IT is disheartening that at this present age, a group is still calling for disunity and intolerance in the country.
Reading through the position of protesters under the aegis of Osun Baptist Conference and the effort of the state government to douse the tension created as a result of the new education policy, makes me feel total sorry for our existence as a nation, especially due to our inability to see any good in our diversity as human beings living together in one nation.
Religious and ethnic sentiments are affecting our mentality, as we always relate any government policy with our belief as Muslims or Christians or our ethnic group, and this is part of the challenges militating against our progress in Nigeria.
Now, coming back to the case of Osun, although, the missionaries might have founded many of the merged schools, however, in as much they are funded by government, it is very illogical to raise our opinion in contrary to the policy made on the schools based on religious sentiments. What should concern patriotic minds is how the policy can be of immense contribution to the development of the state. According to the Nigerian constitution, it is ridiculous, pathetic and a total disregard of the fundamental human rights of the 1999 constitution (as amended) for any Christian group to deny a Muslim child the constitutional right of “freedom of religion” to attend a Christian named public school simply because such child uses Hijab.
On the other hand, it is a total breach of law for a Muslim group also to deny a Christian child the opportunity to attend a Muslim government school just because such child refuses to wear Hijab.
Nigerians should be wise. Enough is enough of religious bigotry that is making us to lose our watchword as one nation. Both the scriptural books of Muslims and Christians preach tolerance in all spheres of life.
Therefore,  the Christian community in Osun State should not entertain any fear; rather, they should join hands with government towards making the policy a success.
TRIBUNE

I do not know how many of our present crop of political leaders subscribes to utilitarian values of leadership. The popular imagination is that Nigeria is a huge desert of inept leaderships with few oases of entities parading purposeful and sparkling leaders. One of them, Ogbeni Rauf Aregbesola, the governor of the State of Osun, is the focus of my article.
In his South West abode, charlatanism is a much disparaged leadership paradigm. Chief Obafemi Awolowo, the region’s foremost political leader in history, lit the light of progressive politics, and with his disciples such as Alhaji Lateef Jakande, Chief Bisi Onabanjo, Chief Bola Ige, and Pa Adekunle Ajasin, among other too many to list, he gave new meaning to governance and established the benchmark for progressivism. Which was why the counterrevolution that swept the progressives out of power in 2003 burnt out very fast; and the likes of Ogbeni Aregbesola are now on the saddle.
He is a chip off the old block, radiating such candescence of Awoism. He displays such rare passion on issues of Osun State’s comprehensive development that you would think his political life, on daily basis, begins and ends with the State of Osun.
This is why I find it curious that his Education Reform as it affects the reclassification and merger of schools in the state has been met with stiff opposition from Christian leaders. And in justifying the opposition, all kinds of untruths have been peddled. The leadership of CAN in the state, especially the Baptist clerics, have created the impression that they remain the owners of all schools bearing such name and must therefore, resist any attempt to obliterate the Baptist values the schools are known for.
To avoid making blind postulations, I made several calls and did extensive investigations. Here are some of my findings. First, all the primary and secondary schools taken over in Osun State since 1975 have remained under the total control of the state government. The implication is that any school with the tag Baptist, Anglican, Methodist, Catholic, Apostolic and Ansar ud Deen, etc, only exist as such in name with the religious organizations having nothing to do with their funding and administration. Second, the current Education Reform is the product of an elaborate and exhaustive engagement of stakeholders, so named Education Summit, and held in February 2011 for two days with Professor Wole Soyinka presiding. And lastly, the opposition is nothing but the manifest cravings of those behind it for a dying legacy.
My investigation took me to Dr Isiaka Ayodele Owoade, Special Adviser on Education to Governor Aregbesola. I asked him two questions in the first instance. First if there are independent/private schools in the state, and second if the voluntary agencies could still establish faith schools in the state if they so desire. To the two questions he answered in the affirmative. Then I raised the issue of compensation for the owners of the schools.
His response to this last question was that there were demands for compensation by the various religious groups after the takeover in 1975, but that such demands were dropped no sooner they were made when the authorities then computed the contributions of the state to the maintenance of each of these schools and they discovered that they would indeed make refund to the state if they pursued their line of argument!
I am a Catholic and a product of a Catholic secondary education. I have been living with the aberration of ladies turning up for St Patrick’s College, Iwaro-Oka, Ondo State Old Students Association meeting. This was a single school up till the end of the 1973/74 session! There is no doubt the military perverted some of the nation’s cherished values, including religious education, in their self serving messianic mission to save Nigeria from unpatriotic politicians.
Some of the contradictions spawned by such intervention have created lingering distortions in our collective psyche. But life must go on. Some states have since handed over the faith schools in their domain to their original owners. But in the State of Osun, this has not happened. And so the rumpus over Aregbesola Education Reform is an unnecessary distraction. Curiously, even among the critics of the policy, none has accused the governor of nonperformance. The profound renewal in the state’s education sector has been roundly commended. But what remains problematic is the use of subterfuge by some religious leaders to hint at an ownership that has no legal basis.
