Wife of the Governor, State of Osun, Alhaja Sherifat Aregbesola during her donation of gifts to the First Baby of the Year born at 12.01am, at Primary Health Care Centre, Iwo, State of Osun on Wednesday 01-01-2014

Osun government yesterday held special prayers at the Bola Ige House Governor’s Office, Osogbo, to kick start official activities in 2014.
In his sermon, Bishop James Popoola, the Anglican Bishop of Osun Diocese, called on all government officials and civil servants to be diligent and forthright in carrying out their assignments.
According to the clergyman, people should fear God in whatever they do, stressing that there was reward for those committed to their duties, diligent and truthful in all their activities.
He also urged residents of the state to love one another and co-exist peacefully and prayed for a hitch-free conduct of the forthcoming 2014 governorship election in the state.
The Christian Association of Nigeria Chairman, Rev. Elisha Ogundiya, urged Gov. Rauf Aregbesola to continue to fulfil his campaign promises and also called on political office holders to fear God and be fair to the people of the state.
The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that Gov. Aregbesola, his deputy, Mrs Titi Laoye-Tomori, and members of the State Executive Council attended the session.
(NAN)

The State Government of Osun’s plan to build a church auditorium somehow weakens the argument by critics of Governor Rauf Aregbesola that he was Islamising the state.
The State Government of Osun has acquired parcels of farmlands in Atakumosa West local council of the state for the construction of an auditorium.
The interdenominational worship centre, to be named ‘Open Heaven Worship Centre,’ would be sited at both Odo Iju and Ibodi communities.
The state government’s plan to build the auditorium somehow weakens the argument by critics of Governor Rauf Aregbesola that he was islamising the state.
The state government said, Tuesday, that it had paid N51 million as compensation to farmers whose lands would be used for the project.
While presenting cheques to farmers, Muyiwa Ige, the state’s Commissioner for Lands, Physical Planning and Urban Development, said that compensation was done on humanitarian grounds and the government’s commitment to the welfare of the people.
Another N11 million was paid to 243 farmers whose lands were affected by the ongoing construction of the MKO Abiola International Airport, Ido-Osun, Egbedore Local council.
Mr. Ige said that the government’s acquisition of the lands was for the development of the state in order to attract foreign investors.
While assuring that the Governor Rauf Aregbesola-led government would not hesitate in compensating those with genuine land papers, Mr. Ige called for the people’s support in developing the state.
BIOREPORTS

Some workers in Osun have promised to improve on service delivery for better productivity in 2014 as they resumed work on Thursday after the New Year holiday.
In separate interviews with the News Agency of Nigeria on Thursday in Osogbo, some civil servants in the state expressed their determination to work hard in 2014.
Mrs Antonia Olalekan, a civil servant, said she had resumed work with a determination to render better services to the state government and the people of the state.
“I have made up my mind to be productive this year and to make a huge difference at my work place and the community.
“My intention is to acquire more knowledge so that I can improve on what I give to humanity because my service is to humanity through the state and Nigeria in general”, she said.
Mr Moshood Alao, also a civil servant, expressed the hope that the government would help workers by training and retraining them in capacity building to improve efficiency at work.
“I intend doing all that I can to improve on my job, I am going to upgrade myself by reading, as you know, reading is leading”, he said.
“I hope that the government will train and retrain civil servants through seminars and workshops which will be beneficial to our service delivery and productivity in the state.
“I want to urge all civil servants to perform their duties with the fear of God and to do all they can to make a difference this year”.
PUNCH 

