VOL. 9. NO.036 NNNNN5050505050TUESDAY, MARCH 25, 2014

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Front Page Comment

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Who KilledChief Bola Ige,former Attorney-

General andMinister of

Justice? IGE

Omisore DaresJonathan In Abuja

•Leave Us To Sort Out Ourselves, Aspirant Tells President

Osun To Build 5 Ultra-modern Mechanic Villages

Osun PDP Guber Election Crisis:

•The governor, State of Osun, Ogbeni Rauf Aregbesola (arrowed) addressing members of Local Government Education Authority during their endorsement of the governor forsecond term at Nelson Mandela Freedom Park, Osogbo, State of Osun, last Saturday.

OSUN PDP CONFUSED, SAYS APCThe PDP in theState of Osun hasbeen described asconfused,disorganised anddisoriented band ofpoliticians whoshould not betrusted with thehuge responsibilityof governing

the. StateThis assessment ofthe oppositionparty came fromthe AllProgressives Partyin a statement byits Director ofPublicity,

Research and Strat-egy, Barr. KunleOyatomi, and madeavailable to the pressin Osogbo, on Sun-day.The APC was refer-ring to the apparentfiasco that in

the PDP'sag.attempt topick its candi-date from thegovernorshipaspirants whoare practicallyat each other'sthroat a desper-ate bid to fly

has bedevilled

Continue on pg4

2OSUN DEFENDER Tuesday, March 25, 2014

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News

•The governor, State of Osun, Ogbeni Rauf Aregbesola (4th left); Sheikh Abdul-Afeez (3rd left); State of OsunCommissioner for Home Affairs, Tourism and Culture, Mr Sikiru Ayedun (2nd left); Chief of Staff to State of OsunGovernor, Alhaji Gboyega Oyetola (4th right); Senator Bayo Salami (2nd right) after a courtesy visit by MuslimUmmah in the South West Governor Aregbesola at the Government House last Fridat.

Aregbesola Bags Golden AwardOn Public Administration

By KEHINDE AYANTUNJI

GOVERNOR of the State of Osun, Ogbeni RaufAregbesola, on Friday urged the people of Nigeriato reject the People Democratic Party, (PDP) during

the 2014 and 2015 general elections.Aregbesola said the All

Progressives Congress(APC) government willprovide better alternativethat will make life moreabundant for the people ofNigeria.

Governor Aregbesolaberated the PDP 14 yearsstay in power without anyreasonable direct impact inthe living standard of anordinary Nigerian, whilereceiving Golden Award onPublic Administration atOduduwa Hall, ObafemiAwolowo University, Ile-Ife.

The award was presentedto the governor by theNigerian Universities PublicAdministration Studentsduring the first NationalSummit of the association.

Aregbesola said: “As aresult of lack of coordinatedadministration at the federallevel, Nigerians appearluckless and that is morereason we must give themfarewell before they kill thiscountry.”

He commended theassociation for recognisinghis prudent management ofresources despite thefinancial crisis in thecountry.

Aregbesola said: “We are

transforming Osun throughadministrative excellence.Within 400 days of ouradministration, we havedepopulated theunemployed populationwith the employment of20,000 youths. Osun has theleast poverty rate in Nigeriawith 3 percent rate.

“Osun as at this moment

has highest public schoolenrolment, with the highesthuman development inNigeria and second inpoverty reduction.”

OAU Vice Chancellor,Professor Bamidele Omolerepresented by the DeputyVC (Academics), ProfessorOyebami Salami, said the thegovernor has received twoawards in the universitywithin nine months, whichis a confirmation of the goodwork of the governor.

He said no individual inNigeria has met that record

in the last 25 yearsPresident of the

association, Leye Oderemi,said the award was inrecognition of GovernorA r e g b e s o l a ’ stransformation programmesand efficient publicadministration.

Dignitaries at the eventincluded the State Head ofService, Mr SundayOlayinka Owoeye,Commissioner for Cultureand Tourism, Mr SikiruAyedun, his counterpart inthe Local Government andCheiftancy Affairs, MrKolapo Alimi, Senator BayoSalami among others.

South-West Diasporans Endorse Aregbesola, Fayemi For Second TermBy KAZEEM MOHAMMED

PUBLIC office holders from the diaspora in theSouth-West have thrown their weight behindthe second term bid of Governor Rauf

Aregbesola of Osun and Kayode Fayemi of Ekitistates.

At a meeting presidedover by a lawmakerrepresenting Obokun StateConstituency in the Stateof Osun House ofAssembly, HonourableOlufemi Fafiyebi inOsogbo on Saturday, thediasporans said that thetwo governors havechanged the fortune of thetwo states for the better.

The endorsementfollowed a motion by theSenior Special Adviser toEkiti State Governor on

Diaspora, Mr FemiAdefolaju, for the adoptionof Fayemi and secondedby Jerry Adetona fromOsun, while the motion forthe adoption of Aregbesolawas moved by the Osunlawmaker representingAyedaade StateConstituency, HonourableYemi Taiwo and secondedby Honourable SegunErinle from Ekiti.

Speaking at the meeting,Fafiyebi stated that theperformance of the two

governors in revampingthe education system,massive roadconstructions, socialsecurity schemes for theelderly citizens in the twostates, O’MEAL, OYES,distribution of Opon Imoand laptops for studentsamong others have shownthe commitment of thetwo governors to thedevelopment of theirstates.

“The two governorshave done so well andgave the people theconfidence that there arebetter days ahead.

“Inspite the meagreresources that are availableto these two states, thegovernors have shown

that we still have leadersthat are ready for thetransformation of ourstates and they have beencarrying it out to theletter,” Fafiyebi stressed.

Also, Honourable SegunErinle, representingIlejemeje Stateconstituency in the EkitiState House of Assembly,added that none of thecandidates of the PeoplesDemocratic Party (PDP)can match the competenceand pedigree of the twogovernors.

“We know how Osunand Ekiti looked like beforethese two governors cameand we can all see thetransformation takingplace there now.

“Our people have beenexposed to new lease oflives and for these stridesto continue in the twostates, people are ready tore-elect the twogovernors,” he added.

He however noted thatthe group has startedmobilisation for thegovernors, with a view toensuring the realisation oftheir second term bids.

Also, Chief John Filaniand Barrister MuyiwaOlanrewaju called for thesupport of the people forthe two governors in thecoming elections, with aview to giving them theopportunity to do more,interms of development.

Oduoye: Death Shocking,Sad - Aregbesola

GOVERNOR of the State of Osun, OgbeniRauf Aregbesola, has described the death ofSenator Simeon Oduoye, as sad and

shocking.Odunoye reportedly

passed on in the earlyhours of Saturday.

In a statement by theDirector, Bureau ofCommunications andStrategy, Office of theGovernor, Mr. SemiuOkanlawon, Aregbesolasaid Oduoye’s death hascast shadow on the stateand Nigeria’s politicalfirmament.

“Senator Oduoye wasan illustrious son of theState of Osun. He did notonly distinguish himself asa police officer, who rose

to the rank of AssistantInspector General ofPolice. He also gave goodaccount of himself as anadministrator, serving inNiger, Edo and EbonyiStates as MilitaryAdministrator.

“His demise willcertainly leave a gap in thepolitics of the state and thenation at large.

“On behalf of myself, thestate, its entire populace,we commiserate with theentire family of the latesenator.

