The Nation Newspaper

Tag: AREGBESOLA

  • Rauf: The responsibility in power

    Rauf: The responsibility in power

    Those who have encountered the City of Gold: Dubai and the Dream of Capitalism, authored by that former Associated Press’ Correspondent in the Persian Gulf, Jim Krane, would easily reconnect with the story of how that hitherto isolated Village grew to today’s centre of commerce and tourism, that is the destination for all from across the globe.

    Really, the aborigines of present day Dubai, were dismayed to learn that no part of the world knew about their existence (despite their glorified exploits in fishery and other aquatic activities) until the architect of that modern heaven, Sheikh Rashid Makhtoun, decided to change that course through purposeful leadership; challenging his power with the responsibility to change the history of his people. No doubt, the Dubai’s story today stands tall among those who have demonstrated in practical terms the fact that in power really lie some heavy responsibilities.

    Rauf Aregbesola, 57 today, sits atop the affairs of Osun, the almost 4 million strong populated area in the South-West of Nigeria. With an epic and tortuous journey to power, what manifests majorly in more than three years of being in the saddle are the responsibilities that accompany his position of power.

    Arriving as a leader in a state that not many seeking peace and pleasure would want to live, there is a grandiose display of the realization that the power pails into insignificance if it does not translate into a tool for changing history from an unenviable past to a new world of possibilities.

    The very grim scenario Aregbesola met in Osun is worth remembering! It was story of a people boxed to an unfortunate corner of misery, hopelessness, want, violence, injustice occasioned by lack of functional education, jobs, dangerous environment, uncoordinated plans of actions and total failure of leadership. They had equally but painfully resigned to fate given the dearth of choices away from the misery.

    Any leader who fails to confront these multiple under-development evils with coordinated plans of actions must realize ab initio that he has written his name indelibly in the hall of infamy.  Thus, what would be tools to confront these maladies with were no more than some six cardinal objectives that on their own appeared comprehensive enough to have taken care of the various dimensions the Osun challenge presented.

    The ingenious manner with which the Aregbesola administration’s banishment of poverty, hunger, unemployment, restoring healthy living, functional education and communal peace and progress have been pursued has produced only one result: transformation.

    With doggedness, Osun is fast transforming to what Lisa Jones describes as “a model of progressive urban development” in her article, “The improbable story of how Bogota, Colombia, became somewhere you might actually want to live.”

    Giving one of the reasons for awarding Aregbesola the Daily Independent’s Man of the Year 2013 honour, the national daily’s Editor, Rotimi Durojaiye, had cited the drift back to Osun as one strong illustrative point that the state where those who lived there were without choices is where dwellers of metropolitan Lagos, Abuja, Port Harcourt and others now want to return.

    After three years of exploits, not a few are coming to terms with the potency of the Osun experiments under Aregbesola. There is a fascinating way in which the media, the voices of the people, appear to be amplifying what Daily Independent called “Symbol of Alternative Perspectives” and The Nation newspaper just last week simply dubbed “The Osun Example”. It was what PUNCH’s erudite columnist, Prof Niyi Akinnaso, referred to as “Unravelling the Nigerian Paradox”.

    Of course, the isolated case that “The Osun Example” has become in the face of national development tragedy appears to be the reason for clamour that Nigeria needs to look into that tiny fraction of its geographical spread to see how an application on a national scale could help provide answers to some of the nagging national questions.

    In another article, I once made reference to Waller Newell’s The Soul of a Leader: Character, Conviction and Ten Lessons in Political Greatness. “What, the author asked in his book, “are we looking for in a leader?” Given the Nigerian experience, what we must be looking for in a Nigerian leader is salvation through the deployment of those creative strategies that have practically solved some puzzles such as unemployment and its concomitant offspring, promotion of justice and fairness, commitment to the welfare of the people through people-centre, people-focused policies.

    Jettisoning political sentiments, the Peoples Democratic Party-led Senate had recommended in very clear terms to Nigeria the latest education policies of Osun as pragmatic solutions to the current national education policies that produce more illiterates than educated minds.

    What, for instance, is in it for Nigeria as a whole adopting the Osun initiative in youth empowerment just as The World Bank has compellingly suggested? The scheme that takes 20,000 idle but able-bodied youths out of the job market every two years definitely has the magic to ward off youth restiveness, insurgency and other crimes. What is in it for Nigeria to restructure its agricultural policies in a way that causes positive ripples in jobs creation, food sufficiency and other value chains? Is there anything in it for Nigeria if it dedicates its resources to massive infrastructure upgrades in nationwide roads networks, energy generation and distribution and provision of adequate security to investments to thrive? Are these not the requirements for igniting an industrialization revolution that will engage more hands than the current army of idle hands? Is Nigeria not fertilizing the pull from which insurgency draws its Army of mindless attackers by failing to adopt a method that will erode that pull?

