Osun Defender Online Version of January 21, 2022

Emotional Blackmail Won’t Help Oyetola Win APC Ticket – Salinsile Page 2

Aregbesola: One Visit, Many Page 5 Reactions

Okada Riders Protest Non-Delivery Of Jacket After Payment By Govt.

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FRIDAY, JANUARY 21 - THURSDAY, JANUARY 27, 2022 VOL 17 NO 02

Rumpus In Osun PDP

•Commitee Refuses To Disqualify Gov. Aspirants Page 2 •Party Members Kick •Davido Calls Out Dele Adeleke On Twitter

By Ismaeel Uthman

T

•The Nigeria Security and Civil Defense Corps, NSCDC, Osun State Command parades suspects for various offences at their command headquarters, Osogbo, yesterday.

Photo: Shola Aderinto

HE Peoples Democra c Party (PDP) in the State of Osun is currently enmeshed with internal wrangling on the governorship cket of the party for the July 16, 2022 elec on.

Six gubernatorial aspirants were last week screened by the party.

But contrary to the expecta ons of some PDP members, the screening commi ee refused to disqualify any of the aspirants, a development that has been genera ng controversies in the party.

In its report, the commi ee said it did not disqualify any of the aspirants, in spite of the pe ons against them.

The commi ee noted that all the aspirants were eminently qualified to fly the flag of the party in the forthcoming elecons.

OSUN DEFENDER gathered that members of the party had submi ed pe ons to the commi ee against the 2018 governorship candidate of the party, Sen. Ademola Adeleke, his arch rival, Dr. Akin Ogunbiyi, former Secretary to the State Government, Alhaji Fatai Akinbade and Mr. Bamidele Adeleke.

Only Hon. Sanya Omirin and Dotun Babayemi had no pe on before the screening commi ee.

It was gathered that about four pe ons were submi ed against Ademola Adeleke. The pe ons centered on his academic qualifica on and competence with the sole prayer to disqualify him from contes ng the party’s cket.

According to the panel, there were four pe ons against Ademola Adeleke which centred on his eligibility and alleged mul ple iden es and submission of false informa on by him.

The panel explained that another peoner also called for the disqualifica on of the senator in a pe on en tled: “The excess baggage and plethora of li ga on

Suit Against Osun APC Ward Congress Resumes Today

Continued on page 2

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FRIDAY, JANUARY 21 - THURSDAY, JANUARY 27, 2022

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News

Rumpus In Osun PDP Continued from page 1 hanging on the neck of Sen Ademola Adeleke and the implica ons for the coming elec ons in Osun State: A s tch in me.”

In its conclusion, the screening commi ee said that the pe ons against Adeleke were speculave, adding that the “enre subject ma er had been determined by the court and the aspirant discharged and acqui ed.

According to the report, there were two pe ons against Mr. Bamidele Adeleke, sta ng that the pe oners accused him of not being a bonafide member of the party as his membership registraon was not signed by the Ward Chairman and Secretary in Ede South Local Government, and crea ng parallel structure in wards and local government.

According to the report, Akinbade was accused of polarising the party by se ng up parallel structures in wards.

In its report, the panel noted that the pe on “was not accompanied by any suppor ng evidence or document to support the claim.”

Ogungbiyi, according to the report, had three pe ons bordering on an -party ac vi es and misleading the general public.

But the commi ee dismissed the allega ons, describing them as “spurious.”

OSUN DEFENDER learnt that some PDP members have forwarded fresh pe ons against Sen. Ademola Adeleke and Ogunbiyi to the Appeal Commi ee.

The Appeal Committee which was supposed to sit on Wednesday, did not sit.

Findings by the medium revealed that the Appeal Commi ee may sit on Monday, January 24.

It was gathered that leaders of the party within and outside the state were making efforts to ensure that PDP has a united house before the elec on to avoid li ga on.

However, the Adeleke dynasty of the PDP has been divided with the expression of governorship ambi on of Mr. Bamidele Adeleke, a nephew to Senator Ademola Adeleke.

Bamidele Adeleke was the PDP agent during the final colla on of results at Independent Na onal Electoral Commission (INEC) office in the 2018 governorship elec on. He was also the Prosecu on Witness 1 (PW1) during the elec on pe on tribunal on the outcome of

•Osun APC Local Chairmen in a group photograph after their meeting at Oranmiyan House, Osogbo, on Tuesday. the poll.

His ambi on apparently did not go down well with Dr. Deji Adeleke, the breadwinner of the dynasty who is also said to be Bamidele’s benefactor.

This is evident in the reac on of popular Nigerian hip-hop ar ste, David Adeleke, known as Davido, who has called

out Bamidele Adeleke on the social media over his ambi on.

On his official twitter handle, Davido who is Deji’s son condemned Bamidele Adeleke for declaring to contest against his uncle, Senator Demola Adeleke.

Some of Davido’s tweets reads: “Wonderful!

I finished university with a 2:1. But it’s now cousin Bamidele who struggled to even get a 2:2 that is now forming “intellectual”. Intellectual that has not succeeded in building one single thing in his life on his own. This life ehn!

Osun Beware of FAKES! “Worst of all this Nigga really doing all this from

the house my father gave you! Audacity! Disrespect me! (I don’t care) But my FATHER my MOTHER Never! DELE I WILL STRESS YOU! We go meet for field ....”

In his reac on, Dele Adeleke also tweeted: “For whatever this is worth to you, please note that I lost my mother at a tender age

like you and would never allow anyone to denigrate her nor her memory. I will NEVER write nor say anything against my Aun e Vero, who I cherish dearly....

“You are the king of social media & you definitely know people take it upon themselves to write whatever they believe will give them clout. So many of your fans came to my SM handles to threaten me and some even asked me to go and die. Did you send them to threaten my life?

I seriously doubt it and I do not believe you will do such thing.

“So, irrespec ve of poli cs, please note that I am not that kind of person; I have maintained decorum in the face of provoca on and I will con nue to do so. I respect your decision and choice to support Uncle Demola and that is the beauty of democracy.

“It is possible we can all make our individual choices without rancour and bitterness. We can all follow different paths and s ll live as one big, happy family.

“The people of Osun, greatly deserving the best, will give the job to who they so deem fit and may the #Best man win #OSUN2022. You will always remain dear to me.”

Emotional Blackmail Won’t Help Oyetola Win APC Ticket – Salinsile

By Ismaeel Uthman

T

HE Chairman, All Progressives Congress (APC) in the State of Osun, Hon. Rasak Salinsile, has said that emoonal blackmail embarked upon by Adegboyega Oyetola-led IleriOluwa fac on of the party will not help the governor to secure second term cket.

Salinsile called the a en on of Osun electorate and other stakeholders to the increased cases of blackmail on Aregbesola and members of The Osun Progressives (TOP) which the Governor’s camp are dishing out in other to gain undue sympathy.

The APC Chairman, in a statement made available to OSUN DEFENDER yesterday, said in the last few weeks, the party has witnessed frene c churning out of materials all targeted at maligning Aregbesola and members of the party who are opposed to Oyetola’s destruc on

of the party in the last three years.

He said: “We wish to call the a en on of all stakeholders to the anxie es in the camp of the governor which has pushed them to desperately promote maligning materials in forms of dubious newspaper advertorials, audio and video recordings all laced with emo onal blackmail.”

