VOL. 9. NO.089 NNNNN5050505050SATURDAY, JULY 26, 2014

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Front Page Comment Who KilledChief Bola Ige,former Attorney-

General andMinister of

Justice? IGE

•Governor, State of Osun, Ogbeni Rauf Aregbesola (middle); his deputy, Otunba (Mrs) Grace Titi Laoye-Tomori (left) and Honourable Lasun Yusuff representing Osogbo/Olorunda/Irepodun/Orolu Federal Constituency in the House of Representatives when the Osun School Feeding Programme, O’ Meal vendors, endorsed Aregbesola for secondterm in office at Nelson Mandela Freedom Park, Osogbo, recently. Photo: GBENGA ADENIYI.

- See StoryOn Page 2

Osun People RejectOmisore’s Rice, Kerosene

•Ex-PDP Gov Confirms His Unpopularity

August 9 Gov Election:

THE SOCIAL CONTRACT

In what manner dowe accommodatewhat ought to be thebackbone of democ-racy the ‘social con-tract’ in the age ofwhat is now knownas “infrastructure ofthe stomach”? Thequestion is crucialnow. The concept ofa social

contract should bethe engine room of ademocratic process.The social contractlays out the obligationsof those who com-mand the executive tothose who elected

them into office in thefirst place.

There ought to be nocontradiction incomplimenting infra-structure of the stom-ach (the immediate

quick-fix) with thelong term duties andcommitments inher-ent in a social con-tract. In just a fewweeks down theroad, the issueof“stomach infra-structure” as op-posed to or in rela-tion to the obligation

Continue on pg5

2 OSUN DEFENDER Saturday, July 26, 2014News

By ISMAEEL UTHMAN

August 9 Gov Election: Osun People Reject Omisore’s Rice, Kerosene•PDP Ex-gov Confirms His Unpopularity

THE people of the State of Osun have startedrejecting the rice and kerosene beingdistributed by the Peoples Democratic Party

(PDP) to get votes in the August 9 governorshipelection in the state.

It would be recalled thatthe PDP, in the recent time,has started distributing riceand kerosene to woo theelectorate, with a view tosecuring favour for itsgovernorship candidate,Iyiola Omisore, havingrealised that the governorof the state and the AllProgressives Congress(APC) candidate, OgbeniRauf Aregbesola, has beenregistered in the minds of

the people.However, it was

recently discovered thatthe PDP has allegedly beendistributing expired riceand adultrated kerosene tothe unsuspectingmembers of the public toget their voters’ cards.

Information at themedium’s disposal hasshown that the popularityof the PDP candidate hasseriously retrogressed the

more, as the people of thestate have been rejectingthe rice and keroseneoffered.

To this end, a formerPDP governor in one of theSouth-West states haspassed vote of noconfidence on Omisore,having realised that he is notpopular among the peopleof the state.

It was learnt that theformer governor, who waspart of Omisore’scampaign train recently,discovered that hispopularity was not to bereckoned with, as peoplerather cheered him with

brooms, the APC symbolin their hands.

Those that did not comeout with brooms in their

hands, a reliable sourcesaid, folded their arms andwatched Omisore’sconvoy with disdain.

Having seen thehandwriting on the wall,the former governor was

Osun PDP Is Too Violent For Me To Stay - Akinbade

THE governorship candidate of Labour Party(LP) in the State of Osun, Alhaji FataiAkinbade, has revealed many reasons behind

his defection from the Peoples Democratic Party(PDP), despite his leadership role in the party.

Akinbade said heresolved to dump the PDP,when it was glaring thatthe party was ‘beyondredemption’ due to theexcesses and violentnature of some of thechieftains of the party,who were hell-bent on

hijacking the structure ofthe PDP for theirambition.

The former PDPchairman in the statestated that there was nointernal democracy in thePDP and that he could notwithstand the violent

nature of some of thebigwigs of the party, hencehis resolution to take solacein the LP.

Akinbade stated this atthe last edition of ChannelsTelevision programmetagged: Politics Today, heldlast Sunday.

He said: “There is nointernal democracy in thePDP. For those of us thatare peaceful, the party wasnot comfortable for us, andthen we decided to leave

the PDP. Where there is nointernal democracy, therewill not be progress.

“We discovered thatsome people in the PDP areviolent in nature and theycould go to any length toprotect their ambition, sowe, the peacefulpoliticians, left the partyfor them.”

It would be recalled thatAkinbade was theSecretary to the StateGovernment duringformer GovernorOlagunsoye Oyinlola’sadministration.

He was sacked byOyinlola alongside ElderPeter Babalola, who wasthe Chief of Staff to theGovernor and somecommissioners earlier in2010 for their politicalambition.

Stating while he choseto contest the August 9,2014 governorshipelection in the state,Akinbade said, he wasencouraged by the people

Osun Deputy Speaker DistributesFree Uniforms To Pupils

THE Deputy Speaker of the State of Osun House ofAssembly, Honourable Akintunde Adegboye, hasdistributed free school uniforms to the pupils of

public elementary and middle schools in his constituency.

By KAZEEM MOHAMMED

Middle School; OgidanMiddle School; A.U.DElementary School, Oke-Baale; A.U.D ElementarySchool, Isale Osun, all inOsogbo and Gaa FulaniNormadic School.

Presenting the uniformsto each of the pupils, thelawmaker said thedistribution of the uniformwas aimed atcomplementing the effortsof the presentadministration in the area ofeducation.

“Originally, thegovernment has beendistributing uniforms topupils in anticipation thatparents would buy for theirwards, but unfortunately forone reason or the other,they couldn’t afford it.

“When it came to mynotice that some pupils stillcome to school with tattereduniforms, I decided topurchase some uniformsfrom my own money, as partof payback to myconstituents.

“I did this because I knowthat these pupils would notbe happy in these tattereduniforms, neither wouldtheir parents be happy insuch situation and this is to,at least, make them happy,”he said.

Appreciating the stategovernor, Ogbeni RaufAgbesola, for feeding thepupils with nutritious meals,he said if the kids are well-fed and have good cloth toput on, they would bementally alert to learn, as thegovernment would wantthem to.

The lawmaker promisednot to put a stop to thegesture, saying: “We willnot stop this kind ofgesture, as we will continueto do this to ensure that ourchildren get the best interms of education.”

of the state to contest,adding that the confidencethat the electorate have inhim bears it all for hisambition.

Akinbade, who statedthat he decided to contestunder the LP because theparty was people-basedand friendly, described hisambition as long over-due.

Commenting on theachievements of GovernorRauf Aregbesola,Akinbade, whoacknowledged the massiveconstruction of roads in allnooks and crannies of thestate, said theadministration of the AllProgressives Congress(APC) was not transparentfor him to judge the levelof its performance.

He called on theelectorate to go out enmasse on election day in apeaceful and orderlymanner and vote for thecandidate of their choice.

reportedly quoted to haveunconsciously said:“Friend, it is like you arenot popular here and wemust intensify our effortsin winning that election byall means.”

Akintunde currentlyrepresents Osogbo StateConstituency in the stateparliament.

Among the schools thatbenefitted from the first

phase of the lawmaker’sgesture were Christ AfricanMiddle School, Araromi;Christ African ElementarySchool, Isale-Ijebu; LaroMiddle School; Muslim

Police ’ll Arrest Akere,Diekola - Omisore Boasts

By SHINA ABUBAKAR

THE Commissioner for Information and Strategy inthe State of Osun, Mr Sunday Akere and an AllProgressives Congress chieftain in the state, Alhaji

Fatai Oyedele Diekola, may soon be whisked away by thepolice, as the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) candidate,Iyiola Omisore, boasted among his supporters.

It was gathered thatOmisore, at a rally held inEgbedore LocalGovernment Council Area,bragged to his followers thatthe police have arrestedstate boys and havediscovered that Akere andDiekola are the keysponsors of the group;hence, the duo would soonbe arrested and taken awayto Abuja.

It would be recalled thata PDP member was allegedto have shot a gun at APCmega rally in Ilesa, whichresulted into a crisisbetween the police andsome youths at the rally,leading to the arrest of oneMr Lawrence Dada andsome youths and taken toAbuja last week.

The medium gatheredthat the purpose ofbundling the allegedsuspects away to Abujawas to cajole them intoimplicating some APCchieftains in a bid to arrestthem and get them out ofcirculation before the fast-approaching governorshippoll in the state.

A source at the PDP rallydisclosed that as soon asOmisore grabbed themicrophone, he boastedopenly that both Akere andDiekola would be arrestedand ferried to Abuja for theirrole in the crisis that ensuedat the rally.

According to a reportgathered, the threat of majorarrests by Omisore wasaimed at frightening

members of the oppositionbefore the poll, so as todiscourage them fromparticipating at thegovernorship poll.

The PDP governorshipcandidate was also said tohave been mentioningnames of some notableindividuals at his rallies insome towns, asking them toeither personally comearound to see him or riskbeing arrested by the policeand taking to Abuja.

Checks showed that thepolice hierarchy is seriouslyinfluenced by the Ministerof Police Affairs, Alhaji JeliliAdesiyan, who was solelynominated for the job byOmisore, to ensure thatchieftains of the APC werehaunted ahead of thegovernorship poll onAugust 9.

It was alleged that Akereand Diekola were perceivedto be Governor RaufAregbesola’s favouritegrassroots politicians andwould stop at nothing tointimidate and get them outof circulation.

3 News OSUN DEFENDER Saturday, July 26, 2014

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•ALL BECAUSE OF GOVERNOR AREGBESOLA: A cross section of Governor Rauf Aregbesola’s admirers standing on a luxury bus during hisre-election campaign at Unity School, Ejigbo, State of Osun, last Monday. Photo: GBENGA ADENIYI.

Aregbesola’s O’REAP Is A Success – Govt•Says Omisore Lacks Knowledge Of Developmental Programmes

By KEHINDE AYANTUNJI

THE Osun Rural Enterprise and AgriculturalProgramme (OREAP) remains one of the mostsuccessful and laudable development and wealth-

creation programmes of Governor Rauf Aregbesola’sadministration.

This was the position ofthe Bureau ofCommunications andStrategy, Office of theGovernor of Osun onWednesday while reactingto what it called “another inthe litany of Iyiola Omisore’slies.”

Omisore had claimed insome media reports that the

state’s agriculturalprogramme, tagged O’REAP,was a fraud, alleging thatthere is nothing to show forit in almost four years.

Describing Omisore’sposition as ill-informed andan indication of his crassignorance of the working ofdevelopment programmes ingovernment, the bureau

said Aregbesola had notcome to power beforerecognizing the need formassive food production togrow an economy such asthat of Osun; igniteindustrialization and createjobs.

The bureau’s statement,signed by the Director,Semiu Okanlawon, said theallegations gave away thePDP and its candidate as alazy bunch of people, wholack the capacity for simplefacts-finding before goingto the press.

