Osun Defender Online Version of April 16, 2021

FRIDAY, APRIL 16 - THURSDAY, APRIL 21, 2021 VOL 16 NO 14

UNIOSUN Provides Accommodation For Students, Bans Cooking In Hostels Page 5

Rumpus In O’Ambulance As Workers Wage War Against Management •They Are Allergic To Change, Discipline - GM

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2020/2021 Admissions

LAUTECH MGT. CANCELS PREFERENCE FOR OSUN Oyo Gets 60% Quota

We Warned Against This - Workers

Page 2

Addressing The Menace Of ‘OmoOnile’ In Osun Page 3

•(L-R) Governor State of Osun, Mr. Adegboyega Oyetola (middle); flanked by former National Chairman, All Progressives Congress (APC), Chief Adebisi Akande and other dignaries during the commissioning of Academic Block Complex, Gymnastic Center, Health center Complex, Administrative Block and Pure Water Factory in Osun State College of Education, Ila-Orangun, recently.

Osun 2022: We’re Yet To Anoint Any Candidate, Says Oladipo Page 4

Lack of Judicial Independence, Bane Of Nigeria’s Democratic Devt. - Fayemiwo Page 4

FRIDAY, APRIL 16 - THURSDAY, APRIL 22, 2021

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News

LAUTECH Mgt. Cancels Preference For Osun

By Ismaeel Uthman

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HE Management of Ladoke Akintola University of Technology, Ogbomoso, has defaulted on one of the key agreements reached by both Osun and Oyo state governments for the dissolution of joint ownership of the institution.

Investigations by

• Oyo Gets 60% Quota OSUN DEFENDER have revealed that LAUTECH management has cancelled for the 2020/2021 admissions, all preferences being given to Osun candidates seeking entrance into the University in the past.

Both Osun and Oyo state governments had

mutually agreed to dissolve the joint ownership of the institution, based on some terms and conditions, among which was that Osun indigenes would continue to enjoy preferences on admission into the institution.

But LAUTECH man-

agement, according to sources on the campus, has jettisoned the agreement.

Findings revealed that 60 per cent of the admission quota was allocated to Oyo indigenes, 20 per cent was given to candidates on merit while the remain-

•(R-L) Wife of the Minister of Interior, Alhaja Sherifat Aregbesola, father of the Groom, former Speaker OSHA, Dr. Najeem Salam, incumbent Speaker OSHA, Rt. Hon. Timothy Owoeye with the newly-wedded couple, Sherif and Adesewa Salam immediately after their wedding ceremony at Lagos recently.

ing 20 per cent was to be shared by ‘others’ for the 2020/2021 admission year, as released by the LAUTECH admission committee.

According to sources, the 20 per cent admission quota allocated to ‘others’ is based on the discretion of the admission committee, ViceChancellor and Registrar of the university.

Confirming the information, a non-academic worker of the university, Mr. Muraina Alesinloye, said admission requirement and quota was the prerogative of the LAUTECH management and it was doing that to favour the owner state, Oyo. According to Alesinloye, the management said the catchment area, which is 60 per cent for the 2020/2021 admission years was the 33 local government areas in Oyo State; 20 per cent for merit and ‘others’ get 20 per cent.

He said: “Osun was not considered at all in the admission. Unfortunately, admissionseeking candidates from Osun had chosen LAUTECH as First Choice.

These candidates, if ever admitted, would also be paying non-indigene

Osun Community Decries Lack Of Maternity Centre, Good Road

By Our Reporter

O

KE Popo Community in Osogbo, capital of the State of Osun, has decried lack of maternity care centre and good roads, appealing to Governor Adegboyega Oyetola to come to their rescue.

The community, which has 72 compounds in Osogbo Local Government Council area of the state, said it has neither a maternity centre, nor a motorable road.

Chairman of the Oke Popo Community Development Association, Alhaji Kola Olomide, in an interview with OSUN DEFENDER yesterday, appealed to Oyetola to build a maternity centre for them; in addition to construction of the main access road to the community.

Olomide lamented the perennial hardships faced by women in the community during their delivery period.

“We want to appeal

to the Governor of the State of Osun to come to our aid by building a maternity centre for

us in Oke Popo. We do not have any maternity centre since return to democracy and we are

always faced with lots of difficulties when our women want to put to bed.

Symbol’s Quote

“My upbringing in Yoruba setting has given no basis for religious antagonism and mutual distrust. It is impossible in Yoruba milieu not to imbibe the culture of accommodation, tolerance and understanding of the faith of others”

“We have to go to neigbouring communities whenever our women want to give birth and this is sometimes challenging.

“We have procured a parcel of land and we have done the survey with the help of the Ataoja of Osogbo, Oba Jimoh Olanipekun.

“In the past two years, the Governor has revitalized many community health centres across the state and we want him to build one for our community also”.

He further disclosed that the community’s roads were in deplorable condition and need government intervention.

“The main road that we have in the community was constructed over 60 years ago and it is currently in a bad state. Whoever is coming into the community with vehicle has to park at the entrance and trek to wherever he or she is going to because of the bad road”, he said.

diffrential tuition fee.

If they had known this, they would not have chosen LAUTECH as First Choice.

“The Governor just exposed us to danger here. The Memorandum of Understanding on the LAUTECH joint ownership dissolution is shrouded in secrecy.

“When we insisted on holding a meeting with the Governor as labour leaders (leaders of Osun workers in LAUTECH) after the dissolution, the governor told us that we have nothing to fear. “He said both Osun and Oyo state governments had agreed that Osun indigenes would still be enjoying ownership preference in LAUTECH for 100 years. And that our jobs remain protected.

“I stood up and told the Governor that the agreement would not stand the test of time.

I told him he would be making a mistake if he was relying on the agreement. I challenged the Governor to ask for LAUTECH’s admission list in Medicine; that he would be surprised that 80 per cent of the students there are from Oyo. That is a department of about 100 students and Oyo constitutes 80 per cent of the students. That was while the joint ownership was still in place. We had for long seen this.

“I want the Governor to intervene on this.

If he does not intervene on time, it will be disastrous for the candidates from Osun. We had been alerting the Governor before this time.”

In his information, a union leader in the institution who craved anonymity stated Osun could not be given any preference on admission because the ownership of the institution belongs solely to Oyo State, which determines what the management of the university would do, irrespective of any agreement.

According to the union leader, Osun had sold her birthright for a pot of porridge by relinquishing the ownership of the institution to Oyo State alone, while the Memorandum of Understanding on the joint ownership dissolution remains shrouded in secrecy.

When contacted, the Public Relations Officer of the university, Mr. Lekan Fadeyi, said he could not speak on the matter.

