No fewer than Twenty Five Thousand, Two Hundred and Eighty Three (25,283) students of the Osun origin have benefited from bursary awards with a sum of N521 million.
The state government said the effort is in furtherance of its determination to ensure that education is available to all indigenes irrespective of their financial conditions.
The Permanent Secretary, Ministry of Education, Mr. Lawrence Oyeniran, at the weekend, explained that a sum of N275.7 million was paid to final year students of the state origin across Nigerian tertiary institutions for the 2012/2013 academic session.
He added that a special grant to the tune of N17.3 million has also been paid to Law school students of Osun Origin in six campuses of the Nigerian Law School for the 2012/ 2013.
Oyeniran stressed that the sum of N208.6 million was paid to 20,215 final year students from 74 institutions and N18.5 billion to 185 law school students in five campuses last year.
According to him, “What the Rauf Aregbesola-led administration has done with the payment of Bursary to the students is in compliance with one of the six-point integral action plan that focuses on the provision of functional education.‎‎
“We should not forget that N2,000 used to be paid as bursary to final year students in colleges of education, N3,000 to all undergraduates and N10,000 to law students and their counterparts in colleges of medicine.
‎
“With the coming of Aregbesola, bursary award to student in tertiary institutions is now N10,000 flat, irrespective of the student’s course of study, while N20,000 is being paid to final year students of law and medicine and a generous review of the N10,000 to students of Nigerian law schools to N100,000”. The director noted.
The Bureau of Communications and Strategy in the Office of the Governor, while restating the administration’s commitment to the restoration of functional education, said that all the education initiatives of the administration that are being commended from far and near are aimed at producing students who are well-prepared and who can compete with any student in any part of the world.
“It is less than four years that this revolution started. The results are already showing. The surest way to change the society is to change the way people are educated. This, this government has challenged itself to achieve,” the Bureau’s Director, Mr. Semiu Okanlawon said.
He added that the many recognitions received by the state’s education policies are enough testimonials that Osun has the template for solving many of the disturbing national questions.
“For instance, the Federal Government has now realised the need to introduce the school meal programme. This is one programme that has increased school enrollments in Osun. It alleviates poverty and create jobs for local food vendors and farmers. The ripple effects are just simply tremendous,” Okanlawon added.

Photos showing the reaction of the people of Osun during the Commissioning of  ’23 Road Network for Osogbo

Ajanaku ko ja mo ri nkan firi . Bi a ba re erin a mo pe a re erin
The elephant is not an ordinary animal that can pass unnoticed. This implies that Ogbeni Rauf Adesoji Aregbesola is not a mean governor but a governor whose impact has been felt not only in Osun but in Nigeria as a whole. It is a known fact even by the political candidates jostling for the seat of governor of the state of Osun.
The August 9, 2014 election is no doubt gathering momentum, and the various political gladiators are going about in the state soliciting for the votes of the electorate, so far so good, it appears that the coming election will be between the All Progressive Congress (APC) candidate, the incumbent governor, Aregbesola and the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) candidate Senator Iyiola Omisore.  The bill boards are all over the state, not only adding beauty to the streets, but adding glamour to the political process. A bill board of Omisore reads “ Atari Ajanaku Ki seru omode”, meaning; The head of the elephant is not a load for a kid . It is interesting to note that Omisore claim to be an elephant’s head, while the incumbent governor, Aregbesola political appellation is that of a living and complete elephant. So, which of the two is heavier? The elephant’s head or a whole elephant
Philosophers do not answer questions, but muse; they try to understand the questions as there is no definite answer to philosophical questions. Thinkers trade in questions.
Aregbesola is often saluted as “ Ajanaku koja mori nkan firi bi a ba r’erin ka mo pe a ri erin. This means elephant cannot but be noticed. Aregbesola’s personality, vision and mission have catapulted him far above his contemporaries in the political space, his wealth is the people that passionately love and appreciated his governance everywhere he goes.
Dr. Orji Uzor Kalu, the former governor of Abia state that participated in the last edition of “Walk to live” in the state could not hide his feelings when he declared; “I am a member of the PDP but with what I have heard and seen about your governor made me to come out in the open to support good work.
Iyiola Omisore is a personal friend of mine but I will always say the truth. Few days that I have spent here and the way his people talked about him truly showed that Governor Aregbesola deserve another term to complete that good work that the Lord has used him to start during his first term”.
