VOL. 8. NO.156 N50TUESDAY, DECEMBER 31, 2013

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

- See StoryOn Page 3

Front Page Comment Who KilledChief Bola Ige,former Attorney-

General andMinister of

Justice? IGE

Osun, Most SecuredState In Nigeria - Okiro

Modakeke Agog For Aregbesola

•A cross section of Governor Rauf Aregbesola’s admirers and supporters in Modakeke, State of Osun, during the adoption of the governor for second term by the people of theancient town last Friday. The governor (arrowed) acknowledging cheers from his admirers on the occasion.

- See StoryOn Page 2

A Pause At ChristmasIt is Christmas. It is a day

in which the entire human-ity joins the Christendom toobserve the birthday of itsavatar, Jesus Christ. In theboundless festivities thathave come to define its es-sence over the years, indi-viduals, families and insti-tutions have been known toswitch to the overdrive: theexpectation of new clothesto be bought for childrenand othermembers of thehousehold; the house

requiring new coat ofpaints to transform; thetrips to be made to see fam-ily members and acquain-tances and other festivitiesassociated with the period– all of these, not exclud-ing the unfulfilled expecta-tions have been known toraise the adrenalin to dan-gerous levels.

Christmas is of course alot more than the outwardtraditions that have come todefine it. Yes, it is the occa-sion for exchanging gifts,for sharing with the needyand for showing fellow-feeling among theneighbourhood folks. How-ever, the opportunity to re-flect and reconnect with

the original message –that teachable moment forhumanity to reflect onGod’s love for mankind iswhat stands the Christmasstory out.

Like nursery rhyme, thestory behind Christmas isfamiliar. God gave His onlyson as a gift to the world.For a Saviour who was spo-ken of by other prophetslong before he was

Continue on Pg. - 5

2 OSUN DEFENDER Tuesday, December 31, 2013

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News

By KAZEEM MOHAMMED

•(L-R) Immediate-past President, Nigerian Association of Petroleum Explorationists (NAPE), Dr. Afe Mayowa;Deputy Governor, State of Osun, Otunba (Mrs) Grace Titilayo Laoye-Tomori, displaying award of ‘Best Governor ofthe Year on Infrastructural Development’ received on behalf of Governor Aregbesola and Publisher/Editor-in-Chief,Nigerian News Direct, Dr. Samuel Ibiyemi during the 3rd Anniversary ceremony of the News Direct, at De Renais-sance Hotel, Ikeja, Lagos State, recently.

By KEHINDE AYANTUNJI

By SOLA JACOBS

Osun, Most Secured State In Nigeria - Okiro

A former Inspector General of Police(IGP) in Nigeria, Mr. Mike Okiro, hasconfirmed that the State of Osun

remains the most-secured state in Nigeria.He added that the

security profile of thestate has made it oneof the most attractive

states for investorsfrom all over theworld.

Okiro, who is theChairman of the PoliceService Commission(PSC), spoke inOsogbo on Friday,

during his tour ofpolice formations inthe state and acourtesy visit on thestate governor, OgbeniRauf Aregbesola in hisoffice.

The former IGP,who wasaccompanied by theAssistant InspectorGeneral of Police(Zone 11), DavidOmojola and the StateCommissioner of

Police, Mrs. DorothyGimba, added thatOsun has the lowestcrime rate in thecountry.

According to him,Osun is more securedand peaceful thanmany other states inthe country.

He noted that theinflux of people andinvestors to Osun wasas a result of

guaranteed security inthe state, adding thatsecurity agencies in thestate are doing verywell in protecting lives,properties andinvestments.

Okiro furtherstressed thatthroughout his stay inthe state, he did notreceive any report ofsecurity breach in thestate.

Aregbesola, Best GovernorOf The Year - OPU

THE governor of the State of Osun, OgbeniRauf Aregbesola, in recognition of hisdevelopmental efforts, was on Saturday

crowned: “The Best Governor of the Year” byOsogbo Progressive Union (OPU).

The governor washonoured with theOPU’s greatest awardat the 2013 edition ofOsogbo Oroki Honoursand Awards held atOsogbo City Hall inOsogbo, State of Osuncapital.

It is the highestaward bestowed onany individual by thenational body ofOsogbo ProgressiveUnion.,

The arrival ofGovernor Aregbesolato the venue of theaward ceremony wasgreeted withtumultuous applause byindigenes of Osogbogathered on theoccasion, who hadwaited patiently for hisarrival.

The Ataoja ofOsogbo, Oba JimohOlanipekun presentedthe award to thegovernor, who hedescribed as thesymbol of steadyprogress anddevelopment. ,

Responding after theconferment of theaward on him,Governor Aregbesolathanked the people ofOsogbo for the awardand standing solidlybehind hisadministration since itsinception.

He urged them tocontinue their supportfor his government inorder to record moresuccesses in the yearsto come.

Ogbeni Aregbesolapromised not to relentin his efforts aimed attransforming the stateand ensuring thatOsogbo attains thestatus of a true statecapital.

He promised thepeople of the state toexpect more from hisadministration in termsof unprecedentedphysical andi n f r a s t r u c t u r a ldevelopment.

He added that theintention of hisadministration forembarking on massivei n f r a s t r u c t u r a ldevelopment in thestate capital is to maketourism attractive to

the people outsideNigeria andindustrialise the state toimprove the economy.

Aregbesola said oncethe ongoing ObaAdesoji Aderemi EastBy-pass road, BisiAkande TrumpetR o u n d a b o u t ,dualisation of Akoda-Gbongan Junction, andOld Garage to KwaraState boundary arecompleted, all parts ofthe state capital wouldhave been opened upand Osogbo willbecome centre ofattraction.

The governor, whorecalled how he wasalmost killed at the 2006Oroki Day celebration,declared that he wouldhave been a deadperson by now, if notfor divine providenceand intervention.

“Seven years ago, Iwas almost killed here.The bullet was aimed atmy head, but if not fordivine intervention, Iwould have been adead person by now,”he stressed.

The governor also

used the occasion togenerate fund forOsogbo ProgressiveUnion by calling onlocal governmentcouncil chairmen fromLagos and State ofOsun, who werepresent at the event, todonate to the coffers ofthe union.

Other awardees atthe event included thewife of the governor,Alhaja SherifatAregbesola, whoseaward was received onher behalf by her son,Kabiru Aregbesola, thestate deputy governor,Otunba (Mrs) GraceTitilayo Laoye-Tomori,who received theaward of ‘The MostLoyal DeputyGovernor of the Year’.

Interim NationalChairman of the AllProgressives Congress,and former stategovernor, Chief BisiAkande represented byhis former deputy,Sooko AdelekeAdewoyin was alsohonoured. ,

* The awardees alsoincluded the OgunState governor, SenatorIbikunle Amosun andhis wife, the Speaker,State of Osun House ofAssembly, HonourableNajeem Salaam, theDeputy Speaker,Honourable AkintundeAdegboye amongothers.

Be People-oriented- Aregbesola Urges Nigerian Leaders

THOSE in positions of authority in Nigeria have beenurged to always place emphasis on the plight of thepeople in all their undertakings and lead with

people-oriented conscience, together with properconsideration for the good of their followers, on whosemandate they thrive.

Governor of the State ofOsun, Mr. Rauf AdesojiAregbesola, made this callwhile speaking after beingconferred with theNational Gold andDiamond Award ofExcellence as the bestperforming governor inNigeria between 2011 and2013 by the Leadership andF o l l o w e r s h i pDevelopment Centre(LEFODEC) in Lagos.

Represented by hisdeputy, Otunba (Mrs.)Titilayo Laoye-Tomori, Mr.Aregbesola said the call forpurposeful leadership hasbecome imperative to him,with a view to rescuingNigeria from the claws of ahuge gap, which existbetween leaders andfollowers in the countryand has since beenmilitating against thenation’s development.

