www.osundefender.org Saturday, april 30, 2016 The chickens have predictably come home to roost after the years of wholesale and retail looting coordinated by the party hilariously referred to as the P e o p l e ’s D e m o cratic Party (PDP).
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The result is predictThis time requires sacrifice and patience ably disastrous. We simply did not preandpatience the PDP simply went As even the uninitiated now know there was nothing pro- people about this contraption and it was anything but democratic.
The demolition job wrought on the Nigerian economy by the rampaging army of the PDP was horrendous. The party andThis time requires sacrifice
its kleptomaniac factions literally forgot about tomorrow. While other countries built up their productive base and diversified their economies,
on a corruption fuelled spending binge. This was not just run-of-the-mill corruption, it was more like an attempt to implode the country.
pare for the proverbial rainy day.By the time the madness of the PDP had run its course the country had become technically insolvent.
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Osun Turns Construction Site Again
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Osun Assembly Tackles LAUTECH Over Partisanship To State - See Story On Page 3
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•State of Osun Governor, Ogbeni Rauf Aregbesola (right), presenting State of Osun emblem to General Overseer, World Soul Evangelistic Ministry (WOSEM), Pastor (Dr) Paul Obadare, during the courtesy visit of the cleric to the governor in his office in Osogbo last Tuesday. Photo: GBENGA ADENIYI.
Osun Rounds Off Language Training For Germany-Bound Agric Trainees
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osun Defender Saturday, April 30, 2016
News
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Osun Turns Construction Site Again
•As Govt Resumes Road Projects
By kazeem mohammed road. Ikirun road working Despite the financial challenges confronting the construction of roads working day and night A p a r t f r o m tirelessly. State Government of Osun, the state seems to have have resumed in earnest to ensure completion of the roundabout, Also, at Oba Adesoji in the state. been turned to a construction site again, as some of the projects. construction workers A d eremi, Osogbo At Ola-Iya/Odithe contractors handling road construction projects Also at Old-Garage were also being sighted E a s t Byepass road, Olowo/Ita-Olokan r o u n d a b o u t , t h e have returned to sites. a l o n g O l d G a r a g e , construction workers OSUN DEFENDER t o w n s i n t h e s t a t e , r o a d , c o n s t r u c t i o n construction has been A j e g u n l e , I g b o n a , were seeing working on-the-spot assessment e s p e c i a l l y O s o g b o , works were in progress going on in high speed Ayetoro, Stadium and hard on the project. to some of the major i n d i c a t e d t h a t and in high speed, as day and night to ensure Power Line areas to The evidence of the workers on site were the completion of the massive construction on the projects was the resumption of work on the fly-over bridge at Ataoja High School Area, Osogbo. It would be recalled that the state governor, Ogbeni Rauf Aregbesola, has recently said that his administration would complete all its ongoing projects in the state. The governor added that the projects, when completed, would attract the desired economic development into the state. Some of the residents who spoke with this medium commended the governor for his commitment towards ensuring the completion of the ongoing projects in the state. Mr Bashir Adebayo, a mini-bus driver, said the earlier suspension of the Ola-Iya roundabout project had subjected motorists to serious difficulties, saying the •Ronald Keey-German Instructor (standing), lecturing the Batch B Germany-Bound Agric corps, during the closing session of language training, resumption of work has at Ministry of Agric, State Secretariat, Abere, Osogbo, last Thursday. Photo: GBENGA ADENIYI. given them a sigh of relief. He also stressed that the kind of quality job SMS to come for another I have to register to use an lines except one is ready going on at the OldBy murtala agboola registration. to waste the whole day G a r a g e r o u n d a b o u t MTN line”. Some subscribers of the telecommunication giant, In a chat with some of to do the re-registration”. and other places, would H e c o n c l u d e d b y MTN, are currently finding it difficult to access their the subscribers, they all In an answer to the make the roads last saying “it would be better lines due to persistent demands to provide their had the same complaint question when the SIM longer. if MTN can provide other biometric data every now and then. to make. registration centres in the r e g i s t r a t i o n w o u l d T o h a v e a c c u r a t e of the State of Osun, these M r A y o d e l e data on users of mobile subscribers throng the Aderibigbe, an Estate city to ease registration end, a lady staffer who c o m m u n i c a t i o n i n only MTN office where Agent in Osogbo queried; for the subscribers. For refused to identify her Nigeria and to prevent registration takes place “how many times would now, many people have name simply said; “it is elected to port to other a continuous exercise”. phones from being used at Dada Estate, on daily for nefarious activities, basis. the Federal Government, For not willing to lose through the Nigeria their lines and all the C o m m u n i c a t i o n data related to it, people By ismaeel uthman C o m m i s s i o n ( N C C ) , besiege the office as early o r d e r e d t h e s e r v i c e as 5.00 am, while a visit immediately attacked by and Prophet Sunday providers to register their by our reporter to the the masked men, who O y e b o d e , a k a , K i n g subscribers, some years office showed that there Tension has enveloped Ile-Ido Ife, a community launched at him with Solomon had broken the ago. are three categories of within Ile-Ife, as some yet-to-be identified gunmen dangerous weapons and news of Elutilo’s murder A l l t h e n e t w o r k subscribers. have reportedly murdered a 75-year-old High Chief smashed his head. when the case came up in providers immediately They are those who The deceased was said court on Wednesday, 27th heeded the commission’s come early enough to Moses Elutilo, the Akannare of the area. OSUN DEFENDER gathered that Elutilo was to have been immediately April, 2016. directive and embarked register their names on massive registration and are called into the killed by the assailants in the area, the deceased, r u s h e d t o a n e a r b y Counsel to the plaintiff, of subscribers. office to embark on their during a meeting held had at about 8:00am on hospital but died before Mr. Albert Okuovara, However, to the chagrin registration. at Atagilere Plank Hall Monday, received a call medical attention came told the court that Chief of MTN subscribers, the The second category along Ondo road, Ile-Ife that there was going to his way. Elutilo, the star and network provider fell c o n s i s t t h o s e w h o on Monday, an event that be a meeting at about Information has it only witness in the case, short of the regulation as register late and are threw the whole village 10:00am at Atagilere that the deceased was to had been murdered on a result of which it was made to sit under the into mourning and panic. Plank Hall, which he testify as a star witness Monday. fined. canopies provided in the It was gathered that must attend. on a land dispute matter Subsequently, Justice Subscribers are now compound, while the The source added that before Justice A. A. Onibokun adjourned the being inundated to re- third category is those the gunmen invaded register or have their lines who cannot be registered t h e m e e t i n g v e n u e , the deceased was asked to Onibokun of the State case till July 13, 2016 to severed off. for the day because they went straight for the lead the opening prayer High Court, Ile-Ife. enable the plaintiff put its The question these came late. s e p t u a g e n a r i a n a n d by one Yemi before the The plaintiff in suit house in order to enable it subscribers are asking is; Our reporter, who was smashed his head with assailants struck. marked: HIF/16/2015 continue with the matter. what happened to their also a victim, had earlier gun boots. As soon as he stood in a case involving Ido earlier registrations? registered in Osogbo and According to sources up to pray, the source Reformation Committee In Osogbo, the capital Lagos only to be sent an added, the deceased was Versus Dr. E. B. Makusota
Hassles In MTN Registration
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News
osun Defender Saturday, April 30, 2016
Osun Assembly Tackles LAUTECH Over Partisanship To State to spend five-year tenure other officers are backBy kazeem mohammed starting from 2016, the dated to 2013 to ensure The State of Osun House of Assembly has Bursar was isolated and justice in the matter. frowned at the management of Ladoke Akintola reportedly had his letter He subsequently University of Technology, Ogbomoso, for not being back-dated to 2013 to c o m m e n d e d t h e equitable in the management of the institution. spend only two more m a n a g e m e n t o f t h e It also directed the benefits, he observed years, a situation that institution for using management and the that the civil servants in attracted the rages of the ingenuity to generate Governing Council to the institution have been Assembly. revenue and sustain the revert its decision “on the using their discretion T h e S p e a k e r t h e n payment of salaries of injustice” meted out to the to cause disharmony directed that the Bursar its staff when the owner Bursar of the institution, between the two states. should either be issued s t a t e s w e r e h a v i n g Mr Olagunju Adeniyi, He stressed that the his own appointment difficulties in paying over his appointment. state legislature would letter of five-year tenure, s u b v e n t i o n s t o t h e M e m b e r s o f t h e go to any length to get or the appointments of institution. state parliament, who what is due to the state expressed their anger without going beyond its at a meeting with the boundary or clash with m a n a g e m e n t o f t h e its sister state, Oyo. By shina abubakar institution at the On the appointment A 25-year-old suspect, Folorunsho Oloyede, has Assembly Complex in of Bursar, the Speaker been arraigned before an Osogbo Magistrate’s Osogbo on Wednesday, directed the LAUTECH Court for allegedly possessing a locally-made pistol said the state was not management to review being given the fair share his case and ensure that illegally. A c c o r d i n g t o t h e contrary and punishable of the benefits from the justice is done. charge sheet read in the under section 27(1), (b) university. The Bursar, Registrar open court, the suspect (ii) of the firearms law. T h e u n i v e r s i t y i s and Librarian of the The charge sheet stated jointly owned and being institution have been was caught with the that the suspect was said weapon and could co-funded by the Osun holding the position in caught on January 17, and Oyo states. acting capacity since not offer satisfactory 2016 at Iludun area of the explanation contrary The S p e a k e r , 2013 and were recently H o n o u r a b l e N a j e e m confirmed as substantive to section 27(1) of the state capital. However, the suspect Salaam, who led the office holders with five F i r e a r m s A c t o f t h e Federation of Nigeria pleaded not guilty to discussions, said, in the years tenure. the two-count charge area of construction of When the letters were 2004. He was also alleged preferred against him structures, appointment issued to the Registrar of staff, welfare among and the Librarian as o f p o s s e s s i n g a l i v e by the police and agreed others, Osun has always substantive office holders cartridge, an offence to summary trial at the been cheated by the management, saying, majority of the benefits are skewed to Oyo State. By our reporter According to him, most The National Secretariat of the intervention funds, Pandemonium broke out on Wednesday, April of the union had ordered including TETFUND, 27, 2016 at the Olu Osungboun Hall of the Osun rerun of the February 11, have been used majorly in State Council of Nigeria Union of Journalists (NUJ) 2016, having declared the Oyo, while the College of Osogbo, during the council’s re-run election over election null and void. Medicine located in Osun alleged attempt by the committee raised by the was left undeveloped. The election, which saw National Secretariat of the union to alter the list of He said, since the the voters. Biodun Olalere emerginstitution is jointly The fracas, which saw ing as state chairman, was committee led by the Vice owned and co-funded, the sudden suspension of contested by his rival, Dele President, B Zone, Cosmas there must be equity in the re-run poll, started when Ajayi, who wrote a petition Oni, and National Asthe sharing of its benefits, the committee announced against the declaration of sistant Secretary, James saying, the Assembly that Local Government Umem from Abuja, reOlalere as winner. would not allow the Chapel had 167 members, sulted in quarrel and bickThe decision of the Nainjustice to continue. contrary to the 81 names on ering among the delegates, tional Secretariat to nullify N o t i n g t h a t t h e the list already pasted. as majority of members the February 11 election, governments of the two This attempt to amend the rejected the move by the which was described as states have no issue voters’ list by the committee electoral committee. with the sharing of the led by the Vice President, peaceful,
Also, the Deputy Speaker, Engineer Akintunde Adegboye, Folorunsho Bamisayemi (Ife-South), Ajibola Akinloye (Ola-Oluwa), and Rasheed Afolabi among others expressed dismay over the unfair attitude of the university management to the state. Speaking, the Deputy Vice Chancellor, Professor Abiodun Adebayo, who represented the Vice
Chancellor, said some of the decisions that have attracted the rages of the Assembly were actually taken by the Governing Council. He said, he would take the concern of the House to the management for review and necessary actions.
