Newspapers have a critical role to play in any society. This is why I agree with the American statesman and former president, Thomas Jefferson, who once wrote: ‘If I had to choose between government without newspapers, and newspapers without government, I wouldn’t hesitate to choose the latter’. Jefferson simply meant that a well informed society is more important than political governance per se.
If newspapers, according to Jefferson, are preferable to government, then they have greater responsibility than governments. A newspaper has the duty to inform, educate and work towards a better society. In this third duty, it is looked upon to act as the gadfly and rein in the government on its excesses. It is also expected to fight the cause of the common man and work towards the enthronement of justice in society. These are not easy tasks as toes will be stepped on and it will take great courage for a newspaper to remain focussed on its mission.
However, this is only the good side. A newspaper can be as tyrannical as an evil government; it can hide under a seemingly noble mission to perpetrate evil. It can project a lie as truth and a truth as lie. It can also foster its own agenda on the public and masquerade it as an altruistic public service. A newspaper can hoist and sustain an evil government as well as seek to pull down a good one. These are not postulations. They are complex issues that emanate from the contradictions of media practice in any society.
It is with this in view that I am saddened by the editorial of The Punch of Tuesday, January 21, 2014 on Governor Rauf Aregbesola titled ‘Aregbesola’s misguided church project’. The editorial was an undisguised attack on the Osun governor for the policy of his administration on proposing. a 200,000 capacity crusade ground in the state. The language was intemperate and disrespectful of the office and person of the governor and a poor attempt at ridiculing him before his constituents and in decent gathering. Such words like ‘misguided’, ‘misadventure’, ‘queer concept’, ‘obtuse thinking’, ‘oddity’, ‘Greek gift’, ‘a shocking lack of understanding of what constitute the core functions of government’, ‘a bribe’, ‘baleful political gimmick’, ‘hypocritical dalliance in religion’ etc were freely used.
This is rather disturbing. An editorial is the voice of the newspaper – what the owners are saying on any issue and it carries the biggest weight. That is why it is often very thoughtful, incisive, well researched, well argued and written in persuasive and diplomatic language. Regrettably, these are clearly missing in this particular editorial.
This leading article accused Governor Aregbesola of profligacy and misdirected government spending – a clear misprioritisation of government expenditure. It accused the governor of dragging government into matters of religion. It also portrayed the governor as a manipulator trying to bribe the Christians, in light of previous allegation of his bias against them in the state. It ended with not so subtle incitement of Christians against the governor.
First, having been very close with the governor and part of his campaign team, let me say that the worship centre is not a hurriedly put together policy. He had enunciated this as part of his campaign promise as far back as 2006. Much later, he reiterated the promise soon after his inauguration at an event at my alma mater, Ilesa Grammar School, on December 4, 2010. This was not done in the closet; it was in the full glare of eminent personalities such as Pastor Enoch Adeboye, Justice Belgore, Oba Adekunle Aromolaran and others. This project was also announced to Pastors Adeboye and Mathew Ashimolowo during their different visits to the governor in December 2012. It was also repeated by the governor at the convocation ceremony of Joseph Ayo Babalola University at Ikeji Arakeji.
Evidently, The Punch did not carry out due diligence on the matter or else it would have been restrained. How could the governor be accused of acting in bad faith by fulfilling a campaign promise, in a democracy?
Secondly, government did not buy the land as erroneously alleged by the paper. It was a freewill donation by the people of the community through their traditional ruler, Loja Adelekan of Odo-Iju in Atakunmosa West Local Government. The compensation recently paid that was mischievously reported by The Punch was the government’s way of supporting the people of the community for their high sense of patriotism. It is a voluntary gift from the community.
Thirdly, The Punch’s notion of separation of state from church is false. Where it began in Europe and the Americas, it was to stop the state from adopting Christianity as state religion; promote it above others and criminalise non-participation and membership by citizens. It does not connote absolute disengagement from religious activities. In the United States, for instance, the community church is part of the soul of the community through which the government sometimes relates with the citizens on matters such as civil rights, sex education and HIV prevention.
In the United Kingdom, the Queen is the Head of State and Head of the Church of England. Her titles include ‘Defender of the Faith’. How then do we separate the Church from the state? It was atheists and modern day liberals who wanted God and every religious symbol removed from the public space that recreated the concept in their own image by asking for prohibition of prayers and bible in schools, removal of crosses and biblical images from public places and refrain from mentioning God in what might constitute a public gathering. This of course is not separation of state from church. It is waging a systemic war against organised religion with the consequence of citizens now having utter disregard for human lives and we now have school children taking guns to school and hacking their teachers and colleagues to death.
In our land, at the inauguration of public officials and before courts, we are made to swear by Bibles and Qurans and end our oaths with the sentence ‘So help me God’. Is there a delinkage therefore between state and faith? We may pretend. But religion remains part and parcel of our daily life.
That same Tuesday, interestingly, The Punch also reported that the Kaduna State Government will spend N121 million on Mosques and Churches. I sincerely hope that this piece of news will demand an editorial from the newspaper, given its self appointed task of ‘separating government from religion’.
Chief Obafemi Awolowo was a committed Christian and his Action Group (AG) had an official Christian chaplain. That was the spiritual guide of the party. Yet he was the first to establish Muslims Pilgrim Welfare Board when he saw the hardship Muslims went through while performing the Holy Pilgrimage to Mecca.