PEOPLE FIRST

FRIDAY, APRIL 16 - THURSDAY, APRIL 22, 2021

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By Sodiq Lawal The PDP’s South-West Congress Addressing The Menace Of ‘Omo-Onile’ In Osun former Governor of Ekiti State, standards of the people or preparing

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Ayo Fayose, sounded like Gali- policy-wise for post-COVID-19 susleo trying to save himself from tainability. The fixation was on personthe wrath of the Pope, as he “begged for alities and the division of the spoils. mercy” in the account of one newspa- This is a feature of rentier political per at the end of the convention of the economies, fixated on ephemeral conPeoples Democratic Party, South-West sumption as opposed to production Zone, held in Osogbo on and productivity. The Monday, 12 April, 2021. “APC must therefore wake PDP has taken this up from its slumber and up The PDP in the Southunfortunate depiction West hardly edified it- the ante and provide real so- of “politics” to its illutions to the outstanding isself, let alone increased sues of insecurity in all rami- logical conclusion. its standing after a ran- fications, tackle poverty and The party cannot, in corous congress marred unemployment and make Ni- any sensible way, be with underlying threats geria great again for decent seen as an alternative, of violence. What is dis- working and living for all.” at least nowhere in the turbing is that the party South-West. is hardly positioning itself as an alter- Rather than appearing to justify the native, let alone a government-in-wait- six and half-a-dozen indictment, APC ing. This is not good for a democracy must therefore wake up from its slumwhich ought to be posited on the rota- ber and up the ante and provide real tion of power as well as the availability solutions to the outstanding issues of of a convincing alternative. insecurity in all ramifications, tackle Throughout the Congress, there was poverty and unemployment and make no singular thought-out policy or pro- Nigeria great again for decent working gramme that could uplift the living and living for all.

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Tweeting A Storm!

HE announcement early in the week that Twitter will be locating its Africa office in Ghana and not as presumed in Nigeria has kicked up a storm.

Apart from a sense of entitlement, the fact suggests that Nigeria should be the natural choice. Nigeria has twentyfive million Twitter users as opposed to eight million in Ghana. Therefore, why Ghana?

Population size cannot be the only consideration. Other issues include purchasing power parity, ease of doing business, the security landscape,

amongst others. It cannot be taken for granted that every organisation in Africa will have its headquarters in Nigeria, especially with the security challenges at this period, when people are being kidnapped on a daily basis for ransom, among other criminalities.

Again, huge deficit in infrastructure is a mojorcritarium. Electricity is epileptic, roads are death traps and nothing seems to be working. Efforts must, therefore, be redoubled to make Nigeria the indisputable preferred investment destination and this is the bottom line.

Governor Oyetola On Police Decentralisation

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NOTHER voice was last week added to the persistent calls for decentralization of the Nigerian Police.

This time the voice was that of the unassuming Governor Gboyega Oyetola of the state of Osun, who, in a lecture he delivered at the University of Abuja last week, had offered panacea to the seeming insurmmontable insecurity challenges facing the country.

According to Governor Oyetola, if the country is to overcome the insecurity challenges con-

fronting her presently, then it must - as a matter of urgency - decentralise the Police; as the present highly centralised Policing system in the country is not working and cannot work. For me the governor has made a valid point. His position is absolutely correct and it calls for no argumentation. Thus without an iota of doubt in my mind l believe the governor has

spoken the minds of the majority.

As a matter of fact, the issue of decentralization of the Nigerian police has become more germane than ever in view of the worsening security situation in the country.

To say that the country is tottering on the brink of collapse is to simply state the obvious.

Read full article on www.osundefender.com •Kola Odepeju is Senior Special Assistant to Governor Oyetola on Public Affairs.

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HE growing rate of insecurity in ances, an assurance of safety and sucthe State of Osun is worrisome. cessful completion of building projects.

The prevailing situations are conFor every land sold; the Omo Oniles sequences of our actions and inactions. receive percentage. They call it ‘security The aggressive increase in crime rate and bill’ and if it is not paid, they cause conhow these ‘law breakers’ have continued flict between landowners, buyers and to hold both the people and government private investors or sell the same parcel to ransom should really bother us. Os- of land to multiple buyers and encroachogbo, like many towns in Osun, is now a ing on land acquired legitimately by othhub for ‘Omo Onile’ (touts in regalia of ers. Either of these acts would frustrate ‘sons of the original landowners’), who the transaction and always result in big assert ownership of land, based on their loss for the owners and buyers including autochthony to the state. investors.

Omo Onile are sometimes abandoned It is important to note that Omo Onchildren who become outgrown urchins iles become more pronounced in Osogbo and terrors. This new business is not only as a result of the positive turnaround it thriving but has become another oppor- witnessed. Some years ago, landowners tunity to make money for some youths or investors buy alcohol, food and little who could not engage in romance scams cash to appease them but now, they have and prostitution. Despite the cries, sad grown wings. These Omo Oniles now tales and lamentations from victims of operate like land grabbers, using force, their exploideception, and intations, there timidation to gain “Those who secretly build is no end in access and control sight. houses to avoid troubles pay over increasingly This de- higher whenever the cat is left scarce land in velopment is the state capital. not new but out of the bag. They have a They inflict pains the ‘sharp’ stronger network, so wide that one through beating increase is or machete cuts alarming. To cannot successfully complete his on land or house build a house or her building projects without owners. They beat or erect new their interferences.” up site workers structures in such as bricklayOsogbo, the ers and labourers capital of the State of Osun, you need whenever landowners refuse to make more than certificate of ownership. payment.

Sometimes you don’t even need C of O; Sometimes, they kidnap landowners. just pay some ‘cool cash’ to these ‘area These are not mere allegations. Victims boys’ and your site will be marked free. of their atrocities are everywhere in the Those who secretly build houses to avoid state, their tears and lamentations are troubles pay higher whenever the cat is deafening. Some people have questioned left out of the bag. They have a stronger the silence of the State Government and network, so wide that one cannot suc- wondered if these ‘grabbers’ are beyond cessfully complete his or her building the control of the state. They know there projects without their interferences. They is an existing political leadership in the do not issue receipts but they give assur- state but they do not know about the comatose state of the Ministry of Lands. Is the ministry aware of these strange developments? What steps Publisher – Moremi Publishing have been taken by the House Ltd. ministry to resolve this Deputy Editor – Ismaeel Uthman impending doom? What (0805-121-2204) recommendations has it made for the Governor in Produc on Editor – Petkola Taiwo Ibitowa resolving the issue?

