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Tag: OSUN

  • Day Ile-Ife stood still for Aregbesola

    Day Ile-Ife stood still for Aregbesola

    Ile-Ife, the cradle of the Yoruba was the centre of activities last Tuesday when Osun State Governor Rauf Aregbesola flagged off his re-election campaign, ADESOJI ADENIYI
    was there.

    •Governor flags off campaign

    Tuesday last week was a day to remember in Ile-Ife, Osun State. It was the day the campaign train of the governor of the state, Ogbeni Rauf Aregbesola took off on a journey round the state to garner support for his second term bid.

    Even though everything was set for the mega rally that heralded the beginning of his campaign for the August 9, gubernatorial election, the large turnout of his supporters mainly from the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC) and other well-wishers at the homestead of his main challenger from the opposition Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), Senator Iyiola Omisore left no one in doubt about the immense popularity of the governor.

    Many people, particularly the politicians and other residents of the state, have been looking forward to the commencement of political campaigns by candidates of the political parties. After scaling through the first hurdle of becoming the standard bearer of his party, the All Progressives Congress, through his endorsement for second term by various groups in and outside the party and the state, what was left for Aregbesola before flagging off his campaign was a signal from the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) lifting the ban on campaigns and which was done two weeks ago. And Ile-Ife, the cradle of the Yoruba was the place for him to flag-off his campaign.

    For many people it was political and more important for Areg-besola to test his popularity in a town where the governorship candidate of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) hails from and where he claims to be his stronghold. But Aregbesola in his campaign address said it was erroneous to think so.

    And as some of his aides including Sunday Akere and Ajibola Basiru, told whoever cared to listen, Aregbesola explained that it was tradition with his party to start it’s campaign from Ile-Ife, which they regard as the source of the Yoruba race out of respect for the ancient town, its monarch and peoples.

    First, Aregbesola and his campaign train including his wife, Sherifat, and deputy, Otunba Grace Titi Laoye-Tomori and other principal officers of his government paid homage to Ooni of Ife, Oba Okunade Sijuwade, Olubuse II where he received a royal blessing and permission to flag off the campaign for 2014 governorship poll.

    There was sea of heads, mostly APC supporters in and outside Ile-Ife at the Government Technical College, venue of the event, waiting in solidarity to welcome Aregbesola to the ancient town. Many of them, who came in groups, had waited patiently for many hours before the governor and his campaign train eventually arrived around 5.00 pm. The crowd was so huge that the governor’s convoy found it difficult to move into the enclosure where Aregbesola was to climb a podium and address the people. The security, comprising the police, men of the Department of State Security, the Nigeria Security and Defense Corps and the Federal Road Safety Corps, had a hectic time controlling the crowd and vehicular movement. The Fuji maestro, King Wasiu Marshal, and many other musicians, including Tony Tetuila were on hand to sing on the occasion.

    Mounting the podium to address the crowd, the elated Aregbesola said his reason for seeking a second term was to consolidate good governance. At intervals, he was churning out a number of folk songs, miming juju and Fuji music to drive home his point to the admiration of his supporters, who responded with great cheers. The governor reeled out a long list of achievements that cut across the state and sectors.

    His party, the APC, as expected, was always ready to lend its voice on issues as they affect the governor. Reacting to the flag off, the party said that if there was any doubt in the minds of skeptics and opponents alike that Aregbesola’s popularity is unassailable by any politician in the race for August 9 gubernatorial election, the Tuesday campaign flag off, a show of support by the people of Ife zone was the start of the storm that should clear those doubts.

    According to the APC, only a person who has impacted the lives of the people positively can get the kind of reception given to the governor as he kicked-off his campaign in the home of his PDP opponent. The party’s spokesperson Barrister Kunle Oyatomi, said: “The crowd was representative of popular support, the festive atmosphere was indicative of spontaneous joy of a people who were appreciative of what Governor Aregbesola has done for them which had never been done by any other governor since Osun State was created 23 years ago. The storm has just started; it will build into a hurricane as the campaigns progress and when the votes are over by August 9, the PDP will be crushed.”

    Two days before the flag off, the Ife Zone of Aregbesola State Campaign Committee appealed to the PDP and its governorship candidate, Senator Iyiola Omisore, to embrace peace. At a press conference in Ile-Ife, the chairman, Hon. Folorunso Bamisayemi, said if truly the reason for seeking the mandate to rule is for development there should not be any justification for planning bloodletting and plan for unleashing violence on the people. He said the All Progressives Congress had no history of violence and assured that the party was prepared to show case numerous achievements of the governor in all sectors.

