VOL. 9. NO.138 N50tuesday, NOVember 18, 2014

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

Front Page Comment

- Pg 9

•(L-R) State of Osun All Progressives Congress (APC) Chairman, Prince Gboyega Famodun; former Vice-President of Nigeria, Alhaji Atiku Abubarkar and Deputy Governor of the State of Osun, Otunba (Mrs) Grace Titi Laoye-Tomori, during the former Vice President’s campaign visit to Osogbo, last Thursday. Photo: GBENGA ADENIYI.

- See Story On Page 2

- See Story On Page

3

- Pg 2

Osun Governorship Election:

Drama At Osun Tribunal As Owolade Created Confusion

Nothing Is Working In Nigeria - Atiku

Why We’re Funding Community Development Projects - Aregbesola

- Pg 2

Monarch Woos Prospective Industrialists To Invest In Ijesaland

- Pg 3

Towards Aregbesola’s Inauguration: Osun APC Tasks Securitymen

General election sea-son dawns inexorably upon us. It’s in the air everywhere: the flood of posters and billboards; the endless chatter of ra-dio and television jingles.The social media is as well abuzz with activi-ties – every day we wake up to politicians and their campaign teams showing their faces on Twitter,

and minions and “vol-trons” circle the waters frantically, looking for whom to devour on be-half of their principals. Regarding those prin-cipals, there are two camps: Those who are doing it because they stand a chance of tri-umphing, and those do-ing it because it is the best way to position yourself for the crumbs

Pushing Democracy Forward, One Step At A Time -By Tolu Ogunlesi

that will drop after the dust has settled. This second group are the ones who know that the best way to get considered for a com-missionership post in Ni-geria is to make loud noises

about the governorship, get noticed, and then offer to drop your ambition in the spirit of sacrifice, and in exchange for some not-too-bad compensation. (You just have to love this country – nothing is ever what it seems!)

Elections will hold in 28 states; only in eight of these will incumbents be seeking re-election. The other 20 are coming to the end of their terms and will be seeking to anoint their successors, to the chagrin of other con-testants.

Several governors will be looking to become senators, and several senators, governors. Already about seven minis-ters have resigned, to aspire for the gover-norship in their vari-ous states. Not all of them will succeed. Continue on pg5

2OSuN DEFENDER tuesday, November 18, 2014 News

•(L-R) State of Osun Commissioner for Local Government and Chieftaincy Affairs, Barrister Kolapo Alimi; State Attorney-General and Commissioner for Justice, Barrister Wale Afolabi and Chief Akin Olujimi (SAN) at the State of Osun Governorship Election Petition Tribunal between Governor Rauf Aregbesola and Senator Iyiola Omisore at High Court, Osogbo, last Thursday. Photo: GBENGA ADENIYI.

by kazeem mOhammed

by kazeem mOhammedDrama At Osun Tribunal As Owolade Created Confusionthere was a mild drama before the state of

Osun Governorship election Petition tribunal on Friday in Osogbo, as the accord Party (aP)

governorship candidate, mr Niyi Owolade, created confusion over the documents he sought to tender before the panel.

Owolade is challenging the August 9, 2014 re-election of Governor Rauf Aregbesola and the All Progressives Congress (APC) before the Justice Elizabethe Ikpej ime-led tribunal, while the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) is joined as the third respondent.

Whi le open ing the hearing of the matter, counsel to the petitioner, Mr Gordy Uche, informed the t r ibunal tha t the schedule he prepared for the documents he intended to tender, did not complete.

Consequently, counsel to Aregbesola, Kunle Adegoke , ca l l ed the attention of the tribunal to the fact the schedule was the same as the one used in the case of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) candidate, Iyiola Omisore, against Aregbesola.

He wondered why the petitioner was using the schedule meant for 17 local government council areas in the sister case for the 30 council areas being challenged in the case at hand.

This argument was corroborated by the APC counsel, Ayodele Sobayo, saying, the schedule was confusing and would create more confusion if it was followed.

The INEC counsel , Ayo tunde Ogun leye , subsequently suggested that the petitioners’ counsel should be allowed to go and make amendment into the schedule, so that the process could be sped up.

It was based on this that Owolade’s counsel applied for stand down for five hours to enable him put his house in order and the application was granted.

When the t r i buna l resumed from break, Uche then sought to tender form EC8A for Ayedaade Local Government Council Area, but the in the course of perusing the documents, the INEC lawyer observed that the document were no t ce r t i f i ed by the commission.

The counsel, Ogunleye said: “My lords, I can c o n f i r m t h a t t h e s e documen t s were no t certified by INEC and I am worried. There was never a time they applied to us for the certification of the documents.

“Your lordship ordered that the CTC documents should be tendered from the bar, but the documents my learned friend is seeking to tender are photocopies of CTC, which are not admissible in law”.

He cited the case of

Ogboru Vs Uduaghan, 2011, 2NWLR, part 1232 at page 538, where, according to him, the Supreme Court ruled that photocopies of CTC documents are inadmissble.

Apparently confused, Owolade’s counsel said if he had known that such objection would be raised, he would have prepared for it, saying “I had thought that all the objections would be taken at the address stage”.

He could not deny the fact that the documents were photocopies of CTCs, but insisted that they were CTC.

Still battling for a way out, the petitioner’s counsel then asked the court to grant him an adjournment to sort himself out.

S u b s e q u e n t l y, t h e APC counsel suggested that the tribunal should adjourn till next week for the petitioner’s counsel to sort himself out, saying: “What their petition has is a terminal ailment.”

He also said he would not be objecting to the

application, but requested for cost of N200,000 against the petitioner, while the APC counsel also requested for a cost of N400,000, arguing that the petitioner had wasted their time.

At this stage, the INEC

counsel came to the rescue and suggested that the tribunal should take the documents if the petitioner was sure that they are CTC to save time and leave the parties to canvass argument against it at the final address stage.

This suggestion was taken by all parties and the petitioner was allowed to tender the Form EC8As for only 16 out of the 30 local government council areas being challenged.

In the course of tendering the documents, each of

the respondents drew the attention of the tribunal to the fact that the documents are photocopies of CTC.

Why We’re Funding Community Development Projects - AregbesolaGOVerNOr of the state of Osun, Ogbeni rauf

aregbesola, has said the objective of promoting communal peace and harmony is the basic reason his

administration has been committed to funding community development projects across the state.

He spoke on Saturday while delivering his address at the 2014 Imesi-Ile Day celebration, held at Imesi-Ile, Obokun Local Government Council Area of the state, saying his administration would work harder and reach out more to improve the human condition in every way possible at the grassroots level.

R e p r e s e n t e d b y h i s

Senior Special Assistant on Communi ty Forum, Olatunbosun Oyintiloye, the governor said: “The greatness of Osun is the sum of the greatness of all its communities”, adding, “if we improve on the infrastructure here, there will be no need for youths to migrate to big cities

again and this will foster rapid development.”

According to him: “As we prepare to begin another term in office, I like to assure Imesi-Ile and Osun in general that you will witness rapid development in terms of infrastructural development like roads and many others.

“There will be jobs for the unemployed. The high school under construction here would be completed for the use of our children. No child from this town will be denied their rights to quality education in a conducive environment.

“While thanking the people of Imesi-Ile for voting for me for second term, you have done this because you are convinced that we can make comforting changes happen along various socio-economic lines. You will not be disappointed.

“Much more than you witnessed in our first term, there will be greater progress in the life of our second term of office,” he assured.

The governor assured that he was not making empty promises, but rather they would be fulfilled, adding that one thing that stands

his administration out is faithfulness to promises, especially those made during electioneering.

Aregbesola then charged r e s i d e n t s o f v a r i o u s communities in the state to work together with themselves and government, saying it is through this that the scope of life-enriching development could be broadened.

This, according to him, should include citizens’ faithfulness to paying taxes and supporting government in every way, noting, “this implies that all of us in this town must be ready always to contribute whatever we can and in any capacity to the development of Imesi-Ile.”

He then charged the people of the community to see the occasion as another opportunity to increase their depth of harmonious and peaceful coexistence.

Speaking, the Owa-Ooye of Imesi-Ile, Oba Enoch Akinyemi, charged the sons and daughters of the ancient town to ensure that there is love among them and contribute to the development of the town.

The National President, I m e s i - I l e P r o g r e s s i v e Assoc ia t ion ( IPA) , Mr Baba lo la Fases in , a l so called for unity and peaceful coexistence among the people to take the town to a greater height.

Nothing Is Working In Nigeria - AtikuNiGeriaN former Vice-President and presidential

aspirant of all Progressives Congress (aPC), alhaji atiku abubakar, stated on thursday that every

sector in Nigeria is falling as a result of poor leadership.He said APC is out to rescue the country from doom and urged all Nigerians to support

the progressive intervention of the party during the 2015 general elections.

The former Vice President, who was in Osun for an interactive section with party leaders ahead of the APC presidential primary, said this in Osogbo during a courtesy visit to the governor of the State of Osun, Ogbeni Rauf Aregbesola, in his office.

Atiku said: “Everything in Nigeria is not working as expected. If all is well, we would have relaxed and be watching but all is not well. Absolutely, nothing is working. Talk of education, health, security, infrastructure, transportation among others, nothing is working.”

He deferred from the

general impression that past leaders are also responsible for the developmenta l cha l l enges f ac ing the country, saying development is a continuous process and every leader must be held responsible for his reign in power.

According to him: “I don’t think we should blame the past leaders, as nation building is a continuous process. No single leader w i l l c o m p l e t e n a t i o n building, even in advanced or developed countries. So, you cannot continue to blame past leaders.”

A t i k u s a i d a l l t h e presidential aspirants in APC have resolved to support whoever the party picks in the interest of Nigeria.

“You can see by our c o n d u c t s , o u r p a r t y programmes, the way we relate and resolve issues, the current trend of unity in the party is very obvious.”

The Deputy Governor of the State of Osun, Otunba (Mrs) Grace Titilayo Laoye-Tomori, who received Atiku on behalf of the governor, commended the former Vice President and other APC national leaders for their resolute to effect change in the nation’s political system.

