VOL. 9. NO.042 NNNNN5050505050TUESDAY, APRIL 8, 2014

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Front Page Comment

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Who KilledChief Bola Ige,former Attorney-

General andMinister of

Justice? IGE

•(L-R) Deputy Governor, State of Osun, Otunba (Mrs) Titilayo Loaye-Tomori; former Abia State Governor, Dr Orji Uzor Kalu; Governor, State of Osun, Ogbeni Rauf Aregbesola(arrowed); member, National Assembly representing Osun East Senatorial District, Senator Babajide Omoworare and other State Executive Council members leading Aregbesola’sadmirers, during the 15th Edition of Walk-To-Live-for-Healthy-Living exercise in Ife-North Local Government Council Area of the state at Origbo Community High School,Ipetumodu, State of Osun, last Saturday.

Osun PDP Governorship Pry Election: Omisore’s Emergence, Good For APC - Osun APC

Aregbesola DeservesAnother Term- Ex-Gov Kalu

The crises that havebeen rocking the twocommunities of Oba-IIe and Oba-Oke inOlorunda Local Gov-ernment Council Areain the state of Osuncall for worry. What,for God's sake, arethe warring communi-ties stand to gain fromconstantly being

at war with one an-other, other thanloss?And when we talkof loss here we meanloss in all its ramifica-tions as a Yoruba adagesays; "brawl (and abloody one for that mat-ter such as the ones wewitnessed

between these twocommunities towards theend of last year) doesn'tenrich the pockets ofthegladiators, it only givesthem a bad name".

Lessons of history havealso taught us that wardoesn't breed gentle andprosperous offspring but

bell igerentones that cannever do thegladiators any

good. Hence theglobally ac-cepted sayingthat; 'it's betterto jaw-jaw thanto war-war'.

Oba-Ile/Oba-Oke: Let Peace Reign Please

Continue on pg4

2OSUN DEFENDER Tuesday, April 8, 2014

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News

•Managing Editor, OSUN DEFENDER Newspaper, Mr Kola Olabisi (3rd right); Admin Manager of the Newspaper,Mr Murtala Agboola (4th right); Leader of RAFOMANIA Group, Aremo Adegboyega Abdullateef (4th left) andother members of the group during a courtesy visit to OSUN DEFENDER Newspaper Management last Friday.

Photo: GBENGA ADENIYI.

Yoruba Group Condemns Adesiyan, Obanikoro’sRoles In Violence In South-WestA leading Yoruba organization, the Coalition of Oodua

Self-Determination Groups (COSEG) at the weekend,called on the Presidency to call to order two of its serving

ministers from the South West zone, saying the conducts ofthe two ministers are capable of threatening the peace enjoyedby the people of the zone.

COSEG said the Minister ofPolice Affairs, Mr. JeliliAdesiyan from Osun andMusiliu Obanikoro, who is theMinister of State for Defencefrom Lagos State havecommenced using theirrespective offices to causerepression and endanger thepeace of the zone.

In a statement released onSunday titled: Threat to Peaceof South West by Police Affairs,Defence Ministers and signedby COESG’s Chairman, DayoOgunlana and Secretary, RasakOlookooba, the group said theuse of policemen by Adesiyanto attack a governorshipaspirant and former governor ofOsun State, Isiaka Adeleke andthe use of soldiers to haltconstruction works at a housingestate being built by the LagosState Government are strongindications that both Adesiyanand Obanikoro are on a sinistermission in the South West.

COSEG said, “Our attentionhas been drawn to an uglyunfolding drama in the State ofOsun.

As a concerned group andstakeholders in the South-Westpolitics, welfare and socio-economic growth, we deem itfeet to promptly respond to anyuntoward behaviour of thosewhose action or inactionconstitutes threat to this region.

“We gathered that at a venueslated for the meeting of thePeoples Democratic Party(PDP) aspirants in the state, asection of its leaders, led-by the

newly appointed Minister ofPolice Affairs, Mr. JeliliAdesiyan, unleashed violenceon one of the aspirants and hissupporters.”

In the statement, COSEGsaid Adeleke narrated how heand his men were molested andassaulted by security agents,the minister, another aspirant;Senator Iyiola Omisore and oneSogo Agboola, at the Osogbohotel, venue of the meeting.

It added: “Adeleke said hewent to the venue to meet thefive-man committee sent fromAbuja to conduct the party’sprimary, which was slated forSaturday, 5 April 2014 inOsogbo.

“He first noticed theharassment of his supporters bysecurity agents and he went intothe hall to lay a formalcomplaint, having been told bythe security agents that theywere acting on the instructionof the minister, Adesiyan.

“Inside the hall, he disclosedthat he saw Omisore, Adesiyan,Sogo Agboola sitting togetherand he approached them tocomplain.

He narrated: “I went toAdesiyan to complain thatpolice officers and DSSoperatives were holding partymen outside. But, instead oflistening to me, he jumped overa table before him and hit mewith a blow on the chest. SogoAgboola also attacked me.

“Before I knew what washappening, Omisore hit me witha blow from the back. About

seven guns, corked werepointed at me.”

COSEG described asundesirable, the action of theMinister of Police Affairs,saying: “First, as a Minister ofthe Federal Republic, oneexpects a man of his calibre toobserve and act with decorumand ultimate care.

“Secondly, as an indigene ofthe state, we think what shouldbe uppermost in Adesiyan’smind should be peace andsecurity of the state.

“Thirdly, we are completelymiffed that an ordinaryfamiliarisation meeting amongcontestants in his party couldsnowball into violence, thenews of which has sent panicdown the minds of the citizensover the possible violence aboutto be unleashed on the state inthe bid by the PDP to captureOsun.

The group said theappointment of Adesiyan, oneof those suspected, arrested andprosecuted over the heinousassassination of formerAttorney-General and Ministerof Justice, Chief Ajibola Ige, isan insult on the psyche ofYoruba, adding that withAdesiyan presiding over thePolice Affairs Ministry, thepowers that be in Abuja havetold Nigerians that the killers ofIge cannot be found.

On the conduct ofObanikoro, the group stated: “Inthe same vein, we view withconcern the alleged show ofpower by the Minister of Statefor Defence, MusiliuObanikoro, with his occupationof a Lagos State-ownedconstruction site at Ilubinrin inLagos by men of the NigerianArmy.

“The drama that is unfoldingin the South West region withthe shameful conducts ofAdesiyan (in Osun) andObanikoro (in Lagos) is avindication of COSEG’s earlierposition and alarm that theappointment of the two weretargeted at some sinister movesby the PDP to repress thepeople of the South West.”

COSEG therefore called onwell-meaning opinion leaders inthe South West and thePresidency as well, to call bothObanikoro and Adesiyan toorder immediately.

The group said failure to dothis could stoke embers ofviolence in the only region ofthe country, where there is stillsome semblance of stability,peace and tranquility.

Osun Residents Panic As OmiosreEmerges PDP Candidate

By SHINA ABUBAKAR

RESIDENTS of major towns in the State of Osun havestarted panicking as Senator Iyiola Omisore emergedthe flag-bearer of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP)

ahead of the gubernatorial election in the state in August.The people of the state have

been following development inthe party with keen interest asthe party primary built up forabout two weeks.

Findings showed that thepeople were concerned withthe calibre of aspirant thatwould eventually emerge asthe party candidate, believingit would have a lot with thepopulace before and during theelection.

As the party announced itscandidate after the primary,some residents expressed theirpessimism on the peacefulconduct of the August 9 poll,particularly with the eventleading to the build-up to theparty primary election heldlast Saturday.

An Ilesa trader, Mr IsolaObatola, disclosed after theannouncement of thecandidacy of the senator thatsecurity operatives would havea lot to do in their task ofensuring a violence-free poll inthe state.

He noted that the crisis thatengulfed the party before theconduct of the primary was apointer to what the electorateshould expect from the PDPin August.

Another resident in Ikirun,Mr Safiu Ayanlande, disclosedthat having followeddevelopment in the state in thelast six months, theIndependent National ElectoralCommission (INEC) wouldhave to convince Nigerianswith the conduct of a fair pollin the state ahead of the 2015general elections in the country.

According to him, it does notmatter who emerges as PDPcandidate or how the personemerged, but whether theelectorate in the state wouldhave a chance to vote duringthe election and if their voteswould count.

“I am saying that thepeoples’ votes must be allowedto count. In other words, INECwould have to convinceNigerians with the election inEkiti and Osun that it is capableof giving Nigerians an electionthey would be proud of,” headded.

Also, Mr Bashir Alabi inOsogbo said the people wouldhave to be very careful andvigilant, as the PDP primaryhas shown the direction theparty is tilting for the Augustgubernatorial election.

He emphasised the need forthe concerned institutions to beobjective before and during theconduct of the election,especially as violence precededthe conduct of the PDPprimary election in the state.

Also, OSUN DEFENDERgathered that residents acrossthe state were surprised withthe outcome of the partyprimary, particularly as SenatorIsiaka Adeleke pulled out dueto threat on his life and thoseof his supporters.

According to someresidents, if the likes of Adelekecould pull out due to threats,what is likely to happen to theelectorate who do not have thewherewithal to confront theenormous violence associatedwith the PDP.

Omisore Is Over-ambitious - Osun LawmakerBy KAZEEM MOHAMMED

A State of Osun lawmaker, Honourable KamardeenAkanbi, has said that the conduct of the PeoplesDemocratic Party (PDP) gubernatorial candidate in

the state, Senator Iyiola Omisore, so far has shown that heis desperately relying on violence to win the August 9, 2014governorship election.

