The Yoruba people within and outside the country have been called upon to embrace peace and promote unity among themselves, so as to fast track development in all parts of Yoruba nation.
Osun State governor, Mr Rauf Aregbesola; the Ooni of Ife, Oba Okunade Sijuade and the Osile Oke Ona Egba, Oba (Dr) Adedapo Tejuoso, Karunwi III made this call, on Friday, in Ile-Ife, Osun State, during the Odun Oranmiyan lecture, held at Oduduwa Hall, Obafemi Awolowo University, Ile-Ife, Osun State, with the theme, “What is in a name?”
Aregbesola, represented by the Secretary to the State Government, Moshood Olelakan Adeoti, while speaking on “Celebrating Yoruba’s common heritage, forging common front,” stated that celebrating culture should serve as bond of unity and rally point for all Yoruba people, noting that in celebrating Oranmiyan, “we’re identifying with the character of Oranmiyan, who had adept leadership qualities, virtues of compassion, which leaders of today should emulate”.
The governor said the enviable qualities in Oranmiyan made him to adopt him as his campaign symbol. This, according to him, enabled him to defeat his strong enemies during his tussle for governorship.
The Ooni of Ife, highlighted the importance of understanding history in sustaining and strengthening bonds of unity and harmony and not division. He also stated, “knowing the past helps us to understand the culture of today. The celebration of our cultural heritage helps us to sustain our own cultural identity,” and commended the governments in Yoruba states.
in “assisting in maintaining the cultural identity and strengthening the emotional, cultural and spiritual bonds that bind them to their origin, Ile-Ife, the Source.”
Sijuwade cautioned against the bastardization and politicisation of Yoruba tradition and culture and enjoined children to recognise, respect and appreciate their cultural heritage. He also tasked tourists to visit Ife to see the symbols of ancient Oranmiyan paraphernalia of office including his Opa Oranmiyan among others.
Oba Tejuoso, enjoined all Yorubas to stop all wars and needless bickering and rivalries capable of derailing meaningful progress.
NIGERIAN TRIBUNE
The Parents Association of Public Schools in the State of Osun’s paid a solidarity visit to the Governor at his office in Abere, Osogbo on Thursday to express their support on the on-going re-classification Scheme of Public Schools in the State.
The governor of the State of Osun, Ogbeni Rauf Aregbesola on Friday urged the National Council on Information to give thoughts to how governments at different levels can tap into the vast potentials of social media and Information Communications Technology to enhance accountability and transparency in governance.
Governor Aregbesola made this charge while declaring open the 44th National Council on Information (NCI) at the Women and Children Development Initiative Foundation (WOCDIF) Osogbo.
The governor charged NCI to outline the required steps to be taken in a bid to achieve efficient public information management in Nigeria. According to him, “you may also want to examine the lingering debate on whether social media is a public utility requiring government regulation.
“All of these are very important when you consider the huge damage that shoddy and inexpert handling of public information can cause at different areas in a country.” The governor pointed out.
He revealed that Osun in the last three years of his administration has witnessed the enduring benefits of good governance, adding that people-driven and people-focused policies of the government benefit substantially from the huge capacities of social media.
“We have healthy interactions and useable inputs from many of the citizens who have access to the different social sites. We are encouraging a culture of full and informed participation in governance through effective information management.
“Our unshaking commitment to the principles of accountability and transparency made us explore every opportunity that enables us to carry our people along as we work to transform their lives.” He stressed.
He noted that the new online platform his government launched recently is another means through which it seeks to deepen public engagement and popularise the Osun brand in the widening Nigerian online space.
The governor who showed the audience a documentary on the innovative learning device from the state Opon Imo said the device is a demonstration of his governments belief in the use of ICT to enhanc all facets of human life including education. He said with the introduction of Opon Imo alone his government has beaten down the cost of and access to quality education in the state.
Aregbesola recieved repeated applauses as he reeled out the landmark achievement s of his government in less than three years.
On Social media Maku said that it has immense capacities for personalised content generation, and has very minimal barriers, including costs, information and opinion dissemination.
The Osun Commissioner for Information and Strategy, Hon. Sunday Akere in his welcome address said that Aregbesola since inception of office has employed the most effective Communication strategy to re-awaken the people and renew their sense of belonging by rebranding the state.
Akere revealed that the Osun governor knowing the essence of state owned medium, threw everything into re-making the state broadcasting outfits by setting up panel to set in motion new path for growth and development for Osun State Broadcasting Corporation (OSBC) and other government owned stations.
According to him, ” our governor knows the essence of a state owned medium, thus his approval of funds for the purchase of exotic broadcast equipment for OSBC, mass training for all categories of staff for the first time in the state.
“We have a dedicated functional website where all relevant information can be found, we are still counting as various efforts are to ensure that all that should make information available to the people about the state and administration are done.” The Commissioner pointed out.
