When the history of Nigeria’s Fourth Republic is finally written, one man, a public administrator of uncanny acumen, will tower highly on the pages of that account. He will be so specially recognised not on account of his volubility or seeming Spartan lifestyle. Reasonably, Governor Rauf Aregbesola will attract a huge focus in that chronicle because of his sterling performance and consistent delivery of good governance in Osun State, a once economically drab, socially sick, and politically explosive landlocked state.
While not neglecting the evident changes taking place in other sectors of the state since the Aregbesola administration began in 2010, I must confess that I have been more dispassionately concerned with what happens in the education sector of the state. From the reforms, the innovative initiatives, to the hefty sum being sunk in the public education system of Osun, there can be no doubt that the interest of the Aregbesola government in the advancement of education as a vital element of enduring human and physical development is not superficial.
Specifically, the vastly improved Home-Grown School Feeding Programme, famously regarded as Osun Elementary School Feeding and Health Programme (O-MEALS) is one of the areas in the education sector of the state that the incandescent light of good governance has been determinedly beamed. The success of this programme brings to mind the indisputable fact that the sector-wide development being witnessed in Osun is a product of the robust resourcefulness, rugged will, uncommon prudence, and practicable vision of the Aregbesola administration. O-MEALS has been sustained for two years. It is a stirring testimony to the inspiring ability of the administration to provide invaluably enduring programme.
This free school-feeding programme covers some 500,000 pupils enrolled in grades one to four of all government-owned elementary schools. It is firmly founded on the objectives of alleviating hunger and malnutrition among school children; addressing specific micronutrient deficiencies in school-age children for better school performance; motivating parents to enrol their children in school and have them attend regularly; and stimulating job creation, local goods production and to boost local farmers’ incomes.
On every school day, these pupils are fed with highly nutritious meals made up of yam with fish stew and orange; rice and beans with chicken; beans porridge and bread with whole egg and banana; and cocoyam porridge with vegetable soup and beef, with a slice of pawpaw. This initiative, as reports indicate, has seen to the gainful empowerment of over 3000 women who serve as food vendors in all the schools across Osun. The disbursement of about N3 billion annually by the state government to sustain the programme is itself a marker of the power of vision and what only a responsible government can do.
The O-MEALS programme is a resoundingly well-restructured idea. And this is no frivolous claim. This assertion can be substantiated by looking at the quality of international supports and acclaims the programme has engendered, its implications on the education of children in the state, and the economic spinoffs. All of these prove that the programme is not a misbegotten idea.
With respect to genetic predisposition to intelligence, good nutrition plays an immeasurable role in cognitive development of children. Studies have shown that nutrient deficiency in children often affects the development of their brain, the engine room of the human body.  Children who are deficient in nutrients and are poorly fed will not only be sickly and look terrifyingly gaunt; they will equally have weaker brain power coupled with a demeaning lack of confidence. In class, they will do everything but give meaningful attention to learning. They will listen to teachers desultorily. Rather than remember the salient thrusts of their lessons, they have the rumbling worms in their stomachs to remind them of the pang of hunger.
This is the hell from which the Aregbesola administration has rescued the school children. With the nutritious meals, provision of modern learning facilities, conducive learning atmosphere, and qualified teachers, there can be no doubt that sound and round education is the lot of these children. The children now look healthier, more robust, and more confident. Their brains are being energised for effective performance on a daily basis. It now matters little, if any at all, that these children attend public schools.
The government in Osun understands that nutrients are quite critical for optimal brain development, hence its unwavering commitment to the free-feeding initiative and uncompromising provision of functional education. Those who steer the ship of governance in Osun understand that it is with well-fed, well-groomed, well-bred, and well-educated minds that society attains great heights in development.
As a full package, the O-MEALS programme has positive impact on the economy and agricultural sector of Osun. Cocoyam farming (aptly tagged ‘Cocoyam Rebirth Farming’) has taken a new dimension and many hands are already being gainfully engaged in that area. Cocoyam, especially the pink species, is said to have higher nutritional value than yam. Its inclusion in the menu of the school meal is a sensible decision.
Similarly, poultry, livestock and catfish farming now thrives in the state, improving the quality of life of farmers and reinflating the domestic economy of Osun. It can be safely concluded that the quest of Osun for economic development benefits richly from the active involvement of its people. They not only benefit from government’s programmes, they also play important roles in their execution. That is evidence that people-oriented government is what subsists in Osun in the last three years.
It is equally noteworthy that the restructured O-MEALS initiative under the watch of Aregbesola has attracted international attention. The international acclaims and backing from organisations like the Partnership for Child Development (PCD) UK, the World Bank, and the World Food Programme are strong proofs that out there in Osun is a responsive and responsible government. Given that the Osun State government has by action shown it is responsible, serious and prudent in the management of resources, it will be good judgement on the part of these international organisations to further support and help to expand the coverage of the programme to include both Middle and High School students. This will make for a complete programme.
This is a programme that will do all of Nigerian children good – not only those in Osun. It is, therefore, a welcome development that the federal government has found the need to copy this programme and make it an essential part of the Universal Basic Education programme. It is even more encouraging that roundtable discussions are being organised on how to get the programme going in all the states of the federation.
Nigeria needs the kind of revolution that has reshaped for good the public education system in Osun. Let those in charge rouse themselves to action, demonstrating the right will, translating vision into reality, and providing good governance through prudence and creativity – all of which are the hallmarks of the Aregbesola administration. They should know, as Confucius enlightens, that ‘[n]o nation goes bankrupt educating its people’. Every naira spent to make the Home-Grown School Feeding programme work would be worth it.
 Oladeji writes from Ede, Osun State.
THE NATION

