Oshogbo, capital of Osun State, is the home of Centre for Black Culture and International Understanding, (CBCIU). Located in South-west of Nigeria, 240 kilometres north of Lagos, Osogbo is both a Yoruba city kingdom of over 700,000 people and an important chapter in the history of modern African art.
 

 
To celebrate the 50 years of Oshogbo Art, an exhibition will hold from January 17 through 23, 2017 and will be organised by Centre for Black Culture and International Understanding (CBCIU), Oshogbo. The two oldest cultural icons of Oshogbo, Chiefs Jimoh Buraimoh and Muraina Oyelami, are at the forefront of the exhibition. The exhibition preview will take place on Monday, January 16, 2017. Official opening as well as launching of the journal CBClU in Oshogbo is on Tuesday, January 17, 2017. The exhibition is expected to run from January 17 through 23, 2017.The exhibition is expected to move to Abuja and will take place at Thought Pyramid Art Centre, Abuja. Curator is the Artistic Director, Thought Pyramid Art Centre, Mr. Jeff Ajueshi.
In the 1960s, Osogbo witnessed a series of artistic activities, ranging from painting and sculpture to music and theatre, from painting and sculpture to music and theatre. It attracted international attention and brought Osogbo’s artistic status in Nigeria parallel with that of Paris, France. Since then, Osogbo art has become a trademark, signifying the richness and vitality of Yoruba art and culture, most impressively expressed by the annual Osun-Osogbo. Two different groups of works can be distinguished. There are the paintings, sculptures, beads, and textiles sold locally and internationally, and other works depicting Yoruba deities and festival motifs.

Credit for Osogbo’s artistic renaissance goes to late Suzanne Wenger, Georgina and Ulli Beier for placing Osogbo on the world’s cultural map. They did not just start an arts school or movement, but started engaging the young boys and girls who were in Duro Ladipo Theatre group to do some art works during the long hours between play rehearsals. The experiment succeeded beyond Ulli and Georgina’s wildest imaginations, as it created more art and culture on a global level.
It is for this reason that CBCIU Oshogbo wants to highlight some of the distinctive features of the experiment, whose features contribute to the Osogbo School of Art to the global art community.
Though it would be recalled that there were already contemporary artists trained according to modern art techniques and perspectives in Nigeria, the Oshogbo experiment was the first to have succeeded in encouraging a contemporary modern art that would build on and continue the indigenous art traditions. This is what has made the artists famous throughout the world. The artists themselves were young men with only rudimentary formal western-style education, after which they became artisans, petrol station attendants, etc. All of them were resident in Osogbo, capital of Osun State. Easily, the achievement of Georgia and Ulli was the ability to turn the underprivileged and disadvantaged status of these young men into great assets: no certificates were required of them to join in the experiment.
According to Ulli Bier, “Unlike European art student of comparable age and unlike the art historians, critics and anthropologists who have been looking at their work as ‘Yoruba’ or ‘African’ or ‘Western,’ early prediction that Oshogbo artist would soon run out of steam after their european mentors left Nigeria in December 1966 looks ridiculous”.

The exhibition intends to invalidate this misconception and celebrate the artistic movement that has not only remained true to its cultural identity and essence.
From that beginning to the present, almost all the promotion that Osogbo Art has had has been from abroad or by foreigners. True, there has been patronage of them by individual Nigerians and Nigerian Institutions, but home recognition of what the movement stood for, and still represents, has been lacking. Osogbo Art Movement was uniquely Osogbo thing, so much so that the town, in fact, became known as the left bank of Nigeria art in the 1960s.
There are more artists of good quality, old and middle-ged, plying their trade in Oshogbo today than in any other town in Nigeria, Lagos included. By its very success, the Osogbo Art experiment proved that tradition can be modernised from within; that in certain fields of cultural practice no certificates but talent is what matters most. If there had been no Osogbo Art Movement, there probably would not be CBCIU located in Osogbo today, or certainly, it would have been located in another town or country. CBCIU is, in many ways, a product and beneficiary of the movement. Finally, remembering and celebrating Georgina and Ulli Beier and the contributions of he various artists to the global art community will form part of celebrating 50 years of Oshogbo Art Movement.

In line with the six point Integral Action Plan of Governor Rauf Aregbesola, the Osun State government has secured the commitment of a notable German institute to assist the state on improved health care delivery. A team of seasoned German oncologists from the Institute for Operative Medicine of the Otto-yon Guericke-University, Magdeburg, Germany, will be in the Osun state between Feb 1 to Feb 4 2017  to perfect plans on collaborative effort on control, treatment and management of various class of cancer in the state.
 

 
 
The programme will include cancer screening right from Primary Health Centre to Secondary and Tertiary health care system. Cancer is known to be third leading cause of death in this part of the world. The Institute for Operative Medizine of the Otto-yon Guericke-University had acceded to the request of the state government to tackle headlong health challenges posed by cancer related diseases and as well render services on general surgery operation.
According to a letter of acknowledgment signed by the Head of the institute, Prof. Hans Lippert, the institute will also support the state Government fully in cancer preventive awareness.

