The Accident that Wasted Precious Fuel At Anthony Oke [Photos]

Chronicled by Afronuts @ Friday, April 01, 2016

I was wrapping up some late night work at my office at about after 10pm when I got the news that a Diesel tanker had had an accident very near the office. I had the opportunity of doing a report that night – talking to the firefighters and rescue workers that had arrived on the scene finding out details et al but I had a snagging headache, a terrible cold and I needed to get home and sleep badly, so I just drove past the scene of the accident – the same area I had passed around 9pm when I came back to the office that night. Talk about God’s saving grace.

The tanker after being moved from the Corona School Compound

The incident happened at Anthony-Oke turnaround junction; the axis where you connect the Gbagada express to Anthony Busstop of Ikorodu road. Two prominent schools are situated in that location – Greensprings School and Corona School. 

The last time a tanker burst and let out its petrol all over the place, Greensprings School had to evacuate all its students away from the danger zone as the petrol flowed into the school environs. They were kept at a safe location till it was all contained (You can read the report on that incident here). This time, Corona School was the unlucky victim. Fortunately no one was on the school premises since it was during their holidays and this happened late at night.

The part of the Corona School compound where the tanker crashed through

The tanker had rolled down the valley that led into a nearby estate and crashed through the wall of Corona School, leaking its content into the school compound. What a pity that at a time when fuel scarcity is everywhere, a tanker lies here leaking away this precious cargo, giving area boys a field day to scoop the liquid booty

I was at the scene briefly this morning to capture shots. By that time the tanker had been moved out of the Corona School compound and situated nearby. It was still leaking diesel and area boys were all over the place with kegs scooping as much as they could. Police, LASTMA and firefighters were up and about controlling the situation. 

I must commend the fire service on their quick response, they had been there since the night before working to keep danger at bay. The police as usual were there supposedly securing the place but then I saw one of them accost of woman taking pictures and taking her to meet his boss…hmm…Naija Police sha…I wonder for what reason.

One other thing I saw about the scene where people interviewing rescuers with phones and audio recorders - definitely bloggers who wanted to capture information for their sites no doubt. It got me wondering...maybe if I had done some coverage last night, I might have had the upper hand with night-time pictures of the accident still very fresh before the tanker was moves this morning...I guiess blogging breaking news does have its sacrifices.

Happy 100th Birthday to My Grandpa!

Chronicled by Afronuts @ Wednesday, March 25, 2015

Yes! My one and only surviving grandpa just clocked a 100 years old on two days ago!

When my Mum called a month ago from the UK and told me to have a meet with my siblings and decide what we were gonna do for grandpa (who's also a great-grandpa to our kids - all my siblings, except the last born who isn't married yet have kids) since he was clocking 100 years, 

I was like 'Mum are you for REAL?? Grandpa is now 100?' Boy! That's a century old! And the man is as fit as a fiddle....I tap into that longevity anointing. 

Why I dey worry sef? It runs in the family - like my Dad who's seated next to Grandpa who would be clocking 70 this year and still drives himself, and moves and travels around a lot. When we walk side by side, I can't even keep up with him! Boy, I need to reduce my intake of pounded yam or something...lol.

I've not been blogging as I should thanks to many matters arising but I couldn't let this one pass by...oh I should have even posted it on Monday and today is wednesday...aaargh! Well, its the big 100 we're talking about here; even if I posted it next week its still a big deal...abi?

Happy Birthday once again and Many Happy returns to my awesome grandpa!

STLA - Something To Laff About [Photos]

Chronicled by Afronuts @ Tuesday, March 10, 2015

You've seen my different funny photo series collected over the internet, whether its the 'Only in Naija' series, 'Nollywood Gbagaun' series, 'Signs of the Times' series and so on. I realized there were some funny photos I come across that I couldn't place under any of these already existing categories, so I decided to start this new one which I hope could feature as often as possible...So allow me to introduce the series - Something to Laff About (STLA). 

LOL...No mind me, always forming some concept or the other.

This deflating 'gbagaun' made by PDP on GEJ's electoral campaign can be
found in many places about Lagos. I first saw it on a massive billboard along
third mainland bridge. Thank God I sabi English, I thought I didn't when I saw it

These are the type of community projects that our elected honorables collect millions for.

