By Oluwakemi Ishola 

*Urges Army not to brutalise protesters 

The Vice-Chairman of the House of Representatives Committee on Air Force, Honourable Abass Adigun, popularly called Agboworin, has called on President Muhammadu Buhari to urgently set up a youth unemployment benefit fund as part of ways to assuage the #EndSARS protesters.

Adigun, who represents Ibadan North-East/Ibadan South-East Federal Constituency, said such fund was not only long due, but made expedient by the “quality of demands coming from the youths currently engaged in the #EndSARS protest across the country.”

The Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) lawmaker suggested the initiative should be funded by about two per cent of the proceeds accruing to the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC), especially now that the corporation is expected to run profitably with the removal of subsidy.

The lawmaker, who made the suggestion in a statement made available to newsmen on Monday, said the tumult arising from the current nationwide protest not just against the disbanded Special Anti-Robbery Squad (SARS) of the police unit, but also about the long years of decay which has left the youths neglected and uncared for by government.

Adigun, who is a retiree of the United States Navy, commended the youths for being peaceful in their protest, noting that their demands, which include better life for security personnel across the country, syncs with the motion he moved late last year on the need to ensure a better welfare package for all security operatives in the country.

He called for the scrapping of police barracks across the country and payment of housing allowance to policemen and women, adding that government would derive a lot of benefits from doing so.

Agboworin also called on the Federal Government end fast-track action of the N-Power payment as well as the 774,000 jobs which he said are aimed at the youths, while not neglecting the provision of enduring employment opportunities for the teeming youths.

“Life and living in police barracks across the country today are nothing to write home about. Instead of quartering the policemen in barracks, let the Federal Government give them housing allowance and loan to get accommodation in any area of their choice.

“When policemen live in the midst of people, it will enhance community policing and boost security in those areas. I have worked in the US military and I know there is nothing like police barracks. The only thing they have, which is even optional, is accommodation for young couple in the military and it is not in barracks,” he said.

As soldiers take over the streets from tomorrow in the name of Operation Crocodile Smile, the vice chairman of the House Committee on Navy advised them to be civil and restrict the temptation to brutalise the protesters.

“Rather than brutalise or disperse the protesters, the soldiers should protect them and know that the youths are not fighting a selfish battle. The youths are fighting for the entrenchment of good governance that will usher in good life for all.

“The situation in the country also affects the soldiers other security personnel who are demoralised and ill equipped to effectively and efficiently confront insurgency and banditry in parts of the country.

“Some officers of the disbanded SARS told me that they go extra mile and at their own cost to patronise herbalists for charms and amulets to protect them against hardened criminals, particularly armed robbers, although this cannot justify the extra judicial killings that some of them have been accused of,” the lawmaker said.

He called for the restructuring of the country after a thorough examination of the current system of government which seems not to be giving the citizenry the desired good life.

By Oluwakemi Ishola 

As men of the Nigerian Army take over the streets across the country in name of Operation Crocodile Smile, the Oyo State Council of the Nigeria Union of Journalists (NUJ) has called on President Muhammadu Buhari to instruct the troops to ensure that none of the protesting youths is killed or brutalised during the exercise.

The NUJ made the call on Monday in a statement signed by the state chairman, Comrade Ademola Babalola and secretary, Comrade Sola Oladapo, urging the Chief of Army Staff, Lieutenant General Tukur Buratai, to direct his men to exercise utmost caution and ensure adherence to citizens-friendly rules of engagement.

Comrade Babalola reminded the soldiers that the ongoing nationwide protest, which started as a clamour for the disbandment of the Special Anti-Robbery Squad (SARS), is not just about police reform but also about getting those in leadership positions to heed the call to make the country a better place for the citizenry.

“We wish to recall that in July this year, 385 soldiers wrote the Chief of Army Staff, Lieutenant General Buratai that they are resigning from the Army over what they called loss of interest and very low morale. These soldiers are not deserters from the auxiliary. They soldiers had been deployed to face better-equipped insurgents in the North-East.

“The soldiers deployed for Operation Crocodile Smile, in our view, should protect the protesters and ensure no harm is done to them. The situation in the country is so sad that if affects us all, including the soldiers themselves, with the exception of the class of the ruling elite which may be considered immune from the hardship in the land.

“While we acknowledge the fact that the military operation is an annual event, having been held in October last year, we counsel that the Federal Government ought not to have deployed soldiers for the same exercise this year, especially against the background of the tensed situation occasioned by the protest.

“We also urge the protesters and citizens generally to go about their lawful businesses without provoking the soldiers to apply the use of force. We are for the maintenance of law and order. We equally call on the coordinators of the protest to devise means of ensuring that hoodlums don’t infiltrate their ranks to perpetrate evil in the name of protest.

“The Union is not unaware of the difficulty being experienced by the people of the state as a result of the withdrawal of Okada and public transport vehicles by their owners. The gains that will come when we have a new Nigeria will far outweigh the pain we are enduring. We can’t make omelet without breaking eggs, throughout the world, there is no pain without gain.

