The Chairman, Southwest Christian Association of Nigeria (CAN), Archbishop Magnus Atilade has called for reconciliation, peace and harmony between CAN and Muslim community in Osun State for development to be realised.
 

 
Atilade, who gave the advice in a chat with Southwest Report in Lagos said all hands must be on deck so as to achieve peace in Osun State without which there would be no tangible development.
The cleric praised the efforts of Governor Rauf Aregbesola in providing free food to all students in public schools, building of new schools, new roads and extension of new roads which are praiseworthy.
He stressed that the church is not against the wearing of Hijab by Muslim girls because Catholic Rev. Sister wear it. He, however, said the school as an institution should promote uniformity which is why every school has a uniform to identify it.
On all schools being public, he said: “The mission schools established by the missionaries and other private school proprietors were forcibly taken over by the state governments.

“Ultimately our prayer is that the schools be returned to their original owners just as the former  Governor of Lagos, Asiwaju Bola Tinubu did in Lagos.
“It is evident that no government can conveniently run public institutions. Why should government insist on taking over of schools?
“All over the world, no government,  be it capitalists, socialists or communists, has the sole responsibility of providing education for its people,” he said.
He lamented the non-payment of salaries by 28 state governments, saying it is pertinent for government to hand over mission schools to their original owners.

AS part of the efforts at improving the entrepreneurship skills of staff and students of Osun State Polytechnic Iree, a five-day workshop was organised for the polytechnic community on apiary, bee keeping and honey production.
 

 
A volunteer of the United States for International Development (USAID) to Nigeria, Mr. Caleb O’Biren described the apiary farming and bee keeping as a panacea to poverty, saying it is a veritable venture that could boost the nation’s economy.
 
The apiary workshop was packaged by USAID and Winrock International, a Non-Governmental Organisation, as a stable of the farmer-to-farmer programme of the organisation to boost Agricultural technology in Nigeria through trainings and workshops for officials of tertiary institutions and local farmers in the country.
 
The institution’s Media Relation’s Officer, Mr. Tope Abiola, said participants at the workshop were trained on modern technology of Bee Keeping and Honey Production which the USAID official described as a veritable venture that could be used to provide jobs for unemployed Nigerians.
 
Bee keeping specialist Mr. O’biren, an American based apiary and bee keeping specialist, declared that “apiary is a good venture that could be done in local communities with a little capital to produce honey in large quantity”.
 
While explaining the importance of honey and demand for it in all parts of the world, O’biren explained that “honey production is not capital intensive, its production can survive a country, because it is what is needed by all homes in a country”.
 
“It is a daily need that is used for treatment of certain ailments. It is also used to prevent certain deceases which could cause damage to some cells in our bodies”.
 
Explaining why the Osun State Polytechnic Iree organised the training for staffers of the institution and farmers in Iree Community, the Rector of the institution who is the facilitator of the workshop, Dr. Jacob Olusola Agboola stated that it was part of the capacity building and skills acquisition program embarked upon recently by the institution.
 
Dr. Agboola stressed that “apiary and bee keeping is a type of agriculture that we must encourage in our community to engage our teeming youths in the country, who are unemployed, while employed individuals can also embark on it to boost their economic power.
 
He added that it is part of efforts of the Department of Agric Engineering and Bioenvironmental Studies of the Polytechnic to train local farmers in the state on modern Agricultural skills.

Governor of the state of Osun, Ogbeni Rauf Adesoji Aregbesola has commended the Proprietor and Management of Fountain University, Osogbo for all round development.

