Osun defender march 12, 2016 edition

www.osundefender.org Saturday, march 12, 2016 The crisis of the lack of funds in the State of Osun which has substantially affected governance in the state must be blamed on the egregious financial mismanagement exhibited by the immediate past

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VOL. 11. NO.023

Blame PDP, Not Aregbesola

government and the humongous corruption that characterised that regime. This is not an exaggeration. For the horrible revelations coming

of the iceberg. As a result, Nigeria did not prepare for the proverbial rainy day.

That things are the way they are now cannot in intellectual honesty, be

Aregbesola. A valiant, well prepared man, he started on a good note implementing a rigorously put together

social and economic transformation of Osun.

The agenda has been interrupted due to the maladministration of the Jonathan regime

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with the fall in the international price of crude oil, the nation’s main foreign exchange earner. ...continue on pg5

Osun PDP Factions Battle For Party Con-

- Pg 4

OIRS Boss: Osun Hits N2bn

IGR In Two Months - See Story On Page 2

•(R-L) State of Osun governor, Ogbeni Rauf Aregbesola; Chancellor, Osun State University, Mrs Folorusho Alakija and his husband, Mr Modupe Alakija during the investiture of Mrs Alakija As new Chancellor, of the university, At Convocation Arena of university, last Wednesday in Osogbo.

Photo: GBENGA ADENIYI

Aregbesola Renames UNIOSUN, Other Institutions, After Bola Ige, Afolabi,

New LCDA Creation: Onigbinde Commends Aregbesola, Sues for Peace

- Page 3 - Page 2

osun Defender Saturday, March 12, 2016

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Osun Targets N2bn IGR In Two Months

By KAZEEM MOHAMMED overnment of the State of Osun has expressed optimism that it would conveniently hit N2 billion as Internally Generated Revenue (IGR) in the next two months.

He said, by the time The Acting Chairman, Osun Internal Revenue the state government hits Service (OIRS), Mr Dayo its target of N5 billion Oyebanji, who stated target, it would be easier this in an interview with to finance its programmes OSUN DEFENDER on and policies with IGR Tuesday, said, the target without any fund from in the next few months the federation account.

He said the agency would be N5 billion per has put a platform in month.

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place for immediate and sustainable revenue generation in the state that would enable government meets its target.

“When you put a platform in place, you will notice there is steady growth in number and value in the revenue base of the state.

“In the last few months, we have seen steady growth in number of tax payers, which

ultimately will translate to significant increase in value.

“Within the next two months, we should comfortably be on N2 billion. The target of the government is N5 billion per month and that is the only time the government can say, we don’t need Abuja to survive.

“When Governor Aregbesola came into office, the state was generating about

N300 million monthly, inclusive of the state PAYE, that means, effective inflow from other sources at that time was barely around N100 million.

“With the system that we have put in place, like the Revenue Administration Law, the blockage of leakages, the automation of revenue collection that now makes all revenue go to the coffers of the government,

•Managing Editor, Osun Defender Newspaper, Mr Kola Olabisi (middle); Admin Manager, Mr Murtala Agboola (3rd left) in a group photograph with members of Forum for the Patriotic of All Progressive Congress in the State of Osun, last Tuesday.

Photo: Gbenga

Man Bags 2 Years For Selling Cannabis

By ISMAEEL UTHMAN Federal High Court sitting in Osogbo, the capital of the State of Osun, has sentenced a 22-year-old mechanic, Amos Oluwasanmi, to two years’ imprisonment for selling cannabis, also known as Indian hemp.

O l u w a s a n m i , w h o possession of 1.8kg of was accused of being in Indian hemp, was said

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to have been arrested on May 15, 2015 at No 4, Ifonfin Street, Ilesa.

The prosecutor, John Ameh, told the court that Oluwasanmi by his action, committed an offence contrary to and punishable under section

19, NDLEA Act Cap 30 Law of the Federation of Nigeria 2004.

Ameh urged the court to convict the accused person as charged.

When the charge sheet was read to him,

New LCDA Creation: Onigbinde Commends Aregbesola,

Sues for Peace

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eader of the All Progressives Congress in Modakeke, Chief Adegboye Onigbinde, has expressed gratitude to the State of Osun Governor Rauf Argbesola for deeming it fit to create a local government development authority for his community.

O n i g b i n d e , f o r m e r Modakeke who clocked Super Eagles coach, who 78 years last week said his c h a t t e d w i t h O S U N joy knew no bounds when DEFENDER shortly after the announcement of the the announcement of the creation of the LCDA was new LCDA, said there was made. nothing that could not be It would be recalled that achieved with patience.

Aregbesola announced The APC leader in the creation of 31 LCDAs

Change Of Name

Change Of Name

I, formerly known as miss adeyemi bernice oluwumi, now wish to be known and addressed as m r s o m o tos h o bernice oluwumi.

All former documents remain valid. General public should take note.

I, formerly known as hazeezat alkazeem, now wish to be known and addressed a s h a z ee z a t abdulrasaq obembe. All former documents remain valid.

General public should take note.

for the state few days ago among which was Ife North East LCDA for Modakeke, with the town as its headquarters.

The former Super Eagles coach and FIFA instructor said each time he thought about the challenges of his community regarding how it remained three wards for several decades, he was always feeling sad.

He hinted that with the creation of the LCDA, he could now be hopeful that it was a sign of better things to come to the community.

Onigbinde however, appealed to those who were jubilating over the new status of the community to go about it without molesting anybody.

He tasked all stakeholders in the community from both within and outside to fashion out ways on how it could be self-sustaining and be a subsequent model to all other council

within the state.

However, residents of the town stormed major streets in the community jubilating on Wednesday over the creation of Ife North East Local Council Development Authority.

Some of the other leaders who led the jubilant residents round the town were Mr Wale Amusan, immediatepast Executive Seretary of defunct Modakeke Area Office; Mrs Idowu Shakunle, Ex-officio (Women), State APC; Chief Wahab Adetunji a.k.a. Asalu; Alhaji Bisi Kolawole; Mrs Toyin Olawuni, APC Women Leader in Modakeke; Mr Yinka Oyewole, Youth Leader, Mrs Felicia Adesiyan, Mr Femi Akintaro and Paul Oyemade.

Oluwasanmi pleaded guilty to the onecount charge of illegal possession of cannabis.

Defence counsel, A.O Olawole, prayed the court to temper justice with mercy on Oluwasanmi, saying that he was a first offender and has no criminal record.

Olawole argued that the convict, having realised the gravity of his offence, pleaded guilty and as a result, did not take the court through rigorous exercise of prosecution.

Making his plea, Oluwasanmi, who disclosed that he was a mechanic, said that he ventured into cannabis sale to enhance his work and buy mechanical tools.

He promised not to go back to the criminal business, should the court free him.

Delivering his judgment, Justice Malqueen Ohyetenu convicted the accused and subsequently sentenced him to two years’ imprisonment starting from his first date in custody.

the revenue first moved to N600 million and at a time when there was oil boom, it moved to N1.5 billion.

“Therefore, because of the economic situation in terms of average, we are operating between N800 million and N1 billion now. Our focus is to hit not less than N5 billion in the next few months.

So, we have the structures in place that we can work on to generate more revenue to the coffer of the state.

“For us in Osun, for informal sector, the minimum tax payable is N1,000 and development levy is N500, that means you pay N1,500 per annum.

“For you to collect tax certificate, you must have paid taxes for three solid years, plus current year, which is N6,000. It is not compulsory that you pay at once, you can do staggered payment and when you complete the payment of N6,000, we will issue tax clearance certificate, but as you pay, you collect your receipts,” Oyebanji said.

The OIRS boss, who described taxation as the peak of representation in government, said when this principle is there, it reduces corruption to the barest level, saying, “that is when you will see that the growth in taxation will be a proposal to the growth in the economy.”

According to him, now that the external money from federation account was no longer coming, it is the responsibility of the people to support government to sustain its developmental programmes and policies.

He also urged institutions that have been running away from paying their dues to the government to be up and doing, saying, the state government would not derive pleasure in shutting down private investors for failure to fulfill their civic responsibilities.

On what he called misconception that pupils of public schools were being asked to pay taxes outside the ones being paid by the parents, he said no pupil was asked to pay any tax.

According to him, parents of the pupils were the ones expected to provide copies of their tax clearance certificates and give to their children to confirm that they have exercised their civic responsibilities.

“Students are not to pay or present their tax clearance certificate; it is only the tax clearance certificates of their parents that the schools would have asked for and that is what is operational in every society,” he emphasised.

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osun Defender Saturday, March 12, 2016

Aregbesola Renames UNIOSUN, Other Institutions, After Bola Ige, Afolabi, Akande •Installs Alakija The First Female Varsity Chancellor In By kehinde ayantunji overnor of the State of Osun, Ogbeni Rauf Aregbesola, on Wednesday, renamed all the state-owned tertiary institutions after present and past heroes of the state.

He named Osun State F o l u s h o A l a k i j a a s University after the the Chancellor of the former Minister of Justice UNIOSUN to become the and Attorney General first female chancellor of of the Federation, Chief any public university in B o l a I g e , w h o w a s Nigeria.

Governor Aregbesola assassinated in 2002, and named Osun State said one of the best Polytechnic, Iree, after ways to promote and the Minister of Internal reward hard work is to Affairs, the late Chief honour those who have demonstrated exemplary Sunday Afolabi.

O t h e r i n s t i t u t i o n s leadership in governance renamed were: Osun and public life to serve as S t a t e C o l l e g e o f a model for the incoming Technology, Esa-Oke as generations.

He said, the recognition Bisi Akande College of Technology; College Of of the past leaders will Education, Ila-Orangun, d e f i n i t e l y m o t i v a t e now Adeyemi Oyedotun the present leaders to College of Education and commit themselves to the College of Education, public service and serve Ilesa, which will now be meritoriously.

He urged the Lawrence Omole College university to improve of Education.

The governor also on research and skills named UNIOSUN C t h a t a d d r e s s m a j o r ollege of Law, Ifetedo, problems facing Nigeria as Kayode Esho College and African continent, to of Law; College of justify its existence and S o c i a l S c i e n c e s a n d attain the vision of the Management Okuku, founding fathers.

Aregbesola said: “I now Olagunsoye t h erefore want this Oyinlola College of Social Sciences, Okuku; university at three levels College of Agriculture, to affect our society.

