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Tag: OSUN

  • Have goods to ferry to Lagos? Ogbeni Aregbesola’ll move it free of charge

    Have goods to ferry to Lagos? Ogbeni Aregbesola’ll move it free of charge

    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 sector 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 into 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 Oshogbo is a terminus 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 infrastructures in Dubai, it attracts people to that country and it is the same thing Ogbeni is doing in the state of Osun. By the time Ogbeni assumed office, he began moving passengers from Lagos to Osogbo during these festive periods. People have lost confidence in the railway. 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?

    Thank you. 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 didn’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 export to 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 all these ones 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 the industrial revolution, that is in place 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?

    Thank you very much. During these festivals, there used to be traffic congestion  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 has come down, we discover that many people who have visited their homes in the last ten years are coming 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 but that confidence has been restored. When Ogbeni said people should move their goods to Lagos, people were skeptical but when they saw the rail 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 it 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 in the state, 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 al 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 actualize, 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 is a place everyone will come to.

     

  • Osun on the march again

    Osun on the march again

    As the final countdown to Saturday’s gubernatorial election in Osun State begins, global attention would once again be focused on Nigeria as the wobbling and fumbling continues in the nation’s quest to join the leagues of real democracies.

    And as had always been the case with elections in western Nigeria since independence, it is going to be a straight fight between federal might and the people’s will. Why the federal government or rather the party at the centre is always interested in controlling south west Nigeria against the wish of the majority beats one’s imagination. I don’t want to hazard a guess, but suffice to say that each attempt whether successful or not have always had grave consequences for the country.

    Attempt by the NPC/NCNC controlled federal government in the first republic to take over western region through its lackeys in the region led to the western regional crisis that later snowballed into the crisis that eventually ended Nigeria’s first attempt at democratic rule. Recall what happened to the second republic when the ruling National Party of Nigeria (NPN) of President Shehu Shagari forcefully claimed victory in Ondo State. The only ‘successful’ takeover of political power in the south west by the party at the centre to date was in 2003 when ‘son-of-the-soil’ President Olusegun Obasanjo manipulated the process, using the federal might, to claim victory for his Peoples democratic Party (PDP)in all but one of the south west states.

    But not too long after, the people realized their mistake and took back what they lost to the PDP, safe Ondo State. Again, applying the federal might policy of intimidation, the federal government is on another mission to forcefully take over the south west targeting Ekiti and Osun states as prelude to pocketing the remaining four states of the region in the 2015 general elections. And with Ekiti already in the bag, Abuja is full of confidence that Osun too will fall. In the last few weeks, the state has been fully militarized by the Commander-In-Chief, President Goodluck Jonathan, who in defiance of wise counsel has moved soldiers, State Security operatives and of course the police into Osun to ‘deliver’ the state to the PDP. Whether he succeeds or not and what becomes of our democracy after Saturday is in the hands of time. For Jonathan, securing Osun, Ekiti and the rest of the south west states is not so much for the wealth of the region, but the millions of votes he needs to secure a second term. Whereas his party men in the region are only interested in the key to the treasuries of the Yoruba states in order to squander the resources.

    With this premise, it is easier to understand the battle that lies ahead for the people of Osun State as the local ruling party, the All Progressives Congress (APC) and its candidate Governor Rauf Aregbesola confronts the PDP and its flag bearer, Senator Iyiola Omisore stoutly backed by the government at the centre.

    Saturday’s election is not so much in the hands of Aregbesola or Omisore but the people of the state who must decide the direction they want to take their future. Where Osun State was before Aregbesola came in and where it is today should be their guide, and I will use education to illustrate my point here.

    As a beneficiary of the Bola Ige administration free education programme in Oyo in the second republic, I recall what most members of my generation then were going through to go to school and stay in school before the Unity Party of Nigeria (UPN) came to power in the region in 1979 and education was made free. No more school fees; no more buying of books, all our parents had to do was feed us and buy our school uniform. I can still recall the happiness on my parents’ face when newly sworn in governor Bola Ige announced this at the Liberty stadium on October 1, 1979. They both heaved a sigh of relief as they listened to the pronouncement on radio. Before then they had been finding it difficult paying the school fees of my siblings and I. Even though the skeptics, especially in the NPN said it wasn’t possible and derided the quality of education we were getting in public schools, millions of parents stood by the UPN and their governors defying the federal might to secure their children’s future. Today that decision has been well justified; their sacrifice have not been in vain, their children are now successful men and women in their various fields, thanks in no small measure to the free education programme of the day. The NPN federal government did offer rice and money that time but they rejected them.

    If one looks at the contributions of the Aregbesola administration in the last four years or thereabout to improving the standard of education in Osun State, one is tempted to say that if only for that he deserves, without blinking an eye, a second term in office. And that is the truth.

