Governor Rauf Aregbesola of Osun has saluted President Muhammadu Buhari and the Armed Forces of Nigeria over the defeat of insurgents in the country.
Aregbesola, while speaking at the 2017 Launch of Armed Forces Remembrance Emblem at the Government House in Osogbo, regretted that the country suffered untold carnage while official corruption also bedeviled the battle against insurgents before the advent of the All Progressives Congress government at the centre.
The Governor donated a sum of N10m in launch of the emblem and also promised to give a brand new bus for the comfort of members of the legions in the state.
Pictures from the well attended event are below
 

From right- Deputy Commandant General and Chairman Nigeria Legion State of Osun, Mr. Alimi Samotu, Governor State of Osun, Ogbeni Rauf Aregbesola, his Deputy, Mrs. Titi Laoye-Tomori, Secretary to the State Government, Alhaji Moshood Adeoti, Representative of the President Customary Court of Appeal, Mr. Soloman Adelu, and Commander Engineer Construction Command Ede (ECC), Brig. Gude Egbudom, at the launching of Emblem for year 2017 Armed Forces Remembrance Day Celebration, at Government House Lawn, Osogbo

Deputy Commandant General and Chairman Nigeria Legion State of Osun, Mr. Alimi Samotu, Decorating Governor State of Osun, Ogbeni Rauf Aregbesola, with Emblem in Commemoration of the Launching of Emblem
for Year 2017 Armed Forces Remembrance Day Celebrations, his Deputy, Mrs. Titi Laoye-Tomori (2nd left), and Secretary to the State Government, Alhaji Moshood Adeoti (left), at the Government House Lawn, Osogbo

From right- Deputy Commandant General and Chairman Nigeria Legion State of Osun, Mr. Alimi Samotu, Governor State of Osun, Ogbeni Rauf Aregbesola, his Deputy, Mrs. Titi Laoye-Tomori, Secretary to the State Government, Alhaji Moshood Adeoti, Representative of the President Customary Court of Appeal, Mr. Soloman Adelu, and Commander Engineer Construction Command Ede (ECC), Brig. Gude Egbudom, at the launching of Emblem for year 2017 Armed Forces Remembrance Day Celebration, at Government House Lawn, Osogbo.
 

The Government of Osun has described as complete falsehood, claims by the father of the Baby of the Year for 2017, Mr. Kajogbola Olasunkanmi that his family was cheated by the management of the State Specialist Hospital, Asubiaro, Osogbo, the state capital, where his wife was delivered of the state’s first baby of the year.
 

 
The government said it was embarrassed by media reports which quoted Mr. Olasunkanmi as saying that only a part of the gifts for the baby were presented to his family.
The government, through the Bureau of Communication and Strategy, said immediately the media reports emerged, Governor Rauf Aregbesola ordered an immediate investigation into the claims, adding that the mother of the baby of the year, Mrs. Olasunkanmi, debunked her husband’s claims when asked to confirm the claims.
“It has become imperative to make this clarification in view of the negative impressions generated by the claims of Mr. Olasunkanmi, the father of the baby of the year.
After the embarrassing media reports which accused the management of the hospital of shortchanging the family by not presenting all the gifts for the baby of the year, the Governor ordered a full scale investigation.
“To our chagrin, the mother of the baby of the year said her husband lied with his claims adding that the envelope containing the cash gift from the Wife of the Governor of Osun, Alhaja Sherifat Aregbesola, was sealed and intact when it was delivered to her.
“She further explained that the money from the representatives of the Lions Club, which was also delivered was meant for all the women who were delivered of babies that day and that each of them got her share of the gift.
“In the course of the interview, Mrs Kemisola Olasunkanmi expressed regrets while lamenting that she did not know what came over her husband to warrant such dubious and false claims,” the Bureau statement noted.
 
The Bureau, in its statement signed by the Director, Mr. Semiu Okanlawon, therefore urged those who had been misinformed by the misleading allegation to disregard it in its entirety.

According to Uhuru Times, the foundation of Uhuru Times vision rests on late Chief Obafemi Awolowo’s political philosophy about the place of man in the society, and how those in positions of leadership ought to behave while in office.
 

 
Of the five Governors picked as possible winner of the ‘Man of the year 2016’ only Osun State’s Ogbeni Rauf Aregbesola and Lagos State’s Mr. Akinwunmi Ambode met our standards. “We do not intend to curse the darkness Nigeria has found itself in.
 