Governor Aregbesola,who spoke extensively onthe interconnectivitybetween leadership andfollowership as a tool inachieving overall success in

every society, said high rateof abuse of leadershipposition in Nigeria haspitched governmentagainst the governed in thecountry.

The governoremphasized on the need forpurposeful collaborationbetween leaders andfollowers and enjoinedthose occupying leadershippositions in the country tolead with the fear of God,coupled with theconsciousness of theinterest of the people.

Governor Aregbesolahowever used the occasionto reel out hisadministration’s score cardin the State of Osun,anchored on a six-pointintegral action plan andexpressed strong hopesthat, with the level ofsuccesses already recorded,the state is at the verge ofbecoming a haven ofdevelopment among all thestates of the federation.

In his address, theExecutive Director of theLeadership and

Followership DevelopmentCentre (LEFODEC), AlhajiSolanke Hamzat,appreciated GovernorAregbesola for his giantstrides in all sectors of thestate, despite the meagreresources accruable to thestate.

Alhaji Hamzat said theongoing infrastructuraltransformation that hasturned the entire state ofOsun to construction sites,alleviating sufferings of theaged through the AgbaOsun programme,transformation of basiceducation in the statethrough O-School projects,as well as myriad of reformprogrammes in theagriculture sector amongothers, endeared the centreto confer the award onGovernor Rauf Aregbesola.

He thereafter called onother state governors in thecountry to take a leaf fromthe State of Osun in theirquests of transformingplights of their people.

Senator Omoworare’sMedia Aide Loses Mother

THE death of MrsVeronica IyabodeLayode Salako has

been announced.Late Veronica Salako was

the mother of the MediaAssistant to SenatorBabajide Omoworare,representing Osun WestSenatorial District,Comrade Olatunde Dairo.

A statement by thefamily on Friday saidMadam Salako was calledto glory on Monday 23rd,December, 2013 at the ageof 78 after a brief illness atthe University CollegeHospital, Ibadan.

She was a retired head-teacher, as well as adevoted member of DeeperLife Bible Church, BethelDistrict, Egbeda Region,Ibadan, dedicatedcommunity leader andphilanthropist in herlifetime.

She is survived by MrsAbayomi Oriowo, anIbadan-based businesswoman, Mr AdekunleLayode, the PrincipalPartner of ProvidenceRealtors, a Lagos-basedproperty developmentfirm, Mr Olatunde Dairo, aMedia Assistant to SenatorBabajide Omoworare, aswell as sisters, brothers,grand children and greatgrand children.

Burial arrangements andother details to beannounced later by thefamily

3 News OSUN DEFENDER Tuesday, December 31, 2013

•A lady at Oluode Market in Osogbo carrying chickens for the New Year celebration, as captured by our cameraman,GBENGA ADENIYI, last Saturday.

Modakeke Agog For Aregbesola•Gets Endorsed For Second Term

By KEHINDE AYANTUNJI

THE people of Modakeke, Ife-East Area Office lastFriday declared their support for the state governor,Ogbeni Rauf Aregbesola, for a second term in office

and pledged to mobilize support for him in the next year’sgovernorship election.

Leaders and members ofAll Progressives Congress(APC), community leadersand residents of the town,at a mega rally held atItamerin Palace Square inModakeke, publicly threwtheir weight behind thegovernor’s second termambition.

It was a political carnivalas youths, women groups,artisans and communityleaders trooped out in theirthousands to welcome thegovernor, rolling out drumsfrom all the nooks and cran-nies of the ancient town.

Aregbesola and his en-

tourage arrived the town atexactly 2.37 pm and wentstraight to the CentralMosque to observe Jumatservice, where he chargedMuslims faithful to ensurepeace and always exercisepatience in every situation.

The governor said peace,patience and endurance arethe attributes of any Muslimand therefore urged them toalways pray for the progressand development of thestate.

The Chief Imam of thetown, Alhaji WahabOdeyinka described thegovernor as a symbol of

peace, development andprogress and therefore, en-couraged him to continuetreading the path of honour.

He then prayed for a suc-cessful second term electionfor the governor, while so-liciting on behalf of theMuslim community, the as-sistance of the governor tocomplete the new centralmosque for the town.

The governor thereafterled a large crowd of partymembers, supporters andadmirers to the council de-velopment area headquar-ters, where he commis-sioned Werenike Multipur-pose Hall constructed by theadministration of Mr WaleAmusan, the current Execu-tive Secretary of the AreaOffice.

He later proceeded to the

palace of Ogunsua ofModakeke, Oba FrancisOlatunji Adedoyin, on acourtesy visit to the mon-arch.

Oba Adedoyin, whileeulogising the governor,said his administration hasplaced the state on a globalmap with innovations anddevelopmental projects thatare second to none in thehistory of Nigeria.

He therefore, urged thegovernor to fulfill his prom-ises to the people ofModakeke and urged himnot to relent, saying;“distractors are relaxing,but by God’s grace, you willconquer them and emergevictoriously for a secondterm.”

At the rally attended bythe National and State As-

sembly members, membersof the State Executive Coun-cil, APC Zonal and StateWorking Committee,speakers after speakersurged the people to doubletheir support for the gover-nor in next year’s governor-ship election.

First to speak was theformer Nigeria’s SuperEagles Coach and FIFA con-sultant, who is also theleader of the party in thetown, Chief FestusOnigbinde, who announcedthe resolution of the peopleof Modakeke at home andaboard to endorse and rallysupport for the governor’ssecond term ambition.

He said:”We have gath-ered here today to formallyinform the governor and thewhole world that the secondterm ambition of the gov-ernor is endorsed and sealedin Modakeke town and vil-lages. Aregbesola is a vi-sionary leader, who hasmade us proud and thissteady progress and devel-opment must continue.”

Senator BabajideOmoworare, representingOsun East Senatorial Districtin the National Assembly,commended the people ofModakeke for their resil-ience and unalloyed sup-port for the governor andthe All Progressives Con-gress (APC) at all times andurged them to continue withthe trend.

South-West Interim APCYouth Leader, EniloloboRasheed, described the gov-ernor as a committed anddedicated leader, who is pas-sionate about developmentof the state and Nigeria atlarge.

He said: “WhenAregbesola was in Lagos asthe State Commissioner forWorks and Infrastructure,he laid the foundation forthe new Lagos and that iswhat his predecessors arebuilding on. By the time hecompletes his eight years inOsun, no governor willmatch his record in theyears to come.”

Responding, GovernorAregbesola said the peopleof Modakeke have againwritten their names in thegolden book of progressivepolitics in Nigeria with hisendorsement by the youths,women, community and re-ligious leaders.

Aregbesola said: “When-ever we remember thatpeople of Modakeke arestrongly behind us, it givesme joy, confidence and mo-tivate me to do more. Even

when the situation was sotensed and difficult, youstood by us.

“If not God, it wouldhave been difficult to bestanding here today and dis-cussing politics, consideringthe previous turbulent pe-riod in this town, but wethank God, we have everyreason to celebrate.”

He then urged the peopleto update their voters’ reg-istration cards, wheneverthe Independent NationalElectoral Commission(INEC) commences the ex-ercise, saying it is the onlypower to ensure continueddevelopment.

He said: “We are so con-fident that God is with us,but we must not take veryserious issue like voters’registration for granted. Forthose who were below 18years of age during the lastregistration exercise and arenow 18 years, they must goand register and those whomight have misplaced theircards, it is important to up-date your registration. Thatis your power you have tochoose your leaders.

“You must not allowthem to deceive you. LabourParty, Accord Party andUnity Party of Nigeria areall branches of PDP, there-fore be vigilant and coura-geous. There is no militaryor police power outside thepower of God,” Aregbesolastressed.

