Osun Defender - March 29th, 2014 Edition

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SATURDAY, MARCH 29, 2014 Out of Engineer Rauf Aregbesola’s State of Osun there is always s o m e t h i n g trailblazing. In setting the agenda through a list of initiatives, the symbol of good governance in the State of Osun never stops preparing the people for a better tomorrow.

Tomorrow is key in the

Front Page Comment

Osun Technology Village thinking of the symbol of an alternative perspective.

When Independent Newspapers Limited (INL), publishers of the Independent titles described him as such, they knew what they were saying. The alternative perspective is about making a people competitive;

it is about preparing them for tomorrow’s vastly different world. Initiatives such as the Opon Imo, the knowledge tablet attest to this. Key also is the coming into being of the state’s technology village. The reason for developing the village fits in into Aregbesola’s overall strategy.

VOL. 9. NO.038 The symbol believes very much in jobs creating development. This is in contradiction to the prevailing growth without development; for example the garment factory earlier set up in the state testifies to this policy thrust. Now fully operational, the factorysupplies uniforms to the public schools system.

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Who Killed Chief Bola Ige, formerAttorneyGeneral and Minister of Justice?

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Learn From Aregbesola’s O’Meal Scheme, Amaechi Tells Governors •As Osun Guv Lists Roles Of Varsities In Society

- See Story On Page 3

•The governor, State of Osun, Ogbeni Rauf Aregbesola (right); Guest Lecturer, Rivers State Governor, Hon. Rotimi Amaechi (2nd right), Pro-Chancellor and Chairman of Governing Council, Osun State University, Osogbo, Professor Gabriel Adesiyan Olawoyin (2nd left) and Vice-Chancellor, Professor Adekunle Bashiru, at the second UNIOSUN Distinguished Guest Lecture, held at the Main Campus, University Auditorium, , Osogbo, State of Osun, last Wednesday.

Court Acquits Osun Lawmakers

- See Story On Page 4

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OSUN DEFENDER Saturday, March 29, 2014

Learn From Aregbesola’s O’Meal Scheme, Amaechi Tells Governors •As Osun Guv Lists Roles Of Varsities In Society

By KEHINDEAYANTUNJI HE Chairman of the Nigerian Governors Forum (NGF) and the governor of Rivers State, Honourable Chibuke Rotimi Amaechi, on Wednesday said school feeding programme such as being practised in Osun under the O’Meals scheme is key to improve the education of young children in Nigeria.

Amaechi, while delivering ernor of the State of Osun, a lecture titled: “Higher Edu- Ogbeni Rauf Aregbesola cation and Good Gover- pointed out that despite the nance in Nigeria: The way dwindling allocation comForward” at the second ing from the Federal GovUNIOSUN Distinguished ernment, his administration Guest Lecture Series, at the still sustains its developOsun State University Au- mental projects across the ditorium, Main Campus in state.

Amaechi urged other Osogbo, charged every governor in Nigeria to learn states of the federation to emulate the school feeding from Osun.

This was even as the gov- programme of Osun, saying

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the programme will reduce the number of out-of-school children in the country.

The governor stressed that he was amazed with the level of infrastructural development of Aregbesola’s government in the State of Osun.

He pointed out that good governance should not be based on the construction of roads, but other amenities that will positively touch on the lives of citizens with education, as one of the cardinal points of every serious governor.

According to Amaechi: “Every serious governor should take education seri-

ously, though it is common for most governors to want to concentrate on road construction, because people will praise them.

“It is not enough to construct roads alone. I have noticed that, that is not the case with your governor. His giant stride in every other aspects of development which includes quality education is commendable.

“The issue of his school feeding programme deserves applause. Every other state must emulate this programme because it will drastically reduce the number of out-of-school children, which Nigeria

ranks among the nations with greater numbers of children,” Amaechi said.

The visitor to the University, Governor Aregbesola , told the gathering that N5.4billion has been used to argument payment of salaries in the state since July last year, when the statutory allocation from the Federal Government to Osun dropped from N4.6 billion to N2.8billion.

The governor pointed out that despite the drop in allocation, the situation will not stop him from carrying on with his six-point integral action plan, aimed at developing Osun.

•The governor, State of Osun, Ogbeni Rauf Aregbesola (2nd left); Guest Lecturer, Rivers State Governor, Hon. Rotimi Amaechi (2nd right), Deputy Governor, State of Osun, Otunba (Mrs) Titi Laoye -Tomori (left) and Pro-Chancellor/Chairman of Governing Council, Osun State University, Osogbo, Professor Gabriel Adesiyan Olawoyin, at the second UNIOSUN Distinguished Guest lecture, held at the University Auditorium, Main Campus, Osogbo, State of Osun, last Wednesday.

Osun 2014: Opposition Aspirants Lack Political Values, Credibility

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S individuals are vying to contest the August 09, ex-Chairman of the Senate 2014 governorship election in the State of Osun Committee on Budgetary that under different political parties, the All Appropriation Progressives Congress (APC) has said none of the supposedly makes him more aspirants have political value and credibility to contest qualified than Aregbesola.

The party said that the the election. aspirant should bury his spending seven-and-a-half According to the APC, head in shame for what it the gubernatorial aspirants years in office. described as abysmal The APC faulted the so far have little or no performance, which left the political value to make any claim of one of the country in ruins and poverty of them competitive in a race aspirants, who recently since 1999 that the Peoples against Governor Rauf paraded his credentials as Democratic Party (PDP) has Aregbesola.

The APC said that all opposition aspirants in Osun lack the pedigree of excellent performance to qualify them as credible

By KAZEEM MOHAMMED contenders against Aregbesola.

HE Sheri Care Foundation (SCARF), a pilanthropic foundation of the wife of the One of the aspirants, who governor, State of Osun, Mrs Sherifat had been a governor before, according to the APC, could Aregbesola, has provided 40 fully-provisioned not point to any legacy he laptops to teachers of English Language. left behind, adding that The President of the According to her, the Mrs English teachers of middle another aspirant that was a foundation, deputy governor was Aregbesola, disclosed this schools in the state were impeached for conduct at the opening of a re- the first set of teachers to unbecoming of an executive training course for English benefit from the gesture, Teachers of Middle noting that the donation officer of the state.

Schools in the state.

Also, the APC said one of She stated that the was part of the promotional the aspirants, who had been gesture was part of the incentives on educational a Secretary to the State foundation’s efforts in development in the state.

Speaking on the reGovernment served with a assisting the state government that left the government to boosting training of the teachers, Mrs Aregbesola state virtually bankrupt after education in the state.

been in power.

Specifically, the APC faulted the aspirant for neglecting the Southwest, where the Lagos-Ibadan road, the Shagamu-Benin road, and the Sango OttaAbeokuta road became the grave-yards of hundreds of innocent travellers, inspite of billions of naira appropriated by the aspirant for the reconstruction of the

Osun Governor’s Wife Distributes emphasised that the recourse was the Laptops To Teachers training first phase of the spelling

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tournament being organised by SCARF. She added that both the training programme and the tournament would compliment innovative efforts of the state government on education.

Mrs Aregbesola further stated that the education reform package would lead to improvement in the quality of education in the state.

She therefore urged the participants to take the training seriously in the interest of the students and the state.

roads.

The APC said: “These are not the stuff of politicians we want in the State of Osun. They do not have the trait of performing and progressive governors that can deliver.

“They lack what it takes to be a successful governor like Aregbesola, According to the APC in a press statement signed by its Director of Publicity, Research and Strategy, Mr Kunle Oyatomi, on Wednesday, the state needs a credible gubernatorial aspirant like Aregbesola.

APC said it was absurd for any of the aspirants to say that Aregbesola did not commission a single project, saying such statement indicate some degree of intellectual laziness.

Prominent amongst the opposition aspirants in the state are Senator Iyiola Omisore, Senator Isiaka Adeleke, Senator Akinlabi Olasunkanmi, Honourable Wole Oke of the PDP and Alhaji Fatai Akinbade and Mr Niyi Owolade of the Labour Party (LP).

“Basic education is not negotiable. That is why we are doing what we are doing on basic education, considering the neglect that the sector had suffered, it is our concern to give it its necessary quality,” he noted Aregbesola, while commending UNIOSUN, stressed that a university is not a place established merely for the pursuit of knowledge, but a place to generate knowledge that will bring positive impacts to bear on the society.

According to him: “From what I can observe, I am persuaded to the thinking that UNIOSUN is fully sensitive to this high responsibility and giving it due attention.

“It is my well-considered view that the university, among other considerations, is a unique device invented by human society, as part of strategic tools to solve the problems with which it would inevitably contend.

“What this means in essence is that helping society to confront and overcome its challenges is part of the founding mission of the university. It is a mission in which it cannot afford to fail. I do hope that UNIOSUN will sustain this tradition of academic excellence tailored towards social relevance,” the governor said.

The state helmsman also identified free education policy introduced by the late Chief Obafemi Awolowo in the old Western Region as the reason for the peace people enjoy in the South West and called for true system of education for Nigeria to advance.

In his remark, the ProChancellor of the University, who is also the Chairman of the occasion, Professor Gabriel Olawoyin (SAN), described Governor Amaechi as not only a politician, but a scholar of repute.

He praised the giant strides of Ogbeni Aregbesola as unprecedented in the history of the state, while stressing that the intervention of the governor in the basic education sector is very timely.

Earlier in his welcome address, the Vice-Chancellor of the institution, Professor Bashiru Okesina, said the distinguished guest lecture was organised to contribute to the development of higher institutions in Nigeria.

He then expressed appreciation to Aregbesola for his always coming to the aid of the university whenever it is needed.

Present on the occasion were the state deputy governor, who also doubles as the Commissioner for Education, Otunba (Mrs) Grace Titilayo Laoye-Tomori, the Secretary to the State Government, Ahaji Moshood Adeoti , the Chief of Staff to the Governor, Alhaji Gboyega Oyetola, as well as other members of the state executive council.