    Perhaps, Nigeria’s main problems stem from that acute ignorance of the responsibilities that lie in power before those in leadership positions take it. The many decades of failed leadership in Nigeria buttresses Gary Hamel’s argument in The Purpose of Power where he claimed, and rightly so, that “Power has long been regarded as morally corrosive, and we often suspect the intentions of those who seek it.”

    I am more than convinced that many of those who passed through Osun as leaders in its 23 years of creation must be asking themselves whether it is the same Osun they governed that Aregbesola is currently handling. Compelled by the responsibilities he believes lie in the power he holds, Aregbesola has demonstrated that his eyes can be open where others are blind and that he can hear where others are deaf and dumb. That, to me, seems to be the layman meaning of The Nation Newspaper of last Tuesday when it succinctly said that the state has shown that “there is ability in disability”.

    And the lesson here! Power is empty and of no use when it is stripped of its responsibilities. Every genuine leader must subscribe to that Martin Luther King’s position that “I am not interested in power for power’s sake, but I’m interested in power that is moral, that is right and that is good.”

    This appears to be what Aregbesola, 57 today, has sworn to and for this, salute to his motto where he proudly and daily declares: Power is Responsibility!

    •Okanlawon is Director, Bureau of Communications and Strategy, Office of the Governor, Osogbo, State of Osun.

  • Monarchs vital to effective governance, says Aregbesola

    Monarchs vital to effective governance, says Aregbesola

    Osun State Governor Rauf Aregbesola has urged traditional rulers to redouble their efforts to sustain the peace in the state as the August 9 poll draws nearer.

    The governor spoke yesterday at the closing of a two-day conference organised for frontline Osun monarchs at the Centre for Black Culture and International Understanding in Osogbo, the state capital.

    He described the role of traditional rulers as “vital” to effective governance, adding that they must ensure that democracy does not fail in their time.

    Aregbesola said: “You owe it to your people to ensure peaceful, free and fair elections in your various domains. It behoves you all to mobilise the people against allowing the enemies of democracy to subvert the will of the people in the coming poll through rigging and violence.

    “The good people of Osun deserve freedom; freedom from want, poverty, unemployment, poor education and collapsed infrastructure. Our people deserve to have their aspirations for development and material betterment come to realisation.”

    The governor said traditional rulers were complementary in keeping peace, ensuring social order and cohesion.

    He said: “Traditional rulers must exercise no doubt as to the fact that they bear as much responsibility for the peaceful and orderly governance of the state as we do, even though we occupy a higher level of authority in the modern governance arrangement.

    “This is why we will always accord you the deserved honour and reverence in the scheme of things in the land. As a government, therefore, contrary to the impression that some have tried to give, we have always held our royal fathers in high regard, with important priority accorded to them in our policy and governance.

    “We will continue to place you on this high pedestal because it would amount to disrespect for our people and our custom to act in any contrary manner. This conference we organised for you is partly aimed at confirming to you the kind of honourable position in which we place you.”

    The rulers called for the unity of the Yoruba.

    The Ooni of Ife, Oba Okunade Sijuwade lauded the governor’s achievements in three-and-a-half years.

    He said for the Yoruba nation to move forward, its people must unite and forge a common front.

    Oba Sijuwade said: “We traditional rulers occupy a central position in our respective domains and we must make sure that we set a good example for the people to see. It is a clear testimony that the present administration has performed beyond the people’s expectation and I urge the people to support it so that it can do more.

    “The Yoruba nation must progress and our people look up to us as their rulers to chart a way forward. We must not fail to demonstrate our leadership role.”

    The Chairman of the Yoruba Council of Obas’ Technical Committee and the Alake of Egbaland, Oba Adedotun Aremu Gbadebo, said the primary role of monarchs was the unification of the people.

    He attributed the disaffection among monarchs to lack of understanding of their traditional positions and hierarchy.

    Oba Gbadebo urged his colleagues to shun partisan politics and acknowledge any government that is performing wonderfully.

    He said: “Unity is our strength. Traditional rulers must unite for the progress of Yorubaland. Rulers must unite first so that we can unite our people for the progress of Yorubaland.”

