The Nation Newspaper

Category: Osun

  • Osun Tribunal: Govt Accuses PDP Of Sponsoring Confusion

    The Government of the State of Osun on Friday  accused the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP)  of executing its plot to create confusion around the premises of the court, where the Osun Governorship Election Petition Tribunal has been sitting.

    The government alleged that large population of hoodlums, loyal to the PDP, stormed the premises of the court on Friday and created confusion around the Government House premises.

    Media aide to Governor Rauf Aregbesola, Semiu Okanlawon, in a statement said an earlier false accusation had been levelled against Governor Aregbesola by the PDP few days ago over a purported plot to bring hoodlums to pose as members of the judiciary workers union and prevent lawyers and members of the tribunal to gain access into the premises.

    He said that the government had called on the security agencies in the state to view PDP’s false accusation against Aregbesola as indication of their own plot to unleash violence on innocent people of Osun and the need to arrest anybody who breaches the peace of the state under whatever guise.

    Okanlawon said after the failure of the PDP’s hoodlums to unleash violence on innocent people, they resorted to baseless and wild jubilations, claiming that the tribunal had declared their candidate winner of the August 9, 2014 governorship poll.

    “It is startling how PDP leaders, their members and sponsored hoodlums could go to town, jubilating over a non-existent verdict. The parties to the petition only made final submissions to the tribunal.

    “Expectedly, the tribunal adjourned sine die (indefinitely) in order to return at a later date to announce its judgment date,” the statement noted.

    The statement therefore advised members of the public to dismiss PDP’s claims and view it as just another in the litany of the party’s lies and manipulations.

    On Friday, during the tribunal proceedings, security were beefed up around the court premises, as armed policemen and operatives of State Security Service (SSS) were deployed in the area to ensure that there was no breakdown of law and order.

    Members of the PDP after the tribunal sitting had gone to town singing that the tribunal had declared their candidate, Senator Iyiola Omisore winner.

    The news spread like a wildfire around the town, as residents of state were making calls to government officials and journalists to find out the true story concerning the sitting at the tribunal.

    The party’s National Secretary,  Professor Wale Oladipupo, Police Affairs Minister, Mr Jelili Adesiyan, Professor Oludaisi Aina, a senatorial candidate in the party, were among the leaders who led the party members to be jubilating around the major streets of the state capital.

    They later gathered at the secretariat of the party along Gbongan/Ibadan road and blocked the main road, dancing.

    Also dismissing the PDP claim, APC State Director of Publicity, Research and Strategy, Barrister Kunle Oyatomi, said; “it is not true that the PDP has won at the Election Petition Tribunal in Osogbo.

    “The PDP members had gone beserk. Nothing of sort has happened anywhere in any court of law of the Federal Republic of Nigeria.”

    The APC therefore, admonished the residents of the state to shun the rumour, describing it as wicked and cynical jubilation by PDP members around some centres in Osogbo that they have won at the tribunal.

    “It is not only false, it is intended to create confusion in the state capital and other cities. What happened at the tribunal was not a judgment. The tribunal simply had addresses by all counsel representing their clients on the case. After that, the tribunal chairman adjourned sitting indefinitely.

    “No date has been fixed for judgment. Only a terrible mischief-maker and political vagabond will go about town, declaring victory and rejoicing in a case of this nature, which the court has not made final pronouncement on.

    “The people of Osun should disregard PDP’s antics. That party is already losing its mind and its leadership in the State of Osun needs spiritual and medical help.

    “Governor Rauf Aregbesola is in charge and All Progressives Congress is the party in power in the State of Osun.

    “Nothing has changed that fact. Osun people should go about their lawful businesses and treat the PDP people, who were jubilating over nothing with pity for something has seriously gone wrong with them,” the APC said.

     

  • Fresh Tenure Well Deserved! (IV)

    Fresh Tenure Well Deserved! (IV)

    • Continued from last week.

    LAST edition closed at the point at which we were  giving attention to other sectors and sub-sectors of  the state’s economy as to the trendy events witnessed in them during the first tenure of Ogbeni Aregbesola in office. We must sound the note of reminder that our focus in the entire attempt is to bring out the numerous achievements of the Government Unusual; with a view to infer expectations or bring out perceived areas of next focus for the administration during its second tenure in office. The last edition, after giving graphical narrative of events which formed build-up to and fall-out from the August 9, 2014 Gubernatorial Election in the state, printed succinct pictures of events, activities, projects and programmes which formed the milestone achievements in sectors and sub-sectors like Home Affairs, Culture and Tourism and Information and Strategy. Starting with the remaining parts of truth concerning the Information and Strategy Sub-sector, we now turn to give consideration to other sectors and sub-sectors:

    A whole world of difference exists between the two administrations. The introduction of another public forum aimed at bringing the governor in close contact with the people has served tremendously to demystify myths, lies and falsehood peddled around by the opposition in the state. More than this, it has provided the governor and his team with the ample opportunity of getting accurate feel of the needs, desires, wishes, yearnings and aspiration of the people; even to the basest grassroots. We saw Gbangba D’ekun actively at work as build-up to the last Governorship Election in the state.

    The quarterly-held Ministerial Press Briefing held at the instance of the State of Osun Ministry of Information and Strategy is another effective tool wielded to bridge likely communication gap that could arise between the government and the governed. One of the latest held editions of the press conference, which featured the commissioners of all ministries, some general managers of parastatals and senior special assistants to the governor has done well to demystify the activities of government and guided right the perception and mindset of the generality of the people. Apart from this, the State Executive meetings are no longer as far-between as they used to be during the Oyinlola years. The total number of State Executive meetings held during the entire Oyinlola years is put between fifty and seventy; whereas the administration of the day makes it a point of duty to meet weekly in order to discuss and pool ideas together to move the wheel of development and progress of the state forward in an accelerated fashion. On occasions when those meetings are not held, there must be some other important businesses of government preoccupying the governor and his cabinet. For example, sometime during the just-concluded year (2014), the governor and his cabinet took time off during the period slated for the normal State Executive meeting to pay an unscheduled visit to the sites of some completed/ongoing projects in the state, especially, within Osogbo, the state capital. There is no time when the former State Commissioner for Information, Honourable Sunday Akere would not brief the people on the outcome of the deliberations of the State Executive Meeting

    Concerning the state-owned media houses, there has been huge investment by the State Government of Osun to the media houses to boost their effectiveness, sufficiency and productivity in terms of education, public enlightenment and information dissemination concerning happenings globally and the various activities of government. The Osun State Broadcasting Corporation (OSBC) Radio and Television, Oke Baale, Osogbo has witnessed massive overhaul and rehabilitation which has brought about lots of improvement on their scope of operation, news contents and telecast. The New Dawn Television (NDTV), Ibokun has also been improved in similar vein. The same is true of the Osun State Broadcasting Corporation, Orisun FM, Ile Ife. These media houses have been lifted up to the level of standards obtainable elsewhere in the world. We intend to add in passing that the incumbent administration has the plan in the pipeline to commence another media station; a radio station named Omoluabi FM. According to the former Commissioner of Information and Strategy, Honourable Sunday Akere, the station, which shall be totally committed to transmitting in the Yoruba language and its various dialect s shall soon commence transmission, say, during this year (2015).

    The first transformation witnessed by the Reality Television Service (RTS), Iwo was that of change in nomenclature and broadening in its scope of operation. Immediately on assumption of office, the Aregbesola administration changed the name of this outfit to Reality Radiovision, Iwo. The implication of this is that the station’s activities are no longer to be confined to television telecast, but there is going to be a sort of broadening to include radio broadcast. In pursuance of this, the station has been reinvigorated tor the two purposes with huge capital outlay. The reconstruction of parts of the station which were devastated by the inferno of the Oyinlola years earlier mentioned above has been carried out. Also, gadgets and equipment that were missing have been replaced. Other materials and equipment which procurement contract works had been awarded but which were abandoned have been supplied. Other materials and equipment which had not been awarded or provided for have been supplied; while shipment of a great deal of materials and equipment for the smooth operation of the station is being currently awaited. During the course of the year 2013,, the test-broadcast of the Reality Radiovision, Iwo’s Radio segment, branded Odidere FM 96.3 Frequency commenced. This hint was first dropped no less person than the political head of the ministry at the time, Honourable Sunday Akere.

    Before drawing the curtains on the activities of this sector and its performances in the past forty-eight months viz-a-vis the previous seven-and-a-half years, we need to mention the plan in the offing to make some of the stations specialized stations. These stations include the New Dawn Television, Ibokun; which is intended to telecast issues purely in the field of Education; while the OSBC Orisun FM, Ile Ife is intended to broadcast issues relating purely to Culture and Agriculture. These giant strides present the summary of events and activities in the Information and Strategy segment of life of the state in the last forty-eight months or thereabouts. Further details shall be bared in later segments of the report.

