The Nation Newspaper

Tag: OSUN

  • Three policemen die in auto crash

    Three policemen serving in the Osun State Police Command died on Friday night in an auto crash along Osogbo-Iwo road.

    It was learnt that the policemen attached to the Swift Action Response Squad (SARS) were on patrol around 10.45 pm along Iwo/Ibadan road when a car coming in the opposite direction crashed into their pick up van.

    Two other police men inside the patrol van that sustained serious injury were rushed to an undisclosed hospital by their colleagues who were alerted by passers-by.

    It was gathered that the driver of the vehicle that hit the police patrol van marked Robot at the Niyi Ibikunle junction, Dada Estate did not stop escaped from the scene.

    The Public Relations Officer for the state Police Command, Mrs. Folashade Odoro, said she did not have the permission to speak to the press on the issue.

  • Osun committed to boosting IGR, workers’ welfare

    Osun committed to boosting IGR, workers’ welfare

    Osun State is committed to boosting its internally generated revenue (IGR) and relying less on federal allocation, Special Adviser to Governor Rauf Aregbesola on Budget and Economic Planning, Mr Bade Adeshina has said.

    Speaking during the 2014 budget presentation, he said the government is repositioning and strengthening its IGR mechanisms by “beaming its searchlight towards the informal sector.”

    Adeshina has allayed workers fears over the safety of their contributions in the pension scheme, adding that the governor is committed to improving workers’ welfare.

    Speaking at a forum to sensitise pensioners, he said the state would ensure that the scheme is well-administered by competent persons.

    According to him, participants should not worry about receiving their pensions after retirement as the contributions are kept with the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) in line with the Pension Reform Act 2004.

    He said those who condemn the contributory pension scheme do so out of ignorance.

     

  • Ekiti PDP gov primaries for March 15, Osun, April 15

    The leadership of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) has fixed March 15 for governorship primaries in Ekiti State, as the party opens nominations for the race.

    Similarly, the party’s primary election for Osun State would be taking place on April 5.

    According to the a timetable released yesterday by the PDP secretariat, sale of nomination forms for Ekiti will start from February 24 to March 3, while that of Osun starts from March 14 and closes on March 21.

    The Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), has fixed the Ekiti governorship election for June 21, while that of Osun holds on August 9.

  • Aregbesola holds peace meeting with parents

    Aregbesola holds peace meeting with parents

    •Sets up six-man panel on uniform crisis

    It was an unusual spectacle that sparked great excitement.

    Osun State Governor Rauf Aregbesola, dressed in the state’s school uniform – a light brown shirt with patterns and a pair of deep brown shorts – showed up yesterday at the Baptist High School, Iwo.

    He was mobbed by the excited pupils, who kept hailing him as he moved briskly to the venue of a meeting.

    Teachers were all smiles. Parents clapped as Aregbesola raised his right hand, displaying the V–victory sign.

    The business of the day– a stakeholders’ meeting to resolve what has become the “uniform crisis” in the school.

    Last week, about 92 pupils wore unapproved uniforms to school to express their displeasure with the wearing of hijab by female Muslim pupils.

    Aregbesola said his administration neither approved nor disapproved of the use of hijab in schools.

    At the peace meeting with parents and other stakeholders on the school’s playground, he set up a six-man committee to look into ways of settling the crisis.

    Mr. Gbadegesin Adedeji is the committee chairman. Mr. T. A. Oni is the secretary respectively. Members are former Assistant Inspector-General of Police (AIG) Israel Ajao and Alhaji Bola Asafa.

    The committee has one week to meet with stakeholders and submit its recommendations on how the crisis can be permanently resolved.

    Aregbesola said: “We are a product of the rule of law and this has guided all our actions. As we said in the past, we have not approved the use of hijab in any school. I repeat this again for the hearing of mischief-makers, who have been working tirelessly to bring religious war to our state.

    “The government did not approve the use of hijab in any school before the matter went to court. It is the court’s position that the status quo be maintained until the case is determined.”

    The governor said the government had set up a committee on discipline in public schools, adding that his administration had no place for unruly persons.

    Aregbesola said: “Yoruba people have a tradition of accommodation and inclusion; that is why our families are interwoven around all religions. Some people are, however, working to break our bond of unity by beating the drum of religious war. They will fail and only they and their families will dance to that evil beat.”

    The governor seized the opportunity to distribute the Opon Imo (tablet of knowledge) to SS3 pupils.

    He urged anyone unhappy with his administration’s policies to channel his displeasure through the right channels,

    The Deputy Governor, Mrs. Titi Laoye-Tomori, who is also the commissioner for Education, said: “Peace must be a permanent feature, not only in our schools, but every facet of the state. So, where there are pockets of disturbances, the government will respond swiftly by restoring peace and order. This is what has been demonstrated at this peace meeting.”