“Farmers are among the

happiest beneficiaries of thecurrent administration inOsun. This is because of theprime place Aregbesolaaccords food production.The agricultural sector hasbeen very strategic to theoverall development ofOsun. At least, the state’smassive food productionprogramme is central to therealization of three of the six-point integral action plans ofthe administration. Only thenit-witted would concludethat agriculture has notplayed a lead role inbanishing poverty, hunger

and creation of jobs andwealth,” the bureau stated

Against the lies beingbandied by the PDP thatfarm estates andsettlements were supposedto be upgraded, he saidland validation exercise andperimeter survey were donewith latest technology inthe nine farm settlements inthe state, which he noted,was the first in the historyof farm settlements in theSouth-West of the country.

He added that over3,070.3 hectares of land wascleared and 6,209 hectares

tractorised across the state.Okanlawon also noted

that 20,000 hectares offarmland were validated inthe nine farm settlements,more 4,211 hectares wasdiscovered and reallocatedto small holders.

According to him: “Thisis a programme that was well-thought out to empowerfarmers. The stategovernment procured 5,000metric tons of fertilizers soldto farmers at 50 per centsubsidy over the last twoyears; 1,830 rural farmers in61 local communitiesreceived farm inputs from theState in collaboration withUNICEF.

“It’s worrisome if thecandidate of the PDP can,because of politics, sayAregbesola has used O-REAP to fraudulently enrichhimself to the detriment ofthe well-being of poorfarmers, when the presentadministration hasempowered youthcooperative groupsconsisting of 40 youths andengaged in cattle fattening,as part of first phase of theO-Beef empowermentprogramme across the Stateof Osun.

“N40 million has beengiven as loans to supportpiggery farmers in the state;3,645 farmers across the statebenefited from the sum ofN476,350,000 from theGovernment GuaranteedAgriculture Loan Scheme;268 farmers benefited fromthe sum of N45,662,065 fromO-REAP Loan Scheme;N153.6m ($952,000)agriculture finance loan for66 farmers’ cooperativegroups,” the bureau pointedout.

The O’REAP Academy,the statement explained, wasestablished by theAregebsola administrationas a deliberate effort towardsgiving youths a sustainablecareer in modern agriculture,adding that 1,606 OYEScadets have been trained inmodern agriculture at thenewly-established O-REAPYouth academies located inthe nine federalconstituencies for increasedfood production.

The bureau revealed that40 youths were sponsored toGermany for intensivetraining in modernagriculture and 96 secondaryschools assisted in arablecrop production, fisheriesand livestock productionsystems in 2013.

He said: “Government isin partnership with TUNSFarm Nigeria Limited topromote broiler productionto empower poultry farmersand create jobs under theOsun Broilers Out-growersProduction Scheme (OBOPS)with the sum of N539,435,200. 578 farms have beenstocked with over 3,654,612Day-Old-Chicks frominception in 2011 and overN200 million have been madeas profit by the Out-growersin the scheme.”

He noted that all theseschemes supply the chickenand fish to O-MEAL foodvendors to feed the Grades1–4 pupils in public schoolsunder the state governmentfree school feedingprogramme.

Osun Gets Medical Equipment, Gives Conditional Cash TransferTHE welfare and protection of the health system of the

aged, widows and pregnant women has been deemedparamount by the provision of 100 hand-held

ultrasound diagnostic scanners and Mirror 3D (colour)ultrasound diagnostic scanners for easy and effective check-up to maintain healthy living and prevention of ailmentthat may lead to death.

The governor of the State ofOsun, Ogbeni Rauf Aregbesola,made the revelation at thelaunching of Conditional CashTransfer (CCT) and the medicalequipment in Osogbo, the statecapital.

The programme, which washeld at the Nelson MandelaFreedom Park, hadrepresentation of the aged,widows and pregnant womenfrom Ifelodun, Iwo, Orolu,Osogbo and Olorunda LocalGovernment Council areas inthe state, who were presentedwith the cheque of threehundred and seventy-fivemillion naira for the ConditionalCash Transfer (CCT).

Aregbesola, also on theoccasion, made cashpresentation to ten aged peopleselected from the five localgovernment council areas andalso mentioned that the gesturewould be passed tobeneficiaries in other councilareas in the state.

According to the governor,the decision to provide thehealth institutions in the State

of Osun with the diagnosticscanners arose, when he wenton a trip to Germany, where hesaid out of curiosity, went formedical check up and a Mirror3D diagnostic scanner was usedfor him and it accuratelyshowed symptom of high bloodpressure, while prescriptionwas made for him and it waseffective.

He stated that to his dismay,only one major healthinstitution had such equipmentin its facility in the South-Westand they only use it for strokepatients, and that he had toexplain to them that suchequipment shouldn’t be useduntil after stroke but also forcheck-up and prevention ofstroke and other cardiac-relatedailments.

“This prompted mydecision to provide healthinstitutions in Osun with suchequipment, which is one of thebest in the world and all this isin line with my promise torestore healthy living tocitizens of the State of Osunthrough my six-point integral

action plan,” he stated.The governor also stated

that with effective check-upand monitoring of pregnantwomen through the diagnosticscanners, mortality rate ofpregnant women will bedrastically reduced to theminimum, while declaring thatthe diagnostic check-upservices in all governmenthospitals in the state would befree.

He promised continuity of

delivery of good governancewhen re-elected for a secondterm in office.

“My intention is to give thepeople of the State of Osungood life, infrastructure anddevelopment. So far, God hashelped me and He will help meto do more to improve thestandard of the state when I amre-elected come August 9,2014,” he declared.

In his opening address, theChairman, MDGs in the State

of Osun and Chief of Staff tothe Governor, Alhaji GboyegaOyetola, appreciated theefforts of Ogbeni Aregbesolatowards the development ofthe health sector in the state.

He also revealed that asidethe Conditional Cash Transfer;the governor has approvedempowerment trainingprogramme for 25 beneficiariesfrom each of the localgovernment council areasacross the state.

Aregbesola’s Administration, BackboneOf Development - Cleric

THE Board of Ministers and Elders of Christ ApostolicChurch, Gbonmi District Headquarters, Osogbo, theState of Osun capital, has described the

administration of Ogbeni Rauf Aregbesola, as the wheeland backbone of development in the state.

This disclosure was madeby Evangelist WaleOpadele, during a Sundayservice programme attendedby members of the StateExecutive Council in thechurch.

According to the cleric,the church acknowledgedthe brilliant, visionary,tireless, dogged andhardworking attributes ofthe governor of the state.

In his words: “We wouldlike to describe OgbeniAregbesola as the pivot oftruth, pillar of initiatives, themover and shaker ofdevelopment, the backboneof development. Noadjective is too much todescribe the quintessentialgovernor.”

He recalled that thechurch was able to serveGod weekly because

A r e g b e s o l a ’ sadministration dredged theOkooko River, which hadalmost swept away thechurch and neglected bythe previousadministration.

“It is by divineprovidence and the effortsof your administration thatwe are comfortably seatedin this auditorium toworship today.

“Maybe, we would havebeen worshipping on theopen field by now. Thedredging was done notonce, not twice butrepeatedly at every rainyseason,” Opadele asserted.

The cleric noted thatvarious life-impactingpolicies and programmes ofthe administration deservecommendation.

By FRANCIS EZEDIUNO

OSUN DEFENDER Saturday, July 26, 20144 News

•One of the classrooms at Obada Elementary School, Ede State of Osun under the administration of Governor RaufAregbesola. Photo: GBENGA ADENIYI.

Commuters Groan As Omisore Causes Traffic Jam To DrawAttention At Secretariat In Osogbo

By ISMAEEL UTHMAN

COMMUTERS and residents of Osogbo, the capitalof the State of Osun, have lamented what theydescribed as deliberate and unnecessary traffic

gridlock, being caused daily by supporters of thegovernorship candidate of the Peoples Democratic Party(PDP), Senator Iyiola Omisore, at the party’s secretariatlocated on Gbongan/Ibadan expressway, Osogbo.

According to some of thecommuters interviewed bythe medium on Monday, itis an odd day for themanytime the PDP has

function or preparing forcampaign at the secretariat,adding that the daily trafficjam on the Gbongan/Ibadanroad frustrates their

activities.The commuters stated

that they believed the PDPdeliberately causes thetraffic jam on the road todraw attention, adding thatthe crowd at the secretariatdoes not command suchawful traffic jam on the road.

Appealing to the FederalRoad Safety Commission(FRSC), the Department ofState Service (DSS) and the

police to caution the PDPagainst unleashinghardship on the road users,the commuters called on theparty not to turn the road toits personal property.

Mr Segun Ayodele, acommercial mini-bus driver,known as korope said:“Each time the PDP isholding a function at theparty secretariat, theysubject us to unduehardship. They will paralyzeour commercial activities

temporarily because theywill definitely cause trafficgridlock.

“Even if the PDPmembers are 20 in number,there will still be a heavytraffic on the road. That tellsus that the PDP members aredeliberately causing thetraffic gridlock to catchattention of the commuters.The PDP members will justpark arbitrarily on the roadwithout considering otherroad users.

“That is their culture ofimpunity. They do not carefor other people’s intereston the road, since theyknow nobody would darechallenge them. We do notexpect the PDPgovernorship candidate,Senator Iyiola Omisore toallow the traffic gridlock topersist because he shouldknow that he is inflicting

pains on the electorate thatmight vote for him.”

A commercialmotorcyclist, Mr SundayAbolarin, expressed hisdisgust over the trafficgridlock on the Gbongan/Ibadan road whenever thePDP has a function at itsparty secretariat, saying thatthe PDP was poking thepeople of the state in theeye.

Abolarin stated that thedeliberate traffic jam causedon the road by the PDP wasabsurd and unpleasant,saying that the road userswere being subjected tosuffering whenever theparty has function at itssecretariat.

He therefore, urged thePDP to emulate the AllProgressives Congress(APC) that organizesprogrammes at its secretariaton the same road withoutcausing traffic jam orharassing other road users.

PVC Distribution:Group Rates INEC Better

By KEHINDE AYANTUNJI

A Non-Governmental Organisation, Justice andEquality, has rated the performance of theIndependent National Electoral Commission (INEC)

as better in the distribution of Permanent Voters’ Cards(PVC) in the State of Osun ahead of the August 9, 2014governorship election.

The group also dismissedthe rumour that INEC membersof staff are requesting for thepolitical party identity in thedistribution of the PVC at apress conference addressed atthe Nigeria Union ofJournalists (NUJ) PressCentre, Osogbo.

The group, which was oneof the observer-groupsaccredited by INEC for thedistribution of the PVCs acrossthe state, said the process sofar has been transparent anddevoid of any manipulation asbeing speculated in some

sections of the media.Chairman of the group, Mr

Bafunso Tunde, said his teamhad visited 25 out of the 30local government council areasin the state and the INECheadquarters, Osogbo duringthe PVC distribution exercise,which commenced on March 7,2014.

According to him, itobserved that the INECpersonnel were resuming at thedesignated centers by 8.00amand closing by 4.00pm andissuing the PVCs without anycondition attached to it orasking for political parties.

He expressed confidence inthe ability of INEC to conductfree and credible governorshipelection in Osun with theongoing preparation by thecommission and urged thosewho are yet to collect theirPVCs to go to the INEC officesand collect their cards.