Reporter – Yusuf Oketola Some months ago, Reporter – Sodiq Yusuf a colleague and friend Photo Journalist – Olushola Aderinto confi ded in me that the Computer Graphics – Zainab Olalere Commissioner of Land, OSUN DEFENDER is published by Moremi Publishing Nathaniel Agunbiade, in House Limited, Promise Point Building, Opposite an interview declared that Guarantee Trust Bank (GTB), Gbogan Road Osogbo, Governor Adegboyega State of Osun Oyetola had spent over ISSN : 0794 – 8050 N1billion for the digitisaTelephone : 0805-121-2204 tion of the ministry.

Website : www.osundefender.com/index.php Read full article on e–mail : osundefender@yahoo.com www.osundefender.com osundefenderbank@gmail.com All Correspondence to the above email Addresses.

•Sodiq Lawal (Chocomilo) OSUN DEFENDER IS NOT AFFLIATED WITH ANY OTHER NEWSPAPER, writes from Ilesa.

MAGAZINE OR ANY PUBLICATION WHATSOVER

OSUN DEFENDER

FRIDAY, APRIL 16 - THURSDAY, APRIL 22, 2021

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News Akinrun Stool: Royal Family Warns Against Distortion Of History, Proves Eligibility To Throne

By Ismaeel Uthman

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royal family from the Gboleru Ruling House, the Adesekan family in Ikirun, has warned against distortion of history and manipulation of facts, aimed at misleading kingmakers, government and members of Ikirun community on the selection of new traditional ruler for the town.

The Adesekan family said it amounts to total falsehood and lack of historical factual information for anybody to say that it does not belong to the Gboleru Ruling House, which is expected to produce the next Akinrun of Ikirun.

According to the spokesperson of the royal family, Prophet Gabriel Oyetunji, the late patriarch of the Adesekan family, Pa Emmanuel Oyetunji, popularly known as Baba Solaro, was the Head of Princes in Ikirun for many years.

Oyetunji was reacting to a claim by the spokesperson of the Gboleru Ruling House, Mr. Abimbola Toki, who had faulted Adesekan family’s claim that it is its turn to produce the next Akinrun.

Toki had said Adesekan people are not part of the ruling house, challenging them to trace their paternity in Gboleru.

He said: “We didn’t hear from the Adesekan people until now. If you say you are part of the Gboleru family, come out and prove your paternity lineage.

They are laying claim to what is not theirs”.

However, Oyetunji, who spoke on behalf of Adesekan Royal Family to OSUN DEFENDER, in Osogbo, yesterday said: “We strongly counter Toki’s view. His opinion on Adesekan family constitutes deliberate dissemination of falsehood and distortion of history. Toki should therefore approach people who know the history and search information from reliable sources.

“Our late Patriarch, Pa. Emmanuel A. Oyetunji, otherwise known

•Birthday Celebrator, Mr. Kayode Agbaje, former Editor, OSUN DEFENDER newspaper, in photograph with Pastor and Pastor Mrs. Tayo Tola of the Redeemed Christian Church Of God, (RCCG) House of Mercy Parish, Ofatedo, during his 60th Birthday celebration... yesterday.

Baba Solaro, was Olori Olomo-Oba for many years in Ikirun. Baba Solaro was indisputably known across the

length and breadth of Ikirun and beyond for his good work and roles as a prince.

“We do not need

to prove anything to Toki or whoever he represents on pages of newspapers to demonstrate our royal history.

Toki’s statement was unfortunate and was to be ignored but for a little correction to prevent dissemination of

falsehood.

“There is nothing Toki would gain from deliberate falsehood and he must therefore refrain from distortion of history”.

Oyetunji added: “We consider this distortion of history and deliberate falsehood unfortunate and unnecessary, and it is not something ruling houses generally, and particularly that of Gboleru lineage, would be proud of. Falsehood and distortion of history will not make or produce a king.

“It is the Almighty God who chooses a king. Akinrun stool is not a political office, and falsehood cannot help or elevate anyone to the throne.

“Toki is therefore encouraged to please refrain from any act of falsehood, while we call on all people to join Adesekan Compound, Gboleru Ruling House and Ikirun people as a whole in prayers to God to lead the kingmakers of Ikirun to choose wisely and as God will be guiding them.”

Osun 2022: We’re Yet to Anoint Any Candidate, Says Oladipo

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former Chairman of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) in the South-West, Chief

Tajudeen Oladipo, has said that leaders of the party in the State of Osun were yet to ratify a candi-

date for the 2022 Gubernatorial Elections in the state.

Oladipo, a chieftain of the PDP in the state, dismissed the claim making the round that the party

had endorsed Senator Ademola Adeleke as its candidate for next year Gubernatorial Elections.

Speaking on Monday on ‘Oro Oselu’, a radio programme on

Lack of Judicial Independence, Bane Of Nigeria’s Democratic Devt. - Fayemiwo

By Yusuf Oketola

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N Osogbo-based legal practitioner, Mr. Gbenga Fayemiwo, has said that absence of independence for Nigeria judiciary is the bane to the country’s democratic development.

According to Fayemiwo, there could not be a sound democratic system if the judicial arm of government does not in one way or the other enjoy total freedom.

Fayemiwo stated this in a telephone interview with OSUN DEFENDER yesterday.

The lawyer stated that lack of proper funding of the judiciary is responsible for congestion of various courts across the federation and also responsible in part for the ongoing industrial action embarked upon

by the Judicial Staff Union of Nigeria (JUSUN).

He said: “Lack of proper funding of the judicial system led to the congestion of various courts across the federation. The issues that led to this JUSUN strike in the first place are the reasons why our courts are congested.

So, some of these reasons are because the courts are not well funded.

“The staffs of our courts have been overworked beyond their capacity. Democracy came with a constitution which guaranteed some rights for the citizens of Nigeria and those rights, whenever anybody or organisation decides to breach any of them, the courts are open for the enforcement of such rights and to ensure that justice is served. That is why the courts are congested.

“So, lack of judicial independence is bane to the country’s democratic development.”

Fayemiwo noted that the judiciary, being the third estate of the realm, always relies on the executive for funding.

He added: “It is only the judiciary that has to wait for the executive to make its budget before it can execute projects that are meant to speed up dispensation of justice. In our courts today, you will see that our judges have become overworked because the equipment that should facilitate the swift dispensation of justice are not there. So, what you get in return is diminished judicial system.

“That is why we have our court congested. Even in the 21st Century, we still have our judges write

in long hand. I know of judges that sit at 9am and rise by 6pm and writing throughout the day. That is not acceptable at all.

That is why we need judicial freedom. Our courts should be automated.

“In developed nations, you cannot see judges writing long hand. That is why many of our judges suffer backache diseases when they retire, because they have written for so long and when they retire they have little for themselves.

“We should encourage a situation whereby our judges will live and work in comfort; that is why the strike becomes inevitable.

“The strike is also affecting me and every other lawyer, because the court is our office. But the truth must be told, we cannot continue like this”.

