VOL. 9. NO.025NNNNN 505 05 05 05 0THURSDAY, FEBRUARY 27, 2014

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PEOPLE FIRST

Who KilledChief Bola Ige,former Attorney-

General andMinister of

Justice? IGE

•The governor, State of Osun, Ogbeni Rauf Aregbesola (right), presenting gifts to Minister for Water Resources, Mrs Sarah Ochekpe (2nd left) while with them, Chief of Staff tothe state governor, Alhaji Gboyega Oyetola (2nd right) and Director, Dam Operations, Dr Emmanuel Adanu (left) during a courtesy visit to the governor in his office at Abere,Osogbo, last Thursday. Photo: GBENGA ADENIYI.

Osun To Disburse N600mTo Women Entrepreneurs

Carry Police Along In Your Activities - New Osun CP

Aregbesola And His Traducers: Facts, Fictions and FallaciesCONTINUE FROM Pg. 5

For instance, the state hasadded 10,407 new teachersto the list of public schoolsteaching staff in Osun.Thus, the state now has12,715 teachers in primaryschools and 7,848 teachersin secondary school. Thistranslates to a 54.8 per centincrease in the number ofteachers in public schoolsthe administration inherited.The same applies to non-teaching staff whose num-

ber has also increased by56.4 per cent. As a result, thesalaries and pensions of pri-mary and secondary schoolteachers now cost the stategovernment N16.8billionand N10.3billion respec-tively on an annual basis,which amounts to a total ofN27.1 billion per annum.Onthe free school uniforms, thestate has expendedN900million, while the el-ementary school feedingprogramme costs N3.6 bil-lion every year.

On the supply of furnitureto schools, the state hasspent N2.5 billion, whileN503 million is expended oninstructional materialswhich were not part of pub-lic school education beforeOgbeni assumed office.

Aregbesola’s administra-tion is so encompassingsuch that both his traducersand allies are awed by hisspectacular achievements.Only last year, his govern-

ment spent about N162million to bail out 87 medicalstudents who are now con-tinuing their programme inKarachi University. A coupleof years from now the stateand parents alike will be cel-ebrating their graduation astrained medical doctors.

These and more are whatAregbesola’s traducers wishto obliterate through fictionsand fallacies.

2 OSUN DEFENDER Thursday, February 27, 2014News

If you have a story or advert for us, contact 08033927286, 08033880205, 08061197897, 08023191891.

•A completed road project along Ajia Estate, Ijebu-Ijesa, State of Osun, as captured by our cameraman, GBENGAADENIYI, last Saturday.

By ISMAEEL UTHMAN

Osun To Disburse N600m To Women EntrepreneursBy FRANCIS EZEDIUNO

THE Government of the State of Osun is todisburse a total of N600 million to womenentrepreneurs in the state.

This is coming as nofewer than 200,000people would benefitfrom the Central Bank ofNigeria (CBN) N2billionMicro, Small and MediumEnterprises DevelopmentFund (MSMEDF) in thestate.

The state government isto add its counterpartfund of N2 billion,expected to increase thebeneficiaries to 400,000.

Speaking at a daysensitisation workshop onthe N220 billionMSMEDF fund

organised by the State ofOsun branch of the CBNfor stakeholders inOsogbo, the state capital,Governor RaufAregbesola said the stategovernment will, in thenext few weeks, beginthe disbursement of theN600 million to empowerwomen of the state.

The governor, whowas represented by DrWale Bolorunduro, StateCommissioner forFinance, at the workshop,said the state government

had worked out modalitieswith microfinance banksto disburse the loans to thebeneficiaries.

The governor, whourged the people,especially women of thestate, to maximise theopportunity of the CBNloans, described womenas a major factor in theeconomic development ofthe state.

While promising that thestate was ready tomaximise the apex bank’sloan for the developmentof the state and itscitizenry, he stated that thestate government wouldprovide its counterpartfund very soon, saying the

state government wouldprovide bank guaranteefor the cooperativegroups in the state thatshow interest to accessthe fund.

Speaking further on theeconomic policy of thestate government,Aregbesola stated thatwhen the presentadministration came onboard in November 2010,the gross domesticproduct (GDP) was N5billion, which it hadincreased into over N9billion in Year 2013, andcondemned critics of hisgovernment.

He pointed out that,according to the Federal

Government data on GDP,the state is currentlynumber seven out of 36states of the federation,adding that the oppositionparties in the state lackedknowledge about theeconomic development ofthe state.

However, as part of itseconomic drive, the stateis to commission themulti-million naira OsogboAyegbaju InternationalMarket soon for usage ofthe traders across thestate.

In his address at theworkshop, MacduffOkorode Efetabore, theCBN controller in OsunState, disclosed thereason why the apex bankinitiated the MSMEDFfund, saying it was todevelop the economystatus of the over twomillion Nigerian citizens,particularly the 60percent of womenentrepreneurs, within theperiod of 10 years.

Effetabore maintainedthat, “the MSMED fundhas two broad objectives,which are social andcommercial. The social/development fund shallconstitute 10 percent,with grants 5 percent,interest drawback 3

percent, managingagents’ operation cost 2percent.

The commercial fundshall constitute 90 percentof the fund as follows:Wholesale funding; 90percent of thecommercial componentand guarantees/refinancing; 10 percent ofthe commercialcomponent.

“Considering thepeculiar challenges facedby women in accessingfinancial services inNigeria, the revisedmicro-finance policy,regulatory andsupervisory framework insection 4.2(1V), providesthat women’s access tofinancial services shouldincrease by 15 percentannually in order toeliminate gender disparity.

“In order to achievethis, 60 percent, which isN132 billion of the fundhas been earmarked forproviding financialservices to women.

“In operating the fund,special consideration shallalso be given toinstitutions that willprovide financial servicesto graduates of theCBN’s EntrepreneurshipDevelopment Centres(EDCs).”

New Osun FRSC Sector Commander Visits IRS•Harps On Cordial Relationship

THE newly-deployed Federal Road SafetyCommission (FRSC) Sector Commander to theState of Osun, Mr. A. Hussein, has paid the Internal

Revenue Service (IRS) a courtesy visit, stressing the needto strengthen the already-existing symbiotic relationshipbetween FRSC and IRS.

By FRANCIS EZEDIUNO

While speaking duringthe visit, the ActingChairman/CEO of InternalRevenue Service, Mr. DayoOyebanji appreciated themutual understandingexisting between the twoagencies in the aspect ofdischarging their statutoryduties.

He then promised torender all the assistance athis disposal to make theFRSC fulfil their statutoryduties, especially in the areaof enforcing compliance topayment of road taxes andlevies, which was requiredfor the growth of the state’sIGR.

In his response, the newFRSC Sector Commander,Mr. A. Hussein assured theInternal Revenue Service

under the leadership of Mr.

Dayo Oyebanji, of hisreadiness to combat fakenumber plates, as well as fakedrivers’ license that havebeen become rampant inmost of the states in Nigeria.

He then said that, thedeadline for the new plate

number which has beenslated for 30th of June, 2014still remained intact andthereby solicited thesupport of Osun IRS inrealizing this dream.

He, however, remindedthose that were yet tocomply with the new platenumber directive to quicklydo so before the lapse of theduration.

Tourism Commissioner Charges Youths OnTraditional FoodsTHE Special Adviser to the governor of the State

of Osun on Home Affairs, Tourism and Culture,Mr. Oladipo Soyode, has charged youths to indulge

in the eating of traditional instead of foreign foods thathave nutritional values to enable them live healthy.

Soyode, who wasrepresented by thePermanent Secretary of theministry, Mrs. OlajumokeBello gave this charge inOsogbo during theTraditional food FestivalCompetition organised forfood vendors in the state.

The Special Adviserreiterated the efforts of thegovernor of the State ofOsun in bringing the age-long traditional foods that

have nutritional value to thedoor steps of the youngergeneration who may havelost the real value of typicalAfrican food.

Also speaking at theevent, the General Manager,Osun Tourism Board, Mr.Abiodun Balogunchallenged the food vendorsto always cook real Africanfoods and make use of locustbeans, rather than modernalternatives, to allow the

consumers feel thenutritional values oftraditional foods.

Highlight of the eventwas the showcasing oftraditional foods fromOsogbo, Iwo, Ede, Ikirun,Ife, and Ijesha zones withfood like: Iyan Ewu, IyanGbere, Eki, Sokun-Sokun,Dodo Ikire, akara Osu,Igbalo, Ojojo, Dele, EfoEbolo, feregede, isapa,ogunmo, moin-moin, and ahost of others.

At the end of thecompetition; Osogbo Zone,which comprises ofOsogbo, Olorunda, Oroluand Irepodun Local

Government Council Areascame first, Ikirun Zone,which comprises ofIfelodun, Boripe, Ila andOdo-Otin Local GovernmentCouncil Areas came second,while Iwo Zone thatcomprises of Iwo, Ayedire,Ola-Oluwa, Ayedaade,Irewole and Isokan LocalGovernment Council Areascame third.

Present on the occasionwere the Iyaloja of the Stateof Osun, Alhaja AwawuAsindemade, directors andstaff of the Ministry ofHome Affairs, Tourism andCulture and Osun TourismBoard.

By TAJUDEEN HAMMED

Herbalist Bags14-year Jail Term ForDefrauding Client

A popular herbalist in Iwo, headquarters ofIwo Local Government Council Area of theState of Osun, Mr Toyese Ayokunmi, has been

sentenced to a 14-year imprisonment by a State ofOsun High Court, sitting in the town.

Ayokunmi bagged the jailterm after he wasconvicted by JusticeAdekunle Adeigbe fordefrauding one of hisclients, Ismaila Abiodun tothe tune of N2.7 million.

Abiodun fell into theconvicted herbalist’s trap,when the former soughtfor spiritual assistancefrom the latter, for safedelivery of his expectantwife.