 
Ogbeni Aregbesola, spoke through the Chairman, Special Committee on Fire Safety in the state, Hon. Oguntola Mudashiru Toogun while on the sensitization and inspection tour to the University.
The Governor said the sitting of the University in the state has brought a long list of benefits such as employment creation, improved economy and reducing crime in the state.
Ogbeni Aregbesola therefore urged the University to keep their standards in terms of moral and academic performance.
Earlier, Vice Chancellor of Fountain University, Professor Bashir Raji appreciated the Governor, Ogbeni Rauf Aregbesola for sustaining the peace in the state. He also commended the Governor for the road network especially ring road that passes through their University.
Professor Raji therefore assured that all necessary fire safety regulations would be complied with.
Present were Secretary to the Committee, Mr. Toba Aluko and men of the Fire Service led by the Deputy Director, Mrs Moni Lawal.

Osun, Lagos and Kaduna are listed among the 10 states remitting funds into the Retirement Savings Accounts of their employees out of the 26 states that have enacted their Pension Reform Law, investigations have revealed.   The 10 states that have yet to enact the law have also failed to remit the pension funds. “Ten out of the 36 states have commenced remittance of contributions into the RSAs of their employees.
 

 
 
Similarly, eight state governments have commenced funding of their retirement benefit bond redemption fund accounts,” PenCom stated. The records also showed that 673,116 contributors, who are workers of the various state governments, were registered with different PFAs.
 
According to the report, Lagos, Ogun, Kaduna, Niger, Delta, Osun, Rivers and Anambra states have commenced the remittance of contributions to six PFAs and were funding their accrued rights. It explained that Imo State had yet to commence remittance of pension contributions, but that the Imo State University was currently implementing the Contributory Pension Scheme but not yet funding its accrued rights. Zamfara State has also commenced remittance of contributions to the PFAs but yet to fund its accrued rights.
 
PenCom stated that Jigawa State had transferred its pension assets to six PFAs for management, while Kano had yet to transfer its assets to the PFAs. According to the report, the remaining 26 states have yet to commence remittance of funds into their workers’ RSAs or fund their accrued rights. The commission also said it conducted on site reviews of some self-funded government agencies to assess their compliance level with the Pension Reform Act, 2014, adding that the assessment process was expected to ensure full compliance by the relevant agencies.
 
PenCom introduced some guidelines to the pension administrators for registration of state and local government employees to enable them to adopt suitable structures for the implementation of the CPS. Part of the objectives of the guidelines is to ensure complete coverage in the states in the shortest possible time.
 
According to the guidelines, the law gives concession to the states and local governments to implement the structured approach to the registration of their employees. Both levels of government are expected to select a number of PFAs and allocate their Ministries, Departments and Agencies to each, while the employees are to freely register with the PFAs. The Director-General, PenCom, Mrs. Chinelo Anohu-Amazu, said while some states had adopted the CPS, many had yet to fully implement it.
 
The situation, she explained, had denied the states of the advantages of the contributory pension model, including its sustainability as a system, robust framework that eliminates the incentives for corruption in benefits administration, and ability to access the pool of investible pension funds to drive economic and infrastructural development in their respective domains. Anohu-Amazu stated that the scheme had so far delivered all the major objectives of the reform, adding that since its establishment in 2004, there had been no case of malpractice recorded in the administration of the CPS.

The Governor of Osun State, Ogbeni Rauf Aregbesola, has described the death of former boss of the defunct National Security Organisation, Alhaji Umaru Shinkafi, as another monumental loss of one of the nation’s patriots and politicians.
 

 
In a statement by the Director, Bureau of Communication and Strategy, Office of the Governor, Semiu Okanlawon, Aregbesola said Shinkafi’s death is one that has once again dealt a devastating blow to the nation, especially the political terrain.
 
He said the late politician served the country in many capacities and gave his best while in active service.
He stated that as the pioneer of the nation’s indigenous security service, he presided over a solid service and gave it a track record as the intelligence service under him was one of the most vibrant branches of the police force then.
 
He said: “Death diminishes. Alhaji Umaru Shinkafi was a Nigerian patriot. He served Nigeria fervently with all he had from conventional police to the security intelligence arm and finally as a politician of note.
 