We cannot also pretend there is no economic side to religion. Every year, millions of people make the pilgrimage to Mecca, Jerusalem, Rome and other religiously significant places. There are religious monuments and shrines in France, Greece, Spain, Italy, Japan, Thailand, Indonesia, Saudi Arabia, Israel and other places that have practically fallen into state ownership, maintenance and control.
It should therefore not be surprising that the motivation for the Open Heaven Arena project is the realisation that Osun State, particularly Ijesaland, is notable for producing many of the Christian leaders in the country. These include Pastor Adeboye, Pastor WF Kumuyi, late Prophet Timothy Obadare, Prophet Gabriel Fakeye, Pastor Mathew Ashimolowo and many others. This is a huge tourism potential that could help shore up the revenue profile of the state. Apart from being a centre for spiritual retreat, there is an eminent economic sense in having 200,000 people visit your state at least once in a week. If each visitor spends at least N1,000.00, the state’s Gross Domestic Product (GDP) could be boosted by N10.8 billion in a year.
However, this editorial is not about a worship centre but a demonstration of deep hatred and animosity against the person of Governor Rauf Aregbesola and his administration with the malicious intent to pull him down. On a regular basis, The Punch takes an astigmatic look at every intention and policy of Aregbesola’s government, savagely attacks him and portrays him in bad light, sometimes using half truths and outright falsehood. Last week alone, the newspaper did two feature articles and a news item on Aregbesola, all hostile, biased and unfavourable. There was a time the paper reported that Governor Aregbesola bought cars for traditional rulers when nothing of such happened.
The Punch has taken a very hostile and adversarial position on school uniform, school reclassification and now the revival ground. The interest of The Punch in Governor Aregbesola’s is beyond the ordinary. In these instances, there is an unmistakable instigation of Christians against the governor with the capability of triggering religious crisis, if not for the maturity of the good people of the state. The paper has fanned the embers of religious schism in Osun and by extension in the West, where hitherto none has existed and where people have lived in harmony for centuries.
There is a pattern of jettisoning objectivity and every rule of professionalism. Discourse degenerated to personal abuse, name calling and utmost disrespect for the person and office of the governor. This is a great disservice to the memory of the founder of this newspaper.
I began with responsibility. A newspaper is a public trust with a mandate that is superior to the personal interests and fancies of its minders. I daresay it is a sacred responsibility that should not be abused. The Punch has over the years built a reputation as a liberal medium in the quest for societal liberation. It is my sincere wish that it will learn a lesson or two on fairness and balance. When a newspaper deliberately diffracts facts to serve its prejudice, both the public and the newspaper are ill served.
Prof. Sola Adeyeye, Senate of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, National Assembly Complex. Abuja, FCT

 
The Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) on Friday released the time table for Osun and Ekiti States governorship elections.
In a statement signed by the INEC secretary, Augusta Ogukwu, the commission said the Ekiti Governorship election will hold on June 21 2014, while the Osun Governorship election will hold August 9 2014.

I read with utmost astonishment the piece by the Punch Editorial Board on “Aregbesola’s misguided church project” in the Punch of Tuesday, January 21, 2014 and wish it is necessary I respond to it.
Ordinarily, one will not feel concerned about a misconception of a public programme that is widely accepted by the majority of Nigerians irrespective of their religious belief, but for accusation of bribery and corrupt practice to emanate from a respected newspaper, a member of the revered fourth estate, which main function is to inform and educate the public, is to say the least, unpardonable.
To say “Rauf Aregbesola, the Governor of Osun State, appears impervious to moderation in matters religious” is antithetical to report of this nature. It is baseless and lack data. Aregbesola is not impervious to religious matter, though the issue at hand is not an issue of religion as it has been painted by the reporters.
To clear the air from the outset about the allegation of aiming to bribe the respected Christian Association of Nigeria (CAN) with a “Greek Gift”, I want to say that the idea of providing Open Heaven – an open ground where Christians of all denominations can use for retreats, conventions and meetings, started since 2006 when Ogbeni Rauf Aregbesola was still dreaming about his aspirations for his beloved state.
It is intended to aid the regeneration of the area by creating an attractive open space for Christian religious use which will spurn both residential and commercial developments of the area in the nearest future. This was reiterated by Ogbeni Aregbesola at Joseph Ayo Babalola University (JABU), Ijesha Arakeji on March 18, 2012, when he bagged Honourary Doctor of Philosophy in Entrepreneurship.
Open Heaven is not a church building project as erroneously claimed by the Editorial. Open Heaven is an open ground with modern amenities and conveniences for Christians to dwell and worship periodically. It will be built and maintained by the government as no individual or church can claim ownership. It has religion-tourism potential just like the Osun Osogbo festival, River Thames Water festival and Rivfest in Port Harcourt.
In 1997, when Major General Jeremiah Useni (Jerry Boy) found out that Old Parade Ground in Area 10, Garki, Abuja was becoming insufficient for the number of churches willing to use the place for their Nignt Vigil, conventions and crusade and the benefits of the ground to food-sellers, drink-sellers and the people of the area, he built another open ground with a small canopy as podium along Abuja – Zuba Road, Kubwa. This is not without cost as it fell inside the Gwarimpa Residential Scheme Team 8.
In London, Mayor Thames festival is an annual water event that attracts millions of tourists and river worshippers from all over the world. It is the biggest of its kind by any standard. When this week-long activities was becoming rowdy, the Mayor of London procured some buildings between Thames Bridge and London bride and turned this into a park with Tax-payers money for the comfort of the participants. This park is also used by fun-seekers when Mayor Thames festival is not taking place.
