Ejigbo is a prominent town in Yoruba Land and the headquarters of Ejigbo Local Government Area of State of Osun. Ejigbo is strategically placed in the middle of the region, as 35 kilometres north-east of Iwo, 30 km from Ogbomoso in the north and 24 km from Ede in the south-east. It is about 40 km north-west of Osogbo, the capital and about 95 km north-east of Ibadan. It is part of the Ede North/Ede South/Egbedore/Ejigbo Federal Constituency. The population is put at of 132,641 at the 2006 census.
 
 

 
 
Farming is the traditional source of economy in Ejigbo. It is based on production of food crops, such as yam, cassava, cocoyam, potato, maize, guinea corn, cowpea and cash crops like cocoa, palm oil, kola-nut, coconut and varieties of fruits. Trading in textiles and imported goods is also common in the town
Ejigbo indigenes reside in Ivory Coast, Togo, Benin Republic and some other Francophone Countries thereby giving them the opportunity to speak French in addition to Yoruba, their mother tongue. They also occupy key positions in some of these countries.
The traditional title of the paramount ruler is Ogiyan of Ejigbo.
Ejigbo is home to the College Of Agriculture, Osun State University.

Governor Aregbesola has been honoured by WAEC for taking the lead in digital education in Nigeria. This truly is a tremendous opportunity for Aregbesola to help more Osun students get access to quality education. In the new global economy, digital education is an increasingly important part of education, and Aregbesola looks forward to guiding efforts to further expand the reach and breadth of digital education and its courses throughout Nigeria.
 

 
No country can develop where merit and excellence are not sufficiently recognized. 2012 t0 2017 provided a period to assess Governor Aregbesola. WAEC’s endorsement of Aregbesola Opon Imo is an award for excellence and good governance which is a sober effort to recognize and fete merit and excellence in education in Nigeria. Today, Governor Aregbesola lays no claim to sainthood or any special Solomon wisdom but it could hardly be denied that his passion for educational excellence, commitment for human development singled him out for recognition of merit and make him a model for emulation by many because he laid the foundation for digital education in Nigeria.
Governor Aregbesola has proven that when there is palpable decline of faith in Nigeria, his sheer energy and imagination represent beacons of hope. WAEC endorsement of Opon Imo is a veritable reward for excellence and recognition of integrity in governance. The endorsement is a celebration of AREGBESOLA’S innovation and creativity in Nigeria.
Last week, West African Examination Council, WAEC, endorsed Governor Rauf Aregbesola’s policies, especially in the education sector. Delivering a frame of endorsement to the governor on Friday, 3rd February, 2017, Head of the Nigeria National Office of the council, Mr. Olutise Isaac Adenipekun, who led a delegation of the national management of WAEC to the Governor’s office in Osogbo, said Governor Rauf Aregbesola’s interventions in education is “second to none” in Nigeria.
Adenipekun said, “The ongoing revolution in the infrastructural re-engineering of the school complexes in the state of Osun has also caught the attention of all stakeholders in the education sector in Nigeria and beyond.
“The immense contribution of the state government in the development of infrastructural facilities in schools, in particular, the “Mega Schools Project” is remarkable. It is in fact second to none in Nigeria”, he stressed.
Adenipekun said Osun has contributed significantly towards enhancing Information and Communication Technology, ICT required in education sector which according to him remains the prerequisite to development of quality education in the country. Adenipekun, who recommended the Tablet of Knowledge to other states of the federation said the initiative had contributed towards educational development.
He described the innovation as a tool of educational revolution, breakthrough aimed at enhancing and encouraging the process of teaching and learning through the use of innovative technology.
“We are particularly proud of the landmark achievement and the major breakthrough of the current administration in Osun most significantly in education sector by the introduction of the ground breaking ‘Tablet of Knowledge’ also known as “Opon Imo” to students of the state at secondary level.
“As we commend the efforts of Mr. Governor on the landmark achievement and major breakthrough of his administration in education most importantly on the widely applauded ‘Tablet of Knowledge’ which had improved and encouraged teaching and learning, we equally recommend other states to key into this initiative so as to improve the education sector,” he added.
Governor Aregbesola who described “the Tablet of Knowledge” as a panacea to education revolution, said the state had recorded national and international awards on the initiative. Commending WAEC for maintaining education standards in the country, Governor Aregbesola said the examination body had contributed tremendously in raising the standards of education in the West African sub-region.
Whether critics like it or not, Governor Aregbesola has laid foundation and remain the pioneer of digital education in Nigeria and he represents agent of change as far as digital education is concerned in Nigeria.
History of Digital Education will remember Governor Aregbesola as the first Nigerian to implement UNESCO 2011 recommendation on digital education. Nigerians need to visit Osun Sukuk Schools, Middle Schools and Elementary Schools. Governor Aregbesola has undertaken to build and equip schools with computer classrooms and training teachers to use digital media in education.
In this line, Opon Imo “local content’’ in digital education has allowed teachers to use tablets to teach students. In the history of Nigeria, Governor Aregbesola will be remembered to be first leader to introduce digital education. Like India, Osun State is working to improve on Opon Imo. Truth is, years to come Governor Aregbesola will be remembered as part of digital education in Nigeria.
About 33 states in Nigeria are presently working on how to introduce digital education by using Osun model of Opon Imo. Through Opon-Imo, all books, laboratories and study materials needed by students have been catered for.
Governor Aregbesola promised that there would be no need of students buying books and other study materials. The tablet of knowledge, indeed, serves this purpose.