Rave FM, an Osogbobased broadcast station, Oladipo said the time was not ripe for the party and its leaders to embark on selection or anointment of any of the qualified party members for the 2020 Governorship Elections.

He said every eligible PDP member is entitled to contest the ticket, stating that the party members would decide who will flag the party’s ticket.

Oladipo, a former Chairman of Osogbo Local Government said: “Osun PDP is yet to anoint anybody as its candidate for the 2022 Governorship Elections. I don’t know where the person that said we had adopted a candidate heard that from. It is not even in our agenda now.”

He stated that PDP leaders are doing everything possible to settle the crisis rocking the party amicably.

News

FRIDAY, APRIL 16 - THURSDAY, APRIL 22, 2021

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Stay Away From Osun, Govt. Warns Seditious Group, Suspends 3 Principals

By Niyi Olasinde

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HE State Government of Osun has warned a seditious group canvassing Yoruba nation to stay away from the state, saying that Governor Adegboyega Oyetola’s administration is committed to Nigeria’s unity.

The government stated this, just as it suspended three school principals who allowed the seditious group into their school premises to disseminate secession message of the Yoruba nation to

students in Iresi, Boluwaduro Local Government Council Area of the state.

Reacting to a viral video which showed the group talking to the students about the plan of the Yoruba nation to secede from Nigeria, Commissioner for Education in the state, Hon. Folorunsho Oladoyin, said the Oyetola administration was not aware of and never gave consent to the group to speak with public school students in the state.

Oladoyin, who em-

phasised that the State Government frowns at any move to disunite the country, maintained that the state had never at any point associated with any group on what he described as a move that is capable of hindering Nigeria’s unity.

He said, “Nigeria is one entity and will continue to remain so.

The State Government of Osun never gave consent to any group to speak with students of public schools on a matter we know can cause disunity and

•Governor Oyetola

chaos in the country.

“As a Nigerian state, we believe in the Nigeria dream. We urge

every Nigerian to pray and work for Nigeria not to break up. As for those principals that

allowed such a group into the premises of our schools, they will face the consequences of their actions.

“It was unfortunate that some unscrupulous elements were going about, polluting the minds of young children because they knew that they are still naive.

“We warn such seditious groups to stay away from the State of Osun. Students of secondary schools in the state will continue to be symbols of Nigeria’s unity at all times.

Campus News

UNIOSUN Provides Accommodation For Students, Bans Cooking In Hostels

By Yusuf Oketola

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HE management of Osun State University (UNIOSUN), Osogbo has prohibited cooking in the school hostels, warning the students who are provided accommodation by the school against violating the order.

The Vice-Chancellor of the university, Professor Labode Popoola, while addressing pressmen on Monday, said the prohibition was for the safety of the students.

Popoola revealed that cooking was banned in the hostels due to some dangers that might emanate from gas cylinders or any cooking materials.

Recounting some of the fire incidents that had happened in other universities, Popoola said, “104 people, each with a gas cylinder in one complex is minacious. It also affects negatively the maintenance of the structure.”

He added: “In the house of residence, it is never done in universities. The fact that people are doing it somewhere should not make it right.

We have had negative different experiences from the past; from UI, OAU, BUK etcetera. Fire explosions arose from

student cooking in halls of residence.

“That is why we conclude not allowing students to cook in the school hostels. We encourage eateries to relocate to school facilities and prepare meals for

students, we assure the quality of the meals and regulate the price to N200 to N250 per meal.

“Osun State University did not start as a residential institution and I know the challenges we have faced over the

years, due to ritual killings, cultism, students being manhandled, that’s why we decided to go residential.

“We started building hostels with our little savings. Now, each of our six campuses has 104

capacity hostels which we make compulsory for fresh students to provide security, to expose the students to the true university cultures. We took over some private hostels because we couldn’t meet the capacity.”

•Labo Popoola

OAU Considers Reinstatement Of Students’ Union After 4 Years

By Niyi Olasinde

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HE management of Obafemi Awolowo University (OAU), IleIfe has announced plans to resuscitate the institution’s Students’ Union, barely after four years the union was suspended.

This was contained in a release made available to newsmen by the institution’s Dean of Students’ Affairs, Prof Isiaka Aransi, on Monday.

The release reads in

part: “It has come to the knowledge of the University’s Management that the National Association of Nigerian Students (NANS), Zone D, is planning to stage a protest in respect of “resuscitation of Students’ Union in OAU. “The university management wishes to inform all students that prior to the commencement of COVID19 lockdown in March 2020, OAU had taken steps to ensure that Students’ Union was resuscitated on two

different occasions, but the processes were truncated due to the activities of some group of students on our university campus.

“Meanwhile, protests or no protests, the university management has already determined to reinstate the suspended Students’ Union before the end of this current 2019/2020 academic session.

“In recognition of the right of freedom of association and assembly, as well as the right to ensure that

students play their roles actively in decision-making processes, as one of the major stakeholders in the university, the management, through the Dean of Student Affairs, took another step in January this year 2021 to present another proposal to the University Senate with a view to ensuring that the students union was resuscitated “Accordingly, the University Senate considered the proposal at its virtual meeting in January 2021,

By Our Reporter

Other affected buildings of the school are Mass Communication Department Shelter and Bursary Department building.

About eight electricity poles inside the school were also damaged by the windstorm.

The heavy rainfall, which lasted for an hour and 15 minutes, also caused power outage within the school premises.

As at the time of filing this report yesterday, electricity was yet to be restored to the school premises, while the damaged electricity poles were yet to be fixed.

Rainstorm Destroys OSPOLY Library, Electricity Poles

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HE management of Osun State Polytechnic, Iree is counting its losses, as properties worth millions of naira got destroyed by heavy rainstorm.

The rainstorm, which started around noon on Tuesday, wreaked huge havocs that inflicted damages on part of the school library, occasioning emergency relocation of books and other materials in the library.

The front canopy of the Academic Planning Building was also blown off by the wind.

and in its wisdom advised that resuscitation of Students’ Union being an exclusive preserve of students should not be executed virtually while the students were not on ground in the university.

“The University management hereby wishes to inform all students (and other stakeholders) that as soon as all students return to campus fully during the Rain Semester of the current academic session, machinery will be put in place to set the ball rolling concerning the resuscitation of the students union in OAU.” It would be recalled that the National Association of Nigerian Students (NANS), South-West Zone, last week, issued a 7-day ultimatum to the OAU management and that of University of Ibadan, Federal University of Agriculture, Abeokuta and Lagos State University over suspension and rustication of some students’ union leaders in relation to their active roles in students’ unionism.

NANS vowed to stage a protest in the aforementioned campuses, should the management fail to do the needful.

