A manufacturing company specialising in information and communications technology (ICT) products, which is capable of generating about 20,000 jobs for youths, has started operations in Osun state.
Speaking at the company’s corporate office in Osogbo, the national sales manager, Alex Oyebamiji, disclosed that the firm, which started about 12 years ago to help promote entrepreneurship development through applied ICT, got to Nigeria about two years ago.
He said the firm has decided to partner Osun state government with the aim of manufacturing ICT products like phones, laptops and computer tablets.
Oyebamiji also disclosed that the factory for the company, which is located in Ilesa, has reached 85 per cent completion, and this makes it to be the first ICT company to build a factory of its own in that part of Nigeria.
On the choice of Osun state, he said the state has a divine economic policy and “everyone is aware that ICT facilitates global business. Economically, the state has been very vibrant. There is high response to ICT appreciation. The people have been responding to the quest for scholarship after winning our proposed raffle draw.”
He added, “Our intention is to empower youth after training. We would start by engaging five hundred youths immediately after completing the factory. Later over one thousand youth would be employed to work in the factory.
“Other segment of workers will be determined by the product range as the products and prices are segmented into low, middle and high class, in accordance with the distributorship or dealership and retailer-ship levels”.
He further stated that accessibility to the Lagos-Abuja Express road, electricity and manpower accounted for the decision of the company to site its company at Ilesa.
As part of the activities of the company in the past, Oyebamiji said by May this year, about 5,000 youths graduated from the company’s training session. He added that 100 out of them have been picked and trained for technical work at their factory in Ghana. They were trained on how to assemble and repair phones, laptops, computer tablets and all other ICT facilities.
Also, as corporate citizen’s responsibility, the company has donated sixteen buses with its logo on them offering free ride to the people in Ilesa, Ila, Ede, while ten out of these buses are plying Osogbo metropolis.
THIS DAY

As reported by a German Newspaper…
Visitors from Nigeria and a team of international and informational guests joined agricultural students who want to continue their education in theory and practical at the State Institute Idener.
Foreign guests seeking information on agriculture were shown a picture of modern methods by the State Institute Idener. However, the launch of the project was a premiere support system and is also a challenge at the same time. Birgit Gamperle, head of Management at the State Institute for Agriculture, Forestry and Horticulture says that it has been well-known beyond the country’s borders that the facility has been housing students from Nigeria for the first time, for four weeks.
The goal is clear: “We want to get fit” says Gamperle, who prepared the one-month stay for the young guests from the South-Western State of Osun, in his own words carefully.
Internships in Companies in Saxony-Anhalt
However, this does not stop the learning time of 20 Africans, all of whom are studying Agricultural-Economics to gain insights into agriculture in Saxony-Anhalt, not only in the next four, but twelve weeks. Thereafter, Idener – an internship in companies of the state follows, in which the acquired knowledge is applied.
Co-operation with the West African state should not be limited to the current time, informed Idens Head of Department, Dr. Manfred Weber. Yesterday, the students (18 – 44 years of age) were welcomed together with Birgit Gamperle. “We have tried to create a challenging and varied program for them” said Weber as he turned to the guests who have already completed a German course in their home, but not sacrificing an interpreter. If the lessons prove to be promising, which is the wish of the Nigerian state, the cooperation should be continued. Because the Osun State Governor, Rauf Aregbesola , campaigned with Saxony -Anhalt’s Minister for this form of training and was met with open ears.
Familiarizing themselves with modern technology
“The agriculture here and that in Nigeria cannot be compared with each other” said Gamperle. For that reason, the hurdles of the future teaching are not just small. What is reasonable? What is not? Both animal and plant production are not forgotten. Agriculture is the main industry in the State of Osun, where a variety of crops are grown including potatoes, corn and cocoa. The milk production is attributed as an equally important role. On the surfaces of Idener State Institute, students would learn, among other things, how they can use the modern technology in order to give a boost to the agriculture in their country.
“We want them to have a basis for more activities to take home” said Birgit Gamperle, but hopes for one thing: an active participation of the students who may also appreciate an interesting program with various tour companies.
VOLKSSTIMME