The group also urged thosewho registered in March andthose who transferred theirregistration to also check andcollect their PVCs as thedistribution is still ongoing.

Aregbesola Reiterates Commitment To EducationalDevelopment In Osun

GOVERNOR Rauf Aregbesola of the State of Osunhas again reiterated his administration’scommitment at reforming the education system in

the state, as he commissioned the newly-constructed Local

Taxation: Don’t Listen To PDP Lies - OD2DBy ISMAEEL UTHMAN

THE Ogbeni Rauf Aregbesola Door-to-Door CampaignOrganization (OD2D) has cautioned the PeoplesDemocratic Party (PDP) and its governorship

candidate, Senator Iyiola Omisore, against spreading‘unfounded’ lies against Governor Rauf Aregbesola in theirbid to confuse the electorate and incite them against thegovernor.

Director-General of theOD2D, Mr Segun Omoworare,stated this on Monday inEjigbo, during the re-electioncampaign rally for Aregbesolathat the PDP and Omisoreresorted to peddling the‘wicked lies’ againstAregbesola, having beenrejected by the people of thestate.

Omoworare, who urged thepeople to disregard the PDPlies, said he was reacting to therecent claims of the PDP thatAregbesola would placeunbearable taxation on thepeople of the state during hissecond term in office.

According to Omoworare,Aregbesola did not increase orintroduce new taxes for hisfour years but was ratherbuilding the state’s economythat would guarantee self-reliance on the InternallyGenerated Revenue of the state.

He maintained thatAregbesola would not sabotagehis own efforts to build anddevelop the state by imposingtaxation on the people of thestate, saying that theconcentration of the governorwas on developing the state toembrace viable economy that

would create wealth for thepeople.

“Aregbsola is building Osuneconomy and he would notsabotage his own effort byintroducing taxes that wouldput burden on the people ofthe state,” Omoworare stated.

Dismissing the PDP lies ontaxation, Omowarare said:“Aregbesola has no plan toincrease or introduce new taxeson the people of the state, andin his bid to avoid that,Aregbesola is focusing oninfrastructural development inthe state. The infrastructuraldevelopment will transform toeconomic development. If theeconomy develops as hoped,Aregbesola does not need toimpose unbearable taxes on thepeople.

“Though, tax is a civicresponsibility of the people,which every governmentencourages resident to pay, butAregbesola’s administrationhas not in anyway imposingtaxation on the people. PDPand Omisore are pathologicalliar who have been rejected bythe electorate. They resortedto the lies because the level ofdevelopment in the stateembarrasses them.

Aregbesola is constructingmarkets and attracting

companies all around the statefor full commercialization andits prosperity. The governor isconstructing roads in all nooksand crannies of the state foreasy transportation of goods,particularly for farmers at therural areas to enable themtransport their goods withease. The belief of Aregbesola’sadministration is that if thefarmers are able to transport

their farm produce easily, therewould be food security andthey would have no reason tohike the prices of their goods”.

“The governor has no reasonto place burden on the peopleof the state by introducing tax,rather, Aregbesola is buildingthe state and human capacityat the same time for betterdevelopment.”

Osun Must Not Return To Violence, InsecurityEra – Akere Urges Electorate

Government ElementarySchool, Obada, Ede.

Addressing the gatheringat the commissioning of the1000-capacity elementaryschool, Aregbesoladescribed it as celebrationof good things to come inthe education sector.

He expressed happinessthat God has used hisadministration to impactpositively on the stateeducation sector despitenot being the first governorof the state, while describingthe rebuilding of publicschool buildings in thestate as a vision from God.

The governor noted thatparents and kids alike in thestate should be rest assuredof a positive future becausehis administration isdetermined to continue tolay solid foundation for thegenerations yet unborn.

In her address, thedeputy governor of thestate, who also doubles asthe State Commissioner forEducation, Otunba (Mrs)Grace Titi Laoye-Tomori,noted that educationremains the bedrock todevelopment, which is whythe current administration inthe state is investing somuch into education.

The deputy governorstressed that Aregbesola’sadministration remainsunflinchingly committed togiving the children, who arethe future of the state, thebest it can offer.

Also speaking, the first

civilian governor of thestate, Alhaji Isiaka Adeleke,expressed appreciation tothe present administrationin the state for providing anenabling for students in thestate.

He maintained that it is

worthy of mentioning thatAregbesola’s administrativestyle is the first in thehistory of the state to haveinvested so much in theeducation sector, despitenot being the first governorof the state.

THE All Progressives Congress (APC) re-electioncampaign rally in Ila/Ifedayo/Boluwaduro FederalConstituency in Osun State shifted to Oke-Ila and

Ora in Ifedayo Local Government council Area, where theparty canvassed for votes among the people.

The State Commissioner forInformation and Strategy, MrSunday Akere, who led othermembers of the campaigncommittee, charged the peoplenot to allow the state return tothe era of violence andinsecurity, by voting forGovernor Rauf Aregbesolaagain.

The committee, comprisingof Mr Bisi Obawale, Dr (Mrs)Temitope Ilori, Mr AzeezMoshood, Honourable AfolabiAtolagbe and Barrister FemiPopoola, called on theelectorate in the two towns toresist the Peoples DemocraticParty (PDP) through thepower of their ballot.

He cautioned the people

who posses permanent voters’cards in the two respectivetowns not to give up theircards, describing it as theirpower to choose who directtheir affairs after every fouryears at the respective electivelevel.

Akere lamented the newtrend of political developmentin the country, describing thestyle of ‘StomachInfrastructure’ at the expenseof human and nationaldevelopment, urging thepeople to guide their futurejealously through their votes.

He also urged the people tovote in line with theirconscience and should notallow anyone to use anything

to cajole them to vote againsttheir belief, saying Osun mustnot be allowed to return to theera of insecurity and violencethat characterised the overseven years of PDPadministration in the state.

Akere further assured thepeople on the currentadministration’s committmentto making the state a referencepoint for others in thefederation and would not relentin its effort if re-elected foranother term of office.

The Akesin of Ora-Igbomina, pledged the palacesupport for the governor’ssecond term bid, urging theteeming populace to supportthe governor through theirvotes and prayer.

Similarly, the High Chief ofAsaoni’s palace commendedthe governor for the manner hisadministration has beenspreading development in thestate, saying peace has reignmore than ever before in thestate.

By SHINA ABUBAKAR

5OSUN DEFENDER Saturday, July 26, 2014

THE SOCIAL CONTRACT

Continued from pg5

of a social contract could be a de-termining factor in the governorshipelection in the state of Osun.

Since infrastructure of the stom-ach is now in the lexicon what shouldbe the response of those who feelobliged to lay the foundations for long- term development? In the case ofOsun, the jury is no longer out. Theverdict is clear that the incumbentgovernor has spent the past three anda half years laying the foundation forsustainable development.

There ought to be no conflict aboutdefining this as the real reason, theraison d’etre for being in office. InAregbesola’scase, he kick-startedthe process of a social contract inOsunstate from a very low base. Hecontinues to implement the develop-ment effort at a time when the fiscalclimate is very much against the re-quired cash-flow of the state gov-ernments.

Nigeria’s quasi-federalism meansthat the states cannot exploit, pro-cess their own resources and use itto develop their states. It is also adifficult time to operate a develop-ment process when the almighty al-location from the center is dwindlingall the time. This represents a multi-dimensional dilemma. Forwithout asound structure, even the hope ofincreasing internally generated rev-enue (IGR) as a counter-balancingforce becomes forlorn.

Nevertheless, in a dicey situationAregbesolahas punched above hisweight. He has in a very tight fiscalenvironment recreated the develop-

ment framework associated with aprogressive, social democratic gov-ernment. At every stage, the devel-opment thrust under Aregbesolahasbeen innovatively integrative. Thereis a clear focus of achieving a mul-tiplier effect with each policy thrust.

A good example is the schoolfeeding programme. This involvesfeeding 300, 000 pupils every schoolday at the cost of N3.6 billion perannum. It is a transparentprogramme since it can be verifiedsimply by going to the schools them-selves. The programme has led toan exponential increase in enroll-ment figures. The socio-economicbenefit here is seminal.

In addition, a multiplier effect istriggered off. Food production hasconsequentlygone up in geometricproportion. There is a clear gain asa result in terms of the purchasingpower of the farmers. This is a clearcase of financial employment andpoverty alleviation mixed up in linewith a policy of thrust to constructthe foundations for self-sustainingeconomic development.

The fiscal injection into theeconomy of the state is for morethan can be achieved by any imme-diate “infrastructure of the stom-ach.” The students consume 15, 000whole chickens every week and itis served twice. They consume 400tons of fish every week. 35 herdsof cattle are also consumed everyweek.

The financial empowerment topoultry and fish farmers is impor-tant it means that the rural economyis receiving a boost. In addition, 3,

007 women cook the meals for thestudents. They are paid directlythrough the banks and were givingseed capital to start - up. In no wayis this initiative any different from themodel associated which the founderof modern micro-financeMuhammedYunusused and whichwon him the NobelPrize.

The school feeding programme alsohas a link with the health sector. Hun-dreds of thousands are now receiv-ing proper, healthy, and nutritiousmeals for the first time. The long termgains in terms of a healthy mind in ahealthy body will be profound. For astart, there will be less pressure andstress on the already very much upand against it healthinfrasructurestructure. This is the policy thrust thatthe World Health Organization(WHO), as well as the late highlyesteemed professorOlukoyeRansome-Kutiamongstmany others has been advocating fordecades.

In fulfillment of the need to cementthe social contract, the thrust of theAregbesolaprogramme has been tolay the foundations for self-sustain-ing development. On the widely cop-ied O’Yesscheme alone, over 40, 000cadets have been empowered withentrepreneurial skills. O’Yeshaschanged the paradigm in a directlyinjected N9 billion to the economy.Inaddition, a meaningful programmmefor elderly citizens’ care has been putinto play.

The most enduring type of “infra-structure of the stomach” translatesinto the well-worn aphorism of giv-ing a man a hook to fish with, ratherthan giving him perennial hand - outs

of fish. Aregbesola is in this lightproviding the hook with which thestate will endure in long termsustainability.

Sustainability does not ignore theimmediate benefit. For example,investments in roads help the tradeas well as the limbs and well-be-ing of the okada rider. Construct-ing over 200 kilometers of roadsin every nook and cranny of thestate has led to a positive flip inthe transport sector. Apart fromprotecting lives, it has increasedemployment in that sector sincebetter roads leads to faster turn-around time.

As with all things Aregbesola,there is always the synergy lurk-ing there somewhere. 200 kilome-ters of roads constructed under hiswatch translates into opening upthe rural economy. This means thatfarm production will go up, as thefarmer can now evacuate his orher produce for onward sales inthe urban markets. Again, this is again for the farmers, as well as fortheirindividual and collective pur-chasing power. There has alsobeen a profound gain for the ruraleconomy of Osunstate by openingup roads and linking it with farmgate purchases for theO’Mealprogramme.

