The Governor of Osun, Ogbeni Rauf Aregbesola on Tuesday called on parents that the decision to conduct qualifying examinations into the state’s newly built mega high schools is aimed at getting the most serious students into the schools.
 

 
He said any student that qualifies to be enrolled in the school is considered good enough and such would encourage others to aspire to aim higher in their educational pursuits.
He advised parents not to see it as a means by government to deprive their children entrance into the new schools, noting that they will be made to write an entrance examination where the most serious students will be selected.
The Governor stated this while speaking at the annual Children Christmas party organised by the wife of the Governor, Alhaja Sherifat Aregbesola.
He said it is a move implemented so as to further sanitize the state’s education sector and bring the best out of the system.
Aregbesola said, “I urge you parents to go and obtain the entrance forms into our new high schools. Don’t listen to mischief makers who are trying to deceive you about our good plans.
“Those who obtain the forms will be selected through an examination which we believe will enable us get the best of the best into the schools for optimum performance.
“Our plans for the new high schools will go a long way in raising the standard of education in the state and we want you to key into the process”
While congratulating the children on the celebration of another Xmas party, the governor charged them to take their education seriously for them to become great future leaders.
He said the present administration in the state is spending so much in developing educational facilities in the state because his administration believes investing in the future of children through education is best way to guarantee a better future for the state.
The Governor held that the state government believes so much in creating a good platform for the growth and development of the Osun child so that they can stand shoulder-to-shoulder with their peers from any part of the world.
He said, “As you are celebrating another christmas party today, I want you to know that our administration is spending so much in education because we believe so much in developing you for the future.
“We know you are our future and we believe that no amount of money spent into developing you will be wasted as you are our future and we want our future to be bright through you.
“I advise you to always face your education so that the huge investment of government in your education can be productive.
“We want you to be able to compete with any of your peers in the world, that is why we are investing in building state of the art schools that can compete with the best in the world.
“We are investing huge amount in the “O meal” programme because we believe through good food that are nutritious, your brains can be well developed for you to have the required mental capacity to face academic challenges”
In a welcome address, the wife of the Governor advised parents and all those present to always find time out of their busy schedules to recreate and interact with one another.
While commending parents on the care of their children, Alhaja Aregbesola implored children in the state to obey lawful instructions of their parents, guidance and teachers while advising them embrace hard work and shun all forms of immoral behaviour.
According to her, “It is expedient for you to step aside occasionally from your routine activities to come around from your different homes and socio-economic back grounds for leisure, recreation and interact with one another.
“I call on parents and guardians to continue to take care of their children because they are our future. I also charge you children to be obedient at all times and face your education for you to be great in future” she said.

The Osun State  Ministry of Agriculture, Food Security and Youth Engagement organised a 2-day workshop on food security in the state.
With major players in the agricultural sector in attendance, the event was put together to formulate policies that would ensure that the State of Osun achieves sufficiency in the area for food production.
See pictures from the event below
 
Governor, State of Osun, Ogbeni Rauf Aregbesola (3rd right), his Deputy, Mrs. Titi Laoye-Tomori (2nd right), Leadership Ethics, Actions and Development, Mr. John Taiwo Ayegbaye (4th left), Secretary to the State Government, Alhaji Moshood Adeoti (right), Chairman, All Progressive Congress (APC), Prince Gboyega Famodun (2nd left), Coordinating Director,  Ministry of Agriculture, Food Security and Youth Engagement, Dr. Isaac Aluko (left), and Former Special Assistant to the Governor, on Quick Impact Intervention Program, Hon. Dele Ogundipe (3rd left), at the A 2-Day Stakeholders Workshop Organized by Ministry of Agriculture, Food Security and Youth Engagement, State of Osun, at Aurora Conference Centre, Ring Road, Osogbo on Tuesday 20/12/2016.
 

Governor, State of Osun, Ogbeni Rauf Aregbesola (middle), his Deputy, Mrs. Titi Laoye-Tomori (right), Leadership Ethics, Actions and Development, Mr. John Taiwo Ayegbaye (left), at the A 2-Day Stakeholders Workshop Organized by Ministry of Agriculture, Food Security and Youth Engagement at Aurora Conference Centre, Ring Road,
Osogbo on Tuesday 20/12/2016.
 

