PHOTO: Farmlandgrab.org

An 88-year-old widow, Mrs. Veronica Asuquo and some farmers in Akamkpa and Biase local Government Areas of Cross River State are alleging land grabbing and farm destruction by Wilmar International.

But Wilmar in a reaction, said there is no element of land grabbing or destruction of farmland through its farming activities in host communities of Akamkpa and Biase.

Speaking to newsmen in Akamkpa after a tour of the affected farms last week, the 88-year woman from Ayukaba Village, who is seeking N200 million compensation claimed that her farm was destroyed through a water channel.

She said: “What is destroyed is more than N200 million. We have complained to them but they have not done anything. I am not a stranger. So they cannot take my land and leave me to die hungry”.

Mr. Paul Asuquo, a farmer and son to the octogenarian who conducted some newsmen round the affected farm estate said the farm has a direct boundary with Wilmar. “Before now we did not have this. When they came in they decided to dig round their estate. From the time they tried controlling water from their estate and the company did not give us any outlet. If you look over there, you will see a big pond of water. The chemicals from the fertilizers they are using have killed nearly everything”.

The Coordinator of Community Forest Watch Nigeria, Dr. Maurice Olory also decried issues of land grabbing and farm destruction as alleged by the farmers and called for an urgent intervention.

In Ibogu Community in Biase, another farmer Williams Ojobe and Moses Amarikpo, the Director of Ibogo Youth Council also complained of Wilmar sacking them from their land, which they have been farming for over 50 years.

In a reaction, Wilmar which also took newsmen round their estate denied any wrong doing as claimed by the communities but insisted that they should come forward with their claims if any for verification.

The Sustainability Manager of Wilmar, Mr. Asen Ako said, “We would like to place on record that both Calaro Estate and Ibiae estates are long existing plantations set up by the State Government in 1954 and 1963 respectively. Biase Plantations Limited (BPL) through a state government privatization process purchased Ibiae Estate and Calaro Estate .

“We would also like to place on record that there has been no additional land acquisition from chiefs or any individual to increase the size of Calaro Estate beyond what was handed by the state government. Thus, it is completely impossible that anyone at Akamkpa or surrounding communities of Calaro Estate to claim that we have used chiefs to grab individual and family land to add to what the state handed to us. The statement that BPL used chiefs to grab individual and family land is therefore not valid”.

He submitted that Wilmar or BPL “does not use or discharge any toxic chemicals into nearby water bodies or the environment. All crop protection and crop nourishing compounds that are used in our operations are all approved for use in Nigeria by NAFDAC and are used in minimal extent after detailed analysis.

“BPL has also not discharged any effluent of any form to the environment since its inception. Our first palm oil mill is still undergoing test runs and is yet to start full scale commercial operations and hence no effluent discharges. Thus, saying that toxic chemicals have left our plantation to destroy palms, cassava, vegetables, etc. is not true as all agrochemicals used in our estates are also used by other agro-industries and local farmers and have not been proven to have such adverse effect on surrounding farms.

“No additional land has been acquired from chiefs or any individual to increase the size of Ibiae Estate beyond what was handed by the state government to BPL. Thus, it is completely untrue for anyone at Biase LGA or surrounding communities to Ibiae Estate to claim that we have used chiefs to grab individual and family land to add to what the state handed to us”.

On Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR), Ako said, “BPL has a robust CSR package for communities around its operation and this package is geared towards education, capacity building, health, employment, and economic development. In our support to education around our catchment area, to date, we have committed N253, 785,027 (Onun Secondary school Mbarakom); N116,574,542 (Camp II Primary School – 50per cent completed); N104,627,161.70 (Ibiae Primary School – 90per cent completed); N226,160,500 (Aningeje Secondary School – 75per cent completed)”.

Non- Executive Director, Propertygate Development and Investment Plc, Mr Peter Folikwe (left); Company Secretary, Mrs. Janet Fifo; Managing Director/CEO, Propertygate Development and Investment Plc, Mr. Adetokunbo Ajayi, and Non - Executive Director, Mr. Jonathan Oluwole at Annual General Meeting (AGM) in Lagos. 

And notwithstanding the inclement weather, which signals stiffer challenges against the real estate industry, the senior official of the company wants intervention in the areas of infrastructure, finance, red tape, processes and reviews of planning permits and rules, perfection of title and land administration.

While recognizing that the vast potentials in housing will remain difficult to unlock until functional mortgage finance system is in place, the Managing Director and Chief Executive Officer, Propertygate Development and Investment Plc. Mr. Adetokunbo Ajayi who spoke at its 9th Annual General Meeting held last week in Lagos said attention is sometimes misplaced on affordability, when the key to unlocking the sub-sector is mortgage.

“The solution requires great innovation, as the financial system, as currently configured cannot provide functional mortgage. Furthermore, the need for collaboration among operators in the sector cannot be more urgent than now,” he said.

Looking into this year, Ajayi said, the real estate sector could benefit from the growing population and urbanization.

However, this is not the case as the total GDP of the sector declined to 6.85 per cent in 2017 against 7.22 per cent recorded in 2016.

It underperformed the non-oil sector category, where it resides, which achieved an annual growth of 4.7 per cent by the end of the year.

Following its hostile lending climate as interest rates rose in 2017 hitting 30 per cent per annum as some point, the year witnessed extremely limited mortgage financing for buyers, crippling potential demand, a situation that is yet to record significant improvement.

According to Ajayi, “real estate is a highly capital intensive business, which will thrive under an encouraging credit regime.

The interest rate at about a time got to an average of 30 per cent, the question is if you are doing real estate development and you are collecting money at such penal rate then you are likely to run into trouble.

Then if you also develop and you are looking at people to take it up from you whether it’s residential or commercial and because of the huge capital for that precision they require mortgage which is rarely available and its extremely high interest rate is not encouraging.”

Ajayi who stressed that their wealth of experience and knowledge helped them through the difficult phase noted that even though mortgage played a significant role in the success of the sector, it is important to understand who the buyers are, where they comes from and their positions else one will keep churning out products no one is interested in and can afford.

Abuja

Director-General of the Institute, Prof. Danladi Matawal who made this known at an International Conference in Abuja, hosted by the institute said pilot schemes have been initiated to use local materials for it.
 
“The built environment could catalyse opportunities for a wide range of global and local challenges such as climate change, land-use, demographic shift, water and other resource scarcities.”
 
According to him, the moveable house concept adaptable to emergency and internal displaced person (IDP) situation has been put together and prototypes constructed fro one and three bedrooms.
 
“Glue laminated bamboo panels processed from waste scaffolds and formwork are developed and displayed in our exhibition stand. It was successfully applied in construction and Patent obtained.”
 
Overall, buildings and construction sector account for 39 per cent of global energy use, 30 per cent energy-related green house gases, 12 per cent of water use 40per cent of waste, would employ 10 per cent workforce,” he added.

United Nations

In a statement marking the World day to combat Desertification and Drought, the head of the United Nations Convention to Combat Desertification (UNCCD) said that everyone needed to recognize the true value of land.

“I would ask you: when you choose what to eat, what to wear or what to drive, think about how your choice impacts the land — for better or for worse,” said Monique Barbut, UNCCD Executive Secretary, in her message for the day, marked on June 17.

Land-grabbing, unplanned urban sprawl, unsustainable agriculture and over-consumption can yield quick economic gains, but such short-sightedness eventually causes degradation and loss of critical ecosystem services due to unsustainable land use.

As a result, a third of the world’s usable land has already severely degraded over the last 30 years, with 75 billion tons of soil from arable land lost annually, said UNCCD.

