I am not a politician. I am also not a card-carrying member of All Progressives Party (APC) but a Rauf Aregbesola sympathiser. If I am tagged a politician because of my belief in the progressive creden­tials of Aregbesola, so be it! In the same vein, if I am labelled an ‘Areg­be wrapper’ as a result of my love for this man, I owe nobody any apology!

At a time like this, I cannot but re­member my days at Ijebu-Jesa Gram­mar School (IJGS), Ijebu-Jesa when it was all fun traveling to towns and villages especially, within the-then Obokun Local Government Area of the old Oyo State for sports and related so­cial activities. I can confirm that those were relatively good old days when towns were towns and schools were schools. At a time like this as well, one cannot but begin to wonder what be­came of our government that, for close to three decades, residents of my Local Government were at the mercy of the State Government. No thanks to the bad roads and absence of other social amenities that were naturally taken for granted in saner climes.

Specifically, between 1985 when I left IJGS and 2010, when Aregbesola was sworn-in as Osun Sate Governor, schools in Osun State had become something else and hitherto passable roads had become death traps that residents completely got cut-off from the rest of the world. People groaned in the rough of aches and moaned in the tumble of pains. Hunger begat hunger, poverty took the place of affluence and it was as if the gods were angry!

The Rauf Aregbesola-led admin­istration on November 27, 2010 and Osun State was again on the path to greatness. Within the first three years in office, Aregbesola saw to the training and empowerment of over 5,000 youths in Information Technology through the Osun Youth Empowerment Tech­nology Scheme (OYESTECH); some thousands of the stand-alone, multime­dia, e-learning Opon Imo Tablets were distributed to students while others are expected to benefit from the scheme through local production by a company already sited in the state. Within the same period, no fewer than 750,000 pu­pils and students were given free school uniforms, with over 3000 tailors trained and empowered to sow school uni­forms. Primary School Funding Grants also increased from 7.4 million to N424 million a year while Secondary School Basic Funding Grants rose from N171 million to N427 million a year.

During the period under review, tu­ition fees in state-owned tertiary institu­tions got reduced by close to 30 per cent even as 254,000 pupils were fed daily with nutritious meals through govern­ment’s O’MEALS scheme, a project that also led to the employment, train­ing and empowerment as 3000 cooks.

Since the foodstuffs were sourced and prepared locally, the scheme brought about the annual injection of N4 billion into the economy of the state. Aregbesola’s era also witnessed the in­auguration of Omoluabi Garments Fac­tory as well as Omoluabi Conservation Fund into which N4.2billion reserve has so far been injected. Also worthy of mention is Osun Youth Empowerment Scheme (OYES) which has succeeded in taking off the streets and engagement of 40,000 unemployed youth. Efforts to enrol more youths into the programme are also in top gear. State-of-the-art Po­lice Stations were built and Patrol Vehi­cles, Armoured Personnel Carriers and related security equipment were also donated to Security Agencies towards the enhancement of security of lives and property. Aregbesola-constructed roads that adorn nook and cranny of the state, in addition to O’CLEAN’s bi-monthly state-wide environmental exercise and Agricultural Farm Settlements Project through which 1,765 hectares of land were cleared and prepared for farmers?

The State was able to build 74 Pri­mary Health Centres and rehabilitated its nine hospitals and 12 Comprehen­sive Health Centres, thereby aiding the provision of Sustained Free Health Ser­vices to all, irrespective of age, gender, political affiliations or religious incli­nations. Through its Free Medical and Surgical Missions Programme, govern­ment was able to provide free treatment and surgeries to thousands of citizens; and, through its Osun State Ambulance Service Authority, not less than 400 youth have been trained as paramedics. 123 kilometres of waterways (streams, arteries and canals) were dredged to keep the state flood-free for three years and Internally Generated Revenue (IGR) increased from N300m to N1.6b without any increase in tax payable by citizens.

