The Osun State Government  has approved N275.7 million  for the  payment of  backlog of bursary in the 2012/2013 academic year, the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports.
Mrs Mulikat Bello, the Special Adviser to the  Governor on Higher Education,  disclosed this on Tuesday while speaking with newsmen in Osogbo.
Bello said: “A total sum of  N226.1 million had so far  been disbursed to 20,774 final year students from 56 tertiary institutions.
‘’The tertiary institutions included  the Nigerian Law Schools,18 universities,13 polytechnics and colleges of technology,14 colleges of education and three colleges of  health technology.
‘’Other schools that were taken care of included colleges of  agriculture, a school of  nursing, school of hygiene, school of surveying and co-operative college.’’
She called on the authorities of 21 higher institutions of learning whose  final year students had not yet received their  2012-2013 bursary award  to submit all required information.
“Also, the schools should submit the schools’ bank account details and render their previous statement of  payment for the year 2011/2012 bursary awards to the Office of Higher Education, Scholarship and Bursary in the State Ministry of Education,’’  she added.
She  said the bursary  intervention ’’has reduced the financial burden of  tertiary education on parents and students.’’ (NAN)

He promised in 2006: “within the first hundred days of our assumption of office, we will engage 20,000 youths. We will give them means by which they can maintain their subsistence. Our youths will not roam the streets again when we become the governor of our state”.
I remember vividly. It was in December 2006, Engineer Rauf Aregbesola; as he was referred to then was addressing a quite overwhelming mammoth of people of Ikirun town, State of Osun. He made a number of promises- from agriculture to infrastructure, education, security, commerce, revenue generation, and all. But as he started to speak on Osun youths, one could easily read a changed emotion in his voice and face.
He expressed a strong and barely controllable emotion. He wondered why Nigeria’s future- the youth could be so unfortunate. He queried why successive governments would not see the need to stem insecurity through minimal engagement of the youths. He told the gathering then that two advantages are derivable when a government invest in the youths- peace and security as well as economic viability and growth.
Between 2007 and now, seven years have gone into history. However two major incidents attract due reflections. By the time Ogbeni Rauf Aregbesola was making that promise in Ikirun and several other places across the state, there were no striking records of insurgencies in Nigeria. Apart from the Niger Delta militant groups whose activities were contained within oil palavers and resource control questions, Nigeria was not so divided as it is getting today. We did not have Bokoharam insurgents; at least their activities had not come to the fore as it has today.
Ogbeni probably knew that the rising number of hopeless youths in the country; particularly in the northern region was reaching alarming records, so he made it prime in his electioneering discussions that Osun youths will not roam the streets lest their idle hands became the devil’s workshop.
When he was going all over the places, telling the world that 20,000 Nigerians will get something doing to fetch money for themselves every month, the PDP said it was mare fluke. “Bawo lo se fe se e” “How would he achieve that. Where would he get the money to pay them?, they jested. But Aregbesola had answers to their doubts. Innovation is the answer.
Innovation, is described as the application of better solutions that meet new requirements in-articulated needs. And it takes deep reflections, determination for positive change as well as experience over certain challenges for solutions to come. To Rauf, it was apparent when in 2005 he was drawing his action plans on how he intended to govern Osun. He actually completed drafts of his six integral action plans about three years before the 2007 elections.
At a time shortly before the 2007 elections, he was discussing with us after a rigorous political campaign. He asked wether anybody was giving the then unfolding situation in the country any serious thought- the fact that what he and his contemporaries enjoyed in term of youth development in the early seventies were no where again in Nigeria. “I fear that unless we re-cook the books of youth development in our land, our future is very bleak”, He told us as he tutored on why OYES must be the first major initiative of his government.
Today, the situation pays off for the state of Osun. Aregbesola has fulfilled the promise of youth engagement twice within one term !!! Two sets of 20,000 Osun youths, who hitherto were just roaming the streets for close to a decade under PDP have been engaged under Aregbesola’s government. This is accomplished through what experts call effective idea that is readily available to governments and society. This idea-OYES- is original and, as a consequence, new in governance. It breaks into the market or society of empowerment. And Osun government and the people are really ripping well from the scheme. How?