However, the UNCCD says everyone can contribute to, and benefit from, investing in sustainable land management — as consumers, producers, corporations or governments. Farmers can invest in smart agriculture with higher yields but reduced pesticides.

Policymakers and land managers can invest in sustainable land management while consumers can choose to spend on organic and fair-trade products that avoid ruining the land.

“Let us work together to transform the way we consume, produce, work, and live together without compromising our current or future social, economic or environmental security. Without compromising the land on which it all depends,” said Ms. Barbut.

The UN General Assembly established the World Day in 1994 to promote public awareness of land degradation and to draw attention to the implementation of the UNCCD — the sole legally binding international agreement linking environment and development to sustainable land management.

Governor Ambode. Photo: Twitter/AkinwunmiAmbode

The Guardian investigations revealed that many of the buildings marked as distressed in location like; Berkley Street, Lagos Island and some other areas are still being occupied by people. This, experts say portend danger for the built environment.

The government had recently disclosed that it has identified 149 distressed buildings across the State in the last one year, out of which 40 have been demolished.

Commissioner for Physical Planning and Urban Development; Prince Rotimi Ogunleye who disclosed this at a ministerial press briefing held in Ikeja affirmed that in the next phase, 38 other defective structures has been earmarked for demolition, as government would not tolerate cases of collapsed buildings in any part of the State.

He said, “In a systematic approach to curtail occurrences of building collapse, 149 distressed building were identified at different locations of which 40 of such have been removed while the next phase of 38 structurally defective structures have been earmarked for removal.

Others would follow suite to safeguard lives and property,” he said.

Findings revealed that in 2016, about 40 abandoned and distressed buildings including some notable high-rise structures like the LASACO house structure in Tinubu street, Lagos Island, Savannah bank building and others were identified and published in a national daily but as at the time of filing this report, relevant authorities in the state’s building control agency could not ascertain if actions have been taken on the identified buildings.

Efforts to get reaction from the state ministry of physical planning and urban development didn’t yield result, as the present administration seems to lack information on the matter because it’s relatively new in office.

But according to an inside source, demolition process on identified buildings has been slow so far, due to the cumbersome nature of the exercise as compensations and rehousing processes for the occupants must be sorted out

The Public relations officer, Lagos State Building Control Agency (LASBCA), Mrs. Titi Ajirotutu told The Guardian that some of the buildings were demolished by the agency and property owners pulled down others themselves.

In some cases, some of the buildings passed the structural test and could still stand renovation, she said the agency ordered owners to renovate them.

“Some of the buildings, LASBCA has demolished and in other cases, owners of the marked buildings did the demolition by themselves.

Others that have passed the stability test and could still be renovated, we have asked the owners to carry out the renovation”, she explained.

Climate change

In October 2017 the Islamic Development Bank joined the MDB climate finance tracking groups, and its climate finance figures will be included in joint reports from 2018 onwards.

Climate funds which include, the Climate Investment Funds ( CIF ), the Global Environment Facility ( GEF ) Trust Fund, the Global Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy Fund ( GEEREF ), the European Union’s funds for Climate Action, the Green Climate Fund ( GCF ) and others have also played an important role in boosting MDB climate finance.

As well as the $35.2 billion of multilateral development finance, the same adaptation and mitigation projects attracted an additional $51.7 billion from other sources of financing last year.

Out of the 2017 total, 81 per cent was provided as loans. Other types of financial instruments included policy-based lending, grants, guarantees, equity and lines of credit.

Accordingly, Latin America, Sub-Saharan Africa and East Asia and the Pacific were the three major developing regions receiving the funds.
 
The report contains a breakdown of climate finance by country.

The increase was in response to the ever more pressing challenge of climate change. Calls to galvanise climate finance were at the heart of events such as the One Planet Summit in Paris in December 2017, two years after the historic Paris Agreement was adopted.

Multilateral banks began publishing their climate investment in developing countries and emerging economies jointly in 2011 , and in 2015 MDBs and the International Development Finance Club agreed joint principles for tracking climate adaptation and mitigation finance.

Climate finance addresses the specific financial flows for climate change mitigation and adaptation activities.

These activities contribute to make MDB finance flows consistent with a pathway towards low greenhouse gas emissions and climate-resilient development, in line with the Paris Agreement. 
 
MDBs are currently working on the development of more specific approaches to reporting their activities and how they are aligned with the objectives of the Paris Agreement.

“ For the World Bank Group, 2017 was a record-setting year on climate finance as a result of a deliberate effort over the past few years to mainstream climate considerations into our operations.

This upward trend is continuing ,” said World Bank Senior Director for Climate Change John Roome.

“The Multilateral Development Banks are also playing a key role in leveraging private sector finance which will be critical to meeting the objectives of the Paris Agreement. 

Only last year, the WBG crowded in $8.6 billion in private financing for climate change, which is up 27 pe cent from 2016”.

Douala Grand Mall Grand

The firm has increased the stocks of retail malls with the commencement of Douala Grand Mall in partnership with Craft Development Group, which consists of an 18,000 square metres retail and leisure centre as well as Business Park in the Phase II.

The park includes office buildings across a 12-acre site. The development area includes 54,474m² of land located in the airport area.

The project includes an 18,000m2 retail and leisure centre, residential, and will include basement parking, including a supermarket anchor.

The vertical mechanized circulation includes eight escalators, two travellators and five elevators as well as conveniences.

Project Managers are Profica International with Architect of record and lead designer, Benoy, while the civil and structural are handled by MEP Designer: CIA.

Actis announced the project along with another mixed-use development named the Renaissance Place in Abidjan. Both are Actis’ first real estate investments in Ivory Coast and Cameroon.

Senior officials of Actis said that their confidence in Douala market flowed from Cameroon’s stable Gross Domestic Product growth at five per cent over the last five years with limited inflation and reduced foreign exchange exposure.

There is also expected high growth in the coming years based on more business-friendly policies and increased infrastructure spend.

Estimated to cost $150 million, Actis said, Nigerians could tap in from the opportunity provided by the project billed to be open for business before the end of 2018.

Located strategically within Bonapriso, the wealthiest residential catchment in Douala with population of 350,000 residents, tenants are poised to recoup their investments in good time.

The chief Executive Officer, Craft Group, Mathurin Kamdem, said in a presentation to retailers in Lagos, that the mall has advantage in the first retail-led mixed use development in Douala.

According to him, retailing in Douala is expected to grow in the next five -ten years with increased urbanization, intense competitive activities and a growing middle class are some of the key factors driving the growth.

“There are no formal retail centres of scale to serve the population of three million in Douala, which presents an opportunity to introduce a destination offering to the market even as Project expected to attract shoppers from Central Africa”, he said.

Kamdem, stressed that the first- mover advantage in a fragmented market, where commercial real estate sector is in its infancy, similar to Accra 10 years ago, is that only two smaller retail centres of 5,000 sqm and 7,000 sqm have recently opened in 2015 in Douala.

He also adduced benefit from Actis’ institutional knowledge and experience in developing eight destination retail centers across Africa.

High visibility and close proximity to the airport (1.5 million passengers per year, which attracts commuters to and from the city everyday.

According to him, there are growing efforts by the government to modernize and formalize retail, which has attracted new entrants such as SPAR, FNAC, DIA Carrefour.

Dubai

The report by the Washington-based Centre for Advanced Defence Studies (C4ADS), relying on leaked property data from the city-state, offers evidence to support the long-whispered rumors about Dubai’s real-estate boom.
 
It identifies some $100 million in suspicious purchases of apartments and villas across the city of skyscrapers in the United Arab Emirates, where foreign ownership fuels construction that now outpaces local demand.
 
