Osun Defender August 21st 2014, Edition by OsunDefender

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www.osundefender.org THURSDAY, AUGUST 21, 2014

The victory of the All Progressives Congress, APC in last Saturday’s gubernatorial election in Osun State reinforces the opposition against a seemingly rampaging political train of President Goodluck Jonathan

It was a welcome relief to the national leader of the APC, Asiwaju Bola Ahmed Tinubu. Those who saw him yesterday morning asthe result of the Osun State governorship poll was

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Front Page Comment

Osun and 2015: The game changer Besides being an declared said they saw a man greatly relieved but reinforced for the battle ahead.

elixir to the opposition that was badly traumatized by defeat in Ekiti a month ago, the

VOL. 9. NO.100

Osunvictory acts as a spring for the opposition towards the 2015 presidential prize that was being considered a foregone booty of the ruling Peoples Democratic Party, PDP. The message yesterday

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was that 2015 is still within play. Despite earlier claims by the APC that the presidency was determined to rig the election in favour of the PDP’s Senator Iyiola Omisore, the outcome of the election showed the limit to which President Goodluck Jonathan would go in forcing his will on the electorate. Continue on pg5

Weeping Spree In Omisore’s House

•Over Aug 9 Governorship Election

- See Story On Page 2

Jelili Adesiyan In Trouble - Pg 3 •As Panel Orders Him Served Summon Notice Through Newspaper

Osun Plans Housing Scheme For Teachers - Pg 3 Osun Election: Why PDP - Pg 3 Heads For Tribunal

•The governor, State of Osun, Ogbeni Rauf Aregbesola (middle); his deputy, Otunba (Mrs) Grace Titi Laoye-Tomori (2nd left); Alhaji Bolaji Isiaka (left); ALGON 1999 Chairman, State of Osun, Alhaji Kareem Afolabi (2nd right) and his P.R.O. Alhaji Rasheed Oyedele, during the congratulatory visit to the governor on his victory in the 2014 governorship election at Government House, Osogbo, last Monday.

Aug Election: How PDP Deployed Fake DSS Officials To Osun - See Story On Page 3

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OSUN DEFENDER Thursday, August 21, 2014

Weeping Spree In Omisore’s House •Over Aug 9 Governorship Election

EQUEL to the announcement of the August 9 governorship election in the State of Osun, the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) candidate in the election, Senator Iyiola Omisore, reportedly wept over his defeat. It was gathered that few The PDP candidate had then hours after the declaration of the assured his relatives, staff and election, Omisore, who had supporters that they would all earlier been holding his tears enjoy when he becomes the eventually betrayed his governor. emotion. He was reported to have Seeing the mood of their even assured some of his benefactor, some relatives, supporters of specific political supporters and domestic staff appointments. of the defeated PDP candidate To this end, prior to and on burst into tears. the election day, the domestic Omisore had before the staff and relatives had started election boasted that no matter wining and dining, with the the circumstance, he would be expectation that their declared the winner of the benefactor would be declared election, as all the Federal the winner the following G o v e r n m e n t - s p o n s o r e d morning. machinery had been put in On hearing the result of the place to actualise his dream. election, the celebration mood

quickly changed, as the domestic staff and relative who had gathered for celebration burst into tears and wept profusely. It was gathered that Omisore controlled his emotion until Monday when he began to speak to himself, saying, “with all the efforts I put in, so I can lose this election”, and eventually burst into tears. An eyewitness told this medium that it took the efforts of those around him for him to be consoled. Reports showed that the case was not different in the houses of many PDP leaders across the state, as some of them who had also spent money on their own with a view to getting political appointments could also not control their emotion.

Further investigation showed that Omisore was being addressed as ‘Your Excellency’ since the time he indicated his intention to vie for the Osun governorship seat. Part of our investigation also showed that none of his supporters could talk to him while standing; anybody who wanted to talk to him must either bend down or lie down, depending on the status of such supporters; not even his running mate, Barrister Adejare Bello, was having such effrontery to greet him on his feet. The defeated PDP governorship candidate who was using Federal Government vehicle for his campaign was already using siren despite the fact that the state government had outlawed the use of siren

By OUR REPORTER by those who are not authorized by the law of the state to use it. It was learnt that the Ile-Ifeborn governorship candidate had made a superlative arrangement for the celebration of his victory which he was sure of because of the Federal power behind him. Further investigation also revealed that customized uniform and many cows had been purchased for the celebration of his victory in the August 9, 2014 governorship election. Sources close to Ile-Ife hinted that on the day Omisore campaigned in the town, so many uniforms were sewn by his supporters in commemoration of the events. It was equally learnt that the day the election result was announced by Osun INEC, it was as if a major disaster hit the ancient town. Another turbulent session in the Ile-Ife home of the failed PDP governorship candidate was the jostling for the position of ‘First Lady’ by the numerous women in his life. Omisore was so confused in this regard to the extent that the war over ‘First Lady’ almost tore his household into shreds. The source of the confusion of Omisore was because many of the women in his life are far older than him. Investigation showed that there is a particular one who hails from Ilobu in Irepodun Local Government Council Area of the state who was laying

absolute claim to the first ladyship position, saying “afterall, it was in my house in Ilobu that Otunba’s mother died. I took care of the woman till she breathed her last. This is the time for Otunba to compensate me”. According to further investigation, the snag there was that the Ilobu woman is old enough to be Otunba’s aunt. It was gathered that human traffic to the Ile-Ife residence of Omisore is becoming thinner everyday since after he lost the election. Sources close to the residence hinted that the Ile-Ife-born defeated PDP candidate has not been sleeping well in the night since the declaration of the result. One of his aides said: “Oga doesn’t sleep well again since August 9. He wakes up in the night murmuring what one could not really say. Oga was so sure he would win the election. “But now that it has gone the other way, Oga’s family and friends should come to his aid to calm him afterall, 2018 is fast approaching when he will have time to try his luck again”. The aide said, immediately the result of the election was read out by INEC, everybody started crying including their principal. He said: “It was a weeping spree in our house that day. I don’t pray for that kind of day again in my life. Oga’s expectation about the election was too high”.

Osun Election: Why PDP Heads For Tribunal By ISMAEEL UTHMAN •(L-R) Chief Tunde Badmus (TUNS); Governor, State of Osun, Ogbeni Rauf Aregbesola and Senator Bayo Salami, during the thanksgiving Jumat service for celebration of the victory of Governor Aregbesola as the winner of the 2014 governorship election at Oja-Oba Central Mosque, Osogbo, recently.

‘Osun Election, A Divine Intervention’ T By KAZEEM MOHAMMED

development of the state by giving Aregbesola another fouryear term. He noted that in spite of the huge amount of money spent by the opposition, the people stood firm, saying with that singular action, the people have shown to the whole world that they are exceptional and cannot be bought over. Awofisayo then noted that Aregbesola’s achievements in his first term would be a tip of the iceberg of what to witness in the second term of the

HE re-election of the State of Osun Governor Rauf Aregbesola in the August 9, 2014 governorship election has been described as a divine intervention. The State Commissioner for extent of polarising religious Information and Strategy, Mr groups, but we are happy that Sunday Akere and the our religious leaders of all Chairman, Osun State extractions stood firm and Universal Basic Education disallowed themselves to be Board (SUBEB), Prince Felix deceived,” he said. Awofisayo stated this on While speaking, Prince Monday at a special Awofisayo said through the thanksgiving service organised election, the people of Osun by the board to celebrate have clearly shown their Aregbesola’s victory at the commitment to the poll. Akere stated that God has used Osun to save democracy in Nigeria, noting that if there had been manipulation in the election, Osun and probably the whole country would have EMBERS of the State House of Assembly of Osun been on fire. have commended the Independent National According to him, this might Electoral Commission (INEC) for performing above have led to the military taking average in the just-concluded governorship election in the over governance of the country, state. as the reaction of the people Governor Rauf Aregbesola election last Saturday had would have been gravious. “We thank God that the of the All Progressives shown that democracy has election went well, because if Congress (APC) defeated the come to stay in Nigeria. They pointed out that the contrary had happened, by Peoples Democratic Party now Osun would have been on (PDP) candidate, Iyiola election, which was peaceful fire, and probably, military Omisore and other candidates and crisis-free had proven to the international community at the election. would have taking over. The lawmakers, including that Nigerians could elect “The victory in this election Deputy Speaker, credible leaders through their is for the people because the Akintunde votes. despite the inducement with Honourable Adegboye and Binuyo also the money that should have Adegboye and the Chief been used for development, the Whip, Honourable Ipoola commended the electorate for people stood firm and followed Binuyo, also extolled the their peaceful conduct before, Aregbesola, who has been peaceful conduct of the during and after the election, working hard for the electorate at the polls. while urging them to sustain it development of the state. They noted that the conduct as the general election “They spent so much to the of the state governorship approaches.

administration. Also speaking, the SUBEB Permanent Secretary, Alhaji Fatai Kolawole, regretted that some individual civil servants openly identified with a party in the course of the electioneering process, saying, this is against the ethic of civil service. He urged staff members to show more commitment to duty, with a view to ensuring the actualisation of Aregbesola’s programmes and policies, especially at the basic education level.

Lawmakers Commend INEC Over Osun Guber Poll

Sharing the views of the lawmakers, the State Commissioner for Information and Strategy, Mr. Sunday Akere and the Special Adviser to the Governor on Youths, Sports and Special Needs, Mr. Biyi Odunlade, described the election as free, fair and a pointer to a credible election in 2015. Akere and Odunlade however, advised INEC not to rest on its oars but improve on areas where lapses were discovered. They however frowned at the conduct of security operatives deployed for the election on the eve of the election, saying that some members and leaders of the APC were subjected to indiscriminate arrest and harassment.

OME shocking revelations have been made concerning the reasons behind the resolution of the defeated Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) and its governorship candidate, Iyiola Omisore, to challenge the victory of Ogbeni Rauf Aregbesola in the August 9, 2014 gubernatorial election in the State of Osun. Though, the PDP and PDP and Omisore would be Omisore, as at the time of filing heading for the election this report, have not filed a tribunal. paper before the governorship The sources claimed that the election tribunal in the state, PDP had accepted defeat they had declared that there before some leaders brought up were irregularities and the plan to keep the party manipulations in the election, structures together for the 2015 thus they needed to contest its general elections. results. “We had accepted defeat; However, reliable sources even Omisore was about to sign with the state leadership of the a congratulatory message PDP has dispelled the reason written by our Publicity given by the party and Omisore Secretary, Bola Ajao, before the for wanting to challenge the issue of tribunal came up. election, which both “The fact is, we know that international and domestic going to tribunal to challenge observers affirmed to be free, Aregbesola’s victory is an fair and transparent. effort in futility. We can never According to the PDP win. We know we lost the sources, the party and Omisore election convincingly and we needed to keep and maintain believe that was the choice of the pace and structures of the the electorate. “Some of us did not even party used for the election for the 2015 general elections, know that we could win in the hence, the resolve to give them seven local government council dwindling hope on the tribunal. areas we won in the election. The sources also said that We appreciate the number of apart from the need to keep the votes we polled and so, we structure of the party, the accept the results of the leadership of the PDP would election. “But some other party be heading for the tribunal not to have a serious legal leaders like Jalo (Jelili fireworks but to have a conduit Adesiyan, Minister for Police pipe through which the party Affairs); our chairman, Gani would be extorting morning Olaoluwa and others came up with a question on how we are from the Presidency. Also, the sources ascribed going to keep the structures till the need to distract Governor 2015 general elections. That Aregbesola from concentrating was how the issue of tribunal on the continuity of his came up,” the sources confided developmental projects, as in OSUN DEFENDER on parts of the reasons why the Monday.