court. Defence counsel urged the court to admit the accused person to bail, saying the allegations against him are bailable in nature, adding that the suspect is ready to face trial and would not jump bail, if admitted. The counsel further urged the court to exercise its discretionary right to grant in favour of his client, saying before the law, the suspect is still innocent, until proved otherwise before the court.
Police prosecutor, Sergeant Elisha Olusegun, did not object to the bail application on the ground that the court has the right to grant bail as it pleases. Presiding magistrate, Mr Olusola Aluko, admitted the suspect to bail in the sum of N100,000 and two sureties in the same sum, maintaining that one of the sureties must be a civil servant within the state and of grade level 14. The case was then adjourned for mention.
Man Docked Over Possession Of Firearms
Osun NUJ Rerun Elections Disrupted
Tension As Masked Gunmen Kill Ife High Chief
•Smashed ballot box during the disrupted Osun NUJ Re-Run Election At State Council, Osogbo, Last Wednesday. Photo: GBENGA ADENIYI.
credible and fair, was in bad taste to some journalists in the state. Meanwhile, when the national executives got to the state to conduct another election, the election witnessed reactions from journalists who insisted that the National Council should not interfere with the peace of the state. The situation generated reactions, as members started throwing chairs and engaging in banters, while some quarrelled after exchanging hot altercations. Most of the members were of the view that since the case is pending before an industrial court in Ibadan, it amounted to contempt of court to conduct another election and many raised issues on the basis for the disqualification of the three chapels of the union, Radio Nigeria, Federal Information and Reality Radio Vision. The re-run election ballot box was smashed by angry members who accused the national secretariat of trying to rig the re-run poll in favour of some disgruntled members of the union. In a move to resolve the crisis, the electoral committee had an emergency closed-door meeting, after which they came out with a decision to allow 81 people vote from Local Government Chapel, while the delegates list of three chapels- Federal Information; Gold FM and Reality TV Chapels
are to be reduced by 50 per cent. The decision also generated reactions by journalists who queried the basis for the decision to reduce delegate list of three out of eleven chapels. However, one of the journalists from the state radio station insisted that B the national body should not conduct any election, until the pending issues are resolved by the court. He said, the case in the court should be withdrawn and members suspended by the national body should be reinstated, if they are truly desirous to conduct another election. There was commotion in the hall where the rerun election was slated before it was suspended with the intervention of security operatives. During the melee, the B Zone Vice President, Mr. Cosmas Oni, escaped being mobbed by the members who accused him of fueling the crisis in the union. Timely intervention by officials of the State Security Service, who whisked him out of the press centre, saved the situation. It would be recalled that the National Industrial Court had fixed May 23rd for hearing of the suit instituted by four concerned journalists in the state. The four members are Michael Olanrewaju, Yinka Kolawole, Sunday Oguntuyi and Wasiu Ajadosu.
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osun Defender Saturday, April 30, 2016
Osun Rounds Off Language Training For Germany-Bound Agric Trainees •Restates Need For Modern Technology To Boost Farming The coast became clear for 20 State of Osun youths, who have been selected for modern technology in agricultural practices in Germany, as they rounded up their German Language training in Osogbo on Thursday. The advanced training The completion of the language course under the in agriculture and food supervision of a German production technology Instructor, marked the will be taking place in the end of the preparations State of Saxony-Anhalt, for the journey, aimed at Germany. The training is producing the next set of technically-skilled hands, i n c o n t i n u a t i o n o f who would advance the government’s drive to state in its agricultural revolutionise agriculture in the state under the Osun business enterprises. The government of Rural Enterprise and Osun is living no stone Agriculture Programme unturned in its bid to (O’REAP) and boost boost agriculture and food production for local turn the state into the consumption, as well as food basket of the nation export. The trainees, like the and boost its revenues. The second batch of first set, will undergo the 20 youths going a four-week intensive t o G e r m a n y i n f e w course in agricultural months time were made training school, where to complete a class in they will be exposed to German language for the the rudiments of modern purpose of effective inter- agriculture and food crop personal communication production techniques. This will also be of the youths while in Germany for the training. followed by another
week of attachment trainings under different large-scale co-operative farmers in SaxonyAnhalt to enable them to learn more and build on the assessed capacities and interests they have acquired during the first four weeks of trainingý. The Aregbesola administration, having realised that the only way to increase food production, eliminate poverty and boost the economy is engaging the youths of the state in agriculture, hence the need to send the youths to Germany. Speaking shortly after rounding off the language training programme, the coordinator of the programme, who is also the immediate-past Senior Special Adviser on Quick Impact Intervention Programme (QUIIP), Mr. Dele Ogundipe, explained that serious agricultural development
has always been the cardinal objective of the present administration. He said because of the quest to develop agriculture in the state, the state governor, around May 2012, got in contact with the State of SaxonyAnhalt in Germany to be of assistance to the state in the area of agricultural development. He noted that the Saxony-Anhalt State agreed to the arrangement because of the performance of the Ogbeni Aregbesola administration in the area agriculture, having sent a delegation of eleven to Osun, which went round the state, visiting various farms and having consultations with various stakeholders in agriculture programmes. Ogundipe stated that the students have been thought the rudiments of German language in relation to agriculture,
Mercy Aigbe’s Arrest Causes Uproar In Osogbo •The new-look of Olai-iya-Old-Garrage, Osogbo, State of Osun, beautification by Governor Rauf Aregbesola.
Star Yoruba movie actress, Mercy Aigbe-Gentry, on Wednesday created scene at Olaiya junction during an encounter with traffic police offices over traffic offence. The police had to fire the actress and her drivshots into the air to dis- er. perse the crowd who Eyewitnesses told our gathered at the scene of correspondent that the the arrest. actress, who was travelMercy had a misun- ling in gold-coloured derstanding with some Honda car, was flagged armed policemen in Os- down while driving toogbo when the vehicle wards Olaiya Junction she was travelling in was in Osogbo. impounded by them. A source added that It was gathered that the vehicle was allegwhile the scuffle ap- edly arrested because its peared settled, and her driver was making call seized vehicle particulars while others claimed released, some armed police cap was put on policemen suddenly ap- the dash board of the peared and rearrested vehicle which attracted
By kehinde ayantunji to the policemen being the policemen. Her presence imme- mobbed. The visibly angry Aigdiately attracted large crowd at the ever-busy be-Gentry was seeing O r i t a - O l a i y a J u n c - making calls and had to tion, which nearly led be perceived before she agreed to leave the scene, even as many of those that gathered verbally attacked those that arrested her. However, when the artiste and her co-travellers were released, about five new armed policemen latter arrived the scene, and fired several shots into the air, while the artiste and others travelling with her were arrested and whisked away. •Aigbe-GEntry.
adding that language department at the Obafemi Awolowo University, Ile-Ife, has also been engaged to train the youths for two months on German language. Dwelling on the benefits of the relationship between the State of Osun and the State of SaxonyAnhalt in Germany, the coordinator noted that it is not common for any state to have a bilateral relationship with any state in the Republic of Germany. He explained that the German delegation was impressed with the agricultural programmes they met in Osun that they decided that they will establish the best practice of farm for Osun, which will help boost food production in the state. He added that at a time that the nation is passing through hard times in the economy, it is therefore a good move by the state government to expose Osun youths to the most modern agricultural techniques in the world. Ogundipe said: “What the State of Osun is doing in the agriculture sector is very lofty and helpful to Nigeria as a country. If you train one youth to be good in agriculture, you are training the world. How much more when the state is investing in the training of over 40 youths on modern ways of agriculture. “We are looking at a situation, whereby when the youths come back from Germany, we can be attaching them with the appropriate intervention programmes of the Federal Government and our own state here. “One of the cardinal objectives of this administration after coming into power in 2010 is to embark on serious agricultural development, even when oil was still booming at that time. It means that Ogbeni Rauf Areggesola has been very proactive. “The youths traveling to Germany have been trained on the rudiment of German language and German language in agriculture, so as to aid their assimilation and participation while in Germany. “The first batch of Osun youths went to Germany in August of 2013 and came back in November the same year. The second batch were supposed to go in 2014 but were delayed because of the need to improve on the language, more than the first batch and the issue of Ebola. They will be leaving this July,” Ogundipe said. The German language
instructor training the youths who is the fourth instructor to come to the State of Osun for the purpose, Mr. Ronald Kley, expressed delight at the level of understanding and assimilation of the youths, while also lauding the efforts of the state government for the initiative. “It has been a worthwhile experience so far, the students performance have been very encouraging and I can say that they are fully ready to go to Germany and learn modern techniques in agriculture, which will help the state. “It is good that they are going to Germany to learn new things and new experience on their own. We have talked about many things in Germany like animal livestock, pig farming technique and how to live and stay in my country, knowing what is forbidden and what’s allowed,” Kley said. One of the youths, Miss Olanibi Comfort from Atakumosa-East Local Government Council Area of the state described the programme as one that will go a long way in taking the jobless youths off the streets and find something worthwhile doing in the area of agriculture. ”I am so delighted to be a part of this programme because it will continue to change my life for the better. The programme will go a long way in taking many jobless youths off the streets and put something worthwhile in their hands” Another beneficiary, Mr. Adebayor Waheed, thanked the administration of Ogbeni Aregbesola for giving out the rare opportunity to the youths of the state, saying it is a programme which Nigerian leaders should embrace and emulate in whole. He added that the programme will surely guarantee food security, which will help to solve many challenges the nation is facing as a result of the dwindling oil revenue the country is facing. “We have so many graduates out there without jobs. I suggest that everybody should go back to the farm, because it is the only solution to the many problems we are facing as a nation.”
