500 in jail over child abuse , says NAPTIP

A disclosure came at the weekend from the National Agency for the Prohibition of Traffic in Persons and Other Related Matters (NAPTIP) that over 500 people have so far been sent to jail for child abuse and human trafficking across the  country.
  Speaking at the launching of Harmony Life Family magazine in Lagos, NAPTIP Head, Public Enlightenment Unit, Lagos Zone, Mrs. Kehinde Akomolafe said that those sent to jail were found guilty following prosecution on laws governing acts that constitute child abuse.
   Akomolafe said “Child abuse includes all types of abuse and neglect of a child under the age of 18 by a parent, caregiver, or another person in a custodial role, ” and can take several forms including physical, sexual, psychological, and neglect of a concerned child.
  She called on parents and guardians to focus on the wellbeing of their children and be integrated into all aspects of child welfare services, pointing out that the agency, which is responsible for prosecution of human trafficking offenders and rescue as well as help rehabilitate victims have been carrying out an enlightenment programme to help curb this.
  “We have been carrying out enlightenment programme as one major way to create awareness of curbing this deadly menace. We have been organising programmes for sometime now where we involved some schools in carrying out campaigns against child abuse as well as National Youth Service Corps members and other institutions related to human trafficking were in attendance,” she said.
  Linking the phenomena to poverty, greed, ignorance breakdown of family values and traditions, she blamed parents for being unnecessarily greedy in making use of their children to get wealth through inappropriate ways, calling their attention to the Child Rights Act.
  “The Editor-in-Chief of the magazine, Mrs. Mercy Ighofose said, Harmony Magazine is devoted to families for physically and morally growth by bringing positive changes and development to our society. It also features interviews with notable models of our society, thereby setting a platform for family discussions.
  According to her, the aim is to “correct the eroding values of the society from the family circle and also to empower and create distinctive solutions on issue affecting African families.”

The Proprietor, Westminster College, Lagos, Chief J.M. Barovbe (left); Group Operations Manager, Cool, Wazobia Nig. Info FM, Onimisi Adaba;  Dr. Taiwo Idemudia; Editor-In-Chief, Harmony Life Family Magazine, Mercy Arigo Ighofose; Chairman of the event, J.J. Akpieyi; former DMD of Shell Petroleum, Godwin Omene and MD/CEO, ARCO Petrochemical Nigeria Ltd, Alfred Okoigun, at the Harmony Life Family Magazine seminar on child abuse at Nigerian Institute of International affairs, Victoria Island at the weekend.
PHOTO: ADENIYI IDOWU ADUNOLA.

By Adeniyi Idowu Adunola and Tolulope Okunlola

Group wants states to domesticate child-rights

EXCEPT the Child Rights Act is domesticated in the states, its passage by the National Assembly would not adequately protect Nigerian children from abuses like child labour, defilement, and witchcraft accusations, among others, the non-governmental Child’s Rights Advancement and Protection Initiatives (CRAPI) said yesterday.
   To that end, it urged state governments to adopt it in order to protect children’s rights. Founder of the body, Mrs. Ozioma Onyenweaku, who made the call in Lagos during an event to mark the 2013 Child Rights Day, disclosed that the Act was enacted in Nigeria in 2003 to regulate and protect the rights of children.
   With the theme of this edition as, “Stop Violence Against Children,” Onyenweaku said: “We have to act collectively to see that the Child Rights Act is not only enacted in all the states, but that it is strictly enforced.”
   According to her, the present challenges followed the failure of the National Assembly to get inputs from the state assemblies before it became law.
   She noted: “If the Houses of Assembly had approved it by two-third majority, this law would have become applicable across the country. Only 24 of the country’s 36 states have domesticated the Act.”



By Adeniyi Idowu Adunola

Don’t ask for whom the bell tolls…

Death lurks on Oshodi-Apapa Expressway service lane

This is so near the offices of the new power distribution office between Five-Star Bus Stop and Iyana-Isolo, yet so far away no one has seen it.
It is on a busy service lane along a major artery-Oshodi-Apapa Expressway, yet neither the Lagos State  Infrastructure Maintenance and Regulatory Agency, Mushin Local Council, nor any other responsible agency, has cared to take simple, necessary action of removing the death-trap days after the twin electric poles fell, partly blocking the road.
 Several cars and trucks have crashed into it and more may still do so.
This is death on the prowl.
Don’t ask for whom the bell tolls…
It tolls for ….