My advice for this set of religious leaders is to start all over. One of the fruits of Pentecostalism in the South West region and indeed the entire nation is the new generation universities built by Deeper Life Bible Church, Redeemed Christian Church of God, Mountain of Fire, Living Faith Church World Wide (Winners Chapel) etc. There is nothing stopping the Baptists and any other religious group, from engaging in new secondary schools development in the state to compete with Aregbesola schools!
NATIONAL MIRROR

ADDRESS DELIVERED BY THE GOVERNOR OF THE STATE OF OSUN, OGBENI RAUF AREGBESOLA, AT THE 2013 WORLD SUMMIT AWARD GLOBAL CONGRESS, HELD IN COLOMBO, SRI LANKA, ON TUESDAY OCTOBER 22, 2013

It is a most delightful experience for me to be here on this year’s occasion of the World Summit Award (WSA). This award has established itself as a prestigious platform for showcasing human creativity in the world of information and communications technology (ICT), as well as highlighting the fact that the world is on a full-tilt journey into a future that will be ICT-driven and ICT-controlled. For any thinking person, it should already be quite clear that that future begins now. It is a future that we can neither avoid nor from which escape is an option. Hence, it is a future for which we must be prepared. In the State of Osun in Nigeria, where I am governor, we have taken a giant stride in preparing ourselves for that future.

May I at this point sincerely thank the World Summit Award for organising this ICT Global Congress that provides a competitive opportunity for innovative ICT products to come into global reckoning. I must also express the gratitude of the people of Osun and their government to the selection jury for deeming our ICT product worthy of this prestigious award in the e-learning and science category. In this age of information and knowledge economy, the developing parts of the world suffer a huge disadvantage, euphemistically described as ‘knowledge gap’. However, for us in this part of that world, the implication of this gap, in reality, is far more grievous than the euphemism would suggest. The fact is that, with our deficiency in terms of the human capacity to be able to compete with our more developed counterparts, we have a world in which one part reaps all the benefits and the other part suffers all the setbacks.
There is therefore an urgent need for us in the developing world to brace ourselves for the rapidly unfolding era of ICT that is certain to come upon us. As is typically the case in much of our world, we face two crucial challenges – poor education and cash limitation. The two are mutually reinforcing in a manner that helps preserve and in fact advance our state of under-development. When I assumed office as governor in my state, these challenges were real and formidable. Osun had chronic financial incapacity and the public education sector was on the brink of collapse.
We decided as a government that a way had to be devised to solve these problems, and ICT became an inevitable choice. But our resort to ICT as a creative way to overcome our problem has a focus on the future, which requires that we equip our young people with qualitative education and the necessary ICT skills which they will certainly need now and in the future. The Opón-Ìmò Technology Enhanced Learning System (O’TELS) is our innovative answer. It is the flagship of our giant preparatory steps towards giving our public school students the high quality education they need, while simultaneously giving them an early start in ICT exposure.
Because our people are largely poor and unable to afford the needed materials for high standard education, many of the students in our public schools lacked the basic knowledge that was required even to pass their external examinations. So dismal was the situation that only three per cent of the students in Osun public schools could manage to obtain the five credit pass required for matriculation into higher institutions of learning. This e-learning ‘table of knowledge’ is a practical and radical solution to a very daunting and nagging problem. It is our smart ICT solution to produce smart public school students in the State. Like we have made clear, the vision behind Opón-Ìmò is: ‘to democratise access to learning; to complement our overall education reform; to help senior secondary school student better prepare for School Leaving Examinations; and to use technology as a silver bullet to the learning problem in Osun’.
Opón-Ìmò is like no other e-learning devise anywhere in the world. It is a complete, standalone library resource in a single computer tablet. It is a closed system that does not interface or interconnect with any other system, because it can function on its own. It provides three major content categories which are, e-library, virtual classroom, and an integrated test zone. Together the e-library and virtual classroom contains all the 63 textbooks in all the 17 core subject areas in which the students are examined in their final examinations at the high school stage. It is a smart device that delivers compelling self-paced courses, conducted in a highly interactive computer-based learning environment. It is synchronised with a library of relevant e-books and a computer-based testing environment. This section also contains an average of 16 chapters per subject and 823 chapters in all, with about 900 minutes or 15 hours of audio voiceovers.
The integrated test zone offers practice questions and answers dating back to 10 years in WASSCE. It also contains mock exam tests in 14 core subject areas, with an average of 500 questions each and approximately 1,800 images. Included in this zone are also practice tests for 46 courses with approximately 1,220 chapters containing approximately 29,000 questions referencing approximately 825 images. Despite its heavy burden of books and other learning materials, Opón-Ìmò weighs only 1.1kg, and runs on an Android 4.0 operating platform, with a 512MB of RAM and an internal storage capacity of 32GB. With a touchscreen interface, it is equipped with dictionary, the holy Bible, holy Qur’an and a health book. It also has inbuilt, mind development games such as chess, Sudoku and Tetris.
