Osun State Governor, Rauf Aregbesola, has reiterated the commitment of his administration to develop he state.
Speaking at the Trade, Investment and Culture Conference held in Osogbo, Aregbesola said his administration’s desire for development would be backed with action.
He explained that the administration had committed huge human and material resources to providing the enabling environment for business in last two and half years,
He pointed out that it was his visit to the United States in March this year that brought partners, who have come from the African and Caribbean Business Council (ACBC) of Philadelphia, the Christian Evangelical Economic Development, Inc. (CEED) of Pittsburgh, and the WURA Arts Services & Productions, LLC (WURA) of New York City.
The governor noted, “In our development drive, we have focused mainly on four key areas. These are culture and tourism, agriculture, information technology, and solid minerals.
“The State of Osun is indisputably a custodian of the cultural heritage of the Yoruba people, who are mainly domiciled in and originated from South-West Nigeria. Ile-Ife, which is here in the state and just about 30 minute drive from this podium, is the cradle of Yoruba culture and civilisation,” the governor told investors and others at the gathering.
He also added that Osun occupies a central place in Nigeria’s cultural tourism map, stressing that besides Ife, there are numerous other centres of cultural and tourism significance across the state.
The governor also stressed that there are more than 60 tourism sites in the state and that the Osun Grove is already globally renowned as a UNESCO World Heritage Site.
Aregbesola on agriculture said, “Our goal, therefore, is to provide food for the South West and especially capture a sizable chunk of the N3 billion daily food market in Lagos. By a stroke of fortune, our natural endowment also includes solid minerals, especially gold.
“We have gold deposits in commercial quantity in many parts of the state that are waiting to be fully exploited. It is our goal to develop this in partnership with willing and capable partners.” the governor stated.
DAILY INDEPENDENCE

A socio-cultural organisation, the Yoruba Unity Forum (YUF), yesterday in Ikenne-Remo, the country home of the late Chief Obafemi Awolowo, passed a vote of confidence on the entire South-West governors for their effort at maintaining peace and security in the region.
The meeting, which was chaired by the matriarch of the Awolowo family, Chief Hannah Idowu Dideolu (HID) Awolowo, also noted that the region has been spared the spate of crisis and kidnappings that have become the lot of other regions of the country.
In a communiqué at the end of the meeting, read by YUF National Publicity Secretary, Dr. Kunle Olajide, the forum observed that the region has witnessed “peace and stability” in the last two years and that the governors manning the states should be applauded for it.
In her goodwill message, HID charged politicians of Yoruba race not to allow personal interest override the collective progress and unity of Yorubaland while pursuing their legitimate ambitions.
CULLED FROM GUARDIAN

REALISING that Osun State is the centre port of  cultural–tourism vibes  in Nigeria , the government of  Ogbeni Rauf Adesoji Aregbesola has, since assumption of power, been steadfastly pursuing policies geared at tapping the potentialities of this natural blessing. This is not for dancing, merry making and festivities alone, but for socio-economic emancipation, wealth mobilisation, empowerment, revenue  and employment generation. Governor Aregbesola must have, in his own’ weird’ way, embarked on series of researches on the peculiarity of the socio- cultural aspects of tourism in the state and arrived at the best ways of tapping into the tangible and intangible cultural tourism assets of the state for the benefit of his people and Nigeria at large.
He must have realised through the study, his interaction with the people, the numerous tourism sites in the state and his international exposure that Osun and its people had not been  having a fair share of the goodies of tourism due to the complacency and lackadaisical posture of the previous administrations in the state which thought that Osun Osogbo celebration was the only  cultural and tourism asset which needed to be spotlighted and hyped; the failure to enhance and network other tourism sites which abound in the state with Osun Grove; the inability to galvanise the core  cultural tourism stakeholders in the state; the traditional religion worshippers, cultural artisans, artists, hospitality and transport operators,  into  potent  economic change agents and the marked absence of  deliberate well planned and honed sensitisation and awareness creation activities  for the stakeholders to see their importance in the scheme things.
Governor Aregbesola must have also realised the uniqueness of Osun socio- cultural tourism setting, knowing that, for the state to reap bountifully from the cultural blessings, the third leg of the religious tripod, the African Traditional Religion, must not just be reinforced but be accorded its proper recognition, respect, reference and  its practitioners enlightened to bring out the best in them.
And Governor Aregbesola has  never allowed the criticism being churned out to distract his attention in tapping the traditional religion for the overall benefit of the state and the nation.
It is in furtherance of this vision and with the belief that cultural– tourism promotion should be taken beyond mere jamboree, razzmatazz, festivities, dancing to empowerment and sustainable economic of the state that Governor  Aregbesola conceived the idea of a trade, investment and culture conference where stakeholders, investors, experts in  global commerce and intercontinental cultural exchange will meet minds for greater partnership which will enrich the lives of the people.
CULLED FROM TRIBUNE

