VOL. 9. NO.100 NNNNN 505 05 05 05 0THURSDAY, AUGUST 21, 2014

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•The governor, State of Osun, Ogbeni Rauf Aregbesola (middle); his deputy, Otunba (Mrs) Grace Titi Laoye-Tomori (2nd left); AlhajiBolaji Isiaka (left); ALGON 1999 Chairman, State of Osun, Alhaji Kareem Afolabi (2nd right) and his P.R.O. Alhaji Rasheed Oyedele,during the congratulatory visit to the governor on his victory in the 2014 governorship election at Government House, Osogbo, lastMonday.

- See StoryOn Page 3

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Weeping Spree InOmisore’s House•Over Aug 9 Governorship Election

Aug Election: How PDP DeployedFake DSS Officials To Osun

Jelili AdesiyanIn Trouble

Osun Election:Why PDPHeads ForTribunal

Osun PlansHousingScheme ForTeachers

- See StoryOn Page 2

•As Panel OrdersHim ServedSummon NoticeThrough Newspaper

The victory of theAll ProgressivesCongress, APC inlast Saturday’sgubernatorialelection in OsunState reinforces theopposition againsta seemingly ram-paging politicaltrain of PresidentGoodluck Jonathan

It was a welcomerelief to the na-tional leader of theAPC, Asiwaju BolaAhmed Tinubu.Those who sawhim yesterdaymorning astheresult of the OsunState governorshippoll was

declared said theysaw a man greatlyrelieved but rein-forced for thebattle ahead.

Besides being anelixir to the oppo-sition that wasbadly traumatizedby defeat in Ekiti amonth ago, the

Osunvictory acts asa spring for theopposition towardsthe 2015 presiden-tial prize that wasbeing considered aforegone booty ofthe ruling PeoplesDemocratic Party,PDP. The messageyesterday

was that 2015 is stillwithin play. Despiteearlier claims by the APCthat the presidency wasdetermined to rig theelection in favour of thePDP’s Senator IyiolaOmisore, the outcome ofthe election showed thelimit to which PresidentGoodluck Jonathanwould go in forcing hiswill on the electorate.

Osun and 2015: Thegame changer

Continue on pg5

2 OSUN DEFENDER Thursday, August 21, 2014

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•(L-R) Chief Tunde Badmus (TUNS); Governor, State of Osun, Ogbeni Rauf Aregbesola and Senator Bayo Salami,during the thanksgiving Jumat service for celebration of the victory of Governor Aregbesola as the winner of the2014 governorship election at Oja-Oba Central Mosque, Osogbo, recently.

Osun Election: Why PDPHeads For Tribunal

News

By ISMAEEL UTHMAN

SOME shocking revelations have been made concerningthe reasons behind the resolution of the defeatedPeoples Democratic Party (PDP) and its governorship

candidate, Iyiola Omisore, to challenge the victory of OgbeniRauf Aregbesola in the August 9, 2014 gubernatorial electionin the State of Osun.‘Osun Election, A Divine Intervention’

THE re-election of the State of Osun Governor RaufAregbesola in the August 9, 2014 governorship electionhas been described as a divine intervention.

By KAZEEM MOHAMMED

The State Commissioner forInformation and Strategy, MrSunday Akere and theChairman, Osun StateUniversal Basic EducationBoard (SUBEB), Prince FelixAwofisayo stated this onMonday at a specialthanksgiving service organisedby the board to celebrateAregbesola’s victory at thepoll.

Akere stated that God hasused Osun to save democracyin Nigeria, noting that if therehad been manipulation in theelection, Osun and probablythe whole country would havebeen on fire.

According to him, this mighthave led to the military takingover governance of the country,as the reaction of the peoplewould have been gravious.

“We thank God that theelection went well, because ifcontrary had happened, bynow Osun would have been onfire, and probably, militarywould have taking over.

“The victory in this electionis for the people becausedespite the inducement withthe money that should havebeen used for development, thepeople stood firm and followedAregbesola, who has beenworking hard for thedevelopment of the state.

“They spent so much to the

extent of polarising religiousgroups, but we are happy thatour religious leaders of allextractions stood firm anddisallowed themselves to bedeceived,” he said.

While speaking, PrinceAwofisayo said through theelection, the people of Osunhave clearly shown theircommitment to the

Lawmakers Commend INECOver Osun Guber Poll

MEMBERS of the State House of Assembly of Osunhave commended the Independent NationalElectoral Commission (INEC) for performing above

average in the just-concluded governorship election in thestate.

Governor Rauf Aregbesolaof the All ProgressivesCongress (APC) defeated thePeoples Democratic Party(PDP) candidate, IyiolaOmisore and other candidatesat the election.

The lawmakers, includingthe Deputy Speaker,Honourable AkintundeAdegboye and the ChiefWhip, Honourable IpoolaBinuyo, also extolled thepeaceful conduct of theelectorate at the polls.

They noted that the conductof the state governorship

election last Saturday hadshown that democracy hascome to stay in Nigeria.

They pointed out that theelection, which was peacefuland crisis-free had proven tothe international communitythat Nigerians could electcredible leaders through theirvotes.

Adegboye and Binuyo alsocommended the electorate fortheir peaceful conduct before,during and after the election,while urging them to sustain itas the general electionapproaches.

Sharing the views of thelawmakers, the StateCommissioner for Informationand Strategy, Mr. Sunday Akereand the Special Adviser to theGovernor on Youths, Sportsand Special Needs, Mr. BiyiOdunlade, described theelection as free, fair and apointer to a credible election in2015.

Akere and Odunladehowever, advised INEC not torest on its oars but improve onareas where lapses werediscovered.

They however frowned atthe conduct of securityoperatives deployed for theelection on the eve of theelection, saying that somemembers and leaders of theAPC were subjected toindiscriminate arrest andharassment.

development of the state bygiving Aregbesola another four-year term.

He noted that in spite of thehuge amount of money spentby the opposition, the peoplestood firm, saying with thatsingular action, the people haveshown to the whole world thatthey are exceptional and cannotbe bought over.

Awofisayo then noted thatAregbesola’s achievements inhis first term would be a tip ofthe iceberg of what to witnessin the second term of the

administration.Also speaking, the SUBEB

Permanent Secretary, AlhajiFatai Kolawole, regretted thatsome individual civil servantsopenly identified with a partyin the course of theelectioneering process, saying,this is against the ethic of civilservice.

He urged staff members toshow more commitment toduty, with a view to ensuringthe actualisation ofAregbesola’s programmes andpolicies, especially at the basiceducation level.

Though, the PDP andOmisore, as at the time of filingthis report, have not filed apaper before the governorshipelection tribunal in the state,they had declared that therewere irregularities andmanipulations in the election,thus they needed to contest itsresults.

However, reliable sourceswith the state leadership of thePDP has dispelled the reasongiven by the party and Omisorefor wanting to challenge theelection, which bothinternational and domesticobservers affirmed to be free,fair and transparent.

According to the PDPsources, the party and Omisoreneeded to keep and maintainthe pace and structures of theparty used for the election forthe 2015 general elections,hence, the resolve to give themdwindling hope on the tribunal.

The sources also said thatapart from the need to keep thestructure of the party, theleadership of the PDP wouldbe heading for the tribunal notto have a serious legalfireworks but to have a conduitpipe through which the partywould be extorting morningfrom the Presidency.

Also, the sources ascribedthe need to distract GovernorAregbesola from concentratingon the continuity of hisdevelopmental projects, asparts of the reasons why the

PDP and Omisore would beheading for the electiontribunal.

The sources claimed that thePDP had accepted defeatbefore some leaders brought upthe plan to keep the partystructures together for the 2015general elections.

“We had accepted defeat;even Omisore was about to signa congratulatory messagewritten by our PublicitySecretary, Bola Ajao, before theissue of tribunal came up.

“The fact is, we know thatgoing to tribunal to challengeAregbesola’s victory is aneffort in futility. We can neverwin. We know we lost theelection convincingly and webelieve that was the choice ofthe electorate.

“Some of us did not evenknow that we could win in theseven local government councilareas we won in the election.We appreciate the number ofvotes we polled and so, weaccept the results of theelection.

“But some other partyleaders like Jalo (JeliliAdesiyan, Minister for PoliceAffairs); our chairman, GaniOlaoluwa and others came upwith a question on how we aregoing to keep the structures till2015 general elections. Thatwas how the issue of tribunalcame up,” the sources confidedin OSUN DEFENDER onMonday.

Weeping Spree In Omisore’s House•Over Aug 9 Governorship Election

By OUR REPORTER

SEQUEL to the announcement of the August 9governorship election in the State of Osun, the PeoplesDemocratic Party (PDP) candidate in the election,

Senator Iyiola Omisore, reportedly wept over his defeat.It was gathered that few

hours after the declaration of theelection, Omisore, who hadearlier been holding his tearseventually betrayed hisemotion.

Seeing the mood of theirbenefactor, some relatives,supporters and domestic staffof the defeated PDP candidateburst into tears.

Omisore had before theelection boasted that no matterthe circumstance, he would bedeclared the winner of theelection, as all the FederalG o v e r n m e n t - s p o n s o r e dmachinery had been put inplace to actualise his dream.

The PDP candidate had thenassured his relatives, staff andsupporters that they would allenjoy when he becomes thegovernor.

He was reported to haveeven assured some of hissupporters of specific politicalappointments.

To this end, prior to and onthe election day, the domesticstaff and relatives had startedwining and dining, with theexpectation that theirbenefactor would be declaredthe winner the followingmorning.

On hearing the result of theelection, the celebration mood

quickly changed, as the domesticstaff and relative who hadgathered for celebration burst intotears and wept profusely.

It was gathered that Omisorecontrolled his emotion untilMonday when he began to speakto himself, saying, “with all theefforts I put in, so I can lose thiselection”, and eventually burstinto tears.

An eyewitness told thismedium that it took the effortsof those around him for him tobe consoled.

Reports showed that the casewas not different in the housesof many PDP leaders across thestate, as some of them who hadalso spent money on their ownwith a view to getting politicalappointments could also notcontrol their emotion.

Further investigation showedthat Omisore was beingaddressed as ‘Your Excellency’since the time he indicated hisintention to vie for the Osungovernorship seat.

Part of our investigation alsoshowed that none of hissupporters could talk to himwhile standing; anybody whowanted to talk to him musteither bend down or lie down,depending on the status of suchsupporters; not even his runningmate, Barrister Adejare Bello,was having such effrontery togreet him on his feet.

The defeated PDPgovernorship candidate whowas using Federal Governmentvehicle for his campaign wasalready using siren despite thefact that the state governmenthad outlawed the use of siren

by those who are not authorizedby the law of the state to use it.

It was learnt that the Ile-Ife-born governorship candidate hadmade a superlative arrangementfor the celebration of his victorywhich he was sure of becauseof the Federal power behindhim.

Further investigation alsorevealed that customizeduniform and many cows hadbeen purchased for thecelebration of his victory in theAugust 9, 2014 governorshipelection.

Sources close to Ile-Ife hintedthat on the day Omisorecampaigned in the town, somany uniforms were sewn byhis supporters incommemoration of the events.

It was equally learnt that theday the election result wasannounced by Osun INEC, itwas as if a major disaster hit theancient town.

Another turbulent session inthe Ile-Ife home of the failedPDP governorship candidatewas the jostling for the positionof ‘First Lady’ by the numerouswomen in his life.

Omisore was so confused inthis regard to the extent that thewar over ‘First Lady’ almosttore his household into shreds.

The source of the confusionof Omisore was because manyof the women in his life are farolder than him.