This bus must be a local chief...oh, its a makeshift wiper.

I know its fake...its just the thought thats funny.

After this kind  'deliverance', his head...oh sorry I meant his life
will never be the same.

Either the owner is a South African who's playing words with his country's currency
and the car name or na person wey no sabi spell and forgot to add 'Y' to the first word.

Only in Naija will you see a wedding car in traditional dress...
soon it will become aso-ebi for all cars involved

Apparently, bleaching has also become 'aso-ebi'

Next time you lie to us with photoshop , please include your shadow

So Manequins now have swag abi?...interesting.

And some Mannequins are just plain goofy buck-toothed nerds abi?

Oh...its a place for relaxation....I thought it was
a ritual killers den with that kind of signboard

This sticker should be quarantined...the horrible grammar be screwing with my eyes

They are now issuing parachutes and canoes as Youth Corper uniforms?

Eerm....wetin concern helicopter with omnipresent power?

Louise Vuitton and Gucci, Aba branch, did a collabo to
manufacture this shirt. That's the only explanation I can give.

Always hang your over-sized undies in a private place...otherwise goons
like this dude will make us begin to wonder if human beings really wear stuff like that

Hmm...folks who don't know about Holy communion may misinterprete this oh

The disadvantages of sagging  101...

Okay...that about wraps it up for today. I got a bunch of other things to do.

I should have posted this for Monday but I didn't compile it on time.  

Have a nice week.

Flashback Fridays: Before Naija Frats Were Bastardized [Photo]

Chronicled by Afronuts @ Friday, February 27, 2015

The genesis of secret cults on Nigerian campuses today had always been with good intentions; it was all for a noble cause, one of which was predominantly to eradicate tribalism. 

The University College, Ibadan (which later became University of Ibadan), was at a time a breeding ground for the worst kind of tribal thinking clubs; the Students' Representative Council, all forms of student activity, including sports, became mere expressions of tribal pettiness.

It was against this background and to combat these negative tendencies that seven students founded the Pyrates Confraternity (PC) in 1952. Their original scroll written and signed by those founding fathers, listed below, remains a most valued item in the Pyrates Treasure Chest.

According to the Pyrates, the “Magnificent Seven”, as they called themselves, observed that the university was populated with wealthy students associated with the colonial powers and a few poorer students striving in manner and dress to be accepted by the more advantaged students, while social life was dictated by tribal affiliation.

These men known as the Original Seven are:

1. Wole Soyinka

2. Ralph Okpara

3. Pius Oleghe

4. Ikpehare Aig-Imoukhuede

5. Nathaniel Oyelola

6. Olumuyiwa Awe

7. Sylvanus U. Egbuche

The original seven at Tedder Hall Quandrangle, University College Ibadan.
From left: Wole Soyinka, Ikpehare Aig-Imoukhuede, Sylvanus Egbuche,
Pius Oleghe, Nathaniel Oyelola, Muyiwa Awe, Palph Pkpara

Soon their rank increased to fifteen to become the "fifteen men on a dead man's chest". To combat tribalism within their ranks, they adopted pyratical names, different from their "lubbish" names, with no trace to any tribe or origin. Thus was born the Jolly Rogers l (JR1) deck which for a long time remained the mothership of the pyrates Confraternity.

However, as new confraternities were formed, they became increasingly violent through the 1970s and 1980s. By the 1990s, many confraternities largely operated as criminal gangs, called “campus cults” in Nigeria. Besides normal criminal activity, confraternities have been linked to political violence, as well as the conflict in the Niger Delta.

Source Material 1 

Source Material 2 

Photo of The Day: Tyre Furniture

Chronicled by Afronuts @ Thursday, February 26, 2015

This goes to show that there's nothing that can't be recycled.

I'd seriously love to have a set of these in my living room! Come to think of it...it shouldn't be hard to make these...if  I can just visit a vulganizer to collect some discarded tyres and also pay Bamboo cane village under Ojota bridge a visit, then I should be able to do stuff like this right?

Still trying to figure how they managed to join all those elements together to make furniture though...