“He was a politician of high repute and immense clout. His political horizon spread across the country.
“Though a conservative, he did not shy away from grouping with the progressive camp in 1999 when he teamed up with Chief Olu Falae on the joint ticket of Alliance for Democracy.
“He was a good officer, a listening politician and intelligence officer of a first class hue.
“He will certainly be missed as a politician of high caliber, whose wealth of experience is still highly valued and needed.
“I join his numerous admirers to wish him a good repose as I commit his relations to the hands of Allah (SWT) for succour and fortitude.”

Former President Olusegun Obasanjo  weekend commended Governor Rauf Aregbesola of Osun State for his neutrality in the crisis in the state following recent court ruling permitting the use of female head scarf “hijab” in Osun State  public schools.
 

 
Obasanjo, who was the chairman of the occasion at the  handover ceremony of a multi-purpose hall and a library donated by Senator Yinka Omilani to Ode-Omu community stated that the recent utterances of Aregbesola on the court verdict on hijab had doused tension in the state.
 
Osun hijab crisis Aregbesola had at the wake of the controversy that trailed the order allowing the use of hijab, denied ordering the use of hijab in schools because he did not order his wife and daughter to use hijab.
 
Obasanjo, who was represented by Gbaabile of Egbaland, Dr. Femi Majekodunmi, said the statement from the governor confirmed his neutrality in the conflict over the use of hijab by female Muslim students in public schools in the state.
 
He said, “He (Obasanjo) is in China now. He said the governor (Aregbesola) said something which confirmed his neutrality in the matter; that word went a long way in dousing the tension which recently heightened in the state.”
 
Obasanjo described the donor, Senator Omilani, a former Vice Chairman of the Peoples Democratic Party, PDP, in the South West, as a great philanthropist, noting that his contribution to his community, Osun State and Nigeria at large could never be overlooked. He urged the community to make judicious use of the facilities which he described as a significant legacy.
 
Speaking, Aregbesola reaffirmed his administration’s commitment to improving infrastructure in nooks and crannies of the state regardless of the current economic situation. He announced that the ongoing construction of Gbongan/Ode-Omu dual-carriageway would be completed before the end of the year.
 
The Governor attributed the slow-pace of work at various construction sites and projects by his administration to the effect of fall in the revenue accruing to the state, assuring that all the ongoing projects in the state would be completed before the end of his tenure.
 
He lauded Senator Omilani for his kind gestures, calling on other well-meaning Nigerians to emulate him, noting that no matter how committed government was, it could not do everything and called for support from the privileged and wealthy individuals in the society.
 
On his part, the donor of the library,  Senator Omilani attributed the construction of the ultra modern library and multi-purpose hall as part of his commitments towards the development of education and Ode-Omu community.
 
Omilani said the provision of supplementary readers in schools and public libraries was one way of expanding the horizon of knowledge and acquisition of life-long skill, saying the act would save the teeming youths from idleness and juvenile delinquency.

Governor  Rauf Aregbesola of Osun on Friday said the ongoing restructuring and reforms in all the state-owned tertiary institutions were not aimed at retrenching workers as being speculated.

Aregbesola said this at the inauguration of a N140 million e-Library and N34.4 million ultra-modern lecture hall at the state College of Education, Ila-Orangun.
 

 
The governor, who described the speculation as baseless, said the idea behind the restructuring exercise was not to witch-hunt but to improve the quality of lecturers.
He said his administration would not do anything that would inflict pains on workers and residents of the state.
“The restructuring is aimed at bringing up the quality of the lecturers.
“ I must also add that the government has no intention of witch-hunting or victimising anyone for his or her religious, political or ideological leaning.
“You will all agree that there have been many innovations in education and those still teaching with the knowledge they acquired 20 years ago have fallen behind time.
“We must also improve the quality of our teachers, if we want to improve the quality of education we are giving to the young ones.
“This puts to rest the false, unfounded and malicious speculation that the government is closing down these schools.
“What we are trying to do is to ensure everyone is qualified and fits into the bigger picture of the education we are providing in the state,” he said.
In his address, the Provost of the institution, Prof. Isaac Olayinka Oyewole, said that the new library would accommodate 2,000 users at a time.
Oyewole said with the new e-library, the institution could conveniently boast of housing a modern digital library unit.
Earlier, the Chairman of the Governing Council, Mr Niyi Akande, said the council was working toward transforming the college into a degree awarding institution.