     

    THE series so far has been out to document the many  good sides of the government of the day, typified as  “Government Unusual”. In earlier editions, we have considered how the administration was exemplified as people-friendly t through the numerous people-oriented services it had continued to render to the indigenes and residents of the state since its coming on board on Saturday, November 27, 2010, following the verdict of the Federal Court of Appeal sitting in Ibadan, Oyo State. In the space of time under review, spanning forty-eight months or thereabouts, the state has witnessed unprecedented radical growth, development, progress and enhancement in practically all facets of life. So far so good, the lease of life witnessed has been accelerated to the extent that it is quite safe to conclude that the state has never in her annals had it so good. We on the team of OSUN DEFENDER Magazine like other progress-loving people around look back proudly with nostalgia at the glorious era of late Chief Obafemi Awolowo as the Premier of the defunct Western Region; and at a later date, that of late Chief Bola Ige as the Governor of the old Oyo State during the Second Republic; and with the astounding performances of Ogbeni Rauf Adesoji Aregbesola and his indefatigable team, we have come to the conclusion that all is not lost for our state and the entire nation of Nigeria. With the score sheet he has in four years into his first tenure in office, we are reassured that with the depth of depravity in the society of today, we  are still blessed with men who are not self-seeking but who have the interest and love of our teeming populace at heart and who, in the true spirit and traditions for which our culture and forebears were long reputed, can hold their own to champion the cause of humanity for the good of the generality of our people and that of the generations yet unborn. With Aregbesola and his team at the saddle of governance in our state, we have been blessed beyond measure.

     

    THE Local Government, Chieftaincy Affairs and Community Development is our next port of call. This sub-sector witnessed utter debasement and degradation during the period of the fiery siege unleashed on the state by the erstwhile administration in the state. First and foremost, we have, in earlier parts of this series of this edition, seen how countless number of illegal deductions was indiscriminately made from the monthly statutory allocation of the thirty local government councils and the Ife East Area Office during that inglorious reign.

    We also mentioned how local government councils were relegated to a position of mere existence since they could not function in the true context within the statutory provisions laid out for them as the third tier of government in Nigeria. During the days of that administration and its umbrella party, the People’s Democratic Party (PDP), it became forbidden for local government councils in the state to tar roads or to execute other tangible projects that are vital and that we all know could impact the lives of people at the grassroots meaningfully. By this sad trend, the monthly statutory allocation accruing to government at the third tier in the state from the Federation Accounts became target for randy politicians in the name of executing a number of projects centrally at the state level. At the end of the day, no particular project which the administration claimed to have committed the monies so deducted to was carried to a logical conclusion. We shall now take a look at some few of such phantom projects and programmes.

    It was the practice during those past years for dependants, cronies, sycophants, bootlickers and party faithful of the People’s Democratic Party (PDP) to adorn the premises of local government council secretariats all over the state at month-ends; especially on pay-days to collect salaries for services not rendered. These unearned salaries caused the payroll of council areas in the state to overbloat; thus leaving the councils practically unable to execute meaningful capital projects for the ultimate benefit of the generality of the people in their domains. So the local government councils merely existed as money machines to satisfy the lustful desires of the categories of people highlighted above.

    At the inception of the multi-campus Osun State University (UNIOSUN) in 2005/2006, it was too glaring even to the Oyinlola administration that his administration could scarcely afford the means to finance and sustain a citadel of that grandeur; more so, simultaneously with the burden of Ladoke Akintola University of Technology (LAUTECH), Ogbomoso, which it had to co-fund with its partner Oyo State. The next available option for that administration was to turn to local governments for compulsory imposition of levies which were deductible from source upon the arrival of the monthly statutory allocation from the Federation Accounts at the centre. At the beginning, the fraction deducted was 10 per cent. Later it was reduced to 5 per cent monthly. Such were local government councils in the state plundered, in defiance of voices of dissent raised by patriots and diplomats against the unconventional practice. The ruling party of the time, the People’s Democratic Party (PDP) itself could not intervene; obviously because the practice had become stock-in-trade for it anywhere it held sway. Clearly, the practice was seen as the easiest way of making cheap money to dole out to its numerous cronies and hangers-on.

    Another area where local government councils in the state became victims of compulsory deductions from their monthly statutory allocation from the Federation Accounts was the compulsory N1 Million deduction from the monthly statutory allocation coming to each o the thirty local government councils and the Ife East Area Office in connection with the Songhai Programme. These deductions were made for a period of time more than a year. The implication, as OSUN DEFENDER Magazine pointed out continuously in those days is that in every month, the administration made from this particular heading of deductions alone a cool sum of N31 Million! Readers are left to sum the deductions up for a year and a half in order to actually determine the huge plunder made out of the local government accounts in the state during the People’s Democratic Party (PDP)-led Oyinlola administration.

    One measure employed by the ousted administration in order to get through with its heinous agenda with the local government councils in its days in power was that the party (People’s Democratic Party-PDP) manipulated that the administration succeeded in getting a bunch of scarcely educated nominees to clinch tickets into the councils as chairmen and councilors. This ploy was ensured to ascertain that whoever emerged would not be able to hold his own or raise questions concerning any order or directive issued out to him while in office. That explains why the local government political functionaries in those dark days were all prefects and mostly puppets.

    Here we are. In today’s State of Osun, the local government councils are functioning with full capacity; even so, more than at any point of time since their establishment. The first thing Aregbesola did upon his assumption of office was to abolish all forms of deductions from their monthly statutory allocation accruing from the Federation Accounts. This was done to enable the government at the grassroots dispense good democratic governance to the people at that level; and to do so to full capacity. Evidences to this abound all around us today; and they subsist in forms of good motorable roads, potable water provision, environmental sanitation, agriculture, employment generation and youth empowerment, good medical/health delivery services, distribution of free insecticide treated mosquito nets, to mention just a few.

    So far in the State of Osun, elections could not be held into local government councils. This is no fault of the government of the day; but attributable to continuous suits filed by the opposition against government. First, it was against the composition of Caretaker Committees at that level. We are all living witnesses to the way that case ended. Today, the case filed by the opposition to challenge the constitution of the State of Osun Independent Electoral Commission (OSSIEC) has been botched. We now have a fully constituted OSSIEC in place. There are high prospects to holding free, fair and credible local government polls anytime during the New Year; especially with the coast clear over the re-election of the Rauf Aregbesola administration. What we intend to bring out is that these continuous litigations have caused elections into local government councils not to be held in the state.

    Upon the assumption of office of Ogbeni Aregbesola for his first term in office, he embraced the illegitimate chairmen and local councils he met on ground; in spite of their illegitimacy! This was even against the backdrop that the preceding administration had earlier defied a court injunction ordering those council chairmen and members to quit office. Aregbesola stayed in with those illegal office holders till their ouster came most naturally. Aregbesola assumed office on Saturday, November 27, 2010; the illegitimate council “prefects” of Oyinlola years were ousted on Friday, December 17, 2010, via the justice dispensed through the judgment delivered by the apex court of the land, the Supreme Court of Nigeria.

    It has become as clear as the dawning day today that fundamentally, peace and tranquility came to have foothold in the State of Osun as soon as the Aregbesola administration came on board. Prior to the emergence of the administration, tension was high. The state was hot. Insecurity and uncertainty filled the air. Like the Biblical House which divides against itself that will not stand; the ruling party of the day was the cause of the whole tension. The contention for governorship ticket within the People’s Democratic Party (PDP) ahead of the proposed 2011 Gubernatorial Elections was enough to snuff life out of the state and bring its entire people into extinction. Thank goodness, that election never saw the light of day. It became most unnecessary as the earlier-held one (2007 Polls) got upheld for the right candidate in a sudden twist of miracle. Those developments marked the genesis of the trend of progress which we enjoy; relish and savour; and celebrate today.

    Lastly, there is all likelihood to suggest that before the horizons darken for the next year 2015, there shall have been created for the State of Osun not less than additional twenty-seven (27) local government council areas; thereby hastening the pace of progress and development and bringing the government closer to the people.

     

    ANOTHER vital sub-sector of the Social Services Sector in the life of our state is Health Services. Services in this sector are also rendered free by the incumbent administration. During the 2011 fiscal year, the government of the State of Osun recorded remarkable achievements in the health sub-sector, particularly, in the provision of infrastructure, procurement of drugs and medical consumables, capacity building of the medical and health workers, free screening of people with eye defects and provision of free eye glasses and drugs, free surgical operation to remove hernia, lumps in the breast and keloid, etcetera. The Free Qualitative Health Programme of the Aregbesola administration was pursued with all doggedness and determination in the year 2011. As a mark of the administration’s commitment to Free Qualitative Health Programme, a total sum of N191.7 Millionwas expended by the Government of the State during the year on purchase of drugs and medical consumables alone. This giant stride was carried on unabated in the year 2012 and subsequent years till date.

    According to Governor Aregbesola, in pursuance of the administration’s vision to save our people from all avoidable diseases and deaths; government would continue to increase accessibility to quality health care services in all the nooks and crannies of the state by ensuring the completion of all ongoing hospital projects down the lifespan of his administration; as well as the upgrading of the comprehensive health centres and general hospitals in selected towns in the state. The School of Health Technology, Ilesa and the schools of Nursing and Midwifery, Osogbo have also begun to receive adequate attention and care. Particularly, they have started to receive adequate funding and supply of equipment in the 2012 fiscal year. This kind gesture has continued into year 2013 and subsists till date. The tempo is still rotund.

