Category: Featured

In a tragic auto accident that occurred on Friday in Ogbomoso, Oyo State, four persons have reportedly lost their lives.

The Oyo State’s Federal Road Safety Corps (FRSC) Commander, Rosemary Alo confirmed the incident and disclosed, it happened along Ogbomoso – Orile Igbon at Emaayo Filling Station.

Apart from the deaths recorded,
three others sustained injuries in that accident.

The story of the incident.

The accident involved two trailers without registration numbers around 11pm. Alo tied the the cause of the accident as mechanical fault and loss of control.

Adding that an articulated vehicle carrying chemicals was attempting to navigate a problematic area around the seminary.

She claimed that 10 people including four males that died and three injured were involved in the accident while three others were unharmed.

The Commander, however, appealed to drivers to be cautioned against poor maintenance of their vehicles and night journey.

The bodies of the deceased were taken to Ebunoluwa Hospital, Ogbomoso where they were released to their families for burial, while the injured individuals were taken to the hospital for treatment. She said.

It would be recalled that the new Ibadan-Oyo-Ogbomosho-Ilorin Expressway had been under construction since 2001.

Ogun State Governor, Prince Dapo Abiodun, has said that the issue of Almajiri and out-of-school children is a national challenge that needs to be addressed before it gets out of control.

Abiodun stated this on Thursday when he received members of the National Commission for Almajiri and Out-of-School Children’s Education, who paid him a courtesy call in his office at Oke-Mosan, Abeokuta.

The governor described the issue of Almajiri and out-of-school children in the country as a volcano waiting to erupt.

According to Governor Abiodun, the high number of out-of-school children calls for concern, as they could easily be manipulated to cause havoc in the country.

He said: “The issue of Almajiri is a national challenge. It is not a challenge for a section of this country, but a national challenge. The National Security Adviser and I sat down to discuss this issue, and we deliberated on what actionable steps can be taken that are implementable, breaking them down into immediate, medium to long-term, and sustainable steps to ensure that we collectively deal with the issue, which I described as a volcanic eruption that we can’t see now, that appears dormant, but is very viable.

“The last time we had protests, we saw an unusually high number of protests, significantly from the north. When you look at those protesters, they were Almajiri children. It was obvious that they didn’t have a clue about what they were doing. Some of them were carrying Russian flags, which means that they didn’t understand what that means. They were tools in the hands of manipulators, willing and ready tools in the hands of manipulators who probably gave them a meal or something meager, and they were ready to go for it.

“This is a very sad development in the history of this nation, and this is a result of years of neglect of the situation. My position is that we can successfully tackle it. This will be one of President Bola Tinubu’s best legacies. It will be an enduring legacy, and I know that the President, under his Renewed Hope vision, is very passionate about ensuring that he reduces the number of Almajiri and out-of-school children to an absolute minimum.

“I assure you that, as the governor of Ogun State and the Chairman of the Southern Governors’ Forum (SGF), we will do our best to address this issue, even though we have a lower number of out-of-school children in the south.”

He attributed the high number of out-of-school children in the state to a large student population due to the influx of people from other parts of the country coming to work or live in the state, adding that his administration is taking steps to address the situation.

“When you look at statistics, it shows that Ogun State has an unusually high percentage of out-of-school children in the southwest. In the primary sector, it shows 10.3 percent, compared to the southwest region’s 6.2 percent. In junior secondary school, we have 12.1 percent, compared to 8.5 percent in the southwest average. In senior secondary, we have 20.9 percent, compared to 19.2 percent average in the southwest.

“But you know, statistics at times can be misleading, so when you look at the number of students we have in Ogun State compared to the number of students in, for example, a state like Ekiti, and you see Ekiti showing a lower number of out-of-school children, you can begin to understand why ours is high because we have by far more students than some of these states combined.

“That itself is not an excuse, but it is something to ensure that we deliberately begin to work in order to reduce this to the barest minimum. That means we are also interested parties in view of what we are going through in our state,” he submitted.

He said his administration would provide the Commission with office accommodation as well as provide a focal person to liaise with its officials to meet the objective of addressing the out-of-school children menace.

The governor said that as the Chairman of SGF, he would liaise with his colleagues to replicate similar commission in their various states.

Speaking earlier, the Chairman of the House of Representatives Committee on Alternative Education, Hon. Almustapha Rabah, said Nigeria has the highest number of out-of-school children after Pakistan and India, urging all hands to be on deck to address the issue.

