I chanced upon some disappointed folks last month in Ghana who thought the Governor of State of Osun, Ogbeni Rauf Aregbesola had depressed their optimism for a rebranded Nigeria.
 

 
They were all in agreement that after the poor management of the country for 16 years by the previous PDP administration, Ogbeni ought to have spared the people of Osun the hardship by paying the state work force promptly. They went further to re-echo the Islamisation allegation that has long been addressed by Governor Aregbesola that no such plans ever crossed his mind. They accused the governor of taking Sukuk loan, the Islamic bond that the state obtained for the development of educational infrastructure.
 
They pointed to the Christian Association of Nigeria’s concern that it was part of the islamisation agenda of the governor for the state. The inquisition was rhetoric given the admission that banditry which took the place of governance led to the collapse of the nation’s economy and gave rise to wasted opportunities and aborted chances.
 
I had no doubt in my mind that the seemingly progressive gathering at the conference had some basic negative impression about the state of affairs in Osun but refused to make little grain of effort to juxtapose the present state of the State from what it used to be. Second, I was miffed that Comrade Peter Okechukwu from a state in South-South Nigeria did not know that his own state is among the 27 states battling wage payment problem.
 
Worst still, I was literally eviscerated that he did not address his mind to the fact that the former Minister of Finance and Supervising Minister for the Economy, Dr. Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala (from Delta State) told Nigerians in 2014 that the Federal Government has been borrowing money to pay Federal workers, even after claiming that Nigeria is the biggest economy in Africa. The Sukuk bond in question was approved by the Central Bank of Nigeria and the financial market. Even the former British Prime Minister declared that his government was set to obtain the Islamic loan.
 
The Federal Government under President Goodluck Jonathan also indicated its willingness to use the interest-free Islamic loan to finance transport projects in Nigeria. What the opposition thought they could use to rubbish the administration of Aregbesola ended up making him a pacesetter in financial management. A check at the Debt Management Office, DMO, Abuja revealed that Delta State which has been perpetually governed in the last 17 years by the PDP is the most indebted state in Nigeria, with a total of N320 billion.
 
Delta has been battling payment of wages unsuccessfully, having owed pensioners 15 months backlog of unpaid salaries! That Osun and Ogbeni have been singled out for hash criticism, even by persons whose states and political actors are criminally responsible for the national economic malaise, calls to question the real motives of these lazy critics. From the evidence of developmental stride dotting every corner of the State, it is obvious that Aregbesola has not defaulted on the promises made to his people to use the limited resources to enhance the plight of the mass majority.
 
The six integral action plans of the government remained the compass that guides the working and actions of the government in its core mission to battle poverty, banish hunger, unemployment, restore healthy living, promote functional education, and enhance communal peace and progress.
 
Ogbeni followed through to his promise. In the beginning of his administration, he employed 20,000 youths under the Osun Youths Empowerment Scheme – OYES. This singular act of compassionate governance was the first of its kind in Nigeria; more so at a time state governors across the country were laying off their workforce.
 
The OYES scheme has since received the approvals of the World Bank which in turn sold the good idea to the Federal Government and supported the scheme financially. The Federal Government kick-started the scheme under the name YESSO.
 
Ogbeni, unlike the prophet, is being honoured and respected at home. But a section of the media sponsored by the same forces that brought the nation to its knees have been striving unsuccessfully to disparage his administration, lampooning his job creation efforts; school recreation initiative and the re-engineering of the state being celebrated nationally and globally. Aregbesola’s government in the last six years has also mobilised youths into farming via O’REAP. Many have been trained within and outside Nigeria to embrace modern farming techniques.
 
Vast hectares of virgin land is being cultivated for large scale farming; loan schemes and farming equipment as well as fertilizers are regularly being provided to boost farming in the state. Little wonder that Osun has becomes the food basket of the South West. This effort has made Osun to be voted as second best in poverty index in Nigeria. The Federal Office of Statistics has also adjudged it as the best among the states with less percentage of unemployed youths.
 
The accusation of Islamisation of the state by the Aregbesola’s administration for a long time has been targeted at discrediting his person and government in the eye of the world. His critics know that nothing is remotely close to it. A few weeks ago the Pope’s envoy on a visit to the governor in the State described Aregbesola as a “Great pillar of supporter of the church”.
 