Dignitaries at the rallyincluded the former deputygovernor in the state, SookoAdeleke Adewoyin, APCState Chairman, ElderAdelowo Adebiyi, Secre-tary, Prince GboyegaFamodun, House of Repre-sentatives member,Honourable RotimiMakinde, House of Assem-bly member representingIfe-East and Modakeke,Honourable Olusegun,Adeyeni, OSUN DE-FENDER Managing Editor,Mr Kola Olabisi .

Others included the StateCommissioner for LocalGovernment and Chief-taincy Affairs, BarristerKolapo Alimi, Special Ad-viser on Youths, Sports andSpecial Needs, ComradeBiyi Odunlade and Com-rade Tayo Kehinde; MrAmos Adegboye Olusegun,the party’s Chairman in theArea Office; Chief WahabAdetunji a.k.a.‘Olowoasalu’; Mrs IdowuSakunle, the APC WomenLeader; Hon OlusesanOyedele; Hon AwopetuYekeen Adisa; Mr AbiodunDixon Amola; Mr Kareem-Ismaeel Akande; Hon GokeAdebowale among others.

Omisore Is A Liar - Osun PDP Aspirants

THE tactics of Senator Iyiola Omisore to curry favourfor his governorship ambition in the 2014 governorship election through suspected lies have been

punctured, as the other governorship aspirants of thePeoples Democratic Party (PDP) have denied his pur-ported endorsement.

Recently, the Director ofMedia and Strategy ofOmisore CampaignOrganisation, Mr. DiranOdeyemi, was reported tohave said that about eightgovernorship aspirants hadagreed to step down for thecandidature of Omisore be-cause of their belief in hiscapability to win the state’sgovernorship election nextyear.

However, in separatestatements issued by Mr.Yemi Giwa and Ayo Aluko-Olokun, both media aidesof Honourable Wole Oke

and Senator AkinlabiOlasunkanmi respectively,the aspirants described theclaim as a blatant lie, asnone of the PDP aspirantshas stepped down forOmisore.

Oke, in his own submis-sion, wondered whereOmisore got the imaginaryeight aspirants he claimedto have stepped down forhim, when only four aspir-ants have identified theirintentions to vie for the seaton the platform of PDP inthe state.

The aspirants, according

to the statement, are WoleOke, former Chairman,House Committee on De-fence; AkinlabiOlasunkanmi; IyiolaOmisore, and the formerSecretary to the State Gov-ernment, Alhaji FataiAkinbade.

“Till today, no other per-son within PDP in the state,apart from the four afore-mentioned, has signifiedhis or her intention to runfor the state’s number oneseat. One cannot but won-der then where Omisoregot his eight imaginary as-pirants that have steppeddown for him. It is delu-sions of grandeur and noth-ing more.

“It is always unhelpful tofeed the public with falseinformation, because thewisdom in Yoruba prov-erb, which says: “a person

who plants 20 yam sets, butclaims 40, will harvest 20lies after he might have ex-hausted the real tubers.

“Till date, it is onlyAkinlabi and Oke that havecollected the nominationforms; could it have meantthat Omisore was talking inparable, as he might be con-templating stepping downfor other aspirants.

“What kind of math-ematics is that, where eightare stepping down out offour aspirants! It is a logicupside down,” the state-ment read.

In his own response,Akinlabi insisted thatOmisore’s claim was incor-rect, wondering why some-body aspiring to occupy thegovernorship positionwould be feeding the pub-lic with lies.

By KAZEEM MOHAMMED

Onigbinde Lauds Aregbesola’s Adoption For2nd Term By ModakekeCHAIRMAN of Action Progressive Congress (APC) Lead

ers’ Forum in Modakeke in Ife-East Area Council ofthe State of Osun, High Chief Adegboye Onigbinde,

has lauded the successful adoption of Governor RaufAregbesola for second term by the entire people of the com-munity last Friday.

The APC stalwart who wasthe coach of the Super Eaglesand member of Confederationof African Football (CAF)noted that the large turn-outof the people of the commu-nity in front of the palace ofthe Ogunsua of Modakeke,Oba Francis Adedoyin, in theancient town was a testimonythat Aregbesola’s second termwas a done deal.

Onigbinde pledged that ev-erything legally possible wouldbe done to ensure the re-elec-tion of the governor who, hesaid, has touched the lives ofso many people during thepast three years of his admin-istration.

The Modakeke chief how-ever faulted the falsificationand distortion of theprogramme of the events byone Barrister Manaseh Ehile tosuit his own selfish purpose.

He said he was surprisedthat the programme of theevent given to Manaseh fortyping was completely falsi-fied and doctored to give himand some of his allies unde-served advantage over mem-bers of the Elders’ Forum whoplanned the event.

Onigbinde noted that a law-yer should be a responsibleperson as law profession is anoble one. But in a situation

whereby a lawyer is flagrantlybetraying confidence is an in-dication that virtue has takenflight from such an affectedhuman being.

The party stalwart saidthat right from the point of ourmeeting where an arrangementwas made for the successfulhosting of the governor,Manaseh thought he wassmart enough to falsify theprogramme.

In his words: “The devel-opment is a serious issuewhich all right-thinking mem-bers of the society should con-demn. Is this how there will besanity in our society? There isno vice anybody who engagesin a vice of such magnitude cannot engage in. It makes muchnews when the principal per-petrator of the falsification al-legation is a lawyer. It has tobe addressed.

“For instance, no role wasgiven to Manaseh on the occa-sion. But he gave himself aprominent role through falsifi-cation of the programme.None was given to WalePopoola who was tried for cer-tificate forgery sometime lastyear; and none was given toone Daud. But Manaseh du-biously assigned roles for themthrough the falsification issue.It is indeed a serious issue.

“Well, the important thingthere is that the adoption of

Mr Governor for second termhas been done successfully inour domain but the scar of theless than dignifying rolesplayed by Manaseh, an Igedeman who hails from BenueState but practises politics inModakeke and members of hiscohorts will take sometime tovanish.”

Some of the notable mem-bers of the APC Leaders’ Fo-rum that were on the occasionwere Chief Wahab Adetunjia.k.a. Olowoasalu, Comrade

Tayo Kehinde, Mr Kola Olabisi,Mr Wale Amusan, Mr AmosOlusegun Adegboye, Chair-man of the party in the AreaOffice, Hon Sesan Oyedele, MrsIdowu Sakunle, WomenLeader in the Area Office, MrAwopetu Yekeen, Mr Kareem-Ismaeel Akande, HonAnimashaun, Hon GokeAdebowale, Hon TundeOlarewaju, Mr Biodun Amolaand Hon Titilola Moshoodamong others.

4 OSUN DEFENDER Tuesday, December 31, 2013

Aregbesola’s Award: Honour Well-deserved

KINDLY provide aspace for thepublication of this

piece in your widely-read and highly-reputed newspaper –OSUN DEFENDER. Iwould have written thispiece much earlier thannow. The lateness ispremised upon the factthat I got wind of theconferment of the latestaward on the governoronly on the D-day ofthe award. But I amsure that the saying that‘it is better late thannever’ will be broughtto bear in the treatmentof this letter.

I had alwayscontinued to wonder ifsomebody somewherewould ever come to theopen to showappreciation for thegood works beingcarried out by OgbeniRauf Aregbesola in ourstate. By his mien andcandor, I have nodoubts that he is thetype that would want

to resist beinghonoured, especially atthis stage when work isstill very much inprogress. But as thenews of this awardfiltered in, I wasgladdened beyonddescription. Why?Because it is deservingand worthwhile that adedicated worker beappreciated so as to get

him adequatelymotivated andreinforced to carry on.

With theEnvironment GoldAward recentlyconferred onAregbesola, the Man ofthe People, I enjoin ourpeople to begin to seethe award as ourcollective prize forkeeping safe, beautiful

and befittingenvironment.

