LIFEINSLUM

Photo: Pulse.ng In recent time, the rise of teenagers moving into the street is getting people worried. Probably more than 60  percent of them especially in most poor communities like in Mushin, Ajegunle, Shomolu, Agege etc have lost it totally for drugs, prostitution, thuggery, robbery etc in order to move on with life.  For hundreds of them both boys and girls, who have resorted to this path, see whatever they have preoccupied themselves with as a means to afford the missing opportunity of life.

After the last council election conducted July 2017 at Ajeromi Ifelodun Local Government Area in fifteen Wards including the Local Council Development Area (LCDA) respectively . The All Progressive Congress (APC)  won all the wards rigging massively with inflated figures in order to return to power. The Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) who nailed the APC with ballot box snatching was not different either. 

At the very hour of 10:35am on Monday 26 March,  2018. Thousands of Okada riders from Motorcycles Operators Association (MOAS),  All Commercial Owners Motorcycle Riders Association of Nigeria (ACOMORAN) and All National Commercial Operators Owners and Workers Association (ANACOWA) who are affiliate Unions to National Union of Road Transport Workers (NURTW) protested against the ongoing Toll Tickets the local government imposed on them to pay. 

Child Labour is not a new phenomena. It is something that had been trending for years before this period. But what troubles people is the tendency at which these things emanate and how is spreading in different continents of the world: Africa, America, Asia, Europe etc.  It was Saturday 16 January, 2018 when I went to visit a friend nearby where I reside. Between the hour of 7am to 9am.

Monday 21 January,  2017; about Hundred and Fifty Three Non-Academic Staff Union workers (NASU) University of Lagos gathered at exactly 7:00am beside the Senate Building UNILAG to hold a protest meeting where the press: Silverbird Television was invited. The demands of the workers were that the Unilag management must pay them their unpaid salaries, stop intimidating and bedevilling them, provision of better working condition, respect the democratic rights of them to unionize. NASU insisted that they won't go back to work until the school authority meet their demands.

At Awodi-Ora community Thursday 15 February, 2018 exactly 7: 25pm. Members of the Socialist Party of Nigeria and the Democratic Socialist Movement  respectively organize community tabling to sensitized residents, workers, youths etc to circulate the JOIN US SPN leaflet, calling on people to join the party.  People who collected the leaflets especially women were distaste with the ongoing economic hardship. For some of them they said something must be done to curb this deepening crisis, where poverty has triple compare to the previous years. On their part, they poured out angry tune about the Buhari so-called regime that hasn't done nothing to make life better for the people. 

Jungle Justice that people thought was a thing of the past, a barbaric way of prosecuting those caught in the act of crime. It is now returning back like Viking claws into most poor rural and urban communities due to the fear of what is haunting people: Poverty. It was Saturday morning 6 January, 2018 in the very hour of 5:45am at Ojo Road, when people were going to work. I heard a sound that got me distracted and shovel off my feet from where I was. "Kill him! Kill him! He is a thief!". Immediately I heard this, I left home in a hurry to witnessed what I just heard. When I went outside to pick up the information that led to the shout. I saw a lady whose name is 'Ego' (a resident in the neighborhood) who witnessed the incident.

After I finished reading Illiterate America by Jonathan Kozol, a book that unveiled the innermost part of American illiteracy. A book that catches my attention and got me shocked. I then decided to write this.  Thus, it is no more a news that illiteracy in the world has grown rapidly in the last twenty years or more, because of the collapse of public schools caused by politicians who are responsible to its degeneration. According to Kozol, he said in America the growth of illiteracy (as at mid-80s) was high as more than 60 million Americans which cut across adult and teenagers can't read and write. In present time, it has tripled.

By Davy Fidel Freelancer G lobal warming is now a world debate among leading nations on how to tackle the occurrence directly affecting the environment. Yet, resolutions end in the lip.  Suggestions from scientific experts have been put forward on several occasions on the possible energy source to power industrialization to save our planet but such effort are always swept behind by leading nations: China, the United States, Germany, Britain etc on this worrisome issues affecting the environment.

The stories about Kirikiri Town are not a myth but fact. It is something worth writing about.  It is something worth sharing the experience of people who reside there and what possibly they go through most especially the condition of the area, the terrible roads suffering at government palm.  For a lot of people outside this community is a reserved area for more or less the fading "middle class" that in this degenerated economy is handcuffed. A reserved area is not meant for everyone to reside. However, the opposite speaks for itself. It was on Saturday November 4, 2017 that I was invited to a wedding at Kirikiri Town of a fellow colleague, teaching in the same weekend tutorial centre of Top Academic Associate (TAA). Actually, this is the first time the earth of that place bore witness visited. It was a rich experience one has to write something about it.  In spite of the hype given by commentaries and stories, however,  the very thing I saw there is a mind-blowing

In the past few weeks it has rained down hell in many parts of Lagos. It has been a serious issue that residents are now complaining over the taking over of trailers virtually in the whole of Lagos State.   Residents feel something must be done to address this crisis tilling side by side government putting peoples' life in danger;  without taking any proactive step to tackle this evolving crisis not unconnected to the degenerated economic caused by failed Public Private Partnership (PPP) agenda.