In addition to the 17 core subjects for senior secondary schools, it contains six extracurricular subjects viz. history of the Yoruba, sexuality education, civic education, Ifa on ethics and morals, enterprise education and healthy living.
While Opón-Ìmò tackles our peculiar learning problem through the instrumentality of ICT, it likewise takes cognisance of our local and environmental factors. For instance, the tablet comes with water and fire proof pouch. The Charging adaptor also comes with a fuse to protect the device from the very routine power surges that are the bane of electrical and electronic devices in our country. Its light weight makes for easy mobility that also enhances the ease of getting it charged.
To ensure its sustainability, there are support centres for the device across all the nine Federal Constituencies in the State, while an ICT factory has been established for the manufacture of 100,000 units of Opón-Ìmò. The establishment of this factory will have the effect of opening up further possibilities of ICT enablement for our people, with the accompanying economic prospects that are sure to follow. Building a base for ICT capacity in Osun will make the State an attractive centre for business enterprises that require such skills, while this will further increase the application of ICT to other areas of our social and economic life in the State.
Already, the introduction of this device has saved the State Government a stupendous N8billion that would have gone into the purchase of text books for our free education policy. This veritable tablet of knowledge will level the learning playing field for all students from different social and economic backgrounds. It would allow them to learn at their own pace, and in any place they choose. Opón-Ìmò also offers robust and uniform learning content for all students, and provides a feedback mechanism for monitoring their performance.
With Opón-Ìmò, we have not only introduced a game-changer into the landscape of learning in public schools, we have also laid a solid foundation for our children’s ICT future.
Once more I thank the WSA for the award.
I thank you all for giving me your valuable time.

The Senior Special Assistant to Governor Rauf Aregbesola of the State of Osun on Civil and Public Affairs, Comrade Waheed Lawal, has urged members of the public to see the ongoing education reform from a broader sense, rather than religious or personal perception.
According to Lawal, the reclassification and merging of schools should be viewed from holistic angle of how the reform will improve the standard of education and academic performance of public school students in the state.
Speaking with OSUN DEFENDER in an interview in Osogbo on Thursday, Lawal stated that only the discerning minds would appreciate the education reform, appealing to the people to be objective and sincere while criticizing the reform.
Lawal, who commended various religious groups that have in one way or the other shown concern on the education reform, said the reclassification and merging of schools is in fulfillment of Aregbesola’s campaign promise of promoting functional education.
The human rights crusader maintained that it would be wrong for any group of people to accuse Aregbesola of planning to relegate or promote a particular religion through the education reform, arguing that the governor has never prioritised any religion above the others.
He said: “We were all in this state, when our children were studying under dilapidated school buildings, which posed serious threat to them and their teachers. We were all in this state, when only three per cent of our children have five credits in WAEC and NECO-conducted examinations. We were all in this state, when education was in total mess and shambles.
“Today, we are all happy to see the improvement in the performances of our children in both internal and external examinations. From 34th position on pass level in SSCE, Osun moved to 18 and now 8th position in 2013. “All the dilapidated structures in the schools have been replaced with model schools. The present administration has given life, hope and future back to the children of the masses, who are attending public schools. It will be sinful and unjust for anybody not to acknowledge these achievements.”
The SSA, however, warned members of the public against politicizing the reclassification and merging of schools, saying that such step will blindfold the critics from seeing the goodness of the new education policy.
Lawal explained that the reclassification of schools into three segments: Elementary, Middle and High School did not contravene the Federal Government education policy of 6-3-3, which means that, pupils of age 6-9 years will be in Primary 1-4 now termed Grade 1-4 and named Elementary, those in ages 10-14 will be in Primary 5-6 and JSS 1-3 which is now Grade 5-9 and titled Middle and then the High School with age 15-18 in Grade 10-12. He said the education reform is aimed at finding solution to the problems of education in the state, saying that the policy has been yielding positive result through the encouraging performance of the students in external and external examinations and competitions.
OSUN DEFENDER

In 2011 Osun trudged behind other states of the federation with its 34th position in the Senior School Certificate Examination (SSCE) conducted by the West African Examination Council (WAEC) and the National Examination Council (NECO). The result was just woeful and it goes without saying that education needed a surgical operation in the State of Osun to stem the slide into a coma. And within just a year of the diagnosis and operation, the state leapt to the 18th position and with recuperation it has inched up to the 8th position.
Special Adviser to the Governor of Osun on Lands, Physical Planning and Urban Development, Dr Ayodele Owoade, in chat in Lagos, attributed the progressive performance to the innovative programmes and massive investment in the education sector by the Ogbeni Rauf Aregbesola administration.
