The Government of the State of Osun on Wednesday officially commissioned the Salvation Army Middle School, Osogbo amidst pump and fanfare as parents, guardians and students thronged the venue in thousands.
The elated parents defied the rain to witness the epoch-making commissioning event of the new school, which is one of the 100 elementary, 50 middle and 20 high schools under the schools infrastructure upgrade tagged O’School.
The governor, Ogbeni Rauf Aregbesola who dressed in the middle school uniform said the commissioning of the Salvation Army Middle School, is a resounding reaffirmation that Osun education policy is a train engineered for a one-way trip to success.
The Deputy Governor of Osun who also doubles as the Commissioner for Education, Chief Grace Titi Laoye-Tomori, pointed out that the school has proved the skeptics wrong. She said though it did not come cheap, the building which she described as one of the many to be commissioned, represents the crowning glory of the Aregbesola revolutionary agenda in the education sector.
Laoye-Tomori said, “I feel like ‘break dancing’, even at my age. The joy excitement, sense of fulfilment all rolled into one; I specifically thank God that I am alive to see the coming to fruition of a ‘vision’ seen, conceptualized, and deployed by my indefatigable governor, Ogbeni Aregbesola.”
Aregbesola speaking further held that the trip began with the Education Summit convened when he assumed office, noting that the Summit was summoned against the background of the decay the administration met in public schools, which it found simply unacceptable.
According to him, “The Summit was summoned against the background of the decay we met in Osun public schools, which we found simply unacceptable. The Summit, composed of eminent Nigerians like the Nobel Laureate, Professor Wole Soyinka, came up with a reform blueprint to overhaul public sector education in the state.
“We have since been working assiduously to implement the reform plan. The commissioning of this school is good evidence that all is going to plan with our reform. As part of the reform, we decided to reorganise the school system into Elementary, Middle and High school categories.
“The Elementary level will comprise pupils from ages 6 to 9 years, which corresponds to primary 1 to 4 pupils under the existing system. The Middle level from primary 4 to JSS 3 of ages 10 to 14, now classified as Grades 5-9, and the High School level age range will be between 15 and 17 years, corresponding to Senior Secondary School III, to be known as Grades 10-12.” The governor revealed.
Aregbesola stressed that the Elementary and Middle School level’s buildings will each accommodate 900 pupils, while the High School building will have capacity for 3,000 students.
He added that there will be 100 of such buildings at the Elementary, 50 at the Middle, and 20 at the High school levels, making a total of 170. The governor added that the High Schools are a mega structure of mini-city size each having three schools in one with facilities for all subjects in the Sciences, Arts and Social Sciences, including state of the art laboratories, recreation centres and a food court.
“The overall aim of the reforms we are carrying out is to develop the new man intellectually, socially and morally. This new man is placed in the centre of society who views his own development as part of and for the development of society
“This is a non-parasitic and non-oppressive man who views his existence in light of the growth of others; he views whatever he acquired to be subsumed in the overall interest of others. He is a man in himself and a man for society. This is the Omoluabi essence.” The governor told the gathering.
Aregbesola appealed to parents to support the government in its efforts by preparing their wards for the new system and especially kit them with the new uniform, saying the gains are already tumbling in as the state is witnessing progressive improvement in the academic performances of our pupils.
He noted that beside distribution of Opon Imo and the school feeding programme, the economic ramification of the education reform is simply colossal. “Some 3,000 women have been employed for the Elementary feeding programme; this is in addition to the gains it has brought to the production capacities of farmer-suppliers of farm produce, as well as the poultry and beef inputs for the food menu.” The governor added.
He also reminded those present at the event to remember the depressing outlooks of the former schools which he said were never fit for learning. He said the transformation of the schools is another illustration of the massive transformation taking place in all aspects of the lives of the Osun people.
Earlier in his remarks, the Vice Chairman of the Senate Committee on Education, Senator Sola Adeyeye said negligence of education of children by the parents is detrimental to progress.
The Senator representing Osun Central Senatorial district added that a nation that does not invest in education of its youth has failed as a nation. He commended the governor for his commitment to education in the state.
The Professor of Molecular Biology noted that while most of the states in the country have been unable to access the UBEC funds because they could not contribute their counterpart fund, Osun State has accessed its own fund because it did not wait for the Federal Government to contribute its own counterpart funds.
He scored the state higher in education provision among the states of the federation, saying education in the state is going through revolution. The Chairman of O’School, Otunba Lai Oyeduntan, said the state of education in the state was embarrassing before Aregbesola came to power. According to him, in order to correct the anomaly, government proposed to build new buildings as part of its restructuring. Oyeduntan disclosed that by the end of the year about 15 middle schools, 13 elementary schools and 10 high schools will be delivered. He added that all necessary infrastructure have been and are being put in place to ensure smooth take-off of the schools.
In his turn, the Speaker of the State House of Assembly, Hon. Nojeem Salam, commended the governor for this achievement, saying since the creation of the state, it has never had it so good. The Speaker said these achievements have put the state in the class of first in the country.
He mentioned the provision of Opon Imo and other investments in education system, which he said have revived the education sector of the state.

