I-P-O-D-O
Lagos district; home to drugs,sex
…And the unthinkable
By Segun Ajiboye and Emeka Enyinnaya
It was a warm Friday night in Ikeja, the capital of Lagos State. The crowd of traders, office workers, commercial buses and the job seekers that make Ikeja the hotbed of Lagos were long gone. In their place, other kinds of groups were just preparing for the day’s work.
A group of young men and women have found another source of attraction. As they gathered in a spot, a fairly old woman dispensed their favourite drink of local gin mixed with different kinds of herbs in small glasses.
Not far away, pairs of near-naked young women stood in groups of twos and threes. Once in a while, a man would walk up to the girls and after a little chat, they would walk away through a dark alley, near a popular place of worship.
Curious to find out what was playing out, National Life moved closer and found out what you’ve always thought was happening- the young girls were ‘cheap’ prostitutes while the men were drivers and other miscreants who have come to ‘enjoy’.
Keen to find out where the dark alley led, we practically became one of them, and soon found out that it indeed led to one of the most notorious but little known spots in Ikeja-Ipodo.
It was not for nothing that Ipodo gained its notoriety. Ipodo consists of a few modern buildings and several ancient structure with countless corner streets that lead in-and-out; it provides a fool-proof safe haven for different shades of people, ranging from people with genuine business, call girls and drug peddlers among others.
A nearby market meant Ipodo is never short of crowd. The dirty environment is charaterised by blocked drainage, half-clad children, old men and women in dilapidated buildings sit next to running and dirty drainages with plates of food in hand.
Ipodo is a world etched in paradox. It is home to the good, the bad and the ugly. Religion plays a premium role in Ipodo. What with about a few Mosques and Churches? The traditionalists are not left out of the rush for attention. Right in the center of the street is a shrine dedicated to the god of tricks (Ojubo Esu).
The shrine, constructed with blocks, is decorated with pieces of white cloth that have long turned brown with stains. Pots containing various sacrificial items also adorned unenviable god’s shrine.
Interestingly, Ipodo is also home to countless numbers of brothels. To the ignorant, only a few brothels are located in Ipodo. But to discerning minds, almost every home in Ipodo serves as a brothel. A resident, who pleaded anonymity, told National Life that life in Ipodo is reminiscent of the Biblical Sodom.
The middle-aged man swore that he took up residence in the place because of his inability to meet the demands of landlords in other areas. “I am not a happy man at all. If I had money, I would have moved out to rent a decent apartment elsewhere. You cannot bring up your child here because you would have ruined that child’s future even before it started.”
Indeed, the prostitutes at Ipodo are not bothered about who is looking. Their wares are not meant for display at night alone. While more serious-minded people go about their business, provocatively-dressed prostitutes stand in front of their brothels in search of prospective clients.
For those who live in untagged brothels, it takes a more decent approach. Except for old customers who know which house to enter, their mode of operation takes the form of a cartel. They operate through third-party pimps who arrange with prospective customers.
Ipodo would also pride itself as a liberal community where anything and everything is possible. In Ipodo, different kinds of trading go on side by side, without qualms. While the auto spare parts dealers, food vendors and hawkers make their living in shops scattered around the neighbourhood, hard drug dealers and other illicit traders jostle for attention.
The peddlers are more covert in their operations in the daytime. For a prospective buyer, you have to know where to go and who to approach for the killer substance. But they become more daring in the night when one out of every 10 people you come across might be a potential seller of crack.
The evidence of the damage being wrought by cocaine, heroine and cannabis are the numbers of lunatics, male and female that prowl the street heavily sedated. A particular male lunatic has been in the area for a long time. A source told National Life that the once handsome man went bunkers after several years of taking cocaine.
During a covert trip to Ipodo few day to the last Easter celebration, two groups of young men erected gates made of palm fronds. Every passer-by was made to drop a certain amount of money in a bucket by the gate. Any stubborn man or woman is turned back with a stern warning not to come back.
Surprisingly, nobody was bold enough to resist or question the rationale behind the collection. A man who had just parted with one hundred naira wondered aloud as he rushed away from the neighbourhood. “Na wa for these people o. Imagine how they forced me to pay them. This country no get any law again.”
Few metres away from spots where the young men unabashedly robbed people of their money, was a commercial bus (Danfo). And inside were about five policemen who looked-on unconcerned.
Not far away, another group of young men sat by the side of the road, singing and dancing. The leader, who had a bandana handkerchief around his neck, bellowed orders in a voice that could only belong to the gods. As you try to steal a look, another guttural voice shouted at you: “Ki lo n wo” (What are you looking at?)
Your legs reacted by making a fast exit even before you would comprehend what the guy was saying. But before you make a final exit, another blocked your way and asked you for money. In desperation, you made him believe that you are a guy, and that you would love to buy Indian hemp.
Believing that he had found a new customer, the young man, who would later introduce himself as Mufu, apologized, and ushered us into a corner. Two of his colleagues later joined and offered words of advice-“why you dey smoke hemp? Try gbana, and you go know say e better pass.”
Mufu also disclosed the secret of the trade. According to him, you need a good link for you to get easy access into the market of the underworld at Ipodo. “You cannot come here like this. You need to know somebody that would link you.”
After what seemed a sealed deal, a man who was never part of the discussion appeared on the scene with a package. “We have the best around here. Which one do you want, white or brown?”
Nnamdi, a Lagos resident, narrated his encounter with Ipodo’s drug cartel sometime ago. Out to catch some fun, Nnamdi took a short trip a spot in Ikeja, where he suddenly found himself among some ‘hard guys’. After some rounds of drinks and smoking, Nnamdi told his new friends that he wanted some drugs. A deal was soon struck, and a motorcycle rider was called to take him to a dealer in Ipodo. “Theirs is a well-coordinated cartel. They operate with a network of okada riders who act as go-between with the buyers and dealers.”
Yet, life at Ipodo is not all about drug and sex. Yussuf (surname withheld) is an auto dealer and former resident of Ipodo. He vowed that Ipodo is more dangerous than people think. According to him, Ipodo would rank as the most dangerous neighbourhood in Lagos. “It is a place where you can get anything done. Drug, sex and other bad things are available in Ipodo. It is the home of hired assassins. Those young men you see standing in groups of twos and threes have no other job than robbery and killing.”

All sex indices crash
· Call Girls seek economic stimulus package
By Segun Ajiboye, Emeka Enyinnaya and Wale Adenuga