After careful deliberation of parameters necessary for our choice of the Oodua Person of the Year, the Editorial board of “ooduapathfinder” resolved on Adesoji Rauf Aregbesola, the Governor of the State of Osun, Nigeria. All of the others considered actually merited it but Adesoji Rauf Aregbesola came out tops. The main consideration was on his dogged pursuit of the quest for Yoruba Self-Determination that propelled him to embark and project certain ideas which we feel are necessary ingredients for that quest.
The State of Underdevelopment foisted on Yorubaland from 2003 by the ousted PDP governments was inherited by the then ACN(nowAPC) governments which meant virtually starting from scratch, an undertaking well-handled by each of the governments under that political party.
Three issues stood out in the course of the year 2013 that was promoted by the Aregbesola administration. The first is the celebration of “World Oodua Day”, where youths and children of Yoruba extraction, both at home and in the Diaspora gathered in Osogbo for the celebration which was held to mark the Nigerian-orchestrated “Children’s Day”. The second is the advocacy of using Yoruba Language as the language of instruction in schools while the third is the introduction of the Parliamentary System in the Local Governments being created.
We avoided comparison of development programs or projects because all of the governments in Yorubaland have things to show in that direction and when such development efforts are viewed against the backdrop of the previously imposed underdevelopment, when what ought to have been ordinarily available become much sought-after, we cannot but lament the impact, both of the current developments as well as the previous underdevelopment, would have on our society.
Thus when actions are directed at challenging us to critically examine issues within the context of that underdevelopment, we cannot but promote and acknowledge such efforts.
The consciousness generated by the celebration of “World Oodua Day” broke and will continue to break the barriers imposed by colonialism on the Yoruba Nation and encourage the growth of our minds to further challenge ourselves in the pursuit of our Autonomy and Self-Determination. The use of Yoruba language as a medium of instruction will also demolish such colonially-induced barriers. Yorubaland had always advocated the Parliamentary System as the best form of government both within the Yoruba nation as well as in Nigeria, hence that the State of Osun will put it into practice is a development that will reinforce those demands and maintain, now, officially, the momentum towards its eventual application throughout Yorubaland. These constitute fundamental issues in the continuous decolonization of Africa.
OODUATV

Governor, State of Osun, Rauf Aregbesola, says the state will soon begin expansion of the Nelson Mandela Park in Osogbo.
According to a statement made on Thursday, the governor said this during pyrotechnic display to usher in the New Year.
The event was said to be organised by the Ministry of Special Duty and Regional Integration.
The event had in attendance top government officials, Muslim and Christian leaders, as well as traditionalists.
Aregbesola promised to sustain a strong bond with people of the state by giving them a sense of belonging through promotion of peace and harmony among the people.
He said, “We are committed to human and infrastructural development. We will continue in this line this New Year.  The Nelson Mandela Freedom Park would be expanded so that the facility can serve Osun people better.”
He urged the people of the state to continue to support the administration, saying the state government would not relent in making life better for the people.
The Commissioner for Special Duty and Regional Integration, Mr. Basiru Ajibola, explained that the pyrotechnics display signified the bond between the state government and Osun people in line with established practices in the civilised world.
He also called on all religious groups in the state to come together and work in harmony for the benefit of all.

PUNCH

Osun State Chapter of the All Progressives Congress (APC) has congratulated the state Governor, Rauf Aregbesola, for emerging the Man of the Year of the Independent Newspapers Limited (INL).
The party in a congratulatory message believes that Aregbesola not only deserves the honour “but actually worked for it and merited it as well”.
A statement by Acting Chairman of the party, Adebiyi Adelowo, said the honour was not a surprise to it (party), adding that “Aregbesola is a pride of all members of the APC in the state”.
The statement was signed by party’s Director of Publicity, Research and Strategy, Kunle Oyatomi. It described the award bestowed on the Governor as worthy.
It said the Governor deserves the award having done so much within the short period of his administration in the state, stressing that the achievements of Aregbesola spoke volume of his choice for the honour.
The INL had named Aregbesola as its man of the year for 2013 based on the significant achievements of his administration and his contributions to the socio-economic development of the state.
Osun APC chairman, who highlighted the numerous achievements of the Aregbesola-led administration in 2013 to include rapid road construction, education transformation, welfare of citizenry, urban renewal, health care delivery, provision of jobs and agricultural development among many others, said “considering these numerous achievements, no one else could have been fit for the honour except Aregbesola”.
He also commended the management and staff of the INL for acknowledging the good works of Aregbesola and for identifying with the progressive government in Osun State.
Adebiyi, who urged the Governor to continue with his service above self style of life, also stressed that posterity would not forget Aregbesola for the good works he has done for the state.
He noted that the Governor has successfully written his name with marble in the minds of the masses of the state.
DAILY INDEPENDENT 

