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Category: News

Aregbesola Praised For His Good Intention To Develop Osun

aregbesola 1The present administration in the State of Osun, led by Ogbeni Rauf Aregbesola, has been commended the support given to Osun Rural Access and Mobility Project O’RAMP.
The Permanent Secretary, Ministry of Water Resources, Rural Development and Community Affairs who is also the Project Coordinator, (OSUN RAMP), Engr. Adelere Oriolowo, gave the commendation during a visit to the Ira-Ikeji-Ile-Arakeji-Jabu road being proposed to be financed by the state government.
According to him, the O’RAMP project is a World Bank and French Development Agency’s (AFD) assisted project that was declared effective on 22nd November, 2013 and expected to rehabilitate 500km of rural roads in the state within the project life cycle of six years.
He stressed further that, his team had earlier visited some of the on-going projects, such as the  11.2km Ita-Oni-koko road, 3.5km Ilesa/Akure Expressway – Ayodeji Road, 9.5km Okinni-Igbokiti-Idi-Emi-Pakiti Road-O-Fish farm road, 9km Quick Impact Intervention Programme (QIIP) Farm road, Kuta among others to ascertain the level of completion.  Other projects visited were the completion of the 3-span bridge of Sasa River abandoned several years ago.
Engr. Oriolowo then thanked the administration of Ogbeni Aregbesola for the support given on Community – Based Routine Road Maintenance, noting that the system has assisted in maintaining the standard of the
road at the 12km Iwo-patanra road, 10.8km Idiroko/Akinleye road and 5km Esa-Oke road.
OSUN NEWS

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pat-utomi-1

pat-utomi-1
Professor Pat Utomi is an economist and a politician. He co-founded the Lagos Business School, now Pan African University.  In this interview, Utomi speaks on the on-going National Conference and the economy among other issues.

One of the biggest issues in the country today is the National Conference.  We have optimists concerning the conference. We also have pessimists. There are those who are neither here nor there. Where do you stand?

I have made it part of business to keep challenging us about what our consciousness should be. In recent times, we have begun to focus on two sets of activities to deal with this matter. The first has to do with the hope that was raised that a national dialogue could result in a certain understanding of what has kept us back and how we could look at the future so that we could make the progress that is deservedly ours given the endowment of our country.

In that regard, I was the convener of the National Summit Group which began the formal canvassing for National Conference. But I am deeply sad at what came to be known as the National Conference. It’s a tragedy for Nigeria that we ended up with how the body was constituted.

It is incapable of engaging the future; it is talk on the past and the personal quarrels of yesterday. It lacks the capacity, in terms of many of the people who are there and in terms of their endowment not because they are good or bad people, to engage the future. And so, many people are now dismissing the conference as a waste of good time, good money and all kinds of motives are now being imputed on how it was constituted, why it was constituted, and all of that.

‘Osun Government House not for sale’What kind of conference would you have loved to see?
The conference should be building national consensus, talking about acceptable norms. To return to Delta, a couple of weeks ago I talked about this movement for a new Delta; I said that one of the easiest ways to characterize a new Delta is a programme that I called ‘Aregbe Times 20’.
What does ‘Aregbe Times 20’ mean? There was a lot of talk on how many pupils/students were in school in Osun State because they get free lunch. You can give breakfast and lunch in a state like Delta and not encounter any challenge finding the resources to execute it. If any progress must take place, there are two things government must do: education and healthcare. People who are well and educated will create their future.
And so when you look at what (Governor) Aregbesola is doing, you will see it translate, in few years, into a different kind of Osun State. It is not by accident that today we keep talking about the advantage that the South-west has because of Chief Awolowo’s policy on education in the 50s.
READ the full interview… http://www.vanguardngr.com/2014/04/national-conference-incapable-engaging-future-pat-utomi/

 