Between 2011 and now, N9 billion Naira has been spent on youth empowerment scheme in Osun. That includes the monthly allowances for beneficiaries, their kits and other logistics. The beneficiaries are resident in the state. So they spend their little income within Osun. They buy food, purchase drinking water, ride on ‘Korope’ and ‘Okada’, buy clothing and all. The kits they put on were sewn by Osun tailors. It is even interesting to note that the boots they wear is manufactured in Osogbo- in the leather work and footwear unit of Industrial Development Centre IDC; located around St. Charles Grammar School area of Osogbo. IDC is a Federal Government facility that had gone moribund before Aregbesola resuscitated it. Today the centre is a skill acquisition centre where anybody can go to learn a skill. A visit to the place is charming to any imagination.
The N9 billion Naira so far spent on the youth empowerment scheme of Aregbesola could have been ‘appropriated’ by his cronies, Instead of spending such huge money on Osun youth in three years, he could have made himself and a few of his; quite richer under any guise. But what would have become of the 40,000 Osun youths who today pray for this Ogbeni. Most probably, they would have formed another version of insurgents. They would have gone deep- intimidating the people of Osun. Yes. They would; because just before God answered prayers of Osun, situation had gone berserk- such that some miscreants have cultivated the habit of collecting what they tagged “security money” on weekly basis. They used to harass ware owners along MDS area and Akindeko axis of Osogbo. Business owners along these areas must part with some money to such miscreant youths every Friday or they risk loosing their goods. Osun was going that bad just before Aregbesola came on board. And God forbid that such innovation in governance of Aregbesola was not in place to nip that ugly development in the bud; Osun would probably have had to contend with at least about forty thousand trouble making youths across the state. Banks, would have closed down like it is happening in Offa. And for the ones in operation, customers would have been “politely” told that they are closing down at 12 noon, simply because of the fear of burglary from some Nigerian youths of that space.
The good news in Osun is that the N9 billion naira and such monies are “permanently trapped”, circulating within the Osun economy. Such monies circulate within the hands of Osun people. It is not concentrated in the hands of a few. So Aregbesola would not need to ache from the truth that could come from any bank, wether World Bank or otherwise that Nigerians within the Osun space are poor. I giggled as our President- Goodluck Ebele Jonathan- attempted to respond to the reality of the fact as contained in a World Bank Report that Nigeria is one of the five poorest countries of the world. Two things attracts my reflections in Dr. Jonathan’s responses- that he agrees to the fact that his transformation agenda paid off for some of his cronies such that Nigeria’s wealth is concentrated in the hands of a few. “Our problem is not poverty, our problem is redistribution of wealth”, said Mr. president.
“Aliko Dangote was recently classified among the 25 richest people in the world… If you talk about ownership of private jets, Nigeria will be among the first 10 countries, yet they are saying that Nigeria is among the five poorest countries.
“Probably wealth is concentrated in very few hands and a number of people do not have access to it and that is why my administration is committed in terms of financial inclusiveness and we are working very hard to achieve this”
Another fact that worries anybody in Mr President’s responses is the fact that less than one year to the end of his six year rule as Nigeria’s president, he still says he is working hard to redistribute Nigeria’s wealth which; by virtue of his transformation agenda has been stacked in the hands of a few. Yet Mr. President flaunts this anomaly by his reference to Dangote and other few Nigerians; including Mr President himself, who own several private jets as being among the top ten jet owners of the world.
What President Jonathan needs do at this crucial point in time is to yield the advise of the World Bank that the Osun youth empowerment initiative be replicated to forestall youth restiveness and promote wealth creation in the country. President Jonathan needs to be innovative in governing Nigeria. He should search no further for way out of most of the country’s challenges. He should check his ‘shokoto’ (pair of trousers) instead of traveling to ‘sokoto’ in search of solutions to Nigeria’s challenges. The only ‘Shokoto’ so far acknowledged by any third party is found on Aregbesola. Okonjo Iweala said it, and so said the World Bank- that Aregbesola has the innovations to good government and governance in Nigeria.
DR. NGOZI OKONJO IWEALA : on Aregbesola’s good governance, June 2013.
“You have demonstrated that good governance is possible with your programmes. You have demonstrated that your youth development is possible. Your programmes so far have demonstrated that you are a good example of good government and governance.”
United States Consul-General, Jefferey Hawkins- Saturday November 9, 2013
“The economic, social and infrastructural renewal of Osun State under Governor Aregbesola in the last few years of being at the saddle of leadership must be applauded. The government’s efforts in reformation development in all facets cannot be glossed over.
-Rasheed Mabayoje

