VOL. 9. NO.094 NNNNN 505 05 05 05 0THURSDAY, AUGUST 7, 2014

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PEOPLE FIRST

Who KilledChief Bola Ige,former Attorney-

General andMinister of

Justice? IGE

Front Page Comment

- See StoryOn Page 2

•The governor, State of Osun, Ogbeni Rauf Aregbesola and his predecessor, Prince Olagunsoye Oyinlola (right on top of a bus), during the mega rally for the re-election ofGovernor Aregbesola, at Osogbo City Stadium, Osogbo, State of Osun, on Tuesday. Photo: SIKIRU ADEOYE-YUSUF

Aregbesola Exposes HowPDP Rigged Ekiti Election•Promises To Complete 100,000-capacity Model Schools•To Dualise Osogbo-Ogbomoso, Ilesha, Iwo Roads

Osun APC Final Governorship Mega Rally:

Why Osun People Should Not Vote For Omisore - Oyinlola- See Story

On Page4

As August 9draws closer by theday we must con-tinue to remind theelectorate in ourdear state of theirresponsibiliies; theneed to vote rightand to jealouslyguard their votes. Touse the power of our

Compatriots, JealouslyGuard Your Votes!

thumb to vote forcontinuity - as thestate cannot affordto do away with thelevel of unprec-edented develop-

going on in thestate since the in-ception of OgbeniAregbesola's ad-ministration - is ourfirst major responsi

bility as respon-sible citizens of ourstate. Of course weare not in doubt thatthe votes of ourpeople will be forOgbeni Aregbesolawho has done thestate much good.

Continue on pg6

2 OSUN DEFENDER Thursday, August 7, 2014

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3 News OSUN DEFENDER Thursday, August 7, 2014

By KEHINDE AYANTUNJI

Aregbesola Exposes How PDP Rigged Ekiti Election•Promises To Complete 100,000-capacity Model Schools•To Dualise Osogbo-Ogbomoso, Ilesha, Iwo Roads

THE governor of the State of Osun, Ogbeni RaufAregbesola, has hit the nail on the head on Tuesdayby exposing the Peoples Democratic Party’s (PDP)

rigging method in Ekiti State governorship election.

He stated that there arestrong suspicions that thePDP used scientific riggingin Ekiti by using suspectedelectronic ballot papers witha rigging device andtherefore educated peopleon how to prevent suchtrend in Osun.

Aregbesola stated this atthe final mega rally of the All

Progressives Congress(APC) held at Osogbo CityStadium in Osogbo, thestate capital on Tuesday.”

He said: “If it is true ornot, God has exposed howthey rigged Ekiti election,and the secret is very simple.What to do is that when youtouch the ink, ensure thatthe ink is not in excess and

exercise patience before youthumbprint the space, whichhas the symbol of a broomand also allow it to drybefore putting it inside thebox.

“For those of you who areliterate enough, write downthe serial number of theballot paper and use yourphone to take its picture.This is a top secret, as I amsaying it, they are gettingshocked that the secret hasbeen exposed.

“They are pretendingwith their utterances thatthey want free and fair

election. It is a lie. Theirintention is to rig. What wesuspect that they did wasthat there are two tiny wiresinside the ballot paper,therefore, they instructedthe people to fold the ballotpaper vertically since theydon’t want the wires to cut.The secret is that peopleshould refold the paper atthe top and down beforethumb-printing the APClogo,” Aregbesola said.

The governor added thathe deliberately kept thesecret till now with a view tomaking it too late to try

anything funny.He stressed that the

development so farwitnessed in the state is thefoundation, promising thatbefore the end of this year,his administration wouldcomplete the various modelschools that willaccommodate 100,000pupils in the elementary,middle, and high schools.

The governor alsopromised to dualiseOsogbo-Ilesa road,Ogbomoso-Osogbo road,passing through Ifon Ilobuand Iwo-Osogbo.

He said hisadministration in the lastthree and a half years hasredefined governance inthe state throughunprecedented projects and

provision of social servicesin all sectors of governance.

Aregbesola said there isno justification to vote forPDP in Osun, challengingthe opposition to point at asingle project that indicatesthe presence of the FederalGovernment in the state.

“This is their 15th year inpower; they started Ilesa toOsogbo road, they did notcomplete it; they startedOgbomoso to Osogbo, itremains uncompleted. Theyare fraudsters and liars.

He therefore, urged thepeople not to fear andadmonished the securityagencies to do their jobs inaccordance with the laid-down rules and procedure toguarantee the rights of thepeople to vote withoutintimidation.

Aregbesola, Tinubu, Oyegun, Ajimobi Pay Homage ToAtaoja

By KEHINDE AYANTUNJI

•Oyinlola’s Appearance Excites Crowd At Ataoja’s Palace

NATIONAL Chairman of the All Progressives Congress,(APC), Chief Odigie John Oyegun, has expressedconfidence that the party would emerge victorious in

Saturday's governorship election in the State of Osun.He said what he saw in the

state was the true spirit of theparty, which he described asgreat things, which OgbeniRauf Aregbesola has achievedin his first term.

Oyegun stated this whilespeaking at the palace of theAtaoja of Osogbo, Oba JimohOlatunji Olanipekun, when thecampaign train of the governorpaid homage to the monarch inhis palace.

Oyegun, said: "This is thefirst time I am campaigningwith Aregbesola and I have seengreat things which I am happyabout.

"I have seen great thingswhich God has done throughyour governor and I have seenthe true spirit of the APC. I amhighly confident that onSaturday, we are going to voteAregbesola back for a secondterm with over ninety per centof the total votes."

Also speaking, formerNational Interim Chairman ofAPC, former GovernorAdebisi Akande, said the partywould not allow any form ofmanipulation in the comingpolls.

The appearance of PrinceOlagunsoye Oyinlola, formergovernor of the state, addedcolour to the visit to thetraditional ruler.

Apart from the crowdcheering the former governor,

the Ataoja-in-Councilapplauded the former governorwith a very loud ovation, whenhe was introduced at the palace.

The Ataoja of Osogbo, ObaJimoh Olanipekun, Larooye II,expressed appreciation to thegovernor for moving the stateforward, especially Osogbo,the state capital.

The monarch stressed thatAregbesola has done so muchfor Osogbo and its people haveno other choice than to votemassively for the governor asa sign of appreciation.

He said: "Aregbesola hasdone what needs to be done forour town and the people ofOsogboland will definitelyreward him with our votes onSaturday.We never imagined ourtown could be developed likethis. For this, we are sograteful".

Governor of the state,Ogbeni Rauf Aregbesola,explained that what the peopleof the state have seen in thefirst term of his administrationwas just a foundation to thegreat things, which thegovernment has in stock for thestate.

He urged the people of thestate to vote massively for theparty on Saturday, so that theactual building process of thestate can begin.

"This is just the beginningof great things to come. It is

only a foundation of what wehave in mind that have beenlaid, the building process isabout to start. We shall comeback to continue the goodwork," Aregbesola said.

Also with the governorwere: Ekiti State governor, DrKayode Fayemi, Ogun Stategovernor, Senator IbikunleAmosun; former governor ofKogi State, Alhaji Abubakar

Osun Markets Close ForAregbesola’s Mega Rally

By KEHINDE AYANTUNJI

THE All Progressives Congress (APC) final megarally will continue to stick in the memories of thepeople with support and solidarity from all sectors

in the state, as the formal and informal sectors abandonedtheir work and stormed the Osogbo Township Stadium,venue of the rally on Tuesday.

The major centres ofattractions were the majormarkets in the state capital,where market men andwomen closed their shops,abandoned theirbusinesses to witness thepresentation of a flag toGovernor Rauf Aregbesola,the APC candidate in theSaturday’s election.

When OSUNDEFENDERvisited the popular Oja ObaMarket in Osogbo, the busymarket was scanty, while themarketers in their hundredswore APC-branded shirts,waiting anxiously towelcome the governor tothe palace.

Most of them, holdingbrooms, queued along theroad, displaying APC flagsin support of the governor.

Early in the morning, thesituation remained the sameat Igbona Market, which isTuesday market, thecommercial activities was

also at its lowest ebb, theremaining few marketerswere also sighted holdingtheir brooms.

Also at Akin Deko Market,they said the market hadbeen temporarily shifted tothe stadium.

“This is the day we havebeen waiting for to show oursupport for GovernorAregbesola. To close ourshops for one day forAregbesola is not enough toshow an appreciation forwhat he has done for us,”Alhaja Adebisi Ogunyemisaid at the market.

At MDS, majority of theshops were closed, as all ofthe them were said to haveleft for the stadium.

At the popular OluodeMarket, as early as 8.00am,mini-buses in their hundredsgathered readily waiting toconvey different groups tothe stadium, just as fruit andpepper sellers wore theirdifferent APC attires.

Osun 2014: AYF Holds Support Rally For AregbesolaBy FRANCIS EZEDIUNO

A few days to the much-anticipated Saturday’sgubernatorial election in the State of Osun, themassive support base of Ogbeni Rauf Aregbesola,

the All Progressive Congress (APC) flagbearer in theelection, continues to swell.

Audu; former governor of EkitiState, Otunba Niyi Adebayo;former governor of KwaraState, Senator Bukola Saraki.

Others were: formergovernor of Bayelsa State,Chief Timipriye Silver; APCNational Publicity Secretary,Alhaji Lai Muhammed; APCgovernorship candidate in OndoState, Rotimi Akeredolu (SAN)among others.

A group within the APCknown as the APC YouthForum, (AYF), OsunChapter, on Mondayconducted a city-wide rallyand road-walk to sensitiseand campaign in support ofthe second termgubernatorial aspiration ofGovernor Aregbesola.

The procession, whichkicked-off at the OsogboTownship Stadium, sawAYF members in their largenumbers walk to theGovernment House, Oke-Fia, Olaiya Junction, Odi-Olowo and NelsonMandela Freedom Park.

The walk, which hadvarious members of the AYFfrom different parts of the

country, was aimed atproperly getting theelectorate in the stateprepared for Saturday’s polland also to encourage themto vote for continuity, asOgbeni Rauf Aregbesolaremains the only symbol ofhope amongst thecontestants, based on thephysical infrastructure andvery many laudableprogrammes hisadministration has beenable to achieve within a shortperiod of three and halfyears in office.

At the venue of the rally,the governor of the State ofOsun; Ogbeni RaufAregbesola, who wasaccompanied by his deputy;

Otunba (Mrs) Grace TitiLaoye-Tomori, admonishedthe youths not to mortgagetheir votes by voting for thewrong candidate and wrongpolitical party.

While reminding theyouths that they are thefuture leaders, he intimatedthat they are thefoundations of what toexpect.

Aregbesola accused thePDP of not developing thestate in its seven and halfyears of holding the fortand revealed that since theonset of his administrationof peace on November 27th,2010, he has broughtdifferent industries to thestate, which had helpedboost employment.

