•The President, National Parents Teachers Association of Nigeria (NAPTAN), Alhaji Haruna Danjuma, presenting Lifetime Achievement Award to the Minister of Interior, Ogbeni Rauf Aregbesola, in Abuja, yesterday.
RIMARY and Secondary School students in the State of Osun on Monday resumed for the 2022/2023 academic session.
Some of the school children resumed to the poor teaching and learning environment they le before the last holiday.
Inves ga ons by OSUN DEFENDER revealed that some of the buildings resumed into by the public school children are dilapidated.
This is just as the schools’ environment were bushy and unkept.
OSUN DEFENDER visited some of the schools in Osogbo, Iwo, Ilobu, Ife, Ilesa and other places on Tuesday and Wednesday.The medium observed that in some of the schools visited, classrooms and other facili es were near collapsed.
The roofs of majority of the schools visited have been blown off by windstorm, with some of the classrooms without doors and windows.
Some of the schools visited by the medium include; Fakunle Comprehensive High School, Osogbo, Aromiwe Community Primary School, Ilobu, Isale Imole Community Primary School, Ilobu, AUD Grammar school, Laaro Ilobu.
Others are; Bap st Grammar School, Iwo, Oduduwa College, Ile-Ife, Salva on Army Primary School, Isokun, Ilesa
and Community Primary School, Farm Se lement, Oke-Osun, Osogbo.
In most of the schools visited, the medium noted that the classrooms were in bad shape and in need of urgent intervenon.At AUD Grammar School, Laaro, Ilobu, some of the buildings housing the students had no windows nor ceilings, a situa on described by one of the students as patheAccordingc. to the student who pleaded anonymity, students suffered any me there is rainfall or the weather is sunny.
She said: “Our situaon is very pathe c. As you can see, our classroom has no door or window. When there is heavy rain with breeze, some of us get drenched. When the weather is sunny, life will be hellish for us as we don’t have ceiling in our class.
“Most of the classrooms are like that and we students believed the government ignored them because our school is at the outskirt of the state.”
OSUN DEFENDER overheard some senior staff of the school directing parents not to enroll their children in the school again because of lack of classroom.
The school has five buildings but only two of the structures were funconing well. A part of the third building was being used as principal office, staff room and two class-
rooms.The roofs of some of the classrooms in Fakunle Comprehensive High School, Osogbo, have been blown off by windstorm, giving room for rain to penetrate the classrooms.Theschool surrounding was also bushy and in need of sanita on.
At Isale Imole and Aromiwe Community Primary School, Ilobu, some of the school buildings were near collapse.
A teacher at one of the schools who spoke with the medium said the buildings have been una ended to for over three years, calling on the government to see to the renova on of the school on me.
The teacher who do not want his name in print appealed to government at all level to wade-in and rescue the limping public educa on system of the state.
He said parents have been withdrawing their children as a result of the poor condi on of the school
Salvabuildings.onArmy Primary School, Isokun, Ilesa was lacking chairs for the pupils and the environment was bushy and unkept when visited.
One of the parents who brought her child to school, Akinpelu Olufemi, told OSUN DEFENDER that the deplorable condi on of the school has been a source of worry to the parents.
“Most of the classrooms in the school are in bad condi on and the school is also short of furniture for the pupils”, sheWhensaid. asked why she enrolled her daughter in the school despite its bad state, the woman stated that she had no financial capacity to register her child at private school.
OSUN DEFENDER also visited Community Primary School, Farm Se lement, Oke-Osun, Osogbo around 11am on Wednesday and observed only a few pupils were in the school.
One of the two school buildings has been abandoned, leaving the other for the Onlypupils.one of the three classrooms in the second
SOME Na onal Assembly candidates of the New Nigeria People’s
Party (NNPP), for the 2023 general elec ons in the State of Osun on Wednesday, endorsed the presiden al candidate of the
All Progressives Congress (APC), Bola Tinubu.
The NNPP candidates while speaking at a press
conference in Osogbo, attributed their decisions to lack of transparency, jus ce and undemocra c running of the party at the na onal level.The candidates are: Mr Bamgbola Clement, Osun Central Senatorial District, Mr Akinyode Bolaji, Osun West Senatorial District, Fabayo Olalekan, Boluwaduro/ Ifedayo/Ila Federal Cons tuency and Ajayi Oluwaseyi of Ijesa South Federal Cons Readingtuency.thetext of the press conference, Clement said: “In view of the prevailing circumstances within our party and a er due consulta on and approval of our supporters, we wish to announce and declare our support and endorse-
ment to the All Progressives Congress presiden al candidate, Asiwaju Bola Tinubu.
“This is as a result of our dissa sfac on with the leadership of the party at the Na onal level, coupled with the inability of the party stakeholders to work in accordance with the principle of jus ce, law and undemocra c running of theTheparty”.candidates said good governance and dividends of democracy can be enjoyed if Tinubu becomes the “Onpresident.desire to enjoy good governance and dividends of democracy which can be realised under a new Nigeria can be found in the APC presiden al candidate”.
building has furniture with a fallenNoneceiling.ofthe school visited has func oning toilets.
Reac ng to the poor state of some of the public schools, a civil society group, Centre for Social Jus ce and Public Protecon (CSJPP), described it as a sad situa on which calls for urgent interven on of the Thegovernment.group’s Coordinator, Akin Akanji, in a telephone interview with OSUN DEFENDER berated the state government for showing what he called “I don’t care a tude” to the plight of the children of the commonAccordingmen.to Akanji, the sad state of some of the school structures coupled with the lack of furniture and teachers are some of the reasons for the low performance of the state in general examina ons.
He said: “This is the sorry state of our public schools and it is a sad situa on which calls for concern. The government is not doing much to help the situa on.
“How will students who are receiving classes in an unconducive atmosphere passed when compe ng with others?
“The government has to rise up and look for a way to salvage the situa on in order to help the future of the children of common men and the state at large”.