The APC chairman said these are indicaons of the anxie es within the governor’s camp, no ng that the Oyetola camp ought to have shown readiness for genuine reconciliaon much earlier.

“Now, the Governor and those manipulating him have suddenly woken up six months to the elec on to realise they need Aregbesola to win a second term. But people of goodwill must ask this per nent ques on: If the Governor and his henchmen had embarked on campaign of calumny and accused Aregbesola of being responsible for Oye-

tola’s inability to win elec on at first ballot, why do they need him to lead his re-elec on campaigns?

“Rather than openly apologising for his poor handling of party affairs and alienaon of party stalwarts who worked for his installa on as Governor, Oyetola camp has con nued open black-

•Oyetola

mail with ridiculous audio releases that exposed his camp’s poor understanding of the yearnings of the party members and Osun people in general.

“On Monday, January 3, they released an advertorial in The Na on Newspaper tled: Open Le er to Asiwaju Bola Ahmed Tinubu: The Osun

Calabash Must Not Be Broken” ostensibly to prepare the grounds for their blackmail.

“Calling on Asiwaju to resolve the Osun APC crisis is like calling arsonist to be the fire fighter. He is not far from being the chief promoter of the crisis. But that was to set the tone to blackmail Aregbesola as being unyielding. It is false.

“They have also gone ahead to promote visit by the Osun APC Na onal Assembly members to Tinubu and the General Overseer of the Redeemed Chris an Church of God, Pastor Enoch Adeboye. What did they achieve in all of these? Nothing!

“But all these are meant to blackmail Aregbesola into submi ng himself to promote Oyetola for a second term. I can tell you that this is not about Aregbesola. It is about the determina on of the APC members in Osun to reclaim their party.”

PEOPLE FIRST

FRIDAY, JANUARY 21 - THURSDAY, JANUARY 27, 2022

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Review & Outlook

BY OLAWALE OLALEYE Reason And Not Hauling Of Bricks Needed

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HE poli cal season has kicked off as expected.

Sadly, it has been a disappoin ng start. The hauling of bricks, visceral abuse and distor ons has sadly replaced a much-needed appeal to reason.

To say that this is regre able is to understate the direness of the situa on. Nigeria is today faced with existen al threats on a myriad of fronts.

Poli cal discourse, thoughts and proposed ac ons should be measured and geared towards finding long term solu ons. The country clearly needs a realis c, rigorously costed program of social and economic reconstruc on and regenera on.

This is the direct opposite of what is largely on offer at the moment. Sadly, some of what is on offer could turn out to be self-immola on. This is because of the reckless way in which some exuberant perhaps intoxicated cheer leaders are going about hurling brickbats and gratuitous insults. They have inadvertently become fi h columnists undermining the objec ve of their principal in a concerted search for enemies.

Nothing of value is going to come out of hysteria and paranoia. At the end of it all, the

“Sadly, some of what is on offer could turn out to be selfimmolation. This is because of the reckless way in which some exuberant perhaps intoxicated cheer leaders are going about hurling brickbats and gratuitous insults. They have inadvertently become fifth columnists undermining the objective of their principal in a concerted search for enemies. ” country will s ll have to confront its demons and look for solu ons. Whoever wins will have to rally the republic and construct a common ground upon which a na onal democra c agreement can be effected.

It is all so vitally important for a leadership to read the riot act to delirious supporters whose tantrums are in effect undermining the very leadership they seek to sell. It has been a very poor start, for the sake of us all the campaigns need to be more sober, reflec ve and policy oriented.

Govt. Attention Needed At Elere Community, Ede Dear Sir want to use this medium to call the a en on of the state government to Elere Community, Ede. The community has been without power supply for more than 3years due to a faulty transformer.

All efforts to get the IBEDC - Ibadan Electricity Distribu on Company to provide transformer for the Commu-

I

Letter To The Editor nity has proved abor ve and they have been asking us to get money to buy another transformer by ourselves.

I believe ci zens and power users should not be the

one to purchase transformers which will end up being the property of IBEDC and I want to appeal to the state government to help the community by providing a transformer.

I believe in your governance and I know our request will be granted in earnest.

God bless Osun State.

•Okunnubi Gbadebo, writes from Osogbo.

Watching Osun Closely

P

OLITICS, the cliché says, is dirty. Yes, but it is to the extent of the mindset of the players. When you see some of the poli cal actors play rather filthy and ignoble poli cs, it is not because the rules encourage the indecency that o en typifies the process and in some cases result, but a reflec on of the characters of the individual players and their general demeanour to life.

My interest in Osun poli cs picked up again, lately, when I started no cing there was a seeming gulf between a former governor of the state, Ogbeni Rauf Aregbesola and his benefactor and leader, Asiwaju Bola Tinubu. That is one development I never imagined could happen. If there was any one poli cian that would gleefully take a bullet for Asiwaju, Aregbesola wouldn’t bat an eyelid before venturing.

But how things degenerated between them to the extent that Asiwaju even encouraged, through his “siddon look” posturing, Aregbesola’s enemies within to strip him of his influence and powers in Lagos and Osun, for me, speaks more to the leadership of Asiwaju himself, whom many of his disciples had described as a leader with “one ear”. What that means is that he always takes the words of whoever gets to him first and would hardly cross-check whatever informa on thrown at him about others before ac ng.

But Asiwaju is not the focus here. My central figure of this discussion is the incumbent Governor of Osun State, Alhaji Gboyega Oyetola. He was Chief of Staff to Ogbeni and today, he is also Aregbesola’s nightmare in a state the now Minister of Interior ruled for eight years. Honestly, life some mes truly happens! By upbringing, training, worldview, and personal disposi on, I don’t like such people. How could you work with a man that closely and a er succeeding him, become the “death” chasing him about? Babatunde Fashola is truly an Omoluabi!

I’m not a fan of Aregbesola and that’s public knowledge. He knows this too. Indeed, I believe Aregbesola actually exploited his closeness to Asiwaju to play some people against the leader, when the going was enviable, but that s ll didn’t take away or play down his genuine love for the self-styled APC leader. And this, definitely, is not karma at

play. How Oyetola thinks it’s going to be easy for him to obliterate Aregbesola’s records and influence as well as run him out of town is an interes ng ambi on to ponder. Here’s a man, who can’t even do a pig fight, for starters.

That’s a sure bet.

Oyetola’s current a tude is why I was opposed to former governor Akinwunmi Ambode’s style of poli cs and also why I’m unable to stand people like Abdulahi Ganduje of Kano State, Willie Obiano of Anambra State, Godwin Obaseki of Edo State and many of their ilk. Their poli cs is despicable, yet, reflects who they truly are: innately bi er and an unbankable lot. They are the dirty ones, not poli cs.

Perhaps, Oyetola has forgo en that his victory was no less a “Let My People Go” collec ve effort, and that nothing looks very good for him, coming back, much as his tough victory was a clear referendum on Aregbesola’s reign. I’m not even sure Asiwaju has the strength and grace to go around for him the way he did the last me, especially, that he too is busy with a “lifelong ambi on”. It is going to be a tough call, and that’s being conserva ve with this thought process.