He cited theestablishment of OmoluabiGarment Factory, Abere,RLG Adulawo ICT Complex,Ilesa and the re-activationof the moribund Ede Cocoa

Industry as examples.The governor, who was in

his elements, disclosed thathe was on his way toinaugurate another industry,which would assemble mini-buses, better known as‘Korope’ locally.

The National Chairman ofthe AYF; Barrister IsmailAhmed, has called on theelectorate to come outenmasse and vote for theAPC in a civil manner.

While speaking to OSUNDEFENDER at the venue ofthe AYF rally, he encouragedOsun people not to fear thesecurity operatives becausethey have no power to arrestor harass them, in as muchas they conduct themselvesin the proper manner.

He however stated thatthere was no need for themassive deployment oftroops in the state, as it wasnot under any emergencyrule.

•Governor Rochas Okorocha of Imo at the Township Stadium Osogbo for APC mega rally.

Osun APC Final Governorship Mega Rally:

OSUN DEFENDER Thursday, August 7, 20144 News

•The governor, State of Osun, Ogbeni Rauf Aregbesola, acknowledging cheers from the crowd during a one million-men march round the streets ofthe State Capital, Osogbo, by youths from all the Local Government in support of his re-election on Monday.

Why Osun People Should Not Vote For Omisore - Oyinlola•As Ex-Governor Dumps PDP For APC

By ISMAEEL UTHMAN

FORMER National Secretary of the PeoplesDemocratic Party (PDP) and former governor of theState of Osun, Prince Olagunsoye Oyinlola, has

finally taken solace in the All Progressives Congress(APC) with a warning that the people of the State of Osunshould not dare vote for the PDP candidate in the state,Senator Iyiola Omisore.

Oyinlola dumped the PDPfor APC, following hisvictimization by PresidentGoodluck Jonathan andIyiola Omisore’s faction ofthe party.

He declared his defectionto the APC at the OsogboFederal ConstituencyCampaign Mega Rally forthe re-election of GovernorRauf Aregbesola, held onTuesday at the Osogbo CityStadium, Osogbo, the statecapital.

According to Oyinlola,voting for the PDPcandidate would amount tohanding over the state tocriminals, who had beenaccused of murder on the

death of former Minister ofJustice and AttorneyGeneral of the federation, thelate Chief Bola Ige.

Oyinlola’s defection tothe APC has added flavourto Aregbesola’s imminentvictory on the Saturday’sgovernorship election, as ithas rekindled the hope ofthe lovers and supporters ofthe APC, who are veryoptimistic that Aregbesolawould win the election.

Speaking at the rally,Oyinlola said: “The peopleof Osun voted for formerGovernor Isiaka Adeleke,Chief Bisi Akande,Olagunsoye Oyinlola andOgbeni Rauf Aregbesola.

We all enjoined yoursupport. What I am tryingto say is that all the goodpeople and politicians in thestate are now in one party,APC.

“PDP is now an emptyparty, lacking crediblepoliticians and candidate.Omisore is selfish and self-centred. I did not know whoand how Bola Ige was killed.What I know is that Omisorewas accused of killing ChiefBola Ige. When Omisorewanted to nominate aperson to fill my seat as PDPNational Secretary, he choseProfessor Wale Oladipo.Oladipo was in prison withOmisore on the death ofBola Ige.

“He also nominated JeliliAdesiyan, my formerCommissioner forEducation, for ministerialposition. Adesiyan, Oladipoand Omisore were

imprisoned for their allegedcomplicity in Bola Ige’sdeath. The person they areproposing to pick assenatorial candidate inOsun Central, Kunle Alao,known as Lele, was also aco-detainee with Omisore,Oladipo, Adesiyan on BolaIge’s death.

“Omisore also pickedGani Olaoluwa, who wasalso detained on Bola Ige’sdeath, as PDP chairman inthe state. My question is: Isit until we are all turned tocriminals or imprisonedbefore we can get politicaloffice?”

The former governor thencalled on the people of thestate to troop out en masseon the election day and votemassively for Aregbesolafor the continuity of thedevelopment of the state.

He stated: “In 2003, theso-called PDP leaders now

in the state were membersof the Alliance forDemocracy (AD). They laterleft AD for PDP. AdejareBello was the only one fromAll Nigerian Peoples Party(ANPP). Where are theoriginal members of thePDP? The original membersof the PDP have left the partyfor the criminals. If you calla man to join you in eating;and the person washed histwo hands to eat, what is leftfor the food owner?

“There are no longerreputable individuals in thePDP again. Adeleke, FataiAkinbade and Oyinlolahave left the party for them.What is left for the PDP?There is nothing. It is left forthe people to choose wisely.By the special grace of God,we will emerge victorious onSaturday. I have severedties with the PDP slang, ifyou say Oyin Ni o, you willreply with Change……”

In his address, the EdoState governor, ComradeAdams Oshiomholecommended the people ofthe state for standingsolidly in support ofAregbesola’s re-election,saying that the massivesupport of the electorate hassent jitters down the spinesof the PDP.

“PDP is jittery becausewhere there is light,darkness must disappear. InOsun, Aregbesolarepresents light, while thePDP represents thedarkness. When the peoplebelieve in a cause, they canstay throughout the day.You believe in Aregbesola,you believe in goodgovernance, that is whyyou are here.

“You must stand by a manwho understands themeaning and the tenets ofpolitical power. You mustmove away from those whothink bribery is power. Youmust reject the politicianswho are buying your voteswith kerosene. You mustreject those who areplanning to rig the election.

“Democracy is aboutnumbers and not aboutforce. On Saturday, comeout en masse to vote forAregbesola, mobilize yourpeople too to vote forAregbesola. Collect theirmoney if they give you, andvote for your conscience.Aregbesola is the man of thepeople,” Oshiomholestated.

In his address, the firstexecutive governor of thestate, Senator IsiakaAdeleke, warned the peopleof the state not to vote for‘criminals’ and that theyshould not be dissuaded bythe heavy presence ofsecurity personnel on theelection day.

Adeleke told theelectorate that the presenceof the security men is toprotect the lives andproperty of the people of thestate during the electionperiod, even as he warnedthe security agents againstintimidating the people ofthe state.

The former PDP leadercharged the electorate tovote for Aregbesola andprotect their votes againstthe rigging plan of the PDP.

Osun 2014: APC Leaders Woo Osun Electorate AheadOf Gubernatorial Poll

By FRANCIS EZEDIUNO

IT was a carnival that ordinarily one would not havethought would take place in Osun but it did take place inOsogbo, the capital of the State of Osun.

It was the grand finale of themega rally campaign for the re-election of Ogbeni RaufAregbesola as governor of thestate.

As expected and as has beenthe norm from the previousmega rallies which kick-startedin Ile-Ife through Ikire, Ila-Orangun, Iwo, Ikinrun,Obokun, Ede, Ilesa and Ejigboit had been mass of peopletrooping out every tuesdayweek in and week out.

The major high points of themega rallies in the past 12weeks, had been the defectionof high caliber members fromthe Peoples Democratic Party(PDP) to the All ProgressiveCongress (APC).

Heavy weights like AlhajiIsiaka Adeleke, formerexecutive governor of the state,

Jumokol and now PrinceOlagunsoye Oyinlola havefound their way to theprogressive fold, thanks to thevigorous and massive megarallies organised by the APC togarner support for the re-elelction of Ogbeni RaufAdesoji Aregbesola.

It would be recalled thatearlier in the life of Ogbeni’sadministration in 2010, ElderPeter Babalola a.k.a. PeterPower had decamped with anew alias ‘Peter Action’.

Defiling the heavydownpour in some parts of thestate, party members and theelectorate trooped outmassively in their thousands toshow their support for OgbeniRauf Aregbesola.

The mega rally which alsodoubles as the grand finale was

meant for Osogbo-Olorunda-Irepodun-Orolu FederalConstituency.

The electorates who werefull of joy and anticipating tosee the next inauguration ofOgbeni Rauf Aregbesola allstated that their votes was notfor the highest bidder and comeSaturday 9th of August, theOgbeni Rauf Aregbesola wouldsee their promises put intoaction.

Speaking shortly before theentrance of Ogbeni RaufAregbesola, Governor of ImoState Owelle Rochas Okorochaadmonished the electorates tovote massively for his friendbecause he was a good man.

He also revealed that theAPC never rents crowdbecause it is a party that isloved by the electorate.

With the arrival andintimidating presence of pastgovernors in the state SenatorIsiaka Adeleke (Serubawon),

Chief Adebisi Akande (BabaOmo Kekeke) and PrinceOlagunsoye Oyinlola (Prince ofPeace) the stage was set for thecampaign.

The list was endless and itincluded National chairman,John Oyegun, Engr. Segun Oni,Dr. Chris Ngige, Asiwaju BolaAhmed Tinubu, Prince TonyMomoh, Dr. Bukola Saraki,Prince Abubakar Audu andgovernors from Kwara, Edo,Ogun, Oyo, Lagos and Ekitistates.

Chief John Oyegun affirmedthat the APC would not toleratestolen mandate again and theEkiti State election was the lastcase as the party was set togive the people the best formof government the people hadever wanted.

Speaker by speaker whichinluded Bola Ahmed Tinubu,Prince Olagunsoye Oyinlola,Chief Adebisi Akande, AdamsOshiomhole, Senator Isiaka

Adeleke all called on theelectorate to protect their votesand not be afraid of the securitypersonnel as they were in Osunfor protection purposes.

IMPORTANT NOTICE

For prompt report of eventshappening in your area during August9, 2014 governorship election inOsun, call these telephone numbers:Kola - 08033927286Kayode - 08033880205Kazeem - 08062207954Shina - 08066772615Ismaeel - 08067836368Niyi - 08030417786Francis - 08060041395Jacobs - 07032839396Agboola - 08061197896

5 OSUN DEFENDER Thursday, August 7, 2014

Huge Crowd In Osogbo For Aregbesola’s Campaign

OSOGBO, capital of the State of Osun, recorded anunusual mammoth crowd of Governor RaufAregbesola’s supporters on Tuesday, as the All

Progressives Congress (APC) held the grand finale of hiscampaign for the Saturday’s governorship election.

Though, the programme,held at the Osogbo Townshipstadium, was slated for11:00am, but as early as8.00am, Osogbo had startedfeeling the impact, as APCsupporters in uniform havebeen storming the town fromall the 30 local governmentcouncil areas of the state andModakeke Area Office.

Virtually all the streets of thestate capital was at a standstill,as there was a serious vehicularhold up due to the large numberof the residents of the statethat stormed the ancient townfor the campaign.

Traders, artisans, motorists,commercial motorcyclists,popularly called Okada riders,as well as businessmen andwomen, abandoned theirbusinesses to catch a glimpseof Aregbesola and identifiedwith him.

