Osun Defender Online Version of April 07, 2023

HIV/AIDS: There’s Shortage Of Condoms, Test Kits In Osun

•Continued from Page 1

OSUN DEFENDER reporter visited OSACA office at Jaleoyemi, Osogbo around 10:am yesterday. Only one person, believed to be the office keeper was around at that me.

The reporter requested for condoms but the office keeper said the person in charge was not yet in the office.

About five minutes later, two other staff, male and female, rode into the premises of the office on a motorcycle.

The office assistant beaconed on the reporter to come forward and meet the two staff members.

It was noted that the facial expression of the male staff member changed when the office assistant informed him that the reporter came to request for condoms.

The reporter told the male staff that he needed condoms and instantly, he (staffer) said there was no condom. “We don’t have condom; condom is not available”, the staffer declared.

OSUN DEFENDER also gathered that there is also shortage of condoms, and no HIV test kit at each of the Primary Health Centre across the state.

It was learnt that

•OSACA office, Jaleoyemi, Osogbo some PHCs were given between five to seven pieces of male condoms to women on family planning, as against the large quan ty being given to them before.

Findings by OSUN DEFENDER revealed that the last HIV test kits procured by the state government through the Ministry of Health were exhausted in December, 2019.

The test kits were part of the Save One Million Souls project in the state in 2019, it was learnt.

It was gathered that when the HIV test kits became scarce across the state, implemen ng partners on HIV/AIDS like the Associa on of Reproducve and Family Health (ARFH) and Prime Health Ini a ve (PHRI) donated some test kits to the Lo-

cal Agency for Control of HIV/AIDS and Manager at some of the Primary Health Centres in the state for some mes.

OSUN DEFENDER noted that some residents of the state preferred being given condoms to buying it at pharmacy or other places, as some of them are shy to declare that they want to buy the commodity at open

place.

This is just as Osun as a state does not have updated sta s cs of the exact number of people living with HIV/AIDS.

It would be recalled that United States Consul General in Nigeria, Will Stevens, last week said there is need to get 13,000 HIV/AIDS posi ve Osun residents on treatment.

Urban Alert, ICPC Set To Track Constituency Projects By NASS Members In Osun

Yusuf Oketola

Acivil society organisa on, Urban Alert and Independent Corrupt Prac ces and Other Related Offences

Commission (ICPC) in the State of Osun have con-

cluded plans to track execu on of Zonal Intervenon projects facilitated by Na onal Assembly members from the state.

According to Urban Alert, a sum of N1.6billion was allo ed for zonal interven on projects for

Senators and House of Assembly members from the State of Osun annually.

However, many residents of the state are unaware of the projects and some of the projects were said to have been personalised by their facilitators.

Urban Alert’s Team

Lead, Mr Anthony Adejuwon, said the organisa on paid an advocacy visit to ICPC Office in Osogbo on Monday and deliberated on key issues surrounding corrup on in public project execu on and the need to form a formidable force to fight the issues with the commission.

According to Adejuwon in a press statement made available to OSUN DEFENDER on Wednesday, both Urban Alert and ICPC agreed on the need for synergy and collabora on in line with ICPC’s Cons tuency and Execu ve Project Tracking ini a ve (CEPTi).

The Resident Commissioner of ICPC in the state, Mr. Ademola Bakare, expressed the willingness of the an -gra agency to partner with Urban Alert to ensure corrup on-free public projects, as reported in the statement.

According to the statement, Bakare stated that partnerships with NGOs and Civil Society Organisaons is essen al to address the state of corrup on in the country.

The Resident Commissioner further emphasised the prac ce of integrity as a key to sustaining the rela onship with ICPC.

With the partnership, ICPC and Urban Alert is set to bring informa on to the doorsteps of cizens for them to demand mely and quality Zonal Interven on Projects devoid of corrup on.

Stevens got his figure from the Na onal AID Indicator Survey (NAIIS) that was done in 2018.

According to the survey, a total of 29,000 residents of the State are living with HIV/AIDS.

Of the 29, 000, only 16,000 were placed on treatment as of 2022, according to ECEWS Project Director of HIV treatment for Osun, Eki and Delta states, Dr Okezie Onyedinachi.

This implies that between 2019 and first quarter of 2023, Osun could not track the spread of HIV/AID to have updated sta s cs of the people leaving with the virus.

However, inves gaons by the medium revealed that HIV is prevalent among the younger genera on, poor people, Men-having-Sex-withMen (MSM), commercial sex workers and drug addicts.

Speaking with OSUN DEFENDER, the State Coordinator for Civil Socie es Working on HIV/ AIDS in Nigeria (CISHAN), Babatunde Omole, said it will be difficult for Osun to a ain vision 95-95-95 with the current disposion of the state government.

Vision 95-95-95 is the Joint United Na ons Programme on HIV/AIDS (UNAIDS) goal calling for 95% of all people living with HIV to know their HIV status, 95% of all people with diagnosed HIV infec on to receive sustained an retroviral therapy, and 95% of all people receiving an retroviral therapy to have viral suppression by 2025.

Omole slammed the state government for what he described as lackadaisical a tude to control the spread of HIV/AIDS.

According to Omole, the state government, especial former governor Adegboyega Oyetola administra on, did not make any meaningful interven on on the control of HIV/AIDS.

He stated that OSACA, an agency responsible for government’s intervenon on HIV/AID control, needed to be revamped for effec ve service delivery with adequate funding.