Investigation showed thatthere is a particular one whohails from Ilobu in IrepodunLocal Government Council Areaof the state who was laying

absolute claim to the firstladyship position, saying“afterall, it was in my house inIlobu that Otunba’s mother died.I took care of the woman tillshe breathed her last. This is thetime for Otunba to compensateme”.

According to furtherinvestigation, the snag therewas that the Ilobu woman is oldenough to be Otunba’s aunt.

It was gathered that humantraffic to the Ile-Ife residence ofOmisore is becoming thinnereveryday since after he lost theelection.

Sources close to the residencehinted that the Ile-Ife-borndefeated PDP candidate has notbeen sleeping well in the nightsince the declaration of theresult.

One of his aides said: “Ogadoesn’t sleep well again sinceAugust 9. He wakes up in thenight murmuring what one couldnot really say. Oga was so surehe would win the election.

“But now that it has gone theother way, Oga’s family andfriends should come to his aidto calm him afterall, 2018 is fastapproaching when he will havetime to try his luck again”.

The aide said, immediatelythe result of the election wasread out by INEC, everybodystarted crying including theirprincipal.

He said: “It was a weepingspree in our house that day. Idon’t pray for that kind of dayagain in my life. Oga’sexpectation about the electionwas too high”.

3 News OSUN DEFENDER Thursday, August 21, 2014

•Aje International Market under the administration of Governor Rauf Aregbesola as captured by our cameraman,GBENGA ADENIYI, recently.

Osun Plans Housing Scheme For TeachersBy KAZEEM MOHAMMED

GOVERNMENT of the State of Osun has said it wouldsoon launch a housing scheme for teachers that wouldenable them own their personal houses.

Aug Election: How PDP Deployed Fake DSS Officials To Osun•Police Nab, Release Suspect

By SHINA ABUBAKAR

FRESH facts emerging have shown that the PeoplesDemocratic Party (PDP) in the recently-concludedOsun gubernatorial election in the State of Osun

deployed fake persons impersonating as officials ofDepartment of State Security (DSS) during the poll.

It would be recalled thata PDP chieftain, Mr SolaOladeinde, was caught forillegal possession of Armyuniforms in his house, priorto the poll and was whiskedaway to Abuja for

questioning.Investigation revealed

that the fake DSS personnelwere sponsored by achieftain of the party in theregion, as most of them weredeployed from Ekiti State

and Niger Delta and wereprovided cover by theparty’s leadership in theSouth-West.

One of the fake DSSofficials, who was caught bythe Police, allegedlyconfessed that they werebrought to the state by theEkiti State governor-elect,Mr Ayo Fayose and werelodged in hotels in each of

the local governmentcouncil areas in the state.

He added that four fakeDSS officials were deployedto each of the council areasin the state, with a view tohelping perpetrate the planof manipulating the poll, assoon as it was discoveredthat things were not goingwell for the PDP.

However, after his alleged

confession, the suspectwas released from policecustody withoutprosecution and was madeto return to his abode a freeperson.

Findings revealed thatthe instruction to releasethe suspect held at SIBcustody in Osogbo wasabove the officers in thedepartment and despite thedamning statementobtained from the suspect,his godfathers were hell-bent on letting him gounpunished.

A source inside thepolice command informedthe medium that the orderto release the suspect wasmore politically motivated,as it was gathered that their

bosses had to look the otherway to guarantee theircontinued stay on the job.

Meanwhile, as the DSSspokesperson, Ms MarilynOgar, disclosed that apolitical party attemptedbribing its personnel, shefailed to comment on theallegation that the fake DSSpersonnel were deployedinto the state during the poll.

It was also gathered thatsome aggrieved politiciansare on the trail of thesuspect, how he wasreleased from the custodyand who ordered his release,with a view to curbing thedeployment of such fakeDSS personnel in futurepolls.

Group Disagrees With DSS OverDeployment Of Snipers

By KEHINDE AYANTUNJI

THE deployment of soldiers and masked snipers forthe recently-conducted governorship election in theState of Osun has been described as a confirmation of

the allegation raised by former President OlusegunObasanjo to the effect that President Goodluck is having akiller squad.

The Coalition of Oodua SelfDetermination Groups(COSEG) in a press statementsigned by its coordinatingcouncil Chairman, ComradeIfedayo Ogunlana, in Osogbodisagreed with spokespersonof the State Security Service(SSS), Mariylin Ogar, over herclaim that the service mendeployed to Osun did notharass innocent citizens.

The group stated that thedeployment of securityoperatives before and during anelection is mainly to protectelection materials, but positedthat it was not the case in thelast governorship election inOsun, as most of theoperatives were used to harassand intimidate officials of justone political party, which isnot in tandem with democraticnorms.

According to COSEG: “Thedeployment of snipers for thelast election is a confirmationof the allegation raised byformer president that PresidentJonathan is having a killersquad.

“It is instructive to note thatthe conduct of the securityoperatives during the electionshowed clearly that they wereon a mission, as they weremasked, moved around inunmarked vehicles andintimidating the people.

The group also questionedthe rationale behind the arrestof only one political partychieftains on the eve of theelection without anyexplanation or justification forthe arrest.

“If not for theconsciousness of the people ofthe State of Osun, who defiedheavy presence of the securitymen, who were shooting

sporadically with majorintention of scaring the peace-loving people before the

Jelili Adesiyan In Trouble

Osun 2014: 50 APCMembers Still In Detention

THE All Progressives Congress (APC) in the State ofOsun has revealed that about 50 of its members arestill in detention, more than one week after the

governorship election in the state.

election.“And to our dismay, these

snipers, who claimed to be menof DSS were on mask, whichmade it practically impossibleto identify any of them in theprocess of committing thecrime. This is strange to us andcapable of threatening Nigeria’sdemocracy because it is clearfrustration to a credible

electoral process”Ifedayo aslo described the

arrest of political partyofficials as violation of theirrights, as no tangible reason wasoffered for their arrest.

COSEG however warned thepresident to desist from act thatcan lead to chaos or ethniccrises in the country, whileinsisting that the group willresist any form of invasion byexternal forces, who are on amission.

An impeccable sourcewithin the APC, who disclosedthis on telephone, said theparty would head for courtlater in the week with a viewto securing their freedom.

Also, the State of OsunGovernment has confirmedplans to file a lawsuit againstthe Federal Government overalleged abuses committed bysecurity personnel deployedto the state during the election.

The Federal Governmenthad massively deployedsecurity personnel comprisingthe police, soldiers, personnelof the Nigeria Security andCivil Defence Corps andoperatives of the State SecurityService, (SSS), in Osun tomaintain order during theelection.

Although, the actual figureof the security personneldeployed could not beascertained, reports put it atover 65,000.

President GoodluckJonathan had earlier explainedthat the heavy securitypresence was meant to ensurethat the election was notmanipulated.

The Acting InspectorGeneral of Police, SuleimanAbba, also said the heavydeployment was informed byallegations that thugs werebeing recruited and armed tofoment trouble during the poll.

Among the APC leadersdetained was the NationalPublicity Secretary of theparty, Alhaji Lai Mohammed,who was however freed thefollowing morning.

Adebiyi said apart fromAlhaji Mohammed, about 200members of the ruling party inthe state were arrested anddetained before and during theAugust 9, 2014 election and

that the police released about150 of them leaving theremaining 50 to rot in detention.

“About 200 of our memberswere arrested and detained, butabout 150 of them have so farbeen released.

“We are planning to go tocourt this week to enforce theirrelease.”

The Director ofCommunication and Strategy inthe Office of the Osun StateGovernor, Semiu Okanlawon,said the state government wasalready preparing to file a suitin adherence to an advice by theEuropean Union ElectionMonitoring Group.

The EU group, led by PaulEdwards, had during a meetingwith Ogbeni Rauf Aregbesola inOsogbo, the state capital,advised the governor to use thecourts to seek redress, ratherthan resorting to self-help.

“As a government and as anentity, we are going to seek legalredress over abuses committedby security agencies during theelection.”

“The Nigerian governmentmust respect the right of othergovernments at all levels. Therewas no war, no violence,nothing. They came withoutconsultations and some of themeven hid their identities.

“This is not a party matterbecause there are people in thestate who do not belong to anyparty, but were harassed. As agovernment, there is no waythis kind of intimidation andharassment will gounchallenged. So, while theparty is doing what it wantsfor its members, we are goingto do our own because we havea duty to protect everybodyregardless of their politicalleanings.”

Chairman, State UniversalBasic Education (SUBEB),Prince Felix Awofisayo,dropped the hint on Mondayduring a chat with OSUNDEFENDER.

According to him, thehouses would be built in all thenine federal constituencies ofthe state, with a view to makingit accessible to all teachers in

any part of the state.“We have in plan what we

call Teachers Housing Scheme,which we will launch before theend of the year, which meansthose teachers who had neverthought they would ownhouses, will now be havingtheir houses with veryreasonable amount without anyinterest.

“These houses would bebuilt in all the nine federalconstituencies of the state,”Awofisayo stressed.

The board chairman alsonoted that the stategovernment had approachedinternational agencies forassistance in the area ofeducation, expressingoptimism that the effort wouldsoon yield results.

When this is realised, henoted that it would further helpthe government in therealisation of its dream ofensuring qualitative education,

especially at the basic level.Calling on teachers to show

more commitment to therealisation of the stategovernment agenda oneducation, he said the majorfocus of the administration isto ensure that Osun studentscan compete with their peersanywhere in the world.

He also called on all thestakeholders in the system toshow serious concern and doeverything necessary to realisethe dream of transforming theeducation system of the state.

•As Panel Orders Him Served SummonNotice Through Newspaper

THE Chairman of the State of Osun StandingCommission of Enquiry on Disturbance of Public Peace,Honourable Justice Moshood Adeigbe, on Tuesday,

ordered that the Police Affairs Minister, Alhaji Jelili Adesiyan,be served an order of summon and notice of hearing througheither DHL courier service or through a publication in ThePUNCH newspaper and/or OSUN DEFENDER newspaper.

The secretary to the panel,Mr Bisi Babalola, at the sittinginformed the commission thatthe Police are yet to provide theneeded police escort to enablethe bailiff to paste the summonnotice at the entrance of therespondent, as ordered by thepanel.

Counsel to the petitioner, MrLekan Olayiwola, however,asked the panel to vary theserving order by granting hisclient an order to serve thedefendant through newspaperafter several other means havefailed.

The first executive governorof the state, Alhaji IsiakaAdeleke, had petitionedAdesiyan over his involvementin the assault melted on him atthe Ideal Next Hotel, during astakeholders meeting of PDP.

Also, the panel directed thecommission’s counsel toconfirm the position of the HighCourt on the interim ordersought by the PeoplesDemocratic Party candidate inthe just-concludedgovernorship election in theState of Osun, Senator Iyiola

Omisore, asking the court tostop the panel and stategovernment from investigatinghim.

However, chairman of thepanel stressed that the interimorder before the high court musthave extinguished, having spentseven days stipulated by thelaw.

Meanwhile, the case of Alhaji

Abisoye Rasheed and LasisiKafayat against Segun Ojedapohas been concluded.

The petitioners, AlhajiAbisoye and Kafayat, hadalleged that the respondent,Ojedapo, was caught buyingvoters’ cards from people inIkirun.

The duo of the petitionersurged the panel to investigate theallegation and equally sought forprotection of their lives fromthreat of the respondent.

The commission, however,promised to use all theevidences before it to makenecessary recommendation tothe state government and closedtheir cases after two witnesseshave been called by eachpetitioner.