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sambo.namadi.nigeria.vp_

sambo.namadi.nigeria.vp_In 1982 was an action powerhouse movie called RAMBO which starred Sylvester Stallone as a Vietnam veteran who used his advanced military techniques, machine guns and bare hands to fight off the entire police force of a few towns. RAMBO turned these towns into warfronts with his armaments. In Nigeria, there is now our own RAMBO in Vice-President, Namadi Sambo who has promised that Osun and Ekiti states will be warfronts in the coming gubernatorial elections. This time, he seems to be promising us; it will not be a movie!
What is making this threat more unsettling is the optics of several incidents we now see in the aftermath of the statement.  A couple of days after the utterance, we saw Ayo Fayose, the Ekiti ambassador in the state Governorship election cladded in a bullet-proof vest during a campaign event. That confirms that some kind of war is looming in that state. Musiliu Obanikoro, Minister of State of Defense mobilized men in army uniform to the site of the Ondo bye-election that was just concluded. The location was filled with pandemonium and violence and INEC indicted him.
Before the RAMBO statement was made, Jelili Adesiyan, Minister of Police Affairs we heard pounced on Isiaka Adeleke with 40 anti-riot policemen during last month’s PDP primaries where Iyiola Omisore became the governorship flag bearer of the party. What in the world is wrong with us about power, money and politics? Do we have to fight wars to serve the people? I don’t think so. If Ekiti and Osun become frontiers of violence in the coming elections, Vice President Sambo will be held responsible for importing RAMBO into the states.
The unpleasant cumulus the statement has further created is that Vice President Namadi “Rambo” Sambo has not come out to deny or walk back the talk. He has not apologized for heating up the polity in these states. It then affirms that our own Sambo who has now become a leading “Rambo” of the PDP meant every word he spoke. The truth now is that our own Vice-President is now SAMBO THE RAMBO who has signaled something that should make APC members, Aregbesola, Fayemi and all the citizens in these two states sleep with only on eye closed.
THIS IS STRAIGHTUP TALK!

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Easter Free Train Ride-1

Cross section of Indigenes and non-indigenes of Osun Boarding the Free Train Ride provided by the State Government of Osun, back to Lagos State after the Easter celebration at Osogbo Terminus, State of Osun on Monday 21-04-2014
Easter Free Train Ride-1 Easter Free Train Ride-2 Easter Free Train Ride-3 Easter Free Train Ride-4 Easter Free Train Ride-5 Easter Free Train Ride-6

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AREGBELONDON

AREGBELONDONGlobal leaders met in London earlier this year to discuss how school meal programmes can improve educational outcomes and boost agricultural economies.
The meeting was co-hosted by the All Party Parliamentary Group on Agriculture & Food for Development and the Partnership for Child Development (PCD) from Imperial College London, which is working with governments to build the evidence base and provide technical assistance for the development of effective and sustainable home grown school feeding (HGSF) programmes. HGSF refers to school feeding programmes which procure their food from local smallholder farmers thereby supporting local rather than foreign markets.
In 2013, up to $75billion dollars was invested by the governments of 169 countries into school feeding programmes. It is estimated that for every $1 spent feeding school children, $3 are generated for the local economy.
Keynote speaker Rauf Aregbesola, Governor of Osun state in Nigeria, reported on the success of his state’s school meals programme, known as O’Meals, which feeds over 250,000 children every school day. The O’Meals programme provides employment to over 3,000 women and purchases food from over 1000 local farmers.
The experience of Osun tallies with that of governments from across the globe, the World Bank’s Professor Donald Bundy said. He noted that analysis from the influential book, ‘Rethinking School Feeding’ that he co-authored in 2009, had identified that countries were increasingly turning to school feeding programmes as a form of social safety net for their poorest communities. In Europe, in response to the recent recession, countries such as Spain, Portugal, France and the UK had implemented school feeding programmes as means to protect their most vulnerable members of society.
This growth in school meal coverage provides an opportunity for local agricultural economies, Professor Bundy said. “School feeding programmes provide a structured demand for agricultural produce and can, when implemented correctly, encourage wider economic development. Even crisis hit countries such as Cote D’Ivoire, Madagascar, Mali and Sudan are shifting to nationally run programmes which procure their food from local smallholder farmers.”
Speaking on behalf of the African Union’s New Partnership for Africa’s Development, Boitshepo Giyose agreed. “We’re seeing more and more sub-Saharan Africa countries adopting HGSF but they still need support to achieve this. International partners have a vital role to play in promoting cost-effective and sustainable programmes.”
Speaking at the event, PCD’s Executive Director, Dr Lesley Drake said: “Research shows that when properly designed, HGSF programmes can act as a win-win for both schoolchildren and smallholder farmers alike.
“For integrated school feeding programmes to succeed like they have in Osun, governments and development partners alike need to integrate HGSF into their policies, strategies and plans for agriculture and for education.”