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OSUN DEFENDER Saturday, March 29, 2014

Osun Residents Commend Aregbesola On Flood Control, Environmental Tidiness

By FRANCIS EZEDIUNO

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HE environmental sanitation exercise and the clearance of water channels embarked upon by the Ogbeni Rauf Aregbesola-led administration in the State of Osun has been described as a step in the right direction.

A cross section of people, in other states. who spoke with the medium Olayiwola, a resident of in Osogbo, the state capital, Ayeso area of the ancient Ilesa, and Ikirun recently town, said though there commended Ogbeni were some people, who Aregbesola for carrying out sabotaged government’s clearance of water channels efforts aimed at ensuring and other environmental that the people of the state sanitation exercises, saying live in a decease-free it was worthy of praise and environment, still the initiative of the present commendation.

They noted that for the administration had made it proactive measures taken compulsory for every by the government, the resident to clean his state had constantly worn environment regularly an attractive look, as there especially, as it was done was always adequate weekly and monthly.

She therefore warned provision of the necessary other residents of the town tools to make the sanitation to desist from the habit of exercise yield a positive dumping refuse at the road result across the state. medians and other Mrs. Ayisat Olayiwola, a prohibited areas, saying it resident of Ilesa, said the was their responsibility to indiscriminate dumping of complement government’s refuse had become a thing efforts in ensuring a clean of the past as the agency and tidy environment and saddled with the not to sabotage it. responsibility was doing a Similarly, a trader at the good job.

Atakunmosa Market Acknowledging the effort roundabout, Mrs. Mary of the government in making Gbolagade commended sure that the state becomes Ogbeni Rauf Aregbesola for a haven of cleanliness, she introducing the regular said proper packaging of environmental exercise in refuse into sacks had made the state, saying the the ancient city of Ilesa a concept was to make people model compared to the healthy and by implication, littering of refuse witnessed prolong their life-span.

Gbolagade, who said no government had ever taken the tidiness of environment serious since the creation of the state like the present administration, raised concern over what she described as misuse of waste disposal bins by some residents.

“The present government through the Ministry of Environment and Osun Waste Management Agency is trying its best to ensure that the people of the state enjoy cleaner environment, but it is quite unfortunate that some people do not have proper orientation about waste disposal,” she added.

“I was at a place which I may not like to mention, the waste management agency saddled with the responsibility already packed the refuse at a point heading to another point but

immediately they left, those residents, who could not meet up earlier, thereafter dumped their waste on the ground without even bothering about their action, which is actually a sabotage.”

She explained that inspite of all what the government has put in place to ease waste disposal, this attitude hinders the conduct of environmental sanitation in the state.

In his own view, Mr. Ojo Olawumi, whose residence is located beside the popular Osun River in Osogbo, eulogised Aregbesola for taking proactive steps to avert a repeat of the July 7, 2010 unfortunate incident that led to the death of many people and destruction of properties worth millions of naira.

Olawumi said apart from the channelization of Osun, Olonkoro, Gbonmi and

Alekuwodo streams, Aregbesola had deemed it fit to ensure that the residents of Osun live in a clean and tidy environment, through regular environmental sanitation exercises across the state.

He noted that with this gesture, there had been no flooding in Osogbo and its environs for the past three years.

Olawumi therefore appealed to the government not to relent in its effort to ensure that the waterways should be widened, because they may no longer contain the volume of water that would be passing through them, as the raining season was approaching.

Alhaja kudirat Abubakri of Adejumo Street in Ikirun, Ifelodun Local Government Council Area of the state, gave kudos to Aregbesola for giving priority to the

healthy living of the people of the state by committing huge amounts of money on the provision of all the necessary tools needed for the sanitation and the drainage of the gutters, as well as clearing of waterways out of the meager resources of the state, saying all these have eradicated the incident of cholera and other diseases caused by environment untidiness, as being experienced before in the state.

Abubakri added that the government really organised the environmental sanitation exercise perfectly, as there was adequate provision of waste disposal bins, O‘Clean Marshal and the adequate participation of the people in the environmental sanitation exercise.

She said government should do more in the area of imparting environment consciousness in the people through campaign and advocacy.

Man Remanded In Prison Over Kidnap

By FRANCIS EZEDIUNO

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46-year-old suspected kidnapper, Idowu Aduloju, has been ordered to be remanded in prison custody by an Osogbo Magistrate’s Court for allegedly kidnapping a six-month old baby •KILLING THE VEHICLE: An overloaded vehicle in Osogbo, State of Osun, caught by our cameraman, SHOLA in Osogbo.

ADERINTO, few days ago.

The accused, who had The presiding magistrate, Mrs. Habibat no legal representation, Basiru, ordered the pleaded guilty to the oneremand of the accused count charge of the items recovered from person in custody at Ilesa kidnapping levelled against the vehicle.

Prison due to the him.

The State Commissioner magnitude of the offence Based on selfhis alleged involvement in HE police has explained how an explosive committed. for Justice and Attorney admittance of the offence blast at the General of the state, Mr. Aduloju, who was by the accused person, device suspected to be a bomb exploded at the the charged on a one-count Magistrate Basiru ordered premises of the State Ministry of Water government secretariat Adewale Afolabi who led charge of kidnapping, that he should be Resources in June 2007 before an Osun State High seven years ago, a police other lawyers from the turned the court premises remanded in prison Court sitting in Osogbo. sergeant, Mr Elisha State Ministry of Justice to a rowdy arena, as he Olusegun, said a lifeless tendered new evidences to Abayomi Akinsanmi, the custody, just as she At the resumed hearing started behaving like a human body was found in the court, but counsel to adjourned the case till April star witness in the case, of the case between the mentally-unstable man.

1st, 2014 for judgment. state government and who is standing trial over a 505 Peugeot car that the accused person, Mr. Information gathered exploded at the premises Wilson Atirene opposed the indicated that the accused of Water Resources admittance of the person allegedly Ministry. committed the offence on evidences.

Testifying further March 19th, 2014, at Mr Atirene claimed that the two-count charge of before the court, it was wrong for the court about 11:00am at Sawmill conspiracy and stealing Area, Ido-Osun in Olusegun said he to admit further evidences proferred against him.

Egbedore Local Defence Counsel, Mr Raji investigated the matter in against his client, citing OLICE authorities in the State of Osun have arraigned Government Council Area a 42-year-old man, Sulaimon Waheed, before an Abiodun applied for the bail of June 2007 when it was section 36 (6B) of the 1999 of the State of Osun.

Osogbo Magistrate’s court for allegedly stealing a the accused person in the most reported at the State Constitution of the Federal Presenting the fact of motorcycle. liberal term, saying that the Criminal Investigations Republic of Nigeria. the matter before the charge against the suspect was Department (SCID) of the A charge sheet read in court sheet, the suspect committed But, Afolabi argued that court, Police Sergeant on Wednesday alleged that State Police Command. the alleged offence on bailable. “relevance is the soul of Oladoye Joshua explained Abiodun maintained that the He told the court that a admittance in law”, saying that the suspect did Waheed conspired with other December 28, 2013 at about accused person remained attempt to commit felony suspects believed to be 8:30am, at Orisunbare area, Old innocent until contrary is tin was also found inside that the new evidences to wit, kidnapping of a currently at-large to steal an Garage, Osogbo, capital of the proved in a court of law, stating the Peugeot 505 car with tendered before the court unregistered motorcycle with State of Osun. baby. some electronic gadgets. are relevant to the case. number Police prosecutor, Inspector that the suspect was ready to Joshua added that the chassis Also, the police officer stand trial.

However, the trial judge, MD2A18A2XDWG6724 and Isiaka Ajadi, said that the accused kidnapped one engine In her ruling, Magistrate informed the court that the Justice Yinka Aderibigbe number alleged offence was contrary to Faith Monday from her DU2WDG44508 and punishable under Sections Habibat Basiru admitted the Explosive Ordinance ruled that the evidences be mother, Patience, and the The charge sheet said the 383(6) and 516(a) of the accused person to bail in the Device (EOD) crime was contrary to and stolen motorcycle, which Criminal Code Cap 34, Vol.11 sum of N200,000 with two Department of the State admitted as exhibits in the case. punishable under Section belongs to one Wasiu Laws of Osun State, 2003. sureties.

Police Command He thereafter adjourned 509 of the Criminal Code, Kosamotu was worth She however adjourned the The accused person investigated the matter and the case till 4th April, 2014 case till May 12, 2014 for Cap 34, Vol. 11, Laws of N132,000. however pleaded not guilty to carried out analysis on all for further hearing. mention.

Osun, 2003.

According to the charge

2007 Bomb Blast: We Analyse Substance At The Explosion Scene - Police

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Police Arraign Man, 42, Over Motorcycle Theft

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OSUN DEFENDER Saturday, March 29, 2014

Osun Assembly Assures LAUTECH Doctors Of Settling Unpaid Salary Issues

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HE State House of Assembly of Osun has again assured the resident doctors at the Ladoke Akintola University of Technology (LAUTECH) Teaching Hospital, Osogbo to intervene in the lingering crisis rocking the institution.

The Deputy Speaker, Resident Doctors, visited Honourable Akintunde the assembly to highlight Adegboye gave the challenges facing them.

Adegboye explained that assurance on Tuesday, when the doctors, under the the House had resolved to aegis of Association of advise the governor to meet

with his counterpart in Oyo State to find lasting solution to the inconsistent payment of salaries of the resident doctors.

He regretted that inspite of the fact that Osun government is fulfilling its obligation by paying the salaries of the doctors during its turn, Oyo has

By KAZEEM MOHAMMED Chairman, House committee been reneging in its on Finance and obligations.