In my personal opinion, the Edu­cation Sector seems to have been the most beneficiary. Apart from those ed­ucation-related dividends which I have enumerated above, Osun State Govern­ment, under Aregbesola, also embarked on the building of no fewer than 40 El­ementary, Model and High Schools to cater for its ever-increasing population of pupils and students. Some have been completed and already put to use while some will be commissioned within the next two weeks. This is in addition to the 20 new sites which will also be opened within the same period. Dur­ing the period under review, 3,000 ad­ditional teachers were employed; with all outstanding allowances paid and all entitlements settled. The governor also graciously approved the creation of four Permanent Secretary positions (that is, Tutors-General) for the teaching cadre. And, on July 18, over 30 brand new Omoluabi Scholar Buses were distri­bution to the state’s high schools. The number is expected to increase to 100 by September.

But why Aregbesola again? The answer is simple! So far, so commend­able! Aregbesola is an achiever who, within so short a period of time in of­fice, has transformed Osun State into an attractive city, a state of aquatic splendour and a centre of tourist at­traction offering superb views. A man of poise and panache, this small-in-stature-but-mighty-in-spirit Ilesa-born politician has changed the face of Osun into a state looking ahead to the future. No doubt about it: Aregbesola is witty, disciplined, teachable, responsible and passionate about leaving not only Osun State but also the world better than he met it. Little wonder he was described in Wikipedia as “the best Governor Osun State has ever produced since the creation of Osun State.” Of course, that’s why we all want him at Bola Ige House for another term of four years!

Komolafe writes from Ijebu-Jesa, Osun State.

SUNNEWS

ADDRESS DELIVERED BY THE GOVERNOR OF THE STATE OF OSUN, OGBENI RAUF AREGBESOLA, AT THE OFFICIAL LAUNCH OF O’YES-TECH EMPOWERMENT PROGRAMME, HELD AT GOVERNMENT HOUSE LAWN, OSOGBO, ON THURSDAY JULY 31, 2014
Protocols,
FOR TECHNOLOGY AND YOUTH DEVELOPMENT
It is with unfeigned feeling of happiness that I convene with you all this morning for the launch of one of our valuable youth empowerment programmes, Osun Youth Empowerment Scheme-Technology (O’YES-TECH).
As you are aware, immediately our administration came into being, we promptly moved into action in order to arrest and reverse the unacceptably reprehensible chronic youth unemployment in Osun.
Therefore, in accordance with our promise to run government in unusual ways, we came up with a pioneering public sector youth employment project, known as the Osun Youth Empowerment Scheme (O’YES). It was conceived as a single but effective blow that would create a hugely irreparable hole in the well-entrenched fortress of youth unemployment.
And it did! Through this highly innovative scheme, we were able to take 20,000 of our youths away from the hopelessness and uncertainty of the unemployment market. The programme was designed as a two-year rolling scheme during which the volunteer cadets would be usefully and gainfully engaged and given soft landing after two years.
It is a programme under which the youths would undergo series of trainings that would make them, on the one hand, useful to society and, on the other hand, useful to themselves. During the course of the two years, the O’YES cadets are deployed in various public service capacities.
This would not only serve to inculcate in them the spirit of public service, it would also add immense value to the cause of societal development. But the cadets are equally given opportunities to acquire life-long vocations and skills in the diverse areas of our numerous development policies and programmes.
Such capacity-building skills trainings are the exit programmes into which the Cadets would graduate in order to enable them have economically and socially fulfilling existence thereafter. The O’YES-TECH is an important component of these exit programmes.
It was conceived by our administration, but it was designed and packaged in partnership with a private ICT firm, the RLG of Ghana. The O’YES-TECH is six-month highly intensive course in information and communication technology.
Under the programme, we plan to train 20,000 young people from the O’YES Scheme in batches of 5,000 each at 10 training centres spread across the state to facilitate easy accessibility.
During the course of the training the cadets are exposed to various aspects of applied computer technology which includeBasics of Computer system, Computer Software Application, Computer Hardware, Computer Networking, Mobile Phone Software, Basic Electronics, Mobile Phone Hardware, and Entrepreneurship Studies.
The programme has the following underlying objectives:
•        To train and set-up 20,000 youths in mobile phone assembly and repairs, computer technology (Desktop and Laptop) and entrepreneurial skills within.
•        To equip the trained youths with the necessary skills needed for sustainable employment (both as salary earners and as self-employers) in the ICT industry.
•        To create a platform for the trained youths to learn and share new and innovative technological ideas in the ICT industry during training.
•        To provide trainees with an exclusive environment to network and generate more job opportunities through practical placements and repair clinics during and after the course.
Accordingly, the ICT skills that the trainees acquire from this programme give them a wide-range of opportunities for gainful employment. It gives them the required ICT skills to make them eligible and highly sought-after for white-collar jobs.
And better still, it puts them in a good stead to be masters of their own fate by setting up their own business outfit. Should any of them decide to tread this self-employment path, they will have our government standing solidly behind them to give them the necessary backing.
We have made provision to assist them with start-up capital fund so as to overcome the daunting problem of financing their dream projects.
As a matter of fact, out of the first batch of 5,000 youths that have already been trained, 100 of them were sent to the RLG headquarters for further practical training in Ghana. Many of these – precisely 52 of them – have been offered direct employed by the company’s phone and laptop factory in Ilesa.
Another 100 of the trainees are being engaged today by the company in sales activities, while 40 more are being empowered with kiosks and tools for after sales services. Some others have been similarly employed by other ICT firms such as CHAMS Plc and BEACON Power Services.
I am convinced that the O’YES-TECH will continue to be an unfolding story of goodness and bright future for our youths. I want to sincerely express my gratitude to RLG for its most fruitful and rewarding partnership with us.
O’YES-TECH is one of the ways we have been meaningfully engaged with our society, especially on job creation and youth development. We therefore have a deep sense of fulfillment that it has impacted positively on the people. Our greater joy is that your investment of hope in us by giving us your mandate has not been in vain. It is a mark of good and forthright political judgment that you have chosen us to be your leader. That singular decision has brought about the unprecedented development in the state in the past three and a half years and has changed the fortune of the state for better. We are on the march again and I am asking that you give me your support, just as you did in 2007 so that I will continue to serve you for another term of four years.
We need to take youth engagement to the next level and banish unemployment from our state. This among others will be the object of my pursuit as you renew my mandate. I count so much on your good judgment.
I thank you all for your attentive audience.
Osun a dara!