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UNIVERSITY OF LAGOS MUSLIM ALUMNI (UMA) AWARD 1

Photos from the 6th Reunion Luncheon of the University Of Lagos Muslim Alumni at Eko Hotel & Suites, Victoria Island, Lagos on Sunday 20-04-2014

From left –* Vice Chancellor, University of Lagos, Professor Rahaman Adisa Bello Presenting an Award to the Governor of the State of Osun, Ogbeni Rauf Aregbesola in Recognition of his Distinguished Efforts at Good Governance, during the 6th Reunion Luncheon at Eko Hotel &Suites, Victoria Island, Lagos on Sunday 20-04-2014.

From left –* Vice Chancellor, University of Lagos, Professor Rahaman
Adisa Bello Presenting an Award to the Governor of the State of Osun,
Ogbeni Rauf Aregbesola in Recognition of his Distinguished Efforts at
Good Governance, during the 6th Reunion Luncheon at Eko Hotel &Suites,
Victoria Island, Lagos on Sunday 20-04-2014.

Governor State of Osun, Ogbeni Rauf Aregbesola (middle); President University of Lagos, Musilm Alumni (UMA), Alhaji Sikiru Lere Alimi (left), Speaker House of Assemble Oyo State, Alhaja Monsurat Sunmonu (2nd right) and Vice Chancellor, University of Lagos, Professor Rahaman Adisa Bello (right), during the 6th Reunion Luncheon at Eko Hotel &Suites, Victoria Island,Lagos on Sunday 20-04-2014.

Governor State of Osun, Ogbeni Rauf Aregbesola (middle); President
University of Lagos, Musilm Alumni (UMA), Alhaji Sikiru Lere Alimi
(left), Speaker House of Assemble Oyo State, Alhaja Monsurat Sunmonu
(2nd right) and Vice Chancellor, University of Lagos, Professor
Rahaman Adisa Bello (right), during the 6th Reunion Luncheon at Eko
Hotel &Suites, Victoria Island,Lagos on Sunday 20-04-2014.

From left -* Governor State of Osun, Ogbeni Rauf Aregbesola; Speaker House of Assemble Oyo State, Alhaja Monsurat Sunmonu and Vice Chancellor, University of Lagos, Professor Rahaman Adisa Bello during the 6th Reunion Luncheon at Eko Hotel &Suites, Victoria Island, Lagos on Sunday 20-04-2014.

From left -* Governor State of Osun, Ogbeni Rauf Aregbesola; Speaker
House of Assemble Oyo State, Alhaja Monsurat Sunmonu and Vice
Chancellor,
University of Lagos, Professor Rahaman Adisa Bello during the 6th Reunion
Luncheon at Eko Hotel &Suites, Victoria Island, Lagos on Sunday 20-04-2014.