•Dr Rasaq Adisa of the Department of Mass Communication, University of Ilorin, delivering a lecture during a seminar, organised on Project Writing for Students and Instructors, of the International Institute of Journalism (IIJ), Osogbo Study centre, on Tuesday. Photo: Shola Aderinto •The candidate during the press conference.THE lead story in today’s OSUN DEFENDER is profoundly disturbing. Kudos must be given to the inves ga ve analysts who diligently focused on the debilita ng environment in which impressionable youths at a decisive intersec on have to learn. It is harrowing, unacceptable, and needs urgent atten
Theon.report restates the longheld posi on that our development thrust very rarely starts from the base. For this reason, all eyes are focused on the longrunning dispute between the Academic Staff Union of the Universi es (ASUU) and the Federal Government. The contradic on in this misalignment is obvious.
The base entry point is decisive. Miss the founda on level and the rest is remedial. The universi es, no ma er how well equipped, cannot be expected to remedy founda onal defects andWeinadequacies.shouldnot be discussing this at all. As long as half of a century, those who set the development agenda like Gunnar Mrydal the Swedish economist, India’s founding Prime Minister, Jawarlal Pandit Nehru, had superbly put forward the posi on that the emphasis must be on the founda on, they were supported by people like Schumercha who argued that “small is beau ful” as well as the writer Arundahi Roy’s advocacy on behalf of the efficiency of the “God of Small things”.Thereport shows that we are going against the conven onal at a crucial intersec on in the development process. For instance, only a month ago the outgoing government of President Uhuru Kenya a in Kenya laudably and to worldwide applause commi ed Kenya to providing instruc ons in Coding from the age of four years old! This is a very impor-
“A complete overhaul is needed. Committees of parents, teachers, old pupils, the government, civil society and the private sector must be set up and funded to mount a restoration”
tant prepara on for the economy they will enter eighteen or so years down the road. The State of Osun today is ludicrously going in the other direc on.
The State Commissioner for Educa on should accept responsibility for the inep tude and failure of management. The Commissioner demonstrably is not familiar with the dedica on of maintenance culture, project management amongst other things.Acomplete overhaul is needed. Commi ees of parents, teachers, old pupils, the government, civil society and the private sector must be set up and funded to mount a restora on. Funds can be raised through UNESCO, foreign aid departments of governments and founda ons. In addi on, Osun government should lay off self-serving side shows such as stoppage me “local government” elec ons and similar charade and redirect the saved funds into the restora on project.Justyesterday, telecommunica ons giant, Globacom was in Oyo State to discuss a technology-driven educa on partnership with the state government. Can Osun do this with dilapidated infrastructure school environment”?There is urgent need to begin to reverse the eyesore within to quote President Obama “the fierce urgency of now”. Enough is enough!
WHEN the people of the State of Osun, South-West Nigeria, trooped out enthusias cally to elect who governs them for the next four years on 16th July, 2022, they had two candidates in mind. These are Governor Isiaka Adegboyega Oyetola and Senator Nurudeen Ademola Adeleke. The other contestants, has shown by the result of the elec on released by INEC, were mere appendages.
Immediately Senator Ademola Adeleke was announced as the winner, President Muhammadu Buhari from the ruling All Progressives Congress congratulated him. The mere fact that no single life was lost during the exercise has further strengthened the credibility of the poll that Adeleke’s victory was not Exceptblood-stained.forIsmailOmipidan’s (the Chief Press Secretary to the Governor) ar cle published in the Nigerian Tribune, one would have reserved his comment on the Osun ma er since it has been subjected to judicial process for determina on. Omipidan’s ar cle is seen as an a empt to use the paraphernalia of office to whip up senment, so that the reading public could sympathise with his principal and influence the decision of the tribunal.
However, the civil society organisa on, YIAGA Africa which Omipidan wanted to use to whip up sen ment has described “as lies efforts to twist its report on the outcome of the governorship elec ons in Eki and Osun states”. The organiza on, in a report published by Saturday Punch on September 17, 2022 stated this while reac ng to publica on credited to Omipidan who claimed that the recently launched YIAGA Africa’s elec on result analysis dashboard report for the two elec ons in Osun and Eki confirmed that the governors who contested on the pla orm of APC won the elec ons. YIAGA Africa, in the statement issued by its Execu ve Director, Samson Itodo, said “Omipidan was only twis ng the fact”Omipidan should think of going back to
The Sun newspaper, a reputable pla orm where he was an Assistant Editor before his engagement. He should take a cue from elderly people like us, who has not been on any newspaper payroll since 2015, when INSIDER Magazine where I was the SouthWest Bureau Chief went bankrupt. It was in the course of this adventure that I encountered Femi Babafemi, former Saturday Sun Editor who now works as the Public Affairs Director, Nigeria Drug Law and Enforcement Agency (NDLEA), who gave me a brief on specific target among the Yorubas who has na onal and state voices for interview that could adorn the front page of the newspaper. Omipidan should not be afraid of going back to his desk instead of engaging the public in triviali es.
The journalis c ins nct in me invoked my monitoring the poll in three polling units namely, Gidiogbo, Ogbo-Oya (the ancestral home of Senator Iyiola Omisore, the Na onal Secretary, APC) and Lujumo all situated at both Ife East and Central Local government areas. In all the three polling units, the polls were peaceful, free and devoid of any form of in mida on, except at Gidiogbo where a young man came shou ng forcefully at the people on the queue must vote for a par cular party in the presence of security agents. But because he was alone devoid of gangsters, he quickly le and his impact was not felt by the people wai ng to cast their votes.
Senator Ademola Adeleke won with heavy reliance on his late brother’s solid poli cal structure, late Isiaka Adetunji Adeleke who was the third Republic governor, and the first democra cally elected governor in Osun and a serving Senator un l he died on April 23, 2017. One would have expected Governor Oyetola to congratulate him for defea ng him twice, first before the run-off in 2018 and second on July 16, 2022. In the America presiden al system which we copy from, when they try the Republicans for one or two terms, they switch over to the Democrats.
•Goke Awoyemi, media consultant, sent this piece from Ile-Ife, Osun 08039506843(SMSStateplease)
“The mere fact that no single life was lost during the exercise has further strengthened the credibility of the poll that Adeleke’s victory was not bloodstained”
The Minister of Interior, Ogbeni Rauf Aregbesola, highlights the improvement recorded in the ministry and its agencies between 2019 and now, and efforts taken to end insecurity in Nigeria. He spoke during an interview with Radio Nigeria which was monitored by YUSUF OKETOLA of OSUN DEFENDER on Tuesday. Excerpt:
Youroffice is saddled with security architecture of the country; what would you say is your biggest challenge?