More awards awaitus as we banishdiseases, epidemics andpreventable deathsfrom our midst. We alsostand to bequeath apriceless legacy to ourchildren – A safe,befitting and enviablehabitat. Let us all keepthe flag flying.

I also wish to thankthe bodies thatpresented the award tothe governor. Youdemonstrated greatcourage and valour bytaking the bull by itshorns in conferring thathonour on aperforming governor inan era when gladiatorswho jostled to honourempty vessels in the

past are keeping mutewhen they suppose toturn around tocelebrate realperformance. As thesaying goes that “nextto excellence is thepower of appreciation”;I am sure that yourcontinued support,counsel andc o n s t r u c t i v ereiterations wouldcount to make theadministration and itsexertions, called RaufRevolution to reachgreater heights.

I enjoin our people tocontinue giving theirsupport to theadministration so as tojointly benefit fullyfrom thecomprehensive packageof goodies which ourleaders have in stockfor us.

Osun A Dara O.

•JOHN EGBEDELE,Faji Road,Igbaye, OdoOtin LGA, State ofOsun.

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Continued from Pg. - 1.

born, he was born ofa virgin, Mary, in amost unlikely place –a manger. And whilethe Magi announcedhis royal birth, thewhole world could nothold back the joy thatthe promised Saviourof mankind has trulyarrived.

That is the story; al-though meaning isdeeper than the nar-rative. We see it in theunity of the heavenlyhosts; the love thatwas actuated atChrist’s birth, the hu-mility that defined Hisessence, the sacrificehe bore in order toreconcile mankind,once estranged from

His Maker. Finally, wesee it in the simple mes-sage of salvation.

Never perhaps beforein the history has ourdear country, Nigeria,is in dire need to re-learn the Christmasstory.

Today, our societiesare riven with divisionsalong religious and eth-nic lines. Lost in ourstrife-riven country isthe peace that JesusChrist symbolises. Wesee the evidence in re-ligious intolerance, theethno-religious car-nage going on in partsof the North-east, thegreed and lack of com-passion by leaders –not least in the avariceand the ostentation that

have left the masses ofour people impover-ished.

We are a nation thatrevels in the preachingof the virtue of giving;yet we withhold ourhands when it comes tohelping the needy in ourmidst. Rather thanrecognise the humanitythat binds us together,we are more adept atspotting artificial divi-sions that divide us. Ifnot tribe, it is religion,or even social class. Itis ‘we’ versus ‘them’.

Here in Osun, the mes-sage of Christmas iseven more pertinent. Weneed to go basic to thebasic commandment:Love your neighbour asyourself. Or put differ-ently – Do unto others

as you will have themdo unto you. We needunity without which de-velopment would re-main elusive. It is timefor us to strengthen thebonds of brotherhoodbeing torn asunder bythose who seek to profitfrom divisions.

This year’s Christmasin particular shouldafford us the opportu-nity to dwell more onour common humanity.We need this to chal-lenge the forces of di-vision in our midst. Weneed to explore how wecan live together inpeace despite our dif-ferences. And for us all,to recognise that we allare God’s children ir-respective of differ-ences in faith.

A Pause At Christmas

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OSUN DEFENDER Tuesday, December 31, 2013

New Lease Of Life; New Turn-AroundThe Government Unusual of Ogbeni Rauf Adesoji Aregbesola, in its third

year, has celebrated ground-breaking achievements in the area ofinfrastructural rebirth and socio-economic regeneration - that of State ofOsun Urban Renewal. NIYI OLASINDE dedicates this series of editionsof our Magazine segment to this highly commendable effort of theadministration and such other efforts as are related to it in giving the statea long-deserved facelift and the pace of development that is long overdue.

AREGBESOLA'S URBAN RENEWAL PROGRAMME IN THE STATE OF OSUN:

•The picture shows the beautification of sections of Alekuwodo road in Osogbo in the night .

Infrastructure

6 OSUN DEFENDER Tuesday, December 31, 2013MAGAZINE

New Lease Of Life; New Turn-Around

Contiuned from page 5

Contiuned on page 7

THE ongoing pace and trendof development; especiallythat of provision of infrastructural

amenities in the State of Osun; shall nowseize the attention of OSUNDEFENDER Magazine. We viewthe current trend of events in thearea of infrastructure provision soserious, urgent and impressive asto compel a break in the serialedition at hand; so as to do timelyjustice to this all-important aspectof our life as a state and a people.This is more so as we lookbackward and view in retrospectthe lack and deprivation we hadsuffered in the entire years of ourstatehood since creation, prior tothe coming on board of theincumbent administration into thesaddle of leadership service andstewardship. It is in fondest prideand appreciation of these laudableachievements of the RaufAregbesola administration in theState of Osun that the OSUNDEFENDER Magazine is puttinga hold on the edition hitherto inprogress to treat this emerging oneas a matter of urgency.

One best identified way ofstarting this edition is to cast aretrospective glance back to theState of Osun; and Osogbo, thestate capital in particular and itsoutlook and features during theyears of the fiery siege; that is, theyears immediately preceding theemergence of the Aregbesolaadministration in the saddle ofgovernance.. In our most vividmemory, we remember a state thatwas grossly devastated andimpoverished; we bring back tomemory a distasteful environmentof horrible sites. Roads becameerosion paths and flooding canals;the entire terrain was that of terror

and spoke of imminent destructionto the lives of the residents. Therewere perennial occurrences offlooding and erosion, whichinflicted losses of incalculablemagnitude on the lives andproperties of the people. Roadcarnages were on the increase;occasioned by poor and derelictstate of road infrastructure. In anyattempt made at talking ofinfrastructure and its provision,roads are not to be taken inisolation. That is the reason whyduring the course of the currentdiscourse, we shall be makingoccasional digression to speakingof other forms of infrastructureother than roads. While some arequite related to roads; there arequite a number of others which arenot in any way related to it butspeak volumes of the wonders-in-progress in the State of Osun; andwhich shall not be spared to passunnoticed. This edition, therefore,shall be a thorough attempt atbaring details of the monumentalachievements of the RaufAregbesola in the aspect ofprovision of infrastructuralamenities in recent times. To startwith, definitions of key terms shallsuffice.

Longman Dictionary ofContemporary English definesinfrastructure as the basic systemsand structures that a country ororganization needs in order towork properly, for example,transport, communications, andbanking systems; the country’seconomic infrastructure. The samedictionary defines amenities insingular sense, amenity assomething such as a piece ofequipment, shop, or park thatmakes it easier to live somewhere.

The definition goes further withciting instances of usage of theterm as “a town with all theamenities of a larger city”; andbasic amenity as:”simple huts withonly the basic amenities”. Beforegoing on further exploration, weponder a bit to comment that in theongoing drive toward the fullinfrastructural development, theState of Osun is fast-becoming thatillustrative town with all theamenities of a larger city capturedin the above-cited definition; mostespecially when it is compared withother states of the federation. Itscapital in particular, whencompared with other state capitalsin Nigeria, is coming up with standing amore favourable stead in terms ofamenities, outlook, conduciveclimate for good, worthwhileliving and other indices ofdevelopment. The direct inferencefrom this is that whatever ourfaintest memory of the pastsituation in the state presentsregarding presence (or otherwise)of infrastructural amenities; thereverse of the situations portrayedin our definition(s) was the casewith our state in years past. Why?There was acute lack of the basicsystems and structures that acountry or organization needs inorder to work properly. Better put,things were far from workingproperly in the systems andstructures of the state.