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Judging by antecedents, elections in Nigeria are often fraught with intrigues and suspicions among stakeholders, which sometimes result in the disruption of peace if the issues involved are not properly defined and addressed.
Political pundits, therefore, note that adequate security should be provided in the lead-up to elections so as to ensure the security of life and property as well as the credibility of the elections. They underscore the need for all stakeholders to appreciate the need for peace and harmony in all political arrangements, while making peace the watchword in any elections.
This expectation comes to mind as the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) released the timetable for the governorship election in Osun State as all the stakeholders, particularly members of political parties, ought to be reminded of their obligation to promote peace. According to INEC’s timetable, the governorship election will hold on August 9, while the citizens of the state will join the rest of Nigerians for the presidential and National Assembly elections on February 14, 2015.
Observers note that in the lead-up to elections, political activists often engage in different manoeuvres to shore up the popularity of their parties and their ideologies so as to garner the goodwill of the electorate. They, however, observe that the major political parties in the state have been trading blames over reported cases of alleged misconduct before and during the voter registration, which was conducted in the state between March 12 and March 17.
Observers also cite cases of violence in some parts of the state, pointing at the killing of an octogenarian and a Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) chieftain in Ile-Ife, Pa Taiwo Ogundele, during the voter registration. Although the state Commissioner of Police, Mr Ibrahim Maishanu, debunked speculations that Ogundele’s killing was politically motivated, observers insist that the killing at the time of registration elicits a lot of concern. The PDP governorship candidate in the state, Senator Iyiola Omisore, who visited the deceased’s house to condole with his family, blamed the incident on a rival party and called on security agents to fish out the masterminds.
Nevertheless, analysts believe that political issues such as the alleged political assassination, if left unresolved, could breed violence which may mar the political process. Therefore, the INEC Chairman, Professor Attahiru Jega, was at a stakeholders’ forum in Osogbo on February 13 to sensitise political parties’ leaders, members and supporters to the need to promote peace before, during and after the election. Jega particularly urged politicians to abide by the electoral law and refer all complaints to the appropriate quarters for adjudication, instead of taking the law into their own hands.
However, INEC’s Resident Electoral Commissioner in the state, Ambassador Rufus Akeju, allayed the fears of concerned citizens over the coming election. He assured them that the commission would be firm, fair and forthright, while ensuring the credibility of the election.
Speaking on the security situation, Assistant Inspector General, Zone 11, Mr David Omojola, stressed that the security agents were aware of the trends in the political activities in the state. Omojola, who assured residents of the state that the governorship election would be peaceful and hitch-free, expressed the preparedness of the police for all elections. He reiterated that the police would take pragmatic measures to ensure peaceful, fair and credible elections in the country.
Going from the general to the specifics, the state police command warned politicians in the state against any plan to foment trouble, adding that their activities should always be guided by the provisions of the Electoral Act. Maishanu vowed that no stone would be left unturned in efforts to ensure security of the people’s lives and property before, during and after the governorship election.
These assurances notwithstanding, politicians underscore the need for all the security agencies to have solid, pragmatic plans and preparations for the election, even as political campaigns begin on May 11 across the state. They, nonetheless, welcome the recent resolve of the PDP and the All Progressives Congress (APC) – the two major political parties in the state – to eschew violence during and after the elections as a good development.
Spokespersons for PDP and APC, Mr Diran Odeyemi and Mr Kunle Oyatomi, respectively, said that the parties had agreed to sensitise their members and supporters to the importance of exhibiting good conduct during elections. Odeyemi, the Director of Media and Strategy of PDP, said that apart from this, all stakeholders in the political process ought to make peace their watchword during the election. He emphasised that peace was by all means an indispensable element in the evolution of quality leadership and sustainable democratic governance. Besides, Oyatomi, APC’s Director of Publicity, Research and Strategy, gave the assurance that the state governor, Rauf Aregbesola, would always promote the rule of law. He also urged political parties to make peace their watchword, while ensuring that their supporters exhibited a zero tolerance for trouble.
All the same, analysts insist that the people’s primary concern was how to have a free, fair and credible election in the state. They insist the success of the election will be a litmus test for the general election coming up across the country in 2015.
TRIBUNE

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Aregbesola, Mimiko, Fayemi Appeal For Peace This Easter

