Osun defender march 1, 2016 edition by OsunDefender

www.osundefender.org Tuesday, MARCH 1, 2016

VOL. 11. NO.018

Front Page Comment

N100

Tax Payment Necessary To Boost Osun’s IGR

Everyone is aware that the country is in dire straits. The critical re-

sponse to a crisis is straightforward; The state of Osun is no exception What is to be done? In the case of

to this rule of thumb. The state of

our federating units the answer is

Osun under a far sighted, innova-

unambiguous; look inwards; this

tive government has gone through a

is the sensible way to turn a crisis

wonderful transformation. Unprec-

into an opportunity for a rebirth. It

edented massive investment in the

is also the pathway to a sustainable physical and social infrastructure future.

THE 6TH MOST-VISITED NEWSPAPER WEBSITE IN NIGERIA

has launched t

he path to a sustainable future.

This is not in anyway an attempt

Now in the middle of a crunching

to reinvent the wheel. Lagos state

economic downturn the steady

starting with the equally far sighted

progress achieved has to be

Asiwaju Bola Tinubu in 1999 has

maintained and protected.

shown that it can be done. The

For Osun increasing internally

astronomic increase in IGR has

generated revenue ( IGR) will be

demonstrated what planning and

decisive. In actual fact there is no

determination can do. Crucially the

alternative.

revenue raised has been demonstra

bly put to very good use. Lagos state has never looked back even at times of

state the Ogbeni Rauf Aregbesola was as a commissioner; a member of that path breaking team. Tried and tested he knows how it is done.

adversity. The state has weathered the storm and is on top of the job of creating a mega-metropolis worth living in. The governor of Osun

It’s time to put the knowledge base and expertise gained in Lagos into productive use in the state of Osun.

....continue on pg4

- Pg 3 Appeal To Your Members, Not Buhari - Osun Govt Tells NMA Screening Exercise:

Osun Uncovers 71 Ghost Workers - See Story On Page 2

•President Muhammadu Buhari (standing at the back 4th left); State of Osun Governor, Ogbeni Rauf Aregbesola (standing 2nd left); Nigeria’s Minister of Finance, Mrs Kemi Adeosun (sitting left), signing a bilateral agreement with Qatar’s Minister of Finance, Ali Shareef Al Emadi (sitting by the right), while other dignitaries watch on Sunday.

- Pg 2 Ooni Has No Case With EFCC - Sijuwade, Ogunwusi Royal Families

Osun Defender Tuesday, March 2, 2016

News

Screening Exercise: Osun Uncovers 71 Ghost Work-

o fewer than 71 ghost workers have been discovered by the Osun State government development, the Head during the last staff auditing exercise carried of Service, Mr Yinka Owoeye, commended out to screen civil servants in the state. The ghost workers were discovered among the committee for the agencies of government discovery and described to the office.” and secondary schools in Commenting on the their job as outstanding. the state. This disclosure was made in a statement in Osogbo last Friday by the Permanent Secretary, Local Government Service Commission and the chairman of he Sijuwade and Ogunwusi royal families in Personnel and Job Audit Ile-Ife have dismissed the report that the Ooni Committee on MDAs and of Ife, Oba Enitan Adeyeye Ogunwusi, being Secondary Schools, Mr investigated by the Economic and Financial Crimes Dayo Olaluwoye. He said: “Out of the Commission (EFCC) on an alleged N400 million 71 ghost workers, 39 fraud. Chairman of Centre were deceased while 32 T h e r o y a l f a m i l i e s for Human Rights and were supposed living also refuted the claim Social Justice, that the individuals that collect by one Alimi Sulaimon, EFCC would soon invite salaries without coming who claimed to be the Oba Adeyeye to answer

He said, “you have redeemed the image of the civil service by doing a thorough job while discharging the duty assigned to you. The use

of civil servants for the screening exercise had saved the government lots of money compared to the use of consultants. I want to assure you that

screening of workers is an ongoing process and those that had issues with their certificates should endeavour to clear themselves.”

Ooni Has No Case With EFCC - Sijuwade, Ogunwusi Royal Families

•National Leader, All Progressives Congress (APC), Asiwaju Bola Ahmed Tinubu, at the conferment of Honorary Doctorate of Business Administration degree on him by the University of Abuja, last Saturday.

questions on the petition he (Sulaimon) wrote to the anti-graft agency against the monarch. According to the royal families, Sulaimon lied to have said he was invited by the EFCC to defend a petition earlier sent by his group to the anti-graft body against Oba Ogunwusi and his company named Metropole Interproject Limited over an alleged N400 million forgery, which involved the immediate-past Ooni of Ife, the late Oba Okunade Sijuwade’s business empire, Sijuwade Holdings Ltd. The two families stated this in a joint statement r elea s ed t o p r es s o n Sunday, which was jointly signed by Prince Adetokunbo Sijuwade and Prince Adesina Ogunwusi for Sijuwade family and Ogunwusi families respectively. According to the royal families, Sulaimon’s claim was an attempt allegation by some ‘enemies of progress’ to

By our reporter cause an unwarranted anti-graft agency. “We thus remain disharmony, not only between the two royal unruffled as the flaccid families of Sijuwade and hoax of alleged N400 Ogunwusi, but also to million fraud is incapable disrupt the peace that of bringing the muchIle-Ife has been enjoying. valuable hard-earned They said: “We urge n a m e t o a t a r g e t e d the public to ignore this d i s r e p u t e b e f o r e t h e s p o n s o r e d c a m p a i g n general public by the soof calumny and advise called Comrade Alimi who was known the promoter of this Sulaiman, to have been hobnobbing sacrilegious statement with a politician in the to desist from such an town, who has refused to a t t e m p t t h a t i s o n l y accept the unchangeable capable of embarrassing reality of the destined a well-respected royalty enthronement of Ooni and causing needless Ogunwusi against his acrimony between two unpopular choice. royal families which “The relationship may take the generations b e t w e e n t h e g r e a t unborn to resolve. personalities, the late “Oba Ogunwusi has Ooni Okunade Sijuwade always, prior to and after and the Ooni Adeyeye his coronation, been law- Enitan Ogunwusi, then a abiding, fine gentleman of prince, was a father and clean and unquestionable son relationship, which character, who has not translated to a business been involved in any relationship through their fraudulent transactions companies.” and he has never been invited or quizzed by any

Appeal To Your Members, Not Buhari - Osun Government Tells NMA

Assembly, FOPAMEC Eulogise Adeoti On His T

By kazeem mohammed

he State of Osun House of Assembly has congratulated the Secretary to the State Government, Alhaji Moshood Adeoti, on the celebration of his birthday. In a congratulatory It also said the role that message signed the SSG has been playing by the Chairman, to ensure the actualisation House Committee on progressive Information and Strategy, o f Olatunbosun Oyintiloye, government tendencies the state parliament said in the state could not be the celebrant has made a over-emphasised. The parliament mark in the political circle n o ted that due to of Osun and Nigeria in s e r ies of challenges general. D e s c r i b i n g t h e that the celebrant has celebration as a worthy encountered, he has one, he said, Adeoti, remained undaunted, whom, he described as and remained committed a grassroots politician to to building leaders that the core, had built leaders w o u l d c a r r y o n t h e that have contributed to progressive ideas he the development of the believed in. “Our leader, we wish state. The Assembly also you a year with loads said the story of the of fun, excitement and e n t h r o n e m e n t o f beautiful memories and progressive government may God bless you with in the state and Nigeria wonderful times ahead. “Your stewardship in general could not be has touched many lives well said without the mentioning of Adeoti’s politically, socially and economically due to your name. It recalled how the commitment to building celebrant made a lot leaders that would in turn of sacrifice along with carry on the progressive others, including being ideas of building the hounded into prison on nation. “You have encountered trumpws up charges challenges in the political before the retrieval of circle, but you remained the stolen mandate undaunted and focus, given to Governor Rauf which has paid off. Aregbesola of the state “With a leader like you, in 2007. who cares and supports

the government and the people with such a vibrant zeal, life and world turns into so much fun,” it said. The state legislature then charged the celebrant to remain committed to the success of the present administration and always be on the side of the masses, saying, by so doing, his name would remain indelible in the history of Osun. In a related development, an arm of the ruling-All Progressives Congress (APC), the Forum for the Patriotic Members of APC (FOPAMEC), in the State of Osun has also congratulated the Secretary to the State Government, Alhaji Moshood Adeoti, on the celebration of his birthday. The congratulatory message was contained in a press statement issued and signed by Chairman and the Director of Publicity of the forum, Mr Ajasegun Aluko and Kayode Agbaje respectively. According to the statement, Alhaji Adeoti has made his mark in the political development of the state, as reflected in the manner he has been standing behind his boss in delivering the much-

needed dividends of democracy to the teeming masses of the state. “The story of liberation of the state from the reactionary forces could not be fully told without the mention of Alhaji Adeoti’s name, as one of those who suffered one form of tribulation or the other before Governor Rauf Aregbesola’s stolen mandate was retrieved through the Court of Appeal that sat in Ibadan on November 26, 2010. “Since his appointment as the Secretary to the State Government by Governor Aregbesola, Alhaji Adeoti has proved himself as a reliable pillar, whose loyalty to the progressive group could not be faulted,” the statement stressed.

