeria who still carry the title of ‘Mr’. In an interview he gave a
few months after he became Governor, He said he does not use the signature siren favoured
by politicians and the ‘powerful people’ because he is averse to noise but also because
he considers it in bad taste to live in a government house, drive government vehicles and
terrorise the same people that pay for the luxury he enjoys.

Some people will argue that he can only do what he is doing because his predecessor and
mentor Bola Tinubu helps to take care of the political side of things. My response is
whilst this may be true; Fashola can not do what he is doing if he does not have it in
him.

I will like to share a story that in my view sums up the effort of Babatunde Fashola and
showcases the new Lagos that he is trying to build. A man had been lying for consecutive
days at the same spot on the central reservation of the road that leads to our Estate. I
decided to stop and on enquiring from a nearby shop-keeper, I was informed that the man
had been drunk and was hit by an Okada (motorbike).

On Friday 17th April, I placed a call to the Lagos State emergency telephone number ‘767’
to request for assistance for the man. This was my first time of using this service which
is in itself a first in Nigeria. I was amazed when I got connected and I was afforded the
utmost courtesy by the person who answered the phone. When we got disconnected shortly
afterwards, I tried again, and yet another person answered on the first ring. She
listened to my report asking for the full details of where the man was located and
promised that an ambulance will be sent forthwith. I was joyful not only for the man, but
that something this good was possible in Lagos and in Nigeria. Without any deliberate
prompting, my heart blessed Fashola.

A few days later, I noticed that the man was no longer there. My wife later informed me
that she saw an ambulance parked at the same spot to ferry the man away for treatment as
she drove past one evening.

Of course Fashola is not doing more than what he was elected to do, however, when the
vast majority of our politicians care less about the electorate, Fashola should earn our
admiration for differentiating himself so fantastically.

I have watched Fashola on the sidelines for over a year and I know he is no fluke. He has
surreptitiously dragged us, Lagosians, to develop confidence in him and increasingly in
government. I have come across many people who have chosen to pay their tax because they
believe that Fashola will use it responsibly. This agrees very well with the proponents
of the theory that Nigeria’s problem is a leadership one.

Fashola has proven that you only need a few good people to change the course of a nation;
in his case, a few good ‘MAN’. Lagosians know that what is happening in Lagos is due to
the determination of a single man and they truly appreciate this man and have come to
trust him. Fashola is a leader, a responsible man, a genuinely good person. He is a few
good ‘MAN’. And we all can learn from him.PostcardfromLagos

http://www.postcardfromlagos.com/

The Revolution continues!

The New Malls::Ikeja Mall.

Situated in the heart of Ikeja next to the seat of the Lagos State Government, the new mall in Ikeja, with its Grade A office complex, is set to become the destination of choice for shoppers and companies alike.

Developed by Gruppo Nigeria Investment Ltd. the mall, with tenants like Shoprite and Silverbird, is due to be completed in 2010 and will bring a one-stop shopping / leisure / working experience to a discerning public!

Broll together with Ibukun Efuntayo and Co. have been appointed as joint letting agents. Take advantage now of pre-letting opportunities and enjoy introductory offers.

The New Malls:::Surulere,Lagos|Ogunsanya Shopping Complex

Adeniran Ogunsanya Ultra Modern Shopping Complex in Surulere which is expected to host three cinema houses when completed with standard parking lots, fully fitted with central air-condition. He also visited Tejuoso Market, site of another standard market and the on-going construction of Oyingbo market expected to be completed in May 2010.

The New Malls::Tejuosho Market Mall

The objective of the re-development exercise is to; among other targets, ensure that the market, upon completion, is able to accommodate 10,000 traders in a healthy, well-managed environment of world-class standard. The project's plan makes provision for a well-equipped fire station and a truck loading and off-loading facility. Others are a police post, a sewage treatment plant and a car park with the capacity to accommodate at least 580 cars.

The Punch: Fashola, this is commendable

Fashola, this is commendable
By Our Reader
Published: Thursday, 23 Apr 2009

I paid my tax at First Bank, Surulere branch, using self assessment form last July. I did not receive my receipt until last week when I sent a text message to Governor Babatunde Fashola. When I saw his reply about an hour latter, I showed it to my wife who doubted that the governor could reply me personally. She thought that perhaps one of his aides sent the reply, until an hour later when I started receiving calls from different people – from the head of Alpha Beta, to the secretary, Internal Revenue, who all promised that my receipt would be sent as soon as possible. My tax card and receipt were sent to me two days after my text to the governor. For the first time in the history of Nigeria, we have a listening governor that anybody can communicate with. It’s unbelievable. I commend the governor. So, if you have a problem and you do not text the governor, don’t blame anybody.