It seemed very quiet in the ‘red light’ district of Lagos Island on this night. Unlike other nights before, Jessica had been out in the cold for three hours without a prospective customer. For her, the night looked bleak and uninspiring. With hopelessness boldly written on her face, she dashed across the road when she noticed an approaching car. But like others before, the driver sped off, without noticing her.
This has been Jessica’s lot for the last four moths. As a commercial sex worker (CSW), Jessica earns enough money to rent an apartment of her own, train her two younger siblings and still have enough to send home to her parents. But since the global economic meltdown broke last year, Jessica’s earnings have nose-dived. “This is serious. Our customers are no longer coming, even when they come, they don’t pay well again.”
Before the meltdown, she made an average daily income of between N5, 000 and N10, 000. She confessed that she is no longer able to perform her usual responsibilities to her parents and siblings as she hardly makes enough to keep body and soul together.
“Even when there was bad market, I still made enough money to make me happy. But these days, I hardly make enough to feed myself, not to talk of sending money to my parents.”
Prior this time, the popular Kuramo Beach in Lagos (tagged Sodom), was about the best sex spot in the state. In the day, this quiet and seemingly unattractive fun spot would suddenly become active by nightfall when its patrons, mainly CSWs and their clients converged on the long stretch of sand to ‘do their thing’ either right there on the sandy beach or by special arrangement which include other varieties such as ‘Takeaway’ or ‘Till Day Break’.
In those good days, it was all-night action and no dull moment for the CSWs who were sure of making some reasonable fortune for their efforts. But it seems they too have not been spared the pangs of the economic meltdown.
On this particular night, it was lamentation galore for this trio of CSWs. Clustering together, with lighted cigarettes to keep body warm and keep the cold at bay, they lamented the fate that has suddenly befallen them in the last couple of months.
“I think it is high time we left this job. You just struggle to live these days. Look at the clothes we are wearing. We can no longer change our wardrobes the way we used to do. Even my friend who does not do this kind of job is complaining. Please tell our government to do something before we die of hunger.”
Tayo is a pretty young undergraduate in one of the higher institutions in Lagos. Though from a poor home, Tayo looks every inch the daughter of a successful politician or businessman. What with her designer’s outfits and foreign cuisines and all the accessories that go with them.
Even most of her friends believe Tayo is from a wealthy family. What is however unknown to them is that, in her words, “I am a runs babe”. By being a ‘runs ba’be, Tayo runs a commercial sex ring alongside few other friends both within and outside the campus.
Her clientele include top corporate players, contractors, politicians and old men (aka aristos). As a ‘big girl’, she also runs a ring that provides beautiful and ‘action’ ladies for corporate and political bigwigs whenever there is a big meeting or convention in town.
For her effort, Tayo has single-handedly sponsored her education. This is aside from other responsibilities she has taken up in the family.
In the best of days, she nets more than N100, 000 in a month. Sometimes, she got luckier with generous clientes who spoiled her with both cash and material gifts. “I must confess to you that we make more money than even those in the banks. Apart from that, you could be lucky to meet a man who would like you and decide to do more for you.”
However, all that was in the past. Today, Tayo laments about her income, which she confessed, has gone down considerably. Asked what could be responsible, Tayo shot back angrily: “Are you asking me what is responsible? Are you not leaving in this country, or are you from outer space? Don’t you know how much they sell dollars now? Even the beggars are complaining, and you are here asking me what is responsible for the fall in my income.”
Her roommate, Funke, seemed more touched by the downturn. Twice in the two months, she has had to sell off some of her clothes and jewelry. While she is yet to fashion out a new survival strategy, Funke, fearing an impending doom, said she might be thrown into further mystery by the recession.
Funke’s worst fears, however, is that she might not be able to complete her ambition of acquiring a university degree. “My main concern now is how to complete my studies. Most of us who do this job are into it because we want to use them money to help ourselves. For me, it was meant to help me through school, since my parents can’t pay my fees. But with what is happening now, where do I get the money to complete my education?”
At Ipodo, another sex workers’ enclave in the Ikeja Business District, the story is not different. Loveth (surname withheld) told National Life that life has taken a dramatic downturn for her since the beginning of the economic crisis. Before now, Loveth used to make an average income of N10, 000 between the hours of 9am and 7pm. She confessed that she has to be at her best, coupled with lots of ‘wahala’ to earn half that amount now. “Business is not moving at all. I used to make between N10, 000 and N15, 000 from 9am to 7pm on short time basis. But for me to make N6, 000 now na wahala.”
If Loveth thought ‘business’ would improve at night, she has found out how wrong she was because the nights too have not helped her purse in any way. “Even at night that we used to make more money, customers are no longer coming. The few ones that come complain of lack of money. Men don’t even take a second look at us any more.”
Loveth’s friend and colleague, Cynthia, has rudely woken up to the reality of the crisis. Cynthia, who was based in Abuja uptil late last year, said she moved to Lagos after her ‘sales’ dwindled.
With high hopes, she moved in with her friend in Ikeja, Lagos. But few months after, she is already regretting her actions. “I used to operate in Abuja. But business was low, so I decided to relocate to Lagos because I thought it was because competition was stiff out there. Since I relocated to Lagos, I have not seen any change. As a matter of fact, things are getting tougher.”
Cynthia is however confused on who to hold responsible for her predicament. “I sincerely don’t know who to hold responsible for this problem. I don’t know if it is the government, because some people are saying our government is responsible for the bad economy.”
The story was the same at a highbrow club frequented by CSWs in the heart of Ikeja. Grace is on the verge of being thrown out of her single room apartment, which also serve as her operating base. Her daily rent of N4, 000 has suddenly become difficult for her to meet. “Life is tough,” she confessed to National Life.
Grace , who moved out of her former abode in another brothel nearby last November, narrated her ordeal to National Life. “I moved to this place last year from my former place when I could no longer pay the rent. At the moment, it is already becoming difficult to pay the daily N4, 000 rent for this place.”
Her plea to the landlady to reduce her rent, she said has so far fallen on deaf ears. “We have begged our landlady to reduce the rent, but she has refused. How does she expect us to get N4, 000 everyday when we don’t even make enough to feed.”
Mama T is the most senior CSW in a popular brothel in the Gbagada area of Lagos. Aside from owning a shop where she sells household items and other materials, she is also in charge of some young girls in the brothel. Even for her status, the last few months have left a bad patch on her income. Never before has this woman seen anything like this in her close to one decade practice as a CSW. “My brother, I have not seen anything like this in my life. We now struggle to survive. Thank God that I have another business that brings in money. I only pity the young girls who don’t have any other thing to do.”
For her and others, the economic recession is fast proving to be tougher than earlier thought. While governments, businesses and the homes are already reelling under the weight of the recession, commercial sex workers have not been spared its wrath, leaving some to contemplate quitting the world’s oldest profession.