    I don’t want to talk about the beautiful schools he has built all over the state or even the reclassification of schools that he has done, as some are wont to argue that aesthetics are not enough to make good schools, what about the free feeding programme on which over N3 billion is being spent annually; free school uniforms. What about the tablet of knowledge or ‘Opon Imo’ (a miniature computer or tablet) containing the entire senior Secondary School syllabus, books and WAEC/GCE examination papers given to Senior Secondary School students to prepare them for their final exams.

    Any parent or guardian that understands what it takes to buy whole set of books for their children or ward(s), buy their uniform, pay their school fees and above all feed them (at least once a day) will appreciate the burden that Governor Aregbesola has taken off their shoulders. And it is only right and even godly to appreciate the man by giving him another term in office. This is the least they can do for a man who has taken it upon himself to better their lot. To Governor Rauf Aregbesola, serving the people (of Osun) is a commandment from God. I chose to dwell on his education programme (only a fraction of his achievements in this sector) because I believe, like Chief Obafemi Awolowo who saw the future of his Yoruba people in education far back in the 50s that is the best foundation for the future.

    Aregbesola has laid a solid foundation for the future of his people in Osun, the people should allow him to build it further by rewarding him with a second term. Any other decision to the contrary could lead to eternal regret. A word is enough for the wise.

     

  • Obanikoro defends troops deployment for Osun poll

    Obanikoro defends troops deployment for Osun poll

    Minister of State of Defence Senator Musliu Obanikoro spoke yesterday on Saturday’s governorship election in Osun State.

    The minister addressed reporters in Osogbo, the state capital.

    He said President Goodluck Jonathan wanted one-man, one-vote.

    Besides, he alleged that the All Progressives Congress (APC) was mobilising people from Lagos to ahead of the poll.

    But APC denied the allegation.

    Obanikoro said: “The people of Osun State should resist this invasion and we will support them to ensure that they did not succeed in achieving this.

    “There was no multiple voting, no ballot snatching in Ekiti. The military helped the process,” he said.

    On the constitutionality of military presence, he said Osun is bigger than Ekiti.

    “That is why the presence will be more. It is my responsibility to secure the people, not to give advantage to the PDP, but to the people of Osun,” Obanikoro said.

    But APC denied the PDP’s allegation.

    The party said the PDP and Obanikoro were only looking for how to use the security agents to unleash terror on Osun residents, particularly APC supporters.

    The party’s spokesman, Mr. Kunle Oyatimi said: “The security forces appear to have intensified their harassment of Osun people by interfering in the movement of people in our cities and towns and arresting targeted individuals, including Yemi Oke, a leader of APC in Obokun Local Governmenet Area .

    “Early Monday morning, they created panic through rigorous searches in Osogbo and Ilesa, causing traffic to crawl for hours before relenting as the afternoon approached. Convoys of strange-looking people, believed to be militants from Bayelsa and other Niger Delta states, have been moving in and out of Ilesa. They were escorted by branded vehicles of the Omisore Campaign Organisation.

    “Speculation is rife that the security services may be rehearsing a lock-down of Osogbo and other cities on Tuesday (today) in what we have been informed is a desperate bid to whittle down the number of supporters expected at the final mega rally of the APC.”

     

     

    Stay away from Osun, acting  IGP warns ‘trouble makers’

    By Augustine Ehikioya

    The Acting Inspector-General of Police (IGP), Suleiman Abba, has warned those he said may intend to cause trouble in Osun State to stay away from Saturday’s governorship election in the state.

    Abba addressed State House correspondents yesterday after a meeting with Vice-President Namadi Sambo at the Presidential Villa in Abuja

    He said only people who have official functions to perform in the state would be allowed to move freely within Osun during the election.

    To ensure peace in the state, the police chief said he had changed the operational guidelines of his predecessor, Mohammed Abubakar, who retired last week.

    Abba said the new operational guideline would ensure that his men get to Osun State on time to prepare for the election.

  • Osun election, corruption top Abba’s challenges

    Osun election, corruption top Abba’s challenges

    Like other sectors of the society, the police have battled corruption. This is one of the challenges facing the acting Inspector General of Police Suleiman Abba. Many will be watching out for how he handles the general elections, especially the Osun governorship poll, writes JUDE ISIGUZO  

    Some years back, a retired Deputy Inspector General (DIG) of Police was a Divisional Police Officer (DPO) in a police station on Lagos mainland. He made any policeman posted to his station to sign an undertaking that he or she would not be corrupt.

    The retired DIG documented this undertaking in a file. On the other hand, he set a target for the policeman on how much money they were expected to bring to him at the end of every week. He warned his men to ensure that they were not caught extorting money from members of the public by the Police Monitoring Unit, a department responsible for arresting corrupt policemen, as he would deny them using their undertaking as evidence.