Mecca receives over 2 million worshippers in October 2013 alone. The worshippers that visited for Humrah (small hajj) cannot be less than 500,000. This is the kind of business idea that spurned Open Heaven Development. Calling Open Heaven a church is like calling Muslims Eidel Praying Ground a mosque.
Late Felix Houphouet-Boigny, the former president of Cote D’Ivoire, built the largest church in the world in Yamouskoro, Cote D’Ivoire. Today, that church is the biggest tourist centre in that country. Houphouët-Boigny moved the country’s capital from Abidjan to his hometown of Yamoussoukro and built the world’s largest church there, the Basilica of Our Lady of Peace of Yamoussoukro, at a cost of US$300 million.
When Aregbesola started Nelson Mandela Freedom Park as an open place for all to relax and to reduce the density of the area, not many people relax the latent value in this corridor of the state. On Saturday, January 18, 2014, Osun PDP Gubernatorial aspirant, Senator Iyiola Christopher Omisorre, was at Nelson Mandela Freedom Park in preparation for his campaign on February 8, 2014.
It is a wrong notion and misunderstanding to think that provision of people’s needs that can bring development is not “what constitutes the core functions of government” or that it “is certainly out of sync with development”. Open Heaven is not a “Greek Gift” to anybody. It is a development project that the government so much believes in can develop the state. Saying “Aregbesola’s church project is not in tune with modern governance” is an aberration and not in line with the Editorial’s notion about “standing on principle”.
It is by “standing on principle” to develop all parts of the state that this project is seeing the light of the day. One can imagine the number of visitors that will come to Open Heaven every year. The economy of the area and the state in General will be boosted with the construction of Open Heave. By intervening in religion, the government is not interfering. It is one of the functions of the government to invest in any legal area where it knows can boost the economy and generate dividends now and in the future.
Ogbeni Rauf Aregbesola fared well when it comes agricultural development in the state. Aregbesola is making agriculture the mainstay of Osun’s economy. Ogbeni Rauf Aregbesola, while justifying the huge amount committed by his administration to agricultural sector development in the state claimed that; “The neglect of agricultural sector by successive administrations in the country has the tendency of exposing the nation to famine as it is being experienced in some developing nations like Somalia, Niger Republic and Sudan.” It is therefore, improper to claim that Open Heaven will diminish the Osun agricultural land.
Thank you.
Yours faithfully,
Segun Fakeye
Development Consultant, Osogbo

Osun State governor, Mr Rauf Aregbesola has run what he refers to as an unusual government over the last three years. He has since his assumption of office as the fourth civilian governor of the state touched almost all the sectors of the state’s economy and in his assessment of his administration, he declared that he has satisfied his conscience at developing the state. He will this year again contest the governorship of the state under the platform of the All Progressives Congress (APC), having been endorsed as the candidate of his party.
The governor, who has always expressed his willingness to continue with the programmes that will uplift the lives of the people of the state, assured that if given the opportunity to rule the state for a second term, he will do better than he has done in his first term.
Aregbesola, who also bares his mind on sundry national issues in this interview with some journalists in Osogbo, declared that his passion for the development of the state was born out of his interest in the people. He responded to some criticisms trailing his style of governance, among others. Excerpts:
You are over three years in office as governor of Osun State, how have you been faring with the challenges of governance considering the level of opposition to your government at both the state and federal levels?
We are being driven by the passion to turn around the economy of Osun State. We believe strongly in the divine intervention for guidance and success. This foundation made it possible for us to be guided in the appointment of the right people in the right places. We cannot ascribe the success to ourselves but to the Almighty who will continue to support and make it possible for us to achieve our plans to execute mega projects that will attract investments from across the developed nations to the state.
And that passion definitely inspired more than ordinary effort to get our resources to drive our vision. However, God has established His laws; it is left to human beings to take maximum advantage of the laws of God for their benefits. So, with the abundance of God’s provisions, human beings only need to put their minds in what they want and help from sources that are never envisaged will just come. Yes, what we are doing in all spheres of life are definitely beyond the capacity of a state. So, effective, efficient and prudent management of our resources have helped to push the frontier of development. Our success in that regard is beyond the capacity to prudently, effectively and efficiently manage the economy.  That is where the divine angle comes in. You just realize that even with the best management skill, which we have on ground is just beyond human comprehension. It is the gargantuan scope of our development strides that has confused the opposition to the point of hallucination. Now, they don’t even know what to say or what to do, others promote lies about debt burden. They cannot talk about lack of performance because that is beyond them to do even with their somewhat skilled sense of evaluation to whittle down our achievements and appreciation by the people. They still go about this totally uncoordinated hype on phantom debt burden which is unsustainable if you are going to be honest with it. So, I used to tell people, in addition to what I just told you that I served under one of the best public finance experts in the person of the former governor of Lagos State, Asiwaju Bola Ahmed Tinubu. The tutelage paid off so handsomely and the result is what you are witnessing in Osun today.
You are one of the most criticized governors in the country, what are you doing to limit the criticisms against your government?