The excitement is building once again as local and international tour­ists count down to the yearly Osun Osogbo festival. For culture enthu­siasts and tourism die-hards in Nigeria, Africa and the Diaspora, the release of the calendar for 2014 edition, which has be­come one of the hallmarks of the people of Osogbo as well as indigenes of Osun State, is an indication that the aim is to surpass the previous celebrations on all fronts. The excitement which usually precedes the event, was on hand again at a corpo­rate cum stakeholder’s forum held at the Convention Centre, Eko Hotel and Suites, Victoria Island, Lagos, where the organiz­ers unveiled some of its plans for a better outing this year.

Chief Jimoh Buraimoh, a high chief and chairman of the Festival Advisory Committee assured that this edition would be better organized than previous ones especially with the array of local musicians that would be on parade even as he affirmed that the annual event has helped to build goodwill, cultural awareness and peace not only in Osogboland but beyond.

“Today, the enlistment of Osun Grove in July 2005 by UNESCO as a World Heritage Site has helped a great deal in ascertaining this fact, Buraimoh noted.

He announced that the Ogbeni Rauf Aregbesola leadership has transformed and is still transforming the Osun grove since assumption of office and has actually structurally created an in and out crowd control entrance and exit to the grove. The government has demolished the existing pavilion in the grove and has constructed a theatre-like stage and re-modifying the festival route with construction of a road drainage system with designated car parks and so on.

On the issue of security, Chief Buraimoh assured that the government is taking the challenge of security of lives and property within the state seriously as adequate arrangement has been made for the grand finale presentation of the 2014 edition.

Confirming the dividends, Ayo Olumoko, Managing Director, Infogem Nigeria Limited, the official marketing consultant of the festival said a powerful delegation of Osun devotees is expected from the Diaspora as well as other African countries and numerous tourists from around the globe.