The government-run Dubai Media Office said it could not comment on the report.

For its part, the center known by the acronym C4ADS said Dubai has a “high-end luxury real estate market and lax regulatory environment prizing secrecy and anonymity above all else.”

That comes as the U.S. already warns that Dubai’s economic free zones and trade in gold and diamonds poses a risk.
 
“The permissive nature of this environment has global security implications far beyond the sands of the UAE,” the centre said in its report.

“In an interconnected global economy with low barriers impeding the movement of funds, a single point of weakness in the regulatory system can empower and enable a range of global illicit actors.”

Unlike in the U.S., where property records are public, Dubai does not offer an accessible database of all its transactions, instead requiring specific details only individual buyers and sellers would have. C4ADS said it relied in part on “private UAE data compiled by real estate and property professionals” offered by a confidential source for its reporting.
 
The U.S. State Department as recently as this year issued a warning about money laundering in the UAE in its annual International Narcotics Control Strategy Report, noting the country’s money-exchange shops can allow for “bulk cash smuggling.” The UAE’s economic free zones, real estate sector and its trade in gold and diamonds also pose risks.
 
“The UAE has demonstrated both a willingness and capability to take action against illicit financial actors if those actors pose a direct national security threat or present a reputational risk to the UAE’s role as the leading regional financial hub,” the State Department said.
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“However, the UAE needs to continue increasing the resources devoted to investigating, prosecuting and disrupting money laundering.”

According to Associated Press (AP), the properties in question include million-dollar villas on the fronds of the man-made Palm Jumeirah archipelago to an apartment in the Burj Khalifa, the world’s tallest building.

Others appear to be one-bedroom apartments in more-affordable neighborhoods in Dubai, the UAE’s biggest city.
 
Among the highest-profile individuals named in the report is Rami Makhlouf, a cousin of embattled Syrian President Bashar Assad and one of that country’s wealthiest businessmen.

The U.S. has sanctioned Makhlouf, who owns the largest mobile phone carrier Syriatel, for using “intimidation and his close ties to the Assad regime to obtain improper financial advantages at the expense of ordinary Syrians.”
 
Makhlouf and his brother, also sanctioned by the U.S., own real estate on the Palm Jumeirah, according to the report. They also have ties to two UAE-based free-zone companies.

The UAE, a federation of seven sheikhdoms led from oil-rich Abu Dhabi, has opposed Assad in his country’s yearslong war.
 
The UAE also opposes Hezbollah, the Lebanese political party and militia group backed by Iran.

However, C4ADS’ report identified at least one property directly linked to Lebanese businessmen Kamel and Issam Amhaz, who the U.S. sanctioned in 2014 for helping Hezbollah “covertly purchase sophisticated electronics” for military drones.

The report identified another nearly $70 million in Dubai properties owned by two other shareholders in Amhaz’s sanctioned firms.

Separately, the report identified some $21 million in real estate still held by individuals associated with the Altaf Khanani money laundering organization, a Pakistani ring that aided drug traffickers and Islamic extremists like al-Qaida through its currency exchange houses. 

Dubai, an Arabian Peninsula entrepot, long has been a favourite port of call for those skirting the law.

Over time, however, Dubai itself became a haven. The emirate’s decision in 2002 to allow foreign ownership of so-called “freehold” properties drew a rapid construction boom that attracted developers from across the world, including President Donald Trump, whose name is on two golf course projects and villas.

Dubai’s easily flipped luxury properties offered an opportunity for those wanting to park money they otherwise couldn’t spend. The Federation of American Scientists warned based on news reports in 2002 that “money-laundering activity in the UAE may total $1 billion annually.”

Felicia Agubata

Looking back at Association of Professional Women Engineers (APWEN) existence, what are the association’s successes and challenges in the drive to raise the available level of technical manpower needed in the country?

APWEN has come a long way as the vehicle of support and professional development for the Nigerian female engineers.

We encourage women in engineering to grow in the profession, leading to outstanding achievements.

We enhance competence of women engineers through professional development as well as provide platform for female engineering students and women engineers to excel.

We encourage the girl-child to study Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics (STEM).

Not only has the body succeeded in her advocacy at encouraging more girls to study engineering but it has also been intensifying efforts at ensuring that female engineers practice engineering.

We have produced a lot of firsts in the nation and globally.

The first female president of the Nigerian Academy of Engineering/ APWEN founding president and the first female registered engineer in Nigeria is Olutunmbi Joanna Maduka; The first African Vice President of World Federation of Engineering Organisation (WFEO)/chair women in Engineering (WIE) is one of us, Valerie Ifueko Agberagba nee Aghedo; The first female president of the Association of Consulting Engineers of Nigeria (ACEN) and Gamma of FIDIC is Mrs. Mayen Adetiba FNSE.

First President of Women Init Network (WIN) of Exxon Mobil is Dr. Patricia Opene-Odili and lots of others.

I can conveniently say that APWEN has departed the station but are yet to reach our destination. We will continue to press for the progress of the emergent Nigerian woman in the engineering profession.

The association’s membership has grown from six female engineers in 1982 to more than 750 members.

How do you equip female engineers with right skills would have increasing opportunities to excel and pursue their dreams in any of their chosen fields?

The official launch of APWEN was actually in 1983 .We will celebrate our 35th anniversary later in the year with over 3,000 members.

We will also celebrate our six courageous founders who are indeed the heroines of engineering Joanna Maduka, Nkechi Isigwe, Mayen Adetiba, Idiat Amusu, Nwakaego Ojukwu and Beatrice Oduniyi.

We encourage our engineers to develop soft skills in leadership and entrepreneurship.

The association is in collaboration with sister bodies both locally and internationally aimed at continuously increasing the awareness on engineering opportunities and platforms to imbibe best practices.

We organize conferences, seminars and embark on industrial visits in furtherance of this objective.
APWEN struck an agreement with Nigerian University Commission (NUC) and ten tertiary institutions for the provision of modern facilities.

Do your association still support the National Universities’ Engineering Workshops Intervention Project (NUEWI-Project) if no; do you plan to revive it?

We plan to revive the NUEWI project to see how we can re-prioritize to reflect capacities vis a vis the needs of the institutions.

To that extent it remains a project 0f keen interest.

Additionally, we are presently taking our advocacy and intervention initiatives to the primary schools based on recent global decline in STEM field’s enrollment.

The new focus globally is on catching them young.

We are keying into that trend locally through the “Invent It, Build It” Programme, introduce a girl to engineering, career talks at schools, scholarships to best student in science (primary) and engineering for university undergraduates.

What ways do APWEN collaborate with governments and the Nigerian Society of Engineers (NSE) to foster the interest of women engineers across the country?

We have collaboration and partnership with government agencies, local and multinationals companies that share similar ideals and objectives with APWEN.

An example is the partnership we recently flagged off with Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC) a programme called Invent It, Build It; aimed at encouraging young girls in primary schools to study STEM.

We also enjoy support from state governments and some National Assembly members.

This was evident during 2018 international women’s day when we celebrated some distinguished female engineers as well as illustrious females in sundry professions who are pressing for the progress of the emergent Nigerian woman.

Girl child education has remained a Knotty issue, especially in Northern Nigeria, What are your plans to assist students and ensure girls embrace career in engineering?

Decline in girl child education is a national issue and we have started a programme aimed at complimenting government initiatives in that regard across the six-geo political zones of the country.

The name of the programme is “Invent It, Build It”.

This was successfully flagged off at Sarki Ahmad Primary school (Central Primary school) Misau, Bauchi state.