    The governor drew attention to the significant improvement that had been made in the reduction in neo-natal, infant and maternal mortality. Also, he drew attention to how increased immunization coverage and other relevant indicators of Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) had taken place. He commented that the fight against the scourge of Human Immuno-Deficiency Virus / Acquired Immune Deficiency Syndrome (HIV / AIDS) would continue to be pressed with renewed vigour in order to ensure that the prevalence rate is reduced to the barest minimum. He also made it known that the State Action Committee on the Control of AIDS (SACA) would metamorphose into a full-fledge agency in 2012. This promise has also seen the light of day. Also, rapid response teams in the Health sub-sector comprising surgeons and experts have been set up during subsequent years to attend aptly to the health needs of the people.

    Ogbeni Aregbesola made his words his bound in 2012, when he, in conjunction with his Oyo State counterpart devoted quality attention to the development of Ladoke Akintola University of Technology Teaching Hospital (LAUTECH-TH),Osogbo. In order to truly restore healthy living to the people of the State of Osun, the incumbent administration allocated a total sum of N1.8 Billion in the draft 2012 Budget for the execution of its programmes in the sub-sector. As was pointed out by the governor, the government’s spending on health was not limited to the sectoral allocation alone. Spending on environment, job creation and poverty alleviation and other programmes of government that promote the welfare and happiness of the people would definitely impact positively on health. On account of the Osun State Agency for the control of AIDS (OSACA) – a brainchild of the Aregbesola administration; and the Ladoke Akintola University of Technology Teaching Hospital (LAUTECH-TH), the budget size for the sub-sector was eventually reviewed upwardly in the last year’s Appropriation Act.

    It is highly commendable how great improvement and remarkable facelift have been brought to bear on the public health facilities in the state. During all the held series of Ogbeni Till Daybreak and Gbangba De’kun; two versions of the public enlightenment (sensitization)/ audience participation programme organized by the incumbent administration, it instilled all progressive-minded members of the audience with pride how the various functionaries of governments recounted their achievement in the general overhaul of public hospitals.

    Worthy of great commendation is the introduction of Osun Ambulance Service, nicknamed O’AMBULANCE. This rapid response mechanism to accident and emergencies has been of auspicious and invaluable assistance in saving lives of citizens who would have been sent into their untimely grave.

    We count it most unnecessary to go back to recounting the sad experience of the past dark years when the emergency health services in the state were close to nothing. We only wish to raise our hearts of thanksgiving to God who has blessed the state and its residents with responsible and responsive government. Today, health services and drugs and consumables are qualitative, comprehensive and accessible and all are rendered / provided free of charge in all public hospitals across the state.

    We also need to commend the intervention efforts of the Aregbesola administration in stemming and containing the outbreak of the Ebola Virus Disease (EVD) during the just-concluded year (2014). We do not need to dwell much on this as the frantic effort of the administration in the mentioned regard remains fresh in memory.

     

    IN the area of Finance, Commerce, Industry and Industrialization, the ongoing Rauf Revolution has so overwhelmingly impacted on the socio-economic lives of the people of Osun that the state is currently being transformed into a land of full prosperity and bright full opportunity for all citizens. Before his assumption of office, the state had nearly been run into insolvency by the impostors who held her and her people captive. Aside the fact that there were no meaningful projects on ground to justify the presence of a government in the state during that dark era; the flimsy excuse on the tongue of the executive of the time is that there was shortage of funds to execute projects that would have impacted positively on the lives of the people.  As if to add salt to injury, the handlers of the state at the time always lamented that they were financing the salaries and allowances of civil/public servants in the state through bank loans and overdrafts. Not only that, they rushed to obtain a loan from a commercial bank to the tune of N18.3 Billion

    (first installment of about N36 Billion) about three or four months to their ouster from office. He did this in utter defiance to and total disregard of the voice of reason by members of opposition and all other stakeholders who meant well for the state. At the end of it, nothing tangible could be found on ground as evidence to having sunk such enormous sum into the economy of the state.

    Upon his assumption of office, one of the first most terribly threatening challenges the incoming administration met on ground; and which it must find urgently surmountable was huge repayment and servicing of huge debts of which the just afore-mentioned loan is a component. Upon all, the Oyinlola administration was always indebted to workers a backlog of salaries and allowances; while substantial amounts of pension and gratuity were owed to senior citizens (retirees). We once mentioned the high school fees regime that characterized the education sector in the state in those days. On top of it, authorities of state-owned institutions of higher learning were compelled to provide counterpart funding for the payment of salaries and allowances of their workers. Other arbitrary fees were charged on pupils/students at all levels of public schools in the state just as it pleased the inordinate desires of those at the helm of affairs. This is not to talk of illegal, indiscriminate deductions from local government monthly statutory allocation, just as it was deemed necessary! Upon all, tongues of all top functionaries of that government wagged for shortage of funds.

    This sad trend was reversed by the Aregbesola administration. The loans and debts were immediately totted up and rescheduled; while all avenues through which substantial amounts in revenue that would have accrued into the coffers of the state were leaking out were blocked. Ever since, all forms payments of revenue into the coffers of the state have been made through e-banking. Through this latter measure, the monthly revenues of the state have been raised by an upward of N20 Million! The spate of ghost worker has been successfully combated. Also the school fees regime at the tertiary level was instantly reviewed backward, while education at primary and secondary levels became free in all ramifications.

    The practice of making illegal deductions from the local government statutory allocations ceased with immediate effect. All contractors who had hitherto defaulted/abandoned contract works assigned to them were mobilized back to site. The entire backlog of salaries, allowances and retirement benefits met on ground unpaid was settled. Also, an instant end came to the imprudent practice of having to approach commercial banks for loans and overdrafts over any expenses of the state. In short, accountability, probity, prudence; transparency and integrity which had been debased as core values and virtues of the Yoruba race were restored. Today, we are all better for it. More details have come to fore in subsequent editions of this series.

    During the period of the fiery siege, which lasted for complete seven-and-a-half years; Osogbo the state capital had completely lost its hard-won status as a commercial city. Earlier efforts by the Alliance for Democracy (AD)-led administration of Chief Bisi Akande to regain these lost grounds were not accorded continuity. The Orisunmbare Ultra Modern Market constructed by that administration was not put to use; instead, it became refuse dumping ground. In the event of time, it became overgrown with weeds and bushes, hence an abode for rodents and reptiles. That was under an administration which self-styled itself as Ore Ara Ilu i.e. People-Friendly Government.

    Today, under a more capable government administered by Ogbeni Aregbesola, the Orisunmbare Ultra Modern Market has found its full use; likewise other shopping spaces privately developed at various legitimate locations within the state capital and all other locations throughout the entire state. If the non usage of the facilities all this while had been a result of people’s resistance to change, the massive development projects being embarked upon, involving demolition of illegal structure had made them to take recourse to normalcy and abide by rules of civility and decency. Today, Osogbo metropolis is a better place to behold.

    Apart from the Orisunmbare Ultramodern Market in Osogbo, other efforts at reconnecting Osogbo and the entire state to their rightful place in commerce are ongoing. The reconstruction work at MDS and Station Road of the city shall soon be commenced. Already, the Railway Station and Old Garage area of the city are already a bee-hive of activities, even as the railway services in the state are being resuscitated in collaboration with the hitherto moribund Nigerian Railway Corporation (NRC); a feat that the Federal Government could not have recorded! It is also placed on record that the Aregbesola administration has since inception been providing free conveyance for indigenes of the state who intend to travel home during festivities like Id-el-Kabir, Id-el-Fitri, Christmas/New Year and Easter. According to the former State of Osun Commissioner for Commerce, Industry and Co-operatives, Alhaji Jayeoba Alagbada, at a Quarterly Press Briefing organized at the instance of the State Ministry of Information and Strategy sometime during year 2013, the free railway transport services facilitated by the Government of the State of Osun through his Ministry had by May 2013 transported up to 20,000 travellers during festivities to Osun. This figure has consistently moved upward, as more and more travellers patronized the free rail transport which they have found to be cheap, economical, safe, secure, timely and responsive. Even travellers from neighbouring states have benefitted immensely from the scheme.

    Another major step being currently taken in the direction of commerce in the state is the world-class Ayegbaju International Market fully constructed, commissioned and delivered at the site of Old Government Secretariat in Ogo-Oluwa Area of Osogbo, the state capital, The intention behind the creation of this market is to provide a spacious avenue for selling finished products carted in from Lagos via the railway; while agricultural produce are carted back through the same means. For this purpose, the Osogbo Railway Terminus has been given facelift, including in spaces, pedestrian bridge, warehouses and other facilities to upgrade it to the new status. With the emergence of the New Ayegbaju Market, traders would be saved the risks, rigors, time and cost of going to Lagos for replenishing their stock. In effect, consumers too will be offered quality products at the same moderate prices obtainable in Lagos. This shall contribute in no small measure to the economic welfare of the people of the state. It is expected that the first phase of shops at the Ayegbaju International Market will be delivered for official commissioning any moment from now.

    Similarly, another market has sprung up through the dynamic leadership of Ogbeni Aregbesola. That is the  Aje International Market at the Ido Osun outskirts of Osogbo, the state capital. The site of this market is the Trade Fair Complex which the Oyinlola administration claimed falsefully to have developed to international standard. Amply located close to the proposed Ido Osun International Airport, named as Moshood Abiola Airport, the market shall upon completion tower prominently to aid and promote international trade as well as boost the commerce of the State of Osun.