The Catholic Church described Governor Aregbesola’s government as one without ill-feeling against any sect or religion. It has always been the belief of Governor Aregbesola that religion is an instrument of developing capacity for love, instrument for refinement and testing the human will to resist provocations.
 
Similar sentiment has been consistently expressed by powerful Christians leaders, including Bishop David Oyedepo, debunking claims of religious bias and Islamization. In 2014 at the height of the cries of religious manipulations by the administration of Aregbesola, Bishop Oyedepo was one of the voices who establishes the governor’s innocence.
 
Appraising the governor’s innumerable strides and achievements the General Overseer of the Living Faith Church a.k.a. Winners’ Chapel, on July 9th, 2014, said the infrastructural renewal, particularly the education revolution in Osun deserves global applause. Bishop Oyedepo gave his assessment in Osogbo, Southwest Nigeria, when he paid a courtesy call on the Governor of the State, Ogbeni Rauf Aregbesola.
 
The cleric noted that any governance that is producing results and affecting the lives of vast majority of the people must be deeply appreciated, irrespective of religious inclination. The Bishop strongly appealed to stakeholders to always be at the vanguard of peaceful coexistence, noting that there is nothing like living in peace, working in peace and promoting peace. “There is nothing like peace in the whole world. We should always walk towards whatever will promote peace and peaceful coexistence among our people.
 
Let us work for an atmosphere that encourages peace, which engenders growth and development. This is because life is all about promoting the well-being of the people. “I deeply appreciate the infrastructural development. Besides, the educational revolution is for us a great achievement. “I can see the massive road construction going on. This is to the benefit of the people. No policy can remove the roads. I am very impressed,” Oyedepo said.
 
On that occasion Aregbesola come clean as always thus: “My upbringing in Yoruba setting has given no basis for religious antagonism and mutual distrust. “It is impossible in Yoruba milieu not to imbibe the culture of accommodation, tolerance and understanding of the faith of others. “I guide my faith as much as I fight for the protection of the faith of others. If anyone would accuse me at all, it should be that I have zero tolerance for fundamentalism. “Therefore, my liberal disposition to religion is thus farther from the erroneous impression of being an Islamic extremist,” Aregbesola said.
 
The issue of Hijab would have been rested by now, if not for want of excuse of failures on the part of PDP, which governed the State for roughly eight years before Ogbeni retrieved his stolen mandate from them. For the records, it was under Governor Olagusoye Oyinlola’s administration, a PDP Governor that the Muslim community went to court and insisted on their wards attending schools in their Islamic wears as part of their school uniform. As we speak, the matter is still being pursued in the court by the Muslim community.
 
Addressing Ogbeni in a borrowed robe to score cheap political points on the bases of religious fanaticism is clearly a crass political opportunism and promotion of falsehoods to a grand art. Observers of political development in Osun and Nigeria should know that Governor Aregbesola’s administration has no political, religious or tribal preference.
 
It is absolutely impossible for Ogbeni to be a religious fundamentalist owing to his all-faith inclusive background. One cannot but wonders why the governor has been so described by mischievous makers who erroneously tagged his administration as pro-Islamic faith.
 
Mr Erasmus Ikhide, a social activist, wrote from Lagos

The Governor of Osun has on Tuesday said there will be no going back in his government’s human development policies as he launched the Osun Job Centre.
 

 
He said the Osun Youth Empowerment Scheme O-YES policy brought great micro-economic impact on the state with N200 million monthly allowance given to the youth under the programme.
The Governor stated these at the commissioning of the Osun Job Centre at the parking lot of the Ayegbaju International Modern Market in Osogbo.
Aregbesola added that his administration is taking job creation to a greater height with the establishment of the job centre where government will not need to employ workers directly but create an environment where finding jobs will become easy for the unemployed and better jobs for the youths.
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He pointed out that the centre will provide an interface between applicants and employers by maintaining a database that will be made available to employers who need to recruit, adding that‎ it will also keep record of job vacancies which applicants can consult.