He said the quick turnaround in the sector was amazing, considering that Aregbesola inherited a defective education sector built on dilapidated school buildings and demoralized working staff when he assumed office on November 27, 2010. According to him, the quality of education in past years was so poor that less than three percent of Osun students that finished from public schools were able to secure admission into tertiary institutions in the country.
Owoade said truancy was so high in secondary schools that students roamed the streets and took to commercial motorcycle operations during school hours. Above all, learning facilities were in utter disrepair and teachers’ morale sunk like a deflated balloon. No doubt, students from the state always ended on the back seat in public examinations year after year, he added.
Moved by the passion to reverse the rot, Owoade said the governor convened an education summit within his first three months in office. The summit, held at the Osogbo campus of the Osun State University, had Nobel laureate, Professor Wole Soyinka as chairman, as well as other educationists from different parts of the country and African nations. Other members of the summit were Dr. Modupe Fagbulu, a renowned educationist and retired inspector of education; Professor Wale Omole, former vice chancellor, Obafemi Awolowo University, Ile-Ife; and Professor Ibidapo Obe, former vice chancellor, University of Lagos, among other erudite scholars. Also, heads of all tertiary institutions and principal officers of the institutions owned by the Osun State government, members of the Nigeria Union of Teachers and selected students from both secondary and tertiary institutions in the state form the membership of the summit.
In line with the recommendation of the summit that identified conducive environment as a priority, Owoade said the government courageously took a dive in the troubled water and launched a programme called O’Schools, to address the infrastructural decay in schools. Under this programme, 170 state-of-the-art mega schools are being constructed across all the federal constituencies in the state, 100 of which are for elementary schools (Grade 1 to 4), which is 1,000-capacity; 50 middle schools (Grade 5 to 8) also of 1,000-capacity and 20 high schools (Grade 9 to 12) of 3,000-capacity each.
Besides these new schools, the state government has embarked on refurbishing of existing schools. The government also embarked on re-classification of schools, making all public schools co-educational. Such step, according to the state government, would weed out mushroom schools and help in achieving economies of scale. The initiative would also checkmate the rate of school dropout, because it allows automatic transfer from elementary to middle school.
Owoade said over 100,000 customised chairs and desks had been provided for students, noting that the government was also drilling water boreholes in schools, building new toilets, as well as refurbishing and repainting old classroom blocks.
Further investigation revealed that before the advent of the present administration, primary schools in the state were given N200 per school as running cost per term, a situation that overburdened parents with series of levies. To reduce the burden, the present administration directed that no teacher must collect a kobo from pupils for their education. Presently, the running cost per term has been placed at N400 per child, which translates to a minimum of N75,000 on the average for each school per term for primary schools. Also, secondary schools in the area were being given N150 per child, per term and it has now been increased to N550 per child every term.
Aside the relief on parents, this intervention also enhanced students’ overall performance in public examinations. For instance, in 2010, Out of 44, 388 students that sat for the 2010 May/ June WASSCE, only 6,773 of them had credit passes in five subjects including English and Mathematics. But in 2011 May /June WASSCE, a total of 54, 810 students sat for the examinations while 11, 949 students recorded credit level passes in five subjects, including English and Mathematics, which translated to an improvement of 76.4%.
The governor’s aide said the introduction of an electronic learning device, popularly called Opon Imo, transformed education into the digital age in the state. No fewer than 150,000 pupils were given free electronic tablets loaded with 63 relevant books, lesson notes, virtual classroom and other learning resources for secondary school pupils. It also contains a dictionary, the Bible, the Quran, books on the history of the Yoruba and Ifa. It also contains lesson notes for the 17 subjects taken in the WASSCE as well as JAMB exam questions for the past 10 years.
Sunday Sun gathered that the introduction of the device has saved the state government the whooping sum of N50.25billion it would have spent on procuring hard-copy versions of the resources embedded in the Opon Imo. Taking students to the fast lane of digital information has made learning a delightful experience for the young learners and as well eased the burden on their teachers.
Owoade said the Aregbesola administration also reviewed the School Feeding Programme for primary one to four pupils, known as O’Meal. An estimated N3.6 billion is being spent annually on this programme, which provides the pupils with highly nutritious food, rich in protein and vitamins. Every week, the pupils consume 300,000 eggs, 15,000 chickens, 400 tons of fish and daily fruits and vegetables, sourced from local farmers through the Osun Youth Empowerment Scheme (O’YES). The belief is that if the children were well-fed at their formative stage, their mental capacity would be enhanced for better concentration and performance.
Owoade said the success of the programme had been overwhelming, judging by the high enrolment and attendance in schools in the area. Above all, the new face of education in the state has reassured public confidence that qualitative education can also be accessible in public schools.