    At the meeting were leaders of the Christian, Muslim and traditional worshippers communities. They stated their positions on the matter and agreed to work together for peace.

    Rev. Bayo Ademuyiwa, who spoke on behalf of Christians, said: “We have been supporting the government’s programmes and policies on education in the last three years and express our disappointment over the crisis playing out at the Baptist High School. We are lovers of peace and abhor disunity.”

    Alhaji Idris Magaji, who spoke for Muslims, said: “The three religions have the responsibility to fight against indecent dressing and promote love and unity among pupils, regardless of their faiths. We are a peace-loving people and are proud of the many innovations in the education sector by the current administration. We must not allow agents of destablisation to deprive our children of the quality education for which the current administration has been working.”

    Mr. Ifawole Anifalaje, who spoke for traditional religion worshippers, said: “We do not have any problem with any faith. What we want is the progress of our children. We had nothing to do with the appearance of masqueraders at the Baptist High School. Some other people looking for trouble must have instigated the coming of masqueraders to the school compound.”

    Aremu Olukayode and Bashir Mutiyat, who spoke for the students, thanked the government for its various educational projects, including the Opon Imo, new schools and furniture, and the recruitment of teachers.

     

  • Osun joins league of phone makers as Technology City is commissioned in Ilesa

    Osun joins league of phone makers as Technology City is commissioned in Ilesa

    Osun State is blazing the trail in Information and Communication Technology (ICT) in Nigeria with the establishment of Adulawo Technology City in Ilesa. ADESOJI ADENIYI witnessed the commissioning of the project last week, his reports.

    The industrialisation of Osun State is gaining momentum with the establishment of a technology community called “RLG-Adulawo Technology city” in Ilesa.

    The multi-million dollar electronic company, commissioned last week is a partnership between the State government and an indigenous business concern RLG Nigeria Limited, and is into the production, assemblage and marketing of phones and tablets. It is also involved in the training of youths on how to effectively carry out functions in production, assembly and marketing of the products.

    Located along Akure-Ife Road, the technology city was constructed at the cost of $50 million with Osun State contributing forty nine percent and the company fifty one per cent. The facilities at the company include a Technical Laboratory, a Training Centre and a Warehouse among others.

    The facility was commissioned with fanfare by the state governor, Ogbeni Rauf Aregbesola and the management of the company.

    Speaking at the commissioning ceremony a highly elated Governor Aregbesola described the establishment of the technology city as another landmark achievement of his administration. He maintained that the centre will be one of the most productive assets through technological innovations, production and assemblage of electronics communication devices.

    Aregbesola said the establishment of the centre was to create wealth in the state to improve the living standard of citizens.

    He said: “Time is running out against Africa and all hands must be on deck to ensure that the continent attains its rightful position. As a government, political power is obtained for the service of the people and we shall continue to serve our people with all sense of responsibility. At the inception of our administration, out of our voluminous programmes, we set two agenda as a priority: to create employment and make our state a hub of Information Communication Technology. ICT is no longer a future phenomenon but current tool for best communication. Our World has changed. In the last 20 years, NITEL estimated all available phones as 150, 000 and the recent figure put mobile lines in Nigeria at 117million with 200 million mobile phones and the number will keep growing because we must add RLG product to it.”

    According to him, through the partnership with RLG, the state government in its OYESTECH Programme had trained 5000 youths both in Nigeria and Ghana on electronics devises assemblage.

    He said “apart from the thousands of employment the company will create for the people of the state, it will also allow the state to compete in the ICT world and by God’s grace we shall continue to support the RLG to make the $50 million investment worthwhile.”

    The governor disclosed that the state investment in the technology city through OSICOM is the provision of lands and provision of certain logistics.

    The Chairman of RLG, Mr. Roland Agambire, said what a country, state or people need is a visionary leader to translate people’s wishes into reality.

    The technology magnate said Aregbesola had the vision to carry the State of Osun to an enviable height with the citing of RLG assembly plant in the state. He said: “We invested this huge facility here to demonstrate that we are here to stay to catch the opportunity of mobile technology, out of 100 million Nigerians, let everyone hasveonly RLG devices and the state of Osun will make billionaires that will also be on the world map.

    “Our product is cheap, quality and durable, the facility will also employ direct 800 people and over 10,000 people across the country, some will be at coupling plants while others will also be at selling points,” he pointed out.

    He disclosed that the assembly plant has commenced production shortly after it was declared open, promising that the state would in the nearest future be the technological centre in the whole of Africa. The Owa of Ijesaland, Oba  Adekunle Aromolaran, said the solution to Africa’s problems is technology and Nigeria cannot afford to sit down and wait for or watch other  countries do it for the continent.