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osun Defender Saturday, April 30, 2016
This time requires sacrifice and patience This time the sacrifices
Contiuned
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Not just that, dangerously dependent on one source of income (oil) the country was actually totering on the brink of bankruptcy. Now someone else must do the difficult bit, which is to clean up the mess. Actually it is more than that. What we have is more like cleaning up the Augean stables. Quite a daunting task but somebody has got to do it. Let us not pull our punches - the country is fortunate to have at the helm of affairs at this difficult time a man of unimpeachable integrity
in President Muhammadu Buhari. Integrity matters. At a time of crisis the people will be asked to make sacrifices. This means that the motivating factor will have to be leadership by example . President Buhari has certainly set the right tone. The war against corruption has set the tone that ripping off the treasury will no longer be toleratedHand in glove with this, the emphasis is now on revenue generation in order to fund a pro-people budget and build up the productive base. This is the most sensible way togo.
Cartoon
It will however require patience on behalf of the country as a patriotic government valiantly resets the template.
will be based on the execution of the social contract which sets out the obligations that determines the relationship between the government and the governed. A social contract is crucial in a democracy.
The people of this country already know from their own personal experience that there can be no gain without pain. They are also aware that to turn things round will require time and patience.After all it is easier to destroy than to build. It is also important to state that the sacrifices required to reboot the economy will be equally shared.It will not be the hitherto unequal partnership between the government and the people.
Such a relationship allows the government to deliver quality service with the cooperation with the people. This means that on the part of the populace the cooperation will come in terms of the payment of taxes and generally being good citizens. There is no doubt that this new cooperation is already manifesting itself. It is morning yet in Nigeria
OSUN DEFENDER
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Computer Operator – Lukman Ussein Computer Operator – Mary Akintola OSUN DEFENDER is published by Moremi Publishing House Limited, Promise Point Building, Opposite Guarantee Trust Bank GTB, Gbongan Road, Osogbo, State of Osun. All correspondence to the above mail address. ISSN: 0794-8050 Telephone: 0803-392-7286, 08033880205 Website: www.osundefender.com/index.php e-mail: osundefender@yahoo.com
opinion
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osun Defender Saturday, April 30, 2016
Health
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The Rise And Guaranteed Fall Of Bukola Saraki Lassa Fever: Signs, Symptoms, Treatment & Prevention
S
By olufunsho david
enate President Bukola Saraki left the PDP for personal reasons, not because he wanted ‘Change’. This is evident in his behaviour since APC became victorious. The APC trusted Saraki, took control from Belgore, just to please Saraki. The party asked both Belgore and Lai Mohammed to relinquish the state leadership to Saraki. While Lai choicelessly agreed, Belgore left APC, saying; ‘I can never be in the same party with Saraki, talk less of him leading me.’ Raji Fashola spoke and appealed to his bosom friend, Belgore, not to leave APC, but the latter sought Fashola’s understanding on the fact that Saraki is not a human being and that the party will regret having Saraki in its fold. APC openly celebrated Saraki, as he was given a free hand to nominate for every single political appointment in Kwara. He took over the structure of the APC in Kwara. The party narrowly won Kwara with a little over 100,000 votes above that of the PDP. The race for Senate leadership began and the slot would have naturally gone to the South East, had Ngige or other experienced APC senatorial candidates won, but APC’s National Assembly conflict’s foundation was laid by the rejection of the party in the zone! Therefore, three major lucky contenders were jostling for the Senate President position. Lawan from North East; Saraki and Akume from North Central; all wanted to fill the vacuum created by the South East. Buhari and APC preferred Lawan from the North East instead of Tinubu’s friend, Akume and Atiku’s choice Saraki. Tinubu, being a smart man, quickly asked his friend Akume, to step down for the party and President’s choice, Lawan. Akume, another reasonable politician, gladly agreed! Tinubu is not just a driver, he also knows when to accelerate and when to step on the brakes!!! Atiku and Saraki kept on accelerating, even when it was obvious that the duo had approached the zebra crossing!!! A warrior that knows how to fight, but does not know how to run when necessary, will eventually perish in the battlefield! Saraki and his pushers became arrogant and resolute to disgrace the APC and the President.
Definition: Defining the Meaning of Lassa Fever assa f e v e r o r L a s s a hemorrhagic fever (LHF) is an acute viral hemorrhagic fever caused by the Lassa virus and first described in 1969 in the town of Lassa, in Borno State, Nigeria. Lassa fever is a member of the Arenaviridae virus family. Similar to ebola, clinical cases of the disease had been known for over a decade but had not been connected with a viral pathogen. Main Document Lassa fever is an acute viral illness that occurs in west Africa. The illness was discovered in the year 1969 when two missionary nurses died from it in Nigeria. The virus is named after the town in Nigeria where the illness first occurred. The virus is a member of the virus family, ‘Arenaviridae,’ and is a singlestranded RNA virus; it is, ‘zoonotic,’ or animal-borne. Lassa fever is endemic in parts of west Africa, to include the following areas: “The number of people who experience Lassa fever each year in west Africa is estimated to be between 100,000 and 300,000, with around 5,000 people dying from the virus.” · Liberia · Guinea · Nigeria · Sierra Leone Neighboring countries are also at risk due to the animal vector for Lassa virus. The animal is the, ‘multimammate rat,’ or, ‘Mastomys natalensis,’ which is distributed throughout the region as a whole. In the year 2009, the first case from Mali was reported in a traveler who was living in southern Mali. Ghana reported its first cases in the year 2011. Isolated cases have been reported in Cote d’Ivoire and Burkina Faso. There is also seismologic evidence of Lassa virus infection in Benin and Tongo. The number of people who experience Lassa fever each year in west Africa is estimated to be between 100,000 and 300,000, with around 5,000 people dying from the virus. The estimates are crude because surveillance for cases of the disease is not performed uniformly. In some areas of Liberia and Sierra Leone, approximately 10-16% of those admitted to hospitals each year have Lassa fever, which indicates the serious impact of the virus on the population of these areas. Signs and Symptoms of Lassa Fever The signs and symptoms of Lassa fever commonly happen 1-3 weeks after a person has come into contact with the virus. For most of those with a Lassa fever virus infection; around 80%, symptoms are mild and underdiagnosed. Mild symptoms include: · Weakness · Headaches · Slight fever · General malaise Around 20% of infected people; however, the disease might progress to more serious symptoms that include hemorrhaging of the person’s eyes, gums, or nose repeated vomiting, respiratory distress, pain in the back, chest and
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•The Embattled Senate President, Bukola Saraki.
All appeals by leaders of their party did not hold water. Saraki said he wanted due process, hence, the party organized a primary election to please him. In the openly transparent, due processed primaries, Saraki lost the election and instead of staying within his team and agree with the APC senators’ decision, he betrayed the APC and teamed up with the PDP to steal the hard-earned victory of the APC through the back door. He wanted the senate presidency, even if heavens will fall. He eventually stole it, while 95% of his colleagues were away. He joined the PDP to ridicule ‘Change’. He did not stop there, as he made a PDP senator his deputy!!! Ha! What wickedness??? What a deadly traitor??? The party was battling with the humble pie and sought further reconciliation by asking Saraki to give other leadership positions left to its preferred choices, at least, to calm nerves and save the party from national disgrace, but Saraki once again injured the party and announced his own preferred choices, behaving like ‘Ige Adubi’ the one who cares less whether or not his mother or father died on the day of his birth! The intentions of Saraki became very clear to APC. He wants
the APC to fail, disgraced and destroyed for ambitions that have 2019 written all over it. He had gone back to his former husband, the PDP, a party many of them left because they said; “its a den of corrupt visionless people”. But Buhari’s concern is different from the APC’s. Buhari wants to eradicate corruption but how can ‘Kwara Corruption King’ lead from the Senate??? The President’s number one priority has been ambushed by thieves from the National Assembly. Buhari, a soldier and a wartested veteran, will not give up the fight to eradicate corruption in Nigeria. is preference for Lawan has nothing to do with politics but with policies! Saraki obviously has constituted himself to be a clog in the wheels of ‘Change’. He had become the arrow head of ‘Business as Usual’ in a government of ‘Change’! Therefore, his book of remembrance was opened. His judgment became expedient. Since he wanted to be one of the leaders in the government of ‘Change’, he must be thoroughly searched. Buhari, the first leader, had been searched, Osinbajo, the second leader, had been searched, so why will Saraki the ‘third’ leader avoid search??? You cannot eat
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your cake and have it!!! And as each day progresses, it is becoming increasingly clear that this 8th Assembly led by Saraki would be the butt of all jokes. Imagine an assembly that a bill as important as the Money Laundering Act from the President is being toyed with since January, while the one involving CCT that is to ‘help a neighbour, while his house is burning’ scaled second reading within 48 hours. What a big shame to the nation! Until a selfless leader emerges as the Senate President, even the one who professes common sense would continue to be a tiger on Twitter and a cat on the floor of the House. We, the people, must rescue our nation from the greedy lots who call themselves senators. Those who want to hold high positions in Nigeria would henceforth check themselves very well. You dare not present yourself, if you have skeletons in your cupboard. This is not a joke! Change has come to Nigeria and he who must come to equity must come with clean hands! And that is what we mean by ‘Common Sense Revolution!’.