The Governor stressed that before the coming of his administration there was a high and frightening level of youth disorientation‎ which brought about the OYES that engaged 20,000 youths in public works in less than 100 days after inauguration.
According to him, “All the programmes we have implemented and the one of today have been captured in the Green Book which we entitled: “My Path with Osun.
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“Today, if you open the book, you will find all we have done and are doing. If anybody had told you that in Osogbo there would be the Nelson Mandela Freedom Park, would you have believed it was possible? But is it there now or not?
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“If anybody had told you that a road would start from Osogbo and run through to Ila Odo Kwara Boundary in one tenure; would you believe it was possible? But is it there now or not?
“When I said we would employ 20, 000 youths in our hundred days in office, many laughed and called us jokers. Today, has the joke been translated into truth or not?
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“If anybody had told you that a second ring road would come into existence in Osogbo would you believe it? But is it there now or not?‎”
The Governor stated that his administration is responsible to all the people in the state and not a section of it.
He revealed that of the four million population of Osun, there are 60 thousand civil servants (retired and working), whose salary and pension are much more than the revenue accruing to the state today.
Aregbesola averred that to pay workers salary alone will amount to neglecting over 3.9 million people of the state.
He said, “If you are to use all the resources of the state to pay salaries life will be hard and unliveable, therefore our government uses its creativity to spread the resources we have to all citizens. By this, we can achieve development.”
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In her speech, the Coordinator of Job Centre, Ms. Mobolaji Akande, said Osun is the first state in the federation to establish such centre to help reduce employment crisis the country is battling with.
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Mobolaji said the the Job Centre was designed with two purposes of providing comprehensive data base of Osun job seekers and provide a robust system for collating accurate figures of employment and unemployment rates in the state.
According to her, the data collated would help the state government to plan better for economic policies through highlighting areas of skills and skill deficits.
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She stated that the Job Centre would provide employment support services such as career counseling for job seekers; employablility skills training; verification of certificates; job fairs to connect individuals to employers of labour and seminars to be given by experts from all fields of the economy.
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“With these services, the Centre aims to turn out job seekers that are well equipped to make better choices be it in their educational training or their future careers and in so doing, set more realistic goals for themselves.
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“This will enable the state government to better plan it’s economic policies by highlighting areas of skills or skills deficits possessed by its human resources.
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“The Osun Job Centre is a State Government-funded programme and its services are provided at no cost to the users of its facilities. It will serve as an intermediary between job seekers and employers, with the goal of matching the company’s needs and requirements with a job seeker’s skills, experiences and interests.
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“The Centre does not create neither does it find jobs for users of its facilities.
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“What it does is complement other youth empowerment programmes that this administration has put in place,” Akande said.
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In his remarks, the Controller of Labour, Osun State Chapter, Bode Abikoye, said unemployment and poverty among youths combined as the single biggest bane affecting the nation’s economy.
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Abikoye also mentioned undue market forces as one of the worst causes of unemployment in the country.
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He commended Aregbesola for his vision by providing the job centre to curb the increasing wave of unemployment ravaging the land.
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He said that “Unemployment and poverty among Nigerian youths have been the single biggest bane of economic development in the country.
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“Enthronement of undue market forces also caused unemployment particularly starting from the later eighties during the military regimes.
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“The establishment of the Job Centre demonstrates the vision of Governor Aregbesola. This Centre will no doubt help in combating unemployment in the state.”

Traditional rulers under the aegis of the Osun Divisional Conference of Obas have called on Government and law enforcement agencies in the state to up their intelligence gathering in order to sustain the state’s enviable record of very low crime rate in the country.
 

 
They said that recent cases of kidnaping of monarchs in the country should be dealt with decisively by the Police in order to put an end to it.
The Traditional rulers stated this in a Communique signed by its Secretary, the Aragbiji of Iragbiji, Oba Abdul-Rasheed Olabomi at the end of the meeting of Osun Divisional Conferences of Obas at the Palace of the Ataoja of Osogbo, Oba Jimoh Olanipekun.The monarchs urged the police to intensify efforts in the task of securing the country.
The Aregbesola government had earlier in 2012 and 2014 released 20 modern Armoured Personnel Carriers (APCs) and over 100 patrol vans and bikes for the use of the police.
The Conference commended the effort of the Aregbesola-led administration for providing logistics and equipment to combat crime in the state? also urged government not to relent in ensuring that crime rate that had been hitherto low does not increase.
According to the Communique, “Conference appreciates the developmental efforts of Ogbeni Rauf Aregbesola, the Governor of Osun?. Obas call on Government and law enforcement agencies to ?step up intelligence with a view to making the state inhabitable for criminals.
“Intelligence gathering and community policing should be adopted to reduce crime in Osun and Nigeria as a whole,” The Monarchs emphasised.