L a o y e - To m o r i s a i d : “I commend you for the concern all of you have to develop and advance this country. Presently, the nation is wobbling on the sea of insecurity, economy uncertainty and all those woes that are befalling Nigeria in recent times. A situation where over 200 students are held captives for months and another 50 were killed in cold blood, is very unfortunate.”

“I can boldly assure you

that we are going to support our national leaders in the party, who have determined to effect a change in Nigeria. We have done it in the past. In 2011, PDP was defeated in Osun during presidential election out of the six states in the South West. We are going to do that again as the most democratic state in Nigeria.”

A l s o s p e a k i n g , t h e State Commissioner for Information and Strategy, Mr Sunday Akere, said the people of Osun will at all times reject PDP at any election and assured Atiku of the state support for the presidential aspirant chosen by the party leadership.

by kehiNde ayaNtuNji

3 News OSuN DEFENDER tuesday, November 18,

•Hon. Lawrence Ayeni, displaying his Expression of Interest form to his supporters at the State of Osun All Progres-sives Congress (APC) Secretariat, Osogbo, recently.

Monarch Woos Prospective Industrialists To Invest In IjesalandLOCaL and foreign investors have been assured of full

cooperation of the people of ijesaland in the provision of conducive and investor-friendly atmosphere in the

quest for the industrialisation of the area. The Owa Obokun Adimula

and paramount ruler of Ijesaland, Oba (Dr.) Gabriel A d e k u n l e A r o m o l a r a n , stated this at a summit on industrialisation of Ijesaland organised by the Ijesaland Development Association (IDF) held at the IBIS Hotel, Ikeja on Tuesday.

Ijesaland, the monarch said, is blessed with abundant human and mineral resources, waiting to be tapped by serious prospective investors with feasible and workable proposals that are based on facts and figures.

A c c o r d i n g t o O b a Aromolaran: “We are in a capitalist society, where everybody strives to survive by exploiting every God-given potential to the fullest a n d t h e r e f o r e , s i n c e r e investors must be given equal opportunities to contribute to the development of their immediate environment

and Ijesaland cannot be an exception to such laudable schemes as practised the world over.”

The Special Guest of Honour at the event, Ogbeni Rauf Aregbesola, who was represented by the State Commissioner for Commerce and Industries in the State of Osun, Mr. Jayeoba Alagbada, declared that there can be no meaningful development without industrialisation. The government of the State of Osun, Aregbesola, said has been people-oriented and has also embarked on the development of infrastructure that will aid development and bring unprecedented growth to the state’s economy in all ramifications.

“Being a landlocked state sharing boundary with six other states of the federation, the State of Osun is in pole position to take advantage of the unique situation, as

manifested by the dynamism and raw energy being exerted by the present administration led by Ogbeni Rauf Adesoji Aregbesola, which has been widely acclaimed both at home and abroad.

He then appealed to the people to contribute and take a cue from the initiative of the IDF by embarking on drives that would enhance the economy of the state.

The Chai rman of the occasion, Mr. Tunde Awobiyi, Fellow, Nigeria Guild of Editors (FNGE) in his own speech, commended the organisers of the event for launching the timely drive to harness the abundant economic potentials for the area to regain its pre-eminent position as the industrial gateway to the Eastern Yorubaland.

He also enjoined all to hearken to the clarion call from the association and rally round the IDF team for the industrial renaissance in Ijesaland.

According to the President of IDF, Engineer Dideolu Falobi, (FNSE) the foundation,

which comprises professional Ijesa sons and daughters of diverse backgrounds, was established with the vision to transform Ijesaland into a modern industr ial ised community with high quality of social, economical, medical and scholarly life co-existing in peace, unity and love.

Falobi also tasked his fellow indigenes on issues that are germane to sustainable overall development of Ijesaland, which include mentoring the young ones, ensuring peace and uni ty among themselves, development of

the entertainment and sports industry, as well as support for the giant strides being taken by the incumbent governor of the state.

According to him, the people of Ijesaland are in dire need of a leader that would ensure a rejuvenated and prosperous Ijesaland, as exemplified by the incumbent governor of the state, Ogbeni Rauf Aregbesola.

One of the major highlights of the event was a lecture titled: ‘Industrialisation of Ijesaland: Prospects and Opportunities’ delivered by Patriot Ayo Fatubarin, of Joseph Ayo

‘Oriade LG Is Witnessing Presence Of Govt For The First Time’ by tOLuLOPe aGbaje

GOVerNOr rauf aregbesola of the state of Osun has been commended by the people of Oriade Local Government Council area of the state for the

infrastructural development being witnessed across the area.A member of the All Progressives Congress (APC), Mr

Olagoke Ajayi, who is aspiring to represent Oriade State Constituency at the State House of Assembly, said Aregbesola has delivered good governance to Oriade people.

According to Ajayi, Oriade is witnessing the presence of government for the first time in the history of the council area, saying that the people never had it so good like under Aregbesola’s administration.

He stated that the people of the constituency would forever be grateful to the governor for the long overdue development that he brought to the place in spite of the paucity of funds in the state.

The aspirant said: “Oriade, as a council area, has just felt the presence of government. I have gone round the local government council area and I can say categorically and objectively that things have changed for good.

“If you start from roads,

the network of roads being constructed in the council area are superb. Majority of our roads have been tarred with good and standard drainage.

“Oriade is benefiting from the modern schools being constructed across the state.

Our women are employed for the Osun school feeding programme. Our school children eat free lunch in school and that has brought the attendance of school children up in Oriade.

“We now have good health centres and the health of our children is improving because they eat good food, fruits, eggs, fish, chicken in their schools and they also live in clean environment.”

Ajayi said he was aspiring to represent the people of Oriade in the State House of Assembly, to press further for their demands in the state, saying that the people deserved a representative that will listen to their voices and table it before the executive.

Two Docked For S t e a l i n g D i e -

by shiNa abubakar

twO male suspects, Oladipo yinka, 40, and Ogundijo akinsanjo, 30, have been arraigned before an Osogbo magistrate’s Court for allegedly stealing from

slava yeditepe Construction Company site in Osogbo.The charge sheet read in

the court disclosed that the suspects conspired to steal three 30 litres Jerry Cans of diesel, each value N14,500, property of Slava Yeditepe Construction Company, contrary to section 516 of the stated criminal law.

It added that the suspects also were in possession of a mini-bus vehicle ‘Korope’ with registration number GNN 335XA, knowing the

same to be a stolen property.According to the charge,

the offence is contrary to Section 516 and 384 of the criminal code cap: 34 laws of Osun 2003.

According to the police prosecutor, Fagboyinbo Abiodun, the accused persons committed the offence on January 25, 2014 at Slava Yeditepe Construction Company Site, Africa Area of Osogbo, adding that the offence was contrary and punishable under section 390 the State Criminal Law of 2003

Defence counsel, Mr Henry Odunayo, applied for the bail of the accused persons in most liberal terms, assuring the court that they will not jump bail if granted.

The presiding magistrate, Mr Olusola Aluko, granted the accused persons bail in the sum of N20,000 each and one surety each.

Aluko then adjourned the case till November 24, 2014 for mention.

Despite Poor National Economy, Aregbesola Scores Osun Economy Highthe economy of the state of Osun has continued to match

forward in all fronts, in spite of the poor state of the national economy. this is as a result of the prudent

financial engineering introduced into the system by the present administration in the state.

The governor of the State of Osun, Ogbeni Rauf Aregbesola, stated this at the 2014 Lagos International Trade Fair, held at the Trade Fair Complex, Lagos.

Speaking through the State Commissioner for Commerce, Industry, Cooperatives and Empowerment, Mr. Ismaila Jayeoba-Alagbada, the governor said it is an open secret that the

global economy is facing huge challenges but in the State of Osun, the economic ship has remained afloat through divine providence and the sagacity, ingenuity and immense resource management adopted by his administration.

The trade fair with the theme: Promoting the Nigerian Economy as a Preferred Investment Destination” is to engender Lagos, Nigeria’s commercial

nerve centre, global operators in commerce and industry to impact our national economy positively.

The governor stressed that the present administration has provided some facilities such as construction and rehabilitation of roads, establishment of a mid-regional market, tagged O-Hub at Dagbolu, rehabilitation and modernization of the old Railway Station, establishment of modern and international markets to sustain commercial, industrial and overall economic development.

He further stated that the efforts of the state government in the area of industrial promotion is yielding fruitful results, as there have been an upsurge in the

number of industrial investors, who had indicated their intention to establish their businesses in the state.

The commissioner therefore, on behalf of the governor, congratulated the Lagos Chamber of Commerce and Industry for another successful fair.

He later assured them of Osun cooperation in all efforts to place Nigeria and her constituent states on a path of sustainable economic development.

Babalola University (JABU), Ikeji-Arakeji, Osun State.

Another major highpoint was the investiture of Oba Adekunle Aromolaran as the Grand Patron of the IDF.

Dignitaries present on the occasion included Professor Duro Oni, Deputy Vice Chancellor of the University of Lagos, Chief Olu Falomo, Professor Dosu Ojengbede of the University College Hospital (UCH), Ibadan, Mr Awomolo of Alumaco among others.

Towards Aregbesola’s Inauguration: Osun APC Tasks Securitymen the all Progressives Congress in the state of Osun

has called on security services within the state to beef up their presence in heightened alert to

forestall violence that some people are reported to be planning in order to create chaos in the state capital ahead of the swearing-in ceremony for the governor, Ogbeni rauf aregbesola, coming up later this month

Information making the rounds from events at the State Governorship Election Tribunal in Osogbo spoke of some suspicious movements which created security concern amongst spectators and party supporters.

According to information f rom usua l ly re l iab le sources, some political elements are planning to use the tribunal venue as the starting point for confusion that will run into the inauguration ceremony of Ogbeni Aregbesola slated for November 27, in an attempt to abort the ceremony.

To assist in ensuring that

the existing peace in the state is not disturbed in any way, henceforth security operatives posted to the tribunal should check all vehicles coming to the premises of the High Court (venue of the sitting of the tribunal) without exception.