However, with Aregbesola coming out to openly damn everything, declare there’s a facon in Osun APC and himself the leader, while obviously, the other is led by the governor, APC might just cancel itself out in this year’s governorship elec on in Osun. Whichever way anyone looks at it, Asiwaju is to blame, largely. He mismanaged rela onship and failed to deliver leadership where necessary.

He can s ll salvage the situa on, I reckon.

Although the general impression is that Oyetola is figh ng Asiwaju’s ba le against Ogbeni, that’s only a smokescreen. Methinks.

Oyetola too appears to have an axe to grind with Aregbesola, despite working with him very closely. And that “beef” didn’t just start.

He must have been some sort of enemy within, if not a snitch, unknown to Aregbesola.

Well, if you are not watching Osun and its unfurling poli cs ahead of the governorship poll later in the year, I am and closely too.

Curiously, no one is willing to speak about how and why Asiwaju and Aregbesola have parted ways with such bi erness, even when they have both con nued to pretend that all is well, just to maintain some unsightly op cs in public.

I had spoken to a groundswell of insiders, and they all have different versions Publisher – Moremi Publishing of what they believed went House Ltd. wrong, thus becoming what Deputy Editor – Ismaeel Uthman the Yoruba call, “Oro okere” (0805-121-2204) - the third party narra ve Produc on Editor – Petkola Taiwo Ibitowa which is never accurate. If it Reporter – Yusuf Oketola has not been exaggerated, Reporter – Kazeem Badmus it must have been taken away from, significantly.

Photo Journalist – Olushola Aderinto But, there is a common deComputer Graphics – Zainab Olalere OSUN DEFENDER is published by Moremi Publishing nominator to all and it is the admission that there’s House Limited, Promise Point Building, Opposite Guarantee Trust Bank (GTB), Gbogan Road Osogbo, a feud between them. Yet, the implica ons might be State of Osun devasta ng for Oyetola’s ISSN : 0794-8050 reelec on and could also Telephone : 0805-121-2204 blight Asiwaju’s lifelong amWebsite : www.osundefender.com/index.php bi on, ul mately. e-mail : osundefender@yahoo.com osundefenderbank@gmail.com •Olaleye writes from All correspondence to the above email addresses.

Osogbo.

OSUN DEFENDER

FRIDAY, JANUARY 21 - THURSDAY, JANUARY 27, 2022

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News

Suit Against Osun APC Ward Congress Resumes Today

By Kazeem Badmus

H

EARING on the case ins tuted by 2,517 members of the All Progressives Congress (APC), in 26 local governments of the State of Osun to challenge the Ward Congress of the party, held on July 31, 2021 in the state, will resume today (Friday) at the Federal High Court, Osogbo.

The case which came up on Monday was adjourned ll today to allow the Naonal Secretariat of the APC and the Chairman of the Caretaker and Extra Ordinary Convenon Commi ee of the party, Governor Mai Mala Buni respond to the plain ffs’ objec on to their preliminary objec on.

It would that the respondents had challenged the jurisdic on of the court on the case through a preliminary objec on.

The plain ffs also filed a response to the preliminary objec on which needed a counter reply from the respondents.

But when the case

came up on Monday, Buni and the APC naonal secretariat had not filed their response, forcing the court to adjourn the case ll today.

Before the adjournment, counsel to the plain ffs, Mahmud Adesina, SAN, expressed his worries on the delay on the case, saying that it has to do with governorship primary of the party coming up on March 5.

Jus ce Emmanuel Ayoola promised to ensure that the case is concluded before the gubernatorial primary of the party.

The respondents, in what seems to be a delay tac cs, had earlier evaded no ce of court process on the ma er before the court granted the plain ffs’ prayer for subs tuted means.

The APC members are demanding for the cancella on of the Ward Congress conducted by the party through Hon. Gbenga Elegbeleye led commi ee.

According to the plain ffs, they were wrongly excluded or prevented from par cipating by vo ng or being

•Commercial motorcyclists at Aregbe junction.

voted for in the congress by the party.

They argued that the supposed congress held by the defendants was totally in conflict with the guidelines of the exercise and the spirit of jus ce and fairness expected of the conduct of

Okada Riders Protest Non-Delivery Of Jacket After Payment By Govt.

By Yusuf Oketola

S

OME commercial motorcycle operators in Osogbo have bemoaned the State Government of Osun for nondelivery of the riders’ uniform jackets to them, months a er they were forced to pay.

According to the commercial motorcyclists, 90 per cent of them have not been given the riders jacket which the government had promised would be delivered within a month a er payment.

Some of the commercial motorcyclists who spoke to OSUN DEFENDER during the medium’s visita on to some popular junc ons in Osogbo, yesterday, said each of them was made to pay a sum of N2,500 for the jacket.

They noted that only those who paid for the jacket at the early stage received it, while 90 percent of them were going around with the cket issued to

them by the government as evidence of payment.

The uniform jacket policy was launched as part of the government’s effort to sani se the ac vi es of commercial motorcycle operators in the state.

Governor Adegboyega Oyetola while speaking during the launch of the programme on March 21, 2021, had said the effort is to curtail the ac vi es of hoodlums who perpetrate evil under the disguise of being commercial motorcyclists.

Oyetola said it was unfortunate and disgusting that some hoodlums and undesirable elements have over years taken advantage of unregulated nature of ac vi es of commercial motorcyclists to engage in unwholesome ac vi es such as robbery, kidnapping and pickpocke ng.

However, the motorcyclists said the state government, instead of issu-

ing the uniform jackets to them, resorted to reduce the highway fine for them.

According to one of the commercial motorcyclists who iden fied himself as SOLAR, the government may not deliver the jackets to them again since the highway fine has been reduced from N5,000 to N3,400.

All efforts to get the reac on of the Special Adviser to the Governor on Works and Transport, Engineer Hussein Olaniyan, proved abor ve as at the me of filing this report, as he was not available for comment.

PUBLICATION ADISA GAFARI That I was formerly known and addressed as ADISA GAFAR. With former Date of Birth 21/03/1986.

Now wish to be known and addressed as ADISA GAFARI. With the Correct Date of Birth 21/03/1989.

All former documents remain valid.

General public should take note.

such programme.

The plain ffs are seeking a declara on that all of them and all other aspirants/candidates who individually paid the prescribed fees by the party for the procurement of nomina on forms for the ward congress are the only eligible aspirants and emerged unopposed.

APC LG Chairmen Express Op mism Meanwhile, the APC Chairmen elected under the Salinsile fac on of the party have jointly ex-

pressed op mism on the posi ve outcome of the case.

The chairmen, during a special prayer on Tuesday, said they have faith in the judiciary to right the wrong on the congress.

According to the APC Chairman in Osogbo Local Government, Mr. Azeez Adekunle, who doubles as the Chairman of the Chairmen, the delay taccs being employed by the IleriOluwa fac on of the party to frustrate the case will not work.

Adekunle said the

Salinsile fac on has a strong case before the court and will be victorious on it, urging the party members not to lose hope.

He said: “We believe APC will s ll rule this state and our fac on will be authen cated by the law because we were the one who held the real congress.

“The IleriOluwa people are using delay tac cs to frustrate smooth hearing of the case, but this will not help them as we believe in Almighty God.”