When a man is criticized the way we are criticized, it is due to success. Success brings criticism definitely. In fact, what I will say is that success largely brings controversy. Probably that is what is making people to criticize our government. Success brings controversy, success brings hostility and success brings envy. We are indeed successful in our programmes and projects. You see, we were not unconscious of the reactions some of our programmes, projects and activities would attract. Don’t forget, we heartily call our administration even during the campaigns ‘an unusual government’. We branded our government ‘an unusual government’ even during the campaigns. So, it would be difficult not to have the spate of antagonism that we have experienced over this period of time.
It would be totally abnormal not to have such reactions.
Election for your second term in office is just few months away, how prepared are you for the election?
We have been working from the very first day with the firm belief that there will be a day of reckoning which elections usually mean to politicians. Elections are the days of reckoning.  They are the judgment days for politicians. So, from the day we were sworn in until now, we have been working assiduously for that auspicious day that the electorate will have the opportunity to renew our mandate for another period of time. For a thing that we have been working at for the past 37 months, I will want to say we are doing well at it.
The PDP has been engulfed in leadership crisis for some time now, what are the effects of the party’s crisis on the APC?
There was no crisis in PDP when we assumed office. To us, whether the party is one, fragmented or weakened by internal crisis, it is their own headache. We are engaged by the people and that is important to us. Our engagement with the people has been so firm, so serious, so symbiotic and so wholesome. Whatever is the situation of PDP in Osun, it is of no importance to us. If they are together, they do not matter because the people are the sovereign. The people are the sole decider of victory or defeat in an election. Parties will only mobilize support from the people. Parties cannot force the people.
Parties can stimulate the interest of the people in their activities.
Parties cannot compel the people to adopt or accept their programmes. So, since we have realized this from the very beginning, our works, our programmes, our activities are directed at meeting the needs of the people, satisfying the people, mobilizing the people to accept our programmes and policies, believe in us as their friends and people who are committed to their progress, welfare, peace and prosperity. Our people-oriented programmes are also designed to adopt us as their own representatives. So, once those critical or those fundamentals of engagement with the people are met, the rest is little. With what we have done with the people, with the response we have from the people, it does not matter the crisis or no crisis in PDP. The crisis in PDP doesn’t matter anymore. Whether they are together or divided, weakened or strong, as long as we are one with the people and represent the aspirations of the people to give our people the hope of realizing their desires and wants, let other parties do whatever they wish to do. God be with us, success is our own.
By your assessment, how will you rate the economy of Osun today?
Nigerian economy is weak. The Nigerian economy is very weak and unsustainable. It is too dependent on crude oil to the chagrin of the economy itself and the people. But what do we mean by that statement? An economy that is not value-oriented is an unstable economy. It is a very unstable economy. Our economy today depends absolutely on the vagaries of the international oil market.
This should not be the case for a nation with the size of Nigeria, people and landmass. We must have a less mono-resource dependent economy. We have the land; we have the people, what we should have used the oil money to do is to diversify our economy. For a state within such a badly-managed nation to seek to isolate a constituent of such a nation, in economic analysis will be very difficult. This is particularly a hard task when you bear in mind that this is a state that has been administered along the line of the laize faireeconomic management for over 19 years before our advent. Indeed, this will be very tough and I want you to see it from that angle. Bearing that in mind, we are turning the economy of Osun around. A major focus of our economic success is the drive to re-jig the economy of the state. Even with the obvious challenge we have as a nation, we have grown the income of the state. For instance, Internally Generated Revenue (IGR) of the state has jumped from N300 million to over N1.6 billion per month. We are attracting investments to specific sectors of the state and hope to achieve over N3billion IGR.
We are supporting farmers at all levels, from peasant to new generation farmers and high commercial farmers. We are empowering our people to produce food and help them with the market for their products. We are supporting market men and women in their businesses. Part of the industrial development that took place since we assumed office is the Omoluabi Garment Factory where uniforms are being made for our students on a commercial and large scale basis. This was initiated not only to reduce the cost but increase the quality of wears. Today, the factory is not only producing uniforms but it is producing other garments and uniforms for school children nationwide.
It is producing other garments from other wears to T-shirts and sports wears. There is another company that is built to manufacture electronics such as plasma television set, computers of all types, desktop, laptops, palmtop, the LG factory will produce another one just like we have a factory in Osogbo to produce Opon Imo for schools in the state. It was designed in the form of a mini iPad as a portable touch screen Android-powered e-learning device, the first of its kind in Nigeria provided by the state government to equip students with knowledge and make it easier for them to pass school leaving certificates examination. It is a standalone, educational, multimedia e-learning content platform that comes with pre-loaded applications for WAEC and JAMB approved text books.
What are the factors actually attracting these companies to spring up in Osun State?
Several factors are responsible for the attraction of investments to the state. It is our own initiative. This is because we are deliberately attracting those outfits as well as putting in place activities that will make such investments difficult to avoid our state and difficult to escape from our territory. There is massive transformation of the state in terms of infrastructural development.
If we talk about roads, drive round and check the kilometres of standard roads, standard bridges, beautiful streets with flowers, dual carriageway that is incomparable and the return of peace. Most of these projects completed did not receive a fanfare commissioning as practised in the past. Also, the present administration in the state has created opportunities for existing investors who are looking for high yields, by creating instruments and bonds in the state. When we launched non-interest bond recently, the critics embarked on negative campaign but today we have succeeded in securing funds for infrastructural development of Osun at fixed returns.
When we took the Sukuk bond, there was no way we could do it at 14.75 per cent returns because banks were lending to one another at 25 or 30 per cent. So, I am not surprised that not only are we beginning to have interest, what we have done is that we have pioneered that instrument and have contributed to the infrastructural development of Nigeria.