Tourism has never had it this good in Ondo State. Never before in the 33-year history of the Sunshine State has one administration devoted so much fund and energy into making the state the number one tourists’ destination in the country.
Suddenly world attention is suddenly shifting to the tourism potentials of the state, which hitherto had suffered decades of neglect. And, sooner than ever thought possible, if all things go according to plans, the ancient and historical Oke Idanre (Idanre Hills), in the Idanre Local Government Area of the state would be listed on the Heritage List of the United Nation Education, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO).
It was as a result of the administration’s seriousness and determination to expand the state’s economic base that it created the Ministry of Culture and Tourism in 2004, with the sole aim of accelerating the growth and development of the rich cultural and tourism potentials of the state. Prior this time, successive administrations had only paid lip service to the tourism potential of the state.
No sooner than he entered office that Agagu made the intention of his administration to make the state the number one tourists’ destination point in the country known to all. But the challenges that confronted them at the beginning were enormous.
The challenges ranged from lack of policy direction to non availability of any blueprint for tourism by successive governments since the state was created in 1976, As a matter of fact, the administration had to build from the scratch.
At the end of the administration’s first term in May, 2007, the Agagu administration had successfully formulated a policy direction that was aimed at identifying the viable tourists’ centers and the various cultural festivals calendar in the state.
In 2007 alone, the sum of N1million was released for the effective packaging of some notable cultural festivals into discs for the benefit of both local and international tourists’ audience.
The sum of N356.66million approved as capital expenditure for the Tourism Board in the 2008 budget was enough prove of the administration’s determination to make its dream of making Ondo State top on the list of tourism sites in the country.
It has never been in doubt that Ondo State is blessed with a variety of rich cultural and tourism attractions. Unlike other states of the federation, Ondo State is unique with its spread of rich and beautiful cultural festivals which cut across the three senatorial districts of the state.
For example, while the historical Igogo festival of the Owo people is always a beauty to behold, the Ariginya festival in Ikare, Orosun festival in Idanre, Ogun in Ondo and boat regatta in the riverine areas, among others are all beautiful and entertaining festivals that would rank among the best anywhere in the world.
In the same vein, Ondo State is blessed with several tourists’ centres whose historical and artistic values are unparalleled. They include the Idanre Hills, Ebomi Lake at Ipesi Akoko, the famous Igbo Eledumare at Oke-Igbo, Oke Maria at Oka-Akoko, Isharun Cave of ashes, Owo Museum of antiquities, Coastal beaches, Creeks and the Olokola Free Trade Zone among several others.
The Agagu-led administration is determined to ensure that all the tourists’ centres in the state meet international standards. Towards this end, government has identified the Idanre Hills as a tourists’ centre with huge potentials. It has therefore put in place measures to enlist the Oke-Idanre (Idanre Hills) in the UNESCO World Heritage List. A letter of intention, personally signed by Dr. Agagu has been submitted at the UNESCO headquarters in Rome.
As part of other several other steps being taken to ensure that the Idanre Hills get enlisted on the UNESCO Heritage List, the administration has approved funds for the renovation, construction and restoration of some of the notable public buildings in the ancient village on the hills. These include the old school, the old court house, the mausoleum, the Odofin and Asunrin shrine and the famous ancient Owa’s palace. Meanwhile, plans are at advance stage to award the contract for the renovation of all the existing chalets on the top of the hills.
In no distant future, Idanre would be the first choice tourists’ destination of fun seekers in south of the country. Perhaps, the icing on the cake for this laudable project would be the construction of an 18-hole golf course at Itosin, Idanre. The sum of N18million has been released for the payment of compensation to those whose land was acquired for the golf course project. Also, the contract for the construction of the field for the golf course has been awarded at the cost of N208 million. Plans are at advance stage to award the contract for the construction of other auxiliary facilities like swimming pool, lawn tennis court and club house among others.
The government is not leaving any stone unturned in this highly commendable venture to put Ondo State on the world map of tourists’ destination points. Efforts are being made to secure the Hills from unwanted intruders. To this end, a contract has been awarded for the fencing of the entrance, including the erection of a beautiful gate.
Also, to encourage visitors to the site, the administration embarked on the construction of steps that would make climbing the huge hills easier while at the same time catching their fun. In addition to all these, contract for the construction of a 200-seater capacity hall, which will also serve as exhibition hall.
Today, Idanre Hills have started to attract tourists from across the country who have started to enjoy the convenience of climbing the hills with the newly constructed steps which effort less tedious, but equally a life-changing experience for fun seekers.
In anticipation of the expected surge in the numbers of tourists that will soon make Ondo State their destination point, the administration, in conjunction with business conglomerate, NICON Group, is investing in the state’s hospitality industry to the tune of over N2 billion. The first of the hotels will be sited in Idanre to complement tourism drive of the state. This development, apart from shoring up the state revenue base, will as well provide job opportunities to thousands of indigenes of the state.The hotel, which is a partnership between NICON Group and the state governmenton 70 to 30 equities, will be replicated in, Owo, Okitipupa, Odigbo, Ondo and Ikare Akoko.
The choice of Idanre as the take off point for the hotels is part of efforts to boost the tourism industry in the state, with a view to complementing various efforts of the administration to realise the goal of harnessing the tourist potentials the ancient town and making it the first tourists’ destination point in the country. Also, the contract for the construction of the field for a 18-hole golf course with a befitting club house has been awarded at the cost of N207, 986,983.21. This is in addition to plans to repackage the popular ancient Orosun Cultural Festival for global attraction.Plans are equally at advance stage to award the contract for the construction of other auxiliary facilities like swimming pool, lawn tennis court and club house among others.
For the youthful and energetic Commissioner for Culture and Tourism, Eng. Dele Osakuade, the Idanre Hills project is set to open the gates of the sunshine state’s hospitality to the rest of the world. Osakuade maintained that huge success recorded by the project in the last four years was the result of the dynamic leadership quality of the governor.
Hear him: “We owe everything to our good leader and governor. The aspiration of the administration under the dynamic leadership of Dr. Olusegun Agagu is to use culture in creating employment for our teeming young people, and also to serve as a viable pool for young artists to replace the ageing ones who have for sometimes abandoned this important aspect of our culture.”
It was on the shoulder of these strings of achievements that the commissioner stood with broad smiles as he reeled out the administration’s success stories and its cultural march to make Ondo State the El Dorado of culture and tourism in Nigeria. According to him, the administration, since it came on board in 2003, has initiated several programmes aimed at promoting culture and tourism.
The programmes include cultural programmes for secondary schools in the state, empowerment programme for rural women, proper funding of the state cultural troupe, participation in national cultural events, acquisition of artifacts and the resuscitation of the state festival of culture among several others.
Osakuade explains: “This administration has done a lot in the promotion of culture. In realization of the vision of the state government that tourism cannot develop without cultural promotion, the ministry has committed huge sum of money to package some cultural festivals for local and international tourism promotion.”
Continuing, the commissioner explained that the state government has approved the assessment, packaging and promotion of four notable traditional festivals into carnival status. “In our resolve to turn Ondo State into a tourism goldmine, government has approved for assessment four notable festivals for promotion. The festivals include the Ogun festival at Ondo and Ile-Oluji, Orosun at Idanre, Igogo at Owo and the Boat Regatta in the riverine areas. It is our belief that these beautiful festivals will attract large numbers of local and international tourists, researchers and other visitors.”
The Agagu-led administration’s commitment to the promotion of culture and tourism in Ondo State is fast transforming the state that it would take little time for it to emerge the preferred tourists’ destination in Nigeria.
Above all, Osakuade is excited that the effort would create jobs for the people of the state, while the internally generated revenue efforts of the government would get a big boost with its attendant improvement in people’s standard of living. “You can see that the effort of our dynamic governor is fast yielding positive results for the state. I can assure you that in little time to come, Ondo State would be the first on the list of choice places for tourists.”