Osun Govt. Assures Origbo Meje Residents Of Restoration Of Power

By Kazeem Badmus

T

HE State Government of Osun has said that it has completed all required processes for the restora on of power to communi es under Origbo Meje in Ife North Local Government of the state.

This informa on has rekindled the hope of residents of the area who have been in total blackout for over eight months.

The seven communies of Origbo Meje comprising Moro, Ipetumodu, Asipa, Isope, Edunabon, Akinlalu and Yakoyo had been thrown into total darkness due to the faulty transformers supplying the communi es.

It would be recalled that the Ibadan Electric-

ity Distribu on Company (IBEDC), when invited by the State House of Assembly concerning the blackout in September last year, told the house that it would need a sum of N90m to fix the affected transformers, adding that the company does not have such money.

Addressing newsmen during the facility assessment tour to the 7.5MVA 33/11KV sub-sta on in Moro, the Commissioner for Water Resources and Energy, Dr. Amidu Tadese, disclosed that Governor Oyetola had given a marching order to restore the electricity, having released the required funds needed to fix it.

Tadese noted that the repair would be delivered in record me of five to six weeks as projected by the

contractor.

He said: “We are in Moro in Ife-North Local Government Area of Osun to assess the damaged electricity facili es provided by the government at Moro Electricity Distribu on sub-sta on. As we all know, the seven major communi es of this council have been in total darkness in the last eight months.

“Sequel to this challenge, Governor Adegboyega Oyetola instructed the Ministry of Finance to release the required funds to repair the damaged facili es as part of efforts to restore the electricity with immediately effect.

“This money has been released and paid into the account of Ibadan Electricity Distribu on Company (IBEDC) that is going to ensure the restora on and management of the facili es”.

FRIDAY, JANUARY 21 - THURSDAY, JANUARY 27, 2022

Feature 5 Aregbesola: One Visit, Many Reactions

By Ismaeel Uthman

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AST Friday, January 14, 2022, the Minister of Interior, Ogbeni Rauf Aregbesola was in Ilesa to commission a Digital Nigeria Centre (DNC) project, located at Ijesa Muslim Grammar School, Ilesa, State of Osun. The centre was facilitated by Aregbesola.

The DNC, hitherto known as School Knowledge Centre (SNC), targets students and youth for skills acquisi on in order to increase Informa on and Communica on Technology (ICT) literacy among school teachers and students. The project also provides a pla orm for accessing online educa onal resources; equip students with ICT skills; facilitate ICT adop on in teaching and learning; and increase pass rate in mathema cs, English Language and science subjects.

The four components of the DNC include ICT Tool component (made up of 40 desktop computers with embedded opera ng systems, server, printer, remote-controlled projector, high resolu on scanner, and e-learning so ware). Another component is the Power structure, consis ng of an inverter that comes with its charger, solar panels, ba eries and automa c changeover. There is also a connec vity component, made up of routers, switches, firewall for network protec on, modem, fibre/microwave radio or VSAT and bandwidth for internet connec vity. Finally, there is a non-ICT component cons tuve of the furniture, cabinet, cooling systems, and allied appliances.

During the commissioning, Aregbesola in his speech tled, “Digital Skills and Literacy for Jobs and Social Inclusion,” noted that the project prepares Nigerians in advance with digital skill and literacy for a future that will soon be driven strictly by technology, saying some major auto makers have decided to stop the produc on of combus on engines in the next 40 years.

The minister noted that the project is also a testament to the unwavering commitment of the President Muhammadu Buhari’s administra on to deploying technology to be er the ci zens’ quality of life and experience, saying It also goes to emphasise the pre-eminent role of Informa on and Communica on Technology (ICT) for improving standards of living as a people.

However, the DNC commissioning would not have been louder or well reported, but for some poli cal statements made by Aregbesola which sent tongues wagging; crea ng reac ons and counter-reac ons. The Minister declared at the event that APC is divided in Osun and that he belongs to The Osun Progressives (TOP) fac on of the party.

The statement was coming a week a er the Spokesperson of the Senate, Senator Ajbola Basiru, tried to dissociate Aregbesola from TOP, describing leaders and members of the caucus as disgruntled elements on a radio programme in Osogbo. Basiru, who some people had referred to as a de facto deputy governor during the Aregbesola’s administra on because of his influence, had pitched his tent with Oyetola in the feud between the governor and his predecessor. Aregbesola’s statement also came few hours a er the Chief Press Secretary to the Governor, Mr Ismail Omipidan said on the same radio staon that the ac vi es of TOP members do not have the blessing of the Minister.

Strategically, Aregbesola punctured the misinforma on being given at the Na onal Secretariat of the APC by Governor Oyetola and his apologists that TOP members are poli cal orphans who are also minori es in the party. The Minister also established the fact that APC in the state is sharply divided, even when he admi ed that work was ongoing to reunite the party members.

For days, Aregbesola’s statement dominated discussions in both the tradi onal and social media, as members of Governor Oyetola-led IleriOluwa fac on and TOP fac on exchanged words. Leading the verbal assault on Aregbesola was the fac onal Chairman of the party, Prince Gboyega Famodun in an official statement. Famodun berated the Minister, saying his conduct is far below societal expecta on, considering his posi on in the country. He described Aregbesola as an arrogant and inconsiderate poli cian who wants the whole world to be his possession. Famodun said Aregbesola should perish the thought and no on of being the Alpha and Omega of Osun progressives poli cs, saying he

•Ogbeni Aregbesola acknowledging cheers from the jubilant crowd at Ilesa roundabout, Ilesa, last Friday.

is only grandstanding in the glory of the past.

However, contrary to Famodun’s claim that Aregbesola is grandstanding in the glory of the past, OSUN DEFENDER observed that each me the minister visits Osun, it has always been a campaign rally-like ou ng where people, majorly common residents of the state, would troop out to welcome their former governor with love, funfair and excitement.

The medium noted that each of Aregbesola’s funcons in the state has always been well a ended by quality poli cians and members of the public with a crowd far larger than any state func on with Oyetola in a endance. Apart from the crowd at event, the reac on of residents of the areas where Aregbesola passes through or stays have always been pleasant with an expression of genuine love and passion for the former governor.

During the commissioning of the DNC in Ilesa last Friday, the common people who are not members of any poli cal party, as observed, reaffirmed their love for the Minister as they trooped out to welcome him into the town.

Bystanders, passers-by and other residents of Ilesa forced Aregbesola’s convoy to a halt at the roundabout a er leaving the programme for Jumat prayer, as they stormed the road shou ng: “Aregbesola, baba Kabiru, we have missed you”, and all sorts of excitement propelled statements. The former governor was forced to alight from his vehicle and walk down to the mosque to meet up with the me. The minister’s convoy did not also have a smooth ride to and fro the Correc onal Centre, Ilesa where he went to inspect a project a er the Jumat prayer. At every junc on, the people trooped out to greet Aregbesola and this resulted into stands ll for not less than 15 minutes.

At Sabo and Wesley junc ons vis-a-vis OdoOro Garage, Aregbesola’s convoy was stopped by the people who occupied the road in jubila on of the former governor’s presence. Aregbesola had to stand up in his open-roof jeep to acknowledge gree ngs from the people, raising his usual two energe c fingers. Commercial motorcyclists and other

“Aregbesola’s visitation to Osun always sparks reaction from both his friends and foes.

