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Tag: success

  • God designed your home for success

    Dear Reader, you are most welcome to another inspirational edition of Family Forum.  All through this month, I will be taking you through a topic which I titled: God Designed Your Home for Success.

    It is God’s desire that you succeed in your marriage and family life as a Christian. Success in all areas of life is God’s will for you.  But it does not come by chance, neither is it an accidental occurrence.

    This week, I will be sharing with you, God’s blueprints for a successful home. The Word of God says: For I know the thoughts that I think toward you, said the Lord, thoughts of peace, and not of evil, to give you an expected end (Jeremiah 29:11). God wants you to succeed. Whether you’re preparing for marriage and a family, already married with a family, or the single head of a household, there are certain principles you must understand, in order to achieve that success. They are His blueprints. Let us examine some of them:

    Marriage was God’s Idea

    I want you to know that God was the One who brought the idea of marriage. It is His desire to see your marriage succeed. For the first time in scripture, we notice God saying something in creation was not good (Genesis 2:18). This scripture clearly shows that marriage was God’s idea. At this time, Adam didn’t even realize he was alone. If marriage is God’s idea, then it must be good, honourable, and possess the ability to work well.

    The Word of God says: And the Lord said, it is not good that the man should be alone; I will make him an help meet for him (Genesis 2:18). This means that what God wants in your marriage is nothing but good. “VERY GOOD” should be the description of the experience you are having in your home and family life as a Christian.    However, some families feel that God has forsaken them, that He does not care about their case and that all hope seems lost. Well, I have good news for you. God is not against you, and your situation is not hopeless. It is important for you to know that God delights in the family unit and He has designed it for success.  This is evident because He (God) instituted marriage and family life.

    When He did so, His plan was for a peaceful and fulfilling home. It was clear from the Word of God that family life is not only meant to be just a good experience for the Christian, but a very good one. The Word of God says: And God saw every thing that he had made (including family life), and, behold, it was VERY GOOD… (Genesis 1:31).

    Marriage Is God’s by Design

    After God allowed Adam to recognize that he was alone, the scripture revealed God’s design for the marriage relationship. Adam realized where his wife came from, that she was a part of him, and that she was given priority above everything else other than his relationship with God.  The Word of God says: And Adam gave names to all cattle, and to the fowl of the air, and to every beast of the field; but for Adam there was not found an help meet for him. And the Lord God caused a deep sleep to fall upon Adam, and he slept: and he took one of his ribs, and closed up the flesh instead thereof; And the rib, which the Lord God had taken from man, made he a woman, and brought her unto the man (Genesis 2:20-22).

    After God made man He knew man needed a companion. So, He said to Himself, “It is not good that man, should be alone; I will make a helper fit for him”.

    The Word of God says:  So the Lord caused a deep sleep to fall upon man, and while he slept took one of his ribs and closed up its place with flesh; and the rib which the Lord had taken from the man he made into woman and brought her to the man.” Then the man said, This at last is bone of my bones and flesh of my flesh; she shall be called woman, because she was taken out of man. Therefore a man leaves his Father and Mother and cleaves to his wife, and they become one flesh (Genesis 2: 18, 21-24).

    Marriage Is Designed To Work

    God created marriage, He also provided a set of instructions to go along with this product. If we follow the instructions in the manual (The Bible), we can be sure that the product will work, and provide years of satisfaction to those who follow them. The Word of God says: Submitting yourselves one to another in the fear of God. Wives, submit yourselves unto your own husbands, as unto the Lord. For the husband is the head of the wife, even as Christ is the head of the church: and he is the savior of the body (Ephesians 5:21-23).

    Marriage is a Gift from God

    Marriage is the oldest institution known to man. It dates back to creation and the Garden of Eden. God Himself performed the first marriage ceremony. He also gave away the first bride. On the sixth day of creation, having made the world a home for man, God said: … Let us make man in our image, after our likeness; and let them have dominion over the fish of the sea, and over the birds of the air, and over the cattle, and over all the earth, and over every creeping thing that creeps upon the earth (Genesis 1:26).

    Your home is designed for success.  This truth must be appreciated, in order for it to be appropriated. God bless you. Stay blessed till next week!