As the search for the abducted Chibok girls assumed an international dimension, the Governor of the State of Osun, Ogbeni Rauf Aregbesola, has called on the Federal Government for affirmative action against the nation’s immediate neighbouring countries in the search for the missing girls.
Aregbesola made this call in Osogbo on Thursday when women in the state led by the First Lady, Mrs. Sherifat Aregbesola, and the students in the tertiary institutions under the aegis of National Association of Osun State Students (NASS), staged a ‘Free Our Children’ protest to the Governor’s office.
The governor, who said the abduction saga has gone beyond Nigeria’s problem alone, disclosed that Borno State shares border with Cameroun, Niger and Chad and that there is probability that the insurgents may be receiving supports from the countries.
He urged President Goodluck Jonathan to call on the African Union to call a meeting, which will mandate these three countries to cooperate with Nigeria in rooting out insurgency in that axis.
He averred that Nigeria should declare war on whichever country that refuses to abide by such resolution and cooperate with it.
He described as terrible the present situation the nation has been thrown by the insurgents saying the abduction of over 273 high school girls is a tragedy of huge proportion.
“The problem is now beyond Nigeria alone. I urge the President to co-opt the nation’s neighbours, particularly Cameroun, Niger and Chad, who share border with Borno State.
“Their cooperation in the search for these girls is essential and if they refuse, Nigeria should call on the AU to mandate them to cooperate with Nigeria, failing which the nation should declare war on any country that refuses to abide by such AU resolution,” Aregbesola said.
He identified mass employment for the youths of the country so as to sap the avenue through which Boko Haram sources for recruitment.
He called on religious organisations to set a day aside to pray for the nation and end it with fasting.
He accordingly commended the efforts of the Joint military task force since the activities of the Boko Haram plunged the country into social crisis, saying the military should however intensify its efforts until the girls are rescued.
Aregbesola continued, “We appeal to religious organisations to set a day aside for prayer for the nation. Muslim should pray on Friday, Christians on Sunday and the traditional religion on Saturday, asking God to help us end this disaster.
“We commend the effort of the military but their efforts will not amount anything until those girls are found and reunited with their people. So we call on the military to intensify its efforts the more.”
Earlier in her address, Mrs. Aregbesola expressed the growing concern of the women of the state over the missing girls.
She noted that of late, women and girls have been targeted victims of various violent crimes ranging from abduction, rape and ritual activities.
“On behalf of all women in the state, we are staging this protest to tell government at all tiers that we have suffered enough.
“We therefore demand the release of our children abducted by the Boko Haram. We also express our concern on the growing violence in the country most of which target women,” Mrs. Aregbesola said

From October 2012 to December 2013 I lived and worked in the State of Osun. When I first got my deployment letter, I was confused. My familiarity with the state was limited to the legal mêlée that (rightfully) “installed” Ogbeni Rauf Aregbesola as Governor of the state. Unexpectedly, my time in Osun turned out to be one of the most interesting periods of my life.
Now, it is very easy to see and believe all the positive media hype around the state of Osun. The present administration of the State has recorded commendable progress in the achievement of some of its objectives; agreed. However, I intend to give my opinion from the stand point of an ordinary (former) resident of the state.
Naturally, I am a curious person so one of the things I did so well while in Osun was ask questions. I constantly engaged Civil Servants, Business men, Market women, Teachers and Students of the state at every given opportunity. A lot seemed to be going on in the state, I needed to understand everything.
I prefer to start from the beginning; the O’schools, O’Meals, OÚniforms, O’calisthenics  (yes, O’calisthenics) you see is not random. The Ogbeni administration is strictly guided by a 6 point integral action plan. This plan is itemised below:

1. Banish Hunger
2. Banish Poverty
3. Banish Unemployment
4. Promote Healthy Living
5. Promote Functional Education
6.  Promote Communal Peace and Progress

Since assumption of office in November 2010, the Six Point Integral Action Plan has formed the foundation of the initiatives and programs of the present state government of Osun.
 