Portrait of a great teacher

By Segun Smart Ajiboye

Ondo State Governor, Dr. Olusegun Kokumo Agagu, has without doubt, applied to the letter his training as a school teacher in his style of governance
since assuming the highest office in the Sunshine State on May 29, 2003. It did not take long for discerning minds to notice the robust, respect for the rule of law and surefooted style of governance the ‘teacher’ has brought to bear on the state.
Few days in the saddle, Dr. Agagu did what a typical teacher would do- he sat down to study the level of the rot in the educational system of the state. Not even in his wildest imagination could the former university teacher have prepared himself for the level of rot in the education sector.
Education, the bedrock of any development, was in a state of coma in Ondo State. The sector, which in the past made the state a role model for others, was bedeviled by declining standard, high prevalence of examination malpractices, low morale of teachers, dilapidated structures, lack of science equipment and poor library facilities and an almost total neglect.
The result was that less than 5% of students who sat for the SSCE across the state scored credits in 5 subjects, including Mathematics and English Language. Students’ enrolment in public schools dropped. Teachers were no longer motivated to give their best as years went by without promotion for deserving members of the noble profession. Months went by without salaries. To survive, most teachers turned to either farming or trading. Training and retraining of teachers did not feature on government’s plans. There were school libraries without books, and where they existed, they are old and outdated. The state could only boast of technical colleges without technical equipment to impart the much-desired technical know-how into the students. Worst still, students took classes under the trees because the few classrooms still standing were dilapidated and unsafe. Many of the students took to truancy as alternative to studying. Teenage pregnancy became something to be proud of among our youths. Even the few teachers who were serious and dedicated enough did not have the materials to teach the few students who still found school attractive.
On assumption of office, Dr. Agagu quickly put in place machineries to arrest the ugly situation. The governor captured the problem thus: "I asked the commissioner of education to go and do an analysis of the result of our children in WAEC and NECO over the last five years. What I got was shocking. Only between two and four percent passed with five credits!"
As a former university teacher himself, Agagu and his team came up with a rescue plan tagged: RESULTS- Rescue Education for Sustainable and Lasting Transformation of Society.
Agagu, as part of the strategies to revamp education in the state, came up with the following intervention items: Improved welfare for teachers through prompt payment of salaries and allowances, promotion, car and empowerment loans, Training and Retraining of teachers, Improved inspectorate system, Payment of running grants to all schools at N60/N100 per child, Supply of text books to all school libraries, Supply of science laboratory equipment to secondary schools, supply of science kits to primary schools, Revamping the Government Technical Colleges and Incentives to teachers in rural and difficult terrains among others.
Four years on, the sun is shining on the education sector in the sunshine State once again. Teachers can afford to wear smiles again as their salaries are paid promptly. Those deserving promotion are promoted while soft loans are made available to those in need. Morale is high among the teaching and non-teaching staff in all government schools across the state. As part of its motivational packages for teachers, the state, in collaboration with UBA in 2007 granted loans worth N500 million to teachers across the state to assist them build their own homes. The gesture, according to Agagu, was to assist teachers in the state own their own homes.
"This is the beginning of better things to come the way of teachers in Ondo State", Agagu promised.
The numbers of secondary schools in the state have increased. So also is the numbers of primary schools. The technical colleges are today better equipped to face the challenges of the new millennium than ever before.
Thanks to the vision and dedication of the governor, more than 100 secondary schools have been supplied with computers with a promise that the remaining schools would soon benefit from the scheme, senior school principals have been elevated to the rank of permanent secretaries, and have been assigned bigger responsibilities as zonal education administrators.
For proper monitoring of schools, government has appointed 144 neighborhood inspectors for primary schools and 72 for secondary schools. It has also, among several other things, provided science kits to primary schools at a cost of N52million, renovation of primary school buildings at a cost of over N66.8million, provision of primary schools furniture worth N75million, provision of lockers and chairs for the 570 public secondary schools across the state at a cost of N86million, training of school teachers, principals and education managers at a cost of N69million. The students are doing well and parents are proud of their Wards’ academic achievements again.
The icing on the cake of the Agagu-led administration's efforts to revamp the ailing sector and put the state in good stead for future challenges is the establishment of a university of science and technology in Okitipupa. Academic activities in the school are billed to take off this year. The institution, aside from fast tracking the development of Ondo State, will also correct the imbalance in the distribution of tertiary institutions in the state. Dr. Agagu displayed a high sense of responsibility, maturity and magnanimity in the siting of the school in Okitipupa. Given the importance of a higher institution to its host community’s economic transformation, a more pedestrian leader would have opted for his own community as location. But for Dr. Agagu, the interest of larger society supersedes any other individual interest he might hold. This rare selfless leadership quality of the ‘teacher’ was extolled by the Chairman of the OSUSTECH Implementation Committee, Prof. Albert Lemonade, when he said:
“Dr. Olusegun Agagu must be commended for high sense of maturity and responsibility. He gave the committee a mandate, and did not question the decision to site the school in Okitipupa. Some other governor would have used his executive powers to site the institution in his home village.”
On a personal note for Governor Agagu, the signing of the bill establishing the school into law before the commencement of academic activities at the institution was in fulfillment of the former teacher’s administration’s commitment to the rule of law and the principle of due process. A sum of N2billion is being proposed as capital vote for the school in the 2008 budget.
Education in Ondo State has never had it this good. Its fortunes, which had been on the downwards slide for ages is suddenly beginning to take shape once again, all thanks to the concerted efforts of the teacher, Dr. Olusegun Agagu and his team of dedicated and committed men and women who are determined to bring back the long missing smiles to faces of the people.
Yet, Dr. Agagu is promising to do even more to secure the future of the younger generation. Hear him: "Governance is all about service to the people. It is part of the vision of this government that service to our people comes top on our agenda. The future of our children should be top priority to us, and getting them educated is our own way of securing that future."
It was part of efforts to cement that future that the Agagu-led administration committed a whooping sum of N8.311billion to the education sector in the 2008 budget. By this act, Dr. Olusegun Agagu, has proved to, even the most strident of his critics, that he is indeed committed to fulfill his promise to the people to make qualitative education and other good things of life accessible to all in the state, irrespective of class or creed.
Breakdown of the budget shows that a whooping sum of N3.234billion is earmarked for school infrastructure in 2008. The amount represents an increase of N1.664billion from 2007. While the sum of N170million was spent on the provision of complete suite of science laboratories for 228 secondary schools in the State in 2007, government is not resting on its oars as it has earmarked additional N30million to provide more science materials for more schools.
In the same vein, in the mould of a father who would go the extra mile to assure the successes of his children, Agagu is committed to the provision of more facilities in other state-owned tertiary institutions, namely Adekunle Ajasin University, Akungba Akoko and Rufus Giwa Polytechnic, Owo. For example, in pursuant of the administration’s effort to make the university one of the best in the country, a sum of N375million has been earmarked for the construction and equipment of a new Faculty of Arts and Education, while a new Faculty of Science is to be constructed and equipped at a cost of N380million in the New Year. Also, while N200million would be spent on construction of road networks, the sum of N70million would be spent to provide water and electricity for the campus.
For capital development and accreditation of courses at the Rufus Giwa Polytechnic, government has set aside a total sum of N230million, while a sum of N312.4million would be spent on reconstruction of road network on the campus.
Technical and Vocational education have not been left out of the administration’s avowed determination to provide a good foundation for the state’s technological development. In this regard, government In 2007 spent a total sum of N412million on the procurement of tools, equipment, construction of workshops, hostels and other municipal services at the five Government Technical Colleges in order to meet the accreditation requirements of the National Board for Technical Education and for the upgrading of the 19 Skill Acquisition Centers in the 18 Local Government Areas of the state. For 2008, it has earmarked the sum of N230.818million for the construction workshops, laboratories, renovation and expansion of municipal services in the technical colleges.
Dr. Agagu is equally not unaware of the importance of special education to the development of the state. The State Executive Council approved the sum of N30million for the establishment of a school for the mentally retarded at Oke-Igbo. This is in addition to the existing three special schools in the state.
Students’ welfare too is also of paramount importance to the administration’s total rescue package for education in the state. A total sum of N177million was disbursed to about 4000 students of Ondo State origin in tertiary institutions across the country as bursary while the sum of N107million disbursed as scholarships to deserving students.
Going by his track records, Dr. Olusegun Kokumo Agagu is noted for keeping to his words. And, in his New Year message to the people of the state, Dr. Agagu promised a very busy and eventful year in terms of development in all “ramification”. The people of the Sunshine State are sure in for a swell time with the teacher as far as the future of education and indeed the state is concerned.