“I pray that God willgrant him eternal rest,”Aregbesola said.

Osun PDP Guber Election Crisis: Omisore Dares Jonathan In Abuja•Leave Us To Sort Out Ourselves, Aspirant Tells President

By OUR REPORTERIN its bid to find a lasting solution to lingeringcrisis bedevilling the Peoples Democratic Party(PDP) in the State of Osun over who emerges

as its flag-bearer in the fast-approaching Augustgubernatorial election in the state, a meeting calledat the instance of President Goodluck Jonathan withan aspirant on the party’s platform, Senator IyiolaOmisore, has ended on a negative note.

Information at the dis-posal of the medium re-vealed that in view of thenegative reports receivedover Omisore’s possiblecandidature, the Presidentdecided to wade in, with aview to persuading him to

step down in favour of an-other aspirant that maylikely enjoy popular accep-tance among the people.

Impeccable sourcewithin the party hierarchyin the state stated that themeeting, which was held

at the nation’s seat ofpower in Abuja, Aso Rock,had some notable membersof the party in attendance,with President Jonathanpresiding.

With all formalities andprotocol duly observed, thePresident was reported tohave wasted no time in in-forming all in attendance,the purpose of the meet-ing.

According to him,Omisore, inspite of theenormous financial re-

sources at his disposal,would not be able to havea meaningful impact on aformidable candidate ofGovernor RaufAregbesola’s political stat-ure, in view of his ante-cedents, should he befielded by the party.

In the President’s rea-soning at the meeting,Aregbesola, based on hischain of achievementssince his assumption ofoffice, has surpassed thebenchmark in terms of

good governance in thestate, which would makehim a formidable candidatethat would be difficult todefeat.

The Ile-Ife-born senatorwas therefore, advised tostep down for another as-pirant, with a better imageamong the party membersand the electorate.

Omisore, who had pa-tiently maintained his coolwhile the President’sspeech lasted, reportedlystood up and looked atPresident Jonathan in theeyes and told him to steerclear of Osun politics atthe moment, as he still re-mains the aspirant to beat,in view of his supposedpopularity among partymembers.

He also, in a point-blankmanner, said Jonathanwas ignorant of happen-ings in the state, therefore,should leave the aspirantsto sort themselves out.

The source furtherstated that the embattledgovernorship aspirant re-portedly told the gatheringincluding the President toallow all the aspirants to

go for primaries to testtheir political strength andpopularity among partymembers.

He then drummed it intothe ears of all at the meet-ing about his resolve neverto step down for any as-pirant, no matter suchaspirant’s connection withthe presidency.

The medium gatheredthat it was on this note thatthe meeting came to an endwith the presidency decid-ing to opt for anotheraspiranton any otherparty’s platform aside thePDP.

However, recent devel-opments have shown an-other entrant into theparty’s governorship racein the person of formergovernor of the state,Senator Isiaka Adeleke,who many believe, maylikely be the presidency’sanointed aspirant.

Adeleke had last weekgone to the party secre-tariat in the heart ofOsogbo, the state capital,to obtain his intention formfor the princely sum of N5million.

3 News OSUN DEFENDER Tuesday, March 25, 2014

•(R-L) Members of the Public Office Holders from Diaspora in the South West: Hon Yemi Taiwo; Femi Fafiyebi, ChiefJohn Filani, Hon. Segun Erinle, Mr Femi Adefolaju and Mr Jerry Adetona during the endorsement of GovernorsRauf Aregbesola of Osun and Kayode Fayemi of Ekiti states for second term in Osogbo at the weekend.

By SHINA ABUBAKAR

Osun To Build 5 Ultra-modern Mechanic VillagesBy KEHINDE AYANTUNJI

AS part of efforts aimed at industrialising the state,Governor of the State of Osun, Ogbeni RaufAregbesola, has stated that arrangements have been

concluded to build five ultra-modern mechanic villagesworth N5 billion each in the state.

The governor added thatthe mechanic villages,which will be built incollaboration with RebelGroup, a company from theNeitherlands and theNational AutomobileCouncil are five out of theeleven, which have beenapproved for the entirecountry

He made the disclosureduring the inauguration ofthe new Executives ofNational Automobile andTechnician Association ofNigeria (NATAN), Osogboand Olorunda Chapter anddeclaration of support forthe second term ambition ofthe governor.

According to him, the fiveauto-cities will beginoperations this year andwould be located inOsogbo, Ile-Ife, Ikirun, Ilesaand Iwo.

Aregbesola alsodisclosed that a‘mechanitonic village’would soon be built at thepremises of the Osun StateCollege of Technology, Esa-Oke for the training ofNATA members on modernways of automobile repairs.

He stated that the village,which will cost the stategovernment N1 billion will

be manned by a team of 30engineers, who are alreadyundergoing training onmodern day automobilerepairs in Germany.

While describing NATAas a strong pillar behind theeconomic growth of thestate and a body which

always cooperates withgovernment to move thestate forward, the governorappreciated NATAendorsement, saying it willspurr the administration tocontinue moving the stateforward.

He described theendorsement as a huge signthat members of NATA andthe state at large appreciatethe good governance,which the state is presentlyenjoying.

Chairman of the occasionand chairman, Oranmiyan

Worldwide, Prince FelixAwofisayo appreciated theNATA group for standingby the administrationthrough thick and thin,while pledging thecontinued support of theadministration towards thegroup.

Also speaking, the Vice-President of NATA in theSouth-West, Comrade DeleOdewale, commended thegiant strides of the presentadministration in the Stateof Osun, stressing that theperformance of Aregbesola-

led administration is beingfelt even in neighbouringstates.

He added that Aregbesolais a God-sent governor, whois ruling the state accordingto the way he has been sentby the almighty God, whichis why he is getting it right.

Speaking on behalf of themembers of NATA, the StateChairman of NATA,Comrade Fatai Balogun,said the automobilemechanics gathered tothrow their weight behindthe second term ambition of

the governor in recognitionof his brilliant performance.

He stated that theAregbesola administrationhas impacted their lives andprofession positively.

Dignitaries on theoccasion included the statedeputy governor, Otunba(Mrs) Grace Titilayo Laoye-Tomori, the Secretary to theState Government, AlhajiMoshood Adeoti, the Chiefof Staff to the Governor,Alhaji Gboyega Oyetola andother members of the stateexecutive council.

Electorate Must Be Mobilized To Elect Own Leaders - NA Member

THE impressive turn-out of the people of the State ofOsun, Nigeria, for the voters’ registration exercisehas further confirmed that the current public

administration and governance in the state have uprootedapathy and indifference, and rekindled interest of Osunpeople in the electoral process.

A traditional ruler in thestate, HRH Oba AbdulrahamBabatunde Mohammed,Olosunjela of Osunjela-Ijesain Atakunmosa West LocalGovernment Council Area ofthe state made theobservation when a team ofsitting parliamentarians paida courtesy call in his palace,after they had visited somevoters’ registration centresin the state.

The monarch recalledthat the massive rigging inthe past had clearly ruinedthe nation’s previousefforts at building a virileand democratic polity in

Nigeria.He stressed that political

education would guaranteean enlightened, political-conscious and vigilantelectorate.

Oba Mohammed statedthat an effective, reliable,free and fair electoralprocess is vital to thesuccess of democracy,explaining that thewidespread ignorance of themasses clearly contributedto the collapse ofdemocracy in the past.

