Showing posts with label OSUN STATE. Show all posts

Tuesday, February 06, 2018

Yeye Olade pays a courtesy visit to Gomina Ogbeni RAUF AREGBESOLA OOOO!.

https://jolygram.com/profile/itsdolapojulius/photo/1653872847704299552_1356288195

Monday, November 27, 2017

Aregbesola Visits African Heritage Research Library on JAN. 19,1916

from osundefender newspaper

PHOTO NEWS: Aregbesola Visits African Heritage Research Library

Pictures of the Governor State of Osun, Ogbeni Rauf Aregbesola and the African Cultural Promoter, Yeye Akilimali Funma Olade, during a visit to African Heritage Research Library and Cultural Centre, Adeyipo Village, Ibadan, Oyo State, on Tuesday 19-01-2016.

Governor State of Osun, Ogbeni Rauf Aregbesola (right) exchanging
pleasantries with a Christian Cleric, Evangelist Oyewole Olowomojuore
(left); with them is African Cultural Promoter, Yeye Akilimali Funma
Olade (middle), during a visit to African Heritage Research Library
and Cultural Centre, Adeyipo Village, Ibadan, Oyo State, on Tuesday
19-01-2016.

Governor State of Osun, Ogbeni Rauf Aregbesola (right) and African
Cultural Promoter, Yeye Akilimali Funma Olade (middle), during a visit
to African Heritage Research Library and Cultural Centre, Adeyipo
Village, Ibadan, Oyo State, on Tuesday 19-01-2016.

Governor State of Osun, Ogbeni Rauf Aregbesola (middle); Christian
Cleric, Evangelist Oyewole Olowomojuore (right) and African Cultural
Promoter, Yeye Akilimali Funma Olade, during a visit to African
Heritage Research Library and Cultural Centre, Adeyipo Village,
Ibadan, Oyo State, on Tuesday 19-01-2016.

Friday, March 04, 2016

OGBENI OOOO!-AREGBESOLA VISITS AFRICAN HERITAGE RESEARCH LIBRARY AND CULTURAL CENTRE,ADEYIPO VILLAGE, IBADAN,OYO STATE-FROM OSUN.GOV.NG

http://osun.gov.ng/2016/01/20/photo-news-aregbesola-visits-african-heritage-research-library/

PHOTO NEWS: Aregbesola Visits African Heritage Research Library

Pictures of the Governor State of Osun, Ogbeni Rauf Aregbesola and the Chief Librarian and African Cultural Promoter, Yeye Akilimali Funua Olade, during a visit to African Heritage Research Library and Cultural Centre, Adeyipo Village, Ibadan, Oyo State, on Tuesday 19-01-2016.

Governor State of Osun, Ogbeni Rauf Aregbesola (right) exchanging
pleasantries with a Christian Cleric, Evangelist Oyewole Olowomojuore
(left); with them is African Cultural Promoter, Yeye Akilimali Funua
Olade (middle), during a visit to African Heritage Research Library
and Cultural Centre, Adeyipo Village, Ibadan, Oyo State, on Tuesday
19-01-2016.

Governor State of Osun, Ogbeni Rauf Aregbesola (right) and African
Cultural Promoter, Yeye Akilimali Funua Olade (middle), during a visit
to African Heritage Research Library and Cultural Centre, Adeyipo
Village, Ibadan, Oyo State, on Tuesday 19-01-2016.

Governor State of Osun, Ogbeni Rauf Aregbesola (middle); Christian
Cleric, Evangelist Oyewole Olowomojuore (right) and African Cultural
Promoter, Yeye Akilimali Funua Olade, during a visit to African
Heritage Research Library and Cultural Centre, Adeyipo Village,
Ibadan, Oyo State, on Tuesday 19-01-2016.

© 2016 The Office of The Executive Governor of the State of Osun
Webmail | Online Services | Nigeria.gov.ng | Site Credits

Wednesday, December 10, 2014

AREGBESOLA OOOO!-"BEYOND THE INAUGUATION RITUAL" BY NIYI AKINNASO FROM THE PUNCH NEWSPAPER,NIGERIA-DO ALL THOSE GOOD WORKS YOU SAID YOU WOULD DO! ATI MORE,OGBENI OOOO!

from punch newspaper

Aregbesola:

Beyond the inauguration ritual

December 9, 2014 by Niyi Akinnaso 2 Comments

Our performance in the first term endeared us to you and convinced you to give us the mandate for another term

– Governor Rauf Aregbesola in his inauguration speech on Thursday, November 27, 2014.

Ogbeni Rauf Aregbesola, Governor of Osun State, had at least three reasons to celebrate when he was inaugurated as governor for a second term. My focus here is not so much on the reasons for celebration as on their implications for our young democracy. However, I first have to bore you with the reasons for celebration in order to appreciate the discussion that follows.

First, Aregbesola won a hard-fought electoral battle against the power machine of the Peoples Democratic Party. The PDP operatives maligned his administration virtually throughout his first term and distorted his records during the campaigns. In the days leading up to the election, Osun voters were intimidated by unprecedented security presence. Finally, on the eve of the election and the very day of the election, Aregbesola’s supporters were harassed, and as many as 700 of them were arrested or otherwise prevented from carrying out their legitimate duties. Clearly, these are not the best ways to grow a democracy.

Second, in spite of all odds, Aregbesola won the election by a wide margin. Not only did he win with 55 per cent of all lawful votes, being the widest margin of victory in recent governorship elections, he garnered over 70 per cent of the female votes.

Third, Aregbesola would be the first governor of the state to have legitimately won reelection and, therefore, the first to serve a legitimate second term in office. Interestingly, his predecessors had teamed up with him and were by his side during the inauguration.

What is more, Osun voters, who made his re-election possible, were at the inauguration in all their diversity – traditional rulers, religious leaders, political leaders, business leaders, professionals, market women, artisans, youths, and so on. It was an unusually large crowd for a second term inauguration and on a week day.

