Photos showing the Governor’s interactions with the people of the state of Osun over the years, each telling a separate story…

Like most Nigerians, I am utterly disenchanted by politics.  After spending two and a half decades outside the shores of this country and having seen good governance in action in other climes, I should be forgiven for regarding our politicians as liars, egotistic parasites, feeding off our collective ignorance and apathy, and our current political system as nothing more than crass bureaucratic channels of formalising the embezzlement of our common wealth by the corrupt political class.
I can’t but marvel at the uncanny similarity between our current political system and the corrupt state of politics in Britain some 360 odd years ago.  The difference is that they had the likes of Oliver Cromwell who was prompted to deliver a scathing attack on the Rump parliament on April 20, 1653 in which he bawled out the whole House of Commons as “…you have dishonoured (the House of Commons)  by your contempt of all virtue, and defiled by your practice of every vice. Ye are a factious crew, and enemies to all good government.  Ye are a pack of mercenary wretches, and would, like Esau sell your country for a mess of pottage, and like Judas betray your God for a few pieces of money.  Is there a single virtue now remaining amongst you? Is there one vice you do not possess?  Ye have no more religion than my horse.  Gold is your God.  Which of you have not bartered your conscience for bribes?  Is there a man amongst you that has the least care for the good of the Commonwealth?  Ye sordid prostitutes, have you not defiled this sacred place, and turned the Lord’s temple into a den of thieves, by your immoral principles and wicked practices? Ye are grown intolerably odious to the whole nation. You were deputed here by the people to get grievances redressed, are yourselves become the greatest grievance”.
It will not be out of place to surmise that the above description refers to present day Nigeria.  I wanted to set this article in context as a political observer and commentator who has no party political affiliation.  In a country bereft of credible and genuine servant-leader politicians, Ogbeni Rauf Aregbesola has caught my fancy and is a refreshing exception to our so-called leaders to whom the above sweeping but apt opprobrium should be directed.  As a social entrepreneur and a student of politics, I can’t but make reference to the key social evils of most societies like ours which any well-meaning government would seek to tackle with every ounce of energy and resource at their disposal.  Aregbesola, from his programmes and published plans, has a vision of social reconstruction and social progress.
The most debilitating and crippling of all the dreaded evils that are ravaging our society today is poverty.  This is the key social problem which affects all the others and aggravates their effect.  Aregbesola, through his “banish hunger and poverty programmes” as part of the implementation of his six point agenda programme is addressing this giant evil.  The provision of a safety net for vulnerable older people in the form of welfare support under the “Agba Osun” programme is a laudable initiative.  I was pleasantly surprised when my uncle in Ilesa showed me his share of a heap of corn grains (seeds for growing) which the government distributed to all farmers in his cooperative.
Adopting a preventive approach to health through the “Walk to Live” and the “Bi-monthly sanitation” initiatives are good measures to encourage a healthy living lifestyle amongst Osun state indigenes.  With this positive start, I will be disappointed if the government does not adopt the National Health Insurance Scheme in order to improve health outcomes for the citizens of Osun state – especially for the most vulnerable.  The provision of meals for primary school pupils through the O’Meal programme is also another preventive initiative in addressing health inequality and wellbeing.
Education is the main antidote to ignorance.  The government’s commitment to accessible quality education is evident in its various programmes on education.  In the words of Aregbesola himself, “Well-educated children will have the confidence to face the future and remake their world in their own image. Uneducated or badly educated children on the other hand are not only easy recruits for violent gangs, they are incapable of conceiving beauty and all that is good about man, the environment and the good life. They are naturally predisposed to nihilism”  The introduction of “Opon Imo” is a brilliant and laudable initiative which promises to open the imagination of the state’s secondary school students to technical advancement and encouraging them to become technological whizzes. Computer skills have become a fundamental part of education and despite the inevitable potential of abuse and misuse, Opon Imo provides that high level interactivity between students, teachers and subject matter whilst at the same time developing the students’ cognitive and creative abilities.
Given the unacceptably high level of unemployment in the country, the government of the State of Osun is making strides in the creation of employment.  The openness of the government to new ideas and to think outside the box in order to create employment and improve the economy of the state is there for all to see.  Most importantly, the recognition that the government needs to work in partnership with the private and the voluntary sectors to create job opportunities and attract investment into the state is one of the outstanding leadership qualities that the administration has displayed.
Many of our inner cities and towns are looking like slums as a result of poor planning, unauthorised buildings and out-buildings and our poor attitude to environmental sanitation.  The government’s renewal and regeneration strategy is therefore bound to be unpopular since they involved the demolition of some of these aesthetically unpleasant structures within our inner cities.  I do hope however, that the government will seek out private property developers to partner with in order to provide affordable social housing for the growing population of the state.
The government’s commitment to physical infrastructure development and maintenance is visible in terms of road works.  I was at first critical of the government’s slow start in this area but I have been impressed – as with millions of others who have visited the state recently – with the pace and geographical spread of road construction in the state.  Amongst the projects in the government’s infrastructure strategy which I hope will be jettisoned because I remain unconvinced of its economic and commercial viability is the MKO Abiola International Airport.  A joint project to expand the airport in Ibadan or construct one with Ekiti and Ondo State located between Ilesa and Akure would be a better idea and better way of spending the state’s resources.
A government that encourages innovation, promotes socially inclusive policies and thinks outside the box is what any progressive state needs.  One that cares about job and wealth creation, security of its citizens, social justice and a general enterprise!  In a federal system like ours where there is too much reliance on the centre for monthly federal allocation and its attendant whimsical arbitrariness of the sheer weight of presidential power, the need for state generated income cannot be overstated.  Aregbesola is doing a lot in this regard in calling for, and supporting business and social ideas with transformative potentials for the state – as is typified by the cultural sector.
The first four years of Aregbesola are a good pointer to what lies ahead in the next four – if given the chance.  In my personal view, he deserves to be given the chance – he has earned it!  Given the state of affairs of the state when he took over, especially the state of the education system and the road infrastructure and what he has been able to achieve, he should be allowed to continue.  He has succeeded in creating a feel-good factor in the state which he should be allowed and supported to sustain and translate to improved economic, social, health and educational outcomes for all and sundry in our beloved state of Osun.
Olukiran, is a London-based Management Consultant