By ABOSEDE AKINPELU

OSUN DEFENDER Thursday, August 21, 20144 News

•(R-L) An APC stalwart in Ede; Prince Omoyele Alabi, his wife, Sooko Lekan Omidiora, Alhaji Sule Alao, SenatorMudashir Husein, Alhaja Latifat Giwa and Mr. Olaosebikan Joshua.

Change Of NameI, formerly known and

addressed as MISSA B D U L R A H E E MRAFIAT ADERONKE,now wish to be knownand addressed as MRSA B D U L R A H E E MRAFIAT ADERONKE. Allformer documents remainvalid. General publicshould take note.

Change Of NameI, formerly known and

addressed as AZEEZAZIZAT YETUNDE, nowwish to be known andaddressed as AZEEZYETUNDE AZIZAT. Allformer documents remainvalid. Osun StatePolytechnic Iree, andgeneral public shouldtake note.

Osun 2014: Ede Federal Constituency Organises SpecialThanksgivingTHE electoral victory of Ogbeni Abdulrauf Adesoji

Aregbesola on Saturday August 9, 2014 has comeand gone, but the greater number of the All

Progressives Congress (APC) members are still baskingin the euphoria of the victory.

It was the turn of EdeFederal Constituency tocelebrate Aregbesola’svictory, as APC stalwarts,led by Senator MudashirHussein, representing OsunWest Senatorial District,while Prince Omoyele Alabiled party members to FirstBaptist Church, Oke-Apaso,Ede for a specialthanksgiving service for thepeaceful conduct of thegubernatorial poll, whichwas without bloodshed andwidely adjudged to be freeand fair.

During the service, thePastor-In-Charge, Rev. Dr.M. A. Alabi, called on thegovernor, Ogbeni RaufAregbesola, to use themandate given to him toemancipate the commonman.

Citing examples of Mosesin the Bible, WilliamWilberforce and MartinLuther King Jr., the clericrevealed that all these

people fought for theemancipation of theirpeople, as attested to theabolition of slavery inWilberforce’s work andAmerica having its firstblack President in BarakObama.

Speaking after theservice, Senator Husseinattributed Aregbesola’svictory to the people, whobelieved in him and thestyle of administration heruns.

“The governor promisedthe people and he haddelivered on his promises.

Senator Hussein alsorestated that the victory ofthe APC in the Osun pollwas an indication that thepeople have embraced APCand only the party has whatit takes to salvage Nigeriafrom its presentpredicament.

Alhaji Sule Alao, an APCleader in Ede FederalConstituency, stated that

Ogbeni Rauf Aregbesolawas victorious at the just-concluded gubernatorialpoll due to his hard work,personal relationship withthe people and his goodwork.

He noted that everybodywanted the continuity ofthese programmes, that waswhy the people of Ede didnot want to be left out fromthe good works of hisadministration, which led tothe massive votes the APCgot from Ede FederalConstituency.

Alhaja Latifat Giwa,Senior Special Assistant tothe Governor on Education,maintained that OgbeniAregbesola carried thewomen along in his manyprogrammes, whichincluded O’Meal and co-operative loans.

She explained further thatthe wife of the governor;Alhaja Sherifat Aregbesolahad been very wonderfuland she had gotten themaximum support of womenin the state.

She added that Osunwomen expressed absolutebelief in Ogbeni Aregbesolabecause his programmeshave lifted them away frompoverty level and he had

been able to include areasonable number ofwomen in hisadministration.

On his own, PrinceOmoyele Alabi, thankedGod for the peacefulconduct of the election andfor the will of the people thatfinally prevailed.

He stated that he deemedit fit to come to church tothank God Almighty and

also to commit the next fouryears of Aregbesola’sa d m i n i s t r a t i o nadministration into Hishands.

Prince Alabi revealed thatthe people of Ede wereexpecting the governor tocontinue with his goodworks of improving the livesof the people, especially inEdeland.

Those present at the

Osun: Lawmaker, Monarchs Call ForMaturity In Election Conduct

By KAZEEM MOHAMMED

SOME traditional rulers and political office holders inthe State of Osun have called for maturity and senseof belonging in the way elections are conducted in

Nigeria.The Senator representing

Osun East Senatorial District,Babajide Omoworare; theAragbiji of Iragbiji, Oba Abdul-Rasheed Olabomi, and theAkinrun of Ikirun, ObaOlayiwola Adedeji, made thecall at the birthday celebrationof the Senior Special Assistantto the Governor onCommunity Forum,Olatunbosun Oyintiloye, inIbokun on Saturday.

This was just as Oyintiloyenoted that inspite of themilitarisation and harrassment

of members and leaders of AllProgressives Congress (APC),the outcome of the electionreflected the wishes of thepeople.

According to him, the federalpower brought to Osun to rigthe election failed because thepeople of the state stood firmand showed support forAregbesola.

He then gave commitment ofthe administration to do moreinterms of developing the state,saying the people of the statewould not be dissapointed for

re-electing Aregbesola.Omoworare and Oba

Olabomi said the militarisationof the August 9, 2014governorship election in thestate call for a serious concern,wondering why what should bea celebration of democracy nowhad a semblance of a warfront.

Describing militarisation ofan election process as anabberation, the senator said theelectoral commission shouldput in place an infrastructurethat would make it impossibleto rig elections, saying whenthis is done, militarisation ofelection would not benecessary.

Also, Oba Olabomiwondered why security

personnel would be partisan inan election by manhuntingmembers of a political party,saying that some of thesecurity personnel were actingas if they were on the brief totraumatise some people.

He added that inspite themilitarisation and partisanshipof the security operatives priorto the election, the actualconduct of the election was fair,as people had opportunity tovote Aregbesola as theirgovernor for second term.

Commending the celebranton his birthday, the senator andthe monarchs acknowledgedthe roles he played in theelection, commending him forstanding firm for the re-electionof the governor.

Also present at thecelebration were the Oloyan ofOyan, Oba Kilani Adekeye;Elerin of Erin-Osun, Oba YusufOmoloye; Obaabokun ofIbokun, Oba Festus Awogboroand other monarchs fromObokun Local GovernmentCouncil Area; Assistant Chiefof Staff to the Governor,Honourable Oguntola Toogun;APC Director of Research andStrategy, Barrister KunleOyatomi; religious leaders,market women, politiciansamong others.

thanksgiving serviceincluded Senator MudashirHussein, representing OsunWest Senatorial District;Alhaji Sule Alao, APC leaderin Ede; Debo Akanbi;Special Adviser to theGovernor on Commerce andIndustry, Dr. YinusaOlalekan and manyprominent APC leaders inthe area.

Aregbesola’s Victory Saves West FromDoom – APC Chieftain

AN All Progressives Congress (APC) chieftain in BoripeLocal Government Council Area of the State of Osun,Alhaji Yunus Sobalaje Imran, said on Monday that

the successful conduct of the August 9, 2014 governorshipelection has stabilized peace in the South-West geo-politicalzone of the country.

He said the consequence ofrigging the election would havebeen beyond the imagination ofthe Peoples Democratic Party-led (PDP) FederalGovernment, which accordingto him, was hell-bent on riggingthe election.

Sobalaje said this whileaddressing the supporters ofAPC in Iragbiji on Mondayduring the thanksgiving serviceorganized for the victory ofGovernor Rauf Aregbesola’s re-

election by Adebayo Vanguardin Iragbiji.

He said: “We must thankGod that the wish of the PDP-led Federal Government failedlast Saturday because by now,only God knows what wouldhave happened in the entireSouth West, if they had riggedthe election, the whole countrywould have shaken to itsfoundation, but the ordinarypeople would have suffered forit.”

“The victory is not only forAregbesola, it is the victory forthe sustainable peace in thestate. Osun is the mostsensitive state in the SouthWest, where election rigging isdifficult and always turnedviolent. During Awolowo andBola Ige administrations in theWestern Region and old OyoState respectively, it was warwhen elections were rigged andjust of recent in 2007, when thegovernorship election wasrigged against Aregbesola, weknew all what happened.”.

“It is not that anybody oreven our party would haveinstigated violence, butnaturally, people will not

accept any form of rigging.Even APC leaders could notstop such violence, but wethank God, that PDP was putto shame, as its major intentionwas to cause crisis and bekilling our people,” Sobalajesaid.

He also advised the partymembers to ignore all forms ofrumour being peddled by theopposition to derail theprogress recorded by GovernorAregbesola, saying the rumourwill continue even after theelection.

Also speaking at the event,Alhaji Remi Adegoke urged thepeople to unite for theprogress and development ofthe state and always supportAPC in other future elections.

Chief Adeleakun Tutu fromOroruwo said the governor’svictory was just a step, addingthat the focus of the partyshould the central governmentand urged the party membersto work hard.

Convener of the group, OyeAdebayo, added that thevictory thanksgiving wasorganized to appreciate Godand good people of the BoripeLocal Government CouncilArea for their support for thegovernor.

The group had earlier visitedthe Boripe Muslim community,Christian Association ofNigeria (CAN), and PentecostalFellowship of Nigeria withletters of appreciation for theirsupport during the election.

Osun Baptist Confab, Others D e s c r i b eAregbesola’s Victory As Divine

By SHINA ABUBAKAR

THE Osun Baptist Conference has described thevictory of Ogbeni Rauf Aregbesola in the just-concluded governorship election in the state as a

divine order.The Christian group in a

letter addressed to the StateCommissioner forInformation and Strategy,Mr Sunday Akere,commended the people ofthe state for conductingthemselves peacefullybefore, during and after thepoll.

The letter signed by thepresident of the conference,Reverend (Dr.) PaulKolawole, stated that thebeauty of the poll was thatthe will of the peoplemanifested, as well as thewill of God.

“We have many reasonsto rejoice with you, firstly,because of the peaceful waythe election was conducted,secondly because of thewill of God and the willpower of the masses thathas come to stay. Thirdly,because of the anticipatedprogress that will reign inthe State of Osun,”, theletter stated.

The body thereforeexpressed its readiness notto relent in supporting theadministration to succeed inits developmental projectsboth physically andspiritually.

Similarly, the PerformingMusicians Association of

Nigeria (PMAN) in astatement signed by itsGovernor-General, ComradeMutiu Adesanya, disclosedthat the governor’s victorywas a reflection that gooddeeds cannot beoverwhelmed by lies andpropaganda.

It added that the people,despite the numerouspropaganda are moreinformed on choosing whogoverns them and theyardstick with which tochoose their leaders.

The statement added thatthe Ogbeni Aregbesola’sfirst tenure in office hasbrought about massiveinfrastructural developmentand impacted positively onthe peoples’ lives, addingthat it is sure that his secondterm would be better for themasses of the state.

Change Of NameI, formerly known and

addressed as MISS ADEREMIGLORY GRACE, now wantto add ATANDA and MODUPEto my name.

My name will now be re-arranged as: MISS ATANDAGLORY GRACE MODUPEADEREMI. All formerdocuments remain valid.General public should take note.

Change Of NameI, formerly known and

addressed as ADEREMIOLUKEMI DEBORAH NEEOSEDIMIBOLA , nowwish to be known andaddressed as MRSATANDA OLUKEMIDEBORAH ADEREMI.All former documentsremain valid. Generalpublic should take note.