    He maintained that the governor had done so much for people of the state and the Ife zone in particular, adding: “In Ife municipal, Aregbesola’s administration constructed 15 roads which are about 30 kilometres long. For Ife South, he constructed 12 roads; nine for Ifetedo and three for Garage Olode. He constructed 14 roads for Ife North which consists of Ipetumodu, Yakoyo, Edun-Abon and others. Also, he built world class schools for the people of this zone. He improved our environment significantly. Through Agba Osun, he provided a social security for the elderly which no government before him ever did. The PDP for its seven and a half years had nothing to show for being in power. The party left public schools in shambles.” He maintained that rather than engage in violence the APC would base its campaign on issues and achievements of Aregbesola which no government has ever matched.

    According to Bamisayemi, the information reaching the APC in Ife zone was that the PDP and Omisore were planning to abort the flag off of the APC. He said they had it on good authority that Omisore want to unleash terror on the chieftains of the APC in Ife, starting from Monday night through Tuesday morning. But Omisore through his Campign Director of Media, Prince Diran Odeyemi, said “the series of unfounded allegation against him and the PDP are mere noise from APC that has nothing tangible to base its campaign on.  ”Omisore yesterday, Omisore today, Omisore tomorrow, why? Do all these not negate APC’s earlier promise to go and sleep should Omisore become PDP candidate? All these noise and unsubstantiated allegations are signs of a drowning party looking for what to clinch on for survival. This is the time to talk about programs and manifesto and not about Omisore did this, he did that. If there are evidences of plan to cause mayhem anywhere in the state, they should inform the police and other security agencies rather than running to the press,”

    However, the flag off went peacefully. Akere and Basir said the exercise did not witness any act of violence because the APC had revealed the PDP and Omisore’s plot to cause mayhem. Describing the event as momentous the party said it has shown that the take off of APC’s governorship campaign will finally sweep the PDP out of Osun State.

    With the Ile-Ife flag off rally, Aregbesola has set the tone for what to expect during the campaigns. And to a lot of people, the size of the crowd at the campaign rallies will go a long way to determine the popularity of the candidates.

  • Osun to establish first Automotive Institute

     ….sponsors 30 for training in Germany

    In its continued quest to make life more meaningful for the citizens, create more job opportunities for youths and enhance their capacities the Osun State Government has almost concluded plans to establish an Automotive Mechatronics Specialist Institute christened “Bola Ige Mechatronics Institute (BIMI).

    In a statement by the Director, Bureau of Communications and Strategy, Office of the Governor, Mr. Semiu Okanlawon, the institute, to be sited at the Osun State College of Technolgy, Esa Oke when completed, will be the first in Nigeria.

    He pointed out that the institute will deal with the latest technology involved in modern vehicles, which consist of combined electro-mechanical systems with fully automated controls termed “mechatronics” that reduce use of kilos of wires making way for light weight and greater efficient vehicles.

    The statement also revealed that the state has concluded arrangement to send 30 indigenes of the state to Germany to master the technology.

    The governor’s spokesperson added that fund for the project is an intervention soft loan provision by the National Automotive Council using part of its Auto Development Fund Loan Scheme domiciled with the Bank of Industry (BOI).

    He said, “Osun is the first of all States and Federal Institutions to establish this world-class Automotive Skill-gap Bridge in Nigeria meant for promoting skills needed for employability of our graduates, technicians and improvement for artisans in the sector.?

    “End-user training and associated maintenance support for two years was integrated to allow Osun workers master the repairs and routine maintenance under a leadership understudy scheme.

    “Following due process, advertisement was placed to attract qualified automotive, mechanical and electrical engineers and technicians who were tested/recruited and shall be going for a two-month in-plant, end-user training at LN, Germany from 5th May to 30th June, 2014 before returning to participate in the installation and commissioning at Esa-Oke.”

    Okanlawon added that the local experts after the completion of their training in Germany will, in turn, serve as train-the-trainers to train other Nigerians at Esa-Oke.

    He emphasised that the exercise is purely a practical delivery project as trainees shall be tested and certified before graduation from the centre.

    He added, “We plan to offer through the National Board for Technical Education (NBTE) and National Universities Commission (NUC) approval for the upgrade of the Polytechnic syllabus, a degree course on Auto Mechatronics using the facilities in future.”

     

  • Group condemns ‘Boko Haram attack’ in Osun

    Group condemns ‘Boko Haram attack’ in Osun

    An Islamic group, the Muslim Rights Concern (MURIC), has condemned an attempt by some Christians of Baptist Church in Ikonifin, Osun State, to launch a “Boko Haram” attack on a church by its members.

    The action, MURIC said, caused panic in the church as bangers were thrown at the worshippers.