Osun State Governor Rauf Aregbesola has urged residents to be vigilant and report the vandalisation of public utilities to security agencies.
He spoke at the weekend during the 12th Walk-to-Live programme at Ijebu-Jesha, heaquarters of Oriade Local Government.
Aregbesola said: “The activities of vandals have affected the nation’s economy and destroyed social amenities. These people are bent on destroying the nation with their illegal activities. We must act as our own protectors, so we must be vigilant and protect these amenities.”
Addressing a crowd after a six-kilometre walk from Ilo-Ijesa to the Urban Day Grammar School, Ijebu-Jesa, Aregbesola said the programme was not a political campaign, but a “constant reminder” to the people to take care of their health.
Reiterating his administration’s commitment to promoting healthy living, he said: “Our government is concerned about the health of our people and we must always educate ourselves on the essence of physical fitness. Exercise is the best way to protect ourselves against diseases. Regular exercise keeps the body fit and make us live a healthy life in a clean environment.”
Former Lagos State House of Assembly Speaker Senator Olorunibe Mamora, who participated in the Walk, said the large turn out showed the people’s support for the government.
THE NATION

I congratulate Nigerians on the 53rd anniversary of our nation’s independence. But as we celebrate, we must also take time to reflect on the state of the nation. The Nigerian project is a bold experiment in nation-building. It is an experiment that has proved to be a challenging undertaking. But, for me, building Nigeria is an experiment that is well worth the attempt.
At independence, on this day in 1960, Nigeria was a country full of high hopes, and good prospects, with its diverse peoples filled with aspirations. But somewhere along the line, we got it fundamentally wrong, with the consequences that, today, 53 years on, we are still struggling to get the basics right. The country is faced with tough difficulties and mortal dangers on multiple fronts. Our efforts at nation-building are being affronted by manifold crises of under-development – bad governance; poor planning; industrial collapse; decay of basic infrastructure; socio-economic backwardness; political instability; insecurity; widespread poverty; social, ethnic and religious tension; high incidence of crime and criminality; and terrorism among many other woes.
These are undeniably serious setbacks to our development march; but they do not amount to any permanent incapacity for us not to move forward. Indeed, setbacks are necessary but temporary impediments along the path to progress. Therefore, I am at one with American entrepreneur, Les Brown, who counselled that: ‘Anytime you suffer a setback or disappointment. Put your head down and plow ahead’. Hence, I remain convinced that the Nigerian project is a viable one. And I am optimistic that we may yet get it right as a country; and convert our much vaunted great potentials into actual benefits for our people. All we need is sound leadership and good governance.
Indeed, our story on the independence path has not been doom and gloom only; it is also strewn with bright patches and shades of greatness. We have had sporting glories, a Nobel Prize in literature, representation in the top universities in the world and a Nigerian got in the Forbes 100 top list. For the most part, we groan so much at the cup being three quarter empty that we forgot it’s also one quarter full.
As someone in leadership position, I set my sight firmly on the promises the future holds and the opportunities that our great country can offer. My aspirations are for Nigeria to be able to overcome its development challenges, and to become one of the top 10 economies in the world in the shortest time possible. But we need to work towards achieving these goals. As a matter of urgency, we must shift our economic paradigm from sole dependence on oil towards productive diversification. Agriculture is a viable alternative here. We must develop our agriculture towards achieving food security. We must give primacy to food production as a strategic national imperative, for it is a sure basis for sustainable economic development.
Indeed, pursuing food security as a strategic value goes beyond merely feeding the people. Food security is a core pillar of national security. No nation can have genuine national security without food security. Therefore, if we make food security the driving force of our agricultural development, the accompanying spin-offs it will generate can only add greater value to our overall economic development efforts.
My conviction about agriculture as a viable solution to our unemployment problem lay in the fact that, an agricultural economy that is grounded in food production cannot fail. People can give up luxury items if occasion demands it. But for as long as we remain human, we will eat; food is a biological necessity! Luxury item are a matter of choice. People for instance can very easily forgo chocolate; but it would be hard to imagine them forgoing staple food like rice or potato. Food security is an essential condition for national security.
