Osun defender, october 2, 2016 edition

www.osundefender.org SUNDAY, SEPTEMBER 02, 2016

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Front Page Comment

VOL. 11. NO.093

N100

The Innovator Gets A Deserved Award

THE confirment of the award of most innovative governor in Nigeria on Ogbeni Rauf Aregbesola, governor of the state of Osun, is certainly well deserved. It's also like making a statement of the obvious.

Aregbesola, wears several hats. For brevity, you can emphasise his slimming down the costs of the machinery of government, in order to redirect the impact of government from consump-

tion to production. This thrust alone, which was unfashionable at the time, was in itself innovative. It certainly set the tone for the path-breaking, innovative policies we have seen in the state of Osun

since he took over.

The conventional wisdom has long regarded Aregbesola as the "Symbol of an Alternative Perspective". This highlights his innovative approach

to policy issues and implementation. Much of what he has done has been out-of- the- box and certainly well ahead of his time. In addition, if imitation is the sincerest

form of flattery, Aregbesola has certainly won his spurs as a path breaking innovator. Policy initiatives first conceived and implemented in the Continued on page 5

Osun Assembly Insists On Joint LAUTECH Ownership

- Pg 3

Akande: Obasanjo-led FG Killed Bola Ige - See Story On Page 2

•Mr Godwin Obaseki (in glasses) and some All Progressives Congress (APC) members celebrating Obaseki’s victory as the winner of 2016 Edo State governorship election on Thursday.

Osun Govt. Committed To People’s Welfare - Aregbesola

- Pg 4

OSUN DEFENDER Sunday, October 2, 2016

News

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Obasanjo-led FG Killed Bola Ige - Akande

By ISMAEEL UTHMAN IFTEEN years after the former Minister of Justice and Attorney General of the Federation, Chief Bola Ige, was killed, his death has continued to vibrate in the politics and political circle of Nigeria, as his killers are yet to be apprehended.

In the most recent death, the first Interim comment on Ige’s National Chairman of

the All Progressives Congress (APC), Chief Adebisi Akande, has disclosed that the former governor of old Oyo State was killed by President Olusegun Obasanjo-led Federal Government.

Chief Akande, in an

interview with OSUN DEFENDER on Friday, said the Federal Government under the leadership of President Obasanjo then killed Bola Ige. The former governor of Osun State said: “Bola Ige was killed by

the Federal Government of that time. He was killed in Oyo State, not in Osun State. If he (Bola Ige) had been in Osun State, he would not have been killed. “ F e d e r a l Government of that

By SHINAABUBAKAR OLITICIANS have been urged to make the welfare of the electorate a priority, rather than pursuing personal gains.

He said the This was disclosed by the Guest Speaker at electorate have faith in promises of the 60th birthday the celebration of Alhaji politicians which are Fatai Oyedele, Ustaz the reasons behind their M u s b a u d e e n trust in the ballot box.

The speaker warned Orimadegun, last the elites of an Monday in Osogbo.

imminent revolution by the masses should the biting hardship continues as its current rate.

He charged Nigerians to cut spending on parties and focus on training their children, saying education is the best

legacy they can give their wards and prepare them for leadership challenges.

The polytechnic lecturer further called on the youths to be resourceful and focus their energy on p r o d u c t i v e endeavours, rather than

involving in social vices.

While praying for the state to come out stronger from its present challenges, Imam Lere Yusuf urged elites in the state to work together to ensure its development.

Extolling the virtues of the celebrant, the Olupasi of Ipasi, Oba Ezeikel Alaba Oludare, said he is always after the success of others and pushed everyone hard towards success.

He described the celebrant as an upright man who is very blunt and brilliant.

The event was attended by numerous indigenes and residents of the state across party lines including royal fathers, political bigwigs, captains of industries and allies of the celebrant.

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Make Masses' Welfare A Priority, Cleric Urges Politicians

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time killed Bola Ige and I said it loud; I wrote it in papers and I said it all the time. It was Obasanjo’s government that killed Bola Ige. “I wouldn’t know the result of what led to his killing because a week before Bola Ige was killed, he was attending Obasanjo’s wife chieftainship ceremony in Ile-Ife when he was about to be killed the first time but because of the good security in Osun State, that was why he escaped death and got killed in Ibadan, Oyo state.

“Maybe the powers that be were afraid of their own shadow and they were afraid of the popularity of Bola Ige among the Yoruba people.

“The government happened to be his killer; we know that, only we don’t know the instrument they used.

We have not been able to identify the instruments the government used.

When the government wants to kill you today, they will just kill you and nobody will know.

They have all the arsenal of killing,” Chief Akande reiterated.

Aregbesola Congratulates APC Over Edo Poll: Says PDP Remains Rejected By Nigerians

•President Muhammadu Buhari (2nd right) presenting gift to Indian Vice President, Honourable Mohammad Hamid Ansari (left), while Vice President, Professor Yemi Osinbajo (right), watches during Ansari’s courtesy visit to the President at the State House, Abuja last Thursday.

Aregbesola, Akande In Good Terms - Wale Lasisi T

By OBARAYESE SIKIRU HE Chairman, State of Osun Civil Service Commission, Alhaji Wale Lasisi, has described the rumour of discord between Governor Rauf Aregbesola and the former governor of the state, Chief Bisi Akande, as a mere dream, which exist only in the minds of the mischief makers.

Lasisi, who is a cannot fight him,” during chieftain of the ruling-All a recent visit to him, Lasisi Progressives Congress said the speculation of (APC), disclosed this in crisis between the duo an interview after the was a lie.

On the other hand, he meeting of the party in the newly-created Osogbo commended Governor South Local Council A r e g b e s o l a ’ s Development Area at in administration for its Isale-Osun, Osogbo, commitment towards recently. ensuring that Osun The absence of Chief becomes the leading light Akande at the recently- regardless of economic celebrated 25th challenges.

Stressing that Anniversary of the has creation of Osun and Aregbesola most especially, during introduced several novel the visit of President ideas to all sectors of Muhammadu Buhari, has governance in the state triggered the rumours of within the last five and bickering between half years, he said several Aregbesola and Akande. other state governments Quoting Chief Akande have been using the state as saying, “Governor as a reference point.

He specifically Aregbesola is my son, he cannot fight me and I mentioned the massive

infrastructural development that Governor Aregbesola has embarked upon, saying the administration’s effort has given the state a facelift.

The APC leader also identified several other novel ideas in the education sector, which include the the school feeding programme, popularly called O’MEAL, the introduction of Opon Imo and construction of gigantic school structures across the state among others.

He maintained that it was these novel ideas that propelled President Buhari to recommend similar things for other states to emulate during his visit to the state recently.

Alhaji Lasisi, who also urged Nigerians to be more patient with President Buhari’s administration in his efforts to actualise its

change agenda, said, for any change to come, it would require sacrifice by the players in the project.

Sympathising with Nigeria for the pains being currently experienced, he expressed optimism that very soon, the gains of the pains would begin to manifest.

PUBLIC NOTICE This is to inform members of the public that OGUNRINU ABIODUN OPEYEMI, is the same person as OGUNRINU ALIMOTADEKEMI, now wish to be called and addressed as OGUNRINU ALIMOT ADEKEMI. All former documents remain valid. ECO Bank and general public should take note.

Change Of Name I, formerly known as OSUOLALE JULIET, now wish to be called and addressed as MRS NASIRU JULIET IBHALUHO. All former documents remain valid.

General public should take note.

By KEHINDEAYANTUNJI OVERNOR Rauf Aregbesola of the State of Osun, on Thursday evening, congratulated the All Progressives Congress (APC) over the outcome of the governorship election in Edo State.

In a message of goodwill to the winner of the poll, Mr. Godwin Obaseki, and brought Nigeria, it is the APC, Aregbesola said evident the rescue the final result of the mission is on course, no what the election was not matter s u r p r i s i n g , naysayers say.

“Nigerians have given Nigerians’ conviction that the APC rejected PDP and that is has offered quality and final,” he said.

Aregbesola, while selfless leadership at all strata where it is in welcoming Obaseki to the fold, said he must be control.

“Victory was not determined to ensure of his unexpected for the only fulfillment party that has proved promised programmes for the people. beyond doubt that selfless “This is the hallmark of service to the people is weapon to kill and bury our party and we political parties that therefore congratulate our promote selfishness, people in Edo for voting greed, self- for continuity. Good aggrandizement and governance, we are will elevates kleptocracy as a confident, only continue,” the state policy.

“As bad as the PDP governor emphasised.

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Change Of Name I, formerly known as EPELLUS AGAIHA IBITORU, now wish to be called and addressed as MRS ALABI AGATHA IBITORU. All former documents remain valid. General public should take note.

PUBLIC NOTICE This is to inform members of the public that ONI FOLASADE, is the same person as M I C H E A L FOLASADE. All former documents remain valid.

General public should take note.

News

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OSUN DEFENDER Sunday, October 2, 2016

Oyo Council Boss Advocates Attitudinal Change T Nigeria At 56:

By ISMAEEL UTHMAN HE Chairman, Ibadan North-West Caretaker Committee Chairman, Dr Wasiu Olatubosun, has advocated for attitudinal change by Nigerians for the progress, unity and development Nigeria by her citizens, of Nigeria.

Dr Olatunbosun, who said there is need for all bemoaned what he Nigerians to imbibe the described as negative and ‘Change Begins with Me’ unpleasant perception of project of President

Muhammadu Buhari.

According to Dr Olatunbosun, the ‘unpatriotic attitudes’ of some Nigerians are responsible for the slow pace of development of the country and her dented image among the comity of nations.

The council boss stated

this recently during an interview session with journalists in Ibadan, Oyo State capital, in commemoration of the 56th anniversary of Nigeria’s independence.

Dr Olatunbosun, who is a political analyst, said there is greater hope for the country, adding that the country has witnessed tremendous political development, despite the problems she

encountered at the initial stage.

He stated that Nigeria is a great country blessed with good people of impeccable characters who can pilot the country to greater heights.

On Nigeria’s economic recession, Dr Olatunbosun stated that all states of the federation must key into the proactive steps of President Buhari to

Economic Recession Would Not Last Forever - PDP Chieftain A

edifice, while tracing

By KEHINDEAYANTUNJI Agriculture during the others. st The 1 Vice President the genesis of the of federal commissioner in the National administration OSMC, Alhaji secretariat complex.

Olagunsoye of Population Commission (NPC) and a Prince He also used the Olawuyi, chieftain of the Peoples Democratic Party Oyinlola, Mr Kunle Mustafa (PDP) in the State of Osun, Honourable Lere Alao; Minority leader stressed the need for opportunity to invite all Muslims to the all to put hands on deck Oyewumi, has stated that the current economic of Osun State House of Assembly, Mr Safiriyu to ensure an early activities marking the recession would soon be over. among completion of the new Islamic Calendar, for Akinwale He stated this as the Commissioner 1438 AH. Guest of Honour at the 6th internal launching of the State of Osun Muslim Community, (OSMC) Secretariat Complex, Surulere Area, off Ring Road, Osogbo recently.

Oyewumi said it is the lessons we learn from the economic challenges that matters and not the present hardship we are going through.

The former Executive Chairman of Irewole Local Government Council Area of the state admonished people to learn to rely •NYSC members at a polling booth, preparing for 2016 governorship election in Edo State last Wednesday. on themselves, rather than depend on government.

He admonished people to get themselves engaged meaningfully, so that lessons gained would be invaluable later.