Photos from the official Commissioning of Salvation Army Middle School, Alekuwodo, Osogbo and flag off of the new school system (Re-classification) in the State of Osun on Wednesday 02-10-2013

The newly commissioned Salvation Army Middle School, Alekuwode, Osogbo, the State of Osun on Wednesday 02—10-2013

The newly commissioned Salvation Army Middle School, Alekuwode, Osogbo, the State of Osun on Wednesday 02—10-2013 

From left, State of Osun Deputy, who doubles as commissioner of education, Mrs Titi Laoye-Tomori; Governor Rauf Aregbesola and his wife, Sheriafat, during the official Commssioning of Salvation Army Midle School, Alekuwodo, Osogbo and flag off of the new school system (Re-classification) in the State of Osun on Wednesday 02-10-2013

From right, Governor State of Osun, Ogbeni Rauf Aregbesola; his deputy, who doubles as commissioner of education, Mrs Titi Laoye-Tomori; the Atatoja of Osogbo, Oba Jimoh Olanipekun and others, during the official Commssioning of Salvation Army Middle School, Alekuwodo, Osogbo and flag off of the new school system (Re-classification) in the State of Osun on Wednesday 02-10-2013

Governor State of Osun, Ogbeni Rauf Aregbesola takes a group picture with the students of Salvation Army Middle School, Alekuwodo, Osogbo at the commissioning and flag off of the new school system (Re-classification) in the State of Osun

Ede is one of the most popular ancient towns in Yorubaland. It lies on approximately latitude 07° 40′North and longitude 04°30′East. It is in the guinea savannah zone. It is has two local governments namely Ede North and Ede South Local Governments. The population is put at 159,866 according to the 2006 Population Census
The people engage in farming, trading and commercial activities are found on a large scale because of the central nature of the town and closeness to major cities like Osogbo, Iwo, Ife and Ejigbo.
Ede is important in the history of the State due to the presence of the Federal Polytechnic, Redeemer’s University, railway tracks connecting Lagos and Northern Nigeria, River Osun which passes through the town and Ede Water Works that supplies water to about twenty (20) local governments in the state.
The Timi of Ede is the traditional title of the paramount ruler and the present Timi is Oba Muniru Adesola Lawal Laminisa I.
For more on the Towns in the State of Osun, visit the website – www.osun.gov.ng

All Progressives Congress (APC) chieftain Senator Mudashiru Hussain (Osun West) spoke with a Correspondent of The Nation Newspaper on revenue allocation, local government autonomy, politics in Osun State and other partisan issues…find excerpt below…
What are your achievement as a the member of the National Assembly from the Osun-West District?
When a legislator begins to spell out his achievements like the executive, it further reminds us of our defects and our own brand of democracy. Under normal circumstances, a lawmaker is to represent his constituency, and give voice to his or her people in every piece of legislation that should be pushed forward, but it is quite obvious that our constituents are demanding some results different from lawmaking and oversight functions. In the light of this, I must say that, in the last two years, I have attracted some projects to my constituency in Osun. For the past two and half years of being a member of the senate representing Osun west District. I was able to contribute immensely to robust debates on national issues that affect my senatorial district and Nigeria in general to improve the well being of Nigerian youths reduce unemployment and poverty in the land. I sponsored a bill, which was read as first reading in the Senate and it is ready for second reading (The bill is seeking gender equality in the society), and I sponsored a motion on rehabilitation of all national stadia in the country, which was approved by the senate and refered to my committee for investigation. However, I initiated a lot of federal projects to various local governments within my senatorial district such as building of schools, sinking of boreholes erection solar energy poles and, of course, distribution of 500kva of transformers to all the local governments in my senatorial district, not mindful of what I did positively to better the life of individuals, especially in the area of securing federal job appointments such as Custom Immigration NDELA Technical Corp and some others for quite a sizeable number of people.
 