Appropriation, Honourable Under the joint Kamil Oyedele appealed to ownership arrangement, the resident doctors to bear Osun is supposed to pay with the state government the salaries of the doctors and promised that for the first six months every government would ensure year, while Oyo government prompt payment of their is supposed to pay for the salaries. second six months of the Earlier, the President, year.

Association of Residents Also speaking, the Doctors of LAUTECH Teaching Hospital, Osogbo, Dr. Adesoji Adenekan had told the Assembly of the half witness was neither here nor payment of their October there, rather, believe the and November salaries and evidence of the defence non-payment of December witnesses that they were 2013 salaries.

Dr. Adenekan noted that not at the scene of the riot,

Court Acquits Osun Lawmakers

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N Osun State High Court sitting in Osogbo has discharged and acquitted two lawmakers of the State of Osun House of Assembly, Honourables Fafowora Folarin and Timothy Owoeye, brought before it by police on charges of attempted murder and other offences.

The lawmakers were the prosecution has proved standing trial before Justice the charge against the Jide Afolabi since 2007 on accused persons beyond 13 count charges of arson, reasonable doubt on all the conspiracy, malicious other charges. damage, public On the issue of disorderliness among conspiracy, the trial judge others. disclosed that the It would be recalled that prosecution failed in all riot broke out in Ilesa ramifications to establish metropolis and Osogbo beyond reasonable doubt following the the duo conspired to announcement by INEC that that attempt murder of the victim the PDP candidate, Prince Olagunsoye Oyinlola the and thereby acquit them of winner of April 14, 2007 the charge.

On the count charge of governorship election in the attempted murder, Justice state. said the Months later, the two Afolabi lawmakers were alleged as prosecution must be able to the masterminds of the crisis and some other politicians of ACN extraction in the state were connected with one crisis or another.

The lawmakers were detained severally during the trial, as prosecution continued to oppose their bail on the ground of eloping trial.

However, as the court resumed for judgment, the trial judge upheld the prayer of the prosecution to withdraw charges five, six, seven, eight, ten and eleven.

On the remaining charges, Justice Afolabi said the issue for determination was whether •FAFOWORA

prove the issue of intent, saying after careful consideration of the prosecution witnesses and that of the defence, he opined that no evidence linked the accused persons to the crime and acquitted the duo on the charge.

Furthermore, the judge said the prosecutors have not been able to establish the case of arson against the suspects, he said the evidence of the first prosecution witness, Ganiyu Oladiran, who incidentally was the victim was not enough to establish the case.

He added that no any other witness was called to corroborate his evidence, as the evidence of the second

hence discharged and acquitted the duo on the charge.

Afolabi further discharged and acquitted the accused persons on the charge of malicious damage alleged by the prosecutor, hence, discharged and acquitted the lawmakers of all charges against them and declared them free.

The duo commended the judgment, declaring it as a proof of their innocence in the case that took over seven years, but eventually exonerated them of the charges.

•OWOEYE

Retirement Age For Academic Staff: Osun Assembly Receives Bill For Extension

By KAZEEM MOHAMMED

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HE State of Osun Executive Council has forwarded a bill to the State House of Assembly for the extension of retirement age of academic staff of all the stateowned tertiary institutions.

Reading a letter, dated plenary session of the state March 18, 2014 and signed parliament on Wednesday, Deputy Speaker, by the governor at the the

Akintunde Adegboye, who presided over the sitting, said that the bill was seeking the extension of retirement age of the academic staff from 60 to 65 years.

The letter read: “The state executive council at its meeting on Tuesday, 25th

Oyo, Osun Take Boundary Dispute To National Boundary Commission

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T has been decided that the age-long boundary dispute between Oyo and the State of Osun as it affects some communities within Surulere, Ogo-Oluwa, and Ejigbo Local Government Council Areas of the two states should be finally resolved by the National Boundary Commission.

This decision was Surveyor-General of the contained in a communiqué State of Osun, Mr. Raifu issued in Ejigbo after the Akintola, it became meeting of the Technical apparent that the Sub-Committee of the two representatives of the two states, which was geared states were not willing to towards the amicable shift grounds with regards resolution of the dispute to their perceived without the intervention of boundaries. the National Boundary They therefore Commission. unanimously agreed to At the end of the meeting, abide by whatever the final which was chaired by the

determination of the National Boundary Commission is, based on earlier visitations to the boundary areas coupled with relevant documents submitted to the commission.

The communiqué however warned inhabitants of the border communities not to engage in any act that could disturb the peace and bond of unity existing between the two sister states, while alerting that security operatives will not spare any culprit, no

February, 2014 considered and approved a bill for a law for an extension of the retirement age of academic staff of the state-owned tertiary institutions from 60 years to 65 years.”

Also, in another letter, the council has forwarded another bill for a law to the House for the establishment of the State of Osun Primary Healthcare Development Board.

The bill, according to the letter, read by Adegboye, was aimed at strengthening healthcare delivery in the state.

In each of the letters, 35 copies of the bills were said to have been forwarded for the consideration and approval of the state legislature.

Meanwhile, a bill for a law to amend the State of Osun Education Law Cap 42 Law of Osun State, 2002, and for Connected Purposes has passed through the first reading before the Assembly.

the salaries were supposed to be paid by Oyo State government from July to December 2013, but it reneged after Osun had paid between January and June.

This, he recalled, forced the doctors to go on strike sometimes in August last year, a situation that forced Osun government to pay for the July and August salaries of the workers.

He noted that inspite of the intervention by Osun government, the salaries of November and December 2013 were still half-paid by Oyo government.

Adenekan suspected that the body language of Oyo government has shown that it is no longer interested in the ownership venture.

‘Ibadan Forest Of Horror’: Aregbesola Advocates ICT Inter vention

By KEHINDEAYANTUNJI OVERNOR of the State of Osun, Ogbeni Rauf Aregbesola, has said that the way out of the current predicament of psychopaths terrorising the people of the South-western part of the country is to take the advantage of Information and Communication Technology (ICT) to flush out criminals.

Aregbesola also implementation of safety advocated self-restraints measures, as a means of and security consciousness forestalling future by the people, while occurrences of the scenario commenting briefly on in Ibadan recently.

Justifying the reason why Ibadan suspected ritualist his administration is shrine.

The governor said it spending more on basic remains the duty of every education than the tertiary Nigerian to inform his or her education, the governor household of the vehicle said the state of education identification number and in the basic level is alarming, commercial automobiles thereby necessitating his dministration’s they board through just acommitment to revamping Short Message Service the sector.

(SMS).

He added that as much as He gave the advice on his administration would Wednesday while speaking like to pump more into at the second UNIOSUN tertiary education in the Distinguished Guest state, the state is being Lecture Series, at the Osun short-changed by the State University Auditorium Federal Government, of the Main Campus of the thereby limiting his institution in Osogbo, State administration’s effort. of Osun capital.

Aregbesola however, The governor posited promised to do all within his that it is the duty of Nigerian capacity to ensure even students to also enlighten distribution of dividends of their household and play the democracy to all sectors in lead role in the the state.

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Aregbesola Extols Ooni’s 84

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HE Ooni of Ife, Oba Okunade Sijuwade, has been described as an embodiment of wisdom, from whose virtues, people must learn.

The State of Osun productive interactions with Commissioner for Local other traditional rulers Government and across the nation.

Chieftaincy Affairs, Oba Sijuwade, in his Barrister Kolapo Alimi, who response, appreciated Ife represented Governor Rauf Business School on behalf Aregbesola, made this of all traditional rulers in known at a one-day Nigeria for organising the sensitisation seminar for seminar. traditional rulers, as part of The foremost traditional the events to mark the 84th ruler stated that traditional birthday celebration of the rulers are clamouring for Ooni of Ife at the constitutional roles, not Conference Centre of Obafemi Awolowo because they are idle hands, but rather to promote peace University, Ile-Ife. Barrister Alimi explained and unity in the nation.

In his keynote address, that all those things that Professor Biodun Adediran, could make the society great can be found in the stated that the time is personality of the Ooni of auspicious to reflect on the changing relevance of the Ife. traditional He added that, Oba nation’s Sijuwade is time-conscious, institutions, saying Obas, detribalised and always as resilient representatives ready to promote national of their people’s heritage, integration through his should be given a chance to

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OSUN DEFENDER Saturday, March 29, 2014

Osun Technology Village Continued from pg1

The same process will soon see durable and affordable telephone handsets churned out of the technology village.

Partnership between the state government and a Chinese firm has already produced 23,100 Opo Imo computer tablets.

Not just jobs are being created here but there is also a process facilitating transfer of skills as well as technology.

For the state, it is a winwin situation.

Jobs are being created, there is also a sense of

heightened economic development and crucially the tax-base is being widened.

There is of course bound to be a multiplier effect arising out of all of this.

This is because auxiliary industries and commercial processes will be brought into effect.

More of course will have to be done to sustain the pace. Some of which is not within the preview of the state government. These include a tariff regime to protect infant industries against unfair, often subsidised foreign competition.

‘Dumping’ is the correct trade term here.

Another area to look at is of course the supply of power. This is key as it will help to bring down the cost of production.

The state government of course has its own commercial power initiative and should be encouraged to see it through.

The technology village also offers an historical possibility for a forward thrust based on linkages producing a synergy.

The synergy possibility here is to link the unfolding developments in the public schools sector with the technology village.

By linking the schools with the technology village, a skillsbased educational system can be brought into play. This will help to nurture the pupils to acquire the technological skills to compete in the future. For in today’s world paper qualifications are not e n o u g h .

Today’s world is skill driven. It is therefore the skills acquired and not paper qualifications alone that will determine who is fit to get t o m o r r o w ’s jobs.

We must therefore, acknowledge the import of the technology village. The government of the State of Osun is once again on the right lines here.

What is needed for the future is being addressed. The seed that is been sown here will bear great fruit in the future.