Since the inception of the administration of Ogbeni Rauf Aregbesola as the Governor of Osun State on Saturday, November 27, 2010, after lengthy rounds of litigation to reclaim his stolen mandate, the governor has left no one in doubt about his intention to develop the state as quickly as possible.

Even in the face of lean resources, Aregbesola’s passion to transform Osun into a state where government worked for the people remained unwavering. The results can be seen in the far-reaching impact of government activity and investments in key sectors of the economy today.

The shape of things to come were made clears as far back as 2005, with the establishment of the Oranmiyan Foundation, a political platform, by Governor Aregbesola and the launch of the Green Book that contained the planned programmes of the then Lagos State Commissioner for Works.

The book outlined his planned policies and programmes and as the April 14, 2007 governorship poll moved closer, many residents of state had become so familiar with the sixpoint integral action plan of Aregbesola.

The Six-point Integral Action Plan as expounds in the Green Book that the governor himself had described as the document of trust and symbol of contract with the people of Osun State are : Banish hunger, banish poverty, banish unemployment, promote healthy living, promote functional education, promote communal, peace and progress. These six points are defined as integral because the delivery of the development vision, according to the governor requires a combined implementation of each of these points.

With barely six months to the end of the first four year tenure of Ogbeni Rauf Aregbesola, the impact of government is being felt in every part of the state with basic infrastructural amenities being put in proper shape.

Banish hunger, banish poverty, banish unemployment

In tandem with the first three items on the six point integral action plan, the administration of Ogbeni Rauf Aregbesola, within 100 days in office employed 20,000 youths under a programme called Osun Youth Empowerment Scheme, OYES, setting the record as the first government in the history of the country to absorb such number of unemployed youths at a time.

The youths, who were subjected to training in specific areas of needs, upon completion of their induction exercise were immediately deployed to relevant sectors such as traffic management, health, sanitation, works and security. The youths, who had their uniforms sown by the designers selected from the state, were placed on the monthly stipend on N10,000 and the first batch of cadets captured under the programme had already completed their assignment and another set recruited.

The youth empowerment programme, which was recommended by World Bank as a model to the Federal Government and also being adopted by some state governments across the country, has successfully created a new category to spenders through whom an additional N200m is being injected into the economy of the state monthly.

Apart from OYES scheme, the administration of Aregbesola has also empowered other categories of people in the state by engaging them through mutually beneficial ventures. The present administration has also entered the history books as the only government till date that will employ the highest number of civil servants despite executing several capital intensive projects.

The vacuum created by the mass retirement from the service of Osun State Government in 2012 occasioned by the introduction of contributory pension scheme, which left the state work force badly depleted, were quickly plugged with the recruitment of workers into the civil service.