To make fool-proof of claimsand assertions made above, anotherattempt shall be made at definitionsby other authorities. This timearound, our authority of choiceshall be in the related field ofelectronic broadcast journalism.So we turn to definitions in the wayand pattern prescribed by the

British Broadcasting Corporationin its BBC English Dictionary. Inthat effort, it is defined that theinfrastructure (or infrastructures)of a country, society ororganization is the structure whichhelps it to function effectively,such as the facilities, services andequipment that are provided. Anillustrative statement follows that:Western technology needs areliable infrastructure which issometimes lacking in developingcountries. Amenities in the samedictionary means the facilitiessuch as shopping centres or sportscentres that are provided forpeople’s convenience orenjoyment. Cited instances includeCanary Wharf – a complex ofoffices, shops, restaurants andleisure amenities on derelictdockland. These latter definitionsshare lots of visible commonalitieswith the former. However, like thecited developing economies, Osunhad been wallowing in the dearthof these facilities, services andequipment since its creation andthe state and its people had beenyearning for that change-agent whowould champion the society’sdesired change and infuse into it anew lease of life. It is today nolonger in doubt that that yearninghas come into realization with theadvent of the Aregbesolaadministration.

We were persistently andassiduously committed to creatingawareness and drawing attention tothe spate of abandonment,negligence, rot and decay in thestate of infrastructure in the stateand the urgent need for rebirth,regeneration and intervention inorder to reverse the sad trend forthe young state and its indigenes

•The governor, State of Osun, Ogbeni Rauf Aregbesola (arrowed) acknowledging cheers from his admirers during an interactive programme tagged: ‘Gbangba D’ekun’ in Ilesa,State of Osun, recently.

7 OSUN DEFENDER Tuesday, December 31, 2013 PHOTOTALK

2013 Iwude Ijesa Festival In Ilesa, State Of Osun, Last Saturday.

•Owa Obokun of Ijesa-Land, Oba Adekunle Aromolaran (left); State of Osun All Progressives Congress (APC) Chairman, Elder ‘Lowo Adebiyi (3rd right); State Tresurer, MrKunle Odeyemi (2nd right); State Secretary, Prince Gboyega Famodun (right) and other dignitaries during the programme.

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

•Supporters of Ogbeni Aregbesola struggling to catch a glimpse of him during the programme.

8 OSUN DEFENDER Tuesday, December 31, 2013 PHOTOTALK

•

•

•Aregbesola; the Ogunsua of Modakeke, Oba Francis Adedoyin andSecretary to the State Government of Osun, Alhaji Moshood Adeoti

All Progressives Congress (APC) Members And Supporters In Modakeke Area Office In The StateOf Osun Adopted Governor Rauf Aregbesola For A Second Term In Office Last Friday.

Photo: GBENGA

A D E N I Y I

•Governor Aregbesola addressing party members and supporters during the programme.

Governor Aregbesola; Senator Babajide Omoworare, representing Osun East Senatorial District in the National Assembly; State of Osun APC Chairman,Elder ‘Lowo Adebiyi and Secretary, Prince Gboyega Famodun.

•A cross section of market women welcoming the governor to Modakeke.

9 OSUN DEFENDER Tuesday, December 31, 2013PHOTOTALK

•Governor Aregbesola acknowledging cheers from his admirers during his endorsement for a 2nd term in office by Modakeke community in Ife East Area Office

All Progressives Congress (APC) Members And Supporters In Modakeke Area Office In The StateOf Osun Adopted Governor Rauf Aregbesola For A Second Term In Office Last Friday.

OSUN DEFENDER Tuesday, December 31, 2013

11 OSUN DEFENDER Tuesday, December 31, 2013 MAGAZINE

New Lease Of Life; New Turn-Around

and residents All along, all access roadsleading in and out of the state had been in a stateof abject disrepair. The State of Osun is soamply situated as to enjoy multiple boundarieswith five or six states. In the North, the stateshares boundaries with Kwara State; Oyo Statefrom the West; Ogun State from the South; andEkiti and Ondo states from the East. From allthese axes, the access roads had been in suchbad state of disrepair that the economic,commercial and industrial prospects of thestate were crippled and jeopardized. Apart fromthese inter-state roads, the intra-state linkageroads were in no way better. Administration afteradministration in the state stood at askance andaloof to the needs of the people especially inthe aspect of road infrastructure; not to talk ofother aspects.

Within the metropolis of Osogbo, the statecapital, the situation presented no remarkableimprovement. Apart from the abject lack ofother vital infrastructure that were necessaryto position it State of Osun had maintained thestatus quo ante of a glorified country-sidevillage which could not in any way comparefavourably with local government headquartersin other parts of Nigeria. The Osogbo TownshipStadium, the one and only conventional sportscomplex that had been on ground prior to thecreation of the state remained worse-off;especially at the end of the ingloriousadministration of Prince Olagunsoye Oyinlola.The city roads were narrow; being furthernarrowed down by illegal structures and illegaltrading activities of traders who believed thatthe only viable spots for the display of theirwares were the road-sides. The state capital wasbereft of organized modern markets; while thenew Orisunmbare Market put in place by theAlliance for Democracy (AD)-led Bisi Akandeadministration was left to rot due to its notbeing utilized. Persistent efforts by successiveadministrations in the state to sanitize theAlekuwodo/Olaiya junction and free thepassage-way from over-congestion caused byillegal trading activities became futile due toabsence of political will. We remember withnausea and disgust the spurious move by theousted Oyinlola administration in August 2010to clear the congestion along the said

Alekuwodo/Olaiya area and the Fakunle/OgoOluwa road. This was only as the administrationprepared to host contingents at the first-everGlobal Conference for Black Nationalitiesheld in Osogbo at that time under the sackedadministration. It was clear that no suchsanitizing effort would have been made if thatkind of mammoth gathering was not to behosted, As it turned out at the end of the day,the effort was a mirage.

Earlier similar efforts were madeconsecutively by earlier administrations priorto the coming on board of the Oyinlolaadministration in the state; all of which in theend culminated in a farce. We place on recordthat it was the first administration in the state:the administration of Colonel Leo SegunAjiborisa that opened up and macadamized theOlaiya/Alekuwodo/Oke Fia Road; whichhitherto was impassable. Some otheradministration later came only to attempt thenaming of the same road after their helmsman!

The Western Bypass, popularly referred totoday as Ring Road in Osogbo, the state capital,was constructed by some of the earliestadministrations in the state that were well-meaning and progressive-minded. If subsequentadministrations and military regimes in the statehad initiated and put in place similar roadprojects in the state capital, the spate of stuntedprogress which the state had hitherto grappledwith helplessly would have become near-extinct. Apart from that Ring Road, the onlymajor road in Osogbo, the Ayetoro/Old GarageRoad axis, had been the narrow single-carriageway inherited from the era when the town wasyet to become a state capital. It was this sameroad that extended through Olaiya Junction toOgo Oluwa area to link Abere, the State’s ultra-modern Secretarial and yonder to Gbongan andfurther into other neighbouring states.

The time strenuous efforts of the immediate-past administration to dualized the first phaseof this road from Akoda Junction down to OldGarage Area, which spanned its entire periodof seven and a half years in office, was at theend of the day the equivalent of deception, asthe ensuing road was just a make-believe. It tookthe timely intervention of the incomingAregbesola administration to bring the hithertooverbeaten abandoned project to the standard

of utilizable road of our taste.The Ilesa/ Ile Ife roads are nothing to write

home about, regarding how they fared duringthe era of the fiery siege, mounted by Brigadier-General Olagunsoye Oyinlola and his cohortsin depravity and infamy in the Hole-infestedumbrella party – the People’s Democratic Party(PDP). For the Ijesas, their crime as perceivedby Oyinlola and his party was that their son,kinsman, kith and kin, Engineer Aregbesoladared to contest an election for the soul of his“captured empire” against him. For the Ifes ofthe same Ife/Ijesa Senatorial District, the matterwas that of betrayal; a sort of conspiracy bysome frontline indigenes of the ancient townin the People’s Democratic Party (PDP) whowere comfortable with diverting all the moniesthat could have been expended for the ultimategood of the entire citizenry of the area into theirprivate coffers.