The first is at the level Ejigbo, now Isiaka A d e l e k e C o l l e g e o f of teaching, which should A g r i c u l t u r e , E j i g b o ; prepare the students for College of Education post-graduate life by Ipetu-Ijesa, now Ezekiah equipping them with Oluwasanmi College of life sustenance skills, Education and C ollege of e s p e c i a l l y t e c h n i c a l Humanities and Culture, and entrepreneurial Ikire, now Eniola Atanda education.

“Secondly, the College of Humanities u n iversities should and Culture.

The governor also tailor its researches i n s t a l l e d D r ( M r s ) into immediate and

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prospective challenges of mankind in health, food, housing, infrastructure, societal organisation and the seemingly unknown aspects on nature and so on.

“The essence of the education enterprise is for man to be able to conquer nature and dominate the environment. This should translate into better life for all. An end should come to the idea of research for getting promotion, which then gathers dust on a shelf somewhere.

“Thirdly, the universities should also be engaged in society through public service, by bringing their knowledge and research findings to bear directly in needed areas as their counterparts in other parts of the world are wont to do,” the governor emphasised.

He advised the university to reprogramme itself to be able to raise funds without burdening government and its students.

He stressed that there are lots of firms and individuals who will like to endow chairs, courses, programmes and projects, willing to pay any amount to have themselves immortalised in a place like a university, saying not all of them merit it, but people deserving them must be reached out to.

A r e g b e s o l a commended Dr. Alakija, who with her investiture becomes the first female

Chancellor in any public university in Nigeria for counting the university worthy and accepting to serve as the Chancellor of the university, when she could have easily turned down top universities in Europe and America with the same request.

He enjoined Dr. Alakija to join the state in the desire for an institution that exists for the society and advancement of mankind, saying most Nigerian universities are too withdrawn and unconcerned from the society an its problems.

Speaking earlier, the new Chancellor, Alakija, who also bagged the Award of Honorary Doctorate Degree in Business administration, described the appointment as another glass-ceiling broken by womanhood.

She described education as central empowerment that can guarantee economic growth among the people of the country.

According to Mrs Alakija, education cannot and can never be overemphasized because the lack of it could only bring poverty of body, mind and of living.

The chancellor said being educated would give anyone the opportunity to play significant role and articulate his or her own agenda for change within space such individual occupies.

She therefore called on all stakeholders involved in policies and

programmes designed for education to be committed to education, saying the nation would be the better for it.

She said: “I feel extremely humbled, proud and excited to be receiving this conferment as Chancellor. I also appreciate the Honorary Doctorate Degree in Business Administration (DBA) (Honoris Causa), which came in as a surprise.

“Whatever role you are playing here today, it is obvious we all have a common goal; one that borders on academic empowerment for economic growth amongst our people for the benefit of Nigeria, Africa and the rest of the world.

“We all have a role to play to articulate our own agenda for change; to change the world. If we can make a commitment to do something differently from now on, our world will be a better place to live in.

“Nigeria will flourish with the input from all of you gathered here, as you embark on this exciting journey called life.”

The chancellor also admonished the graduands to always be conscious that they form part of the threads with which the story of the university’s woven together, urging them to be good ambassadors of the school wherever they find themselves.

In his inaugural speech, the Acting Vice

•Secretary to the State Government of Osun, Alhaji Moshood Adeoti (middle), receiving an award of African Golden Man of the Year, from the Speaker, West Africa Youth Parliament (WAIP), Diplomat Mensch Kweku from Ghana (3rd right) and other WAIP members recently in the ofice SSG’s office last Wednesday in Osogbo.

Photo: GBENGA ADENIYI

Chancellor, Professor Jelil Oguntola Alamu, remarked that the university has been sustaining its reputation as an institution purposely established to promote academic excellence and sound moral education.

He revealed that the university has continued to grow in leaps and bounds with the recent accreditation of six more programmes by the National University Commission, bringing the programmes the school is running to 32 mature academic programmes.

Professor Oguntola equally disclosed that the university has become a member of the Association of Commonwealth Universities (ACU), as well as haven signed Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with the Chartered Institute of Bankers of Nigeria (CIBN).

According to him, the school also excelled both nationally and internationally, as students of the state, who participated in debating competition organised

by African Regional Inter-University Debate Competition organised

by UNESCO, came third overall.

“Osun State University continues to sustain its reputation as an institution established to promote academic and moral standards.

“My greatest joy today is the relative peace and high level of academic excellence attained by the institution since I became the Acting Vice Chancellor about a year ago,” he said.

In his valedictory speech, the overall best student of the institution for 2014/ 2015session, Peter Oluwatobiloba Daniel, was full of appreciation to God, his parents, lecturers and the Government of Osun for the establishment the university.

Daniel, with the best CGPA of 4.81 from Electrical and Electronic Engineering Department, said he achieved the feat by steady and dedicated commitment to his academics.

He encouraged other students to plan well and follow their plans with dogged determination, saying “Whatever you conceive, you can achieve. Just keep on

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osun Defender Saturday, March 12, 2016

Osun PDP Factions Battle For Party Control

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By SHINA ABUBAKAR

s the crisis in the political camp of the opposition in the State of Osun heightens, the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) is preparing the stage for a battle of wits as Soji Adagunodo and members of his caucus are poised on contesting the chairmanship of the party.

Prior to the decision to I y i o l a O m i s o r e h a d go to the field to contest attempted to impose one for the post, Senator of his followers on the

party to prepare ground for his 2018 ambition, but a new forum within the party decided to counter the move, believing the party needed fresh ideas.

At a meeting held in Ikire in Irewole Local Government Council Area of the state, it was gathered that the

stakeholders at the gathering could not reach a compromise, as the former senator and defeated governorship candidate of the party was told to hands off the chairmanship of the party and allow every aspirant equal access to the post.

Report gathered

•A scene of an accident on Third Mainland Bridge, Lagos last Wednesday.

revealed that a young man from Adagunodo camp pointed at Omisore and accused him of impropriety in the ways the affairs of the party was handled when he was contesting for the governorship seat of the state, especially, the manner with which fund was handled.

The young man was said to have told the senator and other chieftains of the party at the gathering that it was time to allow fresh ideas to thrive in the party and sell it to the state electorate ahead of the 2018 gubernatorial election.

It was gathered that the meeting was dismissed without a concrete decision, hence, the platform was set for campaign among the teeming party loyalists.

As at last week, the Adagunodo group had started moving around to keep its members alerted and seek the support of party caucuses towards winning and becoming the party’s number one man in the state.

According to findings, the group enjoyed the slight support of a

Auto-Mechanic Docked Over Damaged N1.3m Vehicle as he will not jump bail, if granted.

He also pleaded with the court to exercise its discretionary power in favour of his client, saying that he was presumed to be innocent until proven otherwise.

By SHERIFAT RAHEEM n automobile mechanic, Mr Dauda Jimoh, has been arraigned before an Osogbo Magistrate’s Court for damaging a vehicle worth N1.3 million. in the most liberal terms, According to the charge sheet, Jimoh was said to have obtained the sum of N14,000 from Mrs Abimbola Temitope, By kazeem mohammed under the pretence of anagement of the Adeyemi Oyeduntan helping her buy motor College of Education, Ila-Orangun, has said kick-starter knowing full that the re-absorption of the 33 out of the 72 well it was false, thereby sacked lecturers of the institution into the service committing an offence, was carried out after the review of their cases contrary to section 419 of and established that they could be given another the State Criminal Law. institutions in the state. opportunity.

It was also gathered that The management of Provost of the the defendant damaged institution, Professor the AOCE, Ila-Orangun the Toyota Camry car Isaac Oyewole, stated and Ilesa; Bisi Akande with registration number this at a meeting with the College of Technology, ABC 213AH, worth N1.3 adhoc committee of the Esa-Oke and Sunday million of property to State of Osun House of Afolabi Polytechnic, Mrs Temitope, which was Assembly investigating I r e e h a v e s a c k e d a contrary to section 451 of the sack of teaching and total of 204 teaching the State Criminal Law. non-teaching staff of the a n d n o n - t e a c h i n g At the dock, the accused four state-owned tertiary staff over redundancy person pleaded not guilty to the two-count charge preferred against him by the prosecutor.

The defence counsel, S.E Ogunlare, while he Permanent Secretary, Office of Budget and Economic Planning, Mr Segun pleading for his client, Olorunsogo, has directed all agencies of govurged the court to grant ernment to adjust their 2016 draft budgets to comply bail to the accused person

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In his response, the prosecutor, Sergeant Ajayi Sunday, did not object to the bail application but advised that addresses of the sureties to verified by the court.

In ruling, the

Why AOCE Ila Exonerates 33 of 72 Sacked Staff

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in academic pursuit, decline in productivity and extortion among others, as the basis for the decision, to improve the educational system in the institutions.

The state parliament had subsequently called for the files of the affected staff members, but instead of the 72 staff purported to have been sacked from Ila-Orangun, only 39 files were forwarded.

Oyewole however said, after reviewing the files of the affected staff members, it was

Osun Directs MDAs To Submit New 2016 budgets on or before Tuesday, 15th March, Budget Estimates 2016.

public Notice

This is to inform members of the public that ayoola love, is the same person a s fa r o m ini y i olaife. All former documents remain valid. Access Bank and general public should take note.

magistrate, Abibat Bashiru, granted bail to the accused person in the sum of N500,000 and two sureties in like sum before the matter was further adjourned to April 1, 2016 for further hearing.

member of the House of Representatives in the state, whose end game was to seek the ticket of the party in future elections in the state.

Checks further revealed that the other camps have started strategizing for ways to tackle Adagunodo group and their sponsors and it was believed that the group was made up of young members of the party, whose sole slogan is to allow the party have a fresh breadth.

It was also learnt that the Adagunodo group is working towards bringing the Gani-Olaoluwa group into its core operation against the supporters of Omisore, as a means of strengthening their grip on the party members ahead of the polls.

However, some loyalists of the outgoing chairman were said not to be favourably disposed to the idea of joining the new group, saying most of the caucus members are new hands, who might not enjoy the support of the party’s founding fathers in the state.

Meanwhile, Omisore was reported not to be giving up on his ambition of securing another chance to seek the vote of the teeming populace of the state towards becoming the state governor.

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with present realities and submit on or before next week Tuesday.

Similarly, all agencies are expected to come up with policy objectives specific to their new status and arrangements.

The Permanent Secretary pointed out that budget ceiling, new budget heads and subheads, as well as organogram have been included in the call letters issued by

the Ministry of Economic Planning, Budget and Development.