My encounter with one of the voters at the inauguration venue was quite instructive. The woman was pleading earnestly with the security at the gate to let her into the stadium. I decided to intervene, when I observed that she had a child on her back, while holding her young daughter by the right hand and her son by the left. The security at the gate would not let her into the VIP section of the stadium. Besides, she had no invitation card. I decided to lead her to another gate and pleaded with the security there to let her in.

On the way to the other gate, I asked her why she came with her children, and without an invitation card. She said she wanted to see the governor who feeds her children in school, gives them free uniform, and gets “Ijoba” (the government) to buy fruits from her kiosk. “Iruu re s’owon pupo (his likes are very scarce)”, she added. The sentiment she expressed reflects the attitude of most Osun women towards Aregbesola.

This leads to the first of three key issues arising from Aregbesola’s inauguration, namely, the role of performance as a qualification for re-election in a democracy. This is an important issue in Aregbesola’s case, given the historical, political, and media contexts of his re-election. Historically, no governor before him since 1999 ever won re-election. The odds were equally stacked against him politically: If there was one governor the PDP and the Presidency wanted out of power, it was Aregbesola. Moreover, he was a target of negative press, which often jumped on the bandwagon of the opposition to blow up distorted information about the man and his programmes.

So, why and how did he win? Two short answers: Outstanding performance and the resilience of an appreciative electorate. Here is how Aregbesola put it in his inauguration speech: “We revamped agriculture and made it a profitable venture for farmers. We have positioned our youths for greatness by providing them with quality education. We have redefined the infrastructure of education by building state of the art schools, and proving cutting edge technology, free school uniforms, free meals and so on. We have empowered our people economically through all the ‘O’ projects: O’REAP, O’MEALS, O’BEEF, O’HUB, O’HONEY, O’CLEAN and so on. We have made micro-credit available to our people on a large scale, … we have lifted the GDP of the state, making Osun the seventh largest economy in Nigeria. We have cared for the environment in an unprecedented way. We have banished flooding and cleaned the environment of filth … There is no local government that did not partake in our local and intercity road projects. We have embarked on a most ambitious urban renewal programme. We have cared for the old, the weak and infirm while special people have not escaped our touch. We have delivered on our six integral action programme”.

This leads to the second issue: Why and how was Aregbesola able to accomplish so much with limited resources and within so short a period? First, it must be appreciated that Aregbesola is a trained engineer, a pragmatic and seasoned administrator of people and resources. For eight straight years, he was the Commissioner for Works in Lagos State, under whose watch the unprecedented urban renewal projects in Lagos were crafted. His knowledge of policymaking and project execution was deployed to its fullest when he became a governor in Osun. Even more importantly, he has long adopted an ideology of governance that puts people first. The lesson here is simple: Elect candidates who have cognate experience in governance and have verifiable track records.

Second, Aregbesola recruited the best people, all professionals in their own right, to his cabinet and created the Bureau of Social Services to monitor and oversee all state projects. The Bureau, headed by Femi Ifaturoti, is staffed with engineers, architects, lawyers, quantity surveyors, and other project specialists, who monitor and provide monthly assessments of all ongoing projects throughout the state. BOSS, as the department came to be known, has become an institution in the Osun government circle.

Third, Aregbesola got national and international sponsors, private partners, and Osun citizens involved in appropriate projects. He also employed direct labour, where appropriate, by engaging volunteers and thousands of young graduates in his O’YES programme. Most importantly, he ensured that every single project he embarked upon generated jobs for Osun citizens and he encouraged the reinvestment of their earnings within the state. As a result, Osun became the seventh largest economy in the nation.

Finally, he adopted a governance ideology of progressivism, which views social and economic development as twin engines of growth. It was not enough for him to invoke Obafemi Awolowo. He reinvented him in his approach to governance, by putting people first in all his programmes and projects. Surely, his style is different from the sage’s; but the results would have gladdened the sage as they did Osun voters.

The critical question now is about the sustainability of the programmes and projects. For a start, Aregbesola’s To-Do list over the next four years must include four items.

First, he should consolidate the programmes and projects he has so far embarked upon. Second, he should focus more on the necessary infrastructure that connects the people with one another and with the projects. Third, he should ensure that institutions, such as BOSS, are so entrenched in Osun governance paradigm that future state governors cannot brush them aside. Fourth, future leaders must be identified and groomed, who would share the same philosophy of governance and advance on the programmes and projects. He should develop an enduring Osun brand.

Thursday, August 21, 2014

AREGBESOLA 000000!- LEARN LESSONS FROM THESE MISTAKES SO THAT NEXT TIME THEY CANNOT HARM YOU!-WE KNOW THAT YOU CAN BE THE BEST GOMINA AFRICA EVER HAD IF YOU CAN JUST TAKE COMPLETE CONTROL OF YOUR ACTIONS!-WE BELIEVE IN YOU!-BLACK ON!-FROM TRIBUNE NEWSPAPER,NIGERIA

FROM TRIBUNE NEWSPAPER,NIGERIA

BLACK PEOPLE!-LESSONS FROM AREGBESOLA'S ELECTION IN NIGERIA! -OGBENI O!--LISTEN AND CORRECT MISTAKES SO THAT YOU WILL BE THE BEST GOMINA AFRICA EVER HAD!-FROM THE TRIBUNE NEWSPAPER,NIGERIA

FROM THE TRIBUNE NEWSPAPER

Ogbeni!