osun Defender Saturday, April 30, 2016
rats from entering your home. Using these rats as a source of food is definitely not recommended. Trapping around and in homes may help to reduce rat populations. Yet the wide distribution of Mastomys rats in Africa makes complete control of these rats impractical. While providing care for people with Lassa fever, further transmission of the disease through person-toperson contact or other routes may be avoided by taking preventative precautions against contact with secretions from infected persons called, ‘VHG isolation precautions,’ or barrier nursing methods. The precautions include wearing protective clothing such as masks, gowns, gloves and goggles; using infection control measures such as the sterilization of equipment. It is vital to isolate infected people from contact with unprotected persons until the disease has run its course. In addition, educating people who live in high-risk areas about ways to lower the rat populations in their homes will help to control and prevent Lassa fever. Other challenges include the development of quicker diagnostic tests and increasing the availability of the one drug known for treatment of Lassa fever - ribavirin. Research is currently being performed in regards to the development of a vaccine for the illness. Facts: Lassa Fever hile most humans are infected either from contact with an infected rat or inhalation of air contaminated with rat excretions, like other hemorrhagic fevers, Lassa fever can be transmitted directly from one human to another. It can be contracted through direct contact with infected human blood excretions and secretions, including through sexual contact. No evidence of airborne transmission personto-person is seen. Transmission through breast milk has also been observed. Statistics: Lassa Fever · The number of Lassa virus infections per year in west Africa is estimated at 100,000 to 300,000, with approximately 5,000 deaths. · In 80% of cases, the disease is asymptomatic, but in the remaining 20%, it takes a complicated course. The virus is estimated to be responsible for about 5,000 deaths annually. The fever accounts for up to one third of deaths in hospitals within the affected regions and 10 to 16% of total cases. The dissemination of the infection can be assessed by prevalence of antibodies to the virus in populations of: · Sierra Leone - 8 to52% · Guinea - 4 to 55% · Nigeria - about 21%
W abdomen, facial swelling and shock. Neurological issues have also been described in relation to Lassa fever, to include tremors, hearing loss and encephalitis. An infected person may die within two weeks of their initial symptoms because of multiorgan failure. The most common complication of Lassa fever is deafness. Different degrees of deafness happen in around one-third of those who become infected. In many cases, the hearing loss is permanent. The severity of the disease does not affect this particular complication; deafness might develop in mild as well as severe cases. etween 15-20% of people who are hospitalized for Lassa fever die from the illness. Only 1% of all Lassa virus infections; however, result in the person’s death. The death rates for women in the third trimester of pregnancy are exceptionally high. Spontaneous abortion is a very serious complication of the infection; an estimated 95% mortality rate in fetuses of infected mothers is an alarm sounding off. Due to the fact that the symptoms of Lassa fever are so nonspecific and varied, clinical diagnosis is often times difficult. Lassa fever is also associated with occasional epidemics. During these epidemics, the fatality rate may reach as high as 50% in people who become hospitalized. Diagnosing Lassa Fever Lassa fever is most often diagnosed
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through the use of, ‘enzyme-linked immunosorbent serologic assays (ELISA), which detect IgM and IgG antibodies as well as Lassa antigen. Reverse transcription-polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR) may be used in diagnosing people who are in the early stage of the disease. The Lassa virus itself may be cultured in 7-10 days, yet the procedure should only be performed in a high containment laboratory with good laboratory practices. Immunohistochemistry, performed on formalin-fixed tissue specimens, might be used to make a post-mortem diagnosis. Treating Lassa Fever ‘Ribavirin,’ is an antiviral drug that has been used with success in people affected by Lassa fever. It has been shown to be most effective when it is administered early in the course of the illness. People should also receive supportive care that consists of maintenance of: · Oxygenation · Blood pressure · Treatment of complicating infections · Appropriate fluid and electrolyte balance Preventing Lassa Fever Primary transmission of the Lassa virus from its host to people may be prevented by avoiding contact with Mastomys rats - particularly in the geographic areas where outbreaks happen. Putting food away in ratproof containers and keeping your home clean help with discouraging
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phototalk
osun Defender Saturday, April 30, 2016
General Overseer, World Soul Evangelistic Ministry, (WOSEM), Pastor (Dr) Paul Obadare, Paid A Courtesy Visit To State Of Osun Governor, Ogbeni Rauf Aregbesola, In His Office Last Tuesday. Photo:GBENGA
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phototalk
osun Defender Saturday, April 30,
Disrupted Osun NUJ Re-Run Elections At State Council, Osogbo, Last Wednesday. Photo: GBENGA ADENIYI.
ADENIYI.
•Governor Rauf Aregbesola (4th right); his deputy, Otunba (Mrs) Grace Titi Laoye-Tomori (4th left); Secretary to the State Government of Osun, Alhaji Moshood Adeoti (3rd left); Chief of Staff to the State Governor, Alhaji Gboyega Oyetola (2nd right); State Head of Service, Mr Sunday Owoeye (right); Pastor Paul Obadare (3rd right) and others during the courtesy visit to the governor in his office in Osogbo, last Tuesday.
Completed Road Of Oba Adesoji Aderemi (Ona Baba Ona) Phase 1 Under The Administration Of Governor Rauf Aregbesola Of The State Of Osun. Photo: GBENGA ADENIYI.
•1 (L-R) NUJ Vice-President, Zone B, Mr Cosmos Oni; Chairman, Oyo NUJ Council, Mr Gbenga Opadotun; Assistant National Secretary, Mr James Nwem; Lagos State Chairman, Mr Deji Elumoye and National Treasurer, Mr Bamigbola Gbolagunte.
•Oba Adesoji Aderemi Road Phase 1.
Ongoing Project Of Overhead Bridge Along Abere Road, Under The Administration Of Governor Rauf Aregbe•A cross section of journalists before the bungled re-election.
•Ongoing overhead bridge along Abere Road, Osogbo.
•Disenchanted Osun NUJ members showing their displeasure over the alleged doctored voters’ register presented by the electoral committee.
•Members of Osun NUJ protesting against the re-run election.
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FEATURE
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osun Defender Saturday, April 30,
Death Of Investigative Journalism In Nigeria The Man For The Tough Job The One of my lecturers once narrated the story of a researcher who registered as a
“Leadership and learning are indispensable to each other,” John Kenedy tate of Osun has been in the news; first state to engage 20,000 youths for rewarding community development; first state to elevate school feeding to a state of art to an extent that British parliament sought for the unique selling proportion of it; the first state to introduce e-learning via “Opon Imo” called Tablet of Knowledge; first financially challenged state to roll out roads in hundreds, and international model schools in tens; ditto for ambulance stations across the state which are saving lives of people in emergency and urban renewal. However, the critics of the hand behind the feat, Rauf Aregbesola, have an axe to grind with all the listed achievements, they want us to see abandoned projects; schools as white elephant project; Opon Imo” as fraudulent device, and the motive behind the other projects that could not be logically faulted as design to steal from public till. That brings us to the definition of ideology. From the study of Marxist philosophy, ideology is the narrative, sexed up by each class in a struggle for the control of production to justify its position. To the bourgeois, the ideology is that workers get their pay through the dint of hard work, but the proletariat’s ideology is that the bourgeois should be wrestled, because they are shortchanging them. So, the side you belong will determine whether my own perspective would find a room in your heart or not. And I must say that I would not be neutral in this piece, because I would not join the lynching mob organized for Aregbesola by some sections of the media, nor would I subscribe to the notion of “rubberstamping” legislature some critics want to push for the state parliament under the leadership of Speaker Najeem Salaam. Before we dissect what obtains in the State of Osun, it will be just to examine the bigger picture, which is Nigeria herself, because Osun is just a unit among the 36 federating units. But because Nigeria could not be taken for discourse in isolation as a result of global interlink, so, let’s jump into the fray. Of course, the fall of oil price in the world market has dragged countries into running challenges. I learn that Saudi Arabia, a monarchical country that tops the oil chart sought to borrow $10 billion! This Islamic country is an example of celestial blessing that has everything in abundance, and
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osun Defender Saturday, April 30,
By goke butika
here we are in a country, whose citizens crave for magic wand from the President and governors. Let it be known that I hold no brief for anyone but to establish that whoever must show up for political office now, should realize how tough the job is. Gone were the days, when people could be manipulated easily, the world today is different because technology has broken barriers of distance and secrecy. Now, let’s return to the State of Osun, in line with the opening of montage. The governor was accused of embarking on so many white elephant projects, obtaining bank facilities to finance, and was boxed to the corner when there was a great fall in the price of crude; making the state to shark its obligations as witnessed in delayed salaries and slow speed of some projects by anonymous critics. n the heat of the matter, a High Court Judge, whose aristocratic job demands to be seen and heard only in her court, threw caution to the wind, when he petitioned the state parliament, calling for the impeachment of the •AREGBESOLA governor; the opposition went to is being managed by the royal Okonjo-Iweala, to define the the gutters with different versions lineage, who rules according narrative of President Goodluck of misinformation, half truth and to the dictates of Islam and the Jonathan’s administration. innuendoes, struggling to justify teaching of Prophet Muhammed I chose to briefly reflect on the the emotional epistle of the judge. (SAW). aforementioned countries above Meanwhile, the governor’s Saudi Arabia used to have to justify the global effect of crude party men were unhappy about everything money could buy, oil fall in the world market in his disposition to work instead and its statue book is Quran. This order to invite you to causes and of empowering party stalwarts in makes the rich and the poor to effects of the great fall in the oil preparation for another election; have fair share of their country’s price. Be reminded that in 2012, some of them felt that their resources. The government is Nigeria as a country had a large financial status was not better generous to the citizenry and cash flow from oil to the extent than it was when they were in the denizens are loyal to the that the three tiers of government opposition. And the governor government; that has not changed, were sharing between N1.2 and became an orphan at a point. but the fall in crude oil price has N1.3 trillion every month. So, the The kitchen became hotter for vitiated the inexhaustible purse government at the centre would the executive, House of Assembly of the country. Hence, some keep N750 billion, while the 36 became an arbiter for trade dispute, policies were rolled out to whittle states and 774 local governments inter-governmental squabbles down