Again, the semi- political critic in me was hardly satisfied with this; until I discovered that the State Government has also set up an agency called the Bureau of Social Services (BOSS). BOSS is in charge of ensuring that the people of the state actually receive maximum social benefits from all the policies and programs of the State Government.
 
After this discovery things got really interesting for me and my semi-political critic. I totally endorse any initiative that promotes communal impact assessment and fiscal discipline in public administration.
 
To put it simply, BOSS monitors and evaluates all projects the administration embarks upon, the Bureau is also charged with assessing the performance of State Commissioners and heads of MDAs in their implementation of the 6-Point Integral Action Plan. The citizens of the state are also a part of this “Monitoring” as BOSS encourages individuals to report any perceived abnormalities in the way projects and programs are being carried out.
Personally, I am very interested in education so “Promoting Functional Education” caught my attention very quickly.
It is said that within one month of this administration, a physical inspection and baseline assessment of the educational sector was conducted. The outcome of that exercise was quite discomforting. An Education Summit was then put together which was chaired by renowned Nobel Laureate, Professor Wole Soyinka.
Underpaid and unmotivated teachers, crowded classrooms, undernourished children, poor quality of instruction and learning environment, unavailability of learning materials and an inadequate academic curriculum were some of the issues discovered.
 
The Education Summit made some recommendations for the reformation of the educational sector and these recommendations were immediately adopted by the state government.
The theme for the reformation is “Complete Child, Complete Youth, Complete Citizen” as the state government utilizes an “Integrative approach” in implementing these recommendations.
 

1. O’Meals – This is an Elementary School Feeding and Health Program where 3,007 food vendors/cooks were trained and are currently employed to serve midday balanced diet meals to pupils of classes 1, 2, 3 and 4 in all Primary Schools in the State.
2. O’Schools – Building proper physical structures for schools to replace dilapidated buildings. This massive physical infrastructural exercise is within the framework of the school reclassification system. There are ongoing plans to build 100 elementary schools, 50 middle schools and 26 high school models.
3. Opon Imo – A learning device in form of an electronic tablet that contains all the textbooks in the learning curriculum of High Schools.
4. O’Calisthenics – A child needs proper social balance to function effectively, this policy is a co-curricular activity that pupils in schools across the state participate in as part of physical education drills.
5. Vocational and Entrepreneurial Education – There are various initiatives in place to provide these trainings especially outside the formal school walls.

 
Osun School Reclassification  
I will attempt to explain this as succinctly as possible.
 
In Nigeria, we are used to a 6-3-3-4 system of Education; so is Osun trying to do something different?
 
Practically, there has been no fundamental alteration to the 6-3-3-4 scheme; what Osun has done is a grouping of the 12 years of primary and secondary education before the 4 years of tertiary education.
 
The reason for this is quite simple; it was discovered that a lot of pupils drop out of school immediately after primary 6 so the plan is to provide a scheme that encourages “continuous education”. The last two years of junior secondary school have been extracted to form a ‘middle school Cadre’ so what you have presently in Osun are; Elementary Schools (Ages 6-9, Grades 1-4), Middle Schools (Ages 10-14, Grades 5-9) and High Schools (Ages 15-17, Grades 10-12). This makes transition to secondary school easy and automatic for Elementary school pupils. The objective is that no pupil will exit education at grade 6 and that all will proceed to complete and graduate from the Middle school at grade 9 thereby making BECE (Basic Education Certificate Examination) the least certificate for any school leaver in the state. Students in Osun still spend 12 years on basic education as stipulated by the National Policy on Education and are taught the same curriculum as students elsewhere in Nigeria.
 
In addition to the above mentioned, various Teacher training programs are being run in the state to better equip the teachers.
 
For me, results are very important. Has this reform of the educational sector recorded any wins? Yes. In 2010 Osun was placed 34th amongst 36 states in the performance rankings of the West African School Certificate Examinations (WASCE) and by 2012 placed 8th.
 
Interestingly seventeen-year-old Folafoluwa Oginni a product of the State of Osun public Education System  emerged the overall best pupil in the May/June 2012 West African Senior School Certificate Examination. She scored A1 in all her subjects with a cumulative score of 653.9318 and is presently a holder of the WAEC’s national distinction/merit award.
 