Osun State Governor, Mr. Rauf Aregbesola and the President, Nigerian Guild of Editors (NGE), Mr. Femi Adesina have called for the promotion of investigative journalism for the sustenance of the nation’s democracy.

Aregbesola and Adesina spoke at the third Ismail Babatunde Jose Lecture organized by the National Infinitymagazine held in Osogbo, the Osun State capital, where the award of “Nigerian of the Year 2013” was also conferred on Aregbesola by the media organization.

In his speech entitled “The difference leadership can make,” Governor Aregbesola who stressed the need for journalists to embrace investigative journalism said leadership entails service to humanity.

The governor urged Nigerian leaders to serve the people who gave them the mandate, just as he called on journalists to investigate properly before disseminating news to the public.

The governor extolled the virtues of the NGE President, and urged all editors in the country to emulate what he called the Babatunde Jose model of journalism practice.

Also speaking, Mr. Adesina who was the chairman on the occasion reiterated the need for journalists to develop interest in investigative Journalism, which he noted is expensive, difficult, time consuming and dangerous.

Mr. Adesina said that the advent of online media brought about “evils” to journalism practice and  stressed the need for proper investigations by media practitioners.

Also, the NGE president noted that social media currently pose serious challenge to the practice of journalism and urged journalists to be guided by the ethics of the profession in their day to day activities..

He lauded Governor Aregbesola for the successes recorded by his administration, stressing that his achievements are visible in the state.

In his lecture entitled “Media and the Society” the Editor-in-Chief of Premium Times, Mr Dapo Olorunyomi stressed the need for media practitioners to invest in investigative journalism and urged proprietors of media organizations to promote it.

He identified conflict of interest and infringement on privacy as major ethical errors that characterize journalism practice in the country today.

Olorunfemi maintained that not all practices in journalism today are helpful for the sustenance of democracy in the country.

He advised journalists to embrace the Babatunde Jose model of journalism practice.

SUNNEWS

Today (25th May, 2014) provides another opportunity for the amiable and doughty governor of the state of Osun, Ogbeni Rauf Adesoji Aregbesola to thank his creator for sparing his life to be able to witness another date of his birth. But not only for the grace of being alive should he be thankful to God, for having lived a life of impact thus far also provides a cause for him and his numerous admirers to glorify the name of the Lord today.

A journey of fifty seven years on the shore of earth is not a joke and especially as the journey is defined by giant achievements not only personal but humanitarian. And it is for this reason that we are happy to identity with this visionary leader who has impacted positively on the lives of so many people and added value to humanity in no small measures.

For Ogbeni Rauf Aregbesola service is what matters. His life is purely defined by service to humanity. Thus for those who are familiar with his life history his stellar performance as the Governor of the state of Osun is no surprise. For he has always excelled in whatever position of responsibility he found himself. Not for him to regard any assignment as being small or unimportant and so he always put in his best and handles every assignment with absolute commitment.

When it comes to work Ogbeni Aregbesola does not look back. For him what is worth doing at all is what doing well. He is such a hardworking man so much so that the word ‘workaholic’ has always been used to describe him. Of course he must be a workaholic to have always worked for twenty to twenty one hours daily. It’s this nature of his that made a journalist to once asked him during an interactive session with the public whether he (Ogbeni) even sleeps at all.

Whenever Ogbeni Aregbesola finds himself handling a particular assignment his mind is focused on result. So as a result-oriented leader he loathes to hear from anyone to whom he might have given assignment to come back and give him excuse that he couldn’t achieve result. Thus for him there is no excuse for failure. No wonder he has achieved so much during just a period of four years that he has attained the position of leadership in his home state even in spite of the monetary challenges he has been facing.