He said that the reportedattack on a former governor,Isiaka Adeleke, who is also aPDP aspirant, by Omisore andhis cohorts, including theMinister of Police Affairs, JeliliAdesiyan, has shown that heis over-ambitious.

The lawmaker, representingEde-North Constituency in theState House of Assemblynoted that Omisore’santecedents cannot withstandthe popularity of theincumbent Governor RaufAregbesola in the state.

According to him,Aregbesola has been able toconvince the people of hisability to transform the stateand people want to enjoy more

of his initiatives by re-electinghim in the next poll.

“Whoever the PDPcandidate may be, he cannotcompete with Aregbesola inthe August 9 election.

“People want a governmentthat can fulfil promises and thatis what Ogbeni Aregbesola hasdone. If you consider hisactivities, you will see that thisadministration has fulfilled hispromises to the people of thestate.

“He has been able to touchall sectors of governance,ranging from education, health,industrialisation, economic,security, infrastructuraldevelopment and many othersand he has performed above the

required level of expectations.“For them to say they want

to unseat this government, it isa laughing matter because it isnot possible.

“Neither Omisore nor any ofthem can unseat Aregbesola.

“What happened few daysto their primaries, wherebyAdeleke was attacked byOmisore and Adesiyan and theirthugs have shown that theyonly believe in violence.

“We are aware that thePresidency has shown interestin taking over the state and weknow that the target is to rigthe poll for the PDP, but theywill fail, because you can onlyrig where you are popular,”Akanbi further stressesd.

Noting that there is no town,where Aregbesola has nottouched by his developmentalstrides, he alerted the peoplenot to allow themselves to bedeceived by those he describedas disgruntled politicians, whoonly believe in enriching theirpockets.

Aregbesola Deserves Another Term - Ex-Gov KaluBy BOLANLE BABALOLA

NOT minding whose horse is gored, a chieftain of thePeoples Democratic Party (PDP) and a two-termformer governor of Abia State, Chief (Dr) Orji Uzor

Kalu, has thrown his weight behind the second termambition of the incumbent governor of the State of Osun,Ogbeni Rauf Aregbesola.

According to him, the statein its current form does notneed to change a winning teamin view of the monumentalchain of achievements recordedby Aregbesola’s administrationsince its inception onNovember 27, 2010.

Kalu stated this whileparticipating in the 15th editionof Walk to Live exercise held inIpetumodu, headquarters of IfeNorth local Government

Council Area of the state alongwith the state governor,Aregbesola, last Saturday.

As a statesman, he said hecould not shy away from thetruth, while admitting thatindeed, that Aregbesola’soutstanding performance in allsectors of governance hasqualified him for a second termin office.

Speaking further, heemphasised: “I am still a

member of the PDP, but whatI have heard and seen aboutyour governor, made me tocome out to support goodwork.”

While praising Aregbesolafor all his efforts in putting thestate on the global map, Kalunoted that for the few days hespent in the state, the way andmanner people talked about thegovernor, it goes a long way toshow the people’s desire to seehim continue the good workshe has been doing through tohis second term in office.

“Few days that I have spenthere and the way his peopletalked about him truly showedthat Governor Aregbesoladeserves another term tocomplete the good works that

the good Lord has used him tostart during his first term,” theformer Abia State governorstated.

Admitting that the recently-selected gubernatorialcandidate of the PDP in thestate, Senator Iyiola Omisoreis his personal friend, Kalustressed that no matter thecircumstances, he will alwayssay the truth.

“Iyiola Omisore is apersonal friend of mine, but Iwill always say the truth,” hestressed.

Speaking further on theWalk to Live programme, thePDP chieftain said only fewgovernors in the country couldwalk freely among their peopleas Aregbesola had done without

being pelted with sachets ofpure water.

This, in his ownassessment, has shown howpopular the governor is amongthe people of the state.

“If what I have seen todayis a test of popularity, thenAregbesola is indeed popular,”the former governor reiterated.

While expressing hissupport for PresidentGoodluck Jonathan, Kalureiterated that what thepresident needs from all andsundry at this material time isthe collective prayer of all,since according to him, the man

is trying.It would be recalled that

prominent Nigerians had inrecent past acknowledgedGovernor Aregbesola’s goodworks in various sectors ofgovernance.

Of particular reference wasSenator Uche Chukwumerijeand former Inspector Generalof Police, Mike Okiro, who atdifferent fora, hadacknowledged Aregbesola’sefforts in raising the standardof education and enhancingsecurity of lives and propertyin the state respectively.

3 News OSUN DEFENDER Tuesday, April 8, 2014

•The governor, State of Osun, Ogbeni Rauf Aregbesola; Dr. Uzor Kalu; officiating minister; Senator BabajideOmoworare; Senator Emmanuel Onwe, at St Benard’s Catholic Church in Osogbo for Sunday service, last Sunday.

Osun PDP Governorship Pry Election: Omisore’sEmergence, Good For APC - Osun APC

By ISMAEEL UTHMAN

THE All Progressives Congress (APC) has described theemergence of Senator Iyiola Omisore as the governorship candidate of the Peoples Democratic Party

(PDP) for the August 9 gubernatorial election as a goodomen for the APC.

Walk-To-Live: Development ‘ll Cut Across Every Part Of Osun - Aregbesola

THE Governor of the State of Osun, Ogbeni RaufAregbesola, has said that the ongoing construction ofultra-modern schools embarked upon by his

administration would cut across all nooks and crannies ofthe state.

By KEHINDE AYANTUNJI

Aregbesola said no area ofthe state would be exemptedfrom the ongoing modernschools construction.

The governor stated this atthe 15th edition of the keep-fitprogramme of the state tagged:“Walk-to-Live” held inIpetumodu, headquarters of IfeNorth Local governmentCouncil Area of the state.

Responding to request of thepeople of the area to have moreinfrastructural development,

particularly the modernschools, Aregbesola said it wasthe duty of every responsiblegovernment to ensuredevelopment of all parts of itsstate.

He said he would stop atnothing to transform the stateand bring smiles to the faces ofthe people by ensuring that hisadministration’s programmesare centred on infrastructuraland socio-economicdevelopments.

On the Walk-to-Live,Aregbesola said he chose theprogramme to embark on streetmobilisation of the people,saying research has shown thatAfricans do not attain theirmaximum lifespan because oflack of physical exercise.

Aregbesola added that theprogramme gives him thesecondary opportunity ofknowing the yearnings of thepeople, just as he lauded thepeople of the area for troopingout en masse to participate inthe exercise.

Speaking at the programme,former Abia State governor, DrOrji Uzor Kalu, who said hewas purposely in the state forthe programme, congratulated

the people of the state forhaving Aregbesola as theirgovernor.

Kalu said despite being amember of the PeoplesDemocratic Party, he wasdutybound to laud the governorfor a job well done, adding thatonly few governors in thefederation can walk like thatwithout been assaulted bycitizens.

Orji and Aregbesola hadearlier during the exercisestopped by at the Apetumodupalace to commission a newly-constructed Town Hall ofIpetumodu community.

In his welcome address, theSpecial Adviser to the governoron Youths, Sports, and Special

Needs, Comrade BiyiOdunlade, said the programmehas not derailed from thepurpose of institution, whichis to show to all the citizens ofthe state the importance ofexercise in keeping the body ingood shape.

He said the programme wasin accordance with theelectioneering campaignpromises of the presentadministration in the state.

Speaking on behalf of othermonarchs in the council area,the Apetu of Ipetumodu, ObaJames Adejoke, said he waspleased that Aregbesoladeemed it fit to take the trainof the exercise to the area.

Oba Adegoke said all the

monarchs in the localgovernment council area wereimpressed with thedevelopmental projects ofAregbesola, even as he enjoinedthe people of the state tosupport the Aregbesola-ledadministration in moving thestate forward.

The train of the exercise,which took off from Edunabonjunction, went through streetslike, Isale-Akuro, Oke Odo,Sekona road, Powerline,Itamerin among others, all inEdun-Abon, Yakoyo, Moro,Ipetumodu and terminated atOrigbo Community HighSchool, Ipetumodu.

Make Osun O’Meal A Model - Osun Dep Gov Urges FGBy SOLA JACOBS

DEPUTY Governor and Commissioner for Educationin the State of Osun, Otunba (Mrs) Grace TitilayoLaoye-Tomori, has re-newed her call to the Federal

Government to adopt the state’s elementary school feedingsystem, as a model for for the implementation of NationalSchool Feeding Scheme in the country.

She made the call in Osogbo,the state capital, while speak-ing at the flag-off of the secondphase of the Deworming Exer-cise for elementary school pu-pils in the state-owned publicschools under the Osun El-ementary School FeedingProgramme (O-Meal) held atthe AUD Government Elemen-tary School, Isale Osun,Osogbo.

In her address titled:Healthy Children, Wealth of aNation, Mrs. Laoye-Tomorisaid the purpose of the dew-orming exercise was to show-case the commitment of thepresent administration in theState of Osun to ensure that allthe pupils in the state’s publicschools are physically andmentally sound and upright.

Describing the dewormingexercise as one in line with theWorld Health Organization(WHO), the state deputy gov-ernor said the biannualprogramme was an importantstep aimed at forestalling anyunforeseen health-related haz-ards that could nip in the budeffort of the state governmentin investing N3.6billion annu-ally in the feeding of over300,000 elementary schoolpupils across the state underthe school feeding programme;courtesy of Governor RaufAregbesola’s administration.

