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Rescue Us From Incessant Attack, Neglected Ondo Communities Cry Out To Akeredolu

Published

5 years ago

November 28, 2020

Editor

By Joe Ebi, Ebijaw

Communities under Ebijaw ward, Odigbo Local Government Area of Ondo State, have called on the state governor, Rotimi Akeredolu, to, as a matter of urgency, deliver them from incessant armed robbery attack by putting in place security personnel in entrances to their area.

This is coming as gunmen numbering about eight reportedly invaded Temewei-Emi Zion and Ebijaw communities at about 10pm of Thursday night and and started shooting sporadically into the air, thereby leading to pandemonium.

The gunmen reportedly carted away valuables from d communities, including cash and injured several persons in the process.

Speaking on behalf of the communities, Mr. Kem Epere Lamene said there is a looming danger in the area if something urgent is not done.

He said it will be a double tragedy for them if, after being abandoned by the government, they still suffer from armed robbery attack in their domain.

Mr. Lamene, who was reacting to the robbery incident said there was urgent need for the Akeredolu-led government in the state to rise up to the challenge of protecting the lives and property of the people in the area, adding that he swore to do so and the people in this area must not be left out.

He lamented that no single security at both the waterways and land entrances to these communities hence armed robbers come at will to carry out their evil operations.

According to him, if not of recent, armed robbery was alien to the area, just as he added that since he has been on the planet earth for over five decades such has not been recorded.

“This armed robbery we have been experiencing of recent is odd in our area. I was born in the area over five decades ago, what we are experiencing of recent has not happened before. If I may ask, what is really happening? What is the cause of these armed robbery in our area? This is really a bizarre!

“I am using this medium to plead to our governor, Mr. Rotimi Akeredolu to rise to the protection of the lives of our people he vowed to protect; no one seems to be safe in the area. We can no longer close our eyes and sleep anymore; everyone is scarred. So, once again, I am calling on the governor to protect our lives which he took oath to protect,” he pleaded.

Mr Lamene, who said that the area has been neglected by previous and present administration in the state, lamented that no single government presence in the area.

He disclosed that political office holders only come to seek for their votes when they are seeking elective position and after that “vanish into the tiny air” without any accessibility to them (politicians).

Mr. Lamene, who further disclosed that Ebijaw ward as whole has no accessible road, electricity, drinkable water, functional healthcare, college, etc, said the only road approved for them by the NDDC as been blocked by some politicians.

“We have no road, no electricity, no drinkable water. Our people drink from the dirty Owena river and stream. We have no hospital. The only road approved for us by the NDDC, some well-connected politicians have denied us. But I know our God will fight for us and give us what belongs to us.

“If I may ask, is it because we are Ijaw people under Odigbo and that is why the government shows no concern for our area? We have a chairman in the council; we have a house of assembly member representing us; we have a house of rep member at the lower chamber; we have a senator, and we have a governor, but unfortunately non of these people show concern about our plights. We are native of the place and not strangers.

“We are neglected, abandoned and forgotten by the government. Governance is alien to us, as there is no single thing from government you can point at in our area. We, as a people, we have been trying our best through community effort, but government must give us governance, and good one for that,” he said.

News

PHOTOS: Esama Of Benin Commissions BRC Ultramodern Lounge, Promises A Phase Lift

Published

5 hours ago

June 29, 2025

Editor

The Esama of Benin Kingdom, Chief Gabriel Igbinedion, has promised to give a phase lift to the Benin Recreation Club (BRC) in the next 12 months.

Chief Igbinedion made the promise in Benin on Saturday when he officially visited the BRC to commission a newly remodeled ultramodern ‘Chief Go.O. Igbinedion Bustop Lounge.’

The Esama, who expressed dissatisfaction on how he met the ancient recreation club, said: “This place needs a drastic improvement. I would, therefore, like the committee to see me, and I promise 12 months from now, this place will wear a new look.”

Chief Igbinedion, however, thanked current and past executives of the club for a job well done, and for sustaining the BRC, saying “many organisations or associations as this have gone into extinction but you have put in your best to keep this going.”

The octogenarian, who thanked the leadership and the board of trustees for the honour done on him through the naming of a lounge, also vowed not to neglect the leadership especially knowing well that he has been a founding member of the BRC.

In his remarks, Special Guest of Honour and Chief Judge of Edo State, Justice Daniel Okungbowa, while describing the BRC as the best place to relax after a stressful day, urged members of the public who are yet to join the BRC to do so.

Earlier in his welcome speech, president of the BRC, Courage Osamuyi said the lounge was named after Chief Igbinedion in recognition of his great support for the club and his contribution to humanity.

Justice Daniel Okungbowa, Chief Judge of Edo State

The BRC president, who declared that the presence of the Esama in the BRC signifies a new dawn, said “what we are having today is just the beginning. As he has stepped into this place, greater things will start to happen.”

Osamuyi, while noting that the Esama “has been a founding member of the club over the years,” thanked Chief Igbinedion for his good work and for honouring them with his presence.

