Osun defender may 3, 2016 edition

www.osundefender.org Tuesday, may 3, 2016 It is an unpalatable testimonial to the moral bankruptcy of sections of the population that anyone in his right mind can possibly defend the mindless looting of the common patrimony under the delinquent

THE 6TH MOST-VISITED NEWSPAPER WEBSITE IN NIGERIA

Front Page Comment

VOL. 11. NO.043

Looters deserve to be jailed

‘watch’ of former President Goodluck Jonathan. It is obvious of ‘watch’ of former President Goodluck Jonathan. It is obvious of course that much

of the defence of looting is self serving and paid for. This is not surprising for the looters have a lot of funds to throw around. Nevertheless it must be

met with a response.

This is because as the Italian philosopher Antonio Gramsci has pointed out “the essence of political activities revolves around

May Day:

constant reminders”.

In this instance constant reminders are vital for corruption is fighting back.

It is important for the people of our country

N100

to be constantly reminded about the economic cost of looting.

The opportunity costs are horrendous. The costs lead to broken lives and unfulfilled expectations. ...continue on pg4

ICPC Confirmed It Never Indicted Osun - Aregbesola Tells Labour •Names Major Road In Honour Of Workers, Promises Better Future For Labour

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- See Story On Page 2

•(R-L) Osun Governor Rauf Aregbesola; his deputy, Otunba (Mrs) Titi Laoye-Tomori; Head of Service, Mr. Sunday Owoeye; state chairman of Nigeria Labour Congress, Comrade Jacob Adekomi and Chief of Staff to the Governor, Alhaji Gboyega Oyetola, during the 2016 May Day commemoration at Osogbo City Stadium on Sunday.

Osun PDP Congress: Omisore, Adagunodo’s Factions In Last Minute Move To Outsmart Each Other

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osun Defender Tuesday, May 3, 2016

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ICPC Confirmed It Never Indicted Osun - Aregbesola Tells Labour

•Names Major Road In Honour Of Workers, Promises Better Future For Labour pension and gratuities By our reporter Governor of the State of Osun, Ogbeni Rauf Aregbesola, on Sunday told the huge populations of workers in the state who gathered to celebrate the 2016 International Workers’ Day that the Independent Corrupt Practices and other Related Offences Commission (ICPC) has confirmed to the state through a letter that it never indicted the state on the disbursement of the bail-out loan.

A r e g b e s o l a situation.

He hinted that the noted that contrary t o i n s i n u a t i o n s b y ICPC boss stated that the o p p o s i t i o n t h a t h i s essence of his letter is to government diverted the clarify the report which bailout funds, the ICPC was done last year to had written him to clarify douse the unsubstantiated of that it has, in no way, a l l e g a t i o n s misapplication of the indicted Osun.

This was just as the funds.

It would be recalled governor announced the naming of a major that the media was awash road at the state capital, last weeks over allegation O r i t a O l a i y a / I t a n of misapplication of the Olookan, as Workers’ bailout loan by some Drive in recognition of states who obtained the what he described as loans.

The governor added the perseverance of the workers in the face of that according to the letter challenging financial written to him, the ICPC has said that there was no

evidence indicating that the funds dibursed as at then, had been applied to any other matter apart from salaries in the state.

He stressed that the report was just an extract of what the commission got from officials of government on a template provided

by ICPC and forwarded to it in October 2015.

The governor said, “I want to also assure you, contrary to the insinuation being made by our traducers, who claimed we diverted the bailout funds, that nothing of such happened. This is the concoction of a mischievous opposition and their media conspirators.

“The Independent Corrupt Practices and Other Related Offences Commission (ICPC)

never indicted us. Other media agencies reported the ICPC accurately that the data it published on disbursement of bailout funds by states was as at October last year and this was given to them by us.

How could we then have indicted ourselves?.

“I am happy that ICPC has cleared the air. The anti-corruption body has written to us affirming again that the information it gave out covered only October 2015, saying that it never indicted us since no evidence exists that we applied the funds to any other matter outside of workers’ salaries.

“We demanded for N64.3 billion to cover outstanding salaries, pension and gratuities up till June 2015 for the state workers and N23.8 billion to cover the salaries,

•State of Osun Deputy Governor, Otunba (Mrs) Grace Titi Laoye-Tomori receiving report of Structure Plan on behalf of the state governor, Ogbeni Rauf Aregbesola, from the UN Habitat Programme Manager, Mallam Kabir Yari, recently at the Executive Chamber, State Secretariat, Abere, Osogbo.

N8m Deal: Police Questions PS, Government Printer By our reporter Trouble seems to be looming for a Permanent Secretary (PS) in the service of State Government of Osun, as it was gathered that the affected senior civil servant allegedly diverted funds meant to settle the outstanding bills of government contractors.

OSUN DEFENDER the Accountant General’s investigation gathered office, the first batch of that contractors who N3 million was said to executed printing projects have been paid to the for the state government g o v e r n m e n t p r i n t e r since 2014 were yet to after signing on the get paid for the jobs and appropriate papers in w h e n t h e y e x p e c t e d the office of the ministry, part payment, the PS accountant. allegedly connived with It was gathered that the the government printer money was later handed to divert the funds. over to the PS, based on It was gathered that mutual understanding the duo were invited by w i t h o u t a n y f o r m a l the police post inside documentation. the state government The second batch of secretariat, with a view N5 million was allegedly t o a s c e r t a i n i n g t h e taken to the office of the placement of the money, PS by the accountant and as the PS was said to be handed it over to him denying the fact that the before the paper was money was with him. signed by the printer However, the medium w i t h o u t s e e i n g t h e gathered that when the money. money was released by However, as the contractors did not get

the payment as planned, some of them thought the commissioner in-charge of the ministry was playing pranks on them and had to report the matter to some politicians, with a view to helping them intercede, but upon inquiry, the contractors discovered that the game was being played by the civil servants.

This prompted them to visit the police and the duo was summoned for questioning the government printer was said to have admitted that he collected first batch of the money and handed it over to the PS and when the Permanent Secretary was asked, he denied and even slapped the printer in front of the police officers.

Similarly, the accountant was asked who collected the N8 million and she responded it was the PS

and when he was asked to respond, a senior officer interjected and ordered that the monies be paid back to the contractors on or before Tuesday next week.

Findings showed that the printer and the PS are blood relations, which was responsible for the cooperation the former gave him, with a view to getting compensated for his role in the entire deal, but with the twist in the whole issue, the government printer was surprised by the denial of the PS. The medium gathered that some of the former subordinates of the PS who were aware of the release of the fund and the diversion of same by their boss are ready to come forward to testify in case the issue could not be resolved amicably.

for the local government workers for the same period.

“However, we got N25.8 billion for state and N9.1 billion for local government, totaling N34.9 billion. So, we can all see that this is a far cry from what we needed and asked for.

We got this far only because of exceptional financial engineering, extreme prudence and commendable cooperation of Labour.

“I must also let you know that there is no way we could have diverted the funds, knowing that it was not sufficient for our needs in the first place”.

He stressed.

Aregbesola assured the state workers that the worst is over and that it shall be out of the woods soon.

He added that state governors had a fruitful meeting with President Muhammadu Buhari who has been very concerned about welfare of Nigerian states.

He commended workers of the state for their fierce loyalty, dedication, hard working, industrious and their exhibition of the fear of God during the challenging period.

He continued: “We are particularly grateful for the fiercely loyal, dedicated, hardworking, industrious and Godfearing workers we have in Osun.

“I can go on ad infinitum, but there is no doubt that without workers, no administration can succeed in doing anything.

“Our workers have also demonstrated unsurpassable understanding and forbearance in the face of the challenges we are going through. I will be eternally grateful to them.

In his address, the Chairman of NLC, Osun Chapter, Comrade Jacob Adekomi, commended the commitment of the workers in the state in the face of harsh economic conditions.

Adekomi said workers have passion for the development of the state, which explained why workers decided to troop out in celebration of Workers’ Day. Adekomi stated, that instead of sitting down at home and mauling over unpaid salaries and gratuities, arrears of promotion and other benefits, workers came out as a demonstration of their patriotism to their state.

He said: “We have passion for the

development of this state and if we say we should sit at home murmuring over unpaid salaries and pensions, we are not doing justice to ourselves.”