Omole confirmed that there is shortage of condoms and HIV test kits in the state, saying civil society organisa ons which are cri cal stakeholders in the control of the virus do not have access to essen al commodi es.

He said: “Let’s start

•Continued on page 7

•Urban Alert team with ICPC Officials during the visitation

TYPICAL of our rent-seeking economy, all eyes are now focused on the jockeying and inevitably the horse trading centered on who gets what as principal officers of the Na onal Assembly. Predictably as peas from a pod same scramble is on at the sub-na onal level.

What else is new? Nothing surprising same old stuff, for none of the poli cal par es opera ng at any level had offered anything remotely like a coherent legisla ve agenda during the recently concluded elec ons.

This is another confirma on that the main territory of poli cal ac vity in Nigeria is a perennial hustle to share what is now a shrinking cake, not very much about baking let alone expanding the cake. A discerning electorate would wonder about the need for the legislature arm in the first place. The impolite will be tempted to say that it might be all about excellent by interna onal not even third world standards very good enumera on.

Alas, there are consequences. For a start, the absence of legisla ve inia ves inevitably turns what ought to be an independent body into an appendage of the now all powerful dominant execu ve. The addi onal debilita on is that even the much

President Franklin Delano Roosevelt and the “hundred days” congress which provided the bills to tackle the great depression and implement the new deal. It was efficacious. In contradis nc on, it took unnecessary loss of opportunity and the erosion of the me value of money as well as the opportunity costs to pass vitally needed legisla on, such as taking power and railway out of the exclusive legisla ve list and sensibly into the recurrent list.

“The absence of legislative initia tives inevitably turns what ought to be an independent body into an appendage of the now all powerful dominant executive. The additional debilitation is that even the much touted function of oversight function is pathetic inadequate with predict ably disastrous consequences”

touted func on of oversight funcon is pathe c inadequate with predictably disastrous consequences.

As a result, we have that Nigerian peculiarity known as “abandoned

projects”, badly formulated and as a consequence inadequately implemented budgets. No wonder one hundred and thirty-three million Nigerian’s are in mul -dimensional poverty.

The legisla ve arm ma ers even more now that we are in dire straights. In a polity faced with so many problems, we should be going into post inaugura on of a new president on the twenty ninth of May with the convoca on of a special legisla ve summoned to empower the execu ve with the tools to face what is incontrover bly a crisis.

Historical examples of such sessions exist notably United States

Need For A Legislative Agenda The Discourse

Fundamentally, there is also a need to set up a long-delayed Congressional Budget Office to enhance the capacity of the Naonal and the state houses of assemblies in all ramifica ons.

We can only hope that the inadequacies of the past will be tackled by the incoming parliament.

The painful lesson we have learned from our na onal predicament is that ins tu ons ma er, and to break out of our plight, we have to build strong transparency in our ins tu ons as well as the technical capacity to do the job. The incoming assemblies must be more than the sharing of largess and posts they have to provide the fundamental foundaon for a rebirth of the republic.

The Significance Of Lent, Holy Week And Easter

THE spiritual and liturgical acvi es of the Lenten season and Holy week are put in place by the church to prepare all the faithful for the glory of Easter. The significance of these sacred ac vi es is that they celebrate the passion, death and resurrec on of Christ. These sacred events in themselves are symbolic and concrete celebra ons of the redemp on that Christ brought into the world. Good Chrisans recall through them the processes that Christ went through before he reconciled mankind to God. The four cardinal requirements of lent namely: Penance, fas ng/abs nence, prayer and almsgiving, if followed faithfully will lead one on the path of righteousness. Many Chris ans that are faithful to the apostolic tradi on of forty days of lent, both the good and not so good ones make spirited efforts during lent to make a difference in their lifestyles for good. Many momentarily become saints during lent, but a er lent they return back to their normal selves.

The annual forty days of lent begins with Ash Wednesday and ends with the Holy Week celebra ons and Easter. They are interconnected, the days of Holy Week are par cularly important because of the spiritual ac vies involved, which were performed by Christ himself as a memorial of his mission and passion on earth. The Palm Sunday is the beginning of Holy week, on this day, Chris ans commemorate the triumphant entry of Jesus into Jerusalem on a donkey, his last journey on earth. Prior to the me, Christ prophesied that, the son of man is going to Jerusalem to be rejected by the elders, to suffer and be killed cf. (Ma hew 16:2; Luke 9:22). People welcomed him into Jerusalem with enthusiasms waiving palm leaves and spreading their clothes

on the ground for the donkey he rode to march on. The palm leaves they held signified royalty, peace and solidarity. Every year when Chris ans commemorate the event, the faithful show their solidarity and loyalty to Christ, the saviour of the world. The church offers the world, the peace of Christ, which no one else can offer or take away.

The last three days of the Holy week known as the triduum are very important in the celebra on. On Holy Thursday, according to the ancient tradi on of the Catholic Church, we celebrate the Mass of Chrism by the bishop and all the priests as a sign of communion of the priests with the Bishop and the en re people of God in a diocese. Oils of Catechumen, the Sick and Chrism are also blessed during the mass for the administra on of the relevant sacraments throughout the year. In the evening of Holy Thursday, the Mass of the Lord’s passion is celebrated, during which we remember the ins tu on of the priesthood and the Holy Eucharist which the Lord instructed must be celebrated in memory of him ll the end of me John 13: 1 ff, Ma hew 26: 26.