    Several people were injured in the melee.

    The attackers, the group said, were masked so that they would not be recognised.

    MURIC Director and Dean of the Faculty of Arts at the Lagos State University (LASU), Prof Ishaq Akintola, addressed reporters in Lagos on the incident.

    The Islamic scholar noted that at a time Nigerians needed to relate and coexist peacefully, some bad heads among Christians were feigning a Boko Haram attack.

    He said Muslim organisations and the Sultan of Sokoto, the President of the Nigerian Supreme Council for Islamic Affairs (NSCIA), Alhaji Muhammad Sa’ad Abubakar, have condemned the activities of Boko Haram and dissociated Islam from the sect’s killings and destruction.

    Prof Akintola said: “It is, however, sad to note that in spite of this all-round rejection of the renegade group by Muslims, a large section of the Christian community, some sections of the Nigerian security agencies and a section of the Nigerian press still treat mainstream Muslims in the country either as active members of Boko Haram, sympathisers of the group or their accomplices.

    “A good example of these fantastic Christians is the Pastor of the Baptist Church, Ikonifin, Osun State, who attempted to launch a false Boko Haram (attack) in the state.

  • Rauf: The responsibility in power

    Rauf: The responsibility in power

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

  • ‘My husband injures me during sex’

    THE courtroom of an Ilesa Customary Court, Osun State, turned into a theatre of humorous but nasty divorce penultimate Wednesday, when a mother of six called Bosede, revealed bedroom issues she had kept under wraps lately, accusing her estranged husband, , of causing her injuries during sex.

    She told the court that her husband was fond of using a certain powerful stimulant before making love to her thereby injuring her private part on a number of occasions.

    “The situation has become unbearable for me. There was a day he made love to me and injured my private part, to the extent that I had to use warm water to wash the wound he inflicted on me for four days.

    “I did not allow him to sleep with me anymore when I discovered that his harmful lovemaking was as a result of taking a drug called ‘Vigour 100’ with the photograph of a man on it. When I made enquiries about the drug, I discovered that it was a sexual performance-enhancement drug.”

    Bosede said she was tired of reporting her husband to their children; hence, she decided to seek the dissolution of the marriage.

    “He resorted to beating me when I denied him of sex and I had to relocate to one of my children’s house when I could no longer cope with the incessant fight over sexual intercourse.

    She pleaded with the court to dissolve their marriage in order to save her from untimely death as a result of injurious sex, adding that her husband cannot stop using the drug mentioned.

    The court dissolved the marriage following the continuous absence of Bosede’s embattled husband from court.

  • Ekiti and Osun: Nigeria’s make or mar elections

    Ekiti and Osun: Nigeria’s make or mar elections

    The fear today is that rigged elections in any part of the Yoruba homeland could provoke Yoruba reactions that could escalate into horribly wider conflicts beyond election protests

    It has been the unalterable position of this writer that the Jonathan presidency’s main pre occupation with the 2015 presidential election is  now how to vitiate the votes of key opposition geo-political zones, where elections hold at all, because as things stand today, the arithmetic, going by the population of each zone, is a major source of concern to it. These include the North West where there are now increased waves of reciprocal mass killings between groups that have, like forever, lived together in peace; the North East which, no thanks to years of internal misrule, has played into their hands by birthing the ferocious Boko Haram and, of course, the South west, which must reckon as the greatest obstacle to Jonathan’s 2015 ambitions. To take care of the  Southwest, not only has the presidency assembled the usual political outcasts in the region, it has successfully breached what was hitherto an impregnable regional elders’ redoubt with the result that men you could count on a few years back have completely sold out.

    The above scenario, especially in the Southwest,  has yielded circumstances so bewildering a very  respectable, completely apolitical Yoruba Diasporan Think Tank, the OODUA FOUNDATION, whose members are drawn from academics and the professions, and residing in various countries across the globe but with its international headquarters in the state of Delaware, United States of America,  has cried  out to draw attention to the likely, very  grave consequences of allowing history repeat itself in the region.  In its clarion call dated  4, May 2014 and titled DO NOT START VIOLENT CONFLICTS IN THE YORUBA SOUTHWEST OF NIGERIA, the group, in a powerful  1500-word statement that would have to be paraphrased  here for lack of space, declared as follows:

    “We are alarmed by the trends that we see in the politics of our homeland in Nigeria. We discern a truculent resoluteness to foment very tangled violence in our homeland in southwestern Nigeria in the months ahead. We Yoruba are an ancient civilisation; we had lived for over a thousand years in well-organised kingdoms and cities before the coming of European colonialism at the end of the 19th century. We command the cultural capability to change our rulers smoothly by conducting free and fair elections. In the decade before Nigeria’s independence, when the British overlords allowed all sections of Nigeria to elect their rulers, we ran free, fair and decent elections and became the pace-setter in the development of democratic politics in Nigeria. We became the first people in Africa to institute universal Free Education for our children, and the first people in Africa to make television available to our people. Our politicians are more than able to compete peacefully and responsibly at elections, to responsibly accept the outcomes of free and fair elections, and then to go on to give our people competent and accountable leadership and governance.