Comrade Adekomi also commended the governor for his untiring efforts in steering the ship of the state away from turbulent economic current.

He said the labour chapter in the state understands the current problems facing government, promising to continue to employ dialogue as a means of resolving governmentlabour face-off whenever one arises.

He continued: “This branch of the congress shall continue to pursue dialogue to solve all intractable problems.

“We believe that quenching fire with fire brings anarchy. We still believe that confrontation is the last weapon that should be sparingly used or not used at all.

“Our faith in dialogue has been resolving most of the problems we have in the state.”

Earlier while reading the speech of the National President, Comrade Ayuba Waba, Adekomi, observed that the greatest challenge confronting government and workers in the nation today was the quest for socioeconomic revival.

Waba said the current harsh socio-economic realities were inherited from the previous administration of President Goodluck Jonathan.

According to Waba, this social, economic and security crises led to the coming to power of President Muhammadu Buhari in order to bring positive change.

Waba appealed to government at all levels in the country to devise a creative way to end the economic logjam.

He tasked the Federal Government to redouble it’s effort on security, and particularly to rescue the over 200 Chibok school girls kidnapped by Boko Haram more than two years now.

He said: “Our government at various levels needs to urgently articulate ways and strategies to turn around for the benefit of our people, the socioeconomic fortunes of the country.”

public Notice This is to inform members of the public that oriola baliqis adenike, is the same person as okunola baliqis adenike.

All former documents remain valid. UBA Bank and general public should take note.

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osun Defender Tuesday, May 3, 2016

Osun Urban Renewal Project Is The Biggest In Nigeria -UN-HABITAT •Submits Structure Plan Reports

The governor noted By kehinde ayantunji that the structure plan The United Nations-HABITAT Programme programme was initiated Manager in Nigeria, Mallam Kabir Yari, has to complement urban described the Urban Renewal initiative of the State renewal initiative, which of Osun as the biggest exercise in the country since was aimed at ridding UN-Habitat began its collaboration with states in the cities of shanties and Nigeria. haphazard development.

Yari observed this in it is to be implemented He expressed optimism Osogbo, the State of Osun progressively over the that the land use proposal capital, during the formal period. policy and legislative presentation of Structure “A f i v e - y e a r reform contained in the Plan Reports for nine periodic review of the structure plan would major cities in the state. s t r u c t u r e p l a n a n d assist the state to realize a The Osun initiative, i t s i m p l e m e n t a t i o n sustainable development a c c o r d i n g t o Y a r i , strategies is proposed economic and social encompassed nine cities for effective execution of growth. selected for upgrade into the development projects.

Governor Aregbesola modern cities in a single This is to be carried hinted that his project. out by technocrats and administration would The cities involved are: stakeholders. continue to design Osogbo, Ile-Ife, Ilesa, Iwo, Governor, State of Osun programmes and policies Ede, Ejigbo, Ila-Orangun, , Mr Rauf Aregbesola, that would enhance Ikire and Ikirun. who was represented healthy living among He stated that State by his deputy, Otunba citizenry, as well as open of Osun Structure Plans (Mrs) Titilayo Laoyewindow for economic P r o j e c t , w h i c h w a s Tomori, while receiving development. revived by Governor the report, said the step In his welcome address, Rauf Aregbesola, was became imperative to the Permanent Secretary, e m b a r k e d u p o n i n address the problem Ministry of Environment, recognition of the need of urbanization with Sanitation and Physical to harness the potentials its attendant effects of Planning, Architect Wale of the state’s significant improper waste disposal, Ojo, said the present urban population and unplanned development, administration in the build the capacity of cities urban sprawl and slums, state is fully committed in the state to support as well as inadequate the development agenda infrastructural facilities. and offer better living conditions to their residents.

According to the UNHABITAT Manager, the technical cooperation agreement involved the use of the Rapid Urban Sector Profiling for By ismaeel uthman Sustainability (RUSPS) The battle to have majority of delegates and methodology for the preparation of structure control the leadership of the Peoples Democratic p l a n s f o r t h e n i n e Party (PDP) in the State of Osun between Senator major cities and their Iyiola Omisore and Honourable Soji Adagunodo’s in confusion and clear surrounding villages, factions has left the partyannual dues for three division. which formed the Omisore is sponsoring y e a r s , w h i c h w a s a planning area for each of Dr Bayo Faforiji for the prerequisite to obtain the cities. p a r t y c h a i r m a n s h i p the nomination form of Yari also affirmed position, while some the party till the congress that the structure plans, leaders, including the day. in addition to making outgoing chairman of As a result, the electoral significant contributions the party, Alhaji Gani committee refused to towards achieving the Olaoluwa, and youths of issue nomination form goals of the State of the party are supporting to Faforiji and other Osun Integral Action Adagunodo to be the next contestants from his camp for failure to pay Plan, are to guide the chairman of the party.

The ward congress of their annual dues. physical development Adagunodo and his and management of these the party was postponed cities for the next 20 years. last weekend, following group were said to have M o r e o v e r , t h e t h e i n a b i l i t y o f t h e paid the N18.5 million structure plan would also e l e c t o r a l c o m m i t t e e for the congress form and facilitate effective service from the PDP National the annual dues of party members who were his p r o v i s i o n , m i n i m i z e Secretariat to settle the supporters. crisis that marred the the incidence of slum According to formation, and ensure conduct of the congress.

Faforiji alleged that Adagunodo, he had paid significant contribution his camp was being for the forms since April of these cities to achieving m a r g i n a l i z e d i n t h e 18, 2016 and later for the HABITAT Agenda congress’ process, saying the annual dues of party a n d M i l l e n n i u m that the party chairman members.

D e v e l o p m e n t G o a l s and some leaders were * However, supporters (MDGs). attempting to manipulate of Faforiji had stormed Yari said: “We would the congress in favour of the PDP State Secretariat along Gbongan/Osogbo like to place on record at Adagunodo’s faction. this juncture sir, the fact OSUN DEFENDER road, in protest of nonthat since the UN-Habitat gathered that Faforiji had release of form, but began its collaboration paid only N3.5 million Adagunodo debunked with states in Nigeria, o u t o f a b o u t N 1 8 . 5 the claims, saying forms this initiative by the State million on the eve of the paid for by his camp were Government of Osun has congress, which would given to them. * Faforiji said: “All my been the biggest of such have been held last week candidates don’t have but postponed till last exercise, involving nine forms. Many people were week Saturday. cities in a single project.

T h e c h a i r m a n s h i p in the secretariat to show “The planning horizon c a n d i d a t e a n d h i s their grievances. We for the structure plans supporters were unable demand cancellation of project is a period of 20 to pay the mandatory the congress to prevent years (2014 - 2033) and

to urban renewal programme to change the face of the cities and open the cities for economic advancement.

Ojo maintained that the urban renewal covered a radius of one kilometre from the palace of the benefiting cities, except Osogbo, which covered two kilometre radius, saying the structure plan

would cover twenty five kilometre radius.

He lauded the state government for its resolve to beautify the state and make it more attractive to both local and foreign investors, with a view to enhancing economic potentials of the state, especially at this period that the state is facing serious economic

challenges.

In his remark, the Director of Town Planning in the state, Mr. Akintunde Oladejo, explained that the structure plan was aimed at placing the state on the world map as one of the organised states on the globe.

•(R-L) President Muhammadu Buhari and Lagos State Governor Akinwumi Ambode when Ambode paid a courtesy visit to President Buhari at State House, Abuja, last Friday.

Osun PDP Congress: Omisore, Adagunodo’s Factions In Last

Minute Move To Outsmart Each Other

guidelines of the party and that is why it is ranting. Let them go and pay their annual dues for three years. That will qualify them as financial members, as stipulated in the party’s constitution.

“We paid for all dues that were supposed to be paid from our own

end and they want to cause confusion because of their inability to pay all dues expected to be paid to the party’s national secretariat.

“We have been given all our forms and from our findings, the other camp is afraid of contest because it was not prepared.”

The ward congress was, however, postponed till Wednesday (tomorrow).

By kazeem mohammed A State of Osun High Court, sitting in Iwo, has dismissed the suit filed by a judge in the state, Justice Folaranmi Oloyede, seeking to nullify the decision of the House of Assembly, which dismissed her petition against the state governor, Ogbeni Rauf Aregbesola.