OVERNOR Rauf Aregbesola of the State of 56th Independence Constitution of the He stressed the fact Osun has granted amnesty to six inmates Anniversary of the Federal Republic of that he has however, serving various jail terms in Ilesa Prison, country.

Nigeria 1999 (as promised to respond to “Pursuant to the amended), has graciously the call of Allah Kirikiri Maximum Prison, Lagos and Ibara, Abeokuta Advisory Council on advice and granted amnesty to the whenever he is called Federal prisons.

Information about the Prerogative of Mercy, on recommendations of the following inmates,” upon to do so.

Thursday in Osogbo, the pardon was contained in State Advisory Council Adeniji noted.

“I honoured this on Prerogative of Mercy, He listed the names to invitation at short a statement issued by Mr state capital.

Adeniji stated that the Governor Rauf include Ayodeji notice because I have Adedapo Adeniji, the governor granted the State Director of Public Aregbesola, in exercising Olatunbosun (Ilesa decided to give out amnesty in Prosecution and his powers under Section Prison), Alfa Mukaila part of whatever Allah commemoration of the Secretary to the State 212(1)(a) of the Salawu, Dayo Ilesanmi has given me,” he asserted.

The PDP chieftain also launched the magazine published by that the HE State of Osun House of Assembly has LAUTECH and asked ensure OSMC, Osun Muslims. are insisted that there was no going back on them “to vacate” the perpetrators He co-ordinated the institution until arrested and brought the joint ownership of Ladoke Akintola donation and donated security agencies later to book, warning University of Technology (LAUTECH) by Osun generously towards the against completion of the and Oyo states which started since the restored peace to the politicians politicising the secretariat and the sale institution was established in 1990 during the school.

Meanwhile, the LAUTECH crisis. of the quarterly old Oyo State. that gave birth to the Academic Staff Union In a related A member of the magazine. of Universities development, the Besides the retinue House representing Ife joint ownership.

Bamisayemi warned (ASUU), Ibadan Zone, Police Public Relations of his aides, Oyewumi South and Chairman, against violation of the on Wednesday Officer in Oyo State was accompanied to the House Committee on of the condemned invasion of Command, Adekunle event by an erstwhile Education, Honourable judgment

by Ajisebutu, told Chairman of PDP in the Folorunso Bamisayemi, Supreme Court of LAUTECH journalists that the State, Alhaji Gani Ola- told LAUTECH staff March 26, 2012 and suspected thugs. recalled that the apex One Dr. Osunbade, command has restored Oluwa, and a former during a House of to the Assembly session in court had held that the said to be a lecturer in normalcy Change Of Name Osogbo, that the university was and the institution and a campus, while police always be native of Oyo, was have started attempt by Oyo to would I, formerly known as disengage Osun from jointly owned by both reportedly attacked by investigation into the MISS ADEROUNMU states. the thugs who mistook incident.

O L U WAT O Y I N the joint ownership of He insisted that Oyo him for a native of ESTHER, now wish to be “We have provided the institution, could not Osun State because of adequate called and addressed as security following allegation of alone unilaterally lay claim to MRS IDOWU ‘Osun’ prefix in his around the university the state’s failure to pay sole ownership of the O L U WAT O Y I N name. to forestall any its counterpart funding, ESTHER. All former Zonal Coordinator of breakdown of law and was tantamount to a institution. documents remain valid.

On Tuesday, thugs ASUU, Dr Ade order. There is no cause betrayal of the spirit of General public should attacked Adejumo, however, for alarm,” he said. communal relationship allegedly take note.

Osun indigenes in asked the police to

restructure the country’s economy and generate more income for the country through agriculture.

Dr Olatunbosun disclosed that Oyo State government has embraced the diversification of economic programme, as it has commenced an agricultural programme tagged: ‘Agric Oyo’ aimed at providing food, generating more income and creating more employment.

This, according to him, would complement President Buhari’s effort aimed at ensuring that life is more meaningful and abundant for the people of the country.

He also advocated for team work among the three arms of government in formulating and implementing policies that would bring out the country from the current economic hardship.

The council boss expressed his optimism that Nigeria will soon overcome her challenges and be a country of pride for her citizens.

Dr Olatunbosun maintained that the task of moving the country forward cannot be left to the government alone, hence the need for people to contribute their quota to the development of the country.

Aregbesola Grants Amnesty To 6 Inmates In Celebration Of Nigeria's Independence G Osun Assembly Insists On Joint LAUTECH Ownership T

and Ojo Adeye (Kirikiri Maximum Prison, Lagos).

Others were Tunde Adegoke and Sgt. Adam Baruwa (Ibara Prison, Abeokuta).

A pardon is a government decision to allow a person who has been convicted of a crime, to be free and absolved of that conviction, as if never convicted.

Today, pardons are granted in many countries, when individuals have demonstrated that they have fulfilled their debt to society, or are otherwise considered to be deserving.

Pardons are sometimes offered to persons who are wrongfully convicted or who claim they have been wrongfully convicted.

In some jurisdictions, accepting such a pardon implicitly constitutes an admission of guilt, even though cases of wrongful conviction are nowadays more often dealt with by appeal than by pardon.

However, a pardon is sometimes offered, when innocence is undisputed to avoid the cost of retrial and clemency plays an important role, when capital punishment is applied.

News

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OSUN DEFENDER Sunday, October 2, 2016

College Workers' Union Demands Removal Of Governing Council Chair T

By KAZEEM MOHAMMED HE crisis rocking the College of Education, IlaOrangun in the State of Osun has seems to reach its top gear, as the workers unions of the institution have insisted on the removal of its Governing Council Chairman, Mr Niyi Akande for peace to reign. impunity.

In a chat with OSUN “It may interest you to DEFENDER, the note that out of Secretary, Colleges of vindictiveness, Mr Education Academic Staff Akande came up with the Union (COEASU), list of 72 disengaged staff, Comrade Bidemi which is the highest in Adeboye, accused the the four state-owned council chairman of tertiary institutions. being the originator of the When you see the list, it crisis. contains the name of The college has been union leaders, because he engulfed with crisis was not pleased with the between the Governing way we are agitating that Council and management the college should be run on one side and workers’ in a better and democratic union of the college on the way. other side over what the “Also, there are issues union called, financial of financial h i g h - h a n d e d n e s s , mismanagement in the miscarriage of justice and institution. Mr Akande administrative impunity. claims he sleeps in Ila The COEASU where the highest hotel Secretary, who claimed to accomodation is N5,000. be speaking for the As we speak today, and academic and non- ever since 2013, he had academic staff, as well as been collecting N15,000 senior staff unions of the per night, despite the fact institution said, there he is an indigene of Ilamight not be peace in the Orangun, where he has institution until the his personal house, and council chairman is his brother’s house, removed. where he sleeps He identified occassionally. indiscriminate “He has also been appointment of principal claiming flight ticket officers of the college since 2013 without any without following the evidence that he has been laid-down rules and taking flight from Abuja to procedure for such Ila-Orangun because the a p p o i n t m e n t s , college procured a brand disengagement of some new Toyota Avensis Car labour union leaders out for him and each time he of vindictiveness and is coming to Ila, he comes mismanagement of the with this vehicle. college finances, which “At a particular point should have been used in time, he claimed that he for its upliftment, as some planted flowers at the of the issues in perimeter fence of the contention. college with N5 million, He said: “We have been but no flower was on the neck of the planted. The college runs government by way of a guest house, where he appeal to draw the also claimed to plant N1.5 attention to the issue of million flowers, but financial highhandedness, miscarriage nothing was planted.

“There are some of justice and administrative impunity ventures that the college runs, but he removed the as we have been witnessing in the State administration of those College of Education, Ila- ventures from the purview of the Orangun.

“Our governing council management and instead chairman has arrogated gave it to his friends and to himself so much power, cronies under the guise of Private one of which is the Public appointment of principal Partnership. Under this arrangement, only the officers without following due processes. college put 100 per cent “For instance, the investment, the partners current Provost was are sleeping partners; single-handedly brought they do not contribute by the chairman from anything, yet, they share Babcock University the proceeds with the without being part of an college,” he fumed.

Accusing the Provost, interview process for the appointment of a Professor Isaac Oyewole, of complicity on the substantive provost and he did not even submit issues, Adeboye said the provost had forged the any application.

“The same way, signature of the College recently, he went to Registrar and wrote a LAUTECH to import a phantom petition against Level 11 officer as a union leaders that they Principal Accountant to wanted to kidnap Mr the college, made him the Registrar and set his Bursar and within two house ablaze in Ilaweeks, placed him on Orangun community.

Noting the the crisis in Grade Level 15. Before then, we were having four the college revolves principal accountants, round the governing who by virtue of council chairman, he experience and years of said: “We have said service are far above the unequivocally that Mr one brought. This is Governor and the House purely an administrative should please relieve him of the responsibility of the

college, more so that his tenure had lapsed in June, in line with the college edict, which provides three-year tenure for council chairman”.

“If he continues to be there, there will continue to be injustice and where there is injustice, there

will be chaos.

“We are ready to shift grounds where necessary, but if at all Mr governor will not do for us anything, he should help us remove Mr Niyi Akande and there will be peace on that campus,” he insisted.

Meanwhile, the Provost, Professor Oyewole said the allegations raised by the unions were unfounded, saying that there are documents to show all the activities of the college.

“If there are allegations, they have to

be proven and we are waiting for the allegations to be proven.

“The allegations have gone beyond this level to the higher authority and we will know precisely if they are true or not,” he said.

Osun Govt. Committed To People’s Welfare - Aregbesola G

OVERNOR Rauf Aregbesola of the State by mere emotions. lives. of Osun has reiterated that his “The question should “The answer lies with administration will continue to adopt be: Are the people who our people and we new approaches to meet the yearnings and are at the centre of it all know they are with us aspirations of the having their hopes on this journey to total a lot to do to educate restored and having redemption,” people of the state. the Aregbesola made the and not to be swayed meanings for their governor said. commitment recently in a statement issued by his media aide, Mr Semiu Okanlawon, in Osogbo, the state capital.

According to the governor, his administration would continue to pursue policies and programmes that would enhance people’s welfare and good governance in the state.

“I have reasons to tell the people of the state and others who care to listen at the inception of •A cross section of voters queuing at Ovia North East Ward 9, Edo State, during the just my administration that concluded election in Edo State.

I will run an unusual government.

“We knew that for us to deliver on good governance, which we promised our people, we must be ready to Haram insurgency in the

By KEHINDEAYANTUNJI break the rules.

Eastern part of the N advocate of peace, Mr Olaniyi Ajibola, on North “We consciously country, and the frantic Friday, has called for national harmony as efforts of the military to designed our Nigeria clocks 56. with harmonious co- curtail militancy in the programmes and Ajibola, who is the existence.

Niger Delta are policies to be different Executive Director of According to him, the commendable and from the norms. for journey of 56 years as a laudable.

“We were convinced Advocacy Advancement of nation-state should be The peace advocate that many of the Peace and Harmony in enough to unite all however enjoined existing approaches to Africa Initiative interests and form a political leaders to be governance had left our (ADAPHAI), said: “Only formidable entity. accountable and people in poverty, national harmony will In his words; “No responsive at all times in ignorance, diseases and sustain Nigeria.” nation survives order not to provoke hopelessness.

He maintained that economically and enjoys violent resentment from “But no one wanted despite the cultural stable political system the citizenry and by to rock the boat for plurality and diverse without sustainable implication, polarise the fear of what the people s o c i o - p o l i t i c a l harmony with aggregated nation.

He also made case would say. backgrounds, the country interests.