FRIDAY, APRIL 16 - THURSDAY, APRIL 22, 2021

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In the Name of Allah, the Entirely-Merciful, the Especially-Merciful. All praise is due to Allah, may the peace and blessing of Allah be upon His Noble Prophet (SAW), his household and companions. Brethren!

Having discussed An-Nubuwwah (the Prophethood) and Ar-Risaalah (the Messengership) in Islam a few weeks ago, we need to complement that with a further discussion about AlWilaayah (the Sainthood).

It is an undisputable fact that some indi-

Religion

RAMADAN SERMON By

Sheikh Ibrahim Oladejo Raji

viduals can attain the position of Sainthood, just as we have Prophets and Messengers. Though, the Prophets and Messengers of Allah as we said were appointees duly confirmed by divine revelations, some of who were mentioned in the Holy Scriptures i.e. At-Taorah (The Torah), Al- Injeel (The Gospel) and also in The Qur’an. As for the position of Sainthood, it is not restricted to a particular time or individuals. The door to becoming a saint is widely open and will remain so till the day of resurrection. Allah says: “Allah is the Waliyy (Protector or Guardian) of those who believe. He brings them out from darkness into light. But as for those who disbelieve, their Awliyaau (supporters and helpers are Taghut (false deity). They bring them out from light into darkness. Those are the dwellers of the fire, and they will abide therein forever.”

Quran 2: 257.

Among the initial challenges encountered by the Prophets and Messengers during their lifetime was that, their people who perceived them as common human beings like themselves, found it difficult to just embrace their seemingly strange religion. So, they resorted to demanding for miracles as prerequisite for believing in them. As a result of that, Allah, The Almighty in His wisdom, granted His Messengers the power to perform different kinds of miracles.

Though the Prophetic era is over and there are no more miracles, there are Karaamaatul Awliyaau (dignities of the saints). As far as Islam is concerned, the performance of extraordinary acts could be classified into three categories.

Firstly, Al- Mu’jizah (the miracle) exclusively given to the Prophets and Messengers. Secondly, Al- Karaamah (the dignity) given to Awliyaau (the saints). And lastly, Sihir (Sorcery) acquired by magicians and their agents.

Hafiz ibn Katheer said in his tafseer (exegesis) that Laith ibn Sa’ad used to say: “If you people see a person flying in the sky, or walking on the surface of the ocean, never be deceived by that till you have crosschecked his day-to-day activities, using the Quran and Sunnah as criterion”. If you find out that

Al-Wilaayah (The Sainthood) In Islam he is an upright person, then know that he is a saint, otherwise he is merely a magician.

How could a Muslim in this era descend so low to the level of believing that someone else has the ability to perform miracles when the Quran, the mother of all miracles and the everlasting one is within his reach? The types of the physical miracles which were performed by the Prophets in the past are completely above the ability of common human beings, just like no sane person can claim to be like any of them. Besides that, those miracles were meant to convince the nonbelievers in order to accept the messages preached by the Prophets and Messengers who had already accomplished their tasks. Why then are these hullabaloos about performing miracles?

As for attaining the status of Sainthood, Imam al-Bukahri in hadeethul Qudsiyy narrated the following: “On the authority of Abu Hurayrah (may Allah be pleased with him), who said: “the Messenger of Allah (SAW) said: “Allah (mighty and sublime be He) said: “Whoever shows enmity to someone devoted to Me, I shall be at war with him. My servant draws not near to Me with anything more loved by Me than the religious duties I have enjoined upon him, and my servant will continue to draw near to Me with supererogatory works so that I shall love him. When I love him, I am his hearing with which he hears, his seeing with which he sees, his hand with which he strikes and his foot with which he walks. Were he to request (something) from Me, I would surely give him and were he to ask Me for refuge, I would surely grant him it.

I do not hesitate about anything as much as I hesitate about (seizing) the soul of My faithful servant: he hates death and I

hate hurting him.”

This sound Hadeeth hopefully will correct the wrong impression of some, who believe that to attain the post of Wilaayah (Sainthood), one must keep himself in isolation for a number of days, months, or even years chanting some ambiguous hems after which he may start performing mysterious acts which ostensibly would look like miracles, whereas it is a mere magic being facilitated for him by the agents of devil with whom he had reached a compromise during the period he was in seclusion.

Another dangerous zone which Islam seriously frowns at because of the risk involved, yet some people out of ignorance or stubbornness take it with levity is the act of soothsaying as well as patronising the soothsayers. It is dangerous because the soothsayers by implication equate themselves with Allah, the Almighty, Who in many places in the Quran emphasises that it is only He Who absolutely possesses the knowledge of the unseen. Allah says: “Allah! With Him (alone) is the knowledge of the hour, He sends down the rain, and knows that which is in the womb. No person knows what he will earn tomorrow and no person knows in what land he will die. Verily, Allah is All-Knower, All-Aware.” Quran 31:34.

The Prophet (SAW) said: “whoever consulted a soothsayer seeking for the knowledge of unseen and then believed in what he was told, such person would as a result of that, forfeit the reward of his salaat (daily prayers) for forty days.

The primary duty of an Islamic scholar towards Muslims is to invite them to the way of Allah by explaining to them what should be done and what should be avoided, based solely on the Quran and teachings of Prophet Muhammad (SAW).

They should distance themselves from what will make them fall into the wrath of Allah, all in an attempt to impress people through fortunetelling or performing magic. Bearing in mind the commendation of Allah for the Muslim Ummah when He said: “You are the best of peoples ever raised up for mankind; you enjoin Al-Ma’ruf (goodness) and forbid Al-Munkar (evil deeds), and you believe in Allah.” Quran 3:110.

O Allah! Show us the truth as reality and grant us the ability to follow it and show us the falsehood as a lie, and grant us the ability to refrain from it.

May the peace and blessing of Allah be upon His Messenger (SAW), His household, the companions, and all those who follow their path till the Day of Judgment.

• Sheikh Ibrahimd Oladejo Raji, Imaam Kosemani Jum’ah Mosque, off Iwo Ibadan Road, by Adetoro Shopping Complex, Mercyland Area, Dada Estate Osogbo, Osun State. irajoladejo1951@gmail.com

News

Rumpus In O’Ambulance As Workers Wage War Against Management

By Ismaeel Uthman

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ARAMEDICS, nurses and drivers working with Osun Ambulance Service (O’Ambulance) have protested what they described as selfishness and wickedness of the General Manager of the agency, Dr. Olusegun Babatunde and the Matron of the outfit, Mrs. Rasheedat Alao.

The workers who spoke with OSUN DEFENDER yesterday accused both Babatunde and Alao of mismanagement and actions capable of grounding the effectiveness of the agency.

However, Babatunde, in a swift reaction, said the workers were only being mischievous and allergic to positive changes effected to make each and everyone of them efficient and accountable for medical materials and vehicles in their custody.