privileges advanced to the would share the rest in 26 and 17 and petition colony. Hence, people. per cent formula. the leadership was demanded Another classical case of global s at that time, no state of to douse tension and restore challenge resulting from oil glut the federation took home confidence. Obviously, Speaker is Venezuela, a South American l e s s t h a n N 4 b i l l i o n Najeem Salaam offered the vista country in the Caribbean that a m o n t h . S u d d e n l y , t h e through his methodical handling got independence from Spain government began to record of the fragile situation by providing in 1811, was an oil-rich country, shortage in cash, claiming that leadership without vitiating his which its petrol-dollar was used it was due to stealing of 400,000 loyalty to the governor. That to enhance the standard and cost barrels per day on the high sea was what some political pundits, of living of its people, and by through bunkering, and Jonathan who could not understand the the time Nigerian leaders were government was helpless for two interplay called “rubber stamp”, stealing and stashing government solid years, making Nigeria to but which the intelligentsia called funds abroad, its late leader, lose substantial trillions of dollars diplomatic leadership. Hugo Chavez, used the proceeds to oil theft that could not be of oil for the good of his people. justified beyond the narrative of As you are reading this piece, the compromised economic team. Brazil is going through political The last time I checked, all turmoil, for the country is going tiers of government shared N299 through economic challenges, billion, obviously less than what and the President was accused one third of what a buoyant of deceiving her country with Federal Government alone could fictitious figures like the one keep, now shared by the Federal sexed up by the infamous former Government, 36 states and 774 Minister of Finance in Nigeria, known local governments, and •To be continued
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fresh undergraduate, purposely to unravel incessant examination malpractices in her defence, with a ‘PR’ article one of the Nigeria’s education institutions (name withheld). inmeant to evoke sympathy from
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t took him four years to complete his investigation and at the end, it was established that the management of the school, the lecturers and the students were culprits of the shameful act. Interestingly, the identity of the undercover researcher remains unknown to date. Nobody from the school could fault his revelations because they were supported by pictures, audio and video evidences. In recent years, we have read about the whistle blowers, who went through different forms of difficulties to expose activities of government and individuals that are deemed illegal, unethical and untoward. Famous among the recent ones, aside from the WikiLeaks, Edward Snowden Leaks and the Panama papers – the biggest in history that exposed global corruption. In the latest leaks, more than 400 journalists from more than 100 media organisations in 80 countries, participated in the research of the Panama papers claims, and it took them 12 months to analyse the data that exposed how a global industry led by major banks, legal firms, and asset management companies secretly managed the estates of the world’s rich and famous: from among the politicians, FIFA officials, fraudsters, drug smugglers and many others. The biggest expose became “the den of the market” for the sophisticated Nigerian media the very first day some prominent Nigerians were listed in the scandal by an online medium, Premium Times, which also participated in the study. Former Senate President, David Mark and the embattled current Senate President, Bukola Saraki, who is facing 13 count charges at the CCT over asset falsification are prominent on the list. Others are former Defence Minister, Theophilus Danjuma; former Governor James Ibori of Delta State and controversial Pastor T.B. Joshua of the Synagogue Church of All Nations, among others. As usual, they all denied their involvement while speaking with the media. Although EFCC promised to investigate them, the role of the media cannot be over-emphasised as they can work collectively with the anti-graft agencies to unravel the truth about Nigerians named in the Panama papers. As we speak, no emerging findings and no known further investigation to corroborate the facts in the Panama papers is being undertaken. All we are being fed with on the pages of Nigerian newspapers are ‘sponsored’ or ‘syndicated’ stories, otherwise known as verbatim reporting. Today, in-depth or investigative
•lai mohammed
reporting is becoming elusive from the landscape and the erstwhile ever vibrant Nigerian journalists are gradually relapsing into ‘cash and carry’ reportage. There are a hundred and one (countless) unreported stories that had either been buried by the powers that be – the same people that control the media or simply swept under the carpet and consigned to the archives because of non profitability of investigative reporting. While it confers little or no financial benefits on individuals, the social benefits of investigative journalism are indeed enormous. But what is now in vogue is ‘garbage in, garbage out’ form of journalism. The fifth columnists have virtually hijacked the beautiful attraction of the media; they have re-defined news to mean ‘what they want people to hear/know’, not ‘what people ought to know/hear.’ Journalism experts and executive members of the Nigerian Guild of Editors, (NGE) Alli Hakeem, confirmed this, when he said; “a content analysis of a Nigerian newspaper today reveal that adverts and straight stories occupied prominent displays, leaving out investigated stories or issues”. In a paper presentation titled: “Investigative Journalism: The Endangered Genre”, Hakeem noted that contemporary journalists have become too content with verbatim reporting rather than in-depth reportage of raging issues leaving many unanswered questions in a
By rasheed abuba-
story. Without doubt, every ministry in Nigeria is corrupt. Don’t be deceived, there are no saints anywhere, probably five-10 per cent or so. Imagine a big company in Nigeria where its staffers receive N10,000 monthly salary, only for the same staff to deny such maltreatment from their principals the day the Nigerian Labour Congress (NLC) besieged the company for a showdown. ut the truth is that, upon hearing about the coming of NLC, the company had told its staffers to lie about their monthly wages and threatened to sack anybody who dared to speak the truth. The table was turned as the poor staff reluctantly accepted to cooperate with the company against their wish, because of the syndrome of ‘no job in town’. To add salt to the injury, the journalist, who came to do the findings, collected ‘brown envelope’ to bury the story. Although, some staff eventually left the company that was the last Nigeria heard of the story. The same reporters, who are supposed to revive investigative journalism, are now the mouthpiece for the corrupt elite, defending the atrocities of the wicked politicians who bled the country to stupour and participated in ruining its financial institutions. When a former minister was to face trial for corruption, bribery and money laundering charges, it was a popular publisher that wrote
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Nigerians, releasing a somewhat ‘edited’ picture of a sickening former minister. Of course, the picture went viral but its authenticity remains unconfirmed to date. There has been no follow-up stories from either the said publisher or any other Nigerian media/ journalist to prove the veracity of the story and unravel the mystery of the former minister’s health status. The question on the lips of many Nigerians is: will the erstwhile most powerful minister have remained incommunicado in the foreign land if former President Goodluck Jonathan had won the 2015 presidential election? That is what the one time vibrant Nigerian Journalism has suddenly become. Have you ever visited a federal or state-owned hospital? There are thousands of cases to be investigated, but why is it difficult to read those human interest stories on the pages of newspapers? Or is it that investigative journalism has died, ready to be buried? This is a serious concern for the practitioners. In government-owned hospitals, patients are packed like fish in general wards with a fee of N1,500 per night because they cannot afford to pay for private ward with prices ranging from N10,000 to N50,000 or more per night. Findings show that some federal hospitals charge as much as N500,000 per week for a private ward (fully air-conditioned, with Plasma TV) as if it is hospitality business! Apart from exploitation, there are cases of negligence from the doctors, nurses and hospital management that go unpublished. Some government hospitals cannot apply simple hygiene for patients but are often too quick to pay huge sums to public relations consultants that defend and cover their lies. Little wonder why it is generally believed that media has also contributed so much to Nigeria’s present predicament. What are the factors militating against investigative journalism in Nigeria? Are there remedies? Has the ‘Estate’ collapsed completely that it can no longer be rebuilt? Well, these are issues for another day. To be continued.
•Culled from The Renaissance
interview
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feature
‘Nigeria Has Hope Under Buhari’ The Menace Of Fulani Herdsmen And The Way Forward osun Defender Saturday, April 30, 2016
All Progressives Congress (APC) National Chairman Chief John Odigie-Oyegun, spoke with reporters in Benin City, the capital of Edo State, on efforts by the Buhari Administration to reposition the country. Ben Ogbemudia was there.
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igerians a r e complaining that President Mohammadu Buhari’s foreign trips constitute a waste of resources. What is your view? What makes me sad is that there are people who do not recognise the fact that Nigeria has almost become a pariah state; the fact that we have no respect all over the world, and the reality that the APC won the presidential election based on the personal credibility of the president; based on the respect he commands, not only in Nigeria, but the world over. It seems that most people do not recognise the very sorry state of the Nigerian economy. They say we should stop blaming anybody. I am not going to say I blame anybody, but the facts remains that the economy was ruined by the former regime. Fact number three, as if those two were not bad enough, is the reality that, in a few months the price of oil crashed, from about $120 per barrel about $30 to $40 per barrel. these are big problems in a state that was almost broke, the president need, the world’s assistance and the people are complaining. Because I always use this example, and I will not be tired in using it. Family income falls from N120 to N40, the family will feel the compulsion you will not be able to meet the needs. there will be need for him to take emergency measures to shore off the economic situation of the family, and the president is doing exactly the same thing. Take note that a rapid revival depends on the understanding of the rest of the world. The president has taken his prestige and time around the whole world to shore-up and polish our image, which has been badly damaged; to make it possible for world leaders to want to deal with a new Nigeria and to get the type of resources and the expenditure that we need badly, because the kind of problem we have are not the type that can wait for one or three years. We do not have the resources to revive the economy. so what the president is doing is a great inconvenience to his person. He is a well trained military officer. he trained abroad and he has been to most part of the world. so, it is not as if he enjoys going and spending sleepless nights in one capital to another. The countries he has visited are critical to peace in Nigeria or to our speedy economic revival. Think of country like China and the United States. The long and short of it is that Mr. President is getting the world to respect and know the new Nigeria and help in reviving the Nigerian economy.