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17.Aug.2014 DISQUS_COMMENTS

BY Lanre Adewole

(1 Vote)

I celebrated Governor Rauf Aregbesola’s re-election, possibly to his consternation, if he got to know, and his supporters’, who are always riled by my constant critical appraisal of his administration and political activities. To the governor, despite being a younger brother, I was an enemy. Weeks to his re-election, he laid into me at the launch of Professor Wale Adebanwi’s book in Lagos. The condescension in the public upbraid reeked revenge. I spent the night of the day “working” his re-election. Yes, I collaborated with some of his own to do “covert campaign”. Campaigns everywhere cost time, money and energy. Mine was not an exception. I have strong commitments of those involved not to breathe an air of it to him. What I did would also not be of public knowledge until his exit, God willing, in 2018. He, however owes me nothing, because he sent me, on no errands.
Yes, my support for him was partly clannish, but not ethnically-periscopical. He loves governance. He has passion for leadership. He is ambitious to be a legend in public service. Even when he is not going in the right direction, he is always in a hurry to deliver. Because he loves to dare, I was convinced he could be different.
But I refused to be persuaded to turn this space to his mega-phone. It was and still is, the only avenue to tell him hurtful truth anytime his hurrying holes a gulf between him and the led. God willing, nothing will change for the next four years, because he must be helped to finish strong. The grossly-miscontrued, stomach-rumbling three-series “Before Osun Falls” was to save him from himself.
First message for Mr. Governor, don’t be too quick to lock down names on enemy-list. Your supposed enemies, particularly in PDP, won re-election for you. Sycophants would always be around you, racing your endorphin, the feel-good hormone. But it would be fool-hardy to believe them that O’this, O’that alone got you re-elected. Information at my disposal says five local governments were won for you by PDP “renegades”, excellent outing in another three local governments was also due to fifth columnists within opposition fold, particularly those who could not swallow Iyiola Omisore’s candidacy but didn’t want to defect and the required two-thirds, in another two local governments. The mathematics of all these not being part of your votes, is obvious.
You said to me during the Lagos encounter that because I am younger in age, I wasn’t qualified to critique your acts in government. Without necessarily re-opening old wounds, the education reform that nearly cost your job, was hewed by an Octogenarian Nobel Laureate. Those who modified the acceptable version were of perceivable inferior intellect and younger in age. If the mindset that received my admonitions, was same upon which aides’ counsel were poured in the past, the time for change is now.
Sir, it is cool to be working “the enigma” concept with aides, but making those lower in status and age, feel worthless, won’t be the way to go. I am sure the governor will appreciate his own better now, because bits of that victory belonged to different efforts. Being a studious person, given to logic, the governor must have by now, done an objective analysis of the election figures. If the winning percentage is a measure of the projected awesome performance of the governor, then something would be amiss. It is either that performance is over-hyped or not totally appreciated by the people. That means there are things to be done differently but the good news is the spread of the winning votes, which would translate into proportionate governance delivery across the state. Without impugning the person of the first runner-up, a lesser baggage-laden candidate with humility to woo offended party members, could have possibly consigned the governor to the “parallel government” option. I say this because of those who would keep singing “Aregbesola ma basere lo (keep doing things same way). Apart from Osogboland and Ijesaland, other areas where the governor had impressive figures, had obvious imprints of last-minute beautiful brides, courted to divorce PDP. He should find out why O’ Performance was not enough in those places. In the build-up to the election, he was badly lacerated with religion, capital-flight, debt profile, school re-classification, public service welfare and comportment horse-whip.
Infact, it was a last-minute snatching from Omisore’s jaw. His subdued visage the day after the election, is a testament to a victory forged on the altar of compromise, bending backward and forward, sensible sacrifices and humbling letting-go. That is why political promises made in the heat of re-election moments should be fully redeemed because one may run to the same shelter twice to escape being soaked. I know commitments to heavyweights like Olagunsoye Oyinlola and Isiaka Adeleke, Fatai Akinbade (Aregbesola did not win his Olaoluwa LG for free), Olubunmi Etteh et al, would alter APC’s equations substantially, but the outcome of Kayode Fayemi reneging on Ayo Fayose senatorial promise, should communicate enough lessons.

A pre-election poll put Aregbesola ahead of his party in popularity. It means any other candidate would perform below his average performance in the election. Does this communicate anything to APC about its future in the South-West? It is now getting down to personalities and not platforms. It should guide Aregbesola as APC leader in picking candidates for other elections in the state in 2015. The party may be also headed for a worsting in Yorubaland in 2015 if internal democracy is not embraced.
Aregbesola may consider it an impunity for a younger brother to counsel him on governance but he would have no choice in the next four year because I have a vote to protect. It was my aged mother’s. She got out by 7:13 am to vote him. May I also remind him that only genuine brothers speak the truth to one another.