Ebutte Ero: A Lagos Market that draws patrons from Ghana and beyond

By Segun Ajiboye & Yemi Shaba

Pix: Timothy Oyeola

Along with its rich culture and lifestyle, Lagos is also popular for its countless numbers of markets scattered across the length and breadth of the aquatic state. But the Ebutte Ero Market (aka Gorodome), located in the heart of the city, few meters away from the famous Broad and Marina Streets, stands out from other notable markets in several ways.
First is the daily volume of trade at the market, which experts say may most likely run into hundreds of millions of naira. But perhaps the most unique feature of this seemingly little known market is the its patrons who come from all parts of the country and other countries like Benin Republic, Ghana, Cote’Devoir and Bourkinafaso among others.
Located in the heart of the nation’s economic capital on the Lagos Island, Ebutte Ero Market shares boundaries with major streets like the Marina, Idumota, Alakoro, while it is a few distance away from the famous Broad Street.
Mother of six, Bintu Abewon is a Nigerian trader resident in Bourkina Faso. She trades in all sorts of goods ranging from cosmetics, kitchenware and other household items. Once in a month in the company with other women make a tedious trans-border trip to the Ebutte Ero Market (aka Gorodome) in Lagos, Nigeria to buy cosmetics, kitchenware and other wares in large quantities.
When National Life met Bintu Abewon at the market, she had been on the road for six days. Looking unperturbed about the rigours of her trade, she explained that she was not likely to get back home for another three or four days.
Abewon and her friends are not unaware of the dangers of her monthly trips crossing several countries to get her wares. But she is willing to make the sacrifice, because according to her, the types and quantity of goods she buys and the profit she makes after selling them in Bourkinafaso.
She explained to National Life that she and other traders like her come from across the borders to Ebutte Ero because of the variety of goods available in the market and, more importantly, she makes more profit after selling the goods back in Bourkinafaso. “Yes, you could say it is risky to come all the way from Bourkinafaso to buy goods in Nigeria. But when you consider the variety of goods you get to buy here, and the kind of profit you make, am sure you’ll be willing to take the risk.”
Such was the determination of Bintu Abewon and many other retail traders from across the borders of Nigeria who throng the Ebutte Ero market to purchase goods in large quantities to be resold in their various countries.
National Life gathered at the market that the attraction may not be unconnected with the variety of goods available and the fact that the traders in the market, most of who are big time traders, sell in wholesale prices thereby leaving the smaller traders from across the country and across the borders with huge profits
Interestingly, the market, which is gradually taking up a modern look with the construction of modern lock-up shops, is backed with a rich history spanning several decades. It started out as a traditional market for the sale of foodstuffs and other local materials like gari, yam, charcoal and herbs among others.
More than this, the market’s history, according to the market leader, Alhaja Fausat Olowosibi, a third generation trader in the market, is entwined with the installation of a new king of Lagos. “In the olden days when the market days come every nine days, the installation of a new king for the city of Lagos is timed to fall on a market day.”
On how the market got its name, Olowosibi explained that the market was located near what seemed the largest terminus at the time. According to her, the site was the old terminus for traders coming into the island by water from neighbouring towns like Epe, Badagry and beyond. “In those days, traders coming from everywhere docked at this point before coming into the market. They came from places as far as Cottonou and beyond. It was at this point that they alighted from the canoes that brought them from all those distant places. So it was called Ebutte Ero, literally meaning the passengers’ shore.
But as time went by and the market’s profile grew, it attracted attentions as a major goods distribution point for conglomerates like G. B. O, UTC, UAC, CFAO and others. This probably accounted for the reason the conglomerates had warehouses close to the market.
Most of the conglomerates are longer in business while their old warehouses are almost desolate, the market found a new source of regular supply of goods from Chinese and India traders who have found in the market and its traders a veritable link with the retailers and the end users of their products.
Though Ebutte Ero is today known for arrays of goods like household items and other modern items, it has not totally forgotten its past. A section of the market is still dedicated to the sale of foodstuffs and materials like charcoal.
Alhaja Fausat Ariyo, who is also the Vice Chairman of the market leadership, has refused to bow to the lure of the modern trend. Ariyo, who took over the rein of charcoal business from her grandmother, disclosed that the charcoal business is as lucrative as any other business. “It is funny how people view this type of business. Sure, you are right that it is dirty, but it is as lucrative as any other business you can think of. You earn enough money to make you take care of your needs.”
Another interesting feature of Ebutte Ero is the culture of family business. Most of the prominent traders in the market either belong to the second or third generation. The list is endless. The chairman, Alhaja Tobun is a third generation trader in the market, so also is her. Many others are taking also taking over the baton of business from their parents.
Asked if she would encourage any of their children to take after them, both Olowosibi and Ariyo disclosed that their children already have their own shops within the market.
22-year old Chinoso has sold kitchenware and other household items at the market for more than five years now. Though sales have been slow in recent time as a result of the global economic meltdown, Chinoso would confess that business was indeed very good in time past.
Even with low sales, Chinoso still smile home everyday with sales, sometimes running into about N60, 000 or N100, 000. “Sales have gone down now, but on a good day we still make sales like N60, 000 or more. On better days, we make sales close to N100, 000”.
Alhaja Adetoun Tobun deals in enamel and other household items. She started out with foodstuffs about two decades ago before venturing into kitchen utensils and other household items. For her, trading at the popular market has been a worthwhile venture.
“I have been in this market for more than 20 years now. As a matter of fact, I have never done anything else other than trading, and I would say it has been very profitable for most of us.”
In the same vein, mother of two, Kehinde Olateju, helps her mother in her iron pot trade. Olateju told National Life that she is largely patronized by caterers and big time party organizers. When business is good, sales could be as much as N50, 000 or more a day. Kehinde’s plan is to someday own a shop of her own and continue the family trading tradition.
For more than seven years, Wasiu Bello has been the one in-charge of the park for heavy duty trucks plying the Northern and Eastern parts of the country. On this particular day, more than two trucks were been loaded with variety of goods billed for Calabar and Sokoto. Bello disclosed to National Life that, an average of four trucks are loaded with goods for onward journey to different parts of the country everyday.
But in spite of seeming daily huge sales by the traders in Ebutte Ero Market, it was the consensus of everybody in the market that the global economic meltdown has affected their sales. From the Iyaloja, to Chinoso and even Bello, the man in-charge of the lorry park, it was the same story of low sales. Bello explained: “Before this time, more than 10 lorry depart from here everyday loaded with different kinds of goods . But things have changed. They tell us that the world economy is bad, and that it has affected us here as well.”
But the bad economy does not seem to have any adverse effect on the daily business of the ubiquitous Alabaru (load carriers). Everywhere you turn, you find one clutching what looked like overload, while trying to meander their way through the narrow walkways.
The market is not meant for only the big time traders afterall. While the shop owners do ‘their businesses inside their shops, others with smaller businesses like sachet water and other menial businesses hawk their wares round the market.
For a market as big as Ebutte Ero, the issue of discipline cannot be underrated. To ensure that peace is maintained, the market leaders ensures that fines are imposed on whoever causes any breach of the peace or engages in any form of fighting or unruly behaviour.
Like a mother who has been done proud by her children, the Iyaloja said she is happy with the conduct of all the traders in the market. She spoke in glowing terms about the cordial relationship that exists among the traders despite their different tribal background. “We behave like brothers and sisters in the market. No matter where you come from, we live for another by holding regular meetings to discuss our common problems.”
In conformity with state government’s order, traders in the market use the hours of 7am and 10am every Thursday of the week to clean their environment. To ensure strict compliance by all the traders, a committee, headed by the Chief Whip of the market, ********, monitors the cleaning exercise. The waste generated is cleared with the assistance of the Lagos State Waste Management Authority.
However, in spite of the good stories from the Ebutte Ero Market, it is still largely confronted by arrays of problems which mostly affect its daily operation. For a market as large as Ebutte Ero, and the volume of trading, the near-absence of a well-defined car parking lot constitutes a major problem for the market and its patrons.
On busy day, the narrow walkways that connect the various segments and stalls often make movements round the market similar to the Biblical camel passing through the eye of a needle.
Other problems confronting the market are the lack of a good drainage and a regular supply of electricity. Olowosibi and other leaders of the market are making concerted efforts to ensure that some of these problems attract government’s attention. “The major problems we have in the market are the haphazard manner in which people get electricity. We don’t have a single transformer in the entire market. The market also does not have good drainage system.”
But Olowosibi and her team are not leaving everything in the hands of the government. The market leadership, according to her, spends about N1million every month to clear the canal that runs through the market.
But in spite of all this, the Iyaloja still prides her market one of the biggest and most patronized by cross-borders traders in the state. “This is a very big market. As from this, we hold a very important place in the history of Lagos. People come from all over West Africa to trade here. That is one very unique thing about our market.”
Presently, the market has over a thousand lock-up shops while more are being constructed by a team of private developers in conjunction with the Lagos Island Local Government Authority. The market leader says she and other traders in the market are willing to accept new traders into their fold with open arms.