On Good Friday, we celebrate in vivid way the physical suffering of Christ, his crucifixion and death on the cross. As part of the sacred devoon, we do venera on of the cross.

The Lord instructed we must be in love with the cross, if we are to be his disciples cf. Ma hew 16:24, and as noted by St. Paul we preach Christ crucified, the cross is the power and wisdom of God cf. 1. Cor. 1: 23. Saturday night, the Church holds mother of all vigils to wait pa ently and with hope the resurrecon of Christ. The vigil features comprehensive proclama on of the word of God, ligh ng of Easter Candle-signifying risen Christ who is the light of the world who came to dispel the darkness of sin and Satan. In the morning, we always celebrate the joy of Easter, a reminder to us that death is not the end of man but eternal life awaits all faithful people at the resurrec on. We are not expected to be saints only during Lent, Holy Week and a er Easter, we return to normal aggressive, wicked, decei ul, lying, manipula ng, cold, indifferent and sinful people. We Chris ans are called to imitate Jesus in

our daily lives. This Holy season must not be just another season, like all others, which come and roll by. This season for each and every one of us must be another opportunity offered by God, to evoke in us purifica on and conversion. We are reminded at Easter that all

OSUN DEFENDER

Publisher – Moremi Publishing House Ltd.

Deputy Editor – Ismaeel Uthman

Produc on Editor – Petkola Taiwo Ibitowa

Reporter – Yusuf Oketola

Reporter – Kazeem Badmus

Photo Journalist – Olushola Aderinto

Computer Graphics – Zainab Olalere

OSUN DEFENDER is published by Moremi Publishing House Limited, Promise Point Building, Opposite Guarantee Trust Bank (GTB), Gbogan Road Osogbo, State of Osun

ISSN : 0794-8050

Telephone : 0809-301-9152

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All correspondence to the above email addresses.

the valid and urgent preoccupa ons of our lives in me must be subordinated to and evaluated in terms of life and eternity. We are reminded that the life of the body is short and flee ng, and that the real man lives beyond the grave. Finally, we are called upon to rise with Christ in joy, peace, love and glory. May the grace and blessings of this season be richly yours and family. I wish you all a happy and frui ul Easter, be assured of my prayers and that of all the clergy of Catholic Diocese of Osogbo.

•Most Rev. John Akin Oyejola, Bishop, Catholic Diocese of Osogbo.

“This Holy season must not be just another season, like all oth ers, which come and roll by. This season for each and every one of us must be another opportunity offered by God, to evoke in us purification and conversion”

Most Rev. John Akin Oyejola

4 News Osun Records 44,397 Cases Of Tuberculosis In 3 Years - Reports

THE State of Osun recorded a total of 44,397 of tuberculosis cases between 2020 and 2022, according to report.

A report of the World Health Organiza on (WHO) Global TB report indicated that Osun recorded 6,599 cases in 2020, 14,999 in 2021 and 22,799 in 2022.

OSUN DEFENDER gathered that over 25,000 pa ents are currently receiving treatment in the state.

According to the report, an es mated 10.6m people developed tuberculosis in 2021, with Nigeria having the highest figure (467,000) of the cases in Africa and accoun ng for 4.6% of the Global TB burden.

In its efforts to put an end to TB and a ain the Sustainable Development Goal-3 (SDG-3), the Federal and State government of Osun are adop ng various strategies to find the es mat-

ed 200,000 TB pa ents missed annually for testing, diagnosis and treatment.

Speaking with newsmen and stakeholders at

a press briefing marking the 2023 World TB Day in Osogbo, the State Director of Public Health, Dr. Bello Akeem, said Osun has intensified efforts

to improve TB case finding, sta ng that a cough that persists for more than two weeks can be a symptom of tuberculosis.

According to him, the state won two awards in the TB programme; one for the highest case no fica on rate and the other for the best State

Ospoly Students Write Adeleke Over Deplorable State Of Community Roads

Yusuf Oketola

STUDENTS of Osun State Polytechnic, Iree has sought the interven on of the state government over deplorable condi on of roads in the community, especially the one that leads to the campus.

The students noted that the condi on of the road is a major concern for the en re community, stating that series of fatal accidents that claimed lives and injured many people has been recorded on the campus road.

“Going and coming from campus is a threat to our lives because of the poor condi on of the roads”, said the students in an open le er wri en to Governor Ademola Adeleke by the Students Union Government of the ins tuon.

The union stressed that the state of road from Poly Junc on, Iree down to Ada Junc on has made commu ng difficult for students and staff of the instu on, including visitors.

Signed by the President and General Secretary of the union, Comrade Azeez Tajudeen and Comrade Kayode Oluyeye respecvely, the le er reads in part: “Dear listening Governor, we write to request urgent ac on to fix the deplorable and deadly road that leads to our campus.

“As you are aware, the road has been in a deplorable state for a long me, causing numerous accidents and pu ng the lives of students, staff and visitors at risk.

“The road leading to our campus has become a major concern for the en re academic community. The potholes, uneven surface and poorly marked lanes have made the road

dangerous for drivers, pedestrians and cyclists.

“We have received reports of accidents on this road, and unfortunately, some of them have resulted in fatali es. These accidents have not only caused death and injuries to members of our community, they have also created an atmosphere of fear and uncertainty among students, staff and visitors.