The lawmakers of the AllProgressives Congress(APC) extraction, led by

Honourable Isreal AjibolaFamurewa had earlier notedthat a voter’s cardempowered the voter toelect leaders of clear visionand strong commitment todemocracy and progress.

Speaking for the visitinglegislators, Famurewa of theNational Assembly, Abuja,representing Ijesa SouthFederal Constituency

remarked: “The electoratemust be enlightened,mobilized and empoweredto use their electoral powerwisely and decisively toelect leaders andrepresentatives of requisiteintegrity.”

The federal lawmakerdecried the politics of non-issues, and urged the votersin the state to vote for

politics of ideas, policiesand good programmes inthe forthcominggovernorship election in thestate.

He said: “The sterlingperformances of GovernorRauf Aregbesola in the statehave regeneratedenthusiasm of Osun peoplein politics and elections”.

Akere Blames FG Over Workers’ Salary Delay,Applauds Workers’ Understanding

CIVIL servants and pensioners in the State ofOsun have been commended for their supportand understanding in the face of the financial

hiccups created by the Federal Government’sreduction of funds accruable to states from thefederation account, based on the spurious allegationof drop in sales of crude oil.

monthly dropped to about2.7 billion per month sinceJuly 2013, leading to aslight delay in the paymentof salaries and wages.

He disclosed that theability of the Aregbesolaadministration to still paysalaries, wages andpension, even after someweeks’ delay, deservedcommendation, saying: “ifnot for the prudent styleof managing the affairs ofthe state that has led to thecreation of reservessavings, the current N2.7billion from the federalallocation is not sufficientto meet the monthly wagebill of about N3.6 billion;not to talk of thegovernment being able to

meet its other statutoryfinancial commitmentsand funding of thenumerous ongoingprojects.

“The establishment ofthe Omoluabi SavingsScheme, whichmandatorily made thegovernment to save 15 percent of the accruablemonthly revenue beforethe downturn, assistedgovernment in a long wayin meeting up with itsfinancial obligations.”

Several states of thefederation and even,including the FederalGovernment are owingsalaries, wages andpensions running intoseveral months withoutany hope of quicksettlement, while Osunhas been successfullypaying the salaries, wagesand pensions with onlyfew days’ delay.

He reiterated that as theelectioneering campaigndraws near, the oppositionin its deceitful conduct willnot hesitate to go round,spreading falsehood, byclaiming that the little delayis the making of theAregbesola administration,ignoring the fact that itwas truly the making of thePDP-led FederalGovernment.

Akere noted that thedesperate politicians thatare out to spreadfalsehood and outright liesshould be asked what thesituation is with workersin the employ of theFederal Government,instead of them beingallowed to instigate crisisin the otherwise seacefulstate of the Virtuous.

On payment of salariesand wages for February2014, Akere stated thatGovernor Aregbesola hasordered payment since lastweek.

Osun PDP Confused, Says APCTHE State of Osun chapter of the Peoples Democratic

Party (PDP) has been described as a confused,disorganised and disoriented band of who should not

be trusted with the huge responsibility of governing thestate.

This assessment of theopposition party came fromthe state wing of AllProgressives Party (APC) ina statement issued andsigned by its Director ofPublicity, Research andStrategy, Barrister KunleOyatomi, and made availableto journalists in Osogbo, thestate capital on Sunday.

The APC was referring tothe apparent fiasco that hasbedevilled the PDP’sattempt to pick its candidatefrom the governorshipaspirants who arepractically at each other’sthroat, in a desperate bid tofly the opposition party’sflag.

According to the APC,‘the lies, allegations andmudslinging among theaspirants have turned into‘roforofo’ fight, in whichfake security report and liesabout their president’sendorsement of one or theother have only shown howmean and irresponsiblesome of the PDP aspirantscan get.

The APC maintained thatthere’s no viable challengefrom the PDP as yet toOgbeni Rauf Aregbesola.

‘The situation is nowgetting worse becausedesperate aspirants withinthe opposition areoriginating fake andspurious security report tothe president on the pagesof newspapers, attemptingto stupidly suggest that theAPC is responsible for thedisarray in which Osun PDPfound itself over whoshould be the party’s

candidate.“A party like the PDP,

notorious for lies, fraud,incompetence andkleptomania will never againbe voted into power,anywhere in Yorubaland,moreso in Osun, theheartland of Yoruba nation.

“That is so because ofOsun people’s horribleexperience with that partybetween 2003 and 2010,”the APC declared.

The party thereforeurged the citizenry of Osunto stand firm and disregardthe shenanigans of PDP

politicians, who aredesperate for power in thestate.

The main oppositionparty was also reminded bythe APC spokesman toalways remember that‘virtuous people can nevergive their gold to the pigs,because the pigs will smearit in the mud’.The APCfurther stressed: “Withcourage and persistence indefending the progressAregbesola has made sinceNovember 2010, we shallovercome the violence, thedesperation andwickedness that the PDP isunleashing on the peacefulState of Osun in the run-upto August 9 election,” theAPC declared

Speaking withjournalists in Osogbo overthe weekend, the StateCommissioner forInformation and Strategy,Honourable Sunday Akere,reminded civil servants ofthe pledge andcommitment of GovernorRauf Aregbesola’sadministration towardspayment of their salarieslatest by 25th of everymonth; a commitment hereligiously honoured untilthe down-turn in therevenue allocations to thestate since July 2013.

Speaking further, thecommissioner said theaverage allocation from thefederation account, whichhovers around N4.6 billion

4 OSUN DEFENDER Tuesday, March 25, 2014

OSUN PDP CONFUSED, SAYS APCthe oppositionflag.According tothe APC, 'thelies, allegationsand mudsling-ing among theaspirants haveturned into'roforofo' fightin which fakesecurity reportand lies abottheirpresident'sendorsement ofone or theother have onlyshowed how

mean and irre-sponsible someof the PDP aspir-ants can get'.The APC main-tained that there'sno viable chal-lenge from thePDP as yet toOgbeni RaufAregbesola.'The situation isnow gettingworse becausedesperate aspir-ants within theopposition areoriginating fakeand spurioussecurity report to

the president onthe pages ofnewspapers,attempting tostupidly suggestthat the APC isresponsible forthe disarray inwhich OsunPDP found itselfover who shouldbe the party'scandidate.A party like thePDP, notoriousfor lies, fraud,incompetence'.and kleptoma-nia will neveragain be votedinto power,

Recurrent Electioneering Problem In NigeriaSCIENCE teaches that

Man is a higher animal,because of its ability to

think. The fact that Man hasbeing growing at ageometrical progression inall its areas; politically,economically, scientificallyand even spiritually. Manhas ever being proving tobe different from animalsand trees. We have not beenstatic; we have beenmoving; growing from onegrade of civilization toanother; from the art of war,to communication, writingand to transportation.

Civilization is not only amajor sign that man growsand that Man is not static,but unfortunately Nigeriaseems to be static in theareas of electioneering.Should we possibly say thatthis is not our form ofgovernment culturally orshould we admit that afterdecades of independence,we are still slaves to othergovernments by practicingtheir forms of government?As old as Nigeria is, are weto say that ‘the Old Man isthe Young Man’s son?Definitely no! Nigeria hasgot un-used potentials.