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Monday, August 11, 2014

YORUBAS!- ADEYINKA PREDICTED OGBENI AREGESOLA'S WIN IN OSUN!- FROM DAILY POST,NIGERIA

FROM DAILY POST,NIGERIA

Bayo Adeyinka: 7 reasons why Governor Aregbesola will win

By Bayo Adeyinka on July 31, 2014@dailypostngr

On Friday, May 24, 2013, 35 governors gathered to vote for the Chairman of the Nigeria Governors Forum (NGF). With the initial postponement and intrigues that surrounded it, it was going to be a night of long knives. With the Presidency interested in the outcome and with Governor Amaechi determined to give it another shot, in spite of his open confrontation with the President, it was going to take more than ordinary determination to navigate the treacherous waters. It would take grit, uncommon courage and the ability to outfox the henchmen of the Presidency.
At the entrance of the venue of the election, all the Governors were mandated to submit all their mobile phones. But one man particularly suspected there was going to be foul play so he sneaked in a pen camera. He recorded the vote counting surreptitiously until when Governor Godswill Akpabio noticed they were being secretly recorded. When controversy sprang up on the actual winner of the contest, he released the video to the public. The man who exposed the lie for what it was was Ogbeni Rauf Aregbesola, the Governor of Osun State.
Controversy is his middle name. For 9 months, he operated solely without commissioners. He renamed Osun State and gave it a new nomenclature called ‘State of Osun.’ He fashioned a new educational policy and called it reclassification of schools. In one fell swoop, schools were merged and bedlam ensued. In one school, we were treated to a picture of students dressed in choir robes, hijab and masquerade attires as uniform. Some suspected Muslim fundamentalists broke into a school and flogged a teacher. For the first time in the South West, religious embers were stoked. Then came the uniform controversy. All the public schools were mandated to adopt the same uniform all over the State. Fakunle Comprehensive School, Osogbo was demolished despite pleas that a school with such a grand tradition should be allowed to stand. He declared Hijra as a public holiday for Muslims, the only state to do so in Nigeria. Then he declared another holiday for traditionalists called ‘Isese Day’. Suspected of being a religious fundamentalist, he donated N35m for the burial of late Prophet Timothy Obadare. And then the ‘Opon Imo’ controversy. Then came the issue of the ‘Sukuk’ Islamic bond. His tenure could be appropriately termed ‘one week, one trouble’.
In spite of the unending controversies and despite the appointment of an Osun State indigene, Jelili Adesiyan as the Minister of Police Affairs, it is my carefully considered opinion that Ogbeni Rauf Aregbesola will win the August 9 election. Here’s why I think he will trump Otunba Iyiola Omisore, the PDP’s candidate.
1. Omisore’s Poor Candidature
Iyiola Omisore is not Peter Ayodele Fayose. He lacks the charisma of Fayose. He is not a Jimi Agbaje. He lacks the character of Agbaje. He doesn’t have the mass appeal even though he has the notoriety. While you cannot deny that he has a semblance of structure, having been the Deputy Governor of the State and also a Senator of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, his major Achilles heel is that he has been successfully tainted by the accusation of involvement in Bola Ige’s murder. This is one accusation that has refused to go in spite of his protestations. In addition, his campaign is a poor caricature of Ayodele Fayose’s. Whoever is his campaign director needs to get fired as he has run one of the most bizarre and lacklustre campaigns ever. His efforts to align with the masses fell flat- his handling of two roasted corn cobs in both hands, his ride to a campaign venue on an ‘okada’ and his absurd combination of two different ‘Ankara’ materials as cloth are images that have defined his campaign. He has not successfully exploited Rauf Aregbesola’s obvious weaknesses.
it was time to debate Ogbeni, he didn’t show up. That was an opportunity to redeem himself, but he failed to utilize it. Ayo Fayose challenged Kayode Fayemi for a walk on the streets of Ado-Ekiti but Iyiola Omisore claimed he didn’t come for the debate because he didn’t want Ogbeni to beat him up. Is it any wonder that the President has not attended any rally in Osun State even up till now? The President must have read the handwriting on the wall and there was no point dissipating energy in the wrong direction. PDP lost it when the ticket was given to Omisore because he is irredeemable. If he’s banking on federal might, he got it wrong this time because you can only rig successfully where you are popular. In fact, Ogbeni will be gifted this election not because of his superlative performance but primarily because of Omisore’s poor candidature.
2. Disunity In The PDP House
No situation exacerbated the looming disunity in Osun State PDP than the statement credited to the Minister for Police Affairs that he will beat Senator Isiaka Adeleke when he leaves office. Adeleke claimed he was assaulted during a party meeting and he subsequently defected to APC. Fatai Akinbade, a former Chairman of the State PDP and a man who served three different times as Commissioner under three different military regimes also defected to the Labour Party. Former Governor Olagunsoye Oyinlola has not come out openly in support of Iyiola Omisore despite belonging to the same party. In fact, he was even courted by the top echelon of the APC. As a former National Secretary of the party and also a former Governor of the State, his body language speaks volumes. Oyinlola is a Prince of Okuku, the capital of Odo-Otin Local Government, one of the 30 Local Government areas in Osun State. It is instructive to note that Odo-Otin is one of the three local government council areas with the highest number of 15 wards in the state after Osogbo and Iwo.
3. Ogbeni Aregbesola’s Above-Average Performance
In spite of his controversies, only a blind man will ignore Ogbeni’s performance. He has built mega schools, many of them super infrastructures with commendable appurtenances. He has constructed over 20 intercity roads and more than 15 intra-city roads. This is apart from some very ambitious dualization projects embarked upon. The free festive inter-city train ride from Lagos to Osogbo has become a constant feature of his administration. I was informed that he has built 74 primary health Centres all over Osun State. He has increased IGR in Osun from N300m to N1.6b and has not been known to borrow from any financial institution, save for the Islamic bond he took. His O’Meals project is laudable. Love him or hate him, there’s no denying the fact that he has improved the face of governance in the state.
4. Ogbeni’s Massive Campaign Network
Ogbeni has embarked on a blitzkrieg of a campaign. Maybe due to the lessons learnt from Ekiti’s recent election, he has left no stone untouched. This is the first time I’m seeing an incumbent campaign as if he’s the under-dog. He has run a very good campaign so far- both terrestrially and on social media. Going by his student unionism antecedents, one is not too surprised that he has at least 2 former student leaders in his cabinet and they are both active in running his campaign. Most of the controversial issues raised have been either effectively addressed or well mitigated by this team. When the issue of religious fundamentalism came up, they released the video of Bishop David Oyedepo’s visit. Ogbeni has been photographed genuflecting to Pastor Enoch Adejare Adeboye. He attended a major night vigil organized by a white garment church. He has been dancing ‘skelewu’ at all rallies to show he can connect with the populace. He has run his campaign without Bola Tinubu being visible so the issue of the overbearing influence of the APC leader has been largely well managed. Ogbeni runs the best propaganda machinery in the South West and the effect can be seen in how he has successfully diverted attention from his controversies while making Omisore seem to be the controversial one.
5. The Seeming Inconsequential Position of Osun In National Politics
In the calculation of the PDP, Osun State may not really be worth the trouble. Like Ekiti, one would have expected a massive support from the centre but apart from the involvement of the Minister for Police Affairs Jelili Adesiyan and party big wig Buruji Kashamu, no other major PDP political actor has been to Osun State. Not even the Vice President Namadi Sambo who usually represents the President on most occasions. The PDP Chairman has been missing in action conspicuously and in my opinion two major issues come into consideration here: firstly, the antecedents of Osun politics where the State was the only one won by the erstwhile ACN candidate Nuhu Ribadu during the 2011 Presidential elections without having any impact on the outcome of the full national election results. The resources are limited and they would rather concentrate such where they can get the greatest political capital- Adamawa, Nassarawa, Edo, Oyo, Ogun and Lagos States.
The second is the opportunity to take the wind out of the sail of APC’s complaint that Osun’s elections will be rigged by the PDP just like they suspected it was done in Ekiti. Furthermore, it is PDP’s calculation that APC will be misled to believe they have stopped PDP’s incursion in the South West. Consequently, if APC wins Osun, the party will be seen to be a bad loser anytime it complains after another loss. So PDP can afford to lose Osun State without batting an eyelid.
6. Ogbeni’s Grassroots Support
Rauf Aregbesola is well schooled in the art of politics. He has been able to successfully marry both politicking and governance which was one of the major issues Governor Kayode Fayemi had. You can accuse him of everything but you can never accuse him of not connecting with the populace. With the pupils, he has appeared in their school uniform on many occasions. He has held his health walk in several towns across the states. He has several mushroom groups such as De Raufs located all over the state and these ones project his ideology. He has given himself the identity of ‘Oranmiyan’, a progenitor that the Yorubas respect. His support base is not limited to a particular demographics – he has a broad base across all sectors in the state. Ogbeni is street smart and can fight dirty if need be. A veteran of many political battles, he is not a gentleman like Kayode Fayemi and can be very rambunctious. That was why he asked people to come to the polling units with charms on Election Day. If there is anyone who is a true protege of Bola Ahmed Tinubu, he is one. That is one of the reasons the Ekiti story cannot repeat itself in Osun State.
7. The Geo-Political Demographics in Osun State
The geopolitical demographics currently favour Ogbeni Aregbesola. Ogbeni is from Osun East Senatorial District, the largest district in the State.Though Iyiola Omisore also hails from the same district, Ogbeni is from Ilesa, one of the three biggest towns with the highest number of voters in the state while Omisore is from Ile-Ife. Osun East with a voting strength close to 500,000 comprises of 10 Local Government Areas- 4 in Ife and 6 in Ijeshaland. There are about 1.2m registered voters in the state. Ogbeni is expected to have a clean sweep of all the 6 Local Governments in Ijeshaland while Omisore will sweep his own 4 Local Government areas. However, Ogbeni’s deputy Mrs Laoye-Tomori is from the state capital, Osogbo and so he’s expected to pick up the votes in the town. Iwo, which is the largest town in the State is predominantly Muslim and this will also play to Ogbeni’s favour.
Omisore’s deputy, ex-Speaker Adejare Bello hails from Ede, the same town Senator Isiaka Adeleke hails from. ‘Serubawon’ as the Senator and former Governor is popularly called has more grassroots support in Ede than Bello. His family even has a University called Adeleke University in Ede.
I present to you below my take on the electoral configuration that will arise during the August 9 election across the 30 Local Government Areas in Osun State.
Aiyedaade – Omisore
Aiyedire – Omisore
Atakunmosa East – Ogbeni
Atakunmosa West – Ogbeni
Boluwaduro – Ogbeni
Boripe – Ogbeni
Ede North – Ogbeni
Ede South – Ogbeni
Egbedore – Ogbeni
Ejigbo – Ogbeni
Ife Central – Omisore
Ife East – Omisore
Ife North – Omisore
Ife South – Omisore
Ifedayo – Ogbeni
Ifelodun – Ogbeni
Ila – Ogbeni
Ilesa East – Ogbeni
Ilesa West – Ogbeni
Irepodun – Ogbeni
Irewole – Ogbeni
Isokan – Ogbeni
Iwo – Ogbeni
Obokun – Ogbeni
Odo Otin – Ogbeni
Ola Oluwa – Ogbeni
Olorunda – Ogbeni
Oriade – Ogbeni
Orolu – Ogbeni
Osogbo – Ogbeni.

