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How to stop Okene killing spree
What is happening today in
Ebiraland, is a conflict situation where some people as a way of settling scores have chosen to engage promising youths – our future lights – as proxies, vandals, arsonists and predators. Besieged with fiery arms and ammunition, Okene has been at the mercy of these youths for a long time now. Peace has taken a flight while disorderliness is now the order of the day . But, while you try to ascribe the showdown to politics, you discover real politics is not played on the pedestal of brawn but the podium of brain. Then, you discover that in Ebiraland, particularly, it has been torrential rainfall of urine instead of heavenly waters. Paralysis has seized everything: social, economic, academic and otherwise. And you go to bed expecting the unexpected.
In order to put smiles on the faces of innocent citizens resident in Ebiraland by weeding out the trouble makers in our midst, troops of mobile police men were dispatched to the land . With their presence , peace still remained a scarce item in the land. On April 22, I saw the police doing the reverse of what they are supposed to do: shooting the innocent. Moving along the road adjacent to Okene office of the PHCN, three or four bruised policemen in a black van showered bullets on innocent passersby. This writer had scampered into a slum for safety while the trigger-happy uniformed men felled three people in a mechanic workshop opposite the PHCN office, and meandered the Ohinoyi crescent en-route Okene General Hospital. Instantly, two of the three people died – a mechanic and a driver, while the third was rushed to the state capital for treatment.
A family was reported to have lost three children, while more deaths were recorded later that day and the day that followed.Though, none of the gun-wielders was felled. At this juncture, the question that comes to mind is: when has it become acceptable to treating imbecility by psychiatrists transmuting into imbeciles themselves?
Of course, Mike Okiro’s timely caution to his men in Ebiraland is urgently needed to save and protect the unarmed indigenes and non-indigenes resident in Okene and the entire Ebiraland knowing full well that the raving youths still lurk around, battle ready. Since bruises on policemen could cause this scary bereavement of many families, we pray God to avoid even accidental discharge among them.
The solution to the lingering problem in Ebiraland lies with the Anebiras especially the leaders. This is why the uniformed men may be forgiven. True, if our leaders (political, clannish, religious and otherwise, and everyone involved – home and abroad) can come together in an open courtyard in the land to dialogue on the grey areas in which the violence is rooted; tendering apologies to deserving victims; and unanimously submitting duely to one another in the true spirit of forgiveness.
Sheidu Omeiza Paul-Abdul
omeizino@yahoo.com
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Re: Demolition of houses in Ibara estate
ONE Obayemi
Olaoluwa of an
imaginary “Lagos” address in the Nigerian Tribune of Wednesday, April 9, 2008 came out with a wicked propaganda, alleging that the Ogun State Government owned Ibara housing estate is being demolished, purposely to chase civil servants away and later come up with a strategy of selling such houses for N5 million or more to the highest bidders, knowing full well that civil servants cannot afford such an amount of money.
There is no gainsaying the fact that this letter to the editor was an undiluted hatchet job, aimed at painting the dynamic and civil service loving present administration in Ogun State in bad light.
Before addressing the issues raised by Obayemi Olaoluwa, it is necessary to recall that when the Otunba Gbenga Daniel administration was to dualise the 37km Abeokuta – Siun – Sagamu expressway, there were some ancient mud houses along the path to be dualised.These mud houses which can be best described as shanties, had no plans nor certificate of occupancy.
An uncaring government would have just bulldozed such shanties without blinking an eyelid because the inhabitants could have been accused of erecting illegal shanties.
However, for the first time in black Africa , a government came around to instruct its officials that they should build modern beautiful bungalows, well illuminated with toilet facilities for these poor people and relocate them in such houses before demolishing those shanties.
Since then, life has changed tremendously for the better, for these inhabitants.
Is it a government that has this kind of approach that will now go and demolish the residential quarters of its engine room, the civil servants and erect structures to be sold to highest bidders?
The truth is that , this same government under the leadership of Otunba Gbenga Daniel, has successfully built 250 bungalows and allocated it on ownership basis through mortgaging financing of 25years for the civil servants beneficiaries, at a heavily subsidized rate of N950,000 per bungalow.
Another set of 250 bungalows are now under construction at the Laderin Workers Estate, Abeokuta , renamed OGD Housing Estate by the appreciative civil servants in Ogun State.
The target is to build 1,000 units of bungalows for the total ownership of these civil servants in the next two years.
It is a known fact that some public servants who moved out of the demolished houses owned by the State Government have been allocated houses at the Worker’s Estate, Laderin, Abeokuta. The workers are happier and grateful to Otunba Gbenga Daniel who made their dream of becoming landlords a reality.
Arch. E.A. Ayo-Vaughan,
Permanent Secretary,
Ministry of Housing,
Ogun State
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