School materials were distributed to the students along with Laptops for their schools.

Scholarships were also awarded to ten female’s students of Misau origin who desire to study engineering from primary to the university level.

A foundation for the building of an ultra-modern science and technology laboratory was laid.

The scholarship and science laboratory were both named after one of their illustrious sons, an engineer of repute and a best in class material; the group Managing director of NNPC; Dr. Maikanti Baru engineering scholarship for girls and Dr. Maikanti Baru Science and Technology Laboratory.

In line with APWEN’s 2018 focus on strategic capacity building for sustainable rural development and for the technological advancement of Nigeria, participants were involved in a hands-on science activities to unleash their latent, creativity and analytical skills.

They were also educated about the basic principles of engineering using fun-filled, interactive and practical methods with abundant locally available materials.

Alongside the Invent it, Build it event there was a parents’/guardians’ interactive session focusing on addressing any gender bias issues, providing insights on the opportunities and rewards for women in Engineering and eliciting their support/participation to nurture these kids.

This programme is targeted at primary school pupils because we believe that there is need to ignite the passion for science, technology and mathematics at primary school level.

This would improve the prospects of more potential engineers in the net than would be the case ordinarily. An integral part of this programme is a guidance and counseling session for parents and guardians.

The 0bjective is to leverage on multiple influences to advance the children’s/wards’ interest in the sciences.

We will launch same programme in Borno, Kano, Edo (June 29, 2018 at Ewuare primary school, Oliha quarters Benin City), Anambra (Uruekwo primary school Enugwu-Ukwu), Akwa-Ibom, Ogun, Kogi (LEA primary school Ankpa) and Delta States.

In the implementation of the 2030 Agenda for sustainable Development, gender equality is fundamental to delivering on the promises of sustainability, peace and human progress.

Is your association satisfied with the representation of women engineering at all decision-making and implementations levels in science, technology and engineering (STE) in all relevant government establishments?

We are constructively dissatisfied with the present representation and that is why we are encouraging our members to go and stand in for elective positions for the advancement of our country.

Women engineers in decision making positions will continue to explore opportunities to improve what is obtainable at the present with the view to bringing about the changes that we crave to see.

In time past, the association observed that gender discrimination arising from social stereotyping affects attitudes and expectations of women thus affecting their ability to venture into male dominated professions.

Do this still happen? If yes, how?

This was in the past. Not anymore. Instead, we advocate for collaboration with the men and do not see them as superior.

No gender is inferior to the other and no gender is equal to the other too. We are first and foremost human beings and we all belong to one race, for instance, the human race.

We are all uniquely endowed and should bring to the table our strengths for societal advancement.

It is in appreciation of this imperative that diversity and inclusion has become the right approach to harness all the talents that are potentially available.

Lekki- Epe Expressway. PHOTO: Rendel-ltd

Developed by Propertymart, the scheme comes with an innovative and accessible payment structure for the young and upwardly mobile who are looking for good and affordable value on the Lekki corridor but who do not have the ability to put down bulk sum for land, pay cut-throat prices or be left at the mercy of land-grabbers or antics of traditional land owners – the Omo-oniles.
 
The Lekki corridor, reputed to be the fastest growing corridor in Africa will soon be home to the biggest port, the biggest refinery, one of the most beautiful and eco-friendly airports in Africa and a free trade zone which is already oversubscribed by future-oriented local and global businesses.
 
To this end, there has been concerted efforts by the state government to provide road infrastructure around the corridor given that it is already a high traffic routes – one that holds a significant economic benefit and potential to accommodate mass influx.

However, when all the infrastructure is done, perhaps, the missing link will be affordable housing for those who will work around this new economic hub.
 
Given this noticeable gap, Propertymart has launched a social enterprise strategy which it aptly calls the “housing revolution,” to intensify the strategy with the Fairmont land sale.
 
Speaking on the company’s housing revolution, the Managing Director, Mr. Deji Fasuwon said the need to encourage more persons to acquire their own properties at an affordable price under a flexible arrangement, a key-thrust of the housing revolution which the company is championing, is the reason for the Fairmont land sale deal, adding that with this deal, subscribers will be able to save over N4 million and pay over a five year period for premium land asset.
 
Fasuwon further said “we want to avail affordable and accessible housing to accommodate the volume of influx expected in this vicinity in the next couple of years given the envisaged business and economic infrastructure on the corridor.”

Speaking on the company’s vision, he said, “the thrust of our housing revolution is hinged on three critical things, the first is the provision of needed infrastructure such as roads, walk-ways, recreational facilities and security in order to having a serene living community with space and splendor.

The second is the availability of premium land and housing to the average middle-class Nigerian hence the convenient payment option with five-year tenor.

The third critical consideration is affordability – through creating unique products which are not priced out of the reach of working class Nigerians.”
 
Beyond the issue of access and affordability, the company is also pushing safety, security and style as advantages of the Fairmont Lekki offer. The estate will also be serviced, with paved roads, play-areas, large walkways and recreational facilities as well as a guarantee of constant electricity.

While comparing the Fairmont Lekki offer to similar developed and serviced plots, a survey of housing estate prices in the Lekki area revealed that a similar serviced plot of land of the same standard around the Lekki-Ajah area goes for as high as N20 million while a plot of Fairmont land is being sold at twelve million eight hundred naira (excluding ancillary charges) with opportunity of installment payment which starts with N640 000 while others are doing one-off payments which are not suitable to the cash-flow of salary earners who desire a share in the thriving prospect of the Lekki corridor.

Above this, the price is currently being driven by a promo and will revert to 16.8 million naira at the end of the promo.

Justifying, the Fairmont value advantage, Fasuwon said “being a social enterprise’, Propertymart believes in driving inclusion and access, and in arriving at a handsomely reduced price for the Fairmont serviced plots, we considered the need to drive our Housing Revolution using novel products aligned to current economic realities and the pocket of our target subscribers.”

He further said early buyers will also be at an advantage as lands in the estate will soon appreciate more than their present value as infrastructure developments in the area come to fruition.

Kayode Fayemi

Vice President, Prof. Yemi Osinbajo on Tuesday, led creme de la creme in the All Progressives Congress, (APC) to Ekiti to kick start the campaign for the candidate of the party in the July 14 gubernatorial election, Dr Kayode Fayemi.

Addressing the crowd at the Oluyemi Kayode stadium, Ado-Ekiti, venue of the mega rally, the Vice President charged all Ekiti indigenes to vote out the Peoples Democratic Party, (PDP) government in the state and vote for the APC.

“It is time to bring to an end, the government of the PDP and vote for the APC and our candidate, Dr Kayode Fayemi in the July 14 governorship election.

“With APC in government, era of sufferings in Ekiti is over, do not try to give the PDP another chance, we shall provide adequate security before, during and after the election to guarantee your safety.

“Ekiti is about to experience a new progress‎ and development, but if Ekiti people wish to benefit from the progressives blessings, let everybody vote for Fayemi,”he said.

The National Chairman of APC, Chief Odigie Oyegun, appealed to all Ekiti indigenes and party members to ensure that they vote out the Ayo Fayose-led PDP administration in Ekiti.

He said Fayemi was the only candidate in the forthcoming gubernatorial election ‎that could deliver the people from hardship and suffering.

“I wish to appeal to all Ekiti people that APC is only party that can change your sufferings to abundant blessings and progress.

“We are counting on Ekiti people to vote for Kayode Fayemi to change the lives of the civil servants and pensioners,”he said.

The National Leader of APC, Asiwaju Ahmed Tinubu, charged all Ekiti indigenes to collect their Permanent Voter Cards (PVCs) and give the administration of Gov. Fayose a red card.