Here the great initiator of an alternative perspective through his initiatives, the State of Osun is getting the people ready to face the future.

OSUN DEFENDER Publisher

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6

FEATURE

OSUN DEFENDER Saturday, March 29, 2014

Inside Aregbesola’s Big Dreams For Public Schools In Osun

•Aerial view of AUD Elementary School, Isale-Osun, Osogbo, State of Osun, commissioned by Ogbeni Rauf Aregbesola, recently.

When Governor Rauf Aregbesola began the implementation of the public schools reclassification, doubts were raised about the intent of the new policy. The government insists the new grade system will improve education. Two years after, how has the policy changed the state of education? Seun Akioye investigates in classes.

It was 11:00am and preparations were ongoing at the AUD Elementary School, Isale-Osun, Osogbo for the mid-day meal. Meal times at this school are always a special time not only for the immaculately dressed food vendors but for the pupils, many of whom are from poor families. In Grade Two classroom, the children beamed with smiles as the vendors passed around a sizeable bowl of rice and vegetable, garnished with melon and chicken. A bottle of water was placed beside each student. Two pieces of banana completed the meal.

The class teacher, Mrs. Mariam Aderinola, watched with glowing pride as the pupils performed this pleasurable duty of completing their meal.

Everyday spent in that classroom, for her, was a reminder of what the school used to be and how in a spate of two years things have changed completely.

“I used to teach in this school before the reclassification policy of the government, I was teaching this same class then known as Primary Two. Coming to school then was agony and we used to be fearful because the building had fallen apart and touts taken over the school,” she said, a small frown creeping to her brow.

The teacher had a solid reason to be fearful. In 2011, AUD Primary School – as it was known, was a specimen of rot and mismanagement. The buildings, the ones still standing were dilapidated, while the roof in many places had gone off. According to Aderinola, the whole premises was overgrown with weeds and immediately the children left the school, touts took over the compound.

“They will mess up the whole compound with faeces and we would see left over marijuana and drugs.

Different things were going on here, the touts were sleeping here and in the morning we would cover our noses while we teach because of the stench,”

1-3 merged together to become middle school and now to be known as Grades 5-9 with the age range of 10-14, while New policy, new challenges the senior secondary students are The state of AUD Primary School grouped together in Grades 10-13, in was a reflection of the state of what is now known as high school. education in Osun’s public schools, In the new policy, the elementary when the Aregbesola administration schools will have a maximum capacity came into office says the Permanent of 900 pupils in a purpose built stateSecretary, Ministry of Education, of–the-art school. Other features will Oyelade Oyeniran. According to the state government, public education had be provision of school uniform, books been so badly managed that only pupils and balanced diet meals. The schools whose parents could not afford private were designed to be within the schools were left in the public schools. neighbourhood for easy access for all Primary school pupils, especially, were students.

For the middle school, the maximum poorly dressed and malnourished while capacity will be between 900-1,000 performance at both internal and students, with the provision of state-ofexternal examination dipped to an allthe-art educational infrastructures and time low. catchment to be between 2-3 But in February 2011, the state government convened an extra-ordinary kilometers, while the high school will have a maximum capacity of 3,000 education summit with the aim of students with hostel facilities. However, finding a solution to the deep rooted the curriculum did not change rather, problems. The summit paraded heavy what changed were physical weights in the education sector like Professors’ Wole Soyinka, former vice- infrastructure and more conducive environment. chancellor of University of Lagos, But fierce opposition began against Ibidapo Obe and Peter Okebukola of the policy immediately it was the National Universities Commission announced. While the government may (NUC). have anticipated some resistance, it The recommendations were far reaching and one of the vital points was probably underestimated how organised the opposition will be. Questions were the reclassification of schools, which raised about the merging of students implementation began in 2012. But the from different schools and government knew the change will backgrounds under one roof, the loss generate controversy so there were of identity especially for mission series of meetings with the schools and the problems of how stakeholders. Materials explaining workable the new “complicated” model government’s position were produced will be. and distributed, while the Ministry of The government gave reasons for Education continued to engage with the wanting to change the way public public. education is being conducted in the Under the new school policy, the primary school system gave way to the state, probably forever. According to grade system with the former Primary Oyeniran, the new grade system is the global trend and approach to modern 1-4 with the age range of 6-9 years, education for effective teaching and merging into what is now called learning. In adopting the grade system, Elementary school, in Grades 1-4. pupils of the same age bracket are Primary 5 and 6 and junior secondary grouped together with fewer students she said.

The government also claimed that multiplicity of schools had decayed infrastructure over the years, leading to poor funding, shortage of teachers and inefficiency. The new policy, the government said will reverse the rot and make quality education available to all children without discrimination making public school comparable to the private schools.

The promise of new infrastructure On October 2, 2013, the state government rolled out the drums to celebrate the commissioning of the state-of-the-art new school infrastructure, The Salvation Army Middle School, Alekuwodo, Osogbo. It was not the fanfare or the presence of top government functionaries that became the center point of the event but the arrival of Governor Aregbesola, wearing a middle school uniform and beaming with smile as he commissioned the first mega school that would accommodate students of the middle school.

There are lots of promises in the new education policy of the state government. In moving students from different schools together under the same roof, the government promised to build 170 mega schools throughout the state. While elementary will have 100 schools, middle will have 50, while 20 high schools will be built. These mega buildings will have laboratories, libraries, clean toilet facilities and ICT centers. These new infrastructures will complement other schools that would be upgraded to acceptable standards under the reclassification policy.

The government also promised to feed all students in elementary school under what it called the O’Meal programme. About 3,000 food vendors have been contracted throughout the state and the Continued on page 7

FEATURE

OSUN DEFENDER Saturday, March 29, 2014

7

Inside Aregbesola’s Big Dreams For Public Schools In Osun

•Front view of AUD Elementary School, Isale-Osun, Osogbo.

Continued from page 6

students followed a regime of nutritional meals throu-ghout the week.

Under the reclassification, all public schools in Osun State will be free while government will also supply books and uniforms to the students. But how much of these promise have been fulfilled and what has been the impact of the new education policy on students?

Inside Aregbesola’s Grade Schools Passing through the busy Aleku-wodo road, Osogbo, the imposing Salvation Army Middle School is unmistakable.

Built in a rectangle shape and painted in bright yellow colours, when viewed from the opposite direction without the benefit of the equally imposing signboard, one would believe the building is part of a new private university.

Three members of the Osun Peace Corps movement mounted guard at the gate while students continued with their studies in the classrooms. No student loitered around and an examination of the entire classroom revealed that the students were all studiously engaged.

There were no blackboards but white boards and instead of the chalk, markers were used to write on the boards. The students sat two in a seat and none of the classroom had more than 40 students.

At the same time, Eunice Yaya, the Head Teacher at AUD Elementary School was having her first classroom inspection in the morning. Like the middle school, AUD is recently commissioned as a mega school, which catered for Grade 1-4 students of six primary schools. The students in Grade Two, on perceiving a visitor sprang to their feet in greetings, welcoming the visitor to the classroom and ending it with a prayer for God’s blessings on the visitor.

“The difference is clear to what we used to have,” Yaya said as she exited the classroom. “We have a very conducive atmosphere for learning and our children loves to come to school because there is free feeding,” she said.

Yaya also said the reclassification of schools has improved the education standards. “Now we have teachers commensurate with the students unlike what we had before. This is a far better system than what we used to run.”

The AUD Elementary School also

boasts of some world class infrastructures. “There are 12 toilets and bathrooms, electricity and running water and we have toys for the children. We have a multipurpose hall that can sit 200 pupils at the same time and we educate our children on how to use the facilities because we are determined to preserve and maintain it,” Agbelekale Serifat, the facility manager said.

Currently, 39 mega schools have been completed across the state and many are still under construction. At the CAC Araromi Middle School, work was about 40 percent completed when The Nation visited. But the old school built in 1998 by Theophilous Bamigboye’s military administration had been refurbished with the leaking roof replaced and temporary chairs provided for the students. One teacher who spoke anonymously said: “As you can see, work is going on our new school but the government has given this one a face-lift. It is not what we want yet but we will get there.”

Also, at former Osogbo Grammar School, work is ongoing for the construction of a 3,000 capacity Model High School. While that was going on, the old building has been refurbished and given a face-lift. But questions have been raised about the distance of the high schools which has been mitigated by the purchase of 100 Omoluabi scholar buses, which according to a government official would be strictly for the students. The Nation can also verify that these buses are currently at the state Ministry of Finance.

The impact of the new educational policy has also been generating interesting permutations among the residents of the state. More than 90 percent of the people sampled by The Nation agreed that the policy has changed the landscape for education forever. “I have two children in school. I withdrew my son from a private school where I was paying N60,000 to join a public school. Now the money is back in my pocket because he attends school free and the facilities are better than the private school. I have a small girl in a private school, as soon as she is old enough, I will take her to a public school,” Toyin Barry-Ogwu, who works at Diamond Bank said.

Barry-Ogwu said the reclassification and reforms in the education sector has changed the face of education. “In Osun State, no child is forced to go to school, the children are looking fine when you see them coming from school, everyone wants to be part of them now because they are well fed,” she said.

Lolade Olanipekun, whose daughter attends AUD Elementary School, may have had a tiring day but the mention of the new school system brightened his face. “That is one reason I am happy. My daughter is in Grade Two, she talks everyday about how good the school is.

She said they eat food everyday and they have this car that goes round to play with,” he said enthusiastically.

On the education standard, he said she is showing more promise. “I am so happy that she is even writing. Her handwriting is not too fine now but she is improving every day. She wants to go to school almost every day of the week, I have seen the school myself and it is a very good environment,” Olanipekun said.