    A policeman, who worked with the retired DIG, said: “Some week when we did not meet our target, we borrowed money from members of the Nigerian Union of Road Transport Workers (NURTW) and filling station attendants to make up because he would not listen to any excuse. All he cared about was his returns.

    “Those that were caught in trying to meet with their target he denied them by presenting the undertaking that was signed by the affected policeman. He would go on to tell the Monitoring team how he hated corruption and corrupt policemen and that was why he made them sign an undertaking before they would start working with him.”

    Corruption in the police, according to analysts, is the number one challenge before acting Inspector General of Police (IGP) Sulaiman Abba.

    Favouritism is another problem analysts have identified as dragging down the force. There are police officers and men who have been serving in a Divisional Police Station, Mobile Police Squadrons, command, units and Departments for a decade. These officers are so rich that they have the money to bribe their superiors to leave them where they are serving. Abba should discourage such practice and ensure that all policemen under him and in his time should enjoy equal right. This will discourage corruption. Abba should also continue with the no road block order introduced by his predecessor as it has reduced incidents of accidental discharge, harassment and intimidation of members of the public on the highway.

    Another issue the new IGP needs to address is that of covering up police officers and men who have been indicted for stealing from members of the public. Many a time, police officers had turned complainants to accused, converted belongings of a suspect while investigation is ongoing and are even indicted for kidnap and murder. Rather than punish these officers, some of them have even been celebrated and promoted. Cases abound. A former CP in Abia and Rivers states, who is now an Assistant Inspector General (AIG), was indicted while serving as CP Rivers for stealing three exotic cars belonging to an accused person while investigation was still ongoing. He was alleged to have converted one of the cars to personal use and sold the other two to his friends at a ridiculous price. The accused petitioned the Special Fraud Unit and the case was re-investigated and the CP indicted. But rather than punish him, the CP was promoted to the rank of AIG.

    Divisional Police Officers have been indicted for allegedly killing innocent citizens in Lagos, Abuja and other parts of the country but at the end of the day, nothing comes out of the investigations. Abba should discourage this practice.

    Welfare is one area Abba really needs to address and fast too. Policemen should be encouraged to make them see their job as service to humanity and not a licence to oppress, intimidate and extort members of the public. When the Chairman of Police Service Commission, Mr Mike Okiro was appointed as the 13th indigenous IGP, he wept on his visit to inspect police barracks in Ikeja, the Lagos State capital and Elere in Agege, on the outskirts of Lagos. Though the renovation of those barracks that he promised was never acted upon up till date, he was able to lay a foundation for a police estate in Idimu. A flat in the estate, which is supposed to be for junior officers, is being sold for N8million. Where the force high command expects the junior officers to raise this amount from is what only they can answer. Abba should learn to march words with action by renovating the barracks if he cannot construct new ones. Salaries should be increased; promotions should come as at when due; those on special duties should be paid their allowances and retire officers and men should get their entitlements immediately after leaving service.

    Family members of deceased officers and men must be paid their breadwinners’ entitlement promptly. Abba should train and re-train his men and equip the forensic department in Alagbon to handle high level investigations.

    The first litmus test for Abba would be the conduct of the Osun State governorship election coming up on August 9. Nigerian are watching and expecting that Abba will not be partisan. He should be objective in his dealings with all the political parties involved to ensure a professional conduct.

    In a letter to the acting IGP through its national coordinator, Okechukwu Nwanguma , Network on Police Reform in Nigeria (NOPRIN), a network of 46 civil society organisations committed to promoting police accountability and respect for human rights, said: “We are fully appraised of the fact that the tasks confronting you as Inspector General of a large police force are enormous and daunting. The challenge of managing such an unwieldy  and centralised police force  in a populous, complex and troubled country is  made even more herculean by historical, institutional and structural problems, as well as other factors external to the force and, therefore, beyond your control as the chief of police.

    “NOPRIN and other civil society platforms have over the years continued to advocate for reforms aimed at transforming the police into a professionally effective, democratic, accountable and people-friendly service organisation which enjoys public confidence and cooperation and capable of meeting the safety and security needs of the community it serves. Over the years, the NPF has grappled with the problem of severe under-resourcing. We are also aware that budget allocations for the police are pilfered at various levels in the line of bureaucracy before they reach their final destination.

    “A compromised and corruption-ridden recruitment process allows misfits and criminals to find their way into the police and continue to dent its image. The police force continues to parade a poorly trained, ill-equipped, badly paid and ill-motivated workforce that is prone to corruption and violence. Professionalism, effectiveness and integrity are hindered by political interference by political authorities that have no more than rhetorical commitment to police reform.