    Since independence in 1960, we have constantly demanded that we be allowed to run the free and fair elections that the masses of our people desire. In resistance to the crudely and violently fraudulent elections that have become the dominant and abiding character of Nigerian politics, many of our youths lose their lives at every election. We want this kind of loss of lives at elections to end in our nation. In particular, we are desperate to ensure that, in the State elections that will come in our homeland between now and August, the machinery of federal power at the disposal of some powerful politicians will not be able to bring electoral fraud and its usual consequences over our homeland.

    From various directions and sources, indications seem to be accumulating that the Yoruba homeland of southwestern Nigeria could be heading towards serious, cataclysmic, violence.  This is easy to discern in the tortuous electoral politics being generated among the people, the worried looks among the people, their utterances, and their numerous writings in countless outlets.

    The immediate backdrop to this picture is the approach of gubernatorial elections in two of the six Yoruba states of the Southwest in June and August 2014. The historic background is that the Southwest is the part of Nigeria where the common people have had, since the independence of Nigeria in 1960, to put up stiff, often violent, resistance to the brutal rigging of their elections by federal electoral agencies and officials, which acts of electoral fraud have often occasioned bloody conflicts, death and ruin.

    Owners of an ancient political culture that was based on orderly selection of rulers, the Yoruba people of Southwest Nigeria have demonstrated uniquely high regards for free, fair and orderly elections in modern times.  Unfortunately, they belong to a federal Nigeria in which the holders of federal power assume that it is part of their prerogative to rig elections in any part of Nigeria. Yoruba resistance to the federal acts of electoral fraud in the Yoruba homeland has produced some of the most serious uprisings in the history of independent Nigeria. Their epic three-month uprising against the federally backed rigging of their Western Region’s election in October 1965 was responsible for destroying the first government of independent Nigeria and ushering in the first Nigerian military coup and military dictatorship. Because the Nigerian federal rulers, agencies and officials have continued, nevertheless, to disregard Yoruba cultural sensitivities in the matter of elections, they have, in the years since 1966, pushed the Yoruba into many other serious acts of resistance. The fear today is that rigged elections in any part of the Yoruba homeland could provoke Yoruba reactions that could escalate into horribly wider conflicts beyond election protests.

    On aggregate, the Southwest is about the only  peaceful area in Nigeria today. It’s  well-known culture of religious tolerance, and open-handed hospitality to, and smooth inclusion of, foreigners into society, has for decades made the Southwest the destination of most Nigerians fleeing from their poorer, insecure, or conflict-rattled homelands. For decades, Nigeria has increasingly experienced conflicts, violence, high crimes, inter-ethnic and religious blood-letting in most of its regions. These have reached a peak today, especially with the killings and devastation carried out by Boko Haram. More and more, the picture is that Nigeria lacks the capability to control these violent troubles.

    Finally, we serve notice that we are hereby taking this important matter to the attention of the most important members of the international community – in particular to the United Nations, the European Union, the African Union, and the Foreign Ministers of the United States, Britain, France, Germany, Russia, China, Japan and Canada”.

    It is just as well that authentic Yoruba opinion molders, not some concentrated political outcasts and their newly acquired collaborators, have spoken. President Jonathan can, in all ‘innocence’, claim he knows nothing of all these shenanigans but we know their antics too well to be deceived all over again. We know, for instance, that those who announced their willingness to invest their billions in this looming ‘electoral heist’ are already, as has become the norm in the politics of their part of Yoruba land, in agreement with INEC and key security officials, to make available to them  for use in the two elections, only those electoral officers and security agents who will be  prepared to swear to oaths, probably lying naked  in coffins, after which they  will  be handed huge bribes.

    I would like to conclude by saying that given the  circumstances in which the misuse of our security forces  by the likes of  the Minister of State for Defence has resulted in the United States, for instance, reportedly becoming  rather reluctant to share intelligence with the entire Nigerian security architecture, it is hoped that the Commander-in-Chief will think twice before deploying our soldiers, especially,  and policemen to unwholesome election duties in Ekiti and Osun states given the utmost certainty that such unedifying assignments will further compromise our military and bring our country to further ridicule in the international community. I think the Boko Haram war front is too bloody and sickening enough to dare open another with its ramifying consequences

  • I want to govern Osun, by Akinbade

    I want to govern Osun, by Akinbade

    In this interview, Osun State Labour Party (LP) governorship aspirant Alhaji Fatai Akinbade speaks on his defection from the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) and his aspiration to to rule the state. MUSA ODOSHIMOKHE met him.