The social contract is well andalive in Osunstate. From a tighteconomic base, all the stakehold-ers have benefitted

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OSUN DEFENDER Saturday, July 26, 20146 FEATURE

OPINION

A Ride With Aregbesola “If anything, his efforts deserve to be

applauded, and if Nigeria must developquickly, men of ability and substance mustnever shy away from throwing their hatsinto the political ring, just like whatOgbeni Aregbesola has done” – Quoted inOgbeni Rauf Aregbesola (In the footsteps ofChief Obafemi Awolowo) Page. 105.

IT has been said in several quarters thatOgbeni Rauf Adesoji Aregbesola is thegreatest positive thing that has happened

to the people of the State of Osun since hewas sworn in as the Executive Governor onNovember 27, 2010.

This fact above manifested clearly againwhen I visited the state recently. It has beensaid correctly too that, no one leader orsitting governor of the State of Osun haswon the hearts of the massesoverwhelmingly like Ogbeni RaufAregbesola, since the state was created outof the old Oyo State on August 27, 1991.

Fact is sacred! When Ogbeni RaufAregbesola invited me to join his campaignteam to Ede, perhaps for me to see things formyself, I was excited to make the trip withhim. What I saw as we made our way to Edeand when we got to Ede proper exceedinglywarmed my hearts. It warmed my heartsbecause my more than two years researchinto the activities of Ogbeni Aregbesola,which has manifested into a recent book onhim, has turned out to be a worthy and well-deserved venture.

What I saw in Ede has equallycomplimented the fact that Ogbeni RaufAregbesola’s idealism and fiery temperamenthas given hope to many, who hastily flockedto his train of political redemption. This manis absolutely sincere with power and whathe has done and what he still hopes to do isvisible for anyone that visits the State ofOsun to X-ray.

Indeed, what I saw on our way to Ede

By IGBOTAKO NOWINTAclearly displayed that Ogbeni Aregbesolahas attracted the attention of the lowly, thehumble and the multitudes that have seenhope in his political proclamations. As wemade our way to Ede, school children of allgrades ran out of their school compounds toshout and cheer Ogbeni; on their faces onecould see exceeding joy and satisfaction.

After all, Ogbeni Rauf Aregbesola isfeeding them with hygienic food andclothing them as they go to schooleveryday, using his popular programme ofO’MEAL (reserved for pupil of betweenprimaries one-four). Women and men of allshades and the elderly people trooped outto dance and sing the praise of Mr.Governor and waved the flags and broom ofthe All Progressives Congress (APC), as theGovernor’s convoy drove slowly towardsEde.

As we moved closer to Ede, the entiretown suddenly rose up to welcome OgbeniAregbesola’s campaign train. I will neverforget the experience. People wererecklessly cheering, dancing and singing onthe streets. What awaited us at the palace ofTimi of Ede, Oba Munirudeen Lawal, wasquite unique. The mood at the palace wasindeed emotionally irresistible, as the orgyof celebration was total. The crowd that hadgathered within the palace listenedattentively and enthusiastically as OgbeniAregbesola addressed them on why theyshould return him to power on August 9,2014.

The mood at the Seventh Day AdventistHigh School, Ede, venue of the OgbeniAregbesola’s re-election campaign rally, was

ecstatic, as people of all colours, the agedand the young, poor and the rich danceduncontrollably as Governor Aregbesolarode in .The spontaneous emotionaloutburst that gripped the venue of thecampaign rally reached crescendo asOgbeni Aregbesola made his way to thepodium.

When Governor Rauf Aregbesola said: “Our administration has treated thevarious political districts equally withoutsentiment. What we have done in lessthan 40 months, surpassed what they didin seven years both in quantity andquality,” he was saying nothing but thetruth.

I indeed saw completed townshiproads in Ede and the inhabitants werehappy with Ogbeni. It is clear withoutany shadow of doubt that OgbeniAregbesola came and prepared to lead thepeople of Osun to the glorious next level.10 kilometer of roads are beingconstructed in every local governmentcouncil areas of the State of Osun. Thecrowds in Ede were simply very large.The man is indeed popular!

On Monday July 7, 2014, a day beforethe mega rally in Ede, Ogbeni Aregbesolacommissioned the Ayegbaju ModernInternational Market in Osogbo, the statecapital. I have reliably gathered that areplica of this gigantic market will soonappear in all the senatorial districts of thestate. There is something about theAyegbaju Modern International Market,that I have not seen anywhere in thiscountry before.

The market, apart from the massivesize of land it occupies along the ever-

busy Gbongan/Ibadan Road, has facilitieslike hotels, medical centre, banks, aMosque, Church, filling station, PoliceStation, and Car Park etc. It will be amiracle of the century if Senator IyiolaOmisore, the governorship candidate of thePeoples Democratic Party (PDP) in theOsun 2014 governorship election wins therace on August 9, 2014? The phase two ofthe market is presently being constructed.

With what I witnessed on Tuesday July7, 2014, in Ede, and what I have seen onthe ground in terms of honest pragmaticimplementation of formulated policies likeOPON IMO (Tablet of knowledge)O’MEAL, O’Schools, O’TOURS,O’AMBULANCE, re-classification ofschools, Agba Osun (scheme for theelderly), O’YES (Youth EmploymentScheme), O’REAP etc, Ogbeni Aregbesolawill clinch the baton of re-election onAugust 9, 2014, in the State of Osun.

Apart from Ede, the tumultuous crowdsthat normally trooped out to welcomeOgbeni wherever he goes on a campaigntour, is an indication that the man is thetribune of the silent majority in theState of Osun.

•Nowinta, wrote OGBENI RAUFAREGBESOLA (In The Footsteps OfObafemi Awolowo).

‘High-tech Election Rigging,’ How Feasible?NO sooner the shocking result of

the Ekiti election was released thancurious minds began to wonder

beyond the now rather facile andinadequate “stomach infrastructure”explanation. The alert keeps coming, andnow with the state of Osun governorshipelection round the corner, it has becomemore importunate — the probability thatsome high-tech rigging stratagem wasdeployed in the Ekiti election should notbe dismissed casually. Indeed, it is real,say proponents of the theory.

Dr. Femi Orebe, columnist on TheNation newspaper, was the first to hit mewith it by email within a few days of theEkiti election. The PDP, he argues,practically signed, sealed anddelivered”the election to themselves, viasome devil-may-care, Israeli conspiracy,as some politicians did last year inZimbabwe.” He then went on to allegethat “a shadowy Israeli company —NIKUV Projects International, alsooperating in Nigeria, was used to pre-programme the ballot paper for the(Zimbabwe) country’s 2013 presidentialelection.”

Femi Orebe went further to send a linkto a Zimbabwean newspaper and to quotea critical portion of the story by NasiniCEO, Lucia Mordi, inter alia: “From ourfindings so far, we are 99.9 per centconvinced the election was rigged via aballot paper. A special watermarked ballotpaper was used to give President Mugabea resounding victory. The ballot paperhad a water X against Mugabe’s namesuch that if any ink is placed on the paper,the substance on the paper will react andremove the ink and activate thewatermarked X into print.”

My immediate reaction to Orebe’s alertwas to wave it off as rather outlandish,especially as he has never minced wordsabout being an APC sympathiser or card-carrying member. C’mon bad loser, I hadthought, give me another one! The pointis, the ‘theory’, if pursued, opened up anumber of other questions begging to bereconciled, beside the (conceited) pointthat Nigeria is not Zimbabwe — we are byfar larger and ‘more educated’ inpopulation.

One, it is conventional political wisdom

in Nigeria that rigging has a higherprobability of succeeding only where therigger is already as popular, if not morepopular, than the opposition. Our pre-election reading, erroneous now we know,was that Fayose was a less acceptableface than Dr. Kayode Fayemi throughoutthe length and breadth of Ekiti. Two, therewas the result in Fayemi’s polling unitwhere he scored virtually 100 per cent(less a single vote!) of the about 180votes. Were the ballot papers served tothat unit particularly and peculiarly freefrom sexing? Three, could any suchelaborate technological defraudinghappen or succeed without theknowledge and complicity of our ‘saint’Prof. Jega?

But the thing to do was not to havedismissed it offhand like that. Outlandishthings, nay, far more outrageous things,have happened in Nigeria. Indeed, themore unthinkable a thing is, the moreprobability that some crazy leader inNigeria would attempt it — so long as it isretrogressive and anti-people! And tocontinue to believe that Nigeria is anybetter than a “banana republic” is to livein a fool’s paradise! Just look at ourleaders, just look at our country, just lookat where we are! But I digress.

Importantly, a new scientific study,copy of which result came into mypossession a few days ago, reveals theease with which some advancedtechnology could enable ballot papers tobe sexed such that the result, regardlessof actual voting, can be predetermined! “Itis feasible technologically,” says thereport, “through a combination ofinvisible and disappearing inks. It issimple: use invisible ink to cast vote for apolitical party or preferred candidate towin, and provide disappearing inks to thevoters to use for voting.” The report wenton to illustrate pictorially, threesequences, one showing the voterthumbprint with disappearing ink, then inkdisappearing on all candidates, and three,finally the intended winner emergingwhen the invisible ink reveals later under

room-temperature heat!As I said, even conceding that it is

technologically feasible, the complexity ofthe process and the challenge for secrecyall down the line, from Jega to theelectoral officers and beyond, fill me withtrepidation – and sadness; trepidationthat it is possible, sadness that it isconceivable in my country Nigeria in thisage when the rest of the world isstruggling for advancement. And wewonder why we are known as a 419country?

The Osun state election is nigh, andthe running theme nationally, rightly orwrongly, is of a Jonathan-led PDP on therampage, doing what the party historically(from Obasanjo time) does best:impeaching the impeach-able; intimidatingthe intimidate-able; sacking the sack-able;corrupting the corrupt-able; and generallyat their best in ‘war’ (other than at theSambisa forest), not giving a hoot whathappens to anyone or indeed the country.

What the country needs sorely ispeace and progress. Nothing must bedone to disturb this wherever Nigeriansare lucky to have it going. As the newlyformed “Voter-Values Volunteers” urge,voters in the state of Osun in 2014, and allover Nigeria in 2015 must be ready to casttheir votes, and make their votes count asbest they could. We must not surrenderour country to those who do not care ifheavens fall to have their way. And mayhe who will serve our collective interestbest win.

And that’s saying it the way it is!

Chief Ajibola Ogunshola turns 70!On July 14, former chairman of PUNCH

Nigeria Ltd turned 70. It is a greatachievement in itself in a country like ourswhere average life expectancy is put atsomewhere between 40 and 45. He is to becelebrated.

I think my first meeting with him was in1984 (30 years ago!) when he was CEO ofNiger Insurance and I went to him to seekhis company’s advert patronage in themaiden edition of Nigeria BANKINGANNUAL my company, AlfaCommunications Limited, was set topublish.

Three things struck: his easy

accessibility to someone he had not metbefore; his geniality; his brilliance. Did Isay three? Well, four, his good looks(which he is not disinclined tohumorously count)! We got on well and Ican’t recall why, but, of course, I am betterlooking even if he is my egbon by threeyears!