Related to this is the need to gainfully and meaningfully engage our youths by creating jobs and employment opportunities. Our present chronic youth unemployment situation is a potential source of social explosion. There is profound wisdom in productively engaging our youths. Young people are some of society’s greatest assets; but they can also be a major source of its problem. In Nigeria, youths constitute the bulk of our productive population, and that bulk is overwhelmingly unemployed! In other words, we have a potentially advantageous youth bulge in our population, which could also be turned into a bug by prolonged lack of employment.
Young people are energetic, talented, innovative, aspirational, and daring. These are good qualities for economic enterprise. We only need to be creative to harness them for the rapid socio-economic transformation of our country. Again, agriculture presents enormous possibilities in this regard. Our huge population offers immense opportunities as a market, and for massive job creation, that can absorb our teeming unemployed youths, and help in eradicating poverty.
Another area of great promise is information and communications technology. ICT also offers enormous possibilities for creating jobs and for meaningfully engaging our youths. After all, ICT is a field that is not only a product of innovation, it is driven by human creativity. Innovation and creativity are an area of strength for young people. They will have their imagination taxed and their minds energised. It can help focus the vibrant energies of our youths on positive development. In addition, it is a fertile area of almost infinite possibilities where the only limitation is the human imagination. Again, all we need do is to get our acts together; think and organise so that we can make the most of the opportunities available to us.
Essential to modern life and any economic endeavour is power, but this is an area in which the nation has been badly struggling. The circa 4,000mw the nation produces is a huge joke. This, when the economy is in full throttle, cannot even serve the Ikeja business district. Admittedly there have been great efforts at addressing the problem but they have amounted to little. This is the time to discard the old approach and tackle the problem of power squarely. We must be jolted by the realisation that without sufficient electric power, all other efforts will come to nought.
I am not trying to make light of the formidable challenges involved in making a success of the Nigerian project; my point is that the difficulties are not an excuse for failure. In fact, they are a compelling reason for us to try to overcome them. I am an unflinching believer in the assertion of George Bernard Shaw that ‘[t]he only real failure in life is the failure to try’. It is in our utmost interest not to fail to try. Success is only born of trying, and I am in no doubt at all that if we genuinely keep trying, we shall surely overcome.
October 1st of every year offers us the opportunity to review the journey of nationhood and to come to the awareness that just as we have the prospect of greatness, so also are we faced with the grim possibility of tipping over the brink; the probability of outcomes now depends on the choices that we make. It is my fervent hope and prayer, however, that we will always make the right choices and realise our greatest potential.
Once again, I congratulate us all and wish us happy independence celebrations

Osun State governor, Mr Rauf Aregbesola, on Saturday, said the need to complete capital projects embarked on by his administration informed his interest for a second term in office.
He contended that “ It was imperative to ensure that there was no break in the infrastructural turnaround and massive transformation of the state through roads construction and other  developmental programmes”.
Aregbesola made this known at Ijebu-jesa, Oriade Local Government Area of the State, during the 12th edition of “Osun Walk-To-Live programme.
Addressing a mammoth crowd that trooped out to participate in the trekking exercise from Ilesa to Ijebu-jesa, he asserted that “We crave for the support and your outing to excel in the next year election. All those that want to cause crisis in state, God would not allow them, so that we can complete all the initiated projects”.
While praying for peace and God’s favour during the 2014 governorship poll, Aregbesola said “God should contain the activities of desperate politicians planning to disrupt the election through violence”.
Said he, “Today’s walk to live is not a political campaign. Healthy living is crucial to human existence. This is how we can raise the awareness of our people to the importance of healthy living. Major cause of diseases is lack of exercise. Let us take cleanliness very serious. Our environment and residences should be clean to sustain a healthy society”, he said.
TRIBUNE