Governor, State of Osun, Mr Rauf Aregbesola, has paid a total of N11 million as compensation to 243 farmers whose farms affected by the ongoing construction of the MKO Abiola International Airport in Ido-Osun in Egbedore Local Government Area of the state.
Besides, another sum of N51million had also been paid to farmers in Odo Iju and Ibodi in Atakumosa West Local Government Area of the state.
The state government had acquired a large portion of land at both Odo Iju and Ibodi for the building of an interdenominational worship centre called “Open Heaven Worship Centre” in the area.
Presenting the cheques to the affected farmers and land owners, the State Commissioner for Lands, Physical Planning and Urban Development, Mr Muyiwa Ige, said that the government took the decision on humanitarian ground and to cater for the welfare of the people.
While expressing government’s gratitude to those whose properties were used for the projects, he pointed out that the government’s decision to develop the state was borne out of its desire to attract foreign investors to the state.
Ige, however, assured that the state government would not hesitate to compensate those with genuine papers on any property acquired in the cause of developing the state, adding that people should support the government to bring about infrastructural growth of the state.
Responding on behalf of the beneficiaries, Dr Jide Ayeni commended the state government for the rapid development in the state and for the timely payment of compensation to the affected claimants.
NIGERIAN TRIBUNE

ERASMUS IKHIDE, a public affairs analyst, examines why the revolutionary education policies of Governor Rauf  Aregbesola’s Administration in Osun State continues to attract recognition in  Nigeria and abroad …