5 OSUN DEFENDER Thursday, August 21, 2014

By ISMAEEL UTHMAN

Osun and 2015: The game changer Continued from pg1

Overwhelming presenceThe overwhelming presence of security menin the state in the days ahead of the poll didnot impede the electorate from exercisingtheir will on who governs them. Thatindeed, is a reassuring sign for manyNigerians and the international communitythat the 2015 election could be a free andfair election.Indeed, ahead of the polls last weekend, theAPC and its flag bearer, Aregbesola, had inthe face of the strong presence of securitymen around the state betrayed clear signs ofunease. The APC’s national spokesman,Alhaji Lai Mohammed in statements paintedthe impression of the determination of thepresidency to rig the election in a cleardetermination to reshape the politicalconfiguration of the Southwest ahead of thedecisive 2015 election.Such panic caused the opposition party tosummon all its elected office holders andpolitical appointees from across the countryto show presence in Osun State from lastTuesday as a way of boosting the morale ofits supporters in that state.The PDP’s candidate was also lifted by thepresence of strong detachment of thesecurity forces whose presence helped tosuppress whatever advantages the incum-bency factor would have given toAregbesola.Omisore also had his friends from the Senateincluding Senators Enyininnya Abaribe,Ehigie Uzamere and some others to lift his

heart. But the most decisive factors were thevoters on ground who at the end of voting onSaturday showed their preference for theincumbent.The outcome was, however, not a rout as theAregbesola camp had predicted it would bewithout rigging. That underscored the agitationamong some PDP loyalists who had sought foran alternative candidate. Omisore, a formerdeputy governor of Osun State had before thiselection been on the winning side of all thegubernatorial elections conducted in OsunState. He was deputy governor to Chief BisiAkande, strongly supported the immediatepast governor, Prince Olagunsoye Oyinlola in2003 and 2007, but, however, came short indelivering himself into an office he had in thepast helped others to enter.Though a very lively man with soundeducation, the factors against Omisore weremostly fanned by perceptions about himarising from his trial for the murder of ChiefBola Ige, a former attorney general of thefederation. Omisore who was acquitted ofcomplicity in that murder, however, did littleto clear that perception. Besides, his politicalfoes helped to fan the negative perceptionabout him.Oyinlola, the immediate past governor of thestate who himself had a grudge against thePDP rubbed in the Ige wound on the peoplewhen he questioned why President Jonathanhad surrounded himself with all those who werequestioned over the murder of Ige.“The candidate of the PDP was arrested forkilling Ige. He was arrested and detained. “Thenational secretary of the [PDP], ProfessorWale Oladipo, was also detained in connectionwith the killing. The Minister of PoliceAffairs, Jelili Adesiyan, was also detained.

“The chairman of the party in this state,Ayobami Olaoluwa, was also arrested. So, why iseveryone who was in detention given appoint-ment or put in a position of authority? We needto ask the government,” Oyinlola said.Great minusLinking anyone or party with the death of Igewas a great minus especially given the adorationthat Ige continues to draw from most parts ofthe state. The election was also an opportunityfor political enemies in the Southwest to hit athim. Tinubu had by every indication mounted theplatform of political leadership of the Southwestwith the dominance of his party in five of the sixSouthwest states. After the loss of Ekiti, hispolitical empire was trimmed to four states andthe prospect of losing Osun, had in the last weeksof the campaign become an exciting lure forTinubu bashers in the region.Internal dissentIt was especially so, given that Aregbesola wasgenerally considered the closest of the APCgovernors to Tinubu.The internal dissent to Tinubu in the Southwestwas especially fanned by vestiges of Afenifere,the socio-political organization through whichTinubu, himself emerged as governor of LagosState in 1999. But the former governor’s allegedrole in splintering Afenifere after his emergenceas governor helped to create animosity thattoday irks many Yoruba leaders.Even though many Afenifere leaders did notcome out openly to antagonise Tinubu andAregbesola ahead of the election, some of themwere enthusiastically waiting to celebrate thedownfall of the APC in Osun.Celebrating the downfallAPC leaders who learnt from their laxity in Ekitiwere well prepared for Osun and went out of theway to woo known and unknown enemies. PDP

on the other hand did not help its candidatewith the clear animosity towards rebels in theparty. The treatment of Oyinlola and anotherformer governor of the state, Senator IsiakaAdeleke subsequently proved to be one of themajor problems for the PDP on Election Day.Though Oyinlola did not muster enough votesto win his booth, Adeleke’s grip on Ede, one ofthe largest towns in the state helped to firmlydeliver the town to the APC. After being luredinto the PDP gubernatorial contest, theformer governor was allegedly forced out bywhat he claimed to be impediments put on hisway. That was the beginning of his defectionto the APC, a move the PDP would now regretnot to have stopped.One APC source revealed that Adeleke was thecandidate the party feared most could troubleAregbesola. But even after he withdrew, thePDP hierarchy in the state failed to soothehim giving him room to defect. Tinubu, theAPC national leader and the many presidentialaspirants in the party would be very gleefulwith the outcome of the polls. Yesterday, asource said Tinubu was himself very bouncy ashe saw the result as a vindication against theaspiration of his internal foes in the South-west. For the presidential aspirants, theoutcome of the election gives hope that theirpermutations of forging a Southwest andNorthern alliance against the PDP remainsfeasible.For President Jonathan, the permutation mayhave been that whatever loss of support hemay have suffered in the North would begained in the Southwest. Now, it is back tobasics.By Emmanuel Aziken, Political Editor

Open Letter To Jonathan On NMA Strike OSUN DEFENDERPublisher – Moremi Publishing

House Ltd.

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OSUN DEFENDER is published by Moremi Publishing HouseLimited, Promise Point Building, Opposite Guarantee 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

AFTER all, who doesn’t knowthat the best treatment for aheadache is to cut off the said

head, even if the headache is onlypointing to a more sinister problem?

Why should they ask for betterequipment to work with? Why dothey need CT and MRI machines todiagnose, when we have our ancientAfrican technology of seeing aperson miles away in the palms of ourhands?

Why should they ask for grantsfor researches? Shouldn’t their jumbopay be enough to fund such studies?Why haven’t they found a cure forthis viral haemorrhagic fever? Whyshould they fault you for begging theAmericans to give us ZMapp? Whatare big brothers for? Is it not to cleanup their younger ones every timethey pee in their pants?

Why shouldn’t you blame them forthe ebola outbreak in the country?Isn’t manning the borders supposedto be part of their work?

Why should they say they wantto be the only ones to be tagged‘Consultants’? Is it not a meresobriquet every Tom, Dick, and Harrycan choose to be called by? Haven’tpeople started calling me ‘Professor’as far back as my primary schooldays?

Why do they oppose relativity inthe health sector? Aren’t men bornequal? Do they think you haveforgotten that the quest for relativism

caused the biblical fall of man? Whyshould they want to head the medicalteam because they claim they are betterintellectually-equipped? Isn’t thategoistical?

Why should they tell you to extenduniversal health coverage to allcitizens? Don’t they know that thecitizens are wealthy enough to fund theirmedical expenses? Why are they evenfighting for the masses? Do they knowhow many of the intended recipients ofthe policy jumped for joy, when youcalled for the heads of their supposed

activists?Why didn’t they take you by your

word, when you signed the saidagreement with them earlier in the year?Why do they insist on implementation?Don’t they know ASUU went on strikefor a different reason last year, otherthan non-implementation of anagreement signed in 2009? Do theythink your pacts are worthless?

Why should they tell you not toremind them of their sacred HippocraticOath and not go on strike? Don’t theyknow you also took an oath when you

came into office? Shouldn’t they knowyou swore to protect the interest of theordinary citizen and that is just whatyou are doing?

Why should they clamour forincreased pay? Don’t they know thatthis country isn’t financially buoyantenough to meet their demands like inthe other countries? Who told them ourpolitical office holders still manage toget the equivalent of (or more than)what their equals in those othercountries earn?

The answer to the questions isobviously what you havedone. Fire the residentdoctors. But don’t stop atthat. Fire the consultants, themedical officers and the houseofficers too. Order stateexecutives to sack those intheir employ. You can even fireall medical students. Theycould have been brainwashed

by their seniors. They have drainedenough from the pockets of theirparents. The government is alsowasting scarce funds because theyspend ages in medical schools, sayingthey don’t want to be half-baked. Likewe told them we need bread! Besidestheir seniors are always telling them theydon’t know anything. Take a nip in thebud before it is too late.

Let’s go back to those times whenthere were no doctors.

•KAYODE AFOLABI, ObafemiAwolowo University (OAU), Ile-Ife.

OSUN DEFENDER Thursday, August 21, 20146

The Demystification Of Official TyrannySo, we lost the election?

Which election?

SHUT up!! Can’t you hear the result ofthe election announced by theObafemi Awolowo University (OAU)

Vice Chancelor? He declared Aregbesolaas the winner. How come. As at 2.00am,we were winning, according to our partyleaders, Femi Fani-Kayode, and DiranOdeyemi. What now happenedbetween, 2.00am to 7.00am? How come wewere ‘coasting’ to victory and INEC hadthe temerity to announce that man,Aregbesola as the winner!! Sangba foo!What will I eat for the next four yearsnow. Ebi ti de o!!!

This is the best campaign ever, that isreport we were getting from our fieldofficers. They misled us, they told us itdidn’t matter, that the people of Ededidn’t really appreciate Senator IsiakaAdeleke again; that they didn’t give adamn if the Asiwaju of Edeland waspunched and beaten by Omisore and JeliliAdesiyan. They couldn’t care any less ifwe made a former governor lie face down,and threaten him with death. JeliliAdesiyan even said, if he punched himwell, Adeleke would give up the ghost.The game plan was easy; just give people‘rices’ and Kerosine, they’ll forgeteverything, and we’ll coast home tovictory.

The defection of party members did nothelp our case. I can’t believe Oyinlola andEtteh never loved Omisore. Alhaji FataiAkinade Akinbade left in anger for theLabour Party (LP). They were just doingOju Aye. They are all jealous of Omisore. How?! Omisore is popular than the wholelot put together. Hmmn, Are you sureOmisore is popular or is it that he is justnotorious….

What do you mean, ‘won peyan nionifun radarada, oo de le pa ifun e mo’ ,This is the same person many peoplesuspect strongly because of his violentantecedents. Whenever he campaigned,he usually went with so many escorts,blocked traffic numerous times, blaredsiren more than a president would. Eventhe governor he was trying to unseatdoesn’t use siren. This man often timesblocked the Gbongan-Ibadan Expressway.Even in Osogbo, he slammed the OritaCMS highway shut. The ensuing trafficgridlock was the evidence of crowd tohim. How can you seek for people’s votesand habitually annoy them and deprivemany of their sources of movement andlivelihood?

But then, the game plan was simple.Just give people ‘rices’ and Kerosine,they’ll forget everything, and we’ll coasthome to victory.

Ehn, but wait, I thought PDP hadfantastic strategists. They are so goodthat Mr President has christened the newPDP Chairman, ‘The Game Changer!’What now happened?

What more could we have done? Ourstrategy was based on three factors,flooding the state with consumables,knowing how precarious the situation ofthe country is. The more reason why it’sprofitable to keep more people in poverty.It wins elections. Ekiti proved that; justflood them with rice and kerosene, andthey’ll love you.

We also banked on arresting top APCchieftains and slamming them into jail, tobe released maybe after the elections, ifwe so wished. That would scare othersfrom venturing out and campaigning forthat Aregbesola guy, and it would be afield day for us. We had gottenassurances of DSS, Army, Civil Defence,and even ex-militants coming to work forus, and shooting any anti-GEJ party maninto submission. Afterall, by the time MrPresido just used 60% of his power lasan,APC won’t even venture to campaign forfear of arrest, and we’ll continue with ourmission to ‘re-capture’ Southwest.

This election meant everything to us.Not because the state has mineralresources, but because the destiny ofmany of our political gladiators are tied toit . How?! I’ll explain to you.