I wouldn’t really say anything is challenging, when you have an assignment; you are to do it. As to what I can say is the most difficult challenge, if I want to be honest with myself, I seem to enjoy tackling issues that I know will bring joy and happiness to Nigerians. I am happy to tell Nigerians that passport issuance in our administra on, to me is very important to Nigerians, and I think I have given it some serious considera on within the period of tenure. So far in the administra on, and I am happy to say that we have recorded quite substanal improvement in that area of passport issuance administra on. So, I am happy with that. It is not as if it is challenging, but I know Nigerians are so sensi ve to it and I have given it a lot of a en on and considera on. That for me is an area that I’m very keen at. Not that we have solved all the issues there, but we have made tremendous improvement.
Your ministry is key to the Ease of Doing Business in the country. What have you done to improve this area?
Let start from expatriate quota administra on; it is digi sed now. Those who need the service of ministry in ge ng business permit, expatriate quota grant don’t have to meet anybody. They just simply go online and do whatever they have to do online. We have reduced to a very significant level, person-to-person contact in the administra on of business permit and expatriate quota alloca on. That considerably must have affected ease of doing business. This administra on too has been very well improved upon. In 2020, we launched New Visa Policy. What that simply means is elimina ng the confusion in visa processing. We increased the categories of which visa available to Nigerians from 60 to 79. It means we categorise all professions, all engagements and interest, such that if you want to come to Nigeria, we know who you are, what you want to do and where you are likely to be. Again, it is digi sed. You don’t need to know anybody for visa applica on. Go online, apply for visa and get it. We have removed paperwork, it is now fully electronic. We have in all our borders what we call minders. Minders is an elec-
tronic based system in administering visa process on entry to Nigeria. This too must have aided the ease of doing business. There is visa on arrival, you don’t need to go to our embassy. If you want to visit Nigeria, go online, process your visa and get to the airport. Process your visa and you will get visa on arrival. That again supports the ease of doing business. The most valuable of what we have done that could aid ease of doing business is what we call Advance Personnel System. Now, anybody coming to Nigeria is known to us in advance. As you are processing your cket anywhere in the world to come to Nigeria, you are already registered on our portals and our people are wai ng for you at the airport. Again, that supports ease of doing business. The passport thing I have men oned again cannot be eliminated from the ease of doing business, because if Nigerians must meet their business partners overseas, they need an authen c travel document. All of this, I believe, must have supported the ease of doing business. We are working in concert
with other agencies to make business comfortable, easy and enjoyable in Nigeria.
The Correc onal Service, an agency under your ministry, has been under public scruny recently over jail a acks. What efforts have you made to curb that?
First of all, it is unfortunate that there were those a acks. No administra on will be happy to experience such viola on of such sacred facility or ins tu on. It is quite disturbing and depressed. They have situated it in the context of our jectedfendersfacilityfromismaketodialtheareourthingsdoingwewelenges.theremustgrenaexperiencegeneralasaon.Itisre-ablebutweadmitthatarechal-Astowhataredoing,havebeenmanytoforfyfacilies.Weredesigningenrecus-systemtoitrestora-ve.Theworldmovingawayapunivewhereof-aresub-tosome
harsh treatment and not given all their right to liberty, freedom and self-control are restricted. It is no longer a restric ve ins tu on. It is now a restora ve ins tuon. Also, we have declared our custodial facili es as a na onal asset. In addi on to conven onal arm guard of the correc onal service, we now have the civil defence joining them, we have the armed squad of the immigra on joining them and we have the military and the police, the mobile, the an -terrorism squad and several others. We have generally increased the protecon of most of our facili es with difficult inmates. One cannot be too sure, but we have upgraded the security of the facili es that could be target of a ack.
Nigeria is no doubt being challenged security-wise; what is your ministry doing to make the country more secure?
Security is not a thing that you should shout about. If I deployed CCTV cameras somewhere, I won’t tell you where they are installed. It is not meant for people to know that I have such a surveillance thing. What I will tell Nigerians is that; we are upping our game and it is quite apparent now in the way we are managing the security situa on in Nigeria. I want to believe in the last one month and there about, there have been improvement in the control and managing the dastardly effect of bandits, insurgent and other criminals that want to make life difficult for our people. We are upping the game and we are very confident that we will meet the deadline giving by the president.
Just last week, the president granted the status of Nigeria na onal to 286 foreigners. Enlighten us on the criteria for that approval.
Over a thousand people applied for Ni-
geria ci zenship and it took not less than three years to process those applica ons, and for 286 to scale through it, Nigerians must know that they must have sa sfied all the rules and regula ons of the requirements. It is quite tough. Nigeria ci zenship is one of the most difficult and complex in the world. Human beings will always be human being. But all I know, none of them has stayed for nothing less than 15 years connuously in Nigeria. Virtually all of them are related to an indigenous community in Nigeria, to the extent that hardly could anyone of them not speak a na ve dialect in Nigeria, and without a community suppor ng their applica on, it is impossible for them to get the ci zenship of Nigeria. Beside the community, the state government must equally recommend and sponsor their ci zenship applica on. It must go through security screening, not only for our own security agencies, but the higher agencies in Nigeria. It is quite cumbersome and complex process to get Nigeria ci zenship and by the way, the organ that ul mately support the president to grant that ci zenship is the Federal Execu ve Council. When you look at the process and the organ that finally support the presiden al approval, you will know that it is not an easy hurdle to cross to get the country ci zenship.
President Muhammadu Buhari has given us the deadline that by December, we must put this security issue behind us, and he told Nigerians that he will give a safe and secure na on and I believe that will happen.
If Nigerians themselves support our process, there would not be any problem at all in passport issuance. In the first instance, either your passport is reissue, renewal or fresh applica on, plan it on me and with me. Don’t wait un l your passport is expired. Once you leave anxiety out of your passport renewal or fresh, it would not be that difficult. If you wait ll when you want to travel to begin the process, you will have problem and that me, your anxiety will lead you to patronising touts and scammers or racketeers. When you lead yourself to that dubious process, you will pay the price for it or face the consequence.