Ayokunmi, who waspopularly called

Akinkanngudu wasarraigned at the court on athree-count charge ofconspiracy, obtainingmoney under falsepretence and stealing.

The convicted herbalisthad earlier entered a notguilty plea when the casefirst came up before thecourt.

Counsel to theGovernment of the State ofOsun led by the Directorof Public Prosecution(DPP), Mr Dapo Adenijitold the court that Abiodunpaid the money into SkyeBank with

Account number1010048160 and codenumber 254 for theconvict.

Adeniji further statedthat the convicted herbalisthad committed offencescontrary to sections 1 (1)and (2) and punishableunder section 1 (3) of theAdvance Free Fraud andRelated Offences Act 2006and 390 (9) of the CriminalCode Cap 34, Volume 11Laws of Osun state ofNigeria, 2002.

Delivering his judgmenton the case, JusticeAdeigbe convictedAyokunmi and sentencedhim to 14 years’imprisonment with hardlabour.

3 News OSUN DEFENDER Thursday, February 27, 2014

•3rd from left: Special Adviser to the Governor on Local Government, Chieftaincy and Community Development,Honourable Bisi Odewumi; former Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) Chief Whip in the State House of Assembly,Honourable Banji Akinremi, Ife-North APC Interim Chairman, Elder Rufus Awotidoye and others during the NewYear party organised by Odewumi recently. Photo: JESUDOYIN ABRAHAM

By ISMAIL OLADOSU

Change Of NameI, formerly known

and addressed as MISSO Y E L O W OO Y E D O Y I NOMOLARA, now wishto be known andaddressed as MRSP O P O O L AO Y E D O Y I NOMOLARA. All formerdocuments remain valid.General public shouldtake note.

Carry Police Along In Your Activities - New Osun CPBy FRANCIS EZEDIUNO

AS the gubernatorial election slated for9th of August, 2014 in the State of OsunState draws nearer and political

atmosphere is gathering momentum, the newly-deployed Commissioner of Police in the state,Ibrahim Maishanu, has warned against illegalrallies and campaigns, stressing that anypolitician found wanton would face the wrath ofthe law.

He made this knownduring his maiden press

briefing at the policeheadquarters, Osogbo,the state capital, recently.

The police bossinformed politicians andother members of thepublic, who may besupporting politicalparties of the need forthem to always brief thepolice before embarkingon processions,assemblies, campaigns orrallies in order to makenecessary security

arrangement that wouldprevent any breakdownof law and order.

“It is necessary to warnpoliticians and otherpeople in the state toavoid taking laws intotheir hands and alwaystrust that the police will dothe right thing, if properlybriefed”.

Maishanu furtherwarned politicians of the

need to ensure that theiractivities are legal andassured them of a levelplaying groundthroughout the period ofthe election.

He however advisedthem to play by the rulesof the game to avoidbeing dealt withaccording to the law.

According to him:“Politicians should playby the rules of the gameand allow themselves andtheir activities to beguided by the provisionsof the Electoral Act.

“I want to assure allthe political parties of alevel playing groundbefore, during and afterthe election.

I also want to assurethe entire people of thestate that the police willleave no stone unturnedin ensuring security oflives and propertiesduring the electionperiod.

“To this end, it isimperative for me to saythat politicians and othermembers of the publicshould follow dueprocess. It is alsonecessary to warnpoliticians and otherpeople in the state toavoid taking laws intotheir hands and alwaystrust that the police will dothe right thing if properlybriefed.

“All processions andrallies must be peacefuland respect the right andsafety of other people.The idea of blockingroads during rallies andprocession, and attackinginnocent citizens, includingsecurity men, will nolonger be tolerated.

“Anyone whobreaches public peacewould be dealt with andpunished according to thelaw,” the new police bosswarned.

Court Frees Man Over Stealing Charges

A Magistrate’s Court 4 sitting in Ilesa, State ofOsun, last week convicted and sentenced a20-year old Adeyeye Victor to caution and

discharge him for house breaking and stealing ofvaluables that were worth N50,000 belonging toPastor Moses Abiala of Mercyland Covenant Churchat Isale General, Ilesa.

Magistrate Falase, whiledelivering the judgment,said she decided to tamperjustice with mercy, havingconsidered the plea of thedefence counsel, Mr A.OOlawole, who pleaded thatthe accused person actedunder the influence ofpower that was beyondhim (though notrecognized in law) as theaccused person pleadedguilty to all the chargespreferred against him.

He told the court thatthe accused person hadearlier spent 37 days indetention in Osogbo.

The prosecutingcounsel, Mr. KehindeOjugbele, read the two-count charge of house-breaking and stealing to theaccused person and listedthe stolen items as: twoDVD Players, SumsungDigital Camera, schoolbag, N20,000 cash amongothers, which the accusedperson also admitted tohave stolen.

In his testimony, thecomplainant, PastorMoses Abiala, told thecourt that the accusedperson forcefully removed

one of the frames of hishouse before he could gainaccess to where he stolethe items.

He noted that the 20-year-old Victor had madestealing his habit since hewas in primary school.

According to him:“Victor was my pupilwhile in primary school,and he has been stealingsince then. Whenever wereported him to his mother,the mother used to defendhim.

“She would even wantto pick a quarrel with theteachers. So, his mothercontributed to the boy’sordeal,” he concluded.

The Magistrate camedown heavily on Victor’sfather, Mr. Amos Adeyeye,for reckless abandonmentof his son, which she said,was responsible for theboy’s present predicament.

She added that ifAdeyeye had not failed inhis responsibilities as afather, this kind of fatewould not have befallen theaccused person.

She therefore, advisedthe accused person’sparents be more prayerful

and to always involve theirson in their prayers toenable God redeem hislife.

The prosecutorhowever called theattention of the court tothe criminal aspect of thecase, while giving it amoral consideration.

He noted that stealingwas a criminal offence andjustice must be done to itsince the accused personhas confessed to thecrime.

While making his plea,the defence counsel, Mr.A.O Olawole, asked thecourt to temper justicewith mercy as per the pleaof the accused person,having submitted himselfto the magnanimity of thecourt. He said the case ofhis client was not ordinary,as he was usuallyremorseful aftercommitting the act.

Olawole promised thecourt that he would be apart to the reformation ofthe boy, if the court couldhave mercy on him, sincehe did not have any formerconviction.

The court was howeverthrown into emotion,when the father of theaccused person, told thecourt that his problem wassupernatural, as seven outof his ten children had diedone after another withouta known cause.

He added that his first

child was the one standingtrial in the court, while hewas still battling with howto raise the two youngerones.

Adeyeye told the courtthat he left Victor with hismother-in-law in Ilesa,while he lives Ibadan.

He said he has madeseveral efforts at ensuringthat his son did not gowayward.

Adeyeye narrated howhe handed over his son tothe members of a vigilantgroup when he wasinformed of the boy’scriminal activities, but thisdid not achieve the desiredresult as he became worsethan before.

Magistrate Falase thensentenced the accusedperson to caution anddischarged him, whilewarning him againstindulging in any criminal toin future, as the courtwould not hesitate to sendhim to prison, should he bebrought to the court forany criminal act offenceagain.

She noted that sendingthe accused person to theprison at his age wouldonly aggravate hisproblems, because hewould be fraternizing withhardened criminals, whileurging the father to takeproper care of the boy.

By BOLANLE BABALOLA

Strengthen Female EmpowermentIn Engineering – APWEN Urges Govt

THE Association of Professional WomenEngineers of Nigeria (APWEN), Ilesa chapter,has appealed to all the tiers of government

to strengthen female empowerment on engineering.The Pioneer and

Chairperson of the IlesaChapter of the union,Engineer (Mrs.) MojiradeOloruntoba, made theappeal during a courtesyvisit to the management ofOSUN DEFENDERNewspaper in Osogborecently.

Engineer Mojiradedisclosed that APWENwas established principallyto empower women andpupils of secondary andtertiary institutions and toencourage female childrento engage in theprofession of Engineering.

In his response, theManaging Editor of themedium, Mr. Kola Olabisi,queried her on why hergroup was just coming outof its shell, to which shegave a contrary answer.

According to her, theorganisation hadorganised a career-counseling session tagged,“Introducing Girls toEngineering” for thefemale pupils of both

middle and high schools inIlesa axis, on Wednesday30th October, 2013, tosensitise them aboutengineering profession.

She also stated thatfemale pupils from 23schools were invited forthe programme held at Ilesalast year, while someinteresting male pupils alsoparticipate in theprogramme.

“APWEN is set aside forfemale engineers in orderto encourage the youngergirls in our schools. Whatmen can do, women cando even much better,” shesaid.

She stressed that, themajor aims of theassociation are to giveawards, scholarships andempowerments to pupilsas well as createawareness for the youngerones.

She thereafter appealedto the state government notto relent in supporting theassociation.

Change Of NameI, formerly known

and addressed asJIMOH SAHEED,now wish to be knownand addressed asJIMOH SAHEEDOLALEKAN. Allformer documentsremain valid. Generalpublic should take note.

OSUN DEFENDER Thursday, February 27, 20144 News

•Members of Ifesowapo Social Club in a group photograph after their Annual General Meeting and open declarationfor the State of Osun governor, Ogbeni Rauf Aregbesola in Osogbo recently.

By FRANCIS EZEDIUNO

Sanusi: Jonathan Administration Encourages Corruption- Civil Societies By BOLANLE BABALOLA

CIVIL society groups in the State of Osun underthe auspices of Osun Civil Societies Coalitionhas accused President Goodluck Jonathan of

encouraging corruption, just as they decried whatthey called unlawful suspension of the Governor ofCentral Bank of Nigeria, Mallam Sanusi Lamido.

The civil societiesdescribed Sanusi’ssuspension as a witch-huntand an attempt to suppressthe truth on thecontroversial missing $20billion in the NigerianNational PetroleumCorporation (NNPC)accounts.