It is important to mention it that Ogbeni Aregbesola had for long prepared himself for leadership role. So it doesn’t seem to be by accident the position he finds himself now. Even as young and as smallish in stature as he was he emerged the President of the Black Nationalist Movement in his days at the Polytechnic Ibadan due to his agility and vocal attribute. It was that platform he and his colleagues used in fighting against perceived bad government policies then.

As a Commissioner for Works and Infrastructure in Lagos state during Asiwaju Bola Tinubu’s administration Ogbeni Aregbesola was an excellent performer. For that he won many awards as the best Commissioner in Lagos state then in recognition of his hard work. And since he became the chief helmsman of his state four years ago the story has not been different. He has carried on with the same spirit and determination. The reason why awards have also been pouring in for him both from near and afar.

As the Governor of the state of Osun Ogbeni Aregbesola has proved that he is equal to the task. Within four years he has turned the state around. The level of development the state has witnessed under him is quite unprecedented. His style of governance which is quite unusual has been recommended to other states of the federation especially his educational policy.

As this dynamo turns 57 today we at Osun Defender are proud to identify with him as we wish him many more years of meritorious service to humanity. It also pleases us to wish him victory in the coming governorship election in the state. Happy birthday to a focused, visionary and virtuous leader!

OSUN DEFENDER

ADDRESS DELIVERED BY THE GOVERNOR OF THE STATE OF OSUN, OGBENI RAUF AREGBESOLA. AT THE HIGH-LEVEL TECHNICAL MEETING ON HOME-GROWN SCHOOL FEEDING AND HEALTH PROGRAMME, HELD AT TRANSCORP HILTON HOTEL, ABUJA, ON MONDAY MAY 19, 2014
 
It is with genuine warmness of the heart that I stand here today to share our experience on the Osun Elementary School Feeding and Health Programme, which we christened O’MEALS.
The O’MEALS, I must say, has come a long way. The progress we have made and the achievements we have recorded in the State of Osun is on the one hand a clear testimony to what can be gained from multi-layered and multi-level coordination. It is, on the other hand, an affirmation of the benefit of political vision and passion.
The O’MEALS had its humble beginning in the inclusion byAfrican Governments of locally-sourced school feeding programmes in the Comprehensive Africa Agriculture Development Programme (CAADP) in 2003.
The same year also witnessed the launch of an initiative by theNew Partnership for Africa’s Development (NEPAD), along with the World Food Programme (WFP) and the Millennium Hunger Task Force. The initiative involved ‘a pilot Home Grown School Feeding and Health Programme (HGSFHP) designed to link school feeding to agricultural development through the purchase and use of locally and domestically produced food’.
Our country, Nigeria, happened to be one of the 12 pilot countries invited to implement the programme. As a result, the Federal Government came up with the Universal Basic Education (UBE) Act in 2004, which provided the enabling legislative backing for the execution of the Home Grown School Feeding and Health Programme (HGSFHP).
The Federal Ministry of Education selected 13 states of the federation, including the Federal Capital Territory (Abuja), to begin a phased-pilot implementation of the programme. Osun was fortunately among the selected states.
Thus the pilot primary school feeding programme in our state began as Osun State Home Grown School Feeding and Health Programme in May 2006. However, on our assumption of office in November 2010, we undertook a comprehensive review of the programme and re-launched it as O’MEALS on April 30, 2012. We immediately began its execution across all the 1,375 Elementary Schools in Osun.
The home grown feeding programme for school pupils has the advantage of being consistent with our own government’s goals – of banishing poverty, banishing hunger, creating work and wealth, creating functional education, restoring healthy living and engendering communal peace and progress.
Hence, we integrated it within the larger context of our overall development programme implementation. The objectives behind O’MEALS are: improvement of the nutrition and health of our school children; increase in school enrolment, retention and completion; and reduction of poverty and stimulation of small and medium scale enterprises development.
Towards these ends, experts were consulted to draw up suitable school-day menu while 3007 community caterers were employed to provide the meals on a daily basis. The days and menu are as follows:

• MONDAY (YAM with FISH STEW and ORANGE);
• TUESDAYS (RICE and BEANS with CHICKEN and ORANGE);
• WEDNESDAYS        (BEANS PORRIDGE and BREAD with WHOLE EGG and BANANA);
• THURSDAYS   (RICE with EGUSI-GARNISHED VEGETABLE SOUP with CHICKEN and BANANA);
• FRIDAYS (COCOYAM PORRIDGE with VEGETABLE SOUP and BEEF, with A SLICE OF PAWPAW).

