THREE MUSKETEERS TACKLING NIGERIA'S LEADING TRIPARTITE CHALLENGES OF HOUSING, INSECURITY, TRANSPORTATION
As the economy continues to bite harder,
Nigeria with an estimated population of 200 million people and about 30 per cent of the entire population still grappling with the need to get quality shelter and affordable houses, there is a burning need for proactive steps to stem the housing deficits if we are serious about making any serious development as a nation.
One key issue affecting housing delivery in Nigeria is that the level of housing shortage has not been adequately presented. This is a result of inadequate and inappropriate statistics and data by the managers of housing in Nigeria. However, there have been attempts to estimate the magnitude of the housing shortage in Nigeria.
The National Housing Policy specified in detail that to achieve the goal of providing 15 million housing units by the year 2022, 1.2 Million Housing Units would have to be built each year; which is the number necessary to compensate for the housing shortage in the country.
Although the exact reasons for the housing shortage vary across the country, the main problem in Nigeria is the low income of residents. The incidence and growth of these problems seem to outpace the capacity of the government to take them on, requiring massive private investments.
Tackling the housing deficit frontally as a private investor is Aare Adetola Emmanuel-King, GMD/CEO, of Adron Homes and Properties, who is working assiduously to fulfill the mandate his organisation in providing affordable housing for millions of Nigerians.
According to promotional programmes announced by the company, they are out to slash the prices of all its estates across the country by 50 percent to encourage Nigerians to own their homes regardless of income.
The discount is in line with the company’s dedication to continuously give customers opportunities to be homeowners through discounts, royalty rewards and friendly payment plans.
Customers would enjoy up to 40 per cent and 50 per cent happy hour discount on all estates in Ikorodu, Epe, Ijebu ode, Ede, Ibadan, kajola, Atan-Ota, Ibeju Lekki, Badagry, Ijebu Ode, Shimawa, Abeokuta, Osun, Abuja, Nasarawa and Keffi.
It is no doubt that Adron is the foremost and widely spread real estate company in Nigeria and that’s why they are constantly rolling out different offers to allow every Nigerian own a house with ease without breaking their income expenditure budget.
Customers can also pay as low as N25,000 initial deposit and enjoy up to 36 months payment plan on all properties. This means you could make payment at your pace and within your budget because at Adron Homes, for every budget; there is a piece of land for you in all their estates.
Adron encourages Nigerians to begin their journey to becoming a property owner and smile at what their income will fetch them in their our estates.
INSECURITY ISSUES
The issue of insecurity in Nigeria has become something of grave concern to all well-meaning citizens, most of whom continue to wonder how the country arrived at such a dastardly situation where no one is safe.
Worse still, rather than abate, the problem is escalating and now totally out of control. Insecurity in Nigeria is a recurring phenomenon that threatens the well-being of its citizens.
The south-west of Nigeria is plagued by a surge in cybercrime, armed robbery, kidnapping, domestic crime, extrajudicial killings, herder-farmer conflicts, ritual killings, and banditry.
The south-east is a haven for ritual killings, commercial crime, secessionist agitation, kidnapping, herder-farmer clashes, attacks by unknown gunmen, and banditry.
The south-south remains threatened by militancy, kidnapping, and environmental agitation.
The north-east has been subject to a humanitarian crisis lasting over a decade and caused by the Boko Haram insurgency and the Islamic State in West Africa Province.
Meanwhile, the north-west is enmeshed in illegal mining, ethno-religious killings, and banditry.
insecurity in Nigeria which claimed thousands of lives and caused extensive carnage has become a major issue of political debate that is used as a litmus test for presidential candidates to ascertain their innate capacity to provide quality leadership for Nigeria.
Until Nigeria does something definitive about the many criminals combing its cities, countryside and turning communities inside out, Nigerians can never know anything closely resembling the good life.
Mogaji Ibrahim Aramide Olaniyan, National Chairman, Police Community Relationship Committee, PCRC stated that one of the most effective way of tackling insecurity is to embrace some of the non conventional means which the PCRC represents in addition to the conventional ones which is certain to accentuate the impact of the Nigerian police, leading to the scaling down of the negative reports on insecurity.
He further stated, that the primary responsibility of PCRC is to provide support and assistance to the Police and other security agencies to help in prevention, prosecution and fight against crime at all levels.
Mogaji Ibrahim Aramide Olaniyan's active participation and selfless contributions to the program and activities of Police Community Relations Committee (PCRC) Ogun State was the beginning of his rise, not just as a member but an executive who rose through the ranks to the position of State Chairman, after serving as the State PRO for good 14 years at a time when social media was not in vogue.