He therefore enjoined all agencies of government to clear the soft copies of the adjusted 2016 draft estimates with both the Budget Department and Computer Unit before submitting the soft copy and forty hard copies of their final draft

It would be recalled that due to the current economic downturn and dwindling of revenue accruable to the state from the Federation Accounts, the state government took steps to reduce the cost of governance by slashing the number of ministries from eighteen to twelve, hence the initial 2016 draft estimates have to be reviewed downwards to reflect the current economic situation of the state.

established that some of them were already pursuing additional academic qualifications, hence, the need to give them opportunity to update their files after the completion of the programmes.

He also said that some of the exonerated staff had disciplinary issues and they had been punished legally for the offences, saying, these categories of workers were exempted to ensure that they were not made to undergo double punishment.

“Particularly for those who don’t have adequate qualifications for the position they were holding, but they are in the process of receiving the required qualifications, we exonerated these ones to give them opportunity to complete the programmes.

“Some that committed punishable actions and had served the required punishment, there is no need to ‘double-punish them’. So, these set of people have been cleared too,” he said.

He assured that as soon as the Assembly finishes its investigation on the files of the remaining

49 affected staff, the exonerated ones would be re-enrolled into the payroll of the state.

The Deputy Chairman of the adhoc committee, Honourable Leke Ogunsola, who presided over the meeting, said the management was summoned to be sure that the exonerated ones have actually been cleared, so that their issues would not resurface after the House might have concluded its findings.

“We understand that the agencies responsible for the payment of salaries have received the names of the affected staff 72 initially. If 39 files are now brought here as directed, we must know what happened to the other 33, so that they will not be affected again,” he said.

He then directed that the management should bring evidence on what made the exonerated ones to be qualified and back their exoneration with written documents for the Assembly to be double-sure that they have actually been cleared.

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osun Defender Saturday, March

...continued from pg1

Blame PDP, Not Aregbesola

This has predictably resulted in the drastic drop in the allocations to the states from the domineering centre in Nigeria’s skewed and lopsided federalism.

Let us recall that Aregbesola was the first governor to draw the attention of the world to the drifting state of the economy under Jonathan. This far sighted forewarning took place at a time when the immediate past minister of finance under Jonathan Ngozi Okonjo Iweala was busy feeding Nigerians with lies about the state of the economy. The dire consequences of the high level financial mismanagement that took place under Jonathan is what we are witnessesing now across the nation. The state of Osun is

Mobile Phone, Benefits And Dangers Attached

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ermit me to state that all individuals desire whatever will be of great comfort to them.

Science and technology has made life easier, when compared to the early 1800s, where one had to travel for days before he could communicate with others.

With the invention of mobile phones, communication has become more comfortable and faster. The advent of mobile phones has turned this large world into a global village.

No one can deny the importance of mobile phones. Just as it has many benefits, so also are its demerits.

To start with, mobile phones have made communication easier from and to any part of the globe.

Also, mobile phone has become a source of unlimited entertainment, as one can listen to music, watch movies, play games etc, some even come with special application to boost the human brain.

More so, it also come

the efforts of the state government by paying our taxes. This is fundamental at a time of declining statutory allocations from the centre.

Such an effort confirms the age old aphorism - that heaven helps those who help themselves.

not the only one affected or in fiscal ture above 28 per cent. If we seek to difficulties. know the efficacy of the intervention Those blaming Aregbe would have of Aregbe we should look around had a point if the federal alloca- Osun State. The transformation of tion had remained the same. It has the physical and social landscape is demonstrably not! Indeed it would breathtaking. The solid foundation have been worse if Aregbe had not for positive sustainable economic taken some pro-active decisions. and social development has been For example, as soon as he was laid. There is still a lot to be done sworn in Aregbe realised that to and concluded in a very difficult make a difference he had to redi- climate. It will be done. For Aregbe rect funds from humongous and has the indomitable courage and the suffocating recurrent expenditure tenacity of purpose to continue to into capital votes. This strategy is punch above his weight and reach. straight out of the manual of Chief For when the going gets tough the Obafemi Awolowo whose imagina- tough get going. tive administration transformed the political economy of the Western There can however be no gain withregion positively and irreversibly. out pain. As the state streamlines its processes everyone will have to During Awo’s trend setting tenure contribute in order to protect and at no time was recurrent expendi- indeed extend the gains made so far under Aregbe. All of us must support

handy in emergency situations. For instance, if an accident occurs, it will be easier to locate the victim’s family or friends through his phone contact list.

Many parents allow their kids to own a mobile phone because they feel secured and believe that they can reach them wherever they are and at anytime.

Mobile phone has become a convenient device used for variety of tasks. Many nowadays go

to church and mosques without Bible or Quran or notebook, but only with their phones because of the multiplicity of tasks it performs.

Investigations have revealed how most students have become addictive to mobile phones and are fond of playing games, chatting with friends, watching

movies when they are supposed to be reading or even be in lecture rooms.

A l s o , m a n y students also use the device as a means of committing examination malpractices by saving or browsing an answer to a question while in the examination hall.

Recently, mobile phones are researched to be emitting radiation, which is harmful to health, causing cancer, brain tumours, headache,

sleeping disorder etc.

Mobile phone can also disrupt a meeting or serious discussion, if proper etiquette is not followed. The phone ringing during a class or meeting can distract the attendants and waste precious time.

To curb all these improper use of mobile phones by students, it is advisable for parents/ guardians to alway

check what their children are doing with their phones. They should ensure they enlighten them about what to use it for and what not to do with it.

Also, to reduce physical damages caused by the use of mobile phones, it has been advised by experts for one to use an ear-piece while making long hour calls and desist from placing mobile phones on the chest, pocket of shirts; instead, use a pouch or waist belt.

It is very dangerous to use mobile phone while driving, and always endeavour to put your phone on silent while in lecture rooms or meeting.

If we use our mobile phones properly and reasonably, mobile phones will be a beautiful piece of utility in life and most of its disadvantages can merely be insignificant.

•Oluwasegun Ojo

OSPOLY, Iree, State

And helping ourselves to develop Osun is a task that must be done to paraphrase the rallying crying of retired General and former Head of State, Yakubu Gowon during the civil war. The government of the state of Osun has delivered on its part of the social contract which binds the people with the government. As the people we must now reciprocate by supporting the government with our taxes and our increased productivity.

By doing so we will turn things round

and turn crisis into an opportunity for a rebirth. In doing so we will be assured of a glorious future.

OSUN DEFENDER

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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.

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ISSN: 0794-8050 Telephone: 0803-392-7286, 08033880205 Website: www.osundefender.com/index.php e-mail: osundefender@yahoo.com

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for the records

osun Defender Saturday, March 12, 2016

The Names Of The New Council Managers And Their Deployment Area Are As Follows: 1 . M r s C . O D u r o s i n m i 21. Mrs Tejumade Elizabeth 42. Pharm.Hammed Oyebami (Obokun LG) (Ayedaade LG) (Ejigbo South LCDA) 2. Mr Kolapo Mukaila Badru 22. Mr Adebayo Akani (Ejigbo 43. Surv. Foluso Rasak (Isokan LG) (Ayedaade South LCDA) West LCDA) 3 . M r O l u y e m i B o l a j i 23. Mr Alani Olatunji (Ifedayo 44. Mrs Racheal Saseyi (Isokan South LCDA) (Ayedire LG) LG) 4. Pharm Haruna Razak 24. MR Najim O.Ogundiji 45. Mr Ebenezer Gbeunga (Iwo LG) (Ayedire South LCDA) (Ifelodun LG) 5 . M r I s r a e l O l a d e l e 2 5 . M r S a m u e l T a i w o 46. Mrs Abiola Olabitan (Iwo East LCDA) (Atakunmosa South LCDA) (Ifelodun North LCDA) 6. Mr Bello Razak Atakunmosa 26. Mr AdewuSi Adegboyega 47. Mrs busayo F. Fakayode (Iwo West LG) (East Central LCDA) (Ife Central LG) 7.engr Ganiyu O.Obelawo 27. Mr Abayomi B Awoniyi 4 8 . M r s I k e o l u E u n i c e (Obokun LG) (Atakunmosa West LG) (Ife Central West LG) 8 . M r A j a o 28. Mr Mukaila Anifowose (Ife Lateef (Atakunmosa West OOye LCDA) Central LCDA) 29. Mrs Muslimat Idowu (Ife 9.Mrs Titilade Roseline East LG) (Boripe LG) 30. Mr Tirimisiyu Ayofe (Ife 10. Mr Wasiu Bolaji (Boripe North LG) North LCDA) 31. Mr Olugbenga Joshua (Ife 1 1 . T p l . I s i a k a I s o l a North East LCDA) (Boluwaduro LG) 32. Mrs Medinat M oluyemi 12. Mr Olatoye O.Obembe (Ife North West LCDA) (Boluwaduro East LCDA) 33. Mr Babatunde kehinde (Ife 13. Mrs Nimota O. Olapeju South LG) (Ede East LCDA) 34. Mr Yinusa Olalekan (Ife 14. Mrs Toyin Racheal (Ede South West LG) North LG) 35. Mr Semiu Opeyemi (Ila 15. Mrs S B Aromolaran (Ede LG) South LG) 36. Mr Joel Afolabi (Ila Central 1 6. Engr A d ebow a l e A LCDA) Folowosele (Irepodun LG) 37. Builder Moruf O. Tijani 1 7 . M r s F u n m i l a y o D . (Ilesa East LG) Olagbeju (Irepodun South 38. Mr A.Y Oni (Ilesa North LCDA) East LCDA) 1 8 .

M r s F o l a Christanah (Egbedore LG) 39. Mrs Musirafat M. Salam (Ilesa West LG) 19. Mrs Olusola Victoria 40. Pharm.Adekunle adebayo (Egbedore South LCDA) (Ilesa West Central LCDA) 20. Mrs Asanat Kehinde 41. Mr Samson Olayinka (Ejigbo LG) (Irewole LG)

49. Mr Kehinde A.okelade (Irewole North East LCDA) 50. Mrs Julianah olaide (Odo Otin LG) 51. Pharm. Peter Sogo (Odo Otin North LCDA) 52. Mrs adenike J. Adegbite (Odo Otin South LCDA) 53. Mr francis Ige (Ola oluwa LG) 54. Mr Adegoke Basiru (Olorunda LG) 55. Mr I .A Olabisi (Olorunda North LCDA) 56. Mr Musbau Adufe (Oriade LG) 57. Mr Ajibade S. Ogoyeba (Oriade South LCDA) 58.

Mr Michael Olugbenga (Orolu LG) 59.

Mr Abiodun Gbolahan (Osogbo LG) 60.

