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Wetin cause traffic wey lead to standstill for Lagos Island axis and wetin to expect next

Wetin cause traffic wey lead to standstill for Lagos Island axis and wetin to expect next

BBC News03-04-2025
Lagos state Govnor Babajide Sanwo-Olu don apologise to di state residents after one ogbonge traffic gridlock wey cause standstill for di Island area of di state on Wednesday enter Thursday morning.
Thousands of motorists and commuters bin dey stranded for road on Wednesday, wit some spending hours before reaching dia destination while some no even reach till di next day.
Some pipo hala say e take dem almost eight hours to reach dia destination on Wednesday night while some choose to tanda for dia work place.
While many more take to social media to rant about dia experience.
Wetin cause di traffic
Dis mata start for April 1st wen di Federal Controller of Works for Lagos, Olukorede Kesha announce a temporary closure of di Independence Bridge wey dey Marina and say di bridge go dey closed until May 2025 for urgent repairs.
Di closure bin affect traffic from Ahmadu Bello Way and Adeola Odeku towards Marina, Eko Bridge, and Onikan by Zone 2.
Although di Lagos Ministry of Transportation come put out statement on top di closure wit alternative routes wey pipo fit pass on Wednesday but e no do anytin to stop di terrible hold up for di road.
As a result, di Nigerian Minister of Works and Housing, David Umahi don greenlight for di re-opening of di road to stop di disaster.
But pipo dey wonder how e go dey possible as dem don already comot di asphalt from di bridge road.
Lagos State Govnor Babajide Sanwo-Olu on Thursday visit di site of di bridge and apologise to Lagosinas for wetin dem take dia eye see as di goment bin dey run di urgent fix for di bridge. E say di fix na necessity to "avoid future disaster wey bin dey wait to happun".
Oga Sanwo-Olu say "wetin happun here be say Messrs Buildwell, get contract wey dem don sign ova three years ago to protect di integrity of di independence bridge. Indepence bridge na one of di oldest bidges for di kontri. If you check am na almost 80 to 90 years old".
E add say wetin happun be say di part of di bridge wey connect Victoria Island and Marina don dey under heavy threat.
So wetin next for Lagos commuters?
Even wit di Work minister statement, di situation on ground no be like sometin wey goment fit just open like dat.
As at now, na to follow wetin di Lagos State Traffic Management Authority tok wey be to find alternative routes.
Oga Sanwo-Olu remind Lagosians say dem bin face dis kain tin bifor and dem don pass am.
E say wetin go happun be say more Lastma officers go dey road. "We dey call dem from oda parts of di city so dem go dey around here.
"We go do like we do for November, December wey dem work late, to very early hours of di morning to make sure say pipo fit go home safely."
Dis no be di first time wey bridge or road repairs dey cause serious traffic disruption for Nigeria commercial capital, Lagos.
For February 2021, di authorities for Lagos bin confirm say dem go finally open di Third Mainland bridge afta ova six months of closure wit partial opening.
Wen dem close am for July 25 2020, na only one lane motorists bin dey use on di bridge while repair work dey go on. Dem change some joints, lay some concrete and do patching work among oda engineering work on di bridge.
For November 2023, Lagos goment close some parts of di Third Mainland Bridge sake of say dem wan do some repairs.
Anytime dis closures happen, e dey cause serious traffic wey dey lead to serious stress as well as a loss of man hours, time and revenue .
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Goment perfect plans to bring back Nigerians wey dey trapped on forced labour for CAR
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time2 days ago

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Goment perfect plans to bring back Nigerians wey dey trapped on forced labour for CAR

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My life has been hell since mafia bosses blamed me for their downfall. Finally, justice has been done
My life has been hell since mafia bosses blamed me for their downfall. Finally, justice has been done

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time3 days ago

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My life has been hell since mafia bosses blamed me for their downfall. Finally, justice has been done