The court, presided The Assembly later over by Justice Moshood considered the report of A d e i g b e , d i s m i s s e d the panel and dismissed Justice Oloyede’s suit for Oloyede’s petition and lack of jurisdiction. recommended that Justice Oloyede had t h e J u d i c i a l S e r v i c e petitioned the state Commission should parliament, calling for r e c o m m e n d t o t h e the impeachment of N a t i o n a l J u d i c i a l Governor Aregbesola and Council that Oloyede be his deputy, Grace Laoye- sanctioned for judicial Tomori, over what she misconduct. called mismanagement of The judge, not satisfied the state resources. with the decision of The judge had in the the parliament, filed a petition called on the suit before the court, lawmakers to examine seeking to quash the a n d i n v e s t i g a t e t h e recommendation of the governor and his deputy state parliament. over the allegations.

Her lawyer, Lekan On receipt of the O g u n l e s i , w h i l e petition, the Speaker, addressing the court H o n o u r a b l e N a j e e m recently on the motion, Salaam, set up an ad-hoc stated that his client was fact-finding committee, ready to challenge what chaired by his deputy, he called, the illegality Honourable Akintunde o f t h e a c t i o n o f t h e Adegboye, to investigate Assembly. the allegation and report In her application, back to the House. she asked that the

recommendations of the Assembly’s ad-hoc committee be quashed and that its actions be declared illegal, unconstitutional, null and void.

Ogunlesi had listed the respondents in the motion to include the Speaker, the investigating committee chairman, Adegboye Akintunde, six legislators and Clerk of the House.

Also joined in the suit was the Osun Judicial Service Commission.

Oloyede had also filed a motion ex-parte, asking the court to grant her permission to institute a legal action against the state lawmakers over their recommendation that she should be sanctioned by NJC. However, Justice Adeigbe quashed the suit for lack of jurisdiction.

The defendants’ lawyer, Wale Afolabi, the former Attorney General and Commissioner of Justice in the state, praised the court for the judgment.

in our party.”

•Ward Congress Postponed rancour * Addressing the press,

Adagunodo said: “We are ready for the congress scheduled to hold today, Saturday April, 30. We have fully paid our dues and followed the party’s guidelines. * “The other group is yet to meet up with the

Court Dismisses Judge’s Suit Against Aregbesola

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osun Defender Tuesday, May 3, 2016

Looters deserve to be jailed

The opportunity costs include stunted access to health care for millions of people. Nigeria still lags behind the west Africa region in terms of universal health insurance coverage.

Infant and maternal mortality rates are unacceptably high for an oil producing nation. Work out what a percentage of the looted funds would have done to arrest this. For example, just 20% of the looted funds could have started the much needed reconstruction of the primary health centres across the country.

The missed opportunities cuts across all sectors; broken down schools, inadequately motivated teachers and so on.

Funds that ought to have gone into building and reinforcing the inadequate physical and social infrastructure have gone into private pockets, often spirited abroad. It is disgusting that funds that should have been used to break the cycle of poverty so rampant in our society was diverted to beef up the economies of already rich countries.

HOW HEARTLESS CAN YOU GET!

sion. Such a society is a throwback to the Hobbesian state of nature where life is brutish, nasty and short. No responsible government can tolerate this. This means that anyone defending looting must be heartless!

I

audacity to display their items for sale on the road.

Anytime any of the road users tried to correct the anomaly, what followed have been barrage of abusive language.

Investigation however, showed

that one popular land speculator in Osogbo, popularly known as Shominie allegedly sold some portions of the right of way to the traders who hide under his authority to perpetrate

the illegality of encroaching on the state roads.

Along the same street, it is observed that some landlords and landladies extend the fences or gates of their houses to the road; a situation which does

of which the road falls, to come and bail out the suffering inhabitants of this area by doing the needful.

The state ministry of work should come for urgent separation of illegal structures along the said road if only to reduce the suffering of the area who are now contending with the almost impassable road because of its state not augur well for of disrepair. vehicular passage which is the purpose for which a road is meant for.

We are now calling on the state ministry of works under •MARIAM AFOLABI, the jurisdiction Osogbo.

osun Defender Tuesday, May 3, 2016

Result-Oriented Service osun Defender Tuesday, May 3, 2016

The current effort is also a pointer to the construction of a new and better society. A new way of doing things where public funds is not diverted to individual pockets but used to build a better society under a social contract between the government and those that they govern.

This is an historic opportunity for a national rebirth; we squander it at our own peril.

The intervention of President Buhari must therefore be seen as Redemptionist. As a much required attempt to redeem the state. Any sane patriot must therefore support the war against The war against corruption must corruption. The war is a starting be seen for what it really is. That point as we begin to reconstruct the foundation of the Nigerian is that it is a muscular response against a negative determination state. We have no option than to support this great and necessary to implode the republic! For a society that cannot protect mini- effort. Trust Buhari, he has been mal living standards is a society tried and tested. All the funds recovered will be put to judicious heading for anarchy and implouse. They will not be relooted! On

Needless Encroachment On Kobongboegboe Road In Osogbo

nhabitants o f Kobongbogboe Road shortly after Hotel de Charity in Osogbo, are being subjected to tortuous and hardship experience as traders have taken over the road.

The state road which is the immediate turning to the right when coming from OtaEfun, after Hotel de Charity, has been needlessly narrowed down by the traders, some of who erect illegal makeshift shops on both sides of the roads.

Some of the traders even have shameless

the contrary they will be used to reconstruct the state. Under Buhari everything is going to be transparent and above board.

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OSUN DEFENDER

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These Examination Seasons II:

Appreciating Ogbeni’s Intervention Initiatives II This edition is set to make further exploits in the area of intervention initiatives ventured into by the All Progressives Congress (APC)led administration of Ogbeni Rauf Aregbesola in the State of Osun.

Like its fore-runner, the edition, packaged by NIYI OLASINDE, is intended to capture the mood of the season; as much is expected in terms of performances from candidates of the state’s governmentowned institutions in this year’s outings in all public examinations, especially, those terminating the Certificate Year.

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•Some of Osun pupils hailing Governor Rauf Aregbesola sometime ago.

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Appreciating Ogbeni’s Intervention Initiatives II Appreciating Ogbeni’s Intervention Initiatives II T magazine

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osun Defender Tuesday, May 3, 2016

Continued from page 6

changed almost four decades ago.”

On theOmoluabi Corps, introduced not quite long ago with the aim of Instilling discipline in school children of the state the Governor said: “Osun is a state which will be a model of peace and tolerance. I would like to say that religious, political and ethnic tolerance is the basic foundation of our Omoluabi heritage. We must promote this culture of tolerance and civilized conflict resolution with all our might.

“This is why we have decided to establish an Omoluabi Peace and Conflict Management Commission.

This is to be a standing commission where communal, religious, ethnic or other social disputes can be resolved by a body of respected elders from across Yorubaland and even other groups.” side the free, functional and qualitative education programme of the incumbent administration in the State of Osun under the leadership of OgbeniRaufAdesojiAregbesola; there are numerous other mutually reconstructive, integrative programmes, policies and packages that are not only in tandem with, but also complementary to the orientation and philosophy of Omoluabi which has formed the core value and bent of the overall exertions of the administration. In all its programmes and policies as well as the execution of all projects, the administration has so far been

A •Commissioning of Salvation Army School in Osogbo, sometime ago.

•Continued from last week lucid terms in the following words:

“Additionally, the programme has increased elementary school enrolment in Osun from 150,000 to 380,000 children. We now have the largest elementary school enrolment in the country.” f particular note is the reference we intend to draw to the last quoted paragraph above. On the overall, it is the aggregate of the comprehensive and integrative package of initiatives in the education sector of the state that contributed to the upsurge in enrolment statistics of public schools in the state, to the effect that there was a swelling of more than double only within the space of three years!

Now after four years of running with the vision, the feats are still on.

Commenting on the Opon Imo initiative, the Governor traced the purpose of its introduction and the impact it had made so far, when he said: “Our provision of ‘OPON IMO’ (THE TABLET OF KNOWLEDGE) which contains all the textbooks and teaching aids required in high school is because we know that most parents in the state simply cannot afford the cost of textbooks.