The Ataoja of Osogbo, Oba Jimoh Olanipekun, on Thursday celebrated the judgment of the Court of Appeal, Akure involving him and other  contestants  in the town’s chieftaincy tussle.
 

 
The monarch, who was full of praise to God and the Osun State Governor, Mr. Rauf Aregbesola, as well as the kingmakers, said it was God who installed him.
The monarch spoke in Osogbo on Thursday  at a press conference he addressed as part of activities making the commencement of the 2016 Osun Osogbo Festival.

The monarch was sacked by the lower court and he proceeded to the Court of Appeal in Akure but the court ruled that the case should be started afresh at the High Court.
One of the chiefs in the town, who is the Ajaguna of Osogbo, Chief Gabriel Oparanti, burst  into songs of thanksgiving and dancing to appreciate God for the  favourable court verdict.
The monarch said, “I thank God for the grace given me to be part of this year Osun Festival.  This is my first public speech since the (Court of Appeal) court in Akure said I should remain in the palace.
“I thank the kingmakers because God did not put them to shame on the matter. My reign was punctuated at the lower court and we moved to the Court of Appeal in Akure and they said I should remain in the palace.”
The Ataoja also described Aregbesola as a good leader, who was not given to vendetta.
He said that he (Ataoja) and Aregbesola were not together when the latter was seeking to become the governor of the state but the governor rose above that and drew him closer after he had assumed office.
He said this kind of leaders were rare in the country while praying to God to uphold the governor.
“I thank the Osun State Government under Ogbeni Rauf Aregbesola, a governor, who does not go on a vendetta mission.”

Governor, State of  Osun, Ogbeni Rauf Aregbesola has called for a ban on the export of primary farm produce as part of strategies to ensure food sufficiency in the country.
 

 
Aregbesola made the call in Osogbo on Sunday in a statement he issued by his media aide, Semiu Okanlawon
The governor opined that the ban would enhance the value chains of the nation’s agricultural investments.
He also urged government to fashion out measures that would make agriculture to be attractive to a new generation of young Nigerians.
He noted that this would be viable option towards economic diversification, adding that Nigeria had yet to show serious efforts towards making farming a viable venture.
“We should stop exporting primary produce and start adding value. The value of a kilogram of exported cocoa beans increases 5,000% by the time it comes back as chocolate,” the governor said.
Aregbesola said the nation’s agriculture must be directed towards producing what the country needs and not what it could only export.

“The orientation of our agriculture towards producing raw materials, especially cash crops, for the industries in Europe and the Americas must be reversed.
Agriculture is needed primarily for food production; only well fed people can drive economic development.
Good nutrition is the primary basis of good health which drives productivity and energy,” he said.

Governor, State of Osun, Ogbeni Rauf Aregbesola,  has argued that the prefix “Your Excellency” attached to the names of state governors in Nigeria is illegal.
 

 
He gave three reasons at the ongoing Guild of Editors Conference in Port Harcourt, Rivers State.
First, he argued that it is only God who should receive the tag, “excellency”.
Second, he said that there is nowhere it is written in the Nigerian Constitution that a governor should be called his excellency.

Third, Aregbesola argued that a student cannot be scored excellent before but after an examination. That is why after an examination, “you are rated excellent, very good, good, fair, pass, fail”.
“Every governor is writing an examination and until he finishes, he cannot be rated.”
He asked rhetorically: “Is it not enough to be called a governor with power of life and death? What do you want to make of a governor by calling him excellency? God? Or do you want to make the governor mad? Call me just Ogbeni (simple Mr)”.

The Governor of Osun State, Ogbeni Rauf Aregbesola, on Thursday ordered the authorities of the state College of Education, Ilesa to henceforth put a stop to organising combined graduation ceremonies in the school.
 

 
Aregbesola ordered that all outstanding graduation programmes of the institution must be done before the end of 2017.
He said the remaining programmes must be concluded in two batches before December 2017.
 
The governor gave the charge while speaking at the combined 24th graduation ceremony of four sets of 6,600 graduating students at the auditorium of the College in Ilesa.
 