Doyin Ogunleye, 64, Karimu Street, Surulere, Lagos State:



http://www.punchng.com/Articl.aspx?theartic=Art2009042223435356

Ilupeju gets solar street lighting.

Nighttime safety has improved in the Ilupeju neighbourhood of Lagos thanks to the introduction of solar-powered street lighting in the area. The street lamps have been installed by Private Networks Nigeria (PNN) Limited, a private international telecommunications and energy services provider, at a total cost of N7 million as part of its corporate social responsibility programme. The company is headquartered in Oremeji Street in the Ilupeju area.

The solar-powered streetlamps make use of the latest energy-saving LED technology, representing an environmentally friendly and cost effective alternative to traditional street lighting.

Modern public toilets in Lagos.

Lagosians are to get modern public toilet facilities at key locations across the metropolis, the “Vanguard” newspaper reports. The project, overseen by the state ministry of the environment, is part of broad efforts to clean up the metropolis and transform it into a modern “centre of excellence”.

Facilities are being built at Dopemu bridge, Obanikoro and Toyota and Ijesha bus stops among other places. The facilities, which include ten toilets for women and ten for men, are reportedly at different stages of construction; some have already been roofed and plastered while work on others has only just begun. It is not clear whether people will have to pay to use the new facilities.

New And Green Lagos.........

Okobaba/Agbowa Re-Development

Name: Okobaba/Agbowa Re-Dvelopment
City: Lagos
Use: Masterplan
Status: Preparation

Lagos intensifies efforts on master plans

Monday, 20 April 2009

Quote:

The Lagos State Government has set in motion necessary steps aimed enhancing the preparation of master plans and development guides with a view fast-tracking the development of the state.
State Commissioner for Physical Planning and Urban Development, Mr. Bolaji Abosede, who disclosed this at a recent event to commemorate the second anniversary of Fashola administration in the state, noted that preliminary survey works have commenced on both the Badagry and the Lagos Mainland Central Master Plan projects, for which contracts have already been awarded.

Abosede also said that field works on the Ikorodu Master Plan have been concluded, while the preliminary report was ready for review.

Other projects already approved, he noted, include the Ikeja Model City Plan, which was recently presented to stakeholders, with the final report expected to be ready soon; and the Alimosho Model City Plan, which is currently awaiting the consideration of the state Consultancy Board.

The Commissioner said that the planned relocation of the Oko Baba Sawmill is on course, with the Agbowa site approved for the resettlement of its operators already cleared for sand filling and redevelopment with a Memorandum of Understanding already agreed with developers under the Public-Private Partnership model.

Abosede said work was progressing on the redevelopment of Tejuosho Market, with the construction of the basement floor and DPC level, as well as the Oyingbo Market which is currently at the sub-structure level, while the development of the Oluwole Market had commenced with the resettlement of the residents, where actual construction had reached the third floor level.

He further disclosed that the site of the Ikorodu Regional Foodstuffs Market is being prepared for possession under a PPP arrangement. It will host market men and women who would be moved from the Mile 12 Market, on completion. He added that the site for the proposed Ikeja Shopping Plaza has already been cleared with actual development set to commence soon.

The commissioner noted that work is on-going on the ECOWAS Wholesale Market, Badagry; and the relocation of auto parts dealers to Mowe and the Computer Village from Ikeja to Oke Odo in Alimosho.

Abosede highlighted the successful demolition of the partially collapsed Bank of Industry building on Broad Street with the site being currently cleared, while the design of the development proposal for the area around the site was ongoing.

He noted that his ministry is also establishing the alignment of Right of Way of the10-lane Badagry Expressway to incorporate the light rail corridor; the Lekki-Epe Expressway and coastal road; Yaba-Oyingbo Way, and was taking inventory of properties within the alignments.

New And Improved Eyo Festival..............

Eyo Festival. Adamu Orisa Play In Honor Of T.O.S Benson April 25 2009.