Mrs. Laoye-Tomori, whotook time time to share in themid-day meal of rice, egusi

soup, chicken and banana withthe pupils, said the report,which put the population ofchildren of school age with re-tarded growth across the nationat over forty percent is worri-some, but was pleased thatwith the introduction of O-Meal programme, GovernorAregbesola has rescued everypublic school child in the State

of Osun from stunted growth.In the words of the Chair-

man of the House Committeeon Education in the StateHouse of Assembly,Honourable FolorunsoBamisayemi, the state parlia-ment is committed to constantsupport for the stategovernment’s giant strides andexcellent performance in allsectors of the state educationin particular.

The State Commissioner forHealth, Dr. (Mrs) TemitopeIlori, represented by the Per-manent Secretary in the minis-try, Dr. Temitope Oladele,Chairman, Osun State Univer-

Ede Headworks Would BeShut Down For Three Days

AS a result of the on-going rehabilitation works atEde Headworks, the plant would be shut down forthree days commencing from Tuesday April 8, 2014,

in order to put in place the newly-purchased plants andequipment.

This is contained in astatement issued by themanagement of the StateWater Corporation. Thestatement thereforeenjoined members of thegeneral public to storepotable water for their use.

The management thenassured the general public

that once the installationsare completed, water supplywill be restored before thesaid dates.

The corporationtherefore called on thegeneral public to kindly bearthe inconveniencies whichthe closure might causethem.

New Constitution Provision: DoNot Tie Nigeria To The President’sApron Strings, ARG Cautions

THE Afenifere Renewal Group (ARG) has raised acautionary flag about the initiative to enable theNigerian president call for a new Constitution.

In a press statement signedby its publicity secretary,Kunle Famoriyo, the group saidthe country needs a newConstitution but warned thatthe National Assembly mustnot vest this power on theoffice of the president withoutexplicitly stating when andhow this power can beexercised.

The statement said: “ARGnotes that the 1999Constitution already reeks ofmany undesirable lacunae thatare being exploited to thedetriment of good governance.While ARG will alwayssupport constitutionalprovisions for initiating a newconstitution, we do not wish

for such to be left to theexclusive interpretation of theoffice of the president.”

“We wish to impress it onour federal legislators that thequest for a new Constitutionfor Nigeria, of which the ARGis a notable vanguard, ispremised upon the overcentrality of power to thepresident in the 1999Constitution.”

“Therefore, giving thePresident the power to call fora new constitution withoutstating unambiguously howand when such power could beactivated will tie the countryto the President’s apronstrings.”

“Hence, the proposedprovisions must be exercisedby the activation of a clearlydefined and nationallyacceptable procedure forconvoking a ConstituentAssembly. There must also beconstitutional provisions forreferendum. By doing this, anynew constitution that emergewill give procedural validationto the most important phrasein any constitution, “We thepeople”. We suggest that theSenate also organise a publichearing on this very importantissue.”

The group, quoting a formerUS President, TheodoreRoosevelt, said, “This countrywill not be a good place for anyof us to live in unless we makeit a good place for all of us tolive in.” It therefore urges theNational Assembly members“to rise above partisanpolitical dictates and mutualsuspicion and work outconstitutional provisions forreviewing and validatingNigeria’s sovereignty.”

sal Basic Education Board,Chief Felix Awofisayo, repre-sented by Mr. KennethAkanni, along with the StateCo-ordinator of O-Meal, Mrs.Bunmi Ayoola, all appreciatedGovernor Aregbesola for hiscommitment to the state’s edu-cation sector, which has posi-tively transformed the sector.

Highpoint of the event wasthe symbolic flag-off of thedeworming exercise with thedeputy governor administeringdeworming tablets to selectedpupils, which marked com-mencement of the programmeacross all the 1,789 elementaryschools in the state.

The APC said Omisore’semergence made victory easierfor the party, because the PDPhas a candidate that lacks pedi-gree, credibility, responsibilityand focus.

According to the APC in apress statement signed by itsDirector of Research, Public-ity and Strategy, Mr KunleOyatomi, on Sunday, thepeople of the state do not wanta candidate with questionablecharacter.

The APC described the pri-mary election that producedOmisore’s candidature as typi-cal of a party, which ground

norm for political engagementis gangsterism.

Oyatomi said Omisore’semergence was not unexpected,as his co-aspirant had to with-draw from the race because ofthe alleged threat fromOmisore and his loyalists.

He said Omisore would stopat nothing including fatal vio-lence to pick his party’s ticket,which he did to pick the gover-norship ticket of the party.

According to Oyatomi,Osun people have good in-stinct to decide whether to votefor a desperate politician whowill swim in the ocean of their

blood to get power, or the onethey know who has put Osunon the world map, and haschanged their environment andlives of hundreds of thousandsof citizens in the last 40months.

He said: “This character ofa PDP candidate has openlyboasted that he would reverseall the good works Ogbeni RaufAregbesola has done.

“He has boasted he wouldstop the feeding of children inprimary schools. He will stopthe O’YES programme, just ashe said ‘Agba Osun’ makes nomeaning to him.

“Omisore is on record assaying that Osun does not needthe kind of good schools thatAregbesola is building.

“He has boasted that he willstop all the road constructionworks going on in the state be-cause the people are comfort-

able with no commerce, no in-dustry, no business status thePDP put it before Aregbesola’semergence.

“So he would put bulldoz-ers to work, to destroy whatthe APC government has done;‘for that is what it takes to re-verse what the governor hasdone.”

The APC spokespersonstated that Yoruba nation doesnot deserve a man of irratio-nality, who wants to rule thestate by force.

Oyatomi added that theAPC said “the quintessence ofOmisore’s engagement in Osunand national politics is de-graded indeed and Osun peopleare too intelligent to prefer adestroyer to a builder.”

The APC however said itwelcomed Omisore to the raceand expect him to be a lot lessviolent about political engage-ment this time around becausehe is unlikely to get away withit.

4 OSUN DEFENDER Tuesday, April 8, 2014

Oba-Ile/Oba-Oke: Let Peace Reign PleaseContinued from pg1

Whether at a microor macro level of acommunity of peopleno matter what levelof provocations fromany quarters humanshave come to realisethe advantage, nay,superiority of nego-tiation and amicableresolutions of issuesover settling of dis-putes by going intowar. This is becauseafter the war, whenlots - in terms of livesand properties - musthave been lost, thewarring parties muststill come to a roundtable for an amicableresolution of their cri-sis. What this meansinvariably is that nodispute can ever besettled through war.

There is no denyingthe fact that there can-not be progress in anatmosphere devoid ofpeace. There can onlybe progress and de-velopment where thereis peace. History hastestified much to thisassertion. No doubtthe commendableprogress that Osun haswitnessed underOgbeni Aregbesola'sleadership is madepossible by the peace-ful atmosphere that ex-ists in the state sincethe inception of his ad-ministration. The Gov-ernor deserves kudosfor this. Thereforenothing should disturbthe peace in the state.This is necessary soOgbeni can continue

his good work withouthindrance or distrac-tion.

In our country Nige-ria, nay, our own dearstate of Osun stories ofcommunal clashesleave a sour taste in themouth. Take for in-stance the devastationwar wrought on Ife andModakeke townswhen it visited themcannot be easily for-gotten. The memory issad. Ugly sites of thedevastation can still beseen all over the towns.The unquantifiable lossof properties to thewar if could be re-placed with time it's notthe case with the pre-cious lives lost to thewar.

ONE aspect thatI admire in thegovernment of

Ogbeni RaufAregbesola in theState of Osun is hiszero-tolerance forfilth, which promptedhim to declare a 90-day emergency in thestate at the inceptionof his administrationto rid the state of dirt.

The declaration ofsanitation days in thestate, has no doubt,ridden the state ofoutbreak of diseasesand has equallypromoted healthyliving amongresidents of the state.

The dredging of thewaterways and canalshave also saved thestate from perennialflooding, which often

had led to loss of livesand properties in thestate in the past.

The daily collectionof wastes by the state-owned OWMA, theagency saddled withwaste management inthe state iscommendable, as the

citizenry of the stateare getting used towaiting for refuse-collecting vans forproper disposal oftheir wastes.

However lately, Inoticed the resurfaceof illegal dumping ofrefuse close to Aye

River along Ondo roadat Ayeoba area of Ife-South LocalGovernment CouncilArea of the state, andanother illegal dumpof refuse betweenIfetedo and Olodearea.

Please, let’s behave

as responsiblecitizens of the stateand dump our refuse atareas designated forsuch.

The environmentalofficers in the councilarea should be alive totheir responsibilitiesby apprehending and

prosecuting sanitationoffenders.

Aregbesola’s planfor us is to promotehealthy living andbanish flooding fromour state.

Let us all join handsin our individualcommunities todiscourage illegaldisposal of our wastes,but comply with thestate government’sdirective by usingrefuse vans to disposeour wastes. We, theOmoluwabis in Osun,say ‘No’ to illegaldumping of wastes inour waterways andundesignated areas.

• O N I F A D ELUKMAN, Odo-Aladura area,Garage Olode, Stateof Osun.

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OSUN DEFENDER is published by Moremi Publishing HouseLimited, Promise Point Building, Opposite Guaranty Trust BankGTB, Gbongan Road, Osogbo, State of Osun.All correspondence to the above mail address.ISSN: 0794-8050Telephone: 0803-392-7286, 08033880205Website: www.osundefender.com/index.phpe-mail: osundefender@yahoo.com

Stop Illegal Dumping Of Refuse

Of course those liveshave become eternallyirreplaceable.