Aregbesola made this observation yesterday at the 6th Toyin Falola Annual International Conference TOFAC, 2016 organised by the Redeemer’s University, Ede, Osun State.
 
The theme of this year’s conference is ‘Africanity’ which, according to the organisers, is about the distinct African identity and Africa’s contribution to humanity in face of the increasing marginalisation of the continent in global affairs.
 

 
Aregbesola said Africa presents itself as a mystery to Africans than non-Africans. He averred that the continental Africans are hardly conscious of their Africaness thereby taking their identity as Africans for granted.
 
He said Africans only showcase their African identity only outside Africa or in a situation of contact with other races. According to the Governor, the continent would remain underdeveloped unless it’s agriculture forms the fulcrum of its economy.
 
He noted that the continent must as a necessity graduate from being only source of raw materials to the West for it to be an economic power house among developed nations of the world. He disclosed that the need to return to agriculture informed his administration’s pioneering of food revolution in the state so as for it (state) to feed it’s people.
 
“There are two conceptual Africas. The first is the Africa endowed with huge and humongous human and material resources.
 
The second is the largely underdeveloped Africa with a history of slavery and colonialism, ravaged by wars, hunger, poverty and the leading global aid recipient.
 
“It is beyond disputation that Africa has some of the largest deposits of mineral resources in the world. Her leading lights like Professor Wole Soyinka, late Chinua Achebe, Ali Mazrui, Dudley, Ade-Ajayi, Tomori, Oluponna, Falola and others rank among the best in their fields.
 
This is outside of legendary sportspersons that have done the continent proud. “By the account of the Organisation of Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD), Africa led the global begging troupe with a total aid outflow to Africa in 2013 at $46 billion, only followed by Asia in a distant second with $25 billion.
 
“This is the burden that all Africans, especially the Diaspora, carry as they interact with the world. These negative indices are at the back of the mind of Europeans and other developed people when they meet or have dealings with black people. Regrettably, this was not the Africa of the past.
 
“What then has happened to Africa? How have we regressed? How have we become underdeveloped? The great task of our generation then is how to return Africa into its leadership position by harnessing its human and material endowments. “Africa’s economy should be re-oriented away from its present Eurocentrism to Afrocentrism.
 
We are not going to be an economic powerhouse if our agriculture consists mainly of producing the raw materials for others industrial production. “I pioneered food revolution in Osun by encouraging farmers to plant food crops, in order to feed our people. Africa should do the same. Our mineral resources should be developed to feed our industries, instead of feeding Euro-American and now Asian industries,” Aregbesola said.
 
The governor also reiterated the need to review the nation’s education system with a view to laying emphasis on skill acquisition so as to produce resourceful graduate that can stand on their own. He also called on the organisers of the conference to rethink and reconsider teaching in the indigenous African languages as this had been proved to aid better understanding by the late educationist, Professor Babatunde Fafunwa.
 
The governor equally called the attention of all stakeholders and government to address Africa’s women’s empowerment, noting that the current economic disempowerment of women in this part of the world could lead to unpleasant social consequences.
 
He continued: “Considering the situation in Africa, it is very seductive to ask for a second independence, not from external forces this time, but from self-imposed restrictions.
 
“The identity, recognition and respect we seek from outside will only come when we change our situation internally. Then we will get the respect of the world.”
 
The keynote Speaker, Professor Nini Wariboko said Africa has a retarded progress owing to the break down in its knowledge system.
 
