No matter your disposition to art, a visit to the Nike art gallery and dye pits in Osogbo is bound to be a breathtaking experience.
We took time to observe the beautiful process of tie and dye making. The amount of concentration, focus and creativity that goes into this craft is simply just amazing.
Every bit of detail is taken into consideration to produce what is an astonishing end product.
see photos below

 

 

WHEN Engineer Abdul Rauf Adesoji Aregbesola stormed Osun State to contest for the most exalted political position at the state level- governorship- most skeptics saw him as a jester.
But within a short period of time, the Ibadan Polytechnic-trained Engineer through his political group- “Oranmiyan”- unleashed on the state the greatest political machinery which held the PDP controlled government by the jugular until it wrestled power from it.
During his vociferous electioneering campaign, the Oranmiyan himself did not mince words on his desire to rescue the hapless citizens of Osun state from the firm grip of the then PDP led government’s misrule.
The election which was keenly contested was not without malpractices orchestrated by the incumbent government but Aregbesola being a firm believer in the rule of law and the supremacy of the judiciary to be fair and just headed to the court with a view to getting his mandate.
After several months of legal fireworks, the Court of Appeal, finally declared Ogbeni Rauf Aregbesola as the duly elected Governor having scored the highest number of lawful votes in the election.
Moments after his historic swearing in ceremony, the Governor soon settled down to a rigorous work and like a man with the Midas touch, all the hitherto moribund sectors in the State started experiencing positive turnarounds.
It would be placed on record that for the first time in the history of educational development in Nigeria, Ogbeni Rauf Adesoji Aregbesola started the distribution of school uniforms and sandals to students.

As if this is not enough, he also commenced the ‘O’ meal’ scheme in which free nutritional food were distributed to the pupils and students across the length and breadth of the state. And having seen the resultant effect of this laudable programme on the education development in Osun state, the federal government of Nigeria has now embraced and adopted it and it was dubbed the “Homegrown School Feeding” programme.

With this giant stride achievement, people were of the view that Ogbeni Aregbesola has reached his zenith but to Ijesa born governor, the only reward for success is continuous hard work.
It is against this background that the Osun State government under Ogbeni leadership came out with another master stroke and consequently launched the “Opon Imo” educational scheme where in the students were provided with computer tablet with all subjects there in.

Thus, the traditional scenes in which the students move about with lorry loads of text books has become a thing of the past and the wear and tear resultant effect associated with such practices have been completely eliminated.
With ‘Opon imo’ at the students’ possession, all what the students need to do is to click on any subjects he or she desires to read, and pronto, they are there in front of him.
As a good manager of resources who is in tune with the challenges associated with the use of electronic gadget in a country that is bedeviled with epileptic power supply like Nigeria, Ogbeni Rauf Aregbesola ensured that the revolutionary ‘Opon Imo’ tablet is solar powered with a view to ensuring that the students in the state make use of it optimally.
Thus when the initiative was finally launched in Iloko-Ijesha, it wasn’t without the usual pomp and pageantry which made eminent Nigerians from all walks of life and prominent political functionaries including the then Speaker of the Federal House of Representatives, now Governor of Sokoto state, Aminu Tambuwal, former Vice President Atiku Abubakar, APC leader, Chief Bisi Akande, APC National Leader, Senator Ahmed Bola Tinubu, Oyo State Governor, Abiola Ajimobi, Senator Rashidi Adewolu Ladoja who was represented by Chief Segun Oyewole among other dignitaries to identify with such a groundbreaking achievement.
The neglect which the public education experienced under the previous governments in the state which has culminated into the dilapidated structures unfit for animals not to talk of humans and couple with the non-incentives for the teachers resulting into low productive output has led to a drastic reduction of pupil’s enrollment into the state’s public schools.
But in spite of the poor finances currently facing all tiers of governments in Nigeria, Ogbeni Aregbesola, the people’s man refused to be undaunted, instead, he resulted into self sacrifice cutting off the usual office paraphernalia just to ensure that dividends of democracy are delivered to his people.
This executive paraphernalia denial by Ogbeni as his fondly called by his teeming supporters was stemmed from his belief that “education is the best legacy, it kills the blight of illiteracy and ignorant”.
Contrary to the sordid and sorry state of education which Aregbesola met when he was sworn in as the state governor, he has, however, turned the ‘hands of clock around’ by providing a conducive learning environment for pupils in the state of Osun through the erection of ultramodern structures stuffed with up-to-date instructional materials likened to the ones used in the advance countries of the world.

The new school which is three-in-one is comprised of;
1. The Elementary schools: It ccommodating Primary 1-4 pupils with a student population of 900.
2. The Middle Schools: It houses Primary 5, 6-Junior Secondary School (JSS) 1-3 pupils with 1,500 students capacity.

3. The High School: It is meant for Senior Secondary School (SSS) 1-3 with students population of 3,000. The High Schools, sharing a modern hall of 1,000 sitting capacity for examinations, and other purposes, as well as sports facilities and well equipped  laboratories.
Mega Icon Magazine further checks revealed that Governor Aregbesola has built over sixty (60) new schools and renovated forty (40) which are spread and visible across the state.