Also speaking, the Executive Secretary of the Commission, Dr. Muhammad Idris, disclosed that Nigeria has about 30 million Almajiri roaming the streets as a result of the irresponsibility of their parents.

He said the Almajiri, apart from constituting a nuisance, are manipulated and recruited into banditry, while some are made to join terrorist gangs, thus posing a security challenge to the nation.

He called for the cooperation of the southern governors to address the issue, as no part of the country is safe when the future of the children is not guaranteed.

Motorists plying the busy Lagos-Sagamu-Ijebu-Ode road would soon heave a sigh of relief as palliative work will begin on the failed portions of the road next week Monday.

The palliative work on the road is expected to be completed in the second week of December this year as Ogun State Governor, Dapo Abiodun commended Presodent Bola Tinubu for swift response.

Speaking after inspecting the failed portion of the road in Sagamu, Minister of Works, Mr. Dave Dr. Umahi lamented the deplorable condition of the road, which has caused untold hardship to motorists.

He stated that he came to inspect the road and see what immediate measures could be put in place to bring relief, assuring that the federal government would fix it before the end of the year.

The Minister, who was conducted around the failed portions by the Ogun State Governor, Prince Dapo Abiodun, said: “I am not here on my own; I am directed by Mr. President, sequel to our meeting with him, that I should come and do all that is necessary on this road so that the suffering of our people can come to an end.

“The governor has shown me the terrible three spots. Governance is all about the people, and that is what Mr. President is committed to doing. For this one, I’m here with the Lagos and Ogun Controllers of Works. We have constituted an action committee to liaise with your own team, the Commissioner for Works, Environment, and Transport.

“In an emergency situation like this, we have to look around for a competent contractor, and not only a competent contractor; we have to also look for a contractor who is close to the location where we want to intervene, and luckily for us, we have seen Hitech.

“We have procured the palliatives for the two carriageways, 60 km by 2, which totals 120 kilometers, and I want to assure you that by the directive of the President, latest by Monday, you will see action.

“It is my pleasure to direct that immediate palliative measures for the entire 120 kilometers on the Sagamu-Ijebu-Ode, Ore-Benin road be completed not later than the middle of December.

“We are also going to install solar lights throughout the entire 120 kilometers, and we are going to push everything to ensure that by the 15th of December, 2024, Governor Dapo Abiodun will come and commission the road on behalf of President Bola Ahmed Tinubu.”

Speaking earlier, Governor Abiodun narrated the numerous complaints he received from motorists about the deplorable condition of the road and the efforts of his administration to carry out palliative measures to make the road motorable.

Abiodun, who commended President Tinubu for being a listening leader who cares about the welfare of his people, also commended the Minister of Works for taking his assignment with a high sense of responsibility.

He assured the people that with the flag-off of the rehabilitation work by the Minister, the people of the 17 southern states and indeed all Nigerians would begin to enjoy a smooth ride on the road within the shortest time.

A 30-year-old man, Motunrayo Olaniyi, has allegedly stabbed his newlywed wife, Olajumoke, to death at Amazing Grace Estate, Elepe in the Ikorodu area of Lagos State.

The incident was said to have occurred on Friday after a heated argument between the couple.

The Lagos State Police Command, while confirming the incident in a statement by its spokesperson, Benjamin Hundeyin, on Saturday stated that Motunrayo stabbed the 25-year-old wife multiple times during the altercation, locked her in the room, and set it on fire.

He added that the suspect also inflicted wounds on himself after committing the act.

A team of policemen who arrived at the scene were however said to have extinguished the fire and after that discovered Olajumoke’s lifeless body with abdominal wounds.

The statement read in part, “A distress call was received on October 4 at Ikorodu Division that a newly wedded couple, one Motunrayo Olaniyi, aged 30, and his wife Olajumoke, aged 25 years, allegedly engaged in a domestic scuffle in their room at Amazing Grace Estate, Elepe, Ikorodu.

“In the process, the husband reportedly stabbed the wife to death, locked her in the room, and set it ablaze, while he inflicted wounds on himself.

“Police from the Ikorodu Division responded to a distress call and put out the fire. They found Olajumoke’s lifeless body with abdominal wounds.”

The police spokesperson further stated that Olaniyi was rescued and rushed to a nearby hospital where he was treated and discharged before being taken into police custody.

According to him, a preliminary investigation later revealed that the suspect stabbed his wife during the altercation and inflicted minor wounds on himself.

“The corpse has been deposited at Ikorodu General Hospital morgue for autopsy. Investigation is in progress”, he concluded.