No fewer than 135 youths have undergone entrepreneurship development training through the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN)-Entrepreneurship Development Centre, Southwest on wealth creation which is implemented by the Africa Leadership Forum (ALF).
For four weeks, the participants were exposed to modules such as mindset re-engineering to help them rethink business, money, and livelihood, enterprise development and idea generation, business and financial management, marketing and interpersonal relationship and writing individual business plans.
 

 
 
At the graduation ceremony held at the Teachers’ Co-operative House in Oshogbo were the Osun State Deputy Governor and Commissioner for Education, Chief Otunba Grace Titi Laoye Tomori, CBN represented by Mrs. Oluyemisi Adebayo of the Development Finance Office; the Africa Leadership Forum was led by Dr. Olumide Ajayi, the Programme Director of the Centre, Special Adviser to the Governor on Technical and Vocational Education; Acting Head of Board for Technical Education, Mr. Owolabi; Permanent Secretary, Ministry of Education, Mr. Julius Olajide; General Manager/CEO of the Osun Micro-credit Agency, Mr. Dayo Babaranti; and Mr. Young, Head of Youth Empowerment.
In his address, Mr. Olajide, stated that the training was one of the integral plans of the state government and all the participants that underwent the training had said it was a life-changing experience.
“A second batch of the training will commence soon and other young people that heard about the training had been registering for it. This will develop the human resources of the state. It is meant to teach the people how to fish and not to give them fish,” he said.

Dr. Ajayi, the Programme Director of the CBN-EDC Southwest, commended the state for being enterprising and for being the first state in Southwest to sponsor individuals and create avenue for the training since its commencement in March last year.
Dr. Ajayi further said that of the 135 people that had undergone the training, 125 had submitted their business plans; hence, the State Micro-Credit Agency will start interacting with them henceforth.
He urged the participants not to waste the money they would receive for their businesses but to ensure that they create enterprises, employ other people in order to create more jobs.
Contributing, Mr. Babaranti also encouraged the trainees to persevere their ventures, noting that people can only take risks against waste but not uncertainty.
He revealed that the available interventions for funding of businesses included the Microcredit agency: N1, 000 to N1, 000,000; Bank of Industry (BOI) Fund, minimum of N5, 000,000; and commercial banks N10 million to N50 million, all at maximum 9 per cent interest rates. He urged the trainees to engage in businesses they are passionate about.
Mrs. Adebayo said the CBN is leveraging on research that has shown that economies thrive on the MSMEs, hence the CBN’s MSMSE’s development fund, YIEDP, Agric Credit Guarantee Scheme Fund, Financial Inclusion Programme. She added that the apex bank is looking forward to producing Osun rice in lieu of the current importation of rice.
In her remark, Otunba Laoye-Tomori, gave a wakeup call to the youth.

She emphasised that it is not right that artisans from neighbouring countries would be preferred to their Nigerian counterparts.
She said: “This should change and the CBN-EDC is one of the means of putting an end to this aberration. All the graduating trainees are expected to go and start businesses in order to end poverty and enhance employment rate. The era of oil boom is gone and we have to work with our hands.”
She further said that some of the business plans that were presented at the event indicate that things have changed to the better.
“This is not the first time that the CBN-EDC Southwest has partnered with the people of Osun State to provide entrepreneurship training and business development services. Seventy-five SMEs were trained through Co-operative groups that organised entrepreneurship training for her members in July this year.”

Governor Rauf Aregbesola of Osun State on Monday opened yet another of his government mega schools in Ede.

Aregbesola who was received by students of Adventists Government High School said at the commissioning that his government is unrelenting in its resolve to change the face of education and produce men and women who can fit and function maximally in the new world order.

The governor, in his speech titled Sound and Unshakeable Legacy, said the mega schools would be the legacies of his administration just as he recalled that prior his coming, schools were caricature of what educational facilities should be.

He said, “What is more important however is that these schools are our legacy signature in education in Osun and will be the imposing monuments of a vision for mass literacy in the state, at a specific time in history.”
The governor said the facilities available in the school are more than enough to stimulate learning adding that his administration would not relent in putting in place the best facilities to develop education.

He said, “This school, a three-in-one, as is our standard, has 72 Classrooms of 49 square-meters, each capable of sitting 49 students. It has six offices for study groups, six laboratories, 18 toilets for young ladies, 18 toilets for young men, a science library, an Arts library, facility manager’s office, bookshop and a sick bay. It also has a bursar’s office, three principals’ office, three general staff office and one senior principal office.

“It has a record store security/reception office. There is a borehole for adequate water supply and a transformer for power supply.