Aderinola, Grade Two teacher at AUD Elementary School said, a child came from one of the private schools and sat in her class. “She had a different uniform and she sat in the class. We inquired and found her school but she insisted she wanted to stay in our class. She must have been attracted by our facilities here and that is to show the improvements that have happened to this school, even the teachers are also looking very fine,” she said beaming with smile.

One parent who declined to be named said: “You will not know what the governor has done if you don’t know how bad things used to be. I have a shop here and I used to see the students begging for money in the traffic or hawking, when they should be in school, but can you see any child on the road today?” he asked.

The policy has also had a reverberating effect on private schools. According to investigations, many parents are withdrawing their children from private to the public schools, while to counter the Opon-Imo policy. The private schools are now selling a similar device to their high school students. The President of the National Association of Proprietors of Private Schools (NAPPS), Osun State, Prince Wale Oyeniyi, who is also the

proprietor of Mustard Seed School, OdeOmu, told The Nation that while the new school policy is a welcome development; it should also incorporate students of the private schools. “I want to say the reform in schools is good but I must caution that the government must maintain the standard so that it won’t become a distortion in the end. There has to be a balance too, so the other sector of the state won’t suffer,” he said.

Oyeniyi denied that private schools are losing their pupils. “I see no difference throughout the state, we have a symbiotic relationship, there is no problem. But I should say that government should also treat private school pupils the same way.

They are all citizens and we too are electorate and we vote, all the children are the same, so they should all enjoy the dividends of democracy,” he said.

But the situation was slightly different at International School, Abere, Ede North Local Government. The principal, Babaremi Olusola, acknowledged frankly the educational reforms had affected his business. “To be candid, this is affecting us, I have seen parents withdrawing their children to public schools because of the free education and uniform and food.”

Olusola also had knocks for the government: “The way they are going about it, it’s like they don’t want us to exist, look at everything they are doing, and we should be partners in progress.

We also employ people here and we are voters too. He also implore the government to grant private schools tax reduction and give them what he called special grants to also upgrade their own facilities.

“We want our mega high school” At 2:00pm, members of the Christian students fellowship at St. Daniel High School 3, Ode-Omu, began a session of prayer. They prayed for progress of the state and also for a new high school.

Outside the old building where they met, three of their teachers sat huddled together.

“We are not happy because our school is split into three when we should all be in the same compound. Our buildings are not to be compared with the other schools, we are waiting for the government to build us a mega high school because we really need it,” the teachers said.

About 150 meters from the high school is an imposing new building that will house St. Michael Elementary School, Ode-Omu. Inside the compound, workers put finishing touches to the painting. “We have 22 classrooms here; we have modern toilets, hall, playground and even a projector. But the best part is that it is dry construction, no brick was used, fire cannot affect it and if we need to move it away from here we just dismantle it and set it up somewhere else,” one of the workers said.

Besides the new building is the old school refurbished by the state government, but compared to the imposing new building, it looked like materials made ready for the museum. The teachers of St. Daniel, while praising the new building insist they deserved it more.

“That should have been our school, we need it more but they gave it to the children.”

At the sound of a signal, students of AUD rushed to the playground where several toys have been provided. They played on the see saw, the swing and other toys provided by the state government, Elizabeth Ajala, the second Head Teacher stood by watching. “We will maintain this standard, we are determined. This is the only way we can show our appreciation,” she said with a smile.

•Culled from THE NATION

8

PHOTOTALK

OSUN DEFENDER Saturday, March 29, 2014

Faces At The Second UNIOSUN Convocation At The Campus Main Auditorium Last Wednesday.

Photo: JESUDOYIN ABRAHAM

•The governor, State of Osun, Ogbeni Rauf Aregbesola (middle), the deputy governor, Otunba (Mrs) Grace Titi Laoye-Tomori (left) and the Guest Lecturer, Governor Rotimi Amaechi (right) on the occasion.

•A cross section of the State of Osun Executive Council members present at the event.

•Pro-Chancellor, Osun State University, Professor Gabriel Adesiyan and the Vice-Chancellor, Professor Adekunle Bashiru, at the programme.

OSUN DEFENDER Saturday, March 29, 2014

PHOTOTALK

9

Faces At The Second UNIOSUN Convocation At The Campus Main Auditorium Last Wednesday.

Photo: JESUDOYIN ABRAHAM

•Governor Rauf Aregbesola delivering his address to the audience on the occasion.

•A cross section of students at the event.

•Governor Rotimi Amaechi answering questions from newsmen on the occasion.

10

PHOTOTALK

OSUN DEFENDER Saturday, March 29, 2014

State Of Osun Governor, Ogbeni Rauf Aregbesola, Receiving The Golden Award For Good Governance At Obafemi Awolowo University (OAU), Ile-Ife, Recently. Photo: JESUDOYIN ABRAHAM

•The governor, State of Osun, Ogbeni Rauf Aregbesola (right); Senator Bayo Salami (middle) and another dignitary on the high table during the event.

•A cross section of dignitaries at the programme.

•The governor (5th right) in a group photograph with some members of his cabinet after the programme.

11

FEATURE

OSUN DEFENDER Saturday, March 29, 2014

The Referendum In The Crimea And The Great Betrayal (II) Continued from last week

Y

ET, I must confess that no Nigerian President ever made me feel prouder of my country than Abacha when he stood up to the bullying French and made it clear to the world that he was ready to go to full scale war with the Cameroun if they continued their incursions into Nigerian territory and if they did not pull out of the Bakassi Peninsular.

The French and their Camerounian puppets wisely complied with immediate effect and they did so on the advice of the Americans, who convinced them that Abacha was not just bluffing but that he ‘’meant every word that he said’’. This was a man that was more than happy to turn the whole of the West African sub-region into a cauldron of fire in order to defend the honour and dignity of our people, protect our territorial integrity and keep Nigeria one.

In this respect, Abacha was a leader that was second to none, Only General Muhammadu Buhari showed a similar level of courage and strength when he drove the invading Chadians from our territory and boarders over ten years earlier in 1982, marched into Chad itself and was firmly on his way to laying siege to the Chadian capital Njadmena, when he was ordered to stop and turn back by President Shehu Shagari.

As was reported at the time, Buhari simply refused to stop his massive offensive and he blew away everything that stood in his way until he was deep into Chadian territory. He gave the Chadians a very bloody nose indeed and they certainly deserved it.

Those were the days when Nigeria had a strong military that we could be proud of and when we had commanding officers that were professional and disciplined and that could be relied on to engage the enemy forcefully and utterly crush them.

Those were the days when we had leaders that were not afraid of unleashing our military on any foreign power when we were sufficiently provoked. Permit me to share a little more about Buhari. My friend and brother, the Kaakaki Nupe, Mr.Sam Nda Isaiah, once told me a very interesting story which is relevant here.

He said that General Buhari once told him that when he first became Head of State in 1983 and went through the file on Bakassi, he knew that it would be impossible for Nigeria to win the case in any international court of law simply because the area had been erroneously ceded to the Camerounians by a previous military Head of State a number of years earlier.

He said that his next move was to send troops to the Bakassi Peninsular to secure the place for Nigeria and to protect the Nigerian people that were living there. That is what a man of honour, who truly loves his nation and people should have done and Buhari did it without batting an eyelid. What a man and what a leader.

Sadly today, all that has changed and we do not have such men of honour in power. Instead, we have a President that cannot even muster the strength and courage to fight the Islamist sect known as Boko Haram or any of the other insurgent groups that are freely

•FANI-KAYODE

By FEMI FANI-KAYODE

operating in our country and killing our people.

We no longer have men like the gallant Major Halilu Akilu (as he then was) who, under the orders of General Buhari in 1984, crushed the exceptionally vicious and fearsome Maitatsine Islamist sect in Kano with ruthless precision and professional excellence. Those days of glory appear to have gone and sadly they will not return until we have a new and seriousminded government and President in power in our country.

Love him or hate him, the truth is that no Nigerian President displayed the same degree of patriotism, resolve and strength over the Bakassi Peninsular as General Sani Abacha did from 1993 to 1998 when he was in power.

Sadly on 10th October 2002, under the leadership of President Olusegun Obasanjo, we lost the Bakassi to the Camerouns under what were controversial and unacceptable circumstances and as a result of an absurd ruling of the International Court of Justice at the Hague.

I have asked this question on numerous occasions and I am yet to receive a satisfactory answer so perhaps, I will take this opportunity to ask it again. How can any responsible government proceed to the International Court of Justice over a territorial dispute with a neighbouring nation after the blood of it’s citizens has been spilt over that land and whilst that government was still in full possesion of the disputed territory?

How can any government agree to subject themselves to the proceedings and ruling of an international court, when the majority of the people in the disputed territory had consistently

reaffirmed their desire to remain Nigerians and after they expressed their grave fears, concerns and strong opposition to being turned into Camerounians overnight?

Leaders and Presidents are meant to hold their territory and defend their people when provoked and not to give them up to their enemies and tormentors. That is why we have armies.

President Obasanjo’s capitulation on the Bakassi issue and his decision to subject Nigeria to the jurisdiction and proceedings of the International Court of Justice was a grave error. It was also a classic betrayal because the people of the Bakassi Peninsular were abandoned and sacrificed by our government simply to curry favour with the western powers and the international community.

This single event was the greatest blot on the administration of President Obasanjo and I will not shy away from saying so even though I remain one of his greatest admirers, even though my love for him remains untainted and even though I had the privilege of serving in his government.

Jackie Mcgunn reflected the thinking and feelings of most Nigerians very well when she said: “I felt raped and violated when Nigeria handed over Bakassi to the Camerounians’’. I felt the same way.

President Obasanjo was not capable of doing what General Abacha had managed to do almost a decade earlier and it grieved my soul and the souls of millions of other Nigerians.

If Obasanjo had displayed half the courage, firm resolve and strong determination over the Bakassi Peninsular matter as President Vladimer Putin is doing over the Crimean crisis and Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher had done over the Falkland Islands

dispute, the Bakassi Peninsular, and all its people, would still have been part and parcel of Nigeria today.

