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.

At a period when most narratives point to ‘The Recession’ as an excuse for the crippling growth/performance across various governments, the story of the State of Osun presents a refreshing perspective as to how, against all odds, concise people-centered development is possible.
 
While it may be easy to heap the blame of this economic downturn on the present leadership in the country, but like all sunsets, Nigeria arrived at this sorry pass, thanks to the mismanagement of our national economy by the immediate past federal administration. Lest we forget, the irredeemably corrupt administration ran Nigeria to the ground. Our national treasury was plundered by cronies, friends and lackeys of government and the ruling party functionaries. Coupled with the massive pillaging of our foreign reserve, one needs no soothsayer to predict our present economic predicament as a nation.
 
While on the topic of mismanaged economies, it goes without saying that critical infrastructure in Osun before the inauguration of the government of Ogbeni Rauf Aregbesola in November 27, 2010, was largely in a comatose. Economic activities had largely slowed down with considerable capital flight and migration of citizens in search of a better life.

 

 
Two options were available, (1) Continue in the traditional cosmetic governance: repaint a few state-owned buildings, patch a few roads here and there, pay salaries of civil-servants, using over 70 per cent of the state’s revenue (civil-servants represent less than one per cent of the 4.2 million Osun resident), or (2) Position Osun towards the path of sustainable economic development by making a case for concerted investments and using creative means to raise fund for critical physical and human infrastructure that will in turn spur private investments and economic growth.
A cross-section of road projects completed by the current Osun administration
Without any gainsaying, building roads, bridges, schools and hospitals among other physical infrastructure, creates jobs, enriches the local economy and gives access to market for farmers (many of whom dwell in the rural areas). If you ever wonder why more outsiders were crying than the ‘bereaved’ when the salary conundrum lasted, it was because majority of Osun people understood why the government aggressively pursued development of critical infrastructure across the state as it did. However, this came at a cost!
Why debt financing for critical infrastructure?
For such a small state in a country with high inflationary environment, high cement prices, currency exchange risks and non-existent steel industry (major components of construction), developing Osun into a 21st Century state became a major challenge, one which the Aregbesola administration tackled very well for posterity’s sake.
To wait for the time when the cost of building a school or of constructing a road to double would have been unforgiveable, not now that a dollar exchanges for N450, compared to then at N150. What option really existed before Ogbeni in 2010 other than to raise funds from the capital market at seven per cent lower than commercial bank interest rate?
Osun opted for a mix of financing options to reduce risks and meet its primary statutory commitment. She followed a responsible borrowing regime by only committing 30 per cent of its revenues to debt servicing, leaving free cash-flow for critical and mandatory expenditure, such as salaries. With this, Osun began an aggressive infrastructure roll out in 2012 before the three-headed tragedy of: (1) Blanket salary increment negotiated by the Federal Government of behalf of states in 2012; (2) 40 per cent crash in statutory allocation due to alleged theft of 400,000 barrel of oil per day in 2013; and (3) 50 per cent crash in the global price of crude oil and subsequent impact on statutory allocation. But for these, the State of Osun would have been just fine.

 

[Osogbo Grammar School Aerial Picture and List and Status of Other High Schools] – Ileowo
 
Other schools completed by the current Osun administration
As we speak, three super highways are under construction. These super highways consist of five bridges with each bridge at 90 per cent completion. Despite this biting recession, construction is ongoing because Osun secured an innovative promissory note purchase facility.

A cross section of road projects in Osogbo, Osun State capital.
Osun’s financial model worked perfectly by creating a pool of funds for infrastructure roll out that can only be utilized strictly for such purpose; due to market regulations of such funding by 2014. Using this financial mix, the administration of Ogbeni Rauf Aregebsola rehabilitated and completed 230 states roads spanning 368km. His administration partnered local governments to deliver 226 council roads across the 30 local governments and the development area with a combined length of 216km.
A cross section of the 300km council roads built across all Local Governments Areas in the state of Osun
Osun in partnership with the World Bank, RAMP 2 programme, also delivered 250 km of rural roads to open up farms in rural areas. The state is on course to deliver the next set of 250 km. It is noteworthy that Osun is one of just six states selected to partake in this programme. In all, the government has so far delivered road infrastructure to the tune of more than 1000 km, opening up our rural enterprises and areas, connecting urban centres and positioning the state as a trade and production hub.
Other construction projects delivered include 20 Elementary Schools and 22 Middle Schools all completed and in use. Many more are still under construction.
 

