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www.osundefender.org TUESDAY, OCTOBER 14, 2014
Weeks before the August 9th gubernatorial elections which was won by the pragmatic Ogbeni Rauf Aregbesola of the APC, it was obvious we were up against forces other than the people of Osun state which naturally should be the determinant of
how the elections will swing. The All progressives Congress (APC) still smarting from its shocking defeat in the previous Ekiti elections had literarily sworn it will lose Osun over its dead body. The murderous villain fielded by the Peoples Democratic
VOL. 9. NO.123
Front Page Comment
imperial President though
clueless, but The War Called The Osun utterly desperate to add Osun to conquest in furtherElections-By Segun Tomorihis ance of his still-born Party (PDP), outrightly unpopular with barely a few dozens of people trailing him at campaigns however worethe confidence of a Governor-In-waiting. He
they
didn’t care a hoot about the people’s wish, all that matters was the full compliment of the paraphernalia of State activated by an
second term bid. So lo and behold, the die was cast!I have not been emotionally attached to any elections in Nigeria as I was with the Osun elections,
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maybe June 12, 1993 Presidential elections presumed to have being won by my President, M.K.O Abiola could be an exception. It wasn’t because I had affinity with anyone in Ogbeni’s government or because I enjoyed any form of patronage but because Continue on pg4
Purported Sack Of Osun Legislators:
You’re Mischievous - Osun APC Tells PDP - See Story On Page 2
•Professor Bashir Okesina, Vice-Chancellor, Osun State University (Uniosun) (with mic), making his address during the reception for his 60th birthday anniversary at Leisure Spring Hotels, Osogbo on Saturday. With him are the Aragbiji of Iragbiji, Oba AbdulRasheed Olabomi (left) and Prince Olagunsoye Oyinlola, former State of Osun governor.
Pastor - Pg 3 Caught With Human Skull Speaker - Pg 3 Preaches - Pg 9 Against Politics Of Bitterness Aregbesola Commended For Adopting Engineering Practices - Pg 2
Nigeria Can Only Develop If Jonathan Is Voted Out – Aregbesola
- See Story On Page 3
News
OSUN DEFENDER Tuesday, October 14, 2014
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Purported Sack Of Osun Legislators: You’re Mischievous -Osun APC Tells PDP
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HE ruling-All Progressives Congress (APC) in the State of Osun has described the recent rumour peddled by the Peoples Democratic Partyý (PDP) that the Court of Appeal sitting in Akure, the Ondo State capital, had last Friday nullified the national and state assemblies’ election held in 2011, as being the product of mischief makers. While reacting to the produce that certified true rumour, the APC in the state copy of the Appeal Court’s also challenged the PDP to pronouncement, Nigerians forthwith produce a and particularly the citizens Certified True Copy (CTC) of Osun, should totally of the pronouncement of the discountenance the PDP’s appellate court that stated claim that the court has categorically that the nullified the elections of elections of federal and state their legislators. legislators conducted by “There’s no such Ambassador Rufus Akeju in declaration by any court of 2011 have been nullified. the Federal Republic of The APC further stressed Nigeria,” the APC declared. that until the PDP can The party added that
what the PDP has fed the public is not only a piece of misinformation, it is also a blatant lie. “For factual information to the public on this matter, the APC hereby state as follows: “(A) Before the 2011 election was held, the PDP went to the Federal High Courtý, Osogbo to stop Ambassador Akeju, the Resident Electoral Commissioner, from supervising the said election on the allegation that the commissioner was allegedly a card-carrying member of the ACN (now APC) and a close associate
By OUR REPORTER of Senator Bola Ahmed Tinubu, APC National Leader. “(B) The Osogbo Federal High Court granted the PDP an interlocutory injunction restraining Akeju from supervising the conduct of the election but refused the prayer that INEC be restrained from conducting the election. “However, INEC immediately appealed and obtained a stay of execution of that ruling pending the determination of its appeal. “(C) Curiously, while the appeal was pending, prior to the election, the PDP also went back to the same Federal High Court in Osogbo, against all known
•An ongoing walk way at Ola-Iya area of Osogbo constructed by the administration of Governor Rauf Aregbesola. Photo: GBENGA ADENIYI.
legal procedure, to demand a stay of proceedings of the case it took to the High Court. So effectively, not only the INEC, but also the PDP stopped any further action on the substantive matter until the determination of the appeal in the Court of Appeal, Akure. “(D) The elections held while the litigation was practically on hold. “(E) After the elections (which the PDP lost woefully), they went to court (not the Tribunal) to seek to nullify the election by bringing a fresh suit instead of the initial suit appealed against. The INEC promptly challenged the court’s jurisdiction to entertain the suit and the PDP on their own volition, promptly withdrew the suit. “However, on the initial suit pending at the Federal High Court, which the PDP got an Order for stay, the ACN then applied to be a joinder and the application was granted. However, when other political parties sought similar joinder, the court rejected their applications and they also immediately appealed that decision. “(F) So effectively, four different applications were before the courts; two in Osogbo and two at the Federal Court of Appeal, Akure. “The appeal by INEC against the interlocutory injunction granted the PDP before proceedings were held up in Osogbo was the one determined on Friday in Akure. “(G) Our authentic information is that the court declared that the process of filing the appeal by INEC
Aregbesola Commended For Adopting Engineering Practices By FRANCIS EZEDIUNO
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position that had enabled him to put into practice his many experiences gathered in the field of engineering. According to him: “The feat I’m being honoured for was made possible by God and the governor of the State of Osun, Ogbeni Rauf Aregbesola. “He appointed me and gave me a free hand to operate and he always takes
to advice, knowing it is coming from one professional colleague to the other, despite the fact that he is the governor and he has the power to discard my advice. “This award has added another feather to my cap and it is a challenge that there are more tasks ahead. He appreciated the members of the Nigerian
HE efforts of the governor of the State of Osun in the area of infrastructural developments like road construction, school developments, township expansion and beautification, urban renewal and so on have been highly commended. This commendation came d e v e l o p m e n t a l up during the award of transformation throughout dedicated service bestowed the state. on Engineer Felix Adeniran He specifically Ibitoye (aka Kilomodemo, appreciated the governor for the Senior Special Assistant appointing him into a to the Governor on Engineering Matters at the Conference of the Nigerian PEAKER, State of Osun House of Assembly, reception to all manners of Institution of Mechanical Honourable Najeem Salaam, has commiserated with men and women, who had Engineers (NIMechE), Senator Ayo Fasanmi over the death of his wife, political business with her tagged Bauchi 2014. The governor, being a asking the first generation politician, now a chieftain of husband during his active qualified Mechanical All Progressives Congress (APC) to take heart and be political struggle right from Engineer, was singled out as strong for the children of the deceased at this moment. the 50s. an ambassador of the Salaam then prayed that In a statement issued by pleasantness and her warm profession for the his Press Secretary, Mr. professional way he had Goke Butika, Salaam been bringing about the described the departure of total transformation being Madam Fasanmi to the great OURNALISTS have been urged not to relent in their witnessed in the state beyond as a big loss to the efforts towards promoting good governance and peaceful within four years of his first co-existence in the State of Osun and Nigeria in general. immediate and political term in office. family of Pa. Ayo Fasanmi, The Chairman, Osun Local Recognising the role played Engineer Ibitoye, in his Service by journalists in the justacceptance speech, asserting that she would be Government Commission, Elder Peter concluded governorship specially thanked the missed greatly. He then paid his tribute Babalola, made the call during election in the state, Elder administration and courtesy visit paid to his Babalola said the achievements government of Osun for to the deceased, saying that aoffice by members of Nigerian endeavouring to adopt the those who had contact Association of Women of any government cannot be best engineering practice in experience with her have Journalists (NAWOJ) in the made known to the public without the journalists. carrying out its given testimonies to her state.
Society of Engineers (NSE), Osogbo branch, for their belief in him and promised to work tirelessly for the progress of the branch. “I will forever remain grateful to God Almighty for the great reward among many. I still promise to be a good ambassador of the engineering society and the State of Osun in general,” he added.
