The Governor of the State of Osun, Ogbeni Rauf Aregbesola, has reiterated the call for a united and strong Nigeria whose central and historic position on the black continent must be realised for the black race to take its rightful position.
 
 
 
He made this call when the Christian Association of Nigeria (CAN) paid him a courtesy call cum condolence visit on Thursday.
The National President of CAN, Rev. Dr Samson Ayokunle, had led some Christian Associations to the government house to pray for the repose of the soul of the late mother of the Governor, Alhaja Saratu Aregbesola, who passed on recently.
Aregbesola said Nigeria must not fail as a nation if it is to fulfil the roles and responsibilities history placed at its doorstep as the champion of the black race.
According to him, a united Nigeria is capable of taking the black race to its rightful place, stressing that Nigerians should always remember that they are the only race that can make a mark in the world.
The Governor, who called for other bodies like CAN to support and pray for the country, added that for the black man to have headway in the world, then Nigeria must not fail.
He explained that for Nigeria live up to performing its roles in uplifting the black race in the world then all hands must be on deck to support it to achieve the goal of making the black man important.
He said, “We need to begin to realise as a nation that we are the only black nation that can assist the black man to make a name in the world.
“Nigeria must not fail, if we must achieve  this task and play this big role on behalf of all black race,  we  should all begin to work towards supporting Nigeria to achieve it.
“I want to call on all well meaning groups and bodies in Nigeria to believe in the Nigerian dream and work towards realising it.
“We need to believe in ourselves as a nation for others to believe in us because this is the only way the black man from any part of the world can have a face.
“We need to begin to see Nigeria as project which must not fail and must never fail.  Failure of Nigeria will be a disaster for the black man anywhere in the world,” Aregbesola stated.
He thanked the CAN president for the condolence visit saying that he is happy that his mother died at a good time without stress, praying for all to have the opportunity of exiting the world at a time one will be celebrated.
“For my mother to have had the privilege of giving birth to me, I can say that she died a very good death and am grateful for that.
Delivering his condolence message, CAN President, Rev. Dr Samson Ayokunle, said it is worthy of note that the late mother of Governor Aregbesola spent quality life while on earth, saying the quality of the life she lived was portrayed through the achievements of Aregbesola as a governor.
Ayokunle, who is also the President of the Nigerian Baptist Convention,  also added that Alhaja Saratu Aregbesola died at a good time because she died at time when her demise brought about a lot of honour to her.
He noted that the quality of life she lived is made manifest in the lives of her offspring, Governor Aregbesola inclusive, saying the good and hard work of the Governor must have been taken from Alhaja Saratu Aregbesola.
“We at the CAN Headquarters received the news of the death of Alhaja Saratu Aregbesola with a great shock.
“We are grateful to God that she led a quality life, which is made manifest in the lives of her offspring of which you are one of them.
“It is my prayer that God strengthen you, the Aregbesola family and the entire state to overcome the loss.
“He will strengthen you so as to continue to impact on your generation positively,” Ayokunle said.

Ajibola Basiru is the Attorney General and Commissioner for Justice- State of Osun. He holds a doctorate degree in law, from the University of Lagos. In this interview, he speaks on the administration of criminal justice/justice sector reform, Governor Rauf Aregbesola’s administration and how the state is curbing the menace of kidnapping and ritualists. Excerpts:
 
 
 
 
WHAT are your visions for justice delivery system in the State of Osun? I, mean, do you have a justice sector plan?
The last compilation of the record of laws in State of Osun was documented in 2002. When we resumed office as a new administration, we commissioned a consultant to properly examine these laws. I’ve been involved in the development of the laws since 2011 when I was appointed. At present, we have been able to pass 44 new laws and we have 20 pending legislations before the State Assembly. The issue of the administration of criminal justice is one of such laws before the State House of Assembly. Of course, in the aspect of the criminal justice administration, we did not just regurgitate what the Federal Government has put in place because we discovered that some clauses were problematic and decided to improve on them.
Compilation of an unfinished project