According to thecoalition in a pressstatement signed by itsChairman and PublicitySecretary, Comrades

Abiodun Agboola andIsmaeel Uthmanrespectively on Monday,the President erred in lawon the suspension of theCBN governor, arguingthat the president did notfollow due process.

Quoting the Article 11(f) of the CBN Act 2007,Uthman maintained thatthe President lacked thepower to remove the CBNgovernor without the two-third majority support of

the Senate, describing thestep of the President astotal disregard for the lawwith impunity.

Uthman stated that theway and manner PresidentJonathan has beenhandling corruption issuessince he came into powerwas not encouraging,saying that a president thatis serious tacklingcorruption problemsheadlong would never letSanusi go at the criticaltime of the unremitted

NNPC $20 billioncontroversy.

The spokesperson said:“We are not advocating forSanusi, but we advocatingfor the rule of law. We arenot saying Sanusi is a saintor guilty of any crime, butif the President is going totake any action on Sanusior any issue, he mustfollow due process andrule of law.

“The way PresidentJonathan goes on Sanusi’ssuspension is awful and

unconstitutional. Nigeriacan never get rid ofcorruption with this kindof unserious attitude tocorruption cases.

“Believe it or not, Sanusiwas suspended by thePresident because somemembers of a cabal toldthe President to take thatstep. Sanusi wassuspended because thecabal wants to silence theNNPC unremitted $20billion matter. Thesuspension is a distractionon the main $20 billionfraud.

How Private Schools Cajoled Teachers ToBuy Computer TabletsIT is no longer news that the Government of the

State of Osun has successfully distributed OponImo, tablet of knowledge, to pupils of high schools

(senior secondary) within the state.Going by records, this

was the first time that sucha feat was being achievedglobally.

Just recently, OSUNDEFENDER gathered thatsome private schools havestarted to buy into the trendbut on a somewhatnegative trend.

The proprietors of someprivate schools withinOsogbo, the state capital,investigations revealed,have started to make itcompulsory for both theirteaching staff and pupilksto purchase mini-laptopspopularly called ‘notebook’as a way of rivalling thestate government’s freedistribution of these tabletsof knowledge to pupils ofpublic schools.

At a school locatedaround Dada Estate inOsogbo, visited by themedium’s reporter, someteachers there lamented thehardship such venture wascausing them.

They stated that with asalary of N15,000 and thesale of the notebook goingfor N58,000, they werefinding it very difficult tocope financially.

It was revealed also that

a compulsory monthlydeduction of N8,000 wasexpected to be made fromtheir monthly salary for thenext eight months beforethey would be able to meetup with their payment.

In another schoolvisited, the pupils’ wererequested by the schoolauthority to compulsorilypurchase mini-computertablets for the sum ofN25,000.

Some parentsinterviewed lamented thatit was too high for themand they werec o n t e m p l a t i n gwithdrawing their wards.

They explained that in a

case where parents hadtwo or three children insuch school, they wouldhave to part with eitherN50,000 or N75,000 apartfrom their school fees thatwas already exorbitant.

While noting thatinstead of spending suchamount on mere computertablets, they were willingto withdraw their childrenfrom the private schooland enrol them in a publicone, since the level ofacademic excellence andpupils’ welfare hasimproved positively.

Two Men In Court Over CultismBy SHINA ABUBAKAR

TWO men, Paul Patience, 21 and Sunday Suyi,21, were last Monday arraigned before anOsogbo Magistrate’s Court for allegedly

being members of an unlawful society.The accused persons

were alleged of belongingto a secret cult known asEye, an offence contraryto section 64(A) of thestate criminal law.

They were also said tohave unlawfullypossessed dangerousweapons such as axe andcutlasses and could notexplain how they got theweapons; an offencepunishable under section430 of the state penalcode.

The charge sheet readin the court disclosed thatthe accused persons didposses illegal arms withintent to cause chaos andintimidate members of thepublic.

It stated further thatthe accused personscommitted an offencecontrary to and punishableunder Section 516, and 80of the criminal code cap34 vol.II law of OsunState of 2003.

According to chargesheet made available toOSUN DEFENDER,the accused personscommitted the offenceson February 16, 2014 in

Ilesa.However, the accused

persons pleaded not guiltyto the four-count chargespreferred against them inthe court.

Their defence counsel,Mrs Bose Dada prayedthe court to grant them bailin the most liberal term,saying the accusedpersons are presumeinnocent until the contraryis proved withoutreasonable doubt.

She added that theaccused persons wouldnot jump bail if granted andwould provide crediblesureties to guarantee theirreadiness to stand trial.

The Police Prosecutor,Inspector Mireti Wilsondid not object to the bailapplication, saying thecourt was at liberty togrant bail as it pleases.

Presiding magistrate,Mr Olusola Aluko thengranted bail to theaccused persons in thesum of N50,000 and onesurety each.

He then adjourned thematter till April 1, 2014 formention.

“President’s Jonathan’saction and body languageon corruption cases are notencouraging. Thepresident is encouragingcorruption with hisunserious attitude oncorruption and we areafraid Nigeria would nevermove forward with thiskind of attitude.”

He therefore called onthe President to reverse thesuspension and allow therule of law to take itscourse on the missingNNPC $20 billion.

Security Tip In OsunThe government of the State of Osun has

procured special security numbers for use bypeople in distress.

The numbers are:08100000481, 08100000482, 08100000483,08100000484, 08100000485, 08100000486.

All the numbers became operational sinceAugust 17, 2012.

Please, note and call to assist Ogbeni RaufAregbesola, the elected governor of the StateOf Osun, in sustaining a peaceful and crime-freeenvironment.

- Management

Group Holds AGM, Supports Aregbesola’s Second TermA social group in the State of Osun, Ifesowapo

Social Club, has added its support to thecurrent wave of support to the second term

ambition of Governor Rauf Aregbesola.

The club made thisknown during its recentAnnual General Meeting(AGM) held at the club’shouse located at Abakuarea of the state capital.

According to the clubChairman, Alhaji RafiuAbimbola (Risky), the clubmembers considered itworthwhile to support thesecond term ambition ofthe state governor, OgbeniRauf Aregbesola, in viewof the monumentald e v e l o p m e n t a lprogrammes and policieshe has embarked uponsince his inauguration inNovember, 2010.

Speaking further on theclub’s support for thegovernor’s bid for a

second term in office,Abimbola reiterated that nosane lover of the state willnot support the governor’ssecond coming, as thisremains the only way toensure the continuity of thedevelopmental strides ofthe governor, which areevident all over the state.

“Governor Aregbesoladeserves our collectivesupport to ensure hisreturn to office for asecond term, with a viewto ensuring the completionof his various policies andprogrammes that areevident all over the state,”he stressed.

The club members alsoused the occasion to electnew executive committee

members to run the affairsof the club for another twoyears.

Those elected were:Alhaji Rafiu Abimbola(Risky) as Chairman; MrRasaki Mustafa (Vice-Chairman); Mr BiliAdewumi (Gen.Secretary); Mr MuideenAgunbiade (Asst. Gen.Secretary); Mr Niyi Oni(Fin. Secretary); MrKamoru Bello (Treasurer);Mr Musbau Bankole(Auditor); Mr SemiuKareem (Store Keeper);Mr Gafar Afolabi(Organising Secretary);Mr Ismaila Fatai (Asst.Org. Secretary); Mr MutiuGaniyu (Club Whip); MrMusliyu Adeleke (Asst.Whip); Madam Adepele(Matron); Madam YemisiOladunjoye (Asst. Matron)and Oluwole Odelade(PRO).

5 OSUN DEFENDER Thursday, February 27, 2014

THISThis has been achievedtremendously through the new schoolreforms system. To be sure however, thescheme did not indiscriminately combineschools without adequate considerationto sensitive factors such as faith,communal sensibilities and location. Itis a lie from the pit of hell that Muslimnamed schools were merged withChristian named schools or that Muslimstudents were merged with Christianstudents. Where would the whollyMuslims or Christians students havebeen sourced for the imaginary mixing,when both public and private schoolsin Nigeria are never religiouslysegregated.

Aregbesola has demonstrated in gov-ernance that he is absolutely preparedfor 21st century leadership where infor-mation technology holds the ace. With-out ICT, it would have been difficult forthe state to provide all the text booksneeded by over 150, 000 students in highschools. To provide just three text books,which are not enough for the studentsto perform well in their final WAEC andNECO examinations. That would havecost the state government a whoppingN4.5 billion annually. But with the intro-duction of Opon Imo (Tablet of Knowl-edge), it costs N250 million only for the

government to provide virtual text booksfor all the books needed by the studentsto write (WAEC, NECO and JAMB) forthe 150,000 students in the high schools.

Opon Imo has garnered several awardsfor the governor’s bold initiative and thestate.The tablet is preloaded with seven-teen (17) subjects offered by students inthe West African Senior Secondary Cer-tificate Examinations (WASSCE). The sub-jects in Opon Imo have been designed informs of lesson notes, textbooks, mostlyprovided by publishers and master teach-ers’ inputs. Content verifiers, who hap-pened to be some of the local teachers,were also made to verify lesson notes oneach subject. Besides, seven extra-curricu-lar subjects, such as Sexuality Education,Civic Education, Yoruba History, Ifa Tra-ditional Religion, Computer Education andEntrepreneurship Education, and TwelveThousand Yoruba Proverbs were also in-cluded.

Test platform for students’ self assess-ment to monitor their own comprehensionand mastery of the subject, including 10years past questions and answers pro-vided by the Joint Admission and Matricu-lation Board (JAMB) and the West Afri-can Examinations Council (WAEC), as wellas questions and answers in 17 (Seven-

teen) ordinary level subjects. The subjectare English Language, Mathematics, Agri-cultural Science, Economics, Principles ofAccounts, Literature in English, Physics,Chemistry, Biology, Yoruba, Commerce, Fur-ther Mathematics, History, Geography, Gov-ernment, IRK and CRK. Audio tutorials werealso embedded in the Opon-Imo to furtheraid students through virtual study plan.