At this juncture, it is obvious that the Aregbesola led-administration has fulfilled its promise made when its convened an education summit for the state chaired by an icon of literature knowledge in Africa, Professor Wole Soyinka who incidentally is the first black Africa’s first Literature Nobel Laureate.
The summit had four elements for the transformation of the state’s public schools, they include: feeding and health programme, reclassification of the schools into elementary, middle and high schools, infrastructural development, the provision of digital technology to drive education which the state dubbed “Opon-Imo”, which literarily means ‘the tablet of knowledge’ for all students.
State of Osun is now a tourist centre that has continued to attract tourists and “doubting Thomas” due to the world class school facilities provided by Ogbeni Rauf Aregbesola.
Presently, his administration has intensified efforts towards increasing capacity building through training and retraining of teachers and exposure to digital teaching techniques.

Following series of appeals by students who are still interested in writing the entrance examination into the four new
government high schools across the state, the Omoluabi Education Services has agreed to conduct another round of examination into grade 10 and 11 of the schools.

 

 
According to a statement signed by the Permanent Secretary, Ministry of Education, Science and Technology, Mr Festus Olajide, the interested students are to obtain the entrance examination forms free of charge from their school of choice.

The Permanent Secretary therefore enjoined the students to fill and return the forms to the schools adding that the date of the examination will be announced later.
The statement also revealed that, the Government High Schools are tuition free.

Secretary to the Osun State Government, Alhaji Moshood Adeoti, has canvassed for change of attitude by the Nigerian youths, saying that they need to embrace legal and morally acceptable ways and means of attaining self sustainability instead of engaging in social vices.
Adeoti said the time has come for the youths to change their orientation of ‘getting rich suddenly’ through social vices, urging them to have a researched oriented mind to discover themselves on the areas they can excel.
The SSG stated this on Thursday while addressing some youths at the Ola-Oni Centre for Research, Osogbo.
Charging the youths to have reorientation and be agents of change, Adeoti said attitudinal change in the youth would strengthen Nigeria’s security, peace and unity.
According to Adeoti, the youths supposed to be the champions on fight against corruption, injustice, social vices and misdemeanor in the public, saying that urging the youths to refrain from anything capable of truncating their future.
Guest lecturer at the event, Prof. Sabitu Olagoke who is the founder/Spiritual Head, Shafaudeen in Islam, called on youths to seek information in the news media and judging its accuracy for their own self benefits.

Olagoke advocated for sustainable development through the efforts of the youths by appropriate capacity building that is driven into vocation and skill acquisition.
He said youths should not allow themselves to be used by political extremists in truncating the existing democratic structure in the country.
The university don, however, called on youths to venture into politics and be active players for them to be involved in the building and restructuring of Nigeria.

Dr Biodun Olaniran, Chairman, LAUTECH chapter of the Academic Staff Union of Universities (ASUU), announced the suspension of the strike in a statement on Wednesday in Ogbomoso.
 

 
ASUU said that the strike was suspended following the union’s congress held on Tuesday at the university.
“After comparing the demands of the union and what the management has met out of the demands, and after extensive deliberations on the struggle so far, the union has resolved to suspend the strike immediately,” Olaniran said.
The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that the institution had been shut since the lecturers went on strike eight months ago.
The union had embarked on the strike over unpaid salaries and allowances, as well as the failure of the owner states of Oyo and Osun to release subventions to the institution.
LAUTECH Vice Chancellor, Prof. Seleiman Gbadegesin, recently told newsmen that the two owner state governments had paid N584 million out of the N7.6 billion they owed the institution.

NAN reports that the owner states had in October 2016 set up a visitation panel in their efforts to find a lasting solution to the crisis.
The panel, headed by Chief Wole Olanipekun (SAN), has submitted its report.

Osun has a fairly large population. According to the 2006 National Population Census, the population of the state is put at 3,423,535. The state is rich in human and material resources
 

 
Historical evidence shows that the Yoruba tradition is one of the earliest and dominant traditions in Nigeria. The people of Osun are predominantly Yoruba. The state is composed of Osun, Ifes, Ijesas and Igbominas. Their language is Yoruba but there are variations in intonation and accent in across the towns and cities.
Commercial activities have brought the people of the state in contact with non-indigenes and foreigners who have adopted the state as their homes owing to the peaceful nature of the people and  prevalent atmosphere.
Osun is culturally rich and this can be seen in all spheres of life such as arts, literature, music and other social activities in the state. Similarly, the state is blessed with a highly literate and articulate populace which makes up a strong and productive workforce
Being an agrarian state, agriculture is largely practised both at commercial and subsistence scales and this attracts people from outside the state.

The Sports Writers Association of Nigeria (SWAN) in Osun, on Wednesday in Osogbo, inducted the Osun House of Assembly Speaker, Mr. Najeem Salaam, as a patron of the association.
 

 
The investiture which took place at the Osun House of Assembly quarters of the speaker was capped with the presentation of a plaque and a medal to the new patron of the Association.
The Chairman of SWAN in Osun, Mr. Adeyemi Aboderin, said the speaker was selected and honoured with the position based on his personality and support towards sports development in the state.
“We want to tap from your wealth of experience, wealth and connection to develop sporting activities and sports journalism in this state.
“Having you as a patron would provide SWAN the needed connection for the development of our association in the state and the county at large,” he said.
In his acceptance speech, Salaam said he was happy to be appointed as a patron of SWAN in the state and pledged to give the association his full support.
“I appreciate the good gesture of choosing me out of so many people to be the patron of your association and I promise not to disappoint you.
“I whole-heartedly accept this position and pledge to look for means of promoting and developing SWAN and sport generally in the state,” he said
Gov. Rauf Aregbesola of Osun was recently inducted as the Grand Patron of Osun SWAN, while the Ooni of Ife, Oba Ogunwusi Adeyeye had been earlier made a royal patron of the association