“Again we believe that all of our children, regardless of the financial means of their parents, must have equal access to books and other materials for effective learning. The introduction of this electronic tablet is to bring our children, no matter how remote their location may be from the centres of digital advancement, to familiarity and currency with cutting-edge technology.”

The Governor appraised the overall education policies and programmes of his administration in

O

“The same is true of our educational reform policy. You will recall that when I was sworn in as Governor in November 2010, the schools were in a shambles. Hardly any school in the state had facilities of any kind. We then called for an education summit, attended by great educationists and intellectuals of all persuasions.

“Professor Wole Soyinka, our own Nobel Laureate, made time out to personally attend. The summit recommended a complete overhaul of our education system.”

He particularly appraised the outcome and effectiveness of the first-ever State of Osun Education Summit as follows: “The most important conclusion of the summit was the restructuring of the system into three basic categories, Elementary, Middle and High schools. Grades 1–4 are the elementary school, Grades 5–9 are the middle school, while grades 10–12 are the high school.” oncerning the State of Osun Schools’ Infrastructure Development Committee (O’ SCHOOLS), the Governor affirmed our claims when he said: “In the high school, we focus on preparing the children for both internal and external examinations.

Our plan is to build 20 new high schools, 50 middle schools and 100 elementary schools. Each of these schools will be equipped to state-of–the-art standards, especially with digital learning aids, electronic boards, functional and contemporary laboratory equipment, sports facilities, clean water and large power generators etc.”

Making justification for the merger

C

of schools, the Governor made the following clarifications: “The only way to provide these facilities at affordable costs is to merge small poorly equipped schools into larger schools where all the facilities can be provided to large numbers of students using economy of scale to maximum advantage.

This is what we have done.

“Sometimes, this policy has been misunderstood and some have tried to mischaracterize the reforms as having a religious undertone. This is most unfortunate, wicked and untrue.

“The philosophy of our education policy has been the development of a new man intellectually, socially and morally. This new man is placed in the centre of society and views his own development as part of and for the development of society.

“This is a non-parasitic and nonoppressive man, who views his existence in the context of the growth of others; he views whatever he acquires to be subsumed in the overall interest of others. He is a man in himself and a man for society.”

Governor Aregbesola refuted claims by a segment of people that he is bent towards favouring one religion against the other.

He also told the story behind the education reforms initiated by his administration: “There are some who may genuinely feel that the education reforms might affect their missions.

This is an unfounded fear. Only an irresponsible person will attempt to rubbish or remove the legacy of missionaries in education in Osun and even in Nigeria. I attended mission primary and secondary schools here in Western Nigeria

and I proudly display that on my resume.

“But let me take us back into a bit of our fairly recent history. Everyone knows that mission schools were taken over by the government of the Western State almost 38 years ago. his means that since 1975, all mission schools were owned, funded and run by government. But the successive state governments ensured that the names of the schools were not changed, in order to maintain the legacies of the founding missionaries.

“Therefore, as we rebuild the schools and expand their facilities, we also have not and will not tamper with their names. We believe that the missions and missionaries, who founded the schools, must be immortalised by retaining the names of the schools. For example, one of the completed middle schools in Osogbo is the Salvation Army Middle School at Alekuwodo.”

On the prospects of returning mission schools to their initial owners, the Governor said: “I am also aware of the agitation of some missions to have schools returned to them. Although, as I have said before, the schools have been owned by governments since 1975, our administration is not foreclosing the prospect of returning some of the schools upon the completion of our new schools.

“I wish to emphasize that this process can only begin upon completion of the schools we are currently and aggressively building all over the state. The process of return of schools must be well planned and executed because of the various implications, especially the fact that their ownership had

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guided by fairness, justice, equity and fair-play; giving unto all strata and groups across the state as much as is reasonably required, in relation to what is desired within rational limits and within the affordable reach of available means. This is done with profound magnanimity; even in the face of dwindling monthly revenue allocation from the Federation Accounts. Today, honest analysts and unbiased observers would agree with OSUN DEFENDER Magazine that this administration has no equal among the ones that had come in earlier years in terms of contribution to the life of the state and the well-being of its residents in all ramifications. The immediate past administration, taken as case study only extorted from and sapped the economy of the state beyond the marrow, such that by the time the knell was sounded for its inglorious exit, the state had almost been dragged into an absolute state of insolvency. The case and fate of the state was as terrible as that! It is therefore shameful, disappointing and pitiful to hear insinuations peddled here and there; time and again by members of the leading opposition in the state: the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) attempting to denigrate the giant strides of the RaufAregbesola administration and the tangible, visible and allencompassing achievements which are so glaring that they cannot be controverted. In pragmatic terms, the State of Osun has in the past four years shed off its old image.

The state has acquired new name,

•New Model Baptist Elementary School, State of Osun.

new status, and new destiny – all to the extent that her fortunes have changed for the better! his development came as fulfillment to the predictions we made at the beginning of the launch of the new underlying philosophy in year 2011. During that time under reference, OSUN DEFENDER Magazine postulated that the state’s acquisition of new name, sobriquet, logo / coat of arms, flag, anthem and all the rest transcended mere name-calling and or other superficial underpinnings.

We predicted at that early stage that the names and other symbolic representations would speedily begin to speak aloud for the state; such that it would sooner than later be transformed into the envy of all other states around, both in Nigeria and yonder. We are glad today. We can stand tall and beat our chest that Osun is well on course to reaching the Canaan of her dreams.

IN continuation of the analysis started in the last edition, we hung the pen on that segment of the said edition in the following words: Analysts and observers in the trend, growth and development of education have observed that what made the South-West cynosure of all eyes is its antecedents in education, which made it a pace-setter.

While, as observed earlier, most observers point accusing fingers at state governments and their chief executives for the declined state of things, OSUN DEFENDER Magazine wishes to differ slightly, especially considering what the experience has been in the State of

Osun under the able leadership of OgbeniAregbesola.

Most of the critics argue that since 1999, successive state governments, their chief executives and their umbrella political parties have got their priorities mixed up and abandoned education for inanities.

Like it has been observed in earlier paragraphs of this edition, the standard most widely used as basis for comparison of grounds covered in the area of education in the SouthWest has been the passion and zeal for excellence wielded by the Premier of the defunct Western Region, late Chief Obafemi Awolowo and his colleagues who pioneered free education in 1956 and sustained it in the Second Republic. or now, the exploits of the R a u f A r e g b e s o l a administration in the area of education shall be trumpeted a lot more. Next edition shall carry more of the analysis begun on the rot and decay witnessed in the sector nationwide. The Education aspect of the administration of OgbeniRaufAdesojiAregbesola deserves much of critical focus; since it proved all along that Education sub-sector is one of the principal specialties of the administration.

To this end, OSUN DEFENDER Magazine has devoted much space and time to its detailed spotlight in series of our editions in the past years. It is not as if we are giving up of this effort; but we intend not to overbeat it. So, we shall make mention of some of the giant strides

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2016 May Day Commemoration

•(R-L) Governor Rauf Aregbesola; former National President, Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC), Comrade Hassan Sunmonu; a chieftain of All Progressives Congress ( APC), Elder Peter Babalola and Chief of Staff to the Governor, Alhaji Gboyega Oyetola, during the 2016 May Day Commemoration, at Osogbo City Stadium, last Sunday.

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Osun Youths’ Economic Summit At Centre For Black Culture And International Understanding, Last Friday.

Photo: GBENGA AD-

•Mr Deji Adefila (left), delivering his speech while other dignitaries on the high table watch.

•Aregbesola (left), watching the workers match past, during the 2016 May Day Commemoration, at Osogbo City Stadium.

•Across section of dignitaries at the programme.

•Aregbesola, (right) acknowledging cheers from the workers, during the 2016 May Day Commemoration at Osogbo City Stadium on Sunday.

•A cross section of OYES Cadets during the programme.

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•Some of Osun pupils displaying Opon-Imo (Tablets of Knowledge) sometime ago.

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recorded in the sub-sector as basis for desires and expectations for the entire second tenure; then we shall justify the incumbent administration’s effort as that which pupils, parents, teachers and perhaps some other stakeholders have least appreciated!