The community caterers were organised into 124 functional Cooperative Investment and Credit Societies (CICS) in order to benefit fully from bulk procurement and allied services. Necessary operational funds are then transferred to the personal bank accounts of each caterer through their CICS.
The account from which this funding emanates is secure because it is not accessible through issuance of bank cheques. Funds can only be transferred from the account into the caterers’ and other contractors’ accounts by approved mandates.
The caterers receive funds in advance concerning meals to be prepared for school pupils within a two-week period (i.e. 10 school days). For organisational purpose, the number of pupils assigned to each caterer varies and so is the fund allocated.
The caterers each benefit from a government facilitated interest-free loan of N41,500 for the acquisition of their cooking and other kitchen utensils. The loan repayment period is spread over 36 months, with N1,152.78kobo deducted from their account every month. Already, our community caterers have each repaid a third of their loans.
I must also note that the community caterers are provided free-of-charge with a pair of uniforms (comprising gowns, caps and aprons) by the State Government of Osun at a cost of N11.6 million to the government.
The financial implication of feeding our Elementary school pupils is the expenditure of N12.7 million every school day, while the sum of N601,400 is paid out to the 3007 community caterers as transport fares on a daily basis. The financial expenditure for the O’MEALS is shared between the State Government and the constituting local government councils on a 40-60 per cent ratio respectively.
For effective implementation, the O’MEALS Programme is monitored at various levels. At one level, there are Planning Officers within the Local Government Education Authority office who are responsible for carrying out the implementation logistics. They act as liaison between the O’MEALS Office and the community caterers.
There are also the Local Inspectors of Education who also operate at the local government authority level. Then, there are the Independent Monitors who are drawn from the ranks of retired civil servants, Parent Teachers Association and community leaders. The O’MEALS Secretariat staff act as coordinators for the monitors.
In keeping with our Backward Integration policy, the O’MEALS has an input supply chain that is linked to our various agricultural development projects. Consequently, our OFOPS (Osun Fisheries Outgrowers Production Scheme) provide the catfish used for the school feeding programme.
The same applies to eggs, chickens, and cocoyam which also serves as material input for the feeding programme. Indeed, our administration initiated a ‘Cocoyam Rebirth Programme’, which is a major project under the direct supervision of the Osun Deputy Governor.
The Cocoyam Rebirth Programme scheme was designed with the aim of directly reaching the grassroots and practicing farming communities on how to improve and enhance cocoyam production, utilisation and marketing in the state. The ultimate objective is to revitalise cocoyam cultivation, with a view to using it on the O’MEALS menu.
In view of this, a training session was conducted for state and local government extension workers on cocoyam utilisation, production, marketing and post-harvest handling. The training programme, held on June 28, 2012, was attended by 234 extension workers.
A similar training programme was conducted for 2,000 farmers on August 8, 2012 across all the nine Federal Constituencies in the state. In the end, 332 Osun Youth Empowerment Scheme cadets, one from each of the electoral wards in the state, were selected as Cocoyam Off-takers for the rebirth programme.
The passion, prudence and seriousness we deployed to the implementation of the O’MEALS has earned us the worthy support and partnership of the London-based Partnership for Child Development (PCD).
Through this fruitful collaboration, we have received technical assistance in redesigning the school feeding programme through endorsement of the Transition Strategy Plan Document. The PCD also facilitated a Study Visit for four officers from O’MEALS Secretariat, along with a member of House of Assembly, to Accra in September 2013 to see the Ghana School Feeding Programme.
In the same vein, the PCD has facilitated technical assistance in collaboration with CHI Pharmaceuticals and Osun State Government on School Health and Nutrition (SHN) activities in public Elementary schools, especially regarding deworming of school pupils.
It is also, among other assistance programme, helping in the production of a programme document to better guide the implementation of the programme, as well as the appointment of a consultant to facilitate the development of Monitoring and Evaluation System for O’MEALS Programme.
The introduction and sustenance of the O’MEALS Programme has enabled us to achieve many of our development objectives. These include among others: Increased enrolment of pupils in our Elementary schools. To be sure, within the first five weeks of our introduction of the O’MEALS, elementary school enrolment shot up by 38,935 pupils.
Today, Osun has the highest Elementary school enrolment in Nigeria, second only to Niger State, according to the National Bureau of Statistics. This has had the implication of increasing our annual expenditure on O’MEALS to about N3 billion. And this does not include staff salary.
The programme has likewise improved the health status of our school pupils benefiting from the programme. It has drastically reduced the incidence of school absenteeism in comparison with the pre-O’MEALS period.
As a result of the O’MEALS, the production capacities of the farmer-suppliers of farm produce has been boosted, with corresponding increased prosperity for smallholder farmers.
The multiplier effects of the economic and material empowerment of different segment of society, consequent upon the implementation of O’MEALS, has had a redounding impact on the lives of our people and economy of Osun.
The O’MEALS is thus one programme that is worthy of every naira and kobo that had gone into it.
I thank you all for giving me your valuable time.