“There is also a 1000 square-meters of floor space Hall capable of siting 1000 students for external examinations. This hall has storage for equipment, utility storage, a stage, office space, storage for documents, four female toilets and four male toilets.”

Saying his government is focused on preparing children for the the future, the Governor said those who would be educated in these new schools are expected to be equipped with what it takes to function maximally in a new world order.

He said, “Our overall vision is to develop the new man intellectually, socially and morally. “This new man is placed in the centre of society who views his own development as part of and for the development of society.

“This is a non-parasitic and non-oppressive man who views his existence in light of the growth of others; he views whatever acquired to be subsumed in the overall interest of other. He is a man in himself and a man for society.

“I made the point at the 25th anniversary of the creation of our state and needs reiterating now. “The investment we are making in education is not for now. We are looking at the next 25 years, where the current pupils would be and what their position would be in an increasingly competitive and digitised world.”

The Deputy Governor who also supervises Education Mrs. Grace Titi Laoye-Tomori, said the 6 year intervention of Aregbesola in education has achieved what she called modest improvements in performance.

She said, “It is pertinent to note that the intervention of Aregbesola administration in the education sector has achieved modest improvements in the performance of students in the WASSCE contrary to the misinformation by the opposition.”

The Commissioner of Police in Osun State, Mr Fimihan Adeoye, has met the people of Kelebe communities, to sensitize them on the necessary moves required to scuttle the plans of the armed robbers who had threatened to strike in the community.

Mr Adeoye, who visited the communities along with the officers in charge of Criminal Investigation Department and the Special Anti-Robbery Squad, the Osogbo Area Commander and the Police Public Relation Officer, assured the people of Kelebe communities of adequate security.
The CP also visited the palace of the traditional ruler of Kelebe, as well as the house of the Chairman of landlord’s association, where he discussed security tips with stakeholders in the communities and told them to always call the Police whenever they notice any suspicious movement.
Furthermore, he advised the traditional ruler and the chairman of the landlords association, to ensure that the bushes in the uncompleted buildings in the communities are cleared so that it would not serve as hideout for criminals.
“I am here today to make it clear to you people that the Police is always ready and alert to attend to all sensitive issues that relate to the security of the people of Osun state‎.
“We are well aware of the tension among the people of Kelebe now, but I want you to know that the Police is ready to ensure that lives are not lost and properties are well secured.
“The Police remain the friend of the people at all times. Please if you observe any suspicious move, just get in touch with the Police and we will get the person arrested.
“We are ever ready to serve you all the time. Your safety is paramount to us,” CP Fimihan emphasised.
While the people of the area commended the Commissioner of Police for his quick intervention, traditional ruler of Kelebe Community complained that the Otaefun Police Division was too far from Kelebe and demanded for a police post at Kelebe community.
A letter supposedly written by armed robbers was circulated in the area, two weeks before the CP’s visit, notifying the residents of the community about a proposed visit by the armed robbers.
The letter stirred up tension in the Kelebe communities as some of the residents had started relocating from the area because of the impending robbery attack.

BY November 26, 2016, we will commence the seventh year of   Rauf Adesoji Aregbesola’s epic contributions as governor of the State of Osun. Hardly any governor in the hIstory of Nigeria has attracted controversy   as this personality known popularly as Ogbeni.
 

 
At least not in the last 17 years that democracy resurfaced in Nigeria has any governor’s actions and perhaps even speeches been prone to such testy public discussions.
 
And rightly so, because he, Aregbesola, did unique (or as he himself styled it, unusual) things that nobody dared to do before him, to the extent that not a few of his critics didn’t quite appreciate.Although most people who are beneficiaries of his programmes kept faith in what Aregbesola did and is capable of doing.
 
Before he was sworn-in as governor on November 26, 2010, lawlessness and insecurity of life and property were existential concerns in Osun.
 
History will not only justify Aregbesola’s ideas and programmes, it will vilify his critics. His mistakes will be acknowledged, but that will not diminish the quality and effect of his actions and service delivery.
It was in this atmosphere of near anarchy that he introduced his unusual programmes and rebranding of the state.All hell broke loose, and the opposition also ‘rebranded’ him – so-to-speak – as an anarchist!
 
However, the ‘confusion’ that people,     (especially his PDP opponents) who he defeated in the 2007 election accused him of introducing into governance, has become the catalyst for unprecedented transformation in the state of Osun today.
 
What Osun is now, in contrast to what it had been all of 19 years before the advent of Aregbesola’s administration, is the difference that Aregbesola himself engineered.   And what the future will become based on what the present is, shall in effect be the hIstorical perspective from which Ogbeni Rauf Aregbesola would be holistically assessed.
 