Babatunde said the fortification of the agency, aimed at curbing absenteeism, fraud, laziness and indiscipline, which were the order of the day among the paramedics and drivers, was the reason why they were mak-

•They Are Allergic To Change, Discipline - GM ing frivolous allegations against him and the matron.

Part of the allegations levelled against Babatunde was ‘arbitrary cancellation of ambulance units and indiscriminate posting of staff to nonindigenous areas, which was a convention in the agency, stating that each local government is entitled to an ambulance with workers from that particular area.

They alleged Babatunde of unjustly sacking any of the workers who did not report to her duty post where she was posted, while the government would continue to pay the salary of such person to the account of the agency unknowing that he or she has been sacked.

Babatunde was also accused of forcing the O’Ambulance staff to open another salary account with a new generation bank apart from the one they originally submitted to the government, disclosing such has resulted into delay in the

payment of their salaries by more than two weeks every month.

He was also alleged of disengaging female paramedics who got pregnant in the service, even as he did not make replacements them.

The workers alleged Babatunde of reducing the litres of fuel required for each of the ambulance, while they accused the matron of collecting money given to them as ‘gift’ by any of the families of patient they assisted.

However, Babatunde, the General Manager of the agency, dismissed all the allegations, saying that the workers were out to blackmail him and the matron because of their efforts in checkmating their (workers) fraudulent and indiscipline activities.

Babatunde said: “My first assignment is to curb indiscipline, which was about 99% as at that time. Most of the vehicles and ambulances were completely mismanaged.

We had to spend a lot of money on repairing them.

There was no discipline and commitment to work at all.

“Initially, when they (paramedics and drivers) were employed, they were to work for three weeks and have a week break but later, it was changed it to just a week work and three weeks break. Even at that, most of them don’t go to work, especially those who have their units in their areas of residence.

Those who work are the ones in Osogbo and those posted to busy highways.

“We discovered that most of them were into other government empowerment schemes like O’YES, NPOWER, etc. We fished those people out and disengaged them. We put a lot in places and part of which is the creation of an External Monitoring Team that will go to all our units three times a week to check whether our staff are there and to also look at the conditions of our ambulances.

“There is a rule that for anyone to leave his duty post, he or she must

inform his supervisor and anybody who fail to do so, N5, 000 will be deducted from his or salary and if that occurred three times, the person will be suspended without getting any salary.

“This is just to make them conform and we are getting results but they were not happy about it. To curb absenteeism, we secured free accommodation in every local government with the aim of posting people outside their indigenous area and we achieved that but they don’t like it at all.

“They were told from the beginning that a pregnant woman cannot work with us and even if the lady was not pregnant before he joined us, once she is pregnant, we have to disengage her because there is no place in the world where a pregnant woman will be doing an emergency service. However, she is free to come back after she delivered and could work without bringing her child to duty.

“They only work for just a week in a month and most of them will even not want to come to work! They just want to be receiving salaries. We have some of them engaging outsiders to cover up for them when duty calls.

We found out that some of them have left the agency but refused to report to us. Such people, as discovered, had negotiated with other workers to be covering for them and be paid N5, 000. It was bad as that.

“They could not account for medical consumables in their custody.

We discovered that some of them go home with remnants of consumables in their custody after their duty. Those are the things we were correcting that made them to be blackmailing us.

“We don’t owe them salaries. Their salaries are being paid regularly with the civil servants’. With what we are putting in place, O’Ambulance is now more efficient. You can ask people around.”

PEOPLE FIRST

Sports

FRIDAY, APRIL 16 - THURSDAY, APRIL 22, 2021

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Osun United Management Lifts Suspension On Coaches, Player Slavia’s Kúdela Banned For 10 Games Stories by Ismaeel Uthman

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HE management of Osun United has lifted the suspension it placed on the team’s Head Coach, Bright Omokaro and two of his assistants, Bayo Adesina and Wole Animasahun, as

well as a player, Olusola Akilapa.

The decision to lift the suspension was taken on Wednesday, April 14, 2021 after the management meeting which held at the Osogbo Township Stadium to review the club’s performance

Fury Vs Joshua fight May Be Announced This Week

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HE date for the anticipated fight between Tyson Fury and Anthony Joshua might be announced this week.

Fury had said the date for the ‘hugely anticipated fight’ should be formally announced this week.

After more than a year of speculation about where and when the fight will take place, the duo’s camps have still yet to finalise the details for the undisputed world heavyweight title clash.

Joshua and Fury are hoping to fight twice in 2021, with Saudi Arabia emerging as the front runner Despite suggesting there was a rapidly approaching deadline to get the deal made, Fury told Behind the Gloves that fans can expect an announcement soon.

He said: “I think it will 100 per cent happen, one million per cent happen, and I think we are going to know within the next couple of days who, what, where and when.

“I’m pretty confident this fight is going to get made in the next few days because, from what I have heard, there are some big players involved and some big offers come in from very rich people and very rich countries. So I am sure that they are going to be good offers.

“I’m very excited to finally get this fight and make it happen,” he added. “I know that he wants the fight and I want the fight.

“We are just going to get it on and give each other a good hiding; he’s going to try and punch my head in, I’m going to try and punch

his head in and we are going to lay it all on the line for the boxing fans and for sport in general.

“This is the biggest sporting moment, I believe, in my generation.

I was just about to say you’ve got two undefeated heavyweights, champions of the world going at it.

“But I can’t say that, because there is only one undefeated world champion and that is me. But he has got his belts back so there are two world heavyweight champions, from Britain, going head-to-head in a mammoth fight.

“We are both at the top of our game; we are both in the prime of our lives. This isn’t like when Lewis fought Tyson, when they were both past their best and both at the end of their careers.

after the mid-season break declared by the Nigeria Football League (NFL).

Recall that the trio was suspended on April 6, 2021 due to the club’s poor run of form while Olusola Akilapa’s case was hinged on gross indiscipline.

The management, while lifting the suspension charged the coaches to be up and doing and take the ‘Omoluabi Giants’ back to the winning form when the league resumes next weekend.

By UEFA For ‘Racist Behaviour’

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HE Union of European Football Association (UEFA), has handed a 10-game ban to Slavia Prague defender, Ondřej Kúdela, for racially abusing a Glasgow Rangers’ player during a Europa League match.

UEFA found Kúdela guilty of racially abusing Rangers’ midfielder, Glen Kamara on March 18.

The ban means that Kudela will miss the rest of Slavia’s Europa League campaign and the Czech Republic’s games at the

•Joshua and Fury

European Championship.

The Czechs begin their Euro 2020 programme in June against Scotland in Glasgow.