Today, the people of the Crimea want to be part of Russia and not the Ukraine just as, in 1982, the people of the Falkland Islands wanted to be part of Britain and not Argentina. In both of those territories, the people exercised their right of self-determination and, because the people and governments of their respective countries not only respected that right and choice, but also cherished it, they refused to abandon them, they stood by them and they made their dreams come true.

They ensured that the will of those people and their purpose were made manifest and, if needs be, they were prepared to go to war to effect it. That is how responsible governments are meant to behave. That is what they are meant to do. That is why Great Britain never abandoned the people of Northern Ireland and that is why India and Pakistan respectively never abandoned their respective people and territories in the disputed Kashmir region despite successive wars.

Sadly in Nigeria, under President Obasanjo, this was not the case. He turned his back on the wishes and yearnings of the people of the Bakassi Peninsular to continue to be part of Nigeria and he handed them over to the Camerounians on a platter of gold.

I repeat that this was a great betrayal and, in my view, it was the greatest failing of the Obasanjo adminstrationan administration, which I proudly served and which I have often defended.

If we had to go to war over Bakassi, we ought to have done so knowing that our cause was just and our right to that territory was not only rooted in history and embedded in the wishes and aspirations of the people that lived there, but was also legitimate and lawful.

A government that cannot protect its own people from the foreign invader and that cannot secure its own borders from external aggression deserves to be pitied- it is nothing but an object of shame, opprobium and ridicule. Each time I consider what we did in the Bakassi Peninsular, how we turned our backs on its people and how we gave up what was part and parcel of our nation to the invading Camerounians without a good fight, I feel a deep sense of revulsion and shame.

This is one of the few aspects of President Obasanjo’s record in public office that I simply find impossible to justify or defend. In this respect Obasanjo had much to learn from both Vladimer Putin and Margaret Thatcher.

Meanwhile I once again commend President Vladimer Putin and the actions of the Russian Federation in the Crimea.

There is no greater source of comfort and strength for a people than the knowledge that when push comes to shove their government and their President will never abandon them to the vagaries of foreign invaders and to the whims and caprices of those that seek to supress, intimidate, humiliate, conquer and destroy them. How I wish that we had a Putin leading Nigeria today.

Concluded

12

FEATURE

OSUN DEFENDER Saturday, March 29, 2014

Of PDP And Guber Election In Osun ISAAC OLUSESI writes that the brazen penchant for rigging, pathological violence and criminality entrenched in the physiology of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), with breakdown of law and order, selective democracy dividends for a selected few, and deliberate neglect of the poor masses, their sociology, psychology and anthropology in the aftermath, are enough a reason the PDP can’t win in the State of Osun.

I

N the reported skirmishes in the rambunctious but combustible IfeIjesa epicenter of the State of Osun politics over the recent voters’ registration exercise, the quantum of destruction and wanton electoral privations are a pointer to the pathological violence, confusion and criminality entrenched in the physiology of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), to be unleashed on the state to armtwist the voters’ registers come August 9, 2014 governorship election in the state, with a view to nullifying the popular will and subverting the gubernatorial poll.

For all practical purposes, or as consequent development, the All Progressives Congress (APC) has emerged the only party in Osun, not created de novo; and the PDP has no chance of ever winning an election in the state, as the party has lost the raison d’etre for its existence. In the circumstances, the PDP is fast-fading by its members defecting to the ruling APC in Osun, as the hazards of opposition weigh more and more heavily on the PDP. The PDP cannot win! The party’s wholesale election rigging in the 2007 governorship election in Osun that kept the party’s Olagunsoye Oyinlola in office as Osun governor against the votes of the majority of the electorate only deprived the PDP of the legitimacy, the moral authority that popular mandate bestows. The popular pain of the rigged gubernatorial election was not as much devastating as the pain of woeful performances of the PDP in the governance of the state, that also forfeited the PDP’s claims to have its mandate renewed in 2007, talk more of coming back to power again in Osun next August.

The fear among the most articulate members of Osun populace that the PDP policies would only benefit the bourgeois, the aristocrats, the powerful monarchical lords, the privileged wealthy few and the PDP egg-heads was confirmed by the carriages of the PDP in power in the state while Oyinlola lasted as governor. The party neglected the governed as much as it liked, looted the state treasury as much as it wanted, and ruined the state economy for near eight years in the governance of the state. And still wants to come back come August, to render nugatory the contemporary responsibility and accountability of the ruling APC government in the state.

A far more serious implication of the Osun PDP’s rigging propensity is that the party could make any general election become unavailing as

•Olaoluwa

‘PDP’ll Die In The S.West’ Octogenarian Chief Keye Oyekan, the Mogaji Adini of Alimosho United Muslim Council of Nigeria and Aaree Musulimi of Shashaland, Lagos visited Osun State recently in company of Chief S.O.Lawal, a community leader and Baale Ajako, to witness the on-going election tribunal proceedings in Osogbo. OSUN DEFENDERman ISAAC OLUSESI sought out Chief Oyekan for interview on the current political issues. Excerpts:

O

SDF: Visiting Osun

State,

what impression did you come away with?

OYEKAN: Just getting from one point to the other was a big problem. You will begin to wonder whether the people of Osun State have committed any offence to warrant living in the condition in which they live.

There is absolutely no good roads, no good water to drink, electricity is epileptic, hospitals are mere consulting clinics, and the people are completely jobless. The only thing that you can see is that the young, the old, the educated and the retirees appear to be just living by ridding okada.

OSDF: What do you think could be responsible for this?

OYEKAN: It is the cumulative effect of the ineptitude of administration by the ruling People Democratic Party (PDP) in the State in the last four years. And there is absolutely no reason for that kind of condition with the allocation the government is getting from the federal revenue. For the people of the state to be subjected to that kind of living is really mindboggling. The only answer to that problem is for the election petition tribunal to reclaim the votes cast by the masses of this state for Engr Rauf Aregbesola, the acclaimed winner of the April 14 election.

And all the other people who genuinely want to serve the public and not their own private pockets, need to join hands with Aregbesola because that is the only way the federal allocations to the state can be redirected into improving the lot of the common man.

OSDF: What are the good things the people of Osun State can have under Engr. Rauf Aregbesola?

OYEKAN: Very many.

Specifically his 6- point Integral Action Plan which is well known will be fully implemented. His government in Osun State will banish hunger, poverty and unemployment. He will promote functional education and restore healthy living and enhance communal peace and progress in the state. We know him as an unequalled performer in Lagos when he served as Hon Commissioner of Works and infrastructure. In Lagos, we remember his “Tax Payers Money in Action Operation”, a means of voters’ expression of preferences, with sure breakdown of law and order as consequence. The PDP brazen rigging of the 2007 governorship election in Osun attracted use of lethal weapons and ignited sounds of explosive tear gas and sights of billow smoke as the party cracked violence in its raw form on the state. Gun fire cracked

•Chief OYEKAN we remember his” Patch it well operation 1000 Roads” we remember his “Drain-Duck”, we remember his “Independent Power Project”, among others.

Let me tell you Osun State will enjoy AC government of Aregbesola.

Traditional institutions will be enhanced, the present wage starvation will stop, and provision of 20,000 jobs in his first 100 days in office is cardinal to him.

OSDF: You should be 80 years old?

OYEKAN: No, I am above 80 years. I am 84 years old now.

OSDF: And you are propagating the Aregbesola interest?

OYEKAN: No. I am not propagating Aregbesola’s interest. I am protecting the interest of the masses of Osun state. I am protecting the interest of the residents of Osun state.

By extension I am protecting the interest of all Nigerians living in Osun State.

OSDF: Are you from Osun State?

OYEKAN: No I am a Nigerian from Lagos State.

OSDF: You are from Lagos.

What is your relationship with Engr. Rauf Aregbesola who comes from Osun State?

OYEKAN: God created man and God created relationships.

His relationship with me is God’s own creation, for the purpose God has blue printed to achieve for the good of the people of Lagos and Osun State.

OSDF: Giving your age, one expects you to have a sufficient knowledge of Chief Obafemi with the Osun electorate running zigzags from blood and death, from brute force and absolutism, from the gun-trotting police frightening hazard lights, and from the blaring intimidating sirens of the Fire Marshals and hospital ambulance, with consequences on democracy and rule of law.

Awolowo, the incontrovertible leader of Yoruba, is there any similarity between Awolowo and Aregbesola?

OYEKAN: Yes, I know Awolowo very well. Aregbesola is the symbol of political strength and unity in Yoruba today, like Awolowo was decades before his demise.

OSDF: In terms of performance, assess Senator Bola Tinubu, the immediate past executive governor of Lagos State.

OYEKAN: Bola Tinubu is a leading achiever and leader of leaders. All the promises which he made to the electorate in Lagos State were fulfilled. Free education, free health, rural electrification and life more abundant for the people, were all achieved.

OSDF: What are the chances of PDP in the future elections in Southwest?

OYEKAN: The next set of election is going to be a different ball game. In the last April elections, people voted for AC. I have toured every part of the Southwest and my assessment is that the era of PDP rigging elections is gone.

That is certain; AC will continue to give the PDP a big fight in the Southwest. PDP is an aberration in the South-west.

The party will permanently be dead.

OSDF: Let me sound funny.

Is corruption still in the Nigerian system?

OYEKAN: You must be funny indeed. What is the number one problem in Nigeria.