Lagos to leverage on submarine cables for metro broadband network

THE Lagos State government has unfolded plans to leverage on the six submarine fibre cables that have berthed on the shores for improved Internet services.
  Indeed, submarine cables that have landed on the shores of the state include those of MainOne; Glo 1; WACS; SAT3 among others.
  Addressing journalists in Lagos at the weekend, Lagos State Commissioner for Science and Technology, Adebiyi Mabadeje said cables would not only accelerate Internet services, but also ensure that the state moves with global development.
  Mabadeje said the state also plans to provide its own private cloud through partnership with Dimension Data, stressing that when the project is completed, it will help Lagos to optimize its resources, eliminate idle capacity and save cost.
  The commissioner informed that the recent Memorandum of Understanding signed between the state government and Microsoft will apart from strengthening e-governance and facilitating serving the citizens better, also ensure that the company would be working with its local partners to give back to the people through capacity building and training of indigenous manpower.
  A commitment, he disclosed, was secured under the MOU to train 100 Microsoft certified applications support personnel, who will not only assist the Lagos State government, but other states in Nigeria.
  The e-governance platform, he said, will deliver services to Lagosians using smart phones and mobile devices while enabling government functionaries to monitor on-going projects and the performance of ministries, Departments and Agencies (MDAs).
   The MOU, he went further, is centred around four cardinal programmes which are; implementation of a citizenship management platform, leveraging on the existing call centre infrastructure, provision of IT skill development and affordable mobile services, arising from a partnership under the Microsoft Africa Initiatives centred on entrepreneur support.
   Mabadeje also informed that the Lagos State Residents Registration Agency (LASRRA) has a different mandate from other identity registration exercise going on in Nigeria.
   According to him, unlike others which discriminate on the basis of age, nationality and other sundry issues, LASRRA registers only residents and ‘not even indigenes’ living outside Lagos’’.
   He said that since the state could not attest to the integrity of the process and the past controversies bedeviling the competing identity registration exercises, the LASRRA exercise, which is of ‘’FBI standard’’ became necessary in order to develop a reliable data that would assist in predicting trends and assisting the state government in planning for the populace.
   The Commissioner assured that the movement of the Ikeja Computer Village to a new 15-hectare site in Gotankowa, a Lagos surburb, was being addressed by a committee, which will take care of all the concerns of stakeholders who should look forward to a conducive environment for an Internet city.
   He dispelled the fears of those who alleged that the Federal and State governments were playing politics with the deployment of about 1,000 Close Circuit Television monitoring devices in Lagos.
   He said: “I have personally seen the CCTV cameras working and it is already up and running, adding it is a safety and security matter, it cannot be unveiled for public knowledge.’’
    Mabadeje also said that apart from the on-going computerisation in schools now stepped up with the imminent Computer-Based Testing, students in the state have continually been encouraged to adopt science at an early age with programmes like LASTECH and the Science Camp which hosted 300 students for one week in Epe in August 2013 as against 60 hosted for three days last year.



By Adeniyi Idowu Adunola

Ohakwe preaches unity as Imo indigenes mark day in Lagos

Ohakwe receiving kola nut from community woman

IMO State indigenes living in Lagos at the weekend marked Imo Day and Cultural Carnival, an event that brought together sons and daughters of the state.
   Speaking at the event, president of Imo State Towns Development Association (ISTDAL), Mazi Tony Ohakwe, explained the theme of the event, which was “Unity is Strength.”
   According to him, “unity refers to the condition or state of being one.” He likened unity to a bundle of broom, which is better than a single broomstick.
   “We cannot break a bundle of broom except they are separated, but you can easily break a stick of broom. Nothing can be achieved without unity. Unity is necessary for the survival of all. Unity not only leads to the prosperity of a person but also to the prosperity of a nation.”
   He urged all Imo indigenes to remain united, saying: “Let’s stay in unity. If we are united, none can destroy us. Unity can destroy terrorism.”
  Dignitaries at the event included the former Minister of Interior, Emmanuel Ihenacho, who was honoured as the Life Patron of FESTAC; A.E Anozie, who was awarded the Pillar of ISTDAL and many other top functionaries of Imo origin.
   There were cultural dances, masquerade dances, among others at the event. 


By Adeniyi Idowu Adunola