    Is the Labour Party (LP) on ground in Osun State?

    Well, I am happy that you saw the number of people that attended my declaration of intention to run. If Labour Party is not popular, the turn out would  not have been that much. It was not a rented crowd. Labour Party has come to stay and it has become a party to be reckoned with in Osun State .

    What is the chance of party at the poll?

    We live in Osun State; we know our people, we know who they are. I have been involved in running of government in this state right from the time the state was created. I know everywhere. I know everybody. They may have their own people, but I want to tell you the real voters know who they want. In  three months time, you will see what I am talking about.

    Members  of the state executive of the Labour Party were absent at your declaration for governorship. There appears to be a division within the party and it was alleged that you attempted to hijack the party structure. Is that correct?

    I am surprised you said members of the state executive were absent. They were all there and there is no division in the Labour Party. We now hold meetings regularly.

    The allegation that I want to hijack the party may have a different meaning for those of you who are not politicians. Politics is a game of numbers. I joined   the Labour Party along with my supporters and we opened up the party. It did not have a secretariat  before we came. There was no membership card and no party register. But, when we came we on board, we rented an office for  the party and brought membership cards from Abuja, which were distributed to members. This process cost a reasonable sum of money. We came in with a ledger and did all we could to give the party a structure. When we came, the party had only a caretaker committee and I can tell you that, of all the 10 members of the caretaker committee, eight of them are with us.

    Any reason for the absence of members of the  national executive at the declaration  of your intention ?

    It was a private affair. No member of the national executive was expected to be there. If it were to be the flagging off  of my campaign, they would come. But, if they show up at my declaration of intention to run, it would translate to an endorsement of  my candidature because there could  be  other aspirants.

    You rolled out  lofty  programmes that would be executed, if you are elected. Considering the revenue allocation to the state, where would you get the resources to execute the  programme?

    If you know what government system is about, you will agree with me that ,definitely and certainly, I will have enough money to do it. You know in governance, what I discover over the years is that so many people in government don’t know why they are there. Majority of them beat about the bush. They don’t even know what project to execute at a particular time. There are certain things that are important in governance, which everybody that aspire to be in government need to take cognissance of. Matters like transparency, accountability and  due process are key in governance.  Most government money get wasted in projects that are not so important to the people. The way they award such contracts is another matter. When I become governor, I will ensure that I save  a lot of money. So, the issue of money to execute projects would never be difficult because I will be so prudent. I will be transparent by allowing criticisms and by giving people opportunities to contribute. In fact, accountability would be my watch word.

    Why did you leave the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP)? Is it true you left because you felt you will not be given the governorship ticket?

    I have been in and out of government for some time. I am a man that cherish peace; that  is what I preach. I am the type that abhor violence. But, I discovered that the PDP in Osun State has been hijacked by a group of people who have less value for collective interest. Where there is no internal democracy, it makes the selection of candidates difficult. I felt that there is no point remaining in the party, since it is obvious that I would be denied the party ticket. I have  more than enough delegates that would have guaranteed me the ticket, if we were to go for primaries. But, I have seen the hand writing on the wall because,  the last congress we had, there were disruptions in some wards to allow some people to have their way. I know that a similar thing is likely to happen, if we go for primaries.

    Some aggrieved PDP members are believed to have teamed up with you in your bid to govern the state. But, why were they absent when you declared for the governorship?

    But, you saw other people there. Politics is a game of numbers. As politicians, we have the same strength like the voters, but some voters even have more influence than us. The fact that they did not show up doesn’t mean they are not for me; majority of them are   trying to sort things out. Even the presence of the party faithful at my declaration shows that I have many people supporting my cause. They would show up when  I am flagging off my campaign.

    The other time, you alleged that the APC leaders wanted to assassinate you. Is that not a spurious allegation?

    If not that I cried out, my declaration would have been frustrated. Aregbesola said he would ensure I do not get the ticket of the Labour Party. They were surprised I could leave the PDP for the Labour Party and they know what my quitting the PDP means. So, I must not wait until I am attacked before I cry out; the noise I made has started yielding the result.

    You served in  the Oyinlola Administration, and by Rauf Aregbesola’s assessment,  the administration was a failure. By extention, it means you are part of the failure. What’s your reaction to this?