The Aregbesola’s arrival atthe venue of the programmewas another scene to behold,as the broom-wieldingmammoth crowd of hissupporters, were thrown intojubilation mood on sightinghim.

In spite of the rains thatgreeted the campaign, thesupporters and sympathisersof Aregbesola defied the rainand stood still in the main bowlof the stadium, the venue of theprogramme.

Security operatives andOsun Youths EmpowermentScheme (OYES) volunteers hadhectic time in controlling thecrowd, just as traffic wardershad hectic time in controllingvehicular movement in town

and the entrance of venue ofthe programme.

As if that was not enough,the return of Aregbesola to theOke-fia Government Houseafter the campaign was anotherevidence of his acceptability, aspeople from every part of thestate capital abandoned theirbusinesses again to cheer him.

Apart from the crowd thatran after his vehicle from thecampaign ground, traders andresidents at Omo-West, Pepsi-Cola, Ayetoro, Igbona,Ajegunle, Old-Garage and Oke-Fia were thrown into joyousmood on sighting him on topof a bus, responding to cheersfrom his admirers.

Addressing the crowd at thecampaign ground, Aregbesolasaid what he has done in hisfirst term were just foundationof what to come in second term.

He appreciated God forusing him to transform thestate, saying that the supportshe received from the peopleencourage him to do more, justas he noted that he would notrelent until Osun is developedto international standard.

In his own address at therally, the National Leader ofAPC, Asiwaju Bola Tinubu,asked the people of the statenot to be scared of securityoperatives that are beingdeployed for the poll, sayingthat they are meant to defendthe people and their votes.

He warned the PDP and thePresidency against kitting thugswith security and NYSCuniforms, with a view to usingthem to rig the poll, saying that

whoever allow himself to beused to rig the election wouldhave him or herself to blame.

According to him, the PDPand the President know nothingabout governance, saying thatthe APC is the party that iscommitted to the developmentof the state and the country atlarge.

Also, the National Chairmanof APC, Chief John Odigwe-Oyegun, said the party wouldnot henceforth accept thestolen of its mandate, warningthat no single votes of thepeople should be tamperedwith in the August 9 election.

According to him, whoevertries to tamper with thepeople’s mandate given to APCwould pay dearly for it.

The former NationalChairman of APC, Chief BisiAkande, said the President hasno moral right to canvass for

vote for PDP in Osun, as nofederal presence has been feltsince he came on board.

He was optimistic that theAPC would emerge winner inthe August 9 election becauseAregbesola has justified thereason he should be re-elected,calling on the electorate to voteand stand by their votes.

Speaking on behalf of theother APC governors inattendance, Governor AdamsOshimhole of Edo State saidthat the opposition PDPfigures are now jittery becausethey have seen the handwritingon the wall that people wantAregbesola and the APC.

He urged the electorate tovote massively for Aregbesola,who, according to him,understands the meaning ofpolitical power to attractdevelopment to the state.

Other speakers at the

campaign ground, the Speakerof the Osun House of Assembly,Honourable Najeem Salaam; hisLagos State counterpart,Honourable Adeyemi Ikuforiji;Secretary to the StateGovernment, Alhaji MoshoodAdeoti; and APC leader, AlhajiFatai Diekola warned againstthe rigging of the Saturday’spoll, as such attempt would beresisted.

They noted that the PDPchieftains have realised thatthey are not popular and theywant to rig the poll, saying thatthe electorate should not allowthem.

Among the governors inattendance were governorsRochas Okorocha of Imo State,Fatai Ahmed Fatai of KwaraState, Ibikunle Amosun of OgunState, Abiola Ajimobi of OyoState and Kayode Fayemi ofEkiti State among others.

Osogbo Standstills For Aregbesola’s Mega RallyBy SHINA ABUBAKAR

THE city of Osogbo, the capital of the State ofOsun, stood still for the All ProgressivesCongress (APC) final rally, as the

governorship election is barely few days away.The almost two months

intensive campaignactivities of the partyclimaxed with the flag-handing over for theparty’s governorship

candidate and theincumbent governor,Ogbeni Rauf Aregbesola,by the National Chairmanof the party, Chief JohnOyegun, supported by

national leaders of theparty.

The roads leading to thestadium was brimmingwith human and vehiculartraffic, as residents defiedthe rain to take to thestreets, to solidarise withthe governor, who incompany of three formergovernors of the state,Alhaji Isiaka Adeleke, Chief

Bisi Akande and PrinceOlagunsoye Oyinlola,moves through the city tothe stadium.

At all the majorjunctions on the road,residents thronged thestreets with brooms intheir hands to showsupport for the re-electionbid of the governor andtheir resolve to ensure

continuity in thedevelopmental process inthe state.

It took about three hoursfor the governor ’sentourage to move fromOld-Garage part of thestate to the stadium, asresidents lined up the roadto show enthusiasm forthe governor’s mission.

Meanwhile, the stadium

was filled to capacity, asthe people defied the earlydownpour to listen to theparty leaders’ submissionon the coming poll in thestate.

Residents and partyloyalists thronged thestadium from 10.00amand waited in the rainthroughout the duration ofthe campaign.

Addressing thegathering, the nationalleader of the party, AsiwajuBola Tinubu, said OgbeniAregbesola has marketedhimself to the people of thestate, adding that theyouths should come out enmass and vote for thegovernor.

He berated PresidentGoodluck Jonathan on theexcuse of killing of youthcorps members in 2011.

In his speech, PrinceOlagunsoye Oyinlola saidhe has joined the fold ofthe progressive and bidfarewell to the fold of thePDP for short-changingthe South-West.

He condemned theparty for betrayingObasanjo after helping theparty to win election in2011.

The former governordisclosed that the PDPcandidate is not fit to begovernor in the state,saying the party is wellaware of the reasons,which explained why hewas denied the ticket in2007.

He described thepresent crops of PDPmembers as lackingintegrity, as the presentbigwigs still have questionsto answer regarding theignoble death of Chief BolaIge.

He described the stategovernor as a man ofintegrity and has unrivalledpassion for development,not only for the state butthe entire country.

Some state governors atthe gathering included thegovernors of Oyo, Ogun,Kwara, Edo and Imostates.

Those who addressedthe gathering told membersof the party and residentsto troop to polling unitsand vote for the governoron August 9 and stand bytheir vote and ensure thatit counts.

Omisore Refused Entry Into Ikire, Gbongan Communities•Ogbaaga, Wakajaiye And Odeyinka Communities, Near Ikire And Gbongan, Osun

IT sounds unbelievable but it is real, as youths and leadersof Ogbaaga and Wakajaiye communities near Gbonganas well as those of Odeyinka near Ikire trooped out of

their residences and blockaded roads leading to theirrespective communities on hearing that the governorshipcandidate of the Peoples Democratic Party, PDP, SenatorIyiola Omisore was coming on campaign visits.

According to DaudaOladele, a youth leader inOgbaaga, who spoke withOSUN DEFENDER, theyouths and elders of the areahad a crucial meeting a daybefore the reported Omisore’svisit to their community.

According to Oladele: “Weheld a meeting, which was well-attended by adult members ofthe community, as well asyouths. At the meeting, it wasresolved that we should notallow him (Omisore) into our

community, among otherresolutions.”

Asked why this drasticdecision, especially withfreedom of movement andassociation as fundamentalrights of citizens of Nigeria tomove about, and if this was nottantamount to infringement, theyouth leader responded: “Yes,we know that there is the rightof freedom of movement andassociation, as enshrined in thenation’s Constitution, but in asituation where this candidate

is coming around to corruptour people with voodoo riceand kerosene, we also have theright to disallow him frompolluting our community.

“Where his right stops, ourown begins. Informationfiltered in that he was comingwith those items. We do notknow his real intention becausewe have been hearing storiesof the food items being laced.We do not want to takechances. Our children areinnocent and they could beeasily carried away, and inorder to prevent any unwantedconsequences, we decided tomove fast on him.”

Similar stories akin to theabove were told by communitymembers of Wakajaiye, also

close to Gbongan, as well asOdeyinka, near Ikire.

In the case of Ikire, theyouths even went as far assinging derogatory songs to thehearing of the visiting PDPgovernorship candidate, IyiolaOmisore, to show their disdainfor him.

It was learnt that as Omisoremoved to surrounding areasclose to schools, kids werechanting praises of Aregbesolato Omisore’s hearing.

One of the lyrics was evento the effect that the youths donot need the laced food; theywere already being fed byAregbesola. “E se oooo, e gbemajele yin lo, ao fe, Aregbesolati bo wa” meaning, “Thank you,go away with your poison,Aregbe has already fed us.”

•Former Governor of Osun and former National Secretary of PDP, Prince Olagunsoye Oyinlola formally joined APC as he received the party’s flagfrom the APC National Chairman of the party, Chief John Oyegun, in Osogbo, State of Osun, last Tuesday.

By KAZEEM MOHAMMED

OSUN DEFENDER Thursday, August 7, 20146

Compatriots, Jealously Guard Your Votes!Continued from pg1

But to guard our votesjealously could even be said to bemore important than casting our votes.This is in view of the desperation ofthe far from being democratic PeoplesDemocratic Party (PDP) and itsgubernatorial 'wannabe' in the state,Iyiola Omisore Mr. 'Money miss road',to coast home victory in the comingelection. Thus while it's important togive our votes to Ogbeni, it's evenmore important to jealously guard ourvotes. This is what we need to do toensure that the PDP doesn't succeedin its evil machinations.

Already there are threats of violencefrom the party on members of the rulingparty, APC as they (PDP) are threaten-ing fire against APC members. Going bytheir antecedent violence and rigging aretheir stock-in-trade. And since there isno hope for them of winning the comingelection through 'One man One vote'then their hope lies in repeating whatthey know how to do best.

Another way through which the PDPis hoping to claim victory is by throw-ing money and other valuable gifts out

to entice voters to sell their votes. In thisregard the handwriting had for long ap-peared on the wall. With the distributionof kerosene to their members and somemembers of the public which started lastyear their journey to entice voters withthe aim of buying their votes started.

This stratagem rather than strategy,being viciously employed by the PDP inthe state of Osun, is what we see as 'jeuns'iku' should citizens get swayed by it.'Jeun s'iku' literally means 'eat and die' or'eat the food that will lead you to yourgrave'. The money and other forms of giftwhich the PDP and Iyiola Omisore rely onto buy citizens' votes are nothing but'Greek gift' and 'blood money' and collect-ing them to do their biding means doingso at one's peril. It simply means sendingour state back to the pre-Aregbesola era;backwater of development. May God for-bid!