On the expiration of his tenure as Chairman Ogun State PCRC, Alhaji Olaniyan was overwhelmingly voted at FCT Abuja as National Vice Chairman in charge of Southwest Geopolitical Zone during an election organized by the PCRC national electoral committee in November 2018. He occupied the position brilliantly which attracted the donation of vehicle by the Southwest PCRC Grand Patron and GMD Adron Homes, Aare Oba Adetola Emmanuel King.
His tremendous moves and membership drive earned him National Appointment as the Chairman, National Capacity Building Committee (NCBC) of the PCRC as well as National Consultant on Youth and Women Committees. He has since organized and coordinated highly successful capacity building (CB) workshops across zones with support from members of his committee who are spread all over the country. The huge impact of the CB workshops was repeatedly emphasized by the immediate past National Chairman of PCRC, Ambassador Dr Farouk Maiyama (Yariman Jega) PhD.
On November 29th 2022 , Alhaji Mogaji Ibrahim Aramide Olaniyan won the race to succeed the highly successful Ambassador Dr Farouk Maiyama (Yariman Jega) PhD as the National Chairman of PCRC at the Goodluck Jonathan Peace Keeping Hall Force Headquarters FCT Abuja.
Mogaji was honoured with uncountable number of Awards, top of which is an International Award of Recognition for Community Security Service he received alongside a former Commissioner of Police in Ogun State, AIG Ahmed Iliyasu Rtd., courtesy the People and Government of Federal Republic of Gambia. He is a holder of numerous chieftaincy titles on the social and religious circles.
Mogaji Olaniyan is a true Philantropist with proven impacts on children, widows, the aged, physically challenged and youths from numerous background. He is happily married and blessed with children who are doing well religiously and academically home and abroad.
POOR TRANSPORTATION SYSTEM
The transportation sector of any economy is always its backbone. This is the network that connects every part of a country together, it connects homes to religious gatherings, connects farms to markets and even connects students’ accommodation to schools.
Public transport is a critical means by which citizens can effectively access goods and services across the expanse of today’s cities. Hiccup free roads with the wind in your hair and your car never hitting a road bump are certainly everyone’s delight.
Unfortunately, Nigeria as a country is still far from world’s best practices and all it takes to be there are essentially dependent on many parameters which are of national importance.
The accumulation of each government’s input has given the transport sector a fair look compared to what it was several years ago. The teeming population has also raised the need for a standard transport system more than ever.
The use of Motorcycles for public transportation started in Nigeria in the 1970’s in about 5 States, before spreading to Lagos and other States in the 1980s.
Prince Adebayo Shamsudeen Apelogun, National President of the Amalgamated Commercial Motorcycle and Tricycle Owners, Repairers and Riders Association of Nigeria (ACOMORAN), explained that the use and patronage of motorcycles and later, Tricycles as means of public transportation emanated and escalated mainly because of the economic downturn in the Country caused by the effects of the Structural Adjustment Programme (SAP) of the Military regime as well as the increasing rate of unemployment, urbanization, and more importantly, the inadequate intra-city public transportation.
Apelogun advocated that rather than ban Okada as proposed by the government, it should introduce the proper registration of the riders to generate a reliable data base, regular training and uncompromised enforcements will be more effective in solving the problems identified without worsening the unemployment, underemployment, insecurity and safety crises.
In collaboration with the Association of Motorcycle and Tricycle Riders, the Government can create a special registration number for all Riders with codes that can be easily verified through the Mobile phone Service provider.
The same registration number will become the Registration number to be displayed as the Plate Number at the front, back and sides of the Motorcycles and Tricycles. The same registration number will be at the front and back of the Khaki Apron to be won compulsorily by all who are commercial riders.
Commuters see motorcycles and tricycles as a relief to their transportation problems, while motorcycle and tricycle riders see their adventure as a source of livelihood.
Since Apelogun came on board, ACOMORAN has maintained a mutual and symbiotic relationship with its supervising ministry, that is, the Ministry of Transportation. The National President has religiously ensured that the Minister of Transportation and other management staff are carried along with the activities of the union in order to further foster collaboration. This is evident in the timely and regular exchange of ideas and brainstorming on areas of interest with a view to building the transport sector and improving the union.
Apelogun, who is well known to many as “All Rounder” given the thick and thin he has been through in the days of core and the capacity to rise to prominence in the union, is believed to have a magic finger with a calm and gentle mien of achieving any set goal. Without delay, he put the machinery in motion to ensure he doesn’t disappoint his teeming supporters and well-wishers by commencing a nationwide consultation across the 36 states to find ways out of the woods for the union.
Before came into office as the the notion of an average Nigerian transport union was that of a body of touts and dangerous elements. Little wonder, these elements were allegedly used in some states to perpetuate crimes such that some Governors had to proscribe them in order to give peace a chance. Hence, it was usually a no-go area for anyone from a noble background.