Another area worthy of mention is the general infrastructural development in the state. All through my time in Osun, the state was filled with ongoing construction. Sometimes, this was really annoying. From heavy traffic to my favourite supermarket getting shut down because illegal structures were being demolished; but I have chosen to appreciate the bigger picture here.
 
There’s a multiplier upshot that can be deduced from this; for instance to modernise the food production chain an infrastructural upgrade is extremely necessary. Without good roads even agricultural developments will stall. From moving raw materials to evacuation of produced goods a farmer needs good road networking.
 
Within 24 months 513 km of high quality roads were constructed. I concede to the fact that some of the completed roads in Osun at present were commenced by the previous administration.
 
The Osun State government also directed all the local governments within the state to embark upon the construction of quality 10km roads in their domain and at the time I left Osun work had commenced on these local government roads; by now I expect a higher percentage of completion.
One construction that actually excites me is the commencement of the construction of Gbongan – Akioda trumpet exchange. This is expected to provide uninterruptible link with Ibadan – Ilesa expressway for traffic turning into Osogbo and those from Osogbo turning towards Ife thereby eradicating traffic interception at the junction.
Chief Adebisi Akande (Governor of Osun May 1999 to May 2003) describes the ongoing infrastructural developments in the state of Osun as a “Miracle’. From my interactions with the citizens of the state; most see it as a miracle too and reasonably have a few concerns. How is the government financing these projects? Can Osun afford all these? How much time does Ogbeni need to complete these projects? Does he actually have this time?
During my stay in Osun; I became au fait with so many other interesting initiatives such as the O’YES – Osun Youth Empowerment Scheme, AGBA OSUN – Where the elderly are given periodic stipends and the monthly WALK-TO-LIVE program.
What I saw, heard and experienced portrays an administration that is determined to deliver on its manifesto; though far from perfect, the State of Osun seems to be headed in the right direction.

Photos of School Buses to be Launched and Presented to School Students soon

Not less than 5, 000 teachers and students are expected at the grand finale of a debate on the topic:

“Leadership and Good Governance organised by Omoluabi Support Group and Oranmiyan Worldwide, two nongovernmental organisations based in Osun state. The debate which is for secondary school students is part of activities marking 57th birthday of Osun state governor.

According to one of the coordinators of the group, Comrade Dele Ogunsakin, the programme will hold on Tuesday, May 13th 2014 at the Centre for Black Culture and International Understanding, Osogbo.
Addressing a press conference on behalf of the organisers of the event in Osogbo recently, Barrister Kayode Tinubu and Comrade Dele Ogunsakin said that whoever emerges champion will spend a day with the governor on the 25th of May as a mark of honour to serve as motivation for the school children.
Tinubu said “all High Schools in the state had began the debate at the local government level and subsequent winners will engage one another in an interesting debate at the senatorial level while the winners in each of senatorial district will also compete to pick the champion.”
NATIONAL MIRROR

The Osun Government on Wednesday said it had employed 19 magistrates and plans to construct two new prisons as part of efforts to enhance access to justice.
Mr Wale Afolabi, the Attorney-General and Commissioner for Justice, said this in an interview with the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) in Osogbo.
He said the lock-up prisons would be built in Osogbo and Iwo Local Governments to decongest the two main prisons in Ilesa and Ile-Ife built over 30 years ago.
By the time these prisons are built, they will decongest the main prisons, make transportation of suspects to the court more faster and easier and also improve on our criminal justice system.
This present administration inherited 18 magistrates but we discovered this was not enough and government employed additional 19 magistrates, making them 37. “This is to ensure speedy dispensation of justice in the state,” he said.
The attorney general also said that 17 lawyers were recruited as public prosecutors for efficient prosecution of criminal cases. Afolabi said the state House of Assembly is currently reviewing existing laws in the state to ensure that they conform to the present realities.
On alternative dispute resolution, the attorney general said the government had revived the Public Defender and Citizens Rights Department, and mediation centers, to assist indigent people to get access to justice. We discovered that many people are very poor in the state to employ the services of a lawyer to handle their cases.
And as a result of this, when the present administration came into power, the department of public defender and citizen rights in the Ministry of Justice was revived to help the citizens. “Lawyers in these centres are government employees and they render their services free of charge to the citizens.”
DAILY INDEPENDENT