Although the number of foreign tourists has grown steadily since it became a world heritage site, one of the challenges of this growth is the impact of mass tourism to the grove.

Speaking at the event, Oba Jimoh Oyetunji, Olanipekun II, the Ataoja of Osogbo, commended the sponsors for their steadfast commitment and support to the festival and the Yoruba culture.

“Certainly, the Osun Osogbo Festival is regarded as very important festival, not only in Yoruba land and Nigeria, but also in the world. The event is a huge tourist attraction that lures the global community to Osogbo. The sponsors’ identification with the celebrations show their commitment to the customs and values of the Yoruba people, and we are happy about it,” he said.

The paramount ruler enthused that quality sponsorship of the festival would make the celebrations more memorable than previous editions. “As organizers, we always try our best to make sure that everyone who participates in the festivities takes away a unique experience. With the involvement of public and private stakeholders in this year’s edition, we are sure that it would be even bigger and better than what we had in the past.”

With partners including Intercontinental Distilleries, MTN, Alomo Bitters, Nigerian Breweries and others still planning to join, the number of musicians expected to entertain during the festival has doubled, while sponsorship fever has remained high.

Mr. Mfon Bassey, the Brand Manager, Goldberg, Nigerian Breweries Plc, said the brand was very happy to be associated with this age-old festival that is very dear to the people of Osogbo and the western region in general. According to him, Nigerian Breweries has partnered with this festival over the years  and for the second year running, the Goldberg brand is proud to be part of the festival as the “Official Beer Sponsor”.

He said the brand has continued to keep its consumers actively engaged all year round through exciting social platforms as well as promotion of the traditions of the people adding that the festival is one cultural celebration that everyone looks forward to with great anticipation.

Giving details of Goldberg’s participation at the festival, he revealed that the brand would be showcasing a 21-day Beer Fiesta where the people of Osogbo and visitors would be exposed to an unforgettable beer experience with lots of music, comedy and rewards. In addition the brand will also be sponsoring key programmes of the event which holds from August 18 -22, to add value to the overall content.

SUNNEWS

Osun State Governor, Rauf Aregbesola, has warned the political class against militarization of Nigerian politics.
The governor, who spoke through his Special Adviser on Environment, Mr. Bola Ilori, at a press briefing in Osogbo, on Wednesday, said that deploying troops for election duties was a violation of the constitution and a gross abuse of office.
Ilori said that it had become so ridiculous that soldiers were now being deployed to mediate in land disputes.
According to the special adviser, the frequent deployment of military personnel in purely civil matters could work against the advancement of democracy.
He said, “If you use the military to hijack power, you should expect that the military would not sit back and watch you enjoy what you did not work for. They may strike and that will be too bad for our nation.
“The Nigerian political class is giving ideas to the military that they can hijack power with the way some people are using them to hijack power. The political class has gone to the extent of inviting soldiers in land dispute”, Ilori said in apparent reference to the incident between the Lagos State Government and Minister of State for Defence, Senator Musliu Obanikoro, who brought in soldiers to stop work on a government project.
While expressing the confidence that Aregbesola would win the August 9 governorship election, Ilori said the governor had performed very well and the people of the state were ready to vote him in for another four years.
INFORMATIONNG

The Emergency And Citizen’s Enquiry/Contact Center is for Osun citizens to have a hit line they could make an emergency call through free toll while rescue/responses are guaranteed.

With this number 080067866786 (12 digits) distress calls can be made toll free and quick responses are asured.

The contract was awarded to Aeronautical Engineering and Technical Services Limited, a Nigerian Airforce company.

This state is joining other states of the world in providing high technology emergency opportunity to Osun people. Thus, it is the first if its kind in Nigeria. – Group Captain Akeen Adenonehin (Head AETSL Hi-tech team)

MKO International Airport, Osogbo under construction is also being handled by AETSL

The Emergency call centre has the capacity to function as an emergency coordination platform as well as a government contact center for its citizens.

With it, residents of Osun would be able to place toll-free calls to the centre while vetted operators would be on hand to answer questions in local dialect and other languages.

