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20—Vanguard, SATURDAY, NOVEMBER 19, 2022 By Juliet Ebirim 0813 789 7935 Osinbajo thrills, shines light on Afrobeats It was indeed a pleasant experience at the World Tourism Organisation (UNWTO) conference which held in Lagos during the week, as Vice-President Yemi Osinbajo sang and danced to Afrobeats star, Kizz Daniel’s 2022 hit, ‘Buga’. Prof. Osinbajo, who represented President Buhari at the event, spoke on the theme, ‘Linking Tourism, Culture and Creative Industries: Pathways to Recovery and Improving Development’. He noted that cultural genres, including arts, music, crafts, dances, and cultural festivals cut across culture and language. “Music, for example, as we all know, is a global language. Even though people don’t know the meaning of the words of a song, they enjoy the rhythm... you don’t need to understand the words of any song to enjoy it and to be able to sing it. Osinbajo then started singing ‘Buga,’ which drew cheers from the audience. “The phrase ‘buga won’ is a Yoruba expression. It means ‘flaunt your hard-won success, take the fruit of your work. Take the opportunity, show off your successes.’ Don’t sit down there thinking ‘my success is too small.’ Feel it, show it off. Many people all over the world are squaring up their shoulders and saying, ‘It doesn’t matter how hard it seems or looks, I must show off my own success, no matter how little it may seem to others. It may seem to you that it’s small but I’m just going to buga won anyway’” he reiterated. Professor Osinbajo also highlighted popular songs by Nigerian Grammy award winner, Burna Boy and rave of the moment, Asake among others. •Vice president Prof. Yemi Osinbajo Shahida Sanusi blows hot hahida Sanusi, daughter of former SCentral Bank governor and 14th Emir of Kano, Sanusi Lamido Sanusi, has taken a swipe at men who destroy their wives’ self esteem and isolate them from people. The beautiful mother of three stated this on her Instagram story during the week, while commenting on a post about a woman being treated badly by her husband. “Husbands that destroy their wives’ esteem. Keep them down so they can step on them. Subhanallah. May Allah protect us from such monsters. They will isolate you from everyone and make you feel you can’t live without them...Infact they feel they are doing you a favour by staying with you abi?” Radically brilliant and brave, Shahida predicted her father’s dethronement as Emir of Kano, a prediction •Shahida Sanusi which eventually came to pass. Garlands for Folorunsho Alakija illionaire businesswoman and philanthropist, B Apostle Folorunsho Alakija has bagged an honorary doctorate degree from Chrisland University, Abeokuta, Ogun State. She was honoured with a Doctor of Science in Business Administration during the 4th convocation of the university in recognition of her outstanding achievements and contributions to business, entrepreneurship and public service, among others. While receiving the award, Alakija thanked the management for counting her worthy of honour. She praised the university management for positively bringing to life the dream of impacting the education sector from kindergarten to the tertiary level. “I sincerely thank the board of trustees, the governing council and staff of the school for this honorary degree. I will always try my best in whichever way I can to give my support to the development of the university.” she said. •Apostle Folorunsho Alakija Onyibe, Attah, others attend Trump’s daughter’s wedding •Donald Trump and Magnus Onyibe iffany Trump, daughter of former T American President, Donald Trump, tied the knot with her fiance, Michael Boulos at Trump’s private estate, Palm Beach, Mar-a- Lago, Florida, last weekend. Quite a handful of Nigerians were in •Sen. Musiliu Obanikoro's daughter, Abidemi and her beau, Adebayo attendance to honour the newlyweds including Magnus Onyibe, a public policy analyst and columnist. Other Nigerians sighted at the lavish ceremony were Tony Attah, a former MD/CEO of Nigeria Liquified Natural Gas and his wife, Lady Oma; Lagos lawyer and socialite, Jide Coker and his wife Sola, daughter of late auto magnate, Chief Sunny Asemota of Sunny Motors and Omoregie Motors. Music producer, Cobhams Asuquo and clergyman, Pastor Paul Adefarasin and his wife, Ifeanyi. Tiffany and Michael made their romance official in January 2019. The duo met at Lindsay Lohan’s club in Mykonos, Greece, in the summer of 2018. In January 2021, Tiffany announced that she and Michael were engaged. Michael, on his part, was raised in Lagos and is a naturalised Nigerian, though of Lebanese and French descent. He is the son of Massad, the Chief Executive Officer of SCOA Nigeria, and his mother Sarah is the founder of the Society for the Performing Arts in Nigeria. Boulus has been the associate director of SCOA Nigeria since 2016; the director of Fadoul Group since 2019; and the business development manager of Royalton Investment since 2019. Senator Obanikoro’s daughter weds beau Senator Musiliu Obanikoro, the former Minister of State for Defence and his beautiful wife, Alhaja Moroophat Obanikoro, celebrated their daughter, Abidemi’s wedding to Adebayo Falana last week. The colourful event took place at the Monarch Event Centre in Victoria Island, Lagos. The politician spared no cost towards making the wedding memorable. Dignitaries from all walks of life were in attendance. Gbenga Adeyinka was a worthy compere who ensured that guests were treated to ribcracking jokes, while Funke Bucknor of Zapphaire event coordinated the ceremony seamlessly. The beautiful bride Abidemi, is the first daughter of Obanikoro, she holds a Masters degree in Marine and Maritime Law (Shipping Law) from Cardiff University in the United Kingdom.