“But we were could still build a virile Ajibola averred that the for entrenchment of spirit of patriotism and national convinced that, though and indivisible nation technical defeat of Book interest on the part of the the decisions might be people, saying the painful to take, we country needs the needed to be cooperation of Nigerians courageous to take to survive many of her them if they would inchallenges. turn bring our people “As we are celebrating HE Federal Government has declared Monday out of their the 56th year of our as public holiday to mark the nation’s 56th existence as nation-state, predicaments.” independence anniversary celebration. we should be conscious According to the The Minister of Interior, Monday, 3rd October, of those factors that will governor, the approach sustain us at all fronts. is now paying off, six Lt Gen. Abdulrahman 2016 as public holiday.

“Obviously, there is A statement signed by years after it was Dambazau (retd.), who for national made the declaration on the Secretary to the State need adopted. harmony, where every “We have proved behalf of the Federal Government of Osun, interest is aggregated through our strategic G o v e r n m e n t , Alhaji Moshood Adeoti, and articulated for approach that though congratulated Nigerians explained that the common goals and is in painful, the courage at home and abroad on holiday aspirations. with which we have the commemoration of commemoration of the “It is instructive to taken the decisions and this year’s independence Islamic New Year, Hijrah know that no nation 1438( 1438 AH). driven our anniversary. survives and attain While advising the enviable political and He assured them that development agenda have been embraced by the government was residents of the state to economic condition with working assiduously to take advantage of the unaggregated interests our people. put in place “various remaining working days “Some of our actions palliative measures to in the week to transact and polarised system.

“I am optimistic that have been portrayed in cushion the effects of the their essential businesses, our country will the negatives by a current economic Alhaji Moshood Adeoti definitely surmount the section of the populace challenges.” wishes all Islamic faithful present socio-economic, if that are not yet in-tune In the same vein, and the entire residents of all hands are on deck for with the unusual ways. Government of the State of the state a happy Hijrah turn-around,” Ajibola “But the media have Osun has declared celebration. stressed.

Nigeria At 56: Peace Advocate

Calls For National Harmony A

FG, Osun Declare Monday As Independence, Hijrah Holiday

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OSUN DEFENDER Sunday, October 2, 2016

The Innovator Gets A Deserved Award Contiuned from page 1

state of Osun are now being imitated in other states and at federal level.

A good endearing example is the much lauded free school meals programme. This commendable initiative has been a game changer. It has increased school enrolment and kept the children of the poor in schools. It has induced healthy bodies to accompany the training of good minds. It has also created sustainable employment and increased production and wages in the rural e c o n o m y .

It is really not that surprising that the Kaduna state government is now implementing the same programme.

It is also now a federal government programme. Futhermore, we are all aware of the innovative Opon Imo

tablets, the technological aid for school children. Again this has been widely lauded and applauded.

Aregbesola has for long periods seen the procedure of government as not necessarily been stulified by bureaucracy. Government he has demonstrated can be smart, devoid of red tape, innovative and even entrepreneurial. In his many policy thrusts he has actually in a positive way re-invented many of the processes of government. Greater effectiveness has e n s u r e d .

Aregbesola has been a gift to the redefinition of government. In doing so he has been at the forefront of reinstituting the concept of the social contract binding the obligatory relation-

Cartoon

ships between government and the governed. History will always remember him as using the prism of an alternative perspective to bring government closer to the people.

This greatly merited award is just another confirmation of this and is richly deserved. No doubt more is yet to come.

Like we have always maintained Aregbesola's policies and programmes deserve to be emulated at the uppermost level of governance in our country. And we are happy that the progressive government at the centre now is coming to terms with us in this respect. Far from being an exaggeration and without any fear of contradiction we still strongly believe that the policies be-

ing churned out by Ogbeni in the state of Osun are about the best in the contemporary democratic arrangement. To break away from the usual tokenist governance of the past years we must embrace Ogbeni's principles of governance. This is necessary if we are to get out of the cocoon of underdevelopment into which the past governments of this country have plunged us.

OSUN DEFENDER Publisher

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HEALTH

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OSUN DEFENDER Sunday, October 2, 2016

How To Get Your Period Back I

T can be quite frustrating if you are trying to get pregnant, yet have no period. Having a healthy cycle is step one for boosting your fertility naturally and being able to get pregnant. There are a myriad of reasons your cycle may be irregular such as stress, dietary deficiencies, low body weight, getting off of birth control pills, hormonal imbalance, perimenopause or other underlying issues.

Since the lining of the uterus is not being shed, it is very important to clear out the old blood and establish a healthy cycle again. This can be done naturally and effectively with herbs and nutrition. I have talked with many clients who have been offered synthetic estrogen to get their period going again… taking synthetic estrogen for this issue is like using a sledge hammer on a thumb tack.

Absent Period… Otherwise Known as Amenorrhea Absent period is known as amenorrhea. Amenorrhea is divided into two distinct groups: primary amenorrhea and secondary amenorrhea.

Secondary amenorrhea being the most common.

Note: Absent menstrual cycles due to perimenopause and menopause are not considered amenorrhea.

Primary Amenorrhea Defined as the absence of menstruation by the age of 14 with no secondary sexual characteristics, or the absence of menstruation by the age of 16 regardless of secondary sexual characteristics. Examples of secondary sexual characteristics in women are enlargement of breasts, widening of hips, armpit, pubic and leg hair and body odor. Primary amenorrhea is uncommon, happening in about only 0.3% of women.

Often natural therapies do not work as well for women with primary amenorrhea because there is usually an underlying developmental issue for those women. In the case of primary amenorrhea, it may be best to find a reproductive endocrinologist to work with. We are not saying natural therapies and herbs will not work for primary amenorrhea, just that this condition is more difficult to work with. It is still very beneficial to eat well and choose healthy lifestyle practices.

Secondary amenorrhea Defined as the absence of menstruation for the total of at least 3 previous menstrual cycle lengths, or at least 6 months in a woman who previously had a menstrual cycle and is still in her reproductive years.

Reproductive years are defined as menarche, when a woman begins her menstrual cycle in puberty until menopause around the ages of 4055. Secondary amenorrhea is more common than primary amenorrhea.

Causes of Absent Period A menstrual cycle that has stopped is not a disease, it may be a sign that there is an underlying imbalance in the body. A regular menstrual cycle is regulated by a complex system of messages and actions orchestrated by the endocrine system. The endocrine glands work together to send messages via hormones. This is called the feedback loop.

In very simple terms the hypothalamus produces GnRH

(gonadotrophin-releasing hormones) which signals to the pituitary to produce LH (luteinising hormones) and FSH (follicle stimulating hormone) to signal to the ovaries that it is their turn to release estrogen and progesterone which is recognized by the pituitary gland.

Simple right? Not so. As you can see a healthy cycle is dependent on each part of the feedback loop functioning properly. Think of it as an orchestra, if just one part of the cycle is off, it will throw the entire cycle off, causing imbalances that can affect regular menstrual cycles.

Nutritional Deficiencies Sometimes the body is not getting enough nutrition daily to be able to sustain normal functions, including the menstrual cycle. There are many very important nutrients the body requires to maintain a healthy menstrual cycle. Nutritional deficiencies can actually cause menstrual cycle irregularities and eventually may cause the entire cycle to stop.

What you eat daily makes up every part of your body. You are what you eat!

EARN how to eat a healthy whole food fertility diet!

Harvard performed a recent study that showed an 80% decrease in infertility with the lifestyle changes made by switching to a fertility diet. Women who followed a combination of five or more lifestyle factors, including changing specific aspects of their diets, experienced more than 80 percent less relative risk of infertility due to ovulatory disorders compared to women who engaged in none of the factors, according to a paper published in the Nov. 1 issue of Obstetrics & Gynecology.

Eating a wide variety of whole foods is vital to a healthy menstrual cycle. The body relies on the foods we consume daily to function at its best. There are key nutrients and foods that support a healthy menstrual cycle, if any of these are lacking there may be a deficiency that may be contributing to an absent period. Be sure you are getting enough of the following…

Iron: Studies have shown that women who do not get sufficient amounts of iron may suffer anovulation (lack of ovulation) and possibly poor egg health, which can inhibit pregnancy at a rate 60% higher than those with sufficient iron stores in their blood (J. Curr. Res. Aca. Rev., 2014). Foods rich in iron are divided into two groups heme and nonheme. This simply means it comes

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from an animal source or a nonanimal source. Heme iron sources are grass fed, free range organic bison, chicken, eggs, elk, beef and wild caught Alaskan salmon.

Nonheme iron rich foods include blackstrap molasses, pumpkin and sunflower seeds, beans, nettles, amaranth, dark leafy greens, Turkish apricots (unsulphured), seaweed, and quinoa.

“In a study women who were having ovulation problems, 40% became fertile after supplementing with iron.”

ITAMIN C: Vitamin C improves hormone levels and increases fertility in women.

The body requires food sources of vitamin C for proper iron absorption, so be sure to eat a food high in vitamin C when consuming a food high in iron. Great food sources of vitamin C are red bell peppers, oranges, strawberries and hibiscus flower tea.

B Vitamins: Green vegetables are rich in B vitamins which are necessary for proper hormonal balance. Think of Swiss chard, kale, watercress, seaweed, spirulina, collard greens, nettles, parsley and basil!

Essential fatty acids: EFA’s are important for hormone production.

Many women are low in EFA’s, specifically omega 3. Some foods rich in EFA’s are flaxseeds, walnuts, salmon, sardines, halibut, shrimp, snapper, scallops, chia seeds and cod liver oil.

Cholesterol: Cholesterol is necessary for hormone production.

Avoid eating a ‘low-fat’ diet and make sure to eat a diet that includes whole fat animal products sourced from grass-fed animals. Foods rich in clean cholesterol: grass-fed beef, raw milk from grass-fed cows or goats, whole milk yogurt and kefir, free-range/pastured eggs, butter from grass-fed milk (Kerry Gold is a common one) and coconut oil.

Fiber: Fiber helps to remove excess hormones from the body which may be causing hormonal imbalance. Fiber also helps to regulate the blood sugar levels which helps to reduce fertility issues such as PCOS, immunological issues, and promotes healthy hormonal balance.

Some examples of high fiber foods are fresh fruits, vegetables, dark leafy greens, and beans.

Zinc: This is just one of the minerals that the body uses to keep hormone levels (like estrogen, progesterone and testosterone) stable throughout the entire menstrual cycle. A woman’s body needs a certain amount of zinc to

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produce mature eggs that are ripe for fertilization. The richest source of Zinc are oysters, raw pumpkin seeds, sesame seeds and tahini a.k.a. sesame seed butter.

A great way to support the body in getting all the necessary nutrients it needs daily is to take a whole food multivitamin. Including a whole food multivitamin, along with eating a fertility diet are the first steps in getting your period back!

Being Overweight or Underweight There is a direct link between anovulation and obesity. Body fat cells, called adipocytes produce estrogen. Obese women may have too much estrogen due to too much body fat. Women who are underweight may also have anovulation due to lack of body fat.

There may not be enough estrogen or adequate cholesterol levels being maintained to support the menstrual cycle. Studies have shown that women with extreme exercise habits have significantly lower levels of estradiol due to low levels of body fat in key areas of the body, leading to anovulation.

Estrogen is essential for healthy bone formation, healthy gene expression, maintaining healthy cholesterol levels, and is vital for a healthy menstrual cycle. Too much estrogen, or too little in the body may cause the feedback loop to not function properly and the menstrual cycle may cease. Now you can see why it is so important to have adequate amounts of body fat; not too much and not too little!

