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BLACK, WOMEN’S HISTORY MONTH: Former US Diplomat Engages Makoko residents on Voting Rights no

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Chief Dr. Atim Eneida George

In commemoration of the Black and Women’s History Months, Dr. Atim Eneida George, a former Public Affairs Officer of the US Embassy in Nigeria, has engaged residents of Makoko community in Lagos to sensitize them on their voting rights and women empowerment.

The event, hosted by CEE-HOPE Nigeria, a nongovernmental organization (NGO) working with young people in marginalized communities, and sponsored by the United States of America’s Embassy in Nigeria, attracted several stakeholders from within the community and beyond.

Dr. Eneida George, the celebrated former diplomat of African-American descent and currently living in the USA, recalled the pre-civil rights era in the USA where African Americans were disenfranchised and marginalized from governance and general decision-taking processes in their own country.  According to her, even with the right to vote, the black population in the USA still faced a major huddle due to their then low literacy level. She therefore advised the younger generation present to take governance process.

“Democracy, governance and education are interwoven. To the young ones, your education is your key to anywhere you want to go,’ she said. ‘Regardless of your situation now, focus on your studies, regardless of the barriers, do not be discouraged, you can change the world and you can raise a wonderful institution like CEE-HOPE and make impact in the lives of several others. Especially to the girl child, education is essential because If you educate a boy, you educate an individual, when you educate a woman you educate a nation”, she added.

Dr. George who attracted several awards and recognition in the course of her long duty post in Nigeria including the traditional title of Yeye Araba of Ife, further reiterated that, “governance is too important to be left in the hands of a selected few. All and sundry should play effective roles in governance either by voting or by being voted for.’
Emmanuel Agunze, Founder, Makoko Dream School and a Nelson Mandela Washington Fellow, noted that one of the reasons for the decline in participation in governance at the grassroots levels is because of the challenges that are encountered during the voting process.
He noted that the process of securing voters’ card, poor facilities at voting centers and violence are some of the many reasons people, most especially women have been discouraged to vote.
Dr. Atim Eneida George and some Makoko traditional chiefs, and staff of CEE-HOPE.


A Community Leader, Mr. Agbodemu Ishola Musbau said so many Nigerians are responsible for voting wrong persons into power because they are rather satisfied to vote for persons who would induce them with money and food items than to vote for those who would serve genuinely.

The event attracted several local chiefs from across Makoko as well as women leaders, youth leaders pupils from the Diaspora School and the Makoko Dream School, both in Makoko.

One of the local chiefs, Chief Albert Ayide (aka Baale Jeje), thanked CEE-HOPE for the opportunity of the program which he described as very enlightening and asked for a repeat of such for more enlightenment. He however noted that despite the efforts of their community members to participate in governance by voting for people they believed were suitable, they are not getting the dividends of good governance.  He also pleaded for educational support, lending more support to the ongoing work of CEE-HOPE in Makoko, in addition to programs that would empower women.
Chief Dr. Atim Eneida George and some Makoko women.

Other chiefs present include Alase Agoyon Francis, Baale Shemede Emmanuel, Baale Panke Victor, Oluwo of Makoko Olaiya, Aji Steven and the immediate host, Chief Adewale Akintimehin (aka Alfa). There were also officials from the USA Embassy in Lagos.
Earlier in his opening remarks, a Board of Trustees member of CEE-HOPE Nigeria and veteran journalist, Lekan Otufodunrin appreciated the guest speaker for choosing CEE-HOPE and Makoko as beneficiaries of the event which he described as highly empowering to the participants.

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BREAKING: Gunmen attack Benue Link vehicle again, abduct passengers

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Kidnappers Demand N60 Million as Ransom

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Reports reaching InsideBenue reveals that some gunmen have on Sunday attacked a Benue Link passenger bus, abducting not fewer than 10 passengers.

The incident occured around Olanyega community along Otukpo-Otukpa road in Okpokwu Local Government Area of Benue State.

According to the Secretary General of the Amalgamated Union of Public Corporation, Civil Service Technical and Recreational Services Employees (Benue Links chapter), Comrade Gabriel Tachia, the fully loaded bus was on its way to Makurdi from Onitsha before it was hijacked on the Benue road.