But it's not enough to pray to God toforbid evil things. We the citizens mustalso not use our own hands to bring evilthings on our heads. To collect PDP'sblood money to sell our conscience in thecoming election will be tantamount to 'jeuns'iku' the consequence of which will bedire for our state. Of course the citizenscan collect the gift of money and other

gifts the PDP is ready to offer them but theymust not do so to do their bidding. The votesin the coming election are for OgbeniAregbesola who has raised the bar of goodand responsible governance in the state andshould never go to any other party let alonethe PDP.

The PDP and Iyiola Omisore are free togo about to throw carrot to the people intheir desperation to capture the conscienceof voters but never should the voters allowtheir conscience to be captured by theseunscrupulous elements who have nothingto offer our state. The PDP has been in powerfor close to eight years here without anypositive thing to show for it. All it had toshow for its eight years of misrule are purelynegative; violence, hunger, unemployment,collapsed school system, bad roads andgeneral under-development across the state.

And on the part of the party's candidate,'Mr. Money miss road' himself, he too hadnothing positive to show for representingthe state at the highest legislative body ofthis country even as he held a juicy positionin the Senate, being Chairman Appropria-tion Committee for four years. Rather thanserving the people and made positive im-pact in their lives he was only there to servehis own pocket. So in what way are they -

both the PDP and Omisore - going to ef-fect any meaningful change in the life ofthe state as they are shouting around?

We know that the virtuous and respon-sible citizens of our state who have en-joyed dividends of democracy in unprec-edented term under the able and vision-ary leadership of Ogbeni Aregbesola willnot waste their votes. We are sure theyare not going to sell their conscience. Webelieve fervently that their votes will befor Aregbesola as they are not ready to'jeun s'iku'. However,as we said above it'sone thing to vote, the next important taskbefore them come election day after vot-ing is for them to protect their votes.

Our people must guard their votes jeal-ously so that these visionless elementswho rely on vote stealing like they did in2007 and who have nothing to offer thestate and its people don't succeed in theirfraudulent and evil plans. For them not tosucceed the ball is in the court of thepeople. Our responsibilities are clear; tovote and to protect our votes. These arewhat we must do to ensure the return ofthe Aregbesola-led progressive govern-ment that has done so well for our state.

Open Letter To My People Of Ile-IfeI am Prince Adetilewa

Sijuwade, truly andrightly an indigenous

Ife Prince. I have at thepeak of my priorities, theemancipation and upliftingof Ile-Ife indigenes. Inessence, I am courageousto say that I will count onmy fingers those that loveIle-Ife more than I do. Notby busy footings, grandstandings or lip services,but by actualization ofprogrammes of upliftingof Ifes. Through thespecial grace of ourAlmighty God, my party,the All ProgressivesCongress (APC), theblessing of my father, theOoni of Ife, Oba OkunadeSijuwade, and the verygood people of Ife, I wasvoted into my presentstatus in government as alegislator to influence andpromote infrastructural,socio-economicdevelopments andpromotion of Ifes throughgood governance.

The APC government,within three and a halfyears in office, had fromits incepetion, reducedfees payable in state-owned tertiaryinstitutions by half;

OSUN DEFENDERPublisher – Moremi Publishing

House Ltd.

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OSUN DEFENDER is published by Moremi Publishing HouseLimited, Promise Point Building, Opposite Guarantee Trust BankGTB, Gbongan Road, Osogbo, State of Osun.All correspondence to the above mail address.ISSN: 0794-8050Telephone: 0803-392-7286, 08033880205Website: www.osundefender.com/index.phpe-mail: osundefender@yahoo.com

created opportunities viaO’YES; provide ultra-modernschool infrastructure; feed500,000 pupils daily(0’meal) and other relatedprogrammes.

Other laudableachievements of the currentAPC administration in thestate include self-employment opportunities infish and poultry farming, freequalitative education plustransportation for pupils andstudents;free andqualitativehealthservices,socialbenefitsfor theelderly.Plans arealso on to build OranmiyanInternational Market in Ile-Ife. Creating additional LocalDevelopment Council Areaswith a view to bringinggovernment closer to thegrassroots are addedopportunities for fasterdevelopment.

I am also bold to say thatthere is no household in Ile-Ife that has not and still notbenefiting from the APC/Aregbesola’s administration.

All the current

gubernatorial candidates in theforthcoming election have had atone time or the other,opportunities to better our lotsin Ife, either as deputygovernor/senator and mostespecially, as Chairman ofAppropriation Committee ofthe Senate, but we all knowwhat we got for those years inIfe; poverty save for very veryclose family members, allies andcronies.

The responsibility of all and

sundry in Ife at this time is toensure better future for ourchildren and not to mortgage thereferenced future for our ownindividual selfish interests. Ourfuture is the reflection ofyesteryears and the present. Wehave experienced unimpressiveyesteryears in

Nigeria, Osun andparticularly in Ife, thebastardization of our heritage,culture and psyche in theMilitary/ PDP governments,people can now appreciate

what governance is all aboutand what it is supposed to be.

I also need to stand indefence of His ImperialMajesty, Ooni of Ife, here byassuring all and sundry thatBaba is the spiritual father ofall, regardless of whether youare addressed as an “Omo onileor Alejo” and as a true father toall, Ooni will not assent toblackmailing non-natives tovote PDP or will be sentpacking form their respective

Ife abodes. Oba Sijuwade hadon several occasions publiclyidentified with the excellentand unusual brilliantperformances of OgbeniAregbesola.

I appeal to all and sundryin Ife to let’s put on ourthinking caps and vote right.The presence of security

operatives should notintimidate us into notperforming our civic duties andrights. They would be there toprotect us and aid our vigilance.

Think positively, votepositively, VoteAREGBESOLA! He is testedand proven above all others.

•Sijuwade current representsIfe-Central Constituency inthe State of Osun House ofAssembly.

OSUN DEFENDER Thursday, August 7, 2014 7

8 OSUN DEFENDER Thursday, August 7, 2014PHOTOTALKAll Progressives Congress (APC) 2014 Governorship Re-election Of Ogbeni RaufAregbesola’s Mega Rally At Osogbo City Stadium, Osogbo, State Of Osun, LastTuesday. Photo: SIKIRU ADEOYE-YUSUF

•

•

•A crowd of Governor Rauf Aregbesola’s supporters and admirers in and outside of the Osogbo City Stadium, during the Mega Rally on re-election of the governor on Tuesday.

•Ogbeni Aregbesola (on top of a bus), at the mega rally on his re-election, held at Osogbo City Stadium, Osogbo, State of Osun, on Tuesday.

9OSUN DEFENDER Thursday, August 7, 2014 PHOTOTALK

•

•

•Governor Aregbesola and former governor of Osun, Prince Olagunsoye Oyinlola (on top of a vehicle), acknowledging cheers from the crowd at the Osogbo Township Stadium,Osogbo

All Progressives Congress (APC) 2014 Governorship Re-election Of Ogbeni RaufAregbesola’s Mega Rally At Osogbo City Stadium, Osogbo, State Of Osun, LastTuesday.

•A cross section of Governor Rauf Aregbesola’s supporters at the mega rally in Osogbo.

10 OSUN DEFENDER Thursday, August 7, 2014

11 OSUN DEFENDER Thursday, August 7, 2014

OLUSESI ISAAC writes that Nigeria’s National Conference’s proposal of additional 18States is good, but not enough without the inclusion of Borgu State with New Bussa as capital.

Reason For A Borgu StateTHE recommendation of the nation’s

National Conference for the creationof the additional 18 new states cannot

be said to be exhaustive. And before thedecision reached by the conferees goes to theNational Assembly or a referendum, creating aBorgu State with New Bussa as capital is notonly justifiable, it is also expedient for itspopulation, viability, history, cultural affinity,and contiguity.

Borgu State has been part of the behemothof requests placed before the Committee onConstitution Review of the NationalAssembly because the social, cultural, politicaland economic fundaments that determined thecreation of states in Nigeria in 1976, 1987,1991 and 1996 also come to play in creatingBorgu State. With the massive consensus ofthe people of the area, it is only left for theNational Conference’s Committee on PoliticalRestructuring and Forms of Government torecommend the creation of Borgu State, havingthe existing large local government area to bejoined by the requisite number of localgovernment areas, contiguous with oneanother drawn from the neighbouring South-south Kebbi State, North-west, North-northNiger State, and North-west Kwara State.These states, Kebbi, Niger and Kwara Statessimilar or near similar cultural and historicalantecedent.

New Bussa as proposed capital extendsover a vast area that approximates theterritorial stretch of such modern day geo-political units as Kuwait, Swaziland andLebanon. New Bussa lies between latitude90N and 110N, longitudes 20E and 40N; it isbounded to the North by Kebbi State, to theWest by Benin Republic and to the East bythe River Niger; and has a territorial spreadextended to Illo and Kooje in Kebbi State,Kaima and Baruten areas of Kwara State andsituated in between the south fringes of theGuinea Savannah, Northern Guinea vegetationbelt and the Northern borders of the tropicalforest (Southern Guinea) region.

The bulk of the population of New Bussa

reside in Bussa, Guffanti Agwara, Wara,Babanna, Doro-Malale, Rofia, Luma, andPapyri, with the people having such basicsocial infrastructure and facilities as motorableroads, electricity, pipe-borne water supply,intra-city transportation, signals of severalradio and television stations, networks of theglobal system for mobile communication,ultra-modern air landing facilities at the KanjiN.A.F base, public primary and secondaryschools, specialised tertiary institutions likethe Federal College of Fresh Water FisheriesTechnology, and government’s several basichealth centres.

New Bussa has an impressive array ofnational and man-made tourist attractions thatinclude Zekanna and Kalli Hills located inWawa and credited with curative powers;

Pissa cave served as protective refuge duringwar situations; Old Bussa Ruins situatedbetween Malale and New Bussa; Kanji LakeNational Park Tourist Camps and NationalPark at Oli and Wawa that houses wildlife;Wawa Maot in Wawa town for defensivepurposes; Kubeli Hilly Range having layers offeldspar, an excellent raw materials for themanufacturing of glass and porcelain; KanjiLake and Dam generating electrical currentsnationally and sub-regionally; ShagunuWildlife; Konkosso soil wonder in Babanna,NorthwestBorgu, characterised by differentcolours of soil which are scooped up intocalabashes and refined as face and bodypowder.

These tourist attraction are still beingvisited today from across the globe. In the 19th

century, German explorers, Dr. HeinrichBarth, Machiavellian arch-monopolist GeorgeTubman Goldie, Captain Anderson, HenryKemble and other Europeans including MungoPark (who died in 1806 at Bussa rapids), Lt.High Clapperton, Richard Lander, JohnLander, and Lord Luggard (who lateramalgamated Nigeria, all at different times hadvisited the tourists centres in the proposedBorgu State.

