Osun State governor, Ogbeni Rauf Aregbesola, has declared that the state has the lowest rate of unemployed people, particularly teeming youths, due to the determination of his administration to banish poverty and unemployment in the state.
Speaking on Wednesday, as a principal guest of honor at the last day of the anniversary of Osun Barbing/Hairdressing and Cosmetology Association (OBAHCA), organized in conjunction with a sociology-volunteer group, ‘De Raufs’, Governor Aregbesola maintained that the micro and small enterprises held the key to economic regeneration of the state.
His words: “For micro and small businesses, the cost of labour is low, while the rate of unemployment growth is high. Besides, micro and small businesses can readily adapt to the dynamism of the time and survive global economic downturn and recession. The development of micro and small businesses forms a core component of our poverty alleviation and economic empowerment strategy. This is part of our six- point integral Action Plan that, among others, seeks to banish poverty, unemployment and hunger. We have designed programmes aimed at unlocking our people’s creativity and genuinely set them on the path of self employment and self reliance.
TRIBUNE

Osun State Deputy Governor Mrs. Titi Laoye-Tomori has urged parents to ensure that their children are not used as thugs in next year’s governorship election.
She spoke at the Freedom Park in Osogbo, the state capital, at a campaign rally for Governor Rauf Aregbesola’s re-election.
The rally was organised by the Osun Barbers/Hairdressers and Cosmetologists’ Association (OBAHCA) in collaboration with the De Raufs group.
Condemning thuggery in politics, Mrs. Laoye-Tomori urged members of the association to always conduct themselves peacefully and reiterated the administration’s commitment to creating jobs.
She urged youths to take full advantage of employment opportunities created by the government in agriculture, culture and tourism.
The deputy governor said: “I urge our people to shine their eyes well during the forthcoming governorship election and vote for Aregbesola. Before this administration came on board, the state was not peaceful and people were living in a brutish. Now, the state is peaceful and residents can sleep with their two eyes closed.
“I encourage you to form cooperative societies, so that you can access government’s loans. I pray that your association will prosper and you will all experience progress individually.”
De Raufs Director-General Worldwide Comrade Amitolu Shittu said the group would continue to support the Aregbesola administration’s policies.
The State President, Mrs. Funmilayo Taiwo, said the group, with its over 5,000 members across the 31 local government areas, would canvass and vote for Aregbesola.
THE NATION

OSUN State government may have concluded plans to create more local councils before the conduct of council election in the state next year.

Governor Rauf Aregbesola gave this indication yesterday during a town hall meeting with indigenes of Iwo, Ayedire and Olaoluwa local councils at Iwo Town Hall.
Responding to questions at the public participatory programme tagged “Gbangba Dekun”, the governor said arrangement had reached top gear to create more councils in readiness for the conduct of election before the 2014 governorship polls.
The state had been unable to hold council election since the defunct Action Congress of Nigeria (ACN) came to power about three years ago due to subsisting litigations initiated by the ousted People’s Democratic Party (PDP).
GUARDIAN

The ancient city of Ile Ife will be agog Monday as the three day celebration of Oranmiyan, arguably the most deified of the whole Yoruba deities, begins.
Oranmiyan is the only Yoruba King that was confirmed to have established other towns, like Oyo and Benin, became their King and later returned to his abode and also became a King before his eventual transformation as denoted in the Oranmiyan Cenotaph.
The Oranmiyan Cenotaph is a renowned tourist center that has drawn million of visitors to Ile-Ife and has continued to do same. Oranmiyan is a religion to many in Yoruba land as it is being worshiped while they visit the Cenotaph to pay homage and reverence to the deity.
Speaking ahead of the celebration, Oba Abimbola Akinyele, the Olu of Famia Ife said the celebration is to set the record straight as some people are claiming Oranmiyan as theirs.
Oranmiyan was one of the seven sons of Okanbi, the only child of Oduduwa, the progenitor of the Yoruba.
The legend, Oranmiyan, despite being the grandson of Oduduwa was the pioneer Alaafin of Oyo. He was famed as a strong enigmatic leader who led his people into a path of greatness that lasted several centuries, leaving a heritage that lasts till today.
After establishing Oyo, he left and conquered the Benin people and again founded the Benin Kingdom. After several wars and conquests, Oranmiyan returned to Ife, the cradle of the Yoruba and was the 4th Ooni of Ife.
The festival which has received the approval of the Ooni of Ife, Alaiyeluwa Oba Okunade Sijuwade, will bring all Ife indigenes and the entire Yoruba at home and in diaspora like Brazil, Trinidad and Tobago, Jamaica, Cuba, United States of America together.
Former minister of Agriculture, Engineer Basheer Awoterebo, at a press conference in Ile Ife weekend said different program have been lined to enrich the festival.
According to him, the the platform of the festival which will be used to bring to the fore a unique and binding tradition for the Yoruba people, will future a paper presentation with the theme: What is the name?” to be delivered by a renowned professor of history.
He added that there will be quiz competition, traditional procession, and vacant space for traders to display their wares as well as homage would be pay to the Imperial Majesty Oba Okunade Sijuade.
VANGUARD