I learnt within the space of that meetinghe was the first Actuary in Nigeria, if notAfrica — a discipline I knew little of priorto then. I learnt he was a GovernmentCollege, Ibadan old boy even though I lethim know my Kiriji Memorial College,Igbajo was a brighter college in our thenWestern Region — at least we beat themonce in Olowu Cup Table-tenniscompetition! I learnt he was a man ofintegrity — in a country where that is at adiscount. And I saw him as a great rolemodel, realising little then how our pathswould meet even more closely in future.

Although I knew Chief Ogunshola’sbrother, the founding chairman ofPUNCH, late Chief Olu Aboderin,independently, and I had relationship withPUNCH prior to Ogunshola becoming thechairman, his appreciation of my littlecontribution to PUNCH through mycolumns was gracious and encouraging.

More importantly, a few years after thedeath of Chief Olu Aboderin and that ofhis successor, elder brother Chief MoyoAboderin, (sibling) fate brought it uponegbon Jibola to take over chairmanship ofthe then dying newspaper. ThatOgunshola not only revived thenewspaper but lifted it to the dizzyingheight of perhaps the most successfulnewspaper in Nigeria (certainly the mostwidely read demographically) today is afeat etched in gold in the annals of theindustry.

I salute thee!

•Culled from THE PUNCH

By TUNDE FAGBENLE

OSUN DEFENDER Saturday, July 26, 2014 7

8 OSUN DEFENDER Saturday, July 26, 2014PHOTOTALK

•A 500KVA transformer recently commissioned by Senator Husain at Kuta, AyedireLocal Government Council Area, recently.

Senator Mudashir Oyetunde Husain, Representing Osun-West Senatorial District InThe Senate, Commissioned Some Transformers And Schools Across His Constituency,Recently.

•Frontage of the commissioned public middle school by Senator Husain in Ejigborecently.

•Senator Husain commissioning a transformer at Oke-Yidi, Ede-North recently. He’sbeing assisted by Chairman, Ede-North Local Government Council Area, Dr TiamiyuBello (2nd right) and Alhaji Surajudeen Opalola (1st left).

•Interior of a classroom of one of the commissioned public middle schools by SenatorHusain in Iwo recently.

•Senator Husain (2nd left), flanked by some dignitaries when he was about tocommission a project at Okeyidi area of Ede-North recently.

•A commissioned transformer at Oke-Yidi, Ede-North, Local Government Council Areaby Senator Husain recently.

9OSUN DEFENDER Saturday, July 26, 2014 PHOTOTALKSenator Mudashir Oyetunde Husain, Representing Osun-West Senatorial District InThe Senate, Commissioned Some Transformers And Schools Across His Constituency,Recently.

•Senator Husain (left), commissioning transformer (500 KVA) at Old Ijimoba area ofEjigbo recently.

•Senator Husain commissioning Ayegbogbo Community Middle School, Ejigbo. He isbeing assisted by Ejigbo Local Goveernment Scribe, Hon Bashir Akintegbe, APCsecretary in the local government, Alhaji Lateef Adegoke and other dignitaries recently.

•Senator Mudashir Oyetunde Husain (3rd left) commissioning a transformer (500KVA)at Olaoluwa Ajagunlase being assisted by Oba ismail Gbadamosi, recently.

•A 500 KVA transformer recently commissioned by Senator Husain at Irayin Ayo area ofEjigbo.

•Hon Husain (right) Commissioning Transformer 500KVAat Oni-Ibu-Eja Village,Egbedore local government council area, recently.

•Senator Husain (3rd right), commissioning of Iwo Muslim Comprehensive Collegebeing assisted by APC Chairman in Iwo, Hon. Semiu Ayofe 2nd right and other Islamicdignitaries.

10 OSUN DEFENDER Saturday, July 26, 2014

•

Commissioning Of Obada Elementary School In Ede By The Governor, State OfOsun, Ogbeni Rauf Aregbesola, Recently. Photo: GBENGA ADENIYI.

•Obada Elementary School building.

PHOTOTALK

•Some of the APC members at the event.

•(L-R) Deputy Governor, State of Osun, Otunba (Mrs) Grace Titi Laoye-Tomori; Governor Rauf Aregbesola and first civilian governor in the State of Osun, Senator IsiakaAdeleke at the commissioning.

•A cross section of dignitaries during the programme.

11 OSUN DEFENDER Saturday, July 26, 2014

AUDACIOUSEXPLOIT

withMURTALA AGBOOLA

TEL: 0806-119-7897E-mail: murtalamuag@yahoo.com

As The D-day DrawsNearer

•AREGBESOLA

ON Saturday, August 9th, thepeople of the State of

Osunwould go to the polling

booths to cast their votes for thenext governor.

Ordinarily, such voting ought tobe a normal political process,where the electorate exercisetheir franchise. However, in viewof the fix everything on the wayto get President GoodluckJonathan re-elected in 2015project, things have gone beyondthe ordinary. What has evenupped the ante is the last EkitiState gubernatorial election.

In the eyes of unsuspectingNigerians, the election is by farthe best conducted by theProfessor Attahiru Jega-ledIndependent National ElectoralCommission, (INEC). Theoutgoing governor concededdefeat in a swift manner, whichwas praised as novel andcourageous. Events unfoldinglater, however, showed that therewas more to the election thanmeets the eye.

The mystery behind thesuccessful election in Ekiti Stateis yet to be fully unraveled. Ifinformation flying about is to bebelieved, then the PresidentRobert Mugabe’s theory is atwork. Mugabe, Zimbabwe’soctogenarian President sinceindependence in 1979 has beenwinning elections in spite of hisunpopularity. This, we are madeto believe, it is being tested nowto reach perfection stage beforethe 2015 presidential election.

A smokescreen has beendeployed to confuse the peoplein the form of stomachinfrastructure. Rice and cashwere freely offered to voters tocast their vote for the candidateof the Peoples Democratic Party(PDP), Mr Peter Ayodele Fayose,who eventually won.

The strategy also includedrationalizing the incumbent’sfailure by saying, the sittinggovernor, Dr Kayode Fayemi, istoo elitist and remote from thegrassroots. For crying out loud,when did being an elitistconstitute a crime upon which acandidate is crucified in anelection? If he is being rejectedfor non-performance, it wouldclearly have been understood.

The experiment in Ekiti Stateworked perfectly because it wasnovel. Before people couldrealise the serious damage done,the havoc had been wrecked. A lotof analysts have tried, albeit,falsely to compare the situationin Ekiti with that of Osun.

Besides the individualcontestants involved, the terrainand the nature of the people alsomatter. That it happened

successfully in Ekiti is not a pre-requisite that the same canhappen in Osun. The Ekitis arewell-read and there are lots ofacademics but with due respect,they do not have the level ofpolitical sophistication of Osunpeople.

The revolution that has takenplace in Osun under GovernorRauf Aregbesola isunprecedented. The people of theState of Osun are appreciative ofthe level of social infrastructurethat has taken place in the state.The expansion of existing roads,building of new schools withconducive learning environment,employment of young and able-bodied youths into the OsunYouth Empowerment Scheme(OYES) are to mention but a few.

Aregbesola came up with

stipends for the aged and hasincreased the bursary given tofinal year students in tertiaryinstitutions. The high tuition feescharged in the state-ownedtertiary institutions was slashedto enable indigent but brilliantstudents to access tertiaryeducation in the state.

Ogbeni Aregbesola’s best maynot be good enough for othercontestants. Even though thereare twenty candidates vying forthe post of governor on August9th, the major contenders are theAll Progressives Congress (APC)candidate, who is also theincumbent, Aregbesola. Theothers are the PDP standard-bearer, Senator Iyiola Omisoreand the Labour Party (LP)candidate, Alhaji Fatai Akinbade.Without the least disregard for

others, I strongly believe that oneof the three mentioned abovewould emerge victorious.

In view of this, it behoves onthe major contenders to show upin public space to show why theyshould be voted for. Theincumbent governor should beable to showcase what he hasused the current term to do andwhy people should renew histerm. The other contestantsshould convince the electoratewhy incumbent’s tenure shouldnot be renewed.

Coincidentally, the othercontestants have held pubicoffices previously. Omisore’sfirst political office was that ofthe Deputy Governor under theChief Bisi Akande’s Alliance forDemocracy (AD) government.He was later impeached but wonelection into the Senate whileundergoing trial for the murderof the erstwhile Attorney-General and Minister for Justice,Chief Ajibola Ige.

He spent two terms of eightyears in the Senate. The Osunelectorate should be able toassess him by his contributionson the floor of the Senate.Beyond that, Senator Omisoreshould be able to point toprojects he was able to facilitatewhile in the hallow chambers.

The Ogbaaba-born Alhaji FataiAkinbade started his politicalcareer by his appointment asCommissioner for Works duringthe military administration in theState of Osun. He became thechairman of the PDP in the stateand later served as the Secretaryto the State Government underthe Prince Olagunsoye Oyinlola’sadministration for seven and halfyears. During those years inpublic office, Akinbade should letthe electorate know what he didwhen he held sway.

Above all these, the majorcontenders should engage in apublic debate, where theelectorate would be able toproperly assess them. The mediadebate should not be cancelledbecause it offers a veritableavenue for which candidates canbe assessed. Aregbesola hasthrown up challenge to othercandidates. They should embraceit wholeheartedly without anyconditions. The organisersshould, however, be told toprovide conducive atmospherefor the candidates, such thatnothing untoward would happento anyone. If media debates wereheld in Anambra, Edo and Ondostates, then there is no reasonwhy the State of Osun should bean exception.

OSUN DEFENDER Saturday, July 26, 201412 TRAVELOGUE

Aregbesola: God-sent; Unstoppable

The extended mega rally held last Tuesday is yet another bundle of surprises in the annals of political gatherings. It wasa proof that response to call to a rally at such short notice could be so impressive and encouraging. This is more so, whenthe same federal constituency had previously played host to another scintillating crowd barely two weeks earlier! Themammoth crowd that graced the Ejigbo Mega Rally elicited a unanimous attestation to the fact that whoever is sent ofGod is irrepressible. This assessment came as a conclusion from NIYI OLASINDE’s coverage of the historic rally.

THERE was no note of disharmony in themusic. It was not a duet; neither was it aquartet piece. The people of the ancient

yet famous Ejigbo community in the present-dayState of Osun simply trooped out last Tuesdayand sang in unison: that Aregbesola must continuein office as governor of the State of the Virtuousfor a second tenure of four-year duration, startingfrom November 27, 2014. Someone may ask ifthe people under reference are musicians orchoristers. Well, they are not, in name-calling;yet they elicited the attributes in the rousingwelcome and demonstrated response to the callfor a rally, issued out on short notice by the Stateof Osun Chapter of All Progressives Congress(APC) to the effect that another in the series ofmega rallies was to be held in Ejigbo, a powerfularsenal in the political territory of the EdeFederal Constituency of the state. This exten-sion, apparently viewed in some quarters asunnecessary, eventually proved itself out notonly as necessary, but also apposite, deservingand worthwhile.