Education, as they say, is the bedrock of any nation. This axiom has gained traction in the modest efforts of Governor Ogbeni Rauf Aregbosla of the State of Osun, recently. In all ramifications, the state stands towering over and above other states of the Federal that have addressed and still addressing the educational needs of their people.
This is in spite the fact that Osun ranks 34th among the 36th states of the Federation on the revenue allocation chart table. Ogbeni has reasoned, as always, that “the only way to conquer and banish abject poverty from humanity is through conscious education of the mind towards productive engagement, which in turn will trigger creativity and productivity that will meet the basic needs of man”. This is more so with the recent UNESCO report which says 10.5 million Nigerian children have no access to basic education.
If there is any sector Aregbesola holds tenaciously dear to his heart since his assumption of office it is the education sector and its composite development such that would meet the yearnings of all; at the same time, make it accessible to every inhabitant of the state, irrespective of their state of origin. Aregbesola is of the view that a nation perishes that denies her resource to the growth of basic, accessible and affordable education. “A Nation’s being is first and foremost her educational being and every other thing revolves around it, without which the nation perishes or hangs in the precipice of under develop cliff”, he said.
Interestingly, his singular efforts has yielded tremendous result with the renovation of dilapidated schools structures and building of model schools to replace the decrepit ones that previously dignified places where pigs and other animals are reared. Since them, pupils and parents alike have been applauding the governor, thereby compelling him to do more.
The governor has committed whopping billions of Naira into the Elementary and Middle School levels’ buildings which will each accommodate 900 pupils. The High School buildings will have capacity for 3,000 students. The state has almost delivered a 100 of such buildings at the Elementary, 50 at the Middle, and 20 at the High school levels; making a total of 170 in all, in his first term in office.
The Middle Level is from Primary 4 to Junior Secondary School 3 (JSS 111) for pupils aged between 10 to 14, now classified as Grades 5 to 9. At the High School Level, the age range is between 15 and 17 years, corresponding with Senior Secondary School (SSS III), to be known as Grades 10-12. The schools design is so perfect that no residents, group, organisation, individual, religious or interest would suffer as a result of the school reform. This is done to meet the UNESCO set standard for compulsory education by 2030 to eliminate excruciating and crushing poverty.
Not only that, the Governor has employed some 3,000 women who have been cooking for the Elementary feeding programme, in addition to the gains of agricultural schemes of his Administration that has brought the production capacities of farmer-suppliers of farm produce, as well as the poultry and beef inputs for the food menu. The pupils feed on eggs, chickens, fish and red meat to enable them meet nutritional requirements for mental development.
In addition to the free education policy of the state government where the West African Examination Council (WAEC) and the Joint Admission and Matriculation Board (JAMB ) are paid for, Governor Aregbesola has established Omoluabi Garment Factory in the state which caters for school uniform needs of the students across the state. With this, parents who would have otherwise bothered themselves about school uniforms for their wards have swiftly enrolled them in schools across the state without buying uniform for them since it has been provided for by government.
As part of his recognition for the Governor’s noble strides and enduring legacy in the educational sector, Ogbeni was honoured two months ago by the Yoruba Education Trust Fund, YETFUND, as the best governor of the year in the South West – nay Nigeria – who has dedicated the largest chunks of his budgetary allocation, proportionately to the promotion and development of education for actual growth of the Yoruba people in particular, in so short a time.
The group singled out the award winning Opon Imo (Tablet of Knowledge) as the basics for the education excellent award bestowed on the governor. The technology wonder is in a class of its own! The tablet is preloaded with seventeen (17) subjects offered by students in the West African Senior Secondary Certificate Examinations (WASSCE). The subjects have been designed in forms of lesson notes, textbooks, mostly provided by publishers and master teachers’ inputs. Content verifiers, who happened to be some of the local teachers, were also made to verify lesson notes on each subject. Besides, seven extra-curricular subjects, such as Sexuality Education, Civic Education, Yoruba History, Ifa Traditional Religion, Computer Education and Entrepreneurship Education, and Twelve Thousand Yoruba Proverbs were also included.
Test platform for students’ self assessment to monitor their own comprehension and mastery of the subject, including 10 years past questions and answers provided by the Joint Admission and Matriculation Board (JAMB) and the West African Examinations Council (WAEC), as well as questions and answers in 17 (Seventeen) ordinary level subjects .The subject are English Language, Mathematics, Agricultural Science, Economics, Principles of Accounts, Literature in English, Physics, Chemistry, Biology, Yoruba, Commerce, Further Mathematics, History, Geography, Government, IRK and CRK. Audio tutorials were also embedded in the Opon-Imo to further aid students through virtual study plan.
The state, therefore has saved a whopping N8.4 billion from live textbook purchases and instead, just a sum N200 million was spent by the state government for the purchase of the 56 e-books on Opon-Imo with 150,000 user licenses from a major educational publishing company from the country. As it is structured, Opon-Imo ensures that each student has an e-textbook, not only in all the subjects he is taking, but also on every subject offered at secondary level. This, in itself is legendary and revolutionary!
A report released in October by the African Health, Human and Social Development Information Service, Africa Coalition on Maternal Newborn and Child Health and Pan African Campaign against Forced Marriage of Under-age Children gives credence to that fact. “Among the 36 states in Nigeria four states — Osun, Lagos, Imo, Enugu — feature in the all-best categories for all indicators: highest girl-child education, highest female literacy, lowest adolescent girl ‘marriages’ and lowest underage birth rates”.
In the same report, “Between 67 per cent and 87.1 per cent of girls are not in secondary school in the following: Five states from the North West (Kebbi, 87.1 per cent; Sokoto, 87 per cent; Jigawa, 80.7 per cent; Zamfara 76.8 per cent; and Katsina, 72.1 per cent). The four states  from the North East are  Bauchi, 86.7 per cent; Yobe, 77.4 per cent; Borno, 70.9 per cent; and Gombe, 67.8 per cent;  while the one from the North Central is Niger with 73.8 per cent.
“There are scores worse than the North Central, North East and North West states such as Nasarawa (56.7 per cent); Benue (56.4 per cent); Adamawa (53.1 per cent); Kaduna (45.3 per cent); Plateau (45.3 per cent); Kogi (36.4 per cent) and Kwara (35.4 per cent),” the report says. Ebonyi State is closely followed by Bayelsa State, which occupies the 13th position.
The report also has it that: “Bayelsa State also habours the highest number of females (aged 20 to 24 years) that have had at least a live birth before attaining the age of 18 years with 31.7 percent, compared to Adamawa, 30.5 percent; Taraba, 29.3 percent; and Niger ,24.9 percent. The three Northern states in turn score better than Delta, 22 percent; Rivers, 19.9 percent and Anambra, 18.9 percent.
There is no gain saying that it is on the bases of Governor Aregbesola’s grand commitment to educational development that led to the spiral increases in school enrolment and students improved performance in both WAEC and JAMB as the overall best state across the country. However, it is clear that there is a lot more to be done with the poor WAEC results released a few days ago that falls short of UNESCO standard.
The council withheld results of 38,260 candidates, representing 12.88 per cent, over alleged examination malpractice and sundry issues. Yet, for anyone to gain admission into the tertiary institution in the country, you must obtain at least five credits, including English Language and Mathematics in WASSCE or Senior Secondary Certificate Examination conducted by the examination body.
The situation in the nation’s basic education system, as well as tertiary institutions calls for national emergency or requires a call to emulate Governor Rauf Aregbesola who has devoted a huge chunk of the state’s resource for educational development of Osun people. We await such a time in Nigeria when the plights of electorate form the fulcrum of governance, as witnessed in the state of Osun.
DAILY INDEPENDENT