Counting on the successes recorded from these programmes, Owoade said the state government took another giant step recently in line with the recommendation by the education summit that public primary and secondary schools in the state should be merged for effective teaching and learning.
Sunday Sun gathered that the implementation of the schools merger system raised dust in the state, with accusations that the Aregbesola administration was bent on Islamising schools in the state.
Government’s attempt to embark on the implementation of the policy, which it tagged “Schools Re-classification System” last year was dogged by protests, spearheaded by the opposition party.
Reacting to this development, Owoade dismissed such speculation, noting that those that spread such allegations were either uninformed or deliberately mischievous. According to him, Governor Aregbesola had met with the Christian Association of Nigeria (CAN) and emphasized that he had no intention of Islamising Osun State.
He explained that government had taken over all missionary schools 38 years ago. Since then, the state government had been funding the schools without any contribution from their former owners. Owoade said old names of the missionary schools were retained to preserve their legacies and traditions. According to him, with the positive transformation in Osun schools, it would be ridiculous for anyone to insinuate that the Aregbesola administration wanted to Islamise the schools.
OSUN DEFENDER

A strong economy dictates the phase of political development. Prominent Nigerians have lately advocated the need to diversify the economy of the country. There were strong comments that the country should diversify from oil based to agro-allied based economy. Thus, since the advent of the current political dispensation about 14 years ago, many states have embarked on various shades of commercial agriculture. However, some of the states have turned the lofty policy and programmes into a political propaganda rather than the intended objective. In the light of the above, a critical appraisal of some of Governor Rauf Aregbesola’s agricultural policies and programmes of activities is necessary. 
Governor Rauf Aregbesola, while justifying the huge amount committed by his administration to agricultural sector in the state opined 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.”
Warning the country, he said: “The phenomenon could also affect Nigeria’s foreign earnings if the current development in all nations of the world as regards the discoveries of oil is anything to go by. The United States of America, China and other developed countries which Nigeria rely upon for consumption of its oil produce could now guarantee large deposit of oil in its land, by implication, Nigeria is heading to a doom.”
He added, “To this end, Nigeria would find it difficult to meet its obligation through proceeds from oil, hence there is urgent need for the nation to diversify its economy to agricultural sector.”
“It is in realisation of its green book called: Six Point Integral Action Plan of banishment of hunger, poverty, unemployment, provision of functional education and restoration of healthy living and enhancement of communal peace and progress that make government to reposition the sector for economic gains.
The state Commissioner for Agriculture and Food sufficiency, Hon. Richard Adewale  Adedoyin in giving the score sheet of the administration in the sector said that :”In recognition of the agrarian nature of Osun State and its enormous potential for employment generation, a deliberate policy for mass food production, the Osun Rural Enterprise and Agricultural Programme (O-REAP) has been designed to enable the Ministry gives priority attention to agriculture commodity value chain spanning production, processing, storage, preservation and marketing.
“The mission of O-REAP is to achieve food security, wealth and job creation, youth empowerment, economic transformation and making the state the hub of agriculture and an emporium of commerce in the South-West. The mission is a strategy to capture Lagos market through supply of at least 10% of the daily three billion worth of food in the state. As part of efforts to fulfil its social contract with the people of the state, Aregbesola placed considerable emphasis on hunger and poverty alleviation which is the core value of National Economic Empowerment and Development Strategy, (NEEDS) and attainment of Millennium Development Goals.
“The present administration is working round the clock towards the attainment of the objectives of the O-REAP programme through sustainable implementation strategies to aid the operation of farmers through land acquisition, land clearing, tractorisation and private public partnership as well as provision of enabling environment for farmers to maximise their potential. O-REAP programme focus on different agricultural initiatives which include Osun Broilers Out growers’ production scheme. The Beef Chain Development Programme, O-REAP Fish Farm Estates, Osun Fisheries Out-growers production scheme, O-REAP Youth Academy, Agricultural credit, Farm Service Centres, Provision of storage facilities and seedling production as well as farm settlement scheme.
“These schemes have drastically redefined agricultural system in the state as farmers have access to over 1,000 day chicks under the Osun Broilers Out-growers Production Scheme (O-BOPS). Most of the farmers who participated in O-Broiler scheme made sustainable profit. The O-Broiler initiative is yielding positive results due to its linkage to O-Meals, a school feeding programme which provides a sustainable market for poultry farmers in the state.
“O-Fish scheme of the present administration has opened window of opportunitiess for fish farmers through public private partnership arrangement. Over 800,000 kilogram of cat fish are expected to be produced and processed by over four thousand fish farmers yearly in the state.
“Having realised the need for Youths Empowerment through agricultural programme, the present administration in Osun State under the leadership of Aregbesola established O-REAP Youth Academy. The Academy is expected to serve as tool for youth empowerment and job creation. Over nine hundred youths selected from Osun State Youths Empowerment Scheme,
OYES Cadets are undergoing eight months training in modern skills and techniques in agricultural practices. Upon their graduation, the government would equip the youths with farm land, farm inputs and credit facilities.