  • Have goods to ferry from Osun to Lagos? Aregbesola will move them for free

    Have goods to ferry from Osun to Lagos? Aregbesola will move them for free

    Osun State Commissioner for Commerce, Co-operatives and Empowerment, Ismaila Jayeoba-Alagbada spoke to Seun Akioye on the plans of the government to stimulate commerce by moving goods from Osun to Lagos free of charge

    You are the Commissioner for Commerce, Industry, Co-operative and Empowerment, that is a lot of sectors put together, how do you manage to oversee all

    If you look at the four departments, they are into one because what they want to achieve is to empower our people, industry will employ people, they will earn income and they will be empowered, when you produce, those people that will sell those goods in the market are empowered. When you look at the co-operatives sector, by the time they gather and pull their resources together, they will be able to get more rather than as individuals. They will form a small scale industry, so indirectly they have been empowered and the cardinal aim of this Ministry is to create jobs.

    So how much of that has been created?

    When you look at commerce, it is germane in any economy. You know this state used to be the second commercial centre after Lagos in the 1960s. That is why you see the likes of Leventis, PZ here. They were here because Osogbo is a major station of Nigeria Railway Corporation so moving their products from Lagos was very easy. People from neighbouring states just come to Osogbo to purchase their goods from all these multinationals. But in the 1980s all these disappeared, our railway system was not working; the infrastructural level at the state was zero, nothing to attract investors. Commercial activities were at zero level, they used to call this state the civil servants’ state.

    Now, how do you want to attract people to come and trade here? How do you bring people here? Commerce is all about people. Look at Dubai, what do they have there? Because of the infrastructure in Dubai, people are attracted to that country and it is the same thing Ogbeni is doing in the state of Osun. Shortly after Ogbeni assumed office, he began moving passengers from Lagos to Osogbo during the festive periods. People have lost confidence in the railway system. Soon Ogbeni is going is to start moving goods from Osogbo to Lagos and from Lagos to Osogbo, so that the people can sell at wholesale price and earn their money so they can be encouraged to go back and farm.

    Are you saying the ultimate goal of the governor in providing free rail transport is actually commercial?

    Yes

    How is that possible?

    If we see people today with their farm produce, we are ready to transport it to Lagos and we will do it free of charge. We have been doing the publicity but the people don’t have enough to move by rail. Ogbeni is ready; people should be encouraged to go back to the farm because this is more or less an agrarian state. But we have not seen any willing farmer.

    Maybe if the farmers are empowered enough to produce larger quantity of farm produce

    They have been empowered. From my ministry alone, we have spent almost N800 million to empower co-operative farmers in the state. This is the first time that the money will actually go to the farmers at co-operative level and we have seen the result. This is why when other states are complaining about food shortage, in Osun there is no food shortage. This would be the first time farmers will be encouraged to go back to the farm. Now, I must confess to you, for those farmers producing cocoyam, we have set up an off-taker that will buy directly from the farmer and pay them in cash so the farmers can go back to the farms. We have empowered 332 youths to do this, and we have given them money.

    So, where will the off-takers sell the cocoyam, locally or in other states?

    What we are interested in is the turnover, our intention is to feed our children with cocoyam so these off-takers will just buy from the farmers and sell to the food vendors. So, the farmers will have the opportunity of having their cash in bulk and be encouraged to go back to farm. The same is for those who are producing maize.  The question of where to sell cannot arise every effort is to stimulate commerce.

    There is the concept of life academy, what is it all about?

    It is a place where people who want to take up skills can go. You know we have massive youth unemployment in the country and we don’t have qualified people to do these artisans work. Ogbeni is setting up an academy where all these skills will be available, it is a place where a retired permanent secretary can come and take up a skill because when you graduate and set up business, you will not be alone, you will take some people out of the employment market.

    In fact by the time this academy comes up, it is going to be like an industrial revolution,  and anytime from now it will be commissioned.

    Let us go back to the train ride, how many people have you been able to ferry since the start of the project?

    From December 2011, we have ferried 50,000 passengers

    What is the idea behind it?

    During these festivals, there used to be traffic congestion on the road and people spend days on the road, Ogbeni said this must be reduced drastically. When you look at our integral action plan, you will see majority of our people have lost contact with their home. Anytime they want to come home, they will discover that it is not feasible because of the cost. The governor said he must move his people and I must confess since December 2011, the accident on Lagos –Ibadan Expressway has gone down, we discovered that many people who have not visited their homes in the last ten years are coming home now and they are happy with the development that is going on in the state.

    Some people did not believe that concept can happen and continue. Many people have lost confidence in the railway system but that confidence has been restored. When Ogbeni said people should move their goods to Lagos, people were skeptical but when they saw that the train could move people, they changed their minds. So, the confidence is back, the concept is there now, the trains are back, in a day three trains will move. If we are able to rebuild our railway, it will reduce the strain on our roads and make them more durable. That is what they do in developed economies.