If you start your processing of passport early, you will just do it with ease. What we are doing is this and we have been improving. I am not saying we have totally eliminated all the challenges. By December, there will be no more manto-man contact. The less man-to-man or human-to-human in any of these processes in either during passport issuance or business quota. The more of human-to-human contact, the higher the chances of you ge ng to scammers and people who want to extort you. On passport basically, by December, God willing, we would have automated the process and there will be no more manto-man contact. With that, I want to tell Nigerians that the few challenges there will be over. We are going to open several processes centers across the country. That will ease the pressure of our highly patronise centres.
Barely seven months away to the general elec ons, what do you have to tell Nigerians about the security being put in place for that big event?•Ogbeni Rauf Aregbesola.
“I want to believe in the last one month and there about, there have been improvement in the control and managing the dastardly effect of bandits, insurgent and other criminals that want to make life difficult for our people. We are upping the game and we are very confident that we will meet the deadline giving by the President”
LAST Saturday’s Chairmanship and Councillorship primaries of the All Progressives Congress (APC) for the October 15 Local Government elec on in the State of Osun has set members of the IleriOluwa camp of the party against one another.The IleriOluwa camp being led by Governor, Adegboyega Oyetola, has been further polarised since the conclusion of the primaries, as members of the camp are now openly cri sing and cursing their leaders.
It would be recalled that OSUN DEFENDER had in its last edi on reported the controversies surrounding the primaries and the allega on of imposi on of candidates by leaders of the party.
Protests, pandemonium, manipula on and threats characterised the LG primaries, a situa on that brought the reported resentment and division in the IleriOluwa camp to theOnlyfore. members of the Governor’s camp par cipated in the primaries as the other camp, The Osun Progressives (TOP) did not show interest in the exercise.Some members of the IleriOluwa camp who had expected fair treatment in the primaries had resort-
ed to protests, pe ons and social media bullying to complain about the manipula on of the LG primaries.DrTiamiyu Bello, a staunch member of the IleriOluwa camp, had taken to his facebook page to lament the absence of party officials who were supposed to conduct the primaries in Ede North local government.Onhisfacebook page on Sunday, Bello wrote: “Were they Kidnapped? Who Kept Them Incommunicado?“Stakeholders from
Alusekere Ward 5 alleged that Mr. Richard Tinubu And Hon. Oyin loye did not appear in Ede North today.“The above were the ques ons that agitated my mind today when Fresh Fm Osogbo carried a news item wherein stakeholders from Alusekere Ward 5 of Ede North claimed that those gentlemen were not the ones who came to Ede today.
“They claimed (through further quesoning by me) that one Comrade Tunde Lawal made an announcement
THE Vice Chancellor of Osun State University (UNIOSUN), Prof. Clement Adebooye, has said that transformaon of a local university into a global one requires unalloyed contribu ons from all vocaopeningduringbaldriveutorythroughserviceandcle,rolestakeholdersmospherebooye,Accordingstakeholders.toAde-thegeneralat-ofpeace,playingtheirinthecontractualcy-students’readinesssteadfastprovisionofbytheuniversity,itsstaffandstat-organs,aretoolstoinstuonstoaglo-standard.Adebooyestatedthishisaddressattheofthe11thCon-onoftheuniversity,
held at the ins tu on’s auditorium, on Tuesday.
He said: “The transforma on of a local university to a global one requires unalloyed contribu ons from all stakeholders.
First, there must be a general atmosphere of peace and an environment that is all- me conducive to teaching and learning.
“Secondly, every stakeholder must play their role in the contractual cycle: the students must show readiness for the services they have applied to get; and the university, through its staff and statutory organs must be steadfast in providing the services.
“It is gladdening that there has not been any breach in this cycle since our establishment as a university, and I have the consent of the Governing Council and Senate of this great university to assure our stakeholders that this trend will be sustained as a founda onal tradi on. And, this is part of the reason we are all gathered here for the celebraon of today.”
of chosen names of councillorship candidates for Ede“ToNorth.the best of my knowledge, Mr. Richard Tinubu and Hon. Oyinloye were listed as those who were to come to Ede North for the exercise.
“What Comrade Tunde Lawal did in Ede North today cannot stand any legal scru ny. And, of course he is the Legal Officer of our party in Ede North. Maybe, he has an explana on to give.“My major worry is the wellbeing of the two gentlemen posted to Ede North who were not sighted at all. My worry stems from the fact that there was a similar kidnapping of the daughter of a very important leader of ACN in 2010 during a similar exercise.”
Another member of the IleriOluwa camp and a chairmanship aspirant in Ife Central West Local Council Development Area, Barr. Taiwo Adedoyin, has rejected the primary elec on of the APC, describing it as a sham and disgrace to principles of democracy.Adedoyin stated that some leaders of the party in the LCDA manipulated the process and presented a candidate without consul ng other aspirants.The aspirant who spoke to newsmen on Monday, disclosed that the two op ons given by the party was primaries or affirma on, no ng that none was followed in the LCDA.
He said: “What we were told by the party was that there was going
to be either affirma on or primaries to be conducted for the aspirants. On Saturday morning, we mobilised our people to the colla on centers of every ward. We got there on the dot of 9am and we le there at about 3pm a er the people who were supposed to conduct the elec on did not show up. There was no elec on in all the wards.“We later heard that some set of leaders at the LCDA sat somewhere to write the result which we were not part of. This is an injus ce and if not properly addressed, it may lead to the end of the party in the state.
“If we are saying we want democracy, it is better that we do it the way that it should be done. What they (party leaders) have done is injus ce to all the aspirants who took their me to buy forms, to campaign in various wards, to solicit support, only for some people to go and sit down somewhere to say they want to pick
“Nobodysomebody. has emerged, to the best of my understanding and if they claim somebody has emerged, that means the person emerged through the back door, which is not
“Ifallowed.there is a consensus arrangement, it must be known to all the aspirants, it is not that they will just do it somewhere in secret and come up with a name. It has to be transparent, if there is going to be consensus, I must know the reason why they are choosing that person over the others”.