    Aregbesola couldn’t have said that. We need to compare what he  has done in his first four years with what Oyinlola did in his first four years and compare the money that accrued to the two of them in their first four years. Oyinlola ran his government with transparency and he went through the due process before awarding contracts. Ask Aregbesola the justification for his claim that his administration has made   some progress. Most of the projects he claimed to have executed were actually executed by the Oyinlola Administration. For instance, the road he claimed to have constructed from Akoda to Garage is of what distance? Oyinlola  dualised Okefia to Iwo Road and other roads. He built the university with six campuses.

    The projects executed by Oyinlola were done with the resources available to him. Whenever he borrowed money, he paid back on time. He took a loan of N6 billion to set up the university and he paid it back within 11 months. The last loan he took was for some other projects like building stadia, which he would have paid back before leaving office, because he was prudent.

  • ‘Ekiti, Osun elections will shock Nigerians’

    ‘Ekiti, Osun elections will shock Nigerians’

    It may not be good music to the ears of many, but Primate Elijah Babatunde Ayodele, of the INRI Evangelical Spiritual Church, Lagos, says his sometimes controversial prophecies are messages he is under God’s instruction to deliver. And as the governorship elections in Ekiti and Osun States draw nearer, the man, many of whose predictions have come to pass is warning of danger ahead. He spoke with ADEKUNKE YUSUF and SINA FADARE

    There was a time that you predicted that if care was not taken, Nigeria may break up. Do you still stand on that prediction and if you do, can prayer avert the breakup of the country?

    The Nigeria issue will start from 2015, when you are going to start seeing what will become of the country in the nearest future. If you recall that in 2010, I granted an interview in The Nation where l said that President Jonathan should not contest 2011 general election. A lot of people raised eyebrow that you cannot say that about him. All what l foresaw then is what is happening now. I said something about confab that it will come up. This ongoing confab will only tell Nigerians what will happen in the future. I still foresee another confab that will start afresh and decide what Nigeria will be; it will tell us the Nigeria of now and what it will be in the nearest future. That confab will tell us either we are going to be together or not. I do not see Nigeria as a nation in the nearest future. It may not be 2015, it may even go beyond 2020; l don’t see Nigeria as a nation in the next 50 or 60 years. May be prayer can help, but l see Nigeria breaking up in the nearest future, but l do not know the exact time.

    You also once said that the break-up will happen without shedding blood. Can you shed more light on this?

    Let me start with the issue of Boko Haram. It is not an Islamic movement; it is an entity that cannot be explained. They came from the fallout of politicians. America is aware of the deadly sect but just refused to help Nigeria. If there is going to be problem in this country as regards what the country is passing through, America should be blamed. They are aware of this insurgence that is plaguing the country since 2002. I made mention of it in my book of prophecy that is due for public presentation in July. I said it in the past that terrorists will invade Nigeria. By the time of my prediction, nothing happened  – not until November 2010, when we saw bomb scare in Abuja during the Independence Day. I believe that the book was sent to everywhere for the people to read, to understand and know what to do.

    Prophecy is to warn an individual, corporate body and government of the impending danger and what to do in order to avert it. When you warn, it does not matter whether you like that person or not, that was how it was in the past. Prophet will go to government, leaders and people in authority to deliver God’s message to them in the form of prophecy, but today people do not take it in good faith. They do not listen to the prophets of God, an indication that they berate God. That is the consequence. Nigeria will divide at a conference where what to be done will be the central focus and there will be no war or shedding of blood when the disintegration will take place. There will be pockets of crises here and there, a lot of disagreement, but it will not lead to war before Nigerians go their different ways. There is a lot of disagreement in the Federal Government; they can still curtail it if they listen to the voice of God. Take for instance, when government said that power will be stable in 2010, l said then that power will not be stable until 2016-2017. They did not like it, but you can see what is happening now.

    In some of your past predictions, you warned President Jonathan not to contest 2015 presidential election and if he does, he may not complete the term. Do you still hold on to this prediction?

    If Jonathan does not contest, expect more crises. If any other party wins the presidency, expect crisis. If Jonathan contests and wins, expect crisis. We have only two major parties. Within them a lot of crises will erupt, only God will help us. Nigeria is sitting on a time bomb, we need prayers. That is why l am forced to ask the question, what is the Christian Association of Nigeria (CAN) doing? This problem we have in the country is not from God, but man-made. That is the reason why we can still overcome the problem. If it is God problem, it will be difficult.  If Buhari contests, he may not likely get there. Jonathan wants to contest, I still see him on that seat. If Jonathan contests, he will still win because there will be the eleventh-hour packa-ging that would assist him, but the future is shaking. l foresee more troubles, I see a trouble that will keep that government not moving steadily. It will not be running as expected.

