‎The Governor of the state of Osun, Ogbeni Rauf Aregbesola has on Friday commiserated with the British High Commission over the demise of its Deputy High Commissioner to Nigeria, Mr. Peter Leslie Carter.

The governor in a statement by the Director, Bureau of Communications and Strategy, office of the governor, Mr. Semiu Okanlawon prayed for the repose of the soul of the envoy who died on Tuesday.

In Aregbesola’s condolence message, he said the late envoy was a distinguished diplomat and a gentleman of very high standing.

‎He said ” I am saddened by the death of Carter, I pray for the repose of his soul, I extend my heart felt condolences to his immediate family, the government and the entire people of the United Kingdom”.‎

‎‎‎The governor noted that his untimely death was not only a loss to his immediate family and the British High Commission in Nigeria but also to the people of the United kingdom as a whole.‎

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Wale Adedoyin, Osun Commissioner for Agriculture and Food Security, said on Friday that the government had raised 54,750 improved oil palm seedlings to replace ageing palm trees.

Adedoyin disclosed this at Ojere farm settlement in Ife North Local Government Area of the state where the distribution of the seedlings to registered farmers was inaugurated.

The commissioner said the distribution was a component of government’s Semi Wild Groove Yield Enhancement Scheme.

He said the programme was borne out of the government’s commitment to the production of food in abundance.

He promised that the government would ensure the provision and distribution of free, unadulterated oil palm seedlings to farmers in the state.

He said the government raised 54,750 improved oil palm seedlings spread in seven nurseries in which 41,544 was the establishment count to replace ageing oil palm trees.

Adedoyin enjoined oil palm farmers at the Ojere axis, the direct beneficiaries of the pilot scheme, to use seedlings to regenerate their plantations.

Seyi Adegbembo, Project Manager of Tree Crops in the Ministry of Agriculture and Food Security, charged farmers to make the best use of the agricultural farm inputs.

Adejumo Anthony, a beneficiary, who spoke on behalf of the farmers, described the occasion as an omen of the good things that would happen in the agricultural sector.

Adejumo described the regeneration of oil plantations as a wise investment for the state.

Democracy is a game of consensus in which competing elite groups offer differing ideas of how best to organise society. Their primary theatre of competition is election. Though politics involves conflict, however, the players have at the back of their mind the best interest of their people. After elections have been won and lost, the losers take it calmly and retreat to pre- pare for the next one. This is the fabled ‘spirit of sportsmanship’ that has become the hallmark of developed society, and which makes democracy to serve the best interest of the people ultimately.

However, looking at the events leading to, during and immediately after the August 9, governorship election in Osun State, the conduct of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) and its candidate, Senator Iyiola Omisore, has left much to be desired. It is like they are at war with the people of the state. They have given the impression that they must win at all costs, or heaven will fall.

One of their assaults on the people is unconscionable fabrication of stories and abuse of media access. It was disturbing to find a syndicated story in many of our national dailies on Wednesday,September 3, 2014, to the effect that two staff of the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) were suspended for allegedly colluding with the All Progressives Party (APC) to rig the August 9 gubernatorial election in Osun.

The report is reprehensible because the apparently uninvestigated story projects our newspapers in very bad light. It suggests that they are very shoddy and quite careless in their reportorial duties. The utter falsehood of the story also gives away the unconscionable character of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) and, invariably, that of the politicians in its fold.

That the Party will have the effrontery to turn the truth on its head and flip facts over in the service of its failed political bid to foist a candidate on the people of Osun during the August 9 election remains an incomprehensible mystery.

Unfortunately for the party, facts, given their nature, are not easily amenable to the kind of senseless revisionism that the PDP is trying to engage in. For the record, the fact of the matter is this: the two Electoral Officers (EOs) in question were in fact working in cahoots with and for the PDP to subvert the will of the people of Osun State before and during the governorship election.

One of the two culprits was the Electoral Officer (EO) for Obokun Local Government who, along with one other person, wereapprehended with a truck full of election materials a day prior to the Election Day, before INEC officially began to distribute such materials. The INEC official and his partner in crime were handed over to the Police by the youths, only to be subsequently released to a PDP top functionary from Ile. The excuse given for their release was simply and barefacedly, ‘Order from Above’.