    He commended the governor for his foresight in finding solution to the problems of youth unemployment in the state, saying with the location of the assembly plant in Ilesa, the economy of the area and indeed the entire state would be boosted in no small measure. He called on the people to give their ultimate assistance and to support to the company because it is in such support that the company hinges its existence and survival.

    At the colourful ceremony were dignitaries from across the country, including the Ekiti State governor, Dr. Kayode Fayemi, former Nigeria Bar Association President, Chief Rotimi Akeredolu (SAN.) Also in attendance were top government functionaries and chieftains of the All Progressives Congress in Osun State.

    According to the Chief Operating Officer of the RLG Nig. Ltd., Mr. Taiwo Latilo, the company which commenced operation in the country two years ago had already created 600 direct jobs and is set create another 10,000 indirect jobs. He revealed that RLG products are affordable and competitive, saying that the company would produce 5,000 phones and 2,500 laptops daily.

    No doubt, people and various communities will benefit from the establishment of the company in the state. The Factory Director, Worlali Ameevor, acknowledged that relative power supply in Osun State would help the company’s assembly plant. He said the state government’s internally generated revenue would go up with the presence of the company in the state adding that the company as part of its Corporate Social Responsibility would give back to its host community by alleviating the peoples poverty and through award of scholarship to brilliant but indigent students in the area.

    The National Sales and Marketing Manager, Mr. Alex Oyebamiji, said parts to be assembled by the Ilese factory would come from China. He disclosed that many youths of the state, particularly under OYESTECH scheme have undergone both soft and hardware training from the company branch in Ghana. According to him the company would collaborate with some government agencies and universities to make its operation effective. The Head, Operation (Osun State), Mr. Teslim Ojomu, said there are some foreign supports for the company’s products which he said can compete with many world brands.

     

  • Dangers of mixing politics with religion

    Dangers of mixing politics with religion

    Please stop anti Jonathan and anti PDP. Your Muslim party APC will fail woefully in Osun and Ekiti. Idiot

    I got this from a reader with telephone number 08067661180 in response to last week’s edition of this column. The reader did not sign it for reasons best known to him or her.

    I was thinking about the upcoming National Conference and the modalities for the proposed confab as spelt out by the Secretary to the Government of the Federation (SGF) Anyim Pius Anyim when this SMS came in. That President Goodluck Jonathan would have so much influence on who gets chosen as a delegate was of so much concern to me that I was alarmed when this supporter of the President and the ruling Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) quoted above, chipped in the issue of religion as we move towards the next round of general elections beginning with the Osun and Ekiti States gubernatorial polls later this year.

    It is no longer hidden that one of the campaign strategies of President Jonathan and his handlers in their bid to retain power post 2015 presidential election is to present him as not just a Christian, but a Christian candidate, who would represent and protect Christian interests better. And in doing so, the opposition is to be presented as representing Muslims and Muslims’ interest and as such most likely to be against Christians and Christians’ interest if voted into power.

    Even though nobody in Jonathan’s camp is ready to admit this, the 2015 presidential race is gradually panning out to be like that and the presidency is happy to shape it that way.

    Ordinarily this like this don’t bother me but the way and manner and intensity with which the President’s supporters like the reader quoted above are using religion to define their candidate and divide the voters is beginning to cause concern among well meaning Nigerians.

    Recently a former member of the PDP who served as a Minister in the Obasanjo presidency and now a member of the opposition All Progressives Congress (APC) revealed that some church leaders are already subtly campaigning for President Jonathan by branding the APC as party of Muslims. For the record, that former Minister is a Christian.

    And in matters that concern this government and this presidency, some Christian leaders have been speaking in such a manner as to suggest that Jonathan is their own and any criticism of him and/or his actions is against Christians and Christianity.

    The issue of faith has never really played any significant role in the politics of this country especially when it comes to choosing our leaders until now. When late Abubakar Tafawa Balewa became Prime Minister in the first republic, I don’t think Dr Nnamdi Azikiwe was chosen as the ceremonial President because he was a Christian, like wise President Shehu Shagari did not pick Dr Alex Ekwueme as his running mate in 1979 because he is a Christian.

    I think the choices then were based purely on geographical consideration. The north had always been going into alliance with the east in national politics/elections and because the two regions are heavily populated by Muslims (north) and Christians (east), whoever would come out from such arrangement naturally would belong to different religion.

    And to test that Nigerians place little premium on the religion of their leaders, two Muslims, one from the south west and the other from north east were voted president and vice president on June 12, 1993 before the election was annulled. And when President Olusegun Obasanjo was being brought in 1999 ostensibly to placate the Yoruba for the denial of their son Chief MKO Abiola of Nigeria’s presidency in 1993, nobody said he should not come in because he is not a Muslim like Abiola. And I believe the choice of Obasanjo’s running mate in Abubakar Atiku was due more to political pragmatism than his religious leaning.