Download and Share our Countdown Posters. It is 9 days to the Day Osun Decides. Who will you be voting for?  Share with us on Facebook (Government of the State of Osun) or Twitter @stateofosun

People from every walk of life share their experiences and thoughts on the Governor of the State of Osun in Amazing and memorable Quotes. Share with your friends and give your thoughts and feedback on any of our platforms. Facebook (Government of the State of Osun) or Twitter @stateofosun

Governments across the states of the federation are increasingly enhancing public sector service delivery through the use of technology, writes Shola Oyeyipo
That some governors are spending so much on residents’ identification scheme, being a major prerequisite for e-governance is understandable. This is because a well-coordinated identity management process would ensure availability of accurate data for short, medium and long term planning in the private and public sector of the economy.
And if properly applied, especially in the area of information and communications technology, identity management is expected to usher in radical transformation in sectors such as education, healthcare and agriculture, and it would be expected to result in evident leap in internal revenue generation, cost-savings and fraud reduction, especially in some states that have been battling the problem of over-bloated civil service.
Presently, three states – Lagos, Anambra, and Osun – are prominent among others that are investing in residents’ identification projects initiated to enhance economic planning through the use of accurate population data in the formulation and implementation of public service policies.
Some of the advantages of the process include improved service delivery in the areas of health, education, security, welfare and transportation, among others. By bringing undocumented residents out of the shadows, government is better positioned to plan on how best to allocate resources to meet the needs of the people.
Other benefits of the smart identity card include reduced turnaround time on salary processing, prepaid payment for financial transactions, ability of holders to draw 20 per cent of monthly salary in lieu of payment, automated biometric verification of staff and retirees’ as against manual verification usually accompanied by long queues, and the storage of health data required during medical emergencies, among other functions.
The Anambra and Osun schemes are being executed by Chams Plc to assist the governments of the two states provide better public services at less cost to residents across rural and urban areas of their states.
While the Anambra project is at infrastructure building phase, Osun State has commenced deployment and issuance of smart identity cards embedded with MasterCard prepaid capabilities to civil servants and retirees in the state. Issued to enhance salary and pension payments, the Osun smart identity card provides reliable identification and authentication of 33,000 civil servants and retirees in the state. It eliminates the manual verification usually accompanied by long queues, replacing it with verification by flashing card on the access control machines or kiosk anywhere within the state secretariat.
Launching the smart identity card and the automated pensioner verification exercise tagged: ‘I am alive’, Governor Rauf Aregbesola of Osun State said it was beneficial to government, workers and retirees’ in the state. He expressed the optimism that the initiative would help to eliminate sources of financial waste and leakage being used by some people deprive government of its money, while also helping to block the possibility of defrauding workers and retirees’ of payments due to them.
“It was through the application of Information and Communication Technology (ICT) to our tax administration and revenue collection that enabled us to increase our internally generated revenue by 100 per cent within the first few months of our administration.
“We have since intensified our effort to make ICT an inherent part of our public administrative system. The introduction of this new smart electronic identity card is another component of that overall effort.
“It will expectedly bring about many benefits to all of us – the individual, civil servants and the government. It will be given to all
workers across all ministries, departments and agencies, including local government council workers.
“The smart identity card is electronic and personalised with biometric features to each of its users. It will add immense values to the functioning of workers and will equally improve the capacity and cost of administration by government,” Aregbesola disclosed.
Director of Information and Communications Technology, Osun State, Mr. Bambo Bashorun said the introduction of smart identity cards by the state was timely because it was being executed at a time the nation was facing serious security challenges as well as the dwindling resources.
“The issuance of the card will guarantee proper accountability and plug holes through which resources are wasted. Creating a database of all civil servants in the state is so important especially at this time of our challenging national life from increased level of insecurity to dwindling resources.
“With the data base created, the identity card issued and I Am Alive process automated, the state had ensured that no single kobo is wrongly allocated to undeserved person in the state.”
Demola Aladekomo, Group Managing Director, Chams Plc said the launch of a smart identity card by the Osun State Government was another milestone in the information and communications technology ecosystem in Nigeria.
He said the smart identity card was multifunctional and more than an identity card because it has e-payment capabilities and
can be used as debit or credit card by holders across the country, and anywhere in the world.
“The utilisation of information and communication technology to improve service delivery in the public sector in Nigeria will make governance inclusive – bringing it closer to the people. Inclusive governance and the use of technology to reduce the high incidence of fraud and wastage often associated with the public sector will further catalyse the growth and development of our national economy.
“Globally, governments are investing in meeting the identity management needs at city, state and regional levels because it provides exceptional opportunity to cut capital and recurrent administrative costs, while also protecting vulnerable citizens such as retirees by making it difficult for dishonest persons to steal their benefits.”
He added: “It is a welcome development that Osun is at the forefront of heralding access to improved public services through information and communication technology.”
On his part, veteran journalist and columnist, Tunde Fagbenle, who is an indigene of Osun, said “It doesn’t take much stretch of the imagination to appreciate the overall value and cost advantage of the smart ID both in saved man-hours, personnel management efficiency, and probity.
“Wasn’t it but yesterday the country was awash with scandal upon scandal of billions of naira of pensions money embezzled, not to talk of the ordeal pensioners continually suffer in the process of getting paid their paltry dues monthly?”
Fagbenle thought it an exciting time to be alive in Osun State, and as such, rejoiced that pensioners in the state would no longer suffer and wallow in abject poverty on a daily basis.
“The plights of Nigerian pensioners have been a thing of concern for many years now. The picture of haggard-looking pensioners collapsing on queues for their meager pensions during verification exercises is no longer new. But it may be a thing of the past in Osun State with the deployment of the beneficial technology by the state government,” he added.
With the adoption of residents’ identification programmes by Anambra and Osun States, it no doubt will enhance the ability of the state governments to make short, medium and long term plans for the benefit of their people.
Upon completion, these state governments will no longer depend on sketchy data in their bid to formulate and implement policies, projects and programmes because the number of people to cater for across all sectors – rural and urban areas – are known.
What more, the programmes will also ensure appropriate allocation of resources to various sectors of the economy in a manner that meets the real needs of residents of the concerned state.
“For instance, using data from its residents’ identification project, a state government will be able to classify neighbourhoods based on their population thereby making adequate provision for public utilities in each neighbourhood based on the number of residents,” Fagbenle disclosed.
THIS DAY