The second suspended staff of INEC was the EO for Osogbo Lo- cal Government during the elec- tion. Being the largest voter base in the state, and given the already widely known support for the APC in Osogbo, this EO made spirited attempts to manipulate the electoral process in favour of the PDP. It was the vigilance and persistent complaint by the APC that prevented his brazen attempts from succeeding.

In fact, his suspension was con- sequent upon petition to INEC by the APC about his numerous at- tempts to twist the voting process in Osogbo in favour of the PDP, of which he is a card-carrying member. For instance, it is on record that on Election Day, he released only 64 out of the 227 identification tags he was supposed to release to APC polling agents.

The intent was to deprive the APC polling agents of access to their polling units to monitor the accreditation process. The APC had to call INEC Commissioner for this zone, Ambassador Wali, to intervene. But, he was not done yet. When voting came to an end, the same EO withheld the customised Form EC8C meant for recording collated results for Osogbo Local Government. Again, the APC had to call in Ambassador Wali, who issued him a second query in one day for the Form to be released.

If we put these and other shameless incidents of attempted rigging by the PDP alongside the militarisation of the state, the cases of widespread bullying by gun-wielding agents of the PDP- led Federal Government, the un- lawful arrests of APC party big- wigs, including members of the Governor’s cabinet among many other such horrifying acts, would it not be clear to all which party actually attempted to rig?

That the PDP can now turn around to enrol the media in its reprehensible propaganda to change the facts is quite inconceivable. But, it is even more unfortunate that our media professionals will allow themselves to be co-opted into this kind of disgraceful agenda to turn the victim into the perpetrator, or the accused, overnight.

The cases of attempted electoral manipulation against the two suspended INEC staff are in the public domain and were given good coverage in the media. It is the least any media professional should do in satisfying the requirement of professional ethics to do a proper check of the accuracy of a story before rushing to press.

Against this background, INEC owes it a duty to Nigerians, the people of Osun, and to morality, to come out clearly and say which party the suspended EOs were actually colluding with. Associating the name of INEC with this mendacious story can only drag its name in the mud and give it a taint of partisanship.

The electoral body would lose nothing by coming out to announce which party is involved in the attempt to manipulate the election for which the two EOs were suspended pending the completion of the investigation it is conducting. After all, it is still in the process of investigation.

It is not only a matter of moral obligation for INEC. The electoral body would also be making a strong statement that no political party or partisan group has a right to use its name as a stamp of authority for falsehood.

Ogundele writes from Osogbo, Osun State

As part of preparations for a successful and hitch free hajj this year, Muslim Pilgrims Welfare Board, Osun State, has commenced the vaccination and distribution of free bags and clothes to intending pilgrims to the holy land of Mecca, Saudi Arabia.

The Secretary to the board, Alhaji Tajudeen Adelabu, said the state governor, Rauf Aregbesola, has made adequate provision for pilgrims to ensure a successful hajj this year.

He, therefore, advised the pilgrims to display ethos of “Omoluabi” as it is the hallmark of State of Osun in Saudi Arabia.

Also, the leader of the medical team, Dr Ogundipe Busiroh, urged the pilgrims to cultivate the habit of hand washing and other hygiene habits. He also advised them to desist from hand shaking and hugging while in holy land as people from countries of world are converging to perform the same rite at the same time.

DAILY INDEPENDENT

The Governor of Osun, Ogbeni Rauf Aregbesola, has said the existence of the Ladoke Akintola University of Technology (LAUTECH), Ogbomoso remains a veritable source of bonding that further unites the peoples of the two states.

He made the call on Wednesday when the the university’s Governing Council, Management and Staff paid him a courtesy call at the Government House, Osogbo.

Harping on the significance of the courtesy call on a day that the creation of Osun clocked 23 years, Governor Aregbesola said it was ironic that some people make efforts to create disunity where there is none.

The Governing Council, headed by the former Vice Chancellor of Obafemi Awolowo University, Prof Wale Omole, in company with other top management staff and council members, was in Osun to congratulate the governor, who recently emerged winner of the August 9 governorship election in the state.

