By Joseph Edegbo :

In line with his administration’s commitment to Traffic Management and Transportation, Lagos State Governor, Mr. Babajide Sanwo-Olu, has acquired two sets of new 10 cars Talgo 330kmph trains for Lagos Red Line rail project.

Governor Sanwo-Olu completed the acquisition deal of the trains at a public event inside the Milwaukee facilities of Spanish train manufacturer Talgo Incorporated in the United States, on Tuesday.

The trains will be heading to Lagos, Nigeria for the Red Line, a 37 km track rail project started by Governor Babajide Sanwo-Olu. The red line will have 11 stations and when completed, it will be the first operational metro system in West Africa.

Speaking at the event, Governor Sanwo-Olu, who was accompanied by the Lagos State Commissioner for Transportation, Dr. Frederic Oladeinde; Special Adviser to the Governor on Works, Engr. Aramide Adeyoye and Managing Director of Lagos Metropolitan Area Transport Authority (LAMATA), Engr. Abimbola Akinajo, said Lagos State Government is excited to complete the purchase of the two brand new trains.

He said they were in Milwaukee to see things for themselves in respect of the purchase of the trains, adding that they have inspected the trains, seen their configuration and are satisfied that they fit into the tracks of the Red line in Lagos.

“A train is not something you can just go on the shelf and pick up. We are very lucky to get brand new trains. We have seen our beautiful white and red trains. Coincidentally, the rail line is called Red Line and you can see they have given us the colour. We are just going to brand it and put up our seal there.

“We hope that this (purchase of the trains) will be the beginning of a mutually beneficial business relationship. Providing source of livelihood for our citizens is all about providing jobs for our people and that is what we are doing. It is about ensuring that we can build our economy; people can move from one location to another and businesses can grow.

“Part of what we have done in the last two and half years is to have what we call Integrated Urban Mass transportation system, where we will be using road infrastructure, waterway infrastructure and rail infrastructure so that we can move over 20 million Lagosians within and around the city,” he said.

The acting Milwaukee Mayor Cavalier Johnson, who received Governor Sanwo-Olu in the city, said: “It is a little bittersweet. I am sending my congratulations to the Governor of Lagos State in Nigeria, but also a little disappointed that we missed out on the opportunity to have those train sets operating here in Milwaukee and in Wisconsin.”

Also speaking the CEO and President, Talgo USA Antonio Perez, said “For us, it is important that our trains are utilised. It doesn’t make any good for the trains that we built to be stored and kept without passengers riding them.”

Governor Sanwo-Olu accompanied by the Lagos State delegation during the visit inspected the interior design of the newly acquired Talgo 330kmph intra-city metropolitan trains.

Since the commencement of his administration on May 29, 2019, Governor Sanwo-Olu has maintained his administration’s commitment to bringing the Red Line project to fruition during the lifetime of his government.

The Governor has specifically promised Lagosians that first phase of the Red Line will begin by the last quarter of 2022 or first quarter of 2023, with a capacity of 500,000 passengers daily

The Middle Belt Forum says any threat against power shift to the South in 2023 is akin to courting frightening dangers to the unity and progress of Nigeria.

The Forum was reacting to the Northern Leaders of Thought’s communique issued at the end of a meeting convened by the Northern Elders Forum in Kaduna.

A statement signed by the Forum’s National President, Dr.Pogu Bitrus observed that after a careful perusal of the communique of what it called “a hurriedly packaged meeting by the NLT, it is evidently clear that there is a grand ploy to truncate power shift to the South by 2023.

“As the umbrella organisation for all ethnic nationalities in the Middle Belt, the MBF is confident that Nigeria is blessed with competent and qualified persons from all sections of the country who can offer altruistic leadership in advancing national development. Since 1999, power shift has not only ensured equity in power-sharing procedure between the North and South; it has also reduced tension amongst Nigeria’s diverse ethnic groups in the struggle for power.

“After a careful perusal of the communique issued at the end of a hurriedly packaged meeting by the NLT, it is evidently clear that there is a grand ploy to truncate power shift to the South by 2023.

“We recall that after our consultative meeting that took place in September 2021 in Akwanga, Nasarawa State, the Forum did not only express its resounding support for power rotation to the South, the MBF also noted that for fairness to hold sway, it was irretrievably necessary for power to return to the South in 2023.

“Our position was hinged on the fact that the power rotation has tremendously assisted in mitigating political tension by creating a platform for power-sharing in the country. As we have always declared in the past, the MBF wishes to restate once again that any threat against power shift to the South in 2023 is akin to courting frightening dangers to the unity and progress of Nigeria.

“We stand for justice and freedom for all. The MBF is completely against the NLT’s opposition to power shift in 2023. Those who met in Kaduna at the weekend must halt further attempts to create political turmoil for our nation.