•ADEOTI: The birthday boy

he Governor of Osun, Ogbeni Rauf Aregbesola, on Friday described as misplaced the call made by the Nigerian Medical Association to President Muhammadu Buhari and the All Progressives Congress (APC) over the abandonment of duty posts embarked upon by some of its Osun State branch members. rather than President NMA had on Thursday Buhari or the APC. issued a statement According to the appealing to President Governor, it amounts to Buhari and APC to call pure hypocrisy on the part Aregbesola to order to of the doctors to demand succumb to the doctors’ what is outside the demands. capacity of government, Aregbesola, in judging from the present a statement by the economic realities. Director, Bureau of “The appeal to President Communications and Buhari and APC is, to Strategy, Office of the all intents and purposes, Governor, Mr. Semiu misplaced, misdirected Okanlawon, said the and improper in that NMA’s appeal should respect. rather go to its members “One would have expected in Osun, who have the NMA to properly address abandoned their duty the situation by forwarding posts for about 11 months its appeal to the respected now. quarters it should go - the He said that the striking Osun striking doctors. doctors initially created “Since the beginning of the problem themselves the strike nine months ago, by going against the government has opened accepted modulated its door for consultations, salary regulation applying dialogues and meetings to to over 40, 000 workforce resolve the matter but all of the state and so, it is these were frustrated by normal that they should the doctor, who were still drawing their salaries despite also be the ones to having abandoned their duty,” extricate themselves from the statement said. the logjam. The government stated that The Governor disclosed the NMA should remind their that his administration colleagues the need to uphold had exhausted all avenues the Hippocratic oaths they to solve the problems swore to, which in essence through dialogues and is to protect live and not negotiations. endanger it. He stated that all moves Whenever the striking to resolve the problem doctors tow the path of dignity, amicably were turned sincerity and understanding down by the doctors, like other workers in the who incidentally were state, the statement noted, being paid their monthly the government is ready to salaries without working cooperate with them. up until September 2015. The Governor noted that the NMA appeal is better directed to its Osun State Chapter members

News

Osun Defender Tuesday, March 1, 2016

Osun Govt, Table Water Producers Differ Over Increment In •Govt Alleges N60m Tax Default

By kehinde ayantunji

eneral Manager, State of Osun Water Corporation, Mr Gbenga Owojuyigbe, has accused the State Chapter of the Table Water Producer Association of creating unnecessary water scarcity, with a view to increasing the prices of table and sachet water in the state. table and sachet water Contrary to the claim in the state. of the association, According to O w o j u y i g b e s a i d Owojuyigbe, most of some of the materials the water producers being used for water in the state are using processing are still government water and within normal price the corporation facilities range and questioned but refused to pay the rationale behind the necessary dues to the proposed price increase. government. He also alleged that He added that the most of the association state government has m e m b e r s a r e a l s o accented to the Water d e f a u l t i n g i n t a x Bill and threatened that payment, adding that many of the defaulters the state government w o u l d s o o n b e is expecting over N60 prosecuted, saying such million as revenue from attitude is a sabotage their sector. to the effort of Ogbeni T h e S t a t e W a t e r Rauf Aregbesola-led Corporation boss stated a d m i n i s t r a t i o n i n this while speaking on providing adequate the proposed 50 per cent water for the people of increase in the prices of the state.

He maintained that the association has the option of dredging boreholes for their businesses, instead of enjoying government’s services without remitting necessary payments to the government’s purse. He however, appealed to the association to

reverse their decision of increasing the prices of table and sachet water. However, the state chapter of Association of Table Water Producers of Nigeria insisted that the people of the state should expect increase in the prices of table and sachet water. Chairman of the association, Prince Ademola Adeyeye, while speaking on

the development, debunked the rumour that the association has embarked on a strike action, but confirmed there are plans to increase the prices of their products as a result of current market reality. He noted that increase in the prices of materials used in processing the commodity are responsible for the

increment He also denied that members of his association are owing the state government ab out N60 million, adding that less than 30 of about 110 members are using the water of the corporation for their production. He said, majority of the producers do not have access to the corporation’s water, as they solely depend on

Tragedy, As Accident Claims 15 Lives In Auto-acci-

ByKAZEEM MOHAMMED

here was tragedy in Akoda, Ede-South Local Government Council Area of the State of Osun last Thursday evening, following an accident •Fire fighters at the scene of a bomb blast, which occurred at the premises of Adamawa Police Command Anti-Bomb Squad and Mottor Traffic Department in Jimeta-Yola last Thursday. that reportedly claimed about 15 lives. The accident involved a Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation’s “Yes, they are young, (NNPC) tanker and an nobody wants to destroy 18-seater bus. their future, but at this An eyewitness told level of destruction, we By our reporter OSUN DEFENDER that did not establish a night are no longer talking the tanker was coming member of the House of Representatives, Few weeks ago, some club, a hotel where he about innocent children from Osogbo and H o n o u r a b l e A j i b o l a F a m u r e w a , h a s secondary school pupils can get quick money. and they must be made had earlier hit a car at condemned the violent protest by students left their schools to He came to create an to face the full sanction Owode-Ede, a kilometre of the Southern Nigeria Institute of Innovative destroy a radio station in educational institution of the law, only then will away, before hitting the Technology (SNIIT), Ifewara, where all the school Ile-Ife over a minor issue. and to now see this, I feel this not repeat itself. stationary 18-seater bus buildings were set on fire by the students. “It is not just here, “It calls for serious so distressed physically with passengers at Akoda Afe Babalola University concern and we need and in my soul. Famurewa, who is (NBTE), having spent happened, Yabatech junction, three kilometres to work on it to change “I am disturbed to see happened, when would from Osogbo, the state representing Ijesa-South two years on the courses. the orientation of our the level of destruction a stop be put to it? A stop Federal Constituency of Famurewa said: capital. the State of Osun, stated “There are many ways to people, and our parents vested on the campus. It must be put to it! The The tanker was said to this on Sunday when address issues and seek too should do more and have also run over some he visited the SNIIT redress than to embark impact knowledge and is highly condemnable. proprietor here could have gone to Lagos or road-side petty traders campus, just as Professor on violent protest. I societal values in their T h e r e h a s b e e n a Abuja to build an estate degeneration of values and hawkers at the scene Bolaji Akinyemi, an think it is high time we children before leaving and make cool money. in not only the students, of the accident. “But instead of that, indigene of Ifewara, sat down and enact a their homes. Any student There were conflicting described the incident law that will specifically that is well-brought up b u t i n t h e s o c i e t y . h e c a m e t o a r u r a l reports about the number as a sickness of the soul address these issues, so will not engage on any The degeneration of area; not only his own of the victims. of students that carried that such occurrence will form of destruction; they values has led to cult investment but corporate will not even go near it. While residents said no out the destruction. activities and mindless social responsibility not repeat itself again. “ A n y t i m e I p a s s destruction. and individual social fewer than 15 lives were According to “What happened is a responsibility. He lost, the police claimed Famurewa, the students’ reflection of the societal through this route, I pray “This is a sickness of wanted to uplift the for the proprietors of that only six died in the action was a reflection decadence. Generally, the soul of souls involved of societal decadence our attitude and value this institution because and government must students, this town and accident. the future. Is this the way I k n o w t h e k i n d o f The victims, according and the loss of family have no meaning to put some measures in to pay him back? This is value it has added to majority of the people values, which results to a resident of the place. It is not enough for ungodly!” community, included into poor upbringing of again. We don’t have this community. We will a family of three, who the students, saying that value again; maybe it is try as much as possible, parents to come and start were said to have been any student that is well- because the way parents within the purview of begging, as begging does brought up, would not are now bringing up their law, to find a way of nothing. immediately buried. supporting and assisting “Parental authority nowadays. Most of the victims go near destruction of children “I think we need to the proprietor in bringing a t h o m e , p a r e n t a l any property. were said to have It would be recalled enact a law now to address the school back and fit.” authority in school and been mutilated, while I n h i s r e a c t i o n , government itself must that the SNIIT students this kind of situation. s u r v i v o r s h a d b e e n h a d l a s t S u n d a y Of recent, we heard of P r o f e s s o r A k i n y e m i put some measures in r u s h e d t o v a r i o u s g o n e o n r a m p a g e Afe Babalola University, said: I have always place that when this hospitals in Ede and in protest against the where students went on seen this establishment kind of things happens, Osogbo. non-accreditation of rampage and destroyed as part of the avenue students who are held The driver of the tanker management courses p r o p e r t i e s . W e a l s o to uplift this town in responsible must face was said to still be at large for the institution by heard the violent protest developing knowledge punishment; they must as at the time of filling the National Board for o f s t u d e n t s a t Y a b a for the generation that is face sanction from the society. this report. Technical Education College of Technology. coming. The proprietor

SNIIT Students’ Violence, A Reflection of Societal Decadence, Poor Upbringing - Ifamurewa, Akinyemi

Osun Defender Tuesday, March 1, 2016

5 10

Tax Payment Necessary To Boost Osun’s IGR administration. ....continued from pg1 Doing so will involve emphasising

The Aregbesola government has

the social contract between the gov-

no intention whatsoever to increase

ernment and the people. The state

taxes. In actual fact a solid case can

government under Aregbesola has

be made for increased taxes as a

certainly delivered on its own part

response to the economic downturn.

of the bargain. New schools, roads

Nevertheless the Aregbesola govern-

have been constructed; in addition

ment has no intention of doing so.

social programmes such as the free

What the government wants and this

school meals programme, monthly

is legitimate is for everyone to pay

stipend for the elderly e.t.c have

their contributions and taxes. This is

been implemented and sustained to

both legitimate and fair as well as very

widespread acclaim at home and

critical in a democracy. A democratic

abroad. Now is the turn of every

dispensation is after all an aggregation

other stakeholder to reciprocate in

of stakeholders all of who contribute

order to compliment the magnificent

to the development of the community

intervention of the Aregbesola

by paying their taxes and levies. This

is why the well known slogan of the American revolution was “no taxation

The present difficult period will pass

without representation! “.

and Osun state will come out strongly. To overcome we recommend that ev-

With a government that has delivered

ery one should rally round the govern-

on its part of the bargain, the people

ment at this critical junction by paying

of the state must now rally round and

their taxes and helping the state. Their

deliver by paying their taxes. This is

is no alternative and it is the right

the only way that the pivotal gains can

thing to do. Let’s do it together for the

be protected and indeed enhanced. Oil

sake of our state!

prices internationally are not going to rebound any time soon. We are in for a long period of discomfort. This means that to protect education, access to health and so on everyone must pay their taxes. For no one can pin any hope on ever dwindling federal allocations any more.