Wariboko, a professor of Social Ethics from the University of Boston, averred that Africa was absent on the ladder of its deserving great position because there is a missing philosophy of Africa’s original identity.
 
He lamented that this lack of true identity is responsible for the continent’s stagnated growth. “Africa has not achieved it’s deserved greatness because of missing philosophy of original African identity.

A judge at the Osun State High Court, Justice Jide Falola, has warned religious leaders against instigating pupils to defy the constituted authority.
 

 
Falola, who expressed displeasure about how some students wore church garments to Baptists High School, Iwo, following the judgement he delivered on hijab wearing said this action could hunt the pupils involved in the future.
The judge sad this in Osogbo on Friday after adjourning the application for stay of execution filed against the judgment by the Christian Association of Nigeria.
The judge had delivered a judgement on June 3 that female Muslim students in all public schools in the state should be allowed to wear hijab to their schools without harassment or molestation because it was part of their fundamental rights to do so.

Falola said, “My attention was drawn to some students who were encouraged to defy the constituted authority. The only means of protesting this judgement is to appeal and not to encourage children of impressionable age to disobey the authority.
“These are children we pray for to become lawyers, judges, parliamentarians. Their pictures are shown all over the world, it is even on the BBC ( British Broadcasting Corporation).”
The judge also asked lawyers in the case to caution their clients (religious leaders) against destabilising the judiciary with baseless allegations against him.
He said his religion did not have anything to do in determining the hijab case. He explained that he determined the case based on the facts and the law presented before him.
Falola also advised Journalists against undermining the judiciary with write ups he said were calculated to compel the court to dance to their tunes.

An Osun State High Court sitting in Osogbo on Friday, July 8, 2016 adjourned to Tuesday, July 8, 2016 hearing of application for stay of execution of June 3 judgment allowing Muslim students to wear Hijab to the state public schools.
 

 
The State Chapter of the Christian Association of Nigeria (CAN) had on June 22 filed an application before the State High Court, asking for a stay of execution of the judgment pending its determination by the Appeal Court.
But at the court’s sitting on Friday, July 8, counsel to CAN, Barrister Olufemi Ayandokun explained that the state Muslim Community represented by Barrister Kazeem Odedeji filed a counter-motion on Monday, July 4 but the last three days public holiday made it impossible for him to file any paper at the court’s registry.

Consequently, the matter was adjourned by the Presiding Judge, Justice Oyejide Falola to July 8 for hearing.
Meanwhile, the judge urged lawyers in the case to admonish their clients not to use religion to divide or destabilise the judiciary, saying, “judges can choose any religion of their choice while many may not even bother.
“I have read the motions and if it comes to an extent of shopping for a judge on a matter, then such step is deplorable and condemnable.
“A court is a sanctuary without bias. Judges are brothers and whoever handles a case will forget about religion.

It is easy for Nigerians to embark on blackmail when things are not in the colour they want it to be.
“My attention has been drawn to some people defying constituted authority. The only means of protesting in a case is by appealing and not by encouraging children to flout the decision of the court. These are students we pray for should be judges one day.
“Pictures of those students flied all over the world instead of us engaging in domestic and civil protest. In fact, it was on BBC. What do we gain from that? If adults were doing battle they should leave out these children.
“I am employed as a judge; I am bound by the law. May that day never come when court will bow down for a tiny God? The court should do their job well because nobody gains anything from acrimony and war.
“If you read about this situation, you will think that Armageddon has finally come. Here we are again together, so, it is everybody’s responsibility if we live in peace,” he said.
While stating that his judgment was based on the law and facts before him and that the matter was a constitutional issue that will still be taken to the Supreme Court, Justice Falola said if the same facts and the law is placed before him 10 times, he will “give the same judgment 10 times.”
He added, “I work on facts and law. My conscience is clear, my hands are not tight. This is a case of constitutional issue; I deal with constitutional matter, I do not deal with matters of religion.”