ANTI-SMOKING LAW IS MEANT TO SAFEGUARD PEOPLE’S LIVES -Lagos Lawmaker, Yishawu Gbolahan

He is one of the most articulate lawmakers the Lagos State House of Assembly boasts of. Hon. Yishawu Gbolahan from Eti Osa Constituency 2 is in the House for the first term, but he has been able to prove that he has much for the people of the state. He was the mover of the Anti-Smoking Bill that has now been passed into law by the assembly and the law has been generating news all over the state.

We met with the young politician recently and he spoke extensively on the law that he said is dear to him, and also used the opportunity of the interview to react to some other important questions.

What informed your decision to come up with a Bill to ban smoking in public places that is now a law?

The greatest asset of any nation is human resources, not oil or gold and Nigeria has abundant human resources. So for us to ensure that our people stay healthy, we have to do things that are not inimical to their health, smoking is bad and injurious to health. You can even see it on the pack of the cigarette that smoking is dangerous and that smokers are liable to die young, the smoke coming from smokers is equally dangerous and hazardous to others. The substance coming from it causes cancer; it affects the lung, kidney and even bladder. It affects fertility in men and women and is even more prominent in women than men. So, it is meant to safeguard the lives of the seeming Lagosians.

What sensitization plan is on ground to ensure the police do not start harassing people before the law becomes operational?

The Bill passed by the assembly is waiting for the assent of the Governor, of course the police know the law and if you rights are infringed upon, you can complain, it is always like that, but on awareness, we will definitely do that, it has become our tradition to do that. The law provides for six months period after it is signed by the Governor before it is implemented, it gives ample time to sensitize our people about it. Initially, when the okada (motorcycle) law came in, people fell their rights were being infringed upon, but later, they realized it is not so. I think it has even become a joke that two guys were coming late in the night and they asked them where they were coming from and when they said they were coming from a club, the police said that they must be gay and got them arrested. I’m sure it is a joke. Our awareness and sensitization would be done.

Where do we regard as public places?

Public places are where you don’t have exclusive right to such as private offices, where people come, offices and other places where people go.

What of the tax the government is getting from Tobacco companies, will the law not affect sales of cigarettes and then the revenue of the companies and a drop in the taxes being collected by the government?

Is it PAYE or VAT, thank God that a public hearing was held here on the issue and it was discovered that when a ban is placed on sales of cigarettes, it doesn’t affect sales of the products. Even in restaurants, where smoking was banned in the United States, their sales grew by 1%, people that would not stop smoking would not stop smoking, so they said it themselves that it would not affect their sales. Even at that, you pay us N1 as tax and we have to spend N20 in treating people that are affected by the habit, it is not good enough. How do you now quantify the human loss and people that fall ill over the habit?

Most times, when you discuss issues on the assembly, you do so with facts; do you do researches before coming to the chamber?

Yes, like today, I wanted to talk about sexual abuse, but I was not called upon, we are lawmakers and representatives of the people and our discuss must be based on facts, not opinion. Most people may not do it, I can tell you that the United Nations said that about 1.1 Billion people smoke in the world today and that by 2025, they would be 1.6 Billion, I can tell you that 50% of people that smoke are liable to be affected by smoking. Don’t forget that we have members on the floor that are rich in knowledge and some are experienced in certain areas and you don’t want to be rubbished, so if you don’t know your onions and you don’t worth your salt, you will be rubbished. The issues here are two different things, we are talking of Smoking Law, it is not Tobacco Law, and we will still have Tobacco Law. If you put your cigarette on the table and you don’t light it, it is not going to hurt anybody, so while we are talking of this, the National Assembly is talking about making law on goods including tobacco. Look at the Tobacco Law the National Assembly is working on since 2006 or 2007, it is still there, and they have not passed it. I will rather take the shortest route than waiting for the Federal Government. If eventually they pass the Tobacco Law, it can subsume our Smoking Law.

Some of the indulgence could be a fall out of the economic problems in the country, I mean habits like smoking, drinking and other acts, don’t you think there is a wide gap between the leaders and the led?

I appreciate what you are saying, but I won’t agree with you totally because even abroad, where they have everything, there are more smokers there than here. The records are there, I told you 1.1 Billion people now, which means one in nine people in the world smoke, what is the percentage of Nigerians there, if you take the world population and we give about 60% to children, it means one in every four adults smoke and that does not apply here. Here, women don’t smoke much; we don’t have information to tie smoking to poverty. Another way you look at it is that smoking is expensive like a research showed that an individual spends as much as 1,000 pounds sterling on smoking in a year in the United Kingdom, which is about N250,000. So, smoking is not cheap at all.

What have been the high points of your being here and the challenges of your office?