    Success in marriage begins by surrendering your life to Christ. If you are ready to surrender your life to Christ, please say this prayer: Lord Jesus Christ, I come to You today.  I am a sinner.  Forgive me of my sins and cleanse me with Your Blood.  Deliver me from sin and Satan to serve the living God.  I accept You as my Lord and Saviour.  Make me a child of God today.  Thank You for accepting me into Your Kingdom.

     

    Congratulations! You are now born-again! Till I come your way next time, please call or write, and share your testimonies with me through: E-mail: counselling@faithoyedepo.org, Contact@faithoyedepo.org; Tel. No: 08141320204; 07026385437.

    For more insight, these books authored by me are available at the Dominion Bookstores in all the Living Faith Churches and other leading Christian bookstores: Making Marriage Work, Marriage Covenant, Building A Successful Home and Success in Marriage (Co-Authored).

  • Mothers may hold secret to maths success, says don

    Mothers may hold secret to maths success, says don

    Teaching Mathematics from home at an early stage may just be the secret to ending the phobia for the subject, a Professor of Mathematics, Olabisi Ugbebor, has said.

    Delivering an Inaugural lecture titled: “The Role and Interplay of Measure Theory, Mentoring and Multi-Dimensional Research in the Making of a Mathematician” at the University of Ibadan, Oyo State, Prof Ugbebor said the low enrolment of students for Mathematics programme could be addressed by encouraging parents to start teaching elementary mathematics to young children at home.

    She said through that the subject would not be viewed as it is needed to classify, number, measure and count items.

    “A mother apportions time by classifying chores, measuring quantities for cooking, estimating her budget, choosing a number to regulate temperature in cooking and baking, and numbering her daily activities in chronological order, in order not to miss out any, or do the right thing at the wrong time. She also measures proportions in making baby feeds, animal feeds, and in cooking,” she said.

    Mrs Ugbebor, who has Ph.D in Mathematics and the National President, Nigerian Women in Mathematics, also called on the government and other stakeholders in education to integrate remedial mathematics courses into the national curriculum for students, who are not properly taught the subject at the foundation stage.

    She said the call became imperative in view of the poor performances of students in internal and external examinations in mathematics and related subjects across the states of the federation.

    Professor Ugbebor, who holds Pastor Enoch Adeboye Professorial Chair in Mathematics at the University of Ibadan (UI),  said Mathematics is wrongly viewed as a tough subject only for men.

    “Mathematics is one of the “hard sciences” that has been stereotyped masculine. However, a number of women have made inroad into the field and have excelled,” she said.

    To encourage women, the don said some positions should be dedicated to professor emeriti so that they may be highly visible to younger women as role models and mentors.

    Speaking on some of her research outputs, Prof Ugbebor said she has worked out how to lessen the burden of voters during election. She said the solution is contained in a paper she submitted to the Senate Committee on Independent Electoral Commission (INEC), which she believed has been passed to INEC Chairman, Prof Atahiru Jega for implementation during the 2015 General Election.

    Using a Queuing simulation-optimisation methodology, she said, the waiting time of voters could be reduced at the polls.

    “In many places, insufficient ballot papers and poll officials, in combination with lengthy voting time high voters’ traffic have caused long lines and disenfranchised voters who left without casting their votes. Although the underling simulation model employs a blend of queueing theory, discrete-event simulation, and optimisation, the procedure offers a simplistic methodology to be used by the typically non-technical electoral officers without getting him involved in the intricacies and complexities involved in the modeling process,” she said.

    She also recommended that childhood marriage be stamped out so that more female professors can be produced in the country.

     

  • Turning hobby to success

    Turning hobby to success

    A young entrepreneur uses technology and innovation to reposition his photography business, writes DANIEL ESSIET.

    For more than three years, he   has built his business skyward by providing video services from simple tape to digital video disc (DVD) transfers to complex editing to a host of clients, both personal and corporate. Like many studio owners, Awolowo Segun found his way to the world of home video through his love for photography and video. His hobby and his vision of making an impact in his customers’ lives led him to success. Segun ’s business began like many  startups on a very small scale. His  dream of growing a business of his own  began on   January, 2004  with less than N5,000. The business has grown  over  the  years. He began  to work from home, bringing joy and laughter to his customers with his expertise, tape to DVD transfers, old home movie transfers, photo and video montages, and duplications.