It has always been one visit, many reactions. The Minister is not just a newsmaker, he is also a political communication strategist”

commuters were shou ng ‘Aregbesola’ on top of their voices on sigh ng the Minister. The scenes were purely a display of genuine love. Aregbesola’s security details had to plead with the excited people to create way for the convoy. The jubilant people, who were over 2,000, followed Aregbesola down to his house in Amuta.

The love of the people for Aregbesola was evidence based. At the commissioning programme, a journalist said: “I have missed Aregbesola. Coming to this programme is a relief for me. It has been long that I a ended a lively state func on. All the state func ons now are dull, very dull. I am just happy being here; seeing Aregbesola in his usual character, bringing life to func on. If crowd control is anything to go by, no poli cian could match up Aregbesola.”

Reac ng to Famodun’s statement, the Publicity Secretary of the Hon. Rasaq Salinsile led fac on of the APC, Comrade Biodun Agboola, described Famodun as a failed party administrator and harbinger of misfortune into the party, saying that his incompetence, glu onous a tude and hypocrisy brought the Osun APC to where it is today.

Agboola said the party took excep on to ‘crude and gu er languages Famodun employed in his needless response’ to the Minister’s views on the state of affairs of the party.

“This type of a tude makes reconcilia on almost impossible with such character”, said Abiodun.

According to him, Famodun refused to speak the truth and failed to act as a responsible party chairman at the early state of the crisis in the party, saying it is unfortunate that Famodun became an errand boy for lily-liver poli cians because of the ‘change’ they give him.

The statement reads: “Eventually, Famodun owns up to the fact that he is not fit to be the Chairman by virtue of his response to the comment made by the Minister of Interior, Ogbeni Rauf Aregbesola. Famodun confirmed our posi on long me ago of his inability to manage the party. His inability to know when to talk and when not to talk is a serious defect on his person.

“It is not surprising that because of his inglorious need to please his paymaster, Famodun decided to act and talk irresponsibly about the former governor. Even though Aregbesola has le government, Famodun lacks the integrity and morality to make enemy of him.

“No ra onal chairman will employ gu er languages he used on the Minister who was once his breadwinner as governor.

“Famodun is reaping boun fully from the crisis, hence, will never want it end. Whatever manner peace is proposed, Famodun’s headship of the party is inconceivable.”

As observed, Aregbesola’s visita on to Osun always sparks reac on from both his friends and foes. It has always been one visit, many reac ons. The Minister is not just a newsmaker, he is also a poli cal communica on strategist.

FRIDAY, JANUARY 21 - THURSDAY, JANUARY 27, 2022

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Religion

N the name of Allah, the Most Gracious, the Most Beneficent.

All praise and adora on area due to Allah, the Lord of the whole Universe. I thank Allah and I glorify Him, I bear witness that there is no gods worthy of worship except Allah. May the peace of Allah be upon the noble soul of His messenger, Prophet Muhammad By (peace be upon him), His households, companions and Imam Muhammad the generality of Muslims ll the day of accountability.

Abdulalimi Marriage is indeed a sacred bond that brings together a man and a woman by the virtue of the teachings of Quran and Sunnah. Thus, each partner in this sacred rela onship must treat each other beau fully and properly.

A man must not divorce his wife to bring harm upon her, as this cons tutes an act that destroys the noble establishment, breaks the woman’s heart and possibly separates the woman from her children.

When a divorce is ini ated or pronounced by the husband, it is Generally speaking, divorce is not at all favourably welcome in Iscalled “tolaq”, because wife cannot ini ate or pronounce divorce, she lam; rather it has been either condemned or discouraged unless warcan only request for divorce from her husband or seek for divorce ranted by valid and genuine reasons. The Prophet (peace be upon him) through Sharriah Court. cau oned against senseless exercise of divorce. The Prophet, as reThe pronouncement of divorce by the husband may be verbal or ported by Abu Dawud, said: “Among lawful things, divorce is the most wri en in language in which the wife understands. Prophet Muhamhated by Allah”. So, no one with sound Islamic spirit who fears Allah mad (peace be upon him) condemned two things from being joking and have it in mind that he will be resurrected on the day of judgment with: the fi rst one is marriage, we must not crack jokes with a woman will resort to divorce, except in extreme and unavoidable cases. that we want to marry her and the second one is divorce, you must not Consequently, divorce has been generally frowned upon in Islam, joke with your wife that you want to divorce her. if there is problem in marriage, we must not first think of divorce, we A er declara on of divorce by the husband, Woman should wait must try all our possible best to avert it. Before we can resolve to difor three months or three menstrual cycles known as “Iddah” before vorce, we must take all steps to reconcile. That is why we must follow the divorce is finalized. Quran 65: 1 says: “O Prophet! Instruct the the Islamic teaching in marriage and pass through due process, so that believers: ˺ When you ˹intend to˺ divorce women, then divorce them if there is problem in marriage, the families of both husband and wife with concern for their wai ng period,1 and count it accurately. And must stand for the reconcilia on and try all their possible best to avoid fear Allah, your Lord.

Do not force them out of their homes, nor should divorce. they leave—unless they commit a blatant misconduct. These are the If a er thoroughly evalua ng your marriage, all the method to limits set by Allah.

And whoever transgresses Allah’s limits has truly keep the rela onship have been exhausted and you find out that there wronged his own soul.

You never know, perhaps Allah will bring about is no alterna ve op on other than to divorce, there is no shame in proa change ˹of heart˺ later.” ceeding into the next step. Allah gives divorce as an op on because, During this period, the husband and wife will con nue to live tosome mes, it is truly the best interest of all concerned. gether under the same roof. Meanwhile, is not compulsory to be in the Nobody needs to remain in a situa on that causes personal dissame house with her but it must be under his custody. tress, pain and suffering. In this situa on, it is more merciful that they This gives the couple me to calm down, evaluate the rela onship go in separate ways. Meanwhile, the process of divorce in Islam gives and if possible, reconcile. Because some mes, decisions are made in a room for reconcilia on. haste and later one or both par es may have regrets. During this waitDuring this period, couple should search their hearts, evaluate the ing period (Iddah), the couple is free to resume their rela onship and rela onship, think of good aspect of your spouse because no marriage cancel the divorce provided that wai ng period is not yet elapse withis perfect, all marriages have ups and down. out need for a new marriage contract.

JUMAT SERMON

Concept Of Divorce In Islam

Another reason for the wai ng period is a way of determining whether the wife is pregnant or not. If the wife is pregnant, the wai ng period con nues un l a er she has delivered the child. Immediately a er the delivery, the divorce is completed and she is free to go back to her parent home.

During the period of wai ng (Iddah), the husband is responsible for her financial needs, food, clothes and everything she needs except that they must not have sexual intercourse.

Quran 65:2 says: “Then when they have ˹almost˺ reached the end of their wai ng period, either retain them honourably or separate from them honourably.1 And call two of your reliable men to witness ˹either way˺—and ˹let the witnesses˺ bear true tes mony for ˹the sake of˺ Allah. This is enjoined on whoever has faith in Allah and the Last Day. And whoever is mindful of Allah, He will make a way out for them, and provide for them from sources they could never imagine. And whoever puts their trust in Allah, then He ˹alone˺ is sufficient for them. Certainly, Allah achieves His Will. Allah has already set a des ny for everything.”