    Another in the list of markets being constructed in the state is the Dagbolu International Market, at Dagbolu Village, Oba Junction, along Ikirun/Ofa Road of Osogbo, the state capital. This market is clearly the largest of the three projects with full facilities to fit the status of an international market. Proximity of the railway system to the location of this market is a big plus. The location of the three markets shall serve the purpose of feeding other towns in the state based on their nearness to specific axis.

    Other efforts of the Aregbesola administration in the area of commerce include the construction and development of the Ido Osun Aerodrome to the full status of an international airport named M.K/O. Abiola Airport; development of industrial estates in the State of Osun; and development of Ajagba Fair complex at Ilesa and Olufi Complex at Gbongan, with similar ones in Osogbo, Ikirun, Ede, Iwo, Ile Ife and Ila Orangun. Concerning the M.K.O. Abiola Airport, Ido Osun, it is an International Airport, the contract for which is to the tune of N4.6 Billion, to be completed and delivered before the end of the current year.

    We should not fail to mention the upgrade and full utilization of the Free Trade Zone; a spacious land mass acquired by the State Government since the time of the immediate past administration. The effort of the incumbent administration has yielded the dividend of securing the land for the state for use as assemblage plant for mini buses, popularly called korope. When the activities of the plant fully kick off, the plant would be the hub of supply of the specific brand of China-made mini bus for all states of the federation.

    We also wish to document the siting of the Bola Ige Mechatronics Centre in Esa-Oke. The purpose of this, aside provision of means of livelihood to more and more of our citizens, is to entrench maintenance culture in our citizens. Through the activities of the centre, care and maintenance would be provided for automobile, with a view to lengthening their lifespan and ensure their smooth use by motorists and commuters alike.

    One memorable feat recorded in the area of commerce is the participation of the state at the Niger State Trade Fair held in Minna around July, 2012. It would be remembered that the state had topmost ranking at that trade fair. In addition, in further pursuance of the concept of Omoluabi, arrangement is in top gear by the Government of the State of Osun to introduce standard measures and scales to the state to avoid cheating and inordinate wealth-making; so as to attract and endear more of patronage to Osun market.

    The industrial thrust of the Aregbesola administration does not end with the foregoing. Aside the Osun Youth Empowerment Scheme (OYES); several empowerment programmes have been organized, particularly, for women and other classes of people in the state. Also as an offshoot of the Osun Youth Empowerment Scheme, several training programmes have taken participants to different parts of the world, like OYES-Tech and the agricultural training which has taken participants to Germany. The Aregbesola administration has also invested hugely in the electricity supply situation of the state with the view of boosting the industrial and commercial drive of the state thereby. Today, electricity supply has so improved that Osun is ranked as one of the states in the federation with the most constant and regular supply of electricity. The massive investment of government in improvement of electricity supply includes distribution of electricity transformers and planned installation of three more feeders to connect the state to the main grid if the Power Holding of Nigeria; as well as the planned integrative efforts with other states of the South West to provide alternative source of energy via the abundance of natural gas in oil-rich Ondo State. Internally, the recently launched O’Clean Plus is a waste management drive of making wealth from waste and producing alternative source of household energy consumption through biogas. It is hoped that this venture, when commercialized, shall impact boost on the economy of the state.

    The most recent stride in the direction of Trade, Commerce, Industry and Cooperatives is the provision of credit and loans for traders and investors in the state. The State Government of Osun, under the aegis of the State of Osun Micro Credit Agency has committed a sum of N40 billion to this scheme, which is intended to lift the bar of enterprise, self-dependence and poverty reduction among the people, indigenes and residents of the state. Already, beneficiaries who emerged through transparent and unbiased scrutiny system are smiling home with robust sums of credit with which to solidify the bases of their businesses. In addition, motorcycles, mini-buses (popularly known as korope) and luxury buses are provided for commercial transport operators in the state through their various trade unions with convenient yet expedient terms of pay-up.

     

    NEXT point of consideration is environment,   sanitation and hygiene. This vital sub-sector is of high essence if lasting health and well-being are desirable anywhere. This is because a healthy mind resides in a healthy body, which is in turn domiciled in a clean, healthy environment. In the past, Osun was a victim of a grossly degraded environment; with incidents of pollution and indiscriminate refuse disposal being very rampant. We cast our minds back to the ugly sights of the past, the perennial flooding and erosion that threatened the residents of the state with extinction and the undulating terrains which our roads had been turned into. We remember in particular the flood of July7, 2010; which inflicted serious damages of incalculable value on people in Osogbo and other parts of the state; and in which many lives and inestimable property perished. We remember similar incidents which occurred in earlier years during the time of the immediate past administration. We remember those terrible stenches occasioned by huge refuse heaps which dotted our streets; even within the metropolis of Osogbo, the state capital. We remember the pollution that continuously characterized the adjoining communities to the State Hospital, Asubiaro; where mortuary pollution nearly made the people prone to attendant dangers of epidemics. We remember how carcasses of animals and even corpses of lunatics simply littered the streets and were watched to complete processes of decomposition there without proper disposal or burial, thereby threatening the health and good living of the people. The list is long indeed!

    Today, the Aregbesola administration has made all these ugly sights and smells a banished outcast that no one dare harbor in our midst. Right from the inception of his administration, Aregbesola took the bull by the horns when he declared a 90-day emergency on environmental sanitation. He took the decisive step of introducing bi-monthly and weekly environmental sanitation exercises as the case may be to execute rapid transformation of our towns and cities into decent places of abode for healthy individuals, and to sustain the culture of cleanliness, which, according to sages, is next to Godliness. Today, sanitation and safe health practices have so much become internalized in the lives of our people that clean environment has become their creed. What this implies is that people now troop out en masse to observe sanitation willingly without being coerced or instigated. People now abide by simple laws of decent refuse disposal, a feat hitherto considered unrealizable by pessimists!

    To corroborate these gestures, the Government Unusual has invested massively in the sanitation drive of the state through certain initiatives like the inauguration of the Osun Youth Empowerment Scheme (OYES), the O’CLEAN programme and recently, the O’CLEAN Plus. Also, there has been massive investment in the purchase and provision trucks and equipment for collection, disposal and processing of wastes and their conversion into wealth.

    With the State of Osun Waste Management Agency (OWMA) properly in place, the waste disposal efforts of the incumbent administration is availing much to arrest problems hitherto associated with environmental degradation and pollution. This is done quite effectively with all hands on deck; even with the active collaboration of the private sector.

    Any moment from now, the first step shall be taken toward ensuring that our streets, roads and communities are rid of indiscriminate waste disposal; even as waste disposal baskets shall be distributed to all commercial bus / mini-bus operators so that passengers do not just drop waste papers, nylon and other materials through window panes to the roads. This intervention effort, according to OWMA sources shall soon be extended to other stakeholders so that the measures shall be broad-based and all-encompassing. Readers shall bear with us that these mentioned activities are just a tip of the iceberg in the list of activities so far embarked upon by the administration of Ogbeni Rauf Aregbesola in reversing the ugly trend of dirty environment in the State of the Virtuous.

    This New Year promises higher grounds to be reached in this sector; even as residents show promise of greater cooperation and participation in activities bordering on the conservation and preservation of the environment.

    To be continued.

     

  • Fayose: It Is Silly To Mock The Dead, Have Death Wish For Buhari

    Controversial governor of Ekiti State, Ayodele Fayose, is currently in the news for what people described as offensive and inciting advert in national newspapers, where he paraded past northerners, who were former heads of state that died in office, with the picture of the presidential candidate of the All Progressives Congress (APC), General Muhammodu Buhari.

    Fayose, who was not ready to apologize for the advert, maintained that Buhari is too old and might also die in office like General Murtala Mohammed, Sanni Abacha and Umaru Musa Yar’Adua.

    The advert generated knocks and criticisms from politicians, professionals in media profession and civil societies, who decried the level at which Fayose was going about politics and campaigns for President Goodluck Jonathan’s re-election.

    The Buhari/Osinbajo Campaign Organization in the State of Osun has cautioned Fayose against what it described as ‘campaign of calumny, irresponsibility and uncultured language contained in his advertorial published in some of the national newspapers.

    According to the campaign organization, the content of the advertorial was capable of undermining the unity of Nigeria and truncating the peace of the country.

    The group condemned in totality the advert in which Fayose paraded former northern heads of state that died in office with a question mark on Buhari’s picture, apparently doubting the longevity of Buhari, if he emerges as the President of the country.

    Chairman of the campaign group in the state, Senator Mudasiru Husein, said that the advert portrayed Fayose as not only a silly politician, but also a governor lacking in morality and common sense.

    Husein in an interview with OSUN DEFENDER on Monday stated that it was irresponsible, barbaric and ungodly for Fayose to be mocking the dead, who were military presidents from the northern part of the country, in the name of politics.

    He added that it was sinful and foolhardy for Fayose to wish Buhari an untimely death because of politics, just as he condemned President Goodluck Jonathan and the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) for supporting such provocative advert messages.

    “The advert is a big slap on the northerners, the Muslims and Nigerians in general. I believe that a sane person would not be mocking the dead and wishing his fellow human being untimely death because of politics. Fayose needs to apologize to Nigerians and specifically, the families of the former heads of state he paraded in the offensive adverts.