“Furthermore, the state of the road has made commu ng to and from the campus difficult and inconvenient for students, staff and visitors. Many students have had to spend hours in traffic due to the poor condion of the road.

“We, therefore, urge you to priori se the repair of the road leading to our campus. The road is a major artery for the aca-

Programme of the year award for 2022.

Akeem a ributed the success to robust communication-based ac vi es (both outreach and house-to-house approach) and affec ve collabora on with partners.

He appreciated WHO and other development partners working on TB eradica on, saying the collabora on with the state Ministry of Health has made the achievement possible.

The Coordinator of WHO in Osun, Dr Ahmed Bello, said the effort of all health workers is pivotal to ending the scourge of TB in Nigeria.

Bello explained that WHO offers support to the state in the fight against TB by providing regular technical oversight, monitoring and mentoring health workforce.

Speaking at the event, a 29-year-old TB pa ent, Ayo Ogunsola, a carpenter residing in Osogbo, said he was diagnosed with TB in October 2022, a er complaining of shortness of breath, weight loss, body weakness and cough.

demic community, and fixing it will improve the safety and well-being of all those who use it. It will also enhance the reputaon of your administraon as one that is commi ed to the welfare of its ci zens.”

He said: “I was scared when told I tested posive for TB and gone into seclusion, but with my wife’s encouragement, I started treatment in November 2022. All the services, from tes ng to treatment have been free.”

Six Dead, Seven Injured As Commercial Buses Crash In Osun

Kazeem Badmus

SIX people have been reported dead by the Federal Road Safety Corps, State of Osun Command, in a crash that occurred along Ipetu-Ilesa road on Tuesday.

The accident involved a red commercial toyota sienna car with registra on No: KTU896HX and another commercial OPEL ZAFIRA with registra on NO: GBA440XA.

The crashes, according

to a statement by the Sector Public Education Officer of the corps, Agnes Ogungbemi, involved 14 people, no ng that it might have happened as a result of dangerous driving and excessive speeding.

Ogungbemi stated that seven people were injured while one person sustain no injury.

She added that the injured vic ms were taken to Wesley hospital, Ilesa while the deceased were deposited at the same hospital morgue.

A sum of N21,900 belonging to the driver of OPEL ZAFIRA was handed over to the police in Ijebu Ijesa division while the sum of N27,171,400 was recovered and handed over to the vicms’ family.

Yusuf Oketola

•The Joint Union Negotiating Council of the Ministry of Interior, Abuja, on Wednesday, presented award of Excellence to Minister of Interior, Ogbeni Rauf Aregbesola for his exemplary leadership and unequal qualitative management of the ministry.

•Some of the bad portions of the road

•Officials of the Federal Road Safety Corps, Osun State Command, presenting the over N27 million to relatives of the deceased passenger and leaders of the Hausa Community in Ilesa on Wednesday.

Minibus Drivers Lament Extortion By OSTMS Staff

COMMERCIAL drivers of minibus popularly called Korope in the State of Osun have lamented the alleged extor on by some staff of the Osun State Transport Management System (OSTMS).

According to the drivers who spoke with OSUN DEFENDER on Monday, some of the OSTMS staff, par cularly those issuing ckets for them have not been obeying the direc ve of the state government on its one cke ng system policy.

It would be recalled that Governor, Ademola Adeleke in January, 2023, announced a new transport management system for the state with a triple objec ve of securing the motor parks, crea ng thousands of jobs and increasing the state’s Internally Generated Revenue.

The Governor, through the consultant on Motor Park Management, Prof. Abdulrahman Afonja, also warned those selling two ckets to desist, saying the system gave no other person the right to sell a cket on behalf of the government except those contracted by the consultant.

98

than the N200 daily cket and that anyone caught issuing double cket will be prosecuted. I want the government to help us”.

Another driver who idenfied himself as Ola Mummy told the medium that drivers plying Okinni/Ilobu/ Ifon road were also vic ms of the extor ons.

According to him, the transport cket issuers at the popular Oju bridge and Ifon also collected addi onal fee from the drivers, not minding that they had already collected their daily ckets.

He added that the same thing was going on in Dagbolu area, Osogbo.

However, the drivers said some cket issuers working for the OSTMS have placed extra charge on them apart from the N200 daily cket.

Speaking with OSUN DEFENDER, a minibus driver, Kayode Babalola, said the OSTMS cket issuers at Ido Osun do collect N100 from the minibus drivers without issuing any receipt for it.

According to Babalola, the OSTMS workers at Ido Osun engaged in the ac on whenever a driver plying the road collected his daily cket from another branch.

He said the staff would claim that the cket collected do not cover their area, hence the need for them to collect an addi onal N100.

Babalola said: “We are

passing through a lot in the hands of these people and nobody is ready to fight for our cause.

“If I collect my cket at Ido Osun, I won’t pay any other money when I get to Osogbo but if I collect the cket in Osogbo, those at Ido Osun will collect extra money from me even if I present the cket to them.

“What they always tell us is that they are on the outskirt of Osogbo and can do whatever they want. They will collect N100 from each of the drivers that do not collect ckets from them without issuing any receipt.

“It is very painful because what we heard the Governor saying was that no one should collect more

Community-Initiated Projects Ongoing - CSDA

Kazeem Badmus

THE State of Osun Community and Social Development Agency, on Wednesday, said about 98 micro projects spread across the state were being funded by Governor Ademola Adeleke’s administra on.