    He knew he’d found what he was looking for. His diligence, creativity, customer service skills, drive and sales skills combined to make him a good home video studio owner. His dining room was home to a huge commercial photo-printer and other accessories. He   was savvy about his business. He had a very lean startup, spending his money and investing his time. Today, his business is well known as it worths more than N20million. He   had a clear idea about the future of his business, but what he needed was guidance and a more dynamic working environment. Being in a company of inspiring entrepreneurial people, led to lots of interesting conversations and sometimes business opportunities.

    Is his line of business  expensive to start? He said no. “It is not as expensive as many think.” On what it takes to start, he said the materials one needs most  important are the  clients. To use  his  words: ”The most important supply is client. Not money or space. Not even the required equipment because you can source for them without cash.” He  works  for a minimum of 12 hours daily, but had done 24 hours on several occasions. Asked what it takes to run a successful business? He said consistencyand steadfast. He  has also learnt  to  be positive. He has made mistakes, rectified them and worked out how to stop them from happening again.

  • A start-up success story

    A start-up success story

    As Nigeria grows economically, so also are opportunities for new businesses emerging. DANIEL ESSIET reports.

    Uche Ariolu’s entrepreneurial streak was discovered  early. He had always wanted to make money through his industry.

    As  he  grew up, he  observed that Nigerians are busy facing challenges  of buying foodstuff.  In   some instances, he had seen bankers and other people working in blue chip organisations  leave  home by 6am and would not return until 8 pm.

    This, he noted, did  give them enough time to shop for food items   for cooking. He then came up with the idea of creating an online   portal where busy Nigerians can order their food stuffs.

    He discovered a huge untapped market. He  was  convinced  some  busy Nigerians  would  be  happy  to use the service  to   save an hour or two from going to grocery shops and use the internet. Everyone found the idea useful. The elderly and the physically challenged found the services attractive.

    As  he felt there must be a better way to shop for food, there must, according to him, be a better way for farmers, traders and other food suppliers to make food accessible to consumers.

    However, the internet was at its infancy when the idea crossed his mind. So, it had to wait until the country had a better internet penetration and adoption.

    Subsequently, he launched  the initiative early this year  as an online marketplace for food.

    Initially, he had the having challenge of  selling the idea to Nigerians, but today, his company has grown to become a big  business. He sells all kinds of food that can be ordered in restaurants and eateries. His customers can receive deliveries of local, organic produce and other products from the company’s network of farmers and food-makers.

    Ariolu enjoys a right place, right time scenario, enjoying a high level of acceptability  among  Nigerians.

    Along with its commercial success, the company has slashed produce prices to make more people have access heathy food.  thealthful food.

    He is not new to exploring  new ideas. While in the university, Ariolu had a roasted food outlet, which aimed at being a chain of barbecued food outlet across the country.

    Back then, he was very young and ambitious. His venture didn’t  grow more than one outlet and eventually failed due to inexperience and his commitment to his law programme.

    After being called to bar, he dabbled into series of businesses until  he ended up with Ticket MyPal, is an event management and online ticket sales platform.

    To him, that was not the end of  the dream of  setting  up a food empire, hence his internet based market access to farmers, food traders and restaurants, which  provides  a mobile–web platform to set up shops, accepts payment, display goods, promote goods and deliver directly to millions of consumers across the nation. The sellers are given an  interface on the site  to register, set up online shop and start selling through their mobile phones or internet enabled device.

    Three products are offered, ready- to -cook for those buying and selling fresh food stuffs and farm produce. The supplier or sellers are the farmers, food traders, and frozen food dealers. This group sells directly through their shops on their  platform to consumers. They are provided with the technology and business solutions. Farmers or traders can sell through their mobile phones.

    There is also a ready-to-eat segment for restaurants  and online food ordering. Consumers can discover variety of meals and places to eat,and  can order food from fast foods and restaurants and take delivery at home or office. The restaurants and fast-food are given the technology and business solutions to sell online at no set up cost.