Those who have encountered the City of Gold: Dubai and the Dream of Capitalism, authored by that former Associated Press’ Correspondent in the Persian Gulf, Jim Krane, would easily reconnect with the story of how that hitherto isolated Village grew to today’s centre of commerce and tourism, that is the destination for all from across the globe.

Really, the aborigines of present day Dubai, were dismayed to learn that no part of the world knew about their existence (despite their glorified exploits in fishery and other aquatic activities) until the architect of that modern heaven, Sheikh Rashid Makhtoun, decided to change that course through purposeful leadership; challenging his power with the responsibility to change the history of his people. No doubt, the Dubai’s story today stands tall among those who have demonstrated in practical terms the fact that in power really lie some heavy responsibilities.

Rauf Aregbesola, 57 today, sits atop the affairs of Osun, the almost 4 million strong populated area in the South-West of Nigeria. With an epic and tortuous journey to power, what manifests majorly in more than three years of being in the saddle are the responsibilities that accompany his position of power.

Arriving as a leader in a state that not many seeking peace and pleasure would want to live, there is a grandiose display of the realization that the power pails into insignificance if it does not translate into a tool for changing history from an unenviable past to a new world of possibilities.

The very grim scenario Aregbesola met in Osun is worth remembering! It was story of a people boxed to an unfortunate corner of misery, hopelessness, want, violence, injustice occasioned by lack of functional education, jobs, dangerous environment, uncoordinated plans of actions and total failure of leadership. They had equally but painfully resigned to fate given the dearth of choices away from the misery.

Any leader who fails to confront these multiple under-development evils with coordinated plans of actions must realize ab initio that he has written his name indelibly in the hall of infamy.  Thus, what would be tools to confront these maladies with were no more than some six cardinal objectives that on their own appeared comprehensive enough to have taken care of the various dimensions the Osun challenge presented.

The ingenious manner with which the Aregbesola administration’s banishment of poverty, hunger, unemployment, restoring healthy living, functional education and communal peace and progress have been pursued has produced only one result: transformation.

With doggedness, Osun is fast transforming to what Lisa Jones describes as “a model of progressive urban development” in her article, “The improbable story of how Bogota, Colombia, became somewhere you might actually want to live.”

Giving one of the reasons for awarding Aregbesola the Daily Independent’s Man of the Year 2013 honour, the national daily’s Editor, Rotimi Durojaiye, had cited the drift back to Osun as one strong illustrative point that the state where those who lived there were without choices is where dwellers of metropolitan Lagos, Abuja, Port Harcourt and others now want to return.

After three years of exploits, not a few are coming to terms with the potency of the Osun experiments under Aregbesola. There is a fascinating way in which the media, the voices of the people, appear to be amplifying what Daily Independent called “Symbol of Alternative Perspectives” and The Nation newspaper just last week simply dubbed “The Osun Example”. It was what PUNCH’s erudite columnist, Prof Niyi Akinnaso, referred to as “Unravelling the Nigerian Paradox”.

Of course, the isolated case that “The Osun Example” has become in the face of national development tragedy appears to be the reason for clamour that Nigeria needs to look into that tiny fraction of its geographical spread to see how an application on a national scale could help provide answers to some of the nagging national questions.

In another article, I once made reference to Waller Newell’s The Soul of a Leader: Character, Conviction and Ten Lessons in Political Greatness. “What, the author asked in his book, “are we looking for in a leader?” Given the Nigerian experience, what we must be looking for in a Nigerian leader is salvation through the deployment of those creative strategies that have practically solved some puzzles such as unemployment and its concomitant offspring, promotion of justice and fairness, commitment to the welfare of the people through people-centre, people-focused policies.

Jettisoning political sentiments, the Peoples Democratic Party-led Senate had recommended in very clear terms to Nigeria the latest education policies of Osun as pragmatic solutions to the current national education policies that produce more illiterates than educated minds.

What, for instance, is in it for Nigeria as a whole adopting the Osun initiative in youth empowerment just as The World Bank has compellingly suggested? The scheme that takes 20,000 idle but able-bodied youths out of the job market every two years definitely has the magic to ward off youth restiveness, insurgency and other crimes. What is in it for Nigeria to restructure its agricultural policies in a way that causes positive ripples in jobs creation, food sufficiency and other value chains? Is there anything in it for Nigeria if it dedicates its resources to massive infrastructure upgrades in nationwide roads networks, energy generation and distribution and provision of adequate security to investments to thrive? Are these not the requirements for igniting an industrialization revolution that will engage more hands than the current army of idle hands? Is Nigeria not fertilizing the pull from which insurgency draws its Army of mindless attackers by failing to adopt a method that will erode that pull?