Governor Rauf Aregbesola of the state of Osun on Wednesday received about 20 investors from the United States of America (USA) looking for investment opportunities and partnership in Osogbo, the state capital.
Aregbesola, who maintained that the government is committed to providing huge human and material resources to enable a business friendly environment, noted that the move is aimed at improving the socioeconomic value of the state.
The visitors took advantage of the ongoing Osun Trade, Investment and Culture Conference to make their intentions known to the governor.
The governor had visited the USA earlier in the year to deliberate on ways of creating an opportunity for the government to market its investment opportunities.
The major areas of the investment include culture and tourism, agriculture, solid mineral and information technology.
At the end of this conference, the foreign investors are expected to hold business meetings with local industrialists and also sign pacts with the state government, all in an effort to improve the economy of the state.
CHANNELSTV

Gbongan-Odeyinka-Orile-Owu-Ajegunle

“Things alter for the worse spontaneously, if they be not altered for the better designedly.” – Francis Bacon

This simply means that if we don’t choose to change things for the better, they will naturally tend to get worse. Thus a stitch in time will save 9 and that is the summary of the vision that we see at work in the State of Osun and do take this moment to applaud the NEW DAWN.
Every investment in the physical and social infrastructure is an advance for sustainable development. This is why serious governments at every stage of economic history find the money to put into infrastructural development.The key here is the deferment of immediate gratification which is essential. For this reason it is very commendable that the state of Osun with its paltry allocation from the centre can invest so much in infrastructure particularly roads.
The multiplier effect entailed in Aregbesola’s road building program is clear. For example, there is not much sense in trying to modernize the food production chain without a concomitant increase in infrastructural upgrade. Without roads in good shape agricultural development will continue to stagnate, even regress. Good roads will facilitate an increase for example in production. Instinctively no farmer is going to increase production without insurance of timely produce evacuation among many other reasons and benefits.
Osun of course is now a massive road construction site. With a proven engineer who was once an acclaimed infrastructure czar in Lagos state at the helm of affairs this is not too surprising. What is nevertheless welcome is the sheer determination, the gusto with which this is being done? The current investment in the roads network will also facilitate and also increase the interest shown by both local and foreign investors. Like the farm sector, the investor needs a good road network. This will of course help with his own input and output. Raw materials for example have to be moved in from the rail line by road. Subsequently the finished product becomes more competitive in pricing due to the availability of a good network of roads.
The government’s grit and focus in the area of road development is worthy of commendation. More than any other factor it is preparing Osun for the next decisive phase. This is that of real, sustainable development takes off. Like every other purposeful movement, this is not about the election but about advancing the infrastructure of the state to help the prospects of another generation.
A lot has been said by the People, the Press, the Critics and even the Government about the urban renewal exercise ongoing in the State of Osun;  day by day we become more convinced that the people will appreciate this investment better when the ruins become a beautiful story…a worthy scenery. The Osun of our dreams.
OSUN A DARA!
 