The construction of the massive Kanji Damcomplex in Nigeria in 1969 by the then Headof State, General Yakubu Gowon (retd)opened the floodgates of governmentpresence, sanitation and housing facilities,banking services and investment opportunitiesand the creation of Borgu local government outof the old native system that over the yearscontinue to improve the economic, social andpolitical lot of people of Borgu.

The political will of the Federal governmentthat favoured the Borgu in the past, willcertainly not today be a clog to the creation ofBorgu State. It will be roundly applauded ifthe final shortlist of new states includes BorguState as the national conference resumesAugust 14. A Borgu State will solve theproblem of underdevelopment of theconstituents; meet the growth anddevelopment aspirations of the nationals andnational residents in Borgu; remove discontentand tension; obliterate the aura of domination;and breed good neighbourliness. Nigeria as onesingle indivisible geo-political entity will bebetter for it.

•OLUSESI is Assistant Director,Directorate of Publicity, Research andStrategy, All Progressives Congress, State ofOsun.

•MARK •KUTIGI

OPINION

The Odds Favour AregbesolaBy DAN ONWUKWE

THE most important decision anelected public official makes shouldof necessity concern what he wants

to do with the office.It also includes whatrange of issues he wants to recognise andmake his own agenda.

The challenge therefore is to createboundaries for the office and thereafterselect among possible goals.That’s whypolitics does not favour subtlety,but itdoes favour leadership that runs withuncommon discipline and clarity ofpurpose and a deep recognition thatpolitics is a human enterprise for publicgood,not personal aggrandisement.

However, these days in Nigeria,politicsfeels and smells very much like a boxingarena or a “do or die” affair,where,as onewriter puts it, “punches come fromdifferent directions, strategies changeblow by blow,and another challenger isalways waiting to take you on”.But truechampions are those that are focused andhave the capacity to absorb punches anddeliver telling blows that wins the bouyt.

No place in Nigeria this week will thesescenarios play out as Osun State wherethe governorship election holds thisSaturday,August 9. A graphic account ofthe political situation in that State is like asuper tanker loaded with fuel. Implosion isimminent if things are not handled withutmost care.Security should be on alertbut should not intimidate or scare awayvoters.

How Osun has come to this frighteninglevel is not hard to understand.Sevenweeks ago,the dramatic outcome in thegovernorship election in nearby EkitiState which saw the defeat of theincumbent governor,Dr.Kayode Fayemi ofthe All Progressives Congress(APC)byMr.Ayodele Fayose of the PeoplesDemocratic Party(PDP)has raised thepolitical temperature in Osun manynotches higher.

While it has given the PDP supremeconfidence that the same feat can berepeated in Osun,it has put the rulingparty in Osun State on its toes,andgovernor Rauf Aregbesola on alert.Willthunder strike twice in seven weeks?

This is a question that makesSaturday’s election perhaps the fiercestgubernatorial contest since the presentdemocratic dispensation began.While itcould be foolish-maybe even dangerous-to underestimate any of the 20 candidatesalready cleared for the poll,the real battleis between the incumbent governor andthe PDP standard bearer,Senator IyiolaOmisore.The two are popular no doubt inwhat has been a dirty campaign.In theend,only one winner will emerge,and thatwinner will be the one with the biggestgrassroot support and how they turn outon election day.

I do not foresee a close contest asmany pundits have predicted.This is inspite of the President Jonathan’s visitover the weekend. While the choice ofwho emerges winner on Saturday belongsto Osun voters,I foresee GovernorAregbesola re-elected by a widemargin,provided the election is adjudgedfree and fair.

You may ask, what informs mydecision?My confidence to endorse theincumbent governor is anchored on hisaccomplishments in the last fouryears.They will speak for him unless Osunrecord of performance counts for nothingfor Osun voters.There’s something aboutaccomplishment that brings electoral

reward.In the words of LyndonJohnson,former American President,”whatyou accomplish in life depends almostcompletely upon what you make yourselfdo…perfect concentration and a greatdesire will bring a person success in anyfield of work he chooses”.

The very first thing the person shoulddo,Johnson further advised,”is to trainthe mind to concentrate upon theessentials and discard the frivolous andunimportant.This will ensure realaccomplishment and ultimate success”.Assomeone with marxist background,thesewords his aides say resonate withAregbesola as a man with welfaristcredentials.These have reflected in hisperformance in key sectors such aseducation,infrastructure like road networkand agrculture and rural development.

I can tell testify to some of theseareas.Let me start with road.My encounterwith the governor’s achievement on roadshappened by chance.At a recent visit toOsun for a wedding,less than 30 minutesinto the journey to Oshogbo fromLagos,we got a call that there was aterrific traffic gridlock along Lagos/Ibadan Expressway.

The options for me and my friends weretwo:cancel the trip or find alternativeroute to Osun.The driver suggested wecould cut off the Lagos/IbadanExpressway.I was familiar with where wewere headed,but came out a first classstretch of road known as Orile-Owuheading towards Ijebu-Igbo.I was told itwas one the 400km intra-city/inter-cityroad network constructed by theAregbesola administration. I understandthe Orile-Owu road,a clear dividend of

democracy is beside the 10km of roadnetwork constructed and rehabilitated ineach of the 30 local government areas ofthe state.

Perhaps,the undeniable achievement ofAregbesola for which even his opponentswill acknowledge is in the educationsector where free,home-grown schoolfeeding programme packed with nutritiousmeals has been in full operation in publicprimary schools.Also,under the acronym“Opon Imo” (e-learning),school pupils areprovided with computer tablets,as well asfree school uniform to pupils.With newmega schools built across the state,andover 254,000 pupils been fed daily withnutritious meals,who says learning is nolonger interesting.

From statistics available,about 750,000pupils have reported benefited the the e-learning scheme,while no fewer than 3000local tailors under Omoluabi garmentfactory have been trained and empoweredto made the school uniforms readilyavailable. What better way to promoteSmall and medium enterprises. The picturewhich emerges from the foregoing is thatof a governor for whom all humancontacts has a purpose.

The reason for all the tension anddesperation ahead of the Osun poll thisSaturday is simple:it is all about who winsthe soul of Southwest ahead of 2015 andPresident Jonathan expected re-electionbid. But politicians should realise that theexistence of the country supercedes theambition of any individual or group.

Culled from THE SUN

FEATURE

OSUN DEFENDER Thursday, August 7, 201412 INTERVIEW

PDP’s Coup In Osun’ll Fail – AregbesolaThe deployment of gun-wielding operatives of the Directorate of State Services (DSS) to the

State of Osun ahead of the August 9, 2014 governorship election has been condemned by thestate Governor Rauf Aregbesola, who described the show of force by security men in Osogboas an assault on democracy.

Aregbesola, during an interview session with senior journalists in Osogbo, said byfiring shots into the air, the masked DSS men intended to shock and intimidate the people.

Where’s democracy when the people are prevented from having their choice and the samepeople paid to protect them now terrorize them?” Governor Aregbesola asked.

He added, “If election is about acceptance, popularity and the impact you have made on thepeople, we are confident that their show of force has failed.”

The governor spoke about his efforts in making life better for Osun people since he assumedpower and concluded he was sure of clinching victory at the polls on Saturday. Excerpts:

QUESTION: The governorshipelection in the State of Osun is afew days away. How prepared are you

to avoid what happened in Ekiti State?AREGBESOLA: The real issue is not about

you as a candidate but the quality of theelectoral process. Once the quality is good andhigh, whatever the people say is final,becausethey are the ultimate deciders of whorepresents or governs them. But to answerthe question properly, I have prepared so wellfor the office in a way that going by thenormal run, I should not be working as hard asI’m working now for re-election. Why we aredifferent from them is that we have alwaysbeen with the people from day one of ouradministration.

How many governors walk the streets withtheir citizens? I have been doing that since thefirst month in office. How many governorscreated interactive forums in Nigeria beforeme? There is none. I’m the first governor thatdevoted close to 10 hours of continuousengagement on a quarterly basis with thecitizens. The people ask any question in a conducive atmosphere.

‘Ogbeni Till Daybreak’ is a worldwideengagement, because we take feedbacks fromsocial media. Gbangba Dekun is a monthlycommunity interactive forum, where I sit with stakeholders in the community to ask ormake inquiries on any issue. This is thepicture of direct engagement we’ve had withthe people that no government in Nigeria hasever attempted to do. We also have a carnival-like procession in ‘Walk to Live’, where wejust walk round the communities and it’s quiteengaging and popular because everybodywants to be with the governor. Hardly is thereany community in this state that I have nottouched.

In terms of physical and social services,this is the first government that can say thatthere is no household, be it PDP, APC andothers, that our programmes have not reached.I feed 300,000 pupils every school day at thecost of N3.6 billion a year. I have been doingit since 2012 and I have spent N7.2 billion onit. You can go to these schools and observewhat the pupils are eating to be sure whetherit is worth what we are saying or not. I can tellyou that nobody touches the money exceptthose in-charge.

Long before we commenced the feedingarrangement, we empowered poultry farmersand fish farmers to produce chicken, eggs andfish the pupils now consume . We gave them close to N600 million . The only people webuy from now are herdsmen .

We have the second batch of O’YES cadets,the first batch of 20,000 have graduated and the second batch of 20,000 have commencedtraining. They work two or three days a weekand they have the rest of the week left forthem to see what they can do with their handsand earn a living because they are taughtentrepreneurial skills. They earn N10,000monthly as cadets. On this scheme alone, thisadministration has spent N9 billion. I tellpeople what these schemes mean for nationaldevelopment.

I have in that scheme directly injected N9billion into the economy, and a man earningN10,000, unless you promise to double hisinvestment, has no business traveling toIbadan with that N10,000. If it’s not going toyield anything more, he won’t go to Ibadan.Every bit of the money is better spent here.

Every O’YES cadet has a smart card and theissue of anyone tampering with their moneydoes not arise.

Mine is among the few governments thatdeveloped a meaningful welfare programme forelderly citizens. We have a package based on an extensive survey of citizens that are 65years and above in our database. We nowidentified those among them that are withoutany support. It’s the first time anygovernment will do so in Nigeria.

We identified 1,800 of such people state-wide. The selection was purely based on theirconditions, no primordial sentiment. Professor Ogunbameru of Obafemi AwolowoUniversity administered everything and gaveus the list with their addresses. We have beengiving them N10,000 monthly since 2012. Stillalong that line, before now, ambulances hereused to carry dead bodies, whereas they’re not meant only for carrying dead bodies. Wehave ambulance points everywhere in the statenow working 24 hours.

Also we just launched debit cards of between N100, 000 and N150, 000 forfarmers with which they buy their farm inputsat their doorsteps. They buy on guaranteedcredit and pay back with either theircommodities or sell and pay back.

I look at my government’s engagement

with the people which has impacted everyhome positively, and I say if election is aboutacceptance, popularity and impact you havemade on the people, we are waiting for whatthe verdict of democracy would be. In acredible, transparent, free and fair election, I’mnot worried at all about what people will sayabout his administration.