“Though, I did not register in Ekiti, but I have my voter card, I want to appeal to all Ekiti indigenes to collect their PVC and vote for Fayemi.

” We are sure that Ekiti people are wise and intelligent, and they want a better life, but anybody who desire a good life must take steps to improve his or her lifestyle.

” I want to encourage you to vote for Kayode Fayemi, because we have modify him, he is now smart, intelligent and ready to serve Ekiti people better,”he said.

The mega rally was attended by Southwest Governor’s and dignitaries including; ‎Abiola Ajimobi, (Oyo), Ibukunle Amosun, (Ogun) Rauf Aregbesola; (Osun) and Alhaji Kassim Shettima of Borno state.

Others are ; Yahaya Bello, (Kogi); former Gov. of Edo state, Comrade Adams Oshiomole; Ondo state Governor, Barr. Rotimi Akeredolu; Alhaji Ahmed Abdulfatai, (Kwara) Secretary to the Government of the Federation, Alhaji Mustapha Boss ; and Deputy Chairman of APC South West, Chief Pius Akinyelure, among other notable party chieftains.

Dr. Muhtari Aminu-Kano<br />Photo; Islamicrelief

You are an experienced natural resources expert with over 30years practice and have been at the helm of affairs of this foundation before, why are you coming back?
I’m back based on the special invitation from the board of trustees and council of the foundation. They want to see how can we take NCF to the next level. In the life o5.5 any organisation that wants to grow and develop, there is always the need to have some reflection and aspire for the next level and because of our past, they want someone who has the experience to come and be part of the dream and vision.

The Lekki Conservation Foundation has grown into one of Africa’s prominent and most-diverse urban nature parks. How were you able to achieve this and what are the challenges encountered?
NCF is a unique organisation and well recognised globally. It was established long before the government had a national institution dealing with the core areas of bio-diversities and long before the federal ministry of environment and other organisations like NESTREA and others came into being. NCF was in-fact instrumental to setting up some of those organisation like the national park service were due to the lobbying activities of the NCF. It was modeled after the big global conservation organisation World Wide Foundation (WWF), Bird Life International, World Conservation Union. That is where it took its inspiration.

The story is very interesting, the founder of the NCF who is late now; Chief Edu who was friend of some of the royal families especially in Europe especially in England and Netherlands. They were involved as trustees and patrons of WWF international and he was moving with them and that was how he imbibed the conservation spirit and he said we don’t have any thing like that in Nigeria and I am going to come and set up something like that in Nigeria. When he came back it was during the military regime of Yakubu Gowon and he applied for registration of a national organisation of a model of WWF. The government passed it to civil servants to comment and when they did their research, they found that the only place in Africa where they have WWF is South Africa and this was the time Nigeria didn’t want to have anything to do with South Africa because of Apartheid. So they said this people were trying to bring something from South Africa here and so they delayed it and denied its approval for ten years. Edu made another attempt in the 19970’s and didn’t get a go ahead until the 1980’s when it got the final registration. Chief Edu told the story to us that there was an oversea trip of the then president, Shehu Shagari to the UK and part of his itineraries was a reception by the queen for the visiting head of state and through his feelings, the husband of the queen was met to be there and so he arranged for himself and Chief Edu to talk with President Shagari and say that this application has been pending for more than 10years and president Shagari promised him that when he got back to Nigeria, they would sort it out and that was how the application pulled through in the 80’s.

NCF has been active since then and it was the pioneering national conservation organisation. When other federal government environmental organisations were established, NCF supported them technically for them to develop their strategies, the national park service law, the endangered species law was developed with support from NCF.NCF also took over management of many conservation parks like; the Okomu national service park, in Cross River, Chad Basin, Yakari Park and many others providing supports. In 1990, it bought its space in Lekki where the headquarters is based with a 78-hectares reserve, which it has been managing and owning since 1990 in Lekki axis as the landmark of Lagos state. It has turned into an Island and the only place where you see some of the original vegetation, wild life and other things. .

What is your assessment of the nations’ national parks?
The first thing to say is that the government seems not to be serious about the national parks and that is really a sad situation. When you look at the current budget of the 7 national parks, you will really lament because they show how poorly funded they are. The whole ministry of the federal ministry of environment is a poor cousin of the other ministries. What it gets is very small. When the ministry of environment gets the budget allocation, it gets the lowest and then you come to the national park, some of them as big as 6,000 square kilometers, the number of staff they have in the whole seven national parks is just about a 1,000 staff.Those 1,000, if you put them in one national park, they are not enough to stop poaching and hurting and lots of other environmental encroachment.

It is now the individual and management of those parks that are trying their best and working against all odds. The pressure has also increased as there are more people hunting, grazing, and trying to encroach on the lands of the national parks and so if you asked me about the state of the national parks is like the state of the Nigerian environment just because the government hasn’t given it the priority that it deserved.

If we must see diversification of the economy as something that is key, I think national parks is also a good source to raise a lot of revenue like you see in east and Southern Africa where ecotourism is a huge component of their economy. If we make a huge investment, we will really harvest a lot from that sector and we have the beautiful places like Obudu, Yankari and others. Nigeria is African hidden secret.

The foundation has become a model for promoting environmental education and public awareness/understanding of the natural world, despite this feat, what are your fears on prevailing lackluster disposition from people to the issue of environment?
My fear is that as long as we continue to degrade the habitat we live in, we will be doing harms to ourselves because our mindsets is only for today. We have to think of tomorrow because the most important thing, is talking about sustainability. We should be interested in eating today and tomorrow. Nigerians need huge attitudinal and behaviourial change for environmental sustainability if our relationship with the environment is going to where it’s supposed to be. Unless we raised enough consciousness and government support the integration of environment into our daily economic sectors, we wont be able to realise our ambitions. Sustainable development is about economy that is viable, socially okay and environmentally sustainable.

In terms of funding your activities, are you thinking of having other stakeholders?
It’s been tough and challenging. The reputations about Nigeria have affected technical resources and funding for foundation like us. The economy is facing challenges and this has affected the traditional supports from both private and individual supporters who were feeling the heat. However, because NCF is well established, and tried and tested and showed its effectively from the very day it was founded, it has not been starved of competent board of trustee and has gotten good international connections and recognitions. These are the things that have been keeping the foundation going forward in the turbulent times.

We raise funds from our members and we have different categories; ordinary, individual, student, corporate, family and fellow members and donations from corporate members. We do events to raise funds, manage parks like the Lekki conservation park and we charge fees. We partner government and international organizations to jointly fund our activities. We have a diverse source and we are constantly trying to see how we can reach other avenues. We are constantly trying to see which other avenues for funding we could explore and what new thing we can do.

Stakeholders have expressed deep concern that the world’s wildlife is massively going into extinction. What is your take on this and what can be done?
Our Partner WWF produces reports every year on living planet, which is scientific report and looks at the current rate with which we are exploiting the resources of the world. Is one planet enough for humanity now and by their last count, if we are to continue the way we are going, we will need more than two planets, which we don’t have. Another partner which is the world conservation union every year brings out the list of species prone to extinction. They think now that we are at the sixth phase of extinction. We now have five ages of extinction and we are in the middle of the sixth. In Nigeria here, we have lots of species of plants and animals that of concern and threated with extinction. It is a major issue for us on how we can protect plants and animals that are living for them to continue to provide the essential services for us. Diverse majority of Nigerians live on the resources of the environment.We in the business are not for the esoteric thing of having nature around but for the protection of the environment.