The training centres are located at Osogbo, Ila, Ede, Ile-Ogbo, Wasinmi, Ilesa, Oyan and Esa-Odo, as well as Ile-Ife.
“In its bid to make the state the food basket of the nation through adaptation of modern farming techniques, 20 youths of the state are currently in Germany for training in modern agricultural practices. The beauty of various training programmes often organised for the youths by the government under its Agricultural Intervention Programme lies in the provision of enabling environment for the application of their acquired skills with the conceptualisation of the state rural enterprise and agriculture programme, the programme has created opportunity for investors to come and establish agro allied industries in the state.
“Also, the present administration also designed quick impact intervention programme, which focuses on small holding farmers and micro-credit management for cooperative farmers. The programme has made significant impact as cooperative groups were strengthened and agricultural activities increased substantially in the state.  Within two years, 77 farmers were registered for farmers’ cooperative groups and over 1,000 hectares of land were cultivated while over 1,000 jobs were created through the intervention.
“There is no doubt that the success recorded by government under the intervention programme informed the design of Central Bank, commercial banks and agricultural enterprises to support government to enhance production of maize, cassava, rice and vegetables in the state.
“Aside from making agriculture a key component of its economy, the present administration also belief in the ideal of making the sector more attractive to youth, government has designed an agriculture programme for the training of primary and secondary school students in the art of farming. To ensure actualisation of the dream, Osun State Government has provided schools in the state with necessary inputs for practical training for the production of cassava, maize and cocoa-yam, while about 10 schools were assisted on piggery and poultry production.
“In its stride to revitalise farm settlement in the state and make the state the food basket of the nation, the incumbent administration has focused on farm settlement with a view to repositioning the settlement to be in tandem with global practice. In the year 2011, about 50 hectares of virgin forest land were cleared, prepared and allocated to 10 farmers free of charge at Mokore Farm Settlement as part of efforts to enhance productivity of farmers and provide food in abundance for people of the state.
“In 2012, government extends the gesture to Iwo Farm Settlement with clearing of one hundred hectares of land to 20 farmers. Government also provided accessible road for the farm settlement so as to link farmers with the market. Other farm settlements that are also enjoying the presence of government include – Ago-Owu and Oyere Aborisade farm settlements, among others.
“Also in its bid to make life more bearable for farmers and enhance  production, the state government has distributed farm inputs ranging from CP 15 Sprayer, Grammozone and Atrazine to one 1,830 (One thousand, eight hundred and thirty) farmers in the state. The beauty of the present administration’s agricultural policies and programmes lies in the application of technology into farming through provision of agro chemicals to farmers to encourage massive food production across the state. To say the present administration is working towards reclaiming the old glory of people of South-West is stating the obvious, This is as a result of the efforts of government in providing free cocoa seedlings to cocoa farmers in the state.
To crown it up, over N10m was released to cocoa farmers recently to boost cocoa production and boost Internally Generated Revenue of the state. The state has enormous Agricultural resources that can be optimally exploited to achieve laudable objectives of poverty alleviation and overall economic prosperity for the entire state.
The climate of the state is very clement and conducive for the commercial production of eight major categories of agricultural produce with extensive potential for industrial utilisation. The agricultural produce include cereals like maize, roots and tubers, e.g cassava yam, coco-yam, fruits and vegetable, orange, cashew, mango, tomatoes, etc.
“With the current stride in the sector, the present administration has opened windows of opportunity for both local and foreign investors to tap into production of produce for commercial purpose and industrial use, thus, attesting to government’s determination to diversify the state economy to agricultural sector.”
The commissioner maintained that various interventions of the ministry is yielding positive results towards attainment of the six point integral action plan of the present administration in the state. Adedoyin noted that the training of some youths in Germany on modern agricultural practice and training of over 900 youths in modern farming techniques under O-REAP programme would not only serve as source of wealth generation, but a viable tool for employment generation in the state.
The commissioner said further that, “O-Concept’ as strategy for the revitalisation of the agricultural sector in the state was aimed at transforming the state economy through the sector. Food is life, it is in realisation of this fact that the present administration under the leadership of Aregbesola increased budgetary allocation of the sector to over N8bn in 2013 fiscal year to cater for various programmes of the Ministry to make agriculture more profitable and attractive, as well as a good venture for making food available in the state, with spill over effects on other states of the federation”.
DAILY NEWSWATCH

The Chapter of the Christian Association of Nigeria  (CAN) in the State of Osun did not get their facts right about the Education Reform package of the State Government under Ogbeni Rauf Aregbesola. CAN has come up with very interesting but factually erroneous issues upon which the leaders of the organisation based its reservation to the implementation of some aspects of the reform. Specifically, CAN leaders said christian schools were merged with non-christian ones thereby compelling the christian students to attend (and possibly) learn non-christian doctrines.
