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But for the
intervention of the Lagos State government, the third day of January
2011 was going to be historic, at least for residents of Lekki, Ajah
area. The day would have marked the commencement of the much contended
tolling on the Eti-Osa-Lekki Road. Or, put bluntly, the day would have
been chaotic, marred by protests by residents who are vehemently
opposed to the tolling.

With the suspension
of the tolling which was ordered on Wednesday by the state governor,
Babatunde Fashola, the drama continues with no end in sight.

Many residents of
the area say they will not pay any toll on the road which is currently
being reconstructed by the Lekki Concession Company, LCC, while
government insists that the project will go on according to the Public
Private Partnership agreement with LCC collecting toll from three
plazas on the reconstructed road for the 30-year period of the
concession.

According to the
announcement on LCC’s website, the road expansion/reconstruction has
gone beyond the Road Section 1, informing their decision to commence
tolling at the first Toll Plaza, also known as Admiralty Circle Plaza.
The announcement also stated that the decision is in line with the
terms of the Concession Mandate granted to LCC by the Lagos State
government.

However, Opuiyo
Oforiokuma, managing director/CEO of LCC, said the concession agreement
contemplated the present kind of situation.

“We believe that
Lagos State government’s statement about the suspension of tolling is
clear. We also believe that government remains committed to
infrastructure development in the state, leveraging private sector
resources.

“Project
implementation plans sometimes require adjustment. Our Concession
Agreement contemplates situations such as this and contains provisions
for dealing with them. Be assured of our best wishes for the New Year,”
he said.

The people want an end to it

Whereas the suspension has stalled a possible immediate uproar, many residents see it as postponing the evil day.

Sani Adewale, the
president of Eti-Osa Heritage Group and the Convener of the
Stakeholders Forum on Lekki-Epe Road Expansion, said there is no cause
for excitement.

“We are not excited
at all, given that the issue is still hanging there. They have been
postponing the issue. They postponed it in May. They postponed it in
August. They should be courageous enough to face it or cancel it
completely. There is a moral burden on the project. It’s a rip-off on
the people. If not, how can you explain N150 for a car at one toll
point. The concessionaire is not a partner for social development.

“I think government
made a mistake in the choice of concessionaire, because those LCC guys
are just businessmen; they are just after the money.

“You can imagine
for someone who goes to and fro through one toll plaza will be spending
N106,000 per annum. What if the household has up to three cars and they
have to pass all the three toll plazas? That means they will be
spending millions per annum on the road. We know they are just waiting
for the elections to come and go, then they will unleash the economic
terror on us,” he said.

Another resident of
Eti-Osa, Andrew Oretan, said they are not satisfied with a suspension
of the tolling. What they want is cancellation.

“The language is
suspension, not cancellation. What we want is for government to cancel
the whole thing. We cannot pay toll on a road that we have been using
for 29 years; a road the government gave to us as four lanes and
somebody is coming to add two lanes and is asking us to pay toll for 30
years.

“We are tax payers;
we pay a lot of levies in Eti-Osa, land use charge. What we want now is
for them to give final decision on this. We understand their antics.
They are just buying time, maybe after elections they bring the toll
thing back,” Mr. Oretan said.

Protest to continue

According to Mr.
Oretan, members of Eti-Osa communities will continue their protest, in
spite of the suspension, to maintain their “no-toll” stance.

According to a press statement signed by Ayo Gbeleyi, the director
general of the State Public-Private Partnership, the suspension became
expedient after public outcry concerning the toll and to allow for more
consultation on the issue. The statement added that the time will also
allow for the completion of the alternative routes by the government.

Major realignment
of forces and defections have hit the country’s political parties,
especially the big ones, only few weeks to the deadline for the
submission of candidates.

According to the
new timetable for the 2011 general elections released by the
Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) last month, the
parties have up till January 15 to submit names of their candidates for
the elective positions to the commission. The parties are, therefore,
expected to organise their primaries (or adopt) to pick those that will
fly their flags before that day.