 Osun State Governor, Rauf Aregbesola,  Ondo state Governor, Olusegun Mimiko,  Ekiti State Governor, Kayode Fayemi, Osun State Governor, Rauf Aregbesola, Ondo state Governor, Olusegun Mimiko, Ekiti State Governor, Kayode Fayemi,
Osun State Governor, Rauf Aregbesola, on Friday urged Nigerians to imbibe the lessons of Easter, saying that peace and forgiveness were critical virtues in human existence.
Aregbesola, who described Easter as a period of sober reflection, enjoined Nigerians to live in peace and harmony at all times.
According to him, religious tolerance and peaceful coexistence among humans were necessary elements in the sustenance of development.
He said, “It gives me great joy to felicitate with Christians on this Easter celebration. As we rejoice in the glory of God, we must not lose sight of the teachings of the period.
“Jesus Christ came and laid his life for us. This is a demonstration of absolute love. We, as children of God, must learn to live in love and peace. We must learn to live an exemplary life. The redemption Jesus Christ made must not be lost on us.”
In his Easter message, Ondo state Governor, Olusegun Mimiko, urged Nigerians to pray for God’s intervention in the country’s battle against terror by religious extremists.
Mimiko described the terror attacks being witnessed in some parts of the country as “threatening the peace and corporate existence of the nation”. He added that peace was integral to national development.
He said, “The lesson is that we too can live a life of sacrifice for our country especially at this time when Nigeria appears to be at the crossroads in terms of the socio-economic and ethno-religious challenges besetting her.
“Beyond the eating and drinking in the course of the celebration, we should go to God in prayer to solicit His intervention against terror in the name of religion that is threatening the peace and corporate existence of the nation.”
“This counsel becomes imperative in the light of the fact that we do not have any other country to call our own.”

In a related development, Ekiti State Governor, Kayode Fayemi, also urged the people of the state to use the occasion to pray for God’s intervention in the affairs of the country.
He said that prayers were needed to bring lasting solution to the escalating cases of insurgency threatening the peace of the country.
The governor commended Christians in the state for living in harmony with other religious believers, which he attributed to the “peace being enjoyed in the state”.
In addition, Fayemi urged Christians in the state to use the period to pray for peace, development and prosperity of Ekiti as the state approached the governorship election to be held in June 2014.
Punch

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Screen Shot 2014-04-19 at 9.07.11 AM

Screen Shot 2014-04-19 at 9.07.11 AMThis exercise is an attempt to develop a greater understanding of Nigeria at state level. As we had expected, our analysis confirms that Lagos State is Nigeria’s biggest economy, producing c. 12% of the country’s national income. Post-rebasing of GDP in 2013, we expect Lagos State economy to become Africa’s 13th biggest economy at c. $45bn – equivalent to Ghana.
Households in Nigeria’s southern states are better educated and have smaller household sizes. States that cluster around key commercial states also benefit from externalities. In the SW where Lagos State has the highest per-capita income, Oyo and Osun States also score highly.
Consumer companies are likely to find the greatest opportunities in states with greater purchasing power, as indicted by relatively high per capita income, including Lagos, the FCT Abuja, as well as Oyo, Osun in the SW and Kaduna and Nassarawa (both next to the FCT Abuja), and the Niger Delta states. We see opportunities for banks to expand services and employees into states that have a combination of high income and population densities, as that will provide the footfall required to open a bank branch. States that fit this profile are Anambra, Imo and Abia in the SE region; Akwa Ibom and Rivers in the Niger Delta region; and Osun in the SW. 
Below is the Socioeconomic profile of Nigeria’s states