“Members of the Union who have been joining the rallies and the protest walks since they started will be fully participating in the protest from tomorrow to drive home the message of peace to the soldiers and the protesters,” the statement said.

By Oluwakemi Ishola 

#EndSARS protesters on Sunday blocked the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) headquarters, calling for an end to police brutality and extrajudicial killings.

The protest which has lasted over 10 days is also holding in other parts of the country with the protesters vowing not to leave the streets until their demands are met.

Although the Inspector-General of Police (IGP), Mohammed Adamu had disbanded the notorious Special Anti-Robbery Squad (SARS) in the wake of the protests, the agitation has continued to gain traction across the country.

They have rejected the new tactical unit –  Special Weapons and Tactics (SWAT) –  formed by the police authorities to replace SARS, saying there is no difference between the former and the latter.

By Oluwakemi Ishola 

The Oyo State Patriots has described Engr. Femi Babalola’s criticism of some political appointments made by Governor Seyi Makinde as disappointing and a demonstration of the gross misunderstanding of the various political forces that contributed to the success recorded by the governor in the 2019 election

In a statement issued in Ibadan and signed by its spokesman, Comrade Ola Adeniyi , the Oyo patriots noted that Jogor’s criticism of the appointment of the Mrs. Olubamiwo Adeosun, Hon. Babatunde Oduyoye and Barrister Bolaji Ayorinde betrays him as a “political nincompoop whose understanding of the political dynamics of Oyo State before, during and after the 2019 general election was disappointedly poor, myopic and self-serving”.

The group noted that it is well known to many PDP stalwarts in Oyo State that immediately Jogor lost out in the race for the party’s ticket, he became disinterested in the success of the party. “He should tell us who he supported during 2019 gubernatorial elections underground while he was doing his ‘sidon look’ but definitely not GSM.”

The group also noted that while Jogor was on a political sabbatical leave from the PDP, “Makinde was very busy interacting with many individuals and groups across the political divide and even among technocrats who made concrete strategic, tactical, and logistical imputs into the preparation for the governorship election. Only a few of these elements have been compensated with appointments as many of them are not even interested in government position.”

They also noted that “all those appointed into the local government system and a very large majority of those appointed at the state level are well known PDP members. It is uncharitable for Mr Babalola to single out 3 persons whose contributions to the Governor’s success at polls are well known and acknowledged.”

It was further noted by the group that “it is so unAfrican for Jogor to be levying criticism against Governor Seyi Makinde barely 48 after the passage of his mother. It shows the extent to which Mr Babalola is beclouded by his lust for power forgetting his own antecedent of not being a politician when the PDP government Akala turned him to an emergency billionaire.

The statement added that the group wishes to encourage the Governor to “disregard the likes of Jogor whose understanding of the political dynamics in Oyo State is self serving, myopic and irredeemably poor. The Governor should continue to deliver dividends of democracy to the poor masses of Oyo State that have continued to applaud his wonderful efforts.”

By Oluwakemi Ishola 

Senate President Ahmed Lawan has called for an end to the protests rocking the country at the moment.

Senator Lawan said the protests have yielded the desired results and that government needs time to address a few of the demands made by the protesting youths.

The Senate President made his position known after a closed-door meeting between himself, the Speaker of the House of Representatives, Femi Gbajabiamila, and President Muhammadu Buhari, today at State House in Abuja.

By Oluwakemi  Ishola 

Oluyole Social Elite Ibadan, on Sunday, condoled with the Executive Governor of Oyo State, Engineer Oluseyi Makinde over the demise of his mother, Mama Abigael Omojolagbe Makinde.

In a press release by the President, Elite Barrister Niyi Ajewole, the socio-cultural club prayed that God give Makinde family the fortitude to bear this irreparable loss.

The Pacesetter News reported that Engr Seyi Makinde’s  died in the early hours of Thursday in Ibadan at the age of 80years plus.

By Oluwakemi Ishola 

The Chief Press Secretary to the Governor of Oyo State, Engineer Seyi Makinde, Mr. Taiwo Adisa, has asked a chieftain of the All Progressives Congress (APC) and former Senator who represented Oyo South Senatorial District in the red chamber, Senator Olufemi Lanlehin, to stop the perpetual antics of dragging the governor into his political discourses, even when it was needless to do so.

The Media aide, in a response to a statement credited to the Lanlehin Media Bureau, declared that the Senator could easily make his point without struggling to drag Makinde into every matter.

He said that the measure amounts to attention-seeking and unnecessary plot to distract the governor from the course of rebuilding Oyo to the state of everyone’s dream.

The statement read: “Our attention has been drawn to the persistent struggle by the Lanlehin Media Bureau to draw the attention of the Governor of Oyo State, Engineer Seyi Makinde, each time the former Senator had course to make public statements.

“Much as one cannot deny the former Senator the right to interject in state and national political discourses, it has to be stated that he should be free to make his points without unnecessarily dragging Governor Makinde into his discourse.

“On the matter of the Ondo governorship election of October 10, it is on record that Governor Makinde, as Chairman of the Peoples Democratic Party’s (PDP) National Campaign Council did his best to secure victory for the party.