This was disclosed by the agency’s General Manager, Aderonke Abokede, at the inaugura on of a Community Primary School in Dagbolu area of the State.

Abokede said five of the 98 projects have been completed.

She further explained that the projects include a fence and gatehouse for the school, boreholes and Ven lated Improved Pit toilets.

Commending Adeleke for his commitment to improving basic economic and social condi ons of the communi es, Abokede urged the host communies to ensure proper maintenance of the buildings and other ameni es provided by the government.

She said, “Educa on is the key to elimina ng inequality and reduc on of poverty; hence the implementa on of this project in this Community Primary School, here in Dagbolu to provide a conducive place for teaching and learning.

“This commissioning is only possible because of

He said: “These people do not care if you have collected your cket from another place or not. So far you didn’t collect the cket from them, they will charge you an extra fee without giving you a receipt.

“Where is this money going to? The government had a good ini a ve for the state transport system but a lack of proper monitoring might jeopardise it.

“The likes of the people we are talking about are the ones who will stain the good names of the Governor and those in charge of the transport system.

“ If the charges they are billing us are too much, what will be our gain at the end of the day. Those in authority have to look into this and help us”.

Osun Community Calls For Dredging Of Aigbe Stream

Yusuf Oketola

RESIDENTS of Okini in Egbedore local government area of the State of Osun have called on the state government to dredge Aigbe stream in the area for free flow of water in preparatory for the full blast of the raining season.

The residents noted that the stream was full of debris which blocked the waterway, thereby causing erosion whenever it rained.

The Aigbe stream takes its source from Ayekaale, Olude area of Oke-Onitea and flows directly to Okinni.

OSUN DEFENDER visited the community on Wednesday and observed that buildings close to the stream are affected by erosion caused by the blockage of the stream’s channel.

The medium gathered that erosion has forced some of the people out of the area as residents find it difficult to come into the community whenever it rained.

Speaking with OSUN DEFENDER, a vic m of the erosion, Engr. Abdulazeez Adetunji, stated that the blockage of the stream’s channel has resulted into erosion coming directly into their homes.

This, according to him, has caused damages to their proper es.

Adetunji stressed that the community had written le ers on three different occasions to the administra on of former governor Adegboyega Oyetola on the need to dredge the stream, but nothing was done.

He claimed that the community lacked financial capacity to embark on full dredging of the stream for free flow of water.

Adetunji added that motorcyclists had on many occasions stuck in the erosion and lost their motorcycles in the cause, calling on the state government to intervene to avert future occurrences.

He said: “The Aigbe stream is totally blocked and this is preven ng the free flow of water. Whenever it rained, erosion

flows directly into our homes. The situa on is excrucia ng and we cannot bear it again.

“It is about four years

now that the erosion from the stream has been coming into my house. Whenever it rained, flood from the stream usually disrupt

vehicular movement and people won’t be able to come into the community for days.

“I have made a lot of efforts on my own to dredge it with shovel every dry season for easy flow of water. But it is not enough. The flood con nues to wreak havoc as the community keep to expanding.

“The community does not have the financial capacity to get dredging machine to dredge the stream. It is really excrucia ng. We find it difficult to come into the community whenever the stream is full.

“We wrote le ers to the administra on of former governor Adegboyega Oyetola on three different occasions since 2021 but we didn’t get any response from the government.

“Motorcyclists usually trapped in the flood and their motorcycles will be flooded away. All the Houses around the stream are affected. We can’t stay indoor whenever it’s raining. The flood also flow down to the main road”.

Kazeem Badmus

•Sheikh (Dr) Abdul Wahab Banni (RTA). Chief Imam Afonta Central Mosque, Osogbo and other Islamic clerics during a Ramadan lecture, held at Afonta Central Mosque yesterday.

Adetunji stated.

the funding provided by the Governor of the State, Sen. Ademola Nurudeen Adeleke. Ninety-eight

micro-projects are being funded across the state out of which five are in this school.”

In his remarks, Adeleke, who was represented by his deputy, Kola Adewusi, said the project was proof

of his administra on’s commitment to the implementa on of inclusive educa on.

How Late Oba Ogboni Agbaye’s Ghost Rescued Wife From Kidnappers

Kazeem Badmus

DR. Ademola Ekundayo, a younger brother to late Oba Ogboni Agbaye, Oba Adetoyese Olakisan, has narrated how the ghost of the tradi onalist rescued one of his wives from kidnappers’ den.

It would be recalled that Olakisan’s wives were kidnapped when some armed men stormed his house in Imesi-Ile late Sunday night.

Olakisan died in a ghastly accident while searching for his wives Monday a ernoon.

According to Ekundayo, one of the kidnapped wives who regained freedom on Tuesday told the family that her late husband was the one who rescued her.

She was not aware that her husband was dead of the me she was reportedly being freed.

Ekundayo said, the wife told them that her late husband appeared in front of her and their abductors, collected sand from the ground, chanted incanta ons and sprayed the kidnappers with the sand in his hands.

The wife, according to Ekundayo, said the kidnappers slept off immediately and the deceased asked her to go and wake the other wife who was locked up in another room.

But the other wife was not responding, making her to return to her husband who led her to a road which

led her to Ikoro-Eki , said the freed wife in Ekundayo’s narra on.

Ekundayo said it was a er they got home that the wife was told her husband is dead, disclosing that she fainted a er hearing the news.