THE State of Osun
Primary Healthcare Board has concluded plans to carry out Measles Vaccina on Campaign across all the Local Governments and Local Council Development Area of the state.
The campaign exercise will be carried out across the state within six days.
According to the State Execu ve Secretary of the board, Dr. Mrs. Adebukola Olujide, measles vaccina on will be administered to all eligible children within the age of 9-59months star ng from
October this year.
Speaking at a stakeholders mee ng on Tuesday in Osogbo, Olujide who was represented by the State Health Promoon Officer, Mrs. Taiwo Adeniji, disclosed that the vaccina on will take place in all the state health facili
Shees. added that the vaccina on team will also visit special places like Schools, Crèches, Churches, Mosques , Market places and other places where eligible children can be Speakingfound.further, Olujide said: “Also all rou ne
immunisa on vaccine including COVID-19 vaccine will be available for children and women of child bearing age.
“We therefore solicit for your support and coopera on during this period to present all the eligible children in your facility as vaccines are free, safe, and effec ve against this childhood diseases.“Lastly, we count on your goodwill and understanding of the importance of this exercise to the overall goal and development of the children”.
Kazeem Badmus •Members of the APC in Obokun East Local Council Development Area of the State of Osun, on Monday, staged a peaceful protest at IleriOluwa campaign office over alleged manipulation of LG primary result. Yusuf Oketola Kazeem Badmus •Prof. Adebooye.MOTORISTS and commuters are currently groaning over the hardship they are facing as a result of the slow pace in the construc on of Ojutu bridge in Ilobu, Irepodun local government area of the State of Osun.
The under construc on Ojutu bridge is on the main road leading to Ilobu, Ifon, Erin-Osun, Ogbomoso and other communi es.
OSUN DEFENDER noted that the construc on of the bridge started in March 2017 and has been footdraggingTheresince.was gridlock on the old bridge for about two hours on Wednesday, a situa on that infuriated commuters, motorists and residents of the area who were stuck on the road.
Some of the roads users were openly cursing the government for subjec ng them to hardship based on the failure to complete the construc on of the bridge on me.
Traffic jam is a usual occurrence on the Ojutu bridge as the old bridge could no longer accommodate the large number of vehicles passing through the Speakingroad. with the medium on Wednesday, one of the commuters, Prince Sola Adegoke, lamented that the bridge has been causing untold hardship to motorists and commuters.
Adegoke said: “The slow pace of the construc on of the bridge is affec ng us a lot. We have been in this traffic jam for more than an hour, and it is a regular occurrence. The government should hurry up the construc on of the bridge. This bridge has been under construc on for the past five years. The project is long overdue, they are inconveniencing us.”
A trader at Ifon market, Mrs. Rebecca Afolabi, lamented that the regular traffic jam on the road always has nega ve effect on her business and that of others.Afolabi stated that when traders spend about two hours on the road, it will definitely affect their sales on that par cular day, saying that it was what they experience as a result of
the slow pace of the Ojutu bridge construc on.
She said: “The traffic jam is not good for we traders. It always has nega ve effect on us. If we don’t get to the market on me, our customers will go elsewhere to buy whatever they“Weneed.have been spending more than an hour here and the vehicles are not moving. This is what we ex-
THE Chairman of Osun Football Associa on, Chief Rasak Mustapha, has stated that all the efforts of the associa on to have good rela onship with Governor Adegboyega Oyetola’s administra on have proved aborMustaphave. also lamented that the Oyetola administraon has not sponsored any football compe on in the last three years. He made the disclosure
on Tuesday during a Stakeholders’ Forum of the Sports Writers Associa on of Nigeria (SWAN), Osun Chapter in Osogbo.TheFAchairman stressed that the state government has stopped the funding of football in the last three years, no ng that they have been struggling financially.
He said: “The state has stopped giving us money for the running of football since I came on board. It has been our struggle to raise money. There was no record of any
sponsorship since I came on board which is another challenge we face.
“We organized u-15 Taiwo Ogunjobi Western Nigeria league. It was Barr. Seyi Akinwumi and others who assisted us to host the compe on. All that Osun FA board has done is by our own“Weideas.con nue to have problems in Osun football because we have wrong peg in right holes. Any government that underrates sports is doing that at his own risk.
And any government that jokes with football is moving towards“Osunfailure.FAhas not been involved in the management and running of football. We met with the Commissioner for sports and he didn’t attend to us. All our efforts to have a good rapport with the present government hit the “WeRock should all pray to have a government that will love sports in Osun. Football is money and a serious busi-
perience regularly on this bridge.“If the government is not ready for the compleon of the new bridge, they should at least help us to patch the potholes on the old one we are using. This hardship is too much for us.”Aminibus driver, Mr. Kola Ayinla, was full of anger while speaking with OSUN DEFENDER. He lamented that the poor condi on of the road has damaged his vehicle more than fourAyinlames. called on the government to quickly complete the construc on of the bridge, saying that it is taking more than required me.
He said: “We want the government to repair the road, and they should be quick with the construc on of the bridge. If they know they can’t do that, they should at least repair this one we are using that is full of potholes, so that vehicles can move smoothly.”
AN Osogbo Magistrate Court, on Tuesday, sentenced a 30-year-old man, Hammed Azeez, to one year imprisonment for stealing pumping machine belonging his employer.Azeez was said to have stolen one pumping machine valued N705, 000, which belongs to a popular hotel in Osogbo, where he was working as a security guard.
He was first arraigned before the court on April 10, 2022 alongside one Adekunle Joshua who was also accused of receiving the stolen item from the convict.
They were admitted to bail in a sum of N200,000 with two sureesHowever,each. the second defendant, Olakunle was acqui ed and discharged by the court while the first Azeez was convicted by the court a er he was found guilty of the offence.He was convicted based on the evidence obtained through the CCTV camera of the hotel which proved that he actually stole the pumping Accordingmachine. to the
charge sheet obtained by OSUN DEFENDER, the convict commi ed the offence on April 6, 2022 at about 3:04am at Ideal Nest hotel in Osogbo.