Osun State government has said that it has uncovered plans by some people, said to be going round major cities in the state marking buildings for demolition in a bid to incite the populace against the government.
A statement signed by the state commissioner for information and strategy, Mr Sunday Akere and made available to newsmen, said the state government was not embarking on any kind of demolition.
Akere told residents of the state to challenge anyone that marks their building for demolition and report such to the police for proper action.
Akere also denied claims by the opposition party, particularly, the Peoples Democratic Party, PDP, that the state government has concluded plans to introduce a new tax regime, if Aregbesola is re-elected, adding that Governor Rauf Aregbesola’s administration neither intends to introduce any tax regime nor intend to increase its usual tax levy as allegedly claimed by the PDP.

Heavy presence of men of the Directorate of State Security (DSS) is now in Osun ahead of the August governorship poll.

However, the unusually heavy presence seems to have angered most residents who expressed anger at the open display of weapons without any signs of provocations by the residents.

Residents claim they started noticing the heavy presence from Tuesday as about 70 white Hilux vans and Peugeot Boxer Coaster buses filled with the gun-wielding DSS men cruised round the state capital Osogbo and many other parts of the state.

Residents started discussing the development in hushed tones from Tuesday, as many looked at the masked men with disdain.

However, by Wednesday when gun shots rent the air in many parts of the states sending many people scampering for safety, many of the residents later came out saying they would not be intimidated by the masked men.

At the Oke Fia area of the city, our correspondent gathered that several bullets were fired into the air as the long convoy of the men in black uniform drove recklessly through the towns.

An official of one of the banks located at the Oke Fia Roundabouts in Osogbo said the activities of the men of the DSS was creating a lot of panic adding that the Federal Government would be doing a lot of damage to the country’s already tense situation by shattering the peace Osun had enjoyed.