    Let me also say that those who come home during the festive periods have increased the commercial activities in the state. When they come, they must spend money, instead of buying their rams in Lagos, they buy in Osun. The pure water and drink sellers also benefit because of the large number of people coming in.  All that we are doing is to stimulate commerce, look at the cargo airport that we are building, it is going to be the best in the country because it will have a 3.5 kilometer runway, and this will decongest Lagos, and imagine what would happen when people start to land their cargo here in Osun. The commercial activities in the state are on the increase, we have rebuilt the railway station to be the best in the country, it is the best in the country now.

    Moving people from Lagos here must have cost a lot of money, so how much does it cost the state each year transporting the people?

    When you look at the cost, it hasn’t been much, even with the publicity. If you look at the initial cost you will not get to where you are going. But I must tell you reasonably it is not much. It is worth it.

    How many times does the train move?

    We don’t have fixed times it depends on the number of passengers waiting. It can be two times or more.

    Now looking at all these laudable projects, where do you see Osun State when all these are done?

    By the special Grace of God, by the time they are actualised, Osun State will be the next state after Lagos. I know you will be shocked but look at it this way, we are bounded by six states, Abuja, Oyo, Kogi, Ekiti, Kwara, Ondo. So we are in the centre of activities, Ogbeni’s plan is to make this place a hub of all activities, by that time Osogbo will be the place, everyone would come to.

  • Aregbesola urges workers to unite

    Osun State workers yesterday formed themselves into two factions to celebrate the Workers’ Day in Osogbo, the state capital.

    While a faction held its rally at the Government Technical College, Osogbo, the other held its at the Nelson Mandela Freedom Park, also in Osogbo.

    Ahead of the celebration, there had been a leadership crisis rocking the state chapter of the Trade Union

    Congress (TUC), leading to two rallies at different locations.

    The rally at the Technical College was led by the state chairman of the Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC), Alhaji Saka Adesiyan, and a factional chairman of the TUC, Mr. Francis Adetunji.

    Mr Akinyemi Olatunji, also a factional chairman of TUC, led the rally at the Freedom Park.

    Osun State Governor Rauf Aregbesola attended the rally at the Technical College, where majority of the workers were junior and artisans.

    But those at the Nelson Mandela Freedom Park, where the governor was represented by his Commissioner for Human Capacity, Mobolaji Akande, were senior civil servants.

    Aregbesola assured the workers that his administration was committed to their welfare.

    The governor said the government would always consider workers’ welfare first, adding that his administration would not neglect them in the scheme of things.

    Aregbesola urged the workers to be united and work for the growth and development of the state.

    The governor promised that the government would continue to pay their salaries and allowances regularly.

    He advised the workers to increase productivity in the service to the people.

    Aregbesola noted that for Osun State to sustain its transformative strides and break new grounds in good governance for the wellness of the people, the workers must function effectively.

    The governor, who stressed his administration’s commitment to professionalism in the civil service, added that this had enabled it to cover more grounds in its quest to modernise the service for optimal performance and in conformity with the 21st century.

    He said Osun placed high premium on human resource development for the vast contributions it could make to the administration’s objectives.

    Aregbesola said to ensure that the capacities of the workers were improved and developed, his administration was devoted to their welfare and well-being within the resources at its disposal.

    He said: “You will recall that recently, cheques were distributed for car refurbishment loans. Notwithstanding the unexpected huge shortfall in federal allocation to the state, we have been striving hard to keep up with our statutory financial obligations to our workers.

    “Leave bonuses, 13th-month bonus, which has increased from 20 per cent to 100 per cent, and payment of pension arrears, among other entitlements, have been prompt. I have recently approved the Housing Equipment/Mortgage Scheme Programme for Civil Servant Cooperative Societies, both at the state and local government levels and Labour unions.

    “The mortgage side of the scheme enables government workers to own houses of their own, while the equipment side enables them to acquire household equipment and appliances of their choice with friendly repayment terms.

    “The programme is another demonstration of my administration’s commitment to improve the standard of living of government workers in the state of Osun.”

    The governor described the drop in federal allocation to states as cruel and unjustified.

    He said: “There is no other way to view this setback in view of the tormenting impediments it causes states and their dependents, not least their workers.

    “There is just no acceptable logic in the fact that allocations dwindle while oil revenue accruable to the nation does not drop from about the $108 per barrel that it is. Startlingly, those managing our affairs in Abuja still tell us that their benchmark is $75 per barrel. This cruelty has to stop. It is hurtful and senseless.”