If the couple decides to reconcile and con nues the rela onship a er the divorce process is finalised, the husband must start over with a new marriage contract and new dowry (mahr) must be paid.

Moreover, there is a limit on how many mes the couple can remarry and divorce, this can only be done three mes. Allah says: “Divorce is to be given two mes and then (woman) must be retained in good manner or released gracefully”. Quran 2:229.

A er divorcing and remarrying twice, if the couple then decides to divorce again, it is clear that there is major problem in the relaonship. Therefore, in Islam, a er the third divorce, the couple is not permi ed to remarry again even before the wai ng period elapsed.

Only op on for them to remarry again is that the woman must go and marry another man then a er the man might have divorced her, the first husband is allow to marry her again.

In conclusion, if we cri cally look at the rules of Allah on divorce, we will observe that Allah does not want man to divorce his wife.

That is why He gives room for reconcilia on before and a er the pronouncement of divorce, because Allah created us differently and we must have our differences. We need to tolerate each other in rela onship and have it mind that there is no one that is perfect except Allah.

May Almighty Allah guides us right and count us among the successful one in this life and the herea er.

•Sheik Muhammad Abdulalimi, is the Mudiru Ad-Da’wah Wal-Irshad, Obaagun, State of Osun.

Crime Teenager, 3 Others Remanded For Alleged Unlawful Possession Of Firearms

By Bolanle Lasisi

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1 9 - y e a r- o l d boy, Oluwaseyi Gbadebo has been remanded in Ilesa Correc onal Centre by an Osogbo Magistrate Court for allegedly unlawfully having guns in his possession.

Gbadebo was arraigned alongside one Nurudeen Oluronbi (41), Mojeed Adeleke (38) and Samad Aseru (20) before the court on a three-count charge bordering on conspiracy and unlawful possession of firearm.

The four defendants and others at large were accused of unlawfully having in their possession, one Pump-Ac on gun with breech number 476, one single barrel gun and two live cartridges.

According to the

charge sheet obtained by OSUN DEFENDER yesterday, the accused persons commi ed the offence on January 13, 2022 at about 3:00pm at No. 4, Akeede street, Okebaale area, Osogbo.

The alleged offence contravened Sec ons 6(b), 3(1) and 27(1)(b)(ii) of the Robbery and Firearms (Special Provision) Act, Cap RII, Vol. 14, Laws of Federa on, 2014.

The plea of the defendants was not taken as the Magistrate Court lack jurisdicon to trial the case.

However, the presiding Magistrate, A.A. Adebayo, ordered that the defendants be remanded in Ilesa Correc onal Centre.

The case was adjourned ll March 28, 2022 for men on.

Aluminum Fabricator Remanded For Allegedly Duping Customer In Osogbo

By Omowunmi Abidoye

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N Osogbo Magistrate Court has remanded a 29-year-old aluminum fabricator, Nurudeen Adedeji, in Ilesa Correc onal Centre for allegedly duping his customer a sum of N420,000.

Adedeji was said to have received the sum under the pretence of providing five alumi-

num fabric windows to one of his customers, Ismail Rahim, within two weeks which he failed to do.

The defendant, according to the charge sheet obtained by OSUN DEFENDER yesterday, commi ed the offence some me in June 2021 at Olude area, Osogbo.

The alleged offence contravened Sec ons 419 and 390

of the Criminal Code, Cap 34, Vol. II, Laws of Osun, 2003.

But the accused person pleaded not guilty to a two-count charge of fraud and stealing levelled against him.

In his ruling, the presiding Magistrate, A. A Adebayo ordered that the defendant be remanded in Ilesa Correc onal Centre.

The case was adjourned ll second February 2, 2022.

Teenager To Sweep Osun Court Premises For Smoking Indian Hemp

By Yusuf Oketola N Osun State High Court si ng in IleIfe, has commi ed a 19-year-old Peter Igwe to five days of community service for smoking Cannabis Sa va, known as Indian Hemp.

Igwe was convicted by Magistrate Ashiru Ayeni a er he had pleaded guilty to smoking Indian hemp.

The prosecutor, Emmanuel Abdullahi, told the court that the convict commi ed the crime on January

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17, 2022 around 3am at Temitope Quarters, Ita-Osa Area, Ile-Ife. Abdullahi said the convict conducted himself in a manner likely to cause mayhem when he engaged himself in smoking of weed suspected to be Indian hemp in the area.

The Magistrate, who said he considered the age of the convict because he can s ll be useful to society in the future, ordered him to sweep the court premises for five days with the supervision of policemen.

FRIDAY, JANUARY 21 - THURSDAY, JANUARY 27, 2022

7

News

Activist Challenges Osun Govt On #ENDSARS Panel’s Report NSCDC Arrest Fake Herbalists Duping People In Osun

By Yusuf Oketola

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human rights ac vist, Comrade Emmanuel Olowu, has challenged the State Government of Osun on implementa on of the #ENDSARS panel report.

Olowu, who is the Secretary of Commi ee for the Defence of Human Rights (CDHR) in the state, said the government was too silent on the report which was submi ed to Governor Adegboyega Oyetola on August 5, 2021.

According to him, it is over six months that the #EndSARS panel has submi ed its report to the government, wondering while the governor has refused to act on it.

Olowu, in an interview with OSUN DEFENDER yesterday said: “We have observed that the state government has not said anything on the report submi ed to it by the #EndSARS panel over six months ago. This calls for worry because jus ce delayed is jus ce denied. We want the government to speak on the implementa on of the report.”

Reac ng to the same issue, a member of the pan-

By Yusuf Oketola

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•Rescued exploded petrol tanker at Ofatedo, yesterday.

el, Comrade Ayo Ologun, agreed the government should have taken ac on on the report.

Ologun claimed that even if the federal government directed all states to forward the report to Abuja, the state government s ll need to invite pe oners and reward them as promised.

He said: “The report of the #EndSARS in Osun has been submi ed for months and there is need to dust

the report and give it some ac ons. It should be put on record that blames cannot be en rely put at the door step of the state government for non-implementaon as it is a known fact that the presidency had asked all the states concerned to transmit the report from their states to the federal government. The FG even announced a se ng aside of some money for compensa on.

“But for the Lagos panel

report that has become elements of brickbat and arguments making it unsure if the federal government will act on the report, it becomes per nent to call on Osun state government to do its own part as promised.

“The state government in my advice can compensate those as recommended by the panel it set up while wai ng on the federal government to take care of those with court judge-

HE Nigeria Security and Civil Defence Corps (NSCDC), Osun Command, has arrested two fake na ve doctors, Mufutau Adeyemo (26) and Hezekiah Oladiji (27), who were said to be notorious for duping people under the guise of possessing spiritual powers to solve their problems.

State Commandant of the NSCDC, Emmanuel Ocheja, while parading the suspects yesterday, at the command headquarters, Osogbo, said the two suspects were arrested on Monday, January 17, 2022 in Ile Ife. Ocheja said the duo also volunteered statements confirming the allega on levelled against them, adding that they will be charged to court to serve as deterrent to other criminally minded individuals.