Consequently, some
of the politicians who are dissatisfied with their primaries or were
afraid that they would not be offered the tickets to run for the
elections have, in the last few weeks, defected to other parties to
realise their ambitions. Some of them are:

Timi Alaibe

Until last Friday,
Mr Alaibe was the Special Adviser to the President on Niger Delta
Affairs. Prior to that appointment, he was the managing director of the
Niger Delta Development Commission (NDDC). Twice, he aspired to rule
Bayelsa State on the platform of the People’s Democratic Party (PDP),
but did not succeed. The first was in 2003 when he wanted to challenge
a former governor of the state, Diepreye Alamieyeseigha. In 2007, he
moved to challenge the then governor, Goodluck Jonathan, but backed
out. That was before Mr Jonathan was nominated as the PDP vice
presidential candidate. An efficient mobiliser, Mr Alaibe last Thursday
defected to Labour Party (LP) where he hopes to realise his
governorship ambition. It, however, remains to be seen how he would win
the oil rich state, from which Mr Jonathan hails from for the
opposition Labour Party (LP).

Rasheed Ladoja

He is a former governor of Oyo State under the platform of the PDP. While in office,

he was impeached in
controversial circumstances but was reinstated by the court. Mr
Ladoja’s membership of the party became shaky after his reinstatement
as governor. In fact, the ruling party did not give him the ticket to
run for a second time but instead, gave it to his former deputy and
present governor,

Adebayo Alao-Akala,
thanks to the political force of the late Lamidi Adedibu. Recently, Mr
Ladoja, a billionaire businessman and a former senator, dumped the PDP
for the Accord Party (AP). Some say his defection was informed by the
protracted crisis in the Oyo State chapter of the PDP.

Achike Udenwa

He is a former
governor of Imo State and the immediate past Commerce and Industry
minister. Mr Udenwa came to limelight when, in 1999, he defeated the
more popular Ezekiel Izuogu in the gubernatorial contest in the state.
He ruled the state until 2007. Following the controversy that trailed
the governorship primaries in the state in 2001, Mr Udenwa supported
the emergence of the incumbent governor, Ikedi Ohakim of the
Progressive Peoples Alliance (PPA) against Ifeanyi Araraume of the PDP.
However, Mr Udenwa’s romance with Mr Ohakim was short-lived as both
battled to control the structure of the party in the state.

The governor has
since dumped the PPA for PDP. On his part, Mr Udenwa decamped to the
Action Congress of Nigeria (ACN) few weeks ago and has interestingly
joined forces with the hitherto political opponent, Mr Araraume to
fight the incumbent governor.

Ifeanyi Araraume

Mr Araraume was in
the Senate for eight years. He showed interest in running Imo State as
governor in 2007 and in fact was given the PDP ticket in controversial
circumstances.

But former
president Olusegun Obasanjo did not want him and mobilised the PDP
supporters to vote for Mr Ohakim who was of the PPA. The former
senator, who was about the most popular candidate, quit the PDP few
weeks ago. He has taken up membership of ACN.

Mohammed Abacha

He is the eldest
surviving son of the late military head of state, Sani Abacha. Mr
Abacha’s foray into politics came as a shock to many. He first took up
membership of the PDP where he had hoped to actualise his ambition to
rule Kano State as its governor. When it seemed like he would not
secure the ticket, the young man moved to the Congress for Progressive
Change (CPC). Yet, the CPC appeared hotter for him than the PDP. He was
reportedly thrown out of the CPC last week by a faction of the party
sympathetic to the national chairman, Rufai Hanga. Mr Abacha is said to
be on his way to the All Nigeria Peoples Party (ANPP).

Dora Akunyili

The immediate past
information and communication minister was drafted into the federal
cabinet by the late President Umaru Yar’Adua, whom she had campaigned
for in 2007. Mrs Akunyili dumped the PDP early last month for All
Progressives Grand Alliance (APGA) to contest election to represent
Anambra Central Senatorial District. Not a few describe her exit from
the ruling party as shocking.

However, those who
should know have maintained that there was a deal between her and the
APGA structure in Anambra State led by the national chairman, Victor
Umeh and the governor, Peter Obi. Unconfirmed reports indicated that it
was the major reason Mrs Akunyili did not support former CBN governor,
Chukwuma Soludo (her in-law) who ran the election under the banner of
the PDP.