In fulfillment of that promise, characteristic of the traditions of this Magazine segment of keeping faith with promises; here we are, continuing with the analysis, as much as facts available at our disposal could afford the privilege of unveiling. he fact is incontestable that the presentday South-West geopolitical zone of Nigeria has the long traditions of producing many firsts in different areas of human endeavor, especially through the instrumentality of institutionalized learning. However, it has turned out over the years that the zone and its constituent states have dozed off; either resting on their oars or losing focus, with lots of distraction taking he best of their priorities. In this regard, OSUN DEFENDER Magazine does not intend to heap the bulk of the blame on governments, past or present, but on the entire people, especially, other categories of stakeholders whose lethargic attitude contributed toward the downward trend.

While this sad trend lingers, other zones of the federation, principally the South-East and the South-South are gaining prominence as they assert themselves as frontliners in the preparation and eventual performances of their candidates in external (public) examinations. As regards preparation mentioned above, their huge investments appear to be yielding good, positive dividends.

In 2015 West African Secondary Schools Certificate Examinations (WASSCE) for example, records show that Abia State (in the South-East) had its pupils with the pass rate of 63.94 per cent (those who made credit passes in five subjects, including English Language and Mathematics).

With that overall performance, the state rated best. Anambra State came second with 61.18 per cent; and still within the units, Imo came fifth with percentage pass not too low compared with the two states cited above.

Casting memories aback to year 2014, Anambra could be recalled to have ranked first in the entire federation with Abia following closely

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by the heels; while Edo State came third. Rivers came fourth, Bayelsa seventh and Delta eighth.

While the first two, Anambra and Abia are from the South-East, the rest states mentioned above are from the South-South. On the overall, One Million, Five-Hundred and Ninety Thousand, Two-Hundred and Eighty-Four (1, 590, 284) candidates sat for the examinations. Out of this figure, Five-Hundred and Sixty-Two, FourHundred and Thirteen (562, 413) candidates obtained the minimum requirements of five credits. By implication, 64.63 per cent failed.

While critics in some quarters blamed the horrible state of events on what they viewed as lethargic attitude of South-West governors, governments, policy makers and governing party (-ies); OSUN DEFENDER Magazine view the situation a bit differently, as some states in the zone really labored astutely and backed such with huge capital and recurrent expenditures in order to revamp the sub-sector. As it turned out, the situation is just that try as you may, the performances could not be made too different in the positive way due to the cankerworm that had hitherto (cumulatively) eaten deep into the system. As a matter of fact, it was with the benefit of the hindsight that the administration of OgbeniRaufAdesojiAregbesola in the State of Osun saw the imminent danger that was to befall the sector since as far back as 2005 (five solid years before coming on board as helmsman of the State of Osun). Upon assuming the reins of power as Number One Citizen, the enigma deployed resources of sorts to redeeming the tide for the public education sub-sector of the state.

As at today, even when things are viewed against the backdrop of decline in academic performances, it cannot be concluded, safely or otherwise that all hope is lost. This is bearing in mind that investment in education is a whole lot of long-term investment which often takes a considerably long period of time to mature and yield visible dividends. For instance, while the effects of putting in place beautiful, stateof-the-art, befitting school structures can easily be quantified in terms of upsurge in schools enrolment figure; it would be quite difficult to ascertain how much these investments in infrastructure has contributed to improved performances, until improvements have been

observed for a decade or so. t is not a misplaced act that stakeholders worry about the downturn of trend in education in the South-West zone. Such downturn is, sincerely speaking a serious developmental crisis. Let me quote the following from a revered work on the appalling situation which I recently worked with: “Without productive knowledge, economic growth is endangered. The youth won’t be able to cope in a highly competitive world.

The grim truth about education, as Ricardo Haussmann, a professor of the Practice of Economic Development at Harvard University, puts it, is that almost all rich countries are rich because they exploit technological progress.

“They have moved the bulk of their labour force out of agriculture and into cities, where knowhow can be shared more easily. Their families have fewer children and educate them more intensively, thereby facilitating further technological progress”. Haussmann said. But he adds, “Poor countries need to go through a similar change in order to become rich: reduce farm employment, become more urban, have fewer children and keep those children that they have in school longer. If they do, the doors to prosperity will open”. Awolowo realized this long ago and set the South-West communities.

Yes, nobody, it seems, is taking notice. This has reinforced the pattern of failure, even in the Unity Schools entrance examinations among SouthWest pupils”.

This authority in context, though critical of the South-West governors, further observed as follows: “South-West governors should get the balance right. When it comes to education, investment in productive knowledge is crucial. Awolowo devoted between 40 and 50 per cent of the budget to education at a time when there was no oil income. Ayo Banjo, a former Vice-Chancellor of the University of Ibadan, said, ‘’ the complaint that is regularly made today is that there are no funds; but I don’t think that this is a very strong reason for not continuing free education as a priority case in the budget. That’s the way to fund education.’’ And he’s right.

“There is no magic bullet to save the day

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except by investing in education again and implementing reforms in the system. This is the time-tested practice in other countries. Data from the Organization for Economic Cooperation Development affirm this. An OECD survey of 30 countries found that the United States spends $809 billion, Japan $160 billion, Germany $154 billion, Brazil $146 billion, France $123 billion, and the United Kingdom $123 billion annually on education.

“It is argued that ‘productive knowledge’’ –the skills, experience, and the general know-how that a given population acquires in producing certain goods- determines the pace of its economic development. The South-West must address the situation urgently, in order not to fall further behind. Arguing that the ‘’forceful takeover of schools by the government in 1970’’ damaged education development, a former Anambra State Governor, Peter Obi, in 2011 returned 1,040 primary schools to the missions (churches) that established them. The clincher was that he awarded a grant of N6 billion to the schools in four installments. Out of this, public primary schools shared N489 million. The impact is evident.

“To save the region, teachers must be adequately motivated. This is the secret of Finland, the Czech Republic, China, Japan and South Korea, where education is king, and teaching is a coveted profession. The OECD survey showed that teachers are treated like royalty in Switzerland.

The Netherlands, Germany and Belgium follow in terms of high teacher salary.

“There is a lot wrong with education in the South-West. But with resourcefulness, commitment and selflessness, the governors can turn the gloom around. Inaction is dangerous”.

LIGHTS eclipsed on the last edition at the point of documenting the laudable achievements of the incumbent administration in the State of Osun, from the point of reference of utterances of the governor, OgbeniAregbesola himself.

The remaining part of the comments are here

•A.U.D. Elementary School, Isale-Osun, Osogbo.

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presented: Concerning the State of Osun Schools’ Infrastructure Development Committee (O’ SCHOOLS), the Governor affirmed our claims when he said: “In the high school, we focus on preparing the children for both internal and external examinations. Our plan is to build 20 new high schools, 50 middle schools and 100 elementary schools. Each of these schools will be equipped to state-of–the-art standards, especially with digital learning aids, electronic boards, functional and contemporary laboratory equipment, sports facilities, clean water and large power generators etc.” aking justification for the merger of schools, the Governor made the following clarifications: “The only way to provide these facilities at affordable costs is to merge small poorly equipped schools into larger schools where all the facilities can be provided to large numbers of students using economy of scale to maximum advantage. This is what we have done.

“Sometimes, this policy has been misunderstood and some have tried to mischaracterize the reforms as having a religious undertone. This is most unfortunate, wicked and untrue.

“The philosophy of our education policy has been the development of a new man intellectually, socially and morally. This new man is placed in the centre of society and views his own development as part of and for the development of society.

“This is a non-parasitic and non-oppressive man, who views his existence in the context of the growth of others; he views whatever he acquires to be subsumed in the overall interest of others.

He is a man in himself and a man for society.” overnor Aregbesola refuted claims by a segment of people that he is bent towards favouring one religion against the other. He also told the story behind the education reforms initiated by his administration: “There are some who may genuinely feel that the education reforms might affect their missions.

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This is an unfounded fear. Only an irresponsible person will attempt to rubbish or remove the legacy of missionaries in education in Osun and even in Nigeria. I attended mission primary and secondary schools here in Western Nigeria and I proudly display that on my resume.