Speaking with newsmen, one of the suspects, Adeyemo, a na ve of Ila Orangun, said he ventured into the illicit business due to financial difficulty.

Group Raises Alarm Over Surge in Ritual Killings

By Kazeem Badmus

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State of Osun based civil society group, Every Life Ma ers (ELM), has raised the alarm over increasing rate of ritual killings in the state, calling on the government, security agencies and all other state actors to work together to curb the menace.

The founder of the organisa on, Mrs. Balalola A nuke, while speaking with OSUN DEFENDER on Tuesday, said cases of killing for ritual purposes are dishearteningly on the rise in Osun, a situa on she said calls for dras c ac on from stakeholders.

A nuke a ributed ritual killings to the inordinate desire of youth of nowadays and few older people to get quick and easy money without working.

According to A nkue, if dras c step is not taken to curb the situa on, the state might become unsafe for the good ci zens and residents.

She said: “The spate of killing for ritual purposes is gradually assuming an alarming rate in the state

of Osun and if not quickly checked, it can make the state unsafe for the good people.

“Children and some people are no longer safe to go out at night and I want to urge the government, security agencies and all other state actors to rise up and work together to clamp down on those perpetrating this act.

“The cases, when read or heard of, are disheartening, weepy, pathe c and calls for a sober reflec on.

As an organisa on, we are trying our best by orientating our people, most especially the youth, on the need to thread carefully on their quest for money.”

Ritual Killings On The Rise In Osun Osun Defender takes a look at some cases of alleged ritual killings in the state in the past few months.

Last week Wednesday, a na ve doctor, Ganiyu Wasiu, living in Igege town, Ola-Oluwa local government, was caught with mulated human body parts.

The suspect, according

to the Osun State Security Network, codenamed Amotekun, was arrested while conveying the mulated human parts in a ‘Ghana-Must-Go’ bag.

On December 14, 2021, an Islamic cleric, Lukman Salawudeen (36), was arrested by policemen in the state in connec on with the murder of a lady, Bolaji Akerele.

The cleric a ested to the fact that he prepared ritual soap for his customer, even as he denied kown how his client got the human part he used to prepare the ritual soap.

The State Commissioner of Police, Mr. Olawale Olokode while briefing Newsmen, said: “The police discovered a dead body iden fied as Bolaji Akerele dumped somewhere in IleIfe. “Upon inves ga on, it was discovered that her head and palms have been severed from the body. One Sunday Olajide was arrested in connec on with the murder “The arrest of the first suspect on December 6,

2021, led to the arrest of three other suspects in Iwo, Osun state by a police tac cal team. They all confessed to having strangulated the woman to death with the mo ves of using her for money rituals”.

On August 9, 2021, an Ikirun based Ogboni cult member, Ifadare Afolabi, and his friend, Ifaseun Afolabi, a herbalist, were arrested for allegedly conspiring to kill a 35-year-old man, Ayoade Fasesin, and use his body parts for ritual purposes.

Speaking to newsmen when he was paraded by the police, Ifadare said he used his vic m’s head and legs for a charm to draw clients to his temple in Ikirun.

He, however, lamented that the charm did not work, as his temple did not see an influx of people as expected.

Also, a lady, Toyin Adewale, was some mes in June, last year brutally murdered by her boyfriend for ritual purpose a er having sex with her.

The boyfriend, Akin, according to his accomplice

Kabiru, invited the deceased from Ibadan to Apomu, in the State of Osun, with the sole aim of using her head and heart for money ritual.

Narra ng how they killed the lady, Kabiru said the vic m was brought from Ibadan by his friend Akin, to his residence at Agunla Junc on in Apomu, where he had sexual intercourse with her.

“Akin brought the deceased to my house at Agunla Junc on Apomu.

The lady is not from our area. She probably came from Ibadan. She was Akin’s girlfriend. Akin is an herbalist and my friend. A er sleeping with the lady, I entered the room and he had already strangulated her. I only helped him to hold the lady’s leg.

“Akin told me he wanted to do a money ritual and needed some organs for the ritual. He promised that whatever I needed would be given to me, if I helped him. I didn’t kill the woman, Akin did. I gave him a knife that he used to dismember the body and we packed it inside a box in my room.”

He said: “My name is Mu au Adeyemi. I am from Ila- Orangun but I reside in Ile- Ife, I am married with a kId. I learnt furniture making a er my secondary school but when I didn’t get money to start up my own shop, I decide to engage in illegal ac vi es.

“I was into yahooyahoo before I learnt the act of obtaining money fraudulently through a brother who reside beside my house in Ife. “I have known Hezekiah since childhood and we do the business together. Although, we have contacted many people, only three have fallen vicm. Our last vic m paid N70,000.

“What we normally do is to call our vic m on the phone and pretend as old men and herbalist, asking them to pay into our account for us to solve their problems.”

The NSCDC also arrested a 29-year-old man, Abdulrahman Ibrahim, for allegedly stealing a Toyota Camry car.

The NSCDC Commandant, Ocheja, said the owner of the car, Aderemi Akeem of Oke Oni area, Osogbo complained to the command that the car had been stolen on January 14, 2022.

Ocheja said the car was recovered by the NSCDC officers in Kano State and was handed over to Osun command with the suspect.

But the suspect, while speaking with newsmen, denied stealing the car, claiming that he bought the car in Ibadan and drove it to Kano.

He said: “I bought the car for N600, 000 from someone at Ibadan and I drove it to Kano to meet some people and it was there I was arrested.”

When asked if he was given document and receipt for the car, Ibrahim said he collected some documents but it was not a complete one.

He, however, appealed to the command to give him the chance to fish out the person who sold the car to him.

ISSN : 0794 - 8050

FRIDAY, JANUARY 21 - THURSDAY, JANUARY 27, 2022 VOL. 17 NO 02 www.osundefender.com, email: osundefenderbank@gmail.com

News Activist Challenges Osun Govt #ENDSARS Panel’s Report Page 6

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ERNARD Crick defines poli cs as “a disnc ve form of rule whereby people act together through ins tu onalised procedures to resolve differences, to conciliate diverse interests and values and to make public policies in the pursuit of common purpose.” In a related manner, Wikipedia defines poli cs as “the set of ac vi es that are associated with making decisions in groups, or other forms of power rela ons between individuals, such as the distribu on of resources or status.” To put these ideals into prac cability, poli cal pares are formed with an ul mate agendum to foster their ideologies and manifestoes on the society having won an elec on which is a compe on between par es.

However, ideological leaning determines the kind of poli cs and the poli cal party one is involved. In poli cs, the LEFT refers to the people and groups that have liberal views – that support progressive reforms, especially those seeking greater socio-economic wellbeing for majority of the people. They support social equality and egalitarianism, o en in opposi on of social hierarchy. The FAR LEFT are the ones considered to be revolu onaries with views as Socialism/Communism. The RIGHT refers to people or groups that have conserva ve views. They do not want change but preserva on of exis ng condi ons and ins tu ons. The FAR RIGHT are more extreme in their viewpoints including fascism and some oppressive ideologies.