  • No plan to sack workers, says Aregbesola

    No plan to sack workers, says Aregbesola

    Osun State Governor Rauf Aregbesola has debunked former Head of Service Elder Segun Akinwusi’s allegation that the state government is owing N300 billion.

    He described a claim that the government was planning to retrench workers as “false”.

    In a statement by the Bureau of Communications and Strategy, Office of the Governor, Aregbesola said it was dishonourable for Akinwusi, who he retained despite pressure to remove him at the onset of his administration, to peddle lies against him.

    Akinwusi was the Head of Service when Aregbesola assumed office and the governor retained him.

    The statement quoted the governor as speaking at the launch of the Civil Servant Smart Identity Card and Biometric Automation, tagged: “I am Alive”.

    He said despite the reduction in Federal Allocation, his administration had been paying salary promptly and had no plan to sack workers.

    Aregbesola said: Our administration is the most passionate and workers-friendly in the country. All we have done and are still doing is to better the condition of workers.

    “Despite almost 40 per cent reduction in Federal Allocation to states since January, 2013, this administration kept its entire work force. So, I do not know where the news that we want to retrench workers came from. It is a lie being told by our adversaries so that you can hate us.

    “This administration has no plan to retrench workers. Rather, it is committed to the welfare and progress of workers. I implore you not to listen to those pressurising you to hate us because they cannot do better than what we are doing.”

    On the alleged N300 billion debt, the governor said Adewusi was just being mischievous, adding: “I am disappointed. He has reached the highest pedestal of his career and is behaving like an illiterate. Does he know the import of what he said? If a state owes N300 billion, 10 per cent of that amount, which is N3 billion, would be paid monthly to service the debt. If Osun is paying N3 billion to service a debt monthly, where does Adewusi think we will get the money to do the massive capital projects we are doing?

    “Where does he think we will get the money to pay salaries? Despite the pressure mounted on me to remove him as HoS when I assumed office, out of compassion and my friendly posture, I retained him to complete his years in service before he retired.

    “It is, therefore, absurd and dishonest for Adewusi to be spreading such unsubstantiated news about, claiming that Osun borrowed N300 billion. This is far from the truth. We will leave him to his conscience if he has one. But then, calculated lies like his cannot and will not detract us from the good work we are doing.”

  • Nigerians must protest female students’ abduction – Aregbesola

    Nigerians must protest female students’ abduction – Aregbesola

    Governor of Osun State, Rauf Aregbosola, has urged Nigerians to take to the streets to protest last week’s abduction of 234 girls from their hostel at Government Girl’s Secondary School, Chibok, Borno State.

    Aregbesola spoke on Tuesday at the presentation of a book “Giant of History (The making of our world)” authored by the Lagos State Commissioner for Information, Mr. Lateef Ibirogba, at Civic Centre Lagos.

    The governor, who was the Keynote Speaker at the event lamented that seven days after the abduction, it was frightening that there has been no lead as to where the girls have been kept.

    “Am so depressed about what is happening in the country and I do not know how to put it. I cannot understand the rationale behind the kidnapping of school girls. Girls who left their homes with sole ambition of acquiring knowledge only to end up as companions to criminals it is frightening,” he said.

    The governor lamented that Nigerians were gradually accepting kidnapping as a normal occurrence, saying that the time has come for all to rise up and kick against the situation.

    “I don’t even know what say than to urge everybody to do anything humanly possible collectively and individually to put an end to this sad development. The Federal Government must rise up to this. Everyone in authority must act now. It is not only degrading us as a people, it is defaming us.

    “As horrible as Afghanistan is we never read of human beings abducted .We talk of no man’s land of West Afghanistan, such does not happen. Nigeria is heading to the level that does not recognize us as civilized people and human beings anymore and it is a shame.

    “I should not have said this here considering my position in the polity but what is my choice? When school children are being abducted in schools and we carry on as if it is mere statistics. It is not. We must protest on the streets to tell all of us that enough is enough.”

     

  • PDP can’t rig August 9 poll, says Aregbesola

    PDP can’t rig August 9 poll, says Aregbesola

    Osun State Governor Rauf Aregbesola has said the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), its governorship candidate Senator Iyiola Omisore and Police Affairs Minister Jelili Adesiyan lack the capacity to rig the August 9 poll.

    Aregbesola spoke in Ilesa while opening 15 township roads.

    The governor, who also inaugurated the Ibala Community Primary School, assured the people of protection before and after the poll, saying: “It will be practically impossible for the PDP to foment trouble in any part of the state.”