“But let me take us back into a bit of our fairly recent history. Everyone knows that mission schools were taken over by the government of the Western State almost 38 years ago. This means that since 1975, all mission schools were owned, funded and run by government. But the successive state governments ensured that the names of the schools were not changed, in order to maintain the legacies of the founding missionaries.

“Therefore, as we rebuild the schools and expand their facilities, we also have not and will not tamper with their names. We believe that the missions and missionaries, who founded the schools, must be immortalized by retaining the names of the schools. For example, one of the completed middle schools in Osogbo is the Salvation Army Middle School at Alekuwodo.” n the prospects of returning mission schools to their initial owners, the Governor said: “I am also aware of the agitation of some missions to have schools returned to them.

Although, as I have said before, the schools have been owned by governments since 1975, our administration is not foreclosing the prospect of returning some of the schools upon the completion of our new schools.

“I wish to emphasize that this process can only begin upon completion of the schools we are currently and aggressively building all over the state. The process of return of schools must be well planned and executed because of the various implications, especially the fact that their ownership had changed almost four decades ago.”

On the newly introduced Omoluabi Corps and Instilling discipline in school children of the state the Governor said:

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•Anthony Udofia elementary school, Osogbo.

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“Osun is a state which will be a model of peace and tolerance. I would like to say that religious, political and ethnic tolerance is the basic foundation of our Omoluabi heritage. We must promote this culture of tolerance and civilized conflict resolution with all our might.

“This is why we have decided to establish an Omoluabi Peace and Conflict Management Commission. This is to be a standing commission where communal, religious, ethnic or other social disputes can be resolved by a body of respected elders from across Yorubaland and even other groups.”

Aside the free, functional and qualitative education programme of the incumbent administration in the State of Osun under the leadership of OgbeniRaufAdesojiAregbesola; there are numerous other mutually reconstructive, integrative programmes, policies and packages that are not only in tandem with, but also complementary to the orientation and philosophy of Omoluabi which has formed the core value and bent of the overall exertions of the administration.

In all its programmes and policies as well as the execution of all projects, the administration has so far been guided by fairness, justice, equity and fair-play; giving unto all strata and groups across the state as much as is reasonably required, in relation to what is desired within rational limits and within the affordable reach of available means. This is done with profound magnanimity; even in the face of dwindling monthly revenue allocation from the Federation Accounts. Today, honest analysts and unbiased observers would agree with OSUN DEFENDER Magazine that this administration has no equal among the ones that had come in earlier years in terms of contribution to the life of the state and the well-being of its residents in all ramifications. The immediate past administration, taken as case study only extorted from and sapped the economy of the state beyond the marrow, such that by the time the knell was sounded for its inglorious exit, the state had almost been dragged into an absolute state of insolvency.

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he case and fate of the state was as terrible as that! It is therefore shameful, disappointing and pitiful to hear insinuations peddled here and there; time and again by members of the leading opposition in the state: the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) attempting to denigrate the giant strides of the RaufAregbesola administration and the tangible, visible and all-encompassing achievements which are so glaring that they cannot be controverted.

In pragmatic terms, the State of Osun has in the past four years shed off its old image. The state has acquired new name, new status, and new destiny – all to the extent that her fortunes have changed for the better! This development came as fulfillment to the predictions we made at the beginning of the launch of the new underlying philosophy in year 2011. During that time under reference, OSUN DEFENDER Magazine postulated that the state’s acquisition of new name, sobriquet, logo / coat of arms, flag, anthem and all the rest transcended mere name-calling and or other superficial underpinnings. We predicted at that early stage that the names and other symbolic representations would speedily begin to speak aloud for the state; such that it would sooner than later be transformed into the envy of all other states around, both in Nigeria and yonder. We are glad today. We can stand tall and beat our chest that Osun is well on course to reaching the Canaan of her dreams.

With a view to reviving the lost glory in the area of education in the state, especially having in focus the abysmal performances in external examinations by candidates of the state’s extraction in recent years, lots of events have taken place such that one could safely conclude that a formidable background is now being laid for improvements in a non-distant future time.

In times part, following the adoption of the blueprints of the State of Osun Education Summit, criticisms had been rampant on the outcome of the summit and the entire education intervention package of the administration of the administration. In line with this, the basis of pointing accusing fingers by scoffers and detractors cannot be far-fetched.

On the whole, the pessimists who never

expected anything short of failure from the education programmes and policies of the administration condemned the Free, Qualitative and Functional Education Initiatives of the administration from its very inception. According to them, payments of school fees, tuition, Parents / Teachers’ Association Funds and other sorts of funds billed on parents and guardians (called by whatever name) are ways of getting parents and guardians as stakeholders actively involved in and astutely vomited to the education of their wards, especially as investors.

To the above reasoning we differ greatly. In the past years prior to the emergence of the incumbent administration on the horizons; most especially during the years of the holocaust that predated the upcoming of the administration, it was all manner of funds taxed on parents that made a complete mess of the ousted administration of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP). During that time, every manner of irregularities was the order of the day.

Even then, performances of candidates of the date’s extraction at public examinations were not significantly better than what obtains now. All the spate of decay and deterioration that we now experience are taints of the disservice left behind by that administration.

People tend to forget the past in such a hurry!

The education terrain inherited by the Aregbesola administration was such a shamble and mirage.

Our public schools had degenerated into centres of irregularities of sorts. Apart from the spate of infrastructural decay that was the order of the day in our public schools, other irregularities were of ever-increasing magnitude! Aside this, parents were taxed arbitrarily for every item of need of the school, such that pupils / students were required to take to schools seats, simple tools and other items or were made to make monetary payments for them time and time again!

Concerning academic performances, especially, performances of students of public schools in external examinations, the failure rate during that past era were graver that we have now!

Even the grave performances of those days were characterized by irregularities and examination

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malpractices. Then, almost every one saw examinations as contests that must be won on students’ side at all costs. Nearly all schools in the state were turned into “miracle centres” where superficial “excellent” results were falsified.

The ugly effects of these ungodly practices were not slow in coming. We had transition into institutions of higher learning of students who were not worth the title and the status. The concomitance is the turning out of graduates who could not in any way defend the certificates they profess to carry. All our streets got littered with unemployable graduates.

Still on the arguments that abrogation of all manners of fees by payable by parents got us to that abysmal juncture, OSUN DEFENDER Magazine disagrees in totality with this line of reasoning. Down the line of history, free education programmes brandished along with them increased school enrolment, broad-based functional instruction, free book distribution, provision of good, trained, qualified, competent and experienced teachers as well as era of relief and prosperity for parents and guardians. In corollary, improved students performances came in handy. This is such that the society looks back to those glorious eras with nostalgia.

Fond memories are captured of the laudable achievements of initiators of those initiatives.

As of the observed performances of candidates in the cited states of the federation which came from hind positions of obscurity to become frontliners, we congratulate them. While we do that, we intent to tread with caution, especially when it is considered that there could be diverse means to an end. In Nigeria of today, we witness states where political gladiators introduce strategies, gimmicks and tactics that are far from acceptable standards into winning elections.

Political leaders emerging in this fashion cannot evolve programmes and [policies that will produce good students and school leavers with honestly acquired results.

In some of these states we hear of heinous crimes including kidnapping, oil bunkering, vandalization of oil pipelines, insurgency and all

manners of criminal inclinations. During election periods, we witnessed in many of the states in questions electoral conducts that breach the peace of the land and those that are against principles of free, fair and credible elections. It is then questionable if the same states in question can conduct examinations that are flawless through their education institutions.

As a matter of fact, it is not all achievements (so-called) that are to be envied. Our culture has got so degenerated that we tend to have a bent toward celebrating achievements more than censoring the means that went into attaining the “feat”.

On that note, OSUN DEFENDEER Magazine feels duty-bound to caution parents, guardians and other stakeholders in the society on the need to take a review of our value system. By traditions, the Yoruba ethnic group has one of the best, richest and most precious value systems which have passed hands from one generation to another. Unfortunately, undue infiltration and incursion have worked adversely over the years to pollute and debase our fond legacies.

Today, most members of the society pride themselves either as Christians or Moslems.

There are no crimes in these religions. As a matter of fact, their doctrines and principles have the prime mandate and ultimate commission of breeding adherents who will be at peace with God, the Creator here on earth and even hereafter. Unfortunately, most of our people, a large chunk of whom is adherent to these two faith have missed it. We are in an end-time world of diverse, confused doctrines.