Aregbesola told the visiting egg heads that there could never have been a better time for the university management to visit Osun as the courtesy call coincided with the 23rd anniversary of the creation of Osun from the old Oyo State.

The Governor observed that LAUTECH will remain a symbol of unity between Oyo and Osun.

He said the bond of unity and togetherness of the people of the state dated back more than a thousand years before Osun was excised from Oyo.

He said the artificial separation of state creation is not and can never provide any basis for hostility or disquiet between the two states.

“How could anybody promote hostility between Osun and Oyo? Our relationship before the artificial separation lasted more than a thousand years at least.

“Where then is the basis for hostility? LAUTECH remains a symbol of unity between our two states. We must fund it for the growth, development and prosperity of the two states.

“I doubt if any of the two states could independently fund the university if left to do it alone, given the scarce resources available to the states.

“We must realise that finance is very important in the administration of a university.

“Thus, there is no alternative to the management of the university by the joint owners if reason prevails,” Aregbesola said.

The governor therefore, called on the Pro Afolabi-led committee set up to harmonise the administration and management of the institution to expedite action and submit it’s report.

The Vice Chancellor of LAUTECH, Prof Adeniyi Gbadegesin, while congratulating the governor on his victory at the poll, acknowledged the commitment and contribution of the state under Aregbesola in the past four years.

Gbadegesin said the effort of the Aregbesola Government to turn around the state has impacted positively on all strata including LAUTECH.

“We acknowledge your efforts and and that of your government in the jointly owned university.

“We have more confidence in you that the university will enjoy your supports for the next four years,” Gbadegesin said.

THE Alaafin of Oyo, Oba Lamidi Olayiwola Adeyemi III has hailed Governor  Rauf Aregbesola’s victory as a “demonstration of people’s love” for his intellect, fearlessness and courage.
The monarch said the governor was an “uncompromising politician whose contributions to the well- being of the down-trodden remain indelible.”
Oba Adeyemi gave the remarks yesterday when a delegation of Osun State Council of Arts and Culture, representing  the governor at the  on-going World  Sango festival, visited him.
“Regardless of sentiments, Aregbesola operates a government that is indisputably adjudged by its results. The prosperity, security and the well-being of the people dictate his popularity. He  is  a man of vigour and an unequalled politician, whose  contemporary will be difficult to find, at least in this millennium. His style of administration is distinct and rare in the present democratic dispensation.”
THE NATION

I believe that all men and women of peace should commend the present administration in Osun for the far-reaching development programmes it has initiated for the benefits of our people. It is our duty to see to it, that these positive programmes of development succeed and the momentum maintained. Our people should commit themselves to this noble cause. What others could not do during their tenure, Aregbesola has done in three and half (3½) years of coming into office, very prudently and transparently. No wonder, he coasted home to victory in the August 9th governorship election for a second term.

Indeed, anything is possible if we have faith, the will and joyful hearts. I know we all have the will to play our parts in this campaign for accelerated development in Osun State. I know we have faith in the present regime and we have the hearts to face the challenges ahead. Our people are urged to support this administration’s laudable programmes of economic reconstruction, social justice, unity and religious tolerance, that will guarantee our present happiness and future prosperity. Test of faith can only be ascertained by God Almighty, in whose hands is the sovereignty of heaven and earth.

The cause of Aregbesola’s regime is the cause of the common people and the less privileged members of our society -the villagers, the labourers, the farmers and those millions of unemployed. It is a cause that compels our serious attention and commitment.

What is, therefore left for us as a people of Osun State, is to make a pledge from now on that we will bury all our differences and come out fully to consolidate on the achievements of Ogbeni Aregbesola.

Let the politicians pledge, that they will not misuse the trust and responsibility, that are thrusted upon them by our people. Let them pledge that they will speak for those who have no voice and to remember those who are forgotten. Let them pledge that they will love us as themselves and that looting of public treasuries will not be their major preoccupations. Let them remember Hisab-accountability before God Almighty, on the day that all would be assembled before Him.

The challenges for the electorate is to give voices and votes to people of integrity and for those fundamental democratic principles of human freedom, free economic enterprises, self respect and accountability.