Perhaps, Nigeria’s main problems stem from that acute ignorance of the responsibilities that lie in power before those in leadership positions take it. The many decades of failed leadership in Nigeria buttresses Gary Hamel’s argument in The Purpose of Power where he claimed, and rightly so, that “Power has long been regarded as morally corrosive, and we often suspect the intentions of those who seek it.”

I am more than convinced that many of those who passed through Osun as leaders in its 23 years of creation must be asking themselves whether it is the same Osun they governed that Aregbesola is currently handling. Compelled by the responsibilities he believes lie in the power he holds, Aregbesola has demonstrated that his eyes can be open where others are blind and that he can hear where others are deaf and dumb. That, to me, seems to be the layman meaning of The Nation Newspaper of last Tuesday when it succinctly said that the state has shown that “there is ability in disability”.

And the lesson here! Power is empty and of no use when it is stripped of its responsibilities. Every genuine leader must subscribe to that Martin Luther King’s position that “I am not interested in power for power’s sake, but I’m interested in power that is moral, that is right and that is good.”

This appears to be what Aregbesola, 57 today, has sworn to and for this, salute to his motto where he proudly and daily declares: Power is Responsibility!

*Okanlawon is the Director, Bureau of Communications and Strategy, Office of the Governor, Osogbo, State of Osun.

REMARKS BY THE GOVERNOR OF THE STATE OF OSUN, OGBENI RAUF AREGBESOLA, AS RECIPIENT OF THE ‘NIGERIAN OF THE YEAR 2013’ AWARD, PRESENTED TO HIM BY THE MEDIA ACE LIMITED AT THE 3RD EDITION OF ITS ISMAIL BABATUNDE JOSE LECTURE ON MEDIA & SOCIETY, HELD AT THE CENTRE FOR BLACK CULTURE AND INTERNATIONAL UNDERSTANDING, OSOGBO, ON SATURDAY MAY 24, 2014
 
This is another occasion for us to gather and celebrate what we regard as worthy achievements of significant impacts on the lives of the people. I want to therefore thankfully acknowledge the good gesture of the organisers of today’s events, the Media Ace Limited and publishers of the reputable news magazine, National Infinity.
To them I extend my sincere gratitude for electing to confer me with the ‘Nigerian of the Year 2013’ award. It will be a cherished addition to the outpouring of such goodwill recognitions of our efforts at transforming the lives of our people for the better.
The change of leadership at the polls may often appear to be another routine little development. But in reality, it may be a quantum leap for the people who make that choice. After all, leadership is all about making a big difference in the lives of the people.
Distinguished ladies and gentlemen, this may not be as easy as it sounds. Nevertheless, it is my sincere conviction that it is not as difficult as it might appear. It all depends on one’s view of leadership. And this makes the difference between non-achieving leaders and great achievers in leadership.
For me, leadership is defined by what one does for the people, by the fact of whose existence one is in a position of leadership. Consequently, I subscribe fully to Albert Pike’s assertion that: ‘What we have done for ourselves alone dies with us; what we have done for others and the world remains and is immortal’. This for me succinctly defines the mindset from which greatness in leadership springs.
It is the case that leadership most times is a matter of choice, which many avoid to make because of the responsibilities attached to it. I have never been one to be afraid of leadership, despite the huge responsibility attendant upon it.
Indeed, it is my belief that leadership offers a golden opportunity to serve the people and bring improvements to bear on their lives and existence. I also do hold onto the view that leadership is a core pillar upon which a viable and successful human society can be built.
Consequently, from the beginning of history, leadership has been of the essence in the affairs of men. In effect, when I sought the leadership of the State of Osun as governor, I was fully aware of the implications and well-prepared to face the responsibilities.
It is as a result of this, and to the glory of God Almighty, that my leadership of the state has been able to make a difference in the lives of the people of Osun. At a personal level, I have faith in God and I believe in His capacity to intervene in human affairs.
But it is also my belief that God has given us, human beings, talents and abilities. And it is God’s intention that we use them. But how we use our talents is a different matter, which is a question of who we are and what we stand for.
The improvement of the lots of the people of Osun was therefore a strong motivation for my seeking office and a paramount object of the deployment of my talents. Thus, as a leader I constantly seek for ways of bringing about progress and advancement for my people in every area of their lives.
In education, everything done under my leadership is meant to improve the standard for the benefit of our children. Building of new schools; recruitment of more teachers; provision of uniforms, distribution of Opon-Imo; provision of free food etc. are all aimed at raising the standard of public education in Osun.
This is grounded in my belief that education is one of the greatest legacies we can give to humans. Similarly, the intention behind my administration’s agricultural policy is to transform farming in the state to big business. This is born out of the fact that it is only commercial agriculture that can raise the material condition of existence of our poor farmers.
By achieving this in the agricultural sector we will also be solving a lot of other problems in our society – the problem of unemployment, hunger, poverty, primitive farming techniques, poor soil management, inefficient use of farming resources, raw materials for industries and a lot more.
We will be able to create an agro-allied industrial base for further development. It will equally raise the revenue available to government for deployment into other areas of development.
My idea and vision of leadership plays out in the other areas of government’s policies and programmes. In health we have an integrated programme of prevention and treatment. Our environmental sanitation policy is aimed at preventing many of the avoidable ailments that spring from poor hygiene and unclean environment. Our efforts at creating a beautiful environment are yielding the needed results. We now have documented record that the incidents of malarial in Osun have reduced significantly.
Simultaneously, we are upgrading all of our health facilities to be able to effectively deal with the challenges of treating people for those ailments they already have, as well as their various other health challenges.
All citizens of the state are aware of the road infrastructure being constructed by this administration. They are of such unprecedented scale that they extend to every local government in the state. The roads are meant to enhance the various levels of human transactions including trade and commerce.
Environmental regeneration, control of flooding, urban renewal, employment generation, capacity building, women and youth empowerment, among others, are also areas where attentive leadership is being brought to bear.
I believe in applying my best talents to the service of the people. It is what I have done since my assumption of office some three and a half years ago. I therefore agree with former American President, Calvin Coolidge, that ‘No person was ever honored for what he received. Honor has been the reward for what he gave’.
I accept this award with the promise that I will continue to apply my God-given talents and abilities towards the unceasing improvements of the lives of the people of Osun. And this is the basis of my asking my people for a second term.
Once more, I thank the National Infinity magazine for this award; and for to adding voice to the motivating choruses of appreciation that have greeted our demonstration of the difference leadership can make in society.
I thank you all for your warm reception.
Osun a dara!