We don't want a re-occurence of such asad event in our state.And this is why as goodcitizens of the state wemust avoid any acts ofomission or commissionon our part that canlead to such a devastat-ing development.Brawland war do nobodyany good. under ourfocused and visionaryGovernor, OgbeniAregbesola. They onlydeter progress and af-fect us negatively inmany ramifications.This is why we are ap-pealing to the people ofOba-Ile and Oba-Oketo embrace peace.There is need to allow

peace to reign as westand to gain aplentyboth individually andcollectively in an atmo-sphere of peace.

Finally, we mustcommend Mr. Gover-nor for taking steps to-wards ending the Oba-Ile/Oba-Oke crisispermanently especiallythe setting up of aCommittee to workout amicable resolutionof the problem. In theinterest of peace andcontinued progress inour dear state the twocommunities mustabide by the recom-mendations the Com-mittee will come upwith as conditions forpeace. No party in thiscase must see itself asthe victor while there is

also no van-quished.

More than ever be-fore this is the timewe need peace mostas election is on theway to re-elect ourperforming Gover-nor who is set totake Osun to a greatheight. Osun needspeace so we cancontinue to enjoydividends of de-mocracy.

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RenaissanceOSUN DEFENDER Tuesday, April 8, 2014

Humanizing Education Through Reclassification (II)In continuation of the series which took its debut last week, Niyi Olasinde uncovers

the various aspects through which the schools’ reclassification exercise embarkedupon by the incumbent administration in the State of Osun, South West GeopoliticalZone of Nigeria has impacted on entrenching the ethos of Omoluabi. As the generaloverhaul of the various sectors of life in the state wears on, Education is herefocused as the first sphere of influence of the Omoluabi concept.

THE OMOLUABI CONCEPT IN THE STATE OF OSUN

•O’CALISTHENICS, ONE OF THE INTEGRAL TENNETS OF THE OMOLUABI CONCEPT:A cross section of participants displaying calisthenics of ‘RAUF REVOLUTION’and ‘OSUN A DARA’ during the Oodua Children’s Day celebration at Osogbo City Stadium in May last year. Inset: (L-R) The Ooni of Ife, Oba Okunade Sijuwade; the governor,State of Osun, Ogbeni Rauf Aregbesola; his wife, Sherifat and the Alaafin of Oyo, Oba Lamidi Adeyemi, on the occasion.

6 OSUN DEFENDER Tuesday, April 8, 2014MAGAZINE

Humanizing Education Through Reclassification (II)

Contiuned from page 5

Contiuned on page 11

•BOLD STEP IN THE DIRECTION OF SCHOOLS’ RECLASSIFICATION: The governor, State of Osun, Ogbeni Rauf Aregbesola (arrowed), addressing his numerous admirersduring his official commissioning of Baptist Central Elementary School, Ilare, Ile-Ife, State of Osun, recently.

•Continued from last week.

WE find it most convenient and appropriate tomaintain a link with the last week edition inorder to avoid disjoint or disconnect. In this

regard, relevant portions where the curtains were drawnon the last week edition shall here be recapped:

The recent efforts of the incumbent administration inthe State of Osun at bringing back the long-lost prideand glory in the Education Sub-sector, especially in thepublic domain now attracts our attention. The effortsof the administration, which kick-started with theintroduction of free, functional and qualitative educationupon the ascension of the administration barely threeyears ago, had metamorphosed into the introduction offree school uniforms to pupils and students at all levelsup to Senior Secondary three, free school feedingprogramme for pupils up to Primary Four in theelementary rung of the school ladder under the State ofOsun Schools Free Feeding and Health Programme (O’Meals) and had culminated into capital intensiveprogrammes such as the State of Osun SchoolsInfrastructure Development Programme (O’ SCHOOLS)and the introduction of the broad-based jet-ageinstructional support package, the Tablet of Knowledge,known in our tongue as Opon Imo. This is not to talk ofother programmes like the Osun Schools Calisthenicsand the drastic increase in the subvention and grants toour schools. Also in addition are the massive recruitmentand selection / placement of qualified, competent andexperienced teachers into the system.

All the foregoing are undoubtedly laudable pluses forany administration anywhere, especially in the face ofthe present spate of rot and decay witnessed in the sub-sector in this part of the globe. The most recent of all isthe ongoing schools reclassification programme. Forits relentless auspicious and invaluable efforts, theGovernment Unusual of Ogbeni Rauf Aregbesola hasbecome the envy of other states, especially the adjoiningones from which battalions of students cross daily toreap the benefits of good, sound academic and moralinstruction.

In spite of all these innovative intervention effortswhich have so far impacted positive turnaround in theterrain of public education in the state, there still subsistsa reasonably large cross section of people and residents,who are yet to see, recognize or appreciate the goodworks of the administration in the afore-mentionedregards. Most unjustly and ingratuitiously criticized ofall these laudable programmes is the reclassificationprogramme, which classifies our schools into

Elementary, Middle and High schools. Concerning thispolicy, my personal take is that even in the highestheavens, the first law is order. The classification ofschools as such is even in order with the reclassificationearlier carried out by the Federal Government under theauspices of the Federal Ministry of Education, theUniversal Basic Education Commission (UBEC), the StateUniversal Basic Education Board (SUBEB) and otherstakeholders.

Under the Federal Government reclassification,modifications were done to the 6-3-3-4 system ofeducation which was introduced in 1987/88 academicsession throughout the federation. The earlier modalitiescomprised for each child, six years of primary education(between the ages 6 and 11); three years of juniorsecondary education (ages 11 to 14); three years of seniorsecondary education (ages 14 to 17); and four years oftertiary education. In the schema presented above, thedouble three in between covers the whole range of thestudent’s secondary school career spanning six goodyears in all.

In the reclassification of the government at the centre,introduced in 2001/2002; and which hardly ever wentbeyond the demonstration stage, the six years of primary/elementary education and the first three years ofsecondary education, called the junior secondary schoolyears in the 6-3-3-4 system were joined together to forman expansive period of nine-year basic education; whilethe remaining three years of secondary education – thesenior secondary years stand apart.

As it proved, the Universal Basic Education (UBE)programme presented a farce at the end of the day. Thestage at which the incumbent administration met thepublic institutions of education in the state was suchthat barely was up to 5 per cent of our secondary schoolleavers matriculable into any institution of higherlearning. The performances of candidates of the stateat public examinations; be it those of the West AfricanExaminations Council (WAEC), the NationalExaminations Council (NECO) and the Joint Admissionand Matriculations Board (JAMB) recorded below 2 percent of credit passes in five subjects, with the inclusionof English and Mathematics. The situation was so terribleand abysmal that the state’s ranking among the comityof states and the Federal Capital Territory (FCT)numbering thirty seven in all was that of a laggard. Thestate took the backward position in the thirties!

Now that the Government Unusual of OgbeniAregbesola has in its wisdom resolved to fin lastingpanacea to all lingering issues which had hitherto plaguedthe sub-sector, it would not only be wise and appropriate;

but also complementary and supportive to give it freehand to approach the hydra-headed albatross confrontingthe industry head-on. In the new classification, thenaming of education stages as Elementary, Middle andHigh schools is not entirely new. What could be neware the positive approaches and strategies; and theseare necessarily so.

In the new classification, the first six years of earlyeducation of the child, called the Elementary stage,comprises children of ages spanning between 6 and 11years. The Middle School entertains products of theElementary schools for about three years, till they reachages about 14 years; after which they proceed to theHigh school. At the highest, an average student is ready,armed with brilliant academic performances evidencedby good results to proceed to his choicest tertiaryinstitution at the age of seventeen in the maximum.

The new classification, apart from removing themisfortune of bad results after the whole career of abouttwelve years; also seeks to make parents more alive andamenable to their God-assigned role by deemphasizingpre-primary education. In our days, pre-primaryeducation was a complete rarity. Yet students who startedsolid primary education at the age of six or thereaboutscoped effectively with the challenges of their suddentransition from home to school.

Another issue which bothers the minds of genuinestakeholders is whether many of the agitators againstthe new classification, the teachers inclusive really havetheir wards in the various public schools on which thesevital far-reaching decisions are being taken. To me,anyone who is not a stakeholder to the extent of havinga ward in the public institutions should not evencontribute to; not to talk of kick against any reformsfashioned out for them. I proudly add that in our days,teachers took pride and glory in having all of their childrenpass through their same sphere of influence i.e. theschools where they taught. The trend today is shamefulindeed! Teachers who make the loudest noise of dissentagainst every reform in the sector hardly have any oftheir children in the public schools. I am sure that if allhad been well with the system, they would have had noreservation in making their children pass through thesystem.

Lots and lots have been said and written on the spateof decay, rot, devastation and deterioration that befellthe public sector of the education industry in the Stateof Osun prior to the emergence of the administration ofOgbeni Rauf Adesoji Aregbesola in the reins ofgovernance. Right from the years of the cankerworms;

7 OSUN DEFENDER Tuesday, April 8, 2014 PHOTOTALK

15th Edition Of The Keep Fit Programme Of The State Of Osun Tagged: “Walk-To-Live Exercise” In Ife-North Local Government Council Area Of The State LastSaturday. Photo: GBENGA ADENIYI.

(L-R) Deputy Governor, State of Osun, Otunba (Mrs) Titi Loaye-Tomori; former Abia State Governor, Dr Orji Uzor Kalu; Governor, State of Osun, Ogbeni Rauf Aregbesola;member of National Assembly representing Osun East Senatorial District, Senator Babajide Omoworare and other State Executive Council members leading Aregbesola’sadmirers, during the 15th Edition of Walk-to-Live for Healthy Living Exercise in Ife-North Local Government Council Area at Origbo Community High School, Ipetumodu,State of Osun, on Saturday.

•A cross section of participants at the Walk-To-Live.

•Another cross section of participants at the Walk-To-Live.