This will help check the plans of these unscrupulous human beings who go about bragging that there is nothing they cannot bring to the venue as no security operative can stop their vehicle for checking.

The APC is therefore, calling on the security forces to stay alert to nip such evil plan in the bud.

Osun is peaceful and the security forces have a duty to keep it peaceful, the Osun APC remarked.

4 OSuN DEFENDER tuesday, November

Pushing Democracy Forward, One Step At A Time -By Tolu OgunlesiContinued from pg1

prospects of compensation when – or if – the Peoples Democratic Party retains control of the Federal Government. Some of them might return as ministers, others, ambassadors.

All of the politicking – amplified by news headlines and newspaper columns and the internet – makes you ask yourself, in quieter moments, to what end? Are we doing politics for the sake of politics, solely for the bitter battles and the control of the mechanisms of patronage, or is all of this happening for a larger purpose: to better the lives of millions of ordinary Nigerians.

Looking back at 15 years of democracy, is this where we should be? Should our generators still be this loud in their nightly crying? Should our First Lady or the governors still be rushing abroad for medical treatment?

Travelling around the country it is easy to be disappointed by how little distance we have covered, in terms of development, in 15 years. There are culprits at every level.

In the case of the Federal Government, its continuing neglect of important inter-state roads is tragic. (I’ll leave the electricity discussion for another day).

In the states, a good number of governors are, to say it the Nigerian way, “trying.” Standards of performance for the 2007/2011 set of governors appears to be somewhat higher than what we saw with their predecessors. But even then, we still have many governors for whom almost nothing good can be said. In Benue State, Governor Ga-

briel Suswam is confidently heading to the Senate on a rather dismal record: public primary schools in the state only recently reopened after eight months of strike, while there is a three-month backlog of civil servants’ salaries. But he seems assured his Senate seat is already waiting for him. There are others like him, confident even in their similarly mediocre performance.

The local governments are the worst. If they were scrapped today, the only difference would be in the relief to be enjoyed from citizens thankfully rid of their thug-enforced revenue collections (radio and TV licences, car towing fees etc).

Unfortunately, there is almost no partisan competition at local government level anywhere in the country. The party in power in the state automatically assumes control of the local govern-ment structure; opposition parties stand almost no chance of making a dent. Armed with their SIECs, our governors become mini-tyrants when it comes to local government matters, concerned only about political control, not service to the people.

One of the next milestones of our slow demo-cratic journey should be the enthronement of real democracy at the local government level.

Sometimes, these things seem like wishful thinking, but I’m convinced that change is pos-sible in our politics. It might be annoyingly slow, but things change. Already, we are getting used to the idea of having relatively free and fair elections, aided by the presence of technology in the form of mobile phones and social media.

Electoral victories are also no longer being taken for granted. I remember 1999, when the Alliance for Democracy, riding on the back of the Awolowo mystique, swept the South-West. The joke back then was that if the AD had fielded a goat or mon-key, it would still have won. It seems like we have come a long way since those days.

Now, the electorate are becoming more sophis-ticated and discriminating, it would seem, and are more likely to give, in their decision-making, as much weight to individual candidates as to political party symbols.

While there are still some states that are virtual one-party states, like Enugu and Ebonyi (where I spent the weekend), which are firmly in the grip of the PDP – in these states, the PDP governorship primaries will be the real election; the polling in February 2015 will be no more than a formality – elsewhere things are changing.

Take the example of Rivers State, which, until last year was one of the biggest pieces of the PDP’s landslide-dispensing electoral juggernaut. Months ago, while on a visit to Port Harcourt, I was told by one resident that “the All Progressives Congress had no chance in the state. Rivers has always been a PDP State, bla bla”. It was easy to believe back then. But recent events seem to be casting a strong doubt on that anti-APC confidence, and now no one is sure anymore. The turnout at the recent Governor Chi-buike Amaechi mega rally was for me a big surprise. Amaechi of course took advantage of this to taunt the President, saying: “The President says we exist only on posters and billboards. So, we brought a large billboard for him. If the President is not watching (the rally), they will give him security report.”

Scenarios like the one in Rivers are a welcome development for me because I believe that electoral uncertainty should be one of the cornerstones of any democracy. There’s no point to democracy if one side is always guaranteed a win, regardless of its levels of performance, or of the quality of the credentials of its candidates. And for too long, sadly, that is how Nigerian politics has been. The PDP has taken for granted its ability to win the Presidency, as the APC has its ability to win Lagos State.

Regular upsets would be more than welcome.

While I continue to stick to my arguments that the APC and PDP are in the strict sense not (yet) real political parties, and are to a large extent easily interchangeable on account of an absence of true ideological foundations, it is still important to re-alise that they – whatever you might want to call them – are the building blocks of our democracy. If one of them was to vanish, we would be stuck with a one-party state, and no democracy. Give me two imperfect parties over a perfect monopolising one any day.

The fear of the loss of power is the beginning of political sensibleness, I believe. If a party realises that it can always be dumped by voters then it is more likely to seek to put its best foot forward. And in those conditions, a war for talent between our political camps – like the ones we see in the European football leagues – is likelier. That, as far as I see it, can only be a good thing for our burgeon-ing democracy. Going along with that argument, I think the most exciting electoral scenario of 2015 would be the APC losing Lagos, and the PDP los-ing Aso Rock.

Wishful thinking – or solid possibility?

Aregbesola’s Political Foes Should RepentBO O T I N G i s a

startup sequence t h a t s t a r t s t h e

operating system of a computer, when i t i s turned on. And like in the computer world, the good people of Osun started up another term of increasing development in the state, w h e n t h e y r e t u r n e d Aregbesola on August 9, 2014.

Since then, the ‘operating system’ has started booting; and by God’s grace, the first window- its desktop, will unveil in a few days. By God’s grace, this will definitely happen despite the hues of Senator Iyiola Omisore and his folks and the good governance will run till 2018.

As the inauguration draws even nearer, we thank God , who has continued to prove Himself as the only perfect entity. He said yes to prayers of the

elderly, the young and all lovers of truth, who prayed that forces of darkness be shammed. God said ‘Yes’... and we are confident that He would never say ‘No’. This conviction lies in His promise that He would not reverse His glory upon a man in as much as a man does not turn back from His

ways. That is what Osun people and good people everywhere prayed for.

We are also confident that after the swearing-in, and another leg of good governance commences, every need and requisite to make life even more abundant will come plenty to our land of the Virtuous.

Having come this far, it

is not out of place to call on the agrieved souls to repent from their plot to plunder the happiness of Osun.

They need to repent; especially because their plo t has fa i l ed f rom conception. God loves a man that repents from his bad mind. He admits him into His reverence. Thence,

He grants them wisdom and chances they never ever imagine can be theirs. “The best way to obtain truth and wisdom is not to ask from books, but to go to God in prayer, and obtain divine teaching.” (Joseph Smith, Jr.).

I always remember that Governor Rauf Aregbesola

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would tell whoever cares to listen that he didn’t just venture into coming to preside over the affairs of the State of Osun. It was divine. He was inspired because he prayed to God.

And when his prayers were eventually answered, good people continue to pray for him; especially the old mothers; men of God too. They all so do because they read God in Rauf. They believe that his advent was a delibrate plan of God. Aregbesola’s advent is no mistake. “I believe nothing happens by mistake. You know, the universe has a divine plan. That sounds dramatic”- Lana Del Rey.

• A d e b A y o rasheed mabayOje, Osogbo, state of Osun.

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G i a n t L a n d m a r k s O f E x c e l l e n c e

Barely a fortnight to the inauguration of Ogbeni Rauf Aregbesola for second term in office, the series of commemorative editions continues. The entire pack-age is a mixed-grill of assortments. Without mincing words, the first four years of the Aregbesola administration have been event-filled; with lots of accomplish-ments. NIYI OLASINDE devotes this edition to documenting more and more of the ground-breaking achievements of the administration.

Aregbesola’s Mid-Term Assessment Report:OSuN DEFENDER tuesday, November 11, 2014

•The newly-commissioned ultra-modern school building of St. Stephen’s ‘B’ Middle School, Modakeke, State of Osun.

6 OSuN DEFENDER tuesday, November

•An aerial view of Baptist Elementary Central School, Ilare, Ile-Ife, State of Osun, commissioned by Ogbeni Rauf Aregbesola sometime ago.

Continued from last week.

LAST week edition closed with promises to publish a reminder of the depth of rot, decay, negligence and decrepit state of facilities and infrastructure witnessed

in the Education Sub-sector of the state during the years preceding the coming on board of the Aregbesola administration into the reins of power, service and governance. People can tell lies; some can forget so soon; but records cannot deceive us all. We therefore wish to recapture the unsavoury situation by bringing back some of the pictures of that odd past era, so as to substantiate our claims and justify the achievements recorded for the Aregbesola administration in its re-engineering efforts. We challenge our numerous readers to cast their minds back to the old glorious era when education was the pride of the South-West geopolitical zone of the federation called Nigeria. It is the genuine and well-directed activities and concerted efforts of our forebears, our illustrious ancestors that earned us the topmost ranking of the most educationally advanced region of the country. Then, at that time, parents committed fortunes of their hard-earned resources to get the best quality education for their wards. And the quality was greatly assured; in all its ramifications. The teachers, textbooks, notebooks, instructional materials and reaching aids and infrastructure – all were present in adequate quantity and quality. As we found it, so we fondly remember it! The teacher-training programmes of those days were simply superb. Though the syllabuses and curricula of those olden times later came under serious criticisms as being alien in nature, bookish and cumbersome in their contents and colonial (imperialist) in their thrust, aims and goals; they are today proven as not only adequate but also complete in producing the total man, well educated and morally well-shaped. The teaching-learning environment was conducive and well-enabling for aiding effective learning. In the classrooms, the teacher-pupil ratio was properly planned. The out-of-class environment was friendly, well-kempt and beautiful. The person of the teacher and that of the pupil was given priority in terms of decency in dressing, appearance, neatness and personal hygiene. It was indeed a glorious era.