People of Osun State were yesterday assured of improved health facilities in all local government areas in the state to enhance their health status.

Among other things, all state-owned health centres in the state will be equipped with essential drugs, free maternal and child medical services and free surgical equipments.

Giving this assurance in Ijebu-Jesa, headquarters of Oriade Local Government Area, at the flagoff ceremony of Maternal, Newborn and Child Health (MNCH) week programme organized in collaboration with SURE-P MNCH Advocacy team and the State Ministry of Health, wife of Osun State governor, Mrs. Sherifat Aregbesola, said that the present administration in the state would do its best to keep its citizens in sound health.

Earlier in her remarks, the state Commissioner for Health, Mrs. Temitope Ilori, expressed the determination of the government to fast-track the achievements of Millennium Development Goals that has to do with the improvement in maternal health and reduction in childhood morbidity and mortality in the state.

Speaking on behalf of the advocacy team, Revd. Tunde Olaniran on behalf of the Advocacy Team, the organiser of the event, he charged Mrs. Aregbesola to use her good offices to give more support to the issue of pregnant women and also try to create an enabling environment for MNCH programmes in the state.

Speaking in similar vein, Mrs. Fadele Esther who spoke on behalf of her boss, Dr. Ado J.G Muhammed, the Executive Director/CEO NPHCDA, said SURE-P program is to better the life of pregnant women in the state and that the provision has been made to reduce maternal morbidity and mortality in the state.

Also, Mr. Femi Oke Tayo, one of the Advocacy team member and representative of DOMA Development Foundation in his team’s presentation, appealed to the policy makers and all stakeholders to work together to create enabling environment for MNCH programme in the state for the benefit of women and children.

NATIONAL MIRROR

Governor State of Osun, Ogbeni Rauf Aregbesola and others, during an inspection visit to the newly completed Laro Timehin Middle School, Osogbo on Friday 23-05-2014

Governor State of Osun, Ogbeni Rauf Aregbesola (2nd right); Senator
Bayo Salami (3rd right; Education Liaison officer, Osogbo Local Government, Alhaji Sulaiman Afariogun (right); Governor’s Aids, Mr
Adebayo Young (2nd right); Commissioner for Local Government and
Cheiftaincy Affairs, Hon. Kolapo Alimi (4th right) and others, during an inspection visit to the newly completed Laro Timehin Middle School,
Osogbo on Friday 23-05-2014