Ba ba ri erin ka mo pe  a ri erin- Former Inspector General  of Police and Chairman of Police Service Commission Mr. Mike Okiro added his voice to what Aregbesola has achieved in the state when he declared that Osun is saved for investors . The American Ambassador added his voice to those who have seen what elephant looks like, by encouraging investors to come to the state. Comrade Chukwu Merije, a PDP member and Senate Chairman on Education Committee on a working visit to the state urged other states to emulate Aregbesola’s reforms in education.
Historically speaking, every age produces leaders that come to meet the need of the hour. Henry Ford asserted: “The whole secret of a successful life is to find out what it is one’s destiny to do, and then do it”. This hour has produced Aregbesola that has uplifted the state to become the seventh economic developed state in Nigeria. The man has justified the mandate given to him by the people. Under three years, he has provided jobs to over 40,000 youths, through OYES and another 10,000 jobs in the civil service with 54% additional teachers recruited to meet the educational reform. There is no community, or household that has not benefited from this singular initiative. The World Bank has since recommended the project to the federal government.
The Educational sector has become a phenomenon; dilapidated school structures have given ways for new, modern and well equipped schools.  Parents have been relieved of burden for payment of WAEC examination fees, that cost the state over 400 million naira annually.
Opon Imo, the computer device that aids learning, is another fit that nobody can deny. Aregbesola’s score on this learning device has earned him several laurels across the globe. The governor has asserted that “Education offers the best way to produce great individuals that will create great society. This is the trust of our mission in education. It is a mission that should be backed by all, for it is a mission that is in the interest of all”.
When a leader embarked on a mission that benefited all irrespective of the circumstances of birth, that leader will be hard to dislodged, because he is no longer an ordinary leader but a statesman. The other candidates for the coming election will contend with the public scrutiny on many issues which include; ethics, love and transparency. On ethics, George Washington was better illustrating it, when he was asked who cut down the cherry tree, he replied, ‘I cannot tell a lie.”
Some of these gubernatorial aspirants are noted for telling lies quite often to the extent that their names are synonymous with lies. They lied over what is generally known to the public, they lied over their secret weakness, they lied to co party leaders, and they lied about their achievements within and outside the public domain. Ethics are a set of basic working tenets for life and business. The stronger our ethical behavior, the better leaders we become.
Trust – There ought to be trust between leaders and the led. It is the fulcrum that leads to social contract, but where there is no trust between the led and the leader, the right to govern the people is lost.
Love for the people and the passion to bring a positive change to the lives of the people will be tested. Once the people realized they are dealing with selfish and power hungry politicians, they will not hesitate to give their mandate to the trusted, tested and transparent leaders. This is the edge that Aregbesola has over the other contenders.  That is the edge that will make his second term bid a walk-over.
Obaditan  wrote in from Osogbo
DAILY INDEPENDENT

As part of efforts of the present administration of state of Osun  at boosting pig farming in the state, Commissioner for Agric and Food Security, Hon. Wale Adedoyin will tomorrow  (friday)flag off the Piggery Artificial Insemination programme  in the state.
The project ,which is aimed at ensuring improvement in pig farming through the  production of pig progeny in terms of large littars size, hybrid vigour, rapid growth rate, leaness of meat which gets to the consumer is also expected to boost the creation of wealth for unemployed youths.
This is contained in a statement signed by the Permanent Secretary, Ministry of Agriculture and Food Security, Mr Sunday Odediran.
The statement then enjoined all pig farmers in Osun West senatorial District to turn out enmass for the exercise at the following designated farms: Akande farms Iwo, Akintaro farms Ede,and Oladimeji farms Halleluyah, Dada Estate in Egbedore Local Government.
The statement also states that it will be the turn of Osun central and Osun East senatorial Districts immediately after the completion of the exercise at Osun West Senatorial district.
OSUN NEWS

A total of 12 States were considered in the Innovation Award Initiative: two states in each of the six geo-political zones of the country were closely examined over a period of three months. It was from this effort that the State of Osun emerged as the overall winner. Some of the factors that enhanced our decisions are the turn-around projects embarked upon by Aregbesola administration which represent a tremendous improvement on what he met on ground about four years ago. Lets take a look at some of them.