Apart from the first-ever State of Osun Education Summit held sometime in February 2011, the government of the day has never rested on its oars in putting in place lasting, reformative and enduring programmes and policies that would transform the sub-sector and assuage the hardship being faced in the process of securing brighter future for school leavers of the state, their parents, other significant role players, parents and guardians and the society at large.

At the wake of renewed efforts at salvaging the sub-sector this year, there were widespread outcries against the policy evolved by the administration to take the bull by its horns;

•Some of the school buses awaited distribution sometime ago.

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spurred by exigencies of the moment, to introduce some form of entry prerequisite for massive enrolment of candidates for participation in the annual May / June West African Secondary School Certificate Examinations (WASSCC); against the rag-bag arrangement that prevailed in years past. The prevailing economic adversities in the land are replete with austere, cost-saving measures for government in particular; and for the governed by extension.

In times past, the arrangement was to register and enroll all candidates in the certificate year in all state-owned public schools in Osun and present them for the examinations. Laudable as it appeared, the rag-bag arrangement had many lapses and flaws. Even though it had the prolific benefit of offering equal opportunities to all and sundry, irrespective of state of origin, socioeconomic background, religion, sex and other social strata, the abuses noticed with the system and the economic realities of the moment have taught the Government of the state some awful lessons.

We have, since sometimes in the perusal of this series, observed mass failure of candidates as major cause of great worry for stakeholders in the Education Sub-Sector of the State of Osun for some time now. One identified cause of this massive failure on the part of the student / pupil is the laissez-faire attitude that since the government is bearing the brunt of the expenses, the student and / or the parents has practically little or nothing to lose if the opportunity is squandered once or for many repeated times.

This unfortunate attitude is often the abuse that renders waste any concept that is declared free in Africa. nother aspect that bothered the minds of truly patriotic elements of the society while the practice lasted was reports on the nefarious activities of some school principals / administrators who allegedly collected enrolment fees for the examinations from awful number of parents for their wards across the borders and confines of the state; but who ended up offering the candidates for the examinations on the bills of the State

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itself. On January 22,

2014, the Governor of the state and grand designer cum prime mover behind all the innovation packages currently ongoing in the state, OgbeniRaufAregbesola was in the European nation of the United Kingdom on the invitation of the higher legislative chambers of that Queen’s country, the House of Lords, to enlighten, brief and teach the parliamentarians on the nitty-gritty and workings of the O’ Meal programme, which has turned it into a bundle of wonders in the state. It is no longer news the vibrant and ground-shaking standing ovation the governor was accorded at the event. hrough t h a t f e a t , O g b e n i A r e g b e s o l a has done us proud as a people as the first ever governor in Nigeria; even in Black Africa to be so esteemed and honoured to be summoned to lend knowledge to the White World, usually looked upon for originating innovations in virtually all areas of human endeavour, education inclusive. This feat came to the shame, confounding and stupefaction of detractors who see nothing good in virtually all the good gestures of the Aregbesola administration, especially in the Education sub-sector. More wonders are still expected to unfold for the present and during the years ahead; in spite of the currently prevailing paucity of funds.

“In addition, the poor condition of infrastructure in public schools in the state is already being radically reversed. Towards this end, the first phase of the construction of New Model 100 Elementary Schools, 50 Middle and 20 High Schools is in top gear. The

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Government! This dubious and treacherous practice imputed huge wasteful costs on the government, fraudulently enriched some greedy hawks in the service of the state and increased the failure / turn-over rate of young school leavers, who leave school without any hope of securing admissions into institutions of higher learning or prospects of getting some forms of job to do.

Of a truth, the factor which taught government lessons of hardest reality is the economic downturn and its attendant paucity of funds. We are living in a society where much is expected from government at all levels, yet relatively few of the adult, taxable population has obligation to fulfill to government. Without any conscious attempt at casting aspersion on the people or any segment of the society’s populace, we are in a society where irresponsible citizenship is rampant.

Instances abound everywhere in the society of individuals and groups who have little or nothing to sow into governance; yet they expect much from government for their various aspects of need. It could be quite difficult here to cite examples without appearing as critical o0f some segment of people in the society. The attempt here is to make a clarion call on all and sundry to weigh their relative contribution to the governance of the society and through that appraise their relevance and usefulness.

Faced with the realities of the moment, Government of the State of Osun was left with no other option than to review the conduct of enrolment for the vital external examination in question. One of the earliest innovations introduced into the selection process by the incumbent administration is the introduced of a unified Mock examination as screening formula in determining that government spending does not either go down the drains or spent after bad.

It would be remembered that the free enrolment project had been with us for some time before the advent of the incumbent administration. As we earlier traced it, one of the earliest challenges which confronted the administration, as far as the Education Sub-Sector was the stark reality that the examining body in question; the West African Examinations Council (WAEC) was withholding the results of the state’s candidates in the 2009 / 2010 edition of the West African Secondary

School Certificate Examinations (WASSCE); due, as they claimed to non-remittance of the specified entrance fees for the examinations. In spite of its newness in governance, and in spite of the backlog of debts the nascent administration met on ground, it measured up to the task of paying up the debt incurred on account of the examinations by the ousted administration of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP).

As subsequent years of the administration unfolded, even till the recent past, not only did the RaufAregbesola administration cater to this vital need of the youth, the many flaws it had notwithstanding. One major problem with growth and development in contemporary Nigeria is that corruption is a cankerworm that has eaten deep into our fabric; and the cabal of corruption is so fierce and resistant that they easily demonize any attempt to right wrongs to the benefit of all.

SUN DEFENDER Magazine observes that attempts by the Aregbesola administration to curb leakages so as to maximize welfare to all is the “crime” the administration has committed against the cabal that had hitherto held the society captive. While the practice of rag-bag payment lasted, some elements of the society benefitted to the full; so much they nearly rendered the society insolvent!

Now that all excesses are being curbed, they are left with no visible option than staging resistance in the order of calling the dog a bad name in order to hang it.

The next five or six paragraphs recast the illustrious efforts of the administration in the area of education, with a view to conveying that other noble initiatives were going hand-in-hand with the Free School Certificate Enrolment Scheme: “As a sub-sector of the Social Services Sector of our economy, the importance of education to the socio-economic and industrial development of any nation cannot be overemphasized. It is against this background that the administration of OgbeniAregbesola has remained resolute on the promotion of functional education in the state. The governor continually recounted how a timely discovery was made by his team that the educational infrastructures in our schools were in worrisome state upon their assumption of office

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in late 2010. In order to rightly and accurately assess the level of decay in our educational system, the Government of the State quickly held a two-day education summit with the theme: “Resolving the Education Crisis in Osun State: Bridging Analysis and Implementation Gaps” at the Osun StateUniversity (UNIOSUN) in February 2011. The summit was to become one of the most prominent and decisive giant strides taken by the Aregbesola administration. To put the record straight, it came as the first ever in the annals of education summits in the state! By that singular action, the incumbent administration demonstrated its unwavering resolve to tackle head-on the spate of neglect and rot that had bedeviled the education industry in the state.

Also by it, the Government Unusual took the bull by the horns to restructure and reconstruct amenities and infrastructure in the education sector of the state; in order to restore quality and promote functional education at all levels in the state.

“Apart from the Free Education Programme at the Primary and Secondary levels, the Aregbesola administration in the state has made remarkable achievements in the educational sub-sector. An instance of this is the rebranding, repackaging and transformation brought to bear on the Home-Grown School Feeding Programme; an old programme of the Yar’Adua / Oyinlola years; which has been resuscitated and rechristened Osun Elementary School Free Feeding and Health Programme (O’ Meal). With the reorganization and resuscitation of the programme, all the pupils in primaries one to four in public schools in the State of Osun are now covered under the free feeding programme which offers them wide assortments of highly nutritious meals during the school hours. Even meals that are not served in routine menu in conventional practice, like quality chocolate, milk, eggs and chicken are on the list of regular menu of the feeding programme.