In 2006, you narrowly escaped being killed during Osogbo Oroki day celebration, what is the situation of security in the state now?
There is no comparison. You can’t compare light with darkness. You can’t compare progress with failure. If you have the people with you, you will be swimming in an ocean of limitless confidence, composure and peace of mind. However, if the basis of your mandate is fraudulent, if the basis of your mandate is exploitative, if the basis of your mandate is criminal, that is, based on manipulation and compromise of the process, you can never run away from fear, intimidation and neurosis.
The outward manifestation of the underlining basis of the emergence of our administration clearly shows the character of our administration. This is totally different from the administration from whom we took power considering the fraudulent nature of their mandate. Our people are not reactionaries. Yorubas are progressive in their customs and culture and in their social relationship. We are a people with an ingrained attitude of live and let live. The Yoruba have fine human relationship, excellent character, and remarkable world-class commitment to human values and ethics that is not comparable globally. It cannot be imagined that a decadent, uninspiring and reactionary political party will lead in
Yoruba land, it is almost unthinkable. It is not for nothing that late Papa Obafemi Awolowo emerged from nowhere, he dominated the political scene while alive and his tendency, belief and political traditions are still dominant and effective in the Yoruba land. It’s not for nothing. It is because of the natural tendency and capacity of our people to pursue programmes that will guarantee maximum progress, maximum benefits and maximum development for the highest number of the people. So, because of that, the party that was here before our emergence could not have guaranteed peace if anything at all, the best they could do was what they did. That is, intimidating the people, persecuting them, treating them with contempt and disdain, repressing them, and sowing fears in their mind as the only way of retaining power. That was the reason the state was not secure.
Everybody lived in fear. Life was brutish, sad and rough before our advent. At our advent, it was like bringing a balm to a sore and painful joint.  My team and leaders of our party brought calm and peace. We brought joy, we brought goodwill, and we brought happiness to the communities and the state. The people of the state have regained their happiness, they’ve regained their laughter and they’ve regained their characteristic Yoruba love for life and ceremonies. There is no threat anymore in all parts of our state. People sleep with their two eyes closed, they are no longer living in fear of harassment, persecution and intimidation. They go to where their business is either for religious, political, commercial and economic without fear or hindrance. We are proud of ensuring true peace in Osun. The instances of disturbance are not in any way linked to the government. They are essentially usual misunderstandings that characterize life. You cannot find our government involved in any social disagreement. The natural dynamism of existence could lead to rough edges around. Today, Osun is now the most peaceful state in Nigeria. And this is even why the economy is growing within the limit of what the larger Nigerian society can offer.
Nigeria is 100 years old this year, what is the hope after the centenary celebration?
Well, I pray for Nigeria to grow as a global leader which it is destined to be. That is my remark. I pray that Nigeria assumes her historical role as a leader in the world. The destination of Nigeria is to be an African leader and consequently, a leader in the world. My wish is that Nigeria enjoys the grace and assumes that position. That is my expectation. Nigeria requires fervent prayers that as she turns 100 years by the grace of God and the will of the people, she will have a leader that will drive her to her ultimate destiny of being the bearer of the emblem of Africa as a leading black nation of the world.
Nigeria requires prayers for a leader that will make the country a major player in the global economy and universal theatre of life. I am proud of Nigeria and will pray for Nigeria to lead Africa with a good leader to rule the world economically.
SUNNEWS ONLINE

Editorials of newspapers are supposed to be the encapsulation of the outfits thoughts, constructive criticism, advice, warning among others. The quality and maturity of an editorial is a testimony to the erudition and wisdom of the team that  makes up the media outfit. That is what we expect from a newspaper of THE PUNCH status. As a paper that self-proclaims itself as the most widely read paper, it was expected that it would keep its journalistic duty sacred and beyond parochial sentiments.
Nigerians awoke to a sensational editorial from the Punch on the 21^st January, 2014 with the headline –Aregbesola’s Misguided Church Project . had it been one of the soft-sell newspapers lacking depth and proper organization we would not have bothered, but for a highly regarded paper to base its thoughts on beer-parlour gist straight from the mouth of frustrated opposition who having nothing to oppose have resorted to blackmail and religious sensationalism, is incomprehensible. The first paragraph  of the piece immediately exposed the jaundiced thought-line for what it is- hogwash (apologies to PUNCH editorial!). The paragraph states as follows-
Rauf Aregbesola, the Governor of Osun State, appears impervious to moderation in matters religious. His latest misadventure is to purchase a piece of land to build a church as part of his queer concept of ‘development’.
Aregbesola did not swear oath to govern Osun on PUNCH editor’s definition of moderation or development. The governor swore to an oath in the seventh schedule of the 1999 Constitution (as amended) which is to do right to all manner of people, according to law, without fear or favour, affection or ill-will. PUNCH’s grouse is not the unconstitutionality of Aregbesola’s actions but its uncouthness and uncompromising nature in activating hitherto inactive provisions of the Constitution for the benefit of his people.