“Members of the NLT are not political leaders; they are forerunners of some nebulous political forces determined to foist fiery dark clouds over our country’s political skies. To insist that the power-sharing arrangement should be jettisoned now is an open invitation to anarchy that may ultimately lead to the breakup of the country.

“We need to remind Nigerians that the Middle Belt has always insisted that power must shift to the South in 2023. In the event that the South is unable to present a presidential candidate, we have confirmed our readiness to support the emergence of a presidential candidate of the Middle Belt extraction for the 2023 polls. We are in agreement with the Southern socio-cultural groups in the struggle for power shift to the South in 2023.

“Under the President Buhari-led administration, Nigerians are witnessing one of their worst moments. With insecurity ravaging many parts of Nigeria, poor economic policies by the current administration have reduced our nation into the global headquarters of poverty.

“Not only have hundreds of communities in the Middle Belt Region destroyed and completely taken over by foreign invaders, thousands of our people have been massacred in cold blood as deadly herdsmen and other criminals continue to unleash their dreadful reign of terror on defenseless Nigerians.

“The Middle Belt Region is convinced that President Buhari has not demonstrated enough courage and political will to confront these monsters of insecurity. Thus, it is clear that only power shift offers an opportunity to deal with these terror gangs that are alleged to enjoy the support of some rogue Northern politicians yet to be exposed by the government.

“Once again, we call on political parties to disregard the chicanery of these leaders of the so-called North and their opposition to zoning in 2023. Those who gathered in Kaduna last weekend were political jobbers engaged in carrying the commands of their masters that are lurking in the shadows. Therefore, the communique of that meeting should be contemptuously ignored”, the statement concludes.

By Iliya Kure

Nigeria has inaugurated a 15-member committee under the chairmanship of Mr. Tolu Ogunkoya, to oversee scientific audience measurement system. This is geared towards attracting increased investment and revenue in the broadcast and advert industries.

Inaugurating the Panel, Minister of Information and Culture, Lai Mohammed, said the absence of such a measurement system has resulted in under-development in the industries and stunted their growth.

”We are committed to delivering an empirical audience measure system that will catalyze investment in broadcast and advertising industries, ensure the success of the DSO project as well as fire the imagination and boost the morale of creatives.

”We are undaunted by the enormity of the challenges we face in this regard, because we have a bunch of committed, patriotic and hardworking men and women to tackle the challenges headlong,” the Minister said.

He said the inauguration is the culmination of a series of events that included the setting up of the Task Team on Audience Measurement and the selection of First Media and Entertainment Integrated (Nigeria) Limited, a marketing research company based in Lagos, to deliver audience measurement services in Nigeria.

”Nigeria’s broadcast advertising market is punching far below its weight, especially when the country’s population is taken into account. Despite having a population more than three times that of South Africa, Nigeria’s television advertising market revenue in 2016 was US$309 million, compared to that of South Africa, which was US$1.3 billion. Nigeria’s broadcast advertising market is also third in Africa, behind that of South Africa and Kenya.

”The immediate challenge before us, therefore, is to bring the under-performing Nigeria TV and radio advertising market to what it should be – which is two or three times what it is now. If we do that, it could result in additional US$400 million revenue or more in the industry in the next three years,” he said

The Minister said a scientific audience measurement system is also critical to the success of the DSO, adding: ”The existing model will never allow Nigeria’s Creative Industry to reach its full potential. It stunts the quality of the content that can be created and also limits the capacity of television platforms to invest in dynamic contents that consumers will be attracted to.”

He charged the Task Force to Identify best practice audience measurement system that will support the sustainable growth of the Nigerian Creative and Entertainment Industry; supervise the established framework for supporting the sustainability of the audience measurement system, independent of the Federal Government; and recommend a payment and disbursement framework among the key stakeholders in the industry, that is; Broadcasting Organizations of Nigeria (BON), Media Independent Practitioners Association of Nigeria (MIPAN) and Advertisers Association of Nigeria (ADVAN).

Alhaji Mohammed also challenged the Task Force to urgently grow the Nigerian television advertisement market to two or three times its current size.

Responding, the Task Force Chairman, Mr. Ogunkoya, promised that his panel would take the charge by the Minister very seriously, adding: ”If we get this right, we would have done the industry and the nation proud.”

Other members of the Task Force are Mr. Femi Adelusi, Mr. Steve Babaeko, Mrs. Bunmi Adeniba, Mrs Jibe Ologe, Mr. Yinka Oduniyi, Mr Guy Murray Bruce, Ms Kadaria Ahmed, Mrs. Pauline Ehusani, Mrs.Ijedi Iyoha, Alhaji Garba Bello Kankarofi, Mrs. Sa’a Ibrahim, Mr. Mahmoud Ali-Balogun, Mr. Obi Asika and Mr. Joe Mutah (Secretary).