The essence of tracing this background shall soon come to fore when we begin to underscore the devastation we witnessed in the years of decay. During the years immediately preceding the coming on board of the incumbent administration in the State of Osun, it was claimed that the kind of education provided was free, qualitative and functional. But what operated in actuality and its product negated and falsified this claim. Education was claimed to be free; yet parents were made to pay exorbitantly for it through their noses! It was claimed to be qualitative; yet what was being paid exorbitantly for was substandard and offered disservice to its products, their parents and the entire society. At the end of the day, none of the parties went scot-free. A case of adding salt to injury! Our school environment became grossly unkempt and untidy. We were never tired of exposing these odd situations at all levels of education in the state. Students and pupils were made to take farm implements to school almost on session-by-session basis; Continued on page 11

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while actually no meaningful farming or clearing activities took place in schools.

Anyone who is in doubt of the true situation of public schools’ infrastructure is advised to approach the offices of the State of Osun Schools’ Infrastructure Development Committee (O’ SCHOOLS); as it was the committee that collated the statistics of haphazard structures in public schools as part of its very first set of assignments upon inauguration. But we shall do our own bit of duty in reminding readers of the true state of infrastructure inherited from the ousted administration in the state. The condition of infrastructure in schools was horrible, distasteful and terrible. Most school buildings, legacies of the earlier better eras were dilapidated due to a combination of old age and poor maintenance culture. What became of the annual running grants of the time could not be far-fetched. It was a downward extension of the depth of corruption, subterfuge and profligacy perpetrated at the peak of leadership in the state. We also remember that the schools that were initially outcome of community or missionary (Christian and Muslim) efforts had been taken over by government right from the mid-1970s; say precisely, September, 1975.. This development, which was initially well-intentioned, became a misfortune due to the fact that governance became profane, desecrated and ridiculed. The just-concluded series of OSuN DEFENDER Magazine edition featured many picture slots of dilapidated structures which were then ugly features of our schools. Most of the school structures which the immediate past administration bragged to have provided, and which execution and official commissioning gulped huge amount of money; with official commissioning done with fanfare, pomp and pageantry, turned out to be death traps. No sooner were they completed than they started giving the most dangerous signs of imminent collapse. Remember the haphazardly executed structure on the campus of the Osun State College of Education, Ilesa. The project was expected to be a lecture theatre, designed and constructed to house several tens of students at a go. What a mass killer those trap would have proven in the hands of the ritualistic, sit-tight power-hungry elements that held sway of those days! It took the perpetual vigilance of our eagle-eyed reporters and the ever-resilient and irrepressible nature of Great Nigerian Students to effect timely identification of impending doom; and that forestalled the doom; saving the lives of our teeming promising youths (the greater tomorrows) thereby.

The main intent of the sacked People’s Democratic Party (PDP) power hijackers in the state was to get their members, admirers, supporters, boot-lickers and cronies inordinately enriched. That fact could be the most reasonable and rationally justifiable reason why a government that prided itself as Ore Ara Ilu (People-Friendly Government) should defy all procedures and tenet of due process in the award of most of its contracts. That was why a carpenter’s job was being awarded to a plumber! In most cases, the lion’s share of the contract sum would have gone into the coffers of party stalwarts and other functionaries of the administration as settlement sums as kickbacks and percentages. The ensuing effect was that the remaining sum could not meaningfully fund the project through its various stages of execution

without tampering adversely with the project quality.The situation with school furniture was pathetic, horrible

and saddening. Furniture for both teachers and students were in sorry state; and in most cases, they were simply not just there! What business do teachers and pupils have to conduct in a school where seats are missing? As a result, parents were made to bear with utmost discomfort the burden of providing chairs, desks and lockers for their wards; if they must benefit from the strange, erratic brand of free, qualitative and functional education of that time. In addition to this extra burden, various forms of unaccountable fees were indiscriminately introduced at will either centrally by the government or internally by the respective school administrators. This was why at the very inception of the incumbent administration; one of its very first steps was to stop the imposition of all forms of levy on students in the state. We also wish to recall that school fees regime at both secondary and tertiary levels in the state as of then was exorbitant to the extent that education was far-becoming unaffordable for the poor and the average. Even the rich were compelled to create preference for private schools, due to simple cost analysis couples with other factors hinging on quality decline and such others afore-mentioned.

The issue of quality of instruction cannot be jettisoned simply with the wave of the hand by any serious-minded government. But that was simply what the past administration in question did. By the time it was through with its mission of plundering, practically all public schools in the state had become understaffed. Without the intention to cast aspersion on anyone, it is placed on record that the quality of teachers selected into public primary and secondary schools in those days through the various recruitment and selection exercises could not be guaranteed; and the consistently poor results of instruction on yearly basis, coupled with the abysmally low indices of performances of the candidates of the state’s origin in public examinations were clear indications to it that something was terribly wrong with quality of instruction. In most cases, teaching was seen not as a vital social service infrastructure under the ousted administration. It was considered as the dumping ground for all categories of scholarship-bankrupt and academic liabilities; so far they could avow their loyalty to the ruling party or pay the price for the job slot or both. In a nutshell, the recruitment selection exercises of that era were marred with gross misconduct and irregularities. They were fraught with scams of malpractices. No doubt, all classes of lower academic qualifications could be found on the teaching roll of every public school at all levels. All manners of unacceptable standard of managing quality education were the order of the day. It was not the concern of that administration to prepare the society’s youth adequately for bracing up competently with the increasing

7 OSuN DEFENDER tuesday, November 18, 2014 PhOtOtaLk

•A cross section of sewing machines that were distributed to the grandands during the programme.

•His Royal Majesty, Oba Gabriel Adekunle Aromolaran, the Owa Obokun Adimula of Ijesaland and Paramount Ruler Of Ijesaland in a discussion with Hon. Ayeni, Chairman, Ayeni Foundation after the programme.

•Another cross section of hair dryers that were distributed to the grandaunt during the programme

4th matriculation and Graduation For empowerment scheme, Organized by hon. Lawrence babatunde ayeni, held at the Civic Centre, Owa Obokun’s Palace, ilesa, state Of Osun, recently. Photo. aderiNtO OLushOLa

8 OSuN DEFENDER tuesday, November 18, 2014 PhOtOtaLkFormer Vice-President Of Nigeria, Alhaji Atiku Abubarkar, Visited Osogbo, State Of Osun, Last Thursday. Photo: GBENGA ADENIYI.

•(L-R) Secretary to the State Government of Osun, Alhaji Moshood Adeoti; former All Progressives Congress (APC) Chairman in Osun, Elder Lowo Adebiyi and Senator Muhammed Ugari at the event.

•(L-R) Special Adviser to State of Osun Governor on Youths, Sports and Special Needs, Honourable Biyi Odunlade; State of Osun Commissioner for Information and Strategy, Honourable Sunday Akere and Otunba Oluwole Fasawe.

•A cross section of APC members at the event.

•Some of the Atiku aides at the event.

9 OSuN DEFENDER tuesday, November PhOtOtaLkGovernorship Election Petition Tribunal Over The August 9 Election Between The Governor, State Of Osun, Ogbeni Rauf Aregbesola And PDP Candidate, Senator Iyiola Omisore, At The High Court, Osogbo, Last Tuesday And Wednesday. Photo: GBENGA ADENIYI.

•A cross section of newsmen, securitymen and lawyers at the court premises after the sitting.

•A cross section of lawyers at the tribunal.

•(L-R) Chief Akin Olujimi (SAN); Chiefs F.O. Fagboungbe (SAN) and Rotimi Akeredolu (SAN) all lawyers for Governor Rauf Aregbesola and All Progressive Congress (APC).

10 OSuN DEFENDER tuesday, November magazine

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•Another recently-commisssioned road in Ilesa.

challenges of the ever-dynamic contemporary world.We have once clarified that the degree of difference

between the helmsman of that administration and Aregbesola; their mission in governance, their motives, drive, mindset and attitude to genuine people-oriented service cannot match, since the latter possesses doses of these attributes in larger magnitude than the former. We also have reflected that in the opinion of the former, education should be made the exclusive preserve of the rich, the high and the mighty. He made this declaration loud and clear during one episode of his monthly audience-participation propaganda programme, entitled Gbagede Oro. In his response to a particular question bordering on the high school fees regime introduced by his administration, the retired General pronounced that whoever demands quality education for his ward must be prepared to spend exorbitantly. He corroborated this stand with a popular Yoruba proverb that runs: “Obe t’o dun; owo l’o pa a”, meaning, sumptuous stew requires lavish spending. To Aregbesola, education should be genuinely free for all without any blinkers, discrimination or deprivation; such that its free nature must not tamper adversely with its functionality and its quality. To Oyinlola, public schools, of which he was all along a beneficiary should be killed outright; or rather should have their doors shut forever for all he cares! This adamant position came out during another in the long list of episodes of the programme referred to above. In his response to whether teachers wage demand should not be met to forestall an impending industrial action and its attendant problems; Oyinlola shrugged in defiance and blatantly told then teachers to proceed on strike, so far they did not forget to lock up doors of the schools and get the door keys submitted to appropriate quarters and offices! In his own vein, Aregbesola views education at the public schools as a cherished legacy that must be jealously preserved and profoundly enriched. To this man of action, his position as the incumbent helmsman of the state places upon his shoulders the onerous responsibility of being proprietor to all public schools in the state. While wishing proprietors of privately-owned institutions well, he made it boldly clear that he would not hold back any means at his disposal and that of the state to rekindle the dwindling fortunes of public schools in the state, so that together with their private counterparts they shall function and cooperate to revive and revamp the lost glory of the education sector in the State of Osun in particular, and Nigeria as a whole. So it is a whole lot of difference, hinged on attitude and disposition; coupled with the afore-mentioned components of mission in governance, motives, drive, mindset and attitude!