It’s claimed Kúdela made racist comments in Kamara’s ear during the Europa League game at Ibrox Stadium last month.

Though Kúdela acknowledged swearing at Kamara, he denied using racist language that another Rangers’ player also claimed to have heard.

Kamara reacted angrily to the remarks and was banned for three matches for assaulting Kúdela.

UEFA said Kúdela’s ban would apply to “club and representative team competition matches.” A 10-game ban is the minimum for racial abuse in UEFA’s disciplinary code.

Kúdela, Slavia and the Czech Soccer Federation can appeal against the ban, first to UEFA and then the Court of Arbitration for Sport.

Kúdela was provisionally suspended from Slavia’s game against Arsenal last week, which means he has nine more games of the ban left to serve in UEFA competitions.

News

Why We Established N1bn Company In Ile-Ife- Oba Oladele

By Our Reporter

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HE Adagba of Iyanfoworogi, Oba Adetayo Oladele, has explained the rationale behind the establishment of a N1bn company, Ife Heritage Investment Company, in Ile-Ife. According to Oladele, who is the Chairman of the company, it was established to empower youth through job creation and give back to the community.

He stated this on Monday at the official launch of the company in Iyanfoworogi, Ife East Local Government Area of the State of Osun.

The traditional ruler stated that Ife indigenes in the Diaspora decided to set up the company in order to make life easy

for their people and for development of their immediate communities.

Oba Oladele said: “We were thinking of how we can give back to the communities and make life easy for our people. Our people in America and some of others in London that are Ife indigenes sat down and said that there are ways that we can contribute to our communities. So, we came up with this initiative.

“We chose Iyanforowogi as the pilot place. We are still going to other areas but because I am the Adagba of Iyanforowogi, it is always good to start from where you know the terrain and that is why we are starting here.

“Our major focus is on agriculture and our goal is not only to plant and

sell, we want to plant and be processing. We want to have industries that will be processing all those things. We want it in a big and commercial quantity so that we can site some industries that will be able to process those things.

“We are not limiting it to this place but throughout the State of Osun and possibly, to other parts of Nigeria as we are being led”.

The company’s interim Chairman, Mr. Niyi Murele, said they were working hand-in-hand with farmers in the community in order to scale up their (the farmers’) productivity.

Murele said: “Ife is an agro-allied economic environment and mechanised farming is not there.

What we are bringing as a company is capital, technology and entrepreneurship. We are going to col-

laborate with the farmers so that they can actually scale up their productivity for the benefit of the communities”.

Dr. Tunde Faleye, who represented the Chief of Staff to Osun State Governor, Dr. Charles Akinola, said the company is aligning with one of the programmes of the State Government.

Faleye added that he was elated because the company would empower the youth and project Iyanforowogi, Ile-Ife and State of Osun to the world.

Also speaking, the representative of Nigeria Incentive-Based Risk Sharing System for Agricultural Lending (NIRSAL), Engr. Akin Ibiyemi, said that NIRSAL is ready to collaborate with Ife Heritage Investment Company because of its interest in agriculture.

OSPOLY Mgt. Gives Ultimatum On Tuition Fee Payment

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HE management of Osun State Polytechnic, Iree has asked the newly admitted students into National Diploma and Higher National Diploma to pay their tuition fees before Friday, April 30, 2021, in order not forfeit their admission.

A Nl0, 000 late payment fee would be imposed on HND II students who fail to pay their fee before the ultimatum lapses, according to a statement signed by Mr. Obafemi Okediya, Bursar of the institution.

The management noted that the returning students, especially those in HND ll, have not been paying their

fees.

According to the statement: “The management hereby gives all HND II students up to Friday, 30th of April, 2021 to pay the approved fees, as penalty fee of N10,000 shall be imposed for late payment with effect from date.

“The management observed the nonchalant attitude of the newly admitted students into programmes in ND I and HND I towards the payment of the approved school fees.

“The affected students are therefore directed to pay the appropriate fees on or before Friday 30th of April, 2021 or forfeit the offer of admission with effect from that date”.

ISSN : 0794 - 8050

FRIDAY, APRIL 16 - THURSDAY, APRIL 22, 2021

VOL. 16 NO 14

www.osundefender.com, email: osundefenderbank@gmail.com

Stay Away From Osun, Govt.

Warns Seditious Group, Suspends 3 Principals Page 5

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E have sufficiently established in the previous edition that the greatest contribution a man can make to humanity is to leave his society better than he met it. One of the greatest vehicles to delivering this goal is innovation, science and technology. Innovation is thinking outside the box to proffering solution to problems. Barrack Obama defines it as “the creation of something that improves the way we live our lives.” Jaff Dance says “It is something fresh (new, original or improved) that creates value.”

Therefore, a government will hunt for talents and encourage innovation from its people in all areas of life so as to make life better for everyone which should be the target of a responsible government. Interestingly, we have numerous talents, innovators and innovations that have been wasting away.

Where is Dr. Jeremiah Abalaka from Kogi State today? This man, in 1999, developed HIV vaccine that can cure HIV. Instead of government via its agencies like NAFDAC to assess the claim and give it clearance for use if its efficacy is confirmed or support him for further research on it if the claim could not be confirmed, the man was unduly intimidated and persecuted. Since that 1999, there has not been any HIV vaccine trial whether in Nigeria or from the Queen’s country.

Although Dr. Abalaka is not a microbiologist or pathologist, he is a surgeon with immunology training, which is the fundamental knowledge in vaccine discovery. It thus seems that there are guidelines and big money involved that anybody from underdeveloped world cannot conceive the idea of vaccine and that only those in the developed world could do and experiment with the population of the developing world. These powerful people seem to be bribing their way to compromise our innovation and development.

Despite absence of advanced technology, our medical practitioners have been performing wonders. Just to mention two cases of many. They have successfully separated conjoined twins. In 2005, conjoined twins were successfully separated at Obafemi Awolowo University Teaching Hospital in Ile-Ife; in 2019, conjoined twins at chest and abdomen were separated by a 78-member team at the National Hospital in Abuja.

We have had many innovations from researchers in the last period but without any clear support from the government to improve their inventions. In 2016, two teenagers, Gboho Ajiyen and Ayoola Olaolu from Delta and Oyo State respectively designed and produced a mini-aircraft that could fly for about 3,000 to 4,000 miles above the sea level and covering a distance of about five to six kilometres.

Dr. Ogbonnaya Onu who was the Minister of Science and Technology (still the incumbent Minister) with the staff of the Ministry witnessed the demonstration of performance of the aircraft at the Eagle Square in Abuja. It is instructive to note that Ajiyen neither had formal education nor boarded aircraft in his life; his personal research and commitment produced the effort. This is a further testimony to a call for review of our education curriculum.