What do you call Etteh’s N628m and David Mark’s N400m saga The PDP cannot win. The voting behaviour of Osun against the PDP has always monumentally been influenced by the Osun voters’ primordial odium for the conservative PDP ; by Osun voters’ experiences with the zero performances of the PDP’s candidates in power; by Osun

voters’ perception of the conservative PDP’s catholic failure to improve and increase public infrastructure and address basic public welfare issues; by Osun voters’ symbiotic relationship with the progressives in the APC with whom, they share emotional bond for effective leadership and effective followership, electoral tie for ideological consistency, and mobilization blitz for grass root penetration; by the PDP zero value system, conflicting headlong with the positive values of Osun voters, hence the PDP’s resort to criminality and correlative breakdown of law and order in the electioneering space, networking violent political attitudes, violent political behaviour and violent political opinions; and by Osun voters’ detest for the PDP’s offers of juicy board appointments, pecuniary compensation and promises of police protection and immunity from the wraths of law as rewards for the perpetrators of electoral violence.

Going by the analysis of the 2007 polls in the Southwest Nigeria, the PDP failure is explainable in terms of the enormous de-consensus within the party about collective political good, pervasive distrust of the PDP’s leadership acumen for effective governance, and the popular dissatisfaction with the PDP’s policies on issues that touch on the values of the Southwest populace: policies that awoke reminiscence of the deliberate neglect of the poor masses, their sociology, psychology and anthropology.

One analyst, Chief Keye Oyekan, aged 91, the Mogaji Adini of Alimosho and Aaree Musulumi of Shashaland, Lagos had in 2007, predicted the overwhelming fall of the PDP in the Southwest, using the predictability of the party’s performance indices in government of the states in the Southwest and the party’s antecedence as the progenitor of the old National Party of Nigeria (NPN). The old man’s prediction came through as the carpet was swept off the feet of the PDP in the Southwest states and the government of the then AC, later ACN, and now APC has been in place in the Southwest. Kudos to the wisdom of the nonagenarian. The prediction will certainly come true again in Osun and Ekiti states where governorship elections hold this year.

In every general elections in the Southwest including Osun, the rule of law, justice, freeness, fairness, and credibility as electoral imperatives are always honoured by the PDP in the overwhelming breach than in the strict observance, characterized further by brazen disregard for the individual right to vote and be voted for. The electoral formalities and modalities indispensable for incubating and nurturing democracy are officially and unofficially violated by the PDP with implications for popular participation in elections and attendant electoral violence.

It is only the decadent and decay PDP that breeds political bandits who would never for once give thought to what the verdict of history would be.

An ex-Senator and the PDP governorship aspirant in Osun, Iyiola Omisore’s hiccups about threats to his life recently are Omisore’s fear of self political bandits. Let Omisore look inward to save himself of the threats, if any. Or, is Omisore paranoiac, suffering from paranoid schizophrenia, a mental illness in which he wrongly believes that other people are trying to harm him.

PDP cannot win, come the August governorship election in Osun.

•Olusesi is Assistant Director, Directorate of Publicity, Research & Strategy, All Progressives Congress, State of Osun.

13

IN RETROSPECT

OSUN DEFENDER Saturday, March 29, 2014

A Memorable Quote From A PDP Aspirant In The State Of Osun

“Recently, Chief Bola Ige came on radio here (Osogbo the state capital), to insult me and my family. THAT IS THE LAST TIME HE WOULD INSULT ME. He was beaten yesterday. The people of Ile-Ife beat him up and he was crying like a baby, as they removed his cap and glasses. If it had been at a political gathering, he will be dead by now..... In fact, what the people wanted to do was more than removing his glasses and cap....”

-IYIOLA OMISORE. •Culled from Vanguard Newspaper.

14

INTERVIEW

OSUN DEFENDER Saturday, March 29, 2014

Aregbesola Is Farmers-friendly - Adedoyin Mr. Wale Adedoyin is the Honourable Commissioner for Agriculture and Food Security in the State of Osun.

In this interview with OSUN DEFENDER Boba Moses, he speaks on farmers’ empowerment, laudable programmes and economy boost by the administration of Ogbeni Rauf Adesoji Aregbesola, the Governor of the State of Osun. He further stressed the interventions and achievements of this administration in the agricultural sector which to him is unprecedented.

Excerpts:

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SDF: How would you encourage private and public sectors to invest in agriculture in the State of Osun?

ADEDOYIN: We have been doing that.

Members of the private sector are encouraged to venture into agricultural activities in the state, and this had been demonstrated by some of the schemes that we run in the ministry. For instance, under this laudable programme of Osun Rural and Agriculture Programme (O-REAP), we have set up two schemes, O-BOPS and OFOPS. These programmes were put on ground by the Ogbeni Aregbesola’s administration to encourage the private sector to partner with government for a successful story in the schemes. We created enabling environment for them; we gave them all the necessary support for the partnership to work. You see, the intervention we gave to farmers was also extended to the private sector. We allocated sizeable farmlands to them for a choice in arable farming. We also supported them for land clearing free-of-charge. We ensure that they have access to all the necessary mechanization equipment. The roads that led to these farmlands were opened for easy accessibility for the farmers, majorly the private sector. You will agree with me that, it is when the roads are good that they will have their farm produce brought to cities centtres for marketing. Basically, we are creating enabling environment for them and to improve in the growth of agriculture in the State.

OSDF: How supportive is this administration to farmers in the increase of food production, better storage and delivery?

ADEDOYIN: Yes, this administration is agriculture-friendly. Since its inception, the focus of Ogbeni Rauf Aregbesola is to use agriculture as a catalyst to boost the economy of the state.

The administration has been supportive to farmers. It has constructed seven miniwarehouses of 120 metric tonnes capacity across the State of Osun. We have one in Iwo, EsaOke, Ile-Ife, Mokore, Ago-Owu, Ilesa and Ede. The mini-warehouses serve as storage facilities to farmers. We also constructed a 500 metric tonnes capacity warehouse in Osogbo, the state capital of Osun and 1000 metric tonnes capacity in Oyan. These serve as storage facilities to all our farmers. We went further to give 100 cribs for farm storage facilities of 10 tonnes capacity.

OSDF: The governor of the State of Osun, Ogbeni Rauf Aregbesola, in one of his integral action plan was to banish hunger and enhance wealth through food production. What is your take on this?

ADEDOYIN: If you look at the six-point integral action plan of Ogbeni Aregbesola, three out of the six have to do with agriculture. Frankly speaking, it is working for us because without government’s intervention in agriculture, we will not be able to banish hunger, poverty or create employment. Without agriculture, the economy of Osun would have not been revitalized by the present administration of Ogbeni Aregbesola.

So, agriculture in the State of Osun has a major role to play for economic growth and development, and this ministry will not relent until achievement is at the peak, because we believe that there is room for improvement.

Interestingly, the population of this state shows that, we are predominantly engaged in one farming activity or the other. Ours could be termed as an agrarian state. Regarding the revitalisation in agriculture, this administration has created and empowered youths in the state.

Existing farmers were also empowered through interventions. Take a look at the youths engagement on agriculture; at least nine training centres were established, where we train them in modern agriculture. Through this, we have been able to reduce unemployment in the state.

And I want to believe that we are doing well. I also want you to understand that, since the inception of this administration, we have been involved so much in arable crop production, but this year, by God’s grace, we shall be diversifying

into tree-crop production. Osun is one of the states that have capacity to produce cocoa in large quantity. So, we are given the tree crops to farmers. And for the first time in the history of Osun, we are distributing 500,000 hybrid cocoa seedlings free-of-charge to cocoa farmers in the state. The enumeration exercise is ongoing and we want the farmers to support the enumerators.

We shall be replacing the old cocoa trees with hybrid seedlings, because the older the cocoa tree, the lesser it produces. N40-50 million will be set aside for loans to our cocoa farmers in the state. The farmers will obtain agro-chemicals at 50% subsidy from the government. Also, this year, pig farmers will get our supports because they have been complaining that it is because our governor is a Muslim and does not want to give them support. It is not so, because this government is for the people, by the people and with the people. This is to inform the pig farmers that we have had series of meetings to support their efforts. We want to give them supports in all the three senatorial districts. We want to do artificial insemination for at least 200 animals.

For the first time, we are constructing a model pig farm sited at Leventis Foundation Farm, Ilesa. This will house 120 animals, and 20 youths will be engaged on this farm, as an empowerment to the youths. To add to this, a total of N40 million has been set aside as loans to pig farmers.

OSDF: How have the programmes and policies of this administration empowered farmers in the State of Osun?

ADEDOYIN: The programmes of Ogbeni Aregbesola have been able to address the problems of farmers in the state. There are some programmes that we run in the agricultural sector.

For instance, one of the achievements of this administration under O’REAP is Osun Broilers Out-grower Production Scheme, O-BOPS, where we have private sector partnering with government. The volume of money involved in this scheme is about N539 million. The private sector serves as scheme managers for us and the poultry farmers are put together under the umbrella of Poultry Association for Farmers.

The scheme managers give to poultry farmers Day Old Chicks (DOC), chicken feeds, logistics (some money) and medicine. This is always after inspection. The minimum DOCs to a farmer are one thousand and five hundred. This programme has been running for the past two years, and we have more than 300 hundred farmers in the scheme. So far, the farmers have made over N120 million as their profits. To demonstrate their joy, the farmers have decided to pay 5% of their profits to the state government’s coffers. Another is the Osun Fisheries Out-grower Production Scheme (O-FOPS). Under this scheme, we have been able to empower 462 farmers. You know, the good thing about this scheme is the ability to key all these produce into other programmes we run under the Ministry of Education. That is, O’MEAL scheme, where we feed pupils from Primaries 1 to 4. They are fed with chicken, fish, eggs and beef. The processed chicken and fish from these schemes, O-BOPS and O-FOPS coordinated by Ministry of Agriculture are supplied to O-MEAL scheme. So, you can see the synergy in the whole thing; market linkage.

The economy is revolving and the money is circulating in the state. We have supported more than 1,000 cooperative groups; we have tractorised more than 9,000 hectares of land; cleared lands free-of-charge for our farmers.