Osun State Governor Rauf Aregbesola has inaugurated  a garment factory which will produce uniforms of school pupils in the state.
According to a statement made available to our correspondent in Osogbo, the state capital, on Thursday, the governor while speaking at the inauguration of the Omoluabi Garment Factory said the factory would employ 3000 tailors at full capacity and about 50,000 uniforms would be produced daily.
He said the uniform materials would be sold and sewn at control prices in order to make it affordable for the people, even as he  assured that the factory would produce quality materials.
The governor said the Omoluabi Garment Factory was one of the factories that had been brought into existence through revitalization of education in the state.
He said, “The decision to give the students common uniform was made with the aim of giving them a common identity and purpose, as well as a sense of unity and pride, which had been lost in the decay that set in public schools in Osun before this administration.
“Through this alone, we have provided job opportunities for our market women who supplied the materials for the uniforms and about 3,000 tailors, who sewed them.
“This Omoluabi Garment Factory that we are commissioning today is a product of the policy to reap the economic benefits of the production of the school uniforms.”
PUNCH

Alaafin of Oyo, Oba (Dr.) Lamidi Olayiwola Adeyemi III has
commended Governor Rauf Aregbesola for his selfless efforts and
determinations in propagating and showcasing Yoruba cultural values to
the world.
Oba Lamidi Adeyemi III, gave the commendation in his palace at the
recently concluded year 2013 World Sango Festival.
Ogbeni Rauf Aregbesola, who was represented at the occasion by the
Commissioner for Home Affairs, Tourism and Culture, Hon. Sikiru
Ayedun, emphasized the commitment of his administration to facilitate
unity among the Yoruba states with a view to propagating
socio-cultural values of Yorubas.
Ogbeni Aregbesola stated that the recently concluded World Children
Day and a meeting of over five hundred obas at Osogbo, the well
attended Osun Osogbo Festival, Isese Day and development of tourist
sites in the state among others are part of his achievements in
developing cultural identities of Yorubas.
He said his administration has made tremendous efforts in reaching
out to Yorubas in the diaspora, especially North America, Cuba,
Brazil, Trinidad and Tobago, Republic of Benin among others, with a
view to romancing them to freely visit their root which is the Yoruba
land.
He therefore called Yoruba at home to always feel proud of their
culture and promote it through the way they dress, talk, and exhibit
moral standards for which Yorubas are known.
The cultural performance, by the State of Osun performing troupe
added colour to the festival during Osun Day segment of the programme
which Hon. Ayedun and the representative of Trinidad and Tobago
ambassador could not resist as they danced to the tunes of historical
and cultural music.
The height of the performance was the Sango Dance performed by
Lukuman Ayodeji, the acclaimed Sango of Africa to the admiration of
all guests, especially the Yorubas in the diaspora.
Dr. Paula Gomes a cultural ambassador thus adjudged the performance
as the best ever since the beginning of the 10-day Sango Festival.
OSUN DEFENDER