    “However, while these external incapacitating factors are not within the control of the IGP, there still remains some space for any IGP who is genuinely committed to reform to show leadership. With determination, you can creatively exercise powers and ensure that things within your control in the system work well. We believe that with commitment and determination, you can improve in the areas where your predecessors have not fared very well. You can, for example, make it clear to police officers that their duty is to serve and protect their communities and not to prey on them. Police officers ought to be protectors, not predators.  Human rights abuses breed public resentment and erode public trust and cooperation. You must constantly remind them of the ‘… obvious that the duties of the Nigeria Police Force are a direct consequence of the powers conferred on it by law. It becomes mandatory that the law must regulate the performance of its duties relating to arrest, detention, search, and seizure and the use of force. In other words, these duties must be exercised strictly within the limits prescribed for the Police by law. And any form of exercise of these powers which does not strictly conform to the prescriptions of the law can have unpleasant consequences for the Police Force (as a corporate entity, as well as for the individual Police personnel).’You can make it clear from the onset that your administration will not tolerate human rights abuses, corruption, disobedience of court orders, violation of the constitution and subversion of the due process and rule of law. As you  settle down and familiarise yourself with your new office and the tasks ahead, we wish to draw your attention to some areas we respectfully think you need to pay particular attention. The NPF stinks and you need to demonstrate your commitment to sanitise it by addressing the following specific issues. Where necessary, we will illustrate with  some specific cases which we had earlier brought to the attention of your predecessor,  but which remain pending or  unresolved. How you address these cases that touch directly on the image, integrity and operational efficiency of the police will be a litmus test to your commitment to leave the NPF better than you met it as IGP.

    “You need to prioritise respect for human rights which impinges on police-public relations. You have to, perforce, vigorously pursue and promote an anti-corruption policy. Then, you must take seriously the issue of accountability for police abuse, corruption and misconduct. You must equally address, very seriously, the welfare of personnel. Failure of Accountability:  Impunity for police abuses Lack of effective accountability measures to sanction and deter police misconduct accounts for the increasing number of cases of abuse and misconduct. One case, among the numerous, that illustrates impunity is the continued indefinite detention of Chinagorom Ihejiagwa by SARS Awkuzu, Anambra State in disregard of a court order. This is one of the several complaints which NOPRIN received and brought to the attention of police authorities but which has remained untreated.

    “NOPRIN had written several complaints to the former IGP concerning these abuses by SARS, many of which have been reported in several newspapers. But the authorities have failed to address these complaints and the underlying causes of the abuses which make them routine. One of the very dangerous practices portraying the police in a very negative light and which you must address urgently is police contempt and disregard for Court Orders. You must take steps to change the attitude of the police to court orders. Ihejiagwa was arrested by SARS Awkuzu and has been detained since May 31, 2014. He has been denied access to his family members and his lawyers. The O/C SARS has also refused to charge him to court. He was arrested by one police officer attached to Awkuzu SARS and simply identified as ‘Pele’. Although ‘Pele’  accused him of buying a stolen vehicle two years ago and refused to ‘settle’ him,  the O/C SARS, Awkuzu, Mr. James Nwafor later told Chiagorom’s brother that he is a ‘confessed kidnapper’ and that ‘we will kill him’.

    “We call on you to demonstrate that the Nigeria Police under your administration will do away with the odious practice of shielding criminals and covering up crime and that you will show sensitivity to public concerns by responding to public demand for justice in this case. Please, do not allow this matter to be swept under the carpet.

    “The issue of Police personnel welfare, you must make bold to make a strong case for an increase in the remuneration and allowances of officers. Salaries and allowances must be paid in full and on time. Those on special duties must be catered for in terms of their travel, accommodation, hazard and other allowances. Family members of police officers who die in line of duty must be treated with fairness and compassion. Their deceased breadwinners’ entitlements must be released to them in full and on time. They must not be thrown out of the barracks while the police force owes them their entitlements. You must also make bold to let the Federal Government understand your operational challenges and the need for the government to adequately equip, train and motivate personnel to enable them discharge their functions and effectively deal with crime and insecurity.”

  • Osun: COSEG warns against ‘importation’ of Niger Delta militants

    Osun: COSEG warns against ‘importation’ of Niger Delta militants

    The Coalition of Oodua Self-Determination Group (COSEG), has on Monday raised the alarm over plans by Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) chieftains to import hundreds of Niger Delta boys for the Osun election.

    In statement COSEG Chairman and Secretary, Ifedayo Ogunlana and Rasaq Olookoba, the pan Yoruba Organisation said it had it on good authority that the plans were concluded at the weekend.

    COSEG said the plan was the brainchild PDP chiefs.

    The organisation said a top government officials deeply involved in the Niger Delta struggle and who knows the militants inside out, was said to have volunteered to hire the militants.

    COSEG condemned the plan which it described as “double jeopardy” in view of the “heavy policing and militarisation of the state by the Federal Government”.

    The statement added: “We heard from sources that the PDP has enlisted the help of NIGER Delta militants to come to Osun for the election.

    “We in COSEG know the antecedent those linked with this plan and so do not take lightly the sinister plan to storm Osun with militants.