Even the story of Osun Central SenatorialDistrict from where Oyinlola hailed was in noway better. The roads remained narrow and ingross disrepair; flooding and water erosionwere rampant on annual basis; the environmentbecame grossly degraded; the schools,hospitals and other public institutions weresimply unserviceable. In a nutshell, the Stateof Osun under the immediate pastadministration was almost in shambles; bingalmost entirely in the doldrums.

Prior to its naming as the capital of the newOsun State, which was carved out of the old OyoState, Osogbo had been the commercial hub forthe entire South-West and even some yonderlands. With the exception of Ibadan and thecosmopolitan Lagos, Osogbo was next to thisside of South-West in terms commercialvibrancy and viability. It was a reputableconvenient meeting point for traders from up-North and down-South for exchanging waresand bettering the lots and economic fortunesof the people thereby. With the gradual loss inthe quality of infrastructure however, thisattribute started disappearing until it was almostcompletely a thing of the past.

One other sad trend was the perennialflooding and water erosion which poisedterrible and life-threatening doom to thepeople, their lives and property, their socio-economic

Continued from page 6

•AREGBESOLA •LAOYE-TOMORI

Contiuned on page 12

OSUN DEFENDER Tuesday, December 31, 2013 MAGAZINE 12

New Lease Of Life; New Turn-Around

Continued on page 13

Continued from page 11

exertions as well as the prosperity of thestate. Unfortunately, apart from the Alliance forDem0ocracy (AD)-led administration of ChiefBisi Akande, successive administrations in thestate did something close to nothing to alleviatethe sufferings of the people of the state in thisregard. This problem got to a head in the years2009 and 2010, when erosion and floodingthreatened to decimate the lives and propertyof the people of the state. Yet the administrationof the time did nothing decisive to combat themenace until it was unceremoniously disgracedout of office.

Generally the entirety of our environmentwas nothing to write home about in the yearspreceding the advent of the incumbentadministration in office. We on the crew ofOSUN DEFENDER Magazine have written alot on this distasteful situation of the past involumes of editions. We would not like to boreour readers with repetitive editions, That is whywe shall now swing forward to give aptconsideration to other captivating issues thatare instrumental to our being and our forwardmarch.

THE State of Osun is located in the South-Western part of Nigeria. It covers an area ofapproximately 14,875 square kilometres. It liesbetween longitude 04 00E and 05’ 5 and latitude05’558N and 08’07W. It is bounded by Ogun,Kwara, Oyo, Ondo and Ekiti states in the South,North, West and East respectively. The state lieswithin the Tropical Rain Forest.

According to the National Population andHousing Census exercise of the NationalPopulation Commission conducted in 2006,the State of Osun has a population of ThreeMillion, Four-Hundred and Twenty-ThreeThousand, Five-Hundred and Thirty-Five(3,423,535). It is not unlikely that thepopulation as at today might have appreciatedto almost Four Million plus, barely ten yearsafter the last head-count.

The indigenes of the State of Osun belong tothe Yoruba tribe and are composed of the Oyos(sarcastically called the Oyo-proper), Ifes,Ijesas, Igbominas, Osuns and the Ibolos.

However, non-indigenes from all parts ofNigeria and foreigners reside in the state andlive together in harmony. Yoruba and Englishare the languages used for official and businesstransactions.

The people have a rich cultural heritage whichis eloquently demonstrated in all spheres oftheir lives. Their culture finds expression intheir arts, literature, music and other socialactivities. It is marvelous being among thepeople, savouring the beauty of their well-acclaimed cultural inheritance.

The state is prided, and rightly so, as the havenof culture, tourism and hospitality. Touristcentres abound across the state. Some of thepopular ones are the Oranmiyan Staff; IfeMuseum; Obafemi Awolowo UniversityZoological Gardens; Ile-Ase; Yeyemolu andOduduwa shrines and Grove, all at Ile-Ife.Others include Osun-Osogbo Shrine, which isthe venue of the internationally recognizedOsun-Osogbo Festival; the Mbari-MbayoCultural Heritage; Idi-Baba Cultural Centre;Adunni Susan Wengers Centre and Ike ArtsGallery, all based in Osogbo. There are also theOlumirin Water-Falls at Erin-Ijesa; Igbo-Sango,Ede, Kiriji War Site, Igbajo and the AyikunnugbaWater-Falls at Oke Ila-Orangun.

The state government accords greatimportance to tourism. All issues pertaining totourism are handled by the State Ministry ofHome Affairs, Culture and Tourism. ThisMinistry is charged with the responsibility ofmodernizing and developing tourism andculture in the state.

Osun Osogbo Grove has been recognized byUNESCO as a World Heritage Site, while theOsun Osogbo Festival has been listed as aninternational festival. The UNESCO has alsoestablished the Centre of Black Culture andInternational Understanding in Osogbo, thestate capital.

Col. Leo Segun Ajiborisa was the pioneerMilitary Administrator of the State from Augustto December 1991. He wielded both executiveand legislative powers. He was succeeded byAlhaji Isiaka Adetunji Adeleke, the first

democratically-elected Governor, who ruledfrom January 1992 to November 1993. Withthe take-over of the government by the military,the state was administered from November1993 to May 1999 by a succession of MilitaryAdministrators. They were Colonel AFK Akale,Navy Captain Anthony Udofia, Colonel AnthonyObi and Colonel Theophilus Bamigboye. On29th May, 1999, Chief Bisi Akande was sworn-in as the second Executive Governor. He wassucceeded by Prince Olagunsoye Oyinlolafrom 2003-2007. He recontested for thesecond term and assumed office from 29th May2007 till 26th November, 2010 when he wasrecalled by a Court order which declared Mr.Rauf Adesoji Aregbesola as the winner of April14, 2007 Governorship election. Consequently,Mr. Rauf Adesoji Aregbesola was sworn-in on27th November, 2010 as the Fourth ExecutiveGovernor of Osun State.

The Executive arm of Government is headedby Mr. Rauf Adesoji Aregbesola; and assistedby his Deputy, Otunba Grace Titilayo Laoye-Tomori, the Secretary to the State Government(SSG), Alhaji Moshood Olalekan Adeoti, theChief of Staff, Alhaji Gboyega Oyetola, theHead of Service, Mr. Yinka Owoeye and 14Commissioners.

The State House of Assembly consists of 26honourable members. The speaker is Rt. Hon.Najeem Salaam, while the Deputy Speaker isHon.(Barr.) Adegboye Akintunde.

The Judiciary is headed by Hon. JusticeOyebola Adepele Ojo, the first-ever femaleChief Judge in the state.. The Chief Judge isassisted by 18 other High Court Judges in thedispensation of justice. The Customary Courtof Appeal is headed by Justice Gloria E.Oladoke (Mrs.) and consisted of other judges.

The state is divided into three SenatorialDistricts, viz, Osun I (West), Osun II (Central)and Osun III (East). Each of these districts isfurther divided into two zones, making a totalof six zones. Osun I is made up of Ede and IwoZones while Osun II comprises Osogbo andIkirun Zones. Osun III consists of Ilesa and IfeZones. The state is made up of 30 Local

•Beautification of the road at Abere.

13 OSUN DEFENDER Tuesday, December 31, 2013MAGAZINE

New Lease Of Life; New Turn-AroundContinued from page 12

Continued on page 14

Government Areas and Ife-East Area Office.

With the time ripe for another round of governorshipelection in 2007, the coast was becoming graduallyclear from year 2005 and thereabouts for contestantsto make their bids and ambitions known to the peopleof the state as to their intended plans and programmes,embodied in the prorammes, agenda and manifestosof their respective political parties. With the totalnumber of political parties in Nigeria reaching up tofifty; the State of Osun, being an elitist state and oneof the most volatile and intellectually advanced in theland, had an impressive number of aspirants contestingfor its seat of governance.