In his ruling, the pre-
siding Magistrate, O.A Daramola, sentenced the convict to one-year jail term at Ilesa Correc onal Centre with an op on of N200, 000 fine.
OlamideZainabAdeboyejoAbisolaA65-year-old suspected burglar, Adekanmi Popoola, has been arraigned be-
a Chief Magistrate Court, si ng in Igbajo, Boluwaduro local government area of the State of Osun, for allegedly stealing a water pumping machine.
RESIDENTS of Halleluyah community in Osogbo, State of Osun, were astounded when a sexagenarian was allegedly caught in the web of sexual exploita on of a 10 year-old-girl.Thesuspect, Mr. Mathew Faremi, was said to be 65-year-old.According to rela ves of the vic m, the li le girl alleged that Faremi defiled her when she was nine yearsTheold.li le girl was living with her grandmother who is a neighbour to Faremi.
OSUN DEFENDER gathered that Faremi had reportedly asked some parents in the neighbourhood to release their children for holiday coaching in his house.The vic m was said to be part of the children who were receiving holiday lessons at Faremi’s house.
It was gathered that a Pastor of a Christ Apostolic
Church (CAC) in Halleluyah had mounted pressure on the family of the vic m not to report the case to the police but se le it amicably.
But the case was reported at Dada Estate Police Sta on, Osogbo, which led to the arrest of the suspect on Sunday.
The case was later transferred to the State Criminal Inves ga on Department, Osogbo for further inves -
ga However,ons. Faremi was arraigned before an osogbo Magistrate Court yesterday on a three-count charge bothering on rape and sexual Butassault.the accused person pleaded not guilty to the allegaAccordingon. to the charge sheet obtained by OSUN DEFENDER, Faremi commi ed the offence on September 13, 2022, at about
09:00am.Applying for the bail of the accused person, Defence counsel, K.A Adepoju, prayed the court to admit the defendant to bail on a liberal term, promising that he would provide reliable sure
However,es. the presiding magistrate, O.A Daramola, declined the bail applicaon and ordered that the defendant be remanded in Ilesa Correc onal Center.
Magistrate Daramola also held that there would be an accelerated hearing for the case.
The case was adjourned ll October 25, 2022 for definite hearing.
That I was formerly known and addressed as ADENIRAN AZEEZ
IDOWU. With former Date of Birth 04/04/1973. Now wish to be known and addressed as ADENIRAN AZEEZ
ADEBIYI. With correct Date of Birth 04/04/1972. All former documents remain valid. General public should take note.
Popoola was accused of breaking into the house of one Femi Falola to steal one DAB electric motor 1horse power valued at N20,000.According to the charge sheet obtained by OSUN DEFENDER, the defendant commi ed the offence on September 16, 2022, at No 16, Royal Estate, Igbajo, State of Osun.The offence contravened Sec on 383 and punishable under Sec on 390 (9) of the Criminal Code, Cap 34, Vol. II, Laws of Osun State, 2002.
The accused person, however, pleaded not guilty to a one-count charge of stealing leveled againstApplyinghim. for the bail of the defendant, Defence Counsel, Kehinde Adepoju, prayed the court to admit him to bail on a liberal term, no ng that the accused person was a reliable ci zen of the state and that reliable surety would stand for him throughout theIntrial.his ruling, the presiding Magistrate, O.A Daramola, admi ed the accused person to bail in a sum of N20,000 with oneThesurety.case is adjourned ll October 25, 2022, for men on.
Tolulope RemilekunBabatundeOkejimi
Adeyemi
THE Nigeria Security and Civil Defence Corps, (NSCDC), State of Osun Command, on Tuesday, decorated 92 newly promoted officers in the State of Osun.
This is just as the command unveiled a new ambulance given to it by the Federal Government through the Ministry of Interior.Speaking during the decora on programme, the State Commandant of the NSCDC, Mr. Sunday Agboola, urged the promoted officers to see their eleva on as a call to do more for the corps and the people of the state.Agboola decorated six Assistant Commandant of Corps, eight Chief Superintendent of Corps, four Superintendent of Corps, five Deputy SuKazeem Badmus
perintendent of Corps, 43 Assistant Superintendent of Corps and 26 Assistant Superintendent of Corps II.
Speaking on the ambulance, the commandant appreciated the federal government and the Minister of Interior, Ogbeni Rauf Aregbesola for the kind gesture.
He said the ambulance will assist the command more in its service to the people of the state.His words: “I want to acknowledge the Minister of Interior, Ogbeni Rauf Aregbesola and Commandant General of the corps, Dr. Ahmed Audi, for deeming it fit to provide this facility for the Osun State Command and to all other States in Nigeria.
“Civil Defence is known for a ending to disaster management
and crisis management. The provision of this bus will aid us in performing very well in
TIsmaeel Uthman and subsequent appointment into the campaign council has been generating ripples in the PDP.
HE candidate of Accord Party in the July 16 governorship elecon in the State of Osun, Dr Akin Ogunbiyi, has returned to his former party, the Peoples Democra c Party
But(PDP).hisreturn has s rred a fresh brawl in the PDP.
Ogunbiyi announced his return to the party in a letter directed to the Na onal Chairman of the PDP, Sen. Iyorchia Ayu.
A copy of the le er which was sighted by OSUN DEFENDER on Tuesday reads: “I write to no fy you of my return to the Peoples Democra c Party.
“My come back a er brief absence is to con nue my contribu on to the development of the party as I have always done in the past. Consequently, I hereby request for the restora on of all my rights and privileges as a member.”
Ogunbiyi has been appointed as member of the Campaign Council of the presiden al candidate of the PDP, Alhaji A ku Abubakar.The business tycoon le the PDP few weeks to the governorship primary of the PDP on the ground that the Na onal Secretariat of the party, was bias and had already concluded on fielding Sen. Ademola Adeleke as the candidate of the party for the July 16 gubernatorial poll.
His return to the party
Some members of the party has rejected his appointment into the campaign council, describing it as undeserved and a reward for Opposidisloyalty.onto Ogunbiyi’s return and appointment started from his own Ward 05, Ileogbo, Ayedire LocalTheGovernment.PDPChairman of the ward, Alh. Makinde Mu au, has wri en the Na onal Chairman of the party to reject Ogunbiyi’s return, saying he is not worthy of readmission into the Accordingparty. to Mu au in the le er sighted by this medium yesterday, Ogunbiyi has never displayed any sense of commitment to the progress of the party, adding that he is more loyal to the All Progressives Congress (APC) than PDP.