    “We are sending caution to President Goodluck Jonathan to counsel his party chiefs to desist from such obnoxious plan as the people of Osun will resist with all their might any attempt to destabilise the state.”

    The organisation advised Osun people not be intimidated by the presence of the security men saying it had become clear to the security agents that Osun’s election “cannot be rigged because of the massive support of the people enjoyed by Aregbesola”.

  • Osun APC mega rally holds today

    Osun APC mega rally holds today

    The campaign mega rally for the re-election of Ogbeni Rauf Aregbesola in Osogbo Federal Constituency will hold tomorrow Tuesday, August 5th, 2014 in Osogbo, the capital of Osun State.

    A statement by the Chairman and Secretary of the Aregbesola Campaign Committee for the federal constituency, Senator Bayo Salami and Barr. Kolapo Alimi, respectively said the event would double as the Osogbo Federal Constituency and the State Mega Rally.

    According to the statement, the rally will hold at the Osogbo City Stadium by 10 am.

    The Peoples Democratic Party held its mega rally last Saturday at the same venue with President Goodluck Jonathan, his vice, Arch. Namadi Sambo, the party national leadership and other chieftains in attendance.

    The national leaders of the All Progressives Congress, including the Chairman, John Oyegun, Chief Bisi Akande, Gen Muhamodu Buhari, Senator Bola Amed Tinubu, Mallam Nasir El-Rufai, Mallam Nuru Ribadu.

    All the governors of the APC, including Rotimi Amechi of Rivers State, Raji Fashola of Lagos State and Rabiu Kwankwaso of Kano State are expected at the mega rally.

    The Osogbo/Olorunda/Orolu/Irepodun federal constituency mega rally would be the final campaign outing of the All Progressives Congress and Ogbeni Aregbesola.

  • PDP, APC in verbal war over Osun poll

    PDP, APC in verbal war over Osun poll

    •We’ll police Osun like Ekiti, Jonathan vows

    FIVE days to the August 9 governorship election in Osun State, a fiery war of words has been ignited between the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC) and the opposition Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) in the state.

    The verbal exchange coincided with the visit yesterday of President Goodluck Jonathan to the state.

    Jonathan said Osun State residents should expect heavy presence of security agents during the August 9 governorship poll.

    The situation, he stated, will be reminiscent of the just-concluded Ekiti State governorship election won by the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP).

    Jonathan spoke at the mega rally of the PDP in the main bowl of the Osogbo City Stadium where the national leadership handed over the party’s flag to its Osun State governorship candidate, Senator Iyiola Omisore.

    He said the election would be well policed to prevent a breakdown of law and order, warning that the security agents would deal with whoever causes trouble before, during and after the poll according to the law.

    The president, who assured that nobody would be allowed to snatch the box and get away with it, maintained that every vote must count.

    He said no party can rival PDP’s transparency in picking their candidates, urging the people to vote Omisore in the forthcoming election because he (Jonathan) was ready to support Omisore develop the state.

    According to him: “All we need is your vote for Omisore and leave the rest for us to support him develop Osun State.

    “Omisore is a grassroots man and someone who does not look down on people. He also respects the traditional rulers.”

    Jonathan apologised for arriving at the rally behind schedule, saying he went to pay courtesy calls on some traditional rulers in the state.

    He said some of the projects he had done for Osun State were in the flyers being distributed to the people who attended the rally, saying he won’t want to waste time by listing them one by one.

    Speaking after receiving the permission of the party’s leadership to flag its flag, Omisore asked the people to show their cards which they would use to vote him into office in the August 9 poll.

    Many stalwarts of the party in attendance included Vice President Namadi Sambo, the party’s Board of Trustees chairman, Chief Tony Anenih; the national chairman, Alhaji Adamu Muazu;  former Oyo State Governor, Adebayo Alao-Akala; the Ekiti State governor-elect, Ayo Fayose; the chairman, Mobilisation Committee for PDP in South West, Buruji Kasamu, former deputy governor in Osun State and former Minister of State for Defence, Erelu Olusola Obada.

    Others were the Deputy Speaker, House of Representatives, Hon. Emeka Ihedioha; former Speaker, Dimeji Bankole and Akwa Ibom state governor, Godswill Akpabio; the caretaker chairman, South West, Isola Filani; former national Deputy chairman of the PDP, Alhaji Shuab Oyedokun; former Board chairman of the Osun State Broadcasting Corporation, Chief Yemi Farombi; former Lagos State deputy governor, Akerele-Bucknor; former  Aviation Minister, Chief Femi Fani-Kayode; Senator Bode Olajumoke, Chief Ebenezer Babatope and Hon. Wole Oke.