Thursday, October 31, 2013

IGNORANCE OF YORUBA RELIGION- NOT "IDOL" WORSHIP AS THE ORISHA ARE ALSO MESSENGERS FROM GOD AS IS JESU CHRISTI ATI MOHAMMAD!-THIS SISTER EXPOSES THE LIES ABOUT THIS!-FROM PUNCH NEWSPAPER,NIGERIA

FROM PUNCHNG.COM

The Christians against Aregbesola

October 17, 2013 by Abimbola Adelakun (aa_adelakun@utexas.edu)

Friday, May 24, 2013

IFA DEFENDED AGAINST IGNORANCE BY THE EDUCATED YORUBA ELITE!-FROM THE OSUN DEFENDER NEWSPAPER,NIGERIA

THE STUDY OF IFA IN OSUN SCHOOLS; A PATH TO REAL DEVELOPMENT

One feels compelled to write this piece on the recent announcement by the government of the State of Osun on the introduction of the study of Ifa religion in all its schools. While no time should be wasted in congratulating the government led by the visionary Ogbeni Rauf Aregbesola on this courageous and needful step, a conscious attempt must also be made to educate those who may be genuinely regarded as ignorant on the socio-legal imperative of permitting a pan Yoruba ethos play a pivotal role in the development of a society. All efforts made at raising the level of development must be anchored on this all-embracing substratum. As for the mischievous and the proselytising hypocrites, commercial religionists with vast business empires which thrive on the very objects of deceptive public excoriation, we must hasten to allay their fears that this novel but necessary introduction will not affect the enterprise of “miraculous healing” and the promise of prosperity in a land already devastated by political locusts.
A multi cultural milieu, such as Nigeria, must recognise and accept the reality of ethno-religious pluralism and the attendant divergence to promote equity, fairness and justice among the ethnic nationalities and groups, the necessary conditions for amity, peaceful co-existence and realistic aspirations towards growth. This is the irreducible minimum below which no group should be subjected. The omniscient posture adopted by the adherents of the so called prominent religions, Christianity and Islam, exposes abysmal ignorance on the essence of other indigenous religions and explains why intolerance adorns an official garb in various shades. This combative attitude is also symptomatic of a post-colonial society still reeling from the debilitating effects of foreign subjugation in all ramifications.
The dubious and ostentatious display of piety by these self-appointed men of God, on one hand, and their obscene materialistic disposition, is more than sufficient to cause a serious study into the misfortune of a society in decline. We leave this interesting topic for another time. For now it suffices to assert that this present move by the government is the most significant since independence. If development is about the people, then it should be taken as given that understanding the ways of life of all who live in the society is a sine qua non to planning. The challenges faced by various categories of people compel introspection and determination which will ultimately lead to progress. Professional politicians, deprived of patronage for two years now in the State of Osun, considered the source of the people of the south western part of the country, will also stop at nothing to confuse the people who have been dispossessed over the years.
If our children are made to study foreign religions and some even get higher degrees, including PhDs, knowing other peoples’ cultures, then it is rather salutary that a government is considering making the study of Ifa religion an option in the school curriculum in the State of Osun, albeit belatedly. Nigeria is a place where elites take pride on being proficient speaking and writing other people’s languages. We crave advancement depending solely on the cultural ethos of other lands. Our claims to decency are often predicated on the fact of our adherence to the precepts of either of these foreign religions. We are nurtured to imbibe the customs and traditions of those who treated our ancestors with utter contempt. We grew to hate what is truly ours. We receive awards aping the ways of life of other lands. What belongs to us is despised and treated with unimaginable derision. Our cultures are subjected to foreign prisms in determining their acceptability.
It is expected that deluded beings, who either believe genuinely in the myth of superiority of these imposed sub-sets, products of the perceptions of other peoples on natural phenomena observable within their societies, will join issues with this truly progressive leader of the people. What we must, however, eschew is silence which suggests connivance at the unwarranted attacks on the dynamic governor who has turned the fortunes of the state around positively with the little resources at his disposal. Nuhu Ribadu, a man not known to suffer fools gladly, just attested to the sterling qualities of this exceptional character. Several other people have been commenting on this ascetic being whose energy belies his physical stature.
Religion was central to the development of ancient Egyptian civilization. The challenges faced by the Egyptians compelled them to look for solutions in the spiritual realm. Disasters, prominent among which was the constant inundation of the Nile were considered as sanctions from the celestial beings. These ancient people used their belief in life after life and the existence of a supernatural being, Ra, whose decisions were unquestionable, to interact with their natural environment. The modern world is the direct beneficiary of the legacies of their fecund minds. Their children were nurtured on the nuggets of beliefs which propelled keen observation of natural phenomena. This attitude gave provenance to the unparalleled scientific discoveries for which the Egyptians are still widely acknowledged.
The originality of the thought process ensured that all nations in the ancient world looked up to it. Greece became the greatest beneficiary of this unique ancient civilization and, by necessary implication, the western world in the modern sense of the expression. What the average hypocritical and ignorant Nigerian will regard as superstitious and sinful formed the basis upon which his faith predicated on this imported religion is established. The judicial system of the ancient Egyptians was an aggregate of their socio-cultural values. These were contained in the curricula of the schools at various levels of learning.
The Chinese also developed their civilization independent of other existing ones relying heavily on their cultural values. China today is an exemplar in advancement because it has never allowed any undue influence on her socio-political system built on oriental values. This country stands out today as a bulwark of inspiration when most western nations are grappling with issues of survival occasioned by debilitating economic circumstances. A Chinese child will never look up to the west for socio-economic redemption. The child believes that his/her language is the best and only learns other foreign languages to derive advantage in a competitive world. He/She does not in any way feel inferior to the western child. The state has no official religion yet the Chinese child is not precluded from studying any subject of interest.