    Nigeria needs proper cleansing, but who is going to lead the cleansing now, I do not know because CAN is now the third political party we have in the country. We need prophets and Imams who will pray for the country to avert this looming danger. Jonathan meant well for this nation, but he has bad aides.

    Let us divert a bit. Governorship elections are coming up in Ekiti and Osun states this year. What did you see on this?

    The elections in Osun and Ekiti states will shock Nigerians. Let us pray very hard so that there will not be bloodshed in the coming elections in the two states. There will be certain areas in Ekiti where the election will not be conclusive. That of Osun State, election will be a bit delayed in some areas. However let us pray for the two states irrespective of who will win the election. I see bloodshed in Ekiti and Osun; the people should be very careful and everybody should pray so that this will not happen – stealing of ballot boxes, killing and political thuggery are not good for the nation.

    On my own part, I have been praying. Other Nigerians, prophets and clerics should join to do so. We should fast to avoid the looming danger. From today to the May 31, we should fast and pray because of Ekiti and Osun elections. Without God, we are not going to get solution to most of our problems. He is the Alpha and the Omega and has solutions to all problems. We should ask God in prayer to direct us aright as a nation. It is now that prophets must be involved in the administration of this country. In the area of security, people should not be biased about religions, whether Christianity or Islam. Take for instance, the Malaysian plane, a prophet said he was aware about the missing plane. Why didn’t he warn the country ahead of time? The same prophet also said that he saw the plane in the water, the second week that the Lord spoke to me; I responded that the plane is not inside water; tomorrow it may be, I don’t know.  The plane did not crash, let the Malaysian government disclose where it is.

    Are you saying the disappearance of the Malaysian plane and inability to find the crash site is political in nature?

    Whatever they call it, the missing plane is at home (in Malaysia).

    Since you said God revealed to you that Nigeria will definitely break up, don’t you think that the breakup may come at the end of the on-going confab?

    No. The confab will only come out to say one or two things about the 2015 elections. The government is not ready for this confab; they just want to use it to know what is going on in the country. It is just a mere rehearsal for the future of the nation. When the government declared that the GDP of Nigeria is improving, whereas the Lord said that the economy of Nigeria will not be stabilised until 2016 and 2017. Whoever predicted the theory of the GDP is only predicting the future of Nigerian economy. The confab is just a primary of the bigger confab that is coming ahead in the nation. The new confab will be a new set of people, not the re-cycled leaders, old men who are in the present confab.

    You said Nigeria needs prayers and spiritual cleansing at these trying times. Is the leadership of the Christian Association of Nigeria doing anything in that direction?

    Who are the people in CAN? We have people with pedigree who can handle the association better. Not me, l cannot. People who can do it are there, why do they have to make CAN a political issue? My suggestion is that let CAN be scrapped or Ayo Oritshejafor should resign. The association has been turned into a political party; you see them taking themselves to court. If they want to do election now, they canvass to people; it ought to be more of a spiritual thing. CAN and other religious bodies should help the government. I understand that there are inter-religious bodies in the country, but they are not doing anything. If they are functioning as expected, a lot of things are supposed to have been fixed

    If truly Nigeria is blessed with a lot of men of God, why are we in this mess? What went wrong?

    Let me correct an impression, not all pastors are prophets. If you are not gifted as a prophet, you cannot know what to do if a nation is in crisis. It is different from a spiritualist, who has the source of his power through other means, but a prophet is linked with God and he delivers his message to whomever he was sent to. That is what most of these Pentecostal churches do not know. The Bible says my people perish because of lack of knowledge.

    You said prayers can avert the impending doom. Does it mean people should visit your church for spiritual solutions?

    No, not like that. When you came in, did you see any visitation time? All what we are saying is that if the Lord sent us to the nation, we must deliver the message. I thank God what I will eat till kingdom come has been provided by Him. When He calls you, definitely He will cater for your needs. As a prophet of God, you have a covenant with Him and He is going to be with you till the end. When you follow God’s instructions, He will surely bless you. What gains will I be looking for? Is it national awards? I have them in excesses. My position is higher than the president’s, therefore I don’t need all these so-called awards. I have done a lot, not only in Nigeria alone, but all over the world. Recently, I received a letter from Buckingham palace; they acknowledged our book of prophesy. I got another one from Israeli government. So, I do not need man’s commendation but that of God and if you are doing His work, you are blessed. I have a house and a vehicle. What else am l looking for?

    There was a time you warned Governor Ibikunle Amosun of Ogun State against his aides that they will foment trouble. It came to pass. Will the governor win a second term?