    “Fayose and the PDP are poking the northerners in the eye deliberately with the advert. Has he forgotten that Aguyi Ironsi, a southerner and a Christian, died as the Head of State. I must say that the advert is capable of generating both religious and ethnical crisis across the country. It is only a fool that will play politics with the sensitivity of religions and ethnicity at the present time in Nigeria.

    “It is necessary to conduct a psychiatric examination for Fayose because of his misbehaviour and unguided statements. PDP is a sinking ship and its passengers should not sink Nigeria with it.”

     

  • Osun Tribunal Reserves Judgment

    Osun Tribunal Reserves Judgment

    The State of Osun Governorship Election Petition  Tribunal hearing the petition of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) and its governorship candidate, Iyiola Omisore, against the re-election of Governor Rauf Aregbesola has reserved judgement in the matter.

    The tribunal reserved judgement on Friday after counsel to the petitioners and respondents; Aregbesola, All Progressives Congress (APC) and Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), adopted their final addresses before the court.

    Adopting his final address, counsel to Aregbesola, Chief Akin Olujinmi (SAN), submitted that the petition was not competent in the first place because it was filed out of the time stipulated by law.

    He also argued that the petitioners did not adduce any reasonable evidence to justify their allegations of irregularities at the election, saying, the duplicate copies of Form EC8A (result forms) tendered by one of the witnesses of the petitioners were inadmissible because the witness was neither the maker nor signatory to the documents.

    The counsel also argued that “the purported CTC of form EC8A were not properly certified. Also, the ballot papers they brought before the court were just dumped and up till now, nobody knows what they want to use it for.

    “The Supreme Court in the case of Buhari vs Obasanjo has said the document tendered by the petitioner are inadmissible and the Court of Appeal said even if they are admitted, they have no weight.

    “Apart from that, there are total of 3,010 polling units in Osun, the petitioners are challenging 939 polling units in 142 wards, and they did not call any evidence in 709 units in 116 wards, even when the Supreme Court has said you must call evidence in all the units you are challening. It means they have abandoned their case in those wards and units.

    “Assuming without conceding that evidence were called in all the polling units being challenged and results of those units were deducted, the petitioners would still lose and the first respondents would still win convincingly.

    “The so-called expert witnesses of the petitioners admitted that there are errors in his report and none of the witnesses of the petition advanced the cause of the petition,” he argued.

    He said the petitioners have no evidence to rely on before the tribunal and “the petition must fail and I urged your lordships to dismiss it.”

    In his argument, counsel to the APC, Mr Rotimi Akeredolu (SAN), adopted the argument of the first respondent’s counsel, and added that the failure of the petitioners to link their evidence to the case was fatal to the petition.

    “The evidence of their witnesses are of no value. They listed over 1,000 witnesses, they reduced it to 500 and they ended up calling 43 witnesses.

    “Their allegation was that voters were induced, but none of the petitioners’ witnesses told the court that he was induced. Also their so-called expert did not give any expert evidence.

    “If there has been any petition that has been a waste of judicial time, it is this petition,” urging the tribunal to dismiss it.

    Also, the INEC counsel, Mr Ayotunde Ogunleye, said the petition was incompetent because it was filed out of time, urging the court to dismiss same.

    He also said the petitioners failed to shift the burden of proof place on them by law, saying, in all the Forms EC8A tendered by the petitioners, none of their witnesses established discrepancies in them as alleged by the petitioners.

    The counsel added that part of the case of the petitioners was that people were disenfranchised, saying, none of the witnesses of the petitioner said he was not allowed to vote.

    Urging the court to dismiss the petition, he said the Osun election was an election that INEC should be commended for its credibility.

    While adopting his own address, the petitioners’ counsel, Dr Alex Izinyon (SAN) said the evidence before the court has shown that his client had majority of lawful votes and he should be declared the winner of the election.

    In looking at preponderance of evidence before the tribunal, he said his client has more evidence on the scale, while the respondents have none.

    Meanwhile, the tribunal conduct its sitting for the day amidst tight security.

    Reacting to the rumour that Aregbesola’s counsel admitted that he was allocated votes more than what he won, Olujinmi said it was part of the antics of the petitioner to confuse the people when it failed to convince the tribunal.

    “What we are saying is that assuming without conceding that those votes being chellenged were deducted, the petitioners will still lose the case. I am surprised that the counsel for the petitioner is claiming not to know what he knows it is elementary.

    “Our position is that the petition is hopeless, but they are now coming up with another theory of election litigation of random proof, which is strange. So, the petition has failed and we are confident of victory,” he said.

     

  • Osun 2015 Budget Is Implementable – Govt

    Government of the State of Osun has said despite  the dwindling resources of the state, its 2015  budget is implementable, as all the machinery have been put in place to ensure its implementation.

    The Permanent Secretary, Budget and Economic Planning, Mr Segun Olorunsogo stated this on Tuesday while giving an overview of the 2015 budget estimates before the joint House of Assembly Committee on Finance and Appropriation and Public Accounts.

    The budget estimate for the year stands at N197,082,191,560, with N110,424,299,010 representing 56.03 as capital expenditure, and N86,657,892,550 representing 43.97 per cent as recurrent expenditure.

    Olorunsogo said the government would focus on the generation of Internally Generated Revenue (IGR) from the informal sector, which has not been tapped before apart from revenue from the formal sector, to drive the budget.

    He said: “In order to ensure high level of implementation and performance of the proposed 2015 budget, the actions that would be taken would include non-reliance on the revenue from the federation account due to the vagaries in the international oil market and the consistent drop in the price of crude oil.

    “Renewed aggressiveness in the collection of IGR, especially the revenue collectable from the MDAs of government, as well as informal sector of the economy would also be driven.

    “With de-emphasizing of the use of cashiers for revenue collection, while embracing the use of e-payment in all revenue points, it will go a long way in blocking revenue leakages, thus, improving revenue generation potentials of the state.

    “We will ensure effective collection of existing taxes and rates without necessarily introducing new rates that would bring hardship on the people of the state,” he said.

    Also, the Officer-in-Charge, Osun Internal Revenue Service (IRS), Mr Dayo Oyebanji, said the service is deploying Point of Sales (POS) machines to collect revenue, with a view to blocking leakages in revenue collection in the state.

    The Speaker, Honourable Najeem Salaam who urged the officials of government to be aggressive in generating revenue, cautioned that unnecessary hardship should not be brought on the people in the name of looking for IGR.

    He urged officials to work hard in ensuring that what is put on paper becomes a reality, with a view to renewing the hope of the people of the state.

    Also, the Chairman, House Committee on Finance and Appropriation, Kamil Oyedele, who described the 2015 budget estimates as peculiar, said the House would ensure effective monitoring of the performance of MDAs.

    Part of the plan, he said, would be to call each of the MDAs to a public hearing to address the people of the state on their performance, especially in the area of revenue generation.

     

  • Photos: Osun elections

    Photos: Osun elections

  • Photo: Osun elections 2014

    Photo: Osun elections 2014

  • Osun’s road to economic recovery

    Osun’s road to economic recovery

    The government of the State of Osun says it is building multi channel roads all over the state, this it believes will stimulate economic prosperity of a state once described as civil service state. In this report, Seun Akioye looks at how the road projects have affected the common Joe.

    It was not a political rally, at least not yet. It was a different kind of rally, one that the supporters called ‘the peoples’ rally’. At about 3:pm on the afternoon of Tuesday  April 15 2014,Governor Rauf Aregbesola rode into the city of Ilesa in an open roof white jeep and a  convoy of about six vehicles. He was dressed in a white lace that fitted his frame and a blue cap sat proudly on his head; a dark sunshade protected his eyes from the blinding rays of the sun.  Immediately, a crowd gathered and as the convoy progressed into the heart of the city, thousands of enthusiastic supporters joined in forcing the convoy to move at a snail pace.

    The governor waved at the people, sometimes gave the victory sign and danced to the impromptu music of the okada riders and other supporters who ran alongside his motorcade. He bonded with the people who feel they can honestly lay claim to him as one of their own.

    In the last one year, Governor Aregbesola’s administration had built 29.71 kilometers of roads round the city of Ilesa.  The new roads were located in 15 streets all over the city. It was like a ring road connecting different sections of the city so that if one began from one end, one can end up at the same spot going round the city. That was what Governor Aregbesola did when he rode into town to commission the roads, he spent over one hour inspecting all 15 roads and ended up at the Ibala road community primary school venue of the ceremony, where several thousands of people were already waiting. Time was 4:30pm.

    Governor Aregbesola said his overriding ambition is to regain Osun’s place as the economic hub of the Southwest outside of Lagos and because the state is bordered by five different states of the Southwest and North central, it serves as a veritable alternative to Lagos in trade and investments. So the governor thought of linking the state with the railway and constructing standardised access roads into the state. The road construction too would serve as internal economic stimulus for the state. So almost four years into this plan, how has the state managed to achieve its objectives?

    “We just want the roads fixed”

    Government agencies said that the construction of 15 roads in Ilesa was unprecedented in the history of the state. Instructively, many of the residents shared this sentiment.  At the ceremony to mark the commissioning of the roads, about 15 traditional rulers both within the state and outside graced the occasion.  Speaking for the royal fathers, the Owa Obokun of Ijeshaland, Oba Adekunle Aromolaran said the administration of governor Aregbesola has made the biggest developmental impacts in the state. He mentioned the constructed roads as being unprecedented and threw in a clincher. “I can even say it was during your administration that I gave birth to twins,” he told the governor.