Jelili Adesiyan was a co-accused withthe PDP contender in the trial for themurder of the celebrated Attorney General

and Minister of justice of the Federation,Chief Bola Ige. When he wanted to gothrough ministerial screening, he shedsome crocodile tears, and swore that hedidn’t know anything about the minister’sdeath, and that, he was being unfairlyaccused. This same man, less than eightmonths after being confirmed as minister,reportedly slapped Senator Adeleke, andwhen questioned, retorted, that, if heactually punched him, Adeleke couldn’tsurvive his pugilist skills; from a servingMinister!!!. Well, to Oga Jona, you areonly as good as how relevant you are tohis 2015 ambition. Don’t give me that bullcrap. He isn’t interested in contesting. Itis visible to the blind, and audible to thedeaf. Let’s see how he keeps his seat,when he can’t win his own state, with theretinue of police officers placed under hiscommand. Simple ‘fine-tuning’ of electionsituation, he can’t do, how can he thenquell disturbances. Don’t be surprisedwhen you see ‘ fired for non-performance,inimical to the Transformation Agenda’ asthe reason for his dismissal.

Have you heard of the slang, Ko siiKORO,ko sii ibo’ . Musiliu Obanikoro is aman on a mission. Political redemption.After being beaten blue-black, by BRF in2007, he was compensated with anambassadorial post to Ghana. The manwas simply left to political Siberia. By thetime he came back in 2011, the dynamicshad changed. Thanks to Oga Jona, he’sbeen rehabilitated as Minister of State forDefence to replace Olusola Obada, whocollapsed on hearing gunshots at theArmed Forces Day Celebration.

South West PDP is never in shortage ofsuch weirdoes. And Obanikoro has won agreat job abandoning the hotspots ofSambisa and marshaling troops to thehitherto secure and peaceful states ofOsun and Ekiti, to intimidate and oppressmembers of the opposition. He playedthe script out in Ekiti, and did it again inOsun.

The most ironic episode was seeingObanikoro and Femi Fani-Kayode giving apress briefing about the preparedness ofthe Armed Forces in maintaining law andorder. In what capacity? as PDPchieftains, who had just promised to

capture the state, or a governmentminister. Anyway, what was Fani-kayodedoing there? Somebody said, any electionObanikoro led was always lost, andwondered why such a man could beappointed to fight Boko Haram. It is saidthat in Lagos in 2007, the continuation ofthe famous term, was: Ibo dee, Koro yaa’ .

Teslim Folarin is back in his bid todisplace Governor Abiola Ajimobi.Combative and burly, he fits the mould ofpoliticians GEJ seems to have favouredto get back the South West. Rugged,combative fellows, who won’t blink at theflow of blood, as long as their desires torule was sated. Capturing Osun wouldhave gotten him a spring in his step, as heaims to win. This same man was theSenate Majority Leader, and Ibadan bearstestament to the myriad of federal projectshe influenced to the sprawling city, frombridges to expressways, to revampedairports, factories, renewed greenery inthe ancient city hitherto reputed for dirt.He wants to achieve all that this time, asAkala didn’t allow him do so then, heunleashed Elewe-Omo to stop all thefederal goodies coming to IbadanMesiogo. Now this time, he’ll have tofight it out again with the same Akala inslugfest of who best can shout Power!Power!! To petrified citizens of Oyo, whoknow too well, how peaceful’ their formerreign was, that they heaved a sigh ofrelief on their exit.

Of those who are aiming for a politicalphoenix story to their political career,none is as comedic as the Baba OlabodeGeorge. In saner climes, he’ll heed hisofficiating minister’s warnings and gohome to sin no more, but aren’t we in theseason of Transformation? Where an ex-convict governor in Bayelsa got hispresidential pardon, and was a delegate atthe National Confrence on how to movethe nation forward. We’re in the season ofgreat signs and wonders. Baba has hadhis sentence quashed, as his wife nowheads NDLEA, and he’s so popular nowthat, he has who they call ‘BODEGEORGE BOYS’ emblazoned on theirshirts, smoking and daring anyone on thestreets of Osogbo. Dimeji Saburi Bankoletoo wants to rule Ogun. All their dreamsdon pafuka now, Aregbe ti fii ori won gbaara won.

The Presidency has never been this

bruised politically. Although, I don’tunderstand our president’s bodylanguage, a friend to my uncle’s teacher,whose neighbour’s cousin works theresaid, the calculation is that, North-Westand North East are unwinnable. APC isshowing a strong platform in NorthCentral, which makes South West, a must-capture region. If the president harboursany hopes of winning, though, he hasdenied contesting, Nkan ti awa gbo niyen.Ekiti gave him hope of sweeping it all, butthis same Aregbesola, who gave him ahiding in 2011, has scored a brace thistime, even with the 73,000 servicemendeployed. The man is an Ijesa joo, agidi tipoju.

But, Ore, what happened to the federalmight? It has never failed wheredeployed.

Hmmmn, that’s where I fear this Aregbeand his strategists. On Wednesday, 50trucks of DSS agents patrolled OSOGBOshooting into the air, while the people justtrooped out shouting APC!! In that kindof situation, how many people do youwant them to kill? Senator Bayo Salami’shouse was attacked and he escaped. Sameforces wanted to capture SenatorAdeleke; he escaped to his mother’shouse. Almost all APC bigwigs in Ile-Ife,the said stronghold of Omisore, werechased away, with their families. Theones who braved the heat, werepummelled again by new Lagbaja-copyingshooters Yorubaland had never seen.

Buruji Kashamu had supplied Keroseneand rice. Osun was overflowing with rice,the people collected it, and they ironicallyvoted-in Aregbe. We thought they hatedhim, but the crowd I saw, heralding himfrom town to town was unprecedented,even when they told us, he was ‘importing’ them. The plan was to scareenough voters to stay indoors. Thestrategy was fool-proof. We werecelebrating our come-back to power, butthe results on election day was a rudeshock. How could we be so badly beaten.

So, what happens to Omisore now?O n pe, kilokanmi, he will be in Abuja

for 31/2 years, when election draws near,he’ll start distributing rice and Kerosenearound. As at last year August, he didn’thave one single plan like this about whathe wanted to achieve in the state. Forsomebody, who has been trying to ‘Rule’ since 1999!!. Aregbesola didn’t spend three months before he started O’YES.Our party men, who shouted that thepolicy wasn’t good, urged their childrento rush and get the forms. There’sO’School,O’Meal, O’REAP, Opon Imo,among others. This same Aregbesola hasdone it despite been deliberately starvedof funds by the Federal Government.

Aregbesola loves being with themasses, Omisore is feared by them.Whereas, Aregbesola’s popularity is cult-like, Omisore’s notoriety as a purveyor ofviolence is in the realm of Ajantala. Lookat Aregbesola now, he’s a masses’ man,Omode, Agba, love him. Have you seenschool children waving brooms to heraldhim? Can you even think of Omisoreenjoying that privilege? Onikaluku n fiomo e pamo ni.

If one is not greedy, how can you eattwo cobs of corn at the same time, andmoving in an open roof car? Is it to tauntpeople. He can’t even hand it out to thedriver carrying him about, loju temi, thatisn’t a man of the masses o, wonbilikiwonbia lan pe iru won.

Awa wi tan, he was shouting, Tee Sojue, gbaa lowo e, ko moo lo

Tee so jue – loju ba blind.Gbaa lowo e- Lowo ba roKo moo lo- l”Umbrella ba di void.He wants to go to tribunal. Let him go

o, we still need his money. N3.5 billionisn’t a child’s play.

Woo, if he likes, let him contest assenator again, he’ll meet his albatrossagain in APC. Osun still remains Osun-Koya,Ebele-free.

The cranium of a mammoth is noluggage for a toddler- Atari Ajanaku niAregbesola, kii seru omode,

Dagunro o see je, ma jen tan e

•Lawal is a Senior Special Assistant tothe Governor, State of Osun

By IBRAHIM LAWAL

•AREGBESOLA

FEATURE

7 OSUN DEFENDER Thursday August 21, 2014

Osun Divisional Conference Of Obas In Osun Central Senatorial District Paid ACongratulatory Visit To The State Of Osun Governor, Ogbeni Rauf Aregbesola, InOsogbo, Last Thursday.

•The governor, State of Osun, Ogbeni Rauf Aregbesola (6th left); the Akirun of Ikirun, Oba Rauf Adedeji (5th left); the Olokuku of Okuku, Oba Samuel Oluronke (6th right);the Aragbiji of Iragbiji, Oba Rasheed Olabomi (3rd left); the Owa of Otan Ayegbaju, Oba Lukman Fadipe (5th right); the Olobu of Ilobu, Oba Ashiru Olaniyan (4th left); theElerin of Erin-Osun, Oba Yusuf Oyagbodun (4th right) and other prominent obas, during the congratulatory visit to Governor Rauf Aregbesola in Osogbo last Thursday.

Former All Progressives Congress (APC) Acting National Chairman, Chief BisiAkande Hosted The State Of Osun Governor, Ogbeni Rauf Aregbesola, On HisVictory At Chief Akande’s Resident In Ila-Orangun, Recently.

•(R-L) The governor, State of Osun, Ogbeni Rauf Aregbesola; former interim National Chairman, All Progressives Congress (APC), Chief Bisi Akande and member, NationalAssembly, representing Osun Central Senatorial District, Senator Sola Adeyeye, during the governor’s visit to Chief Akande in his resident, Ila-Orangun, recently.

PHOTOTALK

8 OSUN DEFENDER Thursday, August 21, 2014PHOTOTALKMore Pictures On Thanksgiving And Celebration Of Victory Of Governor RaufAregbesola As The Winner Of 2014 Governorship Election In Osun.

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•A cross section of Governor Rauf Aregbesola’s supporters during the thanksgiving programme at Oja-Oba, Osogbo, State of Osun, recently.

•A cross section of Orisunmibare Market traders in Osogbo during their thanksgiving programme.

9OSUN DEFENDER Thursday, August 21, 2014 �

•

•(L-R) SUBEB Commissioner 11, Mr Bola Adekunle; Comrade Abiodun Agboolaand Honourable Isa Ojewale on the occasion.

•A cross section of dignitaries praising the Lord during the service.

Thanksgiving Service For The Victory Of Governor Rauf Aregbesola As The WinnerOf 2014 Governorship Election In Osun At State Universal Basic Education Board(SUBEB) Hall, Osogbo, Last Monday. Photo: GBENGA ADENIYI.

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•(L-R) Permanent Secretary, SUBEB in Osun, Alhaji FataiKolawole; State of Osun Commissioner for Information and Strategy, Honourable Sunday Akere and SUBEB BoardChairman and President, Oranmiyan Worldwide, Prince Felix Awofisayo.

•(L-R) Chief Abiodun Owoeye; Mr Najeem Adedeji; Permanent Secretary, Ministry ofEducation in Osun, Mr Lawrence Oyeniran and Venerable Oluyamo Isaac, duringthe service.

10 OSUN DEFENDER Thursday, August 21, 2014

State Of Osun Governor, Ogbeni Rauf Aregbesola, At Osogbo Central Mosque ForHis Re-election’s Thanksgiving On Friday.

•Governor Aregbesola (arrowed), acknowledging cheers from his admirers.

PHOTOTALK

11 OSUN DEFENDER Thursday, August 21, 2014FOR THE RECORDS

Communiqué Issued By The Coalition Of INEC AccreditedCivil Society Organizations That Observed The Osun StateGovernorship Election Of 9th August 2014.

Our coalition is made up of Domestic ElectionObserver Groups duly accredited by theIndependent National Electoral Commission(INEC) to observe the August 9th 2014Governorship election in Osun State. Hence,paving carefully observed the election, with agreat sense of patriotism and responsibility inaccordance with the provisions of the ourrelevant Electoral laws that we wish issue thiscommuniqué to buttress the transparency,peaceful and the credibility of the election froman independent point of view as civil societygroups.