    He warned that those planning to use “federal might” to rig the election would face the people’s wrath, adding: “The time of brigandage, violence and election rigging has gone for good. Whosoever makes such attempt will surely regret it. This is the seventh year after I was chased out of Ilesa because of election and such trend will meet serious resistance. They will be dealt with beyond their imagination.”

    Aregbesola said his administration was focusing on road projects because of their high impact on the economy and the people’s lives.

    He said: “In Osogbo, 21 township roads are being constructed/rehabilitated and have gulped N4.095 billion. In Ede, 13 township roads have been repaired through direct labour at N873,817,458.85. Most of them have been completed.

    “In the various federal constituencies, 79 kilometres of intra-city roads are under construction and rehabilitation. Twenty others traversing the cities and covering 294.27 kilometres are at advanced stages of completion. They are worth N10.62 billion.

    “We are also building six selected roads, covering over 74.1 kilometres, in the six geo-political zones. They cost the government N17.5 billion. We inherited eight road rehabilitation projects of 144.29 kilometres from the previous administration, which we have almost completed.”

    Aregbesola said work was ongoing on the dualisation of the 36.85km road from Osogbo to Ila-Odo and the Gbongan-Orileowu-Ijebu-Igbo road.

    He said the construction of the Omoluabi Motorway, a dual-carriage road from Akoda to Gbongan Junction, with its Bisi Akande Trumpet Interchange, cost N29.23 billion.

    Aregbesola said: “The Osogbo East Bypass Road is one of major road construction we are undertaking. The East Bypass is a 17.5-kilometre road that will have a railway underpass at Ofatedo, an interchange at Ataoja and two bridges across the Osun River. The government is investing N14.5 billion in the project.

    “Today’s commissioning is part of the township road development projects for Ilesa. The 15 township road rehabilitation works have been completed to the glory of God and for the greater good of the people. On these roads, totalling 29.71km, we have expended N3.7 billion.”

    He said his administration’s dream was to put every road in good shape and make driving on them a pleasure.

    The Owa Obokun of Ijesa, Oba Adekunle Aromolaran, said: “We are marveled by your doings because we have not had it this good since the creation of Osun. Traditional rulers, not only in Ijesaland, but the whole of Osun, give you a 10/10 score card.

    “Your administration has accomplished various transformational projects with the state’s meager resources through the prudent management of funds and budget discipline.”

  • Osun 2014: ‘Aregbesola deserves second term’

    Osun 2014: ‘Aregbesola deserves second term’

    In this brief encounter, Dr Charles Onuoha, a chieftain of the All Progressive Congress (APC), current chairman, Imo State Housing Corporation and governorship aspirant in Imo State ahead 2015, lauded the achievements of the Osun State Governor, Rauf Aregbesola, explaining why the governor should be re-elected. Sam Egburonu reports

    It is alleged that you are aspiring to contest the governorship election in Imo State on the ticket of APC in 2015. Is Governor Rochas Okorocha in support of your aspiration?

    He has a policy in Imo State which I truly understand and can analyse.

    It is only somebody who can analyse it that will sustain it and I am surethe governor knows that, so the issue of weather he is backing me or not does not arise at all because the governor is the father of all in Imo APC and I am sure he will back any eminently qualified candidate in APC who really understand his policies to succeed him and by the grace of God, I am eminently qualified, mentally sound and has been following his policies that have changed Imo State positively. I am also a loyal party man of APC, so why won’t he back my aspiration? Let me tell you, his interest is to make sure that it is only the right person who really understand what is going on in Imo State that will succeed him.

    Being so close to Okorocha and acknowledging that he has done well in Imo, your aspiration to succeed him in 2015 suggests he would not contest for re-election then. Are you saying Okorocha will not contest for re-election in 2015?

    I have told you how close I am with my governor. Come to Imo State today and see for yourself what he has done. Every man and woman in Imo, irrespective of political association or party, are very happy with him. In fact, since late Chief Sam Mbakwe ruled Imo State, we have not had it so good. His policies has changed the old face of Imo State which the PDP government messed up in the state.

    Don’t you agree with me that I am very close to him and have really worked with him to put those wonderful policies in place. So, if I succeed him, I will sustain his vision. Now, there is free education in Imo State, can somebody who don’t know the policy of free education in Imo State sustain if? No. I am from Ogbe in Ahiazu Mbaise L.G.A. I aspired to be the governor of Imo State in 2011 under the plafform of Labour Party. When Owelle Okorocha came campaigning, I have already put in place a very solid structure that would have made the change in Imo State then. But the governor heard of me and he approached me. We had an agreement and so, I collapsed my structure into his own and from there we moved on. Of course you know the result today in Imo.

