Sanwo-Olu Tasks Banana Island Residents on Building, Environmental Laws

 

 

By Aderonke Ojediran

Gov. Babajide Sanwo-Olu of Lagos State has called on residents of Banana Island to continue obeying the building and environmental laws of the state, in order to mitigate the effects of flooding in the area.

Sanwo-Olu made the call on Saturday at the inauguration of some projects undertaken by Banana Island Property Owners and Residents Association, Lagos (BIPORAL).

The projects inaugurated include the Banana Island Administrative Office, a recreational park, Banana Island Club House, a fire fighting truck, a tennis court and an astroturf five-a-side football pitch.

Sanwo-Olu decried the lack of maintenance culture, tasking the residents to maintain the facilities for the benefit of the public and future generations.

He, however, commended them for compliance with the state environmental and building laws, urging continuity.

The governor also lauded the efforts of the outgoing executives of the association, led by Mr Frank Aigbogun, and the new executive of Mr Abidemi Sonoiki for a good working relationship with government officials.

“Lagos State officials enjoy good working relationships with current executives to ensure necessary fees are paid to the government and residents keep within the rules of engagement in the estate.

“As a government, what we can do is to continue to support you, while you also complement the government’s effort in infrastructural development,” Sanwo-Olu stated.

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Earlier, the residents appealed to the governor for immediate intervention over persistent flooding of the area, particularly whenever it rains, apparently due to drainage challenges, especially on the road leading to the estate.

Sanwo-Olu pledged that the Ministry of Environment would inspect the road to find lasting solutions.

He noted that the flood is caused by houses built on the water channel around the area, adding that the government would not hesitate to demolish such houses after inspecting the area.

“Somebody has built a house on a channel of water that is supposed to be flowing to the sea.

“I plead with you to work with us. I don’t have an interest in demolishing people’s houses or making life uncomfortable for them, but we have to do what we have to do.

“Meanwhile, I will direct the Commissioner, Ministry of the Environment, and Office of Drainage, as well as Waterfront Infrastructure to look at what the issues are and come up with possible and permanent solutions to the problem.

“I know that the challenge on that road is a major outfall. It needs to be able to discharge that water, right, onto the canal out on the right and see how we can also navigate some canal and get it on the left,” he said.

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The governor advised the new executive members to apply wisdom and draw from the experience of their predecessors.

Similarly, Aigbogun urged the incoming executives to build on the success of his team.

The outgoing chairman, however, noted that residents in Banana Island did not build on drains.

“Most of the houses built on drains are outside Banana Island and not inside.

“We work hand in hand with the Lagos State government and I urge the incoming executives to do the same,” he said.

On his part, Sonoiki said that being a member of the outgoing executive had prepared him for the task ahead.

” I served as the public relations officer in the outgoing executive, so I understand what needs to be done to ensure that residents have a peaceful and enjoyable home to come to.

” Also my focus is to ensure that we have a first aid service here so that in cases of emergency we can be well equipped,” the new chairman said. (NAN)

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More than 400 children in eastern Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) recruited into conflict in first two months of 2025

Some of the children were reported to have been picked up from their communities and taken to the bushes to be trained to handle weapons against their will

More than 400 children in the eastern Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) were recruited by armed actors in January and February this year, with some as young as 14 years and some reported picked up from schools and the streets and put at immediate risk of violence, said Save the Children.

Save the Children’s local partners working on child protection in North and South Kivu documented more than 400 cases of children newly associated with armed groups between January and February 2025, when violence escalated in the eastern region of the country. Some of the children were reported to have been picked up from their communities and taken to the bushes to be trained to handle weapons against their will. 

Save the Children programmes provide support to children who have been released from armed groups. In 2024, the organisation assisted at least 220 children formerly associated with armed groups in Ituri, North Kivu, and South Kivu. These children receive both psychosocial and economic support to help them reintegrate into their communities. Depending on their age, some children return to school, while others receive vocational training in practical skills such as tailoring, carpentry, or mechanics, equipping them with the tools to build sustainable livelihoods.

The recruitment, use, and abduction of children in armed conflict is a grave violation of international humanitarian law and may constitute a war crime, said Save the Children. These practices expose them to extreme violence, and cause severe, long-term physical and psychological harm. 

Children are often targeted for recruitment because they are cheap, easier to control and manipulate, and because they look to adults to protect them. Usually unpaid, they are used to do tasks adults do not want to do and may also be coerced into carrying out acts of violence, or have violence perpetrated onto them – for example, as girls recruited to be ‘wives’ of soldiers.

Save the Children has observed that the number of grave violations against children in the eastern DRC has increased. UNICEF has reported that grave violations have tripled since the latest escalation of violence which began on 24 January 2025 [1]. These violations include recruitment and use of children in armed groups, killing and maiming, rape and other forms of sexual violence, and abduction.

Junior*, 17, who has been supported by Save the Children said:

“I was taken by force by a group of armed men when we were going to school with my friends, so they took us into the bush to train us to handle weapons to defend the country. We were very closely watched so that no one could leave the training area”

Greg Ramm, Save the Children’s Country Director in DRC, said:  

"The situation is unacceptable, and urgent action is needed to protect the children of the DRC.  We call on all parties to the conflict to take immediate measures to prevent and end these grave violations. The international community must ensure that independent human rights monitors have unrestricted access to affected areas to conduct rigorous and child-sensitive investigations and perpetrators of such acts must be held into account”. 

The DRC has made progress in recent years in addressing the issue of child recruitment, including the adoption of an Action Plan in 2012 and the establishment of a Joint Technical Working Group to coordinate implementation. However, much work remains to be done to ensure the protection of children from all forms of violence.

"We urge the government of the DRC, the international community, and all stakeholders to work together to address the root causes of these violations and to ensure that children are protected from harm," said Christian Selemani*, the child protection partner.

Save the Children started working in eastern DRC in 1994, and is currently working with 13 local partners, as well as international partners and government authorities, to deliver critical health, nutrition, water, sanitation and hygiene, child protection and education support to children and their families.  



Distributed by APO Group on behalf of Save the Children.

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