Our next point of duty is giving priority consideration to the environment in which teaching-learning activities took place. The environment is here considered in terms of its suitability, befitting status,, sanitation and hygiene. This vital sub-sector is of high essence if lasting health and well-being are desirable anywhere. This is because a healthy mind resides in a healthy body, which is in turn domiciled in a clean, healthy environment. In the past, Osun was a victim of a grossly degraded environment; with incidents of pollution and indiscriminate refuse disposal being very rampant. This ugly situation by extension, took its tolls on our public schools. We cast our minds back to the ugly

sights of the past, the perennial flooding and erosion that threatened the residents of the state with extinction and the undulating terrains which our roads had been turned into. We remember in particular the flood of July7, 2010; which inflicted serious damages of incalculable value on people in Osogbo and other parts of the state; and in which many lives and inestimable property perished. We remember similar incidents which occurred in earlier years during the time of the immediate past administration. We remember those terrible stenches occasioned by huge refuse heaps which dotted our streets; even within the metropolis of Osogbo, the state capital. We remember the pollution that continuously characterized the adjoining communities to the State Hospital, Asubiaro; where mortuary pollution nearly made the people prone to attendant dangers of epidemics. We remember how carcasses of animals and even corpses of lunatics simply littered the streets and were watched to complete processes of decomposition there without proper disposal or burial, thereby threatening the health and good living of the people. The list is long indeed!

Specifically in reference to the decay in the public education sub-sector, we remind readers of how our schools were turned into refuse-dumping grounds and public toilets. It is only recently that the administration of Ogbeni Rauf Aregbesola is turning things around positively for our public schools and for the prospects of their pupils and students. The nefarious activities of hemp smokers, hoodlums and criminally inclined miscreants who used our public school buildings as hideouts thrived under the close watch and supervision of that ousted administration. As a matter of fact, the Government of the State of Osun of today still has the big task of combating hooliganism and gangsterism among students. In today’s State of Osun, there are confirmed incidences of pockets of violence and mayhem, obviously orchestrated by the captors of yesteryears – the brood of “do or die politicians” in the drowning People’s Democratic Party (PDP).

Today, the Aregbesola administration has made all these ugly sights and smells a banished outcast that no one dare harbor in our midst. Right from the inception of his administration, Aregbesola took the bull by the horns when he declared a 90-day emergency on environmental sanitation. He took the decisive step of introducing bi-monthly and weekly environmental sanitation exercises as the case may be to execute rapid transformation of our towns and cities into decent places of abode for healthy individuals, and to sustain the culture of cleanliness, which, according to sages, is next to Godliness. Today, sanitation and safe health practices have so much become internalized in the lives of our people that clean environment has become their creed. What this implies is that people now troop out en masse to observe sanitation willingly without being coerced or instigated. People now abide by simple laws of decent refuse disposal, a feat hitherto considered unrealizable by pessimists! By extension, this innovation has worked wonders in our schools. At the appropriate segment of this write up, specific references shall be drawn to the impact of the sanitation / hygiene drive of the incumbent administration on our public schools system. For now, let us dwell a little on the events, activities and developments which served as antecedents to the ongoing redesigning, reorganization and reclassification exercise; which we roll out this series to laud and celebrate.

THE recent efforts of the incumbent administration in the State of Osun at bringing back the long-lost pride and glory in the Education sub-sector, especially in

the public domain now attracts our attention. The efforts of the administration, which kick-started with the introduction of free, functional and qualitative education upon the ascension of the administration barely four years ago, had metamorphosed into the introduction of free school uniforms to pupils and students at all levels up to Senior Secondary three, free school feeding programme for pupils up to Primary Four in the elementary rung of the school ladder under the State of Osun Schools Free Feeding and Health Programme (O’ Meals) and had culminated into capital intensive programmes such as the State of Osun Schools Infrastructure Development Programme (O’ SCHOOLS) and the introduction of the broad-based jet-age instructional support package, the Tablet of Knowledge, known in our tongue as Opon Imo. This is not to talk of other programmes like the Osun Schools Calisthenics and the drastic increase in the subvention and grants to our schools. Also in addition are the massive recruitment and selection / placement of qualified, competent and experienced teachers into the system.

All the foregoing are undoubtedly laudable pluses for any administration anywhere, especially in the face of the present spate of rot and decay witnessed in the sub-sector in this part of the globe. The most recent of all is the ongoing schools reclassification programme. For its relentless auspicious and invaluable efforts, the Government Unusual of Ogbeni Rauf Aregbesola has become the envy of other states, especially the adjoining ones from which battalions of students cross daily to reap the benefits of good, sound academic and moral instruction.

In spite of all these innovative intervention efforts which have so far impacted positive turnaround in the terrain of public education in the state, there still subsists a reasonably large cross section of people and residents, who are yet to see, recognize or appreciate the good works of the administration in the afore-mentioned regards. Most unjustly and ingratuitiously criticized of all these laudable programmes is the reclassification programme, which classifies our schools into Elementary, Middle and High schools. Concerning this policy, my personal take is that even in the highest heavens, the first law is order. The classification of schools as such is even in order with the reclassification earlier carried out by the Federal Government under the auspices of the Federal Ministry of Education, the Universal Basic Education Commission (UBEC), the State Universal Basic Education Board (SUBEB) and other stakeholders.

Under the Federal Government reclassification, modifications were done to the 6-3-3-4 system of education which was introduced in 1987/88 academic session throughout the federation. The earlier modalities comprised for each child, six years of primary education (between the ages 6 and 11); three years of junior secondary education (ages 11 to 14); three years of senior secondary education

Continued on page 11

Continued from page 6

11 OSuN DEFENDER tuesday, November 18, 2014 maGaziNe

Contiuned on page 12

•AREGBESOLA •LAOYE-TOMORI

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(ages 14 to 17); and four years of tertiary education. In the schema presented above, the double three in between covers the whole range of the student’s secondary school career spanning six good years in all.

In the reclassification of the government at the centre, introduced in 2001/2002; and which hardly ever went beyond the demonstration stage, the six years of primary/elementary education and the first three years of secondary education, called the junior secondary school years in the 6-3-3-4 system were joined together to form an expansive period of nine-year basic education; while the remaining three years of secondary education – the senior secondary years stand apart.

As it proved, the Universal Basic Education (UBE) programme presented a farce at the end of the day. The stage at which the incumbent administration met the public institutions of education in the state was such that barely was up to 5 per cent of our secondary school leavers matriculable into any institution of higher learning. The performances of candidates of the state at public examinations; be it those of the West African Examinations Council (WAEC), the National Examinations Council (NECO) and the Joint Admission and Matriculations Board (JAMB) recorded below 2 per cent of credit passes in five subjects, with the inclusion of English and Mathematics. The situation was so terrible and abysmal that the state’s ranking among the comity of states and the Federal Capital Territory (FCT) numbering thirty seven in all was that of a laggard. The state took the backward position in the thirties!

Now that the Government Unusual of Ogbeni Aregbesola has in its wisdom resolved to fin lasting panacea to all lingering issues which had hitherto plagued the sub-sector, it would not only be wise and appropriate; but also complementary and supportive to give it free hand to approach the hydra-headed albatross confronting the industry head-on. In the new classification, the naming of education stages as Elementary, Middle and High schools is not entirely new. What could be new are the positive approaches and strategies; and these are necessarily so.

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

The new classification, apart from removing the misfortune of bad results after the whole career of about twelve years; also seeks to make parents more alive and amenable to their God-assigned role by deemphasizing pre-primary education. In our days, pre-primary education was a complete rarity. Yet students who started solid primary education at the age of six or thereabouts coped effectively

with the challenges of their sudden transition from home to school.

Another issue which bothers the minds of genuine stakeholders is whether many of the agitators against the new classification, the teachers inclusive really have their wards in the various public schools on which these vital far-reaching decisions are being taken. To me, anyone who is not a stakeholder to the extent of having a ward in the public institutions should not even contribute to; not to talk of kick against any reforms fashioned out for them. I proudly add that in our days, teachers took pride and glory in having all of their children pass through their same sphere of influence i.e. the schools where they taught. The trend today is shameful indeed! Teachers who make the loudest noise of dissent against every reform in the sector hardly have any of their children in the public schools. I am sure that if all had been well with the system, they would have had no reservation in making their children pass through the system.

LOTS and lots have been said and written on the spate of decay, rot, devastation and deterioration that befell the public sector of the education industry in the State

of Osun prior to the emergence of the administration of Ogbeni Rauf Adesoji Aregbesola in the reins of governance. Right from the years of the cankerworms; by that we mean the years of the ousted administration of Brigadier-General Olagunsoye Oyinlola (retired) in office, we had not failed in our duty to point out the degenerating trend of things in our public schools. While that oppressive tenure lasted, nothing was done to arrest the deplorable conditions of those schools, in terms of infrastructure, systems overhaul, quality control, syllabus enrichment and personnel selection strategy, This sordid situation caused the standards to decline to the extent that it became repelling for any parents or guardians to deliberately put their wards in public schools. Even teachers in those categories of schools could not muster confidence to entrust their own ward to the care of the schools, where they were supposed to be pacesetters as stakeholders in the strength of biological parenthood! What this implies in essence is that it was those who were constrained financially and who could not afford the high cost of getting their wards educated in the numerous private schools that dominated the landscape who resorted to putting their wards in these private schools. Lest we forget, these public schools were the pride of the Nigerian society during the good old days. Most of those who invested their times in office to destroy our public educational institutions were once beneficiaries of the same system, It was a clear case of someone who having ascended a tall edifice, removed the same ladder with which he climbed up with the wicked intention of preventing others from having the sweet experience of an upward journey to a higher altitude!

It therefore came as a soothing relief that upon his coming on board as the Chief Executive of the State of Osun In November 2010; about four years ago; one of the first set of promises echoed and reechoed by Ogbeni Aregbesola was his avowed determination to turn the tide around positively

for education, most especially the kind that is provided in the public (government-owned) institutions in the state. According to him, he did not come to send the proprietors of private schools out of business – no! But as chief proprietor of public schools, the responsibilities which the office he occupies reposed on him behooved him to take good and adequate care of the public sector of education in the state; and our public schools and pupils / students by extension. This stance / position by a public office holder, especially in the pedigree of a governor is quite responsible, touching and worthy of emulation. On this note, OSuN DEFENDER Magazine hammers it strongly that those who aspire to step into elective public offices should imbibe this kind of attitude and mindset.