What are you doing to ensure that the available wildlife resources have enough space to thrive in harmony with people?
We are loosing more trees, plants and animals, we first need to slow down the rate and stop it altogether and then began to build up again because there is only about five per cent of the original forest left in Nigeria. The 95 per cent has been cut in deep forest and so we need to halt that and then need to increase our forest cover. We started the Nigerian green recovering initiative last year and it is an ambitious programme, which is to get back 25per cent of lost forest within 40 years. lost.

We will work in conjunction with the people to live in harmony with nature. We are concern about the survival of human beings and animals, both has needs and have to live in harmony. A lot of the projects we are doing are community based natural resource management projects. People have to live in harmony and synergy with nature in a sustainable way and not to degrade the environment for posterity. This is the attitude we need in Nigeria. Changing behavior is a difficult thing, people just find it easy to use disposable stuff and discard them in the wrong way, out of the car or out of the window and we have surrounded ourselves with fumes and plastic pollutions. We therefore need to consciously change mindsets, attitude and change behavior. It hard, but we need to design programmes where you have so many social influencersin promoting environmental stewardship and cleanliness in their teachings. There is also a role for legislature and regulations and sure that they well enforced. Authorities must strengthen the enforcement capacity of environmental agencies for sustainability of the eco-system. There is also the need to create an enabling environment so that people would not just litter the environment anyhow. They must provide enough toilets and waste disposal bins for the use of the people.For instance, to solve the challenge of open defecation, government must provide enough public toilets. This will help people whose instinct is positive towards the environment but due to lack of enabling environment, they betray the naturally good instincts.

Some countries are already imbibing the culture of ‘building green’, how can Nigeria build on this and what will be the impact on the environment?
Building green is one of the great ways to impact the environment. For instance, where we are, there are a lot of green features. Our administrative block is built on pillars so that water can still follow under and so we haven’t disrupted the wetlands in this area. One of our council members in the University of Lagos; Prof John Godwill, he was the chairman of our building committee and supervised the building of this facility. He has trained a lot of people on building green and the whole building green concept. How I wish the professional bodies in built environment would imbibe this spirit of building green.

Government is making moves to moderate activities of non-governmental organisations in the country. In fact, the government has also come out to say NGO’s act like an opposition. What is your take on this?
The development of any country is partnership between the government, which is the most powerful, the private sector and the civil society. If we have the three working together, then you will have proper development. The more you create the maximum way for them to operate, the more develop the society would be. Any tension between the three which are natural and are meant to be, should be tension that is resolved in terms of freedom and given people maximum space to express themselves. If government attempt is to silence certain sector, then I believe it’s the wrong way to go. If you are doing it for political reasons, then it’s counter-productive. There should be enough space for civil societies to express themselves. The more open the society is, the more progress it makes.

Roland Abonta

NIESV stated that budgets meant for the sector have continued to be treated with levity, stressing that while only fifty percent of what was budgeted last year was released, the sector may not receive up to 25percent of its allocation in this year’s budget due to its late passage.

President of the Institute, Mr. Rowland Abonta, said time had come for the federal government, National Assembly and Stakeholders to sit and plan the housing programme to achieve development in the sector.

He said: “There is no master plan on ground for effective housing production and delivery in Nigeria. The problem of Nigeria has not been the issue of budgetary provision. The greatest problem we have is budget implementation. So whether they removed the budget meant for housing or not, we may not see any new thing in that sector. “In the last two years, budget had been made for housing but nobody is accounting for what quantity have we added to the housing sector. It is like throwing a drop of water into the Ocean. The president himself must acknowledge and our legislators must acknowledge that there is a serious need for stakeholders in housing to sit down together and decide on master plan for housing in Nigeria”.

He said the government should stop using budget padding as excuses for its failure to develop the sector, stating that Nigerians are tired of failed promises.“I am a private practitioner and in the last financial year we spent billions bidding for housing in the real estate sector only to be told that the same presidency has released only fifty percent of the budget for 2017 and now budget is signed in June, you can imagine that we won’t get 25 percent of this year’s budget. So it is not about budget, these are cheap excuses, political excuses by those in authority to shy away from responsibility to the people that put them there”, he said.

Abonta said members of the Institute were in Enugu for the management meeting to review policy issues affecting the organization adding that part of the challenges militating against the profession was the infiltration of quacks.He lamented that government, public and private institutions have continued to patronize them to the detriment of the country. However, he said NIESV is poised to check the trend and urged Nigerians to desist from patronizing them.

Ayodele David-Adesua<br />

Candidate of the Democratic Alternative (DA), Ayodele David-Adesua, has promised to give 90 per cent of political offices to youths, if he wins the election.He made the promise yesterday at the party’s secretariat at Assumpta area of Ado-Ekiti.

David-Adesua said his administration would invest in agriculture, minerals resources and tourism to create wealth and jobs for the people.He disclosed that the priorities of his party are economic, social and political empowerment, to give the younger generation access to governance.

The DA candidate also promised to make micro-credit facilities available to the grow grassroots’ economy, so that they would be less-dependent on government for their source of income.He said: “Our youths should embrace the DA as their own platform, because it is a conducive podium that is committed to youth participation in politics, as well as pure democratic and godly political succor.”He criticised Governor Ayodele Fayose’s decision to give what he described as “phantom jobs” to 2,000 new workers few weeks to the election.

“Why should people be forced to queue up in the sun for a directionless employment form at the local government secretariat in this 21st century?“What’s is wrong if these forms could be accessed through the internet to save the overwhelming unemployed youths the time, stress, money and risk of life?” he asked.

Meanwhile, a popular musician, Innocent Idibia, alias 2face, has implored Ekiti youths not to allow politicians to use them as thugs to unleash violence.Idibia urged the youths to contribute meaningfully to the democratic process by voting for candidates of their choice, and serving as advocates for peace in their localities.He spoke at a youth advocacy for peaceful election in Ado-Ekiti tagged: “Vote, Not Fight, Election No Be War.”

The event was organised at the weekend by a civil society organisation, the New Generation Girls and Women Development Initiative (NIGAWD).It was in partnership with the National Democratic Institute (NDI) and the United States Agency for International Development (USAID).Others partners were the United Kingdom Agency for International Development (UKAID), the 2Baba Foundation, and Youngsters Foundation.

The musician, who addressed Ekiti youths from the 16 local council areas, said election violence was capable of truncating their potential to be useful citizens to the fatherland.“Due to electoral violence, many youths have lost their lives. We must work together to prevent needless loss of lives before, during and after elections,” he said.NIGAWD Executive Director, Abimbola Aladejare, charged the youths to take the message to their various communities.

Minister of Water Resources, Mr. Suleiman Hussein Adamu

Adamu stated this at the yearly lecture/investiture of Prof. Fola Lasisi as the 10th President of the Nigerian Academy of Engineering (NAE) in Lagos.The minister revealed that the sustainability of the water industry is presently threatened by land degradation, deforestation, rapid population growth, poor sector investment, as well as climate change noting that these challenges have placed pressure on water resources systems of the country

According to him, the challenges necessitated the prompt intervention of the ministry in the sector. He warned that the International Water Management Institute (IWMI) has predicted that Nigeria may become water stressed between the year 2025 and 2050, as water availability would severely constrain socio-economic development and environmental protection as it reduces to less than 1000m3 per capita, if the current population growth persists.

He assured Nigerians that the nation would benefit immensely from the Water Resources Bill meant to provide for professional and efficient management of all surface and ground water if it pulled through in the national assembly.