Figure 38: Socioeconomic profile of Nigeria’s states States  GDP, $bn (2012E)  % of Nigeria’s GDP  Population , mn (2012E)  % of Nigeria’s population  GDP per capita, $ (2012E)  Net secondary school attendance rate, ratio (2007) 
Lagos 31.2 11.4 10.7 6.5 2,916 85
Kano 16.8 6.2 11.0 6.7 1,525 28
Oyo 14.2 5.2 6.5 4.0 2,165 71
Kaduna 13.3 4.9 7.2 4.4 1,860 49
Rivers 11.3 4.2 6.1 3.7 1,859 75
Katsina 10.6 3.9 6.8 4.1 1,554 17
Osun  9.4  3.5  4.0  2.4  2,356  77 
Imo 9.1 3.3 4.6 2.8 1,983 74
Anambra 8.9 3.3 4.9 3.0 1,814 72
Akwa Ibom 8.2 3.0 4.6 2.8 1,783 70
Borno 8.0 2.9 4.9 3.0 1,631 8
Bauchi 7.8 2.9 5.5 3.3 1,432 5
Niger 7.6 2.8 4.6 2.8 1,631 56
FCT Abuja 6.8 2.5 1.6 1.0 4,094 67
Edo 6.7 2.4 3.8 2.3 1,756 70
Abia 6.3 2.3 3.4 2.1 1,855 79
Plateau 6.2 2.3 3.8 2.3 1,640 46
Benue 6.1 2.2 5.0 3.0 1,226 56
Delta 6.0 2.2 4.8 2.9 1,249 75
Ondo 5.9 2.2 4.1 2.5 1,457 76
Zamfara 5.7 2.1 3.8 2.3 1,492 18
Sokoto 5.7 2.1 4.3 2.6 1,313 15
Enugu 5.0 1.8 3.8 2.3 1,299 70
Kogi 4.8 1.8 3.9 2.4 1,235 74
Adamawa 4.6 1.7 3.7 2.3 1,233 11
Nasarawa 4.4 1.6 2.2 1.3 1,997 57
Jigawa 4.4 1.6 5.1 3.1 853 23
Kebbi 4.2 1.5 3.8 2.3 1,104 21
Cross River 4.2 1.5 3.4 2.1 1,242 71
Ekiti 4.2 1.5 2.8 1.7 1,495 85
Ogun 4.2 1.5 4.4 2.7 952 75
Kwara 4.0 1.5 2.8 1.7 1,454 70
Taraba 3.9 1.4 2.7 1.6 1,444 6
Bayelsa 3.6 1.3 2.0 1.2 1,816 74
Ebonyi 3.6 1.3 2.6 1.6 1,400 56
Yobe 3.3 1.2 2.7 1.7 1,207 7
Gombe 2.9 1.1 2.8 1.7 1,041 16
Source: National Bureau of Statistics, National Population Commission, Renaissance Capital estimates