The state would save a total of N8.4 bil-lion by not buying textbooks. It rather spentjust N200 million for the purchase of the 56e-books on Opon-Imo with 150,000 user li-censes from a major educational publishingcompany in the country. As it is structured,Opon Imo ensures that each student has ane-textbook, not only in all the subjects he isoffering, but also on every subject offeredat secondary school level. This in itself islegendary and revolutionary! Some criticsqueried the introduction of “Ifa Corpus intoOpon Imo as idolatry in the 21 century”.What a contradiction, when one considersthe basic nuance of knowing that Opon Imois a product of the laws of binary features,from which computers are made? How manyeducated PDP hirelings know that computeris made from Ifa Corpus?

It is interesting to note that the reformshave led to a radical increase in grants andsubventions for the administration of pub

New ICT Complex Is A Ticket For Development

IT is with pleasurethat I saw over thetelevision, heard over

the radio and read in thenewspapers of thecommissioning of the newRLG and AdulawoTechnology City, which issituated along the Akure-Ilesa Road, Ilesa, State ofOsun.

I gathered that thiscomplex, which waslaunched on Thursday30th of January, 2014 is ajoint venture betweenR L GTelecommunications andthe State of OsunGovernment.

I cannot but say howhappy and proud that Ihave been since gettingwind of this useful pieceof information.

Let me start like this,the location of thiscomplex in the state musthave been for variousreasons.

First, the peace being

enjoyed in the state isunparalleled, comparedwith anywhere in thecountry and unlike otherparts of the South-West,pockets of violence havebeen eradicated.

Secondly, epilepticpower supply is a non-issue in the state andalmost every town, village

and hamlet is connectedto the national grid andelectricity supply situationis very stable and this isvery attractive forindustries both heavy andlight.

Third factor; theadministration of OgbeniRauf Aregbesola hasprovided through its manyinitiatives a level playing

field for businesses tothrive. In short, thegovernment is business-friendly, that is whybusinesses from otherparts of the country arerushing to Osun toestablish.

Added to theopportunities the stategovernment created,

there is a stable and readymarket for products thatwould be manufacturedand the transport facilitiesare good.

The government hasalso embarked upon therehabilitation of townshiproads and revamping ofthe railways.

Finally, for the fact thatthe governor, who is at the

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helms of affairs in thestate, is interested in theciting of industries inOsun, he has pulled all thenecessary plugs to ensurethat such an industry,which would benefit thepeople, would be locatedin the state.

The advantages thatthe state would benefitwould be many, whichwould include 5000mobile phones and 2500laptop computers,provision of jobs for theyouths, utilization ofabundant resources; bothnatural and human,transformation of Osunfrom an agriculturaleconomy to being onedriven by ICT andeventually, the statebecoming a computer hubon the West AfricanCoast.

• J U M O K EOJOBARO, Isokun,Ilesa, State of Osun.

Aregbesola And His Traducers: Facts, Fictions and FallaciesCONTINUE FROM BACK PAGE

CONTINUE ON PAGE 1.

lic primary and secondary schools. It isdisgusting to hear the PDP crying wolfwhere non exists. For seven and half years,the PDP-led government total grants to1378 primary schools in the state was apaltry of N125.1 million. But under 3 years,the APC-led government quadruples thesame school grants, raising it to N426.7 mil-lion annually. The PDP-led governmentgrants for secondary schools for seven andhalf years was a miserable N656.6 millionwhile the APC administration, for barely 3years, has given N897.9 million to theschools, a quantum leap by anyaccount.The state has committed N14.4billion on new school buildings, while re-current annual expenditure consumes N21billion on elementary schools, and N13.46billion secondary schools. This amountsto per capital spending of N84,000 per el-ementary school pupil, and N30,000 persecondary school pupil. The total capitalexpenditure on schools in the last threeyears, outside the building of new schools,is N31.31 billion. Under the APC adminis-tration, WAEC fees have also shot up fromN38 million to N400 million per annum. Theadministration also has spent to date a to-tal of N1. 2 billion on the production of thepace-setting e-learning tablet, Opon Imo.Besides building new schools, OgbeniAregbesola’s administration is renovatingand upgrading some of the existing ones.On this alone, the sate has spent N1.6 bil-lion.

OSUN DEFENDER Thursday, Febraury 27, 20146 INTERVIEW

PDP Infiltrated Religious Groups To Cause CrisisIn Osun – Commissioner

The Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) in Osun Statehas been fingered by the All Progressives Congress(APC)-led administration in the current crisisrocking the education sector of the state. The state’sCommissioner for Regional Integration and SpecialDuties, Barrister Ajibola Bashir, at a media parleyorganised at the instance of the National LegalAdviser of the APC, Dr. Muiz Banire, in Lagos overthe weekend, alleged that preliminary investigationsrevealed how the opposition orchestrated the crisis inan attempt to discredit the Governor RaufAregbesola-led administration ahead of the nextgeneral elections in the state, among other issues.BOLU-OLU ESHO was there.

What is the situation in the educationsector of your state?

When Governor Rauf Aregbesolaassumed office in the state, he observedthat there was lopsidedness in thearrangement of things in our publicprimary and secondary schools. In someschools, there were more than enoughteachers with a few students and pupils;while there were not enough teachers insome other schools where there were highconcentration of pupils and students.

In a bid to improve on the standard andquality of education in the state, after wehad brainstormed on the situation, thegovernor concluded that schools with afew number of pupils and students shouldbe merged with those having highconcentration of students. Teachers werealso transferred along with them toresolve the problem of inadequate numberof teachers.

The decision was apt in the sense thatas at the time we took over the running ofthe state, the financial strength of thestate was extremely weak. So, we couldnot recruit more teachers. The allocationbeing received from the federationaccount was insufficient. It becamenecessary we make do with what we haveto achieve the greatest possible result.

We observed that there was no waystudents churned out from those schoolswould be able to favourably compete withtheir counterparts in other states. So, achange in the way the schools were beingrun became compulsory. This informedthe merging of Saint Anthony CatholicSchool and the Methodist School withBaptists High School in Iwo.

But the original owners of the schoolsdeclared that they would not allow hijabin their schools. It is a fact that allmissionary schools had been taken overby government as far back as 1975 and alot of development had taken place inthese schools.

About 92 students were coming toschool in different religious wears.Initially, when there was no quarrel, only25 out them were wearing the hijab, butwhen they were infiltrated by theopposition, the figure jumped to 261.Then the original owners of the schoolsinsisted that they were not going to allowthat.

What is the hijab crisis in Osunschools all about?

On the day the rowdy session tookplace in the schools, the teachers decidedto take the attendance in order to knowthose in what attire. In the process,photographs of some of them were taken.What we found out ultimately was thatthe matter goes beyond the realm ofreligion into that of politics. We found asituation where, for instance, we haveMariam Mohammed wearing a CelestialChurch cap, and a Christian wearing hijab.

We later went to various parents to askhow it happened. It was discovered thatthe parents were compromised.

You can go into the records to checkwhether Governor Aregbesola has madeany declarative pronouncement on theuse of hijab in public schools.

He has not made any categoricalstatement about this issue, but theopposition, looking for cheap popularity,burrowed into the unsuspectingleadership of various religious groups,including traditional religious groups, andincited them to disrupt the academicprogramme of our children in the state.

The ongoing investigations hadalready revealed that the oppositioncompromised some of the studentsinvolved in the controversy surroundingthe wearing of hijab in public schools forpolitical gains. Some of the students whoparticipated in the recent rowdy assemblysession wore choir uniforms, masqueradeclothes, hijabs, and church caps. Theinvestigations and the roll-call made bythe school authorities revealed that mostof the students didn’t actually belong tothe religions of which paraphernalia theywore.

It is disheartening that PDP could be sodesperate to the point of almost settingthe state on fire, capitalising on that minorissue which the state government had noteven made any categoricalpronouncement in order to score cheappopularity.

In Osun State, as a people, we havebeen living in peace and harmonyirrespective of our religious backgrounds.For you to know how cordial and lovingwe are, nobody has ever raised aneyebrow about appointments made by thegovernor in line of religion. For instance,out of the 32 members of the governor’scabinet, 24 are Christians. In the stateHouse of

Assembly, among the 26 lawmakers,only 10 are Muslims. We love one anotherin Osun State; we don’t just tolerate oneanother. It’s a close-knit relationship thatwe exhibit here. The PDP cannot say thatwe didn’t perform; that’s why it is fuellingreligious issues in order to discredit ouradministration.

PDP alleged that the state debt profileis over N630 billion. What’s the actualdebt figure?

The allegation by the opposition isspurious and unfounded. If you ask themto substantiate this, they won’t be able.As I said earlier, they are desperate todiscredit the Governor Aregbesola’sadministration.

They came up with this concoctedfigure because they are ignorant of thefinancial law of the country that guidesloans accessed by government. As agovernment, you cannot access a loanthat is more than 50 per cent of yourcarrying capacity. This is a standing order.

So, what we borrowed through bond lastyear was only N30 billion in two phasesand this we have been paying back to thebank since 2013. The confusion in thePDP has to do with where we are gettingmoney to finance the various giganticprojects we are doing in various sectors.

The Turkish construction company thatwas awarded infrastructural projects inthe state got the contracts on the basis offinancial deferment.

The state only signed guarantee that itwould pay the company each month it gotits allocation from the federation accounttill the money spent on the constructionby the company gets exhausted. But theopposition led by Senator Iyiola Omisoreis ignorant of this sophisticated approachto good governance and they have topeddle falsehood to confuse the people.

What is the situation with the OponImo (computer tablets) scheme?

This is one of the giant strides taken byGovernor Aregbesola towards jump-starting the economy of our state. So far,23,100 Opon Imo (computer tablets) whichwere produced through a partnershipbetween the state and a Chinese firm havebeen distributed to our students. Fiftythousand pieces are already on ground.We would have completed thedistribution but it’s being delayed due tosome modifications that we want themanufacturers to input. We want all thedevices personalised for every student insuch a way that will prevent theft andwrong use of the product.