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OSUN DEFENDER Thursday, August 21, 2014

Aug Election: How PDP Deployed Fake DSS Officials To Osun •Police Nab, Release Suspect

RESH facts emerging have shown that the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) in the recently-concluded Osun gubernatorial election in the State of Osun deployed fake persons impersonating as officials of Department of State Security (DSS) during the poll. It would be recalled that questioning. Investigation revealed a PDP chieftain, Mr Sola Oladeinde, was caught for that the fake DSS personnel illegal possession of Army were sponsored by a uniforms in his house, prior chieftain of the party in the to the poll and was whisked region, as most of them were away to Abuja for deployed from Ekiti State

and Niger Delta and were provided cover by the party’s leadership in the South-West. One of the fake DSS officials, who was caught by the Police, allegedly confessed that they were brought to the state by the Ekiti State governor-elect, Mr Ayo Fayose and were lodged in hotels in each of

the local government council areas in the state. He added that four fake DSS officials were deployed to each of the council areas in the state, with a view to helping perpetrate the plan of manipulating the poll, as soon as it was discovered that things were not going well for the PDP. However, after his alleged

By SHINA ABUBAKAR confession, the suspect bosses had to look the other was released from police way to guarantee their custody without continued stay on the job. Meanwhile, as the DSS prosecution and was made to return to his abode a free spokesperson, Ms Marilyn Ogar, disclosed that a person. Findings revealed that political party attempted the instruction to release bribing its personnel, she the suspect held at SIB failed to comment on the custody in Osogbo was allegation that the fake DSS above the officers in the personnel were deployed department and despite the into the state during the poll. It was also gathered that damning statement obtained from the suspect, some aggrieved politicians his godfathers were hell- are on the trail of the bent on letting him go suspect, how he was released from the custody unpunished. A source inside the and who ordered his release, police command informed with a view to curbing the the medium that the order deployment of such fake to release the suspect was DSS personnel in future more politically motivated, polls. as it was gathered that their

Osun 2014: 50 APC Members Still In Detention

•Aje International Market under the administration of Governor Rauf Aregbesola as captured by our cameraman, GBENGA ADENIYI, recently.

Group Disagrees With DSS Over Deployment Of Snipers By KEHINDEAYANTUNJI

election. “And to our dismay, these snipers, who claimed to be men of DSS were on mask, which made it practically impossible to identify any of them in the process of committing the crime. This is strange to us and capable of threatening Nigeria’s democracy because it is clear frustration to a credible

electoral process” Ifedayo aslo described the arrest of political party officials as violation of their rights, as no tangible reason was offered for their arrest. COSEG however warned the president to desist from act that can lead to chaos or ethnic crises in the country, while insisting that the group will resist any form of invasion by external forces, who are on a mission.

deployment of soldiers and masked snipers for T HE the recently-conducted governorship election in the State of Osun has been described as a confirmation of the allegation raised by former President Olusegun Obasanjo to the effect that President Goodluck is having a killer squad. The Coalition of Oodua Self sporadically with major Determination Groups intention of scaring the peace(COSEG) in a press statement loving people before the signed by its coordinating council Chairman, Comrade Ifedayo Ogunlana, in Osogbo disagreed with spokesperson of the State Security Service (SSS), Mariylin Ogar, over her claim that the service men Abisoye Rasheed and Lasisi deployed to Osun did not Kafayat against Segun Ojedapo harass innocent citizens. has been concluded. The group stated that the The petitioners, Alhaji By ABOSEDEAKINPELU deployment of security Abisoye and Kafayat, had operatives before and during an HE Chairman of the State of Osun Standing alleged that the respondent, election is mainly to protect Commission of Enquiry on Disturbance of Public Peace, Honourable Justice Moshood Adeigbe, on Tuesday, Ojedapo, was caught buying election materials, but posited that it was not the case in the ordered that the Police Affairs Minister, Alhaji Jelili Adesiyan, voters’ cards from people in last governorship election in be served an order of summon and notice of hearing through Ikirun. The duo of the petitioners Osun, as most of the either DHL courier service or through a publication in The urged the panel to investigate the operatives were used to harass PUNCH newspaper and/or OSUN DEFENDER newspaper. allegation and equally sought for and intimidate officials of just The secretary to the panel, Omisore, asking the court to protection of their lives from one political party, which is Mr Bisi Babalola, at the sitting stop the panel and state threat of the respondent. not in tandem with democratic informed the commission that government from investigating The commission, however, norms. the Police are yet to provide the him. promised to use all the However, chairman of the evidences before it to make According to COSEG: “The needed police escort to enable deployment of snipers for the the bailiff to paste the summon panel stressed that the interim necessary recommendation to last election is a confirmation notice at the entrance of the order before the high court must the state government and closed of the allegation raised by respondent, as ordered by the have extinguished, having spent their cases after two witnesses seven days stipulated by the former president that President panel. have been called by each Counsel to the petitioner, Mr law. Jonathan is having a killer petitioner. Meanwhile, the case of Alhaji Lekan Olayiwola, however, squad. asked the panel to vary the “It is instructive to note that the conduct of the security serving order by granting his operatives during the election client an order to serve the showed clearly that they were defendant through newspaper several other means have By KAZEEM MOHAMMED on a mission, as they were after failed. masked, moved around in OVERNMENT of the State of Osun has said it would The first executive governor unmarked vehicles and of the state, Alhaji Isiaka soon launch a housing scheme for teachers that would intimidating the people. Adeleke, had petitioned enable them own their personal houses. The group also questioned Adesiyan over his involvement Chairman, State Universal any part of the state. the rationale behind the arrest in the assault melted on him at “We have in plan what we of only one political party the Ideal Next Hotel, during a Basic Education (SUBEB), Prince Felix Awofisayo, call Teachers Housing Scheme, chieftains on the eve of the stakeholders meeting of PDP. election without any Also, the panel directed the dropped the hint on Monday which we will launch before the explanation or justification for commission’s counsel to during a chat with OSUN end of the year, which means the arrest. confirm the position of the High DEFENDER. those teachers who had never According to him, the thought they would own “If not for the Court on the interim order consciousness of the people of sought by the Peoples houses would be built in all the houses, will now be having the State of Osun, who defied Democratic Party candidate in nine federal constituencies of their houses with very just-concluded the state, with a view to making reasonable amount without any heavy presence of the security the men, who were shooting governorship election in the it accessible to all teachers in interest. State of Osun, Senator Iyiola

Jelili Adesiyan In Trouble

•As Panel Orders Him Served Summon Notice Through Newspaper

HE All Progressives Congress (APC) in the State of Osun has revealed that about 50 of its members are still in detention, more than one week after the governorship election in the state. An impeccable source that the police released about within the APC, who disclosed 150 of them leaving the this on telephone, said the remaining 50 to rot in detention. “About 200 of our members party would head for court later in the week with a view were arrested and detained, but about 150 of them have so far to securing their freedom. Also, the State of Osun been released. “We are planning to go to Government has confirmed plans to file a lawsuit against court this week to enforce their the Federal Government over release.” alleged abuses committed by The Director of security personnel deployed Communication and Strategy in to the state during the election. the Office of the Osun State The Federal Government Governor, Semiu Okanlawon, had massively deployed said the state government was security personnel comprising already preparing to file a suit the police, soldiers, personnel in adherence to an advice by the of the Nigeria Security and European Union Election Civil Defence Corps and Monitoring Group. operatives of the State Security The EU group, led by Paul Service, (SSS), in Osun to Edwards, had during a meeting maintain order during the with Ogbeni Rauf Aregbesola in election. Osogbo, the state capital, Although, the actual figure advised the governor to use the of the security personnel courts to seek redress, rather deployed could not be than resorting to self-help. ascertained, reports put it at “As a government and as an over 65,000. entity, we are going to seek legal President Goodluck redress over abuses committed Jonathan had earlier explained by security agencies during the that the heavy security election.” presence was meant to ensure “The Nigerian government that the election was not must respect the right of other manipulated. governments at all levels. There The Acting Inspector was no war, no violence, General of Police, Suleiman nothing. They came without Abba, also said the heavy consultations and some of them deployment was informed by even hid their identities. allegations that thugs were “This is not a party matter being recruited and armed to because there are people in the foment trouble during the poll. state who do not belong to any Among the APC leaders party, but were harassed. As a detained was the National government, there is no way Publicity Secretary of the this kind of intimidation and party, Alhaji Lai Mohammed, harassment will go who was however freed the unchallenged. So, while the following morning. party is doing what it wants Adebiyi said apart from for its members, we are going Alhaji Mohammed, about 200 to do our own because we have members of the ruling party in a duty to protect everybody the state were arrested and regardless of their political detained before and during the leanings.” August 9, 2014 election and

Osun Plans Housing Scheme For Teachers

“These houses would be built in all the nine federal constituencies of the state,” Awofisayo stressed. The board chairman also noted that the state government had approached international agencies for assistance in the area of education, expressing optimism that the effort would soon yield results. When this is realised, he noted that it would further help the government in the realisation of its dream of ensuring qualitative education,

especially at the basic level. Calling on teachers to show more commitment to the realisation of the state government agenda on education, he said the major focus of the administration is to ensure that Osun students can compete with their peers anywhere in the world. He also called on all the stakeholders in the system to show serious concern and do everything necessary to realise the dream of transforming the education system of the state.