pdfRead/Download full report here Renaissance capital 36 shades of Nigeira

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15th20Live-10

15th20Live-10Reports filtered through a few days ago in all the major newspapers across the country that former Governor Orji Uzor Kalu broke with the Peoples Democratic Party, PDP, to endorse Ogbeni Rauf Aregbesola, Governor of State of Osun for a second term in office. Kalu is a respected political actor who served two terms as Abia governor between 1999 and 2007.
His visit to State of Osun coincided with two major political events in the state.
First, it was the day his political party, the PDP, conducted primary election for its governorship aspirants in the state: namely, Senator Iyiola Omisore, Senator Olasunkanmi Akinlabi a former Minister of Youth Development and Honourable Wole Oke former chairman, House of Representatives Committee on Defence. Earlier, Senator Adeleke, the first governor of Osun had withdrawn from the race with a proviso: “I don’t want the blood of my political supporters to be shared because of my governorship ambition.”
The Senator alleged that he and his supporters were thoroughly beaten by the thugs of Senator Omisore and those of the Minister of Police Affairs, Alhaji Jelili Adesiyan. “There is a likelihood of a breakdown of law and order if I participate in the primary election. Therefore, I am announcing that I will boycott tomorrow’s primary. Why should I allow somebody possessed by the devil to waste the lives of our people because I want to be a governor?
“A minister has continued to threaten that he would waste so many lives in the primary. I am boycotting the primary; I will participate when our party decides to conduct a free, fair and violence-free primary. But I will work for the success of President Goodluck Jonathan in 2015.” Senator Isiaka Adeleke has a reason to be circumspect for not letting down his guides.
The PDP candidate in Osun, Omisore has yet to explain satisfactorily to the people of Osun state and Nigerians at large, his alleged involvement in the murder of Chief Bola Ige, then Minister of Justice and Attorney General of the Federation under former President Olusegun Obasanjo’s administration. If he did, it’s likely that Nigerians are not satisfied with his explanations, even though he has been exonerated by the courts.
Kalu may have been disenchanted by the PDP’s inordinate strive for bloodcurdling politics. He sees in Ogbeni a model of civil political buffer and a transformational figure whose commitment to good governance goes beyond merely gloating over a reconstructed kilometre of road by the previous administration. More so, he saw no reason to be wild about an Omisore’s candidacy.
The PDP leader, therefore endorsed Governor Aregbesola’s continuation in office, saying: “You don’t change a winning team”. He made the endorsement on Saturday, April 5, at the 15th edition of the Walk-to-Live in Ipetumodu, Osun State. Walk-to-Live is a monthly physical exercise that involves trekking of at least, eight kilometres by interested citizens of the state after which a round of various other physical exercises follow to ensure that the citizens remain physically fit and mentally alert.
The programme – in no small dimension – appears the best in closing the gap between the people and the government. Each edition of the programme sees excited citizens who cannot join the usually long and winding procession either staying in front of their houses; climbing topmost parts of their buildings to catch glimpses of the governor, movie actors and actresses and sportsmen who have become regular features of the event.
Young mothers who cannot stay at home strap their babies to their backs. Physically-challenged persons waddle their ways through the crowd to ensure they complete the ‘race’. Students, market men and women, old and the young want to be part of what they see as an engaging event that help them regain their self-confidence. It is common scene to see excited, ordinary citizens wanting to get handshakes with the governor and other top members of his administration.
Under the six-point development agenda of the state administration, which he calls “My Pact with Osun”, promotion of healthy living is one. “There can be no healthy living without constant physical exercises.” Ogbeni is always quick to remind his people each time people troop out to partake in what is appearing the biggest platform for mobilizing the people to action in the state.
Apart from other benefits now accruing from the event such as raising the political consciousness of the people, Governor Aregbesola has never failed to remind enthusiasts at the events on monthly basis that “Walk-to-live exercise was introduced because we realised that we have all forgotten the need to physically exercise ourselves. We are highly sedentary and socially wild; we must compliment this with engaging in physical exercise. Osun is promoting Walk-to-Live to ensure that we have a healthy people in a healthy state.”
This was what attracted the sport-loving former governor of Abia State to Osun that led to his endorsement of the governor of the state. He would later enthuse: “I am a statesman and PDP man. I made a promise a month ago to honour this Walk to Live event. Omisore is a personal friend of mine. Aregbesola is my friend as well. Governor Aregbesola has worked for the people of Osun. You don’t need to change a winning team. I also wish to express my support for our President, He is trying. Let’s pray for President Jonathan and let’s pray for Aregbesola.”
He would also add: “I want to thank the Governor for making today’s Walk Exercise in a way I have never done before. Governor Aregbesola has done well. I am not here on party basis. II am a bona fide member of my Party (PDP) …When someone has worked, we should learn to recognise performance in Nigeria. Governor Aregbesola has worked. There are few governors that can walk as we have walked today, without pure water being thrown at them. If what I have seen today is a test of popularity, then Aregbesola is indeed popular.”
Dr Kalu has engraved his name in gold as one individual who turned his back on inconsistent characters with moral deficits within the same political party to pitch his tent with a progressive candidate who can deliver the goods to the people – just the same way General Colin Powell broke with Republican Party to endorse Barack Obama’s presidency.
But when twinned with the partisan blindness in Nigeria political orientation, his endorsement of Aregbesola does reflect a significant shift. Kalu studiously spoke the minds of Osun citizens after several years of inelegant style of governance and outright despondency.
It’s obvious that the people have been delivered from the grip of an administration and a political party that has little or no socio-political and economic direction for them. Being permanently welded to acidic politics of bloodletting cannot change the people of Osun’s resolve to remain on the part of change. That is what Orji Kalu’s endorsement of Governor Rauf Aregbesola for continuity in office is about.
• Ikhide wrote in from Lagos, Nigeria.
THE NATION

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