    When Jonathan was paired with President Yar’adua in 2007 for whatever reasons, those who brought them had other motive and consideration than religion. And as was the case in the past, Jonathan running with Vice President Sambo was more of geographic/ethnic balancing than any other consideration. Even though after the Abiola/Kingibe aborted presidency the presidential pairing had always been Christian/Muslim or Muslim/Christian, no candidate or presidency has been seen, portrayed or act as representing a particular religion the was Jonathan presidency is. And I believe it is share mediocrity and incompetence to hide under religion or ethnicity to ask for support for public office especially the presidency of the Federal Republic of Nigeria.

    By portraying him as a Christian candidate, Jonathan’s handlers and supporters are not just setting a bad precedent but also alienating the Muslims who ordinarily would want to vote for him. Islam and Christianity are well rooted in Yoruba land, south west Nigeria and are about evenly spread among Yoruba. The bulk of Jonathan’s votes in 2011 came from Yoruba land, meaning he got votes from both Christians and Muslims from the south west in large numbers. And in those states in the north where his PDP won, the Muslims there voted for him. So, if anybody now wants to present everybody opposed to Jonathan or the opposition party as Muslim or Muslim leaning just to paint them black before Christians and secure Christians votes for him in 2015, then they are not being fair to those Muslims who voted for him in 2011 and are still likely to vote for him if he became a candidate in next year’s election.

    Most important however, they are not being fair to this country. If they love Nigeria they would not pander or be pandering to religious sentiments. In those countries where the people have not risen beyond religious sentiments, anything religion has always brought crisis especially when there are sharp disagreements. Lebanon is a good example of how religion mixed with politics can destroy a nation. There are unarguably more Lebanese outside of Lebanon than within, not just because of the small size of their country but also the seemingly unending sectarian violence that has almost turned the once beautiful country into ruins, the fact that the Lebanese are mainly Arabs notwithstanding.

    Those nations that have developed and making waves in the world today have no room for religious considerations or sentiments, whatever they do are always based on what is best for their country, their people and humanity in general. Why should our own be different?

    Those who want to turn Christians against Muslims or vice versa in Nigeria because of Jonathan’s presidency or anybody’s ambition will not succeed by the grace of GOD. And President Jonathan also has to be very careful and he should rein in his supporters especially those fanning the embers of religious and ethnic divisions. The President knows them; he should call them to order. While awaiting his choice of delegates to the National Conference, it is hoped that his choice(s) would be guided by the best interest of Nigeria. Even though I have my doubts about his conference and to what use he wants to put its reports, I wish his and the 492 “wise” men and women best of luck.

     

     

  • Politics of council creation in Osun

    Politics of council creation in Osun

    Many towns and villages in Osun State have intensified their agitations for new councils, following the announcement by Governor Rauf Aregbesola that additional Local Council Development Areas (LCDAs) may be created to expand the scope of grassroots democracy. Adesoji Adeniyi reports.

    Osun State has the highest number of urban towns in the country. Thus, in the Southwest, it also has the highest number of local governments listed in the 1999 Constitution.

    But, the 30 local governments and one area office have not satisfied the people’s yearning for grassroots participatory democracy. This reality accounted for the decision of Governor Rauf Aregbesola to create additional local council areas.

    In the governor’s view, additional councils would ensure rapid socio-economic development and bring the government closer to the people.

    Aregbesola is tapping from the Lagos State experience. He was the Commissioner for Works and Infrastructure in the Centre of Excellence when additional councils were created by former Governor Bola Tinubu. Thus, he understands the process, the hinderances and the expectations of the people.

    However, the creation of the councils have generated rift between some communities and the government. While some towns and villages have applauded the governor for the decision, others have frowned at the distribution of the new councils.

    The governor kicked off the process when he inaugurated the Osun Local Government Areas Creation Committee. It was headed by the former Speaker of the House of Assembly, Prof. Mojeeb Alabi. The committee was mandated to visit the nooks and crannies, collate the requests of the various communities for new councils and make recommendations to the government.

    In its report, the Alabi Panel recommended the creation of additional 27 local governments and two area offices. Receiving the report, the governor promised to adhere to the constitutional provisions guiding the creation of new local governments. He also said that the move to create more councils in Osun State would not generate crisis between the state and the Federal Government.

    Aregbesola assured that the new councils will be created to reflect the legitimate yearnings of the communities. He said that standard and merit will not be compromised during the exercise.

    “We are simply not ready to confront anybody or the Federal Government, but we are working on the constitution to grant the wishes of our people. Osun will be the first to constitutionally create local governments. We will create councils that will meet all constitutional requirements. The difference between what we are seeking to do from others is that we have not in any way influenced this. It is the genuine desire of the people for self-government or expression of having control of their own affairs”, he stressed.