The Editorial’s warped comment also failed to understand the essence of a secular state. While Section 10 of the Constitution establishes the secularity of the Nigerian State, it is not however, ignorant of the religious passion of the people therein, which was why section 38 provides for an elaborate right to freedom of thought, conscience and religion. It is regrettable that an organization such as PUNCH which ought to be a citadel of letters continuously fails to grasp the meaning of secularism. The preamble to our constitution states … having firmly and solemnly resolved: to live in unity and harmony as one indivisible and indissoluble Sovereign Nation under God… Our secularity does not make us Godless or display official cockishness towards people’s mode of expressing their religious beliefs. Secularism seeks to ensure and protect religious belief and practice for all citizens. Secularism is not about curtailing religious freedoms; it is about ensuring that the freedoms of thought and conscience apply equally to all believers and non believers alike. (see www.secularism.org.uk)
What is all these hoopla all about anyway? In the build-up to the 2007 gubernatorial election, Aregbesola promised to leverage on Osun’s unique history of being the birthplace of some of the most successful contemporary church founders in the world. He reasoned that being the homeland of Prophet Ayo Babalola (Christ Apostolic Church); Pastor Adeboye (Redeemed Christian Church of God); Pastor W.F. Kumuyi (Deeper Life Bible Church); Prophet Obadare (CAC); Prophet Fakeye (Cherubim and Seraphim Movement); Pastor Mathew Ashimolowo (Kingsway International Christian Centre) among many others the state must deplore this resource to its socio-religious and economic advantage. This informed the need to encourage and support the Christian community to open a 200,000 capacity worship centre for use by all denominations in the State.
While campaigning at Ilesa, the Odo-Iju community in Atakunmosa West LG donated a parcel of land for the project in order for it to host such a strategic site. This promise was followed up by a letter which was accepted by the government and the sum of fifty one million was paid to the community for compensation on economic crops as every such gifts are usually done by any sane government. This uncomplicated issue was what PUNCH decided to latch on to berate a governor for fulfilling his electoral promise.
It is amazing that Punch has no qualms whatsoever with the multi-billion naira National Mosque and Christian Ecumenical Centre in Abuja, built with government money; the hosting of the largest Christmas carol in the world by Akwa-Ibom State worth hundreds of millions among many others. Every government and its people decide and define what they want, not a parochial editorial. Chief Obafemi Awolowo of blessed memory had a pristine foresight when he pioneered the establishment of Christian and Muslim Pilgrims Welfare Board in the 1950s. This was not regarded as religious bigotry nor bribery as PUNCH would have termed it. That vision has succeeded in helping many Nigerians fulfill their life-long duty to their God, thereby promoting harmony and peace.
It is an abuse of language and privilege for a newspaper to regard the fulfillment of an electoral promise as bribery or Greek gift to the Christian body. Christians are intelligent enough to hold their own brief on this matter, however, we must point out that this latest campaign of calumny to set a religious body against the Governor has become an over-blown trumpet, of which we know who the trumpeters are- PDP and its hangers-on. The same assertions made by the PUNCH editorial has been severally piped, though less intelligibly, by the ill-educated chairman of the PDP in Osun. It would be bizarre for a newspaper of PUNCH standing to translate itself to become the official megaphone of the Osun PDP. If however, it wishes to become such, so be it.
It is hypocritical and highly unfortunate that a respected Newspaper such as PUNCH would regard the development in Osun as queer!  Tell me, what is queer about providing school uniforms for 750,000 students and pupils? what is queer about feeding over 250,000 pupils daily with nutritious home-grown foods? what is queer about distributing 150,000 e-learning device to students where all their books and past questions are stored for use? please tell me what is queer about employment of over 3000 teachers and massive teacher training? What is queer about building and equipping of 170 new schools in a state hitherto popular for acute shortage of educational infrastructure?
Even the blind can see real development going on in Osun. Can anyone deny the construction of 10km roads in each of the 30 local governments and one area office? Can we deny the construction of modern state of the art roads all over the State? Can PUNCH pretend to be ignorant of the statistics being reeled out by Federal Government and international organizations attesting to the verifiable developments taking place in Osun. A state with the lowest unemployment rate in the country (per National Bureau of Statistics); the state with the lowest crime rate as confirmed by the chairman of the Police Service Commission, Sir Mike Okiro among many other undisputable developmental feats recorded by Aregbesola government is there for all to see.
It is unfortunate that a newspaper establishment would set up itself to be the persecutor-in-chief of a federating unit in Nigeria. Many articles, comments and columns in the paper over time has attacked the policies of Ogbeni Aregbesola. An earlier piece, Christians Against Aregbesola by Ms. Abimbola Adelakun on 17^th October, 2013 showed the nadir which PUNCH’s arm-chair criticism efforts have gone. This piece, is therefore a continuation of such shenanigans. We are however not fazed by these baseless vituperations, our comfort rests in the fact that the people of Osun are daily witnessing a breath of fresh air which had eluded them for so long.
For the avoidance of doubt, let it be known to all our traducers that the Government of the State of Osun as presently constituted will continue to provide enabling environment for her people to live and practice their religion without let or hinderance as exemplified in the freedom of thought and conscience broadly allowed in the constitution and nothing will detract us from this sacred duty as it is a pact we have made with our people. Ours is a government of conviction and not of convenience!
Ibrahim Lawal is a Senior Special Assistant to the Governor in the Ministry of Regional Integration and Special Duties.

By its latest editorial of Tuesday, January 21, 2104 captioned ‘Aregbesola’s misguided church project’ has further revealed its open antagonism to the government of Mr. Aregbesola and consolidated itself as the official mouthpiece of mindless opposition in Osun. A mere cursory perusal of the Punch reportage and feature story on Aregbesola’s program in the past couple of months has shown a clear attitude of deliberate negative and antagonistic predisposition without any modicum of regard for facts, accurate reporting and some sense of objectivity. We have read and studied the editorial and it will be shown that the editorial is a hatchet job and merely calculated to malign the Governor and the Government of the State.