To borrow the words of Moral Rearmament, a group that was active in Nigeria in the 1980s, ours is to light a candle in the prevailing darkness, and hope that by doing so, others will follow suit in their respective areas of competence.
 
It is the Governors we beamed our searchlight on, being possible agents of change in a system, where almost everything depend on Government. In their respective states, these Governors literally hold the power of life and death over residents of their respective states.” Uhuru Times team explained.
 
“For Uhuru Times, four issues are important in a society like Nigeria, where life expectancy still remain very low due to a nonchalant attitude by political leaders to the real needs of the people.
 
These are; Education, Healthcare Services (preventive and curative), Gainful Employment and Infrastructural development.
 
Uhuru Times through its analysis had proven the critics of Governor Rauf Aregbesola wrong. Most especially those who think running an expensive government determines the success of an administration.
 
Congratulations to the Peoples Governor, Ogbeni Rauf Aregbesola as Uhuru Times ‘Man of the Year’ 2016.

Prime FC of Osogbo has been renamed Osun United FC by the state government announced on Friday. This, the government said in a statement made available to newsmen in Osogbo by the club’s Media Manager, Tunde Shamsudeen, is to give the club a state identity.
It will be recalled that the club changed owners in Dec. 2012, from the Osogbo Local Government to the State of Osun.
 

 
The statement partly reads: “The National League side — Prime Football Club — has officially been renamed Osun United FC by their owners, the State Government of Osun. Former Nigeria Football Federation Secretary General, Chief Taiwo Ogunjobi, keeps his position as the Chairman of the club alongside other board members.
“The team will now wear a new and refreshing state colour jersey designed by official kit supplier of the team and the leading kit manufacturers in Nigeria — OWU Sportswear Venture.’’
Speaking on the development, the club`s Chairman, Ogunjobi, said the change was approved by Gov. Rauf Adegbesola, to create “community identity and supporters’ followership.”

Governor Rauf Aregbesola of Osun on Thursday saluted President Muhammadu Buhari and the Armed Forces of Nigeria over the defeat of insurgents in the country.
 

 
Aregbesola, while speaking at the 2017 Launch of Armed Forces Remembrance Emblem at the Government House in Osogbo, regretted that the country suffered untold carnage while official corruption also bedeviled the battle against insurgents before the advent of the All Progressives Congress government at the centre.
 
The Governor donated a sum of N10m in launch of the emblem and also promised to give a brand new bus for the comfort of members of the legions in the state.
 
While recalling what Nigeria went through while the Boko Haram held sway, Aregbesola said it was pathetic that the NorthEastern part of Nigeria came under Boko Haram with the most horrendous cases of killings, maiming and intimidations.
 
He said, “We have received good news of the routing of the insurgents at Sambisa forest and the destruction of their base by the Nigerian armed forces. Our soldiers, airmen and women and the officers of the various security agencies involved in this campaign have performed admirably, gallantly and heroically in the defence of our territorial integrity and pride as a nation and people.
 
“To be able to appreciate this, we must remember that large swaths of Borno, Yobe and Adamawa States were seized by insurgents and their satanic flag firmly planted on these territories, with their macabre style of administration established therein. “Thousands of our dear citizens have been killed, hundreds of thousands displaced while property, running into billions, including farms and animals destroyed. All social and economic activities were paralysed.
 
Beyond these states, these criminals make daring raids and carry out murderous operation in many parts of the North, leaving behind a trail of blood, sorrow and destruction.”
Saluting the courage of the fallen heroes, Aregbesola said they have laid down their lives.
 
He also recalled how certain political leaders and their military collaborators fleeced the country of funds meant for the prosecution of the battle against Boko Haram.
 
“We have seen to our national shame and embarrassment how funds meant for procuring arms and ammunition for soldiers were shared by politicians of the last regime and their collaborating leadership in the armed forces.
 
Their actions, cruel, inhuman and ungodly, put our soldiers in harm’s way and exacted unnecessary casualties from our armed forces. But these courageous soldiers held the fort, fought bravely, and under a new godly and committed leadership, they have been able to defend the territorial integrity of our fatherland. I commend their patriotism and resilience. We must glorify God for His abiding grace, commend President Muhammadu Buhari, salute the officers and men of the Nigerian Armed forces, the various security organisations, members of the civilian joint task force, long suffering and traumatized people in the affected areas who bore the pains and bitterness of the insurgency with unbelievable resilience and maturity and governments and people of the north-eastern region of Nigeria,” he said.
 