  • The choice before Osun

    The choice before Osun

    Next Saturday’s governorship election in Osun State is strictly speaking between the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC) and the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP). Any other party staking a claim to the state’s Government House is simply making up the number. Should PDP win, the party, and by inference, President Goodluck Jonathan, could create a roaring momentum that would be hard to stop going into the 2015 general elections. Not only would the party make a serious and plausible claim to reclaiming the Southwest for the PDP, as many of the party’s leading political philosophers suggest and desire, even Dr Jonathan, whose life and politics consistently defy gravity and logic, could feel considerably animated about his chances. The president’s life is full of happenstances; indeed, it relies on happenstances; and his politics, strangely energised by its mediocre pauses, now relies almost entirely on brute force, intimidation, harassment and constitutional subversion.

    But should APC win, as its beleaguered apparatchiks earnestly hope, it would check the heresy triggered by the Ekiti governorship poll, buoy up the party in general terms, create a fresh momentum for the opposition towards the 2015 polls, especially the presidential election, and arrest the PDP frenzy in the Southwest. In short, the APC needs Osun much more than the PDP does. Ekiti proved during the June governorship poll that the Southwest is not as ideologically driven as many analysts, including this columnist, hoped. Ideology is therefore unlikely to play a dominant role in shaping Osun’s electoral choices on Saturday. Instead, rather than party preference, Osun will more likely than not vote for personality. But secondarily, I suspect, Osun will also try to distance itself from the unwholesome factors that tarred the Ekiti poll, especially the specious reasons given to justify the revolt against Governor Kayode Fayemi.

    The contest in Osun will be narrowed down to a straight fight between Governor Rauf Aregbesola and Senator Iyiola Omisore. Both, it is obvious, have been tried in one office or the other; the former as governor, and the latter as a senator, former deputy governor, ruthless machinator, and maverick politician. Choosing between the two politicians should not present Osun with a hard task, though both gentlemen have an insatiable knack for courting controversy and for sailing near the wind. Governor Aregbesola is not unbeatable, for after all, I have had reasons to disagree with him vehemently, and still do; but it will require someone acutely cerebral, much calmer, more reflective and more genuine than the challenger. Senator Omisore is none of these, and no matter how hard he tries, can’t be. Indeed, the most poignant part of the challenger’s persona is his absolute lack of reflection, not to talk of his impatience, dangerous and intuitive iconoclasm, which he displayed in his numerous battles with the late Minister of Justice, Bola Ige, and complete vacuity. Like Ekiti’s Governor-elect, Ayo Fayose, who neither believes nor stands for anything substantial, Senator Omisore feigns disingenuous eclecticism by borrowing bits and pieces of disjointed ideas from all sources.

    In politics, it is said that you can’t beat something with nothing. But it happened in Ekiti last June where a hollow nothing beat a full something. The misfortune of Senator Omisore is to live in a state like Osun eager to buck the trend of the so-called PDP reclamation of the Southwest rather than in a vengeful Ekiti full of vendetta. Though he has tried his valiant best to put on the Fayose airs – of spontaneous roadside meals, of wisecracks and rural jocosity, and of a risible attachment to indefinable pragmatism – the fact remains that he is not Mr Fayose, and Osun is not Ekiti.

    Governor Aregbesola, on the other hand, and in spite of his fondness for leftist/Marxist regimentation, has managed to capture popular imagination in Osun. More, he is a workaholic, someone genuinely interested in affecting the course of history, in overthrowing the citadel of privilege, making a name for himself, touching lives, and demystifying governance. His passion sometimes makes him overreach himself, but he at least shows courage in tackling societal problems even at the risk of alienating sections of his society. I doubt whether Osun will punish him for this. Even after the election, the fight for societal redefinition will continue, and I think by and by, he will have to face reality and reach an accommodation with his critics.

    But perhaps the main reason I expect him to win is because Osun, more than Ekiti, recognises that the battle for the soul of the Southwest is raging fiercely. They recognise that if the tide is to be turned, Osun will have to set the pace, similar to what they did during the 2011 presidential poll. They recognise instinctively the consequence of the return of Mr Fayose. They know it is a harbinger of bad news for the zone, a return to vagrant politics, mediocrity, and social and cultural anomie. They know a vote for Omisore, especially with the unresolved Chief Ige murder for which he was at a time detained and even interdicted, will open the door for the return of Adebayo Alao-Akala and other underachieving politicians without programmes and without reputation. They know Senator Omisore and Mr Fayose will get the Southwest sucked once again into the vortex of another silly season.

    To prove that Ekiti made a grave error of judgement, Osun will likely and very sensibly re-elect Governor Aregbesola. It will not be a wholesale endorsement of all his policies in his first term. But it will be their way of repudiating Senator Omisore who is so unfit for high office it is inconceivable he is at all fit for anything. It will also be their way of showing the federal government that the unconstitutional madness of militarising polls does not intimidate them, let alone yield anything productive for the Jonathan presidency. Finally, it will be their way of showing they recognise that the disinformation and misinformation that perverted the Ekiti poll will not be accommodated in Osun. I endorse Governor Aregbesola without reservation. I would rather reason and disagree with an Aregbesola who can feel the weight of criticism, notwithstanding his sometimes inflexible approach, than a pliant and dissembling Omisore whose lack of character and distorted worldview make him inured to criticism and change.