Bandits now in full force in South West, turn the heat on Lagos - Ibadan expressway By Evelyn Usman Vanguard columnist, Dr Ugoji Egbujo, in his column last Saturday, November 12 2022 wrote: “The Lagos Ibadan corridor is infested with bandits. The menace is growing. In the last week, three or more brazen attacks have occurred. Gunmen jumped out of the bush, attacked and abducted hapless citizens. Mothers and children were among those seized in daylight. That was how the Abuja-Kaduna cancer started like a joke. And before the federal government rose from slumber, our travelling soldiers had started avoiding the route”. The bandits are now in the forests of the South West in their large numbers, kidnapping for ransom, killing and destroying. They have turned the heat on the South West region. Last week, sporadic gunshots from suspected kidnappers who were clad in military camouflage jostled motorists plying the Lagos-Ibadan expressway, leaving many passengers with gun shot wounds. Though that was not the first time motorists along that axis have been attacked, it was the first time such brazen conduct would be made, an indication that validates earlier report of terrorists’ presence in the South West region and Lagos in particular. Days before the attack, precisely on Friday October 28, 2022, same scenario occurred on the same expressway, where some travellers were kidnapped. A policeman lost his life while another was injured during a rescue operation of the abducted travelers. One of the freed passengers, Aminat Taiwo, whose father reportedly paid N3.2 million ransom for her release and her companion, Tobi Orekoya, disclosed that their captors killed others whose relatives could not pay ransom for their release. How it started There have been repeated cases of kidnapping and robbery on this 127.6 kilometre-long Nigeria’s oldest road that was commissioned in 1978. Besides connecting Ibadan, the Oyo State capital and Lagos State, the expressway is also considered as the busiest interstate road and a major connecting route to the northern, southern and eastern parts of the country, as well as one of the largest road networks in Africa. Crime on this expressway started with activities of marauders who vandalised broken down vehicles abandoned by their owners. It later degenerated into full time attack of owners of these vehicles. New dimension A new dimension was however, introduced by herdsmen who come out of the bush at night to kidnap helpless, defenceless and stranded owners of broken down vehicles, at the Long Bridge end of the Lagos-Ibadan expressway, between Ifo and Obafemi Owode local government areas of Ogun State. Herders who live under this sixkilometer bridge, would kidnap stranded victims on the bridge, t a k e them to t h e i r enclaves under the b r i d g e which link the forests, from where they contact victims’ relatives for ransom. Sometime ago when Saturday Vanguard went to the bandits’ enclaves under the bridge in company of security agents we w e r e greeted by offensive stench, apparently f r o m decomposing bodies of victims who died either from injuries inflicted on them by their captors or out of shock and exhaustion from the long walk into the forest. In a bid to achieve their deadly aim, these kidnappers would throw dangerous sharp objects on the Long bridge, especially at night, to puncture vehicles’ tyres. Some motorists who are aware of this trick would keep moving with punctured tyres until they get to safe zones. Unfortunately, others who are unaware of the trick, end up becoming preys when they stop to fix their vehicles. One of their victims was Brigadier General Sylvester Iruh (rtd). He was on his way to Lagos when his vehicle had a burst tyre on the Long bridge on July 7, 2012. He had barely stopped to repair it when some fierce looking and arms wielding marauders launched an attack on him that claimed his life. This happened three years after he retired from the military. On that same day, a commercial motorcyclist had one of his ears chopped off by these herders, in an After much plea, they collected N500,000 and dropped me off at the early hours of the next day on the Long bridge attempt to snatch his motorbike. W h i l e lamenting the impact of his death on his family, the General’s w i d o w appealed to the Federal Government to address the state of insecurity on that axis. Unfortunately, ten years down