 
A post truth world
 
That is the context in which Ogbeni Aregbesola will be presented in the future that will tell the story of today.It would not matter that TRUTH flew out the window of today’s reality. We are currently living in a post TRUTH world – in a time of collapse before the new spiritual era.
 
So, people like Ogbeni Aregbesola may not place rationally in the warped reality that untruth has created.That is the world in which PDP critics of Aregbesola,   and those who back them operate and exist.
 
The simple way to recognise them is to listen to those critics in Osun who think that Aregbesola is the worst thing that ever happened to the state.They are the scoffers.
 
The discussion however, is not about these traducers,   it is about the relevance and significance   of the Ogbeni Aregbesola’s appearance in the state of Osun’s history.
 
As a journalist (a ‘historian in a hurry’), and a lawyer, I owe my profession a duty to be on the side of truth.And if the truth be told, Rauf Aregbesola is the best thing, politically, socially, economically, and in terms of security, that Osun has ever known in its 25 years as a state in Nigeria.
 
You, my dear readers, don’t have to believe me. To authenticate this assertion, you have to spend some time to investigate by coming to Osun to see things practically yourself and talk to people.That’s only when you will access the truth.
 
Mankind is moving away from TRUTH. Lies or deceit or disinformation is the major news, because the negatively disposed make the headline news.That is why the enticing news you can read or hear or   watch about Rauf Aregbesola in Osun is negative, salacious and horribly untruthful ones about the man.It is the nature of our collapsing world.
 
However, there are certain questions that should be answered; and we demand the right answers for them:- If Aregbesola’s ideas and programmes were as horrible as the opposition would suggest -; Why would the British Parliament ask him to come explain how he was managing the school feeding programme? Why would the Federal statistical record place primary school enrolment in Osun as the highest in Nigeria, if Aregbesola’s education policies were wrong? Why would the Nigerian Bureau of Statistics have confirmed that Osun is the the best governed state in the country as it relates to human capital development index, poverty index, unemployment index and environmental cleanliness?
Why would the Director of the Central Bank of Nigeria in the state of Osun defy protocol to give credit to Aregbesola’s policies that re-ignited economic activities in Osun like it had not been seen before? Why did acknowledgement come from a Police Chief that Osun is the best secured state in the country? These are just few questions that will lead you to a whole host of investigations that will produce results different from what Aregbesola’s critics had been propagating.
 
Aregbesola has significantly convinced the people of Osun the his revolutionary agenda for CHANGE is producing not just prosperity but a new Osun that can compete and excel in economic, social and human capital development that stand a modern state out of the crowd.
 
We will be a part of that history when we give an account of APC Aregbesola-led government in 2018. The story is still unfolding.
 
Kunle Oyatomi  is the Director of Publicity, Research and Strategy of APC, State of Osun.

Ogun State Governor, Ogbeni Rauf Aregbesola, has reaffirmed his government’s determination to complete all ongoing projects across the state before the expiration of his tenure.
Aregbesola said his administration has been working round the clock to
ensure sustainability of the legacies and impacts made in all aspects of the economy.
 

 
The Osun chief executive gave the assurance in his address at a colloquium titled: ‘Raufnomic’ organised to mark the second year anniversary of his second term in office.

Reflecting on his developmental scorecards since assumption of office, Aregbesola said his administration through innovative thinking, within one hundred days in office, engaged 20,000 youths in public
works, through the universally appraised Osun Youth Empowerment Scheme,
(O’YES).
On education, Aregbesola said his administration has expended billions in the provision of free meals for 262,000 pupils in every school day, noting that the innovation was aimed at revamping agriculture, empowering farmers, cooks and food vendors in a value chain of wealth creation that cascades to, at least, one million homes in Osun.

“Died in beauty, like a rose blown from its parent stem”

– Charles Doyne Sillery.

At last the curtain fell on the exemplary life of the Commandante of The Army of the oppressed and dis-inherited people world-wide. Fidel Alejandro Castro Ruz has passed on after 90 eventful years, 49 of which he held sway as the Prime Minister and later President of Cuba. Indeed, Castro has become a permanent feature of political and ideological discourse for more than five decades, such that we almost thought he would live forever.

The feeling is mixed. Yes mixed! To lose such an inspiring and profound personality is eternally painful but for such a legend to depart at such a ripe age of 90 deserves a huge celebration in a world where average life expectancy hardly surpasses 50 years, but not more than 70 years for men in the most advanced nations on our planet.

On behalf of the Government and people of The State of Osun, and in recognition of the historical and cultural bond between the Cubans and Yoruba in the State of Osun in Nigeria and worldwide, we salute the courage, determination, vision, resilience and revolutionary zeal of Fidel and his companions, the indomitable spirit of Cubans, and Solidarity of all people of the world, committed to human dignity, freedom and happiness.