1. The Osun State Governorship election of9th August 2014 actually took place as scheduledacross the thirty Local Government Areas in theState.

2. Contrary to speculations, the election wasadjudged to be very peaceful as the votersconducted themselves in an orderly manner.

3. In comparison with elections in the Statesin the most recent past, the voter turnout in OsunGuber election held on 9th August 2014 was verymuch impressive and highly commendable.

4. It was feared in certain quarter that theheavy security presence in the state will act as adisincentive for voters to exercise their franchise,rather the reverse was the case. At this juncture,we must commend the voters in Osun State forresisting all attempts by the powers that be tocow them in the governorship election.

5. We commend enhanced INEC preparationfor Osun State Guber election culminating to thetimely arrival of election materials and personnelin all the polling units across the State and also,the level playing field, transparency andcredibility of INEC in the conduct of Osun stateGuber election 2014 is here by applauded.

7. We therefore, urge all parties to the electionto accept the result of the election as a cleardemonstration of the popular wish of the peopleand shun all acts capable of threatening the peaceand tranquility of the State of Osun.

Finally, we congratulate the winner of theAugust 9th 2014 Governorship election in Osun

State, Alh. Rauf Aregbesola of the AllProgressives Congress (APC) and hereby pledgeour readiness to stand by him to defend hismandate, while also advising to extend hands offellowship to all for rapid development of theState.

Thank you and God bless.

OUR POSITION:

Signed:-

Comrade Bassey Ewa. JPTeam Leader07058449877

Hon. Abdullahi M. JabiChairman, Contact and

Mobilization

Mr. Victor KaluTeam Secretary07073588811

Cc:1. The Chairman,Independent National Electoral

Commission Headquarters, Abuja.2. The Inspector General of Police

(IGP), Force Headquarter, Luis EdetHouse, Abuja.

3. The Director General, State SecurityService (SSS), Abuja.

4. The Commandant General,Nigeria Security and Civil Defence

Corps, (NSCDC) Wuze zone 5, Abuja.5. The Press.

OSUN DEFENDER Thursday, August 21, 201412 FEATUREOLUSESI ISAAC writes that the worries and modus operandi of Iyiola Omisore have fast

tracked him into the abyss of irrationality in the extreme terms and made him a warped mindin morbid hatred for the other person’s parents, compelling the well cultured and cultivatedmind to retreat from him.

‘His Parents Should Answer That Question’HE is deeply fascinating and deeply

intriguing in the same breath. Heknows there is a river to cross

here. A hill to climb there. On and on.Yet, he is in the business of makingmore enemies and he burns his head inthe hood of his ear, making himselfanother bizarre dimension in moralconvulsion that sends cold chills allover the sensitive. That is IyiolaOmisore, the State of Osungovernorship candidate of the PeoplesDemocratic Party (PDP), a warpedmind steeped in morbid hatred forOgbeni Rauf Aregbesola, Governor ofOsun and theAll Progressives Congress(APC) fellow runner in thegubernatorial race.

Omisore is the Achilles heel of hisown party, PDP. He has a consistentpenchant for shooting himself in thefoot times without number. In onemoment, he raises a blinding dust offurry; and in another moment, he kicksanother dust. He always turns simplematters into complicated ones by hisfirm inability to understand the importsof his answers to questions put to himin the press glare. Why must he alwayscontinue to present a picture ofincompetence cum confusion onsubjects of public interest?

No one grudges him. But he has nothelped himself by his carriages. Hebrands self oft-times in the public,uncultured and uncultivated. Purepoppycock. Pure arrogance. I weighthe circumstances of Omisore’sworries and his modus operandi, and Ican declare that what we have onhands in Osun is more than a fledgingurban guerrilla, fast tracked into theabyss of irrationalities in the extremeterms, with the furore and hooplacreated, still reverberating in the publicdomain. It is not a case of theproverbial needle in the haystack.

Consider this. In a Sunday Tribunenewspaper interview, Omisore said,“...may be his parents should answerthat question...”in apparent response tothe question: “Are you saying thatGovernor Aregbesola is not fromIlesa?” I cannot understand his fussabout the native origin of Aregbesola,with Omisore deepening wet withrestiveness, intoxicated with headywines, with tongue waxing carelessly,and with conscience impervious to theurgings of home training.

What is baffling is the vagueness ofhis answers to questions put to him,the answers that stand moral sensibilityon the head. Lies, falsehoods anddisrespect as answers in the interview,are the trio of Omisore’s ingeniousdevice for persuasion to earnacceptability and popularity. But hislies, falsehoods and disrespect are amere empty political humbug, to trickpeople and create a pseudo image ofhimself as a man of candour andintegrity. His end in the interview, ispolitical survival. But he is not a sincereperson. He cannot be said to be honest.

The Tribuneman had asked thequestion with strident persistence, forone, to know why Omisore has burntso much effort on Aregbesola’s originand achieved nothing to the contrary;two, to clip Omisore’s wings; andthree, to make him an apt study in ahomely undernourishment of the mind.A psychologist’s interest. The press,the sentinel of the society is duty boundto ask questions, no matter howembarrassing; and find answers, nomatter how catechism.

His answer, “…his (Aregbesola’s)

parents should answer that question…”was fetid and foolish, revealing someturbulence within.As a politician,requiring also the votes of aged peopleto ram to power, Omisore should beable to wade through the torrents ofsentimental and illogical anger. It wasOmisore’s self-righteous rabble-rousing, and he ought to have directedhis answers to his kith and kin in thePDP for whom lies are always told,from whom rumpus noises are alwaysexpected, and from whom grievancesalways sprout.

As though, getting the Tribuneman toforge ahead with the interview becamean exercise in debilitating futility, it wasindeed an enterprise in the futility ofOmisore’s self-delusion. I give kudosto the fellow journalist for his spiritedefforts at assisting Omisore get off thesuffocating embrace of self-pristinefears and impulses. The journalist’sexpanded ethics equip him to know thatone who has no respect for one’sparents will frontally disrespect theother person’s parents.

It can now be said with oracularconviction that Omisore must haveseverally thrown the missiles of murkat his own parents even in the open air,like the MFM worshippers, theproponents of ‘die, die, die,’ would tothe enemies of their survival. Meaning,Omisore’s parents must be the enemiesof his own survival and deserve to bedisrespected by himself. NotAregbesola’s parents, reputed to be theanchor of his successes in life.

The late Hubert Humphrey of theUnited States of America (USA) whoplayed in the top league of the USpolitical game would recommendOmisore to be taken to the cleaner. Andsurely, Omisore ought to be enrolled ina school of good manner. But I amafraid! He has a stone heart that cannotbe melted by the chemistry of love, thephysics of conscience, the physiologyof speech, the religion of morality,thepsychology of mutual respect, the

sociology of human relations, thearchaeology of culture, the history ofpeople, and the mathematics ofheritage.

Make no mistake about it. The gamutof the interview, splashed over a fullpage, from ‘a’ to ‘z’ was a failedventure to pull Aregbesoladown;ironically,it revealed more therumbles and tumbles of Omisore’spast. Which is why, he deserves to becriticised over his wishy-washyanswers in the interview that evoked ahorrendous image of personified terrorto the aged parents of Aregbesola.

Reading the interview in-between thelines, the truth is that Omisore’sflippant with zany consistency imprintsa scene like a circus. The impression,reinforced again by his irrationalities isthat the interview was an irritatingnuisance to be ignored outright, but hadto be read particularly by me as amatter of duty, and because ofOmisore’s pathological indifference tothe good opportunity offered by theinterview – to highlight hisgovernorship campaign issues. Theindifference however, is elementallycatatonic. He even lacks oratory, whichis of great consequence for its magicfor the control and mobilization of theelectorate.

Indeed,Omisore’s illicit reference toAregbesola’s parents in the interviewwas enough not a sacrosanct, andrendered unjust, unwise, and untenablethat put a huge question mark on moraljustice. Omisore’s idiosyncrasies makemoral injustice inevitable, pricking theconscience of justice; but Aregbesola’sincessant quest for justice every inchmakes the tolerance of the kind ofOmisore’s moral injustice inexcusable.The Omisore moral injustice haspotentials for evil and portends tragicconsequences for the growth anddevelopment of democracy and socialjustice.

Omisore’s homely undernourishmenthas virtually assumed the logic of a war

dance. One tentative step forward andseveral ones in retreat. And given theconsumptive nature of the dance, apermanent retreat seems very much inorder. It is also in order for the culturedand cultivated mind to retreat fromhim, otherwise it is dangerous. That isthe ‘official’ truth.

But politics, a game whichaccommodates everyone-the good, thebad, and the ugly has propelled him to astratospheric height. Omisore was adeputy governor, senator of the FederalRepublic of Nigeria,a governorshipcandidate, and a political elite in thesense; one thronged spectacle withinthe Osun PDP, littering the Osunlandscape of the party like apocalyptictabernacles and an unusual breed of thePDP political jobbers and beggars swimpleadingly around him. No one daresstand taller than him. To do otherwise,is to challenge a god. He is a non-Godin human skin. Unknown to Omisore,the dual propellers of the Snakes andthe Ladders are at work for him. Theladder catapulted him from political pitto the pinnacle of glory; and momentslater the snake will spring from a cruelambush and dump him, bottom first,like a dewdrop in the sun, in the drearyelectoral abyss. That is the macabrechess game of politics.

Let’s leave the rest of Omisore’sattacks on Aregbesola’s parents, in thegutter of Omisore’s own disgrace.Omisore would have gone absolutelymad if the interview had not beenpublished, and would have been on hisknees, begging the Tribuneman, whorather should have in the first instance,left Omisore to stack away incognito.

•This piece was sent in before theAugust 9 gubernatorial election.

•OLUSESI, is AssistantDirector,Directorate of Publicity,Research and Strategy, All ProgressivesCongress, State of Osun.

•AREGBESOLA •OMISORE

13 OSUN DEFENDER Thursday, August 21, 2014 INTERVIEW

Osun: Our Victory Was Hard Fought - Lai Mohammed•Says The Deployment Of 73,000 Security Personnel Was To Tavour PDP

The people of Osun State are still basking in the euphoria of last weekend election that saw thevictory of Ogbeni Rauf Aregbesola’s second term in office. In this encounter with the National Pub-licity Secretary of the All Progressives Congress, APC, Alhaji Lai Mohammed, he bares his mind onhow he was abducted by security agents among other issues that transpired during the election.

FOLLOWING the FederalGovernment’s deploymentof about 73,000 security agents

to Osun during the gubernatorialelection, making sure it was free, fairand credible, how do you describe thevictory of Ogbeni Rauf Aregbesola whoran on the platform of the APC?

Our victory in Osun was hard foughtfor. That is why we all appreciate it thismuch. We give gratitude to Almighty Godfor making it possible. But the victory ismainly for the people of Osun, ourcandidate and our party at large.

But it is not correct as PresidentGoodluck Jonathan would want peopleto believe that it was the securitypersonnel that was on ground thatensured the kind of election we had. Onthe contrary, the over militarisation inOsun was designed primarily to favourthe Peoples Democratic Party, PDP.

How do you mean?I will give you practical examples: our

concern has always been about thepresence of the military personnel inOsun because we knew from ourexperience in the Ekiti election, that oncethere is such militarisation, it is theopposition, majorly the APC members,they are aiming at. In Osun, there arefour to five instances how it was usedto work against the interest of the APC.If you remember about two weeks tothe election; there was this irresponsibledisplay of power show by men of theState Security Service, SSS. They wereall masked, in about 50 trucks, shootingsporadically into the air, terrorising andinstilling fear in the residents of the state.Secondly, on the Wednesday before theelection, the police and the SSSprevented the TUC and the NRC fromgoing on a solidarity rally in support ofGov. Aregbesola which is clearlypartisan. The selective arrest and attackson only APC members clearly showsthe partisanship on the part of securityagents.