•Odigie-oyegun
Ekiti State Governor, Ayo Fayose was said to have written to the Chinese Government not to honour President Buhari’s request for loan. Do you think that was the right thing? I hope Fayose did not really do what we are told he did. I don’t think even he is capable of descending into the low depth, but if he did, I feel sorry for him and the people of Ekiti State. It is almost one year the APC took over the government and the economy is still in doldrum. What is wrong.? Well, the budget is around the corner, succor will come, succor must come, because of the president’s personal commitment to Nigerians. he believes in the well being of the ordinary Nigerian. Everything he has done, including the foreign tours, is to gather all the support that is necessary to make a dramatic impact on the economic condition of Nigeria as quickly as possible. A lot of these things we did not create. Yet the president have pleaded with the people to be patient with him and he is working on all fronts, whether electricity or even the lingering fuel crisis. What is happening now is that arrangement is being made to ensure that we are seeing the last of it. The major problem Nigeria has is that we depended on just one product, the oil, price, which accounts for ninety percent of her foreign exchange. Both the fall in the oil and the foreign reserves means
we cannot sustain the consumer habit that we have. We don’t produce. even the oil we have is like cocoa beans. In 2016, we are still exporting cocoa beans, instead of processing. We don’t process because of selfish interest of few people who don’t wish this nation well. our refineries have never worked, because it is better for them to import. For the past 16 years, our refineries did not work because they were busy importing fuel and making huge profit. hey did not think of having petro chemical plant for the production of plastics. So, we have remained a raw material exporting country. Once this budget, which the agents of retrogression had tried to mess up, a few individuals out of pure selfish personal interest has tried to put their constituency projects and trickishly remove projects like the Lagos-Calabar rail project. It means that there are still people in our country who does not want change. The simple message is that change is not going to come easy because the agents of retrogression are still there. The APC principle of change must prevail. Change in our perception, change in the way we think. Our assurance to the country is that nothing is going to divert us from the change revolution which we have started. Did your party underrate the problems in the country? No. we didn’t underrate the
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problems but you see, you cannot come into government and stop the clock. Yes we have done a few little thing at the top, but after 16 years the rot in virtually all the institutions in this country is corrupt, so it takes time to put people in this major act to drive the system. Meanwhile we are doing the best we can to make sure everything moves on well. There were reports that you will be removed from office. Is it true? You know nothing like that ever happened. If you are a leader and you don’t offend people, it means something must be wrong with your leadership. you cannot agree with everybody, and you cannot do what everybody want. Some people are hiding behind the media, on something that emanated from outside the party. I needed a rest and I called the media and said I am going away for ten days, the gentle man standing by me will act till I return, and that is the gentle man they said moved to my office. Saraki is presently facing trial before code of conduct tribunal. Is your party envisaging soft landing for him? What is soft landing when the judicial process is almost completed . Soft landing means we are going to interfere, tell judge the kind of judgment he should deliver. If we do that what is the change we are preaching? I don’t know about the PDP producing the Senate President. But, starting from where you started, the party doesn’t have anything to do with the court case. we do not know how it originated. It is a judicial process. And this is a regime of change that believes in due process. There are allegations of attempts by some people to utter the delegates’ list for Edo governorship election.? The aspirants did not come to Abuja. to protest any attempt to temper with the delegates’ list. The party called them and read the riot act to them as regards their campaign. After the meeting, they paid me a courtesy call where I assured them that the primary, will be free and fair as far as I remain the National Chairman of the party. There will be no alteration and the delegate’s list is under lock and key. If there is any justified reason that someone who is a delegate is late or has left the party, the party will critically look at the reason and effect the genuine change.
•Culled From The Nation.
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he p r i m a r y purpose of government in any society is predicated on the protection of lives and property of the citizenry and where this is absent, the government is deemed to have failed because no meaningful development can take place in an environment of insecurity. This position about the primacy of security as being fundamental to the optimal functioning of man for the good of society is better appreciated and emphasized in the American socio psychologist, Abraham Maslow’s famous theory of five hierarchy of needs, in which the needs of man is highlighted in a pyramidal form, such that if the lower needs are not met or satisfied, man cannot move up to the satisfaction of the next level of need, starting from the satisfaction of the below physiological need, followed by the safety or security need, then by belonginess or love, esteem and self actualization needs. It is with the hindsight of the concern for societal safety of lives and property, that one is greatly disturbed by the menace of insecurity in our land, which daily manifests as a hydra-headed monster in different shapes, sizes and colour, such as in alleged Fulani herdsmen invasion and killings on farmlands and villages, terrorism by Boko Haram, kidnappings for ransom, rape, oil and gas pipeline vandalism, armed robbery, cattle rustlings, etc. However, the issue of alleged Fulani herdsmen invasion and killings of farmers and villagers across the country from Plateau to Benue to Nasarawa, to Enugu states, etc seems to have of late, overshadowed other crimes and has assumed a frightening dimension because of the collateral damage to lives and property, as well as the threat to national security. In as much as we must as a people condemn criminality of any sort at anywhere and at any time because of its negative effect on the society, it is also important to admonish our people to be careful not to rush to judgment or be incited on the identity of the attackers or perpetrators of a crime, based on the reportage of the press or eye witness, in view of our historical political history of ethnic and religious hostility, which is a reality of the times and a debilitating hindrance to national unity and cohesion. The constitutional responsibility for investigating, identifying and prosecuting the perpetrators of a crime in a sane society is the duty of the police, whose job can be enhanced by eye witness or victims’ account. The law, in order to avert the state becoming a breeding ground for anarchy by resort to self help by persons or groups, who may want to settle personal scores, vest these powers exclusively in the police, which is a trained, professional and impartial institution. One must also remind our people to realize that the herdsmen and farmers clash did not just start yesterday or began since the coming on board of the President Buhari’s administration on May 29th, 2015, but that the clashes is a regular phenomenon since time immemorial, but has only attracted regular media attention because
osun Defender Saturday, April 30, 2016
admonish the security agencies to realize that they have a constitutional and sacred responsibility for the protection of lives and property, thus it behooves on them to rise up to the occasion to investigate, identify, arrest and prosecute these criminals and their sponsors, who have violated the Constitution, stoking up ethnic tension, undermining national security and embarrassing the nation. he security agencies must e x p a n d a n d reinvigorate their intelligence network to keep watch over the activities of herdsmen, which is suspected to have been infiltrated by Boko Haram elements to unleash violence on innocent farmers, villagers and thus undermining national security. All leads must be thoroughly investigated to curb the excesses of these alledged Fulani herdsmen invaders. We must also, as part of our patriotic duty to complement government efforts in ensuring safety of lives and property as well as harmonious and peaceful coexistence among the various ethnic nationalities inhabiting the Nigerian geographical space, call on the Federal Government to immediately begin exploring measures of curbing the incessant herdsmen and farmers clashes by encouraging and mobilizing the states since they are the ones constitutionally entrusted with land ownership to look at the prospect of building of ranches with modern facilities, as a means of revenue for grazing herds, since animal husbandry is big business and in that way, jobs and wealth will be created, healthy and nutritious cattle will be raised. The government must as a matter of necessity and urgency put in place machinery for the education and sensitization of herdsmen on the modern day realities of animal husbandry, as against the old practices of moving herds on foot from farmland to farmland, which is a source of threat to their lives, occupation and national security. The government must as well tighten security at the borders, in order to check the influx of migrating herdsmen from our neighbouring countries, who have been alleged to be the chief instigator of the perennial herdsmen and farmers clashes. •Ekujumi wrote-in this piece from Lagos.
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of the intensity and widespread in which political undertone cannot be overlooked. In fact, some conspiracy theorists have come up with the explanation that the notoriety of the menace of the alleged Fulani herdsmen attack in recent times could be the handiwork of fifth columnists and agents of the old order of lawlessness and impunity, who are using it as a tool of revenge to blackmail, incite the people and cause ethnic disharmony in the land in order to endanger national peace and security. But be that as it may, it is hoped that the security agencies will immediately swing into action to investigate, arrest and prosecute these criminals and their sponsors, who have and are committing crime against humanity and undermining national security. However, before we go further, it is important to ask that, how did we get here? By this, one meant that, how did the spirit of oneness and brotherliness, which hitherto existed between the herdsmen and farmers in the not too distant past, degenerate to such an alarming level of war, in which they have resorted to unleashing violence? If my memory serves me right, one recollects that as a young boy, we were regaled with tales of how herdsmen and farmers mutually coexisted in such a peaceful manner that the farmers invited the herdsmen to graze their herds on their farms and pollinate the soil through the waste product of the cows, which was used as manure for the next planting season. So, like we asked, what happened or strained the comradelier relationship to a frightening dimension that has resulted in both parties not seeing eye-to-eye again? The answer is not far-fetched and it could be traced to a breakdown in our social relations and values, which today is the root cause of most of our societal ills. The state is also culpable for the crisis that we are confronted with today because as time went by, the issue of cattle rustling or theft became a big issue that the herdsmen had to contend with because of the failure of the state to guarantee their safety in carrying out their pastoral existence. We are very much aware that a lot of times, we read or listen to reports of herdsmen who were attacked and at times killed by cattle rustlers, who stole their herds. In fact, it was a big security concern and the poor or nonresponse of the state to addressing this issue of criminality against the herdsmen is naturally responsible for them taking the law into their hands to protect themselves and their herds,