AamCase For Proposed FG’s Monthly Stipend institutions. accommodation. of the opinion

that the Federal Government should put to better use the N5,000 they intend to spend monthly on every unemployed youth as stipend. If well computed, this will amount to several billions of naira per month. If the government can however, divert the fund to provide low cost houses for the youths, I believe it will go a long way in making them (youths) more responsible by becoming investors and probably good thinkers. These houses do not have to be exotic buildings but decent enough to substitute for the shacks that people live in today

(all in the sense of managing) with nonhygienic environment. If cheaper houses are built (with just prominent kitchen and toilet with big enough space for living room and bed space) today, many youths would then become beneficiaries of the housing plan in a year, which will invariably improve the standard

of living and quality of our youths in this country. Our youths spend more than half of their yearly earnings (if not more) to pay for

Therefore, should government provide low cost houses for the youths, a sense of responsibility is imbibed in them and they will struggle to maintain their homes and a private school teacher earning N25,000 monthly can save for a better tomorrow or invest in alternative sources of

If the youths are given N5,000 monthly, only mobile network providers will benefit from that. Alternatively, some people will streamline their expenses to just their monthly income and this will jack down productivity in the country. Therefore, I urge our youths to clamour for institutions instead of wastage of resources or downsizing productivity through monthly stipends.

•Abdulsamad Abdulraheem, income. For some people, Abuja. they might just be able to start financing innovative ideas that they’ve been nurturing since their final years in the tertiary

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. All correspondence to the above mail address. ISSN: 0794-8050 Telephone: 0803-392-7286, 08033880205 Website: www.osundefender.com/index.php e-mail: osundefender@yahoo.com

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Osun Defender Tuesday, March 2, 2016

The Legacies Must Live On! (IV)

Osun Defender Tuesday, March 2, 2016

Rauf Revolution:

The Legacies Must Live On! (IV)

With this continuation of the ongoing Magazine series on the Education Sub-sector of the State of Osun, NIYI OLASINDE accords deserved attention to this vital aspect of life; even as efforts are ongoing in reviving lost glory for the sub-sector.

•Front view of the AUD Elementary School, Isale-Osun, Osogbo, constructed by Governor Rauf Aregbesola’s administration.

•Some of the school buses, acquired by Aregbesola’s administration. Continued from last week IT is no longer news that one of the major areas of concern to government, policy makers and concerned stakeholders in the State of Osun and the entire South-West geopolitical zone of Nigeria today is the rot, decay and systemic collapse in the field of education and concerns on how to regain lost grounds in the sub-sector. In past editions, of which earlier parts of this series are inclusive, OSUN DEFENDER Magazine has brainstormed dutifully on the rate, level, depth and intensity of the collapse witnessed in the subsector and the predisposing factors that brought about the devastating deterioration. Unfortunately, the more we accord time and volumes of work to the ugly trend, the graver and larger the problems and concerns seem to loom! One of the indices of ascertaining the stark realities of the mess into which education has been plunged in the South-West is the results of candidates from the zone in recent editions of the West African Secondary School Certificate Examinations (WASSCE) of the West African Examinations Council (WAEC). The results of the 2015 May / June edition of the examinations in particular speak volumes of the danger that is already staring us in the face and the defiance of consistent mass failure to the gigantic policy policies of governments, plus the huge committance in monetary terms that had gone along with it. In the State of Osun as an example, being a sub-set of the larger SouthWestern zone, we have in times past weighed the impressive policies, programmes and activities rolled out at awful costs, most especially since the coming on board of the administration of OgbeniRaufAdesojiAregbesola on November 27, 2010. We have weighed all along the impact of the free, functional and qualitative education packages rolled out by the administration. We have measured the quality expenditure devoted to each of these activities, policies and programmes. We have considered the debut of the first-ever State of Osun Education Summit, held in 2011; we have considered the entire “O” programmes, especially as they affect turning around the tide positively for education. Particularly,

we have considered such life-touching “O” programmes as O UNIFORM, O MEALS, O SCHOOLS and all the rest. We have devoted quality time and space in writing to extolling the virtues in the schools reclassification bids, the schools’ rebranding policy, as well as the overhaul in the schools environment. Aside these, such other policies and programmes of the incumbent administration which deserve our commendation include the emergence of Opon Imo (Tablet of Knowledge) and the free enrolment of final year high school students in the public schools for the West African Secondary School Certificate Examination (WASCE). This latter effort, though a legacy which the RaufAregbesola administration met on ground; the administration has formidably built on it, to the extent that records released in one of our most recent editions portrayed the upward trend in the figure of beneficiaries from the programme. Of recent, hardly has any single sector or sub-sector come under severe criticisms within the federation called Nigeria as does the education sector. On most occasions, critics underrate as spurious and exaggerated the estimations by governments at the state level that certain huge amounts of money have been expended on the sector. We need to put the facts straight that the fact that performances of final year students dwindle should not and cannot remove the fact that some governments have labored valiantly to revive lost glories in the area of education. As shall still be shown in the edition of the week today, the administration of OgbeniAregbesola in the State of Osun has towered prominently in providing worthwhile alternative to good infrastructure and service-related necessities hitherto considered to be exclusive preserves of private schools and educational institutions. We shall see more of these as our edition for the week unfolds. For now, let us raise the real issues that have made education to call for urgent intervention in our state and the entire South-West geopolitical zone of the country. Education has become a trouble spot in our parts in recent times. The SouthWest, needless to say, covers Lagos, Oyo, Osun, Ondo, Ogun and Ekiti states.

Out of these six states, apart from Lagos State, which statistics has shown to be ranking sixth in the entire federation, the rest have been finding the results of their candidates, especially those from public schools in lack-lustre cadre. If the observations made above are true, then something must have gone wrong somewhere to reverse the long-known traditions, under which the South-West pert of Nigeria was envy to all other parts and second to none in scholarship, academic and education exertions. As a matter of fact, all through the era during which military rule lasted in Nigeria, the focus was how to bridge the wide educational gap between the South and the North in Nigeria; with the South in context being majorly the South-West, which legacies in advancement in the area of education dated to the days of late Chief ObafemiAwolowo as Premier of the defunct Western Region in the early / late 1950s. he sad news today resides in the fact that the profile of the presentday South-Western states are not at all attractive, given the recentlyreleased statistics of rankings of performances of their students in last year’s (2015) WASSCE. According to the specifics of that statistics, out of the thirty-six (36) states of the federation and the Federal Capital Territory, State of Osun placed twenty- nineth (29th); Oyyo twenty-sixth (26th); Ogun nineteenth (19th); and Ondo thirteenth (13th).Ekiti placed eleventh (11th) with eight thousand, nine-hundred and fiftyfour (8, 954) of twenty-one thousand, three-hundred and thirty-three (21, 333) candidates passing. From Osun, only eight thousand, eight-hundred and one (8, 801) of forty-eight thousand, eight-hundred and eighteen (48, 818) candidates passed with five credits and above. In Oyo, sixteen thousand, five-hundred andeighty-eight (15, 588), representing 21.03 per cent, out of seventy-eight thousand, eight-hundred and ninety-six (78, 896) candidates passed. Ogun recorded twenty-five thousand and six (25, 006) passes, out of seventy-five thousand, nine-hundred and ninety-four (75, 994) candidates, or a success rate of 32.89 per cent. Analysts and observers in the trend, growth and development of education have observed that what made the South-West cynosure of all eyes,is its

antecedents in education, which made it a pace-setter. While, as observed earlier, most observers point accusing fingers at state governments and their chief executives for the declined state of things, OSUN DEFENDER Magazine wishes do differ slightly, especially considering what the experience has been in the State of Osun under the able leadership of OgbeniAregbesola. Most of the critics argue that since 1999, successive state governments, their chief executives and their umbrella political parties have got their priorities mixed up and abandonededucation for inanities. Like it has been observed in earlier paragraphs of this edition, the standard most widely used as basis for comparison of grounds covered in the area of education in the SouthWest has been the passion and zeal for excellence wielded by the Premier of the defunct Western Region, late Chief ObafemiAwolowo and his colleagues who pioneered free education in 1956 and sustained it in the Second Republic. For now, the exploits of the RaufAregbesola in the area of education shall be trumpeted a lot more. Next edition shall carry more of the analysis begun on the rot and decay witnessed in the sector nationwide. The Education aspect of the administration of OgbeniRaufAdesojiAregbesola deserves much of critical focus; since it proved all along that Education subsector is one of the principal specialties of the administration. To this end, OSUN DEFENDER Magazine has devoted much space and time to its detailed spotlight in series of our editions in the past years. It is not as if we are giving up of this effort; but we intend not to overbeat it. So, we shall make mention of some of the giant strides recorded in the sub-sector as basis for desires and expectations for the entire second tenure; then we shall justify the incumbent administration’s effort as that which pupils, parents, teachers and perhaps some other stakeholders have least appreciated!. As a sub-sector of the Social Services Sector of our economy, the importance of education to the socio-economic and

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President Muhammadu Buhari And Some Governors In Mecca, Saudi Arabia.

President Muhammadu Buhari (middle), State of Osun Governor, Ogbeni Rauf Aregbesola (right) and others. •

•President Buhari performing lesser hajj with members of his entourage.

•Buhari (right), National Security Adviser, Major-General Babangida Mangudu (rtd); Ogun State Governor Ibikunle Amosun (2nd left); Governor of Borno State, Kashim Shettima (3rd left) at the Prophet Muhammad Mosque in Medina.

•Buhari, Emir of Kano, Muhammadu Sanusi II (middle), Governor Aregbesola (2nd right), and other dignitaries.

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63rd Birthday Prayer For Secretary To The State Government (SSG) Of Osun, Alhaji Moshood Adeoti, In Iwo, Last Saturday.

•Alhaji Moshood Adeoti (middle) cutting his birthday cake with members of his family.

•Alhaji Adeoti (left) in a handshake with the Director, Bureau of Communication and Strategy, Office of the Governor, Mr Semiu Okanlawon (2nd right), while other dignitaries watch.