Governor, State of Osun, Ogbeni Rauf Aregbesola (2nd left), his Deputy, Mrs. Titi Laoye-Tomori (3rd left), Leadership Ethics, Actions and Development, Mr. John Taiwo Ayegbaye (left), Secretary to the State Government, Alhaji Moshood Adeoti (4th right), Former Commissioner for Agriculture, Food Security and Youth Engagement, Mr. Wale Adedoyin (3rd right), and others at the A 2-Day Stakeholders Workshop Organized by Ministry of Agriculture, Food Security and Youth Engagement at Aurora Conference Centre, Ring Road, Osogbo on Tuesday 20/12/2016.
 

Governor ,State of Osun, Ogbeni Rauf Aregbesola (middle), his Deputy, Mrs. Titi Laoye-Tomori (3rd left), Leadership Ethics, Actions and Development, Mr. John Taiwo Ayegbaye (2nd left), Secretary to the
State Government, Alhaji Moshood Adeoti (3rd right), Chairman All Progressive Congress (APC), Prince Gboyega Famodun (2nd right), Coordinating Director,  Ministry of Agriculture, Food Security and Youth Engagement, Dr. Isaac Aluko (right), Former Special Assistant to the Governor, on Quick Impact Intervention Program, Hon. Dele Ogundipe (left), and others at the A 2-Day Stakeholders Workshop Organized by Ministry of Agriculture, Food Security and Youth Engagement, State of Osun, at Aurora Conference Centre, Ring Road, Osogbo on Tuesday
20/12/2016.

The Governor of Osun, Ogbeni Rauf Aregbesola, has called on all apparatus of government to always engage the services of Nigerian Legion Cadets and accord them necessary recognition.
He made the appeal at the weekend during the official decoration of the Batch “A” Cadets of the Corps of Nigerian Commissionaires, Nigerian Legion, Osun State Command and Widow’s Empowerment Ceremony, at Government Technical College, Osogbo.

 
 
Aregbesola, who was represented by the Head of Service, Mr. Sunday Owoeye, emphasised that the corps, if supported by government, would complement the efforts of Nigeria police in providing adequate security for the people.
The governor who frowned at the way the Nigerian Legion are being treated by the government said, “they deserve better treatment because of the price they paid for the country during the wars”.
“Some of them lost their lives while some of them were paralysed in the course of protecting their country. It is very clear that government have not been treating Nigerian Legion as they deserved”.
He described the emergence of the Nigerian Legion Cadet as a round peg in a round hole towards the protection of life and property.
Speaking, the National Publicity Director, Corps of Nigerian Commissionaire, Corps Commander Isreal Alonge, who represented the National Coordinating Commandant, Ernest Kumapayi Akoteyon, appealed to Nigerians to help the corps with necessary information that would help them to nip crime in the bud.
While presenting gifts to widows of the ex-service men, Alonge called on well meaning Nigerians and corporate organisation to support the corps in helping widows of the falling heroes.
“We call on well meaning Nigerians to always give recognition to the widows and families of fallen heroes who have lost their lives for the peace of Nigeria.
In his address, the Osun State Commandant of the Commissionaires, Corps Commander Bola Eludire noted that involving his men in combating criminal activities in the society cannot be over emphasised.
Eludire, who was  elated to witness the decoration of the batch “A” Cadets in Osun State said his men would be performing their duties in conjunction with the Nigerian Police Force, Osun State Command and other security personnel in the state.
Earlier in his welcome address, the State Chairman Nigerian Legion, Col. Alimi Samotu, rtd congratulated the newly trained officers while calling on the philanthropists, community leaders and governments to make use of the Cadets for the security sake at any point in time.
Samotu, who enjoined the Cadets to see their assignments as a call to service commended the state governor, Ogbeni Rauf Aregbesola for being part of the event.

A ‘nomics’ has been added to the world of economic policies and Nigerians should appreciate it’s coming from their part of the planet, especially, at a time the world is grappling with the depravity of politics and the captivity of politicians.
 