To produce extra 100,000 pieces of thedevice, the state government has to enterinto partnership with the Chinese firmproducing the device to transfer thetechnology to Nigeria by establishing afactory at our Technology Village in Ileshawhere other products such as telephonehandsets and laptop computers, amongothers will be produced and repaired.

We are not just folding our arms toallow the expatriates to do the productionand after sales services alone; over 5,000citizens of our state have been trained by

the foreign firm in the manufacture oftelecommunication devices and some ofthem have been sent to Ghana for furtherskill acquisition.

We are assuring Nigerians that thisstep taken by Governor Aregbesola hasnot only fulfilled the dream of havingtechnology transfer, but that it would alsoprovide durable and affordable telephonehandsets.

The technology village would soonbegin to churn out handsets that wouldbe tropicalised to meet the sophisticatedyearnings of Nigerians for hi-techdevices.

We are doing this to aid technologicaltransfer because it won’t be economicallyreasonable to import that magnitude ofdevices from abroad. So, why not havethe manufacturing company here? As wespeak now, the company is already onground, manufacturing. The installation ofthe software for the products is beingdone in Ilesha.

The company will solve the problem oftelephone handsets rip-off on Nigeriansbecause it would be able to meet thedemands of Nigerian telephoneconsumers and the products would becheaper.

When the administration of GovernorAregbesola berthed in Osun State, thefirst thing we had to brainstorm on washow to jump-start the non-existenteconomy of the state because theallocation that accrued to it from thefederation account was not even enoughto pay salaries of workers.

At a point, one of our leaderssuggested that we should establish afactory that would be producing slippersso that we can generate funds toimplement all the things we had promisedthe people.

We thank God that today, our state ismoving on and we are not relenting onour oars.

Culled from Daily Newswatch

•BASHIR

OSUN DEFENDER Thursday, Febraury 27, 2014 7

8 OSUN DEFENDER Thursday, Febraury 27, 2014PHOTOTALK

•State of Osun Commissioners; Information and Strategy, Honourable Sunday Akere; Environment, Professor Olubukola Oyawoye; Women and Children Affairs, Mrs AdetounAdegboyega and Special Adviser on Women Affairs, Miss Eso-Williams.

•A cross section of pupils at the event.

•Some of the pupils displaying milk given to them at the event.

More Pix On Wife Of The State Of Osun Governor, Mrs Sherifat Aregbesola’sOganisation, Sheri Care Foundation (SCARF), Which Distributed Milk Of KnowledgeTo Pupils In Public Elementary Schools In The State, At Nelson Mandela FreedomPark, Osogbo, State Of Osun, Recently.

9OSUN DEFENDER Thursday, Febraury 27, 2014

10 OSUN DEFENDER Thursday, Febraury 27, 2014FOR THE RECORDSAddress Delivered By The Governor Of The State Of Osun, Ogbeni Rauf Aregbesola, As

Recipient Of The 2013 Man-Of-The-Year Award, Organised By The Independent NewspaperLimited, Held At Eko Hotel And Suites Convention Centre, Lagos, On Friday February 21,2014

Encouraged To Do MoreIT is a great honour to be the subject of

today’s memorable gathering. I wishmost sincerely to thank the Editorial Board

and Management of Independent NewspapersLimited (INL) for freely finding me worthy ofyour Man-of-the-Year 2013 Award.

I commend you for standing with a vastmajority of people who continue to expressprofound appreciation of the uncommon goodgovernance through which I and my dependableteam are re-engineering the socio-economic soulof the State of Osun, to the enthusiasticadmiration of a vast majority of our people.

In instituting this award and remainingconsistent with it, the Editorial Board of theINL demonstrates its commitment topromoting excellence and the virtues of hardwork, dedication and achievement, particularlyamong political office holders.

Thus, in celebrating our ground-breakingfeats in the different sectors of public life inOsun, you prove your utmost concern with theprogress and development of our people. Thisaffirms the sense in the view of eminent socialthinker, Voltaire, that, ‘By appreciation, wemake excellence in others our own property’.

For me, this award is a notable gesture thatwill deepen my resolve and commitment toguarantee freedom and make life more abundantand meaningful to the ordinary people as apolitical leader. It will motivate me to be moredevoted to the progress and development ofhumankind. It is in view of this that I acceptthe award wholly and whole-heartedly.

The award I am being honoured with todayis in recognition of the verifiably unprecedentedfeats that we have achieved in the areas ofhuman welfare promotion, education, jobcreation, and physical infrastructuredevelopment. It is only those, like you at INL,who were well familiar with the near totalabsence of governance in Osun prior to ourcoming to office that can properly appreciatethe considerable changes that my administrationhas effected in all the sectors.

We took the reins of power when the statewas suffering from the cancerous pains of hugeand badly negotiated debts. It was a time whentensions arising from youth unemployment andpolitical infractions reigned like mighty waveson turbulent oceans. All there was togovernance then was mere form withinsignificantly little substance.

But when we assumed office, we had clearunderstanding of what we would do about thesubstantial decay and ineffectiveness that hadweakened the pillars of the state’s educationsector. We knew that only firmly sustained andcoordinated assaults on poverty, hunger,unemployment, and decrepit road infrastructurecould restore the dignity of our people.

Thus, armed adequately with our viableblueprint – the Six-point Integral Action Plan,which aims at banishing hunger, poverty andunemployment, providing functional education,restoring healthy living and communal harmony– we frontally engaged the problems weinherited with a depth of empathy, a breath ofingenuity, and a keen sense of responsibility.

Thus, the malady of arrested developmentthat made Osun unliveable in the past hasreceived the cure of effective people-orientedpolicies and the therapy of uncommonresponsible democratic governance.

Specifically, we have reformed andreorganised our public schools into Elementary,Middle, and High Schools for easyadministration. The pupils in each of theschools now get the attention which squaresaptly with their educational needs. Forinstance, those in the Elementary School(Grades one to four) are given free protein-richmeals every school day in order to fortify theirmental redoubts.

This programme covers 300,000 pupils andgulps N3.6 billion for its yearly sustenance. Wehave as a result of this programme recordedunusual increase in the enrolment figures ofpupils. I’m sure it is no longer news to thisdistinguished gathering that Osun now has thehighest primary school enrolment figures in thecountry.

The introduction of the computer tablet(Opon-Imo) to public school education in Osunis another marker of the innovation that ouradministration spearheaded. Indisputably, thisis a world-beater in innovative e-learning. Thisground-breaking innovation enables us to reducethe huge sum that goes into the purchase oftextbooks.

Preloaded with different tutorial notes, pastquestions, and textbooks on 17 subjects thatstudents register for in the West African SeniorSecondary Certificate Examinations (WASSCE),the National Examination Council (NECO), andthe Unified Tertiary Matriculation Examination(UTME), the device puts a permanent end tothe worries of parents, teachers and studentswith regard to the unavailability of requisitelearning materials. Our administration has so farcommitted N1.2 billion into this project.Several thousands of units of this device havealready been distributed to teachers andstudents in our public secondary schools; ourtarget is for all the 150,000 students in the highschools to each have one unit of the device.

I am happy to inform this gathering thattoday in Ilesa, there is now a factory that willsee to the production of Opon-Imo, as well asmobile phones, plasma television andcomputers. This, in addition, will also createmore jobs for the wellbeing of the youths of thestate.

New modern, standard school buildings arealso springing up in different local governmentswithin the state. While some have beencompleted and are already in use, many moreare at advanced stages of completion. Throughthe School Infrastructure DevelopmentProgramme, we are changing the physicalinfrastructure of learning.

Thus far we have expended the sum ofN14.8 billion on the construction of schoolbuildings under the O’School programme. Thetotal capital expenditure we have disbursedthus far on schools in the last three years isN31.31 billion. This underlines the importancewe place on the education of our youths. Therecurrent expenditure on education translates to

an average expenditure of N84,000 andN30,000 on each elementary and secondarypupils and students respectively.

The change of school uniforms and the freedistribution of 750,000 pieces of new uniformsare vivid demonstration of how important thephysical appearance of our students is to us.The education sector in Osun has and is stillbenefitting from massive funding and provisionof essential facilities for the attainment ofgreater value. Education remains the bedrock ofthe functional development being enjoyed in thestate. Through it, we are innovatively shapingthe future of the citizens.

Under our watch, road infrastructuredevelopment in the state is being recorded on anunprecedented scale. Through uncommonfinancial engineering, we are rehabilitating andconstructing roads across the cities and townsin the state. These roads are not selectedwhimsically. They are the ones, includingfederal roads, that impact most on the economicand social life of the people. If we magnify thefact of our meagre federal allocation and income,we will never venture near the massive roadprojects we have on our hands. Our prudenceand creativity in the disbursement of resourcesdo it for us.

I dare say, with all sense of modesty, thatthe State Government of Osun does not dependalone on federal allocation to fulfil its statutoryresponsibilities. With sound innovations andplugging of leaking ends, we have been able toincrease our Internally Generated Revenue fromthe N300 million we inherited to N1.6 billionmonthly.

In job creation, our record is noteworthy.Through the Osun Youth EmpowermentScheme (O’YES), we have drastically scaleddown the high incidence of youthunemployment. This has reduced socialtensions in the state. We are creating the rightsocio-economic environment to enable ouractive adults earn their sustenance.

And through the Osun Rural Enterprise andAgricultural Programme (O’REAP), we aretranslating agriculture from subsistence level to

commercial scale. Farmers in Osun now havewhat it takes to do serious agricultural business.We have opened up the rural areas and newroads are being constructed for easytransportation of farm produce to the urbanmarkets. We have thus, through agriculture,been able to create wealth and provide jobs forour people.

So real and impactful are the delivery of ourpolicies and programmes that there is no citizenin the state that does not feel the direct impactof our responsible governance in one way or theother. The reason is simply that the citizens aregenuinely the focus of all our developmentalefforts.