The CAN leaders also attempted to justify this erroneous view by pointing to  the inclusion of the study of Ifa Knowledge in the school curriculum in the state. They also claimed that students of single-sex schools are pooled into mixed schools thereby changing the character of those schools. Now what are the facts? As part of the Education Reform package, the state government embarked on the building of ultra-modern schools with proper educational facilities. This material fact has not been denied by the CAN leaders because it is the real gospel truth.
The building of the schools across the state was in line with the reclassification of the schools in the state into Elementary, Middle and High Schools. The  Elementary School  is for children aged six to nine and it has grades 1-4 corresponding to the old primary 1-4. The ultra-modern Elementary Schools accommodate 900 pupils each. The Middle School would be for pupils aged 10-14 and it  correspond to old Primary 5 to Junior Secondary School 3.
This has the new education grade system 5 to 9 while the last category, the High Schools accommodate those in the old Senior Secondary School Classes 1 to 3 having grade levels 10 to 12. Other components of the complete reform package  has the free school feeding program, the computerisation of the school instruction and learning materials, as encapsulated in Opon Imo, the redesign of the school uniform and the reclassification of the schools. Let me quickly add here that the curriculum of learning was also improved upon by the inclusion of subjects that would make the children learn and understand our indigenous knowledge.
Now to the main issue of contest by CAN.
It is categorically not true that the Governor merged Christian schools with a non-Christian ones as there was no public Christian or Islamic schools in Osun. The schools which were affected by the reclassification were all public schools. Yes, it would be true to say some schools were originally established by Christian missions but 38 years ago, these schools were taken over by government and the original owners were adequately compensated. Since then, all these schools  have lost the characteristic of the original founders and took  on that of secularity.
So it would be wrong now to say Christian schools were being merged with non-Christian ones. On the surface, the argument of the CAN leaders that single-sex students are being pooled into mixed school might look sound on the ground of morals but experience has shown that this position is not. Indeed research findings on same-sex education has shown that separating girls and boys in classrooms made it difficult for them to learn how to efficiently and harmoniously work together. The American Department of Education also established that single-sex classroom or school practise does not guarantee  success in education, rather other factors such as good learning environment and instructional materials do. Also, research has established that children spend their formative years in the classroom developing skills that will help them maintain relationships throughout their lives.
If a child has little exposure to the opposite sex, building meaningful friendships and even successful romantic relationships can be difficult. Research published by Dr. Lynn Liben in 2011 shows that there is strong evidence of negative consequences accompanying segregating by sex and that doing so promotes the development of negative gender stereotypes. Today, our society is full of undesirable homosexual behaviour. The population of Nigerian gay and lesbians are becoming so loud that there is advocacy for same sex marriage. Has CAN undertook research to know the effect of single school system on this? Emerging from this, the position of CAN leaders on single schools may not aid family unity as a child that goes through single school may grow up without appreciating the need for matrimonial harmony.
In any case, the rationale behind the school reclassification was the need to maximise the educational advantage to the students in the face of the lean financial resources available to the State. With the new schools, every student in the State would have access to better and more conducive learning environment which were hitherto unavailable for them in the old derelict schools.
The argument of CAN leaders on the inclusion of Ifa in the curriculum clearly pointed to the fact that they did not understand the need to promote Yoruba culture and knowledge so that it is saved from extinction. The Ifa divination system, which makes use of an extensive corpus of texts and mathematical formulas, is practiced among Yoruba communities and by the African diaspora in the Americas and the Caribbean.
This was established by the UNESCO and it was equally established that colonialism led to tagging such indigenous body of knowledge, which clearly established code of ethics and morals for our parents, as inferior to the religion or way of life brought by the colonial people hence the misconception that only two religions of christianity and Islam are sacrosanct. There is however no doubt from the point of the constitution and democracy that those who believe in IFA has the right as well to propagate such and now that the Ifa has been included in the curriculum, there are choices of what to study for the children. The need for choices underscored why no religious study was made compulsory in the State.
The truth is that Governor Aregbesola does not promote any religion in the schools in Osun. It is deliberate falsehood to try to twist this fact. In April this year, the President of Baptist Convention Rev. Supo Ayokunle underscored the unbiased nature of the governor when he stated that the Baptist Mission would continue to hold the governor in high esteem, as he had clearly demonstrated tolerance and peaceful co-existence among the people of all faiths.
The Rev clergy described Aregbesola as amiable, visionary, a gift to this generation, a friend and a man of the people. All these took place at the Baptist Convention. Nothing has changed in the inclusive and integrative manner the governor has related to every religion in the state. Just as the governor has stated in many of his public statements, his focus and attention is to enhance the standard of living of the people, especially children  in the state. This is why every leader, social, religious and all should support the fundamental development efforts now taking place in the State of Osun.