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OSUN DEFENDER Thursday, August 21, 2014

Osun 2014: Ede Federal Constituency Organises Special Thanksgiving

HE electoral victory of Ogbeni Abdulrauf Adesoji Aregbesola on Saturday August 9, 2014 has come and gone, but the greater number of the All Progressives Congress (APC) members are still basking in the euphoria of the victory. It was the turn of Ede people fought for the Federal Constituency to emancipation of their celebrate Aregbesola’s people, as attested to the victory, as APC stalwarts, abolition of slavery in led by Senator Mudashir Wilberforce’s work and Hussein, representing Osun America having its first West Senatorial District, black President in Barak while Prince Omoyele Alabi Obama. Speaking after the led party members to First Baptist Church, Oke-Apaso, service, Senator Hussein Ede for a special attributed Aregbesola’s thanksgiving service for the victory to the people, who peaceful conduct of the believed in him and the gubernatorial poll, which style of administration he was without bloodshed and runs. “The governor promised widely adjudged to be free the people and he had and fair. During the service, the delivered on his promises. Senator Hussein also Pastor-In-Charge, Rev. Dr. M. A. Alabi, called on the restated that the victory of governor, Ogbeni Rauf the APC in the Osun poll Aregbesola, to use the was an indication that the mandate given to him to people have embraced APC emancipate the common and only the party has what it takes to salvage Nigeria man. its present Citing examples of Moses from in the Bible, William predicament. Alhaji Sule Alao, an APC Wilberforce and Martin Luther King Jr., the cleric leader in Ede Federal revealed that all these Constituency, stated that

Ogbeni Rauf Aregbesola was victorious at the justconcluded gubernatorial poll due to his hard work, personal relationship with the people and his good work. He noted that everybody wanted the continuity of these programmes, that was why the people of Ede did not want to be left out from the good works of his administration, which led to the massive votes the APC got from Ede Federal Constituency. Alhaja Latifat Giwa, Senior Special Assistant to the Governor on Education, maintained that Ogbeni Aregbesola carried the women along in his many programmes, which included O’Meal and cooperative loans. She explained further that the wife of the governor; Alhaja Sherifat Aregbesola had been very wonderful and she had gotten the maximum support of women in the state. She added that Osun women expressed absolute belief in Ogbeni Aregbesola because his programmes have lifted them away from poverty level and he had

been able to include a reasonable number of women in his administration. On his own, Prince Omoyele Alabi, thanked God for the peaceful conduct of the election and for the will of the people that finally prevailed. He stated that he deemed it fit to come to church to thank God Almighty and

also to commit the next four years of Aregbesola’s a d m i n i s t r a t i o n administration into His hands. Prince Alabi revealed that the people of Ede were expecting the governor to continue with his good works of improving the lives of the people, especially in Edeland. Those present at the

Aregbesola’s Victory Saves West From Doom – APC Chieftain

N All Progressives Congress (APC) chieftain in Boripe Local Government Council Area of the State of Osun, Alhaji Yunus Sobalaje Imran, said on Monday that the successful conduct of the August 9, 2014 governorship election has stabilized peace in the South-West geo-political zone of the country. He said the consequence of election by Adebayo Vanguard rigging the election would have in Iragbiji. He said: “We must thank been beyond the imagination of the Peoples Democratic Party- God that the wish of the PDPled (PDP) Federal led Federal Government failed Government, which according last Saturday because by now, to him, was hell-bent on rigging only God knows what would have happened in the entire the election. Sobalaje said this while South West, if they had rigged addressing the supporters of the election, the whole country APC in Iragbiji on Monday would have shaken to its during the thanksgiving service foundation, but the ordinary organized for the victory of people would have suffered for Governor Rauf Aregbesola’s re- it.” “The victory is not only for Aregbesola, it is the victory for the sustainable peace in the state. Osun is the most sensitive state in the South West, where election rigging is difficult and always turned violent. During Awolowo and Bola Ige administrations in the Western Region and old Oyo State respectively, it was war when elections were rigged and just of recent in 2007, when the governorship election was rigged against Aregbesola, we knew all what happened.”. “It is not that anybody or even our party would have instigated violence, but naturally, people will not

•(R-L) An APC stalwart in Ede; Prince Omoyele Alabi, his wife, Sooko Lekan Omidiora, Alhaji Sule Alao, Senator Mudashir Husein, Alhaja Latifat Giwa and Mr. Olaosebikan Joshua.

OME traditional rulers and political office holders in the State of Osun have called for maturity and sense of belonging in the way elections are conducted in Nigeria. of members and leaders of All The Senator representing Progressives Congress (APC), Osun East Senatorial District, the outcome of the election Babajide Omoworare; the reflected the wishes of the Aragbiji of Iragbiji, Oba Abdul- people. Rasheed Olabomi, and the According to him, the federal Akinrun of Ikirun, Oba power brought to Osun to rig Olayiwola Adedeji, made the the election failed because the call at the birthday celebration people of the state stood firm of the Senior Special Assistant and showed support for to the Governor on Aregbesola. Community Forum, He then gave commitment of Olatunbosun Oyintiloye, in the administration to do more Ibokun on Saturday. interms of developing the state, This was just as Oyintiloye saying the people of the state noted that inspite of the would not be dissapointed for militarisation and harrassment

Change Of Name I, formerly known and addressed as MISS ABDULRAHEEM RAFIAT ADERONKE, now wish to be known and addressed as MRS ABDULRAHEEM RAFIAT ADERONKE. All former documents remain valid. General public should take note.

Change Of Name I, formerly known and addressed as AZEEZ AZIZAT YETUNDE, now wish to be known and addressed as AZEEZ YETUNDE AZIZAT. All former documents remain valid. Osun State Polytechnic Iree, and general public should take note.

re-electing Aregbesola. Omoworare and Oba Olabomi said the militarisation of the August 9, 2014 governorship election in the state call for a serious concern, wondering why what should be a celebration of democracy now had a semblance of a warfront. Describing militarisation of an election process as an abberation, the senator said the electoral commission should put in place an infrastructure that would make it impossible to rig elections, saying when this is done, militarisation of election would not be necessary. Also, Oba Olabomi wondered why security

Change Of Name I, formerly known and addressed as MISS ADEREMI GLORY GRACE, now want to add ATANDA and MODUPE to my name. My name will now be rearranged as: MISS ATANDA GLORY GRACE MODUPE ADEREMI. All former documents remain valid. General public should take note.

personnel would be partisan in an election by manhunting members of a political party, saying that some of the security personnel were acting as if they were on the brief to traumatise some people. He added that inspite the militarisation and partisanship of the security operatives prior to the election, the actual conduct of the election was fair, as people had opportunity to vote Aregbesola as their governor for second term. Commending the celebrant on his birthday, the senator and the monarchs acknowledged the roles he played in the election, commending him for standing firm for the re-election of the governor. Also present at the celebration were the Oloyan of Oyan, Oba Kilani Adekeye; Elerin of Erin-Osun, Oba Yusuf Omoloye; Obaabokun of Ibokun, Oba Festus Awogboro and other monarchs from Obokun Local Government Council Area; Assistant Chief of Staff to the Governor, Honourable Oguntola Toogun; APC Director of Research and Strategy, Barrister Kunle Oyatomi; religious leaders, market women, politicians among others.

accept any form of rigging. Even APC leaders could not stop such violence, but we thank God, that PDP was put to shame, as its major intention was to cause crisis and be killing our people,” Sobalaje said. He also advised the party members to ignore all forms of rumour being peddled by the opposition to derail the progress recorded by Governor Aregbesola, saying the rumour will continue even after the election. Also speaking at the event, Alhaji Remi Adegoke urged the people to unite for the progress and development of the state and always support APC in other future elections. Chief Adeleakun Tutu from Ororuwo said the governor’s victory was just a step, adding that the focus of the party should the central government and urged the party members to work hard. Convener of the group, Oye Adebayo, added that the victory thanksgiving was organized to appreciate God and good people of the Boripe Local Government Council Area for their support for the governor. The group had earlier visited the Boripe Muslim community, Christian Association of Nigeria (CAN), and Pentecostal Fellowship of Nigeria with letters of appreciation for their support during the election.

Osun Baptist Confab, Others Describe Aregbesola’s Victory As Divine

Osun: Lawmaker, Monarchs Call For T Maturity In Election Conduct By KAZEEM MOHAMMED

thanksgiving service included Senator Mudashir Hussein, representing Osun West Senatorial District; Alhaji Sule Alao, APC leader in Ede; Debo Akanbi; Special Adviser to the Governor on Commerce and Industry, Dr. Yinusa Olalekan and many prominent APC leaders in the area.

By SHINA ABUBAKAR

HE Osun Baptist Conference has described the victory of Ogbeni Rauf Aregbesola in the justconcluded governorship election in the state as a divine order. The Christian group in a Nigeria (PMAN) in a letter addressed to the State statement signed by its Commissioner for Governor-General, Comrade Information and Strategy, Mutiu Adesanya, disclosed Mr Sunday Akere, that the governor’s victory commended the people of was a reflection that good cannot be the state for conducting deeds themselves peacefully overwhelmed by lies and before, during and after the propaganda. It added that the people, poll. The letter signed by the despite the numerous president of the conference, propaganda are more Reverend (Dr.) Paul informed on choosing who Kolawole, stated that the governs them and the beauty of the poll was that yardstick with which to the will of the people choose their leaders. statement added that manifested, as well as the theThe Ogbeni Aregbesola’s will of God. tenure in office has “We have many reasons first brought about massive to rejoice with you, firstly, infrastructural development because of the peaceful way and impacted positively on the election was conducted, the peoples’ lives, adding secondly because of the that it is sure that his second will of God and the will term would be better for the power of the masses that masses of the state. has come to stay. Thirdly, because of the anticipated Change Of Name progress that will reign in I, formerly known and the State of Osun,”, the addressed as ADEREMI letter stated. The body therefore OLUKEMI DEBORAH NEE expressed its readiness not OSEDIMIBOLA , now to relent in supporting the wish to be known and administration to succeed in addressed as MRS its developmental projects ATANDA OLUKEMI both physically and DEBORAH ADEREMI. spiritually. All former documents Similarly, the Performing remain valid. General Musicians Association of public should take note.