Merry Christmas....Abi?

Chronicled by Afronuts @ Thursday, December 25, 2014

The more I think about it, the more I realize that Christmas is actually a time to spend money so that you'll be broke...a time to celebrate the birth of Jesus which doesn't make sense because he was never born on winter...a time that serves as a good excuse to throw parties for no cogent reason but for the fact that its Christmas....a time for children celebrate Santa Clause rather than Jesus Christ...

Talking about that last one - Have you seen Naija Santa Clauses about town lately? They're so horrible. 

Whoever says putting powder (or is it calamine lotion?) 

on your face will make you look like a white man's version 

of Santa? Poor kids, Christmas nightmare

If Santa was gay, then this should be how he should look...abi?
See hips nah...and his skinny awkward legs.
Wait...is that powder or white paint on this one's face too?

to y'all from The Kush Chronicles

Flashback Fridays: Was the Past Better Than the Present? [Photos]

Chronicled by Afronuts @ Friday, December 19, 2014

And so for this week's Flashback Friday, I present a collection of pictures which make me to question if the past was better than the present. It's very easy to assume things were better in the past than they are today and that is usually because of the things we tend to focus on. In actual fact there are very many things which make today better than yesterday, its because human beings are in the habit of forgetting their blessings and remembering their worries. 

And so here are some pictures that could make one reflect - was yesterday better than today?

Asiwaju Tinubu and wife on traditional wedding day, 1987.
Tinubu looked more handsome back then compared to today shey?
His wife, Remi, is one ageless wonder...she still looks as pretty today!

I wish I could get a clearer photo of the quality of the clothes the
Nigerian Youth Service Corps members wore in those days.
Check out the quality of their caps...its a far cry from what is being
produced for Corpers today. 

Back in the 1970s billboards like these were a popular outdoor advertising medium.
Every strong brand could be found on one of these.
Today, Billboards have become digital, electronic, mechanical...
yep, they definitely got better.

This card was the Visa to free education.
Anyone who had it was entitled to free primary education
back in the days. There's no such thing today anymore

The Obasanjos look like one big happy family in this old photo taken around the 1980s
before things seemed to 'politically' fall apart. Mrs. Remi is seen 2nd from Right
and Iyabo is seen 3rd from Left.

Have an awesome pre-christmas weekend y'all!

Photos courtesy @SeeMeSeeNigeria et al

Flashback Fridays: A few Steps Back in History

Chronicled by Afronuts @ Friday, December 05, 2014

History is one interesting bit that makes us reflect on how things were back in the days and we compare it with what things are today. Many times it looks as though history had it better way back then than things are today (like in the pix above when it cost just N17,430 to travel to New York from Nigeria in the now defunct Nigeria Airways) but that's because we tend to reflect on what worked back then...you can't compare it with what's working today. Okay, this looks like something for another topic or post. For today, let's flashback into different tit bits of Naija's history. Special thanks to @SeeMeSeeNigeria for most of these awesome pictures

Nigeria's football history: Etim Henshaw,Nigeria's 1st National Team
Captain against B' Auckland FC in 1949, played barefooted during the UK tour

Former Presidents, Abdulsalami Abubakar
and Ibrahim Babangida as juveniles

Former Vice-President, Atiku Abubakar
as a young Nigerian Customs Officer

Yes...that's Ikorodu road in 1947

Above is Ikorodu road in the '70s and below is Ikordu road today

Lagos, Circa late 1960s, with Barclays Bank, Ford,
and the Lagos Municipal Transport.

Miss World Beauty Pageant in the '60s

See Prof. Pat Utomi way back as the Director of Socials
(Students Union), University of Nigeria Nsukka in March 1976

President Jonathan (Left) as a teenager with friends in Port Harcourt
hmm...he's wearing shoes. I thought he...never mind.

Tesilimi Thunderbolt Balogun pictured here in 1955 was
the first Nigerian footballer to play with clubs in the UK
The newest stadium in Lagos is named after him.

Tinubu Square in 1960 (above) and as it is today (below)

Once again thanks to the following for these awesome photos:

www.abiyamo.com 
@SeeMeSeeNigeria

Have an awesome weekend!