I was not arrested, I was abducted.On Friday evening, a day to the election,we got alarming reports about escalationof violence all over Osun beingperpetrated by PDP thugs. This got thegovernor worried, because it mightintimidate voters all over the state, whichmay affect their turnout on election day.So he decided to have a live broadcastthat evening. We were on our way tothe broadcast at the Governor’s Lodgewhen we ran into a roadblock with apolice van and SURE-P bus parked atthe side of the road. We were orderedto get out of our vehicle and also toidentify ourselves, I told them my nameand that I am the spokes person for APC.Immediately they bluntly told me to step-aside. I was even trying to question themon our offence before they pointed a gunat my head. They frog-matched me intotheir bus.

Getting into their bus, I saw about 11armed masked men. They drove us

around the town, seized our phones andfinally took us to the head office of theSSS in Oshogbo. After hours of tirelesswaiting and dialogue, they said theywere going to take us back to the spotthey abducted us from, but I refusedbecause I could not guarantee wherethey were taking us to following what Isaw.

One of the officers later volunteeredto escort us back to where our car wasparked around 1 am. When we got towhere our driver was, another argumentensued between the security men andthe masked men asked whether weshould be released or not. It took another30 minutes of serious argument,beforewe were asked to get down from theirbus. We were able to take refuge in theGovernor’s Lodge.

Meanwhile, they were attacking theresidence of Adeleke. Clearly thesecurity men were sent to arrest anddestabilise the opposition.

We were not so much bothered aboutthe influx of security men parading Osun.But scores of miscreants were givenmilitary uniforms to wreak havoc in thestate and they were being protected by

the regular police and soldiers theyclaimed were on ground to make surethe election was credible.

We heard of a PDP big wig beinggiven 50 soldiers from Enugu to comedo what in Osun? When did the PDPbig wig become a Commander! Whenyou start bastardizing institutionsbecause of election, it is something oneshould worry about. Moreover, nobodyis yet to explain to us why securityagents should be wearing masks duringelections.

In a recent interview, the Minister ofState for Defence, Senator MusiliuObanikoro, accused the APC of givingunnecessary excuses of millitarisationof election, while, in 2012, Edo StateGovernor Adams Oshiomholecommended President Jonathan for theinflux of soldiers that made his electioncredible?

Were the soldiers in Edo masked? Mypoint is, why would military men duringelection be masked? Secondly, did theyengage hoodlums by giving themuniforms in Edo? I am a living witnessto what transpired in the Osun election.I was abducted by hooded men in official

uniform. I ran into a convoy of 25vehicles and they were all in civildefence uniform. These boys were between 18 and 25 years old in all kind ofcars, some even with foreign numberplates. I challenge the defence minister,if these people didn’t enter Osun underthe watchful eyes of the military. Itmeans anybody can wear a policeuniform, masked and kill anybody! Onlyterrorists wear masks. Why must ourown security officer wear mask duringelection?

Following the Osun scenario, what isyour expectation come 2015?

Come 2015,the people are ready forthem, I can assure you of that. Whateversuccess we achieved in Osun, despitewhat the Federal Government put inplace, if the people of Osun refused tobe intimidated, then Nigerians arewaiting for them.

There are reports making roundsbarely 48hours after the election resultwas announced that the PDP are headingto the tribunal to contest the outcome,what do you make of it?

Let them go ahead, it’s within theirright to do so. As a mater of fact, wewere even surprised that we didn’t scoremore going by the popularity of Gov.Aregbesola. Sincerely, the PDP shouldnot have had up to 20% of the sum totalof the votes if some of our memberswere not intimidated.

What would you say transpired?Many people were intimidated most

especially in Ile-Ife due to so muchviolence on the eve of election. so theydid not come out to vote. In Ife-south,our agents were intimidated that manyof them did not even come. But weawait what Omisore (the PDPcandidate) is going to say at the tribunal.We heard they said Independent NationalElectoral Commission, INEC, was notfair. This is the first time a PDP candidatewould complain about INEC!

How prepared is the Lagos APC toconfront the candidacy of PDP as weheard Mr. Jimi Agbaje is coming onboard on the PDP platform?

If you remember vividly in 2003, theyused Koro (Obanikoro) to try to unseatGov.Fashola but didn’t succeed. In 2007,Koro also came on board but did notsucceed. Our records are there. We willmake sure we project a formidablecandidate that will deliver. APC startspreparing for elections from the day weare sworn in.

How do you react to the zoning ofthe office of the governor as beingclamoured for by some people?

I am not aware of that. You knowaspirants come up with all kinds ofjustification to have their way. But I amsure there will be a level playing groundfor everybody.

Culled from VANGUARD

•LAI MOHAMMED

14 OSUN DEFENDER Thursday, August 21, 2014FEATURE

DSS On A Sad Familiar TerrainTHE tragedy of state apparatus in

Nigeria is usually that of blind loyaltyto the proverbial “piper that dictates

the tune”. The recent altercation betweenthe spokespersons of the Department ofState Security, DSS, Ms Marilyn Ogar, andthat of the opposition All ProgressivesCongress’ (APC) Alhaji Lai Mohammedprovides a sad commentary on what agovernment agency should not turn itselfinto.

It’s so sad that history beacons on usconcerning state agencies like the police,the armed forces, customs, immigrations aswell as, of course, and particularly, theDepartment of State Services.

The then Nigerian SecurityOrganization (NSO) was the state securityand intelligence service of the Nigeriangovernment in those days (1976-1983), beingset up shortly, in response to, and after theunfortunate assassination of the charismaticmilitary leader then, General Murtala RamatMohammed. It preceded the presentDepartment of State Security, DSS, alsoknown as State Security Service, SSS.

NSO was given a mandate ofcoordinating both domestic and foreignintelligence. During the time of the militaryregime, and continuing through the NigerianSecond Republic, the NSO was accused ofcarrying out systematic and widespreadhuman rights abuses, especially of thoseseen to be critical of the government, in aGestapo style.

In those days, a series of repressivemeasures, led by NSO Chief MohammedRafindadi, was carried out. Of these,repression against journalists, oppositionfigures, government officials and the 25month imprisonment of late musician, FelaRansome-Kuti, are especially remembered.

Just after handing over power by themilitary to a civilian government in 1979,the Shinkafi-led NSO had the difficult taskof transitioning from a military era secretpolice organisation to an organisation thatfunctioned in a democracy and which alsorespected the Constitution. During thesecond republic, there was a reduction inthe number of human rights abusescommitted by the NSO, though their overallhuman rights record still remainedpoor. Political parties and oppositiongroups complained of harassment by theNSO, particularly the Unity Party ofNigeria (UPN) headed by Chief ObafemiAwolowo – a keen rival of the party inpower, the National Party of Nigeria (NPN)– was constantly hounded by the NSO.

President Shehu Shagari nominatedLawal Rafindadi. His tenure as the DG ofthe NSO was plagued by arbitrary arrestsand detentions of anybody suspected ofbeing a threat to the regime, imagined orreal. This attitude crept down the ranks ofthe NSO and led to heavy handednessamong some of the agency’s operatives. Acase in point was that of Brigadier AbbasWali, a former defence attaché to the UKand Adjutant-General of the Nigerian Army.Wali was arrested in Kano by a NSOoperative named Bishara and detained atthe NSO office for a week without anyoneknowing about the arrest including the DGof the agency, Lawal Rafindadi and hisdeputy, Albert Horsefall.

The military was not spared by the NSOeither, the agency investigated Col. AliyuMohammed of the Department of MilitaryIntelligence, DMI, and found him to becomplicit in an import license racket, he wassubsequently compulsorily retired from theArmy after six months in detention. Duringthis period, Aliyu’s friend andsuperior, Ibrahim Babangida also cameunder the scrutiny of the NSO.

The NSO under Rafindadi began a wiretapping and eavesdropping programme,where the telephone conversations ofgovernment officials, dissidents and militaryofficials including SMC members werebeing listened to. Rafindadi also used hisposition as DG of NSO and a member of theSMC to initiate a purge of senior officers in

the diplomatic service for no good reason,many lost their jobs and entitlements.

The State Security Service, SSS has along history of been criticized for operatingno less like its predecessor the NSO. As farback as 1986, barely four months after itsestablishment, the then Director General ofthe agency, Alhaji Ismaila Gwarzo and hisdeputy, Lt. Col. Tunde Togun were indictedin the killing of the editor ofthe Newswatch magazine, Mr. Dele Giwa bya letter bomb delivered to his home.

The establishment mission of the SSS isto protect and defend the Federal Republicof Nigeria against domestic threats, touphold and enforce the criminal laws ofNigeria, and to provide leadership andcriminal justice services to both federal andstate law-enforcement organs. The SSS isalso charged with the protection ofthe President, Vice President, SenatePresident, Speaker of the House ofRepresentatives, State Governors, theirimmediate families, other high-rankinggovernment officials, past presidents andtheir spouses, certain candidates for theoffices of President and Vice President, andvisiting foreign heads of state andgovernment. The SSS has constantlyadapted to various roles necessitated byevolving security threats in Nigeriaincluding counter-terrorism and counter-insurgent.

The SSS has been criticised forallowing Umar Farouk Abdul Mutallab, the“underpants bomber”, to board Northwestairlines flight from Lagos despite his fatherhaving previously warned security officialsof his son’s radical views on America. In itsdefence, the SSS said it was not informedby Mr. Mutallab’s father of his son’s allegedradical beliefs. The agency said that Mr.Mutallab’s father had actually spoken withofficials at the United States Embassy inAbuja and also sought the help of a pastNigerian National Security Adviser. The SSSheld that the American authorities did notshare the information that Mr. Mutallabsenior had given them and the formerNational Security Adviser had also notcontacted the agency, hence their inabilityto act on information they did not possess.

The agency was also criticized heavily inthe wake of the August 26, 2011 United

Nations House bombing in Abuja. The BokoHaram Islamist sect, which has ties to Al-Qaeda Organization in the IslamicMaghreb (AQIM) claimed responsibility forthe car bomb attack that left 24 peopledead; the sect had been fighting an Islamicinsurgency that started as a result of theirleader being killed by policemen after hehad been arrested. The Nigerian public greweven more critical of the agency afternewspapers ran stories in which theyclaimed that the agency had receivedintelligence about the bombing beforehandfrom the Americans.

In early November 2011, the Nigerianpress ran stories alleging that the UnitedStates government had issued a traveladvisory on Nigeria. The travel advisory,according to the papers, included the threatof bomb attacks at major hotels in Abujafrequented by expatriates. The storyimmediately generated panic among thepopulace and accusations of incompetencemade against the security agencies, the SSSinclusive. The story also alleged that theAmerican ambassador had given astatement explaining that the US had giventhe warning directly because the Nigeriansecurity agencies had failed to act onprevious intelligence shared with them.

In the past, government security forcesfrequently harass, arrested, and detainededitors and reporters from journals criticalof the regime. On November 4, 1997,Adetokunbo Fakeye, defensecorrespondent for The News, was arrested.On November 8, Jenkins Alumona, editorof The News, was arrested by SSS agents ata Lagos Television station. On November9, Onome Osifo-Whiskey, Managing Editorof Tell magazine, was arrested by SSS agentsin Lagos while driving to church with hischildren. On 29 October, Osifo-Whiskey hadwarned that the magazine had received awritten death threat, which listed the namesof 27 staff members. On 16 November, SSSagents arrested now Senator, BabafemiOjudu, then editor of the News/Tempo. RafiuSalau, an administration editor for the News/Tempo, was also arrested in mid-Novemberof the same year. Former chairman of theeditorial board of The Guardian and a thenvisiting professor of journalism at a USuniversity, Olatunji Dare, was detainedovernight and his passport seized upon hisarrival from the United States on 2 June 1997.He was told to report to the DSS to retrieve

his passport. After being interrogated on17 June by SSS officials about his activitiesabroad, his passport was then returned.