How would you rate the performance of Governor Rauf Aregbesola?
Let me paint the picture before the APC-led government took over. our people were made to contend with economic blunders, which rendered Osun to a civil service state; another name for a failed state; a situation that compelled Aregbesola to seek new window of economic opportunities in the state through his six-point action plan known as ‘O’ concept. Through the concept, the issue of capital flight was addressed. Another landmark was how the APC government led by Aregbesola removed Osun from the list of perpetual debtors and insolvency. As a matter of fact, the way and manner he bought back the suffocating loan bequeathed to him by his predecessor was another as financial surgery. Today, Osun has become a bride for investors, and it is on record that the state has the lowest unemployment rate, according to the Federal Bureau of Statistics. The infrastructural development in the state of Osun under the leadership of our amiable Governor Ogbeni Rauf Aregbesola cannot be overemphasized.
Since the beginning of this administration, we have launched a very aggressive economic drive which has positive impact on the citizenry such as OYES, OMEAL OREOS, OBOPS, OFISH, OHONEY, OBEEF, rehabilitation and construction of middle school and secondary school and elementary school a lover the state the Road Network are not behind our government is comparable with previous administration because Rauf has the Zeal focus and the commitment to take Osun to the next level.
THE NATION

The State of Osun House of Assembly has directed the contractor handling Ajegunle/Fajuyi/Igboya and Ooni/Ila roads in Ife Central Local Government Council Area of the state to convince the House why the contract should not be terminated.
The state parliament gave the directive on Monday at a meeting with the contractor handling the roads and officials of the local government council and the State Ministry of Works and Transport.
Presiding over the meeting, the Chairman, House Committee on Works and Transport, Honourable Abiodun Awolola, expressed displeasure over the low pace of work on the road project.
According to him, “the development of Ile-Ife is so important to us, being the source of Yoruba race and we will not condone any contractor who connives with government officials to jeopardise the effort of the government in providing good roads for the people.
“There have been pressure from the people of the State about the low pace of work there and if we don’t do what we need to do, how do you want us to explain to our people?
“When you are coming back here on Thursday, you have to convince us why the contract should not be terminated,” Awolola said.
The House then directed that the contractors should liaise with the government officials in-charge of the projects, with a view to sorting out the cause of the delay.
However, while Engineer Oladeji claimed that the project was 25 per cent completed, the Director of Works in Ife-Central Local Government Council, Engineer L.A Salawu, objected, claiming that the level of work was about 14 per cent completed.
Sequel to the directive of the House, both the contractor and the government officials in-charge of the project then promised to fashion out ways of ensuring that the project is completed on time. The contractor has then being ordered to appear before the committee on Thursday to brief the House on the matter.
OSUN DEFENDER

Photos below – Ogbeni Rauf Aregbesola, acknowledging cheers from the crowd, during the launch of the All Progressive Congress (APC)/Endorsement of Aregbesola’s 2nd Term, marking the 53rd Independence of Nigeria, organized by the Osun House of Assembly Legislators and Osun Federal Legislators, at the Freedom Park, Osogbo, State of Osun on Tuesday 01-10-2013

Launch of APC/Endorsement of Aregbesola’s 2nd Term
Governor State of Osun, Ogbeni Rauf Aregbesola, acknowledging cheers from crowd, during the launching of All Progressive Congress (APC)/Endorsement of Aregbesola’s 2nd Term, marking the 53rd Independent of Nigeria, organised by Osun House of Assembly Legislators and Osun Federal Legislators, at the Freedom Park, Osogbo, State of Osun on Tuesday 01-10-2013