According to him, the bill is designed to also provide good governance practice and investable opportunities for the private and public investors in the water sector.In a lecture titled; “Current Developments in Nigeria’s water resources sector”, Adamu, who was represented by Prof. Emmanuel Ada Adanu stressed that the Federal Government intends to ensure that through the provisions of the law the resources of the nation are protected, conserved, and managed in a sustainable way for all, in accordance with the mandate.

In his remarks, the new President of the Nigerian Academy of Engineering, Prof. Fola Lasisi canvassed for support from relevant stakeholders on the bill for improvement water sector in Nigeria. He said the objective was to address the issue of significant impact to the country’s socio-economic development.

Lasisi said the current development in Nigeria’s water resources sector is in furtherance of the academy’s avowed commitment to positively impact Nigerian economy and social life of the people.According to him, the Academy has over the years showed some of its operations by promoting the usefulness of engineering and technology as the true foundations for the development of the country.

“In recent times, our major focus is to encourage more cooperation with international academies and all stakeholders in engineering to focus on challenges such as; energy, infrastructure and security”, he stated.

Although, Section 30 of the Lagos State Physical Planning and Development Regulations, 2005, which is a subsisting document, clearly states that a signboard shall be erected at every construction site in the state, there seems to be laxity on the part of officials for the enforcement of the law.

According to the section, every construction site must have a signboard showing; the building development permit number; title of project, name and address of the owner as well as name and address of consultants and agents.But investigations revealed that a number of building sites are without the requisite signboards in total disregard of the extant regulation.

In some instance, professionals on site claimed that the boards were erected but were removed on the prompting of their clients.A quantity surveyor involved in the construction of a seven-storey building construction in Ikeja, affirmed that erection of signboards was a standard practice but said he was asked to remove the board by his client.The surveyor, who pleaded for anonymity, claimed that the building has all the necessary approvals only that the owner do not want to be linked to it for now.

He said: “ I could not do otherwise but to protect him in other not to lose my client”.But Moses Ogunleye, both a former president of Association of Town Planning Consultants of Nigeria (ATOPCON) and the Nigerian Institute of Town Planners (NITP), said it is a requirement backed by law.According to him, the project board is required so that the public will know those involved in projects and the owners so that you will know if they are using good professionals or not.

“You can get these information in a project board.There should be nothing to hide, if you are a registered professional, then you should ensure that it is followed to the letter.
“ If it is a law, contravenors should be prosecuted along with other contraventions like building without permits and others”, he said.Ogunleye also stressed that the issue was also raised as a major requisite at the tribunal against building collapse and there was agreement that the board must be in place.

Also, an architect and developmental expert, Lookman Oshodi said, the erection of project board is a product of building law and regulations and not out of practice.Oshodi, a Commonwealth Professional Fellow and Project Director of Arctic Infrastructure (AI) said, it is a standard practice and part of the new building code.Stressing that there is no exemption to the rule, he said it is the Lagos State Building Control Agency (LABSCA) job to ensure full compliance as well as prosecute offenders who contravened the law being a product of law.

According to him, if it is the law, offenders should be prosecuted, it is only that many people did not know the gravity of the offence.But spokesperson of the Agency, Mrs. Titi Ajirotutu said, though it is required that all building sites should have project boards stating their approval plans and other details, it, however did warrant prosecution.

According to her, the reason for the signboard is for officials to easily assess the authenticity of claims by developers as they can check in the archives to know whether the claims are true or false.On why the law is not being enforced, Mrs. Ajirotutu said, it is enforced but some times individuals house owners may not have money to hire professionals but officials always inquire from those on site to know whether the buildings have the required approval before they are allowed to continue with the project.

“If we don’t see any thing we just seal up the place for contravention”, she said.Stressing further, she said, owners of massive buildings should ensure that project boards are in place, but if they do not put it, we can not prosecute them for not putting the board.“So far that they have approvasl and have qualified professionals there, it is not the law that they have to be prosecuted for not erecting the board. “Our own is to ensure that they comply with the regulations and building approvals, but it is not in the law for them to be prosecuted if they don’t have the project boards”, she added.

Also, the General Manager of the Lagos State Building Control Agency (LASBCA), Nurudeen Olalekan Shodeinde said the offence is not a grievous offence.Although, he did not state what the penalty is, he however said the penalty is not fundamental as other contraventions. It is not a heavy contravention but the law said they should not do that. If it is massive building, they have to do it, they have approval but we cannot prosecute them.

Babatunde Durosinmi-Etti

Durosinmi-Etti promised that the State Government would massively deploy its facilities to ensure that litters along the road median on the Tin Can-Coconut section of the Apapa-Oshodi expressway was carted away in record time.He noted that NARTO and Apapa Local Government had critical roles to play in sustaining a clean environment in the area, stressing that members of NARTO could ill afford to conduct their business in dirty environment.

He urged NARTO to support government effort by working towards the provision of mobile toilets for the convenience of its members.He also urged the association to maintain constant watch of the environment and report any unsanitary behavior.

It should be recalled that the Lagos State Government has been in the fore front of efforts to restore sanity and bring back serenity and aesthetics to the Apapa axis of the State.
Also present at the meeting was the Chairman, Apapa Local Government, Hon. Adele Elijah, and Vice Chairman, NARTO Dry Cargo section, Alhaji Inuwa Abdulahi Muhammed.

Stella Oduah

The property in question are E29 and ‪31E Fat Oboh street‬ Millennium Homes, Oniru Private Estate Lagos as well as F3B, F4A, F4B, F5A, F5B SPG Road, Millennium Estate, Oniru Lekki Lagos State.They form part of the assets of Sea Petroleum Oil and Gas Group Limited seized by AMCON after an interim order by a Federal High Court, Lagos.

In the suit filed at the Federal High Court, Lagos , AMCON is seeking to recover a ₦20 billion debt allegedly owed by Star Petroleum. It had purchased the Eligible Bank Assets (EBAs) of Sea Petroleum & Gas Limited from Union Bank Plc sometime in 2012. It therefore secured an injunction freezing the accounts of Sea Petroleum & Gas Limited everywhere in Nigeria.

The court order also authorized AMCON and its receiver, Moyosore Jubril Onigbanjo, to take over all assets pledged as collateral for the facility by Sea Petroleum Oil & Gas Limited. But Union Bank Savings and Loans filed an application praying the federal high court to join it in the ongoing suit between AMCON and Oduah company.

The mortgage lender through its lawyer claimed that some of the properties seized by AMCON were used as by Stella, Star Properties and five of its directors to secure various mortgage loans between December 2009 and November 2010 amounting to ₦385, 750,000.The application claimed that despite several loan restructuring arrangements and interest waivers made to encourage the borrowers to pay up, they remain indebted to the company till date.

Union Homes is therefore arguing that the property used by the borrowers as collateral ought to be forfeited to it and not to AMCON.In the application, Union Homes Savings and Loans averred that it is entitled to the protection of its proprietary interest in the specified properties. It also prays the court to join as an interested party in AMCON’s suit against Sea Petroleum so that it can defend and safeguard its own interests and prevent being compulsorily and unjustly divested of its legitimate investment and proprietary interest by the plaintiffs.

Locke Apartment property Lekki, Lagos, a property owned by Union Homes Real Estate Investment Trust (UH REITs) has come tops with the highest rental yield of about 8 percent.This was closely followed by UH REITs’ commercial property at N0 64 Opebi Road, Ikeja measuring 1,433 square metres and Ogoaro Crescent, Garki, Abuja commercial property measuring 2,427 square metres.

Locke apartment is fully residential and comprises of 15 units block of flats with yearly tenancy as well as 80 percent of occupancy rate.The property was built a year old against that of Ikeja and Garki property built seven years ago.Typically, rental yields reduce as the property ages. Property values in Lagos rise faster than rental income. The lower the rental yield, the higher the property value and vice versa.