Governor State of Osun, Ogbeni Rauf Aregbesola (middle); Senator Bayo
Salami (5th left); Education Liaison officer, Osogbo Local Government,
Alhaji Sulaiman Afariogun (right); Governor’s Aids, Mr Adebayo Young
(2nd right) and others, during an inspection visit to the newly completed Laro Timehin Middle School, Osogbo on Friday 23-05-2014

On April 29, a new chapter was opened in the annals of public service in Osun State when the state government under the leadership of Ogbeni Rauf Aregbesola revolutionalised the service to bring about effectiveness and efficiency through Information Communication Technology (ICT).
For a very long time, civil service was based on bureaucracy, an indirect way of describing the administrative cumbersome process of getting things done in the conduct of government business.
The process or is it system, no doubt slows down administrative work but then the wheel of government works, slow as it is must be followed as it was bureaucratically designed.
The fact remains that Information Communication Technology (ICT) has limitless possibilities and nothing can be achieved without technology acting as the catalyst and driving force.
The state of Osun realised the fact that for things to be properly and swiftly done in the process of administration, ICT must be deployed for growth, progress and development.
This has made Osun, created 23 years ago to become the first in Nigeria to upgrade the civil serve from analog to digital system to aid administrative efficiency.
And so with pump, Aregbesola launched of State of Osun Civil Servant Smart Identity Card and biometric automation tagged ‘I am Alive.’
The smart card is a tripartite arrangement among the Osun Government, Charms Plc and First Bank Plc. Now comes the era of smart card! Aregbesola told the gathering that by the time all the over 33, 000 workforce and pensioners were issued the card; the regime of queuing for verification will be gone and gone forever.
This is one big relief that technology will bring to workers in the State of the Virtuous, particularly, the pensioners.
This is just one of the numerous benefits of the smart card introduction. There are many more, which are beneficial to workers and as well as government itself.
One, the smart card carries the data of every civil servant in the state, serves as credit card, debit card and staff identification.
And by extension, a staff can, therefore, draw 20 per cent of his or her monthly salary even before the payment of salary by government.
Two, the smart identity card is electronically personalised with biometric features to each of its users and can be used at the ATM machines specifically designed for that purpose.
This will apparently add immense value to the activities of workers as well as equally improve the capacity and cut the cost of administration by government.
Aregbesola said during the launch: “To be sure, it was through the application 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.”
Three, the card will help eliminate many sources of financial waste and leakages created to defraud government of funds as well as help create an accurate and reliable database for payroll administration and payment of salaries. Four, the card will not only erase the ghost worker syndrome but also eliminate the possibility of defrauding any worker of the payments due to him by any other person.
Again, through this smart card system, workers can get their monies paid directly to their accounts at the pressing of button instead of through any intermediary points.
Besides, workers leave bonuses are now tied to each worker’s birthday and paid to their accounts automatically on that day whether the date and day fall due on weekdays or weekend.
Not only this, the smart ID card will eradicate perennial identity mistakes normally witnessed before in the payment of monies due to the workers.
This is because the identity card is completely individualised and electronically personalised with the bio-data of every worker, including his or her blood group.
What this also means is that if a worker, carrying his smart ID card has health emergency like in an accident, the smart card will answer preliminary questions that the doctors need under that emergency.
For the pensioners, it removes the stress of queueing and going through multiple verifications to get paid and also blocks the means for cheating them out of their money.
Aregbesola put it this way, “by clearly identifying the living from the dead, this system ensures that ghost will no longer mingle with our workers or have access to our payroll in Osun.
“It keeps them where they belong in the grave. It stops the dead from coming to steal money from the living. It makes certain that only retirees who are ‘ALIVE’ receive payment. This affirms the sense in the project’s title, ‘I AM ALIVE.”
One most very interesting feature of the card is its linked to a credit or debit card, which gives the owner access to his or her salary account, which he or she uses to withdraw up to 20 per cent of the salary with or without money in the account.
Director of ICT, State of Osun, Mr. Bambo Bashorun, highlighted the timeliness of the introduction of the smart card into the civil service system.
He said the smart card came at a time the nation is facing serious security challenges and dwindling resources.
According to him, “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 ID 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,” Bashorun said.
Speaking on the innovation, the Group Managing Director of Charms, which is a partner in the tripartite arrangement, Mr. Ademola Aladekomo, said the state of Osun has set another record in the ICT in Nigeria and urged other states to follow suit.
Aladekomo said the smart card will go round all civil servants in the state, saying this card has changed the face of civil service system from analog to digital, which will save a lot of time, guarantee efficiency, effectiveness in the conduct of government’s business. According to him, “the smart card can be used not only in Osun but also within Nigeria and anywhere in the world.
“The card also carries the fingerprint of every cardholder with which he can identify him or herself.”
ALL AFRICA