•A cross section of guests on the occasion.

•Alhaji Adeoti and his wife Alhaja Mujeedat (middle) with Honourable Toogun Oguntola (right) at the event.

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The Legacies Must Live On! (IV) The Legacies Must Live On! (IV)

•One of the schools that benefitted from Governor Aregbesola’s School Rebuilding programme Continued from page 7 industrial development of any nation cannot be overemphasized. It is against this background that the administration of OgbeniAregbesola has remained resolute on the promotion of functional education in the state. The governor continually recounted how a timely discovery was made by his team that the educational infrastructures in our schools were in worrisome state upon their assumption of office in late 2010. In order to rightly and accurately assess the level of decay in our educational system, the Government of the State quickly held a two-day education summit with the theme: “Resolving the Education Crisis in Osun State: Bridging Analysis and Implementation Gaps” at the Osun StateUniversity (UNIOSUN) in February 2011. The summit was to become one of the most prominent and decisive giant strides taken by the Aregbesola administration. To put the record straight, it came as the first ever in the annals of education summits in the state! By that singular action, the incumbent administration demonstrated its unwavering resolve to tackle head-on the spate of neglect and rot that had bedeviled the education industry in the state. Also by it, the Government Unusual took the bull by the horns to restructure and reconstruct amenities and infrastructure in the education sector of the state; in order to restore quality and promote functional education at all levels in the state. Apart from the Free Education Programme at the Primary and Secondary levels, the Aregbesola administration in the state has made remarkable achievements in the educational sub-sector. An instance of this is the rebranding, repackaging and transformation brought to bear on the Home-Grown School Feeding Programme; an old programme of the Yar’Adua / Oyinlola years; which has been resuscitated and rechristened Osun Elementary School Free Feeding and Health Programme (O’ Meal). With the reorganization and resuscitation of the programme, all the pupils in primaries one to four in public schools in the State of Osun are now covered under the free feeding programme which offers them wide assortments of highly nutritious meals during the school hours. Even meals that are not served in routine menu in conventional practice, like quality chocolate, milk, eggs and chicken are on the list of regular menu of the feeding programme. OSUN DEFENDER Magazine wishes to pause here and reflect briefly in passing the extent of international acceptance and recognition which the State of Osun; through the O’ Meal programme has garnered unto itself. On January 22, 2014, the Governor of the state and grand designer cum prime mover behind all the innovation packages currently ongoing in the state, OgbeniRaufAregbesola was in the European nation of the United Kingdom on the invitation of the higher legislative chambers of that Queen’s country, the House of Lords, to enlighten, brief and teach the

parliamentarians on the nitty-gritty and workings of the O’ Meal programme, which has turned it into a bundle of wonders in the state. It is no longer news the vibrant and ground-shaking standing ovation the governor was accorded at the event. Through that feat, OgbeniAregbesola has done us proud as a people as the first ever governor in Nigeria; even in Black Africa to be so esteemed and honoured to be summoned to lend knowledge to the White World, usually looked upon for originating innovations in virtually all areas of human endeavour, education inclusive. This feat came to the shame, confounding and stupefaction of detractors who see nothing good in virtually all the good gestures of the Aregbesola administration, especially in the Education sub-sector. More wonders are still expected to unfold for the present and during the years ahead; in spite of the currently prevailing paucity of funds. In addition, the poor condition of infrastructure in public schools in the state is already being radically reversed. Towards this end, the first phase of the construction of New Model 100 Elementary Schools, 50 Middle and 20 High Schools is in top gear. The fiscal year 2012 witnessed massive reconstruction and rehabilitation of the dilapidated school buildings inherited by the administration of the day from its inept preceding administration. This, the governor noted, is in consonance with the team’s determination to raise the standard of education in our dear state. t is in a bid to arrest the spate of perennial acute shortage of teachers in our schools and concomitantly ensuring effective teaching and learning activities in schools that the incumbent administration has embarked on massive recruitment and selection processes for qualified, quality, competent and experienced teachers for engagement at our Primary and Secondary levels. This step, apart from being a necessity to compensate for the ravaging neglect of the past; became necessary to take adequate and abundant care of the exploding enrolment figures in schools, following the introduction of a true, functional and qualitative education at those levels. Specifically, various selection exercises have so far been conducted by the State Universal Basic Education Board (SUBEB) and the State Post-Primary Teaching Service Establishment and Pensions Commission (TEPPO), involving various numbers of candidates successfully absorbed into the teaching service of the state. Following the large number of retirees in the state’s teaching service at the end of the 2012 fiscal year; arrangements were put in place in year 2013 to get a huge number of teachers employed in replacement for the retired ones. This plan saw the light of day as the year witnessed massive recruitment and selection of teachers at those levels of education. With proper inauguration of appropriate boards in particular, provision of required number and quality of teaching personnel has begun to receive greater attention in the past year. In this direction, greater

attention has been received during successive years. In addition to these numbers of teachers engaged, selection has also been made for competent and qualified teachers among the volunteer cadets of the popular Osun Youth Empowerment Scheme (OYES) and those hitherto employed by the Parents-Teachers’ Association (PTA). According to plan, the process of recruitment of teachers, which had been on, and was billed for completion within the first quarter of 2012, is intended to be a continuous process. What this implies is that even during the New Year, another batch of massive recruitment and selection of teachers is expected to be carried out for existing and continuously-opening vacancies in the elementary and secondary rungs of the education ladder. Also in the area of education, the governor noted that it was in his administration’s bid to ameliorating the suffering of parents, guardians and students that reduction was effected in the exorbitant fees being charged by the authorities of the Osun State University (UNIOSUN). A similar gesture was extended to all other tertiary institutions owned by the state. These include the Osun State Polytechnic (OSPOLY), Iree; the Osun State College of Technology (OSCOTECH), Esa-Oke; the Osun State College of Education (OSCOED), Ilesa; and the Osun State College of Education (OSCOED), Ila-Orangun. The Government of the State, the governor declared, had abrogated all forms of charges in our public schools. To achieve effectiveness in teaching and learning, the examination and running grants being released quarterly by the government to the public secondary schools in the state have been increased by over 300 per cent. It was promised that the Aregbesola administration shall continue to give the deserved attention to the welfare of teachers in 2012. This promise was redeemed all through the subsequent years and during the year 2-014; and this has continued through the years till date, judging by the level of recognition being currently accorded to teachers and the teaching profession. It is placed on record how in the year 2012 teachers in the high echelon in the state were elevated to the exalted status of Permanent Secretary, with the designation of Tutors General. Facts on ground have also revealed that within the short period of the incumbent administration of RaufAregbesola in office, the State Library Board had received the full attention of government, particularly in the provision of conducive working environment; a situation which has positively impacted on its services to the reading public. The governor constantly promises that the State Library Board would continue to receive quality support from the State Government of Osun in 2012 and years ahead. Continued on page 11

OgbeniAregbesola also promises his administration’s resolve to revive the State Scholarship Board. This promise has been redeemed in the year 2012, and shall be consolidated in years ahead. Under the auspices of the scholarship board, assistance is given to deserving, outstanding but indigent (financially challenged) students of the state’s origin to obtain higher education at home and abroad. Since the governor has already rolled out the State of Osun Schools’ Calisthenics Programme, alongside the inauguration of EwaIpinleOsun, he has since been forthcoming in the fulfillment of his promise to give revival to the old boys’ and girls’ associations and voluntary clubs in all primary and secondary schools for leadership training and team spirit building. In year 2013, it was in full realization of the vibrant role and the auspicious place of Education sub-sector of the Social Services Sector to the socio-economic life and political emancipation of the State of Osun and the liberation of the people that the incumbent administration accorded to it a total allocation of N13.7 Billion or 18.8 per cent of its total capital budget; though that initial budgetary provision later on got reviewed upwardly, following the consideration of the State of Osun House of Assembly. During the past years of the administration, there have been tremendous achievements recorded for the Education sub-sector in the state. Apart from the State of Osun Schools Uniform Scheme (O’ Uniform) other strings of successes have followed. Chiefest of them all; which is among the fundamental firsts which the administration has recorded so far is the introduction of the computer-like devise into the teaching-learning programme at the Senior Secondary level of education in the state. The programme called Tablet of Knowledge (Opon Imo) has brought lots of improvements in to the learning processes at that stage as well eased the process of getting the state’s candidates for external examinations adequately prepared for success. Lots have already been written on the nitty-gritty of the Tablet of Knowledge (Opon Imo) our earlier editions. A detailed elucidation shall soon be made on it under appropriate segments of this edition. The launch however eventually saw the light of day in the month of May 2013. Also during the month of May, precisely on Monday the 27th May2013, the annual globally-held Children’s Day celebrations took a different turn in the State of Osun. This was as at the instance of the Government Unusual of OgbeniRaufAregbesola the first-ever O’odua World Children’s Day Celebration was organized and held. The event, a unifying force for all offspring of legendary Oduduwa in Nigeria and in the Diaspora, turned out to be a convergence of all children, adult and traditional (royal) fathers of Yoruba extraction spread across the globe. At the event of the day, representatives and contingents present included those from about ten states in the federation of Nigeria, those from the neighbouriing old Dahomey Kingdom (now Republic of Benin), and those from other parts of the universe, with the inclusion of the United States of America (USA), the Americas and the Caribbean. It was really a colourful and eventful programme. The states within the federation include the host state, the State of Osun. Others are Lagos, Oyo, Ogun, Ondo and Ekiti States. We also had in attendance other