PCOS OLYCYSTIC ovarian syndrome, sometimes also called polycystic ovarian dysfunction is the most common endocrine disorder in women of reproductive age. There are two distinct and consistent features of PCOS: absent period or inconsistent menstrual cycles and hyperandrogenism (the body is producing too many androgens, the most common one being testosterone).

Stress Stress may cause the body to stop the menstrual cycle. Stress causes the body to release stress hormones like cortisol and adrenalin that prevent our fertility hormones from being released at the correct times in the menstrual cycle. This can cause a disruption in the menstrual cycle by affecting how the adrenal glands function. Reducing stress and supporting adrenal health is essential to a healthy menstrual cycle and is a relatively easy fix for healthy fertility. The adrenal glands also directly impact thyroid health.

Thyroid issues Poor thyroid function may cause the menstrual cycle to stop. An overactive thyroid that produces too many thyroid hormones is called Hyperthyroidism. Hypothyroidism is when the thyroid is underactive and does not produce enough thyroid hormones. An absent menstrual cycle is a sign of hyperthyroidism, where irregular or heavy cycles may be a sign of hypothyroidism. Learn more about the importance of thyroid function

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•To be continued.

FOR THE RECORD

57

OSUN DEFENDER Sunday, October 2, 2016

Open Letter To Ahmed Asiwaju Bola Tinubu

My dear Asiwaju, am compelled to write this open letter to you because of the state of affairs of the Yoruba nation. Firstly, I wish to acknowledge that fate has put you in a prime position to determine to a large extent the direction that the Yoruba people will go. The indisputable truth is that one may quarrel with your politics but your sagacity is never in doubt. Even those who don’t see eye to eye with you agree that you are imbued with unusual native intelligence, uncommon people skills and unrivaled foresight.

You, more than any other person, have been the gamechanger since the advent of democracy in 1999. It is for these reasons that I have chosen to direct this letter to you.

My singular purpose is to tug at the strings of your heart. I am not writing to appeal to partisan considerations but to see, if per chance, I can pour out my heart to you in a manner of speaking. God has blessed you even beyond your wildest imagination.

You have installed Senators and Governors. You have removed Governors and even a President. You have also installed a President. There is nothing you have wished for or desired that you didn’t get.

Fortune has smiled on you.

Goodwill follows you everywhere you go. You have done very well, more than most men ever will. However, there is one area that is begging for your urgent attention. This area may well define you and all you have ever achieved.

This matter, in my opinion, is the only difference between you and the late sage, Chief Obafemi Awolowo. Let me restate for the purpose of emphasis that this is the area in which the late sage and Leader of the Yorubas stand head and shoulders above you.

It is the reason his name has been a constant denominator in our regional and national politics. It is the reason politicians, friends and foes invoke his name for political advantage and personal glory.

It is also the reason why we can’t stop talking about him almost thirty years after his death. What will anyone say about you thirty years after you have transited?

Asiwaju Sir, you may be wondering what I’m talking about? It is the issue of legacy.

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epitome to a rich history that Ibadan has. The most serious and only notable Yoruba entrepreneur we have now is Michael Adenuga. I say this quite consciously because most of the other names are oil and gas barons. Most of what stood as testaments of industry in Oyo State are gone; Exide Batteries, Leyland Autos and many others. In its place are shopping malls and road-side markets but no nation develops through buying and selling alone; especially when you’re not actually producing what you’re selling.

YPERMARKETS and supermarkets have taken over because of the need to feed our insatiable consumer-appetite and foreign tastes. In one instance, an ancient landmark in the form of a hotel was demolished to pave way for a mall. That is how low we have sunk. If our past is better than our present; if we always look back with nostalgia frequently, then there is a problem.

The case of other states is not different. Osun’s case is pathetic. Ditto for Ondo and Ekiti. Ogun State can boast of some factories at Sango-Otta and Agbara axis but most of them are not owned by the Yorubas. There is no significant pharmaceutical company owned by any Yoruba except for Bond Chemicals in Awe, Oyo State and its wallet share is very insignificant. For Lagos State, more than 70% of the manufacturing concerns and major industries in the state are owned by the Igbos. If the Igbos were to stop paying tax in Lagos State, the IGR of Lagos State will reduce by over 60%.

In contrast, Sir, go to the South East and look at the manufacturing concerns in Onitsha, Aba and Nnewi.

Please don’t forget those were areas ravaged by civil war a mere forty something years ago. The Igbos have certainly made tremendous progress but the Yoruba nation has regressed. I wish to state that this letter is not meant to whip up primordial considerations or ethnic sentiments but just to put things in proper perspective.

Asiwaju, I will like to also talk about the state of education in the Yoruba nation. Our education has gone to the dogs.

We have a bunch of mis-

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•TINUBU ByADEYINKAADEBAYO

According to Peter Strople; ‘Legacy is not leaving something for people, it is leaving something in people’.

Legacy is building something that outlives you. Legacy is greater than currency. In the words of Leonard Sweet; ‘ What you do is your history. What you set in motion is your legacy’. You can’t live forever, Sir. No one can. But you can create something that will.

Enough of speaking in parables- I shall now speak plainly.

HEN destiny brought you on the scene, we were enamoured because you championed the case for true federalism. It was your belief then that the Yoruba nation will fare better under a restructured arrangement than under the type of unitary government we run while pretending by calling it a Federal Government. Everyone knows that there is nothing federal about our government at all. If truth must be told, the Yoruba nation has fared very badly since the advent of our new democracy. And this is not about holding power at the centre.

Let me bring this home: someone passed a comment recently that he would want Biafra to become a reality because he knows the Igbo nation will survive. That comment led me to deeper introspection as I wondered if the Yorubas can truly survive.

Let me cite my first example.

From Oyo to Osun, Ogun to Ondo, Ekiti to Kwara and Lagos, hardly will one see any

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serious industry or manufacturing concern owned by a Yoruba person. I am not talking about portfolio businesses or one-man business concerns. Most industries in Oyo State are owned by the Lebanese. The native business and industry gurus who dominated the landscape; Nathaniel Idowu, Amos Adegoke, Lekan Salami, Alao Arisekola, Adeola Odutola, Jimoh Odutola, Chief Theophilus Adediran Oni and others, are all gone with no credible replacements. I’m sure you remember the tyre factory of the Odutolas and how Jimoh Odutola was even asked by the Governments of Kenya and Ghana to set up a similar factory in their countries. Chief Theophilus Adediran Oni, popularly called T.A Oni & Sons started the first indigenous construction company in Nigeria. He willed his residence; Goodwill House, to the Oyo/Western state government, to be used as a Paediatric Hospital, which is now known as T.A Oni Memorial Children Hospital at Ring Road in Ibadan. This sprawling family estate and residence was cited on a 15acre piece of land, 65 rooms, with modern conveniences, Olympic Swimming Pool and stable for horses, etc.

PEOPLE like Chief Bode Akindele started companies like Standard Breweries and Dr Pepper Soft drink factory at Alomaja in Ibadan. Broking House built by the late Femi Johnson, an insurance magnate, still stands glittering in the mid-day sun as an

•Continued on page 12

PHOTOTALK

8

OSUN DEFENDER Sunday, October 2, 2016

2016 Governorship Election In Edo State Last Wednesday.

•Edo State Governor, Adams Oshiomhole casting his vote.

•Governor-elect, Godwin Obaseki casting his vote.

•A cross section of security men at a polling unit.

PHOTOTALK

59

OSUN DEFENDER Sunday, October 2, 2016

Federal Executive Council Meeting In Abuja Last Wednesday.

•(From Right) President Muhammadu Buhari; his Deputy, Professor Yemi Osinbajo; Secretary to Government of the Federation, Babachir Lawal; Chief of Staff, Abba Kyari and Head of Service, Mrs Winifred Oyo-Ita.

•Minister for Power, Works and Housing, Babatunde Fashola (left); Minister for Solid Minerals, Dr Kayode Fayemi (right) and other minister in a discussion.

•Some of the ministers discussing after the FEC meeting.

FEATURE

10

OSUN DEFENDER Sunday, October 2, 2016

The LAUTECH Saga: A Betrayal Of Yoruba (Omoluabi) Spirit Of Oneness And Decency By Ogbomoso Community

Brief History of LAUTECH ADOKE Akintola University of Technology (LAUTECH) was established in 1990 by the then Government of the old Oyo State.

Shortly after the university was established, State of Osun was carved out of old Oyo State in 1991.

The options opened to the State of Osun then were: 1. To leave the ownership of the university to the new Oyo State, just like we left every other immovable properties that fell within the geographical domain of the new Oyo State.

2. Invite the Federal Government to take over the university just like it happened between Enugu and Anambra states in the case of Nnamdi Azikwe University.

3. Agree to jointly own the university with the new Oyo State to save the university from premature death, the institution being less than one year old as at the time the State of Osun was created.

Consumed by the spirit of oneness and integration of Yoruba nation, our fore runners and leaders in the State of Osun widely chose the third option.

As a result of this fundamental and patriotic decision, Ladoke Akintola Uninversity of Technology continued in 1991 to be a joint property of both Oyo State and the State of Osun and has remained so till date.

The issues at stake now: It is important that we make clear the issues at stake and not confuse them as the people of Ogbomoso area of Oyo state will want.

The fundamentals of the LAUTECH saga are two clear and distinct issues, which must be addressed and resolved separately.

They are: 1. The non-payment of subventions recently by both Oyo State and State of Osun.

Before we go into this important issue, permit me to state very clearly on behalf of the State Government of Osun that we regret our inability to pay our own share of subventions over the last couple of months.

It is unfortunate and unintended. It is a collateral fall out of the financial challenges that all states, including the State of Osun, have been encountering for about two years now. As a result of this circumstance, we have regrettably been unable to pay our core civil servants the way we would have loved to and subvent even our own university.

We will therefore like to reassure our people in Oyo State and Ogbomoso area in particular that we as a state are committed to our obligations to LAUTECH and the Governor is working tirelessly to ensure that we redeem our pledge to pay part of our outstanding subvention as soon as our financial

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situation can bear it.

Having said this, we also need to debunk the wicked rumour that we are funding Osun State University to the detriment of LAUTECH – this is false, as the State Government of Osun has not given a kobo in subvention to Osun State University over the last six years and the institution has been selfsustaining and running smoothly on its internally generated revenue.

S far as the issue of payment of subvention is concerned, it is important that we set the record straight and state unequivocally that the State of Osun has been a responsible partner all through the twenty six years of existence of the institution.

The followings are facts which nobody can controvert: i. The State of Osun has fully, consistently and timeously met her obligations to LAUTECH over the last 25 years out of the twenty six years of the university existence.

Inability to pay over the last one year was due to national economic problem, which equally affects Oyo State. ii. In 2010, when the university needed the partners (Osun and Oyo) to inject N900,000,000:00 (Nine Hundred Million Naira) each for the payment of monetization and personal allowances of workers, it was only the State of Osun that paid her own share of N900,000,000:00 (Nine Hundred Million Naira). Oyo State has not paid her own share of N900,000,000:00 (Nine Hundred Million Naira) till date, which was borrowed from Skye Bank PLC and eventually paid back with the IGR

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of the university which belong to the two owner states. iii. The statute setting up the university recognises only one Teaching Hospital and situates it in Osogbo.

Oyo State has consistently refused to contribute a Kobo to the sustenance of this Teaching Hospital since the Akala government set up the illegal Teaching Hospital in Ogbomoso. It may interest fair minded observers to know that the State of Osun singularly maintains this facility with a monthly N200 million.

N the same vein, the State of Osun has invested close to N2 billion on capital projects in the Teaching Hospital, while Oyo State was busy investing in a parallel but illegal Teaching Hospital unknown to the law that established the University.