“Four passengers were released as at yesterday night (Sunday) after the army gave the abductors a hot chase. It was a fully loaded bus (with 15 occupants). The bus was returning from Onitsha to Makurdi,” Tachia told newsmen.

Mr Omale Omale, the Commissioner for Power, Energy and Transport who confirmed the development to newsmen in Makurdi said information are sketchy.

The Makurdi Zonal Centre of Nigerian Television Authority (NTA), said among the passengers abducted was a staff of the organisation.

According to the report, the kidnappers demanded N60 million, but reduced the demand to N16 million as ransom before their victims gain freedom.

The operation which lasted over 30 minutes, according to locals, occurred at 2:30pm on Sunday, leaving motorists plying that section of the highway helpless.

A local chief in the area, who escaped being caught up in the attack, narrated that the spot – Olanyega/Okpudu – where the incident happened on the Otukpo-Ugbokolo-Enugu Expressway had over time become unsafe for commuters.

Recall that similar incident involving two buses of the transport company a fortnight ago around Ajaokuta in Kogi State. 28 people were kidnapped.

Tachia however added that eight of the 10 Lagos-bound passengers abducted in Kogi axis had been released remaining two victims.

The Police Public Relations Officer (PPRO) for Benue Command, SP Catherine Anene, confirmed the incident.

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Youths in Benue protest state of Gboko-Aliade road

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Block Busy Federal Road

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Some angry youths have come out en mass on Wednesday, taking over the Gboko-Aliade highway to protest the poor state of the road and collapse of Nomnor bridge near Gboko Rice Mill.

The youths, numbering hundreds, barricaded the federal road, preventing any form of vehiclular movement.

Due to the situation, motorists and commuters were left stranded around Nomnor River Rice Mill, Gboko Local Government Area, LGA, of the state. They were forced to seek alternative routes to their destinations.

According to the youths, they had earlier protested and called necessary attentions to the situation but nothing was done about it.

According to them, heavy duty trucks had fallen into the eroded portion of the road. And most cases, , motorists use people’s farm lands as alternatives to avoid the bad portion of the federal road.

“And finally today after the heavy rain of last night the bridge linking Rice Mill and Fidei Polytechnic settlements was washed away by flood, thereby worsening our situation.

“So we cannot continue to watch because the destroyed bridge will also affect our people who use it daily. We are peaceful in our demands but we are so angry because before this happened we had protested over the state of the road but nobody listened to us until the situation got to this point.

“We have advised all motorists to seek alternative routes for now because the bridge is in bad state and the road itself is in a state of disrepair,” one of the youths told reporters.

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14-Year-Old Girl Commits Suicide in Lagos

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A 14-year-old girl, Desola Adeoye, has committed suicide in the Shogunle area of Lagos over fear of being tortured by her father, Sunday Adeoye.

It was gathered that Desola drank insecticide to escape torture after she was threatened by her stepmother.It was learnt that the incident occurred on Tuesday, August 22, 2023, after the girl, who was said to have suffered domestic violence in the hands of her father, returned from her summer school lesson.The girl, it was gathered, sneaked out of the house and drank the insecticide kept in the apartment to escape torture from her father who was said to be out when Desola was threatened by her stepmother.

She was reportedly rushed to a nearby private hospital where she was confirmed dead.It was learnt that her father later retrieved her lifeless body from the hospital and took it back home with the intention of burying her secretly.His plan was, however, thwarted by police operatives from Shogunle Divisional Police Station, who were alerted by neighbours.

“The late Desola and her two younger sisters were regularly subjected to domestic violence by their biological father and stepmother every time they made mistake.“Shogunle Community Development Association in Oshodi, CDA, had, on numerous occasions, cautioned their father and stepmother to stop the physical abuse unleashed on their children especially late Desola Adeoye,” a neighbour who drew the attention of a non-governmental organisation, Advocates for Children and Vulnerable Persons Network (ACVPN) to the incident told Vanguard.

Confirming the incident, the Chief Operating Officer of ACVPN, Ebenezer Omejalile, called on the police, Lagos State Government, and Nigeria Bar Association (NBA) to rescue the remaining two children still under the care of the couple and also get justice for Desola.

SOURCE: VANGUARD

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