American students now come to Nigeria to study specific aspects of our much despised culture. They speak impeccable Yoruba, Hausa or Igbo, among other Nigerian languages. That is not a challenge to them at all. They are keen researchers on the mysteries of our ancestral past. They come to study Egungun cult, the talking drum and its significance in information dissemination, cultural values as encapsulated in the Odu Ifa corpus, among others. They become initiates of the Ifa religion which ignorant and ill-educated Africans denigrate. The tragedy of the whole scenario is that they are now in a position to educate us on our past. While we struggle to ape the Europeans, Americans and Arabs, we have become alienated from our origin. Nothing from us is good except it is subjected to western approval. So deracinated and uprooted from our origin have they become that fanatical members of some families openly destroy artifacts and other valuable vestiges of the glorious epoch when crass mercantilism had no impact on the psyche of the people.
Traditional rulers are the most pitiable characters of these tragic-comic elements. Some of them employed all manner of under hand methods to subvert the process of selection to become deluded kings in a republic. Once they ascend the so called throne of their fore-fathers they soon discover that their past was sinful. In their hypocritical exhibition of vacuous devotion, they destroy shrines and shun religious rites which justify their anachronistic existence in the first place. They invite commercial pastors to come and preach to their so called subjects to do away with the traditional ways. These religious businessmen in turn flaunt these clowns as trophies won in the battle to civilise the natives. They denigrate the very essence of their sustenance as custodians of the people’s customs and tradition.
They cherish the flowing three-piece traditional attire and the complementary pony tail, veritable emblems of indulgence and vanity. And just as their forbears collaborated with slave traders, commercial precursors of the proselytising hypocrites to raid villages and hamlets for slaves, they too are willing participants in the pillaging of the resources of the state at the local government level. Very few of them deserve attention in the midst of decent people.
Granted that the retrogressive position held on indigenous religions is correct, does it not make sense that our children are trained to know why their ancestral past must be condemned? We have fed generations of Nigerians, nay Africans, on foreign diets before independence through post colonial period to the present time. The ultimate ambition of an average child is to be white in everything. Is it not ironic that at a time when the western world looks towards African for cultural renaissance our people strive unabashedly to cast aside everything which reminds them of their beginnings?
Adherents of African traditional religions have been discriminated against over the years. The Nigerian experience has been heart-corroding. Supposedly educated religionists jettison family names which remind them of “pagan” practices. They adopt scriptural names of other cultures alien to the continent without understanding their significance. Thus we see funny names such as “Olugbemi” in place of “Fagbemi”. Jesus, which is a very common name among the Jews, is affixed to praise names to depict piety. What ignorance!
The new policy on education in the State of Osun will afford our children the opportunity to know that the difference you find in all religions of the world is in the practice. Doctrinal issues have now subsumed the didactic and edifying aspects of religion. In Nigeria economic consideration far out-weighs the sincere quest for spiritual regeneration. The Osun example has exposed the lie peddled by people who exploit religion for selfish purposes. Our children must be allowed to know something about what they are called upon to hate. They should be able to decide if there is any remarkable difference between the promoted religions and the message in the Ifa corpus. Students whose parents are adherents of Ifa religion must also be allowed to study their faith in an ambience devoid of discrimination and intolerance. Virtues such as continence, loyalty, honesty, piety, civic responsibility, devotion to parents and elders, humility, among others, are embedded in Ifa. Any child who has the good fortune of being nurtured on this unadulterated teaching will be useful to himself and the community at large. The hypocritical posture of politicians on this policy must be condemned.
Our children must be allowed to understand, for instance, that Esu, the perfect trickster with a dual personality is not Satan or Lucifer, the arch angel in the Christian pantheon of the gods. When our children hear names such as Esubiyi, Esugbayi or Esuronmbi, the ready connotation in their minds is the devil of the Bible or the Quran. They cannot fathom why anyone who is not insane will bear such names in the society. Beyond names, certain virtues are considered the exclusive preserve of the established religions. Experience has, however, shown that there is a wide gulf between mere avowal and the actual deeds of those who profess piety.
The very first lesson to the Ifa devotees is on contentment as against complacency.
“Ohun enu ri ni enu nje,
adifa fun igbin ti o je erupe la”.”
The mouth is satisfied with whatever comes as food just as the snail relishes in the nutrients of the soil.” There are fables of the adventures of Orunmila or Obatala which are also didactic. The treacherous deeds of the bush rat, Okete and Osanyin, are replete in the Ifa corpus. The consequences of unfaithful deeds are taught with the fables of these mythical characters. Temperance is a virtue of the gods and any mortal lucky enough to be endowed with this special gift will experience peace which is beyond the understanding of man. A man’s character determines how successful he will be on earth. The story of “Iwa” teaches us that one of the greatest gifts bequeathed by the gods to man is the ability to do what is right.
I had the rare privilege of listening to Professor Olu longe who informed most of us who were ignorant of the invaluable contribution of the Ifa religion to the Yoruba accounting system. The basis of the computer is the Odu. The first 8 in 2 places making 16 multiplied by 16 making 256 to infinity is the principle upon which the operation of the computer is based. Whoever insists that our children do not deserve to know this fact is not only ignorant but wicked. I enthusiastically recommend the eminent professor’s lecture, “Irapada Onka Isembaye wa ni ile Yoruba”, to those who may not know that such as the ancient Egyptian religion, the Ifa corpus contains aspects of science, mathematics, accounting, medicine and ethics. It is most unlikely that any child properly nurtured on these pristine values can ever grow to become a burden to the society.
The government of Ogbeni Rauf Aregbesola is among the very few that can be regarded as focused. All good people must come together to encourage this exceptional leader who has displayed rare administrative acumen amidst the daunting challenges faced by him since he assumed office as the governor. Other ACN governors should follow the good example of this diminutive man who has taken giant strides in ensuring real development in a state once ravaged by locusts.
Doyin Odebowale, PhD, LLB (Hons), BL.
Lecturer, Department of Classics, University of Ibadan.