The Minister of Information, Labaran Maku has called on Nigerians to “be alive to their corporate social responsibility to defend the agenda of the Nations democracy.”
He said this during a courtesy visit to Governor Rauf Aregbesola in Osogbo, the Osun state capital, where he is attending 44th edition of the National Council on Information themed “Social Media and Public Information Management”.
The Minister also said that Nigeria’s development and democracy can only be sustained when everyone decides to play a positive part devoid of selfish motive.
While highlighting some of the Federal Government’s efforts, he mentioned that the transformation agenda of the Goodluck Jonathan-led administration is visible in the power sector which the government is trying to commercialise in a bid to ensure Nigerians get stable power supply.
However, Governor Aregbesola stressed that recognising the significance of security to development should be the priority of the federal government for sustenance of the nation.
CHANNELSTV
An international hotel franchise chain, Best Western Hotels, will soon debut in Osogbo, the capital of the State of Osun.
A statement by the Project Team Manager, Mr. Lanre Bakare, stated that the 4-star hotel, located opposite Central Bank building and the Government Secretariat, Abere, will compliment efforts by the governor, Ogbeni Rauf Aregbesola, to make the state an investment and tourism hub.
To be managed by Best Western, the 4-star hotel, which will boast of 105 exotic rooms, conference hall, swimming pool and world-class golf course, is estimated to gulp N2.5billion upon completion, while it is expected to be the best in Osun and its environs.
To be financed by Keynes Private Equity, the hotel, which sits on about three hectares of land, is expected to be completed within 18 months.
Bakare noted that the coming of the hotel will be a major boost to the state government’s economic transformation agenda.
Besides generating employment opportunities, he said, the hotel would attract tourists with positive multiplier effects on the state’s finances.
He then commended the governor for providing conducive climate for private investments to thrive, saying if the tempo is sustained, the State will soon be the industrial hub of the South-West region.
OSUN DEFENDER
The health management programmes of the present administration is indeed laudable. It is indeed a milestone.The idea of revamping nine hospitals in Ile-Ife, Ilesa, Ikirun, Osogbo, Ede, Iwo, Ikire and Ila-Orangun, is indeed novel and unprecedented and is worthy of emulation.
Apart from the physical infrastructure like Out Patient Department (OPD), mortuary, doctors’ quarters, roads and block fencing, there are plans to equip these hospitals to bring them to standards that are internationally-acceptable worldwide, and also to supply them with drugs.
Apart from all these, starting from the State Hospital, Iwo, the state government has been organising free surgical operations to remove hernia and other body lumps for all citizens in the state and indeed, the populace have really gained from these surgeries, as both the young, old and even babies have successfully being operated on across the nine state hospitals in the state.
The government even went ahead to organise free eye surgeries and distribution of eye glasses, which attracted MTN Foundation attention.
When the health of a people is secure, then there is tendency that the people would work well and be creative.
Kudos must go to the indefatigable Commissioner of Health, Dr. (Mrs.) Temitope Ilori, who has aligned herself with the aspirations of the state government in the provision of free health to its citizenry.
A visit to the state hospitals would confirm this, but with all these done, there is need for the health managers to make judicious and effective use of these equipment that would be installed, be up and doing and shun laziness and ensure prompt service delivery.
Government on its part needs to ensure adequate training and re-training of its health managers. With this, Osun would be the medical centre of Nigeria and this can be achieved.
OSUN DEFENDER
A total of five thousand youth who successfully underwent an intensive training in ICT, Mobile phone and computer repairs and assembling in the Nigerian state of Osun have graduated at a ceremony in the state capital Osogbo.
The ceremony was attended by an array of high profile dignitaries including the Osun State Governor, Chief Engineer Rauf Aregbesola, his deputy, traditional rulers, representatives of labor unions as well as officials of the ruling party in Nigeria.
The training is part of a partnership agreement between Rlg Communications (Nigeria) Ltd and the Osun Youth Empowerment Scheme Technology (OYESTEC), a state sponsored initiative to make the youth economically resourceful.
Under the partnership, RLG Communications is contracted to train 20,000 youth in the Osun state alone on ICT related disciplines such as mobile telephone assembly and repair, computer technologies and entrepreneurial skills, with each training lasting for a 6 month period.
The training took place at 9 centers dotted across the state.
Governor Engineer Rauf Aregbesola who spoke on the topic “marching onto greater heights” justified the institution of the initiative saying he will continue to offer it the needed support until youth unemployment has been eliminated completely or drastically eradicated in his state.
He explained that Ghana’s RLG Communication was selected for the contract in view of its “enormous track record in delivery as well as their capacity” and commended the company for doing good job so far.
The Chairman of Osun State Youth Empowerment Scheme, Price Adefioye and the scheme’s Co-ordinator, Bamboo Bashorun commended the state governor for keeping alive the quest to ensure total economic transformation of the Osun state and its people especially the youth.
