President Buhari’s Festac In Governor Ambode’s Lagos

By Adeola Aderounmu

(Images By Abiodun Popoola)

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402 Road by 4th Avenue, Festac Town. 

In the month of June 2016, I visited Nigeria. One of the most disgusting views in Lagos where l was resident was in Festac Town, the estate that everyone acknowledged had lost his glory.

In general l was appalled by the state of infrastructure in Festac Town.

It is hard to believe that Festac Town is home to the headquarters of  Amuwo Odofin Local Government. It is hard to believe that there are politicians in Festac Town. It is hard to believe that there is a state governor in Lagos State.

A lot of things are rotting away and Festac Town that used to be the pride of Nigeria and Africa is now a desolate, rotten town.

In truth l dedicated a page on my blog to the lost glory of Festac Town. The original glory of Festac Town may never be regained. Still it does not mean that the things that could still be fixed should be left undone.

 

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402 Road, Festac Town

Recently l wrote an article about the problem of sewage in Festac Town and the significance of the problem as a form of biological weapon against the people of Festac Town.

The article titled Governor Akinwunmi Ambode, Please Clear This Biological Weapon!  was published on July 25, 2016 both on the Nigeria Village Square and on my blog.

To ensure that the problem gains the attention it needed, l wrote the same article in the National Mirror Newspaper. It appeared on the back page on August 16 2016 under the banner Addressing Festac Town’s sewage menace.

Despite all the awareness that has been brought to the matter, it appears that the government (local, state and federal) did not get the message. A friend of mine visited Festac Town this November and the images that he brought back shows that no effort has been made to solve the problem.

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4th Avenue, By 402 Road

Let me restate that we will continue to highlight this problem for as long as it exists. In as much as we all agree that Festac Town is a federal government estate, we must also never forget that it is situated in Lagos State and there is a governor and there is a local government chairman.

Invariably, the sewage system is bad in many areas in Festac Town. The worst hit area is 402 Road. The residents are flushing their toilets directly to the streets because there are permanent blockages to the original paths created for the flow to flow away.

The residents of 402 Road in Festac Town are breathing unsafe air, they are walking on sewage water/mud to get into their various apartments. The health impacts are huge and children are vulnerable.

The governor of Lagos State is responsible for the welfare of the residents anywhere in Lagos. That insinuation and argument that Festac Town is a federal estate does not hold water. The governor needs to initiate the contact with the appropriate authority and call them out to action.

 

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402 Road, Market Place and Residential Area

Governor Ambode and the people running Lagos must know that Lagos is not Victoria Island and Ikoyi only. They need to look at other places and stop paying lip-service and eye-service to issues concerning maintenance and development.

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402 Road, Festac Town

Photograph/Images By Abiodun Popoola.

 

Footnotes

Again, l repeat that it is possible for the governor of Lagos State to look at this problem and instruct the appropriate authority (federal, state or local) to act.

As it sems right now, the people of Festac are in a dilemma. FHA is not going to come down to make their environment germ free. The Governor does not care if they die of diseases.

As l have stated before, l will continue to write about this particular problem for as long as it exists. I pray for the grace to keep reminding the rulers and conquerors of Nigeria of their negligences and lack of committment to the people and country.

This problem is a struggle and we will keep reminding the conquerors of Lagos/Nigeria that they must serve the people.

 

Useless Politicians = Recession Forever

By Adeola Aderounmu

Nigerian politicians, the lawmakers to be precise, are taking delivery of cars estimated to cost the country N3.6 billion.

If you are looking for crazy people, that is where to look. Nigerian lawmakers are mad to the core.

Nigeria is suffering from recession, caused mainly by politicians looting the country since time immemorial. Yet at a time that all monies should be directed at building the economy, some crazy people are buying cars.

They said they need the car to do official duties. Really? Is there anyone among them who does not own between 5 to 10 cars already, or more’?

I just have to stop writing now because this is one of the several things that make you conclude that Nigerian politicians are possessed by demons and greed.

I just wish they will wake up one morning and find that the people have occupied the streets and their offices. How l wish the people can stage a revolution to send all these criminals to life time in jail and then restructure the country along regionS so we can all govern ourselves in the different regions.

This social madness is unbearable!

This is nonsense and ingredients!

A Cupboard Full of Debts And Skeletons

I am just wondering if Mrs. Jonathan stole more money than tyrants like Babangida and Abdulsalami. President Buhari did not even admit that Abacha was a criminal.

Nigeria does not need to borrow money. Call out all the criminals who looted the treasury and line them up to return the money. The proceeds will dwarf the 30 billion dollars loan request!

A Cupboard Full of Debts And Skeletons

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By Adeola Aderounmu

The government of Nigeria is willing to go borrowing. But Nigeria is not a poor country.

Nigeria will never be a poor country. A country where you can bury a seed in the ground and find it sprouting up after 3 days will never be a poor country.