Subtle Allegation of Religious Extremism
From the start, the obvious intention of the writers of the editorial became manifest. It was stated that Aregbesola “appears impervious to moderation in matters religious”. This clear meaning of this euphemistic assertion is that the governor is a religious extremist. Assuming, without conceding, that the contention of the editors that it was wrong for the state to construct the Open Heavens Arena was correct, does this make Aregbesola a religious extremist. By parity of reasoning, it would mean that Governor Godswill Akpabio is an extremist for reportedly spending hundreds of million of Naira on Christmas Carol or that simply escaped the attention the Punch editorial team. In which religion is Aregbesola an extremist when in the same editorial, the allegation is that it was wrong for Aregbesola to do the bidding of all religious groups. What are the facts upon which the damning opening assertion of punch editors is based beyond an apparent intention to demonize the Governor without basis? We challenge the Punch editorial team to make public the facts to justify the calumnious assertion that Aregbesola “appears impervious to moderation in matters religion”.
Purchase of Farmland?
The clear mischief of the Punch editorial came to fore when it asserted: “While previous governments in Osun have sought to expand farmlands for production and encourage farmers, Osun State in 2014 is acquiring farmland to build an interdenominational center.”
First, it is deliberate falsehood to state that farmland was acquired for the proposed interdenominational center. The land for the center was a fallow land given by the communities to the government and compensation was only paid for economic trees on the land as is customary with any land acquired by government for any purpose whatsoever. We challenge Punch to publish the picture of the farmland on the site of the center.
Secondly, it is calumnious to create an impression that the present Osun government is not expanding farmland and encouraging farmers. At the risk of sounding immodest, there has never been a government in the history of the state that has taken intervention in agriculture than Aregbesola Administration. Are the Punch editors claiming ignorance of the many successes of the achievements of the flagship agriculture intervention programs of Aregbesola’s government in agriculture like Osun Rural Enterprise and Agriculture Program (OREAP); Quick Intervention Program (QUIP) under which billions of Naira were given to support farmers; Rural Access Mobility Program (RAMP) under which many kilometers of rural roads and bridges were constructed; Land Clearing Program under which several acres of land were acquired and cleared and given freely for agriculture purposes.
Deliberate Distortions of State and Religions In Nigeria
One is at loss whether the esteemed editors of the Punch do not know the difference between a church and the intended open Heavens Worship Center. Perhaps it is part of the deliberate get up of the scandalous write-up. The editorial labored to criticize the proposed Open Heavens Worship Center and that its concern is that it “is about shocking lack of understanding of what are the functions of government”.  This is rather too capricious because across all governments in Nigeria, there has been involvement of governments in construction/rehabilitation of religious centers and institutions. Were there no involvement of governments in the construction of the National Ecumenical Centers and the National Mosque? The Church inside the Aso Villa was also built by private enterprise? There are appears to be confusion or apparent mischief by the Punch editors treating secular and multi-religious states as identical. In all honesty, all the vituperations by the Punch editors would have been justified assuming Nigeria is a secular state. Alas! Nigeria is a multi-religious states and that is why all levels of governments in Nigeria, with Osun not an exception has to patronized, as a matter of duty all religious organizations. It is in that sense that worship centers are either built or supported by all governments without exceptions and also the expenditure on Christians and Muslims pilgrims Welfare Boards. We challenge the Punch to come up with evidence that in Nigeria, it is only the State of Osun that is assisting with facilities for religious worship.
Casual Dismissal of Economic Rationale For the Project
Apparently set in its outright castigation mission, the Punch derogatorily dismissed economic benefits arguments set to be put forward by two government functionaries as “hogwash” without demonstrating how same is so. A sincere editorial would have ventured to demonstrate the falsity of the contentions.
However, the truth is that it can never be contested that any facility that can attract thousands of people will generate serious economic benefits. For example, in 2013, the Osun government supported the Baptist in hosting its Annual Baptist convention, which attracted thousands of people to the State, and the traders and entrepreneurs in the state derived serious economic and commercial benefits. Can anyone honestly deny that the construction been contemplated will not support local economy and open up the areas to further development?
False Allegation and Instigation of Christian Association of Nigeria against the Government
It would also appear that aside the obvious intention to malign the Governor; the editorial is also intended to falsely instigate the leadership of the Christian Association of Nigeria and indeed Christians in the state against the governor. The Punch described the project as Greek Gift without demonstrating how is it a Greek Gift. Also, in bad taste is the reference of a project that has the endorsement of all relevant stakeholders as a “bribe” or “baleful political gimmick”. Bribe to achieve what purpose? Perhaps, the editors of the Punch are not aware that the Government has also improved facilities at Osun Grove and World Ifa Temple at Oke-Itase, Ile Ife for traditional religious worshipers and as well support rehabilitation of Muslim Worship Centers too. So, where is the Greek Gift? Also, the government supported the Baptist in the State in hosting its annual Convention and the rehabilitation of the Convention ground and yet did the not stop the Baptist for criticizing the government when it has difference with it on the implementation of the school reclassification program. We view the instigation of the Christians against the project as irresponsible of a national news organ and calculated to cause division among religious groups in Osun. The Punch editorial also falsely quotes the Nigerian Constitution out of context as part of its deliberate misinformation of the Nigerian people. In any events, all available facts in Osun showed that equality of treatment among all faiths and the Government practices religions and the Punch apparently does not like this. Remember that it was the Punch that came out to attack the declaration of Hijrah as a public holiday in another editorial full of lies and capricious assertions like the present one.