 
The Governor of the State of Osun,Rauf Aregbesola, has called on the people of the state to be more vigilant and promptly report vandalisation of public utilities to security agencies whenever they suspect such dastardly act.
Aregbesola said this will help protect government property wherever they are situated..
Aregbesola made this call at Oriade local government area of the state at this month’s  edition of Osun Walk To Liven where he also called on the people of the state to cultivate the habit of general cleanliness.
This month’s edition was carnival-like as usual, accompanied with drumming and singing by the participants from all works of life from within local government area.
To ensure that the  exercise was peaceful as ever before, security agencies ranging from, police, civil defence, the army, road safety corpse among others were on hand to provide the needed security.
Beginning from Ilo-Ijesa, the six-kilometre road work took the mammoth crowd led by Governor Rauf Aregbesola through the area to Ijebu-Jesa and ended at Obande Grammar school, in the same town.
Addressing a mammoth crowd, Aregbesola, who noted that the event was not a political campaign, said the purpose was to constantly remind the people that they must take utmost care of their health so as to live long.
“The activities of vandals has no doubt affected the economy of the nation and well as destroyed social amenities.
“These are people who are hell bent on destroying the nation with their illegal activities.
“We must act as our own protectors. So we must be vigilant and protect these amenities.
“Besides, as usual, this government is also concerned about the health of our people and we must always educate ourselves on the essence of regular physical fitness exercise is best form of protecting oneself against diseases
“Not only that, regular exercise helps keep the body fit and make us live a healthy life in a clean environment,” Aregbesola said.
He also reiterated his government commitment to ensuring and promoting healthy living among the people of the state, saying, those who are taking part in the exercise will always have good experience to share in terms of body fitness.
A former Senator from Lagos state, Olorunibe Mamora, who took part in the exercise described the Walk to Live as one  which all and sundry must engage in to help themselves live long.
While recognising the turn out of the people of the areas, Senator Olorunibe Mamora said that it is a reassurance that the people are in support of the government of Governor Rauf Aregbesola.

Osun State governor, Mr. Rauf Aregbesola has said that his administration has concluded arrangement to empower no fewer than 5,000 widows across the 30 local government councils and its Modakeke area office of the State.
Speaking on Thursday through his Special Adviser on Millennium Development Goals(MDGs), Honourable Abdullahi Binuyo, Governor Aregbesola who declared that the state government has completed the statistical evaluation of the beneficiary of the government gesture maintained that empowerment programme is part of his administration effort to improve the social well being of the people of the state.
To this end, according to Binuyo, the arrangement is another policy of the present administration to improve the welfare of its people under the programme to be called “O’Widow” where the women who have lost their husbands in the state would be catered for by the present administration in the State.
Binuyo who doubles as the Chairman of the public presentation of a socio- volunteer group seeking the re-election bid of Ogbeni Rauf Aregbesola in 2014, ‘De Raufs’, further noted that the Osun state under the leadership of Aregbesola has been able to achieve Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) through its people oriented policies.
While pointing out that the initiative is the first of its kind in the country, Binuyo also lauded the state government programmes on the establishment of garment factory that is geared towards producing 5,000 garments in a day with the provision of 3,000 jobs to the people of the State.
He therefore said that Governor Aregbesola has turned the state to construction site through his massive road construction across the length and breadth of the State.
According to him, there is no major road in the state that has not been touched or rehabilitated and programmes like O’meals, O’schools, O’Uniform ,O’YES, O’REAP among others have put the state ahead of others in the federation in terms of developmental projects.
ORANMIYAN

Osun River goddess worshipers and their African hair styles at the just concluded Osun Osogbo festival.
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