the lane, one can not boldly declare that her prayers have been answered A cab driver, Ad e Ahmed who also stopped on the bridge on March 5, 2022, to effect repairs on his vehicle shared his ordeal in the hands of these herders. According to him, “I was heading to Berger bus stop with four passengers when my vehicle broke down on the Long bridge. That was before 6am. SATURDAY Vanguard, NOVEMBER 19, 2022—21 Immediately I alighted to check what the problem was, some herdsmen came out from nowhere. One of the passengers managed to escape. In my confused state, I jumped down from the bridge in a bid to escape, only to discover that I landed right in their cave. I was seriously beaten and led to the forest from where they demanded N50 million ransom, threathening to kill me if they did not get the money. “After much plea, they collected N500,000 and dropped me off at the early hours of the next day on the Long bridge”. There was also another case of a kidnapped victim from Warewa community who paid an undisclosed ransom to herders before he was released. While many lived to share their experiences, others never did as they were neither found nor heard of till date. Spreads to Lagos There is at present anxiety in Lagos State owing to the spread of these criminal acts into the metropolitan state. Although it has not been narrowed down to any particular sect, but there have been pockets of kidnap in the Epe area of Lagos. Some of these kidnappers as gathered, have hideouts where they keep victims hostage in Epe, for as long as they get ransom from their relatives. Investigation also revealed that some farmers kidnapped in Ikorodu and other kidnapped victims from different parts of Lagos were kept in their hideouts in Epe. Challenges Bushes on both sides of the Lagos-Ibadan expressway serve as coverings for these kidnappers who pretend to be feeding their cows with the grasses. In a bid to address the incessant attacks on the Long Bridge in particular, authorities released an adjoining dam and filled under the bridge with flowing water. That measure went a long way to discourage herders and other criminal elements from gathering under the bridge. But, for unknown reasons, water stopped flowing under the bridge and they came back in full force, apparently to make up for the period they were starved. Also the long stretch of the expressway is not lit, to assist motorists have clearer vision of the road particularly at night. Besides, the gridlock caused by the lingering ongoing construction work on this expressway has further escalated robbery operations as motorists who are trapped between three to six hours on a spot, are left at the mercy of robbers. Again , Saturday Vanguard observed that there are no constant patrols of this long stretch expressway by security agencies in Lagos, Ogun and Oyo states, especially at night. Investigation revealed that though a joint patrol by the Lagos /Ogun and Ogun/ Oyo Police Commands have been instituted, but their presence is rarely felt even in the day time due to inadequate logistics. The Assistant Inspector -General of Police in-charge of zone 2, AIG Adeleke Adeyinka recently directed the Commissioner of Police in charge of Lagos and Ogun States Commands to ensure constant patrol of the Long bridge as well as adjourning areas indicated as flash points. Army declares war on kidnappers Recently, the Nigerian Army declared war on bandits, militants, kidnappers and criminal acts, with the flag off of Exercise Still Water in Lagos and Ogun states. The Commanding Officer, 81 Division, Major General Ajunwa highlighted objectives of the exercise to include: reducing to the barest minimum the prevailing security threats in riverine environment such as piracy, illegal oil bunkering activities, pipeline vandalism, cultism, militancy, terrorism and other common sundry crimes. According to Dr Egbujo, ”The police say they have beefed up their presence on that route. But the audacity of the kidnappers is challenging. The demons had the guts to repeat the attacks at nearly the exact location three times in a week”. Nigerians , especially those plying the Lagos-Ibadan expressway and those living in communities close to the expressway therefore hope that measures will be put in place to flush out kidnappers and bandits from this route before they enter Lagos State unhindered.
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