Dele Momodu

This celebrated
journalist and publisher of Ovation Magazine wanted to vie for the
presidency on the ticket of LP. But a few weeks ago, in a statement he
authorised, Mr Momodu announced his withdrawal. He has now declared his
intention to run for president under the National Conscience Party
(NCP).

Mohammed Ali Ndume

Mr Ndume symbolised
opposition politics at the National Assembly where he is the minority
leader and leader of the All Nigeria Peoples Party (ANPP). A two-time
member of the House of Representatives, Mr Ndume impressed many
Nigerians in the manner he confronted the majority PDP in the House on
issues. At the national secretariat of the ANPP, he was revered for his
role in the House. In fact, he was often described as “the face of
opposition in the party.” But Mr Ndume, last Monday, dumped the ANPP
for the PDP, which is in the opposition in his native Borno State. The
gist is that he wanted to go to the Senate to represent Borno South
Senatorial District, but that the governor refused him. Governor Modu
Sheriff is said to be backing his women affairs commissioner, Asabe
Vilita Bashir for the seat.

Garba Lado

Mr Lado, son of a
rich businessman in Katsina State, has been a senator since 2007 on the
ticket of the PDP. Before then, he was a member of the House of
Representatives.

He is reputed to be
a strong supporter of the late president, Umaru Yar’Adua and kicked
against the “Doctrine of Necessity” on which the upper legislative
chamber stood to declare Mr Jonathan acting president early last year.
Mr Lado, has dumped the PDP for the CPC from where he hopes to oust
Governor Ibrahim Shema from office. A few weeks ago, the senator was
reported to have been picked as the consensus candidate of the party.

However, a former
House of Representatives Speaker, Aminu Bello Masari, who is eyeing the
same position, was said to have kicked against it, insisting that the
consensus project was fraudulently executed. The matter is yet to be
resolved even as Mr Masari is combing the nooks and crannies of the
state to canvass for votes.

Aminu Bello Masari

In 2007, he wanted
to succeed Mr Yar’Adua as Katsina State governor and had indeed been
assured that he would pick the ticket. But the unexpected happened and
he was shoved aside for Mr Shema, who was then a deputy national
chairman of the PDP.

He, expectedly,
fell out with the late president and even fought him till the end. He
decided to join the CPC alongside his associates like Sadiq Abubakar
Yar’Adua (not a relation of the late president), but he is not having
it easy in the quest to actualise his ambition as he faces stern
opposition from fellow party men.

Chimaroke Nnamani

He is a sitting
senator and former governor of Enugu State for eight years. Mr Nnamani
installed the incumbent governor, Sullivan Chime as governor, but the
two have parted ways. The 50-year-old former governor has floated a new
political party called People for Democratic Change (PDC).

Rochas Okorocha

He is a popular
philanthropists and businessman from Imo State. He contested the
presidential primaries variously in PDP and ANPP. But recently, he
defected to APGA, where he wants to contest the governorship election
of Imo State. Sadly, that state’s branch of the party has given him
quit notice. Reason: Mr Okorocha’s thugs invaded the APGA secretariat
in the state where they manhandled some party executives.

He may, therefore, be on his way to another party.

Early decampees

Muhammadu Buhari,
who had contested the presidential polls in 2003 and 2007 on the ticket
of ANPP, left the party to float the CPC. Abubakar Atiku, left the ACN
for the PDP. Governors, Mahmud Shinkafi of Zamfara left the ANPP for
PDP; Isa Yuguda of Bauchi State left the ANPP for the PDP; Ikedi Ohakim
of Imo State left the PPA for the PDP; and Theodore Orji of Abia State
dumped the PPA for PDP. All of them are currently jostling for various
positions in the 2011 elections.

About three hours before 10.27pm on
Christmas eve, bombs exploded in Jos North local government area of
Jos, Plateau State killing scores.

At about the same time,500km away in
Maiduguri, Borno state, North east Nigeria, another set of people
launched attacks on two churches, killing seven people. Four days after
the killings, a group (Jama’atu ahlus sunnah lid da’awati wal jihad)
known as Boko Haram claimed responsibility for the bombings in Jos. The
same group was identified by the Borno State police commissioner, and
the Borno State Governor as responsible for the killings in Maiduguri.

These two well coordinated incidents could however have been averted if security agencies had been effective in their duties.