Aregbesola said President Buhari’s diplomatic shuttles shortly after assuming office in 2015 paid off adding that the requests for cooperation by the neighboring countries by Buhari showed a huge understanding of what the problem of insurgency required.
 
“For that efforts, it was clear that with time, we would rid our land of criminals,” he said.
Earlier in his welcome address Deputy Commandant GeneraI and chairman Nigerian Legion state of Osun
 
Commander Alimi Isamotu, expressed appreciation to the Governor for numerous assistance to the legion and the provision of uniform for the Commander.
 
The event was attended by members of the legions, top government functionaries and traditional rulers.

Nigeria’s is a young democracy by any standard. The institutions that serve to nurture and protect due process in a participatory system of government, which ours was designed to be, are very weak, not non-existent. The presidential system of government we run has the Judiciary, Legislature and Executive as its branches. The Mass Media, aptly described as the Fourth Estate of the Realm, is expected to perform oversight functions on our three arms of government.
 

 
Recent developments since the advent of President Muhammadu Buhari’s Administration have provided irrefutable evidence that the Judiciary is not what it was meant to be. Corruption at its highest echelon has rendered it prostrate to a very large extent. The Legislature at the national level has been established since 1999 to be a haven of persons, who ordinarily should not hold political offices. At the state levels, legislators are more or less glorified errand boys of their respective Governors. They hardly query anything done by the Executive in the manner expected of them by the 1999 Constitution, which they took an oath to uphold. Local Government Councillors are worse.
 
The Presidency is not better. Official instruments of governance are regularly deployed for personal reasons. Excerpts from a book by the Awujale of Ijebuland, Oba Sikiru Kayode Adetona, detailed as much about former President Olusegun Obasanjo’s serial abuse of power. Buhari’s is not different despite claims about an anti-corruption war. Petitions and claims against persons serving in close proximity of Mr. President have either being ignored or treated shabbily. Almost all the 36 state Governors control their legislators in a manner suggestive of dictatorship.
 
We do not intend to curse the darkness Nigeria has found itself in. To borrow the words of Moral Rearmament, a group that was active in Nigeria in the 1980s, ours is to light a candle in the prevailing darkness, and hope that by doing so, others will follow suit in their respective areas of competence. It is the Governors we beamed our searchlight on, being possible agents of change in a system, where almost everything depend on Government. In their respective states, these Governors literally hold the power of life and death over residents of their respective states.
 
For us, four issues are important in a society like Nigeria, where life expectancy still remain very low due to a nonchalant attitude by political leaders to the real needs of the people. These are,

1.   Education – accessible and affordable, especially for the downtrodden aged between 5 – 18 years.
2.  Healthcare services (preventive and curative) – As above.
3.  Gainful employment – For persons aged 25 – 35 years.
4.  Infrastructural development – Especially rural roads and potable water.

 
The foundation of Uhuru Times vision rests on late Chief Obafemi Awolowo’s political philosophy about the place of man in the society, and how those in positions of leadership ought to behave while in office. Of the five Governors picked as possible winner of the ‘Man of the year 2016’ only Osun State’s Ogbeni Rauf Aregbesola and Lagos State’s Mr. Akinwunmi Ambode met our standards.
In Lagos State, urban renewal has continued since Ambode got into office, especially in the area of roads, street lighting and the like. But potable water remains a problem, not just in the rural areas, where we are most concerned about, but in the urban centres as well. There have been no significant new ideas about education and schools for the ages we considered. It is the same for Healthcare services in the rural areas. But roads in the rural parts of Lagos East (Epe and Ikorodu) along with the same sections in Lagos West (Badagry) have been receiving a well-deserved attention from Ambode, unlike when Babatunde Raji Fashola was Governor.
Ambode scored an A+ in his initiatives against unemployment, as he realised early enough that employing people into the civil service is not a solution. Of course, Lagos State continues to employ people into its civil service. But efforts to boost the presence of small, medium and large-scale private sector businesses in the state is a welcome departure from that of the immediate past administration in the state. A Fund created for young entrepreneurs and the self-employed is noble in all respects.
But, in our estimation, Ambode, lost the first position to Aregbesola given the amount of financial resources available to both state Governors and the amount of projects done thus far. Of course, Ambode’s administration is young. But an Osun State with the same Internally Generated Revenue (IGR) and Federal Allocation as Lagos State in the hands of Aregbesola would have moved beyond where it is today.
 