Governor State of Osun, Ogbeni Rauf Aregbesola; his wife, Sherifat and Deputy Governor, Mrs Titi Laoye-Tomori during the launch of All Progressive Congress (APC)/Endorsement of Aregbesola’s 2nd Term, marking the 53rd Independent of Nigeria, organised by Osun House of Assembly Legislators and Osun Federal Legislators, at the Freedom Park, Osogbo, State of Osun on Tuesday 01-10-2013

Governor State of Osun, Ogbeni Rauf Aregbesola, acknowledging cheers from crowd, during the launch of All Progressive Congress (APC)/Endorsement of Aregbesola’s 2nd Term, marking the 53rd Independent of Nigeria, organised by Osun House of Assembly Legislators and Osun Federal Legislators, at the Freedom Park, Osogbo, State of Osun on Tuesday 01-10-2013

Governor State of Osun, Ogbeni Rauf Aregbesola, addressing crowd. With him are Alhaja Ayo Omidiran, representing Irewole Federal Constituency; Senator Babajide Omoworare, representing Ife Ijesa Senatorial Distric and Hon. Lasun Yusuf, representing Orolu Irepodun Federal Constituency, during the launching of All Progressive Congress (APC)/Endorsement of Aregbesola’s 2nd Term, marking the 53rd Independent of Nigeria, organised by Osun House of Assembly Legislators and Osun Federal Legislators, at the Freedom Park, Osogbo, State of Osun on Tuesday 01-10-2013

‘Ogbeni envisioned this few years back, he has realized it. We need a visionary leader like Rauf Aregbesola to move our dear nation forward’, a parent remarked
As schools resume today, photo of the new look for one of the new Model Schools is revealed
We wish all the students of the State of Osun a successful School Year.
Osun a dara!

As Nigeria celebrates her 53rd Independence Anniversary, the Governor of the State of Osun, Ogbeni Rauf Aregbesola described conflicts and terrorism as serious setbacks for the development of the country, and called to unite to overcome them.
Governor Rauf Aregbesola, has called terrorism and other criminal activities, including bad governance, a serious setback to the development of Nigeria. He said this in a message issued in Osogbo on Monday to commemorate the 53rd Independence anniversary of Nigeria.
“Our efforts at nation-building are being affronted by manifold crises of under-development – bad governance, poor planning, industrial collapse, decay of basic infrastructure, socio-economic backwardness, political instability, insecurity, widespread poverty, and terrorism, among many other woes,” Aregbesola said, expanding the list of problems.
However, he said, these setbacks “do not amount to any permanent incapacity” for the country to develop further; they are “necessary but temporary impediments along the path to progress,” Governor added.
OSUN DEFENDER