Mr Abiodun Gboyega (Osogbo South LCDA) 61. Mr Isaac Kehinde Olayinka (Osogbo West LCDA)

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editorial from other newspapers

osun Defender Saturday, March 12, 2016

The Ikirun Robbery And Police Gallantly

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he incursion of a band of ruthless armed robbers into Ikirun in the Ifelodun Local Government Area of Osun State on Friday, February 16,2016 resulted in a serious disturbance of the peace in the otherwise sedate community.

The robbers were reported to have raided three banks and carted away a huge amount of money. They, however, did not escape with the loot because the police rose to the occasion. According to the State Commissioner of Police, Mr. Kola Sodipo, four of the armed robbers were shot dead while four others were arrested. Two policemen and two bank officials also lost their lives in the incident.

The Nigeria Police have often mounted campaigns that are targeted at the minds of the Nigerian public. The campaigns are aimed at winning the confidence of the people and portraying the police as friends that should be trusted.

If the police authorities have been commissioning surveys to measure subsequent improvement in public perception, they would have long discovered that acceptance rating is determined by deeds and not by words. The widespread belief is that the response of the police to distress calls is, most of the time, lethargic.

Not a few hold the view that the men of the underworld operate in cahoots with some bad eggs in the police

force. There are people who see the police as more of a problem than a solution to the problem of crime in the society.

There have, however, been situations in which the police have lived up to expectation and where their performance has greatly inspired confidence.The promptness with which they responded to the ferocious onslaught of the hoodlums who raided banks in Ikirun was impressive and professional.They gave a good account of themselves as law enforcement agents on whom the people can rely for their individual and collective security. It was a case in which the police acquitted themselves creditably.

Although the policemen lost two of their colleagues, the various reports of the incident showed that they outwitted the undesirable elements in the bloody encounter.

They seized the vehicles the robbers had positioned for a quick getaway and recovered more than seven million naira looted from the banks. Assorted rifles and ammunition which were used during the operation by the armed robbers were also captured by the gallant policemen. It is hoped that the diligent investigation promised by the state Commissioner of Police will be carried out to ensure the arrest of other members of the robbery gang who were able to escape.

In another report, the Special AntiRobbery Squad (SARS) in Oyo State was said to have recovered a total of 27 vehicles from members of a syndicate that had been receiving and selling vehicles snatched from their owners by armed robbers. The State Commissioner of Police, Mr. Leye Oyebade, stated that the vehicles were recovered from the suspects in Kaduna, Abuja, Kogi, Kwara, Ondo and Oyo states. He said the recovery of the vehicles and the arrest of two of the syndicate members resulted from extensive investigation carried out by members of the SARS. The two cases cited above provide good illustrations of what the police can and should always do. The expectation of the public is that such impressive performances should not be flashes in the pan. It is not a hidden fact that the Nigeria Police Force is confronted by a myriad of problems. A substantial number of its personnel is assigned to individuals who constitute an insignificant number of the country’s population.

This substantial number is being used to do demeaning jobs that are unrelated to police duties, while the primary duty of law enforcement for the rest of the population suffers.

It is also common knowledge that the police force that is under the control of the Federal Government is grossly underfunded. The various state police commands depend to an appreciable extent on the

HE National Universities Commission got what it never bargained for at the convocation lecture of the University of Abuja recently, when the integrity of its accreditation of courses in the country’s universities was openly questioned by an authority who should know. It is alleged to be embedded in corruption, as “brown envelopes” (a euphemism for collecting bribes), are often doled out to the accreditation panelists by universities.

Apparently, this charge is not new.

But what makes this salvo weightier is the source. Oyewale Tomori, the President of the Nigeria Academy of Science, is a former Vice-Chancellor of the Redeemer’s University, a distinguished professor of virology, who is still very much aware of the convolutions in the ivory tower.

Dejectedly, Tomori said, “When there are allegations that some of the people who conduct accreditation exercise in the name of (the) NUC receive brown envelopes, the NUC will ask: Are those who give or take the envelopes not your colleagues?

But the NUC forgets one thing, that the accreditation bears ‘NUC’s accreditation’.” All true, of course.

There are 140 universities currently listed on the NUC website, comprising 40 federal, 40 states and 60 private, most of which sprang up between 1999 and 2014, ostensibly to address the nagging problem of expanding access to university education, amid the geometric spike in the number of students seeking such opportunities.

The NUC, as a quality assurance agency, is empowered by law to ensure that national minimum standard is maintained by approving every course in the universities.

In doing this, the agency hires experienced academics in the discipline or subject area to be

accredited, with a professor of note as chairman of the panel. It is guided by the criteria of objective of the programme, curriculum, quality and number of teaching staff, physical facilities that comprise classroom, laboratories, studies, workshops, machines; student admission and graduation requirements, standards of degree examination; financial support level to the university; administrative capacity, among others.

In most cases, approval is given.

However, there are a few examples where accreditation is denied, just as some courses receive interim approval because of deficiencies that need to be remedied within a given time frame, for full accreditation to be attained.

Otherwise, that status is withdrawn.

There are other concerns as well.

Desperate to get the NUC nod, many universities reportedly rent teaching personnel, especially senior professors, from other institutions, as well as equipment; or hurriedly recruit staff to cover up their inadequacies.

Those rented academics return to their original universities as soon as the accreditation is over, and the lecturers, hastily engaged, sacked.

The Enugu State University of Science and Technology is currently being accused of such indulgence by its former employees following its curious disengagement of 153 lecturers in November 2015, some of whom are professors, without paying them any salary. It had employed them in February the same year.

One of the affected lecturers, Ogom Inyam, said the acute shortage of staff had prevailed in the university, which consistently denied ESUT the NUC accreditation before they were recruited.

As a matter of fact, the facilities and quality of staff in our universities should be a food for thought for the

NUC headed by Julius Okojie that approved their programmes. Is it within the threshold of minimum standard for Kano State University, set up in 2001, to have only one professor and 25 Ph.D holders, as a 2012 Needs Assessment report unfurled? Another, Plateau State University, had 74 per cent of its faculty as visiting lecturers.

This abysmal situation is widespread and could be worse in privatelyowned institutions.

There is next to no doubt that our university education system is dysfunctional. The logical corollary from all this is the quality of degrees being milled from the universities.

Cases abound where undergraduates in science and engineering courses graduate without being exposed to the practical aspects of their training because the laboratories and workshops are not equipped. Job recruitment agencies often lament that even some Second Class upper degree holders cannot write passable applications. This is shocking; and gives credence to the fact that graduate unemployment is worse in Nigeria today, not so much for lack of job opportunities, but for the incompetence of many graduates.

It is a challenge embodied in Tomori’s convocation lecture entitled: “Building a new generation university: problems and prospects,” for which he strongly advised the NUC to retool, and discard the out-dated benchmarks for its accreditation so that our graduates will become employable and effective agents of economic development.

In choosing academics to do its accreditation work, the NUC should not only be conscious of their expertise, but also their personal integrity. Hiring of a professor for the purpose of covering up shortcomings

assistance of the state governments to perform their functions. The Nigeria Police Force, however, has its own institutional inadequacies which must be addressed before its image can be enhanced in the eyes of the public. The training programme for new intakes should place considerable emphasis on dignifying conduct. The frequency at which policemen have been pulling the trigger for unjustifiable reasons diminishes the integrity of the police as an institution. Sufficient emphasis should be placed on responsible behaviour.

In spite of their various inadequacies, the police have, at different times, given a good account of themselves. It is our hope that the force will strive to sustain the type of gallantry displayed in Ikirun. It is by so doing that it can earn the respect and win the confidence of the public it serves. The Nigeria Police whose stellar performance on foreign missions has always earned it accolades should not be a complete contrast at home.

•Culled from Nigerian Tribune

Graft-Ridden Varsity Courses AccreditaT

of a faculty during accreditation could be checked if NUC could maintain a register of experts in a given discipline.

This should be cross-checked to detect any duality of engagements. This is critical. President Muhammadu Buhari, who has vowed to extend the anti-graft campaign to the ivory tower should deal with this grave misconduct. Those who orchestrate this perverse game should be nabbed and prosecuted.

A university connotes universalism – a global centre of excellence, which advances the frontiers of knowledge through teaching, learning and research. However, in Nigeria, this phenomenon has collapsed. This is why none of our universities is in the top league in Africa, let alone at the global level. Our best, the University of Ibadan, is ranked 1,296th globally; and 16th in Africa, according to the 2016 Webometrics ranking.

Crowded university lecture rooms, with many students sitting on the bare floor, and others standing outside to receive lessons; make a mockery of NUC’s quality assessments. The ratio of teaching staff to students at the National Open University of Nigeria is 1:363 and 1:144 at the Lagos State University, says the 2012 Needs Assessment report. When this is viewed against the picture at Cambridge University with its 1:3, and Massachusetts Institute of Technology 1:9 ratio, it becomes obvious that our future is in the past.

A radical shake-up of the university monitoring process is long overdue to safeguard standards and improve the quality of our higher education.

The NUC should immediately review the way university education courses are accredited. It must ensure that appropriate and effective teaching,

•Culled from The Punch

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phototalk

osun Defender Saturday, March 12, 2016

Investiture Of Mrs Folorunsho Alakija As New Chancellor, State Of Osun University, At Convocation Arena Of The University, Last Wednesday.

Photo: GBENGA

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phototalk

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President, Republic Of South Africa, Mr Jacob Zuma, Paid A Courtesy Visit To President Muhammadu Buhari , At Aso Villa, Abuja, Recently.

•President Muhammadu Buhari (right) and visiting his counterpart from South Africa, Mr Jacob Zuma (left) •(L-R) State of Osun Deputy Governor, Otunba (Mrs) Grace Titi Laoye-Tomori; Speaker, State House of Assembly, Honourable Najeem Salaam and State Chief Judge, Justice Adepele Ojo, at the event.

•Secretary to the State Government, Alhaji Moshood Adeoti (left); former governor of the state, Prince Olagunsoye Oyinlola (right) and other dignitaries.

•(L-R) Former All Progressive Congress (APC) Chairman in the State of Osun, Elder Lowo Adebiyi; State APC Chairman, Prince Gboyega Famodun; Former Commissioner for Information and Strategy, Honourable Sunday Akere and Honourable Biyi Odunlade.

•President Zuma inspecting the guard of honour parade on his arrival to Aso Villa.

Wife Of The President, Hajia Aishat Buhari, Paid A Condolence Visit To Family Of Late Minister Of State Labour (Stat), Mr James Ocholi Recently.

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•A cross section of traditional rulers at the event.