 
The Governor of the State of Osun, Ogbeni Rauf Aregbesola on Thursday said the  O’REAP Youth Academy is more than a mere indication of its administration’s resolve to improve agricultural productions but a way of banishing hunger and unemployment in Osun.
He made this disclosure at the launch of the second edition of O’REAP Youth Academy organised by the Ministry of Agriculture and Food Security, held at the Bola Ige House Secretariat in Abeere.
The governor noted that it is a remarkable mark of the administration’s gritty determination to frontally engage the social cankers of poverty, hunger, and unemployment.
He pointed out that a total of 610 O’YES Cadets were trained last year at the O’REAP Youth Academy Farm Centres located across the nine Federal Constituencies in the state.
The governor stressed that participants were selected at 20 per Local Government and 10 from Ife East Area Office.
He also added that this year’s edition of the O’REAP Youth Academy, witnessed a significant rise in the number of youth participants, noting that each of the 332 wards in the state is fairly represented with three O’YES Cadets per ward, accounting for 996 Cadets to be trained in modern agriculture at the nine training centres of the O’REAP Youth Academy.
According to him, “some of those trained then have formed themselves into cooperatives and have also settled down to serious agricultural enterprises with meaningful financial support from the Quick Impact Intervention Programme (QIIP) of O’REAP and other micro-credit windows of the State Government of Osun.
“It is a sure path to ensuring sustainable food production and wealth creation, and we have chosen to walk it without distraction. Aregbesola noted.
He revealed that O’REAP Youth Academy is established with realisable objectives meant to mitigate the unbearable burden of youth unemployment.
In his words, “in many developing economies in Africa, youths make up one fifth of the population. They are often the most adversely affected when it comes to the scourge of unemployment. As the most vital component of human resource, their idleness and lack of productive engagements do not bode well for the socio-economic affairs of any society.
“It is in view of the need to tap the invaluable asset of this group of people and channel their energy towards the development of self and society that the present administration initiated youth-focused programmes.” The governor pointed out
Aregbesola held that the Osun Youth Empowerment Scheme (O’YES), its other component – O’YES-TECH –, and O’REAP Youth Academy are some of the major platforms through which its administration is scaling down youth unemployment and profitably engaging our youths in the State.
Earlier in his remarks, the Commissioner for Agriculture and Food Security, Prince Adewale Adedoyin, said the problem of youth employment in Nigeria in the country remains a source of concern to government and non-governmental organisations as well as private individuals.
Adedoyin said the government of Osun instituted the youth -friendly intervention programme tagged OREAP Youth Academy, Agriculture-in-Schools and Young Farmers Club to curb youth unemployment and its attendant social menace.
He noted that OREAP Youth Academy has been conceived and implemented as a deliberate policy for the purpose of empowerment of youth in the state.

 

The Governor of the state of Osun, Ogbeni Rauf Aregbesola on Wednesday said the decision to send stranded medical students of the Osun State University to a foreign university to complete their medical studies was borne out of the conviction of his administration that no sacrifice would be too much to secure better future for children.

The Governor stated this Wednesday night while receiving the report of the Committee on Transfer of UNIOSUN medical students to Ukraine.

Last year, Aregbesola’s government sponsored 87 medical students of the UNIOSUN to V.N Karazin Kharkvin National University in Ukraine to complete their medical programme.
The students had had their programme stalled due to non-availability of a Teaching Hospital for the state university.
Aregbesola said that his government facilitated the transfer of the students because it believes that a responsible government must fulfill its part of a pact entered to with the people irrespective of which person or party in power signed the agreement in so far that governance is a continuum.
Last year, government spent about N162Million to bail out 87 medical students who now continue their programme in Karachin University.
He said, “I feel fulfilled that the students, who would have had their dreams aborted, would now realise their ambition of becoming a full time medical Doctor.
“We have kept faith with these children, their parents and Guidance towards realising their life time ambition. In couple of years from now we will be celebrating their graduation as trained Medical Doctors.
“This government is promising that it will assuage the challenges that the students may be facing during their stay in Ukraine.” The governor told the gathering.

The governor also clarified that of the 98 students made provisions for in the transfer scheme, 87 of them eventually took the offer as parents of the remaining concerned students had made different arrangements for their children

Speaking earlier, the Chairman of the transfer committee, Dr. Simeon Afolayan commended the governor for the huge amount spent to keep the hope of the students alive.
Afolayan revealed that over 115 students of the UNIOSUN now pursue their academic programme in Ukraine because of the tremendous support of Aregbesola’s administration.
Afolayan noted that, “Despite the fact that not all the 115 students are of Osun state origin, Aregbesola’s government, in its magnanimity sponsored the students without any string attached. This means that the students did not sign any bond with the government.
“For this gesture, posterity will not forget Aregbesola’s courage and magnanimity to the medical students of UNIOSUN.” Afolayan stressed.
One of the parents of the beneficiaries who is also the Chairman of the Parents representatives to government, Dr. Ademola Ayodele thanked the governor for a rare expression of compassion shown to their wards.
Ayodele said the news of the transfer of the students to Ukraine first came to them as a dream, but with the courage, commitment and determination of government the goal was achieved at the end.