    To validate the process through legal backing, Arebgesola has presented a bill for the creation of the 27 new local government development councils to the House of Assembly. While presenting the bill to the 26-member House, the governor said that the council administration would be run on parliamentary system of government.

    The communities that have hailed the report praised Aregbesola for a job well done. But some communities, groups and individuals are also opposing the exercise for partisan reasons. For instance, the former Chairman of the Appropriation Committee in the Senate, Senator Iyiola Omisore, faulted the creation of additional local governments and the introduction of parliamentary system of government at the grassroots.

    Omisore, who is a Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) governorship aspirant, urged the stakeholders, irrespective of their political beliefs, to reject the proposed cabinet system. “This is an evidence of the lack of ideas, initiatives, wisdom and knowledge and I wonder why a governor will be replicating the exact model of Lagos State governance without considering the differences in the economy, finance, manpower, culture and landscape of the state. “It is not a sheer coincidence that the proposed additional 27 local councils, when added to the 30 local governments, will make the exact 57 councils that they have in Lagos State. My question is, why is the creation of local councils more important than creating wealth for the impoverished people of Osun State”, he queried.

    Also, some traditional rulers from Ife North Local Government Area have petitioned the Speaker, Hon. Najeem Salam, over the omission of their area in the proposed 27 local government development councils. The monarchs and other stakeholders appealed to the Speaker to review the exercise. In a petition by the Unity Club of Ife North Local Government, the stakeholders said that additional councils for the area will bring development.

    The petition was signed by the Apetumodu of Ipetumodu, Oba James Adegoke, the Salu of Edunabon, Oba Elijah Oyelade, the Olumoro of Moro, Oba E.A Oyeniyi, and the Olulamokun of Yakoyo, Oba Johnson Oyesakin. Other traditional rulers who are signatories to the petition are the Alasipa of Asipa, Chief Johnson Adenowale, Alakinla of Akinlalu, Chief Gbadamosi Oyeniran, and the Bale of Oyere, Chief John Abiola. The President of the Unity Club of Ife North Local Government and the Secretary, Mr. C. A. Adeniyi and J. O. Ogunjobi respectively, also signed the petition.

    They faulted the proposed parliamentary system of government whereby the council chairmen would be elected from among councillors elected into the councils. The traditional rulers expressed disappointment that the local government had been neglected, despite its huge population.

    The stakeholders said that they had requested for the creation of additional three new councils in their letter to the governor and the Speaker on November 26, 2012.

    “But to our disappointment, Ife North was totally omitted from the list of local government councils that was sent to the House of Assembly for consideration, despite our being qualified for more local government councils, according to the 2006 Censu,s which shows that the area has the highest population in Osun State, the highest number of primary and post-primary schools, vast land mass, and other viable means of running a local government.

    “We are therefore, appealing to you to kindly include our local government for consideration and listing in the yet-to-be-debated local government development councils to be created in Osun State. We wish to inform you that whoever does not support this idea is an enemy of Ife North Local Government”, they added.

    Also, the people of Oke-Irun, Boluwaduro Local Government, with Otan-Aiyegbaju as its headquarters, are protesting their inclusion in a new council with Igbajo, their neigbours. They said they preferred to remain under the Bolorunduro Local Government, instead of being in a council where Igbajo is likely to be the headquarters.

    The governor is sensitive to these criticisms and observations. Aregbesola explained that his administration will insist on fairness, equity and rule of law during the process.

    The governor observed that, since grassroots governance is critical to development, it must remain the focus of his administration.

    Aregbesola said the proposed creation of new councils is designed to foster an all-inclusive governance at the grassroots. Since the councils are not being effectively run as they ought to be, he said that quality control is important.

    He assured that the structures being proposed for the new councils will maintain prudent spending, reduce the cost of governance, enhance the quality of representation at the grass-roots, and ensure efficiency.

    The governor shed light on the proposed parliamentary system. He explained that the chairmen and vice chairmen of the council would be elected councillors from the party with majority seats in the council. Thus, to emerge as the chairman, the person must contest for the councillorship election. He must be popular among the councillors. He must be a grassroots.

    If these processes are followed, Aregbesola said that they will enhance healthy political competition, promote accountability, and guarantee good governance.

    However, the governor said that the council will no more be perceived as an avenue for graft. Aregbesola aid that, henceforth, prospective political functionaries at the local government level will earn meagre emolument.

  • Aregbesola: A gale of endorsments in Osun

    Aregbesola: A gale of endorsments in Osun

    Erasmus Ikhide writes on the endorsement of Osun State Governor Rauf Aregbesola for a second term by stakeholders across the 30 local governments.