The figures were posted on the website of the Nigerian Stock Exchange by Union Homes Real Estate Investment Trust as its official rental yield data provided for their real estate properties located in Lagos and Abuja.Union Homes in the report listed property in 13 locations with 10 located in Lagos and three in Abuja respectively.

The report indicates that Union Homes REITs booked a rental income of about N150 million for the period ended September 2017 and N81.9 million for the first quarter of 2018.It also reveals Real Estate Rental Yields of between three per cent and eight per cent respectively for the month ended May 2018.Real Estate rental yield is the rental income as a percentage of the property’s value. It can be calculated as a gross percentage, before expenses are deducted, or as a net percentage, with expenses and purchasing or transaction costs accounted for. 



The simplest way to calculate rental yield is to divide the amount paid for the property by the amount received in yearly rent.For example, if you paid N100, 000.00 for a flat and received N200 per week in rent, then your annual rental rate would be N10, 400.This means your yield would be 10.4 per cent (100,000 divided by 10,400).Yields are also a good indicator of property values and it is frequently used around the world as a proxy for determining property values.

According to the data, Union Homes REIT has a total property net asset value of about N12.8 billion with a combined delinquency rate of just 0.75 per cent.The report also detailed occupancy rates for highbrow areas like Victoria Island, Ikoyi and Apo Abuja. The age of the properties ranges from one year to seven years.Interestingly, one of the oldest properties at seven years of age is located on Ikorodu road in mainland Lagos, a busy stretch of the expressway that is mostly dominated by commercial buildings.The Ikorodu Road property covers a land area of 3,075sqm and attracts a rental yield of about seven percent.

The report reveals further that its residential property located in Lagos produced the lowest rental yields.The property are aged between five and seven years with a significant number of units, perhaps reflects the rising value of property in highbrow areas of Lagos, particularly Ikoyi and Lekki. In fact, the Ikoyi Property had a rental yield of mostly three per cent.The Apo property had a rental yield of about 4 per cent. Rental Income in Abuja is significantly higher than in Lagos, perhaps proving a more profitable place to lease out residential property.

The population estimated at over 170 million producing thousand tons of waste each day, waste disposal remains a big issue to deal with, especially when it piles up on the streets and residential areas.

It is therefore not out of place to call this current evolution the smart-generation. So numerous are the breakthroughs that have been experienced in science, medicine, lifestyle, housing, nutrition et al as a result of the growing interest in building smart cities and communities. Earlier at the inception of the industrialization revolution quite a lot of breakthroughs were recorded, one of which is the discovery of plastics.

In commemoration of this year world environment day I write this piece, not as an academic but as a non-conventional entrepreneur who has spent the past decade of my life daily digging deep into a lecture class held in 2004 at the Chemistry General Lab of the University of Ilorin, Nigeria. As posterity will have it, the lecturer then was Dr. Abdulkareem Sulyman Age now Vice-Chancellor of the prestigious “Better by Far” university who passionately inducted me into the world of polymers. I later went on to score so high in Polymer Chemistry that year, a course he taught with all simplicity, then something happened to me on which my write-up today is pivotal on. I encountered “PLASTICS”.Need not dwell too long on the evolution of plastics, search engines will avail you quite a handful. I would rather remind you how quickly the world has embraced plastics for the love of portability, durability, and cost-friendliness.

In the world of beverages, Glass reigned supreme until a generation came that felt the fragility of glass and the volume of loss incurred is damning. The same generation felt slowed down by the term “content only” as its inscribed-on glass bottles, who has the time to walk for so long just to return glass bottles to retail stores. Then industrialization came up with a more aesthetic bottle that gave a huge boost to attractive packaging. crispy clear plastic bottles otherwise called, PET bottles!

There was likewise a time in this country when the metropolitan population was satisfied with the chlorine treatment errors of the then water corporation or water authority as obtainable in other municipalities. Tap water runs! And the agrarian communities loved drinking from streams and rivers that cattle pass through. But the Taps dried up and the rural communities got plagued with diverse water-borne diseases.

But then came a generation that seeks to give portability to Water, they found plastics in 3 grades for diverse consumers, again PET bottles came to the rescue. Then came Polythene Films popularly called sachets and also came HDPE Jerry Cans.The consumption of plastics spiked at geometric rates and kept spiking to this moment. Disposal became a huge problem as Plastics were designed to last and indeed they last as it takes over 500 years for plastics to photo-decompose.

It is projected that by the year 2050 there will be more plastics in oceans across the world than fishes. It is also shocking to know the disastrous effect of plastic pollution on humans and animals alike.In the words of Richard Buckminster Fuller - an American Inventor, “Pollution is nothing but the resources we are not harvesting. We allow them to disperse because we have been ignorant of their value”.

In recent times, social-enterprise like Vicfold Recyclers, Wecyclers, Recycle Points and a host of others work tirelessly to beat plastic pollution in Nigeria while likewise creating jobs for the teeming unemployed women and youths in the communities they serve. Some have called for a total ban on plastics, but some likewise support a call for responsible consumption and production as enshrined in United Nations SDG 12. The ban on plastics won’t make the poorly disposed waste disappear, a more sustainable action is desirous.In the world of plastics, the opportunities are endless, do you know it takes only 60 minutes to return your wastewater sachets to you as shopping bags. It takes about four hours of production optimum time to make your PET bottles into synthetic fibers used in pillow fillings, production of sports shoes and jerseys. It takes about 6 hours to convert 32 pcs 2-Litre PET plastics into a fleece jacket. The cap of your beverage bottles only takes 4 hours to return to you as household buckets and bowls.

The incessant hike in forex has forced a lot of manufacturers in the plastic sector to look inward for their raw materials, and hence the recent recycling drive in Nigeria.
The market size of recycled plastics in Nigeria is in the volume of over 2 billion dollars annually. Would you want to make some money? Then join us beat plastic pollution by recovering plastic waste and preparing them for reintegration into the production line of relevant manufacturers.For a more result-oriented fight at mitigating plastic pollution, we need stiffer regulations in the areas of production, as a percentage of recycled material must be mandatorily used in the production of new plastic products.

Extended Producer responsibility law must be enforced. As packaging waste is another disaster waiting to happen because the packaging of products is core to every production process, and the volume of plastic films used in product packaging is at geometric levels and adequate measures must be taken to forestall the looming disaster.Importation of virgin plastic resins from countries who are banning the import of their waste must be sanctioned, as Africa isn’t a dumpsite.Municipal Waste management facilities must be established with functional recycling centers in every metropolitan city within Nigeria and other African countries. A new generation of waste-preneurs must rise to the call of the environment at mitigating plastic pollution. Non- easily-recyclable grades of plastics must be discontinued.

Plastic waste must be highly incentivized for increased interest in recycling.Local efforts must be supported as developmental diversity nullifies the sustainability of banning plastics.The call for a closed loop model and a circular economy is more sustainable in our fight to mitigate plastic pollution.Together we can beat plastic pollution while creating Jobs especially for women and the teeming disenfranchised youths in our diverse communities. I therefore in celebration of this remarkable event in global space invite you to join me and other social-entrepreneurs in the waste recycling space in mitigating plastic pollution and combating the disastrous effects on man and animals alike. Yes, together we can!
.Amusa is an Environmentalist, Social Entrepreneur, Circular Economist, and a LEAP Africa SIP Fellow of 2018. He is also Chief Executive Officer, Vicfold Recyclers- A Recycling Firm based in Ilorin Kwara State Nigeria.