“OSUN DEFENDER Magazine wishes to pause here and reflect briefly in passing the extent of international acceptance and recognition which the State of Osun; through the O’ Meal programme has garnered unto Continued on page 15

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•Ataoja High School, Osogbo.

fiscal year 2012 witnessed massive reconstruction and rehabilitation of the dilapidated school buildings inherited by the administration of the day from its inept preceding administration. This, the governor noted, is in consonance with the team’s determination to raise the standard of education in our dear state.

“It is in a bid to arrest the spate of perennial acute shortage of teachers in our schools and concomitantly ensuring effective teaching and learning activities in schools that the incumbent administration has embarked on massive recruitment and selection processes for qualified, quality, competent and experienced teachers for engagement at our Primary and Secondary levels. This step, apart from being a necessity to compensate for the ravaging neglect of the past; became necessary to take adequate and abundant care of the exploding enrolment figures in schools, following the introduction of a true, functional and qualitative education at those levels. pecifically, various selection exercises have so far been conducted by the State Universal Basic Education Board (SUBEB) and the State Post-Primary Teaching Service Establishment and Pensions Commission (TEPPO), involving various numbers of candidates successfully absorbed into the teaching service of the state. Following the large number of retirees in the state’s teaching service at the end of the 2012 fiscal year; arrangements were put in place in year 2013 to get a huge number of teachers employed in replacement for the retired ones. This plan saw the light of day as the year

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osun Defender Tuesday, May 3, 2016

witnessed massive recruitment and selection of teachers at those levels of education. With proper inauguration of appropriate boards in particular, provision of required number and quality of teaching personnel has begun to receive greater attention in the past year. In this direction, greater attention has been received during successive years.

“In addition to these numbers of teachers engaged, selection has also been made for competent and qualified teachers among the volunteer cadets of the popular Osun Youth Empowerment Scheme (OYES) and those hitherto employed by the Parents-Teachers’ Association (PTA). According to plan, the process of recruitment of teachers, which had been on, and was billed for completion within the first quarter of 2012, is intended to be a continuous process. What this implies is that even during the New Year, another batch of massive recruitment and selection of teachers is expected to be carried out for existing and continuouslyopening vacancies in the elementary and secondary rungs of the education ladder”.

As far as we have observed, lots are happening of late which showed that concerted efforts are on to restore the society back to the path of truth, honour and rectitude. Subsequent editions to this shall be devoted to giving account of these measures being taken to combat the menace and to forestall graver evil for our state and its people.

•To be continued

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Tuesday, may 3, 2016

t is agreed round the globe that the power of knowledge contributes in no small measure to the survival prospect of the people. That is why everybody puts in effort to ensure that at least, it is possible to fashion means scintilla to stay afloat in a drowning world of economic meltdown.

Means of survival should not, however be by hook or crook, as being experienced in various parts of the world presently. Nigeria has her fair share of the menace of insurgents that Boko Haram exerts over the years; and just as the people are heaving sighs of relief due to devastating blows dealt it by the rejuvenating efforts of the military recently, the herdsmen debacle erupted in a frightening dimension. Unless decisive steps are taken to stem the ongoing trend, the latest threat may become more daunting than the war of attrition that Boko Haram has pummeled us with over the years.

We will all recollect that the Boko Haram palaver started like a child’s play. Conjectures were rife in the beginning that it was politicallymotivated in Bornu State, due to the failure of some political leaders to fulfill their promises to some political thugs, who worked to maintain the political relevance of some bigwigs, but who later reneged in their earlier promise to adequately compensate them. The erstwhile ruling Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) then downplayed the threat that the insurrection posed; with many lives lost and people hoodwinked out of their comfort zones. Today, it has become a problem that not only drains our ever-dwindling resources, it really threatened our existence as a nation, until the recent decisive affront against it. Like the Boko Haram, the rustling of the herdsmen is growing to a dimension that may spark inter-tribal war, unless the issue is accorded its place of importance in our national life and decisively mitigated.

Boko Haram activities have been limited to the North-East, except on few occasions that their threats were carried to some other parts of the northern axis; especially in the Federal Capital Territory. It is not so with the herdsmen who appear to have struck in almost every part of Nigeria. The problem started gradually in Benue State; with Agatu people bearing the brunt more. Most able-bodied men of Agatu extraction have either been killed, or have been maimed; while some were forced into exile. Productivity in that area of Benue State has reduced drastically, to the extent that it has started having

By ade olugbotemi

Boko Haram And Fulani Herdsmen: Some Similarities

its toll on the quantity and quality of food available in the country. This has made the prices of farm produce like yam and potatoes to skyrocket.

The recent trend that occurred in Ondo, Edo, and most recently in Enugu States called to questioning the generally-held view that the problem is localized. It should no longer be considered a minor case if the Fulanis have the temerity to dislodge the Igbo, and threaten the Yoruba people in their age-long places of occupation. he Military Intelligence Unit notified the general public not long ago that the decimated Boko Haram sect are now trying to infiltrate the society since they have been dislodged from their familiar terrain and natural habitat in the North East. Nigerians, being who we are, will never take anything serious; not even the matters that threaten our peaceful existence and co-existence. ‘It doesn’t matter’ seems to be our natural language, even when our lives are threatened. We are too lackadaisical and complacent in matters that people in other climes don’t joke with. No wonder, our development has become so skewed, that what we regard as progress is actually retrogression in its true meaning. We trivialize all matters to our detriment. It is when things are getting out of hands that we will begin to fashion out emergency respite that will not endure. The dictum of ‘a stitch in time saves nine’ seems not to make meaning to us. Our leaders will want to wait until things get out of hands, so that they may benefit from the ensuing crisis situations.

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We must be sensitive to the way Boko Haram started, and how it has grown to the level it was before the recent decisive onslaught. It was a folk of political jobbers that initiated the group. They are still being financed for selfish reasons.

Now that the Federal Government is plugging the loopholes through which money is illegally siphoned, they will want to explore other means to survive. It has been discovered that there are not enough ranches for the cattle, which are predominantly owned by the politicians, whose illicit means of survival are now being threatened. That is why they will do all humanly possible to ensure that people are displaced from their natural homesteads or even killed to acquire grazing lands. Incidentally, the problem of desertification is not helping matters. The rate of desert encroachment is so damning now that cattle rearers are now drifting southwards for their herds to be guaranteed means of survival.

Unless the current trend is checkmated, crisis will continue to occur. The irony of it is that human beings still need protein to survive.

The need for protein as human food supplements should however not jeopardize the existence of human beings. The balance must be struck; and this can only be facilitated by the Federal Government through relevant bills to the National Assembly to guarantee the safety of lives and property through evolving operational guidelines. Grazing lands must be made available without jeopardizing the need for adequate food production by farmers.

A situation, whereby farmers cultivate their arable lands, only for cattle to destroy their farms, should no longer be encouraged.

Most farmers cultivate their lands on rotational basis. They cultivate the upland during raining season, and move to the river banks for dry season farming. That is why it becomes imperative for government to provide land that may be watered through irrigation, rather than for cattle to permanently pitch their abode around the river banks. he cattle rearers mustnot be allowed to carry sophisticated weapons henceforth.

They should be limited to the use of Dane guns that will not allow them to get unnecessarily too excited. A situation whereby cattle rearers carry AK 47 rifles about should be discontinued. The use of Dane guns should also be regulated in such a way that it is not used indiscriminately.

Proper education, as to the use of firearms, should be given to users to avoid the killing of innocent citizens. Those found guilty of indiscriminate use or wrong use should summarily be prosecuted to serve as deterrent and guarantee the safety of lives and property. Both the Federal and the state government must fashion out operational framework that will minimize areas of frictions that the cattle Rearers inordinately leverage on to perpetrate malfeasance.

Actual owners of cattle should be identified, so as to commit them to certain agreement bonds. In the event of contravention, both the cattle owners and the Rearers must be made answerable and penalized.

Killings of innocent souls must be discouraged as much as possible. The Federal government under President Muhammadu Buhari should effect some far reaching changes that will obliterate from our consciousness events of tribal colouration. Our common destiny must be wellprotected and guided in such a way that nobody from any part of the country will have the slimmest predilection for tribal sentiment.

The survival of our nation right now is premised on usages that will guarantee harmonious living without prejudice to the needed neutrality that statesmanship bestows on leaders to portray in handling their day to day official responsibilities.

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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.