ISSUE TWO The obscene and perfidious effort

by Ogbomoso community to unilaterally take over LAUTECH and push the State of Osun out of the joint ownership, after investing equally in the project for almost 26 years.

We honestly want to believe that the unconscionable attempt to take over the ownership of LAUTECH by every means possible is being orchestrated by only the Ogbomoso community, which erroneously think that it owns the college but not the entire good people of Oyo State, who are our kith and kin.

The university was sited in Ogbomoso on the basis of trust by the other communities in the old Oyo State.

The unscrupulous attempt to betray the trust and convert the university to Ogbomoso community

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owned university did not start recently and predated the current financial travails bedeviling the polity, culminating in our inability to meet our obligations to LAUTECH and other institutions of governments.

You will recall how, beginning from 2010, Governor Alao Akala of Oyo State acted out the script written by him on behalf of the Ogbomoso community by using the apparatus of Oyo state government to convert LAUTECH to an institution solely owned ostensibly by Oyo State but in reality Ogbomoso community.

The then State government of Osun challenged Akala’s illegal attempt in the Supreme Court of Nigeria and in a judgment delivered on 26th day of December, 2012, the apex court held that the university was and will always be jointly owned by Oyo and Osun states and Oyo State alone cannot unilaterally lay claim to sole ownership of the institution.

Having met with failure in the court, the hostile take-over has now been tied to Osun’s financial travails and inability to meet our obligation to LAUTECH, which is a recent issue and which equally affect Oyo State.

It is a big shame that the Oyo State Attorney General is denying the existence of a Supreme Court judgment. With this development, it is clear that some people within the Oyo State government are actually encouraging this criminality.

N the spirit of OMOLUABI, brotherliness and pan-Yoruba nationalism, we have kept quiet even when we have been treated as a junior partner in a joint ownership where we contribute the same amount of subvention year-in-year out for the past 26 years.

The followings are some infractions which ordinarily the State of Osun should have protested about but which we accepted calmly in the spirit of one Yoruba nation and regional integration. a) Seven and a half faculties of the university are located in Ogbomoso, while only a quarter (some say half) of a faculty is located in Osogbo, Stare of Osun. In spite of this obvious lopsidedness, we still contribute equal amount as partners and joint owners. b) The post-graduate school, the pre-degree centre, part-time programme and Centre for Distance Learning are all sited in Ogbomoso. c) The staff ratio is 1100 for Oyo State to 610 for the State of Osun. d) Sixteen (16) TETFUND need assessment projects are in Ogbomoso campus with none in Osogbo.

The people of Ogbomoso and their supporters in Oyo State government are obviously mistaking our maturity for weakness and foolishness. They will soon realise that it is not so.

We do not intend to let go our joint property. We appeal to the leaders of the Yoruba nation to prevail on this mean-spirited people. Their action is a betrayal of trust, outrightly unconscionable and offends our credo of OMOLUABI.

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OPINION

5 11

OSUN DEFENDER Sunday, October 2, 2016

Killing The Local Government System Softly

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N spite of the dwindling revenue, the thirty-six states of the country and Abuja shared 113.5 billion naira in January.

Likewise the 774 local governments shared 85.4 billion naira. Akwa-Ibom had the largest share of 10.7 billion naira followed

by Delta State with 7.3 billion naira and Osun State with 255.2million naira.

On the allocation to local governments, Lagos State scored the highest with 5.4billion naira followed by Kano State with 4.7billion naira while Bayelsa State had the least with 972million naira.

Obio/Akpor local government in Rivers State had the largest share with 156.6million naira. None of the local government in the Federation received less than 60million naira in January.

The question one should ask is how come none of the local governments is unable to implement capital projects in spite of the money they collect. My guess to that question is the same as yours.

The truth is that somegovernors have hijacked the funds of the local and by so doing have crippled the local government system in the country. Unfortunately, some ambiguities in the constitution allowed them to get away with it.

Section 7(1) states that:”The system of local government by democratically elected local government councils is under this constitution guaranteed; and accordingly, the government of every state shall subject to section 8 of this constitution, ensure their existence under a Law which provides for the establishment, structure, composition, finance and function of such councils”.

Yet, section 7(6a) submits that “the National Assembly shall make provisions for statutory allocation of public revenue to Local Government councils in the federation. But the confusion is extended further by section 7(6b) which states that” the House of Assembly of a state shall make provisions for statutory allocation of public revenue to local government councils within the state”. This confusion also resurfaced in section 162(6) where it established the State Joint Local Government Account for the Purpose of payment of “all allocations to the Local Government councils of the State from the account and from the Government of the State”.

In Section 162(7) it directs State Government to pay Local Government councils its total revenue on the terms prescribed by the National Assembly. At the same time, it gives the same power and functions to the State House of Assembly in section 162(8). Further, section 8 (subsections 5 and 6) saddles the National Assembly with some functions before creation of a local government can become legal.

The implication of all the identified contradictions and ambiguities is that it is very difficult to locate constitutionally the locus of power on local government creation. That is the tragic situation we are now.

•OBASANJO

By ERIC TENIOLA

Very sad.

As warned by Comrade Ibrahim KhaleelAdk, National President, Nigeria Union of Local Government Employees(NULGE),at a workshop organized by the Centre For Democracy and Development on October 5, 2012,” it is sad to note that with the level of corrosive abuses and serial violation on the security of Local Government system by the Republic politician in 3 rd Nigeria,Local Government is fast sliding back into the events after the military takeover of 1966 and before the creation of states”.

N 1976, the sub-committee on the economy, finance and division of power of the constitution drafting committee headed by Dr. Pius Okigbo had made the following recommendations. (a) the Federal Government shall, each year, make provision for allocation of funds Local Goverments, (b) such funds shall be passed to State Governments for their Local Governments. It is further recommended that in the Constitution of the States provision be made to make it obligatory that: (a) any monies allocated by the Federal Government to the Local Government in the State shall be passed on by the State Government to the Local Authority; (b) the State Government shall set up a Revenue Allocation Committee analogous to that of the Federal Fiscal Review Commission; (c) the State Government shall take all reasonable measures to ensure that the Local Government within its area has adequate funds to discharge the duties and responsibilities assigned to it under this Constitution.

Other members of the subcommittee are Dr. Y.B. Usman, Dr. S. Osoba, Chief Rasheed Gbadamosi, Dr. O. Oyediran, Dr. Ali Alhakeem, Chief I.I. Murphy, Dr. E. C. Edozien, Professor Sam Aluko and Dr. V.P. Diejomaoh.

Since 1976, the central government has been most concerned about the

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fate of local government in Nigeria.

On August 19, 1976, General Olusegun Obasanjo as the military ruler by then, set up a 10 man panel under the leadership of Baraden Sokoto, Alhaji Ibrahim Dasuki(93) to look into the affairs of the local government with the sole aim of improving the local government system in the country. On May 7 1984, Major General Muhammadu Buhari set up another committee on local government, headed by the same Alhaji Ibrahim Dasuki. The report was submitted in September 1984 but the White Paper was not issued until he was overthrown in 1985.

N May 11, 1986, General Ibrahim Babangida approved the local government reforms as recommended by the Ibrahim Dasuki panel on local government councils.

Those recommendations were far reaching I must confess. That was the situation, until Justice Nikki Tobi-led Constitution Debate Co-ordinating Committee’s recommendations on the ambiguity on local governments formed part of Decree No 24 of May 5, 1999 which was promulgated as the 1999 Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria by General Abdusalam Abubakar.

On assumption in office of 1999, Chief Olusegun Obasanjo set up a committee on the review of the 1999 Constitution. The committee was led

by Chief Clement Ebri,former governor of Cross-Rivers State.The committee’s recommendations as regards local were as follows:(i) Section 7 (1) and (2) be retained so that State Houses of Assembly have powers to legislate on the creation and other necessary powers of the Local Government Councils in the spirit of true federalism; (ii) Section 7 be expanded to take care of the provisions made in this review to ensure the existence and proper function of Local Government Councils; (iii) In line with the call for the security of tenure for elected

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Local Government functionaries, a new provision for qualifications and removal of the Chairman, ViceChairman and Councillors has been recommended as a separate tier of Government within the states; and (iv) In order to strike a balance between the demand by the Local Governments for financial autonomy through direct funding from the Federation Account and the need to ensure financial probity on the part of both the Local Governments and the State Governments, it is recommended that Section 162(5) be amended so that all disbursements to the Local Government go to the State Local Government Joint Account as provided in Section 162(6).

OTHER members of the panel are Dr. Shettima Mustapha, Air Commodore Bernard Banfa(rtd.), Chief Edwin Ume Ezeoke, Alhaji Abdulhamid Hassan, Hon. Barr.

Sunday Kuku Iyakwo, AlhajiIro Dan Musa, Barrister (Mrs.) Iyabode Pam, Alhaji Gambo Moh’d Saleh, Alhaji Isiaku Mohammed, Hajiya Basirat A. Nahibi, Dr. J.C. Odunna, Prince Valentine Ahams, Chief Alani Bankole, Alhaji Umaru Ahmed, Dr. Amos Adepoju, Barrister Mohammed Babangida Umar, Col. Yohann A. Madaki (rtd.), Dr. Stella Dorgu, Dr. Silva Opusunju, Barrister Edward Ashiekaa, Barrister Mika Anache, Barrister Adeniyi Akintola, Dr. Olu Agunloye and Dr. Maxwell Gidado.

OT satisfied, President Obasanjo on June 23, 2003 set up another panel to review the Local Government system. The committee was headed by the then EtsuNupe, Alhaji Umaru Sanda Ndayako (1937-2003), a competent administrator and Chairman of the Niger state council of Traditional Rulers and former member of the Constituent assembly. Other members of the committee were Alhaji Liman Chiroma, Barrister John Ochoga, Professor Godwin Odenigwe, Mr. Augustine UdohEkong, Professor Akin Mabogunje, Senator Tunde Ogbeha, Hon. Austin Okpara, Mrs. Abieyuwa Garba, Mr. Venatius Ikem and Alhaji I.B. Sali as the Secretary. All these committees including the Ahmed Talib Committee, the Oyeyipo Committee and the Dasuki Committee reports, advocated for one thing—direct funding for the local governments.

To me, the 1999 Constitution has been unfair to the local governments.

Now, the National Assembly has embarked on its annual high cost spending ritual—amendment of the Constitution. The most urgent task is to ensure that we amend the constitution so that the funds of the local governments will reach them directly instead of being hijacked by some governors. Efforts must be made to ensure that the local governments function effectively.

It is not in the interest of the central government or that of the state governments that the local government should die. It is not in the interest of anyone for the local government to cease to function.

• Teniola, a former director at the

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Presidency, lives in Lagos.

FEATURE

12

OSUN DEFENDER Sunday, October 2, 2016

Open Letter To Ahmed Asiwaju Bola Tinubu •Continued from page 7

educated and ill-educated young men and women roaming the streets. Ibadan, for instance, had the first University in Nigeria and the first set of research centres in Nigeria (the Forestry Research Institute, the Cocoa Research Institute (CRIN), The Nigerian Cereal Research Institute Moor Plantation (NCRI), the NIHORT (Nigerian Institute of Horticultural Research), the NISER (Nigerian Institute of Social and Economic Research), IAR&T (Institute of Agriculture, Research and Training), amongst several others). Ibadan was the bastion of scholarship with people like Wole Soyinka, JP Clark, D.O Fagunwa and Amos Tutuola as residents. In the May/June 2015 West African Senior Secondary Certificate Examination, Abia came tops.