8 OSUN DEFENDER Tuesday, April 8, 2014 PHOTOTALK

15th Edition Of The Keep Fit Programme Of The State Of Osun Tagged: “Walk-To-Live Exercise” In Ife-North Local Government Council Area Of The State LastSaturday. Photo: GBENGA ADENIYI.

•Deputy Governor, State of Osun, Otunba (Mrs) Titi Loaye-Tomori (3rd left); former Abia State Governor, Dr Orji Uzor Kalu (4th left); the Governor, State of Osun, Ogbeni RaufAregbesola (5th left); member, National Assembly representing Osun East Senatorial District, Senator Babajide Omoworare ( 6th left) and other State Executives leading thecrowd, during the 15th Edition of Walk-To-Live for Healthy Living Exercise in Ife-North Local Government Council Area at Origbo Community High School, Ipetumodu, Stateof Osun last Saturday.

•Loaye-Tomori (2nd left); Dr Kalu (3rd left); Aregbesola (4th left); Senator Omoworare ( 6th left); Secretary to the State Government, Alhaji Moshood Adeoti (7th left) and otherState Executives leading Aregbesola’s admirers, during the 15th Edition of Walk-to-Live in Ife-North Local Government in Ipetumodu, State of Osun, on Saturday.

9 OSUN DEFENDER Tuesday, April 8, 2014PHOTOTALK

•Governor Rauf Aregbesola acknowledging cheers from his admirers, during the Walk-To-Live exercise.

•

15th Edition Of The Keep Fit Programme Of The State Of Osun Tagged: “Walk-To-Live Exercise” In Ife-North Local Government Council Area Of The State LastSaturday. Photo: GBENGA ADENIYI.

•The Deputy Governor, State of Osun, Otunba (Mrs) Titi Loaye-Tomori (2nd left); former Abia State Governor, Dr Orji Uzor Kalu (3rd left); Governor Rauf Aregbesola (4th left);member, National Assembly representing Osun East Senatorial District, Senator Babajide Omoworare ( 6th left); Secretary to the State Government, Alhaji Moshood Adeoti (7thleft) and other State Executives leading the crowd, during the 15th Edition of Walk to Live for Healthy Living Exercise in Ife North Local Government at Origbo Community HighSchool, Ipetumodu, State of Osun, on Saturday.

•A cross section of participants at the 15th edition of the Walk-To-Live exercise.

10 OSUN DEFENDER Tuesday, April 8, 2014PHOTOTALK15th Edition Of The Keep Fit Programme Of The State Of Osun Tagged “Walk-To-Live Exercise” In Ife-North Local Government Council Area Of The State LastSaturday. Photo: GBENGA ADENIYI.

•(L-R) The Deputy Governor, State of Osun, Otunba (Mrs) Grace Titi Laoye-Tomori; Governor Rauf Aregbesola; former Governor of Abia State, Dr Orji Kalu; Mr Bayo Fatusinand Secretary to the State Government of Osun, Alhaji Moshood Adeoti, during the exercise.

•Honourable Afolabi Olalekan (left); Dr Peter Babalola (middle); Honourable Ipoola Binuyo (at the back of Babalola); and State of Osun Head of Service, Mr Sunday Owoeyeduring the exercise.

•(L-R) Laoye-Tomori; Aregbesola and Kalu at the event.

11 OSUN DEFENDER Tuesday, April 8, 2014 MAGAZINE

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•AREGBESOLA: Governor, State of Osun •LAOYE-TOMORI: Deputy Governor and Commissioner for Education

by that we mean the years of the ousted administrationof Brigadier-General Olagunsoye Oyinlola (retired) inoffice, we had not failed in our duty to point out thedegenerating trend of things in our public schools. Whilethat oppressive tenure lasted, nothing was done to arrestthe deplorable conditions of those schools, in terms ofinfrastructure, systems overhaul, quality control, syllabusenrichment and personnel selection strategy, This sordidsituation caused the standards to decline to the extentthat it became repelling for any parents or guardians todeliberately put their wards in public schools. Eventeachers in those categories of schools could not musterconfidence to entrust their own ward to the care of theschools, where they were supposed to be pacesettersas stakeholders in the strength of biological parenthood!What this implies in essence is that it was those whowere constrained financially and who could not affordthe high cost of getting their wards educated in thenumerous private schools that dominated the landscapewho resorted to putting their wards in these privateschools. Lest we forget, these public schools were thepride of the Nigerian society during the good old days.Most of those who invested their times in office todestroy our public educational institutions were oncebeneficiaries of the same system, It was a clear case ofsomeone who having ascended a tall edifice, removedthe same ladder with which he climbed up with thewicked intention of preventing others from having thesweet experience of an upward journey to a higheraltitude!

It therefore came as a soothing relief that upon hiscoming on board as the Chief Executive of the State ofOsun In November 2010; about three years ago; one ofthe first set of promises echoed and reechoed by OgbeniAregbesola was his avowed determination to turn thetide around positively for education, most especially thekind that is provided in the public (government-owned)institutions in the state. According to him, he did notcome to send the proprietors of private schools out ofbusiness – no! But as chief proprietor of public schools,the responsibilities which the office he occupies reposedon him behooved him to take good and adequate care ofthe public sector of education in the state; and our publicschools and pupils / students by extension. This stance/ position by a public office holder, especially in thepedigree of a governor is quite responsible, touchingand worthy of emulation. On this note, OSUNDEFENDER Magazine hammers it strongly that thosewho aspire to step into elective public offices shouldimbibe this kind of attitude and mindset.

Today, we write as those whose captivity is returned.Our captivity in the State of Osun has been turned around.The governor who gave those lofty promises mentionedabove; alongside those that were boldly enshrined in theSix-Point Integral Action Plan contained in his pact with

the people has measured up with the tone and spirit ofhis promises. He has not let the people down; neitherhas he reneged on his pledge to bring forth a completeturnaround in the entire aspects of life of his belovedpeople. OSUN DEFENDER Magazine has in the lastedition made reference to the relevant portions of theSix-Point Integral Action Plan contained in the Pact madeby the First Omoluabi with the entire people of the stateduring his election campaign preceding the 2007Gubernatorial Elections in the state. But it is hereconsidered not to be in any way out of place to recastthose relevant portions. Here we go:

“My mission and ambition are to restore to the people,a state of peace, opportunity, for progress and room forthe pursuit of prosperity in our time under a peoplefriendly government.

I give you Six-Point Integral Action plan, to the intentthat they constitute my actions of faith concerning whichI want to be held accountable at any time during mystewardship.

SIX POINT INTEGRAL ACTION PLAN· Banish Poverty· Banish Hunger· Banish Unemployment (Create Work/Wealth)· Restore Healthy Living· Promote Functional Education· Enhance Communal Peace and Progress”Further in the line of drawing specific reference, we

have the following:CIVIL SERVICE REFORMS

“There is the need for a civil service reform thatwill not lead to any loss of jobs as I Rauf Aregbesolado not believe in laying people off in the name ofreforms.

Our reform will make the work environment moreconductive, stimulating and development oriented.

Bonuses, incentives and regular awards shall beinstituted to promote a culture of excellence in the civilservice along with the prompt payment of salaries,allowances, leave bonuses and year end performancebonuses.

Promotions and comprehensive salary reviews andincreases shall be regular.

Internal and external training, work exchangeprogrammes and overseas training shall be activelyreinstituted for comprehensive human development inthe civil service.

New Tutor General/Permanent Secretary Cadre shallbe created for Teachers in new education districts forbetter school administration.

We shall institute Home Ownership Scheme forpublic servants and also support and encourage theirbackyard food production business ventures.

We shall do a comprehensive review of civil servicenames and conventions as part of our efforts to create apeople- friendly civil service.

Appropriate nomenclature will enhance accountabilityand promote public access to the services of the ministry.A citizen with a complaint of blockage of drainage willfind a Ministry of Roads and Drainages easier to identifywith than Ministry of Works, a Ministry of HumanResources and Development will more appropriatelycommunicate its services than a Ministry ofEstablishment.”

WE now swing to the Education sub-heading of thePact, which we quote as follows

PROMOTE FUNCTIONAL EDUCATIONVision: Eradicate the frustration of youths caused

by education that does not lead to employment.“To achieve this, the government of AC under Rauf

Aregbesola shall:· Provide free education at all levels in Osun

State. Focus on functional education. Education thatmakes one useful to himself and society.

· Improve incentives to teachers and work withthe NUT to restore the dignity of the teaching profession.

· Restructure administration of schoolmanagement and create Tutors-General (PermanentSecretary Cadre) from among Head Teachers in threeEducational Districts which we will establish.\

· Fix all collapsed educational infrastructures inall the schools.

· Support with modern teaching aids and well-stocked libraries.

· Ensure cooperation with parents and teachersto improve discipline and morality.

· Introduce non-partisan community-basedgoverning boards for all schools.

· Reduce number of students per classroomimmediately.

· Introduce home development plans for teacherswho wish to build houses in their home towns, throughaccess to special mortgage packages.

· Promote mass adult literacy and numeracyprogrammes.

· Promote and support Special programmes thatgive special attention to education of girls and women.

· Establish institutions that impart life-long skillsfor all, in and out of formal schooling.

ON HIGHER EDUCATION AND UNIVERSITY· I am committed to ensuring that an Osun State

University takes off on a sound footing and becomes afirst-class institution with linkages to renowneduniversities in the developed world.

· I will make every tertiary institution in OsunState an independent degree-awarding one.

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Humanizing Education Through Reclassification (II)

· Encourage use of services of retired, but nottired dons and administrators, from reputableinstitutions.”