 

In a paper presented at a Colloquium to mark his six years in office as governor of the State of Osun, Rauf Aregbesola reiterated his administration’s commitment to laying a solid foundation for the state in every area such that tampering with its progress in the future would be difficult, if not impossible. While describing “rising expenditure, especially wage bill, within the contrast of falling revenue” as the biggest challenge facing his government, Aregbesola promised that his administration would do all within its powers to ensure that no one was left behind in the distribution of the dividends of democracy to the good people of  Osun. “We are grappling with the challenge of finance and we are doing all within our power to complete all the projects we started. We are not going to leave any project uncompleted”, the governor stated.
Democracy hath no fury than a people abandoned! So, what is Raufnomics? In my considered opinion, the promoter has given a clue: it is about “getting as much from little and using the resources of the state to maximally benefit the people”. It is about “strategic planning and intervention in society; making governance mass-based and people-centric”; and  “guaranteeing the maximum good for the maximum number of people.” With a special reference to Osun, Raufnomics has proved to be a popular solution to the state’s socio-economic problems created as a result of years of Nigeria’s  sole dependence on proceeds from crude oil. It has helped sustain the state even as it continues to encourage innovative interventions within the framework of the administration’s Six Point Integral Action Plan in such a way as to help put the economy of the state back on track.
In addition to some of this administration’s laudable achievements which have already been  captured in Aregbesola’s speech at the event, the establishment of Osun Job Centre, designed principally to serve as an interface between job seekers and employers of labour;  the  procurement of no fewer than 125 Patrol Vans, 20 Armoured Personnel Carriers (APC) and one helicopter which has  helped   in drastically reducing incidences of crime in the state; and the creation and successful take-off of 61 Local Council Development Areas (LCDAs), 3 Area Offices and 2 Administrative Offices from the former 31 Local Government Areas are also some of the ways this government has positively affected the rule of the game.
A strong advocate of regional integration, he was a major force in the establishment of the Development Agenda for Western Nigeria (DAWN) Commission, an institutional and programmed body saddled with the responsibility of ‘midwifing’ the regional integration agenda of the Southwest states. And, with the creation of Osun Education Quality Assurance and Morality Enforcement Agency, I doubt if any misguided pupil or student will ever attempt to task the tolerance of the good people of Osun or insult their collective intelligence again.
Aregbesola’s  approval of the immediate commencement of a unified Public Service in the state is worth mentioning here. Apart from repositioning  “the State Public Service for efficient and effective service delivery at all levels of governance”, the step is also aimed at removing “all restrictions to seamless movement of personnel from one spectrum of the Public Service to the other”. Needless to repeat that it is in a bid to ensure transparency in the state’s financial dealings that this man of splendour and all-encompassing charisma  recently inaugurated the Hassan Sunmonu-led  committee on allocation of revenues to “oversee the allocation of state’s revenue to prompt payment of salaries as well as the adequate running of government.”
The price of fame, it is often said, goes beyond brooding or bargaining around the frustration of some mischievous parallelisms! But when will Nigeria’s vine overcome the antics of her “foxes, the little foxes” and who will raise the hands of her Moses as an assurance of permanent victory? Coming closer home, if we have an avatar at the helm of affairs in Osun, how come the state is such in dire straits that it now seems as if delayed salaries have come to stay with us? Assuming without conceding that we are in this pass because of  the level of our debt and its management,  as a result of  which our dear state has allegedly  become slave  to  Irrevocable Payment Standing Orders (IPSOs) and other debt recovery instruments, how do we situate the fate of richer and resource-endowed states like Ondo and Bayelsa which are also behind schedule in terms of salary obligations to their workers?
Well, the tragedy of our  Nigerianness is that we deceive ourselves a lot and that has been our greatest undoing! Here, we play politics like an interest-driven game,  unrepentantly notorious for its art of the impossible and personal manipulations. That is why, despite efforts by this dogged fighter at positively impacting lives through his “numerous programmes, policies and schemes”, there still exists some unrefined, less-informed  detractors who derisively “consider it fit and proper to constitute themselves into an opposition of the government of the day, however, well-meaning and good-intentioned.” Because of the way they are fated, they always allow their personal and selfish desire for certain specialities to run wild thereby straying away from unprejudiced realities. They lust for what they do not have and that which is of no use to them and, despite the fact that they do not get that which they do not have and that which they neither need nor deserve, they delude themselves with it to spoil that which they are supposed to have but unfortunately they do not have.
In their world, there is neither economic focus nor political direction that is practically aimed at alleviating the people’s poverty and pains. Instead, they revel in the virulence of insouciant leaders and the proliferation of unprincipled politicians. For no just cause, these individualists and spoilers culpably hate leaders for doing good, categorise a government which “runs a most transparent allocation of scarce resources to tackle underdevelopment” as ‘reckless’; and tag one which strives to confront “problems engendered by socio-political transformation”  as  ‘insensitive’! Since they are experts at spreading beliefs that reject persuasion, they tar every developmental stride with the mark of corruption. In their myopic view, Opon Imo is a scam; O-YES,  money-sapping; O-MEALS,  unnecessary; and policies and programmes aimed at shoring up the state’s revenue generation capacity are ‘too draconian and unfriendly’.
In any case, “minds differ as rivers differ”, says Baron Thomas Macaulay.  While some might liken Aregbesola to a “controversial politician who doesn’t listen to advice, however, novel or useful”, to others, he’s one astute administrator who would not “want to enrich himself at the expense of the poor masses”. While some might unfairly consider his style of governance as one “built only on propaganda”, others see it – and, rightly, too –  as “a source of hope in the face of the weak and bleak future that the Yoruba race and Nigeria face.” In all of these, however; and political persuasions notwithstanding,  what critics of Raufnomics cannot deny is  Aregbesola’s  gentleness, straightforwardness and uncanny sense of direction which he has dispassionately deployed in transforming the state into an emerging market with a lot of potentials. Unlike others whose portion is in making promises at the drop of a hat with no real intention of keeping them, it is unRauf to allow people who delight in whirling by their dark clouds to be the limit of his success.
Need I say more on why Osun has continued to wax stronger, in spite of the biting economic slowdown currently troubling Nigeria’s Israel?
May principalities and powers, assigned to rubbish our leaders’ efforts, BACKFIRE!