For me, it has been fun, we have been able to represent our people and give them a voice, I am happy everybody knows who I am now, I have been to carve a niche for myself, sometimes, they call me minority leader, that is the way they feel, I don’t grudge them, at least I am not doing it in another party, I am still in my party.

What has been your relationship with your constituents?

You can’t blame constituents, you will not be fair if you think they are doing something different from what your extended family members do, look at the extended families we come from, your uncle would bring his child, your sister will come, everybody comes, you don’t need to be in politics to do this, you just need to be richer than the people in your family, the requests will come. Don’t portray it as if it is peculiar to Nigerian. I remember those days, when your brother is a manager in a company and everybody would say I want to go and meet my brother, and demand from him as if the money belongs to us together. It can be a bit stressful, I find it frustrating sometimes because I love to give and if I can’t give, I feel bad, I am not happy if I can’t solve people’s problems, but my succour is that I keep doing it.

Elections are coming and we have seen politicking going on everywhere, people leaving parties, may be moving from PDP to APC and vice versa, what is your opinion on this?

On cross carpeting, we see that every four years, we see more of it in APC now because we are a new bigger party, some people came with ulterior motive and if they don’t get what they want, they would go back, and at a point in time, it would settle down, for us, it is a teething problem that  comes during election time. Some say they are people of different ideologies coming together, I don’t think it is like that, I think, we are a party with our own rules and regulations and when you come in, you drop your toga and obey our manifestoes, and if you can’t, you go, but the more the merrier.

Do you think it is worth it for Nigeria to celebrate 100 years of the country at this time?

I have said it, we should mark it, it is a period of sober reflection, but to celebrate it, I am not comfortable with that. Yes, as Nigerians, we are glad that within the mismanagement of our resources, we have been able to survive, yes we are glad, but amidst plenty, we are being short-changed by the government. We are glad that we are able to go to school with the strenuous conditions, but for the Federal Government to say they are celebrating, what are they celebrating, they should bury their heads in shame, we should be the one celebrating that we are able to survive the rough terrain in the country, we are in a country where the Federal Government does not allow the rule of law to operate, we should be the one that should give ourselves a pass mark. We want to waste money that should be spent on health, power and education on frivolities. We should think rather than talking about Vision 2020, 2025, 2050 and all that. We should be able to tell them the truth and make this nation better.

What is your plan as we go for another election, are you coming back here?

Though you people flatter me that I have learned fast, that it is surprising that I am able to push in a private member Bill and all that, I still feel I am still learning, after that, I can make use of the knowledge for a stronger and articulate my views more. But, it doesn’t lie with me, it all depends on the party, if our great party and leaders believe there are some other things I could do, so be it.

Were you actually encouraged to come here or you decided on your own to be here?

I made up my mind to be here because I know that the legislature can make a change in the country, the laws we made are being implemented by the executive and interpreted by the  judiciary, we make laws for the people. Legislature is the essence of democracy, under military rule, it is only the legislature that is absent, the Supreme Military Council is the executive, the judiciary is there, but the legislature is not there, so the legislature is the right place to be, we are working with the executive and we have discussions to give the people the best. We have to work together to move the country forward.

TANKERS AND TANK FARMS ARE MAKING LIFE DIFFICULT FOR APAPA RESIDENTS -Lagos Lawmaker, Hon. Mufutau Egberongbe

One thing that has become worrisome to the lawmaker representing Apapa Constituency 1 in the Lagos State House of Assembly, Hon. Mufutau Egberongbe is the activities of tanker drivers and fuel depots in the area.

He has been calling for the relocation of these tankers, which he said have become a threat to lives in Apapa as well the relocation of the numerous tank farms that adorn the area.

In an interview he granted us recently on his stewardship in the House, Hon. Egberongbe added that he has been able to bring succour to many people in the area, especially in the area of security, influencing provision of amenities from the state government to the area and empowering the people of the highly industrialised area.

The seasoned lawmaker also revealed that it is not possible for him to talk about where he is going as another election approaches as he insisted that everything is in the hands of the leaders of his party; the All Progressives Congress (APC).

You have been in the House for sometime now, what have been the highpoints of representing the people of Apapa 1, a highly industrialized area?