    Last year, without mixing words, was an eventful year for Governor Rauf Aregbosla of the State of Osun in the governance of his people. In spite of minimal flakes here and there arising from his new education policy, the governor incrementally raked in innumerable awards to the admiration of his detractors who vehemently loathed his ideological stand points or his style of governance.

    In that year, Osun was awarded the Best ICT (Information Communication Technology) State of the year 2013; Africa’s Most Innovative Telecom Product of the Year (Opon Imo) by the Nigerian Telecom Development at the Incubator Event Centre and the Governor of the year on Social Responsibility Award 2013 by The SERAs at its Seventh Annual award in the Shell Hall, Muson Centre, Onikan, both in Lagos.

    Interestingly, the governor had shared’ the ‘Social Responsibility Award alongside his Katsina State counterpart, Alhaji Shehu Shema. In that same year, Ogbeni was honoured by the Yoruba Education Trust Fund, (YETFUND) as the best governor of the year in the South West who has dedicated the largest chunks of his budgetary allocation to the promotion and development of education for actual growth of the Yoruba people, in so short a period.

    In the outgone year, the Nigeria National Bureau of Statistics ranked the State of Osun as having the highest of primary school enrolment in the country at between 70 and 80 per cent. The awards and recognitions too numerous to mention in just a column, emboldened the governor – gingerly – to rededicate his government firmly on the needs of the people.

    The latest of such awards come from the Nigeria Daily Independent Newspaper, as the “Man-of-the Year”, on the first of January, 2014 in recognition of the governor’s innovative, seamless and actual governance with outstanding contribution by turning his philosophical conviction – as an activist – into result-yielding good governance. The newspaper in its editorial wrote: “The difference is clear.

    “The State of Osun today has a spring (pardon the pun) in its step. The emphasis is now on production and jobs led economic trajectory. This new thrust has implications for the nation far beyond the narrow confines of partisan politics. This is because if the unfulfilled promises that have resulted in widespread cynicism are to be rolled back, the nation must become a proper democracy.

    “Nowhere has this shown more than in his policy on education. A sweeping repositioning of the education sector is clearly leading to a situation where generations will now be technically prepared and empowered to face the reality of a brutally competitive world. “What Rauf Aregbesola has done in the State of Osun is to redefine the terrain of thinking and practice. “He has sect a mark that must be a pointer to the future. “If this country is to prosper, it must move in the direction of the new thinking determined by people like Aregbesola.”

    Aregbesola has demonstrated in governance that he is absolutely prepared for 21st century leadership where information technology holds the ace: “Without ICT, it would have been difficult for us to provide all the text books needed by over 150, 000 students in our high schools. “To provide just 3 text books, which are not enough for the students to perform well in the final examination in WAEC and NECO, would cost the state government N4.5 billion annually. “With the introduction of Opon Imo (Tablet of Knowledge), it costs N250 million only for the government to provide virtual text books for all the books needed by the students to write (WAEC, NECO and JAMB) for the 150,000 students in the high schools,” the governor said.

    Ogbeni is of the view that ICT is the future of today’s world, which all stakeholders must recognise and begin to make the best use of so as to develop the country. He listed the various ways in which his government has deployed ICT to do government business. “What is needed more in the country is the exposure of young people to the infinite potentials of the world of ICT and how they can through it, rule their world. “Our government has long recognised the huge potentials of ICT for bringing qualitative improvement to bear on the lives of people and society, and this is what we have been doing since I became governor in the State of Osun”, he said.

  • ‘I was saved by God, not magic’

    ‘I was saved by God, not magic’

    For Pastor Duromola Adedayo Samuel, the General Overseer of Christ Worshippers Church, Warri, Delta State, life has been full of challenges; and near brushes with death. Recently he was involved in an auto crash from which he escaped unhurt and allegedly disappeared from his wrecked car. Taiwo Abiodun met him

    IT was the last day of the year. A time many were praying to see the dawn of the New Year. Pastor Duromola Adedayo Samuel, the General Overseer Christ Worshippers, Warri, Delta State was on his way to Osun State from Owo, Ondo State. Somewhere around Ikeji Ile his car was hit by a trailer and the news spread like wild fire that he had been killed.

    The rumour was aided by the fact that after the crash he disappeared from scene of the crash while his cassock was in the car. Some said they saw him hanging on a tree in Osogbo while a few others were of the view that he had used the Yoruba magical power of disappearance (egbe). A few others claimed to have sighted him in Ilorin, Kwara State while some others believed he had been kidnapped.

    The thought that he must have been kidnapped was fuelled by the fact that there were no blood stains on the badly damaged car and his cassock and long crucifix, both found in the car.

    As the news filtered out his church members in Warri became worried while his aged parents and family members in Owo were full of prayers for his safety.