The Solution
The state government of Osun, along with other government units, started in the early part of the administration to implement plans that aim at developing and modernizing the state, extending the roads, expanding the network of lighting and green spaces and constructing public parks and utilities and decorative monuments. The administration’s responsibility did not stop at just implementing these projects and equipping itself with the latest technology; on the contrary, it continues to maintain the highest level of cleanliness and provide whatever is required to maintain and preserve these important utilities. Thus, Osun became a model and example of beauty and cleanliness dazzling the residents and visitors alike. Specifically, it has adopted measures to ensure a high standard of cleanliness within the key cities in the state including boosting efficiency of its internal operations, staging campaigns to promote awareness in public and individual health, enlisting the support of schools in environmental cleanliness, keeping roads clean, and giving attention to timely collection and disposal of garbage. The subject of cleanliness is the top priority facing those responsible for the cities. This subject takes a special place in view of the cities’ expansion thus attracting the people to live and work therein, forming a phenomenon of our modern time, and transforming the cleaning services into a difficult challenge. The Osun Elementary School Feeding and Health Programme now known as O-MEALS is the one of the few surviving school meal programmes in the country. It was formerly known as the Home Grown School Feeding and Health Programme (HGSFP) . This has now been restructured and enhanced by the administration of the State of Osun, to reach a larger number of  students (254,000) and to empower  over 3000 community caterers. The programme was initiated by the Federal Government in 2004 through the Universal Basic Education (UBE) Act. On assumption of office, the present administration undertook a comprehensive review of the inherited school feeding arrangement and came up with an overhauled and rebranded programme that was officially launched on the 30th April 2012. Implementation in primary schools is ongoing throughout the State. The key areas of improvement undertaken by the current administration are,  inclusion of elementary year 4 , thereby increasing beneficiaries to 254,000, Capacity Development  and Empowerment 3007 Community Caterers , backwards integration to  local markets and  process improvements This scheme has gained international endorsement as well. In November 2012, Partnership for Child Development (PCD) United Kingdom and the Government of the State of Osun signed the Osun Elementary School Feeding Transition Strategy Plan Document to further strengthen the programme. O-MEALS aims to reverse the very low academic performance of pupils noting that good nutrition is necessary for  development of  cognitive skills. The daily feeding allowance for each pupil has also been increased from N50.00 to N250.00. For effective service, a total number of 3,007 food vendors/cooks were trained and are currently employed to serve midday meals for pupils of classes 1, 2 , 3 and 4 in all primary schools in the State of Osun. For easy identification, each of the food vendors was provided with uniforms free of charge. The uniforms provided include gowns, aprons, and caps. The government of the State of Osun also facilitated provision of cooking utensils for each of the caterers at minimal cost. First Bank PLC granted a loan of N124.5 million to 123 cooperative groups of food vendors for purchasing cooking utensils. The government of the State of Osun also agreed to pay the interest accrued on the loan facility and food vendors are to repay the loan within 36 months (3 years).
The Challenge
The past governments have tried to establish effective and quality of dialogue between the citizens and the administration which have not been achieved.
The Solution
The direct dialogue that exists between the state government and the administration has made the government of Ogbeni Aregbesola to become so popular across the state. The project’s aim is to facilitate and improve the relationship between citizens and the government by simplifying the tools that citizens use to obtain information and communicate with public institutions. “Meet the Ogbeni” allows citizens to engage with the state government in an innovative manner. It seeks to advance open government by enabling a more personal channel of enquiry to government. It allows for interaction and the exchange of information with other stakeholders.
The Challenge
The Government faced the challenge of providing social assistance and support to vulnerable sections of society.
The Solution
The state government has demonstrated that it could radically transform public institutions into entities capable of providing quality service at levels comparable to those attained by their private sector counterparts. Its social policy making is aimed at promoting the generation of a new intergenerational culture. It devoted particular attention to specific demands from the different generational population groups. Providing social coverage to most sectors of society is considered as a main target and its aim is to reduce inequalities. The people are the most important asset of a government. A genuine development agenda should therefore have at its core, the welfare of people, and seek to implement a robust human capacity development programme. The Ogbeni administration passionately aligns with this governance approach and is entrenching welfarism at the centre of her development programmes. Apart from the state’s social centric programmes, other programmes like physical infrastructure programmes should also be delivered in such a way as to add social value like public services, local jobs, capacity development to pragmatically improve the socio-economic status of the people. Osun has been implementing its programmes across all society strata in this direction. Through the Osun Youth Empowerment Scheme, OYES, the state is pioneering for Nigeria, a grassroots youth empowerment scheme that has won commendations from institutions like the World Bank. For the past three years, the state has undergone a radical change in the coverage of its programmes and the increase in its benefits. This has been possible due to institutional efficacy guided to quality roles. The initiative has resulted in the efficient use of the public resources and increased benefits. The quality has been maintained, a new information system has been introduced and institutional reengineering has taken place. The initiative has resulted in the following changes:
1) Reduction in costs,
2) Transparency in the administration of resources and services,
3) Creation of a client-oriented culture (in substitution for the bureaucratic culture)
The Challenge
Public administration reforms in Osun used to be formal and did not address or respond to the needs of citizens and businesses, especially given the differences at the local level.