    When we sacked PDP, he appointed me Commissioner for Housing and Urban Development, and also Commissioner for Special Duties. I also served the governor as his SSA, MDGs and currently, I am the chairman, Imo Housing Corporation.

    Why did you leave banking for politics?

    When I was in the banking industry, I was a general manager. Many people have asked me, on many occasions, why I left banking for a game like Nigerian politics? My answer has been that I have a call from God to go and serve the public as a leader. So, when I was leaving the banking sector, I did not have any regret and truly, till tomorrow, I did not have any regret leaving banking for Nigerian politics which people always describe as dirty. I always disagree with those who say Nigerian politics is dirty. We are learning. It is a gradual process. We have joined to sanitise it.

    I learnt you have strong views about the politics of Osun State and the performance of Governor Aregbesola, do you still consider his achievements good enough to warrant his re-election?

    Governor Aregbeshola deserves a second term. You don’t change a winning team. I am not saying this because I am a member of APC, no, rather since I know him when he was the works commissioner in Lagos State under the then governor of Lagos State, Asiwaju Bola Almed Tinubu, he has been an achiever. Even when he was elected as governor of Osun State, I knew he will perform. What he has done so far in Osun State has proved me right.

    Aregbeshola has done wonderfully well as the governor of that state. I used to go to Osun some years back when PDP government was in charge. What Osun is today, under Aregbe, is not what it used to be then.

    As an Imo State indigene, would you say Aregbesola’s government has favoured non indigenes in the state?

    The report from Igbo indigenes in Oshun State is very encouraging. They are very happy living in Osun State and the governor has been so friendly with non-indigenes in that state. There has been no marginalisation, according to them. So from the bottom of my heart, I can say he has developed Osun State; he has created value in that  state economically and other wise. People can easily visit Osun State now than before because he has put in place things and activities that can attract other people from other states and country to Osun State.

    What is the future of APC, given PDP’s resolve to fight back ahead 2015?

    APC has come to stay. In case you don’t know, APC is the peoples party in Nigeria. By the special grace of God, APC with Aregbeshola will definitely win massively when Osun people will go to the poll, no doubt about that. Which party can stop APC? The party is very much on ground in Osun and in every state in Nigeria generally. Our victory in Osun is not negotiable. They said iron sharpeneth iron. APC is a sharp iron and Aregbeshola is a sharp iron too. Do you think the two combination will not fly? They are flying already.

    Come 2015, APC will surprise all the doubting Thomoses in Nigeria. I can tell you PDP is afraid of the potentials of APC. Wait and see what the performance of APC will be in Ekiti and Osun this year. The party knows there is a political battle ahead and they are bracing up for the challenges.

    Though you are not from Osun State, what special message would you give Osun people and government?

    Although I am not from the state, the achievements of Governor Aregbeshola has really moved me. So, I am publicly commending him for the good works he is doing in his state, the reason he deserves to come back.

    As an Igbo man, I am using this opportunity to tell non-indigenes in Osun State, especially the Igbos in Osun, to massively support Aregbeshola’s re-election bid. Non-indigenes in Osun, especially the Igbos, should support him because he has been very friendly with them there, according to their report. I see him as a detribalised Nigerian who believes in one Nigeria. So, the Igbos living in Osun State, I want to tell you that Aregboshola is gold which cannot be replaced with any bronze and so I recommend him for a second term.

  • Aregbesola: PDP has nothing to offer Southwest

    Aregbesola: PDP has nothing to offer Southwest

    Osun State Governor Rauf Aregbesola has said the tenure of conservative politicians has never favoured the Yoruba.

    He said the various conservative political platforms that preceded the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) have always been associated with agony, oppression, corruption and under-development.

    Aregbesola spoke on Tuesday at the Nelson Mandela Freedom Park in Osogbo, the state capital, during his investiture as the Life Patron of the Nigeria Union of Tailors (NUT), where the union endorsed him for a second term.

    When the state government set up the Omoluabi Garment Factory in Osogbo, over 3,000 tailors were engaged to sew uniforms for members of the Osun Youths Empowerment Scheme (OYES) and about 750,000 pupils in public schools.

    Aregbesola said: “I thank God that our people recognise the bold steps we are taking as a government. It is beyond human wisdom. I always laugh at them (the PDP) whenever they say their seven-and-a-half-year in office was a mistake and that they want to correct it. It was no mistake and what they did is in their character.