•Wife of the President, Hajia Aishat Buhari and wife of the Vice President, Mrs Dolapo Osinbajo.

•One of the sons of the late Ocholi and other sympathisers during the condolence visit.

health

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TomatoNutritionFacts

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omato, is today the most popular garden vegetable in America. For many years, however, tomatoes (then called “love apples”) were considered poisonous and were grown solely for their ornamental value.

Tomatoes are usually easy to grow and a few plants provide an adequate harvest for most families. The quality of fruit picked in the garden when fully ripe far surpasses anything available on the market, even in season. The tomato plant is a tender, warm-season perennial that is grown as an annual in summer gardens all over the continental United States. Spring and fall freezes limit the outdoor growing season.

Recommended Varieties Hundreds of varieties of tomatoes are now available for the home gardener.

They range widely in size, shape, color, plant type, disease resistance and season of maturity. Catalogs, garden centers and greenhouses offer a large selection of tomato varieties and choosing the best one or two varieties can be extremely difficult. Evaluate your needs, then choose the varieties best suited to your intended use and method of culture.

Tomato plants fall into one of two types that affect ultimate plant height and cultural requirements. Tomatoes are determinate if they eventually form a flower cluster at the terminal growing point, causing the plant to stop growing in height. Plants that never set terminal flower clusters, but only lateral ones and continue indefinitely to grow taller are called indeterminate. Older varieties are almost all indeterminate.

These can be counted upon to produce abundant foliage and to ripen flavorful fruit. They may, however be extremely late in maturing. The first determinate varieties developed had real problems with inadequate foliage cover and taste, but they ripened very early. Newer determinates produce better foliage, may grow taller and ripen fruit of similar quality to modern indeterminate varieties. They still tend to ripen their fruit over a shorter period of time, so successive plantings may be desirable with determinates to keep the harvest coming through the entire season.

Determinate vines are easier to control and support during the growing season.

Some of the extreme dwarf types are determinate as well as dwarf, producing some truly tiny mature plants.

Care Apply starter fertilizer when transplanting. Hoe or cultivate shallowly to keep down weeds without damaging roots. Mulching is recommended, especially for gardeners who wish to maintain their plants for full season harvest. Black plastic or organic materials are suitable for mulching. Delay application of organic materials until after the soil has warmed completely in early summer so that growth is not retarded by cool soil temperatures early in the season.

Water the plants thoroughly and regularly during prolonged dry periods.

Plants confined in containers may need daily or even more frequent watering. Side-dress nitrogen fertilizer (ammonium nitrate) at the rate of one pound per 100 feet of row (equivalent to 1 tablespoon per plant) after the first tomatoes have grown to the size of golf balls. (If ammonium nitrate is not available, use 3 pounds of 10-10-10 fertilizer.) Make two more applications 3 and 6 weeks later. If the weather is dry following these applications, water the plants thoroughly. Do not get fertilizer on the leaves.

Many gardeners train their tomato plants to stakes, trellises or cages with great success. Not all varieties, however, are equally suitable for staking and pruning.

Tomato cages may be made from concrete-reinforcing wire, wovenwire stock fencing or various wooden designs. Choose wire or wooden designs

that have holes large enough to allow fruit to be picked and removed without bruising. The short, small, narrow type often sold at garden centers is all but useless for anything but the smallest of the dwarf types. Most modern determinate tomatoes easily grow 3 to 4 feet tall and indeterminates continue to get taller until frozen in the fall, easily reaching at least 6 feet in height. Use cages that match in height the variety to be caged and firmly anchor them to the ground with stakes or steel posts to keep the fruit-laden plants from uprooting themselves in late summer windstorms.

Trellis-weave systems have recently been developed for commercial operations and can work just as well in a garden planting. Tall stakes are securely driven into the tomato row about every two or three plants in the row. Make sure the stakes are tall enough to accommodate the growth of your tomato varieties and make sure they are driven very securely into the ground to prevent wind damage. (The woven rows of tomatoes can catch much wind.) As the tomatoes grow upward, strings are attached to the end posts and woven back and forth between the supports, holding the tops of the plants up and off the ground. This operation is repeated about as often as the tomatoes grow another 6 inches, until the plants reach maturity. The fruit is held off the ground as with staked or caged plants; but the foliage cover is better than with staked plants, and the fruit is more accessible than with cages.

Harvesting omatoes should be firm and fully colored. They are of highest quality when they ripen on healthy vines and daily summer temperatures average about 75°F. When temperatures are high (air temperature of 90°F or more), the softening process is accelerated and color development is retarded, reducing quality. For this reason, during hot summer weather, pick your tomatoes every day or two, harvest the fruits when color has started to develop and ripen them further indoors (at 70 to 75°F). On the day before a killing freeze is expected, harvest all green mature fruit that is desired for later use in the fall. Wrap the tomatoes individually in paper and store at 60 to 65°F. They continue to ripen slowly over the next several weeks. Whole plants may be uprooted and hung in sheltered locations, where fruit continues to ripen.

Common Problems Tomato hornworms are large (2 to 3 inch long when fully grown), green caterpillars with white stripes on the body. A horn protrudes from the top rear end of the worm. Tomato hornworms feed on the leaves and fruit.

Several worms on one plant can quickly defoliate it and ruin developing fruit.

Because their green coloring so closely resembles tomato foliage and stems, they are difficult to see. Handpick in cooler parts of the day or use suggested biological insecticides. If you see hornworms with small, white cocoons

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protruding, leave them alone. These structures are the pupae of parasitic insects that help control the hornworm population and the individual wearing them is already doomed.

Verticillium and fusarium wilts are soilborne diseases that cause yellowing of the leaves, wilting and premature death of plants. These diseases persist in gardens where susceptible plants are grown. Once they build up, the only practical control is the use of resistant (VF) varieties.

Early blight is characterized by dead brown spots that usually start on the lower leaves and spread up the plant. Upon close inspection, you can see concentric rings within the spots.

Although early blight is most severe on the leaves, it sometimes occurs on the stems and can cause severe defoliation.

Certain varieties (Roma and Supersonic) are more tolerant of early blight than others.

Septoria leafspot is characterized by numerous small black spots on the leaves. The centers of these spots later turn white and tiny black dots appear in the white centers. The disease starts on the bottom leaves and may become severe in wet weather.

Blossom-end rot is a dry, leathery brown rot of the blossom end of the fruit that is common in some seasons on tomatoes. It is caused by the combination of a localized calcium deficiency in the developing fruit and wide fluctuations of soil moisture. The problem is especially bad in hot weather. Soil applications of calcium seldom help, though foliar calcium sprays may minimize the occurrence of the problem. Make sure the formulation is designed for foliar application or severe damage could result. Pruning causes stress to the plants that may increase the incidence of blossom-end rot. Some tomato varieties are much more susceptible to this condition than others. Mulching and uniform watering help to prevent blossom-end rot. Once the blackened ends appear, affected fruits cannot be saved. They are best removed and destroyed so that healthy fruit setting later can develop more quickly.

Poor color and sunscald occur when high temperatures retard the development of full red color in tomatoes exposed directly to the hot sun. Sunscald occurs as a large, whitish area on the fruit during hot, dry weather.

It becomes a problem when foliage has been lost through other diseases such as early blight or on early varieties that normally have poor foliage cover as the fruit ripens.

Selection & Storage Tomatoes are a favorite among small plot gardeners and nothing tastes better than one that is truly vine ripened.

Although tomatoes are available year round, vine-ripened tomatoes are only available during the growing season.

Dozens of varieties of tomatoes are available in seed catalogs and as transplants. They come in a wide range of sizes, colors and shapes. A single

osun Defender Saturday, March 12, 2016

tomato plant will grow well in a large flowerpot or bucket. The point is, if you do not plant anything else, plant a tomato and eat fresh tomatoes often.

Tomatoes generally fall into three categories, slicing round tomatoes, plum tomatoes, and small cherry tomatoes. Variety selection should be suited to how you will use them.

Slicing tomatoes are large round varieties, which hold more juice and seeds. They are perfect for eating raw in a wide variety of ways. Plum tomatoes are meaty, eggplant-shaped, and may be red or yellow. They are excellent for sauce making, canning, and pizzas. Small cherry-type tomatoes are generally served whole, although they can be cut in half and sautéed in any dish. They contain a great deal of seeds and juice.

Fresh ripe tomatoes should not be stored in the refrigerator.

Unfortunately, refrigeration renders them tasteless and turns the flesh to mealy mush. Flavor and texture begin to deteriorate when the temperature drops below 54°F. Temperatures above 80°F cause tomatoes to spoil quickly.

Store tomatoes at room temperature for 2 to 3 days, away from direct sunlight until ready to use (sunlight hastens ripening). efrigeration also slows ripening of tomatoes. Refrigerate only extra-ripe tomatoes you want to keep from ripening any further.

To reverse some of the damage, bring chilled tomatoes to room temperature before serving raw or simply add to cooked preparations.

To ripen tomatoes, place them in a paper bag, stem end up. Punch several holes all around the bag and fold the top over. The bag will help to keep some of the natural ethylene gas in place, which aids in the ripening process. Depending on how under ripe they are, tomatoes may take one to five days to ripen. Check progress daily.

Nu t r i t i o n al Valu e & Health Benefits Nutritionists have always known tomatoes were good for you, now there is research-based information as to why. Tomatoes are packed with vitamin C, potassium, fiber and vitamin A in the form of health promoting betacarotene, which the body converts to vitamin A. Tomatoes are also a source of lycopene, which is the subject of current promising research on the role of plant chemicals that promote health. Research suggests that lycopene may play a role in the fight against cancer, especially prostate cancer.

Like beta-carotene, lycopene is a carotenoid, responsible for the bright red color of the tomato, watermelon, and grapefruit. Although lycopene is available in all ripe tomatoes, a greater supply is more useful to the body in cooked tomatoes.

Nutrition Facts (Serving size, one cup chopped raw) Calories 24 Protein 1.1 grams Carbohydrates 5.3 grams Dietary Fiber 1 gram Potassium 254 mg Vitamin C 22 mg Vitamin A 1,133 IU Preparation & Serving Tomatoes are, of course, delicious raw, sautéed, grilled, stewed, and added to many preparations. Use a serrated knife or very sharp nonserrated knife to slice or chop tomatoes or prick the skin to get a slice going.

Cut tomatoes lengthwise from stem to blossom end to retain more juice in each slice.