The turn of events at the colourful rally wassuch that thrills the heart and fascinates one topolitics, the commitment to the love of one’speople and devotion to their well-being andbetterment. It is a combination of all theseattributes, people confessed at the event thatworked wonders for Aregbesola and his party, theAll Progressives Congress (APC). The selfsamefact was confessed to be true for the Chief Hostof the rally, who doubles as the Speaker of thefifth session of the State of Osun House ofAssembly, Right Honourable Najeem Salaam.Much the same was reflected in the case made forthe Asiwaju of Ede, first Civilian Governor of thestate and former senator of the Federal Republic,Otunba Isiaka Adeleke, whose homestead of Edeconstitute two of the four local governmentcouncil areas which comprise the Ede FederalConstituency. In a nutshell, no venture is asrewarding as impacting the lives of one’s ownpeople positively, at least, with every slightestopportunity that comes one’s way in life.

The ancient Ejigbo community was throwninto frenzy ecstatic mood on that day, as peopleabandoned much of their daily routines for anevent packaged into the canvassing of votes forthe re-election bid of Governor Rauf Aregbesolaas helmsman of the State of Osun. To most ofthe people, the event of that day was one whichthey had heard and watched to have been held in

Continued on page 13

other parts of the state. It was a similar eventthey had trooped out massively to co-host withtheir fellow constituents in Ede a fortnightearlier. Yet, they never relented, as they appearedto be unbending in their resolve anddetermination that there is only one manqualified and fit for the task in question – that ofsteering the ship of their state for the next fouryears, and doing so most effectively. To them, asfar as the Bola Ige (White House) GovernmentOffice at Abere is concerned; and as far as theOke Fia Government House is concerned, there isno vacancy yet.

The streets of Ejigbo had come alive withactivities of sorts since the early hours of theday. All manners of people, whose callings cutacross diverse fields of endeavour trooped out indroves in preparation for the occasion they werebilled to host later in the day. The occasion wassuch that called for people who had earlier helddivergent views, and who may have been in thecamp of the opposition to start having a rethink.Never, since the process of the ongoing contestbegan, had it been heard that a contestant of anyother party came and shook the ground as did theflag bearer of the All Progressives Congress(APC) that day. Not even the fact that Ede is theindigenous home of Barrister Adejare Bello coulddo the magic of pulling so robust a crowd for hisboss and their political front, the PeoplesDemocratic Party (PDP) in the ancient town!

Ejigbo was agog for Aregbesola. The streetsbecame a beehive of activities as early as the daybegan. The trend went on unabated till late in theevening. The ongoing Ramadan fasting was not adeterring factor for Moslems, as men and womenof all faiths came out to contribute in one way orthe other to the overall success of the event. Atlast, the faith they exercised was not betrayed;neither did it prove to be misplaced. The productthey sacrificed all of their time and ventures tomarket is good and marketable. The gospel ofAregbesola for second term is already yieldinggood dividends. The stage is appearing to be setfor a beautiful outing, come August 9.

The venue of the mega rally had become filledup since around 10:00 a.m. The expansivepremises rocked under the weight of the unprec-edented crowd it played host to. It had alreadybeen a fact well accepted that never in thehistory of holding political rallies had such hugeturnout as being currently witnessed beenexperienced. When OSUN DEFENDER reporterarrived at the venue much later in the day, all wasset for an event which the entire Ejigbo and its

adjoining communities will find unbeatable forsome time to come.

The events had kick-started before the long-awaited arrival. Entertainment was on by theaccomplished Fuji maestro, King Wasiu AyindeMarshal (K1). The Fuji superstar sang beautifulnumbers eulogizing the valiant works of theAregbesola administration, even as he urged thepeople not to look elsewhere for a better option.To him, the bird they had in hand was alreadyworth than tens of others parading themselvesfor consideration to be entrusted with the seriouswork involved in governance. Ayinde cautionedthe people not to lose their votes by polling forselfish destroyers of the collective destinies of apeople. Clearly, Aregbesola had proven his mettleby his impact made in less than four years in allspheres of life. It was a beautiful piece of musicloaded with thought-provoking messages.

When the preliminary events started, speakerafter speaker mounted the podium to address thewaiting audience. The approximation of thethrust of their words is the praise of the candidateand the caution to vote wisely on the d-day.Further in their speeches, speakers at the eventcautioned the people not to sell their votinginstruments, that is, their Permanent Voters’Cards (PVCs) or exchange them or the PersonalIdentification Numbers (PIN) they bear for anyGreek gifts. It was observed that the number ofitems in the assortment of those Greek gifts hadbeen increasing in recent times; ranging fromfinancial peanuts, though expired rice toadulterated household kerosene.

It was also brought under mentioning thenefarious activities of destiny mortgagors whoengage in trading of voters’ cards. The represen-tative of Iwo Federal Constituency at the FederalHouse of Representatives, Honourable GafarAmere spoke at length on this issue and recom-mended that the treatment meted out to them athis federal constituency be introduced in the hostconstituency. According to him, perpetrators whoare apprehended are thoroughly beaten beforebeing handed over to the police for necessaryprosecution. Speakers who spoke prior to thisand thereafter directed the people to troop outen masse and cast their votes fearlessly on theElection Day. They were cautioned not to beintimidated by the huge presence of securitypersonnel, as the apparatus is put in place toforestall security breaches and breakdown of lawand order. All the same, voters were charged tostand by at their polling units after observingtheir civic responsibilities and observe the events

unfolding till the moment of vote-counting. Thisvigilance duty of protecting votes is crucial inNigeria where anything negative that could bethought of is possible.

After this session of speeches, King WasiuAyinde took the central stage for a long time toentertain, enlighten and educate the waitingcrowd. This round of interlude lasted for slightlyover twenty minutes when it was interrupted withthe arrival of the Deputy Governor, State ofOsun, Otunba Grace Titilayo Laoye-Tomori. Atthe instance of her arrival, the young artiste, whois a student of Ataoja School of Science, Osogbo,Kazeem Olatunji, a.k.a. Kazzy Roll was broughton stage to contribute his own quota to theentertainment. Kazzy Roll thrilled the audienceto the rhythm of his popular track, “Aregbesolayou are the Champion…” Thereafter, KingWasiu Ayinde resumed the entertainment till thearrival time of governor Aregbesola.

For some time prior to the arrival of thegovernor, news had gone round that the governorand his train had arrived the town and hadproceeded straight to the palace of the monarchof the town, the Ogiyan of Ejigbo, His RoyalHighness, Oba Omowonuola Oyeyode OyesosinII for traditional homage and royal blessings.Close on hand for that portion of the assignmentwas the governor of the sister-state, Oyo State,Senator Ishiaq Abiola Ajimobi. Also on theentourage were the first civilian governor, Stateof Osun, Senator Isiaka Adetunji Adeleke, selectedmembers of the State Executive Council,members of the hierarchy of the ruling party inthe state and other eminent personalities.

At the palace, the monarch, joined by othermonarchs in the area eulogized the good works ofOgbeni and his administration, which theyattested had impacted people in the entire lengthand breadth of the state, with particular referenceto the area. They thereafter poured prayers onhim for success at the polls. With that done, allwas set for his departure from the palace for thevenue where the mammoth crowd had stayedconverged, waiting for the events-proper to kickoff.

••The governor, State of Osun, Ogbeni Rauf Aregbesola and his Oyo counterpart, Senator Isiaka Abiola Ajimobi (on top of a bus), acknowledging cheers from the mammothcrowd, during a campaign rally for Aregbesola’s re-election at Unity School, Ejigbo, State of Osun, last Monday.

13 OSUN DEFENDER Saturday, July 26, 2014 TRAVELOGUE

Continued from page 12

Aregbesola: God-sent; Unstoppable

From the palace of Ogiyan of Ejigbo, it was atraffic gridlock that characterized the roads downto the Unity School venue of the campaignprogramme. Earlier, it had been a similar experi-ence that dominated the scene. All the way fromOsogbo, the state capital, people of the commu-nities along the access road to Ejigbo had troopedout overwhelmingly to accord GovernorAregbesola a rousing welcome to the area. In Aracommunity in particular, the turnout was re-ported to have been so thick that the governor’sentourage was force to come to a standstill. Allthe way from Osogbo, commercial motorcycleoperators, popularly called okada riders weresaid to have lined up in beautiful array ahead ofthe governor’s procession as their own way ofshowing their love and appreciation for him.

At Ejigbo, the scenery was easily likened to apilgrimage centre, as people lined the streets tocheer the entourage. Each group and individualstruggled to outdo one another as they scam-pered to catch a glimpse of the wonderful achieverand to bid him welcome and give assent to hissuccess on the tour and in his re-election bid. Leftand right of the major road leading to the town,people had laid in wait to accord the governorand his train a befitting welcome.

After his departure from the palace, it provedan uphill task for vehicular traffic to make it tothe venue of the big meet. The surging crowdupon his entry into town had redoubled, sincenews had circulated round announcing his arrival.The broom anniversary was so colourful that onecould easily find himself at cross as to whetherhe had seem that large number of brooms all atonce in his entire lifetime. Candidly, if all thosebrooms were engaged to sweep the floor of acommunity, it is doubtful whether it would notbe swept bare of sand!

From the ancient palace, through places likeIwo Road, Oke Moyo Junction, Royal HotelJunction and Moyepe Road down to UnitySchool, the final destination, the constriction wasso tight. At the venue, the crowd that had alreadyconverged was astonishing. This was coupledwith the fact that the crowd met in town fol-lowed still till the arrival at the venue. The den-sity of the crowd was unimaginable. It was won-der in action!

Upon his arrival, the governor was seen atophis characteristic mini luxury bus, brandishinghis enormous broom vehemently inacknowledgement of cheers from the crowd. Thefirst pointer to it that the governor was with oneoutstandingly powerful co-traveller was that hewas seem beckoning to someone to come up thebus and join him in the task of acknowledging thecrowd. It was with surprise that the expectantcrowd sighted the Oyo State Governor, SenatorAbiola Ajimobi mounting the bus and waving histhe crowd with the governor. The uproar wasterrific.

Upon alighting from the vehicle, the governorexchanged pleasantries with dignitaries alreadywaiting before heading for his seat. The time ofarrival was 4:44 p.m. The big arrival culminatedin the commencement of the programme-proper.

The National Anthem and State of Osun Anthemwere sung back-to-back. By 5:05 p.m., theprogramme had kick-started in full swing withthe introduction of guests and dignitaries.

The first speech after the official commence-ment of events was delivered by the Chairman ofthe Aregbesola Second Term Campaign Commit-tee for the federal constituency, an indigene ofthe town, who also is the Speaker of the State ofOsun House of Assembly, Right HonourableNajeem Salaam. Salaam mounted the soapbox onthe note of music, as he raised the song “Kele gbee tabi o gbe o ee…” In his protocols, he acknowl-edged the presence of all dignitaries and thengreeted and thanked the attendees for honouringthe clarion call, and for exercising such time-testedpatience as to wait since morning. HonourableSalaam then prayed for god outcome at the polls,come August 9. He drew attention to it that allattempts by the swindlers of the oppositionPeoples Democratic Party (PDP) to bribe thepeople with all manners of Greek gifts had failed.He assured the governor that as far as the federalconstituency is concerned, the people would notbe overswayed with such demeaning gifts. Ac-cording to him, it is an insult on our persons andtraditions in Yorubaland for our conscience to bebought, how much more with pittance! He citedthe gift items to include coffin cash, expired rice,ritual crash helmet and latest, adulterated kero-sene. He cautioned the people not to honour anysuch gifts, as the end-result could be catastrophic.