Indeed, Aregbesola’s regime has offered us new hope. New hope of gainful employment and self respect for those thousands of our school-leavers; graduates skilled and unskilled through O’YES.

New hope of economic recovery, through the dedicated pursuit of individualistic and collective approach to agrarian revolution and small-scale industrialization in the state through O’REAP. New hope of good quality of life for the rural populace through the faithful execution of populist-oriented programmes, like the DAGBOLU scheme, through O’HUB.

Socially, we must build bridges of understanding. And economically, we must narrow the wide gap between the rich and the poor, if we want peace and stability in this country. Indeed, we stand at a great turning point, when Osun State and indeed Nigeria is looking for a new direction, through a second term for Aregbesola and an APC federally controlled government.

A time like this calls for leadership like Aregbesola that can set a firm focus and positive vision for the future and rally the people of Osun behind it. We thank God that at this point in time in Osun State, we have such a leader in the person of Ogbeni Rauf Adesoji Aregbesola. Let me commend all his good efforts toward ensuring progress in the state since he took charge. However, the governor himself must continue to reinforce the attributes of good leadership with which he is already identified and make more use of home-grown people to man key positions in his second term in office.

The school merger programme by the government should be vigorously pursued, possibly with modifications. The structures being put in place are of world standard and a legacy that will outlive Aregbesola. I am impressed, that the various sites demolished are now been beautified with walkways. Definitely, we need to embrace modernity in all aspects of our life, though no changes come about without temporary pains. Only change is permanent.

Aregbesola’s  government has been listening not only to the clamorous voices of the priviledged few and the opportunists at the corridor of power, but also the hardly audible voices of the proverbial silent majority.

The governor has declared that his administration does not presume to have a monopoly of knowledge. He has brought ‘dissenters’ into policy discussions, rather than freeze them out. He has invited constructive criticism because he believes the critics have a right to be heard. We should realize that the lamps of enlightenment are lit by the spark of controversy and that their flame can be snuffed out by the blanket of consensus.

In this regard, we must concede, that out experience in this state between 2003 to 2010 was not particularly edifying. We saw hatred and sorrow on our faces waiting for love and happiness. We saw families divided against themselves, waiting to be brought together again.

To find answers to all these unwholesome acts, we must look within ourselves. Let us forget the past and come together to build this state for nobody else can do it for us because it belongs to all of us. We must close all sullen pages and open a new chapter.

Let us give unalloyed support to Ogbeni Aregbesola, so that those who were left out in the cold in those years of inaction, could be accommodated for positive contributions. Let us know that we cannot learn from one another until we stop shouting at one another; until we speak quietly enough so that our words can be heard as well as our voices.

Let us remember that if we succeed, generations to come will say of us now living, that we mastered our moment. That we helped to make Osun safe and prosperous to live in. This is our summon to greatness. Let us pray that strength and courage abundant be given to us; that the good that lies in each of our hearts may day-by-day be magnified. That we may come to see more clearly not what divides us, but that which unites us. That the true spirit of this time – its joy, its hopes and above all its binding faith may live among us. Osun State must always be many steps ahead of others.

We must build a virile state and improve the standard of living of our people, because the worth of a nation is the worth of the men and women in it. We must not lose hope, for in ashes there can still be spark. For as the passage in one of the Shakespeares works put it “there is a tide in the affairs of men which taken in time leads to good fortune.” We must not allow this golden opportunity to slip by.

We thank God that August 9th governorship election was devoid of violence and acrimony in whatever forms. We should know that our leaders can only govern over the living. All political parties in Osun should come together and join hands with Aregbesola administration. For there is no victor, no vanquished. The victory is larger than Aregbesola’s, it belongs to the people of Osun State, irrespective of political parties.

Aregbesola is working, Osun is progressing. For Aregbesola and the people of Osun State, It is a goal scored in a grand style, after an epic and protracted play against concerted forces of fate.

•Lawal writes from Osun State

SUNNEWS

As part of efforts to promote domestic tourism, the Director-General of the Nigerian Tourism Development Corporation (NTDC) Mrs. Sally Mbanefo, has included the Osun Children’s Cultural Fiesta as a major component of the annual OsunOsogbo Festival.