Since 2017, a self taught inventor, Kehinde Durojaiye also known as Kenny Jet, invented a jet car that can run on land, sea

Killing Our Dreams and in the air - “an aero-amphibious jet is the most spectacular invention of the car”- that has the capacity to move 120 20th Century, because it has connected kilometres per hour on land and at least nations together and shown us unseen six knots on the sea. perspectives of earth Kenny Jet has been a “The ruling elite are posi- which hitherto were keen inventor since tioned to make or kill our hidden. Although the childhood. He has internet has made the made four prototype collective dream to make world a small place, cars from discarded our society a better place. air travel realistimaterials like wood made the world Their own dream seems to cally and plastic. smaller by reducing David Opateyibo be antithetical to our col- times of travels from built Nigeria first lo- lective dream; hence, their months to hours. As cally-made drone in matter of fact, aviabehavioural ation Lagos, which could be retrogressive propelled impeused for security sur- pattern to our dream” tus movement to the veillance, aerial phomoon; development tography and videography and broadcast- of space rocket; provision of satellites, ining. His drone could fly fifteen minutes in ternet, navigating system in the cars and the air with altitude of 2,000 feet purely phones with knowledge and information made of locally fabricated materials. How about the world. many shall we mention? Of all invenIf we had had a serious government tions and discoveries, airplane, arguably, committed to growth and development,

STRIKER

these youngsters would have been encouraged and supported. Their innovation could have taken us far away from rolling on barber chair to outer space with accompanied development in all areas of life which would have provided avalanche of jobs for the teeming populace and a better life for common people. It would have brought us into international limelight as an actor to reckon with in Africa.

Since 1999 (22 yrs ago), if the government had encouraged and supported Abalaka and his likes, perhaps, our medicine could have favourably competed internationally as more medical practitioners like him would have been encouraged into invention. But the ruling elite don’t have a stake in Nigeria medical system. Whenever they are sick, they jet out for medical treatment. As at the time of putting this piece together, our President is yet to return from the United Kingdom where he is gone for medical vacation since March 30, 2021. Meanwhile, members of the National Association of Resident Doctors are just resuming from weeklong strike because of salaries owed by government and for upward review of hazard allowance, among other issues.

Since they are at the helms of our affairs, the ruling elite are positioned to make or kill our collective dream to make our society a better place. Their own dream seems to be antithetical to our collective dream; hence, their retrogressive behavioural pattern to our dream. After all, when the chips are down, they have multiple visas to Europe and America; only the poor people will suffer as they have no place to go.

Striker is not the opinion of the Columnist featured above

The Toxic Shortcuts To Power

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HE Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) SouthWest Zone Election Convention has come and gone, typical of almost every convention by major parties. In order to understand why we are stuck with the mentality of winning at all cost, except fair and square, we must journey back to pre-independence times.

In 1914, the Northern and Southern Protectorates of the River Niger Areas were amalgamated into a single political entity, a country, by the British “owners,” but in the late 1950s the original owners of the land were ready, after significant struggles, for self-rule and independence. Following a few earlier attempts at constituting inclusive governments through elections, the outgoing Britons realized they must leave behind an Electoral Act that govern elections in a multi-ethnic amalgam of large and small groups to forestall domination, oppression and injustice that may lead to the doom of the artificial contraption.

So, in 1958, they proclaimed an Order-InCouncil which became our first Electoral Act, so to speak. It created an Electoral Commission, Voters’ Card, and more importantly, Electoral Offenses ahead of the 1959 elections to be based on Universal Adult Suffrage. Smartly and significantly, they upheld that any person in politics caught committing electoral offenses, and proven so, will be banned along with his party in that locality from future contest for 5 years - a tough deterrence indeed.

By 1960, we were free as an Independent country and the next election will be ours to independently conduct. To demonstrate independent capacity we needed to amend the electoral act

inherited, which we did with the 1961 Electoral Transition Provision Act, the 1962 Electoral Act and the 1964 Electoral Amendment Act. What really did we amend? We maintained virtually all that the colonial masters left us but cancelled the 5 years ban and replaced it with fines, having created an elections petition body.

All parties in existence then, and all politicians, at least on record, agreed to that! From inception, therefore, there had been the unholy communion and believe by every political clique in its capacity to somehow find a way around the rules, aware that fines can easily be paid even when caught in the act and proven, and thereafter, game on again!

Population Census is thereby manipulated, money inducement and thugs deployed, unwanted politicians on the stage framed up or eliminated outright, and all the stuffs that the Afrobeat legend eventually summed up as “demonstration of craze” in his immortal classics, “Teacher, Don’t Teach Me Nonsense.” What then happened? In summary, Civil War! It is a confirmed experience of life that only an insignificant number of shortcuts really lead to happy endings; the majority becomes long journeys filled with trials and tribulations on the fast road to nowhere. In the end, you have to find your way back and take the correct road to the desired destination, with all the feared but surmountable challenges.

Democracy is a surrender of a significant amount of personal liberties by citizens to an elected few to organise society in such a manner that it guarantees the greatest good to the greatest majority. That surrender is meaningful only to the

extent that the rule of law and separations of powers lead to governance that upholds equal rights and justice firstly, then through participatory involvement leads to improved welfare of citizens in all social and economic parameters.

Organising a system to put that kind of government in place through popular will has, however, become a mirage for almost all African countries, particularly our beloved Nigeria. The failure begins from putting a political party, with a noble, developmental manifesto on the basis of progressive ideals in place, and getting it led by men of vision and integrity who are ready to follow the rules. Power-mongers for selfish and clique interests with no sense of social responsibility but with many “ways and means” usually gather, fully aware and ready to exploit the climate of mass poverty and ignorance, to form a “party,” and then proceed without any intention of following the political rules of engagement.

This is a political culture that will lead us nowhere but to ruination. Democracy is all about rules, intra-party, inter-party and into the larger society. Although the electoral processes has been cleaned up significantly (from voters register to result announcement) and may even advance further in cleanliness into full electronic voting, we will always have setbacks unless the main actors, politicians, go through a rebirth, abandon their undying love for cutting corners with their crude accumulation of wealth and embrace playing according to the rules. Deploying thugs and political violence in the process of choosing those to serve society is not only a contradiction but damning indictment of anti-people disposition and base values of majority of our ruling elites across board.

Osun DEFENDER is published by Moremi Publishing House Limited, Promise Point Building, Opposite Guaranty Trust Bank (GTB), Gbongan Road, Osogbo, State of Osun.

All correspondence to the Deputy Editor, ISMAEEL UTHMAN, Telephone: 0805-121-2204, usmanismail001@yahoo.com. ISSN: 0794-8050.

Website: www.osundefender.com Email: osundefenderbank@gmail.com, osundefemder@yahoo.com