The le er reads in part: “We have resolved not to readmit Dr. Ogunbiyi into the PDP as he is a living and present danger to the successes so far recorded by the PDP. His return to the party at this delicate me amounts to plan ng a mole within the house at a me of war.“We also want to note that Dr Ogunbiyi’s electoral strength has been tested and found to be unfounded and mere ruse. In the last elec on, he garnered only 4000 votes for Accord Party
as a governorship candidate throughout Osun State. He has nothing, in our own es ma on, to contribute posi vely to the impending victory of our presiden al candidate, Alhaji A ku Abubakar.“He is therefor a negave influence who must not be given any place of honour, rights and privileges within our great party. We consequently call on leaders of the party at all levels to take note of our posi on which we took in the best interest of the party and its members at the ward.”
that regard and I want to thank the Associaon of Pharmaceucal Society of Nigeria,
Osun State branch, for their gesture in providing what we need to make the ambulance
That I was formerlyknown and addressed as IBRAHIM RAHMAN OLALEKAN. With former Date of Birth 08/03/2000. Now wish to be known and addressed as LEKAN.IBRAHEEMABDULRAHMAN With correct Date of Birth 08/03/2003. All former documents remain valid. General public should take note.
remain func oning to the generality of Osun people”.
RESIDENTS of Kobongbogoe in Olorunda North Local Council Development Area (LCDA) of the State of Osun, have called the a en on of the state and local government to the deplorable condi on of the roads in the community.According to the residents who spoke under the aegis of Kajoyo Landlords Associa on, not a single road in the community could accommodate smooth drive, calling on the governments to come to their aid by fixing the Theroads.listed worse of the roads as the major thoroughfare leading into Kobongbogoe from the Osogbo-Ikirun Expressway intersec on, Irepodun Street, Aplac Hotel sec on, Kajoyo Oke Odo and Jagun
Accusingarea. the state government of neglec ng the community in provision of basic ameni es, the residents said there was nothing that pointed to the presence of either the state or local government in their community.
Also, the residents lamented the absence of a public primary healthcare center in a territory that plays host to hundreds of families.
OSUN DEFENDER visited Kobongbogboe on Tuesday and noted that the roads were not motorable and wereOneslippery.ofthe residents of the community, Mr. Kazeem Badmus, said several le ers have been wri en to the state and local governments
for the construc on of the main road to the area, sta ng that the government has not shown any sign of readiness to fix any of the roads.
According to Badmus, the state government has displayed high sense of insensi vity to the plight of the residents of the area, noting that the inhabitants of Kobongbogboe have not enjoyed dividends of democracy as far as provision of basic ameni es is concerned.
He said: “No roads in this Kobongbogboe is motorable; star ng from the major road that enters the community. We have streets in this community that residents of those areas cannot take their vehicle home because there is no“Weroad.are suffering here; we don’t have stable electricity, Primary Health Centre (PHC) and road. We have not
been enjoying government or dividend of democracy at all.”A community leader, Chief Bola Akinrele, disclosed that road and primary health centre are the major needs of residents of the area.
Akinrele pleaded with the state government to fix the deplorable roads and PHC.
“What we have been demanding from government is to construct our roads and give us primary health centre. We have been on this ma er for long; and it seems the government does not care about us – the people living in Kobongbogboe.Someofuscannot take our vehicle home again because the networking roads have collapsed. This is shameful. We are in the state capital, not a remote area or village. They should be responsive to our plight.
•Osun State Commandant of the Nigeria Security and Civil Defence Corps NSCDC, Sunday Agboola, decorating one of the newly promoted officers.
•Ogunbiyi
JUST like the Biblical Timothy inherited Chris an virtues from the strong faith of his grandparent, Queen Elizabeth II inherited certain enviable traits from her grandfather, King George of England the Fi h, regarded during his reign as the ruler of the greatest empire the world has ever known “and by whose examples countless men had led be er lives in the accomplishments of their daily work and du es they owed to their countries.”
Research has shown that in the United Kingdom, the Bri sh Social A tude (BSA) rela onship between grandparents and their grandchildren was in the nineteenth century, built on cordiality and warmth, as they are usually very close.
It was common to see grandparents ac ng as confidants to their grandchildren even as grandparents o en understand more about interes ng topics and things that could excite their grandchildren.
In situa ons where older children might find it difficult to communicate differently with their parents or share confiden al ma ers with them, they had always found their grandparents ready bridges of confiden ality, with old grandparents being in their elements when sharing old episodic memories like happenings during first and second world war with their grandchildren.Ostensibly, Queen Elizabeth must have in this regard tapped posi vely into the royal warmth of her grandfather, King George the Fi h.
Right from her tender age, the passion with which young Elizabeth shared the grief of children who were vic ms of the Second World War was not just ordinary, as there was every pointer to the evidence that she benefited from the literature of the war which her grandfather must have infused in her.
Two years a er King George died, Elizabeth as a 14-year-old girl gave a radio broadcast which newspapers described as famous even for her age.
The historic broadcast was to the British children who had been evacuated from their homes as a result of the Second World War.“We know, everyone of us, that in the end all will be well. For God will care for us and give us victory and peace. When peace comes, remember it will be for us, the children of today to make the world of tomorrow a be er and happier place.” Elizabeth whose emphasis for peace intoned in a delicate soprano to the BBC.
It was in her commitment to peace in prac cal terms that saw her joining the war efforts as a mechanic in the Auxiliary Territorial Service, and in 1942, she was given an honourary Colonel in the Royal Army’s 500 Grenadier Guards.
As a country, I think religion has led us to missing our road by a long mile! Until we separate religion from politics and our public affairs, we are doomed to looking for distant gods in froth ing gourds!”
It should be emphasised here of course that it was during his reign that the world witnessed the era of modern radio broadcas ng which was then described as the marvellous stride of science, as this feat had not only enabled King George to reach millions of people who were his subjects but reached so many hearts.