    Pastor Samuel was going to the mountain to pray as was his annual ritual for the crossover night when the accident occurred around 8pm. When the car was hit he was flung away from the scene of the incident. On the second day when the badly damaged car with its windscreen shattered to smithereens was discovered in the bush, Pastor Samuel’s cell phones were intact with his cassock in the damaged car.

    However, two days later he surfaced unscathed!

    When The Nation met him he was bubbling and thanking God for coming out unhurt from the wrecked car. According to him, “The word ‘that I disappeared’ is laughable, when I heard all kinds of things that I used the Yoruba magical power ( egbe) to escape from the car. True, the car was badly damaged, it is beyond repairs and is a write-off, whoever sees the vehicle will not believe the occupant or the driver would survive. But I give God the glory, I survived,” he said.

    Narrating how it happened, Samuel said “I always go to the prayer mountain to pray on the eve of every New Year which is crossover night. I left Warri and met my wife in Akure, I told her that I was travelling and would be back the second day, that is January 1, to take her to Warri, I said goodbye. I am used to driving myself. I don’t trust drivers I left Akure after 6pm on December 31. Due to the harmattan, I could not see very well, after passing through Owena at Arakeji after Owena very close to CAC camp, I was almost approaching where I was going when a trailer beamed its light into my eyes, before you know it I only heard gbuuaaaa, and that was all I could remember.”

    Two days later he said he found himself being attended to by an old man. “When I asked where I was and what day was it and was told it was January 2, I was shocked. The old man later told me that he carried me from a spot in the bush on January1, which meant I slept in the bush.”

    When he regained consciousness, he said “I started recollecting what happened to me, it was like I was in a trance. I knew I did not die but I was unconscious. I was drowsy, and I slept off. Where they found me was like a pole away from the accident scene. The man who saw me in the bush said he had to carry me to a place under a tree, he said he found a crucifix on my neck. I had to use the old man’s cell phone to call my wife who told me they had been searching for me. People were confused that there was no blood stain in the car and my cassock was there.”

    He agreed that he failed to use the seat belt adding that, “If I had used it I would have died because I would have been trapped there. I believe I was flung out of the car through the shattered windscreen. I don’t believe in magic or juju not to talk of ‘egbe’ people are talking about. Whoever does that does not believe that Jesus is the only way and the saviour is dead.”

    He continued “When I recovered and regained consciousness I could not go to Akure or Owo of Warri because I was afraid the crowd would be too great for me to handle. I headed to Ilorin to rest.”

     

    Cat with nine lives

    Pastor Samuel who claims to have survived many spiritual battles said, “In Warri many of them are idol worshipers and I do preach against idol worshipping, I preach against cultism and these people worship idols. I have converted many into Christianity. In 1998 in Warri I was attacked by hired assassins, it was a close shave with death! When they could not kill me they used pumped action machine gun to scatter my leg, I had to go to London for surgical operation.”

    To get himself away from being easily noticed he decided not to use a convoy again. He said some of the accusations hurled against him was that he uses magical powers for healing when he actual fact he only uses ordinary honey which he prayed on to heal.

     

    Lessons learnt

    Pastor Samuel he has learnt that “If you don’t shed anybody’s blood nobody can kill you. When this accident happened I thought it was finished but God is on my side.”

    He reiterated that his ordeals have confirmed the need to place ultimate trust in God. His wife Prophetess Blessing said when she heard about her husband’s accident she began to pray and reject such a fate. In fact, at a point she thought he might have been kidnapped. “But thank God he suddenly called me and told me where he was in the bush in the area where he had the accident.”

  • Hold Buruji Kashamu accountable for whatever mayhem in Ekiti, Osun

    Hold Buruji Kashamu accountable for whatever mayhem in Ekiti, Osun

    Buruji has shown clearly that he would not mind committing any horrendous act in his quest for an unimaginable PDP victory in Ekiti

    I am ready to go if you will stand by me. If you are ready, let us start with EKITI governorship election and make it a sample to them” – Kashamu speaking at the southwest meeting of what Prof Wole Soyinka once dubbed a ‘nest of killers’

    Former President Obasanjo called his own, ‘do or die’, and we know what we went through in Ekiti; Mama Iyabo came with her ‘conscienceless conscience’ and we would later have amputated legs, shown live at election tribunals.

    Now, it is Buruji Kasamu requesting his PDP compatriots’ support so they can show us, again in Ekiti, what disdain these Ogun State elements have for Ekiti which they would like to turn to their hunting ground at every election cycle. I plead with Nigerians to help the good and humble people of Ekiti ask this total stranger what sample he intends to make of us this time around. The last I know, he is not a registered voter in Ekiti and so is not eligible to vote there for whichever of Labour or PDP contestant emerges their gubernatorial candidate, he is not a police officer so he could not, like Rivers’ State Police Commissioner, Mbu, turn Ekiti to a lawless state; nor is this man of the Electoral Commission, so he could scientifically rig the election as is their wont.