    The last segment is farm produce aggregation where the  company enters into partnership with farmers and sign them up in a contract. They take delivery from the farm gate of all their harvest, sort it in sorting centres and sell it direct to consumers on the platform.

    At present, the company has eight   members of staff and some on part -time workers.The  team is based in Port Harcourt, but  the  platform is made available nationwide with a large number of registered users in Lagos.

    He talked about the challenges. ”The initial challenges are those experienced by all ecommerce businesses especially, those in Africa. They are basically the trust issue, people are reluctant to use their debit card for online purchases. Also most Nigerian businessmen especially farmers, traders and owners of restaurants don’t see technology as a tool to grow and improve their businesses. So we find it challenging convincing them to adopt our technology for their businesses.“

     

     

     

     

     

     

    Making consumers aware that they can reduce stress and spend more time with their family by buying foodstuffs and farm produce online or by ordering from restaurants is another challenge. Then there is the issue of delivery.” But he is excited about being an entrepreneur that is helping people take of their food needs without leaving their office.”Now with Foodstantly farmers, food traders and restaurants in any part of the country can sell directly to consumers through their mobile phone. A farmer can receive orders and deliver directly to consumers. A consumer can be in their office or home and order foodstuffs or meals from farmers, traders or restaurant and its get delivered to them.”

  • How a blind entrepreneur walked the path to success

    How a blind entrepreneur walked the path to success

    Upright Wonders is the Minister and Proprietress of Eastern Star Care   Foundation, Lagos. Although she is blind, the entrepreneur has found a way to become a success and is working   to help others do the same. DANIEL ESSIET reports.

    Evangelist Upright Wonders, a visually challenged Minister and Proprietress of Eastern Star Care   Foundation, Lagos,  wasn’t born blind. She went to primary, secondary and high schools, with her sight intact. She lost her sight at a time she was preparing to proceed to the university to further her studies.

    She was then working with the then Cross River State Television, now known as Channel 45 Uyo.

    She had worked with them for two years and was about going into the university when the problem started. She  lost her sight in mysterious circumstances that defied medical explanation.

    In her words: “After all the diagnosis, the doctors were not really  able to point at anything as the cause of the challenge. When the challenge came, I had to leave the media industry and enrolled in a school for the blind because I didn’t just want to live my life as a beggar.”

    She worked to change things around, but she eventually became totally blind. And it was a terrifying time for her. She began to contemplate what she could do. Constant engagement with the divine being helped her pondered over life’s burning questions and finding answers to them.

    During the agonising period, she had a divine inspiration to go into production of home care products. How would she go about it? There was no money. She  eventually  got    about  N10,000  from her  fellowship  at  Winners’  Chapel  in 2010 to  start her  first  production but four years on the business has grown to over N100,000. She said that as her business started to grow, she   decided to take it seriously and put herself into it, which she noted was not an easy task.  She   specialised in the production of personal care items such as liquid  wash but she has now expanded the business to include,  insecticides, germicides  and  other  cleaning   products.

    Initially,  she  was  finding  it  hard  to  break  into  the  market. This is  because , people  didn’t  believe  something  good  can come out of the  hands  of  a physically  challenged  person, she added.

    Many of her relatives and  friends started using the products and the feedback was quite positive and the patronage continued to expand.

    From  her   own assessment based on the results she received, she  knew that the  products are tremendously getting acceptance, and with some modifications and high-quality packaging,  she  was   sure they would be big sellers.  She  has   two employees, and presently exploring the procedure for securing National Agency for Food ,Drug Administration and Control( NAFDAC )registration  for  her  products.

    “The market is not wide yet because we don’t have NAFDAC registration number and as a result, we cannot push it into the larger market. This is where we need NAFDAC to assist us by reducing the registration fee for us. I have not really got the official registration fee, but someone told me that it is between N120, 000 and N150, 000. The day I went to NAFDAC office at Oshodi, the gateman did not allow me to enter. He said I should go to their office at Yaba. When I went to Yaba, they asked me to go back to Oshodi. After a fruitless effort to get the official registration fee, I gave up and went back to my house. They frustrated my efforts,” she said.