At the just concluded OsunOsogbo Festival, Mrs. Mbanefo noted that there must be an inclusion of culture/tourism in the school curriculum to enable children grasps the basics of same as they grow.

Her words: “The children’s cultural fiesta has come to stay as part of NTDC’s promotion of the cultural festival. We are reaching out to schools and talking to them to make tourism part of their curriculum. As part of subjects that they must pass, let the children grow with the culture, proud to speak their languages anywhere in the world. If you are fluent in English and unable to speak your mother tongue, you seem lost.”

The NTDC boss made these comments in a speech delivered at the Osun Children Cultural Fiesta held at the Ataoja’s palace in Osogbo on August 21, 2014.

She extolled the rich Yoruba culture saying that the Corporation is determined to ensure that all the cultural festivals in Nigeria would be promoted and marketed to the outside world as part of Federal Government’s effort to make tourism a major revenue spinner for the Nigerian economy.

On the children’s fiesta, NTDC organized competitions to encourage the children. They came in four categories like drumming, dancing, cultural fashion parade and Yoruba spelling and a total sum of two hundred thousand naira was expended as prize money to the winners of the various competitions. She said the festival is a veritable platform for cultural exchange in the country.

“It is a channel at which culture is being exhibited and exchanged to the world.

“South West Culture is the richest because civilization came early and was properly documented and handed down to generations.

“Osogbo Festival is unique to the Corporation and is included in our calendar of cultural events. Osun cultural festival is very unique to NTDC because it is one of the numerous festivals of international recognition, enlisted as the World Heritage Site by UNESCO including Sango Festival that has been exported to over forty countries of the world,” she said.

Mrs. Mbanefo noted that the festival witnessed a ground breaking  collaboration between NTDC and Osun Government, adding that the partnership necessitated a team of researchers from NTDC being on ground to collect data of many tourists both local and foreigners that attended this year’s festival.

“This is done because the Corporation must seek to determine how popular the festival is to the world and get records of the tourists that attended the festival. The idea is for the federal government to determine its commitment to continuing support for the festival,” she said.

Mr. Ayo Olumoko, Managing Director, INFOGEM Limited and Marketing Consultant of the Festival, lauded the efforts of NTDC in promoting the Osun Cultural Festival with the inclusion of the Children Cultural Fiesta. According to him, the synergy with NTDC has become necessary in view of the fact that government alone cannot drive domestic tourism.

“Mrs. Mbanefo has set a pace, the State of Osun and the organizing committee of the event appreciates her efforts,” he said.

Meanwhile, it should be noted that the great Osun Osogbo Festival is a ceremony celebrated annually for twelve days. It is celebrated to mark the commemoration of events that led to the founding of Oshogbo town and the renewal of ancestral bonds between the Osun goddess and the people of Osogbo.

This pact of association, which is rekindled every year in the month of August is said to be the foundation of the festival celebrated in memory of the goddess and the pact of association.

Osun is the Yoruba impersonator of the “water of life” and the spiritual mother of Osogbo. Osun goddess, according to the belief of the worshippers and faithful is a giver of children and cures infertility and other ailments. People around the state believe that any barren woman who drinks the water drawn from the flowing river must conceive and give birth to children.

Osun is believed to be one of the wives of Sango, the god of thunder and former king of Oyo. She is widely worshipped in Yoruba land and specifically along the stretch of the country through which the River Osun flows

DAILY INDEPENDENT

The 2014 Osun Osogbo Festival has come and gone but the festival will not only linger in the mind of tourists and stakeholders as a successful exercise, but also as one surrounded with controversy, no thanks to the Ebola Virus scare. A correspondent, who attended the festival, spoke with tourists and stakeholders on their expectations of the festival, the Ebola scare and the overall success of the yearly festival.
The scare of the dreaded Ebola Virus notwithstanding, the 2014 Osun Osogbo Festival was a resounding success. Tourists and stakeholders who spoke at the festival were full of praise to the organisers for organising a hitch-free festival and to the people of Osogbo for being good hosts.
Few weeks to the festival, there were uncertainties on whether the festival will hold or not. There were stories in the media alerting the public on the Osun State government’s stand on Ebola control, which discouraged non-resident and foreigners and tourists from attending the festival.