Today, we write as those whose captivity is turned around. Our captivity in the State of Osun has been turned around. The governor who gave those lofty promises mentioned above; alongside those that were boldly enshrined in the Six-Point Integral Action Plan contained in his pact with the people has measured up with the tone and spirit of his promises. He has not let the people down; neither has he reneged on his pledge to bring forth a complete turnaround in the entire aspects of life of his beloved people. OSuN DEFENDER Magazine has in the last edition made reference to the relevant portions of the Six-Point Integral Action Plan contained in the Pact made by the First Omoluabi with the entire people of the state during his election campaign preceding the 2007 Gubernatorial Elections in the state. But it is here considered not to be in any way out of place to recast those relevant portions. Here we go:

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

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

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

the following:CiViL serViCe reFOrms

“There is the need for a civil service reform that will not lead to any loss of jobs as I Rauf Aregbesola do not believe in laying people off in the name of reforms.

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•A side view of the recently-commissioned Salvation Army Middle School, Alekuwodo, Osogbo.

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Landmarks Of Excellence Our reform will make the work environment more

conductive, stimulating and development oriented.Bonuses, incentives and regular awards shall be instituted

to promote a culture of excellence in the civil service along with the prompt payment of salaries, allowances, leave bonuses and year end performance bonuses.

Promotions and comprehensive salary reviews and increases shall be regular.

Internal and external training, work exchange programmes and overseas training shall be actively reinstituted for comprehensive human development in the civil service.

New Tutor General/Permanent Secretary Cadre shall be created for Teachers in new education districts for better school administration.

We shall institute Home Ownership Scheme for public servants and also support and encourage their backyard food production business ventures.

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

Appropriate nomenclature will enhance accountability and promote public access to the services of the ministry. A citizen with a complaint of blockage of drainage will find a Ministry of Roads and Drainages easier to identify with than Ministry of Works, a Ministry of Human Resources and Development will more appropriately communicate its services than a Ministry of Establishment.”

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

PrOmOte FuNCtiONaL eduCatiONVision: Eradicate the frustration of youths caused by

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

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

Focus on functional education. Education that makes one useful to himself and society.

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

· Restructure administration of school management and create Tutors-General (Permanent Secretary Cadre) from among Head Teachers in three Educational Districts which we will establish.\

· Fix all collapsed educational infrastructures in all the schools.

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

· Ensure cooperation with parents and teachers to improve discipline and morality.

· Introduce non-partisan community-based governing boards for all schools.

· Reduce number of students per classroom immediately.

· Introduce home development plans for teachers who wish to build houses in their home towns, through access to special mortgage packages.

· Promote mass adult literacy and numeracy programmes.

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

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

ON hiGher eduCatiON aNd uNiVersity· I am committed to ensuring that an Osun State

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

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

· Encourage use of services of retired, but not tired dons and administrators, from reputable institutions.”

It is in copious and consummate pursuance of these beautiful and hope-inspiring promises contained in the Six-Point Integral Action Plan encapsulated in the Pact of the incumbent governor that he swiftly swung into action upon the restoration of his stolen mandate through the justice upheld by the courageous judges of the Federal Court of Appeal situated at Ibadan, Oyo State on Friday, November 26 2010. Since his inauguration and official assumption of duty on the next day, the state has up till now stopped to witness unprecedented accelerated progress in all spheres of life; a development which has made it the envy of all states in the country. In the area of education in particular, lots of achievements have been recorded by the Aregbesola team since inception. In our last edition, not only did we mention in passing the lineup of astonishing ground-breaking achievements recorded so far by the Government Unusual; but we also went further to state categorically that the most currently in vogue and widely misconstrued among a large cross section of residents is the ongoing reforms in the schools’ structure. The reforms popularly referred to as the State of Osun Schools’ Reclassification programme form our current focus of public enlightenment on this series of editions.

The first in the lineup of efforts known in public parlances, consciously and deliberately made by the incumbent administration, aside the free, functional and qualitative education which took effect right from its very first day in office is the convening of the first ever State of Osun Education Summit. The summit, held in February 2011, was convened with the sole intent and purpose of charting a decisive and definite course for the turning around of public education at all levels of the rungs of the educational ladder in the state.

Time and again, lots have been written and said in an attempt at portraying the true picture of decay and rot in the sector prior to the emergence of the Government Unusual. We are at this stage not going to procrastinate by repeating this all over. We shall however begin to take another dimension in approaching the entire concatenation of events

which form a build-up to the rot; the extent of the rot as at the time of the coming on board of the government of the day; the quick diagnosis of the degree and intensity of the ravaging extent of the rot; the prognosis of the right decisive steps to take to ameliorate the depth of decay as well as mitigate against a continuation of the bad trend; the prompt, timely and proactive intervention efforts taken; and the progress made so far. To these numerous tasks shall OSuN DEFENDER Magazine now proceed. We shall thereafter proceed to give perusal to the Schools’ Reclassification programme of the incumbent administration and its multiple dimensions of benefits to all and sundry in the State of Osun.

PRIOR to the emergence of Ogbeni Rauf Adesoji Aregbesola and his team on the saddle of leadership, governance and service in the State of Osun, the entire sectors of life in the state were riddled with innumerable crises of seemingly insurmountable magnitude. As a matter of fact, the terrain of the time was replete with abounding evidences that the education sub-sector of the Social Services Sector of the economy of our state stood as the most terribly bedeviled; being adversely devastated and most critically ill. OsuN deFeNder Magazine casts a retrospective glance at its numerous revealing editions of the time, which were totally committed to unraveling the depth, extent, gravity and intensity of devastation, rot, abandonment and negligence which befell the all-important sub-sector as the period of fiery siege mounted by the captors of the time; the bandits of the conservative People’s Democratic Party (PDP) rolled by. We need to sound a reminder note that while that fiery siege of the Oyinlola years lasted; our medium never compromised its avowed stand of confronting and criticizing the oppressive policies of the time which nearly snuffed life out of all sectors of life in the state. Measured by all known standards, it became confirmed beyond all reasonable doubts that there was hardly any other single sector or sub-sector in the state which suffered blows as terrible, palpable and debilitating as did the education industry.

As at the time of coming on board of the Rauf Aregbesola administration over the reins of power, governance and service in the State of Osun, it appeared that the public sector of the state’s education industry was heading for the rocks. It had nosed-dived and degenerated so much that government could no longer find its foot to stand the competition poised by the huge and ample presence of private investors at all rungs of the ladder within the industry. Readers are here reminded of the ugly rot of that time as showcased in our series of editions. It is for this selfsame purpose of sounding a reminder that this edition had in the first part, brought back to sight the sorry, sordid, gory and horrible sights which called for urgent emergency and intervention which the purposeful, focused and foresighted administration of Ogbeni Aregbesola came to provide.

13 OSuN DEFENDER tuesday, November maGaziNe

Landmarks Of Excellence

Barely 100 days into the administration of the progressive Action Congress of Nigeria (ACN) of the time, now the All Progressive Congress (APC), the very first decisive steps in the right direction for turning the tide around in favour of revamping the dwindling fortunes of education in the state, were made. Long before that solution hour, the desiring hearts of progress-loving indigenes and residents had panted continuously for positive changes that would set the state back on course of its old glory of excellence in academics and scholarship. As at that time, records and visible evidences had begun to prove that it had become a case of clear impossibility for the state to have above 2 per cent five credit passes for its candidates presented annually for public external examinations, i.e. the West African Senior Secondary School Certificate Examinations (WASSSCE) as organized by the West African Examinations Council (WAEC); and the Senior Secondary Certificate Examinations (SSCE) as conducted by the National Examinations Council (NECO).

The foregoing, by implication, stands to reason that it was fast-becoming difficult for the state to assert itself among the comity of states in the federation of Nigeria in filing up its admission quotas in federal institutions of higher learning. This, by extension, implies that it was becoming what could be likened to the Biblical case of a camel passing through the eye of the needle for the state’s school leavers to scuttle through the rigors of the “almighty” Unified Tertiary Matriculation Examinations (UTME) of the Joint Admissions and Matriculation Board (JAMB). As if to add salt to injury, the government-sponsored free enrolment policy for school certificate students of public secondary institutions which the defunct Oyinlola administration paraded as the prime of its acclaimed free education programme ended up in a farce! This was as the West African Examinations Council (WAEC) withheld the results of the state’s public schools candidates for the 2009/2010 outing of the examinations. The reason for this step was not remote to discern: The Oyinlola administration defaulted in its financial obligation to pay up for the entry of its students for the examinations! As a matter of fact, one of the first numerous shockers which the new administration had to muster and grapple with upon assumption of office was having to pay up for an examination it did not enter students for; more so, when the results of students in the examination were consistently poor, constituting disappointment and embarrassment thereby.

All through the entire years of the immediate past administration, which at best could be described as years of the holocaust, education in the State of Osun suffered a terrible set-back; not only in terms of poor quality of results and feedback, but also in terms of what went into it i.e. funding, staffing, materials and aids, infrastructure and the learning environment. It was perhaps the urgency imposed by these sordid and despicable conditions into which this vital industry had been plunged in the state that the new administration took the bull by the horns to explore and exploit means and ways of arresting the decay being witnessed by the sub-sector.

Following the declaration of a state of emergency in the education industry in the state, the administration of Ogbeni Rauf Aregbesola swung swiftly into action when in February 2011, the first-ever Education Summit was put together for the State of Osun. The agenda and thrust of the summit was to actively

engage a rich pool of ideas, skills, experiences and expertise of participants; drawn from diverse and related disciplines from Nigeria, Africa and the Diaspora in order to fashion out lasting panacea to the multifaceted hydra-headed challenges that had hitherto plagued the sector.