I would say that the reason we have not come up with the compilation of the laws is because in the making of the law, either in the reforming or making it dynamic and responsive to social-economic development, is an on-going process. Therefore, to fix the process by making a compilation would result to a compilation of an unfinished project. However, the laws we’ve made among the 44 laws include Public Finance Management legislations, which comprises the insurance law, the Omoluabi conservation law etc.
These are the laws that enabled us access the capital market in order to raise our N30 billion facility Bond. This is because we realized that taking the facilities from the capital market is more beneficial to the state, both in terms of their tenure and terms. This procedure also allowed transparency among all of us. It is worthy to note that one of the laws, the Omoluabi conservation law, really helped us pull through when things became very tough and hard. This unique law stipulates that a percentage of the revenue of the state should be kept in a special account called ‘the Omoluabi Conservation Fund’. And the funds can only be removed with special resolution of the State Assembly.
There are also basically what we call the infrastructure fund, future generation fund and stabilisation funds. More so, money can only be withdrawn from the infrastructure fund when only the state cannot pursue infrastructural development; except at adverse interest rates as defined under the law. There is also future generation fund by which certain percentage of the state’s resources would be set aside for future generation. However, these funds started with N4.2 billion and grew over a period of time. But at a point, capital market became changed due to the fall in the price of oil and challenges in revenue allocation. We were able to draw with the resolution in the House of Assembly some more money and that is why it became possible for us to complete those projects.
It is believed that you are the brain box of the Aregbesola’s administration. Would you say this is the correct position?
The issue of being the brain box of Aregbesola’s administration, I don’t think that is true. I know that Rauf Aregbesola had his own vision, policies. Yes, there might be some occurring convergence in terms of ideological regulation. As a student, I belonged to the Marxist school of thought and adopted the socialist ideal. So, I believe that we both, at some point, share same values.
But I believe that Rauf is someone who has deep ideological inclinations and a clear cut vision of what he wants to do as a governor. Infact, even before he became a governor, he once told us that he would resign if within two years he does not make any tangible transformation. And you can witness for yourself, if you go to State of Osun today, there are lots of transformations in terms of social and physical infrastructures.
You would also observe that there are social protections or programmes like school feeding. Osun youth empowerment schemes are new models that have been adopted by the Federal Government in the social protection regime. So, at this point, I would say that I have been a contributor to the success of Aregbesola’s government. In my first time as Commissioner, I served as Commissioner for Special Duties which led me to undertake several assignments. My ministry was also in charge of policy coordination, but to say otherwise would simply suggest that I went beyond my responsibilities.
All I know of Rauf Aregbesola is that he is intellectual and ideological. Of course, I am committed to his vision of transforming our state. And if, in any way, I offended anybody as a political advisory, it’s simply because of my loyalty to him and I have no apologies for anybody. It’s a shared vision which I believe our goal isn’t just to the State of Osun but to depict how black people can rule themselves.
It’s saddening that anywhere you see the black people, you find poverty, squalor, lawlessness and underdevelopment. We must reverse that trend and cannot continue to make our society act like a community that strictly depend on food; for that is simply the business of animals and not humans.  So our black race must not constrain itself to what I call ‘stomach infrastructure’. And yes, I am very determined in achieving our goal and of course, in that process, you will step on toes. There are also those who will be envious of your rising profile. But all I am saying is that irrespective of the adverse criticisms, I am committed to the success of Aregbesola’s administration.
What is the State of Osun doing to ensure the security of its residents against the activities of dreaded Badoo cult group, who the Lagos State police is cracking down on?
I would say that the state of Osun is a law and order territory, even before now. The state government under Rauf Aregbeshola has invested heavily in the security of the state. To that extent, I can boldly tell you that we have had success stories, not only in the apprehension of members of the Badoo group, also in their arraignment  before a court of law. For instance, last month, I was at Ilesha High Court, where we got conviction for two kidnappers. I told the court that it should show mercy on the community by giving them maximum sentence because it appears that kidnapping has now become a more lucrative offence than armed robbery. Second, in terms of ritual related offence, I was also before an Osogbo Court where a syndicate was reported to have been mutilating human corpse and selling its parts. On that day, I remember vividly that we were able to successfully tender some of the deceased’s organs like hearts, head, hands, as exhibits. However, in terms of law enforcement and prosecution, State of Osun has a good record in that aspect.
I also remember that during the kidnapping event of the wife of the Speaker State of Osun- House of Assembly, the kidnappers were later successfully apprehended and arraigned before the court. And the state, as part of its investment in security matters, also introduced the use of surveillance helicopter. I believe this is really a good approach because any state that is truly security conscious should have at least four to five helicopters for area monitoring.
This is because once there is such Surveillance, then there would not be any hideout or evil creek for easy crimes or such offenders.
Inaccessible hideouts
Offenders like the Badoo group actually hide under the cloak of secrecy by creating inaccessible hideouts. Hence, with this new approach of surveillance, they can be picked easily and security coordination would be tightened. The state has also invested in armour personnel carriers. The state also supports the police, the State Security Service (SSS), the civil defence and all other security agencies.
Hence, allowances are made official for all security operatives in the state as a form of motivation. This is the reason the government took over some cities in the state like Ejigbo, Ilesha and Ife under the siege of armed robbers which even resulted into the closure of banks. But I can confidently tell you now that those banks are successfully functional. Therefore, the idea of Badoo group invading the state would actually fall on dead grounds because the State of Osun cannot accommodate such devilish activity. We have invested strongly in the security of this state and we are a state that has the ability to bring such group to order in no distant time. Such group cannot suffice or penetrate freely.