Osun Assembly Speaker Commiserates With Pa Fasanmi
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the God would rest the departed in eternal peace, while he prayed that fortitude be provided for Pa. Fasanmi and other members of his family to bear the irreparable loss.
was defective, hence incompetent and was as a result struck out. “The Court of Appeal neither made pronouncement on the substantive suit, which is not before the court, but still pending in Osogbo, nor did it declare the elections of 2011 ‘null and void’ (as the PDP is misleading Nigerians). “(H) As you read this, the PDP has a live case before the Federal High Court in Osogbo, where it seeks the court to pronounce Ambassador Akeju incompetent (because he is allegedly partisan) to conduct the 2011 election. “That case has been put on hold by the PDP itself and until the party reopens the case, and get a pronouncement of ‘guilty as charged’, against Akeju, the Osun REC remains innocent. “What Akure court did was to strike out a defective notice, which can still be refiled. The substantive case in which the PDP is seeking a court’s (not the Electoral Tribunal) pronouncement that the legislative electionsý of 2011 were allegedly null and void, has been withdrawn at the Federal High Court, Osogbo. “So an appellate court cannot make a pronouncement on a matter that has not even been heard or argued by the parties involved at the High Court. “This completely exposes the stupidity of PDP’s claims that, by any warped implication, the Friday’s pronouncement by the Federal Court of Appeal in Akure has any direct or indirect bearing. On the substantive case in Osogbo, the case is yet to be determined by the Federal High Court,” the APC explained The party therefore, appealed to the public and the media to be wary of information coming from the PDP and cross-check facts before arriving at conclusions or disseminating falacies which Osun PDP has become notorious of spreading. While also responding to the PDP rumour, the State of Osun Commissioner for Information and Strategy, Mr Sunday Akere, in a statement disclosed that contrary to the blatant lies and falsehood been peddled about by the PDP, the court did not give any order relating to the elections conducted in 2011 because it has not even heard the case at all.
Journalists Charged To Promote Good Governance
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The State Local Government Service Commission boss, who commended women for their roles towards the development of the society, urged the women journalists not to relent in their efforts, as expected of them. Earlier, the Chairperson of the Association, Mrs. Toyin Adeoye, said the visit was to
solicit support towards the welfare of women journalists in the state, as the focus of the executives is to ensure training and retraining of members. She noted that journalists and politicians are partners in progress, stressing that journalists should be accorded due recognition as their roles in the society cannot be overemphasised.
News
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OSUN DEFENDER Tuesday, October 14, 2014
Nigeria Can Only Develop If Jonathan Is Voted Out – Aregbesola By SHINA ABUBAKAR
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OVERNOR of the State of Osun, Ogbeni Rauf Aregbesola, has disclosed that the only way to develop Nigeria’s socio-economic potentials is to vote out President Goodluck Jonathan in February 2015. The governor stated this Nigerians to vote the on Thursday at the first president out and give the Igbajo Polytechnic summit country the needed and fund-raising alternative to move the programme, held at the country to a greater height. school’s permanent site in He noted that the country Igbajo. is degenerating very fast, According to the particularly as the nation is governor, the incumbent now facing the problem of President Jonathan’s desecrating the judiciary, a administration is making the body which ought to be country grow from bad to respected to safeguard the worse, hence the need for interest of the common man.
“Every civilised nation has a respectful judiciary; any attempt to desecrate the judiciary is an invitation to anarchy. “If police can no longer curb crime, then we are doomed, as the major duty of a government is to confront societal problems. “What is even more disturbing is that the leadership of the country has not made any official statement regarding the inimical act against the judiciary,” the governor observed. He said the major problem
facing the country is not lack of resources, but mismanagement of human and natural resources the country is blessed with. Aregbesola said the people that formulated the APC slogan are wellfocused by making ‘Change’ the major slogan, while adding that what the country needs most now is change of leadership. He commended the organisers of the summit, saying it was what the nation needs in its bid to refocus the failing education sector in the country.
According to him, the importance of technical education cannot be overemphasized, saying any nation that desires development must give cognizance to its technical education and place priority on creating more technical manpower. He said polytechnic education is meant to create entrepreneurs that could employ graduates and create jobs, as well as middle-class manpower for developing and even developed economies globally. The governor stressed that the system has made technical education less attractive by placing emphasis on paper certificate instead of technical knowledge, while calling for a greater correlation between Nigeria’s technical education and the country’s developmental needs. Governor Aregbesola disclosed that his administration is training technical manpower for the state developmental needs in various areas, including ICT, Mechatronics, as well as other sectors in an effort to reduce skill gap in the polity. He therefore, urged the governing board of Igbajo
Polytechnic to minimize the number of technical courses it offered in the school in order to be best in the specialized areas it decided to offer to its students. In her address on the occasion, the State Deputy Governor and Commissioner for Education, Otunba (Mrs) Grace Titi Laoye-Tomori, described the education summit as epoch-making, while she maintained that polytechnic education is imperative to national and societal developments. She decried the disparity between university and polytechnic graduates, while blaming the disadvantage position of HND certificate holders on the society, which does not value technical knowledge. She said: “The State Government of Osun will continue to do everything within its power to ensure that technical education continues to grow in our dear state because it is the only way forward.” In his welcome address, the state Commissioner for Information and Strategy, Mr Sunday Akere, used the occasion to appreciate the governor and the people of Igbajo on their support for the development of the polytechnic.
Pastor Caught With Human Skull •The governor, State of Osun, Ogbeni Rauf Aregbesola (left), commiserating with Afenifere chieftain, Senator Ayo Fasanmi (right), over the demise of his wife, Felicia, during a condolence visit to Fasanmi’s residence in Osogbo, State of Osun, on Friday
Osun Assembly Dispels Rumour On Nullification Of Lawmakers’ Elections By KAZEEM MOHAMMED
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signed by the Chief Press Secretary to the Speaker, Mr. Goke Butika, the state legislature said the case that was determined by the appellate court was between the aggrieved PDP candidates and INEC. According to the statement, the former only prayed for the nonconduct of the 2011 state and national assemblies’ elections in Osun by Akeju and not against the lawmakers. The statement said the intention of the rumour
TATE of Osun House of Assembly has described the rumour milling the rounds that elections conducted in 2011, which brought state and national assembly members to office, have been nullified, while describing it as mere figment of imagination of the opposition and an attempt to create confusion. It said the case has (PDP), through its Diran nothing to do with spokesperson, nullification of any Odeyemi, issued a election, as such prayer statement, saying with the was not before the court. ruling, the state and the assemblies’ The Court of Appeal, national sitting in Akure, had elections conducted in dimissed the objection 2011 have been declared raised by Independent null and void. However, in a statement National Electoral Commission (INEC) over the ruling of a Federal High Court in Osogbo that its state Resident Electoral By KAZEEM MOHAMMED Commissioner, Ambassador Rufus Akeju, HE Speaker, State of Osun House of Assembly, should not supervise the Honourable Najeem Salaam, has charged 2011 state and national political stakeholders to shun politics of assemblies’ election. hatred and bitterness ahead of 2015 general The substantive case in elections. The Speaker said politics the matter has been fixed Salaam made the appeal for hearing before the on Friday in Osogbo at should not be seen as a door-die affair, rather as an appellate court. the grand reunion meeting Shortly after the ruling of the 1994 set of avenue for development. Salaam advised by the appellate court, Obafemi Awolowo politicians not to see the Osun chapter of the University (OAU), Ile-Ife, Peoples Democratic Party Political Science Alumni fast-approaching 2015 general elections as a Association.
mongers was to feed the people with lies as its usual trait, create confusion and cause chaos. It added that none of the lawmakers was sacked, either individually or collectively as being speculated by the opposition. The legislature then asked the people of the state to ignore the insinuations that were designed to misinterprete the ruling of the Court of Appeal, which has nothing to do with nullification of any election.
By ISMAEEL UTHMAN
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35-year-old pastor, Clement Oyetunde, has been arrested by the police in the State of Osun for allegedly being in possession of a human skull. Oyetunde, who was confessed to putting paraded by the police in poison in a drink for his Osogbo, on Friday, was co-worker but another arrested in Modakeke, person took the drink and after he had been died. screaming and raising Speaking in soberly alarm that some unknown mood, Adeyemo claimed it spirits were pursuing him. was the handiwork of the The suspect was said to devil, moreover that he and have personally led local his co-worker had always vigilantes to his house, threatened to kill each where the skull was other. buried, claiming that the The suspects, according human skull was kept with to the Police Public him a month ago by one Relations Officer (PPRO), Wasiu, who is now at- Mrs Folasade Odoro, large. would soon be charged to Also paraded was 27- court for proper year-old Taofiq Adeyemo, prosecution. who was arrested in IleShe therefore urged Ife, for killing someone residents of the state to with poison at a naming always be on alert and ceremony. report any suspicious Adeyemo, when movements in their areas interviewed by pressmen, to the Police.
Speaker Preaches Against Politics Of Bitterness
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must-win situation, but they should allow the wishes of the people and the will of God to prevail. “As 2015 election is approaching, I want to appeal to political stakeholders to allow peace to reign. “2015 Elections should not be seen as a do-or-die affair. This country is greater than anyone of us”. Noting that politics is
about development and making meaningful impact in the lives of the citizenry, he said it should not be seen as a mere moneymaking venture. He, however, challenged members of the alumni association to get involved in politics with the right motive of development. In his response, the coordinator of alumni, Mr Temitope Mustapha, said
the reunion programme was an home-coming event for the alumni. He said the gathering was beyond mere reuniting members, but an avenue to contribute positively to the society. “Our society has for long given us what it takes to be the first among equals. It is high time we came together and give back to our society as well.”