QUESTION: How do you react to theheavy security presence in the state?

AREGBESOLA: Democracy is not justvoting. Everything pertaining to the capacityof the people to vote or not to vote and tofreely decide what they want must be ofinterest to all of us. Whenever that right isinfringed, it’s a total assault on democracy. Wecannot call that democracy.

The issue of militarization of the state isnot one man’s job. We owe it a duty to let thewhole world know what is happening here.It’s an infringement on the rights of Nigerianpeople. We’ve all forgotten that we pay thesalaries of these security agencies. We don’tpay them to wear masks in our towns. Theyshould only wear masks when they engageterrorists and if they have to operate in aregion where seeing them might compromisetheir own safety and security.

What would they say is the reason for whatthey are doing now other than intimidation?

So, what this means is that they want toconquer and cow our people, which is a directassault on democracy. Yes, you asked for whatI am doing. I won’t use guns against them butI will not be quiet.

I believe this must be condemned by all ,because this is not about Aregbesola alone.You people may not have any press office towork in if this continues. Don’t think it willstop there. By the time they finish with thepress, they can say you should not even goand buy yam to eat anywhere. Everythingwill be affected.

This is the longest coup in the history ofthis country, where gun-wielding and maskedsecurity operatives are unleashed on thepeople ahead of an election by a desperatefederal government. But this PDP coup willfail. If election is about acceptance, popularityand impact you have made on the people, weare confident that their show of force hasfailed.

QUESTION: Is your administration ongood terms with teachers, civil servants,okada riders and students?

AREGBESOLA: Most people don’t evenknow how to assess relationships. Theyassess them on the basis of complaints by adissatisfied section of a critical lot. It cannotbe like that. It is impossible for human beingsto exist without conflict. The Yoruba have anidiomatic way of saying that. They say the teeth and the tongue fight, but they are alwaysstill together. Let us look at what we havedone and then situate our relationship withinit, though some people for whatever reason donot just like us.

I told someone that what should concernyou is not those who are opposed to youespecially as it gets to the run-up to theelection. When it’s still far ahead, you may bebothered so you can make adjustments. Butwhen no matter what you do, that’s theirattitude, you just stay put. According tonewspapers, not less than 20 parties areseeking power democratically. If you win 60per cent of the votes, it does not mean youdon’t have opposition. The 40 per cent whodon’t want to see you may cut your head ifyou are careless. If you win 60 per cent, youare home and dry. In a struggle with otherstakeholders this is good enough. What we aredoing is to ensure that each of these criticalsectors don’t have any basis at all to oppose us.

Let us start with the students. Before wecame in, students were being given a bursaryof N3, 000 and they didn’t even get thebursary on time.The system was ridden withscams. I wondered why I should approveN3, 000 for anybody ? It’s better if we don’tgive bursary or we give it meaningfully. Weraised the bursary to N10,000 flat. Medicaland Law students receive N20,000, while ourindigenes in Law schools receive N100,000.The school authorities give the money tostudents in their systems.

I don’t see how such students will hate us.Whoever now hates us has something elseagainst us, not because we have not done theneedful. The increases weren’t solicited. Wedid it out of our own understanding of thereality of what students are going through.

Continued on page 13

•AREGBESOLA

13 OSUN DEFENDER Thursday, August 7, 2014 INTERVIEW

There was agitation for reduction of tuition fees and we reduced fees from ahuge amount to something that iscomparably affordable. Also, we have beeninvesting in developing the institutionsmuch more than any administration hasdone in the history of this state. Yes, we arehaving some challenges with the lecturersbut it’s not peculiar to us but you just haveto bear it.

For Okada riders, they have no problemwith us. They may want us to do things forthem as we have done to some other groups,but it is not as if they said, compared toothers, these are the problems. The roadshere are appreciated even by those who uselegs. Has any government succeeded inconstructing 200 kilometres of road in allnooks and crannies of the state?

There is no part of this state that we havenot constructed a new road and it’s not justany road but roads with concrete drainage,with stone base and kick asphaltic coverand above all when I get to campaigngrounds, I say our roads have tribal marks.In all general roads, we have roads withmarks. We now have special roads, whenwe complete some of them, they will betourism attraction and centres on their own.The road we are building in Gbogan, peoplewill be coming to look at it, mark my words.That road you see, Gbongan to Akoda, willbe a tourism attraction because it is not anordinary road because it’s a road that tookme time to conceive and design and we aretaking our time to develop it. So, whenpeople talk about the cost of our roads, Ijust laugh because it’s not good to be talkingto people who don’t know what they aresaying. We have different types of roads.

That road is going to be a reference pointin road construction. We are changing thelandscape and making the state of Osun ahub of everything that is good. We alsowant to tell the world that the black man is ahuman being.

Before our advent, the civil servantsnever knew that salary could be paid beforethe end of the month. For seven and halfyear, salaries were never paid here beforethe end of the month. But from when Iassumed office, we changed that. Beforethe year ended when I assumed office, Ipaid 10 per cent of their basic as 13th monthsalary and paid December salary before theend of the year, the civil servants weredazed.

Since that day up until December 2013, Ipay salary on or before the 25th of everymonth. But as from January 2014, we raninto trouble which we explained toeverybody six months before then. In July2013, the Federal Government began asqueeze that they themselves know thatnobody believed them. They said 400,000barrel of crude oil is being stolen everyday.

We didn’t know problem was coming.Instead of collecting N4.6 billion, they gavethis government N2.6 billion, 40 per centslashed. We thought it will be temporarybecause after that month, they said thestolen crude has reduced to 200,000 barrelper day. When the oil being lost reduced,would you still expect a 40 per cent cut?From that July to now, the maximumallocation this state has ever received is N3.2billion which was in November 2013.

I am not making up anything, simplysaying the truth. Now ask me how was Iable to pay up until December 2013? Mypeople are called osomalo- they are verydeft in the management of money and I tookthis from them. I had been saving throughthe Omoluwabi Conservation Fund in which10 per cent of all allocation must just goand rest. So, I had money in reserve, whichwas a build-up for my refusal to form cabinetfor 10 months, I had the money. Whereasmy income fell to N2.6billion at the lowestand N3.4billion at the highest for a month,my statutory expenditures which areexpenditures that I have no control on oncewe have agreed on it, for instance salary,pension and they are N3.6 billion everymonth, I have no power over it. I can’t sayno, I’m not paying, Between July andDecember, I augmented my income withN5.4billion.

All in the hope that this thing will go, itdidn’t go. It has not gone as we speak, it iseven worse. Before, when you get yourallocation, you will cash it by the 15th ofevery month. That was why they werepaying salaries on the 15th of the month

before we came in. That used to be thepractice. But now, because you want tosqueeze the opposition government, theyeven squeeze themselves. Nobody gets thereduced allocation earlier than the 26th ofthe following month.

But before now, I wasn’t waiting for theirmoney; I just pay on or before the 25th. Iffor whatever reason, because when wewanted to introduce the digital automation,it was difficult to do cross over it will get tothe 1st or 2nd of the following month, notthat the money is not there, we havearranged, banks just pay, we have moneywith them. To make up the deficit in what Ireceived and what I must pay, I spent extraN5.4 billion.

However, I told you earlier that I gave 10per cent of basic salary for 13th monthsalary; the second year I gave 25 per cent;the third year I gave 50 per cent; the fourthyear, I gave 100 per cent. So, December of2013, I gave every worker in the employmentof Osun 100 per cent of their basic salary asextra income which I paid before the end ofthe year, ordinarily, why should any workersay I am not friendly with them.

Before, workers here were given theirleave allowances en bloc at the end of theyear, I told them this is unreasonablebecause we don’t go to leave at the sametime, so choose when you want your leaveallowance to be paid. Is it at your birthdayor the anniversary of your employment intothe service?

So, whenever you summit your birthday,your leave allowance will be credited to you.I don’t know if any other government inNigeria does that. Two, go and visit thesecretariat and see what we have made oftheir work environment. So, if these arethings that should motivate workers, I standtall and proud because I have done my best.

No matter what anybody tells me,majority of them will appreciate thesethings. However, since January because Ihave exhausted my reserve, it is when weget money that we now go to look for moneyto add to it and pay. That began in January.The difference between me and others isthat I don’t hide anything; I tell whosoevercares to listen.

I am the most loquacious governor in

Nigeria. I went to the retreat of lawmakersand I said what is happening in Nigeriatoday is equivalent to the declaration ofeconomic war on the states. If it is just mereshortage and it comes early, of course wewill pay, it doesn’t come early. As we speak,we have not collected June allocation. Whatwe are saying is that is either people don’teven care or they think you can just conjuremoney or they know what you are goingthrough.

I said at a rally recently that from what Ihave heard from their grapevine becausethey had a meeting where they said that,squeeze them, if they can’t pay salary, youwill create problem for them. Mark my words;they might not give us June allocation untilthe end of August. But we will pay ourworkers, already we have paid June.

I am happy to tell you that majority ofour civil servants see and appreciate whatwe are doing. You can to the secretariat andsee what we are doing. We increased thecar loan by 400 per cent; we increasedhousing loans by 100 per cent. For 36 out of43 months we have been paying regularly,let’s even assume that there is a problem ofdelayed payments now, I cannot believe allthe workers will be against us because Ihave done my best. If the demonstration ofinterest of workers in their remuneration andallowances counts and with what we havedone, I don’t think they will be against us.

I read the advert they published and Ilaughed because it indicted them. Theywrote that my income was N2.8 billion andthis is what I have to pay, N3.4 billion andpegged it with state and local governments.There is no way I can touch localgovernment account because it is separateand distinct. We made sure nobody toucheslocal government account and get away withit. Local government has its own separateaccount and I don’t know where theiraccount is. I can only give policy statementson that.

Our teachers in the state are now verywell motivated, such that you cannotdistinguish between them and bank workers.When you see a teacher in Osun beforenow. They were so depressed, not motivatedand they had absence of facilities to

contend with. Our teachers now appearcorporate and well-motivated. It is not thatthere won’t be some of them who forwhatever reason don’t like us but they arein the minority.

Don’t buy the talk you hear that teachersdon’t like him, I don’t believe that. We didindependent, scientific opinion poll, whichdoes not support all these talks. You needto see how people respond to useverywhere. People just swarm around me.I have never been in a place where mypresence does not generate euphoria. Youdon’t get such reception if people haveproblem with you. I don’t really believe Ihave any problem with any critical sector.There is nothing that the opposition hasnot done to deride us.

There is no household in this state thatdoes not feel our impact. We are talkingabout how to make education the centralfocus of our administration because I amno longer thinking of now but we want tocreate a new set of Nigerians to build a newsociety. Mine is the first government inNigeria to give free uniform to all students.