For us, the development of human capacityand their wellbeing is the main responsibility ofgovernment. All development efforts mustnecessarily add value to the life of the majorityof the people. That is what our policies onwelfare support for the critically vulnerableelderly citizens, health, education, security,agriculture, tourism, job creation, andinfrastructural development have done to thegreater majority of our people.

In more concrete and realistic ways, ouradministration has demonstrated thatgovernment exists to protect life, liberty andpursuit of happiness; to provide anenvironment for commerce to thrive, for theyoung and economically deprived to beeducated, for the sick who cannot afford soundhealthcare to be taken care of, for the provisionof security for all, and for the enforcement ofthe rule of law and maintenance of law andorder.

Let me assure all that the good works we aredoing in Osun will not stop. We are determinedto give our best for the happiness of ourpeople.

It is noteworthy that INL considers usworthy of this award because we ‘offered analternative perspective to governance’. This, tous, is the highest attraction of this award. Itwas Albert Einstein that described insanity asdoing the same thing, the same way, all thetime, and expecting a different result. Many ofthe problems of development besetting us as apeople arose because too many people inleadership positions, regrettably, cannot thinkoutside the box. Yet, doing things differentlywill surely exact a price. This price, for us, hasbeen huge and enormous, but not unaffordable,if we consider the end result. The first is thatwe have been misunderstood (sometimesdeliberately) and unfairly maligned. Manysurely dwelled on non-issues and falsehood andmischievously projected them as the marquisachievements of our administration. Sometimesour people marvel at these insidious reports,wondering if they were concocted from anotherplanet, since they are strange and contrary tothe good governance and revolution going onaround them.

Some of our critics went to the diabolicalextent of inciting religious partisans against eachother and against the government. They do notcare a hoot that they are instigating religiouscrisis which conflagration and consequences areunimaginable.

Nevertheless, this award has put a lie totheir evil machinations. I am glad that the pathwe are threading and the efforts we are makingare not unnoticed by this perceptive mediaorganisation. With this, you are also offering afresh perspective to governance evaluation andappreciation in the country. It is ademonstration of your objectivity,intellectualism and unparallel public service thathave also won you the newspaper of the yearaward in the past. I have no doubt that you canonly keep going up.

Let me, once again, thank INL (for thehonour and basis of the award), my amazingteam that made our achievements possible, thegood people of Osun who through theirenthusiastic support inspire and encourage us,our friends all over the nation, particularlyLagos, and every person of goodwill that haveunshaken faith in us and supported us throughthick and thin.

I thank you all for your kind attention

•AREGBESOLA

11 OSUN DEFENDER Thursday, Febraury 27, 2014INTERVIEW

No Serious Opposition In Osun - AdeyeniHonourable Busola Olusegun Adeyeni, represents Ife-East Constituency

in the State of Osun House of Assembly.An educationist, Adeyeni, in this interview with our reporter, KAZEEM

MOHAMMED, spoke on the criticism by the opposition and thedevelopmental strides of Governor Rauf Aregbesola’s administration.Excerpts:-

OSDF: What actually promptedyou to join politics?

ADEYENI: Politics is an issue ofteaching and service to humanity.Meeting people, relating with them,counseling them are all part ofpolitics. What actually made to joinpolitics is for service to humanity.There is little you can do with yourpersonal resources, and if you reallywant to serve the people, you have tojoin politics, because joining politicswill give opportunity to be able to domore.

OSDF: Since you became amember of this Assembly forabout three years now, how hasthe business of lawmaking been?

ADEYENI: Sincerely, I must tellyou, it is a great task. The impressionmany people have about the House isthat you just go there and sit and atthe end of the day, you get money,but that impression is wrong. Apartfrom legislative matters, there are somany other issues you must attend to.There are issues you will have toattend to at your constituency levels,while there are ones you have toattend to at the state level. To be ableto maneuver, one must be diligent,committed and hardworking. So, it isa great task.

However, God has been helping usin getting things done, because noprevious Assembly has the record wenow have when you talk ofperformance, ranging from thenumber of bills passed, oversightfunctions and putting the executive onits toes.

OSDF: As somebody who ran aprivate school before coming tothis Assembly and also has aprofessional background, howhave you been able to use yourbackground and experience toassist this House?

ADEYENI: The experience I gotin my teaching profession has assistedme a lot. A teacher must be someonethat is calm, intelligent and must be alistener, because he is dealing withhuman beings. Lobbying yourcolleagues, interacting and sharingknowledge have been part of thethings that have assisted me a lot toget things done.

OSDF: Since you joined thisAssembly, which of the activitiesof this House interest you themost, that you will never forget?

ADEYENI: There are so manyactivities and bills that wouldordinarily interest both the generalpublic and even the lawmakers in theHouse. However, what I foundinteresting is the bills we have passedto strengthen our education system,especially the decentralisation of oureducation office. Originally, what wasin operation was to have only onecentral place for educationalpurposes. Now that it has beendecentralised to education offices inOsun Central, East and West, I thinkit is a good one. There was abottleneck in the system before, assomeone will be in Osogbo and bepassing instructions to all the localgovernments and this has resorted topoor monitoring in the system, but thenew system has removed thebottleneck and it has strengthenmonitoring mechanism of the system.

OSDF: The administration ofOgbeni Rauf Aregbesola, what isyour assessment of it?

ADEYENI: Aregbesola is anunusual man, running an unusualgovernment for the betterment of thepeople. I am not seeing him just as apolitician, but as a messiah of the

masses, who has the love of thepeople and ready to do all things toserve the people. His is a governmentthat has created a level playingground for every citizen, whethereducated or not, irrespective of yourreligion, tribe of physical ability. He isa man that is running the affairs of thepeople with the fear of God. Hethinks about the people beforethinking about himself.

There are so many programmesand politics that Aregbesola hassuccessfully carried out for thebetterment of the people. Look at themassive ongoing and completed roadconstruction in the state. These roadsare roads that are being constructedto international standard and theseroads have gradually been developingthe economy. Talking abouthealthcare delivery, he has done sowell and the sector, which was notgiven serious attention has nowbecome the toast of all underAregbesola. Also, the reformation inthe education system is marvelousthat even the international communityis trying to learn from the approach of

Aregbesola to the system.Talking about agriculture, the

farmers who have lost hope ingovernment are now happy withAregbesola. Due to the commitmentand attention of this government onagriculture, farmers can now comeout and boast of being a farmer.Youths are now being encouraged toengage in agriculture and this is a plusfor the present government.

You talk of job creation for youths,cultural development, security, andothers, Aregbesola is there. InNigeria today, Aregbesola is a forceto be reckoned with interms ofhuman, economic and culturaldevelopment.

OSDF: Are you saying that theopposition politicians, who aresaying that this government hasnot done anything reasonable arewrong?

ADEYENI: That is theirunderstanding of language of politics,because those who cannot see, dohear that Aregbesola is performingand those who cannot hear, see that

this government is doing well.Because they also want to be ingovernment, they believe that theyshould first destroy a performinggovernment in the course of lookingfor what to say to curry favour,having lost their credibility. They aresaying this government has not doneanything, had anybody ever heardanything like Opon Imo anywhere inthe world before Aregbesola came?There is no serious opposition partyin Osun as at today, because the so-called opposition was here and theyfailed the people. There is no areathey want to talk of that Aregbesolahas not touched. If they truly havesomething to offer, they should comeup with unusual ideas that the presentgovernment does not have. We haveheard the PDP governorship aspirantcriticising the present government forthe sake of it, yet, none of them hasever come up with programmes theywant to use to transform the state.

OSDF: One of the aspirants,Senator Iyiola Omisore is fromyour constituency, are you sayinghe also doesn’t have anythingreasonable to offer?

ADEYENI: If he has anythingreasonable to offer, let him come outand mention it like Aregbesola didduring his own time. Let him tell usand allow the people to decide onwho is the best between him andAregbesola. Politics with sentiment isgone. We want people who candeliver like Aregbesola is doing, evenmore.

OSDF: Do you think what is onground is enough to giveAregbesola a second term inoffice?

ADEYENI: Even if Aregbesoladoesn’t campaign, the work done iscampaigning for him, but he has tocampaign because it is part ofelectioneering process to come outand tell the people what you still havefor them.

OSDF: 2015 is approachingand do you think APC can takeover the government at thecentre?

ADEYENI: What is happeningwithin the last two years is the handof God. I think this is the time Godwants to free Nigerians from slavery.We have been suffering for no justcause and I believe this is the timeGod wants to free us. So, APC, byGod’s grace, will take over. I believethat APC is the agent for thatfreedom and this is evident in the just-concluded APC membershipregistration. Everywhere in thiscountry, there are demands forchange and that is why people arepitching their tent with APC.

OSDF: Your message to thepeople of your constituency andOsun in general?

ADEYENI: I just have to urge thepeople to be calm, focused andvigilant. Though, God is perfectingHis work, but we also need to bevigilant for our own sake. Election isapproaching and I believe it would befree and fair, but people should notallow anything that would stop theongoing development in the state.

•ADEYENI

OSUN DEFENDER Thursday, Febraury 27, 201412

The Suspension Of Sanusi Lamido Sanusi FEATURE

THE former Governor of the CentralBank of Nigeria, Mallam SanusiLamido Sanusi is not my favourite

person and I have differences with him onmany issues. I must however commendhis immense courage for speaking out andexposing the monuemental corruption inthe government that he once served andthat has now decided that they no longerrequire his services. Two weeks ago, heclaimed that 20 billion US dollars hadgone missing from the coffers of theNNPC. Today, he has been suspendedand relieved of his duties for exposing therot and speaking the truth. I have littledoubt that the next thing that will happenis that he will be subjected to a formalprobe and the EFCC will be called in toinvestigate his tenure of office. They willthrow everything that they have got athim, including the kitchen sink, simplybecause he refused to play ball with themand cover up their penchant formonuemental corruption and graft. Someof us have been there before and weknow what it is like. If you speak truth topower and you take on the system, berest assured that the system will fightback and they will attempt to destroy youand all that is yours. Yet, none of thatmatters, because the only thing that isrelevant is the fact that history andposterity will be kind to Sanusi on thismatter based on the choices that he hasmade.