The National Chairman ofthe Independent NationalElectoral Commission(INEC), Professor AttahiruJega has been doingdifferent things to getdifferent result. But it seemsthe man’s different ideas arenot making any difference.We could plead hisretirement like manypoliticians are doing, but willthis solve the problemNigeria has got in the area

of electioneering?Man can think; everyone

believes in this simpletheory. Should we possiblynow believe in the absurditythat Africans or Nigeriansare foolish? Definitely No!But it is quite saddeningthat Nigeria has been apolitical entity for a whilenow, yet, she couldn’t fit into the grade of itscontemporaries even in theWest-African sub-region.

Anambra State’sgubernatorial election wasrecorded on gross faults.Collection of Permanent ofVoters’ cards in the State ofOsun was also recorded tohave been a major waytowards rigging the August9 election, in the state. INECshould buckle up.

Who can predict what achild will be on earth, if notfor the one who could seeinto the deep, but the issues

on ground needs no seer tobe seen. Despite all Jega’sideas, INEC still seems toinefficient again.

Isn’t it high time we gotour heads together to solvethe problem of this countryonce and for all, especiallyin the areas that concern thechosen representativegovernment in the country.

If truly we want topractice representativedemocratic government, I

think it is high time we did itlike other nations, that havesucceeded in it or we do itbetter than they do, butnever below what they havedone.

Without mincing words,I guise we need to call onevery unscrupulous andgreedy politician to desistfrom every act of evil, whichmight not only affect thisgeneration, but the cominggenerations. They shouldpave way for INEC toperform it duties as itdesires. They should letINEC be the IndependentNational ElectoralCommission it is and notdependent on anypolitician.

Also INEC should besincere, think well andprove to the public whomthey serve that they are notzombies, neither are they atool for any politician.

The on-going voters’registration is poor in allsincerity; INEC should getthings fixed up properly forthe sake of its reputation.

• A B R A H A MJESUDOYIN, Ogo-Oluwa,Osogbo, State of Osun

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

desperate forpower in thestate.They shouldalways remem-ber that virtuouspeople cannever give theirgold to the pigs,because the pigswill smear it inthe mud'.The APC furtherstressed, 'withcourage andpersistence indefending theprogressAregbesola hasmade since

anywhere inYorubaland,moreso in Osun,the heartland ofYoruba nation.That is so be-cause of Osunpeople's horribleexperience withthat party be-tween 2003 and2010', the APCdeclared.The party there-fore urged thecitizenry of Osunto stand firm anddisregard theshenanigans ofPDP politicianswho are

'November2010, we shallovercome the violence,the desperationand wickednessthat the PDP isunleashing onthe peacefulstate of Osun inthe run-up toAugust 9 elec-tion', the APCdeclared

Continued from pg1

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EducationOSUN DEFENDER Tuesday, March 25, 2014

Benefits Of Opon Imo Education Intervention InitiativeIn spite of the volume and quality of time and lengthy writings devoted to the Opon Imo intervention

initiative introduced by the incumbent administration; the fact still remains that it stands as one of themost controversial measures among all revolutionary instruments in the Education Sub-sector of thestate in modern time. NIYI OLASINDE revisits the numerous benefits of the Tablet of Knowledge, asa prelude to the kick-off of the first set of school certificate examinations to be sat by certificate yearstudents in the State of Osun since its introduction last year. The bold pace-setting step of pioneering thiswonderful device for use in our public schools, which had for several years running, been relegated andreduced to bases for disseminating ignorance, poverty and intellectual cum moral decay is through thispiece applauded. With the outset of the first round of Senior Secondary Schools’ Certificate in Education(SSCE) external examinations this year, this edition is dedicated to the huge ground-breaking achievementsexpected, concomitant to the introduction of the intervention initiative. This is coupled with the fact thatthe Aregbesola administration, as part of its free education drive, enrolled the public schools’ candidatesin the State of Osun free of charge for the West African Examinations’ Council (WAEC) segment of theexaminations.

Revamping Public Education In The State Of Osun

•(L-R) Chairman, All Progressive Congress (APC) , Chief Bisi Akande; the Deputy Governor/Commissioner for Education, State of Osun, Otunba (Mrs) Titi Laoye-Tomori; thegovernor, Ogbeni Rauf Aregbesola; his wife, Sherifat; the Speaker, House of Representatives, Honourable Aminu Tambuwal and the National Leader, All Progressive Congress(APC), Asiwaju Bola Ahmed Tinubu, during the official launch of Opon Imo: Tablet of Knowledge at Zenababs Hotel, Ilesa, the State of Osun, sometime ago.

6 OSUN DEFENDER Tuesday, March 25, 2014MAGAZINE

Benefits Of Opon Imo Education Intervention Initiative

Contiuned from page 5

Contiuned on page 11

THE terrains of public education in theyears preceding the advent of the RaufAregbesola administration was far from

being attractive or alluring. This is true as allindications pointed to a situation of rot, decay,abandonment and devastation in the sub-sector;so much so that parents and guardians wererepelled with fear and disgust from committingtheir wards to the care and tutelage that thatcategory of schools dispensed. Needless to say,the only category of parents and guardians whowere left to the mercy of those schools werethose who due to certain limitations imposedby economy or other factors, had no alternativethan sending their wards there as a last resort.In other words the segment of the populace whogave patronage to those schools in those darkdays comprised those who looked up to Godand prayed ceaselessly for deliverance andrescue to come their way some day.

In our series last year and in years before,OSUN DEFENDER Magazine has devotedlengthy writing to the spate of rot and decaywhich the sub-sector witnessed during theperiod under reference. We therefore wouldnot have to subject our numerous readers tothe boredom, drudgery and monotony of havingto recast the ugly events of those years. Wealso have, time and time again given details ofthe poor score sheets of candidates of the statewho were produced through the ugly system inpublic examinations. In honest terms, theperformances were not only persistently poorbut also abysmally woeful and disheartening.In terms of enrolment figures, the statistics haddwindled drastically. In terms of schools’physical structures, materials, equipment andtextbooks, the scoring was simply nothing towrite home about. The quantity and quality ofteaching and non-teaching personnel in thoseschools had been another point of concern. Inmost cases, the teachers were not just there.Where they were present in some numbers, itwas not usually in the right quality. Recruitmentand selection exercises for teachers in those

days were fraught with fraud and irregularities,hence, the teachers (so called) were mostlyengaged in an attempt to pacify politicalhangers-on, cronies and boot-lickers.

Since the coming on board of the RaufAregbesola administration however, a wave ofchange, unprecedented and unimaginable –confounding to distracters has rippled thepublic education sub-sector of the state. In allramifications, the sub-sector has been virtuallyoverhauled. Apart from the free, functional andqualitative education package wielded by theadministration of Ogbeni Rauf AdesojiAregbesola in the State of the Virtuous, othercomponents of good service delivery, whichcould make learning much easier, attractive,effective and efficient have been put in place.Among the multiple “O” programmes initiatedby the Government Unusual, the educationindustry has taken a substantial number. We caneasily talk of the O’ Uniform programme underthe auspices of which the administrationdistributed school uniforms and badges free ofcharge to all students in public schools inaccordance with their levels; whetherelementary, middle or high school. Not onlythis, the O’ Meal programme ensures freefeeding of pupils in primary school classes oneto four on daily basis with nutritious and highlyenriched food varieties so as to enhance theirintellectual development and prepare themadequately for future challenges. The O’Calisthenics is a programme in physical cumaffective and psychomotor domains. Throughit, the government of the day has exposed thestudents, drawn mostly from the middle schoolrung of the educational ladder to moreproductive engagements of their time, talentsand latent potentials.