Out of this lot was an enigma, an extraction fromthe camp of the progressives, an accomplishedmechanical engineer and former commissioner forroads and infrastructure under the administration ofAsiwaju Bola Ahmed Tinubu as the governor of LagosState, Engineer Rauf Adesoji Aregbesola. A contestantfrom the fold of the Action Congress (AC) which laterbecame known as the Action Congress of Nigeria(ACN); a party which has today fused with two othersas an amalgam in a merger mega political structureever known in the annals of the country, the All-Progressive Congress (APC); Aregbesola adoptedthe name of the great Yoruba legendary prince andprogenitor, Oranmiyan as his campaign title/appellation.

Of all the political parties contending the governanceof the state at the time, hardly was there any that couldmatch the programmes and manifestos of the ActionCongress (AC). Aside this party body of plans andprogrammes, Aregbesola rolled out his own personalprogrammes which rapidly and increasingly warmedhis love into the hearts of the people he offered togovern; his own kith and kin; his own people. Thusset, Aregbesola emerged the party’s symbol for the2007 Gubernatorial race in the state; and his soaringpopularity sent jitters of fear down the spines of agentsof the then ruling People’s Democratic Party’s(PDP)sit-tight agenda in the State of Osun. Whatfollowed was the use of the most oppressive andrepressive form of force to perpetuate the grip ofpower-drunk captors on power. Massive rigging wasperpetrated, killing, maiming, arson, widespread

violence and unlawful detention of innocent citizensfor demonstrating their civic rights was used by theinstrumentality of the power that be to keep themselvesin power.

An aftermath of the massively rigged and grosslystage-managed elections was a long legal tussle,spanning a complete period of three-and-a-half years.The rest is history. At the end of tunnel came shiningthe perpetual radiance. On Friday, November 26,2010, the Federal court of Appeal sitting in Ibadan,the Oyo State capital, in a unanimous judgmentcanceled the election of Brigadier-GeneralOlagunsoye Oyinlola of the People’s DemocraticParty and reversed his declaration by the IndependentNational Electoral Commission (INEC). In his place,the election of Engineer Rauf Adesoji Aregbesola ofthe Action Congress of Nigeria (ACN) of the timewas upheld as the validly and credibly electedhelmsman of the state. Thus was the ball set rollingfor a lineup/series of dramatic transformation whichthe state, its indigenes and residents alike wouldcontinue to witness, savour and relish for a completefour-year tenure in office. The good trend is currentlyin progress; and we stand tall to celebrate the greatestachievement of progress ever made in the annals of ayoung state in the first two decades of its lifespan.

THERE is no gainsaying the fact that to a cross-section of citizens and residents of the state, thecampaign promises of the SYMBOL of theOranmiyan struggle, Engineer Rauf Aregbesola werejust too good to be true. Arguments were rife in somequarters that no person or government anywhere inthe nation; given any magnitude of resources or tenureof office to serve could be so magnanimous as togive such ample lease of life as promised to the people.To most pessimists, the trend of the ugly scenario ofthe Oyinlola administration is what the people of allages should be prepared to settle for. To the crosssection of we optimistic progressives however, weknew too well that the Man Aregbesola would liveup to his promises. If nothing at all taught us to holdhim credible, the Lagos experience did muchconvincing.

So the man rolled out his campaign promises. Thepromises, according to him were his pact with the

people; along which he should be assessedduring the entire period of his stewardshipas the servant of the people. We shall nowmake an adventure into the pact that wasmade with the people before relevantlydelving into how well he has made good hispromises.

According to Aregbesola, in September1886, at a camp between Okemesi andIgbajo the armistice ending the twenty yearcivil war in (KIRIJI), our Obas, generals andleaders pledged themselves to the pursuit ofPEACE PROGRESS and PROSPERITYamong the children of Oduduwa. This gracewas enjoyed till about 1962 when theWestern House of Assembly was sacked andthe federalism which gave the Yoruba roomto pursue the promise of KIRIJI wasterminated in all but name. The end resultwas that till that time at the approach the2007 general elections peace, progress andprosperity could no longer be taken forgranted amongst the Yorubas in particularand the entire nation in general. There was,according to him, imminent fear of

1) Political disenfranchisement;

2) Economic stagnation; and

3) Socio-psychological insecurity

It was the above-cited reasons that spurredthe decision of Aregbesola to run for theoffice of Governor in the heartland State ofOsun – ipinle Omoluabi. The following arethe words with which he succinctly andpungently spoke his heart’s desires to thepeople whose mandate he sought for serviceand accountability.

What I offer you therefore can be termedGovernment Unusual-A Government totallycommitted to unlocking the latent potentialsin our people, a phenomenon unknown insouthwest Nigeria since the days of ChiefObafemi Awolowo.

•A completed road project at Fagbewesa, Osogbo.

OSUN DEFENDER Tuesday, December 31, 2013 14MAGAZINE

New Lease Of Life; New Turn-Around

Continued from page 10

•(L-R) Special Adviser to the Governor on Sanitation, Honourable Bola Ilori; Deputy Governor, State of Osun, Otunba (Mrs) Grace Titi Laoye-Tomori; Chief of Staff to theGovernor, Alhaji Gboyega Oyetola; Secretary to the State Government, Alhaji Moshood Adeoti and Elder Lowo Adebiyi taking part in a sanitation exercise.

What obtains today is a ruling class tainted with greed, avarice,ineptitude and barefaced terrorism while our people continue tolanguish in hunger, insecurity, disease and squalor.

My mission and ambition are to restore to the people, a stateof peace, opportunity, for progress and room for the pursuit ofprosperity in our time under a people friendly government.

I give you Six-Point Integral Action plan, to the intent thatthey constitute my actions of faith concerning which I want to beheld accountable at any time during my stewardship.

SIX-POINT INTEGRAL ACTION PLAN

· Banish Poverty

· Banish Hunger

· Banish Unemployment (Create Work/Wealth)

· Restore Healthy Living

· Promote Functional Education

· Enhance Communal Peace and Progress

· BANISH POVERTY

COMMERCE

Vision: To make Osogbo the second hub in internationaltrade in goods and commodities in the Southwest.

Osun people’s natural affinity for commerce has beendampened over the years by unfriendly and unfocused economicpolicies of government thereby popularizing poverty among apeople, who are naturally hardworking, industrious andadventurous.

Our purposeful government of ACN shall revitalize commerceand restore wealth back to the land through:

· Market friendly policies that will revive the customarycommercial activities in Osogbo and other towns in Osun.

· Promotion and support of activities focused on wealthpromotion for our people.

· Transformation of Osogbo into an Internationalmarket where goods will be procured at prices comparable toany other part of West Africa.

FINANCE & ECONOMIC PLANNING

I shall increase the internally generated revenue of the state

and also improve in mileage on every kobo accruing to the state by:

· Ensuring real time online access to actual position of thestate finances to prevent misuse and other forms of abuse by receivingagencies.

· Reducing leakages in the tax collection and administrationprocess.

· Running a transparent and accountable government.

· Ensuring prudent management of the state’s resources.

· Ensuring that the funds of the state are used fordevelopmental purposes.

· Create viable Public/Private sector partnerships to jumpstart the economy.

· Our overall goal is to reduce dependence on federalallocation as a means of funding the government.

· BANISH HUNGER

FOOD& AGRICULTURE

Vision: Our government shall banish hunger in Osun andenhance wealth through massive increase in food production andagriculture.

Every farmer shall sell his products and be prosperous. Thelabour of the farmer shall no longer be in vain because we shallprovide assistance and support to farmers in finding and exploitingprofitable market for their goods.

We do not presently grow enough food in Osun to feed us roundthe year and this should concern a government that cares for itspeople.