THIS DAY

For the first time in the history of the State of Osun, Governor Rauf Aregbesola last Tuesday hosted the members of the state judiciary to a dinner to mark the beginning of this year’s legal year.
The dinner, held at Banquet Hall, Government House, Osogbo, the state capital, had in attendance High Court judges, magistrates, members of the Nigerian Bar Association (NBA) and other judiciary members of staff.
Addressing the judges, Governor Aregbesola described them as the myth of government, making modern democracy functional.
He described Osun judges as “genuine priests in the temple of justice, who always protect public interests by upholding the law.
He said; “the law and order exit for the purpose of establishing justice and that is why a judge will sit and sentence someone to death or life imprisonment and such person will have no option rather than to die.
“ Without the law, the essence of human beings would not have been possible. Progress in the society depends upon the fairness, honourable and contentious adjudication of law on your part, otherwise, the society is set for doom”.
Aregbesola added that the current transformation in the state for the past 34 months was the product of a courageous judiciary.
“If not the courageous judiciary, one million individuals like me could not unseat Olagunsoye Oyinlola, but by law and its enforcement, we are here. If not law, the popular mandate of the people would have remained in wrong hands.”
This single example, according to the governor, underscored the importance of the judiciary in a democratic society to restore law and order.
Aregbesola also commended the Osun judiciary for quick dispensation of justice on the convicted kidnappers of the wife of the Speaker, Alhaja Muibat Salaam.
Speaking Earlier, the state Chief Judge, Justice Adepele Ojo, said the special dinner with the governor was the first of its kind in the state and commended the governor for his commitment to an efficient judiciary in the state.
OSUN DEFENDER

Members of the Course 22 of the National Defence College, Abuja, on Wednesday commended the Governor of the State of Osun, Ogbeni Rauf Aregbesola, saying the youth employment, infrastructure provisions of the government are sterling.
The Course 22 members, who were on a courtesy call to the Governor, said they were highly impressed by the achievements of Aregbesola.
The team was on a study tour of the state with the theme: “Infrastructure as Catalyst for Development in the State of Osun: Issues and Prospects.”
Speaking on behalf of the team, Brigadier General Alani Okunlola, who is also the team leader, said the governor has recorded giant strides, which are interesting and intimidating.
General Okunlola said the team was highly impressed with ongoing and completed road projects in the state.
He said one of the most impressive things to the team is the recognition of the Osun Youth Employment Scheme (OYES) by the World Bank as a genuine effort of a government that intends to engage and empower youths.
“We have gone on a tour of road constructions in the state and we have seen a lot of huge projects.
“We saw many giant projects in the state, particularly the gigantic road projects going on. With what we have seen, we are highly impressed.
“We have seen giant strides that are quite interesting and intimidating to behold. We are also better educated about the efforts of government in developing the state.
“And one of the most impressive things to us is the recognition of OYES by World Bank as genuine efforts by a government willing to develop the capacity of its youth. We urge government not to relent in its efforts,” General Okunlola said.
Responding, Governor Aregbesola said that it is the infrastructure of a nation that creates wealth for that nation.
He said that for the people to be productive, infrastructure must be developed.
According to him, even with meagre resources coming to the state, government is making frantic efforts to develop its infrastructure.
“We are stimulated in our infrastructure efforts by the statement made by John Kennedy that roads in America are not the reflection of the wealth of the society but they are the cause of the wealth of  society.
“If we can get our leaders to have clear understanding that the only way to promote productivity is for us to have solid and sound infrastructure. If you more borrow money to develop your infrastructure, it is the surest way for wealth creation.
“It is this simple logic that is lacking in our society. If we consciously develop our infrastructure, even within our limited resources, in the next 10 to 20 years we will be world leader.
“Here in Osun, what we are doing is to use our intellect to put up infrastructure however possible as means of stimulating a very high level of productivity. It is human production that creates wealth. Despite the state’s meagre resources, we have made frantic efforts to develop our infrastructure,” Aregbesola said.
He said that limited resources did not prevent the state from regular payment of salary as at when due, adding that from scarce funds the state employed 20, 000 OYES youths; is feeding 300, 000 elementary school pupils; produced the innovative e-learning tablet, Opon Imo; provides monthly monetary supports to critically vulnerable elders in the state among other social benefits enjoyed by the people of the state.
He commended the men of armed forces saying the greatest service is the one offered in the defence of one’s nation, saying this is the highest demonstration of zeal, patriotism and commitment.
He continued: “The greatest service is that of the defence of one’s nation. There can’t be higher service than that. When a man or a woman on his own volition, without any compulsion, decides to put his or life on the line for the defence of his or her nation, it is the highest demonstration of patriotism, commitment and loyalty.
“So, whenever I see officers and men in uniform who on their own volition volunteered their lives to the defence of their nations, I say that there can be no higher demonstration and commitment.”
GAZELLE NEWS