states like Kwara, Kogi, Edo and Delta states. Apart from an impressive turnout from almost all royal fathers from the host state at the event, royal fathers from other places outside the State of Osun include the Alaafin of Oyo, Oba LamidiOlayiwolaAdeyemi III; the Aseyin of Iseyin; and the Eleruwa of Eruwa. Royal fathers from the Republic of Benin include the Olupopo of Popo; Onisabe of Sabe and Oniketu of Ketu among others. Through the auspices presented by the programme, youths from those different states mentioned above and those from other parts were able to interact and cooperate with love and share commonalities. As it turned out, and as Governor Aregbesola himself pointed out at the programme, the event of May 27, held at the main bowl of the Osogbo Township Stadium (under construction at the time) marked the largest-ever held congregation of black nationalities anywhere in the world. The greatest achievement of the event was bringing together after a long period of conflict two prominent and frontline Yoruba royal fathers, the Alaafin of Oyo, Oba LamidiOlayiwolaAdeyemi III; and the Ooni of Ife, His Imperial Majesty, Oba OkunadeSijuade, Olubuse II (now deceased). uring the month of July, same year, the third D in the series of quiz competitions annually held in commemoration of the birthday of the internationally reputed literary icon and Nobel Laureate in Literature, Professor OluwoleAkinwande Soyinka was held, with the State Government of Osun taking the position of a leading light. Last year’s episode, marking the academic giant’s 79th birthday had the involvement of seventy-nine youths for the finals which were held in the Government House of the State of Osun in Osogbo, the state capital. The aim of the programme transcended merely celebrating the excellence radiated by Soyinka, but raising future stars among our youths; who would project our image in the future; even after we might have been long-gone! This feat has already been repeated this year at the occasion of the 80th birthday anniversary celebration of the academic giant. Time and again during the outgone years, we brought to the fore the numerous achievements of the incumbent administration in the state in the aspect of development of schools infrastructure in the state. This is talking in terms of the activities of the State of Osun Schools Infrastructure Development Project (O’ SCHOOLS). In September 2013, the first in the numerous ultra-modern schools building projects of the O’ SCHOOLS project was officially commissioned and delivered for use. The Salvation Army Middle School, Alekuwodo, Osogbo, the state capital is a 900-seater state-of-the-art complex, which put to rest the insinuations of detractors that all of the school building projects of the administration were destined to be abandoned in the midstream. The school is one out of the fourteen in its category that are being put in place by the RaufAregbesola administration in the State of Osun. The school building has since been put to use; while other school, building projects initiated by the administration are almost completed / at various stages of completion and almost ready for official commissioning / delivery. The year 2014 have started and ended pretty well indeed! From the start of the year, the hope had been high

•Pupils of Elementary Schools in Osun enjoying their meals.

that more and more in the line-up of public schools being erected in the state shall be officially commissioned and delivered. This hope has not been betrayed during the first quarter of the year. During the month of February, the first in the list of completed elementary schools in the state was officially commissioned and delivered for use. The Baptist Central Elementary School, Ilare, Ile-Ife, which official commissioning was held on Tuesday February 18 witnessed massive turnout of residents of Ile-Ife, members of the political class and the entire people of the State of Osun – all of who were full of joy and prayers for the governor, OgbeniRaufAregbesola and his team. The elementary school is one of the thirteen (13) units of its sort being put in place in the state. The governor and other members of the State Executive Council present at the occasion of official commissioning appeared in the uniform of elementary schools in the state; another initiative of the administration. In his address on the occasion, Governor Aregbesola said: “The ongoing monumental transformation of education in the State of Osun is unstoppable. Nobody can stop us. “Even if we have to step on toes, we shall continue to build a solid future for generations yet unborn. The school is not for Muslims, Christians or traditionalists but rather for the people of the State of Osun. The education of our children must be taken seriously and we must not play pranks with it under any guise to secure the future of our state and society at large” In renewing his affirmation for the turnaround of the education sub-sector of the state, Aregbesola stated that the vision of his administration was to build an educational system that would produce great men and women in the society. In addition to the afore-mentioned data of thirteen (13) elementary school and fourteen (14) middle school building projects, there are still twelve units of high school building projects ongoing in the state. The governor however promised the delivery and official commissioning of all the projects before the end of his administration’s tenure of office. In his graphical analysis conducted at the occasion, Governor Aregbesola made it known that his administration was spending on annual basis a whooping sum of N27.1 Billion on teachers’ salaries and pension, while the Opon Imo project had so far gulped N1.2 Billion. He put the capital expenditure so far on education at N31. 1 Billion. In her earlier speech at the occasion, the Deputy Governor of the State of Osun, who doubles as the Commissioner for Education, Otunba (Mrs.) Grace TitilayoLaoye-Tomori revealed that the school has tentfive (25) classrooms, with capacity to accommodate one-thousand (1,000) pupils with other modern facilities like two (2) staff common rooms, one (1) office each for the headmaster and assistant headmaster, and a dining room. Others are modern sports field, and other features that make the school able to compete favourably with private schools anywhere in the contemporary Nigeria. She further had the following to say: “The school symbolizes possibilities and that change is inevitable. Despite the fact that some people are

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The Legacies Must Live On! (IV) The Legacies Must Live On! (IV) Continued from page 12

•Newly-built Ejigbo High School, Ejigbo, State of Osun. Continued from page 11

mischievous about the project, the government is right on top of the situation and we shall continue to work towards better future for our children” Later on, the third in the series of quiz competitions annually held in commemoration of the birthday of the internationally reputed literary icon and Nobel Laurel in Literature, Professor OluwoleAkinwande Soyinka was held, with the State Government of Osun taking the position of a leading light. The year 2013 episode, marking the academic giant’s 79th birthday had the involvement of seventy-nine youths for the finals which were held in the Government House of the State of Osun in Osogbo, the state capital. The aim of the programme transcends merely celebrating the excellence radiated by Soyinka, but raising future stars among our youths; who would project our image in the future; even after we might have been long-gone! THEterrains of public education in the years preceding the advent of the RaufAregbesola administration was far from being attractive or alluring. This is true as all indications pointed to a situation of rot, decay, abandonment and devastation in the sub-sector; so much so that parents and guardians were repelled with fear and disgust from committing their wards to the care and tutelage that that category of schools dispensed. Needless to say, the only category of parents and guardians who were left to the mercy of those schools were those who due to certain limitations imposed by economy or other factors, had no alternative than sending their wards there as a last resort. In other words the segment of the populace who gave patronage to those schools in those dark days comprised those who looked up to God and prayed ceaselessly for deliverance and rescue to come their way some day. In our series last year and in years before, OSUN DEFENDER Magazine has devoted lengthy writing to the spate of rot and decay which the sub-sector witnessed during the period under reference. We therefore would not have to subject our numerous readers to the boredom, drudgery and monotony of having to recast the ugly events of those years. We also have, time and time again given details of the poor score sheets of candidates of the state who were produced through the ugly system in public examinations. In honest terms, the performances were not only persistently poor but also abysmally woeful and disheartening. In terms of enrolment figures, the statistics had dwindled drastically. In terms of schools’ physical structures, materials, equipment and textbooks, the scoring was simply nothing to write home about. The quantity and quality of teaching and non-teaching personnel in those schools had been another point of concern. In most cases, the teachers were not just there. Where they were present in some numbers, it was not usually in the right quality. Recruitment and selection exercises for teachers in those days were fraught with fraud and irregularities, hence, the teachers (so called) were mostly engaged in an attempt to pacify political hangers-on, cronies and boot-lickers. ince the coming on board of the RaufAregbesola S administration however, a wave of change, unprecedented and unimaginable – confounding to distracters - has rippled the public education sub-sector

of the state. In all ramifications, the sub-sector has been virtually overhauled. Apart from the free, functional and qualitative education package wielded by the administration of OgbeniRaufAdesojiAregbesola in the State of the Virtuous, other components of good service delivery, which could make learning much easier, attractive, effective and efficient have been put in place. Among the multiple “O” programmes initiated by the Government Unusual, the education industry has taken a substantial number. We can easily talk of the O’ Uniform programme under the auspices of which the administration distributed school uniforms and badges free of charge to all students in public schools in accordance with their levels; whether elementary, middle or high school. Not only this, the O’ Meal programme ensures free feeding of pupils in primary school classes one to four on daily basis with nutritious and highly enriched food varieties so as to enhance their intellectual development and prepare them adequately for future challenges. The O’ Calisthenics is a programme in physical cum affective and psychomotor domains. Through it, the government of the day has exposed the students, drawn mostly from the middle school rung of the educational ladder to more productive engagements of their time, talents and latent potentials. The O’ SCHOOLS intervention initiative is an area that is almost of exceeding importance of all. This is so as no meaningful and impactful teaching-learning process can take place in poor physical environment. The State of Osun Schools Infrastructure Development Committee, known for short as O’ SCHOOLS is out to effect the demolition of all existing dangerously dilapidating structures in all our public schools and replacing such with modern, befitting and more durable ones that can favourably compare with the demands of the Twenty-First Century. We have discussed issues relating to this to detail in some of our earlier editions in this series. We only need to add in passing that “infrastructure” in the context of O’ SCHOOLS mean a wide variety of components which include: a. School buildings as designed and approved; b. External works as designed and approved; c. Landscaping as designed and approved; d. Furniture for students and staff; e. Library, laboratory and workshop equipments; f. Sporting facilities; and g. Any other facility, structure and equipment that may be considered necessary for effective teaching and learning in the schools. Also, by the plan of the O’ SCHOOLS Committee, we realize that the government intended at the initial stage to build and deliver: · 100 elementary schools (2,100 classrooms); · 50 (62?) middle schools; and · 20 high schools In view of limitations imposed by the economic realities on ground, the first phase of the programme could however accommodate the minimum delivery of: · 50 elementary schools; · 33 middle schools; and · Between 10 and 20 high schools As at the end of 2013, the statistics of these schools which were almost ready for official commissioning and use was put at about fifteen