Kidnappers Demand N2m To Release Other Wife, Olakisan Buried OSUN DEFENDER gathered that the kidnappers on Wednesday made a N2m ransom demand from the Olakisan family to free the woman with them.

Confirming the demand, Ekundayo in an interview with newsmen, said he spoke with the kidnappers and the wife in their custody.

He also confirmed that the late Oba Ogboni Agbaye was buried in the early hour of Wednesday.

“I have spoken with the kidnappers and they are demanding N2m. They have also heard that the king is dead and they say they can’t

release her for free.

“I spoke with the wife. She is alive. Had it been we knew the loca on; I and the boys would have gone there. Baba has

been buried on Wednesday morning”, he said.

Ekundayo however, said the morale of the police have been down since one of their colleagues

died with Olakisan.

He noted: “Since the DPO died, the police have withdrawn back a li le. I don’t understand”.

Family Calls For Inves ga on

Meanwhile, the family of the late Olakisan have called for a thorough inves ga on into the circumstances surrounding the a ack on his house during which two of his wives were abducted.

The family said there was a lot to be uncovered, calling on security agencies to ensure the perpetrators are found.

Ekundayo, who called for the inves ga on said:

Oba

Residents Vow To Ban Trucks Movement Over Incessant Accidents In Ikirun

RESIDENTS of Ikirun, the Headquarters of Ifelodun local government, State of Osun, has vowed to ban movement of trucks belonging to a quar-

ry company over incessant accidents in the town.

The residents who spoke under the aegis of ‘Like Minds of Ikirun’, accused truck drivers belonging to Salong Company, Obaagun of unprofession-

alism and lackadaisical attude, an act which has sent some residents of the community to early grave.

In a press release signed by its Coordinator, Prince Mu u Olawale, the group called on well-

meaning people of the area and the state government of Osun to intervene in the ma er before they take law into their hands.

This is coming days a er a truck from the said company killed three persons and le several injured as a result of mechanical failure.

Also, in late 2022, a truck from the same company reportedly rammed into some people inside a maternity, where many people were killed and several others injured.

According to the group, it is high me the state government and stakeholders saw to the regula on of truck movement in the area to avoid further loss of lives and destruc on of property.

The group recommended that there should be restric on of movement for the trucks, sta ng that the trucks should be made to operate at night.

“However, if that seems impossible, then we would be le with no op on than to take our des ny into our

own hands, by completely banning these trucks from rou ng within our community, henceforth”, the group threatened.

A copy of the release made available to OSUN DEFENDER yesterday reads: “Of course, there’s no doub ng the fact that no amount of money can bring back a lost life, yet, we recommend that each and every vic m of the unfortunate incidents should be compensated accordingly, including the families of the deceased.

“We also recommend that the concerned company should take necessary ac on to ensure their trucks are perfectly fit to hit the road without causing havoc.

“We equally urge the government to always consider an extension of roads with a special road for the passage of these killer trucks. We believe this would significantly contributes to reduc on in the threat posed to our community”.

“It was true that the assailants who spoke in Yoruba and Fulfulde language asked those they met in the house for the Ogboni ancient crown and cer ficate of registra on of Ogboni Aborigine. A lot needs to be uncovered.

“We call on security agencies to ensure that the perpetrators are found”.

How Ogboni Leader Met Death While Searching For Abducted Wives

The late Olakisan met his death on Monday afternoon while searching for his abducted wives, according to report.

The late Olakisan, alongside the two others among who was a policeman who accompanied him on the rescue mission died when his vehicle had a lone accident while returning to Imesi-Ile from Ila.

Olakisan went after the kidnappers to Ila and had a lone accident on their way back to Imesi-Ile, resul ng to his death and that of others with him.

Confirming the incident, Osun Police Public Rela ons Officer, Yemisi Opalola said the vic ms were rushed to the hospital before they all died.

She said: “The Ogboni leader and the police were inside his car with one other woman coming back to Oke-Imesi after their search and had a lone accident. The car was rammed into a tree.

“They were all rushed to the hospital but eventually they all died. The police are inside the bush con nuing the search and rescue mission. The DPO I talked to was also inside the bush”.

Yusuf Oketola

•Rev. Fr. Patrick Soladoye leading the procession at Holy Family Catholic Church Owode-Ede, Osogbo Diocese to mark the 2023 Palm Sunday

•Late

Ogboni Agbaye and the accident scene

Insecurity: Ooni Charges Govt On Constitutional Roles For Traditional Rulers

Yusuf Oketola

THE Ooni of Ife, Oba Adeyeye Enitan Ogunwusi, has charged the Na onal Assembly to carry out legisla on that will provide cons tu onal roles for Na onal Council of Tradional Rulers of Nigeria (NCTRN), to enable them make more posi ve impacts in the security architecture of the country.

Oba Ogunwusi warned that failure to do so may not allow the country to effec vely tackle emerging and contemporary security challenges bedeviling the na on.

Ooni who doubles as Co-chairman of NCTRN, the umbrella body of all the tradi onal rulers in Nigeria, stated this in Kaduna on Monday as Guest Speaker/ Royal Father during the 2023 Exercise Haski Hiyu Lecture organised by the Armed Forces Command And Staff College, Jaji, Kaduna state.

The lecture is an annual exercise organised by the military training ins tu on to cross-fer lize ideas and strengthen inter-agency collabora on between civil-military and paramilitary organisa ons to tackle emerging and contemporary security threats within their domains.