Similarly, the Aregbesola administration also recruited qualified teachers, who were made to pass through various stages of screening, with priority attention to the core subjects like English and Mathematics, among others to improve the quality of instruction being provided in public schools across the state.

The government also created jobs through programme such as the reinvigorated school feeding programme tagged “OMeal, through which about 250,000 pupils in public schools are being fed once in a day. The cooks that prepare the food are another group of new spenders created by Osun State Government.

Another programme created to take care of unemployed persons and the vulnerable is Agba Osun initiative through which the aged in the state are given a monthly stipend of N5,000.

Promotion of healthy living

In its bid to promote healthy living among the people of Osun State, Aregbesola, himself a fitness buff, declared an emergency in the area of sanitation on assumption of office in 2010 and with the collaboration of health officers attached to all the local government areas in the state began a more careful supervision of cleaning of streets, business premises and residential buildings by health workers while ad hoc staff were recruited and the filth that had taken over major streets of the capital under the previous administration, quickly disappeared.

At the expiration of the emergency programme, another scheme designed to sustain the gains achieved tagged O’Clean Plus was introduced. Under this program, over 100 refuse vans were bought and towns with in the state were assigned to different private refuse disposal companies, who turn up once in a week to remove refuse while people pay for the services they render.

Also, this administration is proactive in the aspect of flood prevention led to the dredging of over 123 kilometres of streams, rivers and canals throughout the state. It was a preventive action taken by the government after repeated warnings of severe flooding nationwide by meteorological agencies.

Osun has been one of the flood free states during the turbulent massive rainfall and change in weather conditions in the last few years. Flood prevention has been a constant activity embarked upon by the state even before the red signal of the weather agencies. Several lives and valuable properties have been saved through this proactive step.

Presently, nine general hospitals spread across the nine Federal Constituencies in the state are being simultaneously renovated at the whooping sum of N2bn. The renovation works which are at different stages of completion include upgrade of medical equipment and facilities.

Also, the state Ministry of Health, as part of measures to ensure healthy living among people of the state, has been organising free surgeries for people, who could not afford it in each of the nine biggest cities in the state where surgeries were performed free on people suffering from hernia. Similarly, the ministry has also organised free eye surgeries for people in Osogbo, the state capital and also provided, if situation demands, post-operation services for their patients.

Promotion of functional education

It is on record that the present administration has initiated some of the most ambitious programmes and policies to revamp the education sector.

Through its reclassification programme, Aregbesola’s administration re-arranged public primary and secondary schools in the state into elementary, middle and high schools and merged already existing schools to form new mega schools with modern facilities.

In the new policy, elementary level comprises of pupils from ages six to nine years, which corresponds to primary one to four pupils under the existing system. The middle level is from primary four to JSS 3 of ages 10 to 14, now classified as grades 5-9, and the high school level age range are between 15 and 17 years, corresponding to Senior Secondary School III, to be known as grades 10- 12.

The committee for the implementation of O’ School headed by Chief Layi Oyeduntan, during the foundation laying ceremony of the first mega school that was built under the programme in Ejigbo, said 100 elementary schools, 50 middle schools and 20 high schools would be built across the state.

Less than two years after, the committee has succeeded in completing nearly all the proposed schools and those already completed are presently being occupied by students. The schools, designed to reflect the basic global standard for modern schools, have all the necessary facilities that makes academic activities conducive.

The Osun Elementary School Feeding and Health Programme now known as O-Meals is one of the few surviving school meal programmes in the country. It was formerly known as the Home Grown School Feeding and Health Programme. This has now been restructured and enhanced by the present administration to reach a larger number of students (254,000) and to empower over 3,000 community caterers. The revamped programme has helped increase school enrolment by a minimum of 25 per cent.

The Osun State Government is also providing 150,000 e-learning tablets, known as Opon Imo, for Senior Secondary School student. This initiative, the first of its kind anywhere in the world, covers 17 core subjects with over five extra curricula subjects for Senior Secondary 1, 2 and 3 levels. The tablets contain over 56 textbooks , 900 minutes of virtual classroom lessons and thousands of Practice Play ground of Ilare Elementary school, Ile-Ife Questions for WAEC and JAMB. In addition to aiding preparation for School Leaving Examinations, the introduction of the tool is expected to aid adoption of information communication technology (ICT) skills among students in the State.

Agriculture

A number of incentives have been given by the present administration to boost agricultural production in the state.