I congratulate Nigerians on the 53rd anniversary of our nation’s independence. But as we celebrate, we must also take time to reflect on the state of the nation. The Nigerian project is a bold experiment in nation-building. It is an experiment that has proved to be a challenging undertaking. But, for me, building Nigeria is an experiment that is well worth the attempt.
At independence, on this day in 1960, Nigeria was a country full of high hopes, and good prospects, with its diverse peoples filled with aspirations. But somewhere along the line, we got it fundamentally wrong, with the consequences that, today, 53 years on, we are still struggling to get the basics right. The country is faced with tough difficulties and mortal dangers on multiple fronts. Our efforts at nation-building are being affronted by manifold crises of under-development – bad governance; poor planning; industrial collapse; decay of basic infrastructure; socio-economic backwardness; political instability; insecurity; widespread poverty; social, ethnic and religious tension; high incidence of crime and criminality; and terrorism among many other woes.
These are undeniably serious setbacks to our development march; but they do not amount to any permanent incapacity for us not to move forward. Indeed, setbacks are necessary but temporary impediments along the path to progress. Therefore, I am at one with American entrepreneur, Les Brown, who counselled that: ‘Anytime you suffer a setback or disappointment. Put your head down and plow ahead’. Hence, I remain convinced that the Nigerian project is a viable one. And I am optimistic that we may yet get it right as a country; and convert our much vaunted great potentials into actual benefits for our people. All we need is sound leadership and good governance.
Indeed, our story on the independence path has not been doom and gloom only; it is also strewn with bright patches and shades of greatness. We have had sporting glories, a Nobel Prize in literature, representation in the top universities in the world and a Nigerian got in the Forbes 100 top list. For the most part, we groan so much at the cup being three quarter empty that we forgot it’s also one quarter full.
As someone in leadership position, I set my sight firmly on the promises the future holds and the opportunities that our great country can offer. My aspirations are for Nigeria to be able to overcome its development challenges, and to become one of the top 10 economies in the world in the shortest time possible. But we need to work towards achieving these goals. As a matter of urgency, we must shift our economic paradigm from sole dependence on oil towards productive diversification. Agriculture is a viable alternative here. We must develop our agriculture towards achieving food security. We must give primacy to food production as a strategic national imperative, for it is a sure basis for sustainable economic development.
Indeed, pursuing food security as a strategic value goes beyond merely feeding the people. Food security is a core pillar of national security. No nation can have genuine national security without food security. Therefore, if we make food security the driving force of our agricultural development, the accompanying spin-offs it will generate can only add greater value to our overall economic development efforts.
My conviction about agriculture as a viable solution to our unemployment problem lay in the fact that, an agricultural economy that is grounded in food production cannot fail. People can give up luxury items if occasion demands it. But for as long as we remain human, we will eat; food is a biological necessity! Luxury item are a matter of choice. People for instance can very easily forgo chocolate; but it would be hard to imagine them forgoing staple food like rice or potato. Food security is an essential condition for national security.
Related to this is the need to gainfully and meaningfully engage our youths by creating jobs and employment opportunities. Our present chronic youth unemployment situation is a potential source of social explosion. There is profound wisdom in productively engaging our youths. Young people are some of society’s greatest assets; but they can also be a major source of its problem. In Nigeria, youths constitute the bulk of our productive population, and that bulk is overwhelmingly unemployed! In other words, we have a potentially advantageous youth bulge in our population, which could also be turned into a bug by prolonged lack of employment.
Young people are energetic, talented, innovative, aspirational, and daring. These are good qualities for economic enterprise. We only need to be creative to harness them for the rapid socio-economic transformation of our country. Again, agriculture presents enormous possibilities in this regard. Our huge population offers immense opportunities as a market, and for massive job creation, that can absorb our teeming unemployed youths, and help in eradicating poverty.
Another area of great promise is information and communications technology. ICT also offers enormous possibilities for creating jobs and for meaningfully engaging our youths. After all, ICT is a field that is not only a product of innovation, it is driven by human creativity. Innovation and creativity are an area of strength for young people. They will have their imagination taxed and their minds energised. It can help focus the vibrant energies of our youths on positive development. In addition, it is a fertile area of almost infinite possibilities where the only limitation is the human imagination. Again, all we need do is to get our acts together; think and organise so that we can make the most of the opportunities available to us.
Essential to modern life and any economic endeavour is power, but this is an area in which the nation has been badly struggling. The circa 4,000mw the nation produces is a huge joke. This, when the economy is in full throttle, cannot even serve the Ikeja business district. Admittedly there have been great efforts at addressing the problem but they have amounted to little. This is the time to discard the old approach and tackle the problem of power squarely. We must be jolted by the realisation that without sufficient electric power, all other efforts will come to nought.
I am not trying to make light of the formidable challenges involved in making a success of the Nigerian project; my point is that the difficulties are not an excuse for failure. In fact, they are a compelling reason for us to try to overcome them. I am an unflinching believer in the assertion of George Bernard Shaw that ‘[t]he only real failure in life is the failure to try’. It is in our utmost interest not to fail to try. Success is only born of trying, and I am in no doubt at all that if we genuinely keep trying, we shall surely overcome.
October 1st of every year offers us the opportunity to review the journey of nationhood and to come to the awareness that just as we have the prospect of greatness, so also are we faced with the grim possibility of tipping over the brink; the probability of outcomes now depends on the choices that we make. It is my fervent hope and prayer, however, that we will always make the right choices and realise our greatest potential.
Once again, I congratulate us all and wish us happy independence celebrations
OGBENI RAUF AREGBESOLA