AFRICAN SCIENCE IS IFA!- WE MUST GO BACK TO OUR CULTURE AND BUILD ON IT TO OVERCOME ALL THE PROBLEMS THAT COLONIALISM HAS PRODUCED AND TO ADVANCE WE WILL!-GREAT GOMINA RAUF AREGBESOLA HAS STARTED IT IN THE STATE OF OSUN-BACK TO YORUBA CULTURE!-FROM THE SUN NEWSPAPER,NIGERIA

Osun students to study Ifa – Aregbesola

Our Reporter January 3, 2013 -FROM THE SUN NEWSPAPER,NIGERIA

…Says computer tablet has application for Ifa studies
From BAMIGBOLA GBOLAGUNTE, Osogbo
The Osun State Government has announced a comprehensive plan for the state’s secondary school students to study Ifa as one of their subjects.
The state Governor, Ogbeni Raufu Aregbesola, said the schools’ computer tablet had application for Ifa studies.
Aregbesola made the relevation yesterday during the special prayers session to usher in the New Year, organized with clerics from all religions praying for the peace and growth of the state.
Clerics who offered special prayers for the state included the President General, League of Imams and Alfas in the South-West, Alhaji Mustapha Ajisafe; the Chairman, Christian Association of Nigeria (CAN) in the state, Evangelist Abraham Aladeseye; and frontline Ifa priest, Chief Ifayemi Elebuibon, among others.
The special prayer affected official functions in the state secretariat and other government offices, as top civil servants across all parastatal agencies graced the occasion held in the premises of the Bola Ige House, state secretariat, Abere, Osogbo.
Bishop of Osogbo Diocese of the Methodist Church, Bishop John Bamigboye, advised the government to compensate those whose property were demolished as a result of the ongoing road dualization in the state.
Bamigboye enjoined the government to return Christian and Islamic Religious Studies to all primary and secondary schools in the state.
Governor Aregbesola, in his remarks at the ceremony, declared that 2013 would be a year of total freedom for the state, stressing that the year would be for the people of the state a year of total turn-around and liberty.
According to the governor, the government’s major desire for the state in 2013 is to ensure the fulfillment of the desires of the state’s founding fathers, stressing: “Osun State will be freed in 2013 from hunger, mystery, poverty and under-development.”
He said his government has paid over N600 million as compensation to owners of demolished structures, even as he assured that those who were yet to receive their compensation would get theirs soon.
Aregbesola also disclosed that his government had returned religious studies to all public primary and secondary schools in the state, adding that the free computer tablet tagged ‘opon Imon’, which the government would present to secondary school students had an application for Ifa studies.
He also prayed for peace and development of the state in 2013 and urged all the people to support his government and the country with prayers, saying: “Nigeria needs prayers for an end to come to the security problem confronting the northern part of the country.”
Aregbesola added that his desire for the year was to make the state the envy of other states in the country, saying he had come to the state to do the works of God.