Apapa Constituency 1, which I represent, is a combination of the highbrow people, who stay in Apapa GRA, and those at the lower rung of the ladder, who are living in Ijora area. My constituents include the likes of Senator Muniru Muse, Mrs. Kuforiji Olubi, it houses the Nigerian Ports Authority, Tin Can Island Port, by the time you look at these, and with  the people in Ijora Oloye, Ijora Eledu, you can see that it is a mixture of the high and the low. Their yearnings and aspirations are different; in the GRA, you find that their needs include security, of course electricity is a general problem, you have the issue of gas emission from tanker drivers, farm tanks, the economic activities in the ports, and all these have devastating effects on infrastructure in Apapa. The major challenge has been the issue of security of lives and properties, residential areas have been turned to commercial areas and the emission from the tank farms, indiscriminate parking of tankers are some of the challenges we face in the area. In Ijora Oloye axis, you find the issue of the drainage that have been blocked, environmental nuisance, you find people of Kwara doing one trade or the other and some of them do not have electricity to work with. Of course, Oba Fatai Aromire, the Ojora of Ijora has been so helpful and the adjoining festivities in the area, the Oro, Elegba Festivals come to mind here, they become notable in the area.

In what ways have you been able to solve their problems, especially on the issue of the trailers that park on the roads?

The major challenge, even to the highbrow and the downtrodden is the indiscriminate parking of trailers by tanker drivers on the roads and the issue of tank farms. Like I have said severally, I have made representation to the Ministry of the Environment. When Dr. Muiz Banire was the Commissioner for the Environment, I made representation to him; he had been there severally to see things for himself. Around 2009, I took some media men there and they recorded the activities with their video recorders, we realized that we could only touch their minds through advocacy. They need to relocate these tankers; they cannot be in a residential area like Apapa. If any of these tankers catches fire, the causality is always worrisome, there would be loss of lives and properties just like the one that happened recently at Berger Bus-Stop in Apapa, the trailer fell down and caught fire, it consumed the trailer, killed 23 people and destroyed properties. If a trailer catches fire and such destruction could happen, what do you think would be the case if a tank farm catches fire. Apart from this, the tanker drivers park in chains and I can tell you if one catches fire, the rest would be affected and the whole of Apapa would be consumed. We are sitting on a time bomb, I am using this medium to make a renewed call on the Federal Government that the primary responsibility of a government is the protection of lives and properties and any life that goes would never come back. It is very good to be proactive in our governance, we all can see what this portends; let us do what is right at the right time. Let the tankers park in another area; may be on Lagos-Ibadan Expressway, they can come in tens, when a batch goes, another ten would come, and that would be more like it. Another one can be to relocate the tank farms from Apapa and even rejuvenate the rail system, I was born in Apapa and went to Apapa Primary School, as a young boy, we saw trains being used to transport goods from Apapa Port and train were used to even carry cows, so why are we going back. Trains can carry tons of loads, with this, we will not disturb other road users, it is cheaper, safer and economical. Children of nowadays see train as a big deal, which was no big deal to us then. We used to go and meet my brother, who was schooling in Osogbo in Osun State at Iddo Terminus as he used to travel by train. Let us go back to this.

In all of these, what have you been able to achieve for your people?

I repaired the police station there and they even named a centre in the station after me, I procured motorcycle and walkie talkie for the policemen there. The Inspector General of Police then, Hafiz Ringim even recognized my work. Apapa, being a low level area, is prone to flood, I have assisted the CDAs to confront this problem, I have organized annual poverty alleviation programme for my constituents, I did one on October 9, 2013. I organize football competition and table tennis competition for my people.

How close are you to your people to solve their problems?

I have a constituency office there, I have my constituency office there, I go there on Wednesdays and Fridays, when I am not busy in the assembly. Most of the problems they bring to me are very personal and I cannot solve some of them due to shortage of funds and some come to me for intellectual discussions. I initiated Apapa Security Trust Fund, that fund too was a result of a talk shop I organized years back, and we discussed the precarious security problem in Apapa, there, we thought of how to solve the problems and we agreed that we could generate employment by engaging the companies to help our youths, and that instead of procuring arms for the police, we could make use of social mechanism by engaging the youths, so football and all sorts of sports are used to take the youth away from crimes and the companies were all around to be part of this. The Security Trust Fund took off with the assistance of the local government chairman and Governor Babatunde Raji Fashola also gave us N500,000 as his own contribution to the project. I want to use this medium to commend the Secretary of the Fund, Mr. Mike Egbayilo for doing a very good job. He has been the secretary of Apapa GRA Residential Association before. He has been collaborating on the project with the Apapa Local Government. Another person is the Ojora of Ijora, Oba Fatai Aromire, he is one Oba that has the interest of the community at heart, he would call me from time to time on issues.

You have been here since 2003, do you have any regret and have your expectations been met?

Legislative activities are continuous and it is a relatively new one in our body polity. In Nigeria, we have had years of military rule and during those period, the executive would be there, the judiciary would be there and the only one that would be truncated is the legislature, so that is why I say it is relatively new. The activities of the legislature are done by convention. Here, we have been exposed to trainings in Nigeria and abroad, the Speaker of the House, Rt. (Hon.) Adeyemi Ikuforiji has taken lawmaking to another level, not just in Lagos State, but in Nigeria as a whole, but there are still more grounds to be covered.