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OSUN DEFENDER Tuesday, October 14, 2014
The War Called The Osun Elections-By Segun Tomori Continued frompg1 I just couldn’t imagine my home State go back to the disastrous “years of the locust”. I had participated actively n the campaigns, interacted with the people, felt their pulse and the story was the same – Osun has never had it so good, the people vowed to defend their votes by all means possible! From that moment I had made up my mind to give my all and put myself at harm’s way if need be to ensure we form a bulwark of resistance against the machinery of State to be deployed to thwart the people’s wish.
When I was about to proceed on my journey to Osogbo, the Osun State Capital on Monday preceding the elections I prepared for the worst. Few associates privy to my trip advised strongly that I removed any APC sourvenir from my luggage,any ID card that can associate me with the party amongst other security tips. They were right to be apprehensive, soldiers, officials of the Department of State Security(DSS) including the hooded ones,lorry loads of mobile policemen had since being deployed across the nook and cranny of Osun State. Bearing in mind the desperation of their paymasters, we knew they could stop and search vehicles and abduct anything synonymous with APC, so I took all the precautions. I took off on the journey which in itself was dramatic.
As we got close to Oshogbo, a discussion ensued in the bus and I found out I was not alone in the Save-Osun initiative. Most of the passengers shared the same sentiments with me and were also natives of the State. They spoke emotionally and fiercely about their determination to ensure Aregbesola’s victory. Speaker after speaker reeled out programmes and interventions of the Governor that has brought smiles to the faces of the people. They concluded he was the best thing to happen to the State since its creation. The menacing apparatus of State then suffocating the enviroment will not deter them, they thundered! “Ko si ohun ti soja o se, a ma duro gboin gboin lati dibo Aregbe” they said in yoruba dialect meaning “there is nothing Soldiers can do, we will stand firmly to vote for Aregbe”. I thought to myself, we are about to witness mass resistance unequally in our national history if anything go against the people’s will. Hopefully, the soldiers we met on the various check-points didn’t stop and search, they just peeped through the bus windows and passed us on. I heaved a sigh of relief when I arrived Osogbo safely late in the evening.
I have attended rallies, mega-rallies , name it, but what I saw on Tuesday at the grand-finale of the campaign was frightening. A stadium whose capacity can’t be more than 60,000 almost caved in due to pressure from an unprecedented mammoth crowd. Every space on the covered stands were over-filled, the main bowl of the Stadium was virtually
unpassable. My associates and I had to hold ourselves to navigate our way through the crowd, it took us about an hour from the entrance of the stadium to find somewhere to perch! Yet thousands more extend to adjoining roads outside the stadium. It was the APC mega-rally and to say it was awesomely mega is an understatement! We even heard that the Lord of Aso-rock caught an instant migraine seeing the magnitude of the rally! The effect of that was seen in the sealing off of the freedom park that was supposed to host workers rally the next day by “hooded soldiers” They got the now familiar, albeit emergency “orders from above” to forcefully if need be halt the Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC) and its affiliates endorsement rally for the Ogbeni.
Co-incidentally, Wednesday, 6th August was my birthday but I was in no mood for celebrations of any kind. I told my well-wishers, family and friends that you don’t clink glasses in a battle-front! Interestingly, one of my compatriots who was also a major ‘battle-axe” and good friend’s birthday was 8th August so I told him we’ll do a birthday plus victory party on the 10th, a day after the elections,when we triumph at the polls. We know we had the people behind us, we never gave defeat a thought! By Thursday, preparations had reached feverish pitch, the towns, hamlets and villages was now massively flowing with uniformed men of all hues and shades. Some DSS operatives came to the restaurant we were having dinner, Thursday evening, apparently on surveillance mission. We got the message and we left in a jiffy! On our way to our location, we noticed a car trailing us, so we had to take a decoy to a bar. As we turned to the bar, the car also turned in another direction. Their mission still remains a mystery. Thank God for little mercies!
When we arrived our abode, we swung into action to put finishing touches to our master-plan which was to run a co-ordinated and effective live broadcast of the elections on social and online media in collaboration with the APC situation room which was to start from Friday evening till the announcement of the results on Sunday. This was necessary because leaking the plans of our devious opponents was key to frustrate their rigging machinery; announcing results online as we get it directly from our agents was also crucial to frustrate any manipulation at the collation level. By Friday afternoon, I had to tactically separate from my friends who then proceeded to a high security location. The curfew was going to start around 5-6pm. By 4pm, I arrived at my own secure location and quickly moved to set up. I surveyed the enviroment to assess the possible threat level. I saw that it was negligible so I settled down for the task ahead.
By Friday evening we got intelligence report that notorius election rigger, Chris Uba was in town with a unit of 50 soldiers attached to him. We sent that out and made sure it went viral. Later that night, information about the arrest of our leaders ranging from APC Publicity Secretary, lai Mohammed, the Attorney-general Of Osun State, barr. Wale Afolabi, Tinubu’s Special Adviser on media, Mr Sunday are, Commissioner for
Agric among others were swiftly publicised with dispatch. The far-reaching effect of the noise we made contributed in no small measure to the release of most of those picked up by Saturday morning. We discovered by Saturday morning that fake soldiers and policemen had surfaced in many locations. Their logo was a red ankara tied to their left hand. Quickly we activated our instant alert to our people,through all means possible. That again thwarted efforts to manipulate the elections from the beginning.
The elections started peacefully however in most locations with accreditation going on smoothly. The only snag was the continued harassment of APC leaders across the State. The case of the 1st Civilian Governor of Osun State, Alhaji Isiaka Adeleke was quite instructive. After failing to assasinate him over-night due to resistance by his security aides, he was trailed from the polling unit to his mother’s residence where he went after accreditation. He escaped the siege by the whisker after he was discreetly notified. He couldn’t come back to exercise his franchise. The results started trickling in by afternoon and the PDP demolition squad sensing their rejection quickly switched to a plan B to disrupt the collation process. We instantly alerted the public about their norturnal meeting and evil plot. What really helped the APC apart from the determination of the people was our access to classified information. We were always a step ahead of them and that frustrated the election riggers.
I got an anonymous call from a patroitic police officer around 8pm who claimed he was at a location at modakeke and that results being collated was about to be altered. You could detect the fear in his voice as he asked me to ensure his cover. He was an igbo officer deployed from other states, he wasn’t familiar with the terrain but what was gratifying that there could still be few men of integrity in the corruption-ridden Nigeria Police Force. In order to confirm the authenticity of his Statement, I asked the Apapa Local Government Chairman who was with me to speak to him. He sounded credible, he concluded. So I made some calls to the authorities and sent text message to our men to act immediately.
Before 11pm, we already had all the results and we had won, though unofficially. What sealed the deal for us and put paid to any manipulation the PDP had in stock was the unexpected congratulation of Aregbesola as the winner of the election around 9.40pm by the Ooni of Ife, Oba Okunade Sijuade. Omisore according to our sources had already informed Aso-rock that there was fighting in his home-town of Ile-Ife because according to him, the results we were circulating were fake and he was actually leading in the “original” results. The Ooni swiftly debunked that, not only congratulated the Governor-elect, but also stated that nobody was fighting in Ife! That took the sail out of the wind of Omisore and his treacherous gang.
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State of Osun on October 27, 2010, he embarked on massive rehabilitation and construction of interstate and township roads in the state tagging it ‘Ona Baba Ona’. Let’s look at a list of interstate roads that this administration has embarked on since its
coming in 2010. The dualisation of the Gbongan Junction to Osogbo which would include an interchange christened Bisi Akande Trumpet Interchange,; dualisation of Osogbo to Ila-Odo Kwara State Boundary Road and also the Oba Adesoji Aderemi
East Bypass Road, which would decongest traffic on the busy GbonganIbadan road in Osogbo town. How many township roads do I mention in this letter? Where we have about 21 commissioned at various points just in Osogbo town alone
without mentioning Ilesa and other big towns within the state. When you add 10 Kilometres of roads each in the 31 local government council areas, just figure out the total amount of kilometres of roads that only Osun has? Nothing else in my own
There was instant jubilation across the nook and cranny of Oshogbo. Never in the history of elections have I seen such spontaneous excitement pervade the landscape because of results announcement. Within the twinkle of an eye, the whole town went agog with people clutching their broomssymbol of the Governor’s party, congratulating themselves,
okada riders driving menacingly in such euphoric ecstasy and finally we could say hurray! We won! We didn’t win an election, we won a WAR with a stone like the biblical david. Goliath came to battle with the best arsenal at his disposal but we came with the will of a determined people that vowed that never again shall they go the road of perdition they once trodded. Who says the voice of the people is not the voice of God? Because ultimately the hand of the Almighty saved the day and gave us victory. Osun ti dara ooooooo.