The Solution
Although there have been reforms in the past decade, changes in the institutional and administrative system increased the demand for further reform. For example, the state has assumed several important functions, and others have been transferred from the local governments. At the same time, the call for improving the conditions of the private sector and the market has been growing. In response to this call for reform, the State of Osun has gradually been transformed into a facilitator for cooperation and understanding between administrative institutions, as well as coordination centre for administrative innovation for citizens and businesses. Today, the state is committed to modernizing its functions through consensual methods, encouraging various government agencies to work together to reach agreement. The objective is for all stakeholders of any innovation to share goals rather than perceive them as rules imposed on them. The state government sees the development of infrastructure as key to its vision of establishing Osun as a commercial hub for the south west of Nigeria. As such, a physical infrastructure development programme to open up the state as a viable route for the transportation of goods and services between the hinterlands of Nigeria and Lagos State (Nigeria’s Business Capital) is currently being implemented. This programme entails the construction and expansion of  various roads categories. These include, Boundary Highways, Inter City Roads, Township Roads , Local Government Roads and Rural Roads. These developments are currently being implemented in an integrated manner, to provide Osun with a road network system that will position it as a conduit for easy movement of goods and services from the North, (through neighboring Kwara State) towards Lagos (through neighboring Ogun State, Ijebu Igbo Axis). This stretch of Kwara – Osun -Ogun through Osun, covers over 120km road network and offers an alternative route to the very burdened Lagos-Ibadan Expressway. It is the belief of the current administration, that such an integrated road infrastructure will revive the status of Osogbo, and consequently the State , as a commercial hub for the south west region. To complement the road network system, the Ogbeni administration is developing Business Infrastructures that will cater for the opportunities that the emerging road network and commercial hub will bring.  As such, the Osun-Hub(O-Hub) initiative is being implemented.
The Challenge
Reforming the educational structure to respond to the students changing needs by creating conducive Education Centres
The Solution
The state of the art educational facilities across the state has created a new structure based on the principles of clarity, flexibility, and compatibility. The reform increases students’ freedom of choice and facilitates flexibility in changing between areas of interest. The new teaching structure is expected to have positive impact on the educational sector as a whole, including the students and those employed in the field. The vision of the present administration under Ogbeni Rauf Aregbesola before coming to government was to radically increase access to Universal Basic Education in our society. This is in furtherance of the vision of the former Western Region Government under the late sage Chief Obafemi Awolowo. This is also in line with Millennium Development Goal Two (MDG 2) of achieving Universal Primary Education, which goes in consonance with Aregbesola’s programme of promoting functional education. Presently, the physical infrastructure component of these reclassification is being carried out systematically with the building of elementary, middle and high schools. The human and social component such as recruitment of teachers, provision of instructional materials, psychological and social support through value re-orientation, revival of ideals of hard work, honesty, discipline, determination, revival of Boys and Girls Clubs, calisthenics activities are simultaneously being introduced. The State Government of Osun, under Aregbesola, in its resolve to champion inspiring innovations from Africa, has undertaken a ground breaking step to utilize ICTs to concisely tackle the learning problem through the Opón Ìmò Initiative. The State, through its Opón Ìmò Technology Enhanced Learning System (OTELS), has developed a learning tool that could revolutionize learning in developing states around the world. This tool is called the Opón Ìmò, “Tablet of Knowledge”. The Opon Imo is a programme to provide senior secondary school students with free tablet computers preloaded with learning materials to prepare for school-leaving exams. These programmes were designed and are being implemented to deliver tangible and radical socio-economic value across the various demographics of the society. The comprehensive multi-sector impact of these programmes has helped Osun record dramatic improvements in human development indices.
The Challenge
How to increase efficiency and improve transparency in the Public Service by managing performance systems and service delivery arrangements to maximize their effectiveness.
The Solution
The administrations emphasized the importance of accountability, capacity building and promotion of excellence in the public sector. The Aregbesola Government has been involved with a “major reconceptualisation of the role of government”. The New Public Management Theory has been a guiding principle in helping the government to reinvent itself in the light of pressures exerted by the rapid pace of technological advances and the resulting economical, social and political impacts. National institutions need to be agile, flexible and innovative to accommodate the changes. The public service in the state took a leading role in a range of supportive initiatives to create a public service system that is robust and sustainable.