The O’ SCHOOLS intervention initiative isan area that is almost of exceeding importanceof all. This is so as no meaningful and impactfulteaching-learning process can take place inpoor physical environment. The State of OsunSchools Infrastructure DevelopmentCommittee, known for short as O’ SCHOOLSis out to effect the demolition of all existing

dangerously dilapidating structures in all ourpublic schools and replacing such with modern,befitting and more durable ones that canfavourably compare with the demands of theTwenty-First Century. We have discussedissues relating to this to detail in some of oureditions in the just-concluded year. We onlyneed to add in passing that “infrastructure” inthe context of O’ SCHOOLS mean a widevariety of components which include:

a) School buildings as designed andapproved;

b) External works as designed andapproved;

c) Landscaping as designed and approved;d) Furniture for students and staff;e) Library, laboratory and workshop

equipments;f) Sporting facilities; andg) Any other facility, structure and

equipment that may be considered necessaryfor effective teaching and learning in theschools.

Also, by the plan of the O’ SCHOOLSCommittee, we realize that the governmentintended at the initial stage to build and deliver:

· 100 elementary schools (2,100classrooms);

· 50 (62?) middle schools; and· 20 high schoolsIn view of limitations imposed by the

economic realities on ground, the first phaseof the programme could howeveraccommodate the minimum delivery of:

· 50 elementary schools;· 33 middle schools; and· Between 10 and 20 high schoolsAs at the end of last year, the statistics of

these schools which were almost ready forofficial commissioning and use was put at

about fifteen (15) elementary schools;thirteen (13) middle schools; and ten (10)

high schools. The figures are still counting, asthe programme is continuous through the lifeof the administration. Latter part of last year

•(L-R) Representative of Kano State Governor, Kano State Commissioner for Education, Barrister Farouk Iyasambo; Speaker, Federal House of Representatives, HonourableAminu Tambuwal; Oyo State Governor, Senator Abiola Ajimobi; Senator Bola Ahmed Tinubu and APC National Chairman, Chief Bisi Akande, during the launching of OponImo tablet for students of the State of Osun in public Secondary Schools at Zinabab Hotel in Ilesa sometime ago.

7 OSUN DEFENDER Tuesday, March 25, 2014 PHOTOTALKLocal Government Education Authority Staff In The State Of Osun EndorsedGovernor Rauf Aregbesola For Second Term In Office At Nelson Mandela FreedomPark, Osogbo, Last Saturday.

•Governor Aregbesola (left) acknowledging cheers from his supporters.

•A cross section of the LGEA staffers during the programme.

8 OSUN DEFENDER Tuesday, March 25, 2014 PHOTOTALKLocal Government Education Authority Staff In The State Of Osun Endorsed GovernorRauf Aregbesola For Second Term In Office At Nelson Mandela Freedom Park,Osogbo, Last Saturday.

•Governor Aregbesola (left) in a handshake with President of ANTP in Nigeria, Mr Jide Kosoko on the occasion.

•A cross section of ecstatic Aregbesola’s admirers at the event.

9 OSUN DEFENDER Tuesday, March 25, 2014PHOTOTALKLocal Government Education Authority Staff In The State Of Osun EndorsedGovernor Rauf Aregbesola For Second Term In Office At Nelson Mandela FreedomPark, Osogbo, Last Saturday.

•The LGEA members raising up Governor Aregbesola’s hand to support him for second term in Osogbo.

•The governor, State of Osun, Ogbeni Rauf Aregbesola; his Deputy, Otunba (Mrs) Titi Laoye Tomori with the Executives of Nigeria Automobile Technician Association (NATA),Osun Chapter, during the governor’s endorsement for second term in office and inauguration of state executives at Nelson Mandela Freedom Park, Osogbo, last Thursday.

Nigeria Automobile Technician Association, State Of Osun Chapter, Endorsed StateOf Osun Governor, Ogbeni Rauf Aregbesola, For Second Term In Office At NelsonMandela Freedom Park, Osogbo, Last Thursday.

10 OSUN DEFENDER Tuesday, March 25, 2014PHOTOTALKLocal Government Education Authority Staff In The State Of Osun Endorsed GovernorRauf Aregbesola For Second Term In Office At Nelson Mandela Freedom Park,Osogbo, Last Saturday.

•Governor Aregbesola (right) addressing his admirers during the programme.

•A cross section of O’Meal vendors during the programme.

11 OSUN DEFENDER Tuesday, March 25, 2014 MAGAZINE

Benefits Of Opon Imo Education Intervention Initiative

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•AREGBESOLA •LAOYE-TOMORI

and early this year marked the officialcommissioning of the first fruits of the O’SCHOOLS project and their delivery to theirrespective intended end-users.

First in this regard was the officialcommissioning of the Salvation Army MiddleSchool, located at the Oke Fia / Alekuwodoarea of Osogbo, the capital of the State of Osun.That was done in September 2013. Second wasthe commissioning in February of 2014 ofBaptist Central Elementary School, Ilare, Ile-Ife. Most recently during the month of March,another ultra-modern school building projectin the category of elementary school, theA.U.D. Government Elementary School, Isale-Agbara, Isale-Osun, Osogbo was officiallycommissioned. The list is still counting! Thisrate of completion has put wagging tonguesinto silence.

We have observed through the lifetime of theincumbent administration how our publicschools have flourished prolifically withmassive employment of trained, qualified,competent and highly experienced teachingpersonnel. We have also witnessed how theadministration has made the teachers in publicschools highly motivated by attendingpromptly to all their needs, not only in termsof salaries and fringe benefits, but also otherneeds bordering on entry and terminal pointsas well as elevation of high echelon personnelin the teaching profession to the exalted statusof Permanent Secretary. Hence we now havethree Tutors-General; one for each SenatorialDistrict of the state.

Central to the free education programme ofthe administration of the day is the free bookdistribution exercise embarked upon. By this,the sufferings of the masses have been alleviateda great deal through free distribution ofexercise. The climax of this is the introductionof the Tablet of Knowledge, known as OponImo. This device is one of the most laudableefforts of the Aregbesola administration in theEducation Sub-sector. The SchoolsReclassification Programme and SchoolsDiscipline Initiative are other effort made torevive the sector from the horrible state it wasin at the take-over time of the administration.

We shall now swing forward to give conciseconsideration to Opon Imo and all that it entails.

When the newly-inaugurated administrationof Ogbeni Rauf Aregbesola came out with theidea of holding the first-ever State of OsunEducation Summit in February 2011, detractorswagged their tongues in outright condemnationof the programme which they considered assheer waste of time and resources. Today, thesummit has justified itself; as it has translatedto meaningful life-impacting transformation inthe Education Sub-sector of the state; mostespecially the public schools, to which thegovernment remains proprietor and financier.

We know for sure that quite a number ofinteresting packages has begun to be rolled outas aftermath of the summit, which was chairedby none less a personality like the academicgiant and famous Nobel Laurel, ProfessorWole Soyinka. Notable among such educationalrebranding efforts of the administration whichare wielding potent reforms in the educationindustry of the state owing to their purposefuland faithful implementation are the O’ Uniform,O’ SCHOOLS, O’ Meal and O’ Calisthenics; andsuch others as we have discussed above. Theparticular ground-shaking and epoch-makingentrant into the scene is the Tablet ofKnowledge, known popularly as Opon Imo.