Anambra came 2nd, while Edo was 3rd. Lagos placed 6th while Osun and Oyo was 29th and 26th.

KITI was 11th, Ondo State was 13th and Ogun State was 19th. In 2013 WASSCE, only Lagos and Ogun States were the Yoruba States above the national average. If we do an analysis of how Lagos placed 6th in 2015, you will discover that it was substantially because of other nationalities resident in Lagos.

For proof, please look no further than the winners of the Spelling Bee competition which has produced One-Day Governors in Lagos State. Since inception in 2001, other nationalities have won the competition six times (Ebuka Anisiobi in 2001, Ovuwhore Etiti in 2002, Abundance Ikechukwu in 2006, Daniel Osunbor in 2008, Akpakpan Iniodu Jones in 2011 and Lilian Ogbuefi in 2012).

SIR, there is something seriously wrong about our state of education. From the vintage times of Obafemi Awolowo, who initiated ‘free education’, we have regressed into a most parlous state.

Let me talk about roads, housing and infrastructure.

The first dualized road in Nigeria, the Queen Elizabeth road from Mokola to Agodi in Ibadan was formally commissioned by Queen Elizabeth in 1956. The first Housing Estate in Nigeria is Bodija Housing Estate (also in Ibadan) which was built in

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machinery;the press. We own largely the newspapers; the Nation, Punch, Nigerian Tribune, TV Continental and a few others. It is because of our control of this information machinery that we have rewritten the narrative in the country with the misguided self-belief that things are normal and we are making progress. A look beyond the surface will prove that this is so untrue.

We are largely divided. For the first time in the history of the Yoruba nation, religion is about to divide us further- and it is starting from Osun State.

You are married to a Christian.

My own father-in-law is an Alhaji.

HAT is how we have peacefully co-existed but the fabrics are about to be torn to shreds because of poor management of issues.

Afenifere has been reduced to a shadow of itself. OPC that once defended Yoruba interests has gone into oblivion. Yoruba elders have been vilified in the name of politics and partisanship. It is no longer news to see teenagers throwing stones at their elders because of their political indoctrination.

Even under the late sage, Chief Obafemi Awolowo, the Yorubas never belonged to just a single party, yet our unity was without blemish. Now, our values have gone down the drain.

Asiwaju, I believe I have said enough. The task is Herculean but I believe Providence has brought you here for such a time like this. It is time for the Yoruba nation to clean up its acts. What do we really want?

How can we quickly right the wrongs? The Yoruba nation is in a state of arrested development. The Yoruba nation is gasping for breath and crying for help. Will you rise up to the occasion? I am aware you understand that all politics is local and charity begins at home. Our fathers gave us a proverb: ‘Bi o’ode o dun, bi igbe ni’gboro ri’. I know there are no quick fixes but I also know that if there is anyone who has the capacity to do something about our current situation, that person is you. This should be the legacy you should think of.

Your legacy is our future.

Yours Very Sincerely, Adebayo Adeyinka Iyin-Ekiti

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•TINUBU

1958. The state of roads in the Yoruba nation has become pathetic. Our hinterland are still largely rural. Even some state capitals like Osogbo and Ado-Ekiti are big villages when you compare them to towns in the South East. How many new estates have been built over the last decade? Even Ajoda New Town lies in ruins.

We have abandoned the farm settlement strategy of the Western Region and only pay lip service to agriculture.

Instead of feeding others like we once did, others now feed us. We plant no tomatoes, no pepper and the basic food that we require. The Indians have bought the large expanse of water body that we have in Onigambari village. The water body in Oke Ogun of Oyo State can provide enough fish to feed the whole of the South West.

From being a major cocoa exporter many years ago, one can point to just a few vestiges of factories that still deal with cocoa in the Yoruba nation.

80% of cocoa-processing industries in the South West have been shut down. The Chinese have taken over the cashew belt at Ogbomoso in Oyo State. They have even edged out the indigenes as brokers. They now come to the cashew belt to buy from the local farmers, sell on the spot to other Chinese exporters, who now process the cashew nuts and import them back into Nigeria at a premium. Sir, there are only 7 major cashew

processing plants in Nigeria and you can check out the ownership. The glory has departed from the Yoruba nation.

PART from Asejire, Ede, Ikere Gorge and Oyan dams built ages ago, where are the new dams to cater for increased population and water capacity for the Yoruba nation? How have we improved on what our heroes past left us? Maybe apart from certain areas in Lagos State, others can’t even supply their citizens with pipe-borne water.

Our youths, which we used to take pride in, are largely a mass of unemployed and unemployable people. Have you noticed the abundance of street urchins, area boys, touts and ‘agberos’ that we now have all across the Yoruba nation?

Have you noticed the swell in the ranks of NURTW (I mean no disrespect to an otherwise noble union)? Have you noticed the increase in the number of Yoruba beggars?

There was a time that it was taboo for a Yoruba man to begbut no more. The spirit of apprenticeship is dead. There was a time that people who learn vocational skills celebrate what we referred to as ‘freedom’. While that is largely moribund now in the Yoruba nation, the Igbos still practice it with great success.

THE only thing we can boldly say the Yoruba nation controls is the information

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51 3

NEWSFEATURE

OSUN DEFENDER Sunday, October 2, 2016

This Way For Editorial Terror?

T HERE is an intriguing paradox in the control mix — of power, authority, legitimacy and influence.

Power barks and growls. Yet, it is the most impotent, of all four, especially when misapplied. Influence, on the other hand, is muted. But when deftly applied, it is the most potent.

Authority and legitimacy, midpoints in the continuum, belong to the realm of delegations.

Authority is the formal seal to wield power, which the ruled invest in the ruler. Legitimacy is the “holding brief”, which the ruled retain, but are content to lend the ruler, until (s)he starts acting outside the agreed brief.

So, what’s this — some Tuesday morning voyage in power philosophy?

No. Just clear though disturbing musing on emotive framing of media investigations, when the subject is safeguarding media power and influence.

The specific object of musing is “Recession: Governors lavish billions of Naira on bulletproof cars for selves, wives,” a story published in the Saturday Punch of September 24.

With all due respect to the conceiving and publishing editors, that was one story that could do with more clinical detachment, against base emotional outpouring.

The culprit, it is clear, is the editors’ failure to distinguish between the legitimate duty of the state to secure whoever is governor; and wayward governors that misapply public funds.

“Pouring editorial fire on crooked politicians”, may well be a laudable tradition with the crusading press, dating back to the evolution of the press, as a social cleanser, in the United States and Europe. But such crusades are driven by facts — hardly on rumours and hearsay.

So, proceeding from a conceptual mix-up to build a sensational reportage on what, at best, even from the story’s offering, was glorified hearsay, borders on nothing but editorial terrorism.

Editorial terrorism abuses public and sacred trust to injure fellow citizens. It is bad for the polity. It is bad for the media. It is bad for everyone in the democratic space.

But why this seeming column excoriation of a rival newspaper? Peer envy, aimed at de-marketing a competitor?

Certainly not.

Abuse of column space, just as Ripples claims the editors did of a sacred trust? Neither!

The reason, however, is simple, even if the chore is unpleasant: to protect a polity and preserve

•AREGBESOLA

By OLAKUNLE ABIMBOLA

a legacy. More presently, on preserving a legacy.

Now, protecting a polity. In February 1976, a certain Murtala Muhammad, then military Head of State, was shot dead in cold blood at Ikoyi, Lagos. Even with the instinct of a callow secondary school boy back then, Ripples scoffed at Murtala’s rashness as an impulsive messiah. But many Nigerians roared their approval.

Forty years down the line, Ripples remains unconvinced — and with good hindsight too!

Indeed, even as Murtala’s tactical manoeuvres elicited roaring approval, they condemned vital institutions of state — especially the civil service — to strategic ruin, still plaguing the polity.

Still, Nigerians back then approved, in their thousands.

So, what then might have happened, had the Murtala government taken Gen. Muhammad’s personal security much more professionally?

Perhaps the brave soldier would not have fallen by Buka Sukar Dimka’s subversive bullets. Perhaps the story of Nigeria would have been entirely different. Perhaps the present ruins would have been averted.

Perhaps …

A thousand perhaps — and to safeguard only one life — whether in prosperity or adversity!

That single fact underscores the conceptual naivety, with all due respect to the editors, of this Saturday Punch story. And the ringing illogic: because hunger rules the land, the state must shirk its duty to its high officials!

Besides, which loyal servant of state would disclose strategic information about its fleet of armoured vehicles?

And with scant any authoritative voice, do you now build your story on the soto voce — a story that clearly attempts to criminalize legitimate security spends, on the altar of cheap populism; and demonize governors, many of whom, even among the mentioned, may well be innocent of the charges?

ALKING of gubernatorial demonization, the case of The Punch versus Osun Governor, Rauf Aregbesola, bobs up again! For the umpteenth time, Aregbesola is leaping off the Punch black books!

Now, is the newspaper in earnest this time round? Or is this yet another example of a disturbing pastime of editorial terrorism, against Aregbesola and his government?

When Osun declared the Islamic New Year as work-free — a lawful and legitimate action by the 1999 Constitution — The Punch, in no time, dubbed the governor a gubernatorial mullah. So did it when ChristianMuslim dispute arose over the hijab, as school uniform complement.

When it was time to demonize a few over the salary crisis — a mere symptom of a grave economic meltdown — the newspaper led the virtual Aregbesola lynch crowd.

Why, even Ben Murray-Bruce, the “common sense” senator from Bayelsa, drove himself into a falsetto, chirping merrily about donating part of his National Assembly bounties to feed starving Osun civil servants!

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Now, it so happens: MurrayBruce’s Bayelsa can’t pay its workers, but good old Benny has lost his sweet voice! Are there no “starving” civil servants in Bayelsa, and shouldn’t charity begin at home?

Still, in the midst of the economic crisis, it is the muchlampooned Osun that sets the pace for others in social and physical infrastructure, a feat seemingly beyond the reach of even oil-rich Bayelsa!

Now, it is the gubernatorial armoured car campaign! But given the story’s watery conception, with all due respect, would it be right to suppose it is yet another mega-garb, for the newspaper’s ready victims of editorial terror, among whom Aregbesola is prime candidate?

But why is even this a columnist’s headache, since Ripples is no spokesperson for any of the governors, even if he is, for the umpteenth time defending Aregbesola’s right to media fairness?

That returns the discourse to preserving a legacy.

INCE 1859, the Nigerian press has earned a reputation for speaking out against any form of oppression, no matter the Leviathan from which it comes.

James Bright Davies, ownereditor of Nigerian Times (later Times of Nigeria) went to prison twice, for crusading against British colonial greed. That was in the 1910s.

Herbert Macaulay leveraged his Lagos News (later Lagos Daily News) as Lagos natives’ bulwark against colonial oppression, in land and water rate affairs, among many other agitations. Its audacity soon earned the newspaper the unflattering elite moniker of “Lagos Daily Rag”! That was in the 1920s.

Much closer, the military era stiff media challenge, against military feudalists, starred the likes of The News, Tell, The Guardian, The Punch itself and National Concord, among others. All these were well acclaimed epochal feats, for which the Nigerian press earned due plaudits.

It is under this rubric of editorial crusading that The Punch may have positioned its armoured car story — no crime!

But to preserve this great legacy, the newspaper must strive at hard facts. Otherwise, it risks chipping away at a reputation, built on patent good faith over 157 years, because of conceptual haziness.

Otherwise, the Nigerian press may well resign itself to thrusting raw power but losing real influence.