Yoruba pioneered films in Nigeria- Jide Kosoko

By Segun Ajiboye

Who really should take credit for being producer of the first home video in Nigeria? This is one big question that has continued to trigger heated controversies among movie enthusiasts in Nigeria. The general claim that Living in Bondage, an Igbo movie shot in 1993 and delivered in English Language was the first home video does not seem to go down well with a section of the industry, as some practioners insist that the first home video was a Yoruba flick. One of such people, who belong to the latter category, is the movie star and one of the most popular faces in both Yoruba and Igbo movies, Prince Jide Kosoko. The renowned actor, who recently emerged as the president of the Association of Nigeria Theatre Arts Practitioners (ANTP), maintained in a recent chat with Sunday Sun that the first home video was Ekun. According to him, “it was one of us that made the first home video. Muyideen Aromire made the first video, entitled Ekun. He was the first person to shoot a home video in 1988.” Prince Kosoko, who believes that there is urgent need to put a stop to the raging controversy, accused those who question the origin of the industry of ignorance. He said it is in furtherance of his ambition to prove this that his association is staging a world film festival later in the year. “You see, we started from the stage when our fathers started the alarinjo thing (travelling theatre groups). They went from place to place entertaining people,” he said. Ask him if he has not embarked on an impossible mission, Kosoko shoots back: “Wait until we are through with the films festival, and you’ll be in the position to tell who really made the first home video in Nigeria. That all the records are at our disposal shows that a Yoruba movie was the first to be made into a home video.”This time, Kosoko, who remains one of the successful crossover actors in Nigeria, said he wants to “put the records straight on the history of movie making in the country.”
On the history of home videoThe content of any film is the culture and the tradition of the people that is being propagated. We started from the stage when our fathers, Hubert Ogunde and others started the traveling theatre groups entertaining people with drama, dancing and other things. From that point we graduated to television productions, where we improved on things that cannot be achieved on stage. This is the more reason why we said Hubert Ogunde remains the father of commercial theatre in Nigeria.If you talk about commercial filmmaking in Nigeria, Ola Balogun, Duro Ladipo and Ade Love played a significant role when they came out with Ajani Ogun in 1976. The film, which was a huge success, was followed by other productions by Hubert Ogunde and others. Yoruba films are the pioneer films in the country. And, they are the only films that people go to the theatre to watch. Because we have been able to build our viewership over a long time, we have been very successful in other African countries as well.
All the films you have talked about were shot on celluloid. What about the history of home videos in the country?Following the downturn in the economy, efforts were made to produce home videos. Again, it was one of us that made the first home video. Muyideen Aromire made the first video, entitled Ekun. He was the first person to shoot a home video in 1988. To be honest with you, we were not happy with him at the beginning. We wanted to keep within the concept of shooting on celluloid. The movie was screened at the National Arts Theatre, which goes to prove its success.
But some people say Living in Bondage was the first home video. How true is this?Living in Bondage was produced in 1993. How does that take away the record of 1988? What they are supposed to be happy about is that it was the first successful attempt. Even my own production, Asiri Nla was produced in 1992. It sold 150,000 copies. I can go on naming more Yoruba movies, which came out before Living in Bondage. However, I must say this, I really appreciate the way they came into the industry and changed everything. In fact, their entrance assisted us in moving up ourselves technically.Now, what do you intend to achieve with the film festival?I have been thinking of this ever before I became the president of the association. But because of our orientation, we detest a situation whereby you bring down people because you want to change some things. But now that things are getting out of hand, now that movies that are being produced in the English movies cannot capture the world attention, we have decided to come out and put the records straight. When you talk of Nigerian movies making waves outside the country, it is not just movies done in English. You need to go out and see Yoruba in the Diaspora to understand what I am saying. This festival is determined to expand the scope of our viewership. We also want to use the festival to sensitize our producers and filmmakers on the need to continue to project the tradition and culture of our people in the right way. For example, we have a special way of christening babie. We have our own way of marriage. All these we need to project to the world. We don’t know how long this would go in helping the scientific development of the world.
What other things do you hope to achieve with the festival?We want the whole world to know the origin of filmmaking in Nigeria, and how it metamorphosed from the era of stage, through television to home video. We would also give awards to all those who have contributed to the growth in one way or the other. We also use the festival to create an avenue for investors, producers and others to meet and discuss on how to do joint productions that would enhance Yoruba movie productions. When you talk of Yoruba movies, it doesn’t necessarily mean movies done in Yoruba language. It could be done in English language, but with the rich tradition of the Yoruba people. We need sponsors to join hand with us on the project. We want corporate bodies to come on board. The governor of Lagos State, Babatunde Fashola, has accepted to be our guest of honour. So also our royal father, the Ooni of Ife, Oba Okunade Sijuade. We will also make a serious attempt to unite all our traditional fathers.

SEX-4-ROLESome gals actually make the offerBy Segun Ajiboye

•Opeyemi Ayeola
She was sure cut out for the screen. Pretty, outgoing and intelligent, Opeyemi Ayeola proved that she was indeed destined for the top in only her first outing. For her, it took a stroke of luck and a chance meeting with popular TV producer, Wale Adenuga, to kick-start a career that has been on the ascendancy ever since.“I was at the right place at the right time. I went to visit my brother at the Ogun State University. Fortunately, Wale Adenuga was there at the time shooting a movie. I was there watching them in action. Somebody just walked up to me and said Mr. Adenuga wanted to see me. That was the beginning of the story”, she recounted.Her career actually took off on a good note as she starred as the innocent and naïve girl who fell to mischievous machinations of some street-wise guys in Gbenga Adewusi’s popular movie, “Ige Adubi”. The happy ending to the story marked the beginning of Opeyemi’s rapid rise to the top.She, however, disclosed that her rise has not been on a platter of gold. “You cannot say things have been easy. Even the English actors who earn bigger money wouldn’t tell you that it is easy to get to the top. But the truth is that you have to be determined and dedicated. Those are the two things that have seen me to this level.”Opeyemi Ayeola, and a few other ladies and guys, are the face of the emerging Yoruba movie industry. For most of this class of young, upwardly mobile and daring ladies, the end justifies the means. Fair enough, they have breathed a new life to the ailing industry. “If you say we are doing well, I think you are right. But it is all about the orientation. The younger generation of actors and actresses are much different from the old people. We have been able to bring about professionalism to bear on the industry.”For Opeyemi, success has been at a huge price. Her path to success has been strewn with different negative stories. At a point, the story was her alleged affair with comedian, Babatunde Omidina aka Baba Suwe. At another time, it was said that she has a secret child for an unnamed man. And yet, another had it that she was arrested in England. These are just few of the several stories that she had to cope with.However, to her credit, Opeyemi has come out stronger each time. In an exclusive interview with Sunday Sun, she denied most of the rumours, attributing them to enemies. “The funniest of the rumours was the one that claimed I have a child. For heaven’s sake, if I have a child, I’ll be proud enough to say so. I’ll display his pictures everywhere for the world to see. These people are just enemies who don’t see anything good in another person.”While she has done well at managing the rumours surrounding her, same cannot be said of cat calls she gets each time she steps out. Opeyemi told Sunday Sun that she has found the antics of the area boys a hard nut to crack. “Most times people I don’t know would call my number and start telling me all sorts of stories. I found a solution to the problem by making sure that the phone is always with my personal assistant. However, the one I find difficult to escape is the catcalls on the streets. Most times, it is the agberos who make me nervous. For instance, when they see me and start shouting things that you don’t like.”The perennial cases of sexual harassment in the industry are in no way different from other industries. According to her, the issue of sexual harassment in the movie industry has been blown out of proportion. She equally blamed the ladies for ‘selling themselves cheaply’.
“The girls are too desperate to get noticed. They are willing to do anything, even if it means going to bed with the producer. However, there has been too much noise about sexual harassment in the movie industry. Don’t the doctors and nurses sleep with each other? It is the same in every other industry around the world. I have friends who are doctors. I also have friends who are bankers, and they tell me all these things happen in their sectors too. It is even more prevalent in the banks.”In similar vein, Opeyemi said she is not ready to dump disgraced actress, Taiwo Hassanat aka Wunmi over drug problem. “I wouldn’t crucify her. It is not how many time you fall that makes you a man, but how many times you are able to rise each time you fall. I’m sure aunty Wunmi would rise again. We all make mistakes every time. It could have been any other person. She is a mother figure to me, and that is what she would remain.” Opeyemi is almost likely to quit acting anytime from now. She is set to relocate to England to be with her husband. The couple was married in a church in England last December. She is however home to perform the traditional wedding, after which she would leave for England.