In the lecture themed: “Comba ng Internal Security Challenges Through Effec ve U lisa on Of Tradi onal Ins tu on” Oba Ogunwusi a ributed high rate of crimes and unending security challenges to the failure of government to assign specific cons tuonal roles to tradi onal rulers in the country.

The frontline tradi onal ruler said: “Any na on pushing tradi onal rulers aside may not prosper. We are the closest to the people and we must be cons tu onally empowered to work together with government so as to take our

country to another level, especially on security matters.

“We were more relevant during pre-independence struggle and post-independence cons tu onal

democracy up ll the end of the First Republic in 1966.

“When the colonial people came, they prac ced indirect rule in some parts of this country and they could only rule over the ci zens

through their tradi onal rulers. In fact, the first governor of African origin was Ooni Adesoji Aderemi who simultaneously reigned as the King of Ile-Ife and same me governed the old

Western Region alongside Late Obafemi Awolowo as the Premier. This was when tradi onal rulers had cons tu onal powers.

“Palace is the focal point. Whenever there is a

breakdown of law and order in town, people rush to the palace. To you the Nigerian gatekeepers, how do you want to do your jobs successfully without tradional instruc ons? Impossible!”

Oba Ogunwusi insisted that the tradi onal ins tuon has a vital role to play in the fight against insurgency, banditry and other related crimes in the society due to their closeness to the people, emphasizing that there is the need to enshrine roles of tradi onal rulers in the cons tu on.

In his speech, the Commandant of the Armed Forces Command And Staff College, JAJI Kaduna state, Air Vice Marshal Emmanuel Wunoh thanked the monarch for honouring their invita on and expressed sa sfac on with the Ooni’s speech.

Wunoh said he was in total agreement with the request of cons tu onal roles for Nigerian Tradional Rulers to effec vely complement efforts of the security agencies made by the Ife monarch.

Residents Commend Adeleke For Constructing John Mackay, Oke Ayepe Road

Kazeem Badmus

RESIDENTS of John Mackay, Oke Ayepe area of Osogbo, State of Osun have commended the State Governor, Sen. Ademola Adeleke for the ongoing reconstruc on of their road.

This was just as they appealed to Adeleke and the engineer handling the project for speedy comple on.

OSUN DEFENDER had in its May 25, 2022 edi on reported that residents of the area had begged the state government to fix the poor road, saying it had become a death trap for motorists and commercial motorcyclists ply-

ing it.

Speaking with the medium, a resident of

the area, Oluwabusolami Akande, appreciated the Governor for beaming his

searchlight on the community.

Akande said the road,

HIV/AIDS: There’s Shortage Of Condoms, Test Kits In Osun

•Continued from Page 2 from the figure of the people leaving with HIV/ AID; the current figure of 29,000 is as a result of Na onal AID Indicator Survey (NAIIS). There has not been any survey since then. The implicaon is that we don’t actually know the number of people that have been infected since 2018.

“Whether we like it or not, Osun s ll has a relavely very high incidence of HIV in Nigeria, going by the 2018 survey which is the only authen c record as of today. We have some key popula on, key towns that have higher

than the average of the whole state.

“The entry point to the treatment of HIV is to know your status and the only way you can know that is by having test done. If you don’t go for test, you can’t know your HIV status. That puts almost everybody in the society at risk and that has been the challenge in Osun state.

“There is shortage of essen al commodi es like condoms and test kits, and this is because the Osun State Agency for the Control of Aids (OSACA) is not func onal. The state government has

not been forthcoming in commi ng resources to the control of HIV/AIDS.

“We used to get the test kits from the Osun State Agency for the Control of Aids. It is the coordina ng agency for HIV/ AIDS ac vi es in Osun. Once in a while, we also get from the Risk Control Programme Unit at the state Ministry of Health. But now, there is shortage of the essen al commodi es.

“There is need for the state government to be genuine and committed to the control of HIV/ AIDS in the state. I am of the opinion that OSACA

needs to be reposi oned and funded for effec ve service delivery.”

Omole said the shortage of condoms and test kits portend great risk for the State of Osun in the fight against the spread of HIV/AIDS, saying the state might not a ain vision 95-95-95.

Asked what needs to be done, Omole said there is need for coordinated and strategic awareness campaign.

He said: “HIV awareness/sensi sa on has gone beyond roadshowdancing and singing on the road. We need to bring in ICT and do more

of edutainment because the younger genera on we are targe ng spend most of their me on the internet.

“Awareness on HIV/ AIDs in the state is very low. You will not imagine that people do not believe that HIV/AIDs s ll exist. The is because there is no awareness again.

“There is need for strategic engagement between the state government and stakeholders working on HIV/AIDS control. There has not been any meaning coordina on of the civil socie es and other stakeholders in the state. Key popula on has not been properly targeted too.

when completed will ease the pain of the residents and reduce accidents.

“During the last administra on, the community wrote series of le ers, appealing to the government to help us fix the bad road but no posi ve response came out of it.

“This Governor came on board not up to five months and we are about to get our wish. I can only pray that God will con nue to guide his path.

“Lots of accidents had occurred on this road and many motorists in the community have abandoned their cars at home due to the poor condi on of the road then”.

In his comment, Alfa Ibrahim Sulaiman, a resident of the area, urged the Governor to con nue priori zing the welfare of the ci zens of the state, sta ng that he has demonstrated to be a listening governor and one who is abreast of the yearnings of the people.