Salaam went further to urge the people to troopout on the Election Date to poll massively forAregbesola. He charged them not to succumb tothreat or intimidation, which could be the solemotive behind the boasting of the opposition-ledFederal Government to fortify the state with se-ries of battalions of security personnel. Lastly,the Speaker cautioned prospective voters not togive out their voters’ cards or release the PIN onthem in exchange for any consideration – finan-cial or material. He broke into songs intermit-tently as he spoke, singing “Erin l’enu wa…”;Ibi o ba lo l’a nlo…”; B’o wu yin e pin ‘resi…”The crowd burst out in enthusiastic refrain ofthese songs, adding to the impact and import ofthe speech.

It was the turn of the senator representing theOsun West Senatorial District at the Senate ofthe Federal Republic, Senator Mudasiru HusseinOyetunde. Also an indigene of Ejigbo, Husseintreated the people to a round of songs as he sang“E e r’egbe e wa bi…? He then spoke at length inthe second lingua franca of Ejigbo indigenes, thatis, the French Language. Indigenes of Ejigbo aretraditionally reputed for their massive engage-ment in farming and trading, both engagementswhich have taken them to transverse the shoresof far away Cote d’Ivoire, thereby making thecocoa-rich country their second home till date.Having spoken in French, Oyetunde sang a po-litical death song for the Peoples Democratic Party(PDP). He then said prayers in Arabic, accordingto Islamic injunctions.

Next to come on stage was one of the senatorsrepresenting Ekiti State in the National Assem-bly, Senator Babafemi Ojudu. Senator Ojudu sim-ply led the people to sing a number: “Mo gbo’ro

kan, won nle’ri won l’a won fee gba ‘joba…”The song is loaded with meanings as it conveyedthe impossibility of impostors and interloperstaking over the reins of governance in the stateever again.

Next, Senator Isiaka Adeleke mounted the ros-trum. He gave the assurance as a bona fide citizenand a political arrow-head of the area thatAregbesola and the All Progressives Congress(APC) would poll an overwhelming 95 per centvotes cast on the Election Day. He acknowledgedthe crowd and urged them to translate their turn-out to votes. Adeleke sent the people of adjoin-ing communities to elders and chiefs of the areato announce to them that the coast was clear: thathe was now in the fold of the APC, and as such,he would no longer work against their collectivewishes. The areas he mentioned include Afake,Ola, Masifa, Agurodo, Songbe, Olorin, Isundunrinand others. He then promised that following hiscross-over, a day would henceforth be set asideto visit the areas.

Adeleke cautioned the people not to toleratefraud on the day of election. He announced theplan by the Federal Government to arrest anddetain him on the Election Day. He cautionedsecurity personnel against honouring such un-lawful order as the aftermath could spell disasterfor such personnel.

It was then the turn of the Oyo State helms-man, Senator Abiola Ajimobi to speak to the au-dience. Ajimobi conveyed the compliments ofthe people of his state and their goodwill mes-sage to the people of the state. He congratulatedthe Osun people in advance, as he expressed con-fidence that victory shall tune the songs ofprogressives on the dawn of August 10. He con-cluded by raising three traditional songs: “E kuewu omo…”; “Ina Ran… “ (Haruna Ishola ver-sion); and “Kinihun d’eru jeje f’eran ni’gbo…”All the three were given enthusiastic refrain bythe crowd.

The long-awaited moment was heralded at thatjuncture. It was time for the people’s governor toaddress the crowd. It was indeed broom revolu-tion moment. D J Bazzman was on hand to tunein the old School track of “Stand up for the Cham-pion!”. Aregbesola came on stage, flanked byGovernor Ajimobi and Senator Isiaka Adeleke.Governor Aregbesola’s first remark after the longlist of acknowledgement was the crowd, whichhe commended. He took the people down thememory lane that as that was the ninth in theseries of mega rallies, it was still well attended.He then appreciated all the people for alwaysheeding the clarion call and for waiting for thetrain with patience since morning.

Governor Aregbesola cast the people’s mindon the good works so far which he tagged as fore-taste, compared to what he still has in stock. Hecompared the ongoing process to that of ignitinga car engine. According to him, the car of progresshad been kick-started, and that it shall be onprogress movement till 2018. He enumerated thewoes and affliction with which the Peoples Demo-cratic Party (PDP) is known – Poor school, poorpeople, poor road, dearth of potable water andretrogression in all that is good. He then remindedthe people of how the incumbent administration

had come to set new records. All the achieve-ments recorded so far were described by the gov-ernor as “foundation”, which he is now seekingre-election to build upon.

He gave reasons for the relevance of his inter-vention efforts and why the people should notallow a sad recourse to those long-gone eras ofcaptivity. He charged all and sundry to breakaway from any affinity with the Peoples Demo-cratic Party (PDP). He cited their candidate whoprides himself as Eni Iyi as afar-cry from thatappellation, since his entire conducts violate theetiquette of a honourable person – for instance,his disorderly conduct, championing the cause ofthuggery, disrespect to elders, assault to eldersby removing cap off their head, promising to con-vert school structures to poultry farms and demo-lition of reconstructed school structures.

Aregbesola tongue-lashed the opposition’sGreek gifts and counseled the people to keepthem always at an arm’s length. He spoke onnon-edible kerosene that it could be consumed ifproperly tested and certified safe for use, after allit was provided with the money stolen from thepeople. The largesse could after all be a way ofreturning to the people what had earlier been sto-len from them. As for the edible things like rice,the governor counseled the people not to eat themat all.

Aegbesola hammered the importance of earlycollection of Permanent Voters’ Cards (PVC) andannounced the July 26 / 27 date of collection ofcards for new registrants. He also announced thatthe display of voters’ register is on and that peopleshould approach their polling units henceforthfor verification, so as to lodge timely complaintsas necessary. Anyone whose name is missing orhas any complaints was directed to intimate partyelders and chieftains in his ward. Also, the cardsto be distributed on the said dates are to be con-veyed to voters’ respective wards.

The governor announced that the Osun MicroCredit Scheme he announced had taken off with ahuge sum of N4 billion, and directed interestedpeople with genuine business interests to ap-proach the offices for an interest-free loan. Hecautioned people not to doubt the sincerity ofhis projects, promising that all outstandingprojects shall be completed before the currentyear runs out. The school projects in Ejigbo tooshall be completed soon, regardless of sabotageefforts of detractors. He cautioned the people todesist from all acts that could return the stateback to slavery; including voting wrongly.

Aregbesola rounded off his speech on a pro-phetic note. He prescribed portions of scripturalreferences for Christians and Moslems to praywith. For Christians, he prescribed I Samuel 17:45-46; while for Moslems Samf ‘Il Fati 1-9 wascited.

Finally the governor raised two departingsongs: “A o pade ni Abere…” and “O ya yo‘gbale re…” With these dismissal songs, thecrowd dispersed.

So far, the ninth mega rally held at Ejigbo lastTuesday recorded an outstanding success. Bythe outcome of these rallies, we can rest assuredwith a safe conclusion that all is beautifully setfor the astounding success of the progressives atthe polls, come August 9 this year.

•(L-R) The governor, State of Osun, Ogbeni Rauf Aregbesola; the Ogiyan of Ejigbo, Oba Omowonuola Oyeyode; first civilian governor in the State of Osun, Senator IsiakaAdeleke and Oyo State Governor, Senator Abiola Ajimobi, at the Ogiyan’s Palace.

14 OSUN DEFENDER Saturday, July 26, 2014

Omisore Will Lose The Election HisDeposit - Octogenarian, Pa G. O. Lawal

Honourable Gbadamosi Okunlola Lawal was a member of the old Oyo State House of Assembly between 1979to 1983. He was elected under the platform of the defunct Unity Party of Nigeria (UPN). Honourable Lawal hasbeen a progressive since 1952. He had a stint as the Chairman of Ikirun District Council between 1959 to 1961.Since early fifties, the octogenarian politician has remained in the progressive fold. In this interview with him inIkirun, he spoke about the progressives, his party; the Aregbesola administration and the forth-coming electionin the state among other issues. Excerpts:

OSDF: Sir, you are known asa progressive in the politicsof Osun, what differentiate the

progressives from the conservativesand how can you relate that to your AllProgressive Congress in Osun?

LAWAL: To start with, I have beenin politics since 1954. I contested as aCouncilor in 1954 and I won thatelection. Since then, I have been in theprogressive. I can never be in a partythat is conservative in nature. Personally,I like to serve my people rather thangoing about collecting money for myown gain, I also hate a situation wherepeople intimidate others. When Icompared both sides, it became obviousthat I should be a progressive. The APCfor example in Osun is truly aprogressive party. Since Aregbesola gotback his mandate, he has been doing alot of things that we have not witness inthis state. If it is for him to get money,he wouldn’t have come to Osun at all.All what the governor is doing arepointers to the fact that he is aprogressive. Within his first 100 days inoffice, he employed 20,000 youthsunder Osun Youth EmpowermentScheme (OYES). That means a lot,because we have never witness suchgovernor in the state, this scheme costgovernment 200 million naira in a month,after that is the O-meals programmewhere primary school pupils are beingfed every day, there are some pupilsbefore now who attend school withouttaking any meal from their house, butnow, pupils are eager to go to schoolbecause of the free meal, it has alsoincreased enrollment because most ofthese pupils live with their grandparentswho can hardly take care of them, butgovernment is doing that. As if that wasnot enough, through the feedingprogramme, government also employedover 3000 caterers who cook for thesepupils, some of the caterers through thejob feed their families, then O-REAPfor farmers, O-SCHOOLS, wheregovernment is building new schools andrenovating others, including those thatwere built during the Awolowo era.With the standard of the structures thatAregbesola is putting in place now,some of the so-called universities thatwe have now cannot boast to havewhat we have in Osun. The people inthe state love this government and I amsure that if the governorship election isfree and fair, we must get about 85%of the vote. For example in my owncouncil area, we are working towards95% now, because we feel the pulse of

the people. That is why we can say allthese.

OSDF: People are saying much aboutwhat this government has borrowed.Some say Osun’s debt is N350 billion.What is your take on this?

LAWAL: I am sorry to use thislanguage; they are mad. How can agovernment borrow over N350 billion?I don’t think banks can give a state upto that amount. Does their bankingregulation allow for that? How can agovernment borrow N350 billion?When Olagunsoye Oyinlola borrowedN18 billion during the immediate-pastadministration, people raised questionsover what he was going to do with themoney at a time when his administrationwas coming to an end. Was it not whenAregbesola came that he re-negotiatedthe conditions of the loan? Let us nowassume that he borrowed money, wecan all see what he is doing with themoney, because in the olden days,people were agitating for the non-payment of taxes and that was notgeneral, but if people see what they aredoing with the money, nobody willagitate. Like I mentioned earlier, if thestate is saying to everybody that it hasborrowed N35 billion, we can all seewhat Aregbesola has done with themoney. There is development going onin all the nooks and crannies of Osun.The noise is the handiwork of theopposition, because they have nothingto offer and they have to discredit him.Have you listened to their campaign?Do they have any manifesto?