It is in copious and consummate pursuance of thesebeautiful and hope-inspiring promises contained in theSix-Point Integral Action Plan encapsulated in the Pactof the incumbent governor that he swiftly swung intoaction upon the restoration of his stolen mandate throughthe justice upheld by the courageous judges of the FederalCourt of Appeal situated at Ibadan, Oyo State on Friday,November 26 2010. Since his inauguration and officialassumption of duty on the next day, the state has up tillnow stopped to witness unprecedented acceleratedprogress in all spheres of life; a development which hasmade it the envy of all states in the country. In the areaof education in particular, lots of achievements havebeen recorded by the Aregbesola team since inception.In our last edition, which doubled as the first part tothis current one, not only did we mention in passing thelineup of astonishing ground-breaking achievementsrecorded so far by the Government Unusual; but wealso went further to state categorically that the mostcurrently in vogue and widely misconstrued among alarge cross section of residents is the ongoing reformsin the schools’ structure. The reforms popularly referredto as the State of Osun Schools’ Reclassificationprogramme form our current focus of publicenlightenment on this series of editions.

The first in the lineup of efforts known in publicparlances, consciously and deliberately made by theincumbent administration, aside the free, functional andqualitative education which took effect right from itsvery first day in office is the convening of the first everState of Osun Education Summit. The summit, held inFebruary 2011, was convened with the sole intent andpurpose of charting a decisive and definite course forthe turning around of public education at all levels ofthe rungs of the educational ladder in the state.

Time and again, lots have been written and said in anattempt at portraying the true picture of decay and rotin the sector prior to the emergence of the GovernmentUnusual. We are at this stage not going to procrastinateby repeating this all over. We shall however begin totake another dimension in approaching the entireconcatenation of events which form a build-up to therot; the extent of the rot as at the time of the coming onboard of the government of the day; the quick diagnosisof the degree and intensity of the ravaging extent of therot; the prognosis of the right decisive steps to take toameliorate the depth of decay as well as mitigate againsta continuation of the bad trend; the prompt, timely andproactive intervention efforts taken; and the progress

made so far. To these numerous tasks shall OSUNDEFENDER Magazine now proceed. We shallthereafter proceed to give perusal to the Schools’Reclassification programme of the incumbentadministration and its multiple dimensions of benefits toall and sundry in the State of Osun.

PRIOR to the emergence of Ogbeni Rauf AdesojiAregbesola and his team on the saddle of leadership,governance and service in the State of Osun, the

entire sectors of life in the state were riddled withinnumerable crises of seemingly insurmountablemagnitude. As a matter of fact, the terrain of the timewas replete with abounding evidences that the educationsub-sector of the Social Services Sector of the economyof our state stood as the most terribly bedeviled; beingadversely devastated and most critically ill. OSUNDEFENDER Magazine casts a retrospective glance atits numerous revealing editions of the time, which weretotally committed to unraveling the depth, extent, gravityand intensity of devastation, rot, abandonment andnegligence which befell the all-important sub-sector asthe period of fiery siege mounted by the captors of thetime; the bandits of the conservative People’sDemocratic Party (PDP) rolled by. We need to sound areminder note that while that fiery siege of the Oyinlolayears lasted; our medium never compromised its avowedstand of confronting and criticizing the oppressivepolicies of the time which nearly snuffed life out of allsectors of life in the state. Measured by all knownstandards, it became confirmed beyond all reasonabledoubts that there was hardly any other single sector orsub-sector in the state which suffered blows as terrible,palpable and debilitating as did the education industry.

As at the time of coming on board of the RaufAregbesola administration over the reins of power,governance and service in the State of Osun, it appearedthat the public sector of the state’s education industrywas heading for the rocks. It had nosed-dived anddegenerated so much that government could no longerfind its foot to stand the competition poised by the hugeand ample presence of private investors at all rungs ofthe ladder within the industry. Readers are here remindedof the ugly rot of that time as showcased in our seriesof editions. It is for this selfsame purpose of sounding areminder that this edition had in the first part, broughtback to sight the sorry, sordid, gory and horrible sightswhich called for urgent emergency and interventionwhich the purposeful, focused and foresightedadministration of Ogbeni Aregbesola came to provide.

Barely 100 days into the administration of theprogressive Action Congress of Nigeria (ACN) of thetime, now the All Progressive Congress (APC), the very

first decisive steps in the right direction for turning thetide around in favour of revamping the dwindling fortunesof education in the state, were made. Long before thatsolution hour, the desiring hearts of progress-lovingindigenes and residents had panted continuously forpositive changes that would set the state back on courseof its old glory of excellence in academics andscholarship. As at that time, records and visible evidenceshad begun to prove that it had become a case of clearimpossibility for the state to have above 2 per cent fivecredit passes for its candidates presented annually forpublic external examinations, i.e. the West African SeniorSecondary School Certificate Examinations (WASSSCE)as organized by the West African Examinations Council(WAEC); and the Senior Secondary CertificateExaminations (SSCE) as conducted by the NationalExaminations Council (NECO).

The foregoing, by implication, stands to reason thatit was fast-becoming difficult for the state to assert itselfamong the comity of states in the federation of Nigeriain filing up its admission quotas in federal institutions ofhigher learning. This, by extension, implies that it wasbecoming what could be likened to the Biblical case of acamel passing through the eye of the needle for the state’sschool leavers to scuttle through the rigors of the“almighty” Unified Tertiary Matriculation Examinations(UTME) of the Joint Admissions and Matriculation Board(JAMB). As if to add salt to injury, the government-sponsored free enrolment policy for school certificatestudents of public secondary institutions which thedefunct Oyinlola administration paraded as the prime ofits acclaimed free education programme ended up in afarce! This was as the West African ExaminationsCouncil (WAEC) withheld the results of the state’s publicschools candidates for the 2009/2010 outing of theexaminations. The reason for this step was not remoteto discern: The Oyinlola administration defaulted in itsfinancial obligation to pay up for the entry of its studentsfor the examinations! As a matter of fact, one of thefirst numerous shockers which the new administrationhad to muster and grapple with upon assumption ofoffice was having to pay up for an examination it didnot enter students for; more so, when the results ofstudents in the examination were consistently poor,constituting disappointment and embarrassment thereby.

All through the entire Oyinlola years, which at bestcould be described as years of the holocaust, educationin the State of Osun suffered a terrible set-back; notonly in terms of poor quality of results and feedback,but also in terms of what went into it i.e. funding,staffing, materials and aids, infrastructure and the

•PROMOTING THE ETHOS OF OMOLUABI THROUGH MASSIVE YOUTH EMPOWERMENT: The governor, State of Osun, Ogbeni Rauf Aregbesola (with fez cap), leadingthousands of OYES cadets in the endurance trek. With him are his deputy, Otunba (Mrs) Grace Titi Laoye-Tomori (right) and other dignitaries sometime ago.

Continued on page 13

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Continued on page 14

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•Oyeduntan: O’School Chairman•KOLABALOGUN: Social Welfare, Youth Sports and SpecialNeeds•AWOFISAYO: SUBEB Board Chairman

learning environment. It was perhaps the urgencyimposed by these sordid and despicable conditions intowhich this vital industry had been plunged in the statethat the new administration took the bull by the hornsto explore and exploit means and ways of arresting thedecay being witnessed by the sub-sector.

Following the declaration of a state of emergency inthe education industry in the state, the administrationof Ogbeni Rauf Aregbesola swung swiftly into actionwhen in February 2011, the first-ever Education Summitwas put together for the State of Osun. The agenda andthrust of the summit was to actively engage a rich poolof ideas, skills, experiences and expertise of participants;drawn from diverse and related disciplines from Nigeria,Africa and the Diaspora in order to fashion out lastingpanacea to the multifaceted hydra-headed challengesthat had hitherto plagued the sector.

As part of the findings and recommendations of thesummit, which was chaired by no less a personality thanthe academic icon and internationally reputed NobelLaureate in Literature, Professor Wole Soyinka, theteaching-learning environment was identified to be ofhigh preponderating and contributory influence onimpact of delivery, efficacy and good outcome. It wouldnot be a mismatch, therefore, to attribute theemergence and/evolution of the State of Osun SchoolsInfrastructure Development Project, known for short asO’SCHOOLS to the numerous landmark breakthroughachievements of the inaugural Education Summit for theState of Osun held in February 2011.

This far into the exposition at hand, our teemingreaders have been taken down the memory lane, as wewent through the spate of rot, decay and abandonmentwhich our public educational institutions were made towitness in the past decade or thereabouts; particularly,during the time of the fiery siege unleashed by theimmediate past administration of Prince OlagunsoyeOyinlola. We availed the ample medium offered by ournumerous editions to explore the multiple ugly side-effects of the careless neglect of the time and the extentand depth of dungeon into which the state had beenplunged.

We further went through the details of devastation;the extent and intensity of damage and the resultanteffects of the declined quality on the state, its peopleand the products of the rotten system directly. Part ofthis was the abysmally poor academic performances ofthe state’s candidates in annual external examinations,to the extent that it was becoming increasingly difficultfor the state’s candidates to fill their allotted spaces foradmission in federal tertiary institutions, due todwindling performances. Also, admission into state-owned institutions became difficult due to much thesame reasons. As a result, rate of dropout became veryhigh. This presented a sharp deviation from long-knowntraditions whereby our state was one of the leading lights

in the area of Western Education in the nation.