“Details of what transpired during that election are still being collated by the PDP, so we can say that the election process in Ondo is not closed. We can only advise the Senator and his newly adopted party to await the conclusion of the process in Ondo, which could get as far as the Supreme Court of the land.”

“However, it must be stated that the attacks launched by Senator Lanlehin, obviously playing to the gallery to gain relevance in his new party, are needless. It is clear to well-meaning members of the public that turning what should have been a congratulatory message to Governor Rotimi Akeredolu to an avenue to rubbish Makinde is undignifying and unbecoming of the Senator, who should have known and acted better.

“In any case, Governor Makinde remains unperturbed by the noise of the marketplace, as he continues to keep his focus on the goal of developing Oyo State, expanding its economy and lifting its people from poverty to prosperity,” the statement added.

By Oluwakemi Ishola 

Following the declaration of the Ondo State governor, Arakunrin Oluwarotimi Akeredolu SAN, for a second term, Senator Olufemi Lanlehin (Solan), has felicitated him, on what he described as “a much deserved victory,” as well as cautioned the Oyo State governor, Engr. Seyi Makinde, against overrating himself.

Recall that Akeredolu, candidate of the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC), was declared winner in the governorship election conducted Saturday, 10 October, 2020, by the Chief Returning Officer, University of Ibadan’s Vice Chancellor, Prof. Abel Idowu Olayinka, having polled 292,830 votes, to defeat his main challengers, Eyitayo Jegede SAN, of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), who garnered 195,791 votes, as well as the Ondo State Deputy Governor, who was candidate of the Zenith Labour Party (ZLP), Agboola Ajayi, who polled 69,130 votes.

Lanlehin, who represented Oyo South Senatorial District between 2011 and 2015, and was the governorship candidate of the African Democratic Congress (ADC) in the 2019 polls, who praised Akeredolu, fondly called Aketi, for “gracefully enduring a torrid, hectic and charged campaign, like the gentleman and refined politician that he is,” had before the election, advised opposition parties in Ondo State against looking in the direction of the PDP, when it became evident the umbrella party badly needed a coalition, reminiscent of the Makinde example, to coast home to victory.

Congratulating Akeredolu, the APC and the good people of Ondo State, Lanlehin urged the Ondo governor to use this fresh opportunity the victory has offered him, to consolidate on his developmental strides which earned him the monicker “Talk and Do”, and was indeed instrumental to his victory, despite the plethora of hurdles mounted his way, within and without.

Senator Lanlehin (Solan), thereafter used the window of felicitation to expressly caution the Oyo State governor, Engr Seyi Makinde, against overrating himself, albeit politically. Makinde it is to be recalled, was Chairman of the PDP Governorship Campaign Council for Ondo State.

“Engr. Makinde’s larger than life disposition and deployment of enormous political arsenal in the just concluded Ondo poll is clearly uncalled for, and amounts to overstretching one’s luck, despite limited political experience, public service pedigree and personal integrity. I particularly urge him to take to heart the whipping lessons he received from his current Ondo misadventure and the last Kogi disaster, when he, on both occasions, returned to Ibadan with his tail between his legs, after failing in assignments that were very much beyond his capacity and experience,” Lanlehin stressed.

By Oluwakemi Ishola 

The Ajia Balogun Olubadan, Oloye Adegboyega Adegoke has described the Ibadan born renowned businessman and philanthropist, Chief Dotun Sanusi, the Mogaji Olugbade Compound, Oja’aba, Ibadan, as a foremost investor and a philanthropist par excellence, who has used his wealth to develop the socio-economy and human development of the state and the country as whole.

Ajia Balogun made the description while felicitating with the Chief Executive Officer of TNL, Ilaji Hotels and Sports Resort, Ilaji Farms, ICAST Group of Schools, Chief Dotun Sanusi on his 52nd birthday.

Adegoke said the graduate of the Petroleum Engineering Department, University of Ibadan has used his entrepreneurial skills to transform what was hitherto a jungle into a foremost tourist centre in Ilaji Hotels and Sports Resort.

He noted that due to Dotun’s entrepreneurial ingenuity, a place once referred to as a desert of employment opportunities has become a hub of economic activities.

According to Ajia Balogun in a statement on Saturday, “Dotun is known for his patriotism and kind heartedness, who is always making sacrifices to safeguard human and capital development.

“The business mogul remains a shining example of the virtues of choosing entrepreneurship from an early age. He had pursued his career with diligence and perseverance to build some of the state’s largest resort and tourism centre.

“The humility, simplicity and cosmopolitan outlook of the entrepreneur who defies ethnic and religious persuasions in extending support to the poor and vulnerable and providing employment opportunities without discrimination.

“I acknowledged Dotun’s role in bolstering the economy through continuous engagement and counseling,
inspiring and mentoring young Nigerians to greatness on best practices in promoting the ease of doing business.

Ajia Balogun Olubadan prayed that the al­mighty God would continue to protect the foremost entrepreneur and his family, and grant him more strength to mentor young people.