    But it wasn’t only the royal fathers that appreciated the benefits of the new roads in Ilesa, the people do too. Mary Oyeleye, a resident of Omo-Olupe Street,  Bonnke area just opened a new business where she sells food items.  About a year ago, this had been impossible to accomplish and the reasons are not far -fetched.

    “We have really suffered in this Olupe Street. Before the road was constructed, this whole area was flood and muds especially the Bonnke area. There was a river there and only okada can pass through this area, when you get to Bonnke, then you have to roll up your dress and wade through the mud and river. There were houses that have been submerged in the river too. This place was a nightmare,” she said.

    The bad condition of the road also had its negative economic impact. Being a major link road to several towns including Ijebu ijesa, Osogbo and Akure, the road had been completely deserted by all commercial interests, shops closed down and residents began to move out of the area.

    About a year ago, work began on the road and the when the construction was completed the area took on a new image. Apart from the standard construction, Omo-Olupe Street has opened for business. “We built these stores last December because the road is now passable. Also all the commercial buses are now using this road so it makes it busy. We are grateful to the governor for doing this; he has totally changed our lives,” Oyeleye said.

    Omo-Olupe is not the only street opened for business, the whole of Ilesa is. From one street to the other, residents spoke of years of decay and neglect but which has been reversed by the construction or rehabilitation of the roads. Omi-Eran road for instance according to some of the engineers from Ratcon Construction company-the company responsible for the construction of the roads- was a terrible specimen of a township road.

    At the ceremony to commission the roads, the residents discussed the impacts of the new developments in the city.  They were not the only ones to marvel in wonder, the governor did too. “As we drove round the roads today with the people, I was just wondering about what God can do. I was thinking to myself that to have 29 kilometers of roads round Ilesa, this is the first time in the history of this state. I was just thanking God,” the governor said, his eyes dilating with excitement and his voice rising in a sing-song. The crowd caught the bug of his excitement and somebody raised a song loosely translated to thanking God for a new era.

    The excitement about the new roads however transcends Ilesa, in Osogbo, where several township and inter- city road constructions have been done and still ongoing, the physical outlook of the city has changed, probably forever.  In Osogbo, the philosophy behind the road constructions remains the same; that is opening up economic opportunities for many of the residents of the state, from the bottom up approach.

    Mercy land area, a large residential and business settlement in Osogbo with thousands of residents now wears a new look. It is one of the several Osogbo township roads constructed over four months ago which linked several neighbourhoods. In Mercy land area- which conveniently sits on a small hill- there are about 10 newly constructed roads, linking one street with another up and down the hill.

    Kayode Oyediran has operated his tie and dye business from Omonike crescent for five years now but according to him it was only this year that any meaningful improvement has occurred in the area. “Because the whole of Mercy land area was in a terrible shape, you find that people cannot move as freely as they want. The consequence of that is business concerns were affected. Here, it was only those who had okada that could work here,” he said.

    But things have changed for his business.  Because of the newly constructed roads in the neighbourhood he could easily move his raw materials into site and also his finished goods out of his business premises. “I think on the issues of road construction, I will give the governor a pass mark. This is not the only road he has done, if you go across Osogbo, there are so many inner roads like this that have been done. Osogbo has really changed,” Oyediran enthused.

    The residents of Oke Arugbo’s 12 zones neighbourhood also believe their newly constructed roads will facilitate business development in the area and boost real estate.

    According to Chief Titus Osobu, the chairman of the All Progressive Congress (APC) Atakumasa West in Ilesa but who owns a house in Oke Arugbo zone 2, the development in the area has been unprecedented.  “I came here about 20 years ago but this type of development has been unprecedented. There were times we had given up but today, we thank governor Aregbesola for doing this road for us.”

    “ We never expected our road will be fixed in 10 years, this governor has really tried and we really appreciate him for that. Tell him we are grateful recipients of all that he is doing,” Titilayo Adetoun, a resident of zone 3 who followed the profession of tailoring said.

    Though the construction of roads in Oke Arugbo still has about four zones to be completed, the revolution was already catching on in all the zones. “Zone 8 where I live is yet to be constructed, but we can drive on good roads up to this point. We are certain the government must complete all the remaining roads to have a complete development,” Mrs. Adebola Adeseye said.

    Outside the township roads in Osogbo, there are major inter –city construction being undertaken by the Aregbesola administration. One of the major road constructions embarked upon is the famous Oba Adesoji Aderemi bypass.

    The story behind this massive 17.5 kilometer road within Osogbo metropolis is as interesting as the construction itself. According to government officials, the aim of the road is to complete the ring road round Osogbo .

    Sabitu Amudah, an engineer and Special Adviser to the governor on works is the man in charge of the various road constructions. The Oba Adesoji bypass is one of the projects that give him some of the most pleasure and when he talks about it, it shows.

    “It’s a roundabout that connects Iwo road and the West by-pass. It ended there before, but we now want to complete the loop, we want to finish the ring. It starts from Iwo road roundabout and goes the whole of 17.5 kilometers to link back to the roundabout at Ikirun road, so that you have a complete ring road round Osogbo,” he said.

    Going through the length of the on-going construction is instructive about the determination to the government to bring massive development to that part of the city. A Turkish construction company, Slava-Yeditepe had the task of boring through rocks and wading through rivers to construct the new bypass. From Iwo roundabout from Channel 0, work according to government is about 40 percent completed.

    When The Nation visited the site, workers were seen engaged in the road work. Between channels 0-4, new bridges were springing up over railways and dual carriage ways took the place of deep forests. At Abere junction, a flyover would pass over it to link the road with Oke-Ijetu/Ilesa garage. According to Edwin, one of the site engineers, the flyover will have four loops and ramps to divert traffic. When completed, it will be the first flyover in Osogbo. The engineer also said the road being constructed is of the highest standards using 30cm stone base. Another source inside Slava- Yeditepe also said the roads are being constructed to last 40 years.

    Even though many houses were demolished in many neighbourhoods, the people continue to look ahead to the economic prosperity it will bring. They don’t have to wait for long as the road has been throwing up business and developmental opportunities.

    “ I give this road two years and you will see a business district here, you just need to picture the road the whole stretch and you can imagine the endless possibilities for business development,” Edwin said.

    Alhaji Moruf Adenekan, who lives around testing ground area, corroborated this view: “Everywhere on this road people are buying up land. I know the land is appreciating now; people are buying up to build shopping malls and other things. If you have the money, it is a good business deal to buy land here even for resale later on.”

    The economic benefits are not lost on Oladele Akindele, who owns a business on Oke-Ijetu too. “ Well, there are many houses that were demolished, I don’t know if they had been compensated because mine was not demolished, but this road will bring development to this area, that is for sure,” he said.

    Another road generating interesting permutation is the Oshogbo Ikirun road which began from the old garage and terminated at Ila-Odo /Kwara state border. It is being handled by a wholly indigenous construction company, Sammya Constructions. The former single carriage way has been made into a dual carriage way, completed with drainage one meter deep and wide. Construction too is almost at 40 percent completion.  Businesses that were disrupted before have reopened. One of them is Best Oyin Aluminium Company.  “During the construction we had to cope with a lot of things, but now we are very happy because business here has improved,” says Yessuf Dada, one of the workers.

    But the progress did not come easy. From the old garage to Aiyetoro many buildings had to give way despite this however,  Moruf Adeyemi, a traffic warden says his job has been made easier with the new road.

    One of the greatest beneficiaries is Elder Olalere Isaiah, a steel worker at the Kobo area said: “We have not seen this kind of governor before in Osun, this area was the home of flood, when it rains we experience massive flood. But with the drainage, this place is dry and our business has improved.”

    Engineers at Sammya said there were various impediments which necessitated an extension of the time needed to finish the job. “We had to deal with the telecommunications  and power cables. We have written to them to move them and even electricity poles have to be moved, all these take time, that is why we have to request for a little extension to finish,” a source said.

    The Gbogan/Akoda/Ede expressway is another massive inter- city road network being constructed by the government. According to Amuda, the thinking behind this road is to facilitate the movement of goods into the state. “We want a situation where coming from Lagos, you can continue with the same dual carriage way into Osogbo. We already have mapped out how this will benefit commercial activities in the state, that is why we are into all these road constructions,” he said.

    But the people begged for more. Olaleye from Omo-Olupe Street, Ilesa said the residents still need a speed breaker on the road to prevent future accidents. Dada also wants a speed breaker on the Ikirun road while Isaiah wants the government to complete the inner roads around the Kobo area.

    At the Ikirun Thursday market, sellers mingled with buyers even as they watched the tractors move into town and a part of the market disappeared to pave the way for the new road. “It’s our market but the government is trying to bring improvement to the state so we are happy even if a part of the market is going,” a representative of the market leader told The Nation.

     

  • Inside Aregbesola’s big dreams for public education

    Inside Aregbesola’s big dreams for public education

    When Governor Rauf Aregbesola began the implementation of the public school reclassification, doubts were raised about the intent of the new policy while the government insists the new grade system will improve education in the state. But two years after, how has the policy effected a change in the state? Seun Akioye investigates 

    It was 11: am and preparations were ongoing at the AUD Elementary school, Isale Osun in Osogbo for the mid-day meal.  Meal times at this school are always a special time not only for the immaculately dressed food vendors but for the students many of whom are from poor families. In Grade two classroom, the children beamed with smile as the vendors pass around a sizeable bowl of rice with vegetable, garnished with melon and chicken. A bottle of water was placed beside each student and two pieces of banana completed the meal.