He spoke out when others chose toremain silent and to compromise. Unlikeothers, he refused to sell his soul to thedevil and to sell his heritage andbirthright for a mess of pottage. Despitethe significant differences that I have withthis man in terms of our different outlooksto how and what Nigeria ought to be as anation, I salute him and commend him forhis efforts. I also make bold to say thatwith his noble stand, he has assuredhimself of a great place in the nextdispensation and he will play a key role inthe future of this country one way or theother. May God guide and protect him inall his endeavours and may he continueto speak out with courage and strengthand not allow himself to be intimidated orsilenced. Long is the road ofrighteousness and truth and it is oftentarred with the spikes of persecution,misrepresentation and falsehood. Yet, atthe end of the day, it is the only road thatis worth taking and it is the only one thatleads to lasting honour and glory. Maythat honour and glory find Sanusi LamidoSanusi and may God reward him forputting the interests and welfare of theNigerian people before that of the woefuland rotten administration that he onceserved. This government has once againshown that it has no shame and that it isutterly bereft of any semblence ofdecency or morality. A man blows thewhistle and exposes the fact that $20billion has been stolen and instead ofcommending him and promoting him, he isaccused of wrongdoing, criminalised,villified and suspended. It is only inNigeria that this sort of thing canhappen.

It has happened to me and many othersbefore and now it is happening to Sanusi.I commend his courage and his ability tostand up and speak the truth to power. Nomatter what the government accuses himof now and no matter what trumped-upcharges or baseless allegations they maycome up with against him in order tojustify their actions, the Nigerian peoplewill always be grateful to him andindebted to him for exposing the rot andfilth that constitutes the very foundationof the government that he onceserved. The level of impugnity anddisdain that the Jonathan administrationhas for the people and for probity andaccountability is second to none. Themessage that they are sending is clear; nowhistleblower is safe in this country andin this government. Their intention is todestroy all those that have the courage tostand up to them and to intimidate us allinto silence but they will fail woefully. Themore people they seek to destroy for nojust cause and the more innocent men andwomen that they persecute for telling thetruth and for exposing their monuementalcorruption and incompetence, the more

they shall be resisted by people. Whatthey have done to Sanusi is disgracefuland they ought to bury their heads inshame. Pertinent and appropiate areSanusi’s own words when, after he wasinformed about his unceremonioussuspension, he responded all the wayfrom Niger Republic by saying: ‘’you cansuspend an individual, but you can’tsuspend the truth.’’ He immediatelyboarded the plane and headed for Nigeria,knowing full well that the securityagencies were waiting for him. The planwas to arrest him on arrival in Abuja, buthe cleverly diverted his chartered flight toLagos, where close friends of his,including the former Minister of FCT,Mallam Nasir El Rufai, a true and loyalfriend and brother if ever I knew one, werewaiting for him. He managed to avoidarrest, but on arrival at MurtalaMohammed International Airport inLagos, the authorities stopped him brieflyand took his passport from him. By thatsingle act, they have served him notice oftheir sinister intentions. In the comingdays, weeks, months and even possiblyyears, they will seek to humiliate him, todenigrate him, to malign him and todestroy his entire future. That is theirintention, but I firmly believe that it is notthe intention of God and consequentlythey will fail. Providing he continues tostand firm and strong and remainsundaunted, such an evil plan cannot workand will not work simply because, as theHoly Bible says; ‘’the counsel of theungodly shall not stand’’.

It also says ‘’to subvert a righteousman in his course is not allowed’’ and that‘’many are the afflictions of the righteousbut the Lord will deliver him of themall.’’ No matter how long it takes and nomatter what they put him through,Sanusi’s innocence will speak for himbefore God and before the Nigerianpeople. It is from the fiery furnace ofpersecution, misrepresentation and

victimisation that true heroes are born.There is a spirit that emboldens and thatstirs the passion and the soul of truewarriors, once they are sufficientlyprovoked. That spirit is known as thespirit of truth and it cannot be intimidatedor denied. I must confess that it is veryclear to me that Sanusi has that spirit andis possessed by that virtue. I say thisbecause he was intelligent enough toknow that with his utterances and hisexplosive disclosures about the graft inthe NNPC and at the Ministry of Finance,he was stepping on very powerful toes,treading on very dangerous grounds andswimming in very troubled waters.

Yet, despite the obvious dangers, hecontinued and he was quite unmindfuland unperturbed about what the directconsequences of his actions may be interms of his personal safety, the securityof his tenure of office or his career as apublic servant. He was prepared to standby and speak the truth, no matter whatand he was prepared to pay any price ,nomatter whose ox was gored. That is thestuff of which heroes are made and Isalute his courage. How I wish that moreof our people were made of such sternstuff. If President Jonathan was reallyinterested in fighting the war againstcorruption, he would stop using hissecurity agencies from tormenting andharassing innocent people. If he wantedto suspend some of his key officials and ifhe really wanted truth and justice toprevail, he would not have targetted aninnocent whistleblower, who hadconstituted himself into a thorn in hisflesh, but instead, he would havesuspended his Group MD of NNPC, hisMinister of Petroleum and his Minister ofFinance, pending the investigation intothe missing $20 billion. Until he does thatand as long as he continues to treat theNigerian people with contempt andimpugnity, no right-thinking person willtake him or his administrationseriously. Sadly, not many of theJonathonians are familiar with the works

of William Shakespeare, simply becauseShakespeare is not too popular in thecreeks. Yet, the few amongst them that areup to the task would do well to considerthe words of Julius Caeser, when he said:“It is the custom of the immortal gods togrant temporary prosperity and a fairlylong period of impunity to those whomthey plan to punish for their crimes, sothat they may feel it all the more keenly asa result of the change in their fortunes,”

Those amongst the President’ssupporters that truly love him and thathave his interest at heart would do well toexplain to him the import of these deeplyprofound words and wise counsel fromShakespeare’s ‘’Julius Caesar’’. In doingso, they may save him and his entire courtof royal jesters from a whole load ofmisery that undoubtedly awaits them inthe future. As for Sanusi Lamido Sanusi,it is very clear to me that the sky is thelimit for him. Whether he likes it or not,his journey into the turbulent world ofpartisan politics has just began and Isuspect strongly that he has anappointment with destiny.

Permit me to end this contribution withthe following observation. In the last fewdays, much has been made about the factthat I have criticised Sanusi quite often inthe past and that I have openly disagreedwith some of his actions as Governor ofCentral Bank. It has also been said that onanother occassion, I raised somefundamental questions about what Idescribed as his ‘’flawed andindefensible’’ position on the oil subsidydebate in 2012, his controversial views onBoko Haram, his position on revenueallocation vis a vis north and south andhis harsh and historically inaccurateassertions about the Yoruba people anumber of years ago. It is true that Iopposed him on those matters and that Itook those positions on those issues andI stand by each and every one of them. Ido not see any big deal in that. Yet manyappear to be rather surprised that I wouldnow be one of those that are defendingthe very same Sanusi that I haveopposed in the past. Those that haveexpressed such surprise and that see thisas some kind of glaring contradictionsimply do not understand me. And neitherdo they appreciate the complexities ofnational debate and the importance ofbeing completely detached and objective,when it comes to any form of intellectualor public discourse.

The truth is that I do not take positionsagainst individuals, but rather on specificissues. Hence, I may be your friend anddefender one day and your greatest criticand detractor the very next, depending onwhat your position is on any specificmatter. That is the essence of publicdiscourse and intellectual debate. That isit’s nature. We must not be motivated ormoved by personal considerations or byour love or hate for any individual, butrather by principle, morality, logic, factsand figures, justice and the rights andwrongs of the specific issues of the day.No one is all good and no-one is all bad.And neither is anyone, including yourstruly, always right. The fact that I havedisagreed with Sanusi over the last 20years on a number of matters includinghis assesment of the Yoruba people, hisviews about the cause of the scourgecalled Boko Haram, the oil subsidy issueand the ‘’National Question’’ does notmean that I ought to support the fact thathe is being treated in the most deplorableway by President Goodluck Jonathan.Though, he and I disagree vehemently onmany things, it does not mean that we areenemies for life and neither does it meanthat I should relish in it and remain silentwhen he is being treated unjustly andwhen he is being persecuted, humiliatedand rubbished by the FederalGovernment. This is all the more so, whenhe has courageously exposed the rot inthe Jonathan administration. He may havegot it wrong on other matters, but on thisissue, I make bold to say that Sanusi gotit right and he did the proper thing. Hedeserves my support, just as he deservesthe support of all right-thinking people,and he can be rest assured that he has it.

By FEMI FANI-KAYODE

•SANUSI

13 OSUN DEFENDER Thursday, Febraury 27, 2014

FEDERAL REPUBLIC OF NIGERIAOSUN RURAL ACCESS & MOBILITY PROJECT (RAMP II)

ID NO: OS/RAMP/W/NCB/14 National Competitive Bidding (NCB)

Invitation to Tender (Specific Procurement Notice)

This Specific Procurement Notice (SPN) follows the publication of theGeneral Procurement Notice GPN for this Project, which appeared in theUN Development Business Issue No: No. 608 August 16th2007 and re-issued on 17th Dec.2013, which appeared on Daily Trust & The NationNewspapers.

