Segun Atanda/
Yori Folarin, a presenter on TV Continental experienced what it’s like to hold a tiger by the tail today, when he tackled the Ikeja Branch chairman of the Nigeria Bar Association aka Tiger Branch, Mr Adesina Ogunlana on the vexed issue of Land Use Charge (LUC).
Folarin, who was accused of spinning government’s perspective, met a growling tiger in Ogunlana, when he asked questions which the NBA Chairman considered as offensive and described as an ambush.
When it was time to end the programme and Folarin thanked Ogunlana for coming, the angry NBA Chairman replied: “I’m not thanking you. I’m thanking Nigerians.”
Lagos State governor, Mr Akinwunmi Ambode, recently announced an increase of 400 per cent in the LUC payable by home owners in the state.
But he later buckled under pressure and reduced the charges by 50 per cent along with some waivers.
Folarin asked what was the interest of the NBA Chairman who has been putting the pressure on government, when members of his association are not Estate Valuers.
Ogunlana answered by quoting Sapara Williams, the first Nigerian to be called to the bar of the Supreme Court: “A lawyer lives for the direction of his people and the advancement of his society.”
He asked Folarin: “What audacity have you to ask me what is our own?”
He mentioned a series of interventions that NBA Ikeja had been involved in nationwide on behalf of the people.
Ogunlana said, “The position of my branch against this Land Use Charge and against all other atrocious toxic taxes is that this government does not understand or appreciate the dynamics of democracy.”
A woman identified as Bisola, who called in from London on the live TV programme said: “I live in London, but I have a house in Ajah. I’ve lived in UK for over 30 years; we have such taxes, but government provides everything. There are no pipes laid all over Ajah, talkless of supplying us water, and you are asking for this money. No security… We personally built roads that lead to our houses, pay for refuse collection… What exactly does the Lagos State government do for us to pay that levy?”
During the programme, Ogunlana, who alleged that there is a lot of fraud in the calculation by Lagos State government, insisted that NBA members would still go on a march.
He mentioned that Oba Rilwanu Akiolu of Lagos had even invited him to a meeting over the matter, but he did not see any need to attend such meeting.
He also confirmed that a woman from the Directorate of State Security (DSS) attempted to gatecrash NBA’s meeting on Monday.
0