OSUN DEFENDER Thursday, August 21, 2014

By ISMAEEL UTHMAN

Osun and 2015: The game changer Continued from pg1

Overwhelming presence The overwhelming presence of security men in the state in the days ahead of the poll did not impede the electorate from exercising their will on who governs them. That indeed, is a reassuring sign for many Nigerians and the international community that the 2015 election could be a free and fair election. Indeed, ahead of the polls last weekend, the APC and its flag bearer, Aregbesola, had in the face of the strong presence of security men around the state betrayed clear signs of unease. The APC’s national spokesman, Alhaji Lai Mohammed in statements painted the impression of the determination of the presidency to rig the election in a clear determination to reshape the political configuration of the Southwest ahead of the decisive 2015 election. Such panic caused the opposition party to summon all its elected office holders and political appointees from across the country to show presence in Osun State from last Tuesday as a way of boosting the morale of its supporters in that state. The PDP’s candidate was also lifted by the presence of strong detachment of the security forces whose presence helped to suppress whatever advantages the incumbency factor would have given to Aregbesola. Omisore also had his friends from the Senate including Senators Enyininnya Abaribe, Ehigie Uzamere and some others to lift his

heart. But the most decisive factors were the voters on ground who at the end of voting on Saturday showed their preference for the incumbent. The outcome was, however, not a rout as the Aregbesola camp had predicted it would be without rigging. That underscored the agitation among some PDP loyalists who had sought for an alternative candidate. Omisore, a former deputy governor of Osun State had before this election been on the winning side of all the gubernatorial elections conducted in Osun State. He was deputy governor to Chief Bisi Akande, strongly supported the immediate past governor, Prince Olagunsoye Oyinlola in 2003 and 2007, but, however, came short in delivering himself into an office he had in the past helped others to enter. Though a very lively man with sound education, the factors against Omisore were mostly fanned by perceptions about him arising from his trial for the murder of Chief Bola Ige, a former attorney general of the federation. Omisore who was acquitted of complicity in that murder, however, did little to clear that perception. Besides, his political foes helped to fan the negative perception about him. Oyinlola, the immediate past governor of the state who himself had a grudge against the PDP rubbed in the Ige wound on the people when he questioned why President Jonathan had surrounded himself with all those who were questioned over the murder of Ige. “The candidate of the PDP was arrested for killing Ige. He was arrested and detained. “The national secretary of the [PDP], Professor Wale Oladipo, was also detained in connection with the killing. The Minister of Police Affairs, Jelili Adesiyan, was also detained.

“The chairman of the party in this state, Ayobami Olaoluwa, was also arrested. So, why is everyone who was in detention given appointment or put in a position of authority? We need to ask the government,” Oyinlola said. Great minus Linking anyone or party with the death of Ige was a great minus especially given the adoration that Ige continues to draw from most parts of the state. The election was also an opportunity for political enemies in the Southwest to hit at him. Tinubu had by every indication mounted the platform of political leadership of the Southwest with the dominance of his party in five of the six Southwest states. After the loss of Ekiti, his political empire was trimmed to four states and the prospect of losing Osun, had in the last weeks of the campaign become an exciting lure for Tinubu bashers in the region. Internal dissent It was especially so, given that Aregbesola was generally considered the closest of the APC governors to Tinubu. The internal dissent to Tinubu in the Southwest was especially fanned by vestiges of Afenifere, the socio-political organization through which Tinubu, himself emerged as governor of Lagos State in 1999. But the former governor’s alleged role in splintering Afenifere after his emergence as governor helped to create animosity that today irks many Yoruba leaders. Even though many Afenifere leaders did not come out openly to antagonise Tinubu and Aregbesola ahead of the election, some of them were enthusiastically waiting to celebrate the downfall of the APC in Osun. Celebrating the downfall APC leaders who learnt from their laxity in Ekiti were well prepared for Osun and went out of the way to woo known and unknown enemies. PDP

Open Letter To Jonathan On NMA Strike

FTER all, who doesn’t know that the best treatment for a headache is to cut off the said head, even if the headache is only pointing to a more sinister problem? Why should they ask for better equipment to work with? Why do they need CT and MRI machines to diagnose, when we have our ancient African technology of seeing a person miles away in the palms of our hands? Why should they ask for grants for researches? Shouldn’t their jumbo pay be enough to fund such studies? Why haven’t they found a cure for this viral haemorrhagic fever? Why should they fault you for begging the Americans to give us ZMapp? What are big brothers for? Is it not to clean up their younger ones every time they pee in their pants? Why shouldn’t you blame them for the ebola outbreak in the country? Isn’t manning the borders supposed to be part of their work? Why should they say they want to be the only ones to be tagged ‘Consultants’? Is it not a mere sobriquet every Tom, Dick, and Harry can choose to be called by? Haven’t people started calling me ‘Professor’ as far back as my primary school days? Why do they oppose relativity in the health sector? Aren’t men born equal? Do they think you have forgotten that the quest for relativism

caused the biblical fall of man? Why should they want to head the medical team because they claim they are better intellectually-equipped? Isn’t that egoistical? Why should they tell you to extend universal health coverage to all citizens? Don’t they know that the citizens are wealthy enough to fund their medical expenses? Why are they even fighting for the masses? Do they know how many of the intended recipients of the policy jumped for joy, when you called for the heads of their supposed

activists? Why didn’t they take you by your word, when you signed the said agreement with them earlier in the year? Why do they insist on implementation? Don’t they know ASUU went on strike for a different reason last year, other than non-implementation of an agreement signed in 2009? Do they think your pacts are worthless? Why should they tell you not to remind them of their sacred Hippocratic Oath and not go on strike? Don’t they know you also took an oath when you

came into office? Shouldn’t they know you swore to protect the interest of the ordinary citizen and that is just what you are doing? Why should they clamour for increased pay? Don’t they know that this country isn’t financially buoyant enough to meet their demands like in the other countries? Who told them our political office holders still manage to get the equivalent of (or more than) what their equals in those other countries earn? The answer to the questions is obviously what you have done. Fire the resident doctors. But don’t stop at that. Fire the consultants, the medical officers and the house officers too. Order state executives to sack those in their employ. You can even fire all medical students. They could have been brainwashed by their seniors. They have drained enough from the pockets of their parents. The government is also wasting scarce funds because they spend ages in medical schools, saying they don’t want to be half-baked. Like we told them we need bread! Besides their seniors are always telling them they don’t know anything. Take a nip in the bud before it is too late. Let’s go back to those times when there were no doctors. •KAYODE AFOLABI, Obafemi Awolowo University (OAU), Ile-Ife.

on the other hand did not help its candidate with the clear animosity towards rebels in the party. The treatment of Oyinlola and another former governor of the state, Senator Isiaka Adeleke subsequently proved to be one of the major problems for the PDP on Election Day. Though Oyinlola did not muster enough votes to win his booth, Adeleke’s grip on Ede, one of the largest towns in the state helped to firmly deliver the town to the APC. After being lured into the PDP gubernatorial contest, the former governor was allegedly forced out by what he claimed to be impediments put on his way. That was the beginning of his defection to the APC, a move the PDP would now regret not to have stopped. One APC source revealed that Adeleke was the candidate the party feared most could trouble Aregbesola. But even after he withdrew, the PDP hierarchy in the state failed to soothe him giving him room to defect. Tinubu, the APC national leader and the many presidential aspirants in the party would be very gleeful with the outcome of the polls. Yesterday, a source said Tinubu was himself very bouncy as he saw the result as a vindication against the aspiration of his internal foes in the Southwest. For the presidential aspirants, the outcome of the election gives hope that their permutations of forging a Southwest and Northern alliance against the PDP remains feasible. For President Jonathan, the permutation may have been that whatever loss of support he may have suffered in the North would be gained in the Southwest. Now, it is back to basics. By Emmanuel Aziken, Political Editor

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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

FEATURE

OSUN DEFENDER Thursday, August 21, 2014

The Demystification Of Official Tyranny So, we lost the election? Which election? Can’t you hear the result of SHUTtheup!! election announced by the Obafemi Awolowo University (OAU) Vice Chancelor? He declared Aregbesola as the winner. How come. As at 2.00am, we were winning, according to our party leaders, Femi Fani-Kayode, and Diran Odeyemi. What now happened between, 2.00am to 7.00am? How come we were ‘coasting’ to victory and INEC had the temerity to announce that man, Aregbesola as the winner!! Sangba foo! What will I eat for the next four years now. Ebi ti de o!!! This is the best campaign ever, that is report we were getting from our field officers. They misled us, they told us it didn’t matter, that the people of Ede didn’t really appreciate Senator Isiaka Adeleke again; that they didn’t give a damn if the Asiwaju of Edeland was punched and beaten by Omisore and Jelili Adesiyan. They couldn’t care any less if we made a former governor lie face down, and threaten him with death. Jelili Adesiyan even said, if he punched him well, Adeleke would give up the ghost. The game plan was easy; just give people ‘rices’ and Kerosine, they’ll forget everything, and we’ll coast home to victory. The defection of party members did not help our case. I can’t believe Oyinlola and Etteh never loved Omisore. Alhaji Fatai Akinade Akinbade left in anger for the Labour Party (LP). They were just doing Oju Aye. They are all jealous of Omisore. How?! Omisore is popular than the whole lot put together. Hmmn, Are you sure Omisore is popular or is it that he is just notorious…. What do you mean, ‘won peyan ni onifun radarada, oo de le pa ifun e mo’ , This is the same person many people suspect strongly because of his violent antecedents. Whenever he campaigned, he usually went with so many escorts, blocked traffic numerous times, blared siren more than a president would. Even the governor he was trying to unseat doesn’t use siren. This man often times blocked the Gbongan-Ibadan Expressway. Even in Osogbo, he slammed the Orita CMS highway shut. The ensuing traffic gridlock was the evidence of crowd to him. How can you seek for people’s votes and habitually annoy them and deprive many of their sources of movement and livelihood? But then, the game plan was simple. Just give people ‘rices’ and Kerosine, they’ll forget everything, and we’ll coast home to victory. Ehn, but wait, I thought PDP had fantastic strategists. They are so good that Mr President has christened the new PDP Chairman, ‘The Game Changer!’ What now happened? What more could we have done? Our strategy was based on three factors, flooding the state with consumables, knowing how precarious the situation of the country is. The more reason why it’s profitable to keep more people in poverty. It wins elections. Ekiti proved that; just flood them with rice and kerosene, and they’ll love you. We also banked on arresting top APC chieftains and slamming them into jail, to be released maybe after the elections, if we so wished. That would scare others from venturing out and campaigning for that Aregbesola guy, and it would be a field day for us. We had gotten assurances of DSS, Army, Civil Defence, and even ex-militants coming to work for us, and shooting any anti-GEJ party man into submission. Afterall, by the time Mr Presido just used 60% of his power lasan, APC won’t even venture to campaign for fear of arrest, and we’ll continue with our mission to ‘re-capture’ Southwest. This election meant everything to us. Not because the state has mineral resources, but because the destiny of many of our political gladiators are tied to it . How?! I’ll explain to you. Jelili Adesiyan was a co-accused with the PDP contender in the trial for the murder of the celebrated Attorney General