2. The Federal Government of Nigeria, through the Federal Ministry ofAgriculture and Rural Development, has received financing from theInternational Development Association (IDA) and French DevelopmentAgency (AFD) (hereafter called the Financing) and on-lent the Financing tofour participating states (Adamawa, Enugu, Niger, and Osun) towards thecost of rehabilitation of prioritized rural roads in these states under the SecondRural Access and Mobility Project (RAMP-2). It is intended that part of theproceeds of this Financing will be applied to eligible payments under thecontracts for the Construction/Rehabilitation of prioritized rural roads in OsunState (hereafter called the Borrower)’’

3. The Osun State Project Implementation Unit (SPIU), of the Rural Accessand Mobility Project (RAMP) on behalf of Osun State Government invitessealed bids from prospective bidders for the construction/ rehabilitation worksin the following lots:-

The Works generally include: site clearance; minor earthworks ;provision ofsub-base; provision of lateritic base course; limited quantities of DoubleBituminous Surface Treatment (DBST); trapezoidal side drains; lined side drains;single and multiple concrete pipe culvert extensions and new culverts; reinforcedconcrete box culverts; road signs and other road furniture.

4. Complete set of bidding documents for any of the lots may be purchased atthe Office address below upon payment of a non-refundable fee of Fifteenthousand Naira (N15,000.) for one Lot only, and any additional lot will includea fee of Ten Thousand Naira (N10,000.) only.

State CoordinatorRural Access & Mobility Project (RAMP) Osun State ProjectImplementation Unit,Ministry of Water Resources, Rural Development and CommunityAffairs, Nigeria

Tel: +234 803- 356-5979, +234 803-387-3763E- Mail: osunramp12@yahoo.com

Interested bidders may obtain further information and inspect the biddingdocuments at the same address. The instructions to bidders and generalconditions of contract contained in the bidding documents comply with theFGN Standard Bidding Documents SBD for the procurement of Works.5. Bids shall be valid for a period of 120 days after Bid Opening and must beaccompanied by security for each lot as follows:

LOT 1 = N17,000,000.00LOT 2 = N16,000,000.00LOT 3 = N15,000,000.00LOT 4 = N21,000,000.00

Bids shall be delivered at the OSUN RAMP 2 State Project ImplementationUnit at the office address above by 12noon local time on or before 14th April,2014.Bids will be opened at the same address at 12 noon local time on the same dateand in the presence of bidders representatives who choose to attend.

Please note that electronic bid submission will not be accepted.

A pre-bid conference will be held at the office address above on 27th March,2014, which is two weeks before bid opening by 12noon to allow potentialbidders to seek clarifications on the bidding documents.

14 IN RETROSPECT

A Memorable Quote From A PDPAspirant In The State Of Osun

“Recently, Chief Bola Ige cameon radio here (Osogbo the state

capital), to insult me and myfamily. THAT IS THE LAST

TIME HE WOULDINSULT ME. He was

beaten yesterday. The people ofIle-Ife beat him up and he wascrying like a baby, as they re-

moved his cap and glasses. If ithad been at a

political gathering, he will bedead by now..... In fact, what thepeople wanted to do was morethan removing his glasses and

cap....” -IYIOLA OMISORE.

•Culled from Vanguard Newspaper.

15 OSUN DEFENDER Thursday, February 27, 2014

THURSDAY, FEBRUARY 27, 2014

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

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.

AregbesolaAnd His Traducers:Facts, Fictions and Fallacies

- By Erasmus Ikhide

Politics in the State ofOsun is attaining a feverishpoint as the state’s gover-norship election slated forAugust 9 approaches. Thedeveloping state of affairscalls for cautious interroga-tion as facts and realities aretrampled upon to levitate fic-tions and fallacies – albeitdisingenuously – as the ulti-mate truth.

However, the redeeming grace forthe polity, the people of the state andGovernor Rauf Aregbesola himself hasbeen his purposeful approach to peoplefriendly governance, his stern commit-ment to the avowed six-point integralaction programme to rescue the statefrom imminent collapse and the impec-cable way with which he has pilotedthe affairs of the state to the admirationof majority of the electorate.

Regrettably, those who had hopedotherwise and fervently worked to-wards scuttling the Governor’s well-thought policy thrust of revitalising thestate’s economy from being a redun-dant civil servant’s state to a self-suffi-cient and revenue-generating state haveother antics in their sleeves. They haveperfected the art of calling white blackand black white and expected Osunelectorate to swallow their falsehoodintact, without thoroughly interrogatingthe issues of educational development,infrastructural revamp, human welfareschemes and the other imponderablesof governance.

In their tactics, Ogbeni’s traducersare either accusing him repeatedly with-out facts to back up their claims of hisgovernment being tilted towardsIslamisation of the state or he is beingalleged to secede the state from theother part of the country. Both claimsfall flat on their faces. It shows howdumbed and unremitting critics of thegovernor can be. How can any detrac-tor delude himself with the allegation ofIslamisation of a state with less than 4million population with roughly equalnumbers of the three dominant religionfervently professing their faiths? Howfeasible is it for an inland state withouta standing army seceding from the otherlarger whole when the entire EasternNigeria failed in its bid between 1967and 1970 for the same purpose?

Unfortunately, the State Security Ser-vice, SSS, that raked up such frivolousand partisan reports to ingratiate itselfto the power-besotting PDP with theinfantile allegation knew where the skywas darkened. The North East has re-mained a tottering bedlam before andafter the infamous Osun State SecurityReports of secession or Islamisation,where Boko Haram drains innocentpeople’s blood daily without respite.

Now, the PDP sees Aregbesola asa potent threat to their dreams to wreckalmost everything in the South-Westand Nigeria, altogether. The thinking isthat if Osun state is the only South-Weststate that President Goodluck Jonathanlost in 2011 presidential election,Aregbesola must this time around bereined in to distort history.

So, the plot of alleged secession andreligious manipulation, even when theseare founded on baseless grounds, pro-voke an insurrection and employ tac-tics to levy security takeover of OsunState. This stems from a primitive andraw concept of power, as the PDP hasfound so attractive, employing thesepast thirteen years in power. The feel-ing is writ large in the diarrheic powerlaboratory of the PDP that once therecalcitrant Aregbesola is taken out ofthe way, it would be easy to take onother more restrained ACN governorsin the South-West and other part of thecountry.

The Osun electorate are not deceivedby the PDP’s gimmicks of taking thestate back to its better forgotten hotspot. Religion is ringing even resonantlyas the ultimate decider of an all impor-tant August 9 governorship election atthe expense of basic developmentstrides of Governor Aregbesola in thelast three years in office. Even at that,there is no Christian Governor acrossthe federation that promoted or sup-ported the Christian faith more faith-fully than Ogbeni.

They have suddenly forgotten thatGovernor Aregbesola, whom theycalled an Islamic fundamentalist, do-nated millions of naira to Baptist

Conference during its 2013 conven-tion in the State of Osun; gave N10million to Osun CAN and providedN35 million for the burial rites of lateProphet Abraham Obadare, the formerGeneral Overseer of WOSEM. It’sunlikely that the Baptist Conventionwould realise that the money was takenfrom the taxes of the hardworkingpeople of the state.

Without mincing words, all recruit-ments and appointments made so farby Ogbeni were made strictly on meritwithout consideration for any primor-dial sentiments. From the 40,000 youthwho are beneficiaries of the OYES,250,000 beneficiaries of O’MEALS,3100 food vendors, 10,507 newly re-cruited teachers, 3 tutor-generals/ per-manent secretaries, 36 permanent sec-retaries, board members and chairmen,48 executive council members. Al-though interestingly, there are moreChristians in the various elite groupsmentioned above one therefore won-ders where or what basis is the hog-wash of Islamisation coming from?Could it be a case of misdirected ag-gression or reversed bigotry?

The gains of education reform in thestate public schools which the detrac-tors choose to misunderstand and fal-sify are glaring.The reforms have hadtremendous impacts on the Osun edu-cational competitiveness. To start with,Osun, from a 34th placing amongNigeria’s 36 states in 2010, moved to18th position in 2011 and 8th positionin 2012, in performance rankings in theWest African School Certificate Exami-nations (WASCE). Pupils from the statehave also chalked up improved perfor-mances in internal, national and inter-national examinations, according to

compilations by the Osun Min-istry of Education. Also, the re-forms have earned a partnershipwith UNESCO to build a regionalteacher training institute in thestate, and a fresh programme inthe area of adult education.

The school feeding scheme,branded O’Meal and currentlybeing implemented in the Elemen-

tary School, has been applauded glo-bally. A few weeks ago, Ogbeni ad-dressed the British joint Parliament onthe success of the school feedingscheme, which is founded on the prin-ciple of good nutrition as incentive forlearning readiness. As we speak, over254,000 school children enjoy highlynutritious daily lunch under a schemethat has been lauded home and abroad.This scheme has also greatly boostedenrolment in elementary schools by notless than 25 per cent.

But an added economic advantageis the boon to farmers and women asthe scheme greatly aids poultry, foodcrops and animal husbandry, by work-ing with farmers and women caterers.O’Meal is conceived as backward in-tegration for a renewed Osun agricul-tural programme, to partly serve asready market for farmers’ produce andboost their income. The school feedinginitiative greatly impressed the BritishParliament and the UNESCO repre-sentatives who are at the forefront ofdriving the cause of returning the over10.8 million Nigerian children back toschool as the sole solution to curbingand alleviating excruciating poverty inthe nearest future worldwide.

Under the Osun Schools Reclassifi-cation Programme, there are ongoingplans to build 100 elementary schools,50 middle schools and 26 high modelschools. But the building is not haphaz-ard. Since many of the old schools areaged and dilapidated and the state doesnot have the funding to replace eachand every of the run-down schoolbuildings, the reclassification policy isstructured on maximising resources.

CONTINUE ON PAGE 5

This means in the new school mod-els, communities would have to shareschool facilities in consolidated schools,against the old practice of each com-munity insisting on its own schools, evenif the pupil population is sparse andthere are hardly enough teachers to goround. This therefore explains themerger of schools which some criticsmay have clearly misunderstood, andin most cases dubbed Islamisation. Themotive is not to inconvenience commu-nities or missions. It is rather tomaximise Osun education resources, insuch a way, as Jeremy Bentham said,“to ensure the greatest happiness of thegreatest number”.