An All Progressives Congress (APC) chieftain in Osun State, Benedict Olugboyega Alabi, has lauded Governor Rauf Aregbesola for building mega schools across the state.

 
Alabi, who is the president of Osun Ajose Foundation, said the schools have always been a source of joy.
 
 
Alabi enjoined the people to join hands with the government to ensure adequate maintenance of the schools.
 
 
He said: “I am convinced that Osun would have become Dubai if Governor Aregbesola has an access to funds as all and sundry can see the wonders he has been performing even with the limited fund available to his administration”

Osun State Deputy Governor Mrs Titilayo Laoye-Tomori has called on journalists to use their profession to sensitise the people.

 
Mrs. Laoye-Tomori spoke when members of the Association of Christian Journalists (ACJ) visited her in Osogbo. She said journalists were in a better position to influence the people, especially youths.
She said youths should be enlightened on how to become entrepreneurs, instead of looking for white collar jobs.
ACJ president Oludayo Ojewole thanked the deputy governor for her support and promised not to let her down.
The high point of the visit was the conferment of the group’s life matron on Mrs. Laoye-Tomori.

In keeping with its promise to continue to invest massively in education, the state of Osun government has begun another round of distribution of the tablet of knowledge famously called IPON IMO.
This effort saw government officials visit the  Agbonran Science High School, Ede, a while back to distribute the tablets to the obviously excited students.
See photos below
 

Vice Principal Agbonran Science High School, Ede, Mr Adesiyan John (right) handing over ‘Opon Imo’ – Tablet of Knowledge to one of his student, Abdullahi Fatimoh (middle) with them is her mother, Mrs Rukayat, during the free distribution of the tablet at the school hall

Vice Principal Agbonran Science High School, Ede, Mr Adesiyan John (right) handing over ‘Opon Imo’ – Tablet of Knowledge to one of his student, Babatunde Morufat (middle). With them is her father, Mr Alade, during the free distribution of the tablet at the school hall

The Osun State Ambulance Services (O’Ambulance) has disclosed that it rescued more than 2000 people in 2016 through its prompt rescue operations in emergencies across the state.
 

 
In an end-of-the-year review of its activities submitted to the Bureau of Communication and Strategy in the Office of the Governor, the Director General of O’Ambulance, Mr. Akinloye, said the state ambulance service responded to more than 1116 road traffic accident emergencies across the state last year.
Besides, O’Ambulance also responded to 178 cases of collapse, 348 hospital referral and 132 labour emergency cases all of which lives involved were saved, according to Mr. Akinloye.
A statement released by the Bureau, signed by the Director, Semiu Okanlawon, quoted the D-G as stating that of 1,829 casualties involved in all the emergence cases, the agency was able to save 1,774 lives and recorded only 55 deaths arising from the cases.
He also revealed that of the 1,774 casualties saved, 1,116 were males while 658 were females. He added that of the 55 deaths recorded, 27 were males and 28 females.
The O’Ambulance Boss said the agency was able to record such significant figure of life saving due to the resources available to it.
According to him, the government made available ambulances with relevant equipment, which makes rescue operation and immediate first aid for victim quick and efficient.
He said, “We have two sets of ambulances. We have the small ones, which are 31 in number – one for each local government. They are stationed to serve the primary healthcare centres in the local governments.

“We have the big, high-tech ones. We have 17 of that and each is stationed along major routes especially where we do experience high rate of occurrence of road traffic accident.
“We have our ambulances in strategic places so it is easy for us to move swiftly. Our response to any scene of accident wherever it happens in the state is between 10 to 15 minutes. Sometimes, it is faster than that especially if it is within Osogbo.”
He noted that his agency responds to more than 200 emergences in a month arising from road traffic accidents, referral, labour cases and other health emergencies across the state.
He stated that his agency usually faces more challenges during festive period and the ‘ember’ months, saying despite this uphill tasks, his agency always rise up to the occasion.
He commended Governor Rauf Aregbesola for providing the logistics and other paramedical gadgets for the agency, saying the agency is more committed to saving lives of the people of Osun or those passing through the state.
He continued, “In every month, we have average cases of 250 to 300 rescue operations. Sometimes it can be more than that, especially towards the end of the year (during December).
“And like I told you, it can be more too during the festive period because of mass movement of people. You know there would be heavy human and vehicular movement.
“Then the motorcyclists are another major challenge. At times, they form the bulk of our operations. You know that they are impatient and very reckless. So, they are always involved in one accident or the other, either with themselves or with vehicles.
“We have the logistics. And with the support of Mr. Governor, Rauf Aregbesola, things are going on smoothly and we are working. We are in the business of ‘life-saving,’ so we cannot but double our efforts to ensure we prevent avoidable deaths.
“We guarantee safety of lives. We have saved many lives and we’ll continue to save lives. But the real beneficiaries, those we rescued, that would be able to tell you that people are safe in Osun. Some of these people pray for us when they are well again and they render assistance where they see us work because they know the importance of what we do – saving lives.”