For Fela, my siblings & I have reconciledBy SEGUN AJIBOYE
•Femi KutiPhoto

Femi, first son of Afrobeat legend Fela Anikulapo-Kuti turned 45 yesterday.Though yet to match his dad’s fame, Femi at 45 is already a musician of note. If anything, he has proven to be a chip off the old block. Like father like son, Femi in an exclusive interview with Sunday Sun weekend exhibited the same old trait – yabis - which the late Abami Eda was known for. How age works wonders! Same Femi that years earlier was at war with the media, turned friendly, answering all the questions without bathing an eyelid.Indeed he spoke about himself, his kids, the Kutis, 10th anniversary of Fela’s death, sex and marriage, and so on. He was not done until he had a word for the new government in Aso Rock.Excerpts:
How does it feel being 45 years old?It is a great feeling to be 45. I feel great and I give thanks to the almighty.
What’s been happening to your marriage?I am not married and I won’t be getting married again. I don’t have to be married to have children. Let me tell you something, marriage is not because you love each other. If they love each other, then they should make sure they are responsible for their children and make sure they are educated and to provide for them. The mothers, too, have to perform their own duties. Aside that, how many marriages last these days? It is not about marriage.
We know you have kidsI have seven children. Three of them - Made, Tosin and Dupe - are my biological children while the four are my adopted children.
So how are the kids faring, given that you are a very busy dad?The Kutis are not known to be failures, so Made(his first son) will never be a failure. In our history, we have never failed. We might revolt against religion, against injustice or education. But in terms of success in our different endeavours, we’ve always been successful. Though we may not be millionaires because we are not corrupt, we would always be successful.
You don’t mind if I ask about your siblings?I see them once in a while. Seun and Kunle come here, but they see more of Yeni than me because I am always on the stage when they visit. Yeni is the mother of the family. We’ve had our differences and I have taken my firm steps on the directions I am going. They either come along or fall by the way side. I cannot afford to compromise because of my security and that of my son who is going to inherit the throne of the dynasty. We are Africans, and if they know they are younger siblings they should behave as such. If they are rude to me, which some of them have done in the past, I would not take it from them.It is 10 years of being abused in the newspapers. It is 10 years of traumatic experience. I have been suffering in my heart, asking questions why people are turning against me. Why are they comparing Seun to me? So when I realized the political aspect of what they were doing it dawned on me that these people don’t love Fela; that they want to ruin our lives. I knew I had to take a firm stand. I won’t compromise on that firm stand again. If anybody is rude to me, I will train my own son to be rude to the person because I won’t be rude to any of my uncles. However, thank God that we have settled everything and he (Seun) has apologized to me.
How about Yeni, your elder sister? Yes, she is the eldest in the family, and she is happy and ably doing those things. But let me tell you something about her, she is dong it because she is the eldest child. It is not because she wants to show off. She is very African and I am very proud of her. She has taken a lot of pressure off my back. It gives me a lot of time to concentrate on my music and to make money on the international market. If I fail to groom myself to meet the international standard, I would be losing a lot because I cannot make anything here. So, while she handles the home front like the mother, I can concentrate on making money. Yeni was meant to be a man, but the creator made to be a woman because if she were a man Nigeria would probably be in a lot of trouble. She is a carbon copy of Fela and she has more of Fela in her than me.
In a matter of months it would be 10 years that Fela passed on. What’s in the offing? I would be in the US in August. I would return three days after the celebration, but my sister is capable of holding forte for all of us. I would have to complete my tour whether I like it or not because every dollar is very important.
Is there any special thing you miss about Fela?I wish Fela were alive to see my children and play the role of grandfather to them. I would have loved him to be with Made (Femi’s first son) because he is so much like Fela. They would have been very close. He would have given Made this positive non-challant attitude about life. It is not that I cannot give my son such training, but I cannot afford to slack because Fela’s enemies wish my failure for them to boast that he was a failure. My failure would prove them right about Fela, but my success will prove Fela right.I regret, in a way, grooming Made to be hard. If Fela were around, he would have trained him to be simple and take life more simply. Fela would have given him that simple life touch, which I cannot afford because of the dangers ahead.I see a lot of Fela in Made than myself. Though he is not rascally, I see more of this Kuti trait in him. I am sure when he is older, he will want to display and assert his own authority.
What about his attitude to sex?People should be careful about their sex life. In our days, it was just gonorrhea and syphilis. All these diseases have accumulated to become more deadly. One has to be careful. If you cannot abstain (from sex), you need to stick to one partner because the consequences can be grave. I have fought for the drugs to be made available to Africans. Anytime I perform abroad, I seize the opportunity to remind them of the dangers of HIV/AIDS because we don’t have any healthcare programme here.
If Fela were still around, would he have had any influence on your musical career?This is my 21 years on the stage. It has been years of hard work to ensure that I remain relevant. I have played free concerts in the past. But today, anywhere I go the tickets are sold out. Now my Femi is a household name. With all due respect to Fela, youths who didn’t know him previouly are now beginning to learn about him because of me. When they ask questions about me and they find out that he was my father, they also go and find out about him. In the same fashion, my son would come and do something that I may not have done.
What’s on the card, musically speaking?Working in Nigeria is very difficult. I have been working to release my work in the international market. It takes a lot of time if you want a good production. It is even more difficult being political. Again, the pirates are not helping matters and the big names in the industry are not selling like before because of bootlegging or downloading from the internet. It is now better having a live band because if you don’t have one, you may run into trouble. The bands are the ones surviving the hard times. Youths of nowadays don’t see any reason why they should buy because they have different attitudes. Though I wouldn’t say it is bad, people just have to find a way to survive.
What value did Fela add to the entertainment industry?Afrobeat has gone international and everybody is trying to play it. Lots of bands in the US and Europe now play Afrobeat. My father inspired lots of the bands. Fela is now a household name everywhere around the world.
What’s your assessment of Nigerian music industry?I don’t listen to any Nigerian musician because they don’t inspire me. The people that inspire me are my Fela and Miles Davies among others. These are people whose lives depended on music and not money. They are the ones who can inspire me. I am not saying what the Nigerian acts are doing is not good, but I won’t go out of my way to listen to them. We have a disco night every Friday at the Shrine where they play hip-hop music. I love to watch them dance to the hip-hop music.Fela was an avowed critic of Nigerian governments. What about you?Since the return of democratic governance in Nigeria, I have not taken notice of any government. I do what I have to do by continuing to fight them with my music. They have bastardized our lives. I was trained to be just, so I have always challenged anything that is unjust. I didn’t notice Obasanjo and I was one of his greatest critics. I put a lot of pressure on his government internationally, and I would also put pressure on this (Yar’Adua) government. The attitude of the politicians, the rich and the directors in the various companies who are the backbone of the various governments. These people are the dangers to the society because they refuse to see the common man on the street. They don’t get to see the level of poverty in the land because they are restricted to Ikoyi, Abuja, US and Europe. They don’t know what happens in the slums and they are non-challant. So, if you ask me, I’ll tell you that all I see is just a bunch of corrupt…
So what do you have to tell those in government? They should stop being corrupt. The biggest problem in Africa is corruption. We don’t love ourselves.For quite sometime you were off air, so to speak. I mean not being in the media spotlight. What went wrong?I have not watched television or read the papers for seven years now. I stopped when the Nigerian media turned against me. If they could not come to my defence, why should I read them? I have opened doors for the Nigerian media. I was always fighting our cause abroad, I have never brought any negative story or shame to Nigeria and I have won awards. All the income I make, I bring back to this country. I can afford to take my family and go and live in the US or anywhere. But the media suddenly turned against me.Imagine this, a media writes a bold headline that “Femi is mad’. I later arrived at the airport and the immigration officer saw me and asked ‘How is your health?’ and I begin to ask myself questions about myself. It is better to be dead than for people to say you are mad. Sometimes I walk on the road and people come to me to ask if I am mad or not. It is terrible. Imagine somebody writing that you are mad. You want to drink water from a cup and you suddenly became aware that people are watching to see how you do it because they think you are mad.Some, whom I took like elder brothers, decided to turn against me because they thought I was making money outside and I was not giving them part of it. But they are wrong!