Segun Tomori
If we thought the threats have been subdued, we were in for a shocker! The
Kudos To Aregbesola On Road Network In Osun ERMIT me a space in your widely-read newspaper to publicise my views on the latest developments in the State of Osun, as far as infrastructure are concerned, especially in the area of road construction and rehabilitation. Ii reminds me vividly of the trend, when Governor Rauf Aregbesola, was still the Honourable Commissioner for Works and Infrastructure in Lagos State between 1999 and 2003. The one remarkable thing that stood Aregbesola out among his peers was the many roads in Lagos that were rehabilitated under the Direct Labour Scheme of the ministry under him. So there was no surprise at all when shortly on assumption of office as governor of the
returning officer whose task it is to announce the final result was under pressure to collect a whooping N1b and announce Omisore winner! They were ready to damn the consequences and ask us to go to court. So we had to practically go on our knees! I salute the indefatigable people of Osun State, they were resolute, they stood like a rock, stayed on the streets all through and formed a human shield around the collation centre. Then the returning officer came in around 1.35pm. The results of all the local governments were announced before 5am. Then we now witnessed dilly-dallying of the highest order. It got to a point around 7am, anxious journalists and people started singing asking for the results. Lo and Behold, at about 7.10am, Ogbeni Rauf Aregbesola was finally pronounced the winner!
reckoning brings developments to some parts of a state like roads and the ‘Omoluabi’ governor has decided to make this a cornerstone of his administration. I say a big kudos to Ogbeni Aregbesola for this and hope that it wouldn’t stop here but that the road reconstruction, construction and rehabilitation projects of this administration should enter into a new phase, as well as their maintenance. As we are looking forward to the inauguration of Ogbeni Aregbesola on November 27 for another four-year term, the good work must not stop in our dear state. •KAMIL OLAYINKA, Iragbiji, Boripe Local Government Council Area, State of Osun.
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OSUN DEFENDER is published by Moremi Publishing House Limited, Promise Point Building, Opposite Guarantee Trust Bank GTB, Gbongan Road, Osogbo, State of Osun. All correspondence to the above mail address. ISSN: 0794-8050 Telephone: 0803-392-7286, 08033880205 Website: www.osundefender.com/index.php e-mail: osundefender@yahoo.com
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Renaissance OSUN DEFENDER Tuesday, October 14, 2014
The State Of Osun Schools’ Reclassification:
Schooling Made Easier, More Comprehensive (II) The first part of this series opened an exposition on the laudable efforts and relentless activities of the incumbent administration in the State of Osun in the area of public education; especially as such borders on the redesign and reclassification of schools. In that edition, we took our numerous readers through the memory lane concerning what the situation of things used to be in years immediately preceding the advent of the administration in the saddle of governance. This edition shall continue to bare more facts on how it had been; while it shall also do justice to intricate aspects of the journey so far. NIYI OLASINDE keeps the date as usual.
•A side view of the recently-commissioned Salvation Army Middle School, Alekuwodo, Osogbo buit by Governor Rauf Aregbesola.
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Schooling Made Easier, More Comprehensive (II)
•An aerial view of Baptist Elementary Central School, Ilare, Ile-Ife, State of Osun, commissioned by Ogbeni Rauf Aregbesola sometime ago.
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Continued from last week. OTS and lots have been said and written on the spate of decay, rot, devastation and deterioration that befell the public sector of the education industry in the State of Osun prior to the emergence of the administration of Ogbeni Rauf Adesoji Aregbesola in the reins of governance. Right from the years of the cankerworms; by that we mean the years of the ousted administration of BrigadierGeneral Olagunsoye Oyinlola (retired) in office, we had not failed in our duty to point out the degenerating trend of things in our public schools. While that oppressive tenure lasted, nothing was done to arrest the deplorable conditions of those schools, in terms of infrastructure, systems overhaul, quality control, syllabus enrichment and personnel selection strategy, This sordid situation caused the standards to decline to the extent that it became repelling for any parents or guardians to deliberately put their wards in public schools. Even teachers in those categories of schools could not muster confidence to entrust their own ward to the care of the schools, where they were supposed to be pacesetters as stakeholders in the strength of biological parenthood! What this implies in essence is that it was those who were constrained financially and who could not afford the high cost of getting their wards educated in the numerous private schools that dominated the landscape who resorted to putting their wards in these private schools. Lest we forget, these public schools were the pride of the Nigerian society during the good old days. Most of those who invested their times in office to destroy our public educational institutions were once beneficiaries of the same system, It was a clear case of someone who having ascended a tall edifice, removed the same ladder with which he climbed up with the wicked intention of preventing others from having the sweet experience of an upward journey to a higher altitude! It therefore came as a soothing relief that upon his coming on board as the Chief Executive of the State of Osun In November 2010; about three years ago; one of the first set of promises echoed and reechoed by Ogbeni Aregbesola was his avowed determination to turn the tide around positively for education, most especially the kind that is provided in the public (government-owned) institutions in the state. According to him, he did not come to send the proprietors of private schools out of business – no!
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But as chief proprietor of public schools, the responsibilities which the office he occupies reposed on him behooved him to take good and adequate care of the public sector of education in the state; and our public schools and pupils / students by extension. This stance / position by a public office holder, especially in the pedigree of a governor is quite responsible, touching and worthy of emulation. On this note, OSUN DEFENDER Magazine hammers it strongly that those who aspire to step into elective public offices should imbibe this kind of attitude and mindset. Today, we write as those whose captivity is returned. Our captivity in the State of Osun has been turned around. The governor who gave those lofty promises mentioned above; alongside those that were boldly enshrined in the Six-Point Integral Action Plan contained in his pact with the people has measured up with the tone and spirit of his promises. He has not let the people down; neither has he reneged on his pledge to bring forth a complete turnaround in the entire aspects of life of his beloved people. OSUN DEFENDER Magazine has in the last edition made reference to the relevant portions of the Six-Point Integral Action Plan contained in the Pact made by the First Omoluabi with the entire people of the state during his election campaign preceding the 2007 Gubernatorial Elections in the state. But it is here considered not to be in any way out of place to recast those relevant portions. Here we go: “My mission and ambition are to restore to the people, a state of peace, opportunity, for progress and room for the pursuit of prosperity in our time under a people friendly government. I give you Six-Point Integral Action plan, to the intent that they constitute my actions of faith concerning which I want to be held accountable at any time during my stewardship. SIX POINT INTEGRAL ACTION PLAN · Banish Poverty · Banish Hunger · Banish Unemployment (Create Work/ Wealth) · Restore Healthy Living · Promote Functional Education · Enhance Communal Peace and Progress” Further in the line of drawing specific reference,
we have the following: CIVIL SERVICE REFORMS “There is the need for a civil service reform that will not lead to any loss of jobs as I Rauf Aregbesola do not believe in laying people off in the name of reforms. Our reform will make the work environment more conductive, stimulating and development oriented. Bonuses, incentives and regular awards shall be instituted to promote a culture of excellence in the civil service along with the prompt payment of salaries, allowances, leave bonuses and year end performance bonuses. Promotions and comprehensive salary reviews and increases shall be regular. Internal and external training, work exchange programmes and overseas training shall be actively reinstituted for comprehensive human development in the civil service. New Tutor General/Permanent Secretary Cadre shall be created for Teachers in new education districts for better school administration. We shall institute Home Ownership Scheme for public servants and also support and encourage their backyard food production business ventures. We shall do a comprehensive review of civil service names and conventions as part of our efforts to create a people- friendly civil service. Appropriate nomenclature will enhance accountability and promote public access to the services of the ministry. A citizen with a complaint of blockage of drainage will find a Ministry of Roads and Drainages easier to identify with than Ministry of Works, a Ministry of Human Resources and Development will more appropriately communicate its services than a Ministry of Establishment.” to the Education sub-heading of which we quote as follows WEthenowPact,swing PROMOTE FUNCTIONAL EDUCATION Continued on page 11
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PHOTOTALK
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State Of Osun Governor, Ogbeni Rauf Aregbesola, Honoured As Patron Of Nigeria Institute Of Estate Surveyors & Valuers At The Government House, Osogbo, Last Saturday.
•The governor, State of Osun, Ogbeni Rauf Aregbesola (left); 1st Vice President of Nigerian Institute of Estate Surveyors & Valuers (NIESV), Mr Ajayi Patunola (right) and State Chairman of the Institute, Dr Seyi Adegoke, during the investiture of Ogbeni as the institute’s patron, at the Government House, Osogbo, last Saturday.
•Governor Aregbesola (4th left); the Deputy Governor, Otunba (Mrs) Grace Titi-Laoye Tomori (3rd left); 1st Vice President of Nigerian Institute of Estate Surveyors & Valuers,(NIESV), Mr Ajayi Patunola (3rd right); his wife, Olayinka (2nd right), Secretary to the State Government of Osun, Alhaji Moshood Adeoti (left), Osun Chairman of Nigerian Institute of Estate Surveyors & Valuers (NIESV); Dr Seyi Adegoke (right); Mr Rowland Abonta (2rd left) and other dignitaries, during the investiture of the governor as Patron of the institute, at the Government House, Osogbo, on Saturday.