    “Should they be in power for just five months, there will be crises, corruption and insecurity. That was our experience during their seven-and-a-half years in Osun. In our three-and-a-half years, there is no community or family that has not benefited from our programmes; that is the difference. Our government is the government of the people. Our priority is to make life more abundant for the people.”

    He urged the union not to stop at the endorsement, but to sensitise people on the need to protect their voter cards and vote for him on August 9.

    NUT State Secretary Alhaji Adejumo Olaiya said Aregbesola created wealth for professional tailors through the OYES uniform in less than 100 days in office.

    He said the union would join the governor’s campaign team and work for his victory in the poll.

    Olaiya said tailors converged on Freedom Park to appreciate the governor’s “excellent performance” and his support to artisans, adding: “When the governor reclaimed his mandate, he called on us and pledged to give us the uniform contract. Only 12 local governments were participating in NUT then, but when the promise of the sewing of the OYES uniform came to reality, all councils joined the union so that they could benefit.

    “The opportunity assisted the union to have a permanent Tailors’ Hall, named Ola Aregbesola Tailors’ Hall. The opportunity affected the lives of our members positively. Those whose workshops had folded up bounced back through the uniform contract.”

    The governor urged the union to change the name of the hall to Ola Olohun Tailors’ Hall (meaning God’s Favour Tailors’ Hall), adding that favour comes from God.

  • New Osun has emerged, says Bureau

    New Osun has emerged, says Bureau

    A combination of modern educational facilities, new network of roads, better structured environment and empowered citizenry have led to the emergence of a new Osun under the administration of Governor Rauf Aregbesola.

    This was the conclusion of the Bureau of Communications and Strategy, Office of the Governor in a statement.

    The Bureau said the peoplehave seen remarkable difference in the rot inherited by the current administration on November 27, 2010 and what the state has become in terms of social amenities, motivation of the people and above all, restoration of peace.

    This was just as Architects in Nigeria under the aegis of the Nigeria Institute of Architects (NIA) described Osun’s urban renewal as a good template to cause peer-review with other states of the federation.

    During a meeting with the governor last weekend, the architects said the various restructurings taking place throughout the state showed that the administration is poised for the birth of a new society.

    The Bureau, in a statement by the Director, Semiu Okanlawon, noted that the completion of at least 39 mega schools, completion of almost 800 kilometres of roads across the state, creation of better environment for healthier living, empowerment of the various strata of the society have created a strong sense of newness in all spheres of life.

    “So, 39 schools containing over 1,700 classrooms with modern facilities have been concluded. However, more than that figure has reached near completion stages and would soon be put to use by the pupils for whom they are targeted.

    “If you place that side by side the huge network of newly built, inter-city and intra-city roads already completed, there is no doubt that this government has created a new Osun which is a source of attraction to people. Osun now offers a more conducive atmosphere for business and pleasure more than any other time in its 22 years of creation.

    “As the state with the least unemployment rating, the highest public school enrolment figures in Nigeria and as the 7th largest economy in Nigeria, Osun no doubt has transformed from its old self to a modern state with great potentials for more growth.”

    The Nigerian Institute of Architects has said it was in the state to understudy Osun’s urban renewal of the government with a view to recommending it to other parts of Nigeria.

    NIA President who was represented by the body’s 2nd Vice president, Adibe Njoku said: “The Executive members and scores of members from all parts of Nigeria and from different spheres of practice are here to see, study your urban development initiative and evolve ways to provide requisite supports to nurture pragmatic progressivism in the governance and genuine innovativeness in the Administration as epitomised by your Administration.

    “We do hope to establish some benchmark to assist other state’s in peer-review.”

    Aregbesola, while addressing the body of architects, said Nigeria must be rebuilt by professionals like architects as the responsibility for the rebirth of the society cannot be that of political leaders only.

    Aregbesola said: “Nigeria must be re-built by professionals like you who are selfless in the development of human society and humanity because political leaders cannot be generalists and therefore need all other professionals to develop the nation’s socio-economic sphere.

    “We have pandered too much on the failure of our country, but we owe it a duty nevertheless, to try our utmost best to use our expertise to solve the problems of building and bridge collapse and other sundry issues related to our individual professions.

    “It’s puzzling though that Nigeria Architects have not developed or build on the roofing sheets designed by the colonial masters, some of which are injurious to our health and other environmental hazards.

    “We don’t need university certificate to know that we are in danger of health crisis and need more environment – friendly roofing material that will support our claims to being part of a global village that preaches environmental sanity.

    “The mentality of our people is so subservient that we don’t even know that we are in danger by using the present roofing materials, and this is where the professionals come in who can distinguish between genuine building materials from fakes”, the governor said.