Friday, September 21, 2012

OUR FIRST COMMUNIST NIGERIAN GOVERNOR IS MAKING SERVICE TO THE MASSES HIS GOAL! -GOMINA RAUF AREGBESOLA IS PERFORMING MIRACLES IN OSUN STATE FOR THE PEOPLE!- FROM OSUN DEFENDER.COM

from osundefender.com

The compassionate state

By Sam Omatseye
Before he became governor, Ogbeni Rauf Aregbesola always let the world know that he was a communist. That is yesterday’s ideology, even if North Korea and Cuba still latch on to the fragile and terminal gasps of the idea.
Yet students of history know that communism saved capitalism after the Second World War. The welfare state enjoyed a rebirth when countries, especially those in Europe lying prostrate after the conflagrations, kindled a romance with the idea Marx and Lenin wrought. The liberal canons of democracy and free market became lost in the cloud when the ordinary citizen craved the heres and nows of food and shelter.
The West, including the United States, strengthened the social buoy of the poor and vulnerable although the idea dated back to the years of German Chancellor Otto von Bismarck in the 19th century. That way, the countries kept the communists on the fringes while the Soviet Union glamorised the fantasy in the so-called Third world with champions like Cabral, Ortega, Lumumba and Castro.
Yet, the capitalists could not deny the idea of compassion for the poor. You cannot joy in the spoils of capitalism while the poor gnashed their teeth. In The Secret Agent, Joseph Conrad observes that the condition for luxury and opulence is security.
Long before either capitalism or socialism became organized ideas, Shakespeare expressed the philosophy of compassion in his play, Coriolanus: “that distribution undo excess and each man have enough.”
What Ogbeni is practising in the State of Osun is not communism, but the beginnings of what the Western countries did to save their system: protecting the vulnerable.
In his world, the vulnerable are those in the underbelly of a rabid capitalist system. They are the old who cannot earn any more money, the young and old who cannot get healing, the children too poor to afford books and food at schools, the disenfranchised business person who cannot get seed money to pursue the dreams of independence. They are the people whom Abraham Lincoln referred to as the reason for government: those who cannot stand well on their own.
I had an opportunity to sit as an observer at the state of Osun’s executive council recently and observed the essence of his style. The meeting lasted about eight hours, and two main commissioners were asked to present their stewardships in the past two years. One of them impressed me: the deputy governor who also doubles as the commissioner for education, Titilayo Laoye-Tomori.
Its uniform and feeding projects in schools were the most telling. As Laoye-Tomori showed in her power-point presentation, in the past year the inflow into schools had leaped from between 25 percent and 30 percent. The students would now have school uniforms, spinning an industry and a jobs spur that locals are taking advantage of to tailor and provide the uniforms all over the state.
This narrative is touching in that education is perhaps the greatest driver of development in the modern world. American dominance has been attributed to education as the supreme driver. The world we know today is American, whether it is the car, airplane, the internet, the cell phone, the ipad, the movie, the suburb, the radio, television, the electric bulb, etc. They did it because they drove innovation. It is a country that makes things because it knows things. The thousands of children in Osun who are abandoning idleness at home and on the streets for school are witnessing the greatest liberation: of the human mind.
At one stage at the meeting, when he referred to the ambitious education programme, he burst into a Sunny Ade song “aiye nreti eleya mi o…”. He stood up in his characteristic soulfulness and some of his executives wafted along with him. It was a song of irony. It meant his detractors were waiting for his failure, but it was also a caution to his team not to disappoint. It costs N30 billion, the biggest project in the country.
The tablet of knowledge, a computer that would have all the lessons and books for the students is a new thing, and the deputy governor said it was close to readiness. I anticipate that as it combines modernity with the potential for commerce and jobs.
The other point of compassion is Agba Osun, and it is not its N10, 000 a month to elders that so touched me as the medical system that provides treatment to the vulnerable, especially the elderly and handicapped, in their homes. This cannot work without having all of them in a data base, and the young of the OYES programme built the data base. This is what the youth are doing but interlopers, in their willful ignorance, said they are militias for secession. The state has obviously a mobile medical system where communication between the deprived and the caregiver is streamlined. It is not perfect, and I am not sure everyone has enjoyed this even if the government is impressed with what it has done so far. I recall, too, that in the number of intakes in schools, the deputy governor’s figures were questioned in one of the districts, if for a negligible discrepancy.
What is being done for the elderly in terms of free healthcare in some states, like Lagos, Delta, Rivers, Akwa Ibom, Ekiti, will help improve life expectancy. But personalised care in Osun raises the stakes.
A peep into his style was his conversation with permanent secretary. Ogbeni had accused the ministry of not making an input into the education programme. It is a tribute to his open-mindedness that the permanent secretary was at ease to lash back in her courteous way. She said they actually offered their proposals but the governor did not implement. It turned out she was right. But ever the irrepressible Ogbeni with his tuft of beard, lean face, eyes alert, he asked the ministry to express the ideas and they were debated. I learnt that the Aregbesola administration in less than two years has convened more executive meetings than the seven and a half years of Oyinlola’s Gestapo era.
After the U.S. won the war of independence, Jefferson accused President Washington of apostasy for creating an elite society with Alexander Hamilton when he set up institutions for a strong federal state. This tension led to the birth of the two-party system with Jefferson breaking