Baptist Elementary School, Ilare, Ile-Ife
 

Human Capital Development In Osun

Brand news Armoured Personnel Carriers (APC), Hilux Trucks and Ambulances acquired by the Osun state government
Despite its limited resources, the State of Osun has continued to champion delivery of an integral human development agenda. Osun in the last six years has made unprecedented investments in security towards the greater welfare of the people. Twenty five high capacity Armoured Personnel Carriers were deployed, being the largest contribution to the Nigerian Police by a state government at the time of deployment. The state today enjoys a functional 24-hour emergency ambulance services with a fleet of 50 brand new vehicles across the 31 local government areas. This state-wide ambulance service is powered by 408 well-trained and kitted paramedics, who have attended to more than 8,000 cases since inception. This quality of service in concept and implementation is unprecedented in the annals of the state.
 
Osun has also invested concisely in the empowerment of micro, small and medium enterprises (MSME), given the trickle-up impact these make to socio-economic development. The government has so far deployed over N7 billion to 50,000 beneficiaries spread across 4,500 cooperatives and/or businesses targeted at market women, small scale farmers, artisans and physically-challenged individuals. Through its welfare programme for critically poor citizens, the government has supported 16,250 widows and disadvantaged persons.
 
Through the State’s partnership with the World Bank, The Osun Agency for Community and Social Development Project (OSUN CSDP), has reached 1,073,129 beneficiaries in rural communities by committing at least N2 billion to several social developmental projects. The partnership is delivering 356 inclusive, gender sensitive and multi-sectoral micro projects, covering Education, Rural Electrification, Primary Health Care, Transportation, Potable Water provision in 263 communities across the state.

Some of the 253,000 elementary school pupils enjoying their nutritious meal on a school day in the state of Osun
The government’s strategic investment in the critical basic education level has delivered training and re-training for over 21,017 teachers, giving the importance of these to the learning experience. So far, 277 model schools with 1,811 modern classrooms have been built or rehabilitated. The schools are being furnished with 26,922 sets of chair and table. Every school day in Osun, 253,000 elementary school children receive nutritious meals produced largely by local farmers, to boost health and cognitive capability at their formative stage, as well as boost local food production. The Osun School feeding programme is the longest running of its kind in the country.
In six years, Osun has through its basic education agency, invested over N8.5 billion to build capacity, both in human and physical infrastructure. This investment in education is driven by the resolve of the administration to equip the future generation of Osun with the best possible resources regardless of their background, so they can seek a better and prosperous future for themselves and consequently for the State.
 
How Osun continues to thrive
 
As many states became fiscally unstable and shortfall in federally collected revenues continued to challenge salaries payment, the government of President Muhammadu Buhari heeded Osun’s push for interventions by helping her and other states restructure commercial loans into FGN bond with reduced financial cost and freeing of cash-flow in August 2015. The FG also granted a concessionary loan to Osun and many other states to clear backlogs of salaries and to restore treasury and fiscal stability of these states.
 
Table 1: The State of Osun Bailout Loan (as at June 30th, 2015)
DESCRIPTION AMOUNT REQUESTED AMOUNT RELEASED
Salary – Outstanding @ 30th June 2015 24.87B 25.8B
Pension 6.96B –
Gratuity 8.40B –
SUBTOTAL 40.32B 25.8B
Salary paid previously from state treasury Position (Salary Overdraft) 24.00B –
TOTAL 64.32B 25.8B
Table 2: Osun Local Governments Bailout Loan
DESCRIPTION AMOUNT REQUESTED AMOUNT RELEASED
Salary-Outstanding @ 30th June, 2015 9.12B 9.1B
Pension 1.35B –
Gratuity 12.46B –
SUBTOTAL 22.93B 9.1B
Salary paid previously from treasury position (Salary Overdraft) 0.96B –
TOTAL 23.89B 9.1B
 
 
The state government and the labour unions recognized that the current national challenge, resulting from dwindling revenues will continue to affect the payments of critical expenditure of government, which include salaries, wages and pension, after the exhaustion of the bailout funds. The labour unions agreed to accommodate the state government during this economic headwind, while the state government agreed to be transparent and carry the labour unions along.
 