(15) elementary schools; thirteen (13) middle schools; and ten (10) high schools. The figures are still counting, as the programme is continuous through the life of the administration. Latter part of last year and early this year marked the official commissioning of the first fruits of the O’ SCHOOLS project and their delivery to their respective intended endusers. The last academic session ended on a glorious note with more and more of the completed schools construction projects being commissioned and put to use, to the glory of God and for the benefit of mankind. First in this regard was the official commissioning of the Salvation Army Middle School, located at the OkeFia / Alekuwodo area of Osogbo, the capital of the State of Osun. That was done in September 2013. Second was the commissioning in February of 2014 of Baptist Central Elementary School, Ilare, Ile-Ife. During the month of March, another ultra-modern school building project in the category of elementary school, the A.U.D. Government Elementary School, Isale-Agbara, Isale-Osun, Osogbo was officially commissioned. More recently, more and more of these projects have been commissioned in Ikirun, Ila, Iwo, Ikire and other parts of the state. It is an event that is certain that the ongoing fourth year anniversary of the administration and the celebrations of the re-inauguration of Ogbeni shall witness the official commissioning of more of these projects. The list is still counting! This rate of completion has put wagging tongues into silence. We have observed through the lifetime of the incumbent administration how our public schools have flourished prolifically with massive employment of trained, qualified, competent and highly experienced teaching personnel. We have also witnessed how the administration has made the teachers in public schools highly motivated by attending promptly to all their needs, not only in terms of salaries and fringe benefits, but also other needs bordering on entry and terminal points as well as elevation of high echelon personnel in the teaching profession to the exalted status of Permanent Secretary. Hence we now have three Tutors-General; one for each Senatorial District of the state. Central to the free education programme of the administration of the day is the free book distribution exercise embarked upon. By this, the sufferings of the masses have been alleviated a great deal through free distribution of exercise. The climax of this is the introduction of the Tablet of Knowledge, known as Opon Imo. This device is one of the most laudable efforts of the Aregbesola administration in the Education Sub-sector. The Schools Reclassification Programme and Schools Discipline Initiative are other effort made to revive the sector from the horrible state it was in at the take-over time of the administration. We shall now swing forward to give concise consideration to Opon Imo and all that it entails. When the newly-inaugurated administration of OgbeniRaufAregbesola came out with the idea of holding the first-ever State of Osun Education Summit in February 2011, detractors wagged their tongues in outright condemnation of the programme which they considered as sheer waste of time and resources. Today, the summit has justified itself; as it has translated to meaningful lifeimpacting transformation in the Education Sub-sector of the state; most especially the public schools, to which the government remains proprietor and financier.

Continued on page 13

We know for sure that quite a number of interesting packages has begun to be rolled out as aftermath of the summit, which was chaired by none less a personality like the academic giant and famous Nobel Laurel, Professor Wole Soyinka. Notable among such educational rebranding efforts of the administration which are wielding potent reforms in the education industry of the state owing to their purposeful and faithful implementation are the O’ Uniform, O’ SCHOOLS, O’ Meal and O’ Calisthenics; and such others as we have discussed above. The particular ground-shaking and epoch-making entrant into the scene is the Tablet of Knowledge, known popularly as Opon Imo. TheOpon Imo initiative has come, like its earlierintroduced counterparts to demystify school learning and make public school learning more attractive; thereby restoring its old-lost glory, honour, sanctity and rectitude. By virtue of the line-up of these intervention efforts, it is no longer a dreadful event to send a child to public schools. On top of these attractive packages; education in our public schools is free, qualitative and functional. What this latter point implies is that a good proportion of parents who had been made victims of coughing out enormous hard-earned resources in order to get their wards educated in private schools; or rather who could scarcely afford that costly facility for their wards are now afforded the rare privilege of good education free of charge, courtesy of the quintessential leader of our time, OgbeniAregbesola. Through the introduction of Opon Imo, the burden of spending enormously on textbooks either by parents or government has been relieved. We remember with nostalgia the old good eras of free education as introduced and successfully operated in the defunct Western Region by the late sage, Chief ObafemiAwolowo, the premier of the Region. The same feat was replicated during the Second Republic with late Chief Bola Ige at the helm of affairs as Governor of the old Oyo State. We also remember the good efforts of Chief BisiAkande in his days as Governor of the present-day State of Osun. uring t h e e n t i r e p e r i o d u n d e r r e f e r e n c e , D tuition, textbooks and notebooks were entirely free! The free education scheme afforded many school children especially those from humble socio-economic background the opportunity of access to quality, functional education. By the standards of those periods, school children were provided with textbooks and notebooks free of charge. But the standards of the current time place the demand on government to find another device which can present volumes of books of different sizes in a very light, easy-to-access gadget, which an average learner can carry about with much ease and which can provide learning anywhere and anytime without the burden of carrying bulky bags around.

•aregbesola

Another advantage of the Opon Imo is that it saves the government the perennial burden of procuring sets of books. According to Governor Aregbesola while responding to critics that his administration is deemphasizing the use of books, he enumerated the economic benefits of providing easier alternative as consisting in saving enormous costs for the state which can be expended on other viable life- changing programmes and projects. The governor said that over a period of ten years, the devise would save government a whooping sum of about N50.25 billion; were the state to engage in the physical purchase of hard copies of textbooks for the 17 subjects taught in our public schools, hard copies of 51 audio tutorials, hard copies of JAMB and WAEC past questions and answers and the rest. Aside these, the Opon Imo device can be solar-powered. It also has the capacity to record audio lessons, thus saving students the trouble of copying notes. It also spares them more time to learn. Another benefit confirmed for the device is that it facilitates the incumbent administration’s free education programme through its cost-saving nature. We would all agree that a truly qualitative and functional free education programme is usually a crowd-puller. The populist nature of such programme therefore would require its provider to find means of making learning easier, fast and all-reaching within a limited space of time. OSUN DEFENDER Magazine is of the assurance that the Aregbesola administration has done this sufficiently well. The governor has continuously emphasized the bold resolve and determination of his administration to focus thrust on the making of the total student – so the preparation of conducive learning environment, which consists in the construction of befitting classrooms and equipping such with good furniture, shall win the priority attention of his government. He has never reneged on his promise that his administration will not waver or get derailed from the pursuance of these lofty courses of action. Further on the issue if textbooks, Aregbesola reasoned that since textbooks are made from wood which is obtained from forests cultivated on wide expanses of land; the introduction of a devise like Opon Imo, which reduces the dependence on books, will help in the conservation of our forest resources, hence reducing risks associated with environmental degradation. It has been a reasonable argument from the point of view of OgbeniAregbesola that since a student must have been exposed to textbooks from kindergarten, offering him something different at his high school age would do him much benefit. In other words, he should be offered with the kind of learning that brings him in conformity with his colleagues and counterparts in the present world order through exposure to digital-based instruction that

•laoye-tomori

makes him ICT-compliant. In Governor Aregbesola’s definition, the Opon Imo devise is a first of its kind standalone learning tablet in the world for self-paced study. It provides three major content categories vis-à-vis e-library virtual classroom, and an integrated test zone. The virtual classroom category contains 63 e-books, covering 17 academic subjects for examinations conducted by WAEC, NECO and JAMB as well as non-academic life-enriching subjects such as History of the Yoruba, Sexuality Education, Civic Education, Ifa on Ethics and Morals, Enterprise Education, hints and tips on passing SSCE and How to Live a Healthy and Happy Life. It was further revealed by the Governor that this section also contains an average of 16 chapters per subject and 823 chapters in all, with about 900 minutes or 15 hours of audio voiceovers. In the integrated net zone of the devise, there are more than 40,000 JAMB and WAEC practice questions and answers dating back to about 20 years. It also contains mock tests in more than 51 subject areas, which approximates to 1,220 chapters, with roughly 29,000 questions, referencing about 825 images. Recent revelations from the State of Osun Deputy Governor, who doubles as the Commissioner for Education, bare it that the OponImo devise can accommodate update, upgrade, additions and enrichment; especially in line with mew discoveries and changes in the ever-dynamic world. On this note, the tablets are turned in at the end of each academic year to allow for this upgrade and to allow for incoming sets of students to make use of them as some most senior set graduates. However, it is possible for parents who want their wards to have the devise for permanent retention to book copies. The tablet, as it has turned out, is in design, use and purpose more than a learning devise. It is a revolution that individualizes learning and brings the school to the child. No wonder that Governor Aregbesola said that in the old order, the pupils went to school to study, but that with Opon Imo, they henceforth learn! Opon Imo has also been defined as entailing democratization of learning. This is so, because Opon Imo provides equal access to every child, irrespective of his or her background. Pupils in the remotest village now have access to the same body of knowledge as their counterparts from the most cosmopolitan city. No wonder that OSUN DEFENDER Magazine drew reference to the coincidence of the Opon Imo launch with the June 12 celebration, visà-vis the mention above of the democratization aspect of the device. We pause to reflect that the annulment of the results of the June 12, 1993 Presidential Elections which was widely, convincingly and

Continued on page 14

INTERVIEW

Osun Defender Tuesday, March

Financing Viable Projects With Debt Not A Crime - Ganduje

Governor Abdullahi Umar Ganduje of Kano State, in this interview, speaks on the diversification of the economy, the zeal to boost the state’s internally generated revenue and the anti-corruption drive in the state.