Having proven his mettle as the Chairman of the Ogun State Chapter of the ACOMORAN and South-West region of the country with a depth of excellent leadership, Alhaji Prince Apelogun, without stress won the trust of the majority of the members of the union who elected him into the Number One office to steer the ship of the union at the national level in 2019. The members have a firm assurance that he would replicate the feats he brought to the fore in his home state without leaving any stone unturned.
As a leader who displays confidence in the saying that, 'a nation does not make a forest,' the Sagamu-born Prince, has in the last three years run an all-inclusive administration of ACOMORAN without any form of segregation. The present leadership of the union has been able to achieve a peaceful and harmonious relationship among members across the federation.
It is on record that under this dispensation in the ACOMORAN, all the 36 state chapters, including the Federal Capital Territory, are functioning effectively without any scores to settle with their respective state governments. This is due to the dynamic leadership of the man at the helm of the affairs of the union. Under the watch of Alhaji Apelogun, the union successfully conducted elections in Ogun, Oyo, and Osun states and successfully put new leaders in place.
It is on record that there had never been a time in the history of ACOMORAN before now that the union had a better relationship with relevant government agencies such as this. The Apelogun-led administration has been able to move ACOMORAN closer to government agencies in a way that has placed the entire union at a vantage point.
One of the selling points of ACOMORAN as a union is the manner it instills the tenet of the loyalty to the government of the day both at the Federal and State levels in its members. This principle has helped to promote a harmonious relationship between ACOMORAN and government without giving room for rancour and unnecessary tussle. Incidentally, wherever the union's National President goes, he reiterates the fact that his members are peace-loving, law-abiding, and ever-ready to support the government of the day.
In the words of Alhaji Apelogun to the members across the country, "we are likely to disagree with some government policies but it is better to explore non-violent mechanisms to express our grievances. It is better to jaw jaw that to war war." This fatherly counsel is enough to quell any tendency to go hay wire especially when the man at the helm of affairs is living by example.
The present leadership of the union has ensured that its over 25 million members are not left to wink in the dark during the time of challenge. This is obvious in the manner the Prince Apelogun-led executive came to the rescue of its members during the COVID-19 lockdown in the country. At first, the leadership encouraged all members to comply with the sit-at-home directives of the government despite the fact that ACOMORAN is populated by low-income earners who survive on daily income.
To ensure the effectiveness of this order while it lasted, Apelogun led exco consistently provided them with palliatives to cushion the effect of the lockdown. As responsible leadership, the union provided its members across the nation with face masks, alcohol-based hand sanitizers, and bought several infrared thermometers for testing body temperature. Also, the union went ahead to collaborate with law enforcement agencies in the area of enforcement, considering the fact that the major problem in Nigeria is not law-making but the enforcement of laws.
At the same time, Prince Apelogun has not shirked from playing the role of a father and arbiter for the entire ACOMORAN as a large union by making cases in high places for things that will make their activities to go on smoothly at all levels. This approach has in no small measure, shown a selfless leadership style devoid of personal interest.
The introduction of ACORIDE for Abuja residents has given a new lease of life to all and sundry who patronise the riders. This initiative is aimed at changing the face of commercial motorcycles and tricycle business in the Federal Capital Territory with a creative way of phasing out old motorcycles and tricycles from the road by giving loans to members to procure new ones that will put them in a good light.
The ACORIDE initiative would be replicated across the states of the federation in no distant time, especially with the various commendations that have greeted the pilot scheme. It is obvious that the introduction of online payment and booking systems ahead of time has proven to eliminate disappointment and lateness to a pickup point on the part of the rider. This, no doubt, is a plus to the leadership of the union, which portrays inter alia, that "when there is a will, there is a way."
Of truth, commercial motorcycles and tricycle unions rank among the front-liners in revenue generation in some states as well as one of the highest employers of labour in Nigeria considering the over 12 million membership strength. Hence, the importance of the impactful standardisation of the union which Prince Apelogun has embarked upon in the last two years.
Without doubt, in the past, the need for reorientation of motorcycle and tricycle riders stared us in the face as a people, but the Apelogun-led executive has matched its words with action by heavily investing time and resources in the training and retraining of members and changing their perspective on life and business. This move has not just made the riders embrace modesty, but it has tremendously improved their interpersonal relationships and reduced overspeeding as well as road crashes. Invariably, Apelogun has succeeded in outrightly rebranding the business of commercial motorcycling and tricycling away from what it used to be.
However, the efforts of the present leadership of ACOMORAN have changed public perception about commercial motorcycle and tricycle operators.
In Nigeria today, Alhaji Adebayo Shamsudeen Apelogun is without doubt writing his name in gold with his sterling leadership qualities through which he is driving the affairs of ACOMORAN for greater opportunities across the country and beyond the shores of Nigeria. And it would not be out of place to say that a model for other transport unions in the country is here!
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