To peel tomatoes, blanch by dropping them into boiling water for about 30 seconds, or longer for firm tomatoes, then plunge into a bowl of ice water until cool enough to handle. Cut an X on the stem end and use a paring knife to pull skin away. Skin will pull away easily if the tomatoes have been blanched long enough.

To seed tomatoes, cut the tomato in half horizontally. Holding a half in the palm of your hand, squeeze out the

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Akinwunmi Ambode And Excellence In Governance Continues By nelson ekujumi

youths. ecause of its awareness of the security challenges of Lagos as a mega city, the Ambode administration has vigorously embarked on a project, Light Up Lagos which is designed to ensure that all nooks and crannies of the state are well lit through the erection of street lights in order to deter criminals who take advantage of the darkness of the roads and the streets to perpetuate crime and from testimonials received so far, it is commendations galore and has started yielding positive results.

According to residents of the state, the light up of these street lights has reduced muggings and robberies at hitherto dark spots and bus stops where miscreants take cover to wreck havoc and some of the places mentioned where the crime rate has dropped drastically and public safety enhanced because of the functional street lights among others are Alhaji Ede, NYSC and College bus stops on Igando Iyana Iba road. The erection of these functional street lights have also reduced the occurrence of crime on dark spots on Ikorodu Road such as Town Planning Road junction, Independence Tunnel, etc, which was not the case before.

The effect of the ‘Light Up Lagos’ on the aesthetic beauty of the state at night is psychologically motivating and is well-appreciated by Lagos motorists who now drive safely at night without having to worry about poor visibility and has in effect reduced road accidents. A testimonial to this effect can be obtained from motorists who no longer run into the road medians at ACME, WEMPCO and College roads in Ogba, at Surulere, Akowonjo, Ogudu, Ikorodu, Ojo and other axis of the state.

On a last note, one expects that the N4.8 billion equipments and gadgets recently donated by the Lagos state government to the Nigeria police must have aided and motivated the security agency in apprehending the abductors of the three school girls from the Babington Macaulay Junior Seminary School in Ikorodu and we say a big kudos to all those involved in the rescue.

As we continue to savour the timely delivery of dividend of democracy from the Akinwunmi Ambode-led government in Lagos State, as Oliver Twist, we can only ask for more as a people and we wish this proponent of Itesiwaju Eko, loje wa logun, a continuation of excellence in governance.

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hen on April 11th 2015, the people of Lagos State, just like Nigerians in other states of the federation, went to the polls to elect their helmsman among the various contestants for the exalted office of governor of the state, however, one man stood out as an accomplished, tested and trusted technocrat and administrator of repute who had made his mark in the service to the people of the state and he was no other than Mr. Akinwunmi Ambode of the APC. Trust Lagosians, as enlightened, sophisticated, progressivelyinclined and dynamic people of the centre of excellence to always cast their votes for excellence in view of the giant strides recorded in the political, economic and social sphere of the state since the advent of democracy in 1999, they willfully and joyfully entrusted their destiny into the hands of this administrator per excellence and ever since then, he has kept faith with the people in delivering on the dividends of democracy.

It’s a known fact that the primary responsibility of government all over the world is to ensure the safety of lives and property of citizens, without which the government would be deemed to have failed because no development or positive human engagement can take place in an environment of strife. Also, the American psychologist, Abraham Maslow recognized the preeminence of security as a basic need of man in his renowned “Abraham Maslow’s Five hierarchy of needs”, whose non fulfillment will not allow man to progress to meeting up with other higher needs.

In obeisance to the primary responsibility of government to the security of lives and property, the Akinwunmi Ambode administration in Lagos State by its actions so far has established one indisputable fact, which is that, it is a pace setter in delivering on its mandate and has become the benchmark of good governance within the Federal Republic of Nigeria.

Like they say, action speaks louder than words and this was what the Ambode-led administration showcased to the world, when on November 27, 2015, the government and people of Lagos State purchased and donated security equipment and gadgets to the tune of N4.8 billion to the Nigeria police in combating crime in the state and which the Minister of Interior, Lieutenant General Abdulraham Dambazau (rtd.), who represented President Muhammadu Buhari at the groundbreaking ceremony, appropriately described as unprecedented in the history of Nigeria and a sign of seriousness about the security of lives and property of Lagosians.

General Dambazzau (rtd) stated that with his years of experience as

•Governor ambode

a military officer, he had never seen that kind of massive investment in security by a state government and as such, the present administration deserves to be commended for taking the bold initiative to give priority to the safety of the people. he seriousness which the Lagos State government attached to security of Lagosians necessitated the donation of N4.8 billion security equipments and gadgets to the Nigeria police which included among several others, police patrol vans, power bikes, three helicopters , gun boats, Armoured Personnel Carrier (APC), drones, communication gadgets like walkie talkie, radio, etc and must be commended.

Notwithstanding, this unprecedented consideration to the security of Lagos, the government has also since its inception galvanized the private sector to key into partnering with it in delivering on its primary responsibility of security of lives and property by successfully mobilizing them to be active stakeholders in the Lagos State Security Trust Fund (LSSTF) which has been reinvigorated and reenergized for optimal performance.

Also, in deference to fulfilling its core mandate of ensuring safety of lives, property and public order, the Lagos state government has come out severally in bold actions to restate its commitment to upholding the traffic law which is meant to restore sanity and engender public

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safety on our roads by repositioning the Lagos State Traffic Management Authority (LASTMA) to deliver on its mandate of ensuring free flow of traffic with dignity.

As a progressive government, which is very much aware of the everyday challenges of governance and in keeping up with its responsibility of ensuring public order in the centre of excellence, the Ambode-led administration achieved another milestone with its establishment of the mobile courts to try traffic and environment offenders for quick dispensation of justice, after all, it is generally accepted as a truism that, justice delayed is justice denied.

In responding to the yearnings and aspirations of the people, the Akinwunmi Ambode government in tackling the issues of crime in a mega city like Lagos has also taken cognizance of the fact that a major propelling force for the upsurge in crime in the country is the alarming rate of unemployed persons who needs to be gainfully engaged for societal good. Thus while recognizing that it is appropriate to put in place a 21st century policing mechanism for law and order, the state government has also taken the enviable step of addressing the issue of unemployment in the state and country by fulfilling on his campaign promise through the establishment of an Employment Trust Fund (ETF) to positively and productively engage our teeming

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feature

Getting States Out Of Financial Trouble

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By yomi obaditan

he economic downturn in N i g e r i a h a s made it necessary for state governments to put on their thinking caps, and almost all the chief executives are striving to see how they can tap available resources to their advantage.

The federation purse is empty, the mono-economy that we rely upon (oil) is no more dependable, as the world market price has not only crashed, but the market is witnessing over-supply.

The market forces have since revealed that the suppliers, more than ever before, are more than the consumers.

A breakdown of top ten oil-producing countries revealed as follows: 1. United States of America produced 13, 973, 000 barrels of oil per day (bpd) 2. Saudi Arabia - 11, 624, 000 bpd “ 3. Russia - 10, 853, 000 ” 4. China - 4, 572, 000 ” 5. Canada - 4, 383, 000” 6. United Arab Emirates 3, 471, 000 “ 7. Iran - 3, 375, 000 “ 8. Iraq - 3, 371, 000 “ 9. Brazil - 2, 950, 000 “ 10. Nigeria - 2, 427, 000 “ What the aforementioned countries and many other oil-producing countries have in common is that they have saturated and over-supplied the oil market. It is important to explain that Iran and Iraq were once boycotted by the consumers due to international sanctions against them. Unfortunately, these countries are back pumping oil to the same market. The United States has not been exporting its oil in the last 40 years, rather, t hey wer e bu y in g a n d storing. But now America is in the market, selling as well.

The period of good sales for the exporting countries lasted over ten years. Wise nations kept their gains for the raining days but the unwise and spendthrift wasted their gains. Nigerian funds were purported to have been stolen to the tune of $195 billion. The world economic glut, especially on oil sales, was a curse than a blessing for Nigeria and

“Unemployed youths, particularly the graduates, in such local government council areas will be motivated to get involved in commercial farming. Lands and seeds shall be made available, as well as fertilisers where needed. The Ministry of Agriculture shall be in the saddle to supervise the scheme. The agricultural project will provide revenue for government and jobs for the unemployed. The commercial farming will include cocoa, coffee, palm produce, rice, beans and cassava. Concerned states will put more attention on the dividends, so as to keep away fertiliser merchants from ruining the scheme. Fish farming must also be part of the scheme, as this will reduce our fish importation and lead to conservation of funds.”

Nigerians. A cursory look at 2014 exported crude oil sales also shows that; Saudi Arabia made US $268.2 billion Russia made $152.6billion United Arab Emirates made $98 billion Canada made $88.1 billion Iraq made $84.4 billion Nigeria made $76, billion.

The question is what did our leaders do with the revenue from this sale that within three months of economic recession, we are already down and out and the government, both at the centre and in the states are dying of the burden of unpaid salaries, an obligation that even a oneman enterprise can easily perform to his employees.

The can of worms that are daily being opened at the arms purchase probe have revealed that we are the architects of our self-imposed economic destruction.

While in the developed countries, governments are researching on alternatives to oil, in order to reduce cost of production, the developing countries like ours were living in luxuries, believing that oil boom would last forever.

Even, when they annually announced diversification of the economy, nothing was done about it, rhetorically even when they hold seminars and workshop

on life after oil, it was all political gimmicks. The lack of foresight by the leaders robbed us of economic planning, accountability and prudence. Those at the corridors of power positioned themselves for self-enrichment. From local government to the federal levels, politics centered on embezzlement, greed and outright stealing of government funds. The best buildings and latest vehicles are found with politicians, who were not able to feed three times daily before they got into public offices. Today, we cannot boast of good hospitals in cities and in rural areas, while public schools are like poultry sheds and it is only the children of the poor people that are found there.

THE WAY OUT OF ECONOMIC RECESSION It was on record that from pre-colonial era till 1970s, the mainstay of our economy was agriculture.

Nigeria exported over half a million tonnes of shelled groundnuts, 170, 000 tonnes of palm oil and 190,000 tons of cocoa beans. Cottons and coffee were exported in the 1960s.

For instance, in Osun, the Governor of the State of Osun, Ogbeni Rauf Adesoji Aregbesola, held a meeting with the stakeholders over the production, processing

and sales of cocoa in the state. Over 60 million of cocoa trees have been identified in the state. The state government looks up to this area to augment its Internally Generated Revenue (IGR). The state government investment on agriculture ought to be yielding fruits by now. For states to make meaningful impact in agriculture, such states must partner with investors on commercial farming. The local governments in the state have a role to play in the agricultural development.