The governor, state of Osun, Ogbeni Rauf Aregbesola yesterday visited the site of ongoing construction work at the Bisi Akande trumpet bridge in Gbongan.
The governor expressed satisfaction at the pace and quality of the work done so far, whilst urging the contractors to keep up the good work and ensure that the project is completed as and at when due.
 
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Ikire is the closest town to Oyo state and can be called the gateway town to the State of Osun. It is within the basin of the famous River Osun. It lies on latitude 07° 30′North and longitude 04°20′East. The population is 143,599 according to the 2006 Population Census
 

 
Farming is a major activity in the town and crops grown includes yam, cocoa, cassava and plantain. The town is know for production of ‘’Dodo Ikire’’, a snack made with plantain and pepper. The proximity to Ibadan, a major commercial and industrial centre in the Southwest helps in facilitating smooth movement of goods and services.
The Akire of Ikireland is the traditional head and Chairman Akire-in-Council.
The people practice Islam, Christianity as well as traditional religion. The Akire Festival is an important event in the town.
Important landmark in the nodal town includes, College of Humanities and Culture Osun State University and State General Hospita

A non-profit organisation under the aegis of United African State has trained 300 craftswomen in Osun State, in areas such as bead making, fashion designing, batik, tye and dye among others, with a view to making them self-reliant.
Speaking on the objective of the organization, Ambassador, Nurudeen Ogunlade, said the initiative was designed to empower the women economically as a strategy to reduce poverty in the society in line with the vision 2020.

 
Ogunlade said the women drawn from all the 30 local government areas in Osun state, have been equipped with different skills and that they would also be exposed to international markets to sell their products.
He added that his organization in collaboration with another group known as All Work of Life (AWOL), is assisting Osun women on capacity building and guiding them through the business side of their trades.
Ogunlade said his organization also plans to cultivate the women to be advocates of world peace, free expression, environmental harmony, universal human love and appreciation of native culture.
He said the women in Osun would also be mobilised and encouraged to lend their voices to the war that has been waged against corruption and corrupt individuals by the administration of President Muhammadu Buhari.
Ogunlade then went ahead to commend the Osun State Governor, Mr Rauf Aregbesola, for the massive infrastructural development in the state, particularly in the aspect of road constructions, newly built schools and other projects that targeted the women and children in the state including the school feeding programme.
He however disclosed that out of the 300 women that participated in the training, 20 would be taken to a Business Expo Exhibition in Belize, near Cuba in Central America, to showcase their made in Nigeria products.

Osun United Football Club on  Monday afternoon forced Gateway United Football Club to a 1-1 draw in the South West NNL Pre-Season Tournament match played at the Onikan Stadium, Lagos.
 

 
Gateway went in front very early in the match, Christian Samuel was the man who gave them the lead after he latched on to a lose ball in the box and he skilfully helped it into the net.
The Omoluabi Giants however mounted pressure on Gateway defence and got their equaliser in the 52nd minute when diminutive midfielder Hakeem Olalere scored via a penalty.
Efforts by both teams to increase their tally  yielded no result.
Coach Duke Udi, commended Gateway team and expressed satisfaction with the performance of his players.
He praised his charges and said with what he saw, the players, would play better in future engagements.
Osun United will battle with National League newcomers My People FC on Tuesday evening at Onikan Stadium.

Ilesa, a major city in the State of Osun is very strategic because it is a major gateway to the north, south and eastern parts of Nigeria. It is located on approximately 70 N 50E. A rain forest zone known for its agricultural potentials. The major crops produced includes cocoa, oil palm, kolanuts, cotton, pumpkins.
 