The SSS has also been accused ofrepressing the political activities ofopposition groups. Public meetings arearbitrarily canceled or prevented, includingcultural events, academic conferences, andhuman rights meetings. On 25 September1997, police and SSS agents broke up aHuman Rights Africa (HRA) seminar forstudents in Jos, arrested then HARADirector, Tunji Abayomi and 4 others, andbriefly detained some 70 students. Abayomiand the others were held for 10 days andthen released on bail. A May 1, 1998workshop on conflict management in PortHarcourt was canceled when the SSSwarned local coordinators that such ameeting could not be held on Workers Day,a local holiday. Similar workshops elsewhereproceeded unimpeded despite the holiday.

So, when a long convoy of DSSoperatives arrived in Osogbo, capital cityof Osun State, weeks prior to thegovernorship election in the state, not manyfollowing the historical atrocities of thedepartment were amused. If an organizationserviced through tax payers’ money couldeasily turn against such people, then,something may be wrong somewhere.

Alhaji Lai Mohammed is certainly not thetype to be described as a loiter especiallyon the eve of an election involving a partyin which Mohammed happens to be anational officer. If an incumbent stategovernor, in the person of OgbeniAregbesola, as a contestant is holed up inhis residence by this same organization; ifMohammed could be blindly arrested anddetained; if hooded operatives could harassand arrest citizens randomly; if members ofa political party are singled out for arrestand harassment on the eve of an election; ifa spokesperson of DSS could gleefully allegeon national television, that a political partyis the sole sponsor of insurgency andbombings in the land, without any credibleevidence to support; if the same imagemaker is alleging bribery of her men withoutconcrete evidence; if a security agency issupporting a faction of labour union againstanother instead of being impartial, thensomething is really, really wrongsomewhere.

It is just a matter of time for the chickento come home to roost.

•Akinola is a social commentator

By AYO AKINOLA

•Some of the officials of the Department of State Service (DSS) deployed to State of Osun during a road show to intimidate Osunresidents before the election.

15 OSUN DEFENDER Thursday, August 21, 2014 PHOTOTALK

State Of Osun Arewa Community Paid A Courtesy Visit To The State Governor,Ogbeni Rauf Aregbesola, At The Government House, Osogbo, Last Monday.

•The governor, State of Osun, Ogbeni Rauf Aregbesola (middle); his deputy, Otunba (Mrs) Grace Titi Laoye-Tomori (3rd left); Sheriki Ifon-Orolu, Alhaji Sule Sambo (2nd left);Special Adviser to the Governor on Arewa Matters, Mr. Muhammed Bashir (left) and Sheriki Sabo Osogbo, Alhaji Lawal Gomina (right) and other dignitaries during thecongratulatory visit to the Governor on his victory in the 2014 governorship election at Government House, Osogbo, on Monday.

THURSDAY, AUGUST 21, 2014

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

By TUNJI ADEGBOYEGATWO weeks before, I had

made a case for thereelection of Governor

Rauf Aregbesola of Osun State inthe (then) forthcominggovernorship election in the statebilled for August 9. I mentionedsome of Aregbesola’s manyachievements in less than fouryears, and in spite of financiallimitations. As I said then, suchcampaign would have beenunnecessary as Aregbesola’sachievements should have spoken for him. Butwe have entered a dangerous era in ourpolitical development where achievementsalone no longer speak. That much was learntfrom the June 21 governorship election inEkiti State in which the incumbent GovernorKayode Fayemi of the All ProgressivesCongress (APC) lost to his PeoplesDemocratic Party (PDP) challenger, AyoFayose.

Mercifully, the Osun election result wasdifferent. Although Osun people took‘political notice’ of the nuisance value inAregbesola’s challenger, they rewardedperformance by retaining Aregbe (APC) asgovernor with 394, 684 votes against IyiolaOmisore’s (PDP) 292,747. It would have beentragic to have allowed unserious people andimpostors to take over another state in a pace-setter region like the south-west. It was notthat they did not try; they did, but thepeople’s eternal vigilance and God made itimpossible for them to carry out their satanicdesire. This is why I find it so ridiculous tolaud President Goodluck Jonathan fordeploying troops to Osun as he did in Ekiti.Only that in the former, we saw not onlygenuine soldiers but also suspected fakes; bothhooded and hoodless.

Moreover, the motive for sending thesoldiers was not altruistic. An account had itthat at a point, the soldiers were reminded ofthe ‘patriotic duty’ not to disappoint their C-in-C in Osun. But everyone who should knowought to have realised that Nigeria is one ofthe very few places where President GoodluckJonathan could be a political asset. A situationwhere the president would have thrown hishat into the ring should have been avoidedinstead of allowing him to do that only to startlooking for security agents to ensure his partywas rigged in. More importantly, soldierswould have had no business in elections if theruling party had done what was required in thepolice force all these years. Why shouldsoldiers take up police duties while duty callsat Sambisa Forest?

It baffles me that despite what happened inthe Western Region in the ‘60s and ‘80s, somepeople still had the effrontery to want to rigelection in the region so barefacedly like thePDP tried even in Osun on August 9. But, aswe all know, if history is always to repeatitself, there must be people to make thathappen. Renegades there always will be. Theywere there even in Chief Obafemi Awolowo’stime. With every 12 disciples, there must be aJudas. I mean sons of perdition will always besons of perdition, no matter what.

But, it is good we continue to remind suchpeople that they rig election, especially in thesouth-west, at their own risk. This is not aclarion call to arms. And even if it is, it isnothing to be apologetic about. After all, JohnKennedy in 1962, it was who said, “Thosewho make peaceful revolution impossible willmake violent revolution inevitable.” This isforever true, whether in Kennedy’s America oranywhere for that matter. America will notexperience violent revolution today simplybecause politicians there would not attempt tosubvert the will of the people blatantly as ourpoliticians do at the polls. Elections aresupposed to be sacred and those whodesecrate that sacredness are like people whocause rain to fall. Unfortunately, they did not

reckon that when the rain starts, thepossibility of its being accompanied bythunderstorm is high. Yet, they do not wantthunderstorm.

One of the reasons why Africa is in ashambles today is because people who do notdeserve to lead have forced their way intopositions of authority in many Africancountries. And they always want to stay puteven when it is clear that they have outlivedtheir usefulness. When undeserving people sittight in power, it has implications not only fortoday but also for tomorrow. It is people’sfuture; people lives and people’s progress thatsuch usurpers arrest for every minute thatthey stay in power.

Anyway, having driven away those whowanted to reap where they did not sow inOsun, it is time to tell the progressives somehome truths. Posterity would not be kind tothem if they give people who have nothing tooffer the opportunity to fish for ridiculousexcuses why politicians who perform cannot

be reelected, thus throwing the people intoperpetual lamentation. All over the democraticworld, performance is key. We should resistthe attempt by non-performers and vagabondswho are lurking around, waiting to exploitminor weaknesses of some of the region’sperforming politicians. We have passed thatstage in our political evolution whereachievements would take the back seat; weshould not allow the PDP to reduce the regionto its base standards.

I say this because if truly Omisore scoredthe 292,747 votes that INEC said he scored inthe August 9 election, then, the value systemthat we used to hold dear in the south west isbeing gradually eroded. And this is dangerous.In the past, no one in Yorubaland would touchOmisore, not even with a long pole, given hisantecedents. His acquittal over the murder ofChief Bola Ige might have had the force of law,but it would have lacked the force of votes inthe south west because the people’s court tooused to count. Chief Commander Ebenezer

Obey, in one of his evergreens it waswho sang that ‘ka to fi’yan j’oye larinEgba, o ni lati je’ni rere’ (before anyoneis given chieftaincy title by the Egbapeople, such a person must be worthyof it). Ekiti people say their land is ileiyi; (land of honour); but this is nottrue of the Ekitis alone, it used to belike that all over Yorubaland.

Yes, the PDP might have fieldedOmisore, not necessarily because of

what he has to offer, but, as a source put it,because it wanted people who have an infinitecapacity to cause trouble; still, the Yorubapeople would have rejected him resoundinglyat the polls. I hear the ruling party alsosponsored another candidate in the regionbecause, again, as the source said, ‘he get crazefor head’! These are, trying times for thesouth west; indeed trying times for Nigeria!

But, the point is, if the Yoruba people wereready to insist that their votes count in the1960s, breaking their rediffusion sets whichthey saw then as the roguish government’stool of propaganda in the process; and if theywere ready to do same even in 1983, thenthere must be a reason why they think suchstruggle is no longer worth it today whenrobbed of their votes, even in broad daylight.Agreed, as Hans J. Morgenthau argued ‘… allpolitics is a struggle for power’ but not allstruggles for power are struggles for people’sdevelopment. If politicians in Nigeria devoteonly 30 percent of the energy they giveseeking power into governance, things wouldnever have been this bad. Indeed, as we saw inthe First and Second Republics, and as wemust have seen so far after more than 15 yearsof PDP rule, the struggle for power has largelybeen a struggle for personal aggrandisement.“If someone spent eight years in power, Ishould be able to beat that record”. “Ifsomeone who entered the Government Housein bathroom slippers is able to come out ingolden shoes barely a week after, I should beable to do same in two days”. This may seemmore of exaggeration, but that is the spiritamong many of our public office holders now.

Without doubt, the PDP would not mindallowing people who want to ride Okada fromLagos to Ibadan on the Lagos-IbadanExpressway kill themselves if that wouldfetch it votes. It is ready to return Nigeria tothe Stone Age, provided that would bring invotes. Such is its desperation. And it isunderstandable; that is the only way it can getgullible people to still reckon with it in spiteof its monumental failure since 1999,especially at the centre. I am not arguing thatthe south west should fall to such basestandards, because the region has always beena pace-setter, but the political leaders in theregion have to learn to sell their programmesto the electorate instead of putting up a‘know-all’ posture or being arrogant ormessianic in doing things. And, when like allmortals, they find they are wrong, they shouldnot hesitate to reverse themselves. That is onesure way to keep the predators at bay.

All said, the progressives family has to calla meeting where they have to tell themselvesthe bitter truth. As I argued earlier, if theYoruba people were ready to go the whole hoglike they did in 1966 and 1983 when roguishpoliticians subverted their electoral choice,then something is missing if they cannot take asimilar risk today in the face of a rampagingruling party that has nothing to offer and yetwants to ‘capture’ more states in the country,particularly in the south-west. Like thebiblical missing axe, it is that missing link thatthe progressives must find to make thedifference in 2015.

•Culled from THE NATION

OSUN DEFENDER is published by Moremi Publishing House Limited, Promise Point Building, Opposite Guaranty Trust Bank GTB, Gbongan Road, Osogbo, State of Osun. Allcorrespondence to 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.

Beyond Aregbe’s Victory

•OMISORE

For the progressives, it’s time for introspection

“If the Yoruba people were ready to insist that their votes count inthe 1960s, breaking their rediffusion sets which they saw then as theroguish government’s tool of propaganda in the process; and if theywere ready to do same even in 1983, then there must be a reason whythey think such struggle is no longer worth it today when robbed oftheir votes, even in broad daylight... Like the biblical missing axe, itis that missing link that the progressives must find to make thedifference in 2015.”