What is your philosophy as a politician because people have attributed corruption and lots of things to politicians?

Prior to my emergence as a member of the Lagos State House of Assembly, I had been a community man, a member of the Community Development Association in Apapa, I was the Secretary of Kofo Abayomi Development Association, I was the secretary of the CDC in the area, which comprises all the CDAs in Apapa Local Government Area and when you talk of community activities, they are selfless services. This has imbibed in me service to the people and it has been with me before coming to the House and I have been toeing that line. The concept of governance is about service and if you fail to do that, the negative of such would soon come to you. No matter the enormity of funds you are able to garner, if there is no electricity in your area, you will continue to burn diesel, when you put on your generating set, if there is no security, you get private security, if there is no water, you dig your own borehole and by the time everybody dig borehole, it would have impact on the environment, we are postponing the evil day as this could lead to earthquake. We should emulate the lofty ideals of our leader, Asiwaju Bola Ahmed Tinubu, prior to his involvement in politics, this man had been successful, he was a treasurer with Mobil Producing and he was even successful abroad, he could just sit back with his money with his wife and children, but of what use is the money if everybody around him is poor. So, he decided to join politics to help people.

Who are your godfathers in politics and what is your plan for 2015 as election is approaching?

My godfathers in politics are those who have been mentoring me, I do not see anything wrong in godfatherism in politics if it means mentoring you aright, challenging you to do what is good. I have so many of them. Asiwaju Bola Ahmed Tinubu is my mentor; I say a big thank you to him for the opportunity he gave me to serve. My coming back is based on the ideology and structure of the party, there are people in the party, who keep records of your activities, so, they are the ones to tell me where to go. It is inappropriate for me to say this is my next line of action, when the party has structure on how to go about it. You are given responsibility as at when due and you could be withdrawn from one responsibility to another. So you don’t delegate authority to yourself.

How would you like to be remembered?

I would want to be remembered as someone that came and do my own thing in my own little way, being myself with a view to having an egalitarian society, where everybody is equal, where we have equal opportunity, justice, where there is no line of demarcation between the poor and the rich and where everybody has access to good things of life. Having at the back of my mind that no matter how long we stay here, we will leave this place one day and meet our God and you don’t even know, when you will be leaving, you can be called God at any time to answer to the call of nature, so of what use are those things you have amassed, things happen everyday and all those that have gone, we are not better than them, so we should use our days to better the lives of others.

Lady Cries Out Over Assault by Businessman

A 25-year old lady has cried out over an alleged assault by a Lagos-based businessman.

According to the lady, named Funmi (other name withheld) the incident occurred on Thursday January 23, 2014 at about 2.pm.

Funmi said that a woman, whose name was later discovered to be Obey Ibeh Okpareke, had hit her official car from the rear with a green Toyota Avalon with the number plate KTU 999 CE around Awolowo Way off Allen Avenue.

She said that she was coming from an official assignment at the Lagoon Hospital in Ikeja with her company driver, when the accident occurred.

"Rather than admit her mistake, the woman wound up her car's wind screen and she  made calls for about 20 minutes. Suddenly, we saw two men coming near us on okada (motorcycle), one of whom later turned out to be her husband. They came down from the okada and the woman then jumped out of the car to join the man to beat me for about 15 minutes to the extent  of causing bodily injury on me," she narrated.

She revealed that the  deed had already been done before her company's driver and passers-by rescued her from the couple, who she said went back into their car and drove off immediately.

Funmi added that they later pursued the duo as they were driving off and that she was able to take the picture of the car with the number plate, when the woman and her hubby stopped at a pharmaceutical company.

She said that the matter was later reported at the MAN Centre Divisional Police Station, Ikeja, but that the couple had left before the police got there.

"We  did investigations with the car's number plate and discovered the woman's name  and we found out that the couple lives at 24, Ibari Street, Ogba, Agege, Lagos. I even searched for her on the facebook and I saw her picture with the name," she said.

The distraught lady explained that it was also discovered that the couple is the owner of Simba Pharmacy situated at Ogba and Lagos Island.

She disclosed amidst tears that the man was old enough to be her father as he was in his 50s.

Funmi said that all efforts made by the police to make the woman and her husband come out to face the consequences of their action have proven abortive.

"We have been to their residence several times, but we were not allowed in. I saw the husband peeping through the window on one occasion only for the security man to tell the police detectives that nobody was bearing such name in the compound. We have not been able to get them and I have spent so much money to treat myself and I still have pains all over my body," she stated.