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1st Education Summit Of Igbajo Polytechnic, Igbajo, State Of Osun, Last Thursday. Photo: GBENGA ADENIYI.
•(L-R) The deputy governor, State of Osun, Otunba (Mrs) Grace Titi Laoye-Tomori; Governor Rauf Aregbesola and Chief Moses Inaolaji on the occasion.
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•The Owa of Igbajo, Oba Olufemi Fasade and his wife.
•A cross section of Igbajo Polytechnic students during the event.
•State of Osun Commissioner for Information and Strategy, Honourable Sunday Akere (left) and other dignitaries at the event.
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1st Education Summit Of Igbajo Polytechnic, Igbajo, State Of Osun, Last Thursday. Photo: GBENGA ADENIYI.
•The governor, State of Osun, Ogbeni Rauf Aregbesola laying, the foundation of Igbajo Polytechnic Library. With him are his Deputy, Otunba (Mrs) Grace Titi Laoye-Tomori (4th left); Chief Moses Inaolaji (2nd right); State of Osun Commissioner for Information and Strategy, Honourable Sunday Akere (right) and other dignitaries during the 1st Education Summit of Igbajo Polytechnic, Igbajo, State of Osun, last Thursday.
•(L-R) Professor Olu Odeyemi; Senator Sola Adeyeye and representative of Kano State governor, Kano State Attorney-General and Commissioner for Justice, Barrister Malik Umaru at the event.
Princess (Mrs) Toyin Oyebamiji Marked Her 50th Birthday Annversary In Osogbo Last Sunday.
•The celebrant, Mrs Toyin Oyebamiji, cutting her 50th birthday anniversary cake ably assisted by her husband, Prince Bisi Oyebamiji, in Osogbo on Saturday.
•Elder Lekan Olawoye, CEO, Lawod Metals Ltd (right) and his wife, Kehinde, at the birthday bash.
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OSUN DEFENDER Tuesday, October 14, 2014
State Of Osun Governor, Ogbeni Rauf Aregbesola, Paid A Condolence Visit To Senator Ayo Fasanmi Over The Death Of His Wife In His Residence In Osogbo, Last Friday.
•The governor, State of Osun, Ogbeni Rauf Aregbesola signing a condolence register, during his visit to commiserate with Senator Ayo Fasanmi over the demise of his wife, Felicia, in Osogbo, State of Osun, last Friday.
•Governor Aregbesola (middle) commiserating with Senator Fasanmi (left) and his son, Obafemi (right), on the demise of his mother, during a condolence visit to Fasanmi’s residence in Osogbo, State of Osun, last Friday.
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Schooling Made Easier, More Comprehensive (II)
•AREGBESOLA Continued from page 12
•LAOYE-TOMORI
· Encourage use of services of retired, but not tired dons and administrators, from reputable Vision: Eradicate the frustration of youths institutions.” caused by education that does not lead to employment. It is in copious and consummate pursuance of these “To achieve this, the government of AC under beautiful and hope-inspiring promises contained in the Rauf Aregbesola shall: Six-Point Integral Action Plan encapsulated in the Pact · Provide free education at all levels in Osun of the incumbent governor that he swiftly swung into State. Focus on functional education. Education action upon the restoration of his stolen mandate that makes one useful to himself and society. through the justice upheld by the courageous judges · Improve incentives to teachers and work of the Federal Court of Appeal situated at Ibadan, with the NUT to restore the dignity of the teaching Oyo State on Friday, November 26 2010. Since his profession. · Restructure administration of school inauguration and official assumption of duty on the management and create Tutors-General next day, the state has up till now stopped to witness (Permanent Secretary Cadre) from among Head unprecedented accelerated progress in all spheres of Teachers in three Educational Districts which we life; a development which has made it the envy of all states in the country. In the area of education in will establish.\ · Fix all collapsed educational particular, lots of achievements have been recorded by the Aregbesola team since inception. In our last infrastructures in all the schools. · Support with modern teaching aids and edition, which doubled as the first part to this current one, not only did we mention in passing the lineup of well-stocked libraries. · Ensure cooperation with parents and astonishing ground-breaking achievements recorded so far by the Government Unusual; but we also went teachers to improve discipline and morality. · Introduce non-partisan community-based further to state categorically that the most currently in vogue and widely misconstrued among a large cross governing boards for all schools. · Reduce number of students per classroom section of residents is the ongoing reforms in the schools’ structure. The reforms popularly referred to immediately. · Introduce home development plans for as the State of Osun Schools’ Reclassification teachers who wish to build houses in their home programme form our current focus of public towns, through access to special mortgage enlightenment on this series of editions. The first in the lineup of efforts known in public packages. parlances, consciously and deliberately made by the · Promote mass adult literacy and incumbent administration, aside the free, functional numeracy programmes. and qualitative education which took effect right from · Promote and support Special programmes its very first day in office is the convening of the first that give special attention to education of girls ever State of Osun Education Summit. The summit, and women. held in February 2011, was convened with the sole · Establish institutions that impart life-long intent and purpose of charting a decisive and definite skills for all, in and out of formal schooling. course for the turning around of public education at ON HIGHER EDUCATION AND all levels of the rungs of the educational ladder in the UNIVERSITY · I am committed to ensuring that an Osun state. Time and again, lots have been written and said in State University takes off on a sound footing and an attempt at portraying the true picture of decay and becomes a first-class institution with linkages to rot in the sector prior to the emergence of the renowned universities in the developed world. Government Unusual. We are at this stage not going · I will make every tertiary institution in to procrastinate by repeating this all over. We shall Osun State an independent degree-awarding one. however begin to take another dimension in
approaching the entire concatenation of events which form a build-up to the rot; the extent of the rot as at the time of the coming on board of the government of the day; the quick diagnosis of the degree and intensity of the ravaging extent of the rot; the prognosis of the right decisive steps to take to ameliorate the depth of decay as well as mitigate against a continuation of the bad trend; the prompt, timely and proactive intervention efforts taken; and the progress made so far. To these numerous tasks shall OSUN DEFENDER Magazine now proceed. We shall thereafter proceed to give perusal to the Schools’ Reclassification programme of the incumbent administration and its multiple dimensions of benefits to all and sundry in the State of Osun. RIOR to the emergence of Ogbeni Rauf Adesoji Aregbesola and his team on the saddle of P leadership, governance and service in the State of Osun, the entire sectors of life in the state were riddled with innumerable crises of seemingly insurmountable magnitude. As a matter of fact, the terrain of the time was replete with abounding evidences that the education sub-sector of the Social Services Sector of the economy of our state stood as the most terribly bedeviled; being adversely devastated and most critically ill. OSUN DEFENDER Magazine casts a retrospective glance at its numerous revealing editions of the time, which were totally committed to unraveling the depth, extent, gravity and intensity of devastation, rot, abandonment and negligence which befell the all-important sub-sector as the period of fiery siege mounted by the captors of the time; the bandits of the conservative People’s Democratic Party (PDP) rolled by. We need to sound a reminder note that while that fiery siege of the Oyinlola years lasted; our medium never compromised its avowed stand of confronting and criticizing the oppressive policies of the time which nearly snuffed life out of all sectors of life in the state. Measured by all known standards, it became confirmed beyond all reasonable doubts that there was hardly any other single sector or sub-sector in the state which suffered blows as terrible, palpable and debilitating as did the education industry. Contiuned on page 12
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Schooling Made Easier, More Comprehensive (II) Continued from page 11
As at the time of coming on board of the Rauf Aregbesola administration over the reins of power, governance and service in the State of Osun, it appeared that the public sector of the state’s education industry was heading for the rocks. It had noseddived and degenerated so much that government could no longer find its foot to stand the competition poised by the huge and ample presence of private investors at all rungs of the ladder within the industry. Readers are here reminded of the ugly rot of that time as showcased in our series of editions. It is for this selfsame purpose of sounding a reminder that this edition had in the first part, brought back to sight the sorry, sordid, gory and horrible sights which called for urgent emergency and intervention which the purposeful, focused and foresighted administration of Ogbeni Aregbesola came to provide. Barely 100 days into the administration of the progressive Action Congress of Nigeria (ACN) of the time, now the All Progressive Congress (APC), the very first decisive steps in the right direction for turning the tide around in favour of revamping the dwindling fortunes of education in the state, were made. Long before that solution hour, the desiring hearts of progress-loving indigenes and residents had panted continuously for positive changes that would set the state back on course of its old glory of excellence in academics and scholarship. As at that time, records and visible evidences had begun to prove that it had become a case of clear impossibility for the state to have above 2 per cent five credit passes for its candidates presented annually for public external examinations, i.e. the West African Senior Secondary School Certificate Examinations (WASSSCE) as organized by the West African Examinations Council (WAEC); and the Senior Secondary Certificate Examinations (SSCE) as conducted by the National Examinations Council (NECO). The foregoing, by implication, stands to reason that it was fast-becoming difficult for the state to assert itself among the comity of states in the federation of Nigeria in filing up its admission quotas in federal institutions of higher learning. This, by extension, implies that it was becoming what could be likened to the Biblical case of a camel passing through the eye of the needle for the state’s school leavers to scuttle through the rigors of the “almighty” Unified Tertiary
Matriculation Examinations (UTME) of the Joint Admissions and Matriculation Board (JAMB). As if to add salt to injury, the government-sponsored free enrolment policy for school certificate students of public secondary institutions which the defunct Oyinlola administration paraded as the prime of its acclaimed free education programme ended up in a farce! This was as the West African Examinations Council (WAEC) withheld the results of the state’s public schools candidates for the 2009/2010 outing of the examinations. The reason for this step was not remote to discern: The Oyinlola administration defaulted in its financial obligation to pay up for the entry of its students for the examinations! As a matter of fact, one of the first numerous shockers which the new administration had to muster and grapple with upon assumption of office was having to pay up for an examination it did not enter students for; more so, when the results of students in the examination were consistently poor, constituting disappointment and embarrassment thereby. All through the entire Oyinlola years, which at best could be described as years of the holocaust, education in the State of Osun suffered a terrible setback; not only in terms of poor quality of results and feedback, but also in terms of what went into it i.e. funding, staffing, materials and aids, infrastructure and the learning environment. It was perhaps the urgency imposed by these sordid and despicable conditions into which this vital industry had been plunged in the state that the new administration took the bull by the horns to explore and exploit means and ways of arresting the decay being witnessed by the sub-sector. Following the declaration of a state of emergency in the education industry in the state, the administration of Ogbeni Rauf Aregbesola swung swiftly into action when in February 2011, the first-ever Education Summit was put together for the State of Osun. The agenda and thrust of the summit was to actively engage a rich pool of ideas, skills, experiences and expertise of participants; drawn from diverse and related disciplines from Nigeria, Africa and the Diaspora in order to fashion out lasting panacea to the multifaceted hydra-headed challenges that had hitherto plagued the sector. As part of the findings and recommendations of the summit, which was chaired by no less a personality than the academic icon and internationally reputed
•Ejigbo High School in the State of Osun under the administration of Governor Rauf Aregbesola.