Though the festival witnessed slimmer patronage with the absence of the Odu’a People Congress (OPC) among others, but the domestic patronage has shown that it is the people’s festival with the significant number of cultural enthusiasts that converged on the grove for the annual rite to the Osun goddess.
Even with the Ebola scare, the festival also recorded a marginal influx of foreign tourists and Osun devotees from Brazil and visitors from within Nigeria.
Many believed that the ingenuity of the age-long festival of the people has become a point of reference and nothing can disrupt it because of the norms, value and heritage it holds to their existence while others said the degree of campaign mechanism at mobilising rather than discouraging people, put together by the organisers paid off at the end.
Notwithstanding, the festival started on a good note with the votary maid setting out the procession at about 10:00am to the Ojubo Osun (Osun shrine) at the grove.
In earnest, the procession progresses with a good outing and attracted spectacle and admiration from devotees, tourists and visitors who thronged the grove in their numbers.
Mrs. Nike Okundaye, the founder of Nike Art Gallery, said that this year’s festival was memorable as there was no record of casualties throughout the celebration.
She however commended the security operatives at this year’s edition for not only being around, but also giving maximum security to visitors. According to her, “The crowd was not much and the security agencies did a good job.”
Speaking on tourist patronage, Okundaye said, “My products were patronised by few people, but the patronage was not like the previous year. We hope next year’s edition (2015) will be much better than this year as we pray for better things ahead.”
Mr. Paulo Oliveira, the Director of Studies, Centro de Orunmila in Brazil called for stronger cultural ties between Nigeria and Brazil.

“We did every programme that we organised for the children and people of Osun State and gave out a special gift to the winner of the football competition that we organised.

Photos from a Congratulatory and Courtesy Visit to the Governor, by Council Members and Management Team of LAUTECH at

Government House, Osogbo, State of Osun on Wednesday 27-08-2014

Governor State of Osun, Ogbeni Rauf Aregbesola (right) and
Pro-Chancellor/Chairman of Council, Ladoke Akintola University of
Technology (LAUTECH), Ogbomoso, Professor Wale Omole, during a
Congratulatory and Courtesy Visit to the Governor, by Council Members
and Management Team of LAUTECH at Government House, Osogbo, State of
Osun on
Wednesday 27-08-2014

Vice Chancellor, Ladoke Akintola University of Technology (LAUTECH),
Ogbomoso, Professor Adeniyi Gbadegesin (left) presenting a
Congratulatory letter to Governor State of Osun, Ogbeni Rauf
Aregbesola (right) and Pro-Chancellor/Chairman of Council, LAUTECH,
Ogbomoso, Professor Wale Omole ((middle), during a Congratulatory and
Courtesy Visit to the Governor, by Council Members and Management Team
of LAUTECH at Government House, Osogbo, State of Osun on Wednesday
27-08-2014

From left, Pro-Chancellor/Chairman of Council, Ladoke Akintola
University of Technology (LAUTECH), Ogbomoso, Professor Wale Omole;
Governor State of
Osun, Ogbeni Rauf Aregbesola and Vice Chancellor, LAUTECH Ogbomoso,
Professor Adeniyi Gbadegesin, during a Congratulatory and Courtesy
Visit to
the Governor, by Council Members and Management Team of LAUTECH at
Government House, Osogbo, State of Osun on Wednesday 27-08-2014

Governor State of Osun, Ogbeni Rauf Aregbesola (4th right);
Pro-Chancellor/Chairman of Council, Ladoke Akintola University of
Technology (LAUTECH), Ogbomoso, Professor Wale Omole (4th left); Vice
Chancellor, LAUTECH Ogbomoso, Professor Adeniyi Gbadegesin (3rd
right); Deputy Vice Chancellor, LAUTECH, Professor Timothy Adebayo
(2nd right);
Members of Council, LAUTECH, Professor Richard Olaniyan (left);
Professor Olasupo Ladipo (3rd left) and others, during a
Congratulatory and Courtesy
Visit to the Governor, by Council Members and Management Team of LAUTECH at
Government House, Osogbo, State of Osun on Wednesday 27-08-2014