The Osun State Government  has approved N275.7 million  for the  payment of  backlog of bursary in the 2012/2013 academic year, the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports.
Mrs Mulikat Bello, the Special Adviser to the  Governor on Higher Education,  disclosed this on Tuesday while speaking with newsmen in Osogbo.
Bello said: “A total sum of  N226.1 million had so far  been disbursed to 20,774 final year students from 56 tertiary institutions.
‘’The tertiary institutions included  the Nigerian Law Schools,18 universities,13 polytechnics and colleges of technology,14 colleges of education and three colleges of  health technology.
‘’Other schools that were taken care of included colleges of  agriculture, a school of  nursing, school of hygiene, school of surveying and co-operative college.’’
She called on the authorities of 21 higher institutions of learning whose  final year students had not yet received their  2012-2013 bursary award  to submit all required information.
“Also, the schools should submit the schools’ bank account details and render their previous statement of  payment for the year 2011/2012 bursary awards to the Office of Higher Education, Scholarship and Bursary in the State Ministry of Education,’’  she added.
She  said the bursary  intervention ’’has reduced the financial burden of  tertiary education on parents and students.’’ (NAN)

He promised in 2006: “within the first hundred days of our assumption of office, we will engage 20,000 youths. We will give them means by which they can maintain their subsistence. Our youths will not roam the streets again when we become the governor of our state”.
I remember vividly. It was in December 2006, Engineer Rauf Aregbesola; as he was referred to then was addressing a quite overwhelming mammoth of people of Ikirun town, State of Osun. He made a number of promises- from agriculture to infrastructure, education, security, commerce, revenue generation, and all. But as he started to speak on Osun youths, one could easily read a changed emotion in his voice and face.
He expressed a strong and barely controllable emotion. He wondered why Nigeria’s future- the youth could be so unfortunate. He queried why successive governments would not see the need to stem insecurity through minimal engagement of the youths. He told the gathering then that two advantages are derivable when a government invest in the youths- peace and security as well as economic viability and growth.
Between 2007 and now, seven years have gone into history. However two major incidents attract due reflections. By the time Ogbeni Rauf Aregbesola was making that promise in Ikirun and several other places across the state, there were no striking records of insurgencies in Nigeria. Apart from the Niger Delta militant groups whose activities were contained within oil palavers and resource control questions, Nigeria was not so divided as it is getting today. We did not have Bokoharam insurgents; at least their activities had not come to the fore as it has today.
Ogbeni probably knew that the rising number of hopeless youths in the country; particularly in the northern region was reaching alarming records, so he made it prime in his electioneering discussions that Osun youths will not roam the streets lest their idle hands became the devil’s workshop.
When he was going all over the places, telling the world that 20,000 Nigerians will get something doing to fetch money for themselves every month, the PDP said it was mare fluke. “Bawo lo se fe se e” “How would he achieve that. Where would he get the money to pay them?, they jested. But Aregbesola had answers to their doubts. Innovation is the answer.
Innovation, is described as the application of better solutions that meet new requirements in-articulated needs. And it takes deep reflections, determination for positive change as well as experience over certain challenges for solutions to come. To Rauf, it was apparent when in 2005 he was drawing his action plans on how he intended to govern Osun. He actually completed drafts of his six integral action plans about three years before the 2007 elections.
At a time shortly before the 2007 elections, he was discussing with us after a rigorous political campaign. He asked wether anybody was giving the then unfolding situation in the country any serious thought- the fact that what he and his contemporaries enjoyed in term of youth development in the early seventies were no where again in Nigeria. “I fear that unless we re-cook the books of youth development in our land, our future is very bleak”, He told us as he tutored on why OYES must be the first major initiative of his government.
Today, the situation pays off for the state of Osun. Aregbesola has fulfilled the promise of youth engagement twice within one term !!! Two sets of 20,000 Osun youths, who hitherto were just roaming the streets for close to a decade under PDP have been engaged under Aregbesola’s government. This is accomplished through what experts call effective idea that is readily available to governments and society. This idea-OYES- is original and, as a consequence, new in governance. It breaks into the market or society of empowerment. And Osun government and the people are really ripping well from the scheme. How?