 
People from this part of the state are called Ijeshas and they are known to be very hardworking, industrious and widely travelled. Local governments making up Ijeshaland includes, Ilesa East, Ilesa West,  Obokun, Oriade, Atakunmosa East and Atakunmosa West.  Major towns are Iperindo, Ijebu- Jesa, Osu, Esa Oke, Ikeji Arakeji, Owena Ijesha, Imesi Ile, Ifewara and others  villages numbering over two hundred.  The total population of Ijesaland according to the 2006 Population Census is put at 620,109.
Ilesa is known to have large deposits of gold in commercial quantities and other minerals in considerable proportion.
The traditional ruler of Ilesa is called the Owa Obokun of Ijesaland who is the paramount ruler and head.
Ilesa is home to the International Breweries Limited, Wesley Guild Hospital, the famous Ilesa Grammar School and Osun State College of Technology, Esa Oke.  Tourist attractions in this part of the state are Erin Ijesa Waterfalls, Kiriji War Museum and the annual Iwude Festival.

The Governor, state of Osun, Ogbeni Rauf Aregbesola, has received a warm applause for being forthright on the implementation of policies designed to revamp the agriculture sector in the state.
The praise was coming from members of the Osun state chapter of Cassava Growers Association of Nigeria, while they presented their position paper to the State House of Assembly Committee on Agriculture.
 

 
The association commended the state for being the bulwark of support to the needs of farmers in the state since assumption of office.
Presenting the paper, the Chairman of the Association, Dr David Ogunsade, described agriculture as the only surviving alternative to dearth of revenue from crude oil production in the country.
He stressed the need for more support from governments, stakeholders and other interested groups to enhance agricultural productivity, capacity, as well improve on the youth’s endorsement and participation in farming.
Ogunsade said government must provide the enabling environment that would further enhance micro-credit facilities to farmers most especially the peasant farmers in the country.
He however saluted Governor Aregbesola’s administration for establishing what he described as a robust and mutually beneficial partnership with the association which according to him, had re-positioned the agricultural sector in the state.
Furthermore, he stated that the government of Osun had done well in boosting the welfare and morale of farmers through its prompt interventions as part of efforts to realising the state’s potentials in agriculture.
Calling for modern agricultural practices to improve on the agricultural productivity in the state, Ogunsade said no effort must be spared by all at building a capacity that would encourage farming through the provision of ultra-modern facilities to farmers.
According to him, for rapid growth in the sector, modern agricultural practices must be encouraged while interest-free loans must be introduced to farmers.
He implored the state not to relent on its goal at turning the state to food basket of the nation.
“Our moribund agricultural infrastructures like cassava processing industry, cocoa processing industry, palm oil production industry among others, must be resuscitated so as to meet the needs of the people and help the state to be self-sufficient in food production.
“We want our Governor to do more in reviving all the cassava processing industries across the state so as to further increase on our cassava production capacity,” he added.
In response, Chairman of the Osun State House committee on Agriculture and Food Security, Mr Gbadebo Abdullahi, said government would continue to support the association in realizing its goals.
He then urged the farmers to always fulfil their obligation by refunding all credit facilities provided by government in order to enable others to benefit.
Abdullahi also tasked the farmers to seek other avenues to improve on their production and quality.
He assured them that the government would do its bit and they should also do theirs while maintaining unity.
Another member of the committee, Mr Israel Aloba, in support, called on the members of the association to cooperate with relevant agencies in the realisation of their dreams, saying this would help fast track their job and make the state the hub of cassava production in the country.

Nigeria Women Premier League side Osun Babes FC have unveiled their new club crest which will appear on the club’s shirt from the start of the 2016/2017 Nigeria Women Premier League Season (NWPL).
The management of the club decided to make it known to the public after lengthy consultations with stakeholders and fans of the club who were broadly in favour of establishing a new logo for the Omoluabi Queens.
 

 
The new design marks the departure from the existing badge, adopted in 2014, and instead resembles an updated version of the club’s new philosophies.
According to a statement by the club’s media officer, Olayinka Olawole, “The new crest features a shield that retains the seal of the State of Osun, which comprises of two elephants, Ori Olokun, a Cocoa tree, an inner shield, crossed woods, Swords, a mace and seven cowries.
“The elephants symbolizes strength, service and prosperity, while the Ori Olokun represents the common origin of Yoruba and their dexterity in technology. The Cocoa Tree and two crossed logs of wood on which the elephant stands signifies the dependence of the state and its respects for agriculture and other natural resources of the land.

“Also, the chief’s sword and mace embodies the spirit and purpose of Osun State! While the inner shield and cowries on the Ori Olokun symbolizes the link between Osun State and the federal republic of Nigeria and the seven grandsons of Oduduwa respectively. The crest also includes the year the club was founded, 1995.
Some of the players told the club’s media team how happy they are looking forward to wearing the new badge.
“We are really looking forward to wearing it. It’s something new. This is what we love about this club and the journey we have been on since we’ve been here. There have always been new and exciting things and every one of them positive. It’s no different with this badge. We think it’s great.”
Meanwhile, the club has officially ended screening for new players ahead of the 2016/2017 NWPL season and have retained eighteen players from the old players and also picked twelve new exciting players for the new season.