ou once said your government started well by trying to reduce cost of governance. How did you do it? On the cost of governance, we have, indeed, saved a lot. But it isn’t easy to quantify in terms of facts and figures. But two things are very important. First, the attitude towards governance by the administration and the people, and second, the physical reduction in the cost of governance. I reduced the ministries from 19 to 14. I slashed the salaries of political offices holders by half. So, by simple arithmetic, one will easily know that governance cost has been reduced. Also, I established a new project payroll. All our contracts are being publicized. All our council deliberations are being publicized. Now, in Kano State, one can see transparency. Definitely, that has led to the reduced cost of governance. How have you been able to diversify revenue generation efforts? On efforts towards diversification, in agriculture, we have taken three areas in which we have comparative advantage, which are in wheat, rice and tomatoes production. The farmers are ready, and we have people who are ready to purchase their produce. We are providing the enabling environment to achieve success. What we have discovered is that agriculture shouldn’t be limited to the rainy season alone. Therefore, we are utilizing our dams. We have over 24 dams in the state that we are utilising for irrigation. Less than two weeks ago, I distributed 5,000 water pumps to actual farmers. It is our point of duty to visit all the irrigation clusters. In the process, I measure the size of the farmers by geo-hyping and tagging them. So we know the size of every farm involved in the cluster. We know the amount of fertilizer he requires and the amount of insecticide he is requiring. Also, we have repaired our fertilizer blending company. It is now working 24 hours. We have spent over N500 million putting it in shape. I took the minister of agriculture there. The fertilizer we are producing is much better than any fertilizer that is being imported because it is based on the chemical nature of the soil in Kano State. We have rice millers now. I was surprised when we visited one of the rice millers and we saw a lady who came from Lagos to purchase 50 trucks of rice. But the company could only provide 25. Another came from Enugu requesting for 30 trucks, but the man said he could only give 10 trucks. The miller liaises well with the raw market; he is ready to buy from any farmer who has produced rice or wheat. So, we are all witnessing how farming is lucrative. Very soon, we are establishing a rice pyramid which will replace the groundnut pyramid in Kano. I will invite you for the launching of the rice pyramid in Kano. There was a meeting with some stakeholders on security over the volatile nature of Kano State. Did you also meet with the Igbo community? On security and the meeting with the Igbo community, the Yoruba community or any other tribe in Kano, I want to carry everybody along. Two months ago, we convened an interfaith conference which was aired live. It consisted of all private nationalities and all religious groupings. We will continue to co-exist together. I have constituted a permanent interfaith committee which will hold its meetings from time to time. Those who are staying with us in Kano are mainly those living in Sabon Gari. I made it a point of policy to provide some facilities in Sabon Gari. Right now, we are constructing a road in the New Road area. Very soon, we will start constructing another in the Igbo Road area. I was there and the residents really celebrated. I don’t call them nonindigenes. I call them indigenes of Kano State with primordial claims to where they came from. That is their new designation, they are not foreigners. They are indigenes of Kano state. After the reform of the Kano Board of Internal Revenue, how much does the body currently generate monthly? I just talked about revenue generation. We had a lot of oil money from the last administration.

•GANDUJE By MUIDEEN OLANIYI

At that time, we didn’t emphasise on internally generated revenue. But, they say necessity is the mother of invention. Now that we are in a necessity, we are now inventing. Before now, we could hardly get N1 billion as internally generated revenue. But I assure you that now we have over N2bn. Our technical advisers are working hard on how we can collect money from landed properties, rented properties, vehicles and registration of business premises. Our technical advisers are working hard to see how we will increase the internally generated revenue in the state. We always meet with the local governments on their autonomy. But one thing is that some of them can’t even pay salaries. So, we have to argument what they are paying. If we are relying only on autonomy, some of the local governments will shut down. So we have to work together to generate revenue and we give them what is their entitlement according to the constitution. Also if they are in trouble, you bail them out. hat is the state of the almajiri schools in Kano? The last federal government introduced the almajiri schools but the schools were not well articulated. It is a wrong policy. For example, in my village, we have one of the schools, which has only 50 students. But in Kano, we have over three million almajiris and the number of almajiris is almost a problem to the number of school children The issue is not creating a school. If you are creating an almajiri school, that is abnormal. Who will like to be tagged an almajiri? Is it that after completing your studies, your certificate will be tagged an almajiri? And later in life, you will be called a graduate of an almajiri school, which means you were once an almajiri before. So, it has some social problems. What we are adopting is integration. The almajiris are being integrated into the normal school system. From our investigation, most of the almajiris in Kano came from other parts of the North and from Chad and Niger. So, we have concluded that the almajiri schools should be integrated into the normal school and any malam who is coming with

over 200 children from another state should allow the children to be integrated into the school or he should take his children back to his state. That is a more sustainable idea rather than building schools. How many schools can you build? It is difficult. So, it is better you integrate them. I wrote a letter to Mr. President and told him the statistics of the almajiri and I told him the method we have adopted. The last administration of Rabiu Musa Kwankwaso started a lot of infrastructural projects, but there is a concern that the projects accumulated a lot of debts. How are you coping with these debts? We were in government together; I was deputy governor. We had a lot of money and we started a lot of mega projects that couldn’t be completed. We had a lot of debts. But having a debt isn’t a crime because whatever we expended is in the interest of the public. It is my responsibility to complete all the abandoned projects. There are some projects abandoned by administrations before that of Kwankwaso. Two mega hospitals were abandoned for over 10 years. Now, we have started to complete those projects. Many rural roads were abandoned for almost 10 years. I have taken time to complete them. So, I don’t believe anything should be abandoned, especially infrastructure because when the project was undertaken, it was done so for public interest. It is a waste if we don’t do that. What has your government put in place to fight corruption in high places in the state? I have established a team on public complaints and anti-corruption. It is led by a civil rights activist. It is biting. Whenever it bites, I laugh. I directed that it has its offices in all the 44 local government areas, which must work with him on public complaints and anti-corruption. The supervision of the main office is in the state capital. Most local governments have opened offices. In a short time, all offices will be opened all over the state. Also, we have complaint boxes. That is the length we have gone in terms of fighting corruption. •Culled from Daily Trust

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MAGAZINE

Osun Defender Tuesday, March

The Legacies Must Live On! (IV) Continued from page 13

overwhelmingly won by the late business mogul, captain of commerce and symbol of the collective cause for democracy, late BashorunMoshoodKasimawoOlawaleAbiola poised monumental set-back to the nation and the development of its segments and institutions. Had the democratic experience of that time been allowed to thrive and materialize, the nation would have advanced well today. This is more so if it is viewed against the back drop that the achievers of today – Senator Bola Ahmed Tinubu, Governor BabatundeRajiFasola and our own OgbeniRaufAdesojiAregbesola – were parts and parcel of the struggle in the defunct Social Democratic Party (SDP). If our return to democratic governance had started from that time; honestly, we would have gone very far by now. Opon Imo, by containing all subjects, is a veritable tool in the making of the rounded student. It was revealed that a science student has access to textbooks on arts and social sciences and vice-versa. We also learnt that there is a business side to the tablet. According to Governor Aregbesola, a factory for the assemblage of computer tablets is already in the pipeline in the State of Osun. The factory will provide jobs for our youths and provide revenue to the government. He said that by that singular move, the foundation is being laid for the making of Osun as the IT hub of the nation. The governor expressed the hope of his administration that Opon Imo would spread to other parts of the nation from the State of Osun. In rounding up his speech at the launch of the devise in June 2013, OgbeniAregbesola viewed the addition of OponImo to our education as another turning point in the public school system in the State of Osun. He expressed his strong belief that the history was in the making on that day with the official launch of the devise; and that the real significance of the day in the history of education in Osun will be appreciated in the fullness of time. istory was made in June 2013 through the H events culminating in the official unveiling of the iPod-like computer devise; customized to demystify learning for students at the senior secondary level of our public school system in the State of Osun. Branded simply as Opon Imo, which translates into Tablet of Knowledge, the devise, a brainchild of the Aregbesola administration had earlier come under severe criticisms from the camp of detractors on many grounds; the last of which was that the programme had been clandestinely launched in Lagos. Earlier, detractors had tongue-lashed the project as sheer attempt at wasting the financial fortunes of the state; attempting to deify the oracles by the introduction of what they chose to call OponIfa; and an overall attempt at making the youths of the state tow the path of fetishism. As time advanced, further accusations came that the Opon Imo project sought to deemphasize the use of textbooks; and most recently, critics of the project cried foul that it had been launched in Lagos, rather than the State of Osun for which it was designed and meant. At the end of it all, the administration of the day, under the leadership of OgbeniRaufAregbesola has proven itself to be well above all situations aimed at distracting it as the Opon Imo initiative has eventually seen the light of day. In his state-wide broadcast heralding in the New Year 2014, the Governor of the State of Osun,

OgbeniRaufAdesojiAregbesola elucidated on the numerous achievements of his administration in the past years. In his speech titled “Reflections on Our Policies and Programmes”, the Governor detailed the achievements, which bordered chiefly on the giant strides recorded in the education industry. While commenting on the whole essence of his aspiration to become the helmsman of the state in the first place, the governor had this to say:

“As we begin this great year, I reflect on the last year and even the last three years since the Almighty God, by His grace and mercy, brought me to this seat as your Governor. Permit me to say that the only reason why I aspired to be governor was to get an opportunity to improve the lot of the masses of our people. “I know how dehumanizing poverty and lack of opportunities can be. I know how illiteracy can truncate the destiny of a person and a society. “This is why every day our focus as an administration has been (and is) on how to improve the lives of the majority of our people. “My firm belief is that government exists to protect life, liberty and pursuit of happiness, provide an environment for commerce to thrive, for the young and economically deprived to be educated, for the sick who cannot afford medi-care to be taken care of, for the provision of security for all, and for the enforcement of the rule of law and maintenance of law and order. “All of these must be premised on the truth that all men, regardless of means, religion or ethnicity, are created equal by God and must be enabled where they are unable to access the means for decent and humane existence. “The question I ask myself about any policy we propose to make is simple: ‘How will this benefit the poorest in the State of Osun’?” On the justification behind the introduction of the O’ Meal programme, the Governor made the following comments: “It is this philosophy that has guided and inspired all of our policies as your government. We put in place the O’Mealsprogramme for feeding all elementary school children daily because we know that a large number of our people find it difficult to feed themselves and their children. We know that undernourishment and calorie deficiency is a major cause of physical and mental underdevelopment of children and young people. “It has been scientifically confirmed in many countries that provide lunch for their children in school that it significantly improves the academic performance and health of the pupils. We are finding this to be the case in our state. “Additionally, the programme has increased elementary school enrolment in Osun from 150,000 to 380,000 children. We now have the largest elementary school enrolment in the country.” Of particular note is the reference we intend to draw to the last quoted paragraph above. On the overall, it is the aggregate of the comprehensive and integrative package of initiatives in the education sector of the state that contributed to the upsurge in enrolment statistics of public schools in the state, to the effect that there was a