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14

OSUN DEFENDER Sunday, October 2, 2016

Job Vacancies In Nigeria Hotel Manager · Lagos, ¦ 60 000 - ¦ 70 000 Per Month · Job Type: Permanent · Sector: Hospitality · Posted by Afmrecruit on Friday, September 30, 2016 · Reference: 2224441 Job Details Employer: Afmrecruit Afm recruit is a recruiting firm based in Lekki phase 1. We are recruiting for a prestigious client of ours who are into hospitality.

SUMMARY: · As an Hotel manager/IT personnel you will be responsible for managing employees and for planning, marketing, coordinating and administering hotel services such as catering and accommodation facilities and at the same time facilitate the growth of the hotel using the internet platform. · You will make sure that the internet connectivity of the hotel is always in check and up and running at all times. Also make sure the smooth running of the hotels computer systems and ensure users gets maximum benefits from them. · Recruiting, training and supervising staff and managing budgets. · The hotel manager/IT officer will have to oversee to the environment orderliness of both staffs and customers. · You will have to maintain the statistical and financial records of the hotel and at the same time installs and configure the computer hardware and software devices. · planning maintenance work, events and room bookings handling customer complaints and queries and talking staff or clients through a series of actions, either face-toface or over the telephone, to help set up systems or resolve issues; · troubleshooting system and network problems and diagnosing and solving hardware or software faults; · providing support, including procedural documentation and relevant reports; · following diagrams and written instructions to repair a fault or set up a system; · supporting the roll out of new applications. · promoting and marketing the business · Ensuring compliance with health and safety legislation and licensing laws Candidate Requirements · The candidate must have B.SC OR HND. · The candidate must have IT experience in hospitality industry · And the candidate must have had a managerial skill in any good and known hospitality industry.

Required Skills cisco switches/routers : 1 year or less computer networking : 1 year or less computer network : 1 year or less Apply before Tuesday, November 29, 2016 - 61 Days left Companies may expire jobs at their own discretion. If you have not received a response within two weeks, your application was most likely unsuccessful. ……………………end………………………..

Food and Beverage Manager · Lagos, ¦ 100 000 Per Month (Negotiable) · Job Type: Permanent · Sector: Hospitality · Posted by SD Human Resources Limited on Friday, September 30, 2016 · Reference: 214228 Job Details Employer: SD Human Resources Limited · In charge of all aspects of the food and beverage operations , including revenues, food costs, budgets, inventories, sanitation and discipline in his department. · Assists with maintaining and improving departmental operating standards. · Manage all Food and Beverages and day-to-day operations within budgeted guidelines and to the highest standards · Preserve excellent levels of internal and external customer service · Design exceptional menus, purchase goods and continuously make necessary improvements · Identify customers’ needs and respond proactively to all of their concerns · Lead Food and Beverage team by training and appraising and motivating talented personnel · Establish targets, KPI’s, schedules, policies and procedures · Provide a two way communication and nurture an ownership environment with emphasis in motivation and teamwork · Comply with all health and safety regulations · Report on management regarding sales results and productivity Candidate Requirements · Culinary school diploma or degree in Food service management, BA, or related field · 3-5 years proven food and beverage management experience · Ability to spot and resolve problems efficiently · Mastery in delegating multiple tasks · Communication and leadership skills · Up to date with food and beverages trends and best practicesGuest oriented and service minded Apply before Friday, October 14, 2016 - 15 Days left Companies may expire jobs at their own discretion. If you have not received a response within two weeks, your application was most likely unsuccessful. ……………………..end……………………..

Pressure Control Region Leader · Cross River, Market Related · Job Type: Permanent · Sector: Admin · Posted by General Electric on Friday, September 30, 2016 · Reference: 214226 Job Details Employer: General Electric GE is the world’s Digital Industrial Company, transforming industry with software-defined machines and solutions that are connected, responsive and predictive. Through our people, leadership development, services, technology and scale, GE delivers better outcomes for global customers by speaking the language of industry.

We are recruiting to fill this position Job Description · Ensure compliance with local laws, together with corporate & customer EHS requirements Develop & implement 3year strategic growth vision for the RegionDevelop, agree & implement annual business plan for the region · Achieve regional operating goals including orders, penetration, revenue, contribution margin, base cost, headcount, operating margin, etc.,. · Define and implement marketing and commercial strategies to increase penetration, orders, sales and profitability · Refine and enhance the region organizational structure including leveraging existing resources to maximize operational performance, customer service and market coverage · Lead services execution to ensure customer and business needs are met, including creating a robust and positive safety, compliance, and quality culture · Develop local talent pipeline within the region Candidate Requirements · Bachelor’s Degree from an accredited college or university. · Minimum of 10 years of experience in operations or sales management with at least 5years in an operations management role · Minimum of 10 years of experience in the oil and gas industry Apply before Wednesday, November 30, 2016 - 62 Days left Companies may expire jobs at their own discretion. If you have not received a response within two weeks, your application was most likely unsuccessful. …………………………end…………………….

Digital and Social Media Manager · Lagos, Market Related · Job Type: Permanent · Sector: Admin

· Posted by British Council Nigeria on Friday, September 30, 2016 · Reference: 214210 Job Details Employer: British Council Nigeria The British Council is the world’s leading cultural relations organization and creates opportunities for people in the UK and worldwide to understand each other, to work together and learn from one another. We see this as crucial to building secure, more prosperous and sustainable futures for us all. We build trust and understanding between different countries and cultures and develop strong international links that are of benefit to people in Britain and the rest of the world.

We are recruiting to fill this position Job Description · Working with all teams, to develop, implement and maintain an imaginative and comprehensive social media presence for selected projects using a wide variety of tools, setting ambitious targets and monitoring success. · Develop and execute plans to increase page views, unique visitors, dwell time and site ‘stickiness’ to encourage repeat usage. · Working with relevant people within teams in the SBU in order to actively contribute to developing and delivering British Council Nigeria’s ‘overarching’ online presence, enhancing our external profile. · To embed these strategies within the culture of the operation and actively support colleagues in using a wide variety of appropriate tools. · Identify and execute engaging online creative directions for British Council’s projects and examination services that will enhance the council’s online presence and drive online engagement metric objectives as identified. · Monitor and identify trends in Nigeria social media, market intelligence and insight to support effective strategies, plans and audience reach · Identify, build relationships and pro-actively engage with influential bloggers, journalists and on-line commentators and media agencies relevant to our work · Working with local and regional digital team to edit and create new content for the relevant British Council’s country pages on the country website with the aim of increasing interactive engagement and audience reach. · Compile monthly reports detailing broadcast, tracking mentions , trends/ engagement levels with analysis of data to inform future online presence and approach · Provide corporate returns as required on our social media / digital reach, channels, audiences and digital engagement figures · Raise profile of relevant British Council Nigeria SBU internally through working with project teams through consistent reporting of BC Nigeria activity on regional intranet, bulletin and other internal media, updating events calendar, information on directorate, office information · Engage in professional networks and continuous professional development to ensure that knowledge and expertise are kept updated. · Ensure that planning, delivery and implementation of managed projects are executed in line with British Council EDI standards Candidate Requirements · University degree in related area and/or post-graduate courses in areas of Marketing, Digital or Social Media · At least two years’ experience in similar role (covering key elements of this job) · Proven success in application of social media for business use Apply before Wednesday, November 30, 2016 - 62 Days left Companies may expire jobs at their own discretion. If you have not received a response within two weeks, your application was most likely unsuccessful. ………………………….end…………………………….

Consultant (Maternal Nutrition Package Development) · Abuja, Market Related · Job Type: Permanent · Sector: Consulting · Posted by Save the Children Nigeria on Friday, September 30, 2016 · Reference: 214207 Job Details Employer: Save the Children Nigeria Save the Children is the leading independent organization for children in need, with programs in over 120 countries, including the United States. We aim to inspire breakthroughs in the way the world treats children, and to achieve immediate and lasting change in their lives by improving their health, education and economic opportunities. In times of acute crisis, we mobilize rapid assistance to help children recover from the effects of war, conflict and natural disasters. Each year, we and our partners reach millions of children in communities around the world. Join our dedicated and diverse staff in their work to improve the wellbeing of children everywhere.

We are recruiting to fill this vacant position Job Description · Review of exiting recipes · Testing of recipes with selected 1,000 days mothers in 2 communities in 2 states · Review of existing recipe books and materials 1,000 days mothers (National & International) · Pre-test of materials during FGDs with 1,000 days mothers for their insight on graphics and step by step cooking process typical to their villages or communities (National Consultant) · Development of Material Nutrition Food demonstration manual for trainers · Development of costed Maternal Recipes cards and nutritional content · Development of pictorial Maternal recipe cards for use in Northern Nigeria · Development of SOP for Maternal Food demonstrations · SBCC training for WINNN team and a local production team on producing videos for maternal recipes · Development of a step by step cooking process for video production which will include but not limited to the steps of process preparation of the dish combining important WASH elements · Development of a video scrip based on the Maternal Nutrition Package for the food demonstration video recording · Submit an workplan in line with the 4 objectives above · Review and standardization of complimentary feeding, Food demonstration and training manuals to include costing and nutrient content of each recipes · Development of Maternal Nutritional Package in line with objectives 1 and 2 above · Development of script for the video production of the recipes and a Step by Step manual for the presenter · Revision of Complimentary Feeding food demonstration SOP and development of Maternal Food demonstrations SOP · Development of training modules and manuals for Maternal Nutrition for trainers and others · Support the DNPM- WINNN in providing technical back-stop for the production of Maternal Food demonstration videos Candidate Requirements · Minimum of 10 years of experience designing, implementing, monitoring and evaluation of food security, maternal child health and nutrition · Post graduate qualifications in Nutrition · Specialist in maternal infant and young child feeding (IYCF), prevention and treatment of malnutrition, and food security in development and emergency context. · Experience in Care Groups, Mothers Groups, PD Hearth and Peer Facilitator approaches to behaviour change · Proven experience in curriculum development for health, nutrition and agriculture for community level volunteers · Excellent writing skills in reports, research briefs, and multi-media communication platforms Apply before Wednesday, November 30, 2016 - 62 Days left Companies may expire jobs at their own discretion. If you have not received a response within two weeks, your application was most likely unsuccessful. ……………………end……………………….

You can subscribe to Job Vacancies in Nigeria, Jobs in Nigeria via your e-mail: www.jobszilla.ng

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SPORTS

OSUN DEFENDER Sunday, October 2, 2016

Bribes, Kickbacks And Bad Business: Will Football Ever Clean Up Its Act? T interviews and questionnaires sent to agents and managers. In hindsight, it was akin to crossing the Atlantic in a rowboat. As one agent told me at the time, “They don’t have police powers, they can’t access offshore accounts, if someone makes a payment from offshore to offshore, how are they ever going to find out?”

Still, Lord Stevens identified 17 transfers as “suspicious.”

So what did the FA do next? Close to nothing.

They sat on the report for 17 months and then decided they lacked the “investigative infrastructure” to scrutinize them further. So they kicked it up to FIFA who, in turn, sat on the case for 10 months before deciding they couldn’t do anything either because too much time had elapsed.

It’s too easy to blame the FA or FIFA on this.

Yes, they are responsible, but the simple fact is they

don’t have subpoena powers and when it comes to banking secrecy, all they can do is ask for cooperation. Not to mention that both were severely underfunded in these departments at the time — and still are today.

There’s also a fundamental question of who really has an interest

in policing this.

Corruption isn’t nice, but from the perspective of the FA and the Premier League, a few months after the Stevens Report and the BBC documentary, everybody had forgotten about it and it was business as usual.