Fertilizers are given to farmers at 43%, agrochemicals are sold to farmers at 30% subsidy.

The Ogbeni administration is working round the clock to better and empower farmers in the State of Osun.

OSDF: How would you assess State of Osun in terms agriculture in the last three years?

ADEDOYIN: If I should assess State of Osun in terms of agriculture, I will say, that we have performed excellently well, and if you compare our agricultural activities with other states, Osun is taking the lead. That is why we are advocating for regional integration in the

•ADEDOYIN South West, so that each state focuses on area where it has comparative advantage like, for instance, Ondo State, they are known for cocoa production, and when you talk about cassava, potatoes, maize, you cannot put State of Osun aside. For the very first time, the agricultural sector in the State of Osun has been able to show the whole world particularly, Nigeria that, the produce of agricultural intervention assured farmers that their farm produce will be taken and paid for. The farmers that produce yam, eggs, chickens, were told that we will be offtakers of their farm produce. We have actually introduced business to our farmers in the Sate of Osun through O-REAP schemes. It is no longer business as usual. You can actually make good money from agriculture.

OSDF: What should we expect from trained personnel on agriculture that just returned from Saxony-Anhalt in Germany?

ADEDOYIN: Yes, thank you very much.

The students that went to Germany for training, started when we visited Germany to look at the opportunities that we can tap into. That was how this partnership came on board with the State of Saxony-Anhalt in the Republic of Germany. They offer to train 40 youths for us on modern agricultural practices. Since it is the focus of this administration to encourage the youths of this state to embrace agriculture and to provide them with employment, so, we took 40 participants from the O-REAP Youths Academy Training Centre, where we have been training our youths on agriculture. The first batch comprised of 20 youths that just had their training and the second batch of 20 students will be going to Germany for training in August/ September this year. The first batch that came has demonstrated that the knowledge they acquired there they want t o put it into use. As a matter of fact, they have formed themselves into cooperative groups. With the help of the government, we want to set them up to have a modern farm to showcase all the skills they acquired during their training in Germany. They brought to us budget enterprise and we believe there is seriousness and genuity in what they want to do. Some of them want to go into piggery production, and they have made known to us that they want to settle on the farm. They will be like a model to us. Let me lay an emphasis here, these youths are experienced in modern farm practices. This will make farming more interesting in the State of Osun because they will spread and replicate their wealth of experience into farmers around them for better productivity in agriculture. Honestly speaking, this administration, with its new innovation in agriculture and in other government agencies is unprecedented, and poised to deliver and do to more OSDF: Can Ogbeni’s administration say it has boost the economy of the state through agriculture and food production?

ADEDOYIN: Yes, as it is now, the challenge that we are having is the market; we have produce more than enough. There was a time when I was

running helter skelter in search of market for my fish. It was obvious that fish farmers have never experienced such boost before. The farm produce has really boosted the economy of the state.

The farmers have money now, with which they can buy anything they like, and they can send their wards to schools, live a comfortable life.

The support the farmers get from this government has helped to improve their food capacity. If you look at the vegetation of the South West generally, it has big trees with thick forest. If you want to go into serious farming, on subsistent level, you should be looking at a minimum of five hectares of land. Since this administration has brought about free land clearing for farmers, they have taken more lands for farming. That alone has really boosted their capacity and also the economy of the state in terms of food production and sufficiency.

OSDF: Food exhibition in the State of Osun, what is its relevance in the economic growth of the state?

ADEDOYIN: At the last farmers’ festival we had in the State of Osun in 2013, we saw farmers converged with their large farm produce for exhibition. And this has really given us insight to know what is coming out from the agricultural sector in the state. It shows that our farmers are making progress in their capacities to produce.

It was amazing what they brought out from their farms. One could ask if the farm produce were really from the State of Osun. It was so interesting that the Governor of the State, Ogbeni Rauf Aregbesola promised N5 million to any farmer who comes out best in the next edition. The exhibition was an indication to know what Farmer ‘A’ or Farmer ‘B’ can produce. It is also a pointer to marketers to know the farmer to approach when buying yam or plantain in different areas of the locality. The exhibition ground is a meeting point for the producers and the buyers. Mokore and Ago-Owu, for instance, are towns reputed with plantain production. The exhibition was significant to the economy of the state.

OSDF: What are your plans in the next four years?

ADEDOYIN: Yes, my plan. First of all, I want you to view the administration of Ogbeni, it is just about three years plus, within that period, he has done so much. What should we talk about? Is it the unprecedented developmental plans or taking his government to every home by way of “GbangbaDekun”, an interactive session, where people bares out their minds with the Governor of the State, Ogbeni Rauf Aregbesola. He will be seeking for second term in office by 9th August and by God’s grace, I know he will win, so that he can continue his good work for the good people of the State of Osun. My personal plan, God willing, is to still serve my governor. Wherever he directs me will be my ultimate destination. I am still very, very much around with Ogbeni Rauf Adesoji Aregbesola, the governor of the State of Osun.

Politically, he is the one that made me to be relevant so, I cannot do otherwise.

15

OSUN DEFENDER Saturday, March 29, 2014

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HAT President Goodluck delegates. For the Lamido to threaten Jonathan had inaugurated the that his emirate extends to the Republic National Conference is no longer of Cameroon and that he can take news. That the conference has not been refuge in Cameroon in case of trouble able to arrive at position on which in Nigeria shows that there is deepcritical decisions should be taken is also seated problem in our polity. no longer news. While most people of with Some delegates are also suggesting northern extraction support major that there will be a call for memoranda, MURTALA AGBOOLA decisions taken by consensus or seventy If one may ask, what for? There are TEL: 0806-119-7897 five per cent (3/4) majority, people of E-mail: murtalamuag@yahoo.com enough memoranda on ground to work the Southern extraction support a twowith. The Presidential Advisory thirds majority. The confab had to Committee headed by Dr. Femi adjourn for the second time to allow Okuroumu also collected enough reasons to prevail on how to arrive at memoranda to work with. What the decision.

Nigerians need now is the concerted Most people who favour the seventy efforts by the delegates to work five percent positions hinge their stand assiduously to ensure that the upshot on the fact that, the President explicitly of the result would be well-accepted stated so at the inauguration of the by majority of Nigerians. talkshop, hence they should keep faith All the major issues raised above pale with it. For those who support the twoto insignificance if we juxtapose it with thirds majority, they argue that they the fact that majority of the youthful could tinker with the position of the President which, is not cast in stone. In generation that ought to be there were addition they are of the view that their excluded. It is a paradox that the position is in conformity with the talkshop that is meant to take care of standard practice all over the world in the future of the country excluded those such situations. who are meant to benefit from it. Rather I only hope that reasons would be than make use of the youths who are made to prevail early, so that much vibrant, articulate, versatile and in tune work could be done within the threewith current realities, the Jonathan month time. A cursory look at the presidency opted for those who have difference between the two groups may been in power since independence. appear non-issue, but beyond the For people in their seventies and surface, there is a deep-seated sound eighties, what else do they expect to argument. get from our commonwealth? They For those who support, two-thirds have milked the country dry and they majority, 328 delegates need to consent still continue to suck the blood of the to a decision before it can become valid. •KUTIJI country.

This is so because 328 is the two-thirds Inspite of the fact that we need of the 492 delegates attending the their time at the confab can be Adamawa, Dr Muhammadu Barkindo experienced people to sit at the conference. To them therefore, giving extended.

Mustapha on the floor of confab forum conference, should we not have given the contentious issues prevalent in the The outburst of the Lamido of recently shows the thinking of some preference to the youths, whose future political landscape are at stake. today it might be We have seen what the difficult if the number is elders can do. One would increased to 369 which have thought that given HE latest fad in town is the plan privatization our expectation. Meters were promised people is the seventy-five the age bracket of the of the four public refineries. The refineries are who needed them so that consumers can get the percent of the 492 President, he would have located in Port Harcourt (two) Warri and correct energy consumed and its correspondent delegates. given the youths a lot of cost.

Kaduna.

However, the chance.

Five months after the taking over of the The Minister of Petroleum Resources, Mrs argument of the second Some have attributed Diezani Allison-Madueke has of recent reiterated privatization, the DISCOS are yet to implement this to the sense of group is that the the fact that the subsidy regime is no longer what they talked about gleefully. humour in the ruling difference of 41 Proper homework should be done before, if at fashionable and sustainable. This is coming against Peoples Democratic delegates to arrive at a the background that the minister has overstretched all we need to privatise the refineries. A lot of Party (PDP). A friend of decision is necessary so her powers by the way she has spent public money Nigerians see what happened in the electricity mine recently made a joke that no section or group for hiring the services of a private jet to carry out sector as a sham and a mere allocation of the that how does one expect of people could take a company among “paddies”. A lot of work needs her duties.

President Jonathan to fundamental decision As serious as this allegation may be, it is yet to be to be done before we sell the refineries. appoint youths into the that would negate the Many Nigerians are not convinced that we ascertained. What however puzzles one is the fact confab when their principle on which the that the Power Holding Company of Nigeria should pay higher for petroleum product since it is erstwhile National Youth country stands.

(PHCN) that was privatized to Generating part of our land. Our leaders have become Leader was 70 years old.

I refuse to share in Companies (GENCOS) and Distribution exploiters, who have used our God-given He concluded by saying the wicked sentiments Companies (DISCOS) are yet to get their bearing. resources to better their lots at the expense of the that it was in conformity that delegates are The proponents used the privatization of the poor people. It is my wish that the National with that sense of humour deliberately telecommunication sector as a benchmark for all Assembly would do the needful to ensure that that the president engendering privatization, but what we have seen so far is below Nigerians are not subjected to further hardship. appointed gerontocrats. adjournment so that

AUDACIOUS EXPLOIT

Still On The National Confab

Before We Privatise The Refineries

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