Sunday, 30 October 2016

Tales From Near Forgotten Communities, Orile Maroko Cries For Help!

Despite over two-months-and-still-counting electricity supply outage challenge coupled with bad roads and no proper drainage system, some residents of Orile -Maroko community around Lekki Scheme 11 area, near Ajah, Lekki Peninsula axis, Lagos state, are hopeful that someday, their plight will come to an end,  as they observed the monthly sanitation exercise on Saturday, October 29th, 2016. 


According to a resident who preferred to speak with Roving Informant on the grounds of anonymity, electricity supply went off in September, 2016, over a month later, after several calls to complain, visits and statement written  at the EKEDC headquarters in Marina, Lagos by affected residents, the faulty transformer located in front of the Mosque at Moroko Community was removed by some officials from Eko Electricity Distribution Company, (EKEDC) Agungi office. There is howbeit no concrete assurance of when electricity supply is expected to be restored in the community. 


According to the resident: "This issue started right before the last Muslim holiday in early September, we thought it was a minor fault and would be fixed within a couple of days; it's over two months now...as a matter of fact we are in November..that officially makes it three months and we have not seen light from EKEDC. They came and took the transformer from its located near the Mosque two weeks ago, some of the residents paid a visit to the Agungi office but they did not give an assurance of when we are expected to get back Power supply, right now, some of us spend about =N=20,000 per week on fuel for our generators...in this hard times..we dont even  know how much longer we can keep up with this situation. It seems the government do not know people live here. But we have not lost hope, we are appealing to the Lagos state government to consider our plight over here and come to our rescue by providing us with a functioning transformer." He said.

Orile Maroko is one of the communities established by the Lagos State government after the relocation of residents from Maroko, (where Oniru bus-stop and Intercontinental Hotel stood currently) in Victoria Island, Lagos - Nigeria. Since relocationOrile Maroko, has metamorphosed into an urban community with a  growing working class population owned properties and estates. 

Orile Maroko, Moba, Alaguton and other communities around the Lekki Scheme 11 estate, is presently confronted with challenges of: absent, to blocked drainage systems, almost 0% electricity supplies due to constantly damaged transformers, resulting from transformer over-load, bad roads...etc...for its growing population. The Maroko Youth Association for instance, was formed to help meet these developmental needs, despite their efforts, a lot needs to be done from observation. We hereby call on the intervention of the Lagos State Government.
















Friday, 14 October 2016

"Inappropriate Touch" Allegations, Can Trump Survive This Waterloo?

Americans are reacting to an article published recently by New York Times, captioned: "Two Women Say Donald Trump Touched Them Inappropriately", in which two women accused the Republican Party flag bearer of "Touching them forcibly".





Reacting to the accusations, Donald Trump said the accusations are "pure fiction and there are outright lies. these events never ever happened"...

In the report viewed as capable of causing great damage to Trump's presidential ambition, one of the accusers identified as Jessica Leeds stated that Donald Trump has been acting in such manner his entire life. "...He's been this way his entire life, I don't believe he is going to change"...

Lawyers believed to be acting on Donald Trump's behalf wrote New York Times, asking that it remove the story termed as "reckless, defamatory and constitutes libel per se", from its website and issue a full and immediate apology.

A demand the New York Times declined on the grounds that nothing in the said article had the slightest effect on Trump's reputation, which himself, through his own words and actions, has not already created from himself.

NY Times stated in its reply, that they acted in accordance  with the law, by "publishing newsworthy information about a subject of deep public concern"....

NY Times further stated that..."If Mr. Trump disagrees, if he believes that American Citizens had no right to hear what these women had to say and that the law of this country forces us and those who would dare to criticise him to stand silent or be punished, we welcome the opportunity to have a court set him straight".

Commenting on the allegations, United States First Lady, Michelle Obama express disappointment in Trump's conductssaying the accusations shook her to the core "...This was a powerful individual speaking freely and openly about sexual predatory behaviour and actually bragging about kissing women using language so obscene that many of us were worried about our children hearing it when we turn on the t.v. And to make matters worse, it now seems very clearly this isn't an isolated incident....." She said. 