Nobel Laureate in Literature, Professor Wole Soyinka, the teaching-learning environment was identified to be of high preponderating and contributory influence on impact of delivery, efficacy and good outcome. It would not be a mismatch, therefore, to attribute the emergence and/evolution of the State of Osun Schools Infrastructure Development Project, known for short as O’SCHOOLS to the numerous landmark breakthrough achievements of the inaugural Education Summit for the State of Osun held in February 2011. This far into the exposition at hand, our teeming readers have been taken down the memory lane, as we went through the spate of rot, decay and abandonment which our public educational institutions were made to witness in the past decade or thereabouts; particularly, during the time of the fiery siege unleashed by the immediate past administration of Prince Olagunsoye Oyinlola. We availed the ample medium offered by our numerous editions to explore the multiple ugly side-effects of the careless neglect of the time and the extent and depth of dungeon into which the state had been plunged. We further went through the details of devastation; the extent and intensity of damage and the resultant effects of the declined quality on the state, its people and the products of the rotten system directly. Part of this was the abysmally poor academic performances of the state’s candidates in annual external examinations, to the extent that it was becoming increasingly difficult for the state’s candidates to fill their allotted spaces for admission in federal tertiary institutions, due to dwindling performances. Also, admission into state-owned institutions became difficult due to much the same reasons. As a result, rate of dropout became very high. This presented a sharp deviation from long-known traditions whereby our state was one of the leading lights in the area of Western Education in the nation. The prevailing situation in the State of Osun was that bad! Fortunately, the coming on board of the Aregbesola was a timely development; which brought with it timely relief to all and sundry in the state. Rather than moaning and groaning under the yoke of the colossal loss suffered by the state and its people over the years, the progressive and dynamic administration Continued on page 13
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•Building of AUD Middle School, Araromi, Iwo under the administration of Governor Rauf Aregbesola. Continued from page 12
of Ogbeni Aregbesola knew what to do and when exactly to act. This timely intervention, according to opinions expressed by sources close to the governor and his team was due to long time of planning and deep-seated interest which the Symbol of the struggle for the revival of Osun, Ogbeni Aregbesola has in the education of youths in the state and bringing back quality to it. The factors which provided impetus for the first ever State of Osun Education Summit; and which added credence to the O’SCHOOLS project have been attributed the decisive steps taken so far and the huge success recorded to early recognition of requisite elements for effective learning, accurate diagnosis of the affliction which had bedeviled the sub-sector and recognition and proper application of efficacious therapy. OSUN DEFENDER Magazine casts readers’ minds back to excerpts of interview held with one of the principal actors in the education policies of the incumbent administration in the state, the Chairman of the State of Osun Schools’ Infrastructure Development Project (O’SCHOOLS) Committee, Otunba Lai Oyeduntan, who justified the Education Summit, its rationale and aftermath as follows:
“Well, I’m sorry to say that I’m not aware that anybody has criticized that summit. I have not seen any fellow doing that! The summit was widely attended. It was widely graced from all over the world by people who are knowledgeable in education, policies, and even in intellectual aspect of it. I am going to answer that question simply because I was involved, both in planning and implementation; and the after-effects. How did we come about the summit? Long before Ogbeni Rauf Aregbesola came into office, right from the moment he indicated interest and was given the ticket to contest, he had shown a lot of interest in education. As far back as 2004, he sponsored a remedial programme for Osun boys and girls preparing for external examinations. That time, 2,000 candidates were involved. Extra-mural classes were organized in Osogbo, in Iwo, in Ilesa - about 2,500 candidates I think. And Ogbeni Rauf Aregbesola picked the bill to fund the classes, paid for their school certificate entry fee and paid them (the candidates) allowances. When the results came, it was disappointing! It was obvious that there was a lot more wrong with the education sector than trying all these cosmetic approaches
for a solution. So between 2005 and 2011, there were so many committees he instituted focusing on education! That is why it was possible that within the first 100 days of his being sworn in, an education committee - a summit chaired by no less a personality than Professor Wole Soyinka took place; inviting resource people from all over the world; many of them, our own people, who had made marks in the United States, in Europe, in the Americas and other parts of the country and Africa. Okay, the summary of the findings at that summit identified that it takes more than the teacher, it takes more than the pupil, it takes more than all of these to have all the impact that it requires to increase the fortunes of the education sector. One of these is that the teacher who will teach must be made more efficient. The students must be well prepared, and of course, the environment must be made more friendly and befitting - more enabling! So, the environment must be properly taken care of and that led to the uniform concept introduced by the Government of the state to encourage and of course to motivate the pupils. Teachers are being recruited and being retrained via programmes of training, retraining and promotion courses. Now, we are talking of the environment - we have the O’MEAL programme, we have O’UNIFORM, even O’TEACHERS, so to say, all came as a result of experts identifying and pointing out the crucial steps to take, to set the sector back on track.”
So, we can deduce from the foregoing that the bulk of the beautiful package of intervention programmes we now have on ground and their impact came courtesy of the summit and the responses to the challenges that necessitated it. As a matter of fact, the impact of the incumbent administration on the education terrain of the state has been fat and colossal. Today we see the hand of a government that works in all sectors. With our focus on education, never in the annals of the State of Osun has the education sector fared better than it is doing now!