As part of the findings and recommendations of the summit, which was chaired by no less a personality than the academic icon and internationally reputed Nobel Laureate in Literature, Professor Wole Soyinka, the teaching-learning environment was identified to be of high preponderating and contributory influence on impact of delivery, efficacy and good outcome. It would not be a mismatch, therefore, to attribute the emergence and/evolution of the State of Osun Schools Infrastructure Development Project, known for short as O’SCHOOLS to the numerous landmark breakthrough achievements of the inaugural Education Summit for the State of Osun held in February 2011.

This far into the exposition at hand, our teeming readers have been taken down the memory lane, as we went through the spate of rot, decay and abandonment which our public educational institutions were made to witness in the past decade or thereabouts; particularly, during the time of the fiery siege unleashed by the immediate past administration. We availed the ample medium offered by our numerous editions to explore the multiple ugly side-effects of the careless neglect of the time and the extent and depth of dungeon into which the state had been plunged.

We further went through the details of devastation; the extent and intensity of damage and the resultant effects of the declined quality on the state, its people and the products of the rotten system directly. Part of this was the abysmally poor academic performances of the state’s candidates in annual external examinations, to the extent that it was becoming increasingly difficult for the state’s candidates to fill their allotted spaces for admission in federal tertiary institutions, due to dwindling performances. Also, admission into state-owned institutions became difficult due to much the same reasons. As a result, rate of dropout became very high. This presented a sharp deviation from long-known traditions whereby our state was one of the leading lights in the area of Western Education in the nation.

The prevailing situation in the State of Osun was that bad! Fortunately, the coming on board of the Aregbesola was a timely development; which brought with it timely relief to all and sundry in the state. Rather than moaning and groaning under the yoke of the colossal loss suffered by the state and its people over the years, the progressive and dynamic administration of Ogbeni Aregbesola knew what to do and when exactly to act. This timely intervention, according to opinions expressed by sources close to the governor and his team was due to long time of planning and deep-seated interest which the Symbol of the struggle for the revival of Osun, Ogbeni Aregbesola has in the education of youths in the state and bringing back quality to it. The factors which provided impetus for the first ever State of Osun Education Summit; and which added credence to the O’SCHOOLS project have been attributed the decisive steps taken so far and the huge success recorded to early recognition of requisite elements for effective learning, accurate diagnosis of the affliction which had bedeviled the sub-sector and recognition and proper application of efficacious therapy.

OSuN DEFENDER Magazine casts readers’ minds back to excerpts of interview held with one of the principal actors in the education policies of the incumbent administration in the state, the Chairman of the State of Osun Schools’ Infrastructure Development Project (O’SCHOOLS) Committee, Otunba Lai Oyeduntan, who justified the Education Summit, its rationale and aftermath as follows:

“Well, I’m sorry to say that I’m not aware that anybody has criticized that summit. I have not seen any fellow doing that! The summit was widely attended. It was widely graced from all over the world by people who are knowledgeable in education, policies, and even in intellectual aspect of it. I am going to answer that question simply because I was involved, both in planning and implementation; and the after-effects. How did we come about the summit? Long before Ogbeni Rauf Aregbesola came into office, right from the moment he indicated interest and was given the ticket to contest, he had shown a lot of interest in education. As far back as 2004, he sponsored a remedial programme for Osun boys and girls preparing for external examinations. That time, 2,000 candidates were involved. Extra-mural classes were organized in Osogbo, in Iwo, in Ilesa - about 2,500 candidates I think. And Ogbeni Rauf Aregbesola picked the bill to fund the classes, paid for their school certificate entry fee and paid them (the candidates) allowances. When the results came, it was disappointing! It was obvious that there was a lot more wrong with the education sector than trying all these cosmetic approaches for a solution. So between 2005 and 2011, there were so many committees he instituted focusing on education! That is why it was possible that within the first 100 days of his being sworn in, an education committee - a summit chaired by no less a personality than Professor Wole Soyinka took place; inviting resource people from all over the world; many of them, our own people, who had made marks in the United States, in Europe, in the Americas and other parts of the country and Africa. Okay, the summary of the findings at that summit identified that it takes more than the teacher, it takes more than the pupil, it takes more than all of these to have all the impact that it requires to increase the fortunes of the education sector. One of these is that the teacher who will teach must be made more efficient. The students must be well prepared, and of course, the environment must be made more friendly and befitting - more enabling! So, the environment must be properly taken care of and that led to the uniform concept introduced by the Government of the state to encourage and of course to motivate the pupils. Teachers are being recruited and being retrained via programmes of training, retraining and promotion courses. Now, we are talking of the environment - we have the O’MEAL programme, we have O’UNIFORM, even O’TEACHERS, so to say, all came as a result of experts identifying and pointing out the crucial steps to take, to set the sector back on track.”

To be continued.

Continued from page 12

•A newly-constructed road at Oroki Housing Estate, Osogbo.

OSuN DEFENDER tuesday, November 18, 2014 14feature

A Government Not Listening To It-THE greatest pickle or predicament that this country faces from time to time is the inability of government to listen to itself. A greater percentage of our problems should have been deciphered by now, if only the government has listened to itself. Let’s take two issues, the recent National Conference and the sustenance of the oil subsidy, which is the greatest conspiracy against Nigeria and the Nigerian people.

Just like the on-going campaign agenda styled Transformation Ambassadors of Nigeria, the idea of the National Conference was conceived by Oronto Nathan Douglas (48) from Okoroba in Nembe Area, Bayelsa State. A man with big ideas but highly elusive, Oronto carries the title of Special Adviser to the President on Research and Documentation. He is more than that. He is the alter ego of the President. Other alter egos of the President include Dieazani Agama Alison-Madueke, God Knows Boladei Igali, Ita Ekpeyong, John Olatunde Ayeni, King Amalate Johnie Turner, Diepreye Solomon Peter Alamieyesegha, Edwin Kiagbodo Clarke, Mujahid Dokubo Asari, Senator Emmanuel Izibefien Paulker (59), Steve Oronsanye, Hassan Tukur, High Chief Government Oweizide Ekepemupolo alias Tompolo.

Oronto was part of the legal team that represented the Ogoni leader, Kenule Beeson Saro-Wiwa (1941-1995). I have not seen Oronto since Saro-Wiwa was executed on November 10, 1995. He later became the Commissioner for Information and Culture in Bayelsa when the state was created on October 1, 1996.

With his failing health, Oronto, a background worker, romanced the Afenifere to come on board for the National Conference and to be sympathetic to Jonathan’s Presidency. The National Conference was inaugurated on March 17 this year with 492 delegates; an assembly of the best brains that we could boast of.

The conference ended on August 14 this year and its report was submitted on August 21 to the President, who assured that the report of the conference “will not be wasted”. On October 5, the President set up a seven-man panel headed by the Attorney-General of the Federation and Minister of Justice, Mr. Adoke Bello Muhammed (51) from Okene in Kogi State. That was the last we have heard of the National Conference. With the help of my friend, Senator Musa Adede (60) from Ogoja in Cross Rivers State, who was the Chairman of Committee on Transport, I was able to read the report of the National Conference. I must confess that I commend members of the National Conference for a job well-done.

Now party politics is in the air and with the election fever that has gripped the nation, at best, the report of the National Conference, like the Justice Niki Tobi/Sule Katagun/Bishop Matthew Kukah report of 2005 dialogue conference, the Justice Kutigi/Bolaji Akinyemi’s report will end up in the library of the office to the Secretary to the Government of the Federation.

In June 2000, there was a national strike over the prices of petroleum by the Federal Government. President Olusegun Obasanjo then set up a committee of all stakeholders to look at all aspects of problems associated with petroleum product supply and distribution through widespread and genuine consultation with the entire spectrum of the Nigerian society. The 33-member committee

was headed by Chief Rasheed Abiodun Gbadamosi(70), who is the son of the late industrialist, Chief Sule Oyeshola Gbadamosi, the late Otun of Ikorodu. At 27, the pioneer Military Governor of Lagos State, Brigadier Mobolaji Olufunso Johnson (78) appointed Chief Gbadamosi, who is now the new Otun of Ikorodu, the pioneer Commissioner for Development and infrastructure for Lagos State. A brilliant Economist, he became the Chairman of Nigeria Development Bank between 1986-1994. In 1998, he was appointed the Minister for National Development and in the absence of Petroleum Minister, Chief Gbadamosi led the Nigeria delegation to all the OPEC meetings in Geneva, Switzerland between 1998 and 1999.

Other members of the committee were Chief (Dr.) Rufus Giwa, Mr. S.O. Luwoye, Mr. Adams Oshiomhole, Alhaji A. Umaru, Mr. Lucas Damulak, Mr. Joseph Akinlaja, Alhaji Umaru Ndanusa, Dr. Pat Utomi, Alhaji Umar Abba Gana, Chief Nkem A. Ekwechi, Alhaji A. Chachangi, Chief (Dr.) A.E. Ilodibe, Pastor E.A. Ogun, Mrs. Emily Aig-Imokhuede, Chief Richard Uche, Mr. Ray Ekpu, Alhaji G. Hamman, Dr. Imo Itsueli, Prof. E. Edozien, Prof. ‘Dotun Phillips, Chief M.O. Onoja, Dr. S. Usman, Mr. A.S. Okoye, Mr. Sylvester Ejiofor, Engr. Funso Kupolokun, Rev.(Dr.) T. Adeboye, Dr. Samaila M. Kewa, Mallam Wada Maida, Mr. G.D. Loma and Mr. C.O. Iwuozor

The Secretary of the Committee was Chief Olusegun Olujimi Oloogunebi Ogunkua, who is now the Baba Ijo of St. Thomas Anglican Church, Isikan, Akure. He retired as a Permanent Secretary, Ministry of Finance in August 2006. The

committee was inaugurated on August 14, 2000 by my then boss, Chief Ufot Ekaette (75), who was then Secretary to the Government of the Federation.

The committee submitted its report on November 15, 2000. The NLC members of the committee headed by Comrade Adams Oshiomhole wrote a minority report. On November 26, 2000, the government set up a five-man panel headed by Chief Vincent Ogbulafor, then Minister of Economic Matters, to reconcile the two reports. Other members of the panel were: Dr. Hakeem Baba-Ahmed, Mr. A.O. Adeyemo, Mr.Arubisan Okegbe and Prof. P. T. Akhire.