•AREGBESOLA By IBRAHIM LAWAL and Minister of justice of the Federation, Chief Bola Ige. When he wanted to go through ministerial screening, he shed some crocodile tears, and swore that he didn’t know anything about the minister’s death, and that, he was being unfairly accused. This same man, less than eight months after being confirmed as minister, reportedly slapped Senator Adeleke, and when questioned, retorted, that, if he actually punched him, Adeleke couldn’t survive his pugilist skills; from a serving Minister!!!. Well, to Oga Jona, you are only as good as how relevant you are to his 2015 ambition. Don’t give me that bull crap. He isn’t interested in contesting. It is visible to the blind, and audible to the deaf. Let’s see how he keeps his seat, when he can’t win his own state, with the retinue of police officers placed under his command. Simple ‘fine-tuning’ of election situation, he can’t do, how can he then quell disturbances. Don’t be surprised when you see ‘ fired for non-performance, inimical to the Transformation Agenda’ as the reason for his dismissal. Have you heard of the slang, Ko sii KORO,ko sii ibo’ . Musiliu Obanikoro is a man on a mission. Political redemption. After being beaten blue-black, by BRF in 2007, he was compensated with an ambassadorial post to Ghana. The man was simply left to political Siberia. By the time he came back in 2011, the dynamics had changed. Thanks to Oga Jona, he’s been rehabilitated as Minister of State for Defence to replace Olusola Obada, who collapsed on hearing gunshots at the Armed Forces Day Celebration. South West PDP is never in shortage of such weirdoes. And Obanikoro has won a great job abandoning the hotspots of Sambisa and marshaling troops to the hitherto secure and peaceful states of Osun and Ekiti, to intimidate and oppress members of the opposition. He played the script out in Ekiti, and did it again in Osun. The most ironic episode was seeing Obanikoro and Femi Fani-Kayode giving a press briefing about the preparedness of the Armed Forces in maintaining law and order. In what capacity? as PDP chieftains, who had just promised to

capture the state, or a government minister. Anyway, what was Fani-kayode doing there? Somebody said, any election Obanikoro led was always lost, and wondered why such a man could be appointed to fight Boko Haram. It is said that in Lagos in 2007, the continuation of the famous term, was: Ibo dee, Koro yaa’ . Teslim Folarin is back in his bid to displace Governor Abiola Ajimobi. Combative and burly, he fits the mould of politicians GEJ seems to have favoured to get back the South West. Rugged, combative fellows, who won’t blink at the flow of blood, as long as their desires to rule was sated. Capturing Osun would have gotten him a spring in his step, as he aims to win. This same man was the Senate Majority Leader, and Ibadan bears testament to the myriad of federal projects he influenced to the sprawling city, from bridges to expressways, to revamped airports, factories, renewed greenery in the ancient city hitherto reputed for dirt. He wants to achieve all that this time, as Akala didn’t allow him do so then, he unleashed Elewe-Omo to stop all the federal goodies coming to Ibadan Mesiogo. Now this time, he’ll have to fight it out again with the same Akala in slugfest of who best can shout Power! Power!! To petrified citizens of Oyo, who know too well, how peaceful’ their former reign was, that they heaved a sigh of relief on their exit. Of those who are aiming for a political phoenix story to their political career, none is as comedic as the Baba Olabode George. In saner climes, he’ll heed his officiating minister’s warnings and go home to sin no more, but aren’t we in the season of Transformation? Where an exconvict governor in Bayelsa got his presidential pardon, and was a delegate at the National Confrence on how to move the nation forward. We’re in the season of great signs and wonders. Baba has had his sentence quashed, as his wife now heads NDLEA, and he’s so popular now that, he has who they call ‘BODE GEORGE BOYS’ emblazoned on their shirts, smoking and daring anyone on the streets of Osogbo. Dimeji Saburi Bankole too wants to rule Ogun. All their dreams don pafuka now, Aregbe ti fii ori won gba ara won. The Presidency has never been this

bruised politically. Although, I don’t understand our president’s body language, a friend to my uncle’s teacher, whose neighbour’s cousin works there said, the calculation is that, North-West and North East are unwinnable. APC is showing a strong platform in North Central, which makes South West, a mustcapture region. If the president harbours any hopes of winning, though, he has denied contesting, Nkan ti awa gbo niyen. Ekiti gave him hope of sweeping it all, but this same Aregbesola, who gave him a hiding in 2011, has scored a brace this time, even with the 73,000 servicemen deployed. The man is an Ijesa joo, agidi ti poju. But, Ore, what happened to the federal might? It has never failed where deployed. Hmmmn, that’s where I fear this Aregbe and his strategists. On Wednesday, 50 trucks of DSS agents patrolled OSOGBO shooting into the air, while the people just trooped out shouting APC!! In that kind of situation, how many people do you want them to kill? Senator Bayo Salami’s house was attacked and he escaped. Same forces wanted to capture Senator Adeleke; he escaped to his mother’s house. Almost all APC bigwigs in Ile-Ife, the said stronghold of Omisore, were chased away, with their families. The ones who braved the heat, were pummelled again by new Lagbaja-copying shooters Yorubaland had never seen. Buruji Kashamu had supplied Kerosene and rice. Osun was overflowing with rice, the people collected it, and they ironically voted-in Aregbe. We thought they hated him, but the crowd I saw, heralding him from town to town was unprecedented, even when they told us, he was ‘importing’ them. The plan was to scare enough voters to stay indoors. The strategy was fool-proof. We were celebrating our come-back to power, but the results on election day was a rude shock. How could we be so badly beaten. So, what happens to Omisore now? O n pe, kilokanmi, he will be in Abuja for 31/2 years, when election draws near, he’ll start distributing rice and Kerosene around. As at last year August, he didn’t have one single plan like this about what he wanted to achieve in the state. For somebody, who has been trying to ‘Rule’ since 1999!!. Aregbesola didn’t spend three months before he started O’YES. Our party men, who shouted that the policy wasn’t good, urged their children to rush and get the forms. There’s O’School,O’Meal, O’REAP, Opon Imo, among others. This same Aregbesola has done it despite been deliberately starved of funds by the Federal Government. Aregbesola loves being with the masses, Omisore is feared by them. Whereas, Aregbesola’s popularity is cultlike, Omisore’s notoriety as a purveyor of violence is in the realm of Ajantala. Look at Aregbesola now, he’s a masses’ man, Omode, Agba, love him. Have you seen school children waving brooms to herald him? Can you even think of Omisore enjoying that privilege? Onikaluku n fi omo e pamo ni. If one is not greedy, how can you eat two cobs of corn at the same time, and moving in an open roof car? Is it to taunt people. He can’t even hand it out to the driver carrying him about, loju temi, that isn’t a man of the masses o, wonbiliki wonbia lan pe iru won. Awa wi tan, he was shouting, Tee Soju e, gbaa lowo e, ko moo lo Tee so jue – loju ba blind. Gbaa lowo e- Lowo ba ro Ko moo lo- l”Umbrella ba di void. He wants to go to tribunal. Let him go o, we still need his money. N3.5 billion isn’t a child’s play. Woo, if he likes, let him contest as senator again, he’ll meet his albatross again in APC. Osun still remains OsunKoya,Ebele-free. The cranium of a mammoth is no luggage for a toddler- Atari Ajanaku ni Aregbesola, kii seru omode, Dagunro o see je, ma jen tan e •Lawal is a Senior Special Assistant to the Governor, State of Osun

OSUN DEFENDER Thursday August 21, 2014

PHOTOTALK

Osun Divisional Conference Of Obas In Osun Central Senatorial District Paid A Congratulatory Visit To The State Of Osun Governor, Ogbeni Rauf Aregbesola, In Osogbo, Last Thursday.

•The governor, State of Osun, Ogbeni Rauf Aregbesola (6th left); the Akirun of Ikirun, Oba Rauf Adedeji (5th left); the Olokuku of Okuku, Oba Samuel Oluronke (6th right); the Aragbiji of Iragbiji, Oba Rasheed Olabomi (3rd left); the Owa of Otan Ayegbaju, Oba Lukman Fadipe (5th right); the Olobu of Ilobu, Oba Ashiru Olaniyan (4th left); the Elerin of Erin-Osun, Oba Yusuf Oyagbodun (4th right) and other prominent obas, during the congratulatory visit to Governor Rauf Aregbesola in Osogbo last Thursday.

Former All Progressives Congress (APC) Acting National Chairman, Chief Bisi Akande Hosted The State Of Osun Governor, Ogbeni Rauf Aregbesola, On His Victory At Chief Akande’s Resident In Ila-Orangun, Recently.

•(R-L) The governor, State of Osun, Ogbeni Rauf Aregbesola; former interim National Chairman, All Progressives Congress (APC), Chief Bisi Akande and member, National Assembly, representing Osun Central Senatorial District, Senator Sola Adeyeye, during the governor’s visit to Chief Akande in his resident, Ila-Orangun, recently.

PHOTOTALK

OSUN DEFENDER Thursday, August 21, 2014

More Pictures On Thanksgiving And Celebration Of Victory Of Governor Rauf Aregbesola As The Winner Of 2014 Governorship Election In Osun.

•A cross section of Governor Rauf Aregbesola’s supporters during the thanksgiving programme at Oja-Oba, Osogbo, State of Osun, recently.

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• •A cross section of Orisunmibare Market traders in Osogbo during their thanksgiving programme.

OSUN DEFENDER Thursday, August 21, 2014

Thanksgiving Service For The Victory Of Governor Rauf Aregbesola As The Winner Of 2014 Governorship Election In Osun At State Universal Basic Education Board Photo: GBENGA ADENIYI. (SUBEB) Hall, Osogbo, Last Monday.

•(L-R) Permanent Secretary, SUBEB in Osun, Alhaji FataiKolawole; State of Osun Commissioner for Information and Strategy, Honourable Sunday Akere and SUBEB Board Chairman and President, Oranmiyan Worldwide, Prince Felix Awofisayo.

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•(L-R) SUBEB Commissioner 11, Mr Bola Adekunle; Comrade Abiodun Agboola and Honourable Isa Ojewale on the occasion.

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•A cross section of dignitaries praising the Lord during the service.

•(L-R) Chief Abiodun Owoeye; Mr Najeem Adedeji; Permanent Secretary, Ministry of Education in Osun, Mr Lawrence Oyeniran and Venerable Oluyamo Isaac, during the service.

PHOTOTALK

OSUN DEFENDER Thursday, August 21, 2014

State Of Osun Governor, Ogbeni Rauf Aregbesola, At Osogbo Central Mosque For His Re-election’s Thanksgiving On Friday.

•Governor Aregbesola (arrowed), acknowledging cheers from his admirers.

FOR THE RECORDS

OSUN DEFENDER Thursday, August 21, 2014

CommuniquĂŠ Issued By The Coalition Of INEC Accredited Civil Society Organizations That Observed The Osun State Governorship Election Of 9th August 2014.