THE Opon Imo initiative has come, like itsearlier-introduced counterparts to demystifyschool learning and make public schoollearning more attractive; thereby restoring itsold-lost glory, honour, sanctity and rectitude.By virtue of the line-up of these interventionefforts, it is no longer a dreadful event to senda child to public schools. On top of theseattractive packages; education in our publicschools is free, qualitative and functional. Whatthis latter point implies is that a goodproportion of parents who had been madevictims of coughing out enormous hard-earnedresources in order to get their wards educatedin private schools; or rather who could scarcelyafford that costly facility for their wards arenow afforded the rare privilege of goodeducation free of charge, courtesy of thequintessential leader of our time, OgbeniAregbesola.

Through the introduction of Opon Imo, theburden of spending enormously on textbookseither by parents or government has beenrelieved. We remember with nostalgia the oldgood eras of free education as introduced andsuccessfully operated in the defunct WesternRegion by the late sage, Chief ObafemiAwolowo, the premier of the Region. The samefeat was replicated during the Second Republicwith late Chief Bola Ige at the helm of affairsas Governor of the old Oyo State. We alsoremember the good efforts of Chief BisiAkande in his days as Governor of the present-day State of Osun.

During the entire period under reference,tuition, textbooks and notebooks were entirelyfree! The free education scheme afforded manyschool children especially those from humblesocio-economic background the opportunity ofaccess to quality, functional education. By thestandards of those periods, school childrenwere provided with textbooks and notebooksfree of charge. But the standards of the currenttime place the demand on government to findanother device which can present volumes ofbooks of different sizes in a very light, easy-to-access gadget, which an average learner cancarry about with much ease and which canprovide learning anywhere and anytime withoutthe burden of carrying bulky bags around.

Another advantage of the Opon Imo is that itsaves the government the perennial burden ofprocuring sets of books. According toGovernor Aregbesola while responding tocritics that his administration is deemphasizingthe use of books, he enumerated the economicbenefits of providing easier4 alternative asconsisting in saving enormous costs for thestate which can be expended on other viablelife- changing programmes and projects. Thegovernor said that over a period of ten years,the devise would save government a whoopingsum of about N50.25 billion; were the state toengage in the physical purchase of hard copiesof textbooks for the 17 subjects taught in ourpublic schools, hard copies of 51 audiotutorials, hard copies of JAMB and WAEC pastquestions and answers and the rest.

Aside these, the Opon Imo device can be

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Benefits Of Opon Imo Education Intervention Initiative

solar-powered. It also has the capacity torecord audio lessons, thus saving students thetrouble of copying notes. It also spares themmore time to learn.

Another benefit confirmed for the device isthat it facilitates the incumbent administration’sfree education programme through its cost-saving nature. We would all agree that a trulyqualitative and functional free educationprogramme is usually a crowd-puller. Thepopulist nature of such programme thereforewould require its provider to find means ofmaking learning easier, fast and all-reachingwithin a limited space of time. OSUNDEFENDER Magazine is of the assurance thatthe Aregbesola administration has done thissufficiently well.

The governor has continuously emphasizedthe bold resolve and determination of hisadministration to focus thrust on the makingof the total student – so the preparation ofconducive learning environment, whichconsists in the construction of befittingclassrooms and equipping such with goodfurniture, shall win the priority attention of hisgovernment. He has never reneged on hispromise that his administration will not waveror get derailed from the pursuance of theselofty courses of action.

Further on the issue if textbooks, Aregbesolareasoned that since textbooks are made fromwood which is obtained from forests cultivatedon wide expanses of land; the introduction of adevise like Opon Imo, which reduces thedependence on books, will help in theconservation of our forest resources, hencereducing risks associated with environmentaldegradation.

It has been a reasonable argument from thepoint of view of Ogbeni Aregbesola that sincea student must have been exposed to textbooksfrom kindergarten, offering him somethingdifferent at his high school age would do himmuch benefit. In other words, he should beoffered with the kind of learning that brings himin conformity with his colleagues and

counterparts in the present world order throughexposure to digital-based instruction thatmakes him ICT-compliant.

In Governor Aregbesola’s definition, theOpon Imo devise is a first of its kind standalonelearning tablet in the world for self-paced study.It provides three major content categories vis-à-vis e-library virtual classroom, and anintegrated test zone. The virtual classroomcategory contains 63 e-books, covering 17academic subjects for examinations conductedby WAEC, NECO and JAMB as well as non-academic life-enriching subjects such asHistory of the Yoruba, Sexuality Education,Civic Education, Ifa on Ethics and Morals,Enterprise Education, hints and tips on passingSSCE and How to Live a Healthy and HappyLife. It was further revealed by the Governorthat this section also contains an average of 16chapters per subject and 823 chapters in all,with about 900 minutes or 15 hours of audiovoiceovers.

In the integrated net zone of the devise, thereare more than 40,000 JAMB and WAECpractice questions and answers dating back toabout 20 years. It also contains mock tests inmore than 51 subject areas, whichapproximates to 1,220 chapters, with roughly29,000 questions, referencing about 825images.

The tablet, as it has turned out, is in design,use and purpose more than a learning devise. Itis a revolution that individualizes learning andbrings the school to the child. No wonder thatGovernor Aregbesola said that in the old order,the pupils went to school to study, but that withOpon Imo, they henceforth learn!

Opon Imo has also been defined as entailingdemocratization of learning. This is so, becauseOpon Imo provides equal access to every child,irrespective of his or her background. Pupilsin the remotest village now have access to thesame body of knowledge as their counterpartsfrom the most cosmopolitan city.

No wonder that OSUN DEFENDERMagazine drew reference to the coincidenceof the Opon Imo launch with the June 12celebration, vis-à-vis the mention above of the

democratization aspect of the device. We pauseto reflect that the annulment of the results ofthe June 12, 1993 Presidential Elections whichwas widely, convincingly and overwhelminglywon by the late business mogul, captain ofcommerce and symbol of the collective causefor democracy, late Bashorun MoshoodKasimawo Olawale Abiola poised monumentalset-back to the nation and the development ofits segments and institutions. Had thedemocratic experience of that time beenallowed to thrive and materialize, the nationwould have advanced well today. This is moreso if it is viewed against the back drop that theachievers of today – Senator Bola AhmedTinubu, Governor Babatunde Raji Fasola andour own Ogbeni Rauf Adesoji Aregbesola –were parts and parcel of the struggle in thedefunct Social Democratic Party (SDP). If ourreturn to democratic governance had startedfrom that time; honestly, we would have gonevery far by now.

Opon Imo, by containing all subjects, is averitable tool in the making of the roundedstudent. It was revealed that a science studenthas access to textbooks on arts and socialsciences and vice-versa.

We also learnt that there is a business side tothe tablet. According to Governor Aregbesola,a factory for the assemblage of computertablets is already in the pipeline in the State ofOsun. The factory will provide jobs for ouryouths and provide revenue to the government.He said that by that singular move, thefoundation is being laid for the making of Osunas the IT hub of the nation. The governorexpressed the hope of his administration thatOpon Imo would spread to other parts of thenation from the State of Osun.