These include support to 220 farmer groups under the Osun Broiler Outgrower Scheme (OBOPS), 28 cooperative groups have been empowered to plant 17 hectres of maize, 500 acres vegetable cluster, while 2,000 farmers have also been supported to plant 1.3 million plantain suckers for refined plantain production. In all, a total of 10,698 acres of farmland have been cultivated with the support of the Government of the State of Osun.

Also, 1,830 rural farmers in 61 focal communities have been equipped with farm inputs under the UNICEF replication initiative programme of the Ministry of Water Resources, Rural and Community Development.

Considerable attention is being paid to rural and community development under the UNICEF Community Development Replication Initiative Programme of the Ministry of Water Resources.

Similarly, a total of 122 boreholes have been sunk in the focal communities. The UNICEF Replication Programme is a three year rolling scheme focusing on two communities per local government for development interventions.

Security

The Osun State Government, apart from providing about 125 patrol vehicles to security agencies such as the Army, Police, FRSC, NDLEA and the Civil Defence, also bought five armoured personnel carrier, the first in the history of the state to fight incessant robbery attacks. It is also noteworthy that the helicopter acquired was for area surveillance and ‘’quick emergency response’’ in the state. Since this noble initiative, crime, especially bank robberies has reduced significantly to the barest minimum.

Works and infrastructure

The government of Ogbeni Rauf Aregbesola has unbelievably raised the bar of governance in terms of roads and infrastructural amenities development generally. The present administration has constructed close to one thousand kilometres of roads of both intra-city and intercity status, expending over N10bn on projects

The governor recently commissioned over 21 kilometres Ilesa township roads, while other newly roads in other cities in the state, it was learnt will soon be commissioned.

Osogbo, the capital of Osun state has enjoyed the privilege of having lion’s share of the township roads constructed. Recently, the state governor commissioned 21 newly constructed township roads within the state capital stretching 26.31 kilometres.

The selected roads under the first phase constructed and rehabilitated in the last 3 ½ years targets constructing roads with a life span of between 15-20 years. It features drainage construction fortified with iron and concrete thickness of between 60mm-70mm, a departure from using blocks which cannot stand the test of time. The drainages have been constructed to ensure smooth flow of water and also help in controlling erosion activities from washing away the layers of the roads. Aside from fortified concrete drainages, the roads have various layers such as laterite, stonebase and asphaltic overlay of 50mm. The asphaltic thicknesses of the roads are the same all since it is plied by all grades of vehicles.

A unique feature of Ogbeni Aregbesola’s road construction efforts is compliance with the state capital road master plan. The master plan consists of several roads connecting the inner Ring Road and the Outer Ring Road. No administration before now had paid special attention to radically connecting these roads together. The Osogbo Inner Ring Road as constructed by this administration takes off from Off Osogbo-Gbongan Road and routes from Gbodofon-Jaleyemi- Gbemu Junction Road-Isale Aro (1.79km). It leaps over the Oja-Oba Road to connect Gbemu Junction-Oluode Market-Elelede Junction-Abaku Road-Boorepo (1.47km) bursting out and connecting the on-going dualisation of Osogbo-Ikirun-Ila Odo-Kwara State Boundary Road.

The other stretch leaps over the Osogbo-Ikirun-Ila Odo Kwara State Boundary Road and picks off from Church Street-Bisi Bankole/Anaye Market Street- Alaafia Street-Oke Onitea Road- Anaye Market Junction-Oke Onitea Road (2.08km) to connect the existing West By Pass. This forms a semi circle inside Osogbo.

The next stretch is from GRA Road-Adesina Crescent-Ilobu Road (1.35km) and connecting the Osogbo-Ilobu Road. It picks off from Off Osogbo-Ilobu Road from Lameco Junction and routes Oroki Lane( dualised and connects West By Pass at Jerry Paul Filling Station)- Tinumola/ Wonderful Road( opposite Capital Hotel (2.06km). It intersects the Iwo Road/Oke fia Road and takes off from Capital Hotel-Alekunwodo- Coca Cola(2.33km) and burst out on the Osogbo-Gbongan Road to complete the Inner Ring Road formation in the Osogbo Road Master Plan.