  • Towards free and fair election in Osun

    Towards free and fair election in Osun

    The Osun election is about to commence in the next few days. The preparation has long been undertaken by various political parties and various interest groups.  Attention is now shifted to Independent National Electoral Commission, (INEC) a body assigned to conduct elections in the country. But the disturbing news coming out of the last month gubernatorial election in Ekiti State about the alleged electronic rigging of the said election make for proper investigation by independent bodies and media men in order to avoid future occurrence if the allegation is true. Rigging of election in Nigeria has been a recurrent decimal, but the scientific aspect is new to some of us. However, there was this study titled “System Integrity Problem” where allegations by Bev Harris said that Debold Software was designed to facilitate fraud. The software is said to keep two Microsoft Access data tables of voting results. The two tables are identical copies of votes collated from all polling stations and one could be hacked and altered to produce fake election result without affecting spot check reports derived from the first result. Some of these malpractices have raised its ugly heads in some states in the United States of America.

    Other reports have it that with new technology, ballot papers can be sexed in a way that the result, regardless of actual voting, can be predetermined. It is further revealed that “through a combination of invisible and disappearing inks, “such fraud is feasible.

    The new Resident Electoral Commissioner in Osun in a radio interview by Unique Radio, dismissed such scientific rigging by saying that all old ink in their stores have been thrown away. Nevertheless, one can recall a Zimbabwe newspaper story by Nasini CEO, Lucia Mordi that wrote “From our findings so far, we are 99.9 percent convinced the election was rigged via ballot paper. A special watermarked ballot paper was used to give President Mugabe a resounding victory. The ballot paper had a water X against Mugabe’s name such that if ink is placed on the paper, the substance on the paper will react and remove the ink and activate the watermarked X into print”. We must therefore not dismiss the allegation that there is a scientific rigging device in existence in Nigeria.

    Our business as the conscience of the nation is to ask the question; is this true and if it is true, we must also find out the company and country that produces such ballot papers. There is also the need to raise the question on the culpability of INEC in the allegation. The battle against scientific election rigging must be fought with totality, for if we neglect to fight, we are simply sitting on the keg of gunpowder and the implication on Nigeria’s future is that we shall not be able to change our leader through constitutional means, that is through the ballot boxes and the danger is that while other African countries are making progress in democratic process, we are likely to be descending into  the state of anarchy and consequent upon this is political instability and the effect on the economy that may make life worse for the citizens to live normal lives.

    It is the responsibility of everyone of us to gear towards the means by which we can ensure that the people’s vote count and we can only succeed if we express our opinion now that the election is about to come. Section 120 of the Electoral Act 2010 enunciated that it is an offence for anybody to sell, buy or have more than one Permanent Voter’s Card (PVC). The provision of this Electoral Act can only be meaningful if every one of us maintain vigilance and report any culprits to the law enforcement agents and to follow it up and see that law take its effect on the violators. The opposition party in the state is so desperate that some of them have been arrested for buying voters cards, not only that, a form was designed and given out to would-be beneficiaries of financial assistance for members who must give their voter’s card, pin number and swear  an oath to keep mute over the arrangement. Thus far, the case has become an open secret in the state but the law enforcement agents are yet to apprehend those behind the pin number collectors even though the Electoral Act, section 120, sub section c and d make it an offence. It is hoped that INEC must ensure that those who are caught with PVC must be prosecuted so as to serve as deterrent to others.

    However, where the umpire is seen to be compromising its position, we must not keep quiet but raise our voice over such occurrence.

    The State of Osun is ready for the coming gubernatorial election but we need to ask if the INEC is fully prepared for the election? INEC’s readiness in terms of voters’ card distribution in recent time has led to brick back between the body and the political party in power in the state. The good news is that the umpire has come out denying the allegation of discriminative distribution of PVC in the state. It is important to serve warning to INEC on the Osun election. The people know who they want in power, if by omission or commission the election is manipulated to favour a wrong candidate, the people will react, no matter the number of soldiers and policemen that may be brought for the election. We must remember that President Goodluck Jonathan has declared that no one’s blood is worth his political ambition, we must not just take the statement literally but take the words into our hearts; bearing in mind that those who shed the blood of the innocent in order to prosper in this life if they ever succeed, it is temporarily, as posterity will one day catch up with such people

    On the using of soldiers for election monitoring, only those that are benefitting from the usage are praising INEC and the president over it. However, we must not tolerate illegality for the sake of political exploitation. It is the police that are constitutionally assigned to be involved in election process as they are the body that are to see to the security of lives and properties in the country. The military can only be involved when there is an internal crisis that is beyond the control of the police or where there is external attack. But a situation where the Presidency laid a siege over a state such as it was in Ekiti during the 21st June election is highly condemnable. What I saw in Ekiti before and during the election, where nearly 40,000 military men were deployed to monitor election is dangerous for the survival of our democracy. We must get it right by now so that we would not continue to use the soldiers for elections in the foreseeable future. To do otherwise would amount to riding on the tiger’s tail and will certainly end up in its stomach.