In an extraordinary session of the Legisla ve Council in which tribute from the then Governor in Nigeria was presented, he remarked: “The great achievement of King George was not that he reached so many ears, but that he reached so many hearts and for that achievement, we have to thank not the miracles of science but the man himself. That his life was devoted to the service of his people meant a great deal; that the service was rendered, not from a cold sense of duty, but from moves of genuine affec on meant a great deal
Ifmore.”therewas some special achievement for which Britain admired her grandfather, it was King George’s passion for peace.
In one of the great tributes paid to the memory of the monarch following his death on January 20,1936, King George was reported to have had his own quiet way of making influence for peace felt in the capital of Europe and elsewhere.
Just as his me witnessed the coming into terms of democracy and the monarchy, the culture of peace was believed to have been running in the vein of the line of the royal family.
His father, King Edward himself was known for making peace efforts during his reign even to the extent that he was nicknamed “The Peacemaker”.
Barely few hours a er the announcement of the death of Queen Elizabeth II, amid the tradi onal promptness in which England accorded King Charles III with Long Live The King succession accolade, the whole world bombarded her memory with tributes ranging from the bunch of banquets to the ba ery of bantering.
Undoubtedly, the life and mes of the monarchy were not without songs of successes and failures as well as sacredness and scandals associated with their names, it is natural that some people would be discontented at some a tudes of rulers who act in a wider compass in the governance of people, par cularly in the affairs of ruling over kingdoms and who must do so through the ministry and agents of many people.InRasselas’
Disquisi on Upon Greatness, the great thinker remarked: “Anyone
who acts in a wider compass must be more exposed to opposi on from enmity, or miscarriage from chance; And whoever has many to please or to govern must use the ministry of many agents, some of which will be wicked, and some ignorant; by some he will be misled and by others betrayed.”
The disquisi on further added: “If he gra fies one he will offend another; those that are not favoured will think themselves injured; and since favour can be conferred but upon few number, the greater number will always be discontented.”
It was All Hallows who once said that: “Duty is but a deed of kindness from one stranger to another stranger is quite another ma er”, even as a Yoruba adage equally added that “even when we are in tears, it should not automa cally inflict us with blindness or rob us of sensi vity or sensibility.”Wemay talk ill of the dead as the living are themselves not infallible, but it is good if we do not lose our sense of judgement doingJustso.as King George was mourned with a great many people reaching out to his memory a bunch of banquet as well as battery of bantering, Queen Elizabeth did not escape her own por on in full measure.
As I read through the newspapers of The Nigerian Daily Telegraph of January, 20, 1936 to January, 29, 1936 when the world mourned the death of King George, it was obvious that the King was largely in the good book of his people spread across the Itworld.wasa poetry of wintry night and of the cold hand of death in which London streets were plunged on Monday, January,20, 1936 when King George breathed his last.
The elegy of a poem by Mait Kay said it all as published in the newspapers: “A wintry night, foggy and cold, House tops and London street snow clad,And death with a determined hold Wastes life and leaves the na ons sad.
The monarch of the realm lies dead. He whom the world his praise did sing Loved and revered his crowned head.
The King is dead, Long Live the King.
In London, over half a million people filed past the catafalque on which the body of the king laid. London Transport Board maintained an all-night transport services on many routes to carry mourners to their homes.
Lagos mourned the death of the king by postponing the usual inspec on of vehicles by the Police, thus allowing mourn-
ers move freely with all manner of vehicles to public places of mourning.
The Bale of Ibadan, according to provincial news column published in the Daily Telegraph of February 14, 1936, was not le out of the mourning proceedings as he sent out his town crier on January 27, 1936 with an order that no tom-tom or drum of any kind must beat on the funeral day.Equally, the Alake of Egba and Council ordered businesses in the markets to cease while all shops in the town were ordered to close as a mark of respect to the memory of the king.
But it was at such holy hours that hundreds of hooligans in certain areas of Abeokuta chose to unleash their terror on innocent people, as they turned the sacred period into avenue to loot shops of innocent people who were mourning and expressingAccordinggriefs.tothe report on page 5 of the Nigerian Daily Telegraph of January 22, 1936, the hooligans besieged the Iberekodo market with the inten on to loot locked up shops, but were roundly rebuffed and checked by law enforcement agents who were immediately mobilised there to check their excesses.
Just as innocent people mourned the passage of Queen Elizabeth’s grandfather with flower of grace and thorns of disgrace, it was the same story at the death of King George’s granddaughter.
But the one I find most painful cut came from an anonymous cri c of the enre royal family. It reads thus: “On Saturday, I watched the “ascension” of Prince Charles to the throne of his forefathers as King Charles III live on television. The program lasted for about 6 hours.
Despite the fact that one of his forefathers, King Henry VIII founded the Church of England known as Anglican Communion and another one King James II translated the bible that is now commonly used and called the King James Version (KJV), the bible was never used to swear in King Charles III, he only affirmed by just raising up his hand. Neither was Jesus Christ men oned throughout the ceremony, not to talk of shouts of Halleluyah
Can you see the damage the White man did to our psych using religion as a tool of colonialism and mental slavery? This is a very instruc ve observa on. As a country, I think religion has led us to missing our road by a long mile! Un l we separate religion from poli cs and our public affairs, we are doomed to looking for distant gods in frothing gourds!
I always fall in love with the words of Nuruddin Farah, who while drawing parallels between the African poli cians (who o en are unable to think straight in defining posterity as a frame within their term of office) and the crea ve writer (who sees it as a feature measured in centuries) remarks that the main concern of a writer is whether his book would s ll be read or be relevant in centuries to come.
Any me I reflect on the Disquisi on upon Greatness as elucidated by Rasselas, par cularly on how the ministry of agents and advisers being used by leaders who govern kingdoms o en betray them, I cannot but remember the incident that happened in a Nigerian Railway sta on during the visit of Queen Elizabeth to Nigeria.
•OLALERE FAGBOLA @worduniversity.net
•Read full content on www.osundefender.com
“Can you see the damage the White man did to our psych using religion as a tool of colo nialism and mental slavery? This is a very instructive observation.