    She  told The Nation she  cannot  afford  the  cost of  registration, describing  it as too high for  start-ups  to  afford.

    Notwithstanding, she  has a story  to tell  that  has  an impact on people. As  a believer in God, she   believes it was God’s blessings through her  church that brought her thus far.

    Right now, she  has  created a group coaching session for  physically  challenged  persons who want  to  learn  small  business production  skills.  She created the platform to help them overcome joblessness and not live by begging.

    “We train the physically challenged ones in adire, beads making, and also have the products section where we train them on how to make home care products like liquid wash , izal and perfume. What we want to do is to discourage each and everyone of them from begging and get them to be gainfully employed because they are not challenged mentally. The gifts of God are still in their mind; as long as their minds are still functional. They can still do something with their lives,” she said.

    Looking back at the number of lives she has touched, she said: “There are so many of the people that we have trained that are doing quite well today. I have one that is producing izal and dettol. She has customers in the hospitals and has been supplying them these products. I have so many of them that are doing well and we thank God for that.

    “Some of them have not been doing as much as they are supposed to because of funds and this is where the need for support from individuals and corporate bodies comes in. These trainings are quite expensive because the cost of the materials we use in doing them continues to go up everyday and we don’t collect money to train them. We do train them free of charge.

    “After the training, we try as much as we can to empower them, rent shops for them and help them in marketing their products because so many people take the products from them to sell without giving them the money. We are trying to make sure that they are not exploited by dubious people. We have set up a team that would be monitoring such sales, and we devote a good part of our time to this and do it professionally.

    “Apart from the challenge of funds, our people also have the problem of marketing their goods as it should be because the products are not registered with NAFDAC. I can’t do it alone. I need the support of kind-hearted Nigerians, especially now that we want to establish a skill acquisition and talent centre with a bible school and music school attached to it. ”

    Speaking on how she acquired the skill she has been imparting into others, she said: “I acquired the skill on how to make these products by going for training. It was after I completed my training that I started making the products to sell. The money I get from the ones that I market for the foundation is what I use for training those under the foundation.

    After many ups and downs, she   has many people to thank, including the Lord for helping her   overcome the trials and tribulations of her life.  She mentioned  the  President  of  Winner Chapel, Bishop David Oyedepo  and  Association of Micro Entrepreneurs of Nigeria(AMEN).

    The experience has made her able to communicate with other people and help others figure out how to live out their dreams despite any struggle. Her  story  is an amazing one  of triumph of human  over a disability.   Notwithstanding her feat, she  is  not   impressed that   the  national   programme  on  self-employment  is  not helping   the   visually challenged to be gainfully self-employed and lead a purposeful, fulfilling and economically independent life.

    According  to her ,  the   government   is   taking   its   responsibility seriously enough and go out of their way to employ the visually challenged in large numbers and make enabling provisions or facilities for them to contribute, using their strengths and ignoring their disability.

    She  was recently invited to   Akwa Ibom State  to  train  100   physically  challenged  persons   and  to   deliver a talk  on  entrepreneurship. She slowly unravels to the stunned audience the freak accident that she landed herself in, her fight for sight, and her burning desire to see the world again.

    She   incubates new ideas and needs  God ‘s  support  to  translate  them  into  products.

    Today, her vision and her unwavering sprit continue to bring more and more physically  challenged  person  to achieve successful life in their own term. Also, her accomplishments in people management left the indelible mark in the business world.

    She felt her achievement has not been rewarded just because she is physically challenged.

    She was able to see much of her  inner self rather than the exterior world that helped her soar to heights  she wouldn’t have imagined.

    Among the entrepreneurial traits, she   embodies perseverance and grit, and looking at life positively despite an acquired disability that was testing her   ability even to see again. Today, she has redefined herself.

    She  is a person with no   sight but unlimited vision. She walks tall with her   ideas having been turned into successful products.   She   said the lack of positive support for successful disabled entrepreneurs was ironic given the “humungous” level of unemployed disabled people and that they are “very naturally entrepreneurial about their lives, very good pragmatists and so make natural business people”. She had the option of depending on others for her living, but she chose not to do that. Her choice has paid off today as many people, both able-bodied and physically challenged, now look up to her to make meaning out of life.