related disciplines from Nigeria, Africa and the Diaspora in order to fashion out lasting panacea to the multifaceted hydra headed challenges that had hitherto plagued the sector. As part of the findings and recommendations of the summit, which was chaired by no less a personality than the academic icon and internationally reputed Nobel Laureate in Literature, Professor Wole Soyinka, the teaching-learning environment was identified to be of high preponderating and contributory influence on impact of delivery, efficacy and good outcome. It would not be a mismatch, therefore, to attribute the emergence and evolution of the State of Osun Schools Infrastructure Development Project, known for short as O’SCHOOLS to the numerous landmark breakthrough achievements of the inaugural Education Summit for the State of Osun held in February 2011. Another in the list of programmes rolled out by the incumbent administration sequel to the State of Osun Education Summit is the ongoing Schools Reforms and Reclassification. By the tone of the reclassification, no school was going to, in nomenclature or identity lose the name given to it by its initial owners before the take-over of the mission schools by the government in September 1975. Also by it, the speculation that some pupils or students would have to trek long distances to and fro schools on daily basis is offtrack. It is also an unfounded fallacy that government has the ulterior motive of partial or massive retrenchment of teachers at the back of its mind by initiating the programme. In addition to this, the calculated lie fabricated that the Government Unusual has embarked on the mass demolition of school structures claimed to have been erected by the immediate past administration is both unsystematic and irrational. The governor has continuously spared no available medium to debunk these rumors. The Deputy Governor, who also doubles as the State Commissioner for Education has never relented in disabusing the minds of citizens and residents and insulating them from believing these bunches of lies. Below are excerpts from responses by Otunba Lai Oyeduntan to questions bordering on these malicious insinuations:
Following the declaration of a state of emergency in the education industry in the state, the administration of Ogbeni Rauf Aregbesola swung swiftly into action On the negative protestation against the whole when in February 2011, the first-ever Education essence of providing the public education sub-sector Summit was put together for the State of Osun. The with brand-new infrastructure, this response provides agenda and thrust of the summit was to actively the most apt response: engage a rich pool of ideas, skills, experiences and Continued on page 15 expertise of participants; drawn from diverse and
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•One of the classrooms at AUD Middle School, Araromi, Iwo, State of Osun . Contiuned from page 13 the heads of the schools; that is the headmasters
“Osun Schools Infrastructure Development Committee is the Project Management Office (PMO) of Schools Infrastructure Development Project for the State of Osun. The Schools Infrastructure Development Project is an intervention mechanism, one of the intervention mechanisms introduced by the government of Ogbeni Rauf Adesoji Aregbesola to revamp the education sector of the state. Our project is essentially to superintend the development of the most decayed and largely dilapidated structures in the schools for basic education in our state. I don’t know whether I will agree with you that the public does not know. If anything at all, we have had a lot of exposure in terms of what we stand for, what we do, how we do it and even the activities that we have been engaged in. The name, the coinage ‘’O’SCHOOLS’’ has been the name for the committee to the extent that many of us have had to answer to the name ‘’O’SCHOOLS’’. O’SCHOOLS is the alias of the committee.” The impetus for the new infrastructural development is here given in lucid terms: “Firstly, there’s no difference. It is a development. It is an enhancement. It is an enhancement of the environment where our teaching and learning functions take place. Why I say there’s no difference? One, the setting on which we are doing our intervention is based on the existing schools. The schools are there, but they have deteriorated so badly that they had become dysfunctional. Yes, some people started that idea in the past, and it is time to improve on it, to modernize it, to bring it up to track with modern Twenty-First Century standards. So what we’ve been making is a transformational projection of what we have been doing and bringing it up to track with the best practices all over the world.” Reacting to the insinuation that demolished school structures are strong edifices that are legacies of the immediate past administration in the state, the chairman responded as follows: “Well, the truth is that we have had to remove dangerously dilapidated structures from our schools. One, at the beginning of this committee’s assignment, we toured the schools and found structures that constituted immediate danger to the users of the premises and this made us to invite
and the principals to give us reports and file their returns and give us details of such structures in their premises that are considered to constitute immediate danger to students. We received their requests and we found out that four thousand and fifty five (4,055) structures were noted to be dangerously dilapidated. You must know, for emphasis, we only go to remove those structures that have been identified by the schools. So we only go to those schools on invitation by the heads of the schools to help remove dangerously dilapidated structures. What that means in essence, is that whatever structures we remove, would have no adverse effect on the capacity of the affected school to function the morning after; because we are only invited to come and remove structures that were not in use as at the date of removal. So it is not true that the intention was to put the schools and the users in hazard or difficulties; the intention was not haphazard. The structures were demolished based on the specification of the users. It was structured and it was mapped out.” The devilish notion contrived that the administration intended through the O’SCHOOLS or the Reclassification exercise to make pupils or students of schools to trek long distances to and fro schools is debunked with this response: “It is not true. It is not possible. It is not practical that we ever moved pupils/students from Ipetu-Ijesa to Ijebu-Ijesa or any of such locations. First of all, I’ve thrown a challenge to the public. Anybody who can identify a structure that was removed without the invitation of the affected schools should please let us know or contact us. I don’t want you to confuse an attempt by a committee in the Ministry of Education to implement the new schooling structures. That is a different thing entirely. That was a recent event and the government is on top of it to make sure that this is done properly. For us as O’SCHOOLS, our relics, purview, our mandate is to superintend the introduction of infrastructure in our schools, and nobody has suffered any deprivation as a result of our activities. The only wholesale demolition we witnessed so far are those school structures marked for demolition for the purpose of immediate redevelopment; and as of today, twenty-four (24) of such schools have been developed.” Lastly in this edition, we shall refer to the Chairman’s
response to questions bordering on speculated schools’ merger and the imminent submerging of initial ownership. Also, this response allays the fear of teachers’ retrenchment: “I would have to clarify certain things. The policy of restructuring the schooling system, the policies of even the average size, optimum size of these schools are not arbitrary. They are not new and they are not even far-fetched. The results of that reorganization will justify the exercise. Right now, most of these schools are already of that same size. We have primary schools with the population in excess of one thousand (1,000) all over the state. We have secondary schools with population in excess of 2,000 plus all over the state. But what do you have? In one premises, you have three, four schools. In one premises, you have several schools. All we are doing is rationalization; which is optimizing the allocation, the application of resources. Part of the resources is the teachers, and they are on top of the chart. Why do you have schools with two teachers, three teachers; four teachers; five teachers; and they have two or more schools in that same premises? Why not aggregate them and reschedule them and make the time table and allocation of teachers a lot easier? Then comes the issue of maintaining the schools. The environment is very, very important for the development of the mind. That is even more so for the young mind, the young impressive mind. That is the budget and that is what we are aiming at - That the environment should be conducive; and be of support to a developing mind that is learning and maturing into wholesome personality.” These question and answer sessions were held at a time when the schools’ reclassification exercise had not begun to take effect. At the time the responses were made, the idea of reclassification had not yet been publicly known it was then at the conception stage. Yet the responses are still found apt and relevant! This shows the depth and extent of the preparedness, commitment and consistency of the Government Unusual to its programmes and policies. The programmes and policies of the incumbent administration in the Sate of Osun are mutually reconstructive. They are integrative, well-knit, symbiotic, interdependent and interwoven. To be continued.
FEATURE
OSUN DEFENDER Tuesday, October 14, 2014
15
PDP’s Obdurate Disdain For Rule Of Law And Fair Play Is An Open Invitation To Anarchy “Our country is not the only thing to which we owe our allegiance. It is also owed to justice and to humanity. Patriotism consists not in waving the flag, but in striving that our country shall be righteous as well as strong”.-James Bryce “The world is a dangerous place, not because of those who do evil, but because of those who look and do nothing”- Albert Camus
HE function of law, according to Robert Cap and Roland Stidham, is to protect individual liberties; provide for the general welfare of the people; protect individuals and property; provide order and predictability; and resolve disputes. The latter is germane here. Of all the known methods of redressing grievances and settling disputes; pitched battle, rioting, duelling, mediating, flipping a coin, and suing, only the latter has steadily won the day. Even in a country like Nigeria, where aggrieved citizens commonly take the laws into their hands, we have seen that there are better and more effective ways of settling disputes; the judicial method.
T
The law may be an ass, it may be slow, and it may be cumbersome, still, it is a better recourse and far better than mob justice. “Justice is truth in action,” says Benjamin Disraeli. It is often said that where there is no law, there is no sin. Therefore, where there is law, there is sin. It is unsettling that in our beloved country, Nigeria under Jonathan-led PDP government’s watch, law and impunity go paripasu. What we have in the last 15 years of PDP’s reign of impunity at the centre is not democracy, but anarchy. To say that PDP have made nonsense of democracy through flagrant abuse of electoral laws and the deployment of medieval tools of violence to keep power at all cost, is to say the obvious. For sometimes now, the ruling Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) has been widely perceived as what a democratic institution ought not to be. For the benign, the party has done all it could to kill the democratic project in Nigeria.