Between 2011 and now, N9 billion Naira has been spent on youth empowerment scheme in Osun. That includes the monthly allowances for beneficiaries, their kits and other logistics. The beneficiaries are resident in the state. So they spend their little income within Osun. They buy food, purchase drinking water, ride on ‘Korope’ and ‘Okada’, buy clothing and all. The kits they put on were sewn by Osun tailors. It is even interesting to note that the boots they wear is manufactured in Osogbo- in the leather work and footwear unit of Industrial Development Centre IDC; located around St. Charles Grammar School area of Osogbo. IDC is a Federal Government facility that had gone moribund before Aregbesola resuscitated it. Today the centre is a skill acquisition centre where anybody can go to learn a skill. A visit to the place is charming to any imagination.
The N9 billion Naira so far spent on the youth empowerment scheme of Aregbesola could have been ‘appropriated’ by his cronies, Instead of spending such huge money on Osun youth in three years, he could have made himself and a few of his; quite richer under any guise. But what would have become of the 40,000 Osun youths who today pray for this Ogbeni. Most probably, they would have formed another version of insurgents. They would have gone deep- intimidating the people of Osun. Yes. They would; because just before God answered prayers of Osun, situation had gone berserk- such that some miscreants have cultivated the habit of collecting what they tagged “security money” on weekly basis. They used to harass ware owners along MDS area and Akindeko axis of Osogbo. Business owners along these areas must part with some money to such miscreant youths every Friday or they risk loosing their goods. Osun was going that bad just before Aregbesola came on board. And God forbid that such innovation in governance of Aregbesola was not in place to nip that ugly development in the bud; Osun would probably have had to contend with at least about forty thousand trouble making youths across the state. Banks, would have closed down like it is happening in Offa. And for the ones in operation, customers would have been “politely” told that they are closing down at 12 noon, simply because of the fear of burglary from some Nigerian youths of that space.
The good news in Osun is that the N9 billion naira and such monies are “permanently trapped”, circulating within the Osun economy. Such monies circulate within the hands of Osun people. It is not concentrated in the hands of a few. So Aregbesola would not need to ache from the truth that could come from any bank, wether World Bank or otherwise that Nigerians within the Osun space are poor. I giggled as our President- Goodluck Ebele Jonathan- attempted to respond to the reality of the fact as contained in a World Bank Report that Nigeria is one of the five poorest countries of the world. Two things attracts my reflections in Dr. Jonathan’s responses- that he agrees to the fact that his transformation agenda paid off for some of his cronies such that Nigeria’s wealth is concentrated in the hands of a few. “Our problem is not poverty, our problem is redistribution of wealth”, said Mr. president.
“Aliko Dangote was recently classified among the 25 richest people in the world… If you talk about ownership of private jets, Nigeria will be among the first 10 countries, yet they are saying that Nigeria is among the five poorest countries.
“Probably wealth is concentrated in very few hands and a number of people do not have access to it and that is why my administration is committed in terms of financial inclusiveness and we are working very hard to achieve this”
Another fact that worries anybody in Mr President’s responses is the fact that less than one year to the end of his six year rule as Nigeria’s president, he still says he is working hard to redistribute Nigeria’s wealth which; by virtue of his transformation agenda has been stacked in the hands of a few. Yet Mr. President flaunts this anomaly by his reference to Dangote and other few Nigerians; including Mr President himself, who own several private jets as being among the top ten jet owners of the world.
What President Jonathan needs do at this crucial point in time is to yield the advise of the World Bank that the Osun youth empowerment initiative be replicated to forestall youth restiveness and promote wealth creation in the country. President Jonathan needs to be innovative in governing Nigeria. He should search no further for way out of most of the country’s challenges. He should check his ‘shokoto’ (pair of trousers) instead of traveling to ‘sokoto’ in search of solutions to Nigeria’s challenges. The only ‘Shokoto’ so far acknowledged by any third party is found on Aregbesola. Okonjo Iweala said it, and so said the World Bank- that Aregbesola has the innovations to good government and governance in Nigeria.
DR. NGOZI OKONJO IWEALA : on Aregbesola’s good governance, June 2013.
“You have demonstrated that good governance is possible with your programmes. You have demonstrated that your youth development is possible. Your programmes so far have demonstrated that you are a good example of good government and governance.”
United States Consul-General, Jefferey Hawkins- Saturday November 9, 2013
“The economic, social and infrastructural renewal of Osun State under Governor Aregbesola in the last few years of being at the saddle of leadership must be applauded. The government’s efforts in reformation development in all facets cannot be glossed over.
-Rasheed Mabayoje