    The APC should be very careful in Ogun State. Otherwise, it will lose the state. The crisis in the state is a man-made problem and they have to work on it well, otherwise it will cost APC the governorship of the state the same way it did PDP in 2011.

    What is the idea behind the Veteran Welfare Group, an NGO you identify with?

    Though, it is a non-governmental organisation, we use it as a vehicle to get to the needy, particularly the widows, orphans and the less privileged. God is the brain behind it. To run such an NGO with millions of naira and commitment every year is divine.

    What is the outlook for 2015?

    The Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) should be watchful so that they will not be pressurised to change the date of the election. Certainly, election will be conducted in 2015, but not in every place. There will be more bomb scares. There will be lots of kidnappings. That is why I am using this medium to appeal to all Nigerians irrespective of their religion to fast and pray in the first 15 days of January 2015, in order to save the country from the impending doom. A lot of things are going to happen in INEC and Jonathan will sack more ministers. The Petroleum minister will face a tough probe and they will want her out by all means, likewise the Director General of the Stock of Exchange, Mrs. Aruma Oteh. The House of Representatives will not rest until the two of them are sent packing. Let the All Progressive Congress (APC) be very careful in Rivers State, otherwise the party will lose the state. The people that the governor thought are behind him will shock him. It is a warning from the Lord, not from a human being. This is just a simple advice from God Almighty.

    Though a prominent cleric, many still don’t know you. Who is Primate Elijah Ayodele?

    I believe so much in things that are natural, I don’t believe in people deceiving themselves.  I come from a humble family in Ekiti, with The Apostolic Church background. In my youthful time, l attended a lot of churches – Anglican, Methodist and a host of others. I was a servant in the Catholic Church

    I believe in the efficacy of prayer and hard work, unity and creativity. I so much believe in God’s direction. I don’t go to parties because l don’t know how to dance. But like King David, l can dance for hours in the presence of God. I love gospel music especially those that are inspirational.

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

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

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

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

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

    So how much of that has been created?

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

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

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

    Yes

    How is that possible?

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

    From December 2011, we have ferried 50,000 passengers

    What is the idea behind it?

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

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

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

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

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

    How many times does the train move?

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

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

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

  • 18,000 women get N600 million loan in Osun

    18,000 women get N600 million loan in Osun

    At a carnival-like ceremony, 18,000 women got yesterday a big financial push in Osun State.

    itwas all at the Freedom Park, where N600 million was shared out to them.

    Some received as much as N40,000.

    The occasion was an empowerment programme by the Governor Rauf Aregbesola administration.

    At the ceremony were the governor’s wife, Sherifat, and her counterparts from other Southwest states – Mrs. Florence Ajimobi (Oyo) and Dame Abimbola Fashola (Lagos).

    Presenting the cheques to beneficiaries, Aregbesola reiterated his administration’s commitment to eradicating poverty, adding that the programmes of any serious government must revolve around people’s welfare.

    He said his administration collaborated with the Grooming Centre in Lagos to provide the loans and fast track the attainment of the poverty alleviation goal in his government’s Six-Point agenda.

    The governor said if women were economically active but financially handicapped, they would not be able to contribute to the economy’s growth, adding that that was why the government gave them the loan.

    He said: “As a government, we have realised that development is incomplete without consideration for the human aspect. Ours is a combination of both infrastructural and human development and today’s ceremony is an attestation to this fact.

    “We are committed to making our Omoluabi state a subject of envy among the comity of states and a place worthy of living for all and sundry. We have extended the government’s presence across 30 local governments and the state’s area office and completed many capital projects, some of which are being commissioned. They are there for everyone to see.”

    Aregbesola said his administration’s collaboration with various financial organisations has put smiles on the people’s faces, adding that the government will continue to implement laudable programmes.

    Executive Director of the Grooming Loans Scheme Adesoji Tayo said the Grooming Centre is a Non-Governmental Organisation (NGO) founded seven years ago to provide financial services for economically active poor people.

    He said with the centre’s assistance, women could engage in small trading and micro productive activities in many parts of the country.

    Tayo said: “We operate from 259 branches with staff strength of 1,362. We have 374,145 clients. Just three weeks ago, we hit a billion naira loan disbursement weekly. The programme is not a social welfare or government hand-out; it is not political settlement.”

    Special Adviser to the Governor on Rural Development and Community Affairs Kunle Ige said: “Available data have shown that majority of our women, especially in rural communities, are economically active but are constrained financially. That is why the current administration has committed so much to poverty alleviation interventions to reduce this ugly trend and make life more meaningful for the people.”