Osun APC under Ogbeni Rauf Adesoji Aregbesola redefined the meaning of governance through real but sustainable intervenons that enhanced quality of lives of majority of the people as contained in the Six-Point Integral programmes of his Green Book – MY PACT WITH THE PEOPLE OF OSUN STATE. Aregbesola built massive physical infrastructures and invested in human values that would yield a total new man that would be socially responsible. Let us look at just two intervenons – Educa on and Youth Empowerment.

On his interven on in educa on, for instance, apart from building mega-schools that were well equipped, he invented an award winning knowledge tablet – Opon-Imo, School feeding for over 253,000 school pupils with nutri onal meals – chicken, fish, beef, eggs and fruits daily - tagged O-meal which was a tac cal bait to increasing pupils school enrolment as most poor parents saw it as a respite and hope in life to those kids. It resulted into increment of primary school enrolment from 155,318 to 252,793 – an increase of 62.8%. Moreover, N1.5b spent on the meals annually was an incenve to farmers to produce more as there was a guaranteed market. It was also an empowerment for 3,007 women who were engaged as caterers. School Uniform alone created 3,000 jobs for Osun people at Omoluabi Garment Factory. Omoluabi Scholar Buses were provided for easy transporta on of students.

Primary and secondary school grants were increased from N7.4m to N424m and N117m to N427m per year respec vely. School children were thought the act of calisthenics – a drama c and deligh ul display aimed at building a new genera on of students who were physically robust, mentally sound and socially well adjusted. It is instruc ve to state that mostly, the children of the very poor patronised public schools because those schools were not seen as schools that could impact knowledge.

All these interven ons steadily transformed these public schools to the extent that a 17year-old, Kamardeen Ridwan, a student of a public school, Ataoja High School, scored 319 in 2019 UTME result, the best in Osun. He was a child a bricklayer father and ‘Fufu’ seller mother. The young man had already scored

Osun APC Crisis: The Crux Of The Matter eight dis nc ons in 2018 GCE while in SS2 in core science subjects, including Mathema cs and English Language.

Under Osun Youth Empowerment Scheme (OYES), Aregbesola engaged 20,000 youth within 100 days in office and totality of 60,000 before leaving office in 2018. These youth were trained as cadets deployed to Public Works Brigade, Green Gang, Traffic Marshalls, Sanita on Czars and Teachers Corps with N10,000 allowance to each cadet which translated to N200m monthly and N2.4b annually, directly injected into Osun economy. Their uniform and boots were produced by the Nigeria Union of Tailors I Osun and Osun Footwear and Leather Workers Union respec vely.

During Mr. Gboyega Oyetola’s campaign for governorship in 2018, there was no manifesto. The campaign was built and based on con nuity of Rauf Aregbesola-led APC progressive programmes and policies. Since the exit of Aregbesola however, most of these programmes and interven ons have not only been thrown into dustbin of history, some have been subjected to a acks and revisionism from Oyetola-led APC government. For over

STRIKER

three years of the regime, there has not been OYES recruitment; Omoluabi Garment Factory is dead; School Uniform policy reversed; Scholars buses grounded; no calisthenics training nor display. Aside this policy summersault and reversal of Aregbesola and APC progressive legacies, Mr. Governor does not want to have anything to do with Aregbesola or any of his associates in the same party. Instead, Mr. Governor embraces and accommodates into his government and party majorly those who have no single ideological creden al of progressivism, with few excep ons. As presently cons tuted, the APC that Aregbesola le behind has been grossly compromised. There is no fundamental difference between it and opposi on PDP. Hence, the struggle for the soul of the party by a group within the party named The Osun Progressives (TOP). TOP has the following as its core objec ves: promoting internal democracy in the party; ensuring effec ve and efficient party management; mobilise and reconcile and network for party development; promo ng equity, fairness and jus ce within the party; ensuring transparency and accountability in the party management;

“Mr. Governor embraces and accommodates into his government and party majorly those who have no single ideological credential of progressivism, with few exceptions. ” fostering level playing ground; no to imposion of candidates, and; ini a ng programmes and ac vi es for party development.

Yes, there could be animosity between Oyetola and Aregbesola, it happens now and then between husbands and wives even in perceived “perfect” marriages. The bo om line that has divided Osun APC into two is not simply that fric on but the docile and inept Famodun leadership (before the State Conven on) and Oyetola revisionism of promised con nuity of Rauf APC programmes;the policy of aliena on, provoca on and hos lity on one hand, and on the other hand, the ba le to revive the soul of the party by a sec on of members who would not forget easily what they underwent between 2007 and 26 November 2010, when they eventually wrested power from the PDP. Some of those who perpetrated carnage against APC members at that dark and agonising era are the ones at the helm of affairs in today APC government. Tranquillity and coopera on cannot ensue in an environment where a ger and a mongrel are ed down but ger’s tail handed to dog.

Striker is not the opinion of the Columnist featured above

“There Is Such A Party”

T

HE catch phrase in the tle is credited to the unforge able Vladimir Ilyich Ulyanov [Lenin], leader of the Great October Bolshevik revolu on of 1917 in Russia. A er the February Revolu on in 1917, social and poli cal chaos characterised the Russian society increasingly. At the First All-Russia Congress of Soviets in June-July dominated by delegates of the Socialist Revolu onaries (285 seats), Mensheviks (248 seats) and Bolsheviks (105 seats), the Chairman of the Petrograds Soviets, Irakli Tsereteli, posed the historical challenge of Russian poli cs in the ques on: can any delegate name a party that would risk taking power and accep ng full responsibility for everything happening in Russia? On the second day of the congress when it was Lenin’s turn to speak, he started boldly by saying “There Is!” There was only loud applause from the Bolsheviks and laughter from the rest of the hall. In October, the Bolshevik revolu on and total takeover of power happened.

Fast forwards to Nigeria in 2022, the

historical challenge to the social, economic and poli cal crises of Nigeria would likely be posed today in the ques on: can any party confidently come out to say it will return Nigeria to a Genuine Federal Republic if given power at the centre?

Expecta on of a firm posi ve answer from the All Progressives Congress (APC) was what made Nigerians, against all odds, vote out an incumbent government and party at the centre in 2015. Almost seven years a er, Nigeria is as far away from a genuine federal republic as it ever was and mired in unprecedented security challenges, seconal and sectarian extremisms and economic woes. Having escaped from a party with a “stealing is not corrupon” philosophy to where we are now, the ques on remains “which party can come out boldly to commit to the return of Nigeria to a true Federal Republic if given power at the centre?”

Is there such a party? If not, what is to be done, considering that the ul mate solu on to Nigeria’s mul faceted prob-

lems is a return to its original self – A Federal Republic?

This is the key ques on young people must ask themselves to arrive at “what is to be done” then organise around their resolu ons. They must realise and accept that a hundred more general elec ons in 800 years would never deliver anything good so long as we remain a fake and self-deceiving Federal Republic, centrally hooked by the lazy, unpatrio c elites on control, sharing and mismanagement of “free” oil-rent money, without any sense of social responsibility. In the specific context of an almighty unitary, presiden al system, what we need is a president to commit, and enough na onal assembly members to follow suit.

No quantum of good inten on or “integrity” can make any President deliver any democra c or development dividends on the basis of the current virus-ridden and wrong opera ng system. Once accepted, next is organisa on and ac on!

Everything else is deceit and exercise in fu lity.

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