From the July 26 movement of 1953, the Granma Expedition of November 25,1956, the ultimate victory of the revolution on January 1, 1959 and to his final departure from our realm yesterday night at about 10 pm, November 25, 2016, we  are sure that our Commandante had lived a fulfilled life that history will never forget.

Millions of people – students, academics, poets, politicians, trade unionists, artisans, revolutionary cadres and humanists – including my humble self, drew inspiration from him, his rhetorics, writings, reflections,dedication, integrity and commitment to building socialism.There is no doubt that the world is a better place because of him, consequently a gem has been lost indeed.

He was a symbol of resistance to injustice and oppression as all the oppressed people of the world drew inspiration from him. He holds the unenviable record of the man who has had the most assassination attempts on his life, with none succeeding. He stood for what he believed in and not for once did he flinch in the face of the most formidable military encirclement and daunting economic and financial strangulation. Ironically, the man that the greatest powers on earth could not break, finally succumbed to illness and ultimately the cold hands of death, in the way of all mortals.

As Africans we remember the solidarity, partnerships, high level of discipline and sense of DUTY of the Cubans to the  liberation struggles, health care delivery, education, sports and youth development and political consciousness in Africa under the leadership and direction of Fidel and his administration. Although Castro’s Cuba is a nation with modest means but she has a gargantuan spirit of internationalism, support and assistance to the poor and exploited peoples and nations of the world. We proudly acknowledge the heroism of Cuba in this unparalleled show of Solidarity and Humanism.
Nevertheless, even in death, Castro has joined the pantheons of immortals whose ideas and praxis dominated and influenced their world and will therefore live forever in the hearts  of people, in literature and politics and in the physical monuments that will be named after him all over the world. Millions will carry on the struggle, where he left.

Fidel Castro has been rightly described by The Guardian of London as a ‘revolutionary icon’. It is expected that well deserved encomiums and heartfelt tributes will pour in for a life of struggle, Spartan discipline, selflessness and sacrifice that he lived.
As we mourn and celebrate the passage of this international revolutionary legend, hero of the oppressed, fighter of oppression and exploitation, promoter of social justice, soldier and Commandante of ideas, we join the people of Cuba in their national grief and urge them to renew and redouble their commitment and duty to the struggle and ultimate victory of socialism.

Humans, and indeed groups and societies, will always be governed by interests, which in the final analysis, can only be two: good and evil, social and personal. Fidel made his choice and staked all he got for the common good. Those on the other dark side can say all the vile words against him and his legacies, but the helpless wretched of the earth who bear the brunt of the exploitation and oppression, can revamp their courage for struggle against inhumanity and injustice by replying them in Fidel’s own words: “despots are the masters of the people they oppress but slaves of the forces that sustain their oppression. I do not know what pleasure an oppressor finds in using a whip against the human back but I know that there is infinite pleasure in fighting against oppression, in raising a strong arm and saying ‘I do not want to be a slave.’”

Fidel Castro has completed his earthly assignment but the ideas for which he struggled, defended, sacrificed, lived and died like his other immortal colleagues, will live forever.

Long Live Cuba !
Long live the revolution !!
Till  Everlasting Victory !!!

Ogbeni Rauf Aregbesola
Governor, State of Osun.

Power is responsibility.

The Governor of the State of Osun, Ogbeni Rauf Aregbesola has been commended for his determined effort towards achieving his vision and developmental agenda that will make the state self- sufficient and
to better the lot of the citizenry.
 

This commendation was contained in a congratulatory message marking Mr. Governor’s 2nd Year Anniversary of the second term by the Coordinating Director, Ministry of Information, Home Affairs, Tourism and Culture, Mrs Femi Webster- Esho.

According to her, developmental programmes of Ogbeni Aregbesola have taken the state a step ahead and a paradigm shift reflected in the socio-economic and political structure with the Six Point Integral Action Plans of Mr. Governor since the inception of his administration.
The Coordinating Director applauded Mr. Governor as a good manager of human and capital resources particularly at this recession period and the recurring revenue dwindling to the State of Osun and Nigeria as a nation.
While eulogizing the Governor in the area of physical infrastructure, functional education and communal peace among other laudable projects across the state, the Coordinating Director said Governor Aregbesola is a true democrat and highly principled.
Celebrating with Mr. Governor and the All Progressive Congress, the ruling party on the 2nd year anniversary, the
Coordinating Direcor also prayed that the rest of the term will witness many more progress and sustainable development in the state.
Mrs Webster- Esho therefore called on all and sundry in the
state to support the Governor by paying all levies and taxes in his effort to transform Osun to a state where we will all be proud of within the South-West and Nigeria as a whole.