As part of efforts to avoid loss of property to fire, the Osun State government has released emergency numbers for residents to call in distress times.
The Chairman of the state’s Committee for Fire Safety Matters, Honourable Oguntola Toogun, who released the numbers to reporters over the weekend, stated that the step was taken to further prevent unnecessary fire outbreak in the state.
 

 
According to him, the two numbers – 08030808254 and 08160148023 – would always be available and accessible for any report on any incident of fire in the state.
He stated that his committee would provide fire and rescue services, observing that the outbreak of fire had reduced drastically in Osun State.
“We released our numbers and embarked on public sensitisation because 95 per cent of the public does not know fire services number. Hence, they run to police for help if a person falls in well-water or they see fire outbreak.
“It is called Fire and Rescue Service because we also respond to victims of collapsed building. Fire Service should also involve in building of houses but some people are ignorant of this,” he stated.
He condemned the nonchalant attitude of people to fire outbreak, saying; “as dangerous as fire is, it is the only thing people take with levity”.
On the Fulani and farmers clash, Toogun said “the issue is a full time work. It gives us sleepless night. We don’t have holiday. No Saturday and Sunday, no Christmas and New year.”
“We’ve treated not less than 5,000 cases and we thank God. In Nigeria today, only Osun is the most peaceful state in terms of Fulani and farmers clash,” he proudly said.
The Chairman of the Committee, however, advised people to take more precautions and be careful with gas and stove, especially as harmattan approaches, saying the state government would continue to do everything possible to avoid loss of property to fire.

Osun State Governor, Ogbeni Rauf Aregbesola has charged members of the National Youth Service Corps posted to the state to be patriotic and resourceful in serving the nation.
 

 
Aregbesola said this at the closing ceremony of the 2016 Batch `B’ Orientation programme held at the NYSC orientation camp, Ede, Osun State.
The governor urged the corps members to integrate sufficiently with the communities in the state and identify with the problems and aspirations of their host communities where they would be carrying out their primary assignments.
He commended the camp officials who by their maturity, dedication to duty, understanding and selflessness contributed in their various ways in making orientation course a huge success.
The State Coordinator of NYSC in Osun state, Mrs Regina Iluebbey said a total of 2,276 corps members comprising 1,238 males and 1,038 females were registered for the orientation course.
She noted that the orientation course has prepared the corps members
for physical, intellectual capability.
She urged the corps members to serve with dedication and determination to make positive change.
Iluebbey also advised the new corps members to key into the Skil Acquisition and Entrepreneurship Development (SAED) programme of NYSCso as to become self-reliant.