Osamuyi Courage, President of The BRC

News

Peter Obi Condemns Tinubu’s Saint Lucia Trip

Published

8 hours ago

June 28, 2025

Editor

Labour Party leader and former presidential candidate, Peter Obi, has criticised President Bola Tinubu’s planned trip to Saint Lucia, describing it as poorly timed and lacking in sensitivity, especially amid Nigeria’s deepening economic and security challenges.

Tinubu is expected to leave Nigeria on Saturday for Saint Lucia and is also scheduled to attend the upcoming BRICS summit in Brazil.

In a post shared on X (formerly Twitter) on Saturday, Obi expressed dismay over the president’s travel, questioning the state of governance in the country.

Obi argued that Tinubu’s trip highlights a pattern of misplaced priorities by the administration, particularly at a time when citizens are grappling with widespread hunger and insecurity.

“What I have seen and witnessed in the last two years has left me in shock about poor governance delivery and apparent channelling of energy into politics and satisfaction of the elites, while the masses in our midst are languishing in want,” Obi stated.

He lamented the toll of rising insecurity across Nigeria, pointing out the country’s deteriorating safety situation.

“In the past two years, Nigeria has lost more people to all sorts of criminality than a country that is officially at war.

“Without any twilight, Nigeria ranks among the most insecure places in the world. Nigerians are hungrier, and most people do not know where their next meal will come from,” he wrote.

Obi said he was stunned when he learned of the President’s travel plans, especially following what he described as a recent holiday in Lagos.

“With such a gory picture of one’s country, you can imagine my bewilderment when I saw a news release from the Presidency announcing that President Bola Tinubu is departing Nigeria today for a visit to Saint Lucia in the Caribbean,” he said.

Quoting Saint Lucia’s Prime Minister, Philip J. Pierre, Obi noted that the visit comprises both official and personal segments.

“According to the Prime Minister’s announcement, ‘two of these days, June 30 and July 1, will be dedicated to an official visit, with the remainder of the trip set aside as a personal vacation,” he said.

Obi noted that he initially found the report hard to believe.

“I told the person who drew my attention to the Caribbean story that it cannot be true and that the President is just coming back from a holiday in Lagos.

“I didn’t want to believe that anybody in the position of authority, more so the President… would contemplate a leisure trip at this time,” Obi said.

He condemned Tinubu’s failure to visit disaster-stricken areas like Minna in Niger State, where over 200 people reportedly died and hundreds remain missing due to flooding.

“This is a President going for leisure when he couldn’t visit Minna, Niger State where over two hundred lives were lost and over 700 persons still missing in a flood natural disaster,” he said.

Obi also took issue with Tinubu’s recent trip to Benue State, claiming it was politically motivated rather than compassionate.

“The other state in crisis where over two hundred lives were murdered, the President yielded to public pressure and visited Makurdi… for what turned out to be a political jamboree than condolence as public holiday was declared and children made to line up to receive the President who couldn’t even reach the village, the scene of the brutal attack,” he said.

Drawing comparisons between Nigeria and Saint Lucia, Obi questioned the logic of prioritising a visit to the Caribbean nation over addressing pressing domestic issues.

“Makurdi is 937.4 Km², which is over 59% bigger than St Lucia, which is 617 km², and Minna is 6789 square kilometres, which is ten times bigger than St Lucia. St Lucia, with a population of 180,000, is less than half of Makurdi’s 489,839 and Minna, with 532,000 is almost three times the population of St Lucia,” the former Anambra governor said.

He concluded his post by stressing the urgent need for leadership that is grounded in empathy and focused on addressing the suffering of ordinary Nigerians.

He said, “I don’t think the situation in this country today calls for leisure for anybody in a position of authority, more so the President, on whose desk the buck stops.

“This regime has repeatedly shown its insensitivity and lack of passion for the populace…”

Obi added, “This very obvious indifference of the federal government to the suffering of the Nigerian poor should urgently be reversed.

“One had expected the President to be asking God for extra hours in a day for the challenges, but what we see is a concentration of efforts in the 2027 election and on satisfying the wealthy while the mass poor continues to multiply in number.”

News

World Bank Lists Nigeria Among 39 Nations Facing Rising Poverty, Hunger

Published

8 hours ago

June 28, 2025

Editor

The World Bank has listed Nigeria among 39 countries where poverty and hunger are deepening as a result of conflict and instability.

In a report released on Friday, the bank said the economies, a mix of low- and middle-income countries, span all global regions. Among them are Afghanistan, Burkina Faso, Cameroon, Ethiopia, Libya, Mali, Nigeria, Sudan, Ukraine, and Zimbabwe.

The report, which assesses the economic impact of conflict and fragility in the post-COVID-19 era, revealed that 21 of the 39 countries are experiencing active conflict.

According to the findings, extreme poverty is rising more rapidly in these countries, taking a severe toll on economic development, worsening hunger, and derailing progress toward key development goals.

Since 2020, the report noted, the average per capita GDP of these economies has declined by 1.8 per cent annually, in contrast to a 2.9 per cent growth rate recorded in other developing countries.

The report partly reads: “This year, 421 million people are struggling on less than $3 a day in economies afflicted by conflict or instability—more than in the rest of the world combined.

“That number is projected to rise to 435 million, or nearly 60% of the world’s extreme poor, by 2030.”