Obafemi Awolowo University (OAU), Ile-Ife, Osun State, has been rated the best university in Nigeria and the eighth in Africa in the latest webometric ranking.
This was contained in the university’s news bulletin issued on Tuesday, quoting the new Webometric rating by Cybermetric Lab of Spain, a world-renowned research council.
The publication stated that the council rated OAU higher on the ladder from number 14 to eight in Africa.
It also confirmed the university’s academic excellence and intellectual supremacy, saying this was the first time that a Nigerian university would be so ranked consecutively.
“This is a development that academic analysts and managements of universities in Africa have hailed as a monumental leap for educational advancement in Nigeria,” it stated.
Reacting, the institution’s Vice-Chancellor, Professor Bamitale Omole, attributed the giant strides recorded by his administration to unparalleled research output, administrative acumen as well as the technical competence of the staff .
Omole added that only a focused leadership, the hallmark of his management team , could produce such a feat.
He commended the dedication to duty of all stakeholders in making sure that the ideas of the founding fathers of the university became a reality.
The vice-chancellor urged the Federal Government not to relent in its efforts to improve on the funding of education.
Omole said adequate funding would ensure that “the increased penchant for travelling abroad to undergo academic programmes that could be taught better by our lecturers here in Nigeria would be a thing of the past.’’
TRIBUNE

It is an unarguable fact that governance is all about service delivery to the masses whose thrust serves as the horse upon which those at the helm of affairs ride. The imperative nature of governance further plays out in a democratic system where emphasis is laid on “governance of the people, by the people and for the people”; this implies that for governance devoid of corruptibility to thrive, the masses who are determinants of who rule them must have a proper knowledge of their representatives and what is expected of them. Do you know who represents your constituency? Do you know what they do? Do you have any ideas for them? Is there something you prefer they rather focus on in your community? Then this is a piece you need to read to the very end because we know how to get you to them.
When the need for a new website came to us, we knew one thing: it had to be different from the pack; it had to make an impact. There was a need to solve a problem, to bridge a gap and to improve on anything that was on ground; and in achieving this, the feature through which everyone could reach out to their individual constituency representative became A-MUST-INCLUDE; and we are glad and proud that we DID IT!
Many times we have the right idea and need to know who can implement them and also make them really happen; this tool avails you that immediate opportunity. There is usually a need to applaud an initiative we just saw in our little community corner because we are so impressed by the speed of work and we want the Local Government representatives to know this and encourage them to do more, this tool has also made this very possible for everyone. The need to be carried along on the happenings in the State of Osun or in a Local Government Area of interest has birthed the call for accountability; and to this we present to you, the men and women who are accountable for our votes and ask you to reach  them, to know them and to applaud them.
Ogbeni Rauf Aregbesola, the Executive Governor of the State of Osun has always been a forerunner and a great advocate for Good Governance and Accountability and this is totally applaudable. Another first by any website in Nigeria will continue to bring the Government of the State of Osun closer and closer to the people who put us there.
Visit the website today – www.osun.gov.ng and KNOW YOUR REPRESENTATIVES. It is time to STAND UP AND BE COUNTED for offering a hand and being part of the great future we are building today for the State of Osun. Reach out to know more and to let your opinion be known. This feature is found on the Homepage of the website and each representative is just an email or phone call away from you. Use the tool with every form of maturity and relevance. You eing a part of our initiatives means a lot to us.
Thank you.

GOVERNOR Rauf Aregbesola of Osun State Tuesday reiterated the commitment of his administration to provide the enabling environment to enhance rapid economic development of the state.
He gave the assurance while declaring open a one-week trade, investment and culture conference at the Centre for Black Culture and International Understanding (CBCIU), Osogbo, the sate capital.
The one-week conference attracted potential investors from the United States, the African and Caribbean Business Council (ACBC) of Philadelphia, the Christian Evangelical Economic Development, Inc. (CEED) of Pittsburgh, the WURA Arts Services & Productions, LLC (WURA) of New York City and others from Nigeria.
Addressing participants at the event, Aregbesola said the state government placed top priority on culture and tourism, agriculture, information technology, and solid minerals to drive the investment portfolio.
GUARDIAN