•JONATHAN
explains why the PDP leadership breach its own Constitution and that of Nigeria The only body that can lawfully punish to ensure Fayose emerged as its flag a proven breach of the law is the bearer for the June 21, 2014 judiciary. In modern times, the judicial gubernatorial election in Ekiti State. The system that is in use in different countries 1999 Constitution of the Federal of the world is in tandem with the laws Republic of Nigeria gives some in the holy books and emphasizes conditions as the prerequisites an punishment for proven offenders. aspirant must meet before he can be Clearly, these steps have been voted for into public office .There are established to avoid anarchy and the age limits, bankrupting clause, tax lawlessness because the innate tendency records, educational and clean criminal of human beings is to engage in acts records among others. It is on record inimical to the preservation of the rule that former governor of Ekiti State, Critics easily point to too many of law. Many Nigerians are at a loss on Peter Ayodele Fayose, was impeached examples of arbitrariness that have why a president that has sworn to eight years ago ( Precise on October flourished in the party in the past that protect and defend the Constitution will 16, 2006) by the then Ekiti State House of Assembly for alleged misconduct and have questioned its democratic be at the vanguard of its violation. fraud. The penalty prescribed by the credentials. One of the most serious Goodluck Jonathan has poignantly 1999 Constitution of the Federal criticisms against the PDP remains its apparent lack of internal democracy. proved that his allegiance is only to the Republic of Nigeria for a governor that For many, the party has carried on in members of his party. He doesn’t was indicted and impeached for the past with a kind of recklessness and believe he owes the entire citizenry the committing the above offence is clearly impunity in its dealings with members sacred duty of equity, justice and fair stated in Section 182, sub-section (i) especially, and members of the play. Instead of behaving like a which reads: “No person shall be opposition. The utterances of its most statesman, he has shamelessly and qualified for election to the office of the recent leaders and their body language, irresponsibly been behaving like a governor of a state, if... (e). within a for most part, were diametrically politician. A statesman distinguishes period of 10 years before the date of opposed to the tenets of democracy. between right and wrong, while a election to the office of the governor of For our democracy and the country politician does between friends and a state, he has been convicted and itself to survive, Nigerian judiciary must foes. Today, Nigerians are being led by sentenced for an offence involving put a stop to PDP’s reign of impunity those who have scant regard for the dishonesty or he has been found guilty and lawlessness through severe Constitution, which they have sworn to of the contravention of the code of sanctions, as laid down in the defend and protect. The foregoing conduct.... While sub-section (i) of the Constitution. By LANREAMINU
same section says : (if) he has been indicted for embezzlement or fraud by a judicial commission of inquiry or an administrative panel of inquiry or a tribunal set up under the Tribunals of Inquiry Act, a Tribunal of Inquiry Law or any other law by the federal or state government. In view of the above, it is patently clear that the political leadership of the PDP, in brazen defiance of the Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, deliberately allowed Fayose to contest for its primary, which led to his subsequent emergence as its flag bearer for the June 21 governorship election in Ekiti State. It is also public knowledge that the grouse of 15 other aspirants, who boycotted the PDP primary election that threw up Fayose, was the issue of his ineligibility. PDP’s penchant for deliberately breaching with impunity the Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria and its own constitution in order to subvert the democratic will of its members in particular and Nigeria electorate in general should be condemned by all lovers of democracy and all those who share the belief that the only alternative to rule of law is anarchy. We admonish the judge handling this particular case (Fayose’s ineligibility to contest the June 21 gubernatorial election) and the Chief Judge of Ekiti State not to succumb to PDP and its candidate’s poorly choreographed blackmailing tactics and intimidation, to prevent the law from taking its cause. It will be a dangerous precedent to swear-in an illegal governorship candidate, Ayodele Fayose; a man who emblematizes the incarnating decay of our wobbly democracy. It is frightening to read Fayose and his party, PDP’s unsubstantiated and ill-intentioned comments made against the judge handling this particular case and the Chief judge of Ekiti State. The onus is on he who asserts to prove. It is only in this country that this kind of vile diatribe can go without appropriate sanctions, especially, when the arrant comments are made by a man, Fayose that symbolizes everything that is wrong with our electoral system. The court should not allow itself to be intimidated by rogue politicians in the PDP. The courts must continue to make pronouncements that will make breaching of the Constitution with impunity unattractive and a dangerous venture for law breakers as exemplified by the PDP in order to save our democracy and the country itself. There are far too many cases of injustice stalking the land. Their resolution will continue to assuage the feelings of the truly hurt, and consequently save our democracy.
•Aminu is the National Coordinator, Oodua Youth for Good Governance.
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TUESDAY, OCTOBER 14, 2014 must appreciate God for our uniqueness that distinguishes us from the whole lot. The white man came and found us so; that is why they marginalized us and gave undue preference to the Northern and Eastern parts of the country, so that all political alliances that have ever been, got consummated between the duo. The West was always made to go it alone, so that the conspiracyengendered marginalization would be easily hatched to make inefficiencylaced administration subsist. Incidentally, the West has always constituted the stabilizing factor because there are certain internal mechanisms that restore normalcy. Nobody is thus left in the dark that whatever would become of an entity called Nigeria is predicated on what the Western part of Nigeria is able to fashion.
By ADE OLUGBOTEMI
WE
happened in the recentlyconcluded Ekiti gubernatorial election.
When God Is For Us …
Leaders from other parts of the country have always instigated internal wranglings by trying to put our political leaders on collision course. People generally get confused at times, but when it appears as if we are approaching the breaking point, solutions that are beyond human knowledge will suddenly unfold, and we quickly put the ugly situation behind us. We can imagine the number of times we have been pestered to get frustrated, but without success because of our resilience. This has always been the saving grace; and this is what others draw from to also muster strength for their survival. That is why people always draw the conclusion that the West holds the key to the continued survival of the country. Another miracle took place the penultimate Saturday, when an election, that was earlier speculated to bring with it serious upheaval, suddenly went peacefully: another hand of God at work! The consternation was understandable, as no other election in the history of Nigeria’s nationhood had attracted so many security Personnel to a State prior to any elections. That is why we feel the historians need to toil on their area of specialization and find out whether it has ever happened in any nation of the world, so that ours will form part of the contents in the Guinness Book of Records. The siege was surely unprecedented; so much that people felt heaven was going to fall on the State of Osun, as it is known today. Residents were inundated with calls prior to, during, and after the election that sent jitters down the spines of most people in the state. The only people that were spared the trouble of the unusual heavy presence of security personnel were the party faithful of the Peoples Democratic Party’s (PDP) extraction, who peradventure had the premonition
Osun gubernatorial election has come and gone; and it has been generally adjudged to be free, fair, and credible. Whatever is left of its imperfection should be excused on the altar of human infallibility. I am not sure some people can be satisfied should it be God that came down from His heavenly abode to conduct our election for us. Peoples Democratic Party’s (PDP) candidate, Iyiola Omisore, preferred to take to Ahithophel’s counsel to go to Election Tribunal to challenge the Election; the highest level of exhibiting desperation, one would say. I know the will and wishes of the majority will prevail. Omisore should however learn to accept what betides, so as not to fight the Creator that has given him the grace of recognition to have emerged a candidate. Osun people have now known that Omisore is after something other than the mandate the people could give. The fact that it was jubilation galore all over the place would have prompted a reflex action by which he would manage to muster a congratulatory message to the victor. Probably, the man forgot that it will take some time for the Federal Government to recover from the excess spending spree that gave him so many quanta of Osun’s votes. Omisore ought to have convinced his principal in Abuja to release half the amount spent to bribe voters, so that voters would get convinced through executed projects of the need for more of federal presence through Jonathan’s PDP.
•AREGBESOLA
of what has generally been considered alien in our political evolution. While the majority were treading with caution, PDP members were visibly unperturbed because the masterminds of that ugly scenario were Jelili Adesiyan, the Minister of Police Affairs and Musiliu Obanikoro, the Minister of State for Defence, who earlier threatened to reclaim Osun by all means. One thing I have noticed over the years is that our kinsmen have always been instruments in the hands of our adversaries. They used some of us when they wanted to demystify the late Obafemi Awolowo, even to the end that he only became the best president Nigeria never had. They used some of us against the late M.K.O. Abiola, and Nigeria has never remained the same again after he was denied the privilege of using the mandate that was overwhelmingly given at the polls. They are now also making use of some of us to disrupt the peace that has become
entrenched in the State of Osun, so that the visionary leadership at work, and all plans and programmes aimed at changing the face of our environment for the better will be circumvented. What is sacrosanct however is that betrayal and rebellion are doorways to the peril of their hatchers. For a long time now, successive rulers have always paid lip-service to development. This is the first time in the last thirty years that concrete steps would be taken to massively attend to infrastructural problem that has hampered developmental prospect of the whole nation. This is currently happening in all the South-West states of Nigeria, and I think what every rightthinking Nigerian must be interested in is to rally support for all those who are adding value to governance across the South-West geo-political zone. That is the reason behind the overwhelming support that people are according the All Progressives Congress (APC) governors, irrespective of what
The entire State of Osun was reduced to fearsome military zone; just because PDP wanted to reclaim Osun by force. Our people must be praised for the uncommon courage they exhibited while the occupation lasted. They showed the courage of true patriots, who are resolute to see a new society evolving. The intimidations of security agents notwithstanding, they defended their votes and ensured that the umpires released the results emanating from the various polling units. This is a great lesson for us all not to get deterred by any intimidations that may come as ploy to disenfranchise people. Without any intention to rig, people can now rest assured that when God is behind us, no power, no principality can thrive. When God is for us, who can be against us?
•This piece, first published on Tuesday August 26, 2014 edition, is repeated due to popular demand. -Editor
OSUN DEFENDER is published by Moremi Publishing House Limited, Promise Point Building, Opposite Guaranty Trust Bank GTB, Gbongan Road, Osogbo, State of Osun. All correspondence to the Managing Editor, KOLA OLABISI, Telephone: 08033927286 (kolaolabisi@yahoo.com); Editor, KAYODE AGBAJE, Telephone: 0803-388-0205, E-mail:
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