Thai People Embark On 1 Year Mourning Period For Late Monarch!

An official one year mourning period resumed Friday, October 14, 2016, in Thailand, as the people mourn the demise of late King BHUMIBOL ADULYADEJ, affectionately referred to by Thai People as "Father".


The late monarch, whose health was reported to be unstable due to age related ailments for several years, died peacefully on Thursday, October 13, 2016, at about 3:52 local time in a Bangkok hospital. He was aged 88.



Having ascended the throne in 1946 after the death of his brother. King BHUMIBOL ADULYADEJ reigned for 70 years,  which made him the longest reigning Monarch. 




Crown Prince Maha Vajiralongkorn has been named as successor, but said he wants to be able to mourn with his people before making announcement for succeeding his father.



Nigerian Government Debunks "Swap" Rumour In The Release Of 21 Chibok Girls!

Against widespread speculations that there was a 'swap' of Boko haram prisoners for the release of 21 Chibok school girls, Nigeria's Vice President, Yemi Osinbajo said there was no swap of any kind in securing the release of the kidnapped secondary school girls.


Addressing newsmen after receiving the girls in Abuja, Osinbajo said: "There's no exchange of any kind, certainly there was no swap of any kind. The truth of the matter, of course I should know, even when we started negotiations, we had said that we are ready to consider what ever options there were. but I believe that very fortunately, God truly helped us in the negotiations". 




In what is believed to be a mass release since the kidnap of over 200 girls and women from Chibok, Borno state, north-eastern Nigeria, in April, 2014, 21 girls, including a baby delivered by one of the girls, were released to the Nigerian authorities on Thursday,  October 13th 2016.  The released girls after medical check up, met with Nigeria's Vice President in Abuja, Nigeria's capital city.





About 197 girls are still believed to be in Boko-Haram's captivity. It was gathered that the terrorist group earlier offered a swap of some of its commanders  held in Nigerian prisons for the release of the kidnapped girls.

Tuesday, 11 October 2016

Ghana's NPP Launches "Agenda For Change" Manifesto!

One of Ghana's Political Parties, in the on-going campaign towards December 7th, 2016, general elections, the New Patriotic Party (NPP) officially launched its manifesto recently in Accra.


Citing Ghana's major challenges, while revealing the party's manifesto tagged: "Agenda for Change: Jobs, Prosperity and Securing the Peace"NPP's Presidential flag-bearer, Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo, stated that his agenda is focused on creating "an optimistic, self-confident and prosperous nation with a strong and thriving democratic society in which mutual trust and economic opportunities exist for all, irrespective of their background".




The event which held at the International Trade Fair, Accra, Ghana's capital city on Sunday, October 9th, 2016, saw a large turn-out of party members.

AFWK Held In Accra, Ghana!

The need to create an operating infrastructure, for cultural activities across Africa's burgeoning Fashion Industry, was the thrust of the just concluded Accra Fashion Week 2016, AFWK2016, held between 5th - 9th October, 2016, at the International Trade Fair Complex, Accra, Ghana. 

Roving Informant was there, and brought you pictures.

Pictures of some of AFWK exhibitors below:

 











The event, witnessed a large turnout of exhibitors and goods, ranging from: clothes, bags, shoes, herbal body soaps and moisturizers, virgin hair  treatment products, head ties. Majority of the products were produce in Ghana, Ethiopia, Nigeria, Sierra Leone, South Africa, Cote d'Ivoire, Cameroon and Zambia.

More Pictures Below:






Monday, 3 October 2016

Imported Pounded Yam Flour In Nigeria, A Mockery Of Nigeria's Economic Growth!

Imported Pounded Yam flour pictured below. Like most traditional Nigerian food, possibly raw yam flour was exported to the United states of America from Nigeria, where it was refined, packaged and re-imported for sales.

 

Situations as this makes it almost impossible for the already overly depreciated =N= currency to gain any significance in the international market. 

At 56, Nigeria has gotten to an age where technologies for 'refining' raw yam flour for instance, and every other traditional food processing as the case may be, needs be introduced, the yam flour and other products manufactured in the country and exported instead to generate international revenue for the country through exchange transactions. This will aid straighten the economy.