OUR POSITION: Our coalition is made up of Domestic Election Observer Groups duly accredited by the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) to observe the August 9 th 2014 Governorship election in Osun State. Hence, paving carefully observed the election, with a great sense of patriotism and responsibility in accordance with the provisions of the our relevant Electoral laws that we wish issue this communiquĂŠ to buttress the transparency, peaceful and the credibility of the election from an independent point of view as civil society groups. 1. The Osun State Governorship election of th 9 August 2014 actually took place as scheduled across the thirty Local Government Areas in the State. 2. Contrary to speculations, the election was adjudged to be very peaceful as the voters conducted themselves in an orderly manner. 3. In comparison with elections in the States in the most recent past, the voter turnout in Osun Guber election held on 9th August 2014 was very much impressive and highly commendable. 4. It was feared in certain quarter that the heavy security presence in the state will act as a disincentive for voters to exercise their franchise, rather the reverse was the case. At this juncture, we must commend the voters in Osun State for resisting all attempts by the powers that be to cow them in the governorship election. 5. We commend enhanced INEC preparation for Osun State Guber election culminating to the timely arrival of election materials and personnel in all the polling units across the State and also, the level playing field, transparency and credibility of INEC in the conduct of Osun state Guber election 2014 is here by applauded. 7. We therefore, urge all parties to the election to accept the result of the election as a clear demonstration of the popular wish of the people and shun all acts capable of threatening the peace and tranquility of the State of Osun. Finally, we congratulate the winner of the August 9th 2014 Governorship election in Osun

State, Alh. Rauf Aregbesola of the All Progressives Congress (APC) and hereby pledge our readiness to stand by him to defend his mandate, while also advising to extend hands of fellowship to all for rapid development of the State. Thank you and God bless.

Signed:-

Comrade Bassey Ewa. JP Team Leader 07058449877

Hon. Abdullahi M. Jabi Chairman, Contact and Mobilization

Mr. Victor Kalu Team Secretary 07073588811 Cc: 1. The Chairman, Independent National Electoral Commission Headquarters, Abuja. 2. The Inspector General of Police (IGP), Force Headquarter, Luis Edet House, Abuja. 3. The Director General, State Security Service (SSS), Abuja. 4. The Commandant General, Nigeria Security and Civil Defence Corps, (NSCDC) Wuze zone 5, Abuja. 5. The Press.

FEATURE

OSUN DEFENDER Thursday, August 21, 2014

OLUSESI ISAAC writes that the worries and modus operandi of Iyiola Omisore have fast tracked him into the abyss of irrationality in the extreme terms and made him a warped mind in morbid hatred for the other person’s parents, compelling the well cultured and cultivated mind to retreat from him.

‘His Parents Should Answer That Question’ E is deeply fascinating and deeply intriguing in the same breath. He knows there is a river to cross here. A hill to climb there. On and on. Yet, he is in the business of making more enemies and he burns his head in the hood of his ear, making himself another bizarre dimension in moral convulsion that sends cold chills all over the sensitive. That is Iyiola Omisore, the State of Osun governorship candidate of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), a warped mind steeped in morbid hatred for Ogbeni Rauf Aregbesola, Governor of Osun and theAll Progressives Congress (APC) fellow runner in the gubernatorial race. Omisore is the Achilles heel of his own party, PDP. He has a consistent penchant for shooting himself in the foot times without number. In one moment, he raises a blinding dust of furry; and in another moment, he kicks another dust. He always turns simple matters into complicated ones by his firm inability to understand the imports of his answers to questions put to him in the press glare. Why must he always continue to present a picture of incompetence cum confusion on subjects of public interest? No one grudges him. But he has not helped himself by his carriages. He brands self oft-times in the public, uncultured and uncultivated. Pure poppycock. Pure arrogance. I weigh the circumstances of Omisore’s worries and his modus operandi, and I can declare that what we have on hands in Osun is more than a fledging urban guerrilla, fast tracked into the abyss of irrationalities in the extreme terms, with the furore and hoopla created, still reverberating in the public domain. It is not a case of the proverbial needle in the haystack. Consider this. In a Sunday Tribune newspaper interview, Omisore said, “...may be his parents should answer that question...”in apparent response to the question: “Are you saying that Governor Aregbesola is not from Ilesa?” I cannot understand his fuss about the native origin of Aregbesola, with Omisore deepening wet with restiveness, intoxicated with heady wines, with tongue waxing carelessly, and with conscience impervious to the urgings of home training. What is baffling is the vagueness of his answers to questions put to him, the answers that stand moral sensibility on the head. Lies, falsehoods and disrespect as answers in the interview, are the trio of Omisore’s ingenious device for persuasion to earn acceptability and popularity. But his lies, falsehoods and disrespect are a mere empty political humbug, to trick people and create a pseudo image of himself as a man of candour and integrity. His end in the interview, is political survival. But he is not a sincere person. He cannot be said to be honest. The Tribuneman had asked the question with strident persistence, for one, to know why Omisore has burnt so much effort on Aregbesola’s origin and achieved nothing to the contrary; two, to clip Omisore’s wings; and three, to make him an apt study in a homely undernourishment of the mind. A psychologist’s interest. The press, the sentinel of the society is duty bound to ask questions, no matter how embarrassing; and find answers, no matter how catechism. His answer, “…his (Aregbesola’s)

•AREGBESOLA

parents should answer that question…” was fetid and foolish, revealing some turbulence within.As a politician, requiring also the votes of aged people to ram to power, Omisore should be able to wade through the torrents of sentimental and illogical anger. It was Omisore’s self-righteous rabblerousing, and he ought to have directed his answers to his kith and kin in the PDP for whom lies are always told, from whom rumpus noises are always expected, and from whom grievances always sprout. As though, getting the Tribuneman to forge ahead with the interview became an exercise in debilitating futility, it was indeed an enterprise in the futility of Omisore’s self-delusion. I give kudos to the fellow journalist for his spirited efforts at assisting Omisore get off the suffocating embrace of self-pristine fears and impulses. The journalist’s expanded ethics equip him to know that one who has no respect for one’s parents will frontally disrespect the other person’s parents. It can now be said with oracular conviction that Omisore must have severally thrown the missiles of murk at his own parents even in the open air, like the MFM worshippers, the proponents of ‘die, die, die,’ would to the enemies of their survival. Meaning, Omisore’s parents must be the enemies of his own survival and deserve to be disrespected by himself. Not Aregbesola’s parents, reputed to be the anchor of his successes in life. The late Hubert Humphrey of the United States of America (USA) who played in the top league of the US political game would recommend Omisore to be taken to the cleaner. And surely, Omisore ought to be enrolled in a school of good manner. But I am afraid! He has a stone heart that cannot be melted by the chemistry of love, the physics of conscience, the physiology of speech, the religion of morality,the psychology of mutual respect, the

•OMISORE

sociology of human relations, the archaeology of culture, the history of people, and the mathematics of heritage. Make no mistake about it. The gamut of the interview, splashed over a full page, from ‘a’ to ‘z’ was a failed venture to pull Aregbesola down;ironically,it revealed more the rumbles and tumbles of Omisore’s past. Which is why, he deserves to be criticised over his wishy-washy answers in the interview that evoked a horrendous image of personified terror to the aged parents of Aregbesola. Reading the interview in-between the lines, the truth is that Omisore’s flippant with zany consistency imprints a scene like a circus. The impression, reinforced again by his irrationalities is that the interview was an irritating nuisance to be ignored outright, but had to be read particularly by me as a matter of duty, and because of Omisore’s pathological indifference to the good opportunity offered by the interview – to highlight his governorship campaign issues. The indifference however, is elementally catatonic. He even lacks oratory, which is of great consequence for its magic for the control and mobilization of the electorate. Indeed,Omisore’s illicit reference to Aregbesola’s parents in the interview was enough not a sacrosanct, and rendered unjust, unwise, and untenable that put a huge question mark on moral justice. Omisore’s idiosyncrasies make moral injustice inevitable, pricking the conscience of justice; but Aregbesola’s incessant quest for justice every inch makes the tolerance of the kind of Omisore’s moral injustice inexcusable. The Omisore moral injustice has potentials for evil and portends tragic consequences for the growth and development of democracy and social justice. Omisore’s homely undernourishment has virtually assumed the logic of a war

dance. One tentative step forward and several ones in retreat. And given the consumptive nature of the dance, a permanent retreat seems very much in order. It is also in order for the cultured and cultivated mind to retreat from him, otherwise it is dangerous. That is the ‘official’ truth. But politics, a game which accommodates everyone-the good, the bad, and the ugly has propelled him to a stratospheric height. Omisore was a deputy governor, senator of the Federal Republic of Nigeria,a governorship candidate, and a political elite in the sense; one thronged spectacle within the Osun PDP, littering the Osun landscape of the party like apocalyptic tabernacles and an unusual breed of the PDP political jobbers and beggars swim pleadingly around him. No one dares stand taller than him. To do otherwise, is to challenge a god. He is a non-God in human skin. Unknown to Omisore, the dual propellers of the Snakes and the Ladders are at work for him. The ladder catapulted him from political pit to the pinnacle of glory; and moments later the snake will spring from a cruel ambush and dump him, bottom first, like a dewdrop in the sun, in the dreary electoral abyss. That is the macabre chess game of politics. Let’s leave the rest of Omisore’s attacks on Aregbesola’s parents, in the gutter of Omisore’s own disgrace. Omisore would have gone absolutely mad if the interview had not been published, and would have been on his knees, begging the Tribuneman, who rather should have in the first instance, left Omisore to stack away incognito. •This piece was sent in before the August 9 gubernatorial election. •OLUSESI, is Assistant Director,Directorate of Publicity, Research and Strategy, All Progressives Congress, State of Osun.

INTERVIEW

OSUN DEFENDER Thursday, August 21, 2014

Osun: Our Victory Was Hard Fought - Lai Mohammed •Says The Deployment Of 73,000 Security Personnel Was To Tavour PDP The people of Osun State are still basking in the euphoria of last weekend election that saw the victory of Ogbeni Rauf Aregbesola’s second term in office. In this encounter with the National Publicity Secretary of the All Progressives Congress, APC, Alhaji Lai Mohammed, he bares his mind on how he was abducted by security agents among other issues that transpired during the election.