In rounding up his speech at the launch of thedevise in June 2013, Ogbeni Aregbesola viewedthe addition of Opon Imo to our education asanother turning point in the public schoolsystem in the State of Osun. He expressed hisstrong belief that the history was in the makingon that day with the official launch of the

Continued on page 13

•A cross section of pupils in the State of Osun displaying the Opon-Imo tablets, during the official launch at Zenababs Hotel, Ilesa, State of Osun.

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13 OSUN DEFENDER Tuesday, March 25, 2014MAGAZINE

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devise; and that the real significance of the day in thehistory of education in Osun will be appreciated inthe fullness of time.

History was made in June 2013 through the eventsculminating in the official unveiling of the iPod-likecomputer devise; customized to demystify learningfor students at the senior secondary level of our publicschool system in the State of Osun. Branded simplyas Opon Imo, which translates into Tablet ofKnowledge, the devise, a brainchild of the Aregbesolaadministration had earlier come under severecriticisms from the camp of detractors on manygrounds; the last of which was that the programmehad been clandestinely launched in Lagos.

Earlier, detractors had tongue-lashed the projectas sheer attempt at wasting the financial fortunes ofthe state; attempting to deify the oracles by theintroduction of what they chose to call Opon Ifa;and an overall attempt at making the youths of thestate tow the path of fetishism. As time advanced,further accusations came that the Opon Imo projectsought to deemphasize the use of textbooks; and mostrecently, critics of the project cried foul that it hadbeen launched in Lagos, rather than the State of Osunfor which it was designed and meant.

At the end of it all, the administration of the day,under the leadership of Ogbeni Rauf Aregbesola hasproven itself to be well above all situations aimed atdistracting it as the Opon Imo initiative has eventuallyseen the light of day.

In his state-wide broadcast heralding in the NewYear 2014, the Governor of the State of Osun, OgbeniRauf Adesoji Aregbesola elucidated on the numerousachievements of his administration in the past years.In his speech titled “Reflections on Our Policies andProgrammes”, the Governor detailed theachievements, which bordered chiefly on the giantstrides recorded in the education industry. Whilecommenting on the whole essence of his aspirationto become the helmsman of the state in the first place,the governor had this to say:

“As we begin this great year, I reflect on thelast year and even the last three years since theAlmighty God, by His grace and mercy, broughtme to this seat as your Governor. Permit me tosay that the only reason why I aspired to begovernor was to get an opportunity to improvethe lot of the masses of our people.

“I know how dehumanizing poverty and lackof opportunities can be. I know how illiteracy cantruncate the destiny of a person and a society.

“This is why every day our focus as anadministration has been (and is) on how toimprove the lives of the majority of our people.

“My firm belief is that government exists toprotect life, liberty and pursuit of happiness,provide an environment for commerce to thrive,for the young and economically deprived to beeducated, for the sick who cannot afford medi-care to be taken care of, for the provision ofsecurity for all, and for the enforcement of therule of law and maintenance of law and order.

“All of these must be premised on the truth thatall men, regardless of means, religion or ethnicity,are created equal by God and must be enabledwhere they are unable to access the means fordecent and humane existence.

“The question I ask myself about any policy wepropose to make is simple: ‘How will this benefitthe poorest in the State of Osun’?”

On the justification behind the introduction of theO’ Meal programme, the Governor made thefollowing comments:

“It is this philosophy that has guided andinspired all of our policies as your government.We put in place the O’Meals programme forfeeding all elementary school children dailybecause we know that a large number of ourpeople find it difficult to feed themselves and theirchildren. We know that undernourishment andcalorie deficiency is a major cause of physical andmental underdevelopment of children and young

people.

“It has been scientifically confirmed in manycountries that provide lunch for their children inschool that it significantly improves the academicperformance and health of the pupils. We arefinding this to be the case in our state.

“Additionally, the programme has increasedelementary school enrolment in Osun from150,000 to 380,000 children. We now have thelargest elementary school enrolment in thecountry.”

Of particular note is the reference we intend to drawto the last quoted paragraph above. On the overall, itis the aggregate of the comprehensive and integrativepackage of initiatives in the education sector of thestate that contributed to the upsurge in enrolmentstatistics of public schools in the state, to the effectthat there was a swelling of more than double onlywithin the space of three years.

Commenting on the Opon Imo initiative, theGovernor traced the purpose of its introduction andthe impact it had made so far, when he said:

“Our provision of ‘OPON IMO’ (THE TABLETOF KNOWLEDGE) which contains all thetextbooks and teaching aids required in highschool is because we know that most parents inthe state simply cannot afford the cost oftextbooks.

“Again we believe that all of our children,regardless of the financial means of their parents,must have equal access to books and othermaterials for effective learning. The introductionof this electronic tablet is to bring our children,no matter how remote their location may be fromthe centres of digital advancement, to familiarityand currency with cutting-edge technology.”

The Governor appraised the overall educationpolicies and programmes of his administration

•(L-R) Tambuwal; Tinubu and former Vice-President of Federal Republic of Nigeria, Alhaji Atiku Abubakar, on the occasion.

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Continued from page 13

in lucid terms in the following words:

“The same is true of our educational reformpolicy. You will recall that when I was sworn in asGovernor in November 2010, the schools were ina shambles. Hardly any school in the state hadfacilities of any kind. We then called for aneducation summit, attended by great educationistsand intellectuals of all persuasions.

“Professor Wole Soyinka, our own NobelLaureate, made time out to personally attend. Thesummit recommended a complete overhaul of oureducation system.”

He particularly appraised the outcome andeffectiveness of the first-ever State of Osun EducationSummit as follows:

“The most important conclusion of the summitwas the restructuring of the system into three basiccategories, Elementary, Middle and High schools.Grades 1–4 are the elementary school, Grades 5–9 are the middle school, while grades 10–12 arethe high school.”

Concerning the State of Osun Schools’Infrastructure Development Committee (O’SCHOOLS), the Governor affirmed our claims whenhe said:

“In the high school, we focus on preparing thechildren for both internal and externalexaminations. Our plan is to build 20 new highschools, 50 middle schools and 100 elementaryschools. Each of these schools will be equipped tostate-of–the-art standards, especially with digitallearning aids, electronic boards, functional andcontemporary laboratory equipment, sportsfacilities, clean water and large power generatorsetc.”

Making justification for the merger of schools, theGovernor made the following clarifications:

“The only way to provide these facilities ataffordable costs is to merge small poorly equippedschools into larger schools where all the facilitiescan be provided to large numbers of students usingeconomy of scale to maximum advantage. This iswhat we have done.

“Sometimes, this policy has been misunderstoodand some have tried to mischaracterize the reformsas having a religious undertone. This is mostunfortunate, wicked and untrue.

“The philosophy of our education policy hasbeen the development of a new man intellectually,socially and morally. This new man is placed inthe centre of society and views his own developmentas part of and for the development of society.

“This is a non-parasitic and non-oppressive man,who views his existence in the context of the growthof others; he views whatever he acquires to besubsumed in the overall interest of others. He is aman in himself and a man for society.”

Governor Aregbesola refuted claims by a segmentof people that he is bent towards favouring one religionagainst the other. He also told the story behind theeducation reforms initiated by his administration:

“There are some who may genuinely feel thatthe education reforms might affect their missions.This is an unfounded fear. Only an irresponsibleperson will attempt to rubbish or remove the legacyof missionaries in education in Osun and even inNigeria. I attended mission primary and secondaryschools here in Western Nigeria and I proudlydisplay that on my resume.