First, they will negotiate with the community over the use of available land for agricultural purposes, possibly on a lease, since there is shortage of funds to pay as compensation. nemployed y o u t h s , particularly the graduates, in such local government council areas will be motivated to get involved in commercial farming.

Lands and seeds shall be made available, as well as fertilisers where needed. The Ministry of Agriculture shall be in the saddle to supervise the scheme. The agricultural project will provide revenue for government and jobs for the unemployed. The commercial farming will include cocoa, coffee, palm produce, rice, beans and cassava. Concerned states will put more attention on the dividends, so as to keep away fertiliser merchants from ruining the scheme.

Fish farming must also be part of the scheme, as this will reduce our fish importation and lead to conservation of funds.

MINERAL RESOURCES t is no longer news that the current President M u h a m m a d u Buhari’s administration has promised to tap available mineral resources. All over Nigeria, these mineral resources are found namely; tin, copper, zinc, Coal, gold, marbles, aluminum, clay, limestone, salt,

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osun Defender Saturday, March 12, 2016

Blaise Matuidi: PSG Better Than Last Year After Job Vacancies In Nigeria

Victories Against Chelsea

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laise Matuidi believes that Paris Saint-Germain’s two wins over Chelsea in the Champions League this season show that they have improved considerably over the past year.

The French PSG followed up Bridge on Wednesday c h a m p i o ns lost their victory in the to go through to the t o C h e l s e a in the first leg of their round- quarterfinals 4-2 on Champions League of-16 tie with another aggregate.

quarterfinals two years ago but knocked the Blues out in the round of 16 last season — advancing on away goals following a 2-2 draw after extra time in London.

Matuidi, 28, said the

2-1 win at Stamford

•ESPN FC’s Craig Burley reacts to Louis van Gaal rounding on critics ahead of Man United’s Europa League clash with Liverpool.

fact that PSG had won both of this season’s meetings between the teams shows how far they have come since last season.

“I think it’s a sign of our development,” he told reporters. “But we’re not going to get carried away. There’s still work to be done — we’re aware of that.

“We know that the Champions League is a very difficult competition. There are big teams and it depends on a lot of things but we really want to go as far as possible.

“We were serious from start to finish.

We could sense that everyone was calmer.

There was a lot of communication and that allowed us not to give way in our weaker periods and to score when we were on top.”

Lucas Moura also took great satisfaction from PSG’s display in

Cristiano Ronaldo Easier To Mark Than Lionel Messi - Giorgio Chiellini

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uventus defender Giorgio Chiellini says you just have to pray when you are up against Barcelona star Lionel Messi.

Messi got the better of C h a m p i o n s L e a g u e Chiellini in last season’s final and the 31-year-

old defender said he just cannot be defended against, although he does know a trick to keep Real Madrid’s Cristiano Ronaldo quiet.

•Lionel Messi (right) and Christiano Ronaldo (left).

“Knowing all about your opponents is fundamental, even the individuals,” he said at an event in Turin, as quoted by Eurosport.

“It helps you understand their characteristics. Cristiano Ronaldo is a player you mark by trying to prevent him from coming inside on his right foot. As for Messi, you just make the sign of the cross and pray.

“Joking aside, each player has his own characteristics and you’ve got to make this kind of analysis.”

Losing to Barcelona last June is one of Chiellini’s biggest regrets in his 11 years with the Bianconeri.

“We could have won it,” he said. “We had

the chances and we could have done better.

It wasn’t a perfect game from us, but if we get another opportunity, we will be ready for it.”

That opportunity could arise this season if they can beat Bayern Munich in Bavaria next Wednesday. That fixture comes during a period which Chiellini defines as crucial for Juve’s aspirations.

“We’ve caught up, but we’re not totally satisfied yet,” he said. “The truth is we’re very close to the finishing line, but we’ve not done anything yet.

Everything can change in the next ten days.”

the second leg, which they won thanks to goals in each half from Adrien Rabiot and Zlatan Ibrahimovic.

“We played a great match, like in the first leg,” he told reporters.

“It was almost perfect for us, especially since there are not a lot of teams who have won here. We played a great match against a great team. We controlled things and made very few mistakes.

“This season we’re a lot stronger than the last one and I think we’re getting better year after year. We have to continue to develop like that.”

The runaway Ligue 1 leaders were well beaten by eventual champions Barcelona in last season’s Champions League quarterfinals and many of the club’s fans will be hoping that they get a kinder draw this time around.

PSG’s German goalkeeper Kevin Trapp would fancy facing either Wolfsburg or Bayern Munich — should they get past Juventus — but he believes his side should not be afraid of taking on anybody.

“Personally of course, it would be a good thing [to get a German team], but I think it will be a difficult match no matter which team we get,” he told reporters.

“Last year it was Barcelona, who are one of the best teams in the world. But I think we don’t need to hide because we’ve already proved that we’re a great team too. We can beat anyone, so we’re awaiting the draw impatiently.”

Valencia Not Out For Revenge Vs. Athletic Bilbao - Gary Neville

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alencia coach Gary Neville said he is not out for revenge in Thursday evening’s Europa League last-16 first leg at Athletic Bilbao.

Los Che were beaten d e f e n d e r t o l d h i s 3-0 by Athletic at their p r e m a t c h n e w s Mestalla stadium in late conference in Bilbao that February, with Athletic he expected the result coach Ernesto Valverde to be different this time appearing to get the — and the scoreline in better of Neville with their last meeting had late substitutions, while not accurately reflected Valencia also lost 3-1 at what had happened in San Mames in October the game.

“I would not say we in their other La Liga meeting this term when w a n t r e v e n g e , e a c h Nuno Espiritu Santo game is different, and this is over two legs,” was coach.

T h e f o r m e r Neville said. “The game M a n c h e s t e r U n i t e d at Mestalla was very

tight, we could have won it 2-0. Athletic played well but not to win 3-0.

People focus a lot on that game, but this will be different. There will be a good atmosphere, but we must be positive, have confidence and give everything.”

Neville is without winger Denis Cheryshev who picked up a thigh injury after scoring in the weekend’s 1-3 home defeat to Atletico Madrid, having impressed recently with winning goals against Espanyol and Malaga, but who

is now facing about a month on the sidelines.

Combative midfielder Enzo Perez is also missing with his own ongoing muscle issues, while there is also a local derby at cityrivals Levante at Sunday lunchtime to think about as Los Che’s XI for the game is decided.

“For us the Europa League is the most important as it is the next game,” Neville said.

“With games every three or four days, we have been playing well lately.

This is the type of game you want as a player and as a coach. We want to return with a good result, to show confidence and play well for the full game.”

Questions from local reporters over Neville’s changing his mind regarding a late substitution in last weekend’s defeat to Athletic had some pundits claiming that the rookie coach bowed to pressure from fans. The comments annoyed the former England assistant

coach.

“I have nothing to add about the substitution on Sunday,” Neville said.

“I had not seen they had sent off [Aderlan] Santos, I was talking with Alvaro [Negredo] to send him on and I changed my mind when the sending off happened. There was a moment of confusion.

We were thinking for some minutes. I have the right to do that. When we lose it always seems there is something to pick on, we had played well

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osun Defender Saturday, March 12, 2016

10 Things Windows Phones Do Better Than Android Phones

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lright , a l r i g h t , c a l m yourselves, keyboard warriors, we know this is something most of you would probably not agree with because let’s face it, with over 80 percent of smartphone market share in the world, the Android mobile operating system leads the rest of the competition by a mile.

Perhaps because it is the OS adopted by many leading brands of smartphones, fragmentation becomes an issue that plagues Android-powered phone. Here is a post by Azzief Khaliq that argues for and against the effects of Android OS fragmentation you should check out.

Here, the Windows Phone’s fast and user-friendly OS plus its integration with Microsoft-linked products has given many users, particularly who work a lot with Windows products, a reason to consider the integrated mobile platform. On the surface, it offers the same functionality (and perhaps a bit more) as do other platforms but these are 10 features that you may find better on a Windows Phone than on an Android.

1. Quality Build Phones With Exceptional Design For Everyone The biggest ammo to join the arsenal of Windows phones has to be Nokia’s partnership. With phones ranging from $180 to $425, sporting screen sizes from 43 to 63 , Nokia has plenty of choices not just for the budget-conscious but also those are looking for a powerful, sleek phone, for instance like Nokia Lumia 1020 with 41 megapixel camera sensor and Full HD video. You definitely can get good value for your money if you just keep your eyes open for a good alternative phone, rather than stop looking once it isn’t on a “popular” OS. 2. Gorgeous Apps Although the Windows App Store lags behind the Play Store in terms of quantity, what counts with apps is the quality and so far Windows phones have the basic necessities covered. Windows Phone is not an open source platform and Microsoft has a stricter criteria set than Google about which apps and games can populate their respective marketplaces.

As a result, the app store responds with superior and better apps, and cleaner options, than what Android apps can offer. They are consistent, gorgeous, minimalistic and in many cases, look better than they do on Android. I’d suggest you take a look at 6tag (3rd party app for Instagram), Spotify, Skype, and Facebook.

3. Seamless Email And Social Media Integration Windows Phone with its mission to build an end-to-end product experience for its customers, has a soild built-in social media integrated hub that they use; it’s very smooth and fluid. The People Hub gets updates from social networks like Facebook, Twitter, and LinkedIn. Rather than opening individual apps one by one, all your friends’ status updates and notifications can be viewed within the People Hub. acebook integration on Windows Phone also makes it better than Android when it comes to tagging pictures. It also

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osun Defender Saturday, March 12, 2016

1St Inter­- House Sports Competition of Apon-Un Baptist Elementary School, Asubiaro, Osogbo, State Of Osun, Held At The School Premises, Last Thursday.

Photo: SHOLA

•Cross section of pupils of Apon-Un Baptist Elementary School, during their inter-house sports competition last Thursday.

•android

allows you to use your phone contacts as tags. You can switch between Facebook chat and normal text messaging with your contacts on Windows Phone.

4. Microsoft Integration and Support Those who are used to Microsoft’s service and software would be glad to know Windows Phone works well with Microsoft products like Outlook.com. OneDrive Skype, Xbox, and OneNote. Unlike Android, Windows Phone comes with free Office in the OS itself. The mobile version is handy for onthe-go professionals. You can view and edit, Excel, PowerPoint and Word documents straight on your Windows Phone. It also integrates with OneDrive and users can save their compatible files on Microsoft’s cloud storage service.

5. Consistency Across All Devices Android comes in so many shapes and sizes, so performance and quality are always a question.