OLLOWING the Federal Government’s deployment of about 73,000 security agents to Osun during the gubernatorial election, making sure it was free, fair and credible, how do you describe the victory of Ogbeni Rauf Aregbesola who ran on the platform of the APC? Our victory in Osun was hard fought for. That is why we all appreciate it this much. We give gratitude to Almighty God for making it possible. But the victory is mainly for the people of Osun, our candidate and our party at large. But it is not correct as President Goodluck Jonathan would want people to believe that it was the security personnel that was on ground that ensured the kind of election we had. On the contrary, the over militarisation in Osun was designed primarily to favour the Peoples Democratic Party, PDP. How do you mean? I will give you practical examples: our concern has always been about the presence of the military personnel in Osun because we knew from our experience in the Ekiti election, that once there is such militarisation, it is the opposition, majorly the APC members, they are aiming at. In Osun, there are four to five instances how it was used to work against the interest of the APC. If you remember about two weeks to the election; there was this irresponsible display of power show by men of the State Security Service, SSS. They were all masked, in about 50 trucks, shooting sporadically into the air, terrorising and instilling fear in the residents of the state. Secondly, on the Wednesday before the election, the police and the SSS prevented the TUC and the NRC from going on a solidarity rally in support of Gov. Aregbesola which is clearly partisan. The selective arrest and attacks on only APC members clearly shows the partisanship on the part of security agents. I was not arrested, I was abducted. On Friday evening, a day to the election, we got alarming reports about escalation of violence all over Osun being perpetrated by PDP thugs. This got the governor worried, because it might intimidate voters all over the state, which may affect their turnout on election day. So he decided to have a live broadcast that evening. We were on our way to the broadcast at the Governor’s Lodge when we ran into a roadblock with a police van and SURE-P bus parked at the side of the road. We were ordered to get out of our vehicle and also to identify ourselves, I told them my name and that I am the spokes person for APC. Immediately they bluntly told me to stepaside. I was even trying to question them on our offence before they pointed a gun at my head. They frog-matched me into their bus. Getting into their bus, I saw about 11 armed masked men. They drove us

•LAI MOHAMMED

around the town, seized our phones and finally took us to the head office of the SSS in Oshogbo. After hours of tireless waiting and dialogue, they said they were going to take us back to the spot they abducted us from, but I refused because I could not guarantee where they were taking us to following what I saw. One of the officers later volunteered to escort us back to where our car was parked around 1 am. When we got to where our driver was, another argument ensued between the security men and the masked men asked whether we should be released or not. It took another 30 minutes of serious argument,before we were asked to get down from their bus. We were able to take refuge in the Governor’s Lodge. Meanwhile, they were attacking the residence of Adeleke. Clearly the security men were sent to arrest and destabilise the opposition. We were not so much bothered about the influx of security men parading Osun. But scores of miscreants were given military uniforms to wreak havoc in the state and they were being protected by

the regular police and soldiers they claimed were on ground to make sure the election was credible. We heard of a PDP big wig being given 50 soldiers from Enugu to come do what in Osun? When did the PDP big wig become a Commander! When you start bastardizing institutions because of election, it is something one should worry about. Moreover, nobody is yet to explain to us why security agents should be wearing masks during elections. In a recent interview, the Minister of State for Defence, Senator Musiliu Obanikoro, accused the APC of giving unnecessary excuses of millitarisation of election, while, in 2012, Edo State Governor Adams Oshiomhole commended President Jonathan for the influx of soldiers that made his election credible? Were the soldiers in Edo masked? My point is, why would military men during election be masked? Secondly, did they engage hoodlums by giving them uniforms in Edo? I am a living witness to what transpired in the Osun election. I was abducted by hooded men in official

uniform. I ran into a convoy of 25 vehicles and they were all in civil defence uniform. These boys were be tween 18 and 25 years old in all kind of cars, some even with foreign number plates. I challenge the defence minister, if these people didn’t enter Osun under the watchful eyes of the military. It means anybody can wear a police uniform, masked and kill anybody! Only terrorists wear masks. Why must our own security officer wear mask during election? Following the Osun scenario, what is your expectation come 2015? Come 2015,the people are ready for them, I can assure you of that. Whatever success we achieved in Osun, despite what the Federal Government put in place, if the people of Osun refused to be intimidated, then Nigerians are waiting for them. There are reports making rounds barely 48hours after the election result was announced that the PDP are heading to the tribunal to contest the outcome, what do you make of it? Let them go ahead, it’s within their right to do so. As a mater of fact, we were even surprised that we didn’t score more going by the popularity of Gov. Aregbesola. Sincerely, the PDP should not have had up to 20% of the sum total of the votes if some of our members were not intimidated. What would you say transpired? Many people were intimidated most especially in Ile-Ife due to so much violence on the eve of election. so they did not come out to vote. In Ife-south, our agents were intimidated that many of them did not even come. But we await what Omisore (the PDP candidate) is going to say at the tribunal. We heard they said Independent National Electoral Commission, INEC, was not fair. This is the first time a PDP candidate would complain about INEC! How prepared is the Lagos APC to confront the candidacy of PDP as we heard Mr. Jimi Agbaje is coming on board on the PDP platform? If you remember vividly in 2003, they used Koro (Obanikoro) to try to unseat Gov.Fashola but didn’t succeed. In 2007, Koro also came on board but did not succeed. Our records are there. We will make sure we project a formidable candidate that will deliver. APC starts preparing for elections from the day we are sworn in. How do you react to the zoning of the office of the governor as being clamoured for by some people? I am not aware of that. You know aspirants come up with all kinds of justification to have their way. But I am sure there will be a level playing ground for everybody. Culled from VANGUARD

FEATURE

OSUN DEFENDER Thursday, August 21, 2014

DSS On A Sad Familiar Terrain T

HE tragedy of state apparatus in Nigeria is usually that of blind loyalty to the proverbial “piper that dictates the tune”. The recent altercation between the spokespersons of the Department of State Security, DSS, Ms Marilyn Ogar, and that of the opposition All Progressives Congress’ (APC) Alhaji Lai Mohammed provides a sad commentary on what a government agency should not turn itself into. It’s so sad that history beacons on us concerning state agencies like the police, the armed forces, customs, immigrations as well as, of course, and particularly, the Department of State Services. The then Nigerian Security Organization (NSO) was the state security and intelligence service of the Nigerian government in those days (1976-1983), being set up shortly, in response to, and after the unfortunate assassination of the charismatic military leader then, General Murtala Ramat Mohammed. It preceded the present Department of State Security, DSS, also known as State Security Service, SSS. NSO was given a mandate of coordinating both domestic and foreign intelligence. During the time of the military regime, and continuing through the Nigerian Second Republic, the NSO was accused of carrying out systematic and widespread human rights abuses, especially of those seen to be critical of the government, in a Gestapo style. In those days, a series of repressive measures, led by NSO Chief Mohammed Rafindadi, was carried out. Of these, repression against journalists, opposition figures, government officials and the 25 month imprisonment of late musician, Fela Ransome-Kuti, are especially remembered. Just after handing over power by the military to a civilian government in 1979, the Shinkafi-led NSO had the difficult task of transitioning from a military era secret police organisation to an organisation that functioned in a democracy and which also respected the Constitution. During the second republic, there was a reduction in the number of human rights abuses committed by the NSO, though their overall human rights record still remained poor. Political parties and opposition groups complained of harassment by the NSO, particularly the Unity Party of Nigeria (UPN) headed by Chief Obafemi Awolowo – a keen rival of the party in power, the National Party of Nigeria (NPN) – was constantly hounded by the NSO. President Shehu Shagari nominated Lawal Rafindadi. His tenure as the DG of the NSO was plagued by arbitrary arrests and detentions of anybody suspected of being a threat to the regime, imagined or real. This attitude crept down the ranks of the NSO and led to heavy handedness among some of the agency’s operatives. A case in point was that of Brigadier Abbas Wali, a former defence attaché to the UK and Adjutant-General of the Nigerian Army. Wali was arrested in Kano by a NSO operative named Bishara and detained at the NSO office for a week without anyone knowing about the arrest including the DG of the agency, Lawal Rafindadi and his deputy, Albert Horsefall. The military was not spared by the NSO either, the agency investigated Col. Aliyu Mohammed of the Department of Military Intelligence, DMI, and found him to be complicit in an import license racket, he was subsequently compulsorily retired from the Army after six months in detention. During this period, Aliyu’s friend and superior, Ibrahim Babangida also came under the scrutiny of the NSO. The NSO under Rafindadi began a wire tapping and eavesdropping programme, where the telephone conversations of government officials, dissidents and military officials including SMC members were being listened to. Rafindadi also used his position as DG of NSO and a member of the SMC to initiate a purge of senior officers in

•Some of the officials of the Department of State Service (DSS) deployed to State of Osun during a road show to intimidate Osun residents before the election. By AYOAKINOLA

the diplomatic service for no good reason, many lost their jobs and entitlements. The State Security Service, SSS has a long history of been criticized for operating no less like its predecessor the NSO. As far back as 1986, barely four months after its establishment, the then Director General of the agency, Alhaji Ismaila Gwarzo and his deputy, Lt. Col. Tunde Togun were indicted in the killing of the editor of the Newswatch magazine, Mr. Dele Giwa by a letter bomb delivered to his home. The establishment mission of the SSS is to protect and defend the Federal Republic of Nigeria against domestic threats, to uphold and enforce the criminal laws of Nigeria, and to provide leadership and criminal justice services to both federal and state law-enforcement organs. The SSS is also charged with the protection of the President, Vice President, Senate President, Speaker of the House of Representatives, State Governors, their immediate families, other high-ranking government officials, past presidents and their spouses, certain candidates for the offices of President and Vice President, and visiting foreign heads of state and government. The SSS has constantly adapted to various roles necessitated by evolving security threats in Nigeria including counter-terrorism and counterinsurgent. The SSS has been criticised for allowing Umar Farouk Abdul Mutallab, the “underpants bomber”, to board Northwest airlines flight from Lagos despite his father having previously warned security officials of his son’s radical views on America. In its defence, the SSS said it was not informed by Mr. Mutallab’s father of his son’s alleged radical beliefs. The agency said that Mr. Mutallab’s father had actually spoken with officials at the United States Embassy in Abuja and also sought the help of a past Nigerian National Security Adviser. The SSS held that the American authorities did not share the information that Mr. Mutallab senior had given them and the former National Security Adviser had also not contacted the agency, hence their inability to act on information they did not possess. The agency was also criticized heavily in the wake of the August 26, 2011 United