The prevailing situation in the State of Osun was thatbad! Fortunately, the coming on board of the Aregbesolawas a timely development; which brought with it timelyrelief to all and sundry in the state. Rather than moaningand groaning under the yoke of the colossal loss sufferedby the state and its people over the years, theprogressive and dynamic administration of OgbeniAregbesola knew what to do and when exactly to act.This timely intervention, according to opinions expressedby sources close to the governor and his team was dueto long time of planning and deep-seated interest whichthe Symbol of the struggle for the revival of Osun, OgbeniAregbesola has in the education of youths in the stateand bringing back quality to it. The factors which providedimpetus for the first ever State of Osun Education Summit;and which added credence to the O’SCHOOLS projecthave been attributed the decisive steps taken so far andthe huge success recorded to early recognition ofrequisite elements for effective learning, accuratediagnosis of the affliction which had bedeviled the sub-sector and recognition and proper application ofefficacious therapy.

OSUN DEFENDER Magazine casts readers’ minds backto excerpts of interview held with one of the principalactors in the education policies of the incumbentadministration in the state, the Chairman of the State ofOsun Schools’ Infrastructure Development Project(O’SCHOOLS) Committee, Otunba Lai Oyeduntan, whojustified the Education Summit, its rationale andaftermath as follows:

“Well, I’m sorry to say that I’m not aware that anybodyhas criticized that summit. I have not seen any fellowdoing that! The summit was widely attended. It waswidely graced from all over the world by people who areknowledgeable in education, policies, and even inintellectual aspect of it. I am going to answer thatquestion simply because I was involved, both in planningand implementation; and the after-effects. How did wecome about the summit? Long before Ogbeni RaufAregbesola came into office, right from the moment heindicated interest and was given the ticket to contest,he had shown a lot of interest in education. As far backas 2004, he sponsored a remedial programme for Osunboys and girls preparing for external examinations. Thattime, 2,000 candidates were involved. Extra-muralclasses were organized in Osogbo, in Iwo, in Ilesa - about2,500 candidates I think. And Ogbeni Rauf Aregbesolapicked the bill to fund the classes, paid for their schoolcertificate entry fee and paid them (the candidates)allowances. When the results came, it was disappointing!It was obvious that there was a lot more wrong with theeducation sector than trying all these cosmeticapproaches for a solution. So between 2005 and 2011,there were so many committees he instituted focusingon education! That is why it was possible that within the

first 100 days of his being sworn in, an educationcommittee - a summit chaired by no less a personalitythan Professor Wole Soyinka took place; inviting resourcepeople from all over the world; many of them, our ownpeople, who had made marks in the United States, inEurope, in the Americas and other parts of the countryand Africa. Okay, the summary of the findings at thatsummit identified that it takes more than the teacher, ittakes more than the pupil, it takes more than all of theseto have all the impact that it requires to increase thefortunes of the education sector. One of these is that theteacher who will teach must be made more efficient.The students must be well prepared, and of course, theenvironment must be made more friendly and befitting- more enabling! So, the environment must be properlytaken care of and that led to the uniform conceptintroduced by the Government of the state to encourageand of course to motivate the pupils. Teachers are beingrecruited and being retrained via programmes oftraining, retraining and promotion courses. Now, we aretalking of the environment - we have the O’MEALprogramme, we have O’UNIFORM, even O’TEACHERS,so to say, all came as a result of experts identifying andpointing out the crucial steps to take, to set the sectorback on track.”

So, we can deduce from the foregoing that the bulk ofthe beautiful package of intervention programmes wenow have on ground and their impact came courtesy ofthe summit and the responses to the challenges thatnecessitated it. As a matter of fact, the impact of theincumbent administration on the education terrain ofthe state has been fat and colossal. Today we see thehand of a government that works in all sectors. With ourfocus on education, never in the annals of the State ofOsun has the education sector fared better than it isdoing now!

Following the declaration of a state of emergency inthe education industry in the state, the administrationof Ogbeni Rauf Aregbesola swung swiftly into actionwhen in February 2011, the first-ever Education Summitwas put together for the State of Osun. The agenda andthrust of the summit was to actively engage a rich poolof ideas, skills, experiences and expertise of participants;drawn from diverse and related disciplines from Nigeria,Africa and the Diaspora in order to fashion out lastingpanacea to the multifaceted hydra headed challengesthat had hitherto plagued the sector.

As part of the findings and recommendations of thesummit, which was chaired by no less a personality thanthe academic icon and internationally reputed NobelLaureate in Literature, Professor Wole Soyinka, theteaching-learning environment was identified to be ofhigh preponderating and contributory influence onimpact of delivery, efficacy and good outcome. It wouldnot be a mismatch, therefore, to attribute theemergence and evolution of the State of Osun SchoolsInfrastructure

OSUN DEFENDER Tuesday, April 8, 2014 14MAGAZINE

Humanizing Education Through Reclassification (II)

Continued from page 13

•BEFITTING LEARNING ENVIRONMENT FOR YOUNG OMOLUABIS: An aerial view of Baptist Elementary Central School, Ilare, Ile-Ife, State of Osun, recently commissionedby Ogbeni Rauf Aregbesola.

Development Project, known for shortas O’SCHOOLS to the numerouslandmark breakthrough achievements ofthe inaugural Education Summit for theState of Osun held in February 2011.

Another in the list of programmesrolled out by the incumbentadministration sequel to the State of OsunEducation Summit is the ongoing SchoolsReforms and Reclassification. By thetone of the reclassification, no schoolwas going to, in nomenclature or identitylose the name given to it by its initialowners before the take-over of themission schools by the government inSeptember 1975. Also by it, thespeculation that some pupils or studentswould have to trek long distances to andfro schools on daily basis is off-track. Itis also an unfounded fallacy thatgovernment has the ulterior motive ofpartial or massive retrenchment ofteachers at the back of its mind byinitiating the programme. In addition tothis, the calculated lie fabricated that theGovernment Unusual has embarked onthe mass demolition of school structuresclaimed to have been erected by theimmediate past administration is bothunsystematic and irrational. The governorhas continuously spared no availablemedium to debunk these rumors. TheDeputy Governor, who also doubles asthe State Commissioner for Education hasnever relented in disabusing the minds ofcitizens and residents and insulating themfrom believing these bunches of lies.Below are excerpts from responses byOtunba Lai Oyeduntan to questionsbordering on these malicious insinuations:

On the negative protestation against thewhole essence of providing the publiceducation sub-sector with brand-newinfrastructure, this response provides themost apt response:

“Osun Schools InfrastructureDevelopment Committee is the ProjectManagement Office (PMO) of SchoolsInfrastructure Development Project forthe State of Osun. The SchoolsInfrastructure Development Project is anintervention mechanism, one of theintervention mechanisms introduced bythe government of Ogbeni Rauf AdesojiAregbesola to revamp the education sectorof the state. Our project is essentially to

superintend the development of the mostdecayed and largely dilapidatedstructures in the schools for basiceducation in our state. I don’t knowwhether I will agree with you that thepublic does not know. If anything at all,we have had a lot of exposure in terms ofwhat we stand for, what we do, how wedo it and even the activities that we havebeen engaged in. The name, the coinage‘’O’SCHOOLS’’ has been the name forthe committee to the extent that many ofus have had to answer to the name‘’O’SCHOOLS’’. O’SCHOOLS is thealias of the committee.”

The impetus for the new infrastructuraldevelopment is here given in lucid terms:

“Firstly, there’s no difference. It is adevelopment. It is an enhancement. It isan enhancement of the environment whereour teaching and learning functions takeplace. Why I say there’s no difference?One, the setting on which we are doingour intervention is based on the existingschools. The schools are there, but theyhave deteriorated so badly that they hadbecome dysfunctional. Yes, some peoplestarted that idea in the past, and it istime to improve on it, to modernize it, tobring it up to track with modern Twenty-First Century standards. So what we’vebeen making is a transformationalprojection of what we have been doingand bringing it up to track with the bestpractices all over the world.”

Reacting to the insinuation thatdemolished school structures are strongedifices that are legacies of the immediatepast administration in the state, thechairman responded as follows:

“Well, the truth is that we have had toremove dangerously dilapidated structuresfrom our schools. One, at the beginningof this committee’s assignment, we touredthe schools and found structures thatconstituted immediate danger to the usersof the premises and this made us to invitethe heads of the schools; that is theheadmasters and the principals to giveus reports and file their returns and giveus details of such structures in theirpremises that are considered to constituteimmediate danger to students. Wereceived their requests and we found outthat four thousand and fifty five (4,055)structures were noted to be dangerously

dilapidated. You must know, foremphasis, we only go to remove thosestructures that have been identified bythe schools. So we only go to those schoolson invitation by the heads of the schoolsto help remove dangerously dilapidatedstructures. What that means in essence,is that whatever structures we remove,would have no adverse effect on thecapacity of the affected school to functionthe morning after; because we are onlyinvited to come and remove structuresthat were not in use as at the date ofremoval. So it is not true that the intentionwas to put the schools and the users inhazard or difficulties; the intention wasnot haphazard. The structures weredemolished based on the specification ofthe users. It was structured and it wasmapped out.”

The devilish notion contrived that theadministration intended through theO’SCHOOLS or the Reclassificationexercise to make pupils or students ofschools to trek long distances to and froschools is debunked with this response:

“It is not true. It is not possible. It isnot practical that we ever moved pupils/students from Ipetu-Ijesa to Ijebu-Ijesaor any of such locations. First of all, I’vethrown a challenge to the public. Anybodywho can identify a structure that wasremoved without the invitation of theaffected schools should please let us knowor contact us. I don’t want you to confusean attempt by a committee in the Ministryof Education to implement the newschooling structures. That is a differentthing entirely. That was a recent eventand the government is on top of it to makesure that this is done properly. For us asO’SCHOOLS, our relics, purview, ourmandate is to superintend the introductionof infrastructure in our schools, andnobody has suffered any deprivation asa result of our activities. The onlywholesale demolition we witnessed so farare those school structures marked fordemolition for the purpose of immediateredevelopment; and as of today, twenty-four (24) of such schools have beendeveloped.”