Nobody had an interest in bringing it up again.

You would have thought that owners would have taken an interest: After all, they were the ones picking up the tab. And, indeed, some did, freezing out guys they considered corrupt: It’s not a coincidence that the same folks tend to work with the same clubs over and

HAT’s how a fair chunk of football folk — though they would never admit it — view bribes and kickbacks. As for the other stakeholders — owners, fans, media, federations, FIFA — I’m not sure to what degree people care.

The Daily Telegraph’s part of the fabric of the revelations trumpet the game — or at least some fact that eight Premier quarters of the game — for League managers are a very long time. By and accused taking “bungs” large, nothing has been — essentially, demanding done about it. Even the an under-the-table language used — “bung” payment to approve a — makes it sound almost player transfer or contract harmless, at least relative renewal. They are based to what it really is, namely on covertly filmed bribery and extortion.

It’s not something that conversations with three agents who happily gets talked about much because frankly, it’s in named names when it came to the state of the nobody’s interest to talk transfer business. The about it. Nobody wants to Telegraph redacted the kill the Goose That Laid names but offered enough the Golden Eggs and detail that football proving any of it is insiders could probably exceptionally difficult. work out at least a couple But to think that it would have all gone away is of the accused.

The thing about these simply silly.

Part of the problem is allegations is that if you’ve covered football that football associations are not equipped to police for even a short while, they’re all things you’ve this, especially as the •Former England manager Sam Allardyce speaks for the first time since losing the job. heard before. It’s stuff methods of making and illegal often discussed quite receiving liberally when talking to payments have grown agents and club more sophisticated.

An excellent article in executives. Sometimes, Independent folks will share personal The Thursday outlined this experiences: I can count a well. half-dozen people in HE transfer window might be shut, but don’t year-old Frenchman from and invest some time into Following a BBC football who told me they think the wheeling and dealing won’t continue! Fulham this summer, but his development, and were either asked to pay documentary in 2006, the Check out all the latest dealsperformance here.

FA hired Lord Stevens, a a bung or offered a bung goal in it remains to be seen how then step up if that’s what Dembele on top clubs Celtic’s 3-3 Champions long they can keep hold he wants to do?” former police chief, to to conduct a transfer.

Chelsea and Arsenal Appetite for doing conduct an investigation radars League draw against Pep of him if he continues to Scouts from Arsenal, Guardiola’s Manchester impress. He has scored 12 are monitoring Alvaro something about it has of 362 transfers. His Real Madrid and Bayern goals in his opening 16 investigative tools Morata’s position at Real waxed and waned over City on Wednesday night. witnessed the years. But the fact is consisted of forensic Munich Celtic pulled off a coup appearances for the Madrid in the hope that that every decade or so it accountants, personal Moussa Dembele’s two- when they signed the 20- Bhoys and although he the Spain international missed a penalty against striker becomes frustrated moves back into the Barcelona he made up for at a lack of guaranteed public eye. You wonder if it with a brace against regular playing time. this occasion will be City.

Morata, 23, was heavily different. History doesn’t The Sun claims bids are linked with a Premier bode well — it’s been likely to be tabled as early League move during the happening for a long as January for the exciting summer and confirmed time. forward, leading Brendan that Chelsea offered to Alan Sugar — now Rodgers to outline the make him “the most Lord Sugar — is a importance of Dembele expensive Spanish successful businessman, staying at Celtic Park. The footballer ever.” former Tottenham Celtic boss said: “He was Although the former Hotspur owner and these coveted by a number of Juventus man began the days, host of the BBC’s teams but his agent is a season as a regular starter version of “The clever guy. Does he go to in Zinedine Zidane’s XI, Apprentice.” In 1993, he a so-called better league he has been an unused testified under oath in a and sit on the bench and substitute in four of the court of law that his not get so many games? last five games leading to former manager, Terry “Or does he come to a a claim from the Sun that Venables, had told him that Nottingham Forest •If Moussa Dembele's recent form continues, he might not be at Celtic for very much big club with an English clubs are looking opportunity to develop on with interest again. manager Brian Clough longer. wanted a bung to complete a transfer, suggesting he might take it in cash at a highway 17, netting five goals from his run toward the far rest stop. Venables and seven starts. It might seem post to convert Hector Clough vehemently a strange thing to say Bellerin’s pass against denied this. Despite this about such a quick player, Chelsea showed testimony, Venables E’re still at an early stage of the Premier peak. became England manager Last season was but Walcott’s movement intelligence and speed — League campaign — though six games into over short distances has a lethal combination. a year later, while Clough but the season marks 15 percent of the league disappointing, His brace against Basel retired and is hailed as season — and it’s not too soon to be looking at Walcott has been been nippier: His passone of England’s greatest standout individuals. Here are five players who have spectacular so far in 2016- and-moves are slick; and showed the two sides of Walcott’s game: the bosses to this day. made a noticeable improvement from last season. relatively new ability to be Then in 1994, George Theo Walcott, FW, World Cup 2010 squad a poacher, scoring a closeGraham, then-Arsenal Arsenal appeared to give Walcott range header from Alexis manager, was banned for Everyone thinks Theo a jolt of urgency, he was Sanchez’s cross, as well a year for signing two Walcott has struggled to excellent for the three as his old-school sprint players and then fulfil his potential. But seasons that followed, into an inside-right receiving an “unsolicited Walcott’s early Arsenal managing 45 goals from position before a low, gift” (which the FA performances suggested a wide-right role. Then hard shot across the considered a bung) of he would become a good came the ruptured goalkeeper. It’s not some $600,000 from the attacker rather than a true anterior cruciate ligament unusual for Walcott to agent who did the deal. world-beater, and that’s that meant he didn’t start start seasons well, but This is not to rehash old exactly what has an Arsenal game for a ground. It’s simply to happened. year, exactly when he •Raheem Sterling has five goals and three assists in all this has been seriously impressive. underscore how it’s been After omission from the appeared to be hitting his competitions this season.

Europe's Top Clubs Monitor Moussa Dembele; Alvaro Morata Leaving Real?

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Five Premier League 'Rebound' Stars, Including Theo Walcott, Adam Lallana W

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SUNDAY, OCTOBER 02, 2016 Y the stretch of imagination and the enthusiasm that heralded the hoisting of Nigeria’s Green White Green flag of the country at Tafawa Balewa Square, formerly Race Course, in Lagos on October 1 st 1960, with Nigerians expected that the MURTALA AGBOOLA country would have been wellTEL: 0806-119-7897 developed by now.

E-mail: murtalamuag@yahoo.com Nigerians were in joyous mood that at long last, Nigeria, our dear country, has been released from the clutches of imperialism.

There were enough reasons to put Nigerians in that joyful mood. As the Premier of the Western Region, the Late Chief Obafemi Awolowo, brought the first television station to Ibadan, in black Africa at a time when a European country like Ireland did not have one.

The architectural masterpiece of the then University of Ife, IleIfe now named after him, Obafemi Awolowo University, (OAU) and the quality of academics that went on in that tertiary institution was enough to give people hope that after independence, our leaders would hit the ground running.

Without crude oil, the country relied on agricultural products such as cocoa, cotton, palm produce, timber and others for •BUHARI among the most sought out for. products are made to write sustenance. qualifying exams for first degrees Our university products were Today, our second degree

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AUDACIOUS EXPLOIT

Nigeria @56: Are We Making Progress?

1438ah: New Islamic Year T ODAY, Sunday, October 2nd 2016, marks the commencement of the new Islamic calendar, 1438AH. Hijra is the movement of Prophet Muhammad and his followers from their birth place, Mecca to Medina.

Then, Prophet acted on the instruction of Allah to undertake the movement due to persecution he suffered as a result of the preaching of oneness of Almighty Allah, which is the central theme of Islam.

The lessons embedded in Hijra is that whenever there are challenges in our present abode or our birthplace, we can migrate to another place.

Also inherent in Hijra is endurance and tolerance.

Understanding a new settlement may not be easy, which can be likened to endurance, while one needs to be tolerant, if he is to be well accepted in his new abode.

The apex body of Muslim organisations in the State of Osun, the Osun State Muslim

Community (OSMC) has outlined programmes to mark the new Islamic year.

Muharam 1 st is today, and according to the 1 st Vice President of ISMC, Alhaji Mustafa Olawuyi, gift would be presented to the Hijra baby by the wife of the Governor of the State, Alhaja Sherifat Aregbesola.

Other activities included, EROYA, a live-programme aired on OSBC Radio last Sunday. A press briefing was also held at the OSMC secretariat Surulere area, off Ring Road, Osogbo last Monday while Quran competition was organised in that same place last Wednesday.

The grand finale of the activities would hold later today at the Osogbo City Stadium, Osogbo, where a public lecture would be delivered by a renowned Islamic Scholar.

Eminent scholars, Imams and Alfas, and the general public are all invited to the stadium, to partake in the activities.

Olawuyi contended that even

though Hijra is not a major Islamic festival like Eid Fitr (end of Ramadan fast) or Eid Adha (Ileya), it is important to create awareness by marking it.

Hijra may also take the form of renouncing one’s bad behaviour to take a new leaf or a new leave in life.

HE Prophet triumphantly went back to Mecca after sometime, having created a Muslim community (ummah) in Medina.

Somebody jokingly referred to what happened to Governor Rauf Aregbesola as a hijra, having been forced to flee the state aftermath the crisis that engulfed the state in 2007. He, however, came back triumphantly, after reclaiming his mandate in November 2010.

The lesson is that our trials, troubles and travails may be temporary. If we change place and we persevere, we shall triumph.

A setback in life, as the saying goes, is temporal.

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abroad.

In spite of this, Nigerians who study abroad excel, among their peers.

Nature has been very gracious to our land. Abundant natural resources and quality human capital adorn our landscape.

The country is undergoing recession, which to a large extent is man-made. The revenue generated from the crude oil made us dependent on it, such that today, we have depleted all the resources.

Like the prodigal son in the Bible, we have been wasteful but God has been kind to us. This is not the first time we have experienced recession. We shall equally overcome this, but what lessons shall we learn from it?

Sometimes one wonders, was it not in this country that a former Head of State said, money was not our problem but how to spend it?

HOULD we approve of the assertion that our fundamental problem is leadership. Some have even enthused that rather than give us natural resources; God should have endowed us with good leadership. People easily refer to countries like Japan, Britain and France that have no resources, yet, are highly developed.

Only recently, the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia slashed the remunerations of public office holders. The country is richer with lesser population and bigger external reserves, yet, it undertook that bold step.

In Nigeria, we are still waiting for the Revenue Mobilisation Allocation and Fiscal Commission (RMAFC) to do the needful in terms of streamlining the remunerations in-line with current realities. After a lot of arguments, Nigerians settled for the fact that it is RMAFC that has the statutory power to tinker with the perquisites of public office holders and is yet to think along that direction.

We need to get our acts right, otherwise, the revolution that would engulf the country is better imagined than being real.

By our action or inaction, we are building a time bomb that would explode anytime. To the poser above, are we making progress? The impact of the progress is minimal, if any at all.

We can do better and there a lots of steps that ought to be taken.

Nigerian politics should move from commercial venture to service, which it is meant to be.

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

correspondence to the Managing Editor, KOLA OLABISI, Telephone: 08033927286 (kolaolabisi@yahoo.com); Editor, KAYODE AGBAJE, Telephone: 0803-388-0205, E-mail: osundefenderbank@gmail.com, kayodeagbaje@yahoo.com. ISSN: 0794-8050.Website: www.osundefender.org.