Nations House bombing in Abuja. The Boko Haram Islamist sect, which has ties to AlQaeda Organization in the Islamic Maghreb (AQIM) claimed responsibility for the car bomb attack that left 24 people dead; the sect had been fighting an Islamic insurgency that started as a result of their leader being killed by policemen after he had been arrested. The Nigerian public grew even more critical of the agency after newspapers ran stories in which they claimed that the agency had received intelligence about the bombing beforehand from the Americans. In early November 2011, the Nigerian press ran stories alleging that the United States government had issued a travel advisory on Nigeria. The travel advisory, according to the papers, included the threat of bomb attacks at major hotels in Abuja frequented by expatriates. The story immediately generated panic among the populace and accusations of incompetence made against the security agencies, the SSS inclusive. The story also alleged that the American ambassador had given a statement explaining that the US had given the warning directly because the Nigerian security agencies had failed to act on previous intelligence shared with them. In the past, government security forces frequently harass, arrested, and detained editors and reporters from journals critical of the regime. On November 4, 1997, Adetokunbo Fakeye, defense correspondent for The News, was arrested. On November 8, Jenkins Alumona, editor of The News, was arrested by SSS agents at a Lagos Television station. On November 9, Onome Osifo-Whiskey, Managing Editor of Tell magazine, was arrested by SSS agents in Lagos while driving to church with his children. On 29 October, Osifo-Whiskey had warned that the magazine had received a written death threat, which listed the names of 27 staff members. On 16 November, SSS agents arrested now Senator, Babafemi Ojudu, then editor of the News/Tempo. Rafiu Salau, an administration editor for the News/ Tempo, was also arrested in mid-November of the same year. Former chairman of the editorial board of The Guardian and a then visiting professor of journalism at a US university, Olatunji Dare, was detained overnight and his passport seized upon his arrival from the United States on 2 June 1997. He was told to report to the DSS to retrieve

his passport. After being interrogated on 17 June by SSS officials about his activities abroad, his passport was then returned. The SSS has also been accused of repressing the political activities of opposition groups. Public meetings are arbitrarily canceled or prevented, including cultural events, academic conferences, and human rights meetings. On 25 September 1997, police and SSS agents broke up a Human Rights Africa (HRA) seminar for students in Jos, arrested then HARA Director, Tunji Abayomi and 4 others, and briefly detained some 70 students. Abayomi and the others were held for 10 days and then released on bail. A May 1, 1998 workshop on conflict management in Port Harcourt was canceled when the SSS warned local coordinators that such a meeting could not be held on Workers Day, a local holiday. Similar workshops elsewhere proceeded unimpeded despite the holiday. So, when a long convoy of DSS operatives arrived in Osogbo, capital city of Osun State, weeks prior to the governorship election in the state, not many following the historical atrocities of the department were amused. If an organization serviced through tax payers’ money could easily turn against such people, then, something may be wrong somewhere. Alhaji Lai Mohammed is certainly not the type to be described as a loiter especially on the eve of an election involving a party in which Mohammed happens to be a national officer. If an incumbent state governor, in the person of Ogbeni Aregbesola, as a contestant is holed up in his residence by this same organization; if Mohammed could be blindly arrested and detained; if hooded operatives could harass and arrest citizens randomly; if members of a political party are singled out for arrest and harassment on the eve of an election; if a spokesperson of DSS could gleefully allege on national television, that a political party is the sole sponsor of insurgency and bombings in the land, without any credible evidence to support; if the same image maker is alleging bribery of her men without concrete evidence; if a security agency is supporting a faction of labour union against another instead of being impartial, then something is really, really wrong somewhere. It is just a matter of time for the chicken to come home to roost. •Akinola is a social commentator

OSUN DEFENDER Thursday, August 21, 2014

PHOTOTALK

State Of Osun Arewa Community Paid A Courtesy Visit To The State Governor, Ogbeni Rauf Aregbesola, At The Government House, Osogbo, Last Monday.

â&#x20AC;˘The governor, State of Osun, Ogbeni Rauf Aregbesola (middle); his deputy, Otunba (Mrs) Grace Titi Laoye-Tomori (3rd left); Sheriki Ifon-Orolu, Alhaji Sule Sambo (2nd left); Special Adviser to the Governor on Arewa Matters, Mr. Muhammed Bashir (left) and Sheriki Sabo Osogbo, Alhaji Lawal Gomina (right) and other dignitaries during the congratulatory visit to the Governor on his victory in the 2014 governorship election at Government House, Osogbo, on Monday.

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THURSDAY, AUGUST 21, 2014 WO weeks before, I had made a case for the reelection of Governor Rauf Aregbesola of Osun State in the (then) forthcoming governorship election in the state billed for August 9. I mentioned some of Aregbesola’s many achievements in less than four years, and in spite of financial limitations. As I said then, such campaign would have been unnecessary as Aregbesola’s achievements should have spoken for him. But we have entered a dangerous era in our political development where achievements alone no longer speak. That much was learnt from the June 21 governorship election in Ekiti State in which the incumbent Governor Kayode Fayemi of the All Progressives Congress (APC) lost to his Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) challenger, Ayo Fayose. Mercifully, the Osun election result was different. Although Osun people took ‘political notice’ of the nuisance value in Aregbesola’s challenger, they rewarded performance by retaining Aregbe (APC) as governor with 394, 684 votes against Iyiola Omisore’s (PDP) 292,747. It would have been tragic to have allowed unserious people and impostors to take over another state in a pacesetter region like the south-west. It was not that they did not try; they did, but the people’s eternal vigilance and God made it impossible for them to carry out their satanic desire. This is why I find it so ridiculous to laud President Goodluck Jonathan for deploying troops to Osun as he did in Ekiti. Only that in the former, we saw not only genuine soldiers but also suspected fakes; both hooded and hoodless. Moreover, the motive for sending the soldiers was not altruistic. An account had it that at a point, the soldiers were reminded of the ‘patriotic duty’ not to disappoint their Cin-C in Osun. But everyone who should know ought to have realised that Nigeria is one of the very few places where President Goodluck Jonathan could be a political asset. A situation where the president would have thrown his hat into the ring should have been avoided instead of allowing him to do that only to start looking for security agents to ensure his party was rigged in. More importantly, soldiers would have had no business in elections if the ruling party had done what was required in the police force all these years. Why should soldiers take up police duties while duty calls at Sambisa Forest? It baffles me that despite what happened in the Western Region in the ‘60s and ‘80s, some people still had the effrontery to want to rig election in the region so barefacedly like the PDP tried even in Osun on August 9. But, as we all know, if history is always to repeat itself, there must be people to make that happen. Renegades there always will be. They were there even in Chief Obafemi Awolowo’s time. With every 12 disciples, there must be a Judas. I mean sons of perdition will always be sons of perdition, no matter what. But, it is good we continue to remind such people that they rig election, especially in the south-west, at their own risk. This is not a clarion call to arms. And even if it is, it is nothing to be apologetic about. After all, John Kennedy in 1962, it was who said, “Those who make peaceful revolution impossible will make violent revolution inevitable.” This is forever true, whether in Kennedy’s America or anywhere for that matter. America will not experience violent revolution today simply because politicians there would not attempt to subvert the will of the people blatantly as our politicians do at the polls. Elections are supposed to be sacred and those who desecrate that sacredness are like people who cause rain to fall. Unfortunately, they did not

By TUNJI ADEGBOYEGA

Beyond Aregbe’s Victory For the progressives, it’s time for introspection

•OMISORE reckon that when the rain starts, the possibility of its being accompanied by thunderstorm is high. Yet, they do not want thunderstorm. One of the reasons why Africa is in a shambles today is because people who do not deserve to lead have forced their way into positions of authority in many African countries. And they always want to stay put even when it is clear that they have outlived their usefulness. When undeserving people sit tight in power, it has implications not only for today but also for tomorrow. It is people’s future; people lives and people’s progress that such usurpers arrest for every minute that they stay in power. Anyway, having driven away those who wanted to reap where they did not sow in Osun, it is time to tell the progressives some home truths. Posterity would not be kind to them if they give people who have nothing to offer the opportunity to fish for ridiculous excuses why politicians who perform cannot

be reelected, thus throwing the people into perpetual lamentation. All over the democratic world, performance is key. We should resist the attempt by non-performers and vagabonds who are lurking around, waiting to exploit minor weaknesses of some of the region’s performing politicians. We have passed that stage in our political evolution where achievements would take the back seat; we should not allow the PDP to reduce the region to its base standards. I say this because if truly Omisore scored the 292,747 votes that INEC said he scored in the August 9 election, then, the value system that we used to hold dear in the south west is being gradually eroded. And this is dangerous. In the past, no one in Yorubaland would touch Omisore, not even with a long pole, given his antecedents. His acquittal over the murder of Chief Bola Ige might have had the force of law, but it would have lacked the force of votes in the south west because the people’s court too used to count. Chief Commander Ebenezer

“If the Yoruba people were ready to insist that their votes count in the 1960s, breaking their rediffusion sets which they saw then as the roguish government’s tool of propaganda in the process; and if they were ready to do same even in 1983, then there must be a reason why they think such struggle is no longer worth it today when robbed of their votes, even in broad daylight... Like the biblical missing axe, it is that missing link that the progressives must find to make the difference in 2015.”

Obey, in one of his evergreens it was who sang that ‘ka to fi’yan j’oye larin Egba, o ni lati je’ni rere’ (before anyone is given chieftaincy title by the Egba people, such a person must be worthy of it). Ekiti people say their land is ile iyi; (land of honour); but this is not true of the Ekitis alone, it used to be like that all over Yorubaland. Yes, the PDP might have fielded Omisore, not necessarily because of what he has to offer, but, as a source put it, because it wanted people who have an infinite capacity to cause trouble; still, the Yoruba people would have rejected him resoundingly at the polls. I hear the ruling party also sponsored another candidate in the region because, again, as the source said, ‘he get craze for head’! These are, trying times for the south west; indeed trying times for Nigeria! But, the point is, if the Yoruba people were ready to insist that their votes count in the 1960s, breaking their rediffusion sets which they saw then as the roguish government’s tool of propaganda in the process; and if they were ready to do same even in 1983, then there must be a reason why they think such struggle is no longer worth it today when robbed of their votes, even in broad daylight. Agreed, as Hans J. Morgenthau argued ‘… all politics is a struggle for power’ but not all struggles for power are struggles for people’s development. If politicians in Nigeria devote only 30 percent of the energy they give seeking power into governance, things would never have been this bad. Indeed, as we saw in the First and Second Republics, and as we must have seen so far after more than 15 years of PDP rule, the struggle for power has largely been a struggle for personal aggrandisement. “If someone spent eight years in power, I should be able to beat that record”. “If someone who entered the Government House in bathroom slippers is able to come out in golden shoes barely a week after, I should be able to do same in two days”. This may seem more of exaggeration, but that is the spirit among many of our public office holders now. Without doubt, the PDP would not mind allowing people who want to ride Okada from Lagos to Ibadan on the Lagos-Ibadan Expressway kill themselves if that would fetch it votes. It is ready to return Nigeria to the Stone Age, provided that would bring in votes. Such is its desperation. And it is understandable; that is the only way it can get gullible people to still reckon with it in spite of its monumental failure since 1999, especially at the centre. I am not arguing that the south west should fall to such base standards, because the region has always been a pace-setter, but the political leaders in the region have to learn to sell their programmes to the electorate instead of putting up a ‘know-all’ posture or being arrogant or messianic in doing things. And, when like all mortals, they find they are wrong, they should not hesitate to reverse themselves. That is one sure way to keep the predators at bay. All said, the progressives family has to call a meeting where they have to tell themselves the bitter truth. As I argued earlier, if the Yoruba people were ready to go the whole hog like they did in 1966 and 1983 when roguish politicians subverted their electoral choice, then something is missing if they cannot take a similar risk today in the face of a rampaging ruling party that has nothing to offer and yet wants to ‘capture’ more states in the country, particularly in the south-west. Like the biblical missing axe, it is that missing link that the progressives must find to make the difference in 2015. •Culled from THE NATION

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