Sadly, Nigeria is in recession at the moment and the reason for applying to borrow money has been hinged on infrastruture development.

Nigeria already has loads of debt. Some debts were incurred doing ”useles projects”. These are projects that have no heads, yielding nothing in return. Loans have been mismanaged in the past. They have been looted. Even returned and recovered loots are never accounted for in Nigeria.

We know that Nigeria’s debts are already lined for for the next few decades. That means that the debts are already a burden to the upcoming generations. Our rulers are prodigal fathers and mothers.

The fact that the Buhari-APC mandate wants to add more debts on the unborn generation makes it a callous and heartless government.

When it comes to infrastucture development, the truth is that all previous governments in Nigeria are guilty of mismanagement. Almost all retired and serving politicians including military gangsters are guilty. Monies earmarked for infrastucture development were stolen or looted by people in government, their family members and other accomplices.

These individuals and politicians especially, are still serving in government or still having a say on the running of Nigeria from the sidelines. Nigeria is their haven and our hell.

Indeed, in their hands are more funds than what the Buhari-APC mandate wants to go fishing for in foreign lands.

All the funds in the hands of criminal politicians, (both retired and serving) that have not been mentioned by the Buhari-led government must be tracked and taken back. These looted funds should be added to the monies that have been recovered so far.

Together with the incoming loots from criminals like Obanikoro, journalist Abati, and custom-man Dikko, the 30 billion dollars mark will be surpassed too easily.

Nigerians are watching to know how much The Jonathans are going to give back after years of looting Bayelsa and then the federal treasury.

There are more possibilities to explore as a sure bet to developing the infrastructure that Nigerians so much deserved after years of misrule and lawlessness.

For instance, for how long will the APC-Buhari mandate remain afraid of the looters with the APC badge? I listened to the government’s spokesman Mr. Adesina asking people like us (the public) to provide evidence that can be used to prosecute the APC clan. Nonsense talk!

When the APC-Buhari mandate is ready, they will get more funds way beyond the 30 billion US dollars from the Amaechis, the Tinubus, the Obasanjos and even the Atikus.

When the APC-Buhari mandate stops waiting for evidence from people like us, they will beat the 30 billion US dollars mark dead flat when looters like Babangida, David Mark, Abdulsalami and other billionaires who made their wealth from government coffers are quizzed and made to return all the monies that they looted from Nigeria’s treasuries.

When Mr. Buhari is ready, he will join us in acknowledging that Mr. Abacha was indeed a criminal. For, in not acknowledging that Mr. Abacha was a criminal despite all the looted monies that have been returned from his foreign accounts, Mr. Buhari is deceiving himself and ridiculing the black race.

Mr. Buhari told us that his budget was not padded even when the budget padders especially one self-acclaim criminal called Dogaro already admitted to the allegations. In a popular response, he said padding was not a crime. Tomorrow Mr. Buhari can even tell us that custom-man Dikko who returned more than 1 billion naira is not a criminal.

How much money have been stolen by these criminals? What fraction of the money they stole are they returning? How much money can we recover from Buhari’s era as head of the PTF?

I’m just thinking out loud how many criminals, serving and non-serving that Mr. Buhari is shielding. Does he have skeletons in his cupboards. How many skeletons are in Mr. Buhari’s cupboard? How many skeletons are there in the possession of the APC-Buhari mandate?

The essence of all my questions is to indicate that Nigeria does not need to borrow money when so much money is locked in the hands of individuals, some very close to the president himself. Who is fooling who?

It seems Nigeria is running a government of cowards who are using the instruments of governance to chase the opposition and spare the cronies within the APC-Buhari mandate. Friends of the presidency are also saints.

That means the government is weak. It’s chasing down on easy targets like Reuben Abati the disgraced journalist and Mrs. Jonathan the former first lady. Have these two for example, stolen more money than Ibrahim Babangida?

All those who have looted in the past and in the present have disrupted infrastructure development in Nigeria, one way or the other. Small loots and megaloots have the same effects in the retrogression of Nigeria.

It is height of penkelemess to ask us the people to bring out evidence when it comes for the crimes committed by the APC politicians and those who the government considered as untouchables.

Where is the EFCC and the Buhari-APC mandate getting the evidence or proofs that are used in the investigation and prosecution of the PDP politicians?

The APC-Buhari mandate does not have my permission to borrow money. It however has my permission to take back all the looted monies scattered in Nigeria and abroad from all the looters and their families.

Lastly, dear APC-Buhari mandate, when you drop the idea of borrowing money, do not forget that the way forward for Nigeria may lie in adopting a political structure that is tailored to the peculiarities in Nigeria.

It was the number one point on your manifesto but it seems you have gone to bed with the demons of Abuja. So far, your reign has failed and you continue to chase mirage with the nonsense unitary system that enriches you and impoverish the people.

 

aderounmu@gmail.com