The Borno governor, Ali Sheriff told
the media after the attacks that “prior to these attacks and killings,
I alerted the police and other security agencies in the state to take
no chances of any reprisals from the outlawed sect members. Yesterday’s
attacks and killings could have been prevented if the police had heeded
to my security advice.” A similar report was also before the security
forces before the Jos bombings.

All these were happening two months
after the independence day bombing in Abuja, for which the Movement of
the Emancipation of the Niger Delta (MEND) has claimed responsibility.

After Christmas

Three days after Christmas, suspected
members of the Boko-Haram, eager to further show their strength in
Maiduguri, attacked a hospital; killing three people including a police
officer.

The post Christmas horror moved from
the northern part of Nigeria into the south four days after Christmas.
This time around, the perpetrators chose a different location; Bayelsa,
the home state of President Jonathan, over 600km from Jos. The
explosion occurred during a rally by a governorship aspirant on the
platform of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP.) While several people
were injured, no lives were lost. This was not the first time that
Bayelsa state would witness bomb explosions in 2010, previous ones
including the explosions at the home of a former deputy governor of the
state had happened. No group claimed responsibility for any of the
Bayelsa bombings and no one has been punished for them.

The ‘Boko Haram’ members however
continued their onslaught against security operatives on Wednesday,
December 29, killing more police officers and innocent residents while
setting police patrol vans ablaze. A day later, exchange of gunfire
between two factions of the PDP in Ibadan, Oyo State killed three
people,including two aides of a serving senator and senate leader,
Teslim Folarin; and a factional chairman of the transport union, Lateef
Salako (Eleweomo).

Political violence

While the crisis in Oyo and Bayelsa
States clearly had political undertones and could easily be likened to
political sponsorship, that of Jos and Maiduguri cannot be so easily
labeled.

Intelligence sources say although the
impact of the Jos attacks might have political implications,they were
not really a product of politics.

“It is really just another aspect of
what has been going on in the past,” a senior military intelligence
officer serving in Jos said at the weekend.

“Unless government is bold enough in
resolving the underlying issues, then things will continue like this
for a while more,” he said.

Another security officer said crises of
this kind will continue, and perhaps only get worse, as long as
security at airports and ports remained lax and borders remained
porous. He also called on government to work with religious leaders to
rid preachers of ignorance and intolerance.

The military officer, who said officers
are mostly professional in their response to the crisis, said there is
often times trouble securing the confidence of the locals because they
often believe that security officers are partial to either of the two
sides in a conflict situation. ‘

Bringing culprits to justice

Following the statement by the Borno
State governor that the perpetrators of the violence in this state will
be brought to book, Oluseyi Petinrin, Air Chief Marshall and Chief of
Defense Staff (CDS) promised that the federal government will make sure
that the perpetrators of the Jos crisis are brought to justice. Mr
Petinrin however called for restraint, saying the violence is being
promoted by rounds of tits-for-tats.

“The way you can help government to
quickly get to the bottom of this thing is to be calm, go about your
normal business and do not try to retaliate. When you retaliate, you
will be retaliating against innocent people. You do not know the people
who did this thing. It is possible they are not even from Jos, so let
us get to the bottom of it first and I know you can help,’’ he said.

Partial Troops

Some residents of Jos believe that the
reason the violence in Jos continues is the partial disposition of the
military task force.

However, the spokesperson for the special task force for Jos, Charles Nweocha defends the impartiality of the troops.

“A lot of sacrifice is involved in
keeping the peace. The security men are doing their utmost best; the
allegation of bias against them is most unfair,” he said.

“I have a wife and kids with whom I
should normally spend the Christmas, but I have been in this cold since
December 24. I should be in a hurry to see that the crisis is over and
not taking sides to worsen an already bad situation.”

He added that it was not possible for the soldiers to take sides in view of their training in the handling of such situations.

“At each of the military check points, you will have Christians and
Muslims; you have all Nigerian tribes mixed up. So, you cannot take any
side under such circumstance. Where you have an Igbo man as team
leader, for instance, you will find that the members of the team
comprise Hausa, Yoruba, Ijaw, or Tiv speaking soldiers; so, whose side
will they be taking?”