The first government that will say thatyou don’t need to buy textbooks for yourchildren in the high school, Opon Imo andit is targeted at 150,000 students. One ofthe attractions is that it reduces the cost ofbooks. With that number and with what itcost us to procure the e-book, N200 millionfor 53 books. If you divide N200 million by53, you will get the cost per book on thatbasis.

If you now divide the outcome with150,000, do you know that the cost of thebook will be N2? Opon Imo should becelebrated by all because it reduces thecapital outlay on books. Tell me anygovernment anywhere in the world that canprovide eight textbooks free of charge tostudents. How many parents can buy allbooks required by their children, but wehave changed this by putting into the handsof all our students in high school a libraryof 53 textbooks.

Our students here keep it with them, gohome with them, and sleep with them for aslong as they are in school. That was why Isaid that we have saved our state N8 billionto procure these books for the students.Immediately they heard that I said we havesaved the state N8 billion naira, they saidAregbesola has stolen N8 billion. That wasthe genesis of the money they said my sontook from Opon Imo. Let’s ask them wherethe N8 billion is.

QUESTION: What is your perceptionabout the term stomach infrastructure?

AREGBESOLA: To those who peoplewho are elite and are therefore separatedfrom the people, this term may make a newmeaning to them. I am a product of thepopular forces. I am part and parcel of thepeople. I emanated from them and a productof their struggles. What is now known asstomach infrastructure is what we know asinteraction, engagement, living with thepeople and meeting their aspirations andneeds. That is what we have been doingfrom the very beginning of thisadministration; I feed their childreneveryday meal. The Akara seller knows thatI feed her child everyday. I identify withthem on a daily basis in their struggle tolive and they understand that everythingwe do is to make live easy for them. Myadministration does not suffer alienationfrom the people. It is one and same with thepeople and that is the basis of ourconfidence in their ever ready support at alltimes.

QUESTION: Is there any aspect of thestate that you think you have not touched?

AREGBESOLA: There is no trade,commercial or social group in the state ofOsun that we have not impacted. There isno aspect. Apart from Lagos, we are theonly state government that has anemergency call centre but has been madedysfunctional because the federalgovernment just refused to give us shortcode to make it work.

I am telling how totally insensitive someof us are to the critical issues of our people.Whether you are APC or PDP, is yourcommitment not to improve the lot of yourpeople? And when you get to these officesyou must shun partisanship because youhave sworn to an oath of allegiance to theConstitution and service to the people. Ichallenge anybody to say that myprogrammes are discriminatory. Why shouldit be anyway, are they not our citizens? Wehave a nation to build and a people to serve.

PDP’s Coup In Osun’ll Fail – AregbesolaContinued from page 12

•AREGBESOLA

14 OSUN DEFENDER Thursday, August 7, 2014INTERVIEW

Aregbesola Has Used Osun Resources Judiciously - AlabiProfessor Mojeed Alabi is a former Speaker of the State of Osun House of Assembly, presently a

lecturer in the University of Ilorin and a leader of the All Progressives Congress (APC) in the state.The Professor of Political Science, Adjunct Professor of Public Law, Legal Practitioner and Policy

Consultant, in this interview with KAZEEM MOHAMMED reflects on the records that GovernorRauf Aregbesola has made in governance of Osun and the reasons he should be re-elected. Excerpts.

OSDF: What makes your party, APC, aprogressive party and different from

o t h e rpolitical parties?

ALABI: If you look at the development ofparty system in Nigeria, you will discover thatthere have always been difference between thosethat we regard as the progressives and the others,whose interest is primarily in furtherance ofbusiness interest or private selfish interest.Unfortunately, for the greater part of post-independent Nigeria, these set of people thatwe call progressives have not been able to cometogether, except, perhaps for the very shortperiod of Ibrahim Babangida’s transitionprogramme, when two parties were decreed. Andit was that coming together of the SocialDemocratic Party (SDP) that actually propelledthe election of Chief MKO Abiola as thepresidential candidate, but eventually, theelection was annulled. The APC now representsthe first major post-independence attemptamong the progressives to come together torescue the governance of the states from thepeople, who simply have no idea aboutgovernance in terms of using the instrumentalityof state power to further the interest of thedown-trodden masses.

So, the APC, in the first history of Nigeria, isa major attempt and first major dominant forceto have successfully threatened the party inpower, the PDP. Although, we have not takenover government, but this is the first time thatthe party in power is feeling threatened by anopposition party to ensure the need for a newway of doing things. That is what the APCrepresents and that is what makes it difference.

OSDF: In Osun, would you say OgbeniAregbesola’s administration has been able totranslate the ideals of the progressives todevelopment?

ALABI: One must appreciate the efforts ofthis government in turning around the state. Theidea of governance itself is putting socialinfrastructural amenities in place for people tobe able to realise their individual self-development. Development is not aboutgovernment distributing money to individuals,because there is no way government can embarkon such method and be able to satisfy everyone.In a civilised society, governance is about puttingin place appropriate structural, appropriateinfrastructural, social, economic amenities thatwould enable us as individuals to realise thehighest potentials of our being and be able tosay we can live the way a normal human beingshould live. That is what the present governmentof Osun has been able to do.

You will see network of roads through whichpeople who are based here and are involved inthe production of things that could be useful inother states could easily move their products tothose states, while those things that are producedsomewhere else and needed by the people ofOsun can come easily. That is the law ofcomparative advantage. For example, we use totalk about Israel, Saudi Arabia as a dry land, butpeople who go there will tell you that they eatfresh fruits. They are not produced there, butthey have the needed infrastructure to make surethey get what they want, even if those thingsare not produced there. And conversely, wherethey produce things in excess of what they need,there is also opportunity to transport it to wherethey are needed, so that they can make addedincome.

Again, look at the state of education in Osun,I realise that this government has discoveredthat in any society, the development of individualis key to societal development. So, humanresource development is also one critical area ofdevelopment that I have seen in this governmentand that starts from the root of education. Beforeyou can begin to build a sound mind in a soundbody, you have to start from the root and that iswhy this government should be appreciated forputting in place structures, amenities andprovisions that would make it attractive tochildren to want to stay in school. That is whyevery school that is being built now would havethe needed furniture, the needed facilities thatwould make it attractive, the needed laboratorythat would make students to want to grab thenitty-gritty of science for the development ofthe nation and well equipped library wherestudents can bury their heads to increase theirknowledge.

Apart from that, we have seen civil servants,especially the junior cadre who are saying theyhave never gone on training, but under this

government, several of them are going oncontinous training. This is part of humandevelopment because it is only when humansare developed in terms of intellect that he or shecan see what is good in government and use hisor her training to contribute to the developmentof the state. What makes people to struggle totravel abroad, in my view, Aregbesola has starteddoing it and that is development.

Look at agriculture under this government andsee the way government has gone into massiveproduction of fishery and reviving the conceptof farm settlements. This is one of the areas,where Osun can reap in terms of comparativeadvantage because a lot of our people here engagein agriculture. So, when you provide the neededenvironment to cultivate that, then, we can haveexcess. The essence of taking dual carriage wayfrom Akoda to Gbongan and from Gbongan toIjebu-Igbo is that if we produce at the scale thegovernment wants us to produce, there istendency that we may not be able to consumeeverything, and the easiest market for us is Lagos.That road is the easiest way to Lagos and sincewe have good way of transporting what weproduce, the production will be higher and theproduct will not be rotten away. That is whatChina is doing that is developing their economy.That is the idea I have seen in this government.

Also, look at Osun Youths EmpowermentScheme (OYES). Some critics are saying thathow can you say a graduate should be sweepingon the road, and I ask, is it not better to dosomething than to do nothing? An idle hand isthe devil’s workshop. When you have somethingto do that is earning you money, is it not better?There is one aspect that some people have notseen, the OYES is not for you to just go thereand graduate in two years, I have seen someyouths in OYES who have used the opportunityof the scheme to acquire other skills, throughwhich they have become independent earners ofincome today. In any event, the OYES is not afull-time day job, they spend between two tothree hours and if you are productive as abeneficiary, you have the opportunity of usingthe remaining 22 hours to pursue something else.This is a programme that helps youths to thinkon how to spend the N10,000 they are earningto making something big out of it. In fact, someof them have been employed into the civil service,some have stood on their own and some havegotten offer somewhere else.

Look at Agba Osun, some people arecomplaining that some elders are not getting,but they have forgotten that some elders don’tdeserve it because they have children that are

taking care of them. For instance, my mother is80 years and if you give her that money, it doesnot make any sense, because I even give hermore than that in a month. There are some ofthem who don’t have anybody to take care ofthem. Though, the government cannot give toeverybody, but the fact that some people aretaking it is something and I am aware that otherswould also be considered in the second phase.

Therefore, it is a fact that Aregbesola has laida good foundation for development anddevelopment must be cumulative and sustainablein the sense that when you spend your term,another person would come to build on it. Butin a situation whereby a good foundation is laidand someone now comes to take us backwardby so many steps, development can never becumulative as we want it to be.

Like I said, development is not a day affair, itis cumulative and it is in that that we can beginto see the greatness of Osun. That is why theconcept of “Osun Adara” is an elating one thatis intended to make the people to be futuristic.That means you are continuously productiveand prospective. It means that we have not reachwhere we are going no matter what thisgovernment has achieved and we must continueto improving and sustaining that legacy untilOsun becomes what we want it to become.

OSDF: What will you say have been thetrickle-down effect of those programmes andpolicies on the economy of the state?

ALABI: Of course, we have seen veryfundamental change in the economy of the state.For example, through OYES, government issinking N200 million into the economy of thestate every month and the money is circulatingwithin the state. Also, the concept of newuniform has attracted an investor into the state,through which many of our youths have alsobeen employed. The fact that we have goodroads, travellers are passing through the stateand they buy things on the roadside and manyothers. Even for those who are involved inproperty, there have been increase in theirbusiness, because everyday, people arerelocating to Osun due to the development thatwe now have.

Apart from that, as the roads are beingconstructed, bricklayers, labourers, people whoare selling sand and gravel among others aregetting jobs to do. It is when they get moneyfrom there that they also think of paying taxesand doing things for themselves. The issue isthat, each individual has seen improvement onhis or her living.

OSDF: There have been several rumours,

ranging from the fact that Osun owed N350billion; that Opon Imo project was awarded toKabiru Aregbesola among others. Do you seethis as merely political?

ALABI: On the debt, it is just a distractionand the government has been vindicated when aFederal Government agency, Debt ManagementOffice, said Osun is not owing such debt. It isjust political and those that are spreading suchrumour have been disappointed and they shouldstop lying.