He appealed to the students of the college not to disrupt the academic programmes of the institution so as to meet up with the set target.
He said: “Combined graduation ceremony must not happen in this school again.
“This graduation ceremony I believe is for the sets of 2007 to 2011.
“It is too much and not good enough.
 
“The graduation ceremonies of the set of graduands between 2012 to 2016, which will be the 25th graduation ceremony must be done in two batches before December 2017.
 
“I implore the students of this great institution not to disrupt the academic programmes of this school so as to meet up with the set target.”
 
Speaking on the various interventions of government in the education sector, Aregbesola said it was occasioned by the education summit chaired by Prof. Wole Soyinka, which gave some recommendations that government is implementing to improve academic performance in the state.
 
He said the summit also brought about the O-MEALS programme, which has been a huge success, hence making the Federal Government to adopt the programme.
 
He explained that the O-MEALS programme has created employment opportunities for different individuals in the state as well as boosting Agricultural sector in the state.
 
The Governor also used the occasion to shed light on the restructuring of the state’s tertiary institutions.
 
Aregbesola said it is not meant to scrap any school or retrench workers but to make the schools more relevant through the offering of vocational trainings and provision of remedial courses for young school leavers.
 
While congratulating the new graduates, the Governor said graduating from an institution is an accomplishment which prepares them for later life accomplishments.
 
He urged those who will be going directly into teaching to see it as an opportunity to give back to the society through teaching morals as well as trying to improve the academic qualities of the younger generation.
He said: “We are determined to improve the standard of education in our state.
 
“That is why we are spending so much in building state-of-the-art education facilities across the state.
 
“That is why we are spending so much feeding our pupils in elementary schools through the O-MEALS programme, which has attracted interests from all over the world to the extent that the Federal Government has adopted it.
 
“Our vision to restructure our state institutions is not to scrap any school or retrench workers, but we want to make the schools more attractive to the world.
 
“We want them to be able to offer remedial courses to young school leavers and provide vocational training to people in the society.”
 
In his graduation address, the Provost of the institution, Dr. Kadri Adegoke, explained that the ceremony is being used to reward excellence and hard work through the award of prizes to graduating students who have performed outstandingly well.
 
Adegoke said the programme is also used to honour two eminent Nigerians because it is believed that it will help in stimulating the spirit and culture of hard work, enterprise and excellence in the graduating students.
 
The provost used the occasion to express gratitude to the administration of Aregbesola for assisting the institution in giving capacity development to its staff, saying the college has never had it so good.
 
According to the provost: “This graduation ceremony is a combination of four sets of between 2007 to 2011, making a total of 6,600 graduands.
 
“We are using this ceremony to award excellence and hard work by awarding prizes to graduands who have performed outstandingly well.
 
“This occasion is also being used to honour eminent Nigerians in the presence of the graduands because we want it to serve as stimulant to the students and make them to be hardworking and become great enterpreneurs in future.
 
“I thank the Ogbeni Aregbesola administration for assisting the school in capacity building of the members of staff of this school, our college have never had it so good under any administration in this state.
 
“Almost all our academic staff members and some non-teaching staff members were sponsored on international conferences in the U.S. and the U.K in the last four years.
 
Delivering an acceptance speech on behalf of himself and a retired Justice of the Supreme Court, Justice Bola Babalakin, a legal luminary, Chief Adegboyega Awomolo, who was presented honourary awards alongside Babalakin, stated that education is one of the cardinal objectives of the All Progressives Congress government.
 
Awomolo described Aregbesola as a visionary governor who is pursuing his objective of taking Osun State to a great height in terms of academic performance, noting that education as a sector should not be handled with kids glove by any government.

Local Government staff in the State of Osun have been charged to intensify actions to generate fund internally in a bid to improve the economic growth of the state.
 

 
The Chairman, Local Government Service Commission, Elder Peter Babalola gave the charge while speaking with pressmen in his office.
Elder Babalola stressed the need for officers to block all forms of leakages in their local government areas, saying the dividends of democracy can spread evenly and enjoyed by all only when government has enough resources.
He however called on members of the public to join hands together to put an end to illegal minning activities in the state who sabotage the efforts of the state government by stealing the common wealth meant for the generality of the population.
Elder Babalola enjoined all to report the nefarious activities of the unlicensed miners operating in the state to law enforcement agencies so that they would face the full wrath of the law.