since the state can no longer guarantee their security. This can be explained as the genesis of how the herdsmen resorted to selfhelp and became carriers of automatic rifles and dangerous weapons, as well as rampagers on private farmlands, following the failure of the state to protect them. Unfortunately, this non-chalant attitude or conspiratorial silence of the state emboldened them to be lawless because they came to view the owners of the farms on which they graze their herds as collaborators or informants to cattle rustlers and thus must also bear the brunt of their bottled-up anger, which is rather unfortunate and condemnable. he complicity of the state in allowing the herdsmen and farmers clashes to degenerate to this level of crime against humanity can also be explained by asking how or what is the source of the herdsmen acquisition of automatic rifles, while the security agencies looked the other way? Or can the security agencies explain to us whether they are the ones who granted these herdsmen, the permit or license to carry automatic weapons, since we know that such weapons are not permissible by law to be in possession of individuals? We must also ask that, what has been the response of our security agencies to unraveling how herdsmen in possession of automatic rifles like AK 47, acquired the expertise to use such firearms? Unfortunately, some persons and groups, who are staunch supporters of the immediate-past administration at the centre, which was voted out of office at the 2015 polls by the Nigerian people, have latched onto the latest crisis as payback time and are the ones wolfishly crying loudest by their resort to politicizing, blackmail and whipping up of sentiments against the present administration on a crisis that has been allowed to fester for so long by the irresponsibility of past governments and are trying to manipulate the citizenry to make it seem as though the President Buhari administration is maintaining a conspiratorial silence, just because the President committed the unpardonable and inexcusable crime of being a Fulani man, even in the face of the obvious fact of statements condemning the atrocities and directives from the Federal Government to the security agencies to move into the crisis areas to arrest the situation. Thus the time has come to
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Operations Officer · Abuja, Market Related · Job Type: Permanent · Sector: Management · Posted on Tuesday, April 26, 2016 · Reference: 159216 Job Details A fast growing firm operating in the construction and oil and gas sectors of the economy is desirous of filling some vacancies due to expansion and will want only those who are highly experienced to apply. Responsibilities · Coordinate, manage and monitor the workings of various departments in the organization. · Review financial statements and data. · Utilize financial data to improve profitability. · Prepare and control operational budgets. · Establish organizational structures. · Monitor, manage and improve the efficiency of support services such as IT, HR, Accounts and Finance. Candidate Requirements · Bachelor’s degree in business administration, commerce, management, industrial technology or industrial engineering. · 2 - 3 years relevant experience. · critical thinking and problem solving skills · planning and organizing · decision-making · communication skills Apply before Saturday, June 25, 2016 - 61 Days left Companies may expire jobs at their own discretion. ………………………….end………………….. Project Manager · Abuja, Market Related · Job Type: Permanent · Sector: Construction · Posted on Tuesday, April 26, 2016 · Reference: 159215 Job Details A fast growing firm operating in the construction and oil and gas sectors of the economy is desirous of filling some vacancies due to expansion and will want only those who are highly experienced to apply. Responsibilities · Implementation of company HSE and security policies to ensure safe work environment. · Construction coordination and supervision. · Plan and coordination all aspects of the construction process. Candidate Requirements · Bachelor’s degree in Civil/Structural Engineering. · Minimum of 5 years post qualification experience in civil/structural engineer and construction engineering. · Broad construction experience. · Project management skills. · Ability to handle multiple activities simultaneously. · Ability to work in a diverse multicultural environment. · Proficient in the use of various desktop applications. Apply before Saturday, June 25, 2016 - 61 Days left Companies may expire jobs at their own discretion. …………………end………………… Sales Support Technician · Rivers, Market Related · Job Type: Permanent · Sectors: Sales, Technical · Posted by Compovine Technologies Ltd on Tuesday, April 26, 2016 · Reference: 159214 Job Details Employer: Compovine Technologies Ltd Compovine Technologies Limited, an indigenous company with the main aim of offering Information Technology, sales and services to individuals and Corporate organizations, is recruiting to fill the vacant position: Responsibilities: · searching for new clients who might benefit from company products or services and maximising client potential in designated regions; · developing long-term relationships with clients, through managing and interpreting their requirements; · persuading clients that a product or service best satisfies their needs in terms of quality, price and delivery; · negotiating tender and contract terms and conditions to meet both client and company needs; · calculating client quotations and administering client accounts; · providing pre-sales technical assistance and product education; · working on after-sales support services and providing technical back up as required; · arranging and carrying out product training; · analysing costs and sales; · preparing reports for head office and keeping customer records; · meeting regular sales targets and coordinating sales projects; · supporting marketing activities by attending trade shows, conferences and other marketing events; · making technical presentations and demonstrating how a product meets client needs; · liaising with other members of the sales team and other technical experts; · helping in the design of custom-made products; · providing training and producing support material for other members of the sales team. Candidate Requirements · Bachelor’s degree in a related discipline. · Knowledge in Computer Engineering/Networking. · Minimum of 3 years cognate experience. Apply before Friday, May 6, 2016 - 11 Days left Companies may expire jobs at their own discretion. ………………..end…………….. Senior Facilities Engineer · Lagos, Market Related · Job Type: Permanent · Sectors: Oil & Gas, Engineering, Technical, Graduate · Posted on Tuesday, April 26, 2016 · Reference: 159209 Job Details We are a leading Oil & Gas Company operating in upstream sector with great potentials. We have opportunities for passionate and skillful professionals who are poised to
display their competencies. We are recruiting to fill the vacant position: Job Description · The Senior Facilities Engineer must have a good knowledge of facilities’ practices and principles in piping, process and facility engineering. · Must also be competent in the conceptual design, FEED and detailed engineering design, includes but not limited to the development/review of PFDs & P&lDs, facility revamps, optimization, Debottlenecking of Crude Oil Processing Platforms/Flowstation and Crude Oil Stabilization System Candidate Requirements · Minimum of a Bachelor’s Degree in Mechanical Engineering or other relevant Engineering Degree (Petroleum/Chemical). · A Master’s Degree in Engineering will be an added advantage. · A minimum of ten (10) years of relevant experience in an E&P company with a track record of engineering design/ operations of oil & Gas facilities. · Provide support in the design and development of production facilities from conception through implementation, including wellheads. flowlines, pipelines, oil/ water/gas separation, conditioning and processing facilities. · Technical evaluation of quotation, project schedule and participate in the commercial evaluation of projects · Trouble shoot the process plant problems, suggest feasible short term and long term solution to problems · Develop, moctily/review scope of work procedures/project execution plan in line with relevant specification and industry codes for job safely analysis. · Manage and supervise engineering design and installation of repair works on company projects. · Must be able to communicate effectively with all levels of Management and Contactors. · Must be result oriented and committed to company goals. Apply before Tuesday, May 3, 2016 - 8 Days left Companies may expire jobs at their own discretion. ……………..end……………… Training Consultant/Business Development Executive · Lagos, ¦ 150 000 - ¦ 250 000 Per Month · Job Type: Permanent · Sectors: Human Resources, Legal · Posted by Pedagogue100 International Limited on Monday, April 25, 2016 · Reference: 158848 Job Details Employer: Pedagogue100 International Limited A well-established and reputable legal skills training company based in Lekki Phase 1, Lagos State is looking to hire a Training Consultant/Business Development Executive. The role of the Training Consultant Business Development Executive to assist in the development and delivery of a range of training events such as seminars, conferences, corporate on-boarding, and corporate retreats; seeking opportunities to generate income through sponsorship, attendance, and commercial activities. RESPONSIBILITIES: · To investigate, collect and define the training needs within different corporate organizations · To schedule and prepare event steering group meetings · To identify and book locations for the events, liaise with location management for booking, catering and logistical arrangements · In charge of business development and the marketing and promotion of the events. · In charge of the timely production and circulation of flyers and other information relating to event publicity, such as other organisations’ websites, appropriate mailing lists and the media · Contribute actively to decisions on marketing events; compiling databases of likely interest, drafting and circulating emails and telephoning individuals · To set up and manage the delegate booking arrangements as appropriate for each event, up to and including sending out invoices · Find sponsorship and exhibitors for conferences and other events · Compile and send out speaker and delegate information · Assemble and arrange delivery of delegate packs, name badges and exhibition stand and material as appropriate · Manage the booking couriers and timely delivery and return of exhibition stands, computer equipment and documents · Manage the event on the day, including setting up, instructing external contractors and internal staff assistance · Researching markets to identify opportunities for events. · Identifying and securing speakers or special guests. · Overseeing the dismantling and removal of equipment at the event and clearing the venue efficiently. · Post-event evaluation (including data entry and analysis and producing reports for event stakeholders. Candidate Requirements EDUCATION · Candidates for this position must possess minimum of a degree (Degree or Masters in HR is preferable) EXPERIENCE AND SKILLS: · Candidates must have at least 2 years relevant and demonstrable previous experience · Candidate must be able to work independently and confidently · Candidate must have a driver’s license and be able to drive · Excellent written English and oral communication skills for drafting and proofreading materials · Excellent organizational skills, particularly in managing time and tasks · A keen eye for detail and the ability to produce high quality, accurate work in tight timescales with limited supervision · Computer literate with at intermediate experience of the Microsoft suite of programs, particularly MS Word, Excel and PowerPoint · Social media savvy · Technical awareness to set up PowerPoint and other simple AV systems when technicians are not around · The confidence to liaise with speakers and senior officials from Government departments, other professional bodies and learned societies, the media and a diverse range of external contacts · A welcoming and helpful approach when dealing with members in person at events and over the telephone · The job holder will have, or may need to develop financial awareness to produce and monitor budgets · Marketing experience and an understanding of the value of direct mail in promoting events to members. Apply before Friday, June 24, 2016 - 60 Days left Companies may expire jobs at their own discretion. ………………end…………….