He added that the road when completed will not only reduce accidents in the area but also aid the free movement of residents of the community and its neighbours.

“I just want to urge him (Adeleke) not to relent and con nue with the way he is doing. The road a er comple on will aid free movement of the residents and reduce accidents that have been occurring in this area”, he concluded.

•Oba Adeyeye Enitan Ogunwusi with Military Officers at the 2023 Exercise Haski Hiyu Lecture organised by the Armed Forces Command And Staff College, Jaji, Kaduna state

IT’S that moment a er the event in this case the semiconclusion of an electoral cycle that the ques on “where do we go from here?” inevitably comes up.

The query is immortalised in the defining 1972 film “The Candidate”. The movie star, Robert Radford, was already an iconic star when he suavely played the role of an idealis c young lawyer running an issues-based campaign for the United States Senate. The film seminally in its intensity redefined the genre of the poli cal film. In reality a “fac on” (fic on mixed as fact) it zeroed in on the defining issues such as the civil rights movement of an era. The punchline of the enthralling movie came when the “Candidate” a er a aining electoral success against the run of play sheepishly asks his weather - beaten professional consultant cum campaign manager “what happens next?” This is the point where the curtain falls and the film ends.

It always gets to the point of “what happens next?” Not sensibly answered the effort becomes an an -climax, more than that it brings forth the conten ous observa on of the late English poli cian, Enoch Powell that “all poli cal careers unless of course they are terminated at a rela vely happy juncture they always end in failure”.

With the handover date of May 29 looming closer by the day, this is a natural issue to ponder about whether we are a heading for another debacle, promises unfulfilled or an an -climax? It is in the nature of the human condi on to live in hope and even have great expecta ons, however op mism must always be tempered with cau on. Our tle is also a play on the tle of the headline of an Oped carried by OSUN DEFENDER in our last edi on wri en by the erudite policy analyst, Bamidele Ademola-Olateju who headlined her defining interpreta on “Yoruba!

PERSPECTIVE

BY ADEMILUYI KANMI

What Happens Next?

•Countdown To May 29

•Need For urgency as May 29 looms large

•The thrust of the transition process should be defined.

•Need to emphasise the emergency program to tackle the crises.

•Redefining the tools and the medium of communications.

What is to be done? ” We are here a emp ng to broaden the scope. Facing The Future

Everything is contextual, unlike the green horn idealist and poli cal neophyte played by Robert Radford in “The Candidate”, the president-elect Asiwaju Bola Ahmed Tinubu is very long in the tooth, having endured long bruising ba les on the poli cal terrain. Much is to therefore be expected.

The country is however at a critical juncture and on many fronts, it is looking like make or break me in an existen al struggle on a myriad of fronts. It ought to be a “cometh the moment cometh the man” episode.

The “transi on” looks somewhat haphazard. The presidentelect ought to have had his own transi on team working hand-inglove with the transi on team of the outgoing administra on. With so much disaffec on, this will have made the populace more op mis-

c. As the Nobel Laureate, Prof Wole Soyinka, alluded a few days ago people are looking for a decisive break with underachieving incorpora ng a breath of fresh air.

So far, the concentra on has been on personali es rather on programs. Of course, the personnel will drive the program nevertheless the incoming team ought

to show that they have a fierce intensity to respond to increasingly responding news. The prospects are increasingly nightmarish. There are reports of the inability by Nigeria to sell crude oil shipments; for a country that is in the grip of a technical insolvency scenario this is dire. To make it worse, there are specula ons about an inability to procure fresh loans from China. What should be happening in the face of a lame duck outgoing administra on should be a clear indica on that the incoming administra on is working on a structured economic response from June to address a deteriora ng situa on. Percep ons ma er and a signal of readiness must be sent to markets at home and broad, the margin of error to maneuver is simply no longer there.

Some of the names been menoned are reassuring. Banker and one- me Lagos State Finance Commissioner will be a very capable head of an economic team and his proven competence and integrity will certainly reassure markets. He could turn out to be our equivalent of Ludwig Ehkard, the German post second world war Finance Minister who rebuilt Germany’s devastated economy. He should be mandated to publicly outline a response.

At the end of it, all men to paraphrase Marx cannot determine the context of their entry point into the stage of history. Prepara on however ma ers however the context of entry. The country is in dire straits, there is a feeling of haplessness, the incoming team must therefore up the ante on communica ng a clear economic direc on.

There are nuggets of solid thinking in the manifesto if the APC such as the se ng up of Commodi es Exchange, and the inducing of a credit-based economy. Both policy thrusts served us well before the “oil curse” and we should not have je soned them.

The incoming president should be bold and daring in his communica ons making a clean break from the present. He ought to emulate former Bri sh Premier, Harold Wilson. When Wilson was elected in 1964, he sailed into an economic crisis. Astutely, his communica ons team was not made up of spun doctors but consisted of those who could explain the crises in language that the lay person can understand. It was effec ve and we need to learn from these communica ons will be decisive. We expect more trusted focus and intensity in the days and not just weeks ahead.

“At the end of it, all men to paraphrase Marx cannot determine the context of their entry point into the stage of history. Preparation however matters however the context of entry. The country is in dire straits, there is a feeling of haplessness, the incoming team must therefore up the ante on communicating a clear economic direction”

•Wale Edun, Hannatu Musawa and Gov. Bagudu: Prospective pointers to the future.