On the other hand, I am not in the position totalk about who a contract is awarded to and whois benefitting from it, but my own is that I haveseen what I want to see. I don’t know who isdoing the Opon Imo, but the issue is that I haveseen a product, an initiative that is useful forour children. I saw polytechnic students whoare saying they feel like going back to secondaryschools to take the advantage of Opon Imo. Isee what they are saying as lies, rumour and justpolitical gimmick to deceive the people and thosethat are spreading such falsehood should stopplaying on the intelligence of Osun people. Forme it does not matter who construct the road, aslong as it is solid enough to last for so manyyears; it does not matter who is in charge ofbuilding the market, as long as we have AyegbajuMarket, where our people have the opportunityof buying and selling. The question is, are wegetting value for our money or not? There are somany opposition members, who are gaining fromthis government, the opportunity which wedidn’t have when they were there. Somebodywas telling me that about 60 per cent of OYEScadets are either PDP members or their relativesand even in the just-recruited civil servants, theyare many.

So, all those ideas that somebody did thisand that are coming from people of little minds,as people of great minds want to see what arethe result of what the government is doing.

OSDF: Do you think what Aregbesola hasdone are enough to earn him a second term inoffice?

ALABI: In a normal and civilised society, heneeds not campaign at all. In a normal society,not even many candidates would ever want tocontest against him, because the issue would be,let us see where this man will end his tenurehaving started on a good note. I must not beoblivious of the fact that there are other factorswe use in this part of the world to chose whogovern us, perhaps, because of the level of under-development. As a government, you have achoice of using public money for thedevelopment of the people or you use it for theaggrandisement of the leadership. Aregbesola hasnot used the resources for the aggrandisementof the leaders and that was why you see leadersof our party complaining that they didn’t getanything. So, leaders of our party are the onesthat suffered for what the government has beenable to do today and as for me, I am proud to bepart of that sacrifice, because what is importantis not what is coming into my pocket, but rather,what I am able to see in terms of development.

So, for me, I don’t see anything that will stopthe man Aregbesola from winning the election.Of course, there are other things that people areinsinuating like bringing soldiers, police, usingphoto-chromic voting equipments, rigging,violence and all that, but I think we have risenbeyond that level. Our people in Osun arecivilised and the kind of calamity that befell thepeople of Ekiti would not befall us in Osun bythe grace of God. Come August 9, the people ofOsun will be able to show to the world that wecan be able to see the difference between a personwho wants to make a positive impact on us andsomeone who wants to milk us. The issue inthis election is development versus ‘chop-make-I-chop and I know that the people of Osun aremuch more sophisticated to be able to see andread between the lines and know where theirinterest lies. I also know that their interest liesin continuation of our development, because Idon’t want to imagine Aregbesola losing thatelection. Does it mean all these roads will stop?Does it mean OYES will stop? Does it meanschool feeding of children will stop? Does itmean the construction of new schools will stop?The implication of his loss will be toocatastrophic for the entirety of Osun and wemay not get back on line for many years tocome. So, I don’t pray for it and I believe thatthe people of Osun are not praying for that tooand we are working hard to make sure that thisdividends of democracy which are pleasing toall of us will continue for quite some times.

•ALABI

15 OSUN DEFENDER Thursday, August 7, 2014

THURSDAY, AUGUST 7, 2014

www.osundefender.org THE 6TH MOST-VISITED NEWSPAPER WEBSITE IN NIGERIA

By TUNJI ADEGBOYEGAOnly the uninitiated will

attempt to comparethe

state of affairs in Ekitiwith that of Osun State,particularly with regard tothe June 21 governorshipelection in the former, andthe fast approaching August9 gubernatorial election inthe latter. One undeniablefact about Governor RaufAregbesola of Osun State is that he is agrassroots man to the core. Indeed, theimpressive crowds that have beenattending his rallies since his campaignfor reelection started have beenconfounding the opposition, particularlythe Peoples Democratic Party (PDP)whose members have been alleging thatthe crowds are rented. But they knowdeep down their hearts that they arelying. Such is the allure of the man,Rauf Aregbesola: downright factual; nopretence.

Aregbe, as he is fondly called,understands the language of thegrassroots as he knows the lines on hispalms. He knows his people just as hispeople know him. This is one majorhurdle that those who might want torepeat what they see as the ‘Ekiti feat’in Osun State have to contend with,come August 9.

Aregbesola’s mission statement isencapsulated in the six-point integralaction plan of his administration. One is‘Promotion of functional education’,under which the decayed educationalinfrastructure in the state is beinggradually replaced while at the sametime ensuring quality control. Hisgovernment has reclassified schoolsinto elementary school (five years);middle school (four years) and highschool (three years), against thenational policy of 6-3-3. This radicaldeparture was informed by thegovernment’s belief that pupils needmore time at the middle school so as toprepare them for maturity into highschool. The state has had to build 25mega schools in order to bring childrenfrom diverse backgrounds together tolearn in a conducive atmosphere.However, political jobbers havecriticised this policy on the allegedground that it constitutes an erasure ofreligious lines, especially in schoolswith bias for religion. Mercifully, thetension that initially attended this policyhas since given way, with thegovernment’s explanation of how itcame about, i.e. that it was the idea ofProf Wole Soyinka’s team, designed asa way out of the education decay thatthe state was in when Aregbe tookover.

Of course, other aspects of theAregbesola government’s educationalprogramme include the one nutritiousmeal given free to 254,000 primaryschool kids daily under the state’s O-MEAL Programme. This is to helpdevelop their brains as well as serve asincentive for them to go to school. Inaddition, it is a way of getting readymarkets for farmers in the state to selltheir farm produce that is used inpreparing the meals. Then the OponImo or ‘tablets of knowledge’ that havebeen distributed to about 150,000secondary school pupils in the state.The tablet has 56 e-books, 10 years of

past West African Examinations Council(WAEC), National ExaminationsCouncil (NECO) and the JointAdmissions and Matriculation Board(JAMB) questions, as well as the HolyBible, Holy Quran and traditionalreligion content. This is saving thegovernment huge sums of money underits free education programme.

The other legs of Aregbesola’s actionplan are banishment of hunger/unemployment, enhanced security/welfare, restoration of healthy livingand promotion of communal peace, etc.

Aregbesola knows the importance ofthe agricultural sector and has done somuch in so short a time that farmerswould not forget him in a hurry. He hasliberalised access by farmers to softloans to improve their yield and lessentheir burden; he has also complementedthis with good roads to enable thefarmers transport their produce withease to the market. Indeed, it is in thearea of road network that the governor,an engineer, has broughtprofessionalism and ingenuity to bear.All over the state, the administration isbuilding durable roads and rehabilitatingdilapidated ones. And, in order toensure that the state gets value for itsmoney from the contractors, some ofwhom are notorious for disappearingafter collecting mobilisation fees, theAregbesola administration insists ondelivery of the roads before paying thecontractors. The benefit here is that

roads are constructed to specificationsince the contractors know that theywould not be paid if they deviated fromthe terms of the contract.

In like manner, new hospitals arebeing built all over the state even as oldones are being renovated and allequipped to enhance the free healthtreatment for a section of the people.The government has also taken awayfrom the streets a lot of youths whootherwise would have been jobless andthus constitute social menace to law-abiding citizens. Although there is stillwork to be done in this regard as it isimpossible to mop up the huge numberof jobless youths that the governmentinherited, the fact is that through its O-YES Scheme, the government hasreduced their numbers significantly byabout 40,000.

The security agencies could not havehad it better as the Aregbesolagovernment has done a lot for them byway of empowerment, to ensure peaceand reduce criminality in the state. Thegovernment has assisted the securityagencies with some 125 patrol vans,among other things.

Of course, like most otherperformers and change agents,Aregbesola has had his own unfairshare of criticisms. Like the typicalwoman who, for lack of what to say,says it is in her husband’s house thatshe would sleep tonight! Where elsecould she have slept? Even if she would

sleep in a place where she is notsupposed to, could she have madethat a public serviceannouncement? For lack of whatto say, the few but vocal criticsof the Aregbesola administrationsay he is a religious bigot. Onewould ordinarily have ignoredsuch idle criticism but for thefact that those who want to

succeed the governor are so desperatethat they can cook up anything. In asituation where people celebrate thereplacement of an administration, notfor non-performance, but on theflimsiest of excuses, it is good to put allthe cards on the table to enable theelectorate, who should be the ultimatedeciders in the August 9 governorshipelection in the state sift the wheat fromthe chaff. The truth is, the compositionof Aregbesola’s cabinet does notsupport this claim. In the 34-membercabinet, only 12 are Muslims just as wehave only 12 Muslim permanentsecretaries of the 32 in the state. Withregard to the state house of assemblywith 26 members, only nine areMuslims.

Through his robust management ofthe economy, the state internallygenerated revenue (IGR) has grownfrom N300million that theadministration inherited in 2010 toabout N1.5 billion monthly. Thus, thegovernment has been able to steer theeconomy from its near-bankruptcy in2010 and is still doing the ‘balancingact’ in a predominantly civil servantstate despite the drop of its revenuefrom the federation account fromN5billion to about N2.5billion monthly.The oversubscription of the SukukBond from its envisaged N10billion toN11billion is a measure of investors’confidence in the state economy; so isthe other N60billion bond out of whichN30billion had been drawn.

This is only a fraction of what theman, Rauf Aregbesola, has done inOsun in less than four years. He hasliterally breathed life into virtually allsectors of the state that were deadwhen he took over the reins ofgovernment after a protracted legalbattle to reclaim his mandate from thePDP usurpers. What makes theseachievements particularly praiseworthyis the fact that Osun is not a rich state.It is a predominantly civil servant state,one in which few resources are beingchased by overwhelming demands. Yet,Aregbe has been making sense in spiteof the financial limitations. Positivedevelopments that hitherto werethought to be unimaginable havebecome possible in the state.

So, “a good turn”, as they say,“deserves another”. It is time for Osunpeople to tell those who have nothing tooffer to steer clear of governance in thestate. What the state deserves now isthe continuation of the streak ofsuccesses that it has been witnessingsince Aregbe’s administration took over.It is only unfortunate that people whoshould be in jail in decent climes aresome of those now seeking to rule aprogressive and pace-setter region likeNigeria’s south-west. That tells ussomething about the depth to which thecountry has sunk, especially under thePDP.

•Culled from THENATION

OSUN DEFENDER is published by Moremi Publishing House Limited, Promise Point Building, Opposite Guaranty Trust Bank GTB, Gbongan Road, Osogbo, State of Osun. All correspondenceto the Managing Editor, KOLA OLABISI, Telephone: 08033927286 (kolaolabisi@yahoo.com); Editor, KAYODE AGBAJE, Telephone: 0803-388-0205, E-mail: osundefender@yahoo.com,kayodeagbaje@yahoo.com. ISSN: 0794-8050.Website: www.osundefender.org.

Let Aregbe Do It Again

•AREGBESOLA