The Attorney General of the State of Osun, Ajibola Basiru has said that law making is not a one-off process but a continuous and enduring one.
 
 
 
Speaking to Members of the Nigerian Bar Association (NBA) Lawyers in the Media (LIM) Forum in Lagos recently about the development of law and the administration of justice system in the state, the Commissioner for Justice informed them that the state had commenced work on several laws in Osun State, which according to him was last reviewed in 2002.
“Making law is an ongoing process, and the state is currently focused on developing capacity within the Judiciary for speedier dispensation of Justice, the AG said.
He hinted that the Chief Judge of the State of Osun was currently reviewing the Civil Procedure Rules, which according to him will ensure the quick dispensation of Justice is both civil and Criminal matters.
He continued, “Recently, 44 new laws have been passed while a few are still in the works. Some of those in the works include, the Administration of Criminal Justice Law,”
Speaking extensively about the administration of justice system; the efficiency of the judiciary and the quality of judgments, Basiru blamed the lack of infrastructure and financial autonomy for the decay in Nigeria’s Judiciary.
He said, “While there are serious infrastructural challenges in the Judiciary face, the lack of independence and autonomy faced by the judiciary is just as grievous. It is damaging.”
“We do have three arms of government, which are not totally independent of each other but rather exist to complement each other. How can it be right and efficient for the Executive to provide allocations for the Chief Judge to build courts, how can the same executive be checked.
“Note that, this is not to say that the Judiciary should not be well funded. On the contrary, the Judiciary should be well catered for as it will encourage more local and foreign investments and that is why we are working hard to ensure that the judiciary is restructured.
On the role of the police in the dispensation of justice, the AG said, “We must realise that the Police and the Nigerian Prison service play a vital role in this regard. Unfortunately we have no authority over these institutions. That notwithstanding, we are trying our best to work with them to ensure that we decongest our prisons and prosecute the right people.”
The State of Osun has indeed scored some victories with its dispute resolution system. The AG disclosed that only about 10% of disputes in the state is currently being resolved through litigation, while over 90% are resolved through Alternative Dispute Resolution (ADR) mechanisms.
Speaking about the State’s achievement in the justice sector, Basiru said, that the state has successfully reduced its caseload, largely attributing this to the use of information and communication technology (ICT) to track cases and to better understand the challenges in the system.
“We discovered early in this administration that it was not all about legal training, it had to go beyond legal training to ICT and Managerial skills for efficient case management system.”
“This is why we continue to invest in manpower development and training for our people.
“Indeed, ours has been a success story so far and we believe that we will still to do greater things in advancing and administering the laws of our state.”

The first batch of intending pilgrims from the State of Osun for the year 2017 Hajj exercise will depart Osogbo on Wednesday, 9th of August, while the second batch will depart on Thursday, 10th of August, 2017 for Lagos.
The Secretary, State of Osun Pilgrims’ Welfare Board, Alhaji Sikiru Adetona disclosed this at a farewell programme organized for the intending pilgrims on Saturday, 5th August, 2017 at Bola-Ige House.
He added that, the first batch from the State of Osun are expected to converge on the Board’s Office, State Secretariat Complex on Wednesday 9th August, 2017 at 7.00am with their luggage for movement to the Hajj Camp, Lagos in anticipation of their departure to Saudi Arabia.
Alhaji Adetona further stated that, adequate transport provision fortified with Police Escorts has been provided for the departure to the Hajj Camp.
He then maintained that, adequate welfare packages have been programmed for all the intending pilgrims and that, the Board remains resolute to surpass the enviable position it has continued to retain amongst other States in the annual Islamic exercise.
A total of 969 pilgrims are expected to leave for Saudi Arabia this year from the State of Osun.