Windows Phone however works well on all levels of devices from the entry-level Lumia 520 to the high-end Lumia 1020 without any noticeable lag whatsoever. The minimalist design approach is applied at all Nokia’s Lumia range of devices and known for best build quality.

6. Customizations on Lockscreen Windows Phone allows you to check out your notifications from your lockscreen. Not only you can change Background pictures in Lock screen settings, but Windows Phones also allow the integration of live apps on the lockscreen. Some of the better app integrations are Bing and Facebook. Bing displays the Bing Picture of the Day while Facebook displays photos from your albums. ou can also choose from photos of yourself or create a selection of photos to be

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shown on your lockscreen. Another cool thing that you could do is to configure the lock screen to display artist information when playing music.

7. Play your XBox games on Windows Phone If you own an XBox, Windows Phone has the perfect XBox integration to help you get the most out of your games, even on lowRAM devices. Microsoft has worked hard to integrate Xbox functionality, meaning you can work with your console avatar to gain points, check your Gamerscore, message your friends and see your avatar.

Despite Android having more games, Windows Phones get Xbox games such as Asphalt 8: Airborne, Jetpack Joyride, Six Guns and FIFA 14 for free. All of the games run smoothly; even on the low end Nokia Lumia Phones, playing games is a breeze.

8. Versatility of Live Tiles Windows Phones allow users to pin whatever they want and how they want. Instead of widgets, each app on your home screen acts as a Live Tile. They give you a quick glimpse of what’s going on in each individual app. We can see the time and weather via the weather tile and notifications from Twitter, WhatsApp, SMS and email all from the main screen.

Widgets on Android are their own separate entities and their customized looks as designed by their developers. These designs thus can hardly mesh together aesthetically, especially without any form of standardization. Tiles, on the other hand, blend in and complement the overall aesthetic perfectly and they also change dynamically.

9. Offline Maps Integration Windows Phone have HERE Maps and HERE Drive integrated to its Lumia range, basically

Nokia’s alternative to Android’s Google Maps. It comes with full offline capabilities. Some Android smartphones such as Galaxy S4 also has offline navigation in Google Maps, but while Google Maps only allows you to download small areas of offline maps, you can download maps of countries with the Nokia Lumia Phones and navigate across the country without a data connection while driving.

10. Ever Expandable Storage Most Windows Phone, even the entry level ones have 8GB of internal storage and supports a microSD card of up to 64 GB. The free 7 GB cloud storage from Onedrive makes it even better. his reduces the need to fall back on third-party online storage solutions, which may come with compatibility issues.

OneDrive lets you backup content to the cloud, Windows tablets, PCs, and of course the Windows Phone.

Conclusion While Android offers greater app flexibility, Windows Phone offers great potential, better integration over more platforms and fluidity.

With the changing smartphone market, the world needs a solid platform that has quality and the potential to develop into a full range solution, that spans across mobile, desktop and the cloud. The strategies are already in place, and if Nokia and Windows Phone can weather the storm, they may one day be able to unseat Android from its iron grip of the smartphone OS market.

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•(R-L) Mrs Elizabeth Ajala, headmistress, another Mrs Titi Adegbite, another headmistress, Rverend (Mrs) Eunice Odunayo Falogbon, Lady Chairperson and Chairman of the occassion Deacon Segun Ejiwale, during the inter-house sports.

2nd Annual Inter House Sport Competition Of Al Friqon International School, Oba Olawale Adedeji Estate, Ikirun, Held On Tuesday.

•Members of Olalekan Adebayo House in a group photograph with their principal during the 2nd Annual Inter-house Sport of Al Friqon Internationa School, Ikirun on Tuesday

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he Governor of the State of Osun, Ogbeni Rauf Aregbesola, recently announced the creation of 31 additional Local Council Development Areas (LCDA) in the state to the existing 30 local government council areas.

The governor in his morning broadcast to the people of the state said the new councils would not create additional financial burden to the system but would serve as avenues to generate funds.

As part of the new development, the governor announced the dissolution of the executives of the 30 local government council areas and the Area Office.

According to Aregbesola, the entire local government system will be managed by council managers for three months, adding that managers shall be appointed and employed by the Local Government Service Commission from among the substantive Grade Level 14 officers in the local government councils. The governor added: “I am pleased to inform you therefore, that in place of the old order of only 30 local governments and an Area office, we now have additional 31 Local Council Development Areas, three Area Councils and two Administrative Offices in accordance with the requests which you democratically placed before us.”

Governor Aregbesola stated that the state would be cutting huge cost with the new system, adding that the same number of staff would be used to run all the councils, while the government would not make any appointments to the existing LGAs. As part of the restructuring and reforms in the local government council areas in the state, councillors elected from the various wards would constitute a committee to elect their chairmen.

In simple terms, the local government administration will adopt parliamentary system, while the states and the federal will still retain the presidential system.

To some critics, this is an anathema, where the federal and states practice a system different from the local government.

In terms of output, the chairmanship candidate that traverses the whole local government to solicit votes may not necessarily perform better than the chairman elected from among councillors.

It pays the country to adopt the parliamentary system at the local government level as announced by the government of the State of Osun because the cost of running the system would be cheaper.

From every available facts and figures, presidential system government is grandiose, where ministers and commissioners at the federal and state levels respectively have many assistants, all drawing salaries and allowances from the state purse.

The reality of the present situation is that the country spends more money on governments than the governed.

By the present misapplication of society’s resources, the larger society suffers, while very few people in government benefit. This particular column has always advocated for the country to revert to the parliamentary system at the national, state and the local government levels.

The elites, who are the greatest beneficiaries of the present system, would always kick against it and even swing would public opinion against it.

Unfortunately, the powerful few have access to the media and other powerful

Audacious Exploit with Murtala Agboola Tel: 0806-119-7897 E-mail: murtalamuag@yahoo.com

hindsight, we are better placed to assess the two systems.

Critics of the parliamentary system would easily refer to the acrimonious relationship between the two heads.

The titular Head of State and the Prime Minister at the federal and Governors and the Premiers were always clashing in the states. All these can be taken care of, it we really mean business.

It would take a lot of guts and audacity for the present government to take that bold step, however, we need it, if we are to proceed further. ritics would adopt all tactics, including hired writers, to push their points further, but like devaluation, it is meant to serve a parochial interest.

President Muhammad Buhari looked into the face of the imperialist powers and told them that Nigeria would not devalue the naira now in the current circumstances. Nigerians should not be interested in grandiose positions but rather what can be done to uplift the ordinary persons. After all, the late sage, Chief Obafemi Awolowo, achieved all that he did as the Premier of the Western Region without all the trappings of the Executive Governor.

The parliamentary system would above all ensure that those who have something to offer put themselves up for public service. The present system, with all due respect, glamourise public officials, rather than improving the lots of the ordinary masses.

I also admit that no system is wholly bad or good but the operators. The British introduced the parliamentary or cabinet system and have practised it over a millennium. The Americans introduced the presidential system and have practised it for a very long time.

Nigeria practised the parliamentary system but it lasted for only six years.

We have also practised the American system; first for four years and now uninterruptedly for seventeen years, yet, majority are complaining bitterly.

The clear difference, however, is that resources were optimally deployed in the first republic, even when resources were lean. The humongous resources gained by the country under the American system have been to the benefit of the practitioners.

It must be posited that if we have to depend on the public officials in their cozy offices of government, then we

Osun’s Innovation To Nigeria C

•aregbesola means of communication in Nigeria.

Besides advocating parliamentary system in this column, I have had the privilege on a live talk show to talk on the Political Update programme of the Osun State Broadcasting Corporation (OSBC).

The programme, being anchored by Mr Kola Adeniji on Thursdays, once had me and another guest to discuss the issue of high cost of governance.

I made it very clear that Nigeria would save a lot of money if we revert to the parliamentary system.

Incidentally, with the benefit of

Fare Thee Well Ocholi

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his world is indeed a vanity.

Nothing attests to this fact than the recent fatal accident involving Mr James Ocholi and his family. Nobody expected the sudden departure to the great beyond of the former Minister of State for Labour and Productivity, Mr James Ocholi, which occurred last Sunday.

Ocholi strived as a young man to better his lots by working hard in life to attain the level he did before the cold hands of death caught him.

The sad memory of the death of the Senior Advocate of Nigeria would continue to linger in our memory for some time.

James was a distinguished Alumnus of University of Jos, Jos in the Plateau State capital.

As a young undergraduate, this energetic man, full of life, took part in campus politics. The Kogi-state born attorney was elected into the Students Union Parliament (SUP) in 1984/85 academic session.

This columnist served in the same parliament with the late Ocholi, where some of us were able to identify his sterling qualities.

He did not do much to convince us

that he was the right man to superintend the parliament as the Speaker. He, indeed controlled the House using his intelligence, native wisdom and academic ability. The then President of the Students Union was led one Mr Chalie P, the son of an ex-Registrar of University of Ibadan, Ibadan, Mr Ekanem.

Charlie P was a demagogue, which put a high pressure on the parliament but with Ocholi’s versatility and astuteness, we were able to work harmoniously together. I represented one of the off-campus constituencies in the SUP. There was a healthy and robust discussion in the House and we did our best to uplift the students’ union politics to a higher level.

After graduation, James attained the highest level the law profession could offer; the Senior Advocate of Nigeria.

The late Attorney was a prominent member of the Congress of Progressives Change (CPC) and the gubernatorial candidate of the party in his state in the 2011 elections. James displayed his level of dexterity at the Senate screening, such that it would not have come out as a surprise to anybody if he had been offered the position of Attorney-General

and Minister of Justice.

To think that, this brilliant Attorney lost his life together with his wife and son last Sunday in a tragic accident, is to say the least, a real disaster.

However, the reality is that they are no more. One can only pray that God will give the remaining children and the extended family the fortitude to bear the irreparable loss. On behalf of the 1984/85 set of the SUP of Unijos Jos and all Alumni, I pray that James’s children will live to do what their father could not wait to do. Adieu! James Ocholi.

•The late ocholi

OSUN DEFENDER is published by Moremi Publishing House Limited, Promise Point Building, Opposite Guaranty Trust Bank GTB, Gbongan Road, Osogbo, State of Osun. All correspondence to the Managing Editor, Kola Olabisi, Telephone: 08033927286 (kolaolabisi15@yahoo.com); Editor, KAYODE AGBAJE, Telephone: 0803-388-0205, E-mail:

osundefender@yahoo.com, kayodeagbaje@yahoo.com. ISSN: 0794-8050.Website: www.osundefender.org.