    The class teacher, Mrs. Mariam Aderinola watched with glowing pride as the students performed this pleasurable duty of completing their meal. Everyday spent in that classroom for her was a reminder of what the school used to be and how in a spate of two years things have changed completely.

    “I used to teach in this school before the reclassification policy of the government, I was teaching this same class then known as Primary 2. Coming to school then was agony and we used to be fearful because the building had fallen apart and touts taken over the school,” she said, a small frown creeping to her brow.

    The teacher had a solid reason to be fearful, in 2011, AUD primary school-as it was known- was a specimen of rot and mismanagement. The buildings-those still standing- were dilapidated while the roof in many places had gone off. According to Aderinola, the whole premises was overgrown with weeds and immediately the children left the school, touts took over the compound. “They will mess up the whole compound with feaces and we would see left over marijuana and drugs. Different things were going on here, the touts were sleeping here and in the morning we would cover our noses while we teach because of the stench,” she said.

    New Policy, new challenges

    The state of AUD primary school was a reflection of the state of education in Osun’s public schools when the Aregbesola administration came into office says the Permanent Secretary, Ministry of Education, Oyelade Oyeniran. According to the state government, public education had been so badly managed that only pupils whose parents could not afford private schools were left in the public schools. Primary students especially were poorly dressed and malnourished while performance at both internal and external examination dipped to an all-time low.

    But in February 2011, the state government convened an extra-ordinary educational summit with the aim of finding a solution to the deep rooted problems. The summit paraded heavy weights in the educational sector like Professors’ Wole Soyinka, former vice-chancellor of University of Lagos, Ibidapo Obe and Peter Okebukola of the National Universities Commission (NUC).

    The recommendations were far reaching and one of the vital points is the reclassification of schools in the state which implementation began in 2012. But the government knew the change will generate controversy so there were series of meetings with the stakeholders. Materials explaining government’s position were produced and distributed in the state while the state ministry of education continued to engage with the public.

    Under the new school policy, the primary school system gave way to the Grade system with the former primary 1-4 with the age range of 6-9 years merging into what is now called Elementary school, in Grades 1-4. Primary 5 and 6 and Junior Secondary 1-3 merged together to become Middle school and now to be known as Grades 5-9 with the age range of 10-14, while the Senior Secondary students are grouped together in Grades 10-13 in what is now known as High School.

    In the new policy, the Elementary schools will have a maximum capacity of 900 pupils in a purpose built state-of –the art school. Other features will be provision of school uniform, books and balanced diet meals.  The schools were designed to be within the neighbourhood for easy access for all students.

    For the middle school, the maximum capacity will be between 900-1000 students with the provision of state-of-the art educational infrastructures and catchment to be between 2-3 kilometers while the High school will have a maximum capacity of 3000 students with hostel facilities. However, the curriculum did not change rather what changed were physical infrastructure and more conducive environment.

    But fierce opposition began against the policy immediately it was announced, while the government may have anticipated some resistance, it probably underestimated how organized the opposition will be. Questions were raised about the merging of students from different schools and backgrounds under one roof, the loss of identity especially for mission schools and the problems of how workable the new “complicated” model will be.

    The government gave reasons for wanting to change the way public education is being conducted in the state, probably forever. According to Oyeniran, the new grade system is the global trend and approach to modern education for effective teaching and learning. In adopting the grade system, pupils of the same age bracket are grouped together with fewer students in classes.

    The government also claimed that multiplicity of schools had decayed infrastructure over the years leading to poor funding, shortage of teachers and inefficiency. The new policy the government said will reverse the rot and make quality education available to all children without discrimination making public school comparable to the private schools.

    The promise of new infrastructure

    On October 2nd 2013, the state government rolled out the drums to celebrate the commissioning of the state of the art new school infrastructure, the Salvation Army Middle School, Alekuwodo, Osogbo. It was not the fanfare or the presence of top government functionaries that became the center point of the event but the arrival of Governor Aregbesola wearing a middle school uniform and beaming with smile as he commissioned the first mega school that would accommodate students of the middle school.

    There are lots of promises in the new education policy of the state government. In moving students from different schools together under the same roof, the government promised to build 170 mega schools throughout the state. While Elementary will have 100 schools, Middle will have 50 while 20 High schools will be built in the state. These mega buildings will have laboratories, libraries, clean toilet facilities and ICT centers. These new infrastructures will complement other schools that would be upgraded to acceptable standards in the state under the re-classification policy.

    The government also promised to feed all students in elementary school under what it called the O’Meal programme. About 3,000 food vendors have been contracted throughout the state and the students followed a regime of nutritional meals throughout the week in the state.

    Under the reclassification, all public schools in Osun state will be free while government will also supply books and uniforms to the students. But how much of these promise have been fulfilled and what has been the impact of the new education policy on students in the state?

    Inside Aregbesola’s Grade Schools

    Passing through the busy Alekuwodo road in Osogbo, the imposing Salvation Army Middle School is unmistakable. Built in a rectangle shape and painted in bright yellow colours, when viewed from the opposite direction without the benefit of the equally imposing signboard, one would believe the building is part of a new private university.

    Three members of the Osun Peace Corps movement mounted guard at the gate while students continued with their studies in the classrooms. No student loitered around and an examination of the entire classroom revealed that the students were all studiously engaged. There were no blackboards but white boards and instead of the chalk, markers were used to write on the boards. The students sat two in a seat and none of the classroom had more than 40 students.

    At the same time, Eunice Yaya, the Head teacher at AUD Elementary school was having her first classroom inspection in the morning. Like the middle school, AUD is  a recently commissioned mega school which catered for Grade 1-4 students of six primary schools. The students in Grade 2 on perceiving a visitor sprang to their feet in greetings, welcoming the visitor to Grade 2 and ending it with a prayer for God’s blessings on the visitor.

    “The difference is clear to what we used to have,” Yaya said as she exited the classroom.  “We have a very conducive atmosphere for learning and our children loves to come to school because there is free feeding,” she said.

    Yaya also said the reclassification of schools has improved the education standards. “Now we have teachers commensurate with the students unlike what we had before. This is a far better system than what we used to run.”

    The AUD Elementary school also boasts of some world class infrastructures. “There are 12 toilets and bathrooms, electricity and running water and we have toys for the children. We have a multipurpose hall that can sit 200 pupils at the same time and we educate our children on how to use the facilities because we are determined to preserve and maintain it,” Agbelekale Serifat, the facility manager said.

    Currently, 39 mega schools have been completed across the state and many are still under construction. At the CAC Araromi middle school, work was about 40 percent completed when The Nation visited. But the old school built in 1998 by Theophilous Bamigboye’s military administration had been refurbished with the leaking roof replaced and temporary chairs provided for the students. One teacher who spoke anonymously said: “As you can see, work is going on our new school but the government has given this one a face-lift. It is not what we want yet but we will get there.”

    Also at former Osogbo Grammar School, work is ongoing for the construction of a 3,000 capacity Model High school. While that was going on, the old building has been refurbished and given a face-lift.  But questions have been raised about the distance of the High Schools which has been mitigated by the purchase of 100 Omoluabi Scholar Buses, which according to a government official would be strictly for the students. The Nation can also verify that these buses are currently at the state Ministry of Finance.

    The impact of the new educational policy in the state has also been generating interesting permutations among the residents of the state. More than 90 percent of the people sampled independently by The Nation agreed that the policy has changed the landscape for education forever. “I have two children in school. I withdrew my son from a private school where I was paying N60, 000 to join a public school. Now the money is back in my pocket because he attends school free and the facilities are better than the private school. I have a small girl in private school as soon as she is old enough I will  take her to public school,” Toyin Barry-Ogwu, who works at Diamond Bank, said.

    Barry-Ogwu said the reclassification and reforms in the education sector has changed the face of education in the state. “In Osun state, no child is forced to go to school, the children are looking fine when you see them coming from school, everyone wants to be part of them now because they are well fed,” she said.

    Lolade Olanipekun whose daughter attends AUD Elementary School may have had a tiring day but the mention of the new school system brightened his face. “That is one reason I am happy. My daughter is in Grade 2, she talks everyday about how good the school is. She said they eat food everyday and they have this car that goes round to play with,” he said enthusiastically.

    On the education standard, he said she is showing more promise. “I am so happy that she is even writing, her handwriting is not too fine now but she is improving every day. She wants to go to school almost every day of the week, I have seen the school myself and it is very good environment,” Olanipekun said.

    Aderinola, Grade 2 teacher at AUD Elementary said a child came from one of the private schools and sat in her class. “She had a different uniform and she sat in the class. We inquired and found her school but she insisted she wanted to stay in our class. She must have been attracted by our facilities here and that is to show the improvements that have happened to this school, even the teachers are also looking very fine,” she said beaming with smile.

    One parent who declined to be named said: “You will not know what the governor has done if you don’t know how bad things used to be. I have a shop here and I used to see the students begging for money in the traffic or hawking when they should be in school, but can you see any child on the road today?,” he asked.