The state government and the labour unions also agreed that whatever is available as net revenues accruing from Federation Accounts and Internally Generated Revenues (IGR) will be apportioned in such a way that will take care of critical expenditure, wages, pension, salaries and other expenditure required to run government. This milestone agreement gave birth to the apportionment of revenue, called modulated salary.
 
From August 2015 till now, the prudent management of concessionary loan (bailout) and its subsequent revenues by the administration of Ogbeni Rauf Aregbesola has ensured salaries are paid and workers keep their jobs, rather than embark on mass retrenchment; an alternate idea other state governments have toyed with.
 
Table 3. Ranking of State Salary Arrears.
State Months Owed No. of Months Owed by Salary Indebted States in the South West Estimated Monthly Wage Bill Estimated Salary Owed
Ondo May – October (2016) 6 3,900,000,000.00 23,400,000,000.00
Ekiti June – October (2016) 5 2,600,000,000.00 13,000,000,000.00
Oyo June – October (2016) 5 5,200,000,000.00 26,000,000,000.00
Osun August – October (2016) 3 2,000,000,000.00 6,000,000,000.00
Lagos Nil 0
Ogun Nil 0
Source: Budgit, Govt Sources
 
The salary regime ensures full salaries are paid to junior cadre in levels 1-7, while their senior counterparts are paid nothing less than 50 per cent or greater, depending on the level of income per month.

Omoluabi Garment Factory, Abere
 
The government’s infrastructure development efforts has already started yielding results as investments and production has been on the rise in Osun: In 2009, the famous International Breweries, Ilesa, known for Trophy brand which serves the South West and beyond, doubled its production capacity to cater for the boost in local economy. Tuns Farms, an indigenous poultry company, in partnership with small holder farmers, ramped up broiler production to position the state as the second largest broiler producer in the country. Omoluabi Garment Factory, a Public-Private-Partnership between Sam and Sara Garments and the State Government of Osun emerged as the largest Garment Factory in West Africa. An indigenous computer assembly plant, RLG Adulawo also set shop in Osun as a result of the favourable infrastructure in the State. These and more are the direct and indirect investment results of the administration’s bet for a prosperous future and these efforts are paying off.
 

Man of the people! Governor of the state of Osun, Ogbeni Rauf Aregbesola, is loved by the masses.
Consequently, Osun developmental programmes have also impacted on the socio-economic profile of the state as reported by reputable institutions. In 2015, The Oxford Poverty and Human Development Initiative (OPHI) rated Osun 2nd Highest in Human Development Index among the 36 states in the Country. In 2014, Renaissance Capital (RENCAP) in its 36 shades of Nigeria economic review of states ranked Osun as the 7th largest economy in Nigeria, while in 2013 the NBS rated Osun as the state with the lowest poverty rate in Nigeria.
 
In conclusion, was there a dearth in critical physical infrastructure in Osun before 2010? The answer is yes. Was there an urgent need to build these infrastructures? The answer is a resounding yes. Was the decision to debt finance the construction of these infrastructures a rational one amongst other options available? Yes! Has the state government properly managed the resultant downside risks involved in taking these steps? Yes! Nobody argues with results. The impact of the decisions taken by the present administration in the state continues to yield positive results from all available indices.

The Osun State Governor, Rauf Aregbesola says Nigeria will move beyond the challenges of economic recession in 2017 to fast track a better standard of living for Nigerians.
Governor, Aregbesola made this known in Osogbo, the Osun State capital during his new year message at the Freedom Park while celebrating the new year with some residents.
 

 
The Governor Rauf Aregbesola and some other notable sons and daughters of the state chieftains in the state, joined others to usher in with great musical performances, comedy and fireworks display the year 2017.
The governor said the government at all levels, particularly the Federal Government must engineer a financial plan to return the country back to economic winning ways.
The Osun state governor also embraced Nigerians not to lose sight of the change they voted for few months back by rallying round the government of the day and perform their civic responsibilities.
‎
“We are on the path of re overt. We are moving away from recession into the phase of recovery. This recovery will lead to growth and growth will lead to consolidation. And all this will happen this year.
But what remains for all of us? Those who are employed must be efficient to increase their productivity.”
He further stated that those without work must go back to the land, cultivate it for food production most especially, and cash crops.
“We must earn more money generally. All of us must earn more money and we must reduce our consumption of imported goods. When we do this individually, it will result to the conservation of our resources, effective use of those resources and creation of wealth for all. ‎” the governor explained.