The Country Director of Rlg Nigeria, Tosin Illesanmi said work on a multi-purpose ICT Assembly Plant sited in the Osun State was progressing steadily and commended the governor for his immense support for the project which when completed will produce 5,000 mobile phones and 2,000 laptops on daily basis.
“One of the key mandates of RLG was to revolutionize Information and Communications Technology in Africa and create one million jobs for the youth in the world,” said Country Director of RLG for Nigeria, Mr. Tosin Ilesanmi said.
The graduate trainees expressed appreciation to the State Governor and RLG for giving them the opportunity to be trained. They were presented with certificates.
The training program adopts a comprehensive training strategy which is both instructive and participatory. Actual repairs, servicing, maintenance and assembling of mobile phones, computer technologies (desktop and laptop) and other electronic equipment are some of the areas of training.
It is intended to help government to maintain local content creation and ease incidents of youth restiveness in Nigeria, especially in Osun State where the training is taking place.
The aim is to create and empower as many as 20,000 youths, within a period of 24 months that will work in service centers that would be set up in different locations in Osun State.
The centers would be manned by over 1000 of the graduates who would serve as RLG service repair and sales personnel.
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TODAY, at 11am at Oduduwa hall, Obafemi Awolowo University, State of Osun, the Ooni of Ife, Alayeluwa Oba Okunade Sijuwade, Olubuse II, will lead his illustrious Ile-Ife subjects and all Yorubas in celebrating the heroic valour of the fourth monarch, Oranmiyan, who occupied his throne. The three-day festival will open with a lecture that will put Oranmiyan in perspective before other activities will follow.
With the theme ‘Oranmiyan –What is a Name?’ organisers hope to give historical background to the rise of Oranmiyan and his place in Yorubaland. The lecture will be given by Karunwi III, Oba Adedapo Adewale Tejuoso and chaired by Prof. Wande Abimbola. Osun State Governor, Rauf Aregbesola is special guest of honour.
Consultants to the festival, Flabsy Travel and Tours Ltd, said the festival would serve as source of unity among the Yoruba nation, as her sons and daughters would be drawn from all parts of the world to attend and pay homage to their illustrious ancestor.
Supporting the festival will be Nigerian Bottling Company, makers of Coca Cola Coke; Grand Oak Ltd, makers of Seamans Schnapps, Obafemi Awolowo University, Ile-Ife, Vita Foam, WABP Publishers and others.
Also, through Oranmiyan Festival, Lawrence Omidiora and Abiodun Olabampe of Flabsy Travels and Tours Ltd hope to market the historical artifacts associated with the legendary Oranmiyan and Ile-Ife. Such artifacts include Oranmiyan Staff located in his grave site, his sword and calabash of divination, which must confer legitimacy on any would-be Alaafin of Oyo before he takes office, and his shield located at Alasa compound at Iremo, Ife.
A prominent Ife personage, Chief Bashir Awotorebo, noted that Oranmiyan isn’t a religious deity, but a cultural, war hero, said Ile-Ife is the cultural capital of all Yoruba and that Oranmiyan as legend of Ile-Ife culture, was a man who was always in the forefront of war. He added, “Flabsy is in the right perspective that Oranmiyan should be celebrated. There should be Ife Cultural Week to really bring to the fore the rich culture of Ife”.
THE GUARDIAN
Governor Rauf Aregbesola of the State of Osun has said the ongoing re-classification of schools in the state is to advance the sector, which according to him, had been in a backward state and needed to be revitalized.
Osun had recently restructured education in the state to elementary, middle and high schools obtainable in other climes.
As a result, the governor said there was need for patience and understanding from the people over the ongoing reform.
He said the administration was worried over the state of education when it came to power in November 2010, and it organised an education summit involving the stakeholders in order to chart a way forward.
The governor, who was represented by the deputy governor, Mrs. Titilayo Laoye-Tomori, spoke at the opening of the 2nd session of the 8th Synod of the Diocese of Ife, Church of Nigeria (Anglican Communion).
He said the current education policy in place was the aftermath of the stakeholders meeting, stressing that it was meant to give education a face lift.
She said, “We are presently re-classifying our schools. We are doing this to reposition education in the state. We have good intention for our people, especially for our children. We were worried and concerned about the state we met education when we came into the governance of the State in November 2010.
“We called education summit – we invited stakeholders in education, our people in Diaspora and those that are committed to advancement of education in Nigeria.
“The schools that we met on ground were not the school that we attended. Things had fallen apart in our schools–the buildings had given way to dilapidated structures and the classrooms were nothing to write home about. And we believe that our children should have better education environment that we had when we were children.”
The communiqué issued after the summit, she added, had been the roadmap for this re-classification. “In line with best global practices all over the world today, we have three structures in education: we have the elementary school, middle school and high school. That is the way it is done outside the country. It is an attempt to put children that are of the same age group together as a group, to give them what they desire and require and to make them evolve as better citizens and to make them to be better educated, “ she added.
PUNCH