 
Education:
For the ages considered, education is not only free in Osun State, a deliberate effort is being made to encourage enrolment into public schools through free feeding for Elementary School pupils along with free uniforms. This is a big boost for poor parents in this rural state, who would have, due to economic reasons, stopped their children from going to school.
 
 
Records show that the free school feeding programme now takes care of 252,000 pupils daily throughout the state. Caterers, who provide the food number 3,007 and are community based. Since the food consumed is sourced locally, farmers, traders and others involved in the supply chain should in time boost the local economy with agriculture being encouraged to develop substantially.
 
 
It is also certain that these children will eat a balanced diet once a day, being mainly from poor backgrounds, where it is often a luxury. This balanced diet should positively affect their health, thus reducing incidence of sickness caused by malnutrition. Above all, parents gain more no matter the number of children they have as they will spend less in sending their wards to school.
 
 
We are also aware that no fewer than 100 newly built schools with modern facilities are currently in operation across Osun State. A conducive environment for learning will not only encourage students, teachers and administrators are also beneficiaries. We must not forget the stand alone electronic learning tablet; Tablet Of Knowledge (Opon Imo ), given to 50,000 final year public High School Students, in the state. Besides the ease of learning, it also exposes the students to modern technology; a veritable tool for integration into 21st century life.
 
Healthcare services:
For majority of the ages considered, a preventive approach has already been adopted through the free school feeding programme. Availability of a balanced diet taken at the right time by young people always has a salutary effect on their health. Health Centres across all the local governments in the state are functional.
 
The state has a well-organised grassroots system through which national programmes on health always get to the most rural people, especially in the farm settlements that border Ogun and Ondo states. A preference for Yoruba language in promoting public health issues may have also assisted tremendously to ensure that important programmes take root in the rural areas.
 
Gainful Employment:
Compared with others states, unemployment is very low in Osun State. But Aregbesola’s initiative in this area revolve mainly around Agriculture. The O’YES programme is more of a volunteer scheme than full employment, with allowances being paid. Persons interested in being self-employed through artisanship get trained as well.
 
Infrastructural development:
All the 30 Local Government Areas in Osun State have been touched by Aregbesola in terms of roads. But the Governor’s preference for roads in areas deemed to be ‘inside’ of towns and villages formed one of the major reasons for being picked as ‘Uhuru Times Man of the year 2016’. Most Governors concentrate on urban areas, where media attention is always focussed with the elites, who are major beneficiaries forgetting that majority of the people live in rural areas.
 
It is the same story about potable water. Of course, countless boreholes have been sunk and many rehabilitated. But Aregbesola has positively intervened in all the waterworks across the Osun State in a deliberate effort to ensure that potable water is available. Ede Waterworks has received quality support. Same goes for the Ilesa water project. Oyan among others with power issues now have generating sets. Rural electrification projects are huge and effective. Environmental sanitation and security are not neglected.
 
Moving forward:

1. Ambode should work on potable water. More than any other causes of diseases, lack of access to quality drinking water is a major challenge in Healthcare Services. Although not perfect, there was water when Fashola was in office. It is even bad that a state surrounded on all sides by water is having drinking water problems.

2. Ambode needs to borrow a leaf from former Lagos State Governor, Alhaji Lateef Kayode Jakande, on how to extend helping hands to neighbouring states. Heavy social burdens will be lifted off the shoulders of Lagos if states in its immediate vicinity get better. Economic migrants will reduce, thus the number of persons pouring into Lagos everyday in search of the Golden Fleece.

3. Aregbesola is in a hurry to develop Osun State, thus his multiple projects. But the financial base of the state is very weak. Dependence on allocations from Abuja is very bad for a state with a visionary Governor like Aregbesola. It should stop. There is an immediate need to set an IGR target at a minimum of five billion naira monthly, beginning from June 2017, if not earlier. Within two years Osun State can enter the league of N10 billion IGR states with the right attitude by those involved. Osun is an agrarian state, with many quietly making money from the farms. The Governor needs to copy the Ogun State model of Senator Ibikunle Amosun and the earlier one of Lagos State. He should improve on same for him to realise that taxes being paid by farmers do not end up in private pockets. Its operations must be computerised.