    So how exactly is this man going to ‘make a sample of us?

    My mind could only go to the snipers which their own ex- Chairman, Board of Trustees, and former president, Olusegun Obasanjo, alleged are being trained at the instance of no less a personality than the president. Seeing how vociferously both the president and the PDP Chairman, Alhaji Bamanga Tukur, have defended Kashamu, heartily disparaging Obasanjo, it is not unreasonable to believe that Kashamu must be so strategic to their evil plans in Yoruba land, not to allocate to him a phalange of those snipers. Nor would the two powerful politicians be bothered whatever when Obasanjo told them how serially world leaders embarrass him on account of Buruji.

    That the man is so important to Jonathan’s 2015 plans, and Ekiti and Osun especially, can also be seen in the ease with which they made him supersede not only Obasanjo himself, but the likes of Bode George, my friend, Seye Ogunlewe, Obanikoro and all those who were the PDP poster boys in the region when Kasamu was still going round his circuit of courts.

    It is for his central role in Jonathan’s evil designs for the Southwest that Kashamu must bear full responsibility for the safety of all Ekiti citizens that can be regarded as being in opposition to the PDP, which will translate to no less than 70 per cent of our people.

    Needless to say then that from this very moment, I must reckon as number one on his list but only God can save and enemies of the good people of Ekiti will certainly work in vain. Their evil counsel, like Ahitophel’s, will come to naught in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ. Amen.

    This is the reason why every mother, every wife, even child in Ekiti must hold the controversial Ogun state politician, Buruji Kasamu, responsible for whatever befalls their bread winners in the run down to the 2014 election in the state as he has promised to completely over run the state.

    It was my uncle, the highly regarded Chief Deji Fasuan, who first drew my attention to the inimical politics some persons of Ogun State extraction have historically played in Yoruba politics. I have searched in vain on my computer system for his exact quotes, in which he pointedly mentioned names and narrated what negative roles each surreptitiously played in the affairs of other Yoruba ethnic groups. Fortunately, I do not need to have those exact words since in the past few years, dating back to the 8-year strangle-hold of the PDP on our geo-political zone, some Ogun State elements have famously put their animus against Ekiti people at play, the latest being this new friend of Mr. President.

    It had all begun with Obasanjo who, as president, spared no scurrilous word in describing Ekiti people. Beginning from how he mercilessly shredded Chief S.K Babalola, one of Ekiti’s most distinguished elders, on his way to inflicting a governor on the state in 2003, he later callously dismissed the entire Ekiti people as educated fools. He would later conjure an inchoate impeachment of his once’ darling son’, just so he could inflict an Ogun State retired general on the state in declaring a totally reckless emergency administration whose sole aim was to prepare the ground for a PDP victory in the following election. Obasanjo would then go on to show his complete disdain for Ekiti when he disregarded the results of his party’s governorship primary election and opted for the candidate who placed third as his anointed candidate.

    For the next three years, Ekiti knew no peace.

    Next was the conscienceless INEC Resident Electoral Commissioner who, against all expectations, abandoned her avowed Christian conscience, first went underground , surfaced in the presidency in Abuja only to come back to Ado-Ekiti to eat her words and throatily declare what she had previously adjured a rigged result.

    Were Ekiti vicissitudes in the hands of Ogun State elements limited to these, we probably would have shouted Halleluiah. But then that would not satisfy our traducers who must not stop until they have seen the last of a people they proudly regard as inferior to them.

    So here comes this money man who once claimed he would spend a billion on the Ekiti gubernatorial election. Nigerians must ask him how this is his business. Must Ekiti be roughened up to have an oil block? Anyway, if he likes he could quintuple that amount; we won’t be bothered in the least since in the first place, half that amount would be stolen by his party people and as to the rest, Ekiti will show him money is not our god. He, it is, who knows how he made his money and can therefore choose to burn it. Kashamu should go and ask how much those who preceded him have spent futilely in Lagos State these past 14 years but the wishes of the people have always prevailed. If some people worship money, we in Ekiti do not. He will therefore, equally profit nothing in Ekiti, no matter what nebulous billions he sank into their evil plans against the wishes of the people.

    By declaring at their Ibadan meeting that if his historically unscrupulous party men will stand by him, he was ready to start with Ekiti and make an otherwise peaceful state ‘a sample’, (and this happens to be a man who had declared the APC leader, Ashiwaju Bola Ahmed Tinubu an enemy, not a political opponent) Buruji has shown clearly that he would not mind committing any horrendous act in his quest for an unimaginable PDP victory in Ekiti.

    Kashamu should know, that with this his threats, the onus is squarely on him to prove that he does not pose a danger to the good people of Ekiti, come the next election.

    Nigerians are waiting to hear from him.