Lastly in this edition, we shall refer tothe Chairman’s response to questionsbordering on speculated schools’ mergerand the imminent submerging of initialownership. Also, this response allays the

fear of teachers’ retrenchment:

“I would have to clarify certain things.The policy of restructuring the schoolingsystem, the policies of even the averagesize, optimum size of these schools arenot arbitrary. They are not new and theyare not even far-fetched. The results ofthat reorganization will justify theexercise. Right now, most of these schoolsare already of that same size. We haveprimary schools with the population inexcess of one thousand (1,000) all overthe state. We have secondary schools withpopulation in excess of 2,000 plus all overthe state. But what do you have? In onepremises, you have three, four schools.In one premises, you have several schools.All we are doing is rationalization; whichis optimizing the allocation, theapplication of resources. Part of theresources is the teachers, and they are ontop of the chart. Why do you have schoolswith two teachers, three teachers; fourteachers; five teachers; and they havetwo or more schools in that samepremises? Why not aggregate them andreschedule them and make the time tableand allocation of teachers a lot easier?Then comes the issue of maintaining theschools. The environment is very, veryimportant for the development of themind. That is even more so for the youngmind, the young impressive mind. Thatis the budget and that is what we areaiming at - That the environment shouldbe conducive; and be of support to adeveloping mind that is learning andmaturing into wholesome personality.”

These question and answer sessionswere held at a time when the schools’reclassification exercise had not begunto take effect. At the time the responseswere made, the idea of reclassificationhad not yet been publicly known it wasthen at the conception stage. Yet theresponses are still found apt and relevant!This shows the depth and extent of thepreparedness, commitment andconsistency of the Government Unusualto its programmes and policies.

The programmes and policies of theincumbent administration in the Sate ofOsun are mutually reconstructive. Theyare integrative, well-knit, symbiotic,interdependent and interwoven.

· To be continued.

15OSUN DEFENDER Tuesday, April 8, 2014 PHOTOTALK

Primate Of The Church Of Nigeria (Anglican Communion), Most Reverend NicholasOkoh, Paid A Courtesy Visit To The State Of Osun Governor, Ogbeni Rauf Aregbesola,At The Government House, Osogbo, Last Saturday.

•The Governor, State of Osun, Ogbeni Rauf Aregbesola (right), presenting gifts to Primate of the Church of Nigeria (Anglican Communion), Most Reverend Nicholas Okoh (left).With them is the state, Deputy Governor, Otunba (Mrs) Grace Titi Laoye-Tomori, during the visit.

•(L-R) Most Reverend Okoh; Laoye-Tomori; Aregbesola; his wife, Sherifat, and Reverend Sowale, during the courtesy visit to the governor.

•Reverend Abraham Akintola (left); former Abia State Governor, Dr. Orji Uzor Kalu (2nd left); Most Reverend Okoh (middle); Governor, State of Osun, Ogbeni Rauf Aregbesola(2nd right) and Reverend (Dr) Samuel Sowale, Bishop Ilesa Anglican Communion, during the visit.

TUESDAY, APRIL 8, 2014

www.osundefender.org THE 6TH MOST-VISITED NEWSPAPER WEBSITE IN NIGERIA

By ADE OLUGBOTEMITHE Bramblers area set of people,who once lived in

the oasis area of Malimoin the Middle East, wherethere was an intractableproblem of thorns andbriers growing from thesoil that was expected togrow edible plants andvegetables. The case wasmade worse for these beleagueredpeople by the exclusive availabilityof delicate velvet fabrics that gottorn easily, as they went abouttrying to make ends meet. Theybecame so devastated, and weredesperately in need of solutionsthat could alleviate their despicablesituation. There was no means ofcommunication with the outsideworld, hence the quest for internalremedy capable of assuaging theirperpetual near-nudity andexcruciating hunger. They conjuredand prayed, all to no avail until anadventurer strayed into their land.

The Bramblers were initiallyhostile to the adventurer, and eventhreatened to kill him, unless hecould proffer solutions to theirmulti-faceted problems. The manpromised to help them, if only theywere ready to cooperate with himand allow him consult with theoracle. They repented of theirearlier stance and promised to doaccording to the dictates of theoracle. The adventurer made goodhis promise and came up with whatappeared like a lasting solution tothe people’s age-longpredicaments. They were onlyrequired to chant CHANGE seventimes for seven days, which theydid and their problems vanished asthough they never existed.

People continued to enjoy, as theland no longer grew thorns andbriers, but good vegetables thatwere good for food and theirfabrics became durable. Year uponyear, people continued to bask inthe euphoria of the eventful lifepattern, until one day when one ofthe aborigine leaders felt theyshould strip the Adventurer of hisinvincibility, so that he couldbecome like any of them. Majorityof them consented and they seizedall his amulets, charms, and otherthings they perceived wereresponsible for the man’s pervasiveingenuity. After three years,former situations betided theBramblers and the Adventurer’sincapacitation came to the fore:what was required to appease theoracle every three years had beendestroyed. The man left theBramblers and went back to his landof nativity. They thereafter chantedCHANGE seven times for sevendays, but there was no positive

change any longer.

The enemies of our land arealready at work! They seem to havediscovered the magic wand thatmay be applied to blindfold peopleso as not to see the positivechanges that are now evident allover the places within the state.They seem to have discovered theantics that will cajole people, sothat the negative aspect of thecurrent changes in our dear Stateof Osun will be magnified out ofproportion. They intend to propelthe chicken-heartedness of thefeeble into the consciousness andthe sub-conscious of the generalityof the people, so that the pain oftransformation that is bound to beborne by everybody, in order tohave our heads satisfactorily raisedup as architects of a new State ofOsun will not be pungentlyendured.

It would have been good if thereare alternatives to what we arepassing through now and still getto the same destination. It will bepleasantly alright if it will not benecessary to endure any painsbefore we begin to enjoy good roadnetwork that will be devoid ofthose past unnecessary rigmaroleof vehicular logjams thatcharacterized our cities and bigtowns in the period prior to thepresent dispensation. We areloving enough to remember thatmany of our dear ones weredrowned in floods occasioned bylack of drainages and well-channelised rivers and streams thatused to veer-off their courses,entering residential houses andcommercial shops and stalls todestroy lives that could not beredeemed with money andproperties worth millions of nairaimpossible to be salvaged.

We must be able todifferentiate between asickening regime thatsquandered our collectiveheritage at night partiesthrough rations that bore nosubheads and one thatbelieves in relativelyequitable wealth distribution

that individuals, irrespective ofparty affiliations, can access aspublic utilities all over the state.We may also need to embark onsimple sample survey or betterstill, through research to know thenumber of beneficiaries that arenow gainfully employed withoutpartisan attachment. These areunprecedented in the annals of ourpolitical evolution; and peoplemust appreciate this new trend thatplaces all and sundry on equalpedestal, living politicking to onlythose party faithful to profit withal.

Considering the reality that needsand wants are insatiable, we needto order our priorities right onceand for all. We must be followerswho show interest in the generalgrowth and development of ourstate and our nation. We mustalways compare notes and seewhere we are faring better andwhere we are lagging behind. Wemust be courageous enough toapplaud merit and exhibit no lesscourage to ask questions where itbecomes necessary and when weare dissatisfied with the leaders’performances. The psychologicalfreedom that is able to propel usto call our leaders to order willalso go a long way to propel us tosacrifice the little we can to movethe state forward.

We know how much sufferingand humiliation we endured beforewe arrived where we are, and withnothing to show as solace forendurance in the immediate-pastdispensation. Unfortunately, thepresent crop of leaders did notenvisage any abrupt decline inrevenue that seemed to be built upin Abuja, the Centre of Unity. Wemust all put heads together tofashion the way out of the currenteconomic quagmire that makes itdifficult for salaries to be paid andcompelled the developmentinitiatives to be slowed down. Wecannot afford to feel unbothered atthis critical stage that all hands aresupposed to be on deck. Anydisequilibrium occasioned byirrational precipitations fromnever-say-good opposition bigotswill only aggravate the alreadytensed-up economic situation. Thistough time will surely abate, ifonly we all resolve to put ourdivergent ingenuity to task.

OSUN DEFENDER is published by Moremi Publishing House Limited, Promise Point Building, Opposite Guaranty Trust Bank GTB, Gbongan Road, Osogbo, State of Osun. All correspondenceto the Managing Editor, KOLA OLABISI, Telephone: 08033927286 (kolaolabisi@yahoo.com); Editor, KAYODE AGBAJE, Telephone: 0803-388-0205, E-mail: osundefender@yahoo.com,kayodeagbaje@yahoo.com. ISSN: 0794-8050.Website: www.osundefender.org.

Avoiding The Hallo EffectOf The Bramblers’ Naivety

“The enemies of our land are already atwork! They seem to have discovered themagic wand that may be applied to blindfoldpeople so as not to see the positive changesthat are now evident all over the placeswithin the state. They seem to havediscovered the antics that will cajole people,so that the negative aspect of the currentchanges in our dear State of Osun will bemagnified out of proportion. They intendto propel the chicken-heartedness of thefeeble into the consciousness and the sub-conscious of the generality of the people,so that the pain of transformation that isbound to be borne by everybody, in orderto have our heads satisfactorily raised upas architects of a new State of Osun will notbe pungently endured.”