•A cross section of the state public school pupls displaying their Opon-Imo.

swelling of more than double only within the space of three years! Now after four years of running with the vision, the feats are still on. Commenting on the Opon Imo initiative, the Governor traced the purpose of its introduction and the impact it had made so far, when he said: “Our provision of ‘OPON IMO’ (THE TABLET OF KNOWLEDGE) which contains all the textbooks and teaching aids required in high school is because we know that most parents in the state simply cannot afford the cost of textbooks. “Again we believe that all of our children, regardless of the financial means of their parents, must have equal access to books and other materials for effective learning. The introduction of this electronic tablet is to bring our children, no matter how remote their location may be from the centres of digital advancement, to familiarity and currency with cutting-edge technology.” The Governor appraised the overall education policies and programmes of his administration in lucid terms in the following words: “The same is true of our educational reform policy. You will recall that when I was sworn in as Governor in November 2010, the schools were in a shambles. Hardly any school in the state had facilities of any kind. We then called for an education summit, attended by great educationists and intellectuals of all persuasions. “Professor Wole Soyinka, our own Nobel Laureate, made time out to personally attend. The summit recommended a complete overhaul of our education system.” He particularly appraised the outcome and effectiveness of the first-ever State of Osun Education Summit as follows: “The most important conclusion of the summit was the restructuring of the system into three basic categories, Elementary, Middle and High schools. Grades 1–4 are the elementary school, Grades 5–9 are the middle school, while grades 10–12 are the high school.” Concerning the State of Osun Schools’ Infrastructure Development Committee (O’ SCHOOLS), the Governor affirmed our claims when he said: “In the high school, we focus on preparing the children for both internal and external examinations. Our plan is to build 20 new high schools, 50 middle schools and 100 elementary schools. Each of these schools will be equipped to state-of–the-art standards, especially with digital learning aids, electronic boards, functional and contemporary laboratory equipment, sports facilities, clean water and large power generators etc.”

Continued on page 15

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tuesday, march 1, 2016

n spite of the dwindling revenue, the thirty-six states of the country and Abuja shared 113.5 billion naira in January. Likewise the 774 local governments shared 85.4 billion naira. Akwa-Ibom had the largest share of 10.7 billion naira followed by Delta State with 7.3 billion naira and Osun State with 255.2million naira. On the allocation to local governments, Lagos State scored the highest with 5.4billion naira followed by Kano State with 4.7billion naira while Bayelsa State had the least with 972million naira. Obio/Akpor local government in Rivers State had the largest share with 156.6million naira. None of the local government in the Federation received less than 60million naira in January. The question one should ask is how come none of the local governments is unable to implement capital projects in spite of the money they collect. My guess to that question is the same as yours. The truth is that somegovernors have hijacked the funds of the local and by so doing have crippled the local government system in the country. Unfortunately, some ambiguities in the constitution allowed them to get away with it. Section 7(1) states that:”The system of local government by democratically elected local government councils is under this constitution guaranteed; and accordingly, the government of every state shall subject to section 8 of this constitution, ensure their existence under a Law which provides for the establishment, structure, composition, finance and function of such councils”. Yet, section 7(6a) submits that “the National Assembly shall make provisions for statutory allocation of public revenue to Local Government councils in the federation. But the confusion is extended further by section 7(6b) which states that” the House of Assembly of a state shall make provisions for statutory allocation of public revenue to local government councils within the state”. This confusion also resurfaced in section 162(6) where it established the State Joint Local Government Account for the Purpose of payment of “all allocations to the Local Government councils of the State from the account and from the Government of the State”. In Section 162(7) it directs State Government to pay Local Government councils its total revenue on the terms prescribed by the National Assembly. At the same time, it gives the same power and functions to the State House of Assembly in section 162(8). Further, section 8 (subsections 5 and 6) saddles the National Assembly with some functions before creation of a local government can become legal. The implication of all the identified contradictions and ambiguities is that it is very difficult to locate constitutionally the locus of power on local government creation. That is the tragic situation we are now. Very sad. As warned by Comrade Ibrahim KhaleelAdk, National President, Nigeria Union of Local Government Employees(Nulge),at a workshop organized by the Centre For Democracy and Development on October 5, 2012,” it is sad to note that with the level of corrosive abuses and serial violation on the security of Local Government system by the 3rd Republic politician in Nigeria,Local Government is fast sliding back into the events after the military takeover of 1966 and before the creation of states”. n 1976, the sub-committee on the I e c o n o m y, f i n a n c e a n d d i v i s i o n o f power of the constitution drafting committee

Killing The Local Government System Softly

By eric teniola federalism; (ii) Section 7 be expanded to take care of the provisions made in this review to ensure the existence and proper function of Local Government Councils; (iii) In line with the call for the security of tenure for elected Local Government functionaries, a new provision for qualifications and removal of the Chairman, ViceChairman and Councillors has been recommended as a separate tier of Government within the states; and (iv) In order to strike a balance between the demand by the Local Governments for financial autonomy through direct funding from the Federation Account and the need to ensure financial probity on the part of both the Local Governments and the State Governments, it is recommended that Section 162(5) be amended so that all disbursements to the Local Government go to the State Local Government Joint Account as provided in Section 162(6). ther m e m b e r s o f t h e p a n e l a r e O D r. S h e t t i m a M u s t a p h a , A i r Commodore Bernard Banfa(rtd.), Chief Edwin Ume Ezeoke, Alhaji Abdulhamid Hassan, Hon. Barr. Sunday Kuku Iyakwo, AlhajiIro Dan Musa, Barrister (Mrs.) Iyabode Pam, Alhaji Gambo Moh’d Saleh, Alhaji Isiaku Mohammed, Hajiya Basirat A. Nahibi, Dr. J.C. Odunna, Prince Valentine Ahams, Chief Alani Bankole, Alhaji Umaru Ahmed, Dr. Amos Adepoju, Barrister Mohammed Babangida Umar, Col. Yohann A. Madaki (rtd.), Dr. Stella Dorgu, Dr. Silva Opusunju, Barrister Edward Ashiekaa, Barrister Mika Anache, Barrister Adeniyi Akintola, Dr. Olu Agunloye and Dr. Maxwell Gidado. Not satisfied, President Obasanjo on June 23, 2003 set up another panel to review the Local Government system. The committee was headed by the then EtsuNupe, Alhaji Umaru Sanda Ndayako (1937-2003), a competent administrator and Chairman of the Niger state council of Traditional Rulers and former member of the Constituent assembly. Other members of the committee were Alhaji Liman Chiroma, Barrister John Ochoga, Professor Godwin Odenigwe, Mr. Augustine Udoh-Ekong, Professor Akin Mabogunje, Senator Tunde Ogbeha, Hon. Austin Okpara, Mrs. Abieyuwa Garba, Mr. Venatius Ikem and Alhaji I.B. Sali as the Secretary. All these committees including the Ahmed Talib Committee, the Oyeyipo Committee and the Dasuki Committee reports, advocated for one thing—direct funding for the local governments. To me, the 1999 Constitution has been unfair to the local governments. Now, the National Assembly has embarked on its annual high cost spending ritual— amendment of the Constitution. The most urgent task is to ensure that we amend the constitution so that the funds of the local governments will reach them directly instead of being hijacked by some governors. Efforts must be made to ensure that the local governments function effectively. It is not in the interest of the central government or that of the state governments that the local government should die. It is not in the interest of anyone for the local government to cease to function.

•obasanjo headed by Dr. Pius Okigbo had made the Dasuki(93) to look into the affairs of the local following recommendations. (a) the Federal government with the sole aim of improving Government shall, each year, make provision the local government system in the country. for allocation of funds Local Goverments, On May 7 1984, Major General Muhammadu (b) such funds shall be passed to State Buhari set up another committee on local Governments for their Local Governments. government, headed by the same Alhaji It is further recommended that in the Ibrahim Dasuki. The report was submitted in Constitution of the States provision be made September 1984 but the White Paper was not to make it obligatory that: (a) any monies issued until he was overthrown in 1985. On allocated by the Federal Government to May 11, 1986, General Ibrahim Babangida the Local Government in the State shall be approved the local government reforms passed on by the State Government to the as recommended by the Ibrahim Dasuki Local Authority; (b) the State Government panel on local government councils. Those shall set up a Revenue Allocation Committee recommendations were far reaching I must analogous to that of the Federal Fiscal Review confess. That was the situation, until Justice Commission; (c) the State Government shall Nikki Tobi-led Constitution Debate Cotake all reasonable measures to ensure that ordinating Committee’s recommendations on the Local Government within its area has the ambiguity on local governments formed adequate funds to discharge the duties and part of Decree No 24 of May 5, 1999 which responsibilities assigned to it under this was promulgated as the 1999 Constitution of Constitution. the Federal Republic of Nigeria by General Other members of the sub-committee Abdusalam Abubakar. are Dr. Y.B. Usman, Dr. S. Osoba, Chief On assumption in office of 1999, Chief Rasheed Gbadamosi, Dr. O. Oyediran, Dr. Olusegun Obasanjo set up a committee Ali Alhakeem, Chief I.I. Murphy, Dr. E. C. on the review of the 1999 Constitution. Edozien, Professor Sam Aluko and Dr. V.P. The committee was led by Chief Clement Diejomaoh. Ebri,former governor of Cross-Rivers State. Since 1976, the central government has The committee’s recommendations as regards been most concerned about the fate of local local were as follows:(i) Section 7 (1) and (2) government in Nigeria. On August 19, 1976, be retained so that State Houses of Assembly General Olusegun Obasanjo as the military have powers to legislate on the creation • Teniola, a former director at the ruler by then, set up a 10 man panel under the and other necessary powers of the Local Presidency, lives in Lagos. leadership of Baraden Sokoto, Alhaji Ibrahim Government Councils in the spirit of true 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 (kolaolabisi@yahoo.com); Editor, KAYODE AGBAJE, Telephone: 0803-388-0205, E-mail:

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