Tuesday 28 November, 2017 supposed to be the day Justice Nwodo preside the preliminary injunction between the Six Hundreds and Eighty Eight forceful retrenched and victimized dock workers versus Victoria Haastrup owner of Energy Neftegas Limited (ENL).  Unfortunately and sadly,  the Judge didn't sit to preside the hearing.  According to the Clerk who announced the new date of the workers to be Wednesday 21 February, 2018 said. "All cases under Justice Nwodo are adjourned till the Judge officially sit to preside all hearing".

At exactly 4:15pm on Sunday 13 August, 2017, some group of activists under the watch of Ajeromi Ifelodun United Interest for Justice (AIUIJ) called for mass sensitization campaign through rally in the dense populated ghetto slum of Ajegunle for people to collectively in a peaceful organize manner to reject crazy bill, resist disconnection and demand for free prepaid metre.  Other organizations like the Ajegunle Peoples’ Movement (APM) under the aegis of Democratic Socialist Movement (DSM), Iyalode Electricity Community Development Association and others; also actively participated in the mass sensitization rally to leafleting people about the crazy billing Eko Distribution Company dredge residents of Ajegunle to anger.

Undermining that the Labour Industrial Court didn't sit on Thursday November 2, 2016 over the matter between the Agitating Dock Workers Forum and their employer: Energy Neftegas Limited (ENL) over the non-payment of salary for ten years,  was postponed till Tuesday, November 28, 2017. Despite the transfer of Justice Amadi-the presiding judge of the case in Court 5- had a replacement of Justice Nwodo. J to resume sit on Monday November 6 and commence presiding in Court 6. However, hundreds of workers were in the street of Lagos to protest and demonstrate for their salaries to be paid after their disengagement since March 2016. The assembled workers at Marina-CMS kick off the rally at exactly 7:30 am to Labour Industrial Court at Ikoyi,  Lagos.  All of them were dressed in white signifying they were non-violent demonstrators and protesters  denied their ten years unpaid salary and other benefit. Key leaders of the struggle like Pastor Adams addressed the workers. He said. "

Hotel business is fast growing and flooding all poor communities all over the world. China, the United States, Europe, Africa etc are not exempted. In fact, virtually all corners in the commercial or mega cities of the world have either hotel or club house that employ possibly young girls and boys into the sex industry to labour for the business to expand beyond its industrial expectation. Among the business flourishing, hotel is one of the biggest rated industries that promote casualization of women and staff. For the hotel casuals the payment is low and they can be laid-off at any time by the employer after months or years of exploitation. The operation of this business has razed down a lot of homes in many communities for the operators own purpose and interest to continue. For this business to continue to grow state protection is necessary. Limited access to public education and the collapse of recreational centres to preoccupy young people for them to explore their p

It is no news that the daily increase of liquor joints in poor community has tripled.  Compare to the sixty's, seventy’s and eighty's including ninety' we have less numbers of these joints, people on daily basis troop in like repatriated refugees for bread. In fact,  you see people in the very hour of when able women and men should be going to work; will now be seen around in any of the joint in the area, in a strategic location in the community from the hour of 6am to possibly 12noon.  A lot of these people will burn hours drinking away the day loaded with crisis.  Crisis that they can't attend to due to failure of the system has been designed for them in the country. Others are with the myth the liquor is going to cure any infection they have.  There is a joint I know which is owned by a lady popularly called: "Aunt Blessing" in one of the areas I usually visit. Around 7am, a lot of grown men (who should have been working, pensioners, a

In the very hour of 8:00 am on Thursday 6 April, 2017 over one hundred students from different tertiary institutions led by SAVE UNILAG COALITION staged a united protest at the Special Offenses Mobile Court inside Lagos State Task Force Building located at Bolade, Oshodi, Lagos state. The mobile court is a special creation of the Lagos State government – a government bent on literarily whipping to death poor working class families with draconian anti-policies. The April 6 protest was to demand the release of Adeyeye Femi and 12 other students' protesters who were brought before the court on that day for continuation of trial on false charges.

picture from www.cityvoiceng.com In recent time, the numbers of youth restiveness between the ages of 15 to 23 in the past ten to fifteen months have being on the rise in various communities of Lagos State and Nigeria as whole. These youth engage themselves into petty social crime and even on the extreme as way out to resolve the immediate mountainous crisis left in the mouth of poor working class families..... View pictures

About ninety five dock workers from the five different sublet companies (Daisy Chain, Bluche, Biz Biak, Tobef etc) that are eight hundred and eighty six under ENL Consortium Nig. ltd gathered on 25 November, 2016 (Friday) to review the whole seven month old of their struggle, they workers have been demanding through peaceful and protest letters etc the private shipping company pay them their ten years unpaid benefit and arrears they worked for. Being there struggle have jump in-to the lane of legal battle with ENL, the workers agitation over this matter becomes more sharper in knowing what to do next to earn their victory. At the meeting that lasted for nearly two hours, there was a debate whether to procrastinate their weekly meeting till next year before their first court sitting on 22 February, 2017 between them Dock workers and ENL Consortium Nig. Ltd; or continued gathering together just the way it has been done for months now on discussing strategy to sustain their strug

  At exactly 4:30pm on 22 September, 2016 the okada riders in their numbers gathered at the usual convergence to keep the fire of the struggle burning so it can touch the heaven against police brutality and the government