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interview
osun Defender Saturday, April 30, 2016
Osun Challenging Period ‘ll Soon Be Over - Ex-SSA Remi Ajibewa was a Senior Special Assistant (SSA) to Governor of the State of Osun in the Office of Economic Development and Partnership (OEDP) during the first term in office. She hails from Edun-Abon, Ife North Local Government Council Area of the state. In this interview with KAZEEM MOHAMMED, she appraised the administration of Governor Rauf Aregbesola and canvassed for support for his administration, among other issues. Excerpts:-
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SDF: We have seen people criticising Governor Rauf Aregbesola for doing things or not doing things. As far as you are concerned, how will you rate the current administration in Osun? AJIBEWA: Ogbeni Aregbesola is a vibrant person and he is working militantly to see that the people of Osun are comfortable and enjoy what is called good governance. The criticism against Aregbesola might have been the result of the fact that people don’t understand much about him, probably because he was once a Lagos person before coming to the state. The truth is that he was so aggressive to ensure that the lots of the people are improved. He has passion for the state. As a committed politician, he is ready to do everything possible to bring development to the state, but unfortunately, the issue of fund has always been cog in the wheel of progress. During his first term in office, we all saw what he did; how he turned around the state, to the extent that he embarked on so many projects, hoping that the fund would be flowing as it used to be, but unfortunately, the oil price, which is the major source of revenue for this country crashed, forcing all the states of the federation to be wallowing in dwindling resources. So, I see the criticism against him as either political vituperation or lack of patience. I am saying this because the economic recession that we are facing is not peculiar to the state and Aregbesola is working round the clock to get over it, especially through internal revenue generation, hence, the need for all of us to be patient with him and support his quest for revenue generation. OSDF: What are the things that you can point to as some of the achievements you can count for Aregbesola? AJIBEWA: My brother, there are so many of them. In the area of educational development, infrastructural development, qualitative healthcare delivery, job creation directly or indirectly, development of commerce and many other areas of governance, Aregbesola has no doubt done very well. If you look at it, there is no state in the federation where you see the kind of super structures that Aregbesola is constructing in our elementary, middle ad high schools across the state. Before the intervention of this administration, majority of these structures were dilapidated and life-risky for pupils, but today that has changed. Free school meals were being given to pupils at elementary schools, and I must tell you findings showed that this gesture alone has heavily increased the enrolment into public school. Do you also want to talk of the distribution of Opon-Imo to High School students which has now become a reference point all over the world. The initiative has won award in so many places of the world, because it is a milestone. Also, free uniforms were distributed to this public school pupils. Teachers were also encouraged, not until when
the agreement. o, what is required of all of us is to support him for things to improve and I am sure, soon, we will all have cause to smile. OSDF: What do you think should be the way out of this economic recession? AJIBEWA: I think we must diversify the economy by paying more focus to agriculture, so that it would improve our economic situation. Osun is blessed with fertile land and the government has created an enabling environment for agriculture to thrive, but it is left for all of us to use the advantage, rather than expecting that government will do everything for us. Apart from that, it is important for all of us to pay our taxes regularly because that is the major source through which the government can get revenue locally since the resources from the federal is no longer coming. By paying our taxes, the government will have enough funds for the development of our state. So, I want to encourage the people to ensure regular payment of their taxes. OSDF: What is your message to the people of the state? AJIBEWA: The people of Osun have been trying their best to support the government, but more of it is needed. We must erase this judgemental spirit in our mind and decide to work with the government both at the state and national level, so that we can develop, rather than castigating the government. This is a trying period, but it is just temporary, things would definitely improve. OSDF: What is your view about the involvement of women in politics and in governance these days? AJIBEWA: Women are actually facing a lot of discrimination when it comes to politics and governance. We are not being supportive at all, especially in this kind of environment. When you show interest to be deeply involve, you begin to hear a lot of negative stories and people will begin to discourage you. We must not continue this way, things must change because we also have a lot of ideas to make things work for us, not just to sing and dance in political campaigns. It is very sadden that women that are joining politics are seeing as being arrogant and people who are not submissive to their husband, this kind of orientation must change. Leaving our men counterpart aisde, even women are sometimes working against themselves, which is very unfortunate and we must change the trend. Therefore, I am charging other women on top to encourage other women so that we can all be involved and also use the ideas that we have to facilitate development. I also want to encourage women who have things to offer not to relent, one day, we will get there. This is the time for us to also make contributions.
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•AJIBEWA
the economic recession came and it required everyone to make sacrifice. Apart from that, in the history of this state, there has not been a government that has constructed roads massively as Aregbesola did both in the rural and urban areas and we can all see it everywhere. Despite the eceonomic problem, if you go to some places now, especially in Osogbo, you will still road construction work still going on and that tells you the kind of passion he has for the development of the state. On the healthcare delivery, you will observe that the system has changed from what it used to be, we now have befitting health facilities where you see drugs and other things required to get qualitative healthcare delivery. part from that youths and women have been empowered through empowerment schemes like OYES, OREAP and soft loans for women among others. These are thing that can develop the economy which he is doing and I believe he deserve our support to be able to achieve more in the face of the economic downturn. OSDF: But some people are saying that the governor has not achieve anything reasonable? AJIBEWA: I will say that is just a political castigation because he has achieved a lot, except those who want to be mischievous. Those who can not seen can hear, except those who don’t want to hear. Afterall, we have heard series of mischievious allegations, sponsored by his political enemies, but we found that they were all lies, but the truth is that Aregbesola has made a mark in the development of this state.
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What is clear is that Aregbesola political enemies want to capitalise on the economic challenges we are facing in this state to castigate him which they have always been known for, but Osun people are so intelligent and wise more than all those trivial issues. This is a challenging period for all of us in this state, both the government and the governed and I am sure that soon, we shall overcome. OSDF: There is this issue of delay in salaries of workers, can we blame the situation on the state government or the dwindling resources? AJIBEWA: One should not blame the workers for demanding the prompt payment of their salaries because they work for it, but one cannot also blame the governor or the state government because the situation is beyond them. The major source of income for us in this nation is oil and once the price of the oil has dropped, it will affect all strata of the economic. That is why you see about 30 states of the federation not able to meet their salary obligations, Osun is even better. Before we got to the situation we are, things were not like this, workers were getting their salaries before the end of every month and they even got 13th month salaries. If there is no any problem, we all know that Aregbesola is workers-friendly and he would do everything possible to please them, but the situation could not allow him to do that now. You will recall that when the situation became so serious, the government negotiated with labour unions on new salary structure and since then, as hard as it is, he has been honouring
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igerians are certainly resilient. We are hard working. Some describe us as ruthless, while some say Nigerians are docile. Surprisingly, all these epithets describe Nigerians. It is in Nigeria that the followers would allow their leaders to take them through a rudderless path, yet, they pretend as if all is well. Indeed and in reality, given the potentials of the country, Nigeria can excel and be recognised among the most developed states among the world, yet we are very poor. However, all the benefits of nature, in terms of human and material resources, pale into insignificance, if juxtaposed with mediocre leadership. The level of abundance of the natural resources in the country does not in any way justify the level of poverty. If anything at all, Nigerians have become accustomed to living from hand to mouth. Besides the level of infrastructural decay in the land, the level of insecurity, poverty rate, mortality rate and the hardship the ordinary people go through, is unbearable. The military leadership was accused of profligacy because it is believed they deepened corruption in the land. It was the contention of the first military leadership that the first republican leaders were swimming in the cesspool of corruption. By the time the first hand-over from the military to civilians took place in 1979, Nigerians had realised that the military were not corruptfree, as they claimed after all. Again, after only four years in the barracks (1979-1983), there was a putsch that brought the military back into politics. The simple reason was that the top-brass of the military had become accustomed to and enjoyed power. It is therefore not surprising that two of the former military heads of states have won elections as democratically elected Presidents. They have now adapted to consensus building, and due process. With the return to democracy for the second time in our political history in 1999, ushering in the fourth republic, the level of political education and the fight for personal liberty and the establishment of rule of law have become entrenched. There are certain economic challenges that have been with us for sometime. Two of these are the perennial scarcity of fuel leading to queuing up in fuel stations by motorists, sometimes motorists sleep over at fuel stations. Hoarding of fuel at homes leading to the burning of such houses also frequently occur. Another bane in the society is the growing unemployment among our
Audacious Exploit with Murtala Agboola Tel: 0806-119-7897 E-mail: murtalamuag@yahoo.com
Are Nigerians Becoming Restive?
•Occupy NASS protest.
youths. Due to erratic power supply, some companies have folded up or gone to other nearby countries, where business is conducive. In the past, the political leadership betrayed the trust of the people, such that any promise made by a leader is viewed with suspicion. This is so because the lifestyle of the Politically Exposed People (PEP) is at variance with that of the majority of the people. The leaders give sermon on why the people should persevere and endure but their lifestyle is contrary to what they preach. This has made it difficult for people to believe the leaders. It is against this backdrop of suspicion of leaders that President Muhammad Buhari came to power. Such misgivings and suspicion has not helped matters, such that with the best of intentions, the leaders are still looked at with suspicion. Unfortunately for Buhari, he came to power when the revenue from our mono-cultural economy has nosedived. Getting foreign exchange to service our large imports came with its challenges. Get a necessity like petrol in an erratic electricity supply society like ours became a herculean task. Most Nigerians I have interacted
with about the current government do admit the fact that Buhari is genuine and sincere in the fact against corruption. He is also deeply touched by the state of the common man that he does not want to allow for a totally deregulated petroleum sector, where profit motive would become the dominant factor in the sector. Whether he would succeed or not is another conjecture, I however, pray he succeeds. His rejection of devaluation as a solution to our balance of payment problem has my blessings because reducing the value of our naira in relation to other foreign currencies would not work. It is simple economics. e do not have the wherewitha l to m a ke devaluation succeed. Some analysts, however, posit that it is the President alone that is fighting the war. Incidentally, at this time that most Nigerians are going through excruciating times, the authorities at the Nigerian Senate elected to procure 36 pieces of Toyota Land Cruiser SUV at the rate of N36 million each. The unemployment situation is not abating. Civil servants are being owed salary arrears. Small-scale
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entrepreneurs are finding it difficult, if not impossible to survive. The few that manage to produce are not getting patronage. This stems from the fact that the salaried personnel that would purchase goods and services do not have the purchasing power. Again, because the salary earners are not getting paid, the revenue due to government in terms of the personal income tax (PAYE) is not forthcoming. Also the Value Added Tax (VAT), which simply means purchase tax has by implication reduce drastically. ll t h e s e c h a l l e n g e s notwithstanding, the sincerity on the part of government can see them through. The government must contend with the propaganda of the opposition, which will always exploit any seeming difficulties. If the fact must be stated, the rot of sixteen years cannot be undone in a year. It is my contention, however, that there is even more challenging situation for governments now because our economy has grown from analogue it used to be to a digital one. In the past, when officials of Power Holding Company of Nigeria comes around to cut electricity supply, all one needs to do is to get electrician to fix it or simply bribe their officials to restore it. This is not possible now with the Distribution Companies (DISCOS) Other basic needs that must be met on monthly basis for salary earners include telephone bills, gas purchase and subscription to pay television. This simply means that the average person must earn a regular income for him to be able to fund these basic expenditures besides taking care of domestic needs in the home and expenses on the family. It is in view of this that I am of the view that the government has to do more to ensure that able-bodied people are engaged. Private entrepreneurs should also be given conducive atmosphere to produce, so as to engage jobless youths. Great leaders who etched their names in gold never got it on a platter of gold. They were able to turn worse situations around for the better. This government should remain focused and get things done, else history will not be favourable to it. Some civil societies are groups are now trying to occupy the National Assembly in Abuja to prevent them from enacting unpopular policies and to tailor their actions to be in tune with current realities. The otherwise docile people have now become restive. Can elected representatives of the people choose to ignore the feelings of the people? Is our Arab spring at the corner? Time will surely tell.
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