Selective Use of Data
Just like in its editorial attacking the Hijrah holiday, the present editorial is also guilty of deliberate distortion of data to prove wrong assertion. The editorial claimed that the most functional political systems and lower crime rate are those that separate state from religion. One would ask the Punch whether Saudi Arabia and the Vatican separate state from religion and if not, whether they are not functional political systems and have high criminal rate. An editorial must be well grounded in data to back its assertions. The present one appears to be bereft of that.
Developmental Focus of Aregbesola
The way the editorial was concluded was as if Aregbesola has neglected needed areas of development in the State. This is another way of the Punch editorial desire to call a dog a bad name in other to hang it. There is no doubt that the three years of Aregbesola has brought serious improvement into all the facets referred to by Punch, that is, “health, education, infrastructure, job creation, agriculture and industrialization”. The records are there for all discerning minds.

IT was a historic moment for Nigeria and Africa on Wednesday as the All Party Parliamentary Group (APPG) in the House of Commons, London, United Kingdom commended the Osun Elementary School Feeding and Health Programme (O’MEALS) as a successful model to be copied worldwide.
Governor of Osun State, Mr Rauf Aregbesola received loud applause as he made eloquent statistical presentation before the parliamentary body during which he advocated the use of biometric registration of beneficiaries of the Home Grown School Feeding programme worldwide to eliminate corruption and guarantee transparency.
To guarantee sustainable future for Nigeria, the governor called for the adoption of O’MEALS programme across the nation with appropriate legislative backing and extension to the first nine years of schooling.
At the meeting presided over by Lord Cameron of Dillington, Governor Aregbesola submitted before the world audience gathered in Committee Room 9 of the House of Commons that technology remained the best way to address the concerns of development partners and international donors on the issue of corruption.
Addressing the concerns of development partners on what was referred to as all-pervading corruption through which project funds were usually lost in the past, the governor expressed the conviction that once beneficiaries of the programme are registered biometrically, banks that are linked with the programme funding would rely on the data to process payment and ensure that no fund is lost at the implementation stage.
“Technology remains the only effective way to remove corruption from the implementation of the Home Grown School Feeding programme. Once the technology of biometric registration is introduced for beneficiaries, the data is linked to settle the banks and through that, the vendors are paid. Beneficiaries are then able to register their biometric features through the Point of Sales (POS) terminals to guarantee a transparent, corruption-free and efficient HGSF system worldwide”, he said.
All the four speakers including Professor Donald Bundy, the Lead Health and Education Specialist of the World Bank; Mr Peter Rodrigues, the Chief of School Feeding and Chronic Hunger Unit of the World Food Programme (WFP), Ms. Boitshepo Bibi Giyose of NEPAD and Professor Josephine Kiamba, the Senior Technical Adviser of the Partnership for Child Development, Imperial College, London, lauded Governor Aregbesola for successfully implementing the O’MEALS despite the challenging financial situation of his state.
TRIBUNE

As part of its six integral action plan of restoring healthy living, Osun State government has purchased drugs and consumables worth N1.7 billion.
This is apart from the upgrading, rehabilitation and renovation of nine State Hospitals across the state at the cost of over N1bn.
The state hospitals are in Osogbo, Ikirun, Ikire Ilesa, Ila, Ede, Ile-Ife, Iwo and Ipetu Ijesha. Wale Bolorunduro, commissioner for finance in the State of Osun, who was the guest of the month of the Oyo State Correspondents’ Chapel of the Nigeria Union of Journalists (NUJ) said the move by the state to renovate, rehabilitate and upgrade the hospitals is to ensure adequate healthcare delivery service in the state hospitals.
Answering questions after presenting a paper entitled “Improving Public Finance for Better Governance: The Example of the State of Osun,” noted that the Rauf Aregbesola-led administration is anchored on a six point integral action of banishing poverty, banishing hunger, banishing unemployment, promoting functional education, enhancing communal peace and progress as well as restoring healthy living.
He however pointed out that Aregbesola has fulfilled his promises in providing adequate healthcare service delivery to the people.
To minimise malaria, the Finance Commissioner told journalists that the “Ipinle Omoluabi” embarked on urban renewal and dredging of waterways coupled with good food served pupils in schools under the “O Meals” programme of the State government. Bolorunduro said the dredging of the waterways had helped to reduce the incident of communicable diseases.
The state, he also stressed, embarked on fumigation to further bring down malaria occurrence in the state. He stated that once the ecological and environment verification are completed, fumigation of the airspace will be done.
Temitope Ilori, commissioner for health in the state had urged the Osun people to be health conscious in this year but assured that the government would remain committed to adequate healthcare delivery.
The health commissioner who said the state government spent a lot on the renovation of the hospitals and purchase of ambulances added that healthcare is basically free.
“Things like consultation, opening card, admission are done freely and even 80 percent of the drugs are given out free to patients, drugs for common ailments like hypertension, diabetes, malaria and so on, are free, irrespective of age and sex,” she added.
She further revealed that Vitamin A, deworming tablets, and blood tonics are given to pregnant women in state hospitals.
BUSINESSDAY