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That day, through his lawyer, Bidognetti publicly expressed his own criminal truth by singling out two journalists – myself and Rosaria Capacchione – to be held responsible if he were convicted. Santonastaso read a document aloud in court – a 'proclamation' that we later learned echoed statements made by terrorist organisations. It was an unprecedented act in the history of mafia trials. The message was chilling: if the two mafia bosses in the dock, Bidognetti and Antonio Iovine, ended up in prison – as they did – the guilt would be ours. Our reporting, our complaints and our influence on prosecutors would be to blame. After reading out the document, Santonastaso removed his robes. It was a symbolic gesture to say from that moment on, the game would be played outside the walls of the court. The proclamation had served a specific purpose: to silence me and other journalists, and inform people outside the court that those responsible for Bidognetti's conviction had names. At the time, a murderous Camorra hit squad operated a reign of terror in Campania. It reported directly to Bidognetti. This armed gang, led by Giuseppe Setola, committed a vast number of heinous crimes intended to demonstrate that the power of the clan persisted, despite trials and convictions. In September 2008, for example, Setola spearheaded the Castel Volturno killing, in which six Nigerian migrants, who had no involvement in criminal activity, lost their lives. To understand the scope of the proclamation against me it is important to also understand the history and savagery of its author. Bidognetti, nicknamed Cicciotto di Mezzanotte – because anyone who stood between him and his business would see mezzanotte (midnight) descend on them – heads an organisation that built its power on blood, fear and the devastation of its territory through the illegal dumping of toxic waste all over Italy. 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New limits for Nigerian travelers squeeze families and businesses in U.S.
New limits for Nigerian travelers squeeze families and businesses in U.S.

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New limits for Nigerian travelers squeeze families and businesses in U.S.

The State Department's move to limit Nigerian travelers to three-month, single-entry visas last week has Nigerian Americans and immigrant communities scrambling to navigate the sudden shift in travel policy and its rippling effects. The tighter restrictions apply only to nonimmigrant and nondiplomatic travelers, who were previously allowed multiple entries to the U.S., for five years in most cases, per visa application. Olatunde Johnson, a 27-year-old photographer, said that his aunts and uncles in Nigeria run multiple Airbnb rentals in Chicago that will now be tougher for them to monitor, and that he feels unable to help because he lives in New Jersey. 'They will have to keep reapplying and doing that again. Also, you're losing money in the process of that. So it's just unnecessary,' he said. The State Department justified the decision, saying it was aimed at reaching 'visa reciprocity' between the U.S. and Nigeria. 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'When we make it harder for them to travel back and forth, to manage their affairs, or even just to visit loved ones, we are not just impacting individuals, we are weakening the very bonds that enrich both our nations.' The State Department's move is part of a multipronged effort under the Trump administration to crack down on immigration to the United States in general. This includes a full ban on travelers from 12 countries and a partial ban on seven others. Nigerians are not banned from entering the U.S., but the restrictions apply mostly to travelers from countries in Africa and the Middle East. Johnson said he thinks the visa decision by the Trump administration is 'spreading out a whole lot of stress and unnecessary pain.' He said getting a visa to the U.S. had already been difficult for Africans, and the administration is making entry requirements even more strict. As a region, African countries had the highest rate of F-1 student visa denials in the world from 2015 to 2022, according to a study released last year by Shorelight and the President's Alliance on Higher Education and Immigration, both nonprofits that support international students on U.S. campuses. Last year, 46.5% of Nigerian applicants for temporary business visas were denied, according to State Department records. Bobby Digi Olisa, 51, who lives in New York, said the new restrictions will affect how often he sees his siblings, who aren't U.S. citizens and live in Nigeria. He is particularly concerned about his siblings' ability to afford multiple visa applications each year to visit the U.S. 'It will cause hardship with all of the ballooning costs,' he said. Currently visa applicants must pay a $185 fee to enter the U.S. for tourist, business, student and exchange visas, among others. Starting Oct. 1, there will be an additional $250 Visa Integrity Fee, which will increase with inflation, per the Big Beautiful Bill Act. Ovigwe Eguegu, a policy analyst at Development Reimagined, an international consulting firm with a focus on Africa, said complaints over family reunification from Olisa and others will not put enough pressure on the U.S. government for it to reverse course, but he thinks it will affect how the Nigerian government responds. Eguegu said families like Olatunde Johnson's will be affected due to their long-term ties to the U.S., which require about five entries throughout the year for business. However, he cautions, 'wait time for visa processing is very, very long, and it costs a serious amount of money, too. So the preference has always been for multiple re-entry over a long period of time, as opposed to single entry capped at three months of a maximum stage.' Jackson said the restrictions, more broadly, weakened people-to-people ties and undermined effective diplomacy. 'My travels have taught me that true diplomacy and strong international relations are built on understanding, trust and facilitating human connection,' Jackson said. 'We must find a way to address any legitimate security concerns without undermining the critical economic and cultural bridges that link communities like Chicago with Nigeria.' Johnson's frustration is being echoed throughout the world toward the Trump administration. 'We the people, wherever you are, we're always the ones losing when the government is playing games,' he told NBC News. But despite the 'pain' inflicted on Nigerians, Olisa stressed: 'This too shall pass, we shall overcome.'

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