Our government shall support farmers to attain increase in foodproduction, better storage and delivery. We shall provide assistanceto farmers in exploiting profitable markets and market opportunitiesfor their products.

To maximize the benefit of resultant massive increase in foodproduction, we shall improve:

· Access roads and general transportation to even the mostremote areas of the state.

· Storage process and capacity.

· Processing of agricultural produce.

· Rural electricity and water supply.

CASH CROPS

· Encourage production of cash crops which can enhancefarmer’s income and provide basis for an effective agro-industrialsociety in the state of Osun.

· Specified to vigorously develop extensive farming inpalm trees to create a fully integrated oil palm processing industry.

· To target and capture minimum of 10% of themultibillion naira- per day food market of the neighbouring states.

· Support cooperative efforts by farmers

· Be a catalyst to the development and promotion ofmicro, small and medium enterprises that will exploit availableraw materials.

· Set up price support scheme for farmers throughcommodity exchange board.

· BANISH UNEMPLOYMENT (CREATE WORK &WEALTH)

No job loss, more jobs.

Osun people are peaceful, dignified and hardworking peoplewho desire and deserve gainful employment for their childrenand themselves. Rather than policies that will create employmentand wealth for the people, the policies of the PDP government inplace serve to enrich few at the expense of majority of our people.

As part of our GOVERNMENT UNUSUAL programme, IRauf Adesoji Aregbesola make a pact with you good peopleof the State of Osun, in the presence and by the grace of GodAlmighty that our government shall create immediateemployment for 20,000 people within our 100 days in office.

5,000 of these places shall be reserved for those who wereretrenched and are still willing and able to work.

As a people-friendly government, our policies shall help to:

· Create economic environment that ensures availabilityof jobs for all Osun indigenes.

· Establish one LIFE ACADEMY in each of the threeSenatorial constituencies for the building of life- long skills in outof schools, youngsters as well as adults seeking alternativecompetencies.

· Promote labour exchange centres to facilitateemployment of graduates from our Life Academies.

· To be continued.

15OSUN DEFENDER Tuesday, December 31, 2013

TUESDAY, DECEMBER 31, 2013

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

By ADE OLUGBOTEMIIT is the last day of anepoch-making year,difficult to forget so

easily by the presentgeneration of indigenesand non-indigenesresident in the lengthand breadth of the Stateof Osun. Long beforenow, if there were to benoticeable events witha toga oftransformation, such wouldsuffer forced restrictions thatonly limit major projects to a fewurban centres outside the statecapital. The erroneous belief thatall towns and villages arerepresented in the state capitalmade successive government toget sassy about the ubiquitouspush for all-encompassingdevelopmental initiatives. Rural-urban drift thus caused theavailable social amenities to getoverstretched.

The trend was perfectly enjoyedby the majority. Most ruralsettlements have been deserted bythe natives, who have chosen tomigrate to the state capital.Agricultural outputs are on thedecline because most migrants tothe urban centres are idle as a resultof leisure that has taken theposition of hard work in peoples’table of preference. This trend hasled to serious impoverishment; butpeople enjoy it upon the thick skinthat has inordinately beendeveloped. As at last count, only 6percent of the total population stayback on the farm to cultivate theland that is supposed to get theattention of seventy five percent.

The present administration isresolutely determined to reversethe former trend; hence theopening up of the rural area throughmassive construction of roadnetwork across the state. Somepeople have been seriously angeredby this attempt, because the usualpractise is for people to earnregular income that they neverworked for. The statement that thelabour of the hand does not betraythe industrious does not matter tothe set of people within the shortperiod that I became interested inthis subject matter. It has beendiscovered that people still preferthe easy way to make wealth, byimagining wealth and hope to getwealthy without any labour.

Power supply in the rural areas ispresently being underutilised, despitethe fact that the usual outages that arethe order of the day in the urban centresare not what obtain in the rural areas.Skewed utility is bound to becounterproductive, because the ruralinhabitants sometimes put on light in theafternoon because they feel there isnothing wrong in doing so. The optionof generating sets with the attendant airpollution has continued to constitutehealth hazard that is even sending peopleto early graves.

The second issue that will remaintopical in the looming year is thegubernatorial election that is fast-approaching. A lot of propaganda is allgoing as the re-enactment of the usualway through which perceived foes arepulled down. This is an indirect way oflying to the people that the governmentof the day has done too little to deservere-election. I think the blind can see theunequalled exploits of the currentgovernor of the State of Osun. Ourinertia can quickly resist the tendencyof disquiet to give us an impression thatbeing patient with the government is notonly reasonable, but can otherwise behighly rewarding.

Those waging war of attrition againstAregbesola are quite aware that the waris desperately hypocritical. All ongoingprojects are visible and quantifiable todaily assess the progress made. Theyare equally available for qualityassessment that can make for criticalevaluation. All exaggerations are also

meant to suggest that the story with ourgovernment is pitiable; not minding theproportion of the population beingaffected. If areas of leakages are notproperly studied, so that together wecan make sabotage unprofessional andunpopular, we must be ready to facethe consequence of mortgage that willfollow.

Year 2014 is here with us whetherwe like it or not. It is our own year ofelectioneering, when political parties willonce again roll-out drums to convincepeople towards themselves and confusethem away from their opponents. Thekind of desperation we nurture at timesmakes us loose rationality upon whichsuccess is anchored. For instance, howcan a person with the right frame ofmind voice out that GovernorAregbesola is not doing anything; whenindeed developmental activities areongoing with billions of naira going intoit? This is part of insincerity that hasbeclouded our judgement; and this must

vanish with the outgoing year.

It is very appalling that somenotable individuals still give in tosensibility bashing that has everbeen the hallmark of politicalpersuasion in our land. Most ofthem have their children at homeafter graduation without anyscintilla of hope for tomorrow’s

respite. No jobs and the inclementnational economic environment cannotguarantee any viable venture to keepbody and soul together. Such peopleare not contemplating lifeline that willgradually save the system, so that thehopeless situation can be upturned. Thedesperation of opposition has gaggedthem that they concoct fallacies, buttheir claim of inactivity against thegovernment of the day cannot besubstantiated, and is belied by numerousvisible projects that are changing theface of our environment.

Few hours from now, we shall enterthe year of destiny. 2014 is going to bea make or mar year for the people ofthe State of Osun, depending on the waywe handle the activities in it. A lot willbe happening through our politicalcalculations and permutations. Twomajor elections will be taking place toanoint those holding executive powersat both state and local governmentlevels. The governor and the councillorswill be elected for four and three yearsrespectively. Sentimentality must not beallowed to becloud our need for rationaljudgement. We know what is right, andwe must stick to it and do it.

Politicians are sanctimonious when itcomes to the game of outsmarting oneanother. It is for us the electorate toremain steadfast in our resolve to dothings right and elect those who haveprogrammes and well-laid downpolicies that will be further haltdepression that seems to havepermanently pitched its tent with us. Wemust say no to the antics of moneybags,who will be out to lure people with theirstupendous spendings to feigngenerosity and kindness in an attemptto make us mortgage our birthright. Wemust remember the repercussion of pastcarelessness and refrain from actionsthat will land us in trouble again.

All of us are stakeholders in theproject of making the State of Osunsafe and secure, we must not fold ourarms and allow some prodigal elementsin our midst take advantage of us anddrift us into socio-economic doldrumsthat past inactivities have plunged us.Taking the state to the promised land isa collective task and we cannot affordto rest on our oars. We cannot affordto take things for granted because it canbe very costly. Our destiny is in ourhands, we have a choice of what wewant it to be. Stiff resistance againstpolitical brigandage is the sure way topermanent freedom. Never again mustwe be sold into political slavery, whichin the past has undermined our reasonfor living.

Wishing you all prosperous 2014.

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

This Day For Genuine Repentance

•AREGBESOLA