    The Second Republic was truncated by the foolishness of the National Party of Nigeria (NPN) under Alhaji Shehu Aliyu Shagari’s administration that muscled the oppositions to the extent that both the police and the soldiers were freely used to rig the 1983 General Election; at the end of the day, they claimed that their popularity and acceptability had earned them “landslide victory”. But the puerile victory was short-lived. Within three months after the so called landslide victory, the very soldiers they used chased them out of office and for the next 16 years, the military did not only send the politicians to jail, some of them ran to exile; others died in the prison and some became bankrupt till date. Now, our politicians are yet to learn from history and from the look of things, it appears that history may repeat itself if care is not taken.

    Stomach infrastructure has become a new political terminology in Nigeria. It used to be called egunje before but every day we, as a people, descend in value and we ridicule our ourselves before the comity of nations. In our 1999 constitution, bribery and corruption is an offence. The Electoral Act, section 130 states as follows; (a) A person who corrupt by himself or by any other person at any time after the dates of an election has been announced,  directly or indirectly gives or provides or pays money to or for any person for the purpose of corruptly influencing that person or any other person to vote or refrain from voting at such election, or on account of such person or any other person having voted or refrained from voting at such election, or (b) being a voter, corruptly accepts or takes money or any other inducement during any of the period stated in paragraph (a) of this section, commits an offence and is liable on conviction to a fine of #100, 000 or 12 months imprisonment or both. Laudable as the law provides but the impunity at which politicians go about influencing voters as if there is no law that frown at such practices, leaves much to be desired.

    Just few days ago, the newspapers reported that the National Chairman of PDP, Alhaji Adamu Muazu, said that as they gave the Ekiti electorate rice and N10, 000 to secure their votes the same practice will be repeated at Osun to secure their party or candidate’s victory come 9th of August. We ought to be thoughtful about the desecration of our value system, as we threw caution to the wind each time we are aspiring for political office, the tendency will be there that we may eventually be robbing the people to build self empire. Nigeria is rated as one of the most corrupt countries in the world, and yet our leaders never give a thought to the future implication and we are today worse for it. Perhaps, that explains why we live by the River Niger and yet we are washing our hands with spittle, but it cannot continue like this. It is either we change through persuasion or we snowball into revolution. We must let our vote count and stop unnecessary “stomach infrastructure syndromes”. Let’s build a future where our children will be proud of, through honest and fair engagement in the course our nation building.

     

    •Obaditan is a political analyst and legal practitioner 

  • Oyegun, APC leaders storm Osun Monday

    Oyegun, APC leaders storm Osun Monday

    As part of the final leg of the preparations for the governorship poll in Osun State, the National Chairman of the All Progressives Congress (APC), Chief John Odigie-Oyegun, and top leaders of the party will from Monday relocate to Osogbo, the state capital

    Also, the Peoples Democratic Movement (PDM) yesterday said it had withdrawn Mr. Oludare Timothy Akinola as its governorship candidate for the poll.

    The relocation of APC leaders was contained in a statement in Abuja by the APC National Chairman, Odigie-Oyegun.

    The statement said: “This is to inform the general public and millions of our dear members and supporters that as from August 4, the National Secretariat of our great party, the APC, will relocate to Osogbo, Osun State, until after the August 9 gubernatorial election.

    “The relocation to Osogbo is in deference to an ancient African proverb which states that rats cannot eat the fish of the man who is awake and watchful. Hence the APC leadership wishes to reassure our millions of members, supporters and compatriots that we shall keep awake to guide and protect our mandate.

    “This also serves as notice to all state chairmen of the 36 states and the Federal Capital Territory to attend the final public rally of the APC in Osogbo on August 5 and the subsequent meeting with the National Working Committee on August 6.

    “I use this opportunity to salute the courage of the good people of Osun State for their courage and steadfastness in the face of intimidation and militarization of the state.

    “I appeal to our dear compatriots in the state to ignore all manner of provocation and turn out massively to vote for Ogbeni Rauf Aregbesola to continue his good work and clean government in his second term.

    On its part, the PDM in a statement by its National Chairman, Dr. Oluwole Akinwumi, said it had dropped Mr. Oludare Timothy Akinola as its candidate for the governorship poll.