OSDF: What is your reaction as aresident politician in Osun that most ofthe people in Aregbesola’s cabinet arefrom Lagos?

LAWAL: No, they are not Lagosians.The person sitting next to you is anappointee and he is from Ikirun and somany of them like that. They may beliving in Lagos. The State Attorney-General and Commissioner for Justiceis from Ikirun and we all know them.Assuming we don’t even know them athome, does that mean we should allowthem to die in foreign land? We want tobring them home. I believe there is nopoint in that. they are all from Osun,but may be resident in Lagos. Whatabout Aregbesola himself? But thepeople prefer his government to everyother government they have seen in thestate and that of people who have beenliving in the state, whereas he was inLagos before he came home to contestthe election in 2007. So, that should notbe an excuse at all.

OSDF: As the August 9, 2014gubernatorial election approaches,what are your expectations?

LAWAL: We are going to win theelection; the other candidates will losetheir deposit because in those days,if you want to contest election, youhave to pay certain deposit. If youscore a certain percentage, you willget your money back, but if you scorebelow that, you will lose yourdeposit. Sincerely speaking, after theylose that election, they will also losetheir various deposits.

OSDF: What gives you thisconfidence? There are insinuationsthat the state will be militarized andcoming from the background of theEkiti election, where we have heavymilitary presence and that of othersecurity agents, don’t you thinkpeople would be intimidated?

LAWAL: We have no fears as faras that is concerned. Our peoplewould be educated. We have beentelling them should the securitypersonel be soldiers or police, theyhave only come to protect them andnot to harass them and the party isdoing much on that before theelection. There is no compound in this

state where you will not get a graduate. Wewould use them to educate people thatsoldiers are meant to protect them and wealso advise every security officer that willbe drafted to Osun to play according tothe rules of the game.

OSDF: What is your general assessmentof Aregbesola’s administration, would yousay it has affected positively on the masses?

LAWAL: I have said that before, is it thechildren that he is giving free meals to thatyou want me to talk about. Go to townand listen to the songs on their lips, “Daddy,Mummy, Uncle and Sisters you Must Votefor Aregbesola.” Nobody taught them. Wehave no fear about the election. As far aswe are concerned, it is going to be victoryall the way, because our people are notingrates. The positive transformation ofOsun by Aregbesola would translate tomassive votes by our people, come August9, 2014, victory is certain. Osun cannotbe left in the hands of people, who are goingto set it back. The consequences wouldbe so great that the children coming behindwill suffer for it, and they will not forgiveus. Aregbesola has brought genuinedevelopment and he deserves to continuehis purpose-driven government.

•LAWAL

15 OSUN DEFENDER Saturday, July 26, 2014

•The governor, State of Osun, Ogbeni Rauf Aregbesola, acknowledging cheers from his supporters and admirers during his re-election mega rally at Unity School, Ejigbo, Stateof Osun, last Monday.

•A crowd of Aregbesola’s admirers at the event.

PHOTOTALK

More Pix OnAll Progressives Congress (APC) 2014 Re-election Governorship MegaRally At Unity School, Ejigbo, State Of Osun, Last Monday. Photo: GBENGA ADENIYI And SHOLA ADERINTO.

SATURDAY, JULY 26, 2014

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OSUN DEFENDER is published by Moremi Publishing House Limited, Promise Point Building, Opposite Guaranty Trust Bank GTB, Gbongan Road, Osogbo, State of Osun. Allcorrespondence to 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.

Osun Governorship Election:Aregbesola’s Big Challenge

•AREGBESOLA

By MOHAMMED HARUNNAIF elections are won or loston character andperformance, as they should,

Osun State’s governorshipelection coming up on August 9should be a shoo-in for theincumbent, Ogbeni RaufAregbesola. But then, as we sawin the June 21 Ekiti Stategovernorship election, thealmost universally hailedcharacter and performance of theincumbent, Dr. Kayode Fayemi, seemedto have counted for practically nothingwhen he suffered heavy defeat at thehands of Mr Ayo Fayose, the candidateof the country’s ruling PeoplesDemocratic Party (PDP).

In Ekiti at least, what seemed to mattermost was instant gratification for thepeople through the so-called“infrastructure of the stomach” and, evenmore importantly, the use of FederalMight (with capital F and capital M) tocow any opposition (It’s only a foolhardyman who would challenge the well-armed30,000 security agents drafted into thestate for the election who, as the governorsaid based on intelligence at his disposalas the state’s chief security officer, hadinstructions to “mow down” anyone whodared raise his figure in protest at theiropen partisanship).

As it was in Ekiti so would the PDPlike it to be in Osun. One big difference,however, is that, unlike in Ekiti, a not-so-subtle religious propaganda weaponagainst the governor is being added tothe other two.

No less a person than the PDPgovernorship candidate himself, SenatorIyore Omisore, gave this game away.Asked in an interview in PUNCH (July18) if he was sure he would win theelection, he said: “Of course, yes. I meanthe indices are there for all to see; thedecaying infrastructure, the disruptededucation system, THE RELIGIOUSBIGOTRY, infrastructural inconvenience,social malaise, impoverishment of ourpeople.” (emphasis mine).

Omisore went further to accuse thegovernor of wrongly “lumping studentsfrom Islam-based faith schools withstudents of Christianity-based faithschools together AND EXPECTINGONE RELIGION TO SUPERCEDE THEOTHER…” (Again emphasis mine). As aChristian, it is obvious Omisore isaccusing the Muslim governor offavouring Islam.

Since Aregbesola dared to declare apublic holiday to celebrate an IslamicNew Year in the state two years ago, manyof his critics have worked overtime tocast him in the image of a Muslimextremist. For many of such critics, theabsurdity of the logic that what is goodfor one religion is necessarily bad for theother has clearly escaped them.

Not surprisingly, beneath Omisore’sapparently inadvertent betrayal of hisreligious animosity towards the governor,an even more insidious crude religiouscampaign is being waged whereChristians in the state are being told thata vote for Omisore is 10 votes for Christ!

In this manipulation of religion to gainpower, Omisore is only in the excellentcompany of our president, Dr. GoodluckJonathan, for whom the Church had fora long time become his platform for

issuing policy statements and indirectlydenigrating Islam. Even then for anyoneto equate Omisore with Christ is reallythe height of blasphemy. But then this isNigeria where politicians think nothingof invoking the Good Lord’s name invain.

For someone who, at the least, is notaverse to being compared to Christ, itwas truly amazing how he could liethrough his teeth about his relationshipwith the late Chief Bola Ige, whosemurder several years ago he wasimplicated in and tried for and eventuallyacquitted.

In the PUNCH interview I’ve referredto, the newspaper asked him point blankif he did not kill Ige. “I did not,” hereplied, “kill Chief Bola Ige at all. I can’tkill anybody, anyway, not to talk of ChiefBola Ige. Chief Bola Ige was my leader.He was like an uncle in-law to me.” Hedid not, he also said, instigate the removalof Ige’s cap and glasses in the palace ofthe Ooni of Ife, a humiliation whichpresaged Ige’s brutal murder in his ownresidence in Ibadan.

An amicable relationship between thetwo was definitely not what it looked likenearly 13 years ago when Omisoredenigrated the chief in an interview in

•OMISORE

the rested TEMPO weekly newspaper(December 27, 2001). In that interview,he called Chief Bisi Akande, who he wasdeputy governor to and from whom hewas estranged at the time, some of thefoulest names imaginable and added Igeto the target of his diatribe.

“Recently too,” he said in the interview,“Bola Ige came on radio here to insult meand my family. THAT IS THE LAST ONE.He was beaten yesterday, the people ofIfe beat him up and he was crying like ababy as they removed his cap and hisglasses…He was disgraced out of Ife, hehad to be dressed like a woman to get outof town.”(Again, emphasis mine).

Asked in effect if he approved Ige’shumiliation, he said yes in effect. “He hasoffended Ife people. If he insults me, hehas insulted my people and they have theright to react.”

Omisore concluded the interview bydescribing Ige as a Yoruba traitor. “BolaIge,” he said, “is a traitor to Afenifere…He is the Akintola of our time. WhatAkintola did to Awolowo is what Bola Igeis doing to Adesanya and to the Yorubapeople.”

It is truly amazing how the man cannow turn around to say he never heldanything against Ige but, instead, had

always regarded the chief as hisleader and an “uncle in-law”,whatever that means.

Omisore would not only tell alie about his relationships to curryfavour with Osun voters to theextent that his implication in themurder of Ige is an issue in theelections, it is also obvious he is

afraid to engage Aregbesola in any debateover what each of them can offer thegood people of their state. Challenged toa debate by the governor, first he saidAregbesola was mentally unfit. When thatdid not seem to wash with the public hechanged his tune and said in effect thatthe governor is a thug-in-chief. “Goingto participate in a debate with violentpeople with array of thugs will be toomuch of a risk to take for us,” he said inanother interview in PUNCH (July 20).

In an interview in THE GUARDIAN(July 10), Aregbesola said he wasconfident he would win any election inhis state that was “credible, transparent,free and fair.” Therein lies the catch; anelection can look credible, transparent,free and fair but the reality may be totallythe opposite. An election in which a centralgovernment squeezes the opposition byslashing revenue allocation to states underthe guise of falling revenue due to massiveoil thefts and delays the release of eventhe little that is left in order to causedisaffection between opposition statesand their civil servants, an election inwhich huge numbers of security agentsare deployed to intimidate the opposition,etc, such election can hardly be describedas credible, transparent, free and fair.

Actually the rigging of elections canbe even more cynical than financiallysqueezing opposition states and deployingmassive force to intimidate. The other day,I received an email about the electionwhich, on the surface, seemed toofarfetched.

“Do u ever thk along this line…” itsaid in the arcane language of texts.“200,000 ballot papers thumb printedin Abj, CBN abj convey to CBN Adoekiti, CBN Ado to some selectedcommercial banks, some selectedcommercial banks to some party leadersin Ekiti land, party leaders to some wardleaders, ward leaders to 10 women perpolling unit…Each woman with 10already in their body, they pick one eachand drop 11 in the box where they vbought agent.”

My instinct was to dismiss this as anoutlandish conspiracy theory. But thenwhen I remembered the memorablewords of Major-General IBM Haruna, aformer minister of information, in one ofthe most interesting interviews publishedby the rested Citizen, which I headed, Isaid to myself this may not be asoutrageous as it sounds. As the generalsaid, any time anyone tells you somethingis impossible in Nigeria, consider it done.

In spite of all these great odds againstAregbesola, I believe Ekiti is unlikely tobe repeated in Osun on August 9. But thenso many impossible things have happenedin the country since 1999 that it will notsurprise me if, in spite of Aregbesola’scharacter and performance, he loses theelection.

•Culled from THE NATION