    The policy has also had a reverberating effect on private schools. According to investigations, many parents are withdrawing their children from private to the public schools while to counter the Opon Imo policy, the private schools are now selling a similar device to their high school students. The President of the National Association of Proprietors of Private Schools (NAPPS) Osun state, Prince Wale Oyeniyi who is also the proprietor of Mustard Seed Schools Ode-Omu told The Nation  that while the new school policy is a welcome development; it should also incorporate students of the private schools. “I want to say the reform in schools is good but I must caution that the government must maintain the standard so that it won’t become a distortion in the end.  There has to be a balance too so the other sector of the state won’t suffer,” he said.

    Oyeniyi denied that private schools are losing their pupils. “I see no difference throughout the state, we have a symbolic relationship there is no problem. But I  should say government should also treat private school pupils the same. They are all citizens and we too are electorates and we vote, all the children are the same, so they should all enjoy the dividends of democracy,” he said.

    But the situation was slightly different in International Schools, Abere, Ede North Local Government. The principal, Babaremi Olusola acknowledged frankly the educational reforms had affected his business. “To be candid, this is affecting us, I have seen parents withdrawing their children to public schools because of the free education and uniform and food.”

    Olusola also had knocks for the government: “The way they are going about it, it’s like they don’t want us to exist, look at everything they are doing, and we should be partners in progress. We also employ people here and we are voters too. He also implore the government to grant private schools in the state tax reduction and give them what he called special grants to also upgrade their own facilities.

    “We want our mega high school”

    At 2: pm, members of the Christian students fellowship at St Daniel High School 3, Ode-Omu began a session of prayer session. They prayed for progress of the state and also for a new High School. Outside the old building where they met, three of their teacher sat huddled together.

    “We are not happy because our school is split into three when we should all be in the same compound. Our buildings are not to be compared with the other schools, we are waiting for the government to build us a mega high school because we really need it,” the teachers said.

    About 150 meters from the High School is an imposing new building that will house St. Michael Elementary School Ode-  Omu.  Inside the compound, workers put finishing touches to the painting. “We have 22 classrooms here; we have modern toilets, hall, playground and even a projector. But the best part is that it is dry construction, no brick was used, fire cannot affect it and if we need to move it away from here we just dismantle it and set it up somewhere else,” one of the workers said.

    Besides the new building is the old school refurbished by the state government, but compared to the imposing new building, it looked like materials made ready for the museum. The teachers of St. Daniel while praising the new building insist they deserved it more. “That should have been or school, we need it more but they gave it to the children.”

    At the sound of a signal, students of AUD rushed to the playground where several toys have been provided. They played on the see saw, the swing and other toys provided by the state government Elizabeth Ajala, the second Head Teacher stood by watching, “ We will maintain this standard, we are determined to, this is the only way we can show our appreciation,” she said with a smile.

     

  • ‘Our roads will last more than 15 years’

    ‘Our roads will last more than 15 years’

    Sabitu Amuda, an engineer, is Special Adviser on Works to the Governor. He spoke with  SEUN AKIOYE

    What is the philosophy behind the road constructions being undertaken in Osun now?

     

    Simply to increase the revenue generation of the state.

     

    How is that possible?

     

    It’s simple, people are saying that we are constructing roads and at the same time talking about revenue generation, the amount of money we have spent so far in the construction of the roads in the state remains in the state. The only percentage that goes out cannot be said to be five percent.

     

     There are foreign companies working on the road and definitely they must be returning profits to their home country?

     

    Thank you, when I say five percent, I am talking about salaries only and that is for those workers who are being paid as foreigners. When it comes to the materials being used except for a small percentage all of them are sourced from this state. Granite  and sand are found here, the cement whether we construct roads or not people are building houses so we have distributors everywhere, the reinforcement rods, we can say they are being rolled out in Lagos but they are bringing them here and we can still say they are sourced here.

    So when we are talking about the construction, we are using the money to buy materials to construct the roads so no matter how much it costs the money is still entrenched here.

     

    How bad were the roads before this administration?

     

    We can say the condition was poor. That is giving it about 30 percent, even the roads that were constructed you go back after four months they are gone. When they make budgets for road construction this year, they will make the same budget for the same number of roads in the next budget. You will not see an increase in the number of roads being constructed, it is because of the methods they employed in constructing the roads.

     

    A lot of roads are being constructed in Ilesa and other places, what is happening in Osogbo, the capital?

     

    Let me start from the major road works. There are two that can be said to be seen physically within the state capital that is Oba Adesoji Aderemi bypass which is totally within the city. It’s from the existing stretch of the West bypass which starts from Ikirun roundabout by the stadium to Iwo roundabout where we call ‘Dele Yes Sir’ area. It’s a roundabout that connects Iwo road and that West bypass. It ended there before, but we now want to complete the loop, we want to finish the ring. It starts from Iwo road roundabout and goes the whole of 17.5 kilometers to link back to the roundabout at Ikirun road, so that you have a complete ring road round Osogbo.

     

    What are the features of the road?

     

    It’s a dual carriage way, some features is that there will be no interference with any other road, you are not waiting for another vehicle to pass, when you move from Channel 0, you get to the rail line and fly over it, when you get to Ataoja area where it crosses Gbongan road, there is going to be another flyover so you have a full clover leave interchange similar to what we have in Ketu and Mile 2 in Lagos. Flyovers that allows you to complete the ring of a total length of 26 kilometers within the state capital.

    We have another one that is starting at the centre of Osogbo the old garage road, dual carriage way four lanes to terminate at the boundary of Kwara state. We will be taking the road to fly over two railway crossings at two locations namely Okuku and Ilesa areas. Whether the Oba Adesoji Aderemi by pass or the Kwara boundary road, we are going to have street lights on them. We have another one, a single carriage way that will be constructed alongside the dual carriage way which will form a crescent because of the Dagbolu hub that we want to put in place.

    Just about two kilometers from the steel rolling mill you have the Dagbolu settlement. Now in between Dagbolu and Oba Ile, there is the land where we will develop an international market which we call the Dagbolu hub. It is yet to commence but we are preparing the access roads to that market. This market is going to sell the way they sell wholesale in Lagos because government is going to be responsible for hauling these products from Lagos so the traders can sell the same price they sell in Lagos.

    There is a railway station there so that is an advantage. We will transport agric produce from Dagbolu hub to Lagos and we are bringing finished products from Lagos down to Osogbo and government is going to bear the cost of haulage, look at that. We want to build the economy of the state, we are not just constructing roads, we have the economy at the back of our minds. We want to create the environment conducive enough for people to come back and do business here because Osogbo has been relegated.

    Businessmen think if they come to Osogbo where is the market for their products? But if we could have all these roads in place like we are linking Gbongan to Osogbo with another dual carriage way so that the dual carriage way from Lagos will continue like that to Osun.

     

    What about townships roads?

     

    We have many single carriage ways in Osogbo, Ede, Ilesa, Iwo, Ife and a number of other  local government roads, not directly financed by the state but enhanced because the government is supporting them with loans from the banks. The roads are on the average six kilometers all over the 30 local governments including the area office. The actual number of local government roads built to the same standard is 228 kilometers. We want the local government roads to be the same standards, so that in the next 15 years we will not come back to it.

    We will not do any major work on the roads in the next 15 years, I am assuring you. If you look at the terrain where these roads traversed you can imagine what must have gone into building the roads. You can see the road lane markings too, they are modern.

     

    How about maintenance, what are the things you are putting in place for constant maintenance?

     

    As we build, we are also grooming an agency to constantly monitor the roads. That is the Osun Road Maintenance Agency (ORMA). They have the responsibility to monitor and maintain the roads all over the states.

     

    You said you empowered local contractors when there are many foreign companies

     

    Let me tell you, Ratcon has its headquarters at Ibadan, but Slava- Yeditepe has its main operation here in the state, if you can go to their camp you will see the facilities they have. Sammya is fully Nigerian; any white person there is an employee. But whether Ratcon or Slava, in terms of staff their foreign input is less than 20 percent. Majority of the workers are sourced locally. Not all sector within these companies is foreign, many of our people are in charge.

     

    In total, how much has the government spent on these projects?

     

    For now, we are spending in the range of N80 billion. There is one in the bracket of N29billion; one in the bracket of N18b, there is one of N15billion and N17.5billion etc. The local government roads is costing us about N21billion, its 228 kilometers single carriage way. Add that together we have about N110billion.

     

    What are the immediate economic reactions to these projects?

     

    All petty traders along these roads can in retrospect admit that profit has improved because people can easily access their businesses and they can have quick turnovers. The roads we are constructing have opened up their businesses. Same for grocery sellers and other small scale businesses. The population of Osogbo is also increasing. Hotels are also springing up showing that the standard of living has improved in this city. That is the effect of what the government is doing, it is not a normal growth, it is anchored on the level of infrastructure government is putting in place.

     

    Now when all these are completed, what do you see?

     

    I want to see the ring road; I want to look at the most busy road in Washington or Broad Street in Lagos. The transformation that will happen to the properties along this road will be unprecedented. If you have a plot there, you will be thinking of having multi-storey building there. By the time we have the airport, picture it yourself, the good road networks in the state, the market hub in Dagbolu, a busy modern town, Osun is going to be great.