Fashola's BRT joker

One year after, Lagosians hail BRT, Fashola
For Emeka Onwubiko, the Bus Rapid Transport scheme (BRT), introduced by the Lagos State government last year still sounds too good to be true. His day starts at 4am when he gets off bed to prepare for the day. At 5am, he leaves his home in Ketu, a suburb of Lagos, for his office on the Lagos Island. By the time he arrives almost four hours later, he is tired and almost useless for the day.
Onwubiko’s two children, more than often relate with their father as a stranger. His wife of six years is not in any way different. The reason is obvious, the children hardly know him. On most days of the week, the children are hardly up before he departs for office, leaving him with little or no time to share with his family.
But all that is now history. He now spends quality time with his family. His children and wife are looking livelier just as Onwubiko himself now look chubby and spending more quality time with his family.
It is an open secret that the BRT is the secret of the new-found happiness in Onwubiko’s life. Today, as against his old wake up time of 4am, he gets out of bed at 6am, leaving him with additional two hours sleep everyday. The trip, which he hitherto made in rickety buses in four hours, he does now within 40 minutes.
Semiu experience in the hands of a molue conductor is a typical example of what commuters in Lagos go through before the introduction of the BRT. “I had an interview appointment to keep on the Island, so I left home dressed in a white shirt and tie. In my rush to meet up with the time, I got roughened up by the danfo bus conductor and other passengers. By the time I arrived at the interview venue, it was better I did not attend because I was looking a man from the jungle.”
Timothy Ajala who lives in Ikorodu still believes he is in dreamland. Though he has never traveled outside the country, he is already comparing his experience with the stories he’d heard about America and Europe’s transport system. “The BRT services are okay. What I like most about the bus is that it is faster than the molues. With the introduction of the buses, we now get to our destinations faster. Again another beautiful about the buses is the payment system. All you do is get your ticket, join the queue and then move.
While comparing the BRT with the London underground transport system, Mrs. Bada is full of praises for Governor Babatunde Raji Fashola for the BRT success. Her reason, she explained was the fact that the time she spent on her daily journey from her Owode home to Lagos Island where she works has been cut down by more than two hours, and has become more pleasurable. “With the BRT, there is nothing like go slow. The buses are quite comfortable and peaceful. The BRT bus is similar to the system in London where you board bus 45 0r 103 and so on. This is our own train system in Nigeria because there is nothing to delay you on the way. The governor has really done well in this regards and the only thing that we can do now on our part is to continue to pray to God on his behalf for more wisdom.”
The story is not too different for Segun Adeoye who lives in the Isolo area of the state but works on the island. His life, he confessed is beginning to take a new meaning. “You can imagine what we went through everyday before the introduction of the BRT. I resume work 8am. But because of the nature of our transportation system, I leave home everyday by 5am. Despite this, I still got to work late, tired and tattered on most days. But since the BRT started work, things have changed. Gone are the stress and tattered clothes.”
Like most projects of its nature in the past, not many believed the BRT would work when it commenced operation last March. The stakes were high and seemed insurmountable. Many questions were asked about it workability in a mega city like Lagos. But one year on, commuters, and indeed the entire residents of Lagos now know better and they are unanimous in the praise of the state government and the operator of the BRT.
To discerning observers, the success story is rooted in the government’s determination and concert effort to put in place an enduring transport system that would both serve as a two-prong solution to see to the comfort of commuters while eliminating the problem of holdups on Lagos roads.
Septuagenarian Bayo Adekoya is happy he is witnessing such magical turn-around in transportation in the city of Lagos. Aside the free flow of traffic and the peace he enjoys in the buses, Adekoya is impressed with the moderate fare being charged by the BRT. “The BRT is a miracle. A journey from Ikorodu to Fadeyi, which before now took me three hours, has suddenly been cut down to 30 minutes. The fare is quite moderate and affordable. There is nothing like fighting in the bus. All you do is present your ticket and take your seat.”
Prior the introduction of the BRT, the transportation situation in Lagos, was to say the least, chaotic. It reminds one of the late Afrobeat legend; Fela Anikulapo’s hit song, entitled: Suffering and Smiling. It was a case of 30 passengers sitting while 99 would either stand or find anything to cling to. The private operators and individual bus owners’ main and only concern was maximization of their profits. For them, no space should be spared.
Several efforts by successive administrations yielded little or no result as the problems deified all solutions. Popular bus stops like Oshodi, Mile Two and Ojota among others were controlled by men who made life difficult for the commuters.
Hence the need for Africa’s first Bus Rapid Transport scheme. Where else was best for the take off other than the city of Lagos. It however required adequate and well-laid plan which started with the Asiwaju Bola Tinubu’s administration.
The plan started with the construction of dedicated lanes for the buses. The lanes, which run across designated areas like the Ikorodu Road, Mile 12, Ojota and other major roads, were meant to allow the buses unhindered movement from one point to the other.
Investigation by National Life has shown that the project has recorded unprecedented success in the last one year. A staff of LAMATA at the Mile 12 terminus, who pleaded anonymity, estimated the numbers of passengers that board bus for various destinations at the terminus to be over 100,000.
According to him, the passengers who have found the BRT buses more convenient and comfortable now prefer it to the popular molues and danfo buses. “We have more and more passengers everyday. I believe the people are beginning to realize that the BRT is better and more convenient than the danfo buses.”
Aside from making life better for commuters in Lagos, the BRT scheme has at the same time created jobs for thousands of hitherto jobless people across the state. When National Life visited the Ketu Maintenance office of the BRT, different kinds of artisans like mechanics and other allied and support staff were seen carrying out their various duties.
Taju, a mechanic was busy with repair work on one of the buses. He told National Life that he has acquired new experience since joining the service of the BRT. “I have attended many training programmes since coming here. This is something that you cannot get outside. I am now a better mechanic.”
In the same vein, the BRT scheme, which is collaboration between the state government and the private sector, is fast becoming the model for successful private sector/government collaboration. A source explained to National Life that the scheme involves the Lagos State government, the National Union of Road Transport Workers (NURTW) and some banks.

By Segun Ajiboye