    She is consumed by the passion of liberating other physically challenged in the society from the world of abandonment, despair and poverty; a feat which even the privileged able-bodied people shy away from. She carries on with her activities without any sign of having problem with her sight.

    As the proprietress of the foundation, she trains the physically challenged apprentices in her care on how to make handcrafts and home use products, thus empowering them to be self-employed instead of resorting to begging to earn a living.

  • 2015 AYC qualifier: Iheanacho, Success to miss Lesotho tie

    2015 AYC qualifier: Iheanacho, Success to miss Lesotho tie

    Manchester City starlet Kelechi Iheanacho and Spain-based striker Isaac Success will miss Nigeria’s 2015 AYC qualifier against Lesotho.

    Flying Eagles coach Manu Garba further disclosed that Chidera Eze from FC Porto, Musa Yahaya of Tottenham Hotspurs as well as Dele Alampasu, who is training with Genk in Belgium, will equally not be available for the August 16 match in Kaduna.

    “Kelechi (Iheanacho) was to have been released by Manchester City at least a week before the match, but the club’s recruitment officer has called us back to say they have plans for him and so he will no longer be available,” Manu told AfricanFootball.com.

    “Isaac Success will also not be released by Granada as he has begun playing for the first team.

    “Tottenham Hotspur have said they will only release Musa Yahaya for the return leg match.

    “But we can cope because we have an abundance of talent.

    “For example, take the case of Wasiu Jimoh, who just scored four goals in a test game (against Amakson on Thursday). He has been on the fringes of the first team and took his chance with four well-taken goals.

    “And so we have the players to get the result we need in the game against Lesotho.”

  • Predictors of sport success

    Today as I mull over  why we as a nation hardly perform well at international sport meets I cannot help but take my readers through what I have come to identify as the major problem militating against the performance of our teams and athletes at such competitions.

    We have in Nigeria a very bad concept of sport management and this is not caused by the professionals, rather it is the problem of people who are outside the sector but claim to know how best to run and manage sports. We are all aware that the Olympics, the World Cup and the Common Wealth Games come every four years, this should make us to start thinking about what to do in the next years to prepare our athletes

    Unfortunately, we hardly see any serious sign of preparation on our part as a nation, because while the managers are known to have developed and submitted their programmes we know from experience that monies meant for such programmes hardly get to the National Sports Commission (NSC) in good time.

    Most times administrators have to use their resources, initiatives and goodwill to begin camping programmes for their teams and wards, yet they get blamed whenever anything goes wrong in the course of prosecuting the tournament, or their teams fail to do as well as is expected. Let it be known that there is no way we can make headway in sport if we fail to dothe right thing.

    We have what is called ‘strategic planning’ in sport which can be divided into short term or long term strategic planning. Some sport federations hold strategic sessions during which they come up with realistic ways of resolving their problems. Unfortunately, these ideas are ignored or discarded due to a lack of financial backing.

    Some people have failed to understand that sport is capital intensive and also requires long term planning and execution for there to be derivable benefits for the athletes and nation. As a nation we were lucky in times past to do well in sports because of the exceptional natural abilities and qualities of our athletes and their determination to succeed.

    Fundamentally speaking, we must not allow sport to be managed like the average government operation. It is different from such in so many respects because it is time-bound and also requires series of activities that will cumulate in the desired success that we dream and talk about.

    I have not been around our sport for so long, nevertheless, I have read much about sport management and administration to understand the best and acceptable way of making good success in sport vis-a-vis the approach and methodology needed to be adopted for success.

    The key principle in achieving good success in sports is planning and we cannot not plan without adequate and timely release of funds. Through sports a nation is placed in a position of honour but this is only possible if the nation’s representatives perform well in sport, which leads us back to the issue of funding.

    I make bold to say that the only sector that can boast of being number one in the world through competitions with other nations is sport and for that reason we can say today that Nigeria is number the one football nation in Africa because we are the current champions of Africa.