“But let me take us back into a bit of our fairlyrecent history. Everyone knows that mission schoolswere taken over by the government of the WesternState almost 38 years ago. This means that since1975, all mission schools were owned, funded andrun by government. But the successive stategovernments ensured that the names of the schoolswere not changed, in order to maintain the legaciesof the founding missionaries.

“Therefore, as we rebuild the schools andexpand their facilities, we also have not and willnot tamper with their names. We believe that themissions and missionaries, who founded theschools, must be immortalised by retaining thenames of the schools. For example, one of thecompleted middle schools in Osogbo is theSalvation Army Middle School at Alekuwodo.”

On the prospects of returning mission schools totheir initial owners, the Governor said:

“I am also aware of the agitation of some missionsto have schools returned to them. Although, as Ihave said before, the schools have been owned bygovernments since 1975, our administration is notforeclosing the prospect of returning some of theschools upon the completion of our new schools.

“I wish to emphasize that this process can onlybegin upon completion of the schools we arecurrently and aggressively building all over thestate. The process of return of schools must be wellplanned and executed because of the variousimplications, especially the fact that their ownershiphad changed almost four decades ago.”

On the newly introduced Omoluabi Corps andInstilling discipline in school children of the state theGovernor said:

“Osun is a state which will be a model of peaceand tolerance. I would like to say that religious,political and ethnic tolerance is the basicfoundation of our Omoluabi heritage. We mustpromote this culture of tolerance and civilizedconflict resolution with all our might.

“This is why we have decided to establish anOmoluabi Peace and Conflict ManagementCommission. This is to be a standing commissionwhere communal, religious, ethnic or other socialdisputes can be resolved by a body of respectedelders from across Yorubaland and even othergroups.”

•Salvation Army Middle School, Alekuwodo, Osogbo.

15OSUN DEFENDER Tuesday, March 25, 2014

TUESDAY, MARCH 25, 2014

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

By ADE OLUGBOTEMII still wonder why it isimpossible for everyNigerian to have a say

in matters of survival thatbinds us together withinour national territory. Itis very certain that thewestern world would nothave adopted the kind ofway people arehandpicked predominantly by asingle personality, who has alwaysposed as a unique breed withmonopoly of wisdom. I willhowever forfeit any right I mayclaim to have if and only if thosewho are holding forth (some ofwho are of impeccable characters)will come out with something thatis acceptable to the majority.

Ethnicism, in my own view hasbeing the bane of our togethernessover the years. The usual practiceis for a major ethnic group to lordit over other ethnic nationalities,so that others may becomesubservient in all matters that comeup for discussion, or which comeup as pivotal in arriving at majordecisions that are meant to be ofnational importance.

I came across a man some yearsback who pretended to me to be ofHausa extraction. I became soinquisitive when a friend of minerevealed that his real name was notMr. Alhazzan Idris that he claimedto bear. The man, in a quest to makeends meet, had only pitched histent in the Northern part of thecountry. Frustration prompted himto pack his bag and baggage andcome down to his place of origin.Luckily for him, he got a lecturingjob in one of the tertiaryinstitutions in the State of Osun.He is still there today, earning aliving.

The man hails from Ikeji Arakejiin Oriade Local GovernmentCouncil Area of the State of Osun.It was when it became obvious thatunless he feigned identity, hewould not get a job that he decidedto drop his Yoruba name. The besthis caricature could earn him whilein the North was the head ofdepartment in a secondary school.Hidden qualifications kept him inthe dark for quite a long time, sothat he didn’t know that he wasactually playing second fiddle tothose he was far their senior.

Mr Owolabi eventuallydiscovered that the principal of the

school, where he was teaching andhis deputy were actually holders ofNational Certificates of Education.He attempted to query therationale behind the placements,whereby a first degree holder fromone of the best universities in thecountry (precisely University ofIfe which is now known as ObafemiAwolowo University) would beserving under graduates fromColleges of Education. He ran forhis dear life when it became obviousthat his life was in danger.

Scenarios of this nature aboundsall over the country, where it turnsout to be like a camel trying to passthrough a needle’s eye in attemptto get job placements. In a country,where we claim to be equal,everybody must be able to securemeans of livelihood and settle

down irrespective of places oforigin, but this is far from beingso.

I know that those who havederived benefits over the years byreducing fellow Nigerians to playsecond fiddle will not want to losethat undue privilege. Participants inthe ongoing National Conferenceshould be able to demystify asection that seems to derivemaximum joy in oppressing fellowfolks. They should be made tounderstand that all Nigerians aredestined to derive unlimitedfulfillment in our togetherness.Whether Igbo, Hausa, Tiv, Efik orYoruba, we must all be made to seereasons behind our commonidentity that Nigerian nationhoodhas offered.

Apart from the apathy due toindividuals of different ethnicgroups, the marginalisationwithin the people of the sameethnic group must becheckmated. Ascendancymust be factored aroundindividuals’ acumen, as

against the current practice ofrotating members of the same clanin positions of authority. Theconference must ensure that thechild of a peasant farmer in theremotest town of Olugbode in IfeSouth Local Government CouncilArea is able to prove his mettle tothe highest post in the land, whetheror not anybody from his/herlineage has enjoyed the privilegeof occupying any position ofauthority before.

The equity that is the basis of mymessage must ensure thatequitable distribution of resourcesis guaranteed so that it will nolonger be possible for anybody orgroup to enjoy stupendous richesand affluence, whereas otherscannot derive the maximumbenefits of hard work and peculiaringenuity. Able-bodied men andwomen must be able to make endsmeet, whether they secure jobopportunities or not. It should bemade consciously unfashionable tocreate class of second fiddle byreason of economic empowermentthat is not accessed.

The people in the NationalConference must recommend thatstupendous amassing of wealthcarries stiff penalties, includingforfeiture of substantial part of theill-gotten wealth. The culpritshould be subjected to publicshame and ridicule, so as to serveas deterrents to those who maywish to get into position for thesake of self-assertiveness andaggrandisement. Method must beput in place to even render thosefound culpable incommunicado.

As I wish participants fruitfuldeliberation for the sake of that fabulousamount that individuals will pockethome, they must realise that allNigerians are waiting with highexpectations of making possible whatordinarily should constitute animpossibility; they must realise thathistory beckons once again so that thewrongs of the past and present mayonce and for all take to flight from ourown country, and never to come againuntil the end of ages.

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.

My Honest ContributionTo The Ongoing Confab

“The equity that is the basis of my message mustensure that equitable distribution of resources isguaranteed so that it will no longer be possible foranybody or group to enjoy stupendous riches andaffluence, whereas others cannot derive themaximum benefits of hard work and peculiaringenuity. Able-bodied men and women must beable to make ends meet, whether they secure jobopportunities or not. It should be made consciouslyunfashionable to create class of second fiddle byreason of economic empowerment that is notaccessed.

The people in the National Conference mustrecommend that stupendous amassing of wealthcarries stiff penalties, including forfeiture ofsubstantial part of the ill-gotten wealth. The culpritshould be subjected to public shame and ridicule,so as to serve as deterrents to those who may wishto get into position for the sake of self-assertivenessand aggrandisement. Method must be put in placeto even render those found culpableincommunicado.”