Governor Rauf Aregbesola-led government of Osun has spent a total of N14.2bn to clear all salary arrears in the state. This was revealed by the governor who made the confirmation saying the amount was paid out by his government in less than two weeks before the end of December 2016. Aregbesola stated this when the State government opened the year with supplications as the Governor led Muslim and Christian faithful at an interdenominational thanksgiving session at the Government Secretariat, Osogbo.
 

 
Aregbesola, who laced his speech with songs of praises to God in Islamic and Christian ways, said with what befell the state before the close of 2015, it was gratifying that the state bounced back in what can now be felt as relief from the hardship of last year. He said the ability of his government to pay workers’ salaries from September, October, November and December in less than a record two week period was a huge relief.
The governor said it was in September 2014 that he had to call on workers to decide whether they wanted a staff reduction or payment of salaries according to available resources when the impact of the economic hardship in the country began to bite harder. He said in July 2015, the new Federal Government which had been sworn in May, 2015, listened to some of the solutions proffered to the national revenue crisis. Aregbesola said when the state got N34.9bn bailout loan in 2015, there were controversies on how to disburse the funds when some people insisted that the whole funds be spent all at once.

“But I knew that with the magnitude of the economic crisis facing Nigeria, it would have been suicidal to expend the whole bailout loan at once without saving a portion of it which eventually bailed us out till around February this year,” Aregbesola said. The governor recalled that this was what made necessary, the constitution of the state’s Revenue Apportionment Committee headed by labour veteran Comrade Hassan Sunmonu which he said made it possible for the state to pay salaries till February of 2016. He said the arrival of the Paris Club deductions refunds which made N11.7bn available to the state has brought some relief noting that the state would however need to intensify its efforts towards self-sustenance. “We are grateful that our hardships are getting over giving us indications that the new year would be better.” he added. The governor while expressing appreciation to workers who showed understanding, appealed to those who have not shown signs of understanding the trends.
He added, “LAUTECH lecturers have insisted they would not cooperate with the government despite their knowledge of the economic conditions we face. We appeal to them to accept our fate at the moment for the sake of the students’ future.” He expressed optimism that by June this year, there are signs that the recession would come to an end. While appealing to all stakeholders to look inward, Aregbesola charged traditional rulers promote agriculture in their respective domain just as he appealed to them to engage in vigorous campaigns for payment of taxes. “We want to engage massively in agriculture. We want to aggressively grow cassava, maize, plantain, rice, soya beans and the existing cocoa which our people are already growing.

It is now clear that those who are looking for free things will wait forever. It’s certain that oil price can no longer return to its old rates and free money won’t come again. If we don’t want to continue to suffer this lack, farming is the only venture we must embark on,” He assured that the government would give financial aides to those interested in farming. The governor also hinted that by 1st of February, this year, his government would enforce the use of the standard measures and scales for all commercial transactions as part of efforts to make commerce attractive in Osun. “Whoever fails to use Osunwon Omoluabi will face the consequences.”
The Head of Service Mr. Sunday Owoeye, in his speech saluted the courage and commitment of the Osun workforce. Owoeye, who said revenue generation should be a major focus of the workers in the new year, said the workers have shown commitment. “I wish to acknowledge the sacrifice and endurance of Public Servants in the State in these trying times we are passing through. We have proved to the whole world our resilience in the face of unanticipated challenges such that when the going gets tough, the tough gets going!

Whenever the history of the State will be written in future and the achievements of this sparkling Aregbesola Administration are enumerated, the indomitable and altruistic spirit with which the Public Servants weather the current storms shall definitely occupy a conspicuous space! “I wish to charge every public servant to continue to support this administration in its drive towards self-sufficiency by being more proactive in revenue generation. The largest room in the world is the room for improvement and the road to success is always under construction ad infinitum!” In his sermon, Dr. Isiaka Lawal of the College of Education Ilesa, advised civil servants to abide by the rules of their engagements noting that leakages of officially classified documents, no matter for what reason, contradicts civil service rules.