    This postulation has a lot of implications because if you want to remain as the best you have to seriously plan for it by developing a strategic action plan document in the form of a road map identifying other critical components and sectors that must be activated if we intend to do well in sport.

    I have said it severally that our current national sport policy has lost touch with contemporary sport programming and as such needs to be reviewed urgently. I remember writing about this sometimes back, but, unfortunately, as we speak it has not been reviewed yet we want sport to grow in Nigeria.

    There are lots of people that have passion in sport either as athletes, coaches, administrators, sports wear manufacturers and sport organizers, however, they have to be clearly identified and given responsibilities with set targets on what should be done, according to their categories.

    Before I round up this piece, I want to digress a little to appeal to all football stakeholders in Nigeria on the need to establish enduring norms that will stand the test of time without necessarily heating up the polity.

    I wish all our athletes and officials at the Commonwealth Games a successful outing with the hope of joining them if time will permit me.

  • ‘Why Aregbesola’s agric programme is a success’

    ‘Why Aregbesola’s agric programme is a success’

    Bureau of Communications and Strategy, Office of the Osun State Governor has emphasised that the StateRural Enterprise and Agricultural Programme (OREAP) remains “one of the successful, laudable development and wealth creation programmes of the Rauf Aregbesola administration.”

    The Bureau spoke yesterday while reacting to what it called “another in the litany of the Iyiola Omisore lies.”

    Omisore had claimed in some media reports that the state’s agricultural programme tagged OREAP was a fraud, alleging there is nothing to show for it in almost four years.

    Describing Omisore’s position as ill-informed and an indication of the crass ignorance of the working of development programmes in government, the Bureau said Aregbesola had not come to power before recognising the need for massive food production to grow an economy such as that of Osun; ignite industrialisation and create jobs.

    The statement by its Director, Semiu Okanlawon, said the allegation gave away PDP and its candidate as a lazy bunch of people who lack the capacity for simple facts-finding before going to the press.

    “Farmers are among the happiest beneficiaries of the current administration in Osun. This is because of the prime place Aregbesola accords food production. The agricultural sector has been very strategic to the overall development of Osun. At least, the state’s massive food production programme is central to the realization of three of the six integral action plans of the administration. Only the nit-witted would conclude that agriculture has not played a lead role in banishing poverty, banishing hunger and creation of jobs and wealth,” the Bureau stated

    Against the lies being bandied by the PDP that farm estates and settlements were supposed to be upgraded, he said land validation exercise and perimeter survey were done with latest technology in nine farm settlements which he noted is the first in the history of farm settlements in South-West of the country.

    He added that over 3,070.3 hectares of land was cleared and 6,209 hectares tractorised across the state.

    Okanlawon also noted that 20,000 Hectares of farmland were validated in the nine farm settlements, more 4,211 Hectares was discovered and reallocated to small holders.

    According to him, “This is a programme that was well thought out to empower farmers. The Government procured 5000 metric tons of fertilizers sold to farmers at 50% subsidy over the last 2 years; 1,830 rural farmers in 61 local communities received farm inputs from the State in collaboration with UNICEF.”

  • NFF credits World Cup success for rankings rise

    TThe Nigeria Football Federation (NFF) has credited Nigeria’s rise in the latest FIFA Rankings to the successful outing of the Super Eagles at the just-concluded World Cup tournament in Brazil.

    Nigeria climbed up ten places to perch at 34th in the latest FIFA rankings released on Thursday, and the Federation believes the credible outing at the World Cup played a role.

    “The great leap has occurred as a result of the Super Eagles’ Round of 16 berth at the recently – concluded 2014 FIFA World Cup in Brazil, and also sees the African champions rising to third place in Africa, behind Algeria and Cote d’Ivoire,” a statement made available to KickOffNigeria.com by NFF’s spokesman Ademola Olajire read.

    Nigeria are now placed third on the continent behind Algeria and Ivory Coast respectively, although the latter failed to reach the knock-out stage at the FIFA World Cup finals, while Algeria, like Nigeria, also crashed out at the Round of 16, after losing to eventual champions Germany in extra time.