Chief Gbadamosi’s committee made 47 suggestions and the government accepted 42 of the suggestions, especially on price support and market liberalisation. Only one of those suggestions has so far been implemented and that is the establishment of Petroleum Pricing Regulatory Agency with the appointment of Dr. Oluwole Oluleye as the pioneer Secretary.

The Gbadamosi committee insisted on the complete deregulation of the downstream sector of the oil industry so as to resolve most of the issues in cost structure pricing and subsidy of the Petroleum industry. The committee also insisted that deregulation of the industry will mean that market forces of demand and supply, will be the determinants of product prices

Suffice it to note that the four refineries that we had, were no longer working.For example, the Warri refinery was commissioned in 1979, the Kaduna in 1980 and the three in Port-Harcourt were commissioned in 1965, 1971 and 1989 respectively.

After failing to implement these recommendations, the government unilaterally increased the prices of petroleum products on January 1, 2012 resulting in massive protest by all Nigerians and the establishment of a pressure group known as OCCUPY NIGERIA, which has become moribund now.

No other subject has drawn the attention of Nigerians more the issue of oil subsidy. The latest figure indicates that Nigeria has so far spent over N2 trillion on oil subsidy alone. No doubt, the oil subsidy is killing us and only few, very few, of not more than twenty people are benefitting from the subsidy.

On March 18 this year, the Minister of Petroleum, Mrs. Deiziani Allisson-Madueke (54), raised an alarm at the Oil and Gas Conference in Abuja that the payment of subsidy to oil marketers can no longer be sustained by the Federal Government. “The subsidy policy cannot be sustained any longer, this is because the subsidy payment did not benefit the poor it was targeting but rather benefitting the rich,” she declared. Only Mrs. Madueke can identify the “rich”, she referred to. On May 28, the Senate Committee on Finance headed by Senator Ahmed Muhammed Markafi (58), former Governor of Kaduna state, demanded the removal of oil subsidy. Just recently on September 15, the Federation Allocation Committee ended in a deadlock when the Commissioners of Finance of the 36 states insisted that the oil subsidy should be withdrawn because of the drop in the oil money allocation to the states. The question we need to ask is why can’t this oil subsidy be removed?

With the way things are going and with the sustenance on oil subsidy and the global drop in the prices of petrol, many poor states like Adamawa, Benue, Cross Rivers, Gombe, Osun, Ekiti, Ebonyi, Kogi, Kwara, Jigawa, Kebbi, Taraba and other land-locked states will run into economic problems by January. Now we are finding it very difficult selling our oil.

Certainly if we have implemented Gbadamosi committee’s report, we would have faced some problems at the take-off in 2000 but by now, we would have overcome those problems.

We are now held captive expecting the inevitable.

With declining capacity in the real sector, poor performance of major infrastructural facilities, large budget deficit, rising level of unemployment and inflation and with the impending devaluation of the naira soon to be announced, we are heading for economic depression.

A s t h e s a y i n S p a n i s h , ” Recojetuhenomientrasque el sol luziere, which means ‘make hay while the sun shines”. And the French also said “aide toi et le cleit’aidera, which also means help yourself and heaven will help you.”

There is economic doom in the horizon.

•eRIC, a former director at the Presidency, stays in Lagos.

by eriC teNiOLa

•JONATHAN

15OSuN DEFENDER tuesday, November 18, 2014

The People’s Governor of the State of Osun, Ogbeni Rauf Aregbesola, would be inaugurated on Thursday November 27, 2014 for his second term.

There is no denying the fact that Ogbeni Aregbesola has warmed himself into the hearts of the people of the State of Osun with his massive developmental projects.

His impact has been felt in all the nooks and crannies in the state while he has touched every aspect of our lives in the State of the Virtuous.

What else could we do as individuals or corporate bodies on this auspicious occasion if not to identify with him by congratulating him.

Your popular soar away grassroots tabloid, OSUN DEFENDER Newspaper, is doing a supplement to congratulate the workaholic governor of our time in commemoration of the inauguration. Individuals, corporate bodies, institutions, and well-wishers can avail themselves with our low advert rate below:

ADVERT RATE

Full Page Colour - N150,000

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Any of these phone lines can be contacted: 08033927286, 08033880205, 08061197897 and 08023191891.

Governor Rauf Aregbesola’s Inauguration

- Management

Round-Table ChatOsun defender round-table chat is a platform for all aspirants in the State of Osun to espouse their programmes for the electorate.

It is a forum where activities aspirants intend to embark upon are brought bare to the people.

It exposes the real person of the aspirant, his values and his plans for his constituency. This forum is open to serving public officials as well as those who intend to contest.

For any additional information on the above issue, any of these numbers should be contacted: 08033927286, 08033880205, 08061197897 and 08062207954.

– management

tuesday, NOVember 18, 2014

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

by ade OLuGbOtemiNO one is left in doubt all over the world that Nigeria is a

nation in distress; and all of us living therein are equally distressed. Many are those who have been forced out of the shores of the land in search of non-existent Golden Fleece, and they have ended in chores that sanity will not avail. Victims of such circumstantial misadventure have had the dignity prevalent back at home stripped off them because they have been conditioned to menial engagements which their host countries regarded in the days of old, as exclusively meant for slaves, whose duty it was to toil but aberrantly forbidden to taste of the fruits of their labour.

We have for long missed the point by exclusively hewing blames on our leaders, who have drafted us into the wilderness of economic peril. We are always quick to point accusing fingers in the direction of successive military and political leaders, who have at one time or the other foisted their authority without our consent but come around to deceive us that they are out to protect our interests. We, like a frog in its natural habitat of cool water will thereafter feel contented about the change of guards that lacks any modicum of our approval; only to continue grumbling that we have never had it so bad, as if we have ever had it better than our circumstantial reality.

The bene f i c i a r i e s o f ou r complacency are at ease with their antics because they have always had their mission fulfilled, and we are left to smart in needless agony that prompt reactions would have averted. The vocal ones amongst us suddenly become gold diggers because our oppressors quickly identify them and lure them with largesse that causes discordant tunes that give way to tacit support. The exploits of the moneybags are largely responsible for our smothered socio-economic development, which in turn exacerbates the prevalent ubiquitous poverty in the land. We are now seeking for solutions to the problem, which root cause is the insensitivity of our selfish leaders and their cronies, who get easily influenced through pecuniary inducement.

The season of massive inducement is here again. As we are well aware, the period three to four months

prior to election is often thick for those in wait for seasonal harvest, which influence cause millions of people to be condemned to harrowing, term-long economic gaol. Burden-lessening funds that would have relieved citizenry of economic woes, if well applied in the business of governance, but misappropriated would be released into wanton spending spree to inordinately influence voters, who otherwise would not have contemplated support, if rationality has been allowed a leeway. Poverty-stricken individuals, who now feel compelled to seek for amelioration through needless naira rain that would have been enough for economic turnaround, if the money has been appropriately applied, are now at risk of compromising conscience to the effect of making ends meet.

Rational individuals are seriously concerned about the malady of inducements that has often afforded

corrupt politicians easy passage into office, who after their questionable success at the polls, carry on government business in sordid manner, that the wheel of progress in all spheres of our national life is made moribund and clogged. The political leaders feel fascinated about the prevalent sanity in other advanced countries, such that they even wish that they make ready for themselves opportunities of relocation after leaving office. One wonders then what insanity has befallen them that they cannot bring such reforms to bear in their country, so the situation in those countries that make them attractive can also be effected in our own.

Nigerians may need to adopt what I can call Aregbesola’s philosophy to salvage the country and protect her people from the danger of malnutrition and total obliteration. Governor Rauf Aregbesola of the State of Osun had, during the period preceding his re-election, that people should not hesitate to take

any money from the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) in an attempt to influence voters’ loyalty to themselves. PDP were tricked into believing that money for votes would swing the pendulum of electoral victory to their side; while a whooping N20 billion was

said to be involved in the dirty job. People collected their dirty money, except those who feared that the associated curse with the largesse might have negative repercussion. At the end, the popular choice of the people emerged victorious.

The more we allow financial gratification to influence our voting pattern, the more we allow for the drifting of the country into backwardness. We have reached a critical point, where we should be wise and collectively mobilize in a rescue mission for our dear country. Over fifteen years of PDP rule has amounted to a colossal waste that people have had to battle depravity and lack. I will not be sure we can continue in that and survive the next four or five years. Recent experience has shown that our survival rest in our ability to rationally perceive and act decisively. Not Americans, Chinese, French, or Britons will readily rise up to our rescue. The global economic meltdown will not even allow for that because every nation of the world is trying to proffer solutions to myriads of problems confronting her. That is why we need to hold our destiny firmly in our own hands.

The time has come for Nigerians to be stripped of that toga of pessimism that has kitted us with the inability to come up with anything positive. Many countries have gone distressed before, and with determination and perseverance, they have survived and today, some of them have are exemplary for many nations of the world to emulate. Malaysians once saw something good in us and exported our palm fruits to their country; that invention is today a veritable source of income for them. We can also emulate some good cultures of other nations of the world, internalize them and use the derivable benefits to rid this country of our woes. We only need to believe in ourselves, and before long, we shall arrive at a junction of respite.

Nigerians must prevail on the major opposition party, the All Progressives Congress (APC) to come up with credible candidates through a process that will be

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

Taming Nigeria’s Monster Of Stagnancy

“Nigerians may need to adopt what I can call Aregbesola’s philosophy to salvage the country and protect her people from the danger of malnutrition and total obliteration. Governor Rauf Aregbesola of the State of Osun had, during the period preceding his re-election, that people should not hesitate to take any money from the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) in an attempt to influence voters’ loyalty to themselves. PDP were tricked into believing that money for votes would swing the pendulum of electoral victory to their side; while a whooping N20 billion was said to be involved in the dirty job. People collected their dirty money, except those who feared that the associated curse with the largesse might have negative repercussion. At the end, the popular