Other road constructed/ rehabilitated which interconnects other roads includes Station Road- Fagbewesa-Odi OlowoJunction- Ebenezer Hotel (0.61km). Oja Oba-Osun Groove Gate with Road extension (1.02km), Balogun Biiro/ Oke Baale Road( 0.85km), John Mackay-Gbeja Road-Oke Baale with Constain (0.96), Kola Balogun Road Junction-Fiwasaye Olohunosebi Rd( 0.87km). One important stretch of constructed road is the Heritage Hotel Road-Dupe Aina-Odetoyinbo Rd(3.28km) which connects the on going dualisation of the 18km East-West By Pass Road at the Fountain University End. The second axis which connects the East-West Bye Pass (Outer Ring Road) is the Osunbukola/Mercy Land-Ajani Street-Prime Petrol Station (0.98km) to connect the Ofatedo- Ido Osun Road and connect it at the Ebunoluwa School Area

A careful study of the constructed and rehabilitated roads will reveal an interconnectedness of these roads with one another showing a deliberate, conscious, strategic and skilful road infrastructure upgrade of the State Capital. As stated earlier, the roads with asphaltic thickness of 50mm will no doubt last between 15-20 years thus giving the state value for money.

Also in Osogbo, a massive N4.5bin Eastern bye pass named after late Premier of Western region, Oba Adesoji Aderemi, is about 40 per cent completed.

Work is also ongoing on the Gbongan/Akoda dualisation but the flagship of several roads projects being undertaking by Aregbesola’s administration remains Osogbo/Ila-Odo Kwara Boundary road. The 45 kilometre road passes through three local government areas and cost the state close to N20bn.

Another road project worthy of mention is Gbongan/Orile-Owu/ Araromi/ Ogun State boundary road. This particular road provides an alternative route to Lagos State and many commuters from the state and those coming from the North have already started using it, even when construction work is still going on.

The present administration is also pursuing an ambitious programme aimed at creating markets for goods manufactured within the state and those coming from other states. In the last two years, Aregbesola’s administration has initiated construction of three different markets within the state capital.

Ayegbaju, Aje and Dagbolu regional markets all located within the state capital are simultaneously being constructed by government using public private partnership model. The state Commissioner for Commerce, Mr. Ismaila Alagbada, while speaking to newsmen recently said the first set of shops at Ayegbaju market will be ready for use by June this year.

The dream of having an airport in the state is gradually being brought to fruition with the massive investment of Aregbesola administration on the MKO Abiola Cargo Airport, Ido-Osun.

Slava Yeditepe, an Aeronautical Engineering and Technical Services, the company handling the project, through its supervisor in charge, Abubakar Abuyaro while speaking with newsmen recently, said the airport will have the longest runway in the country by the time it is completed.

Apparently, this is just the tip of the iceberg. The Aregbesola administration, which has established itself as an effective manager of men and material resources looks forward to another term where it is set to deliver even more of the dividends of democracy promises the people on inception.

Indeed the people of Osun appear keen on ensuring the continuity is the watchword at the elections scheduled for August.

This is evident in the massive turnout of supporters on the governor’s campaign trail as he moves across the state to restate his commitment to the complete transformation of the State of Osun.

Aregbesola’s message and vision is clear. With prudent management of resources, innovative ideas and emplacement of policies that will attract both local and foreign investors into the state, Osun will be the model state that other needs to follow. As such there will be no need to change a winning team.

NATIONAL MIRROR

As part of efforts to further industrialise Osun State, the state government has acquired about 10.776 hectares of land worth N2,455,880 million at Oyan for bee keeping and honey production.

Issuing the cheques for the payment of the land to the Arogun Family of Oyan at the palace of Oloyan of Oyan in Odo-Otin Local Government, Commissioner for Lands, Physical Planning and Urban Development, Olumuyiwa Ige, said the acquisition of lands by the state government is not for fun but for meaningful projects that will boost the economy of the state.

He appealed to the people to see bee keeping and honey production factory as their own whenever it starts so that the aim for which government is creating it will not be defeated.

He said government has decided to establish the factory to boost the economy of the area and the state as a whole and thereby get many of the unemployed youths out of the streets.

Also, the Coordinator of Quick Impact Intervention Programme (QIIP), Dr Ogundipe Bamidele, stated that the state government is investing so much into the project to make the state a hub for honey production to boost the economy and social status of the state.

Ogundipe assured that the project will be completed soon, noting that the federal government has promised to make the project a national one in the future.  He enjoined the people of the community to make use of the golden opportunity brought to their door-steps.  Also, the Oloyan of Oyan, Oba Kilaani Adekeye Oyedare, lauded the present administration for its unprecedented achievements while praying for the success of Ogbeni Aregbesola in the August 9 elections.

Responding on behalf of the Arogun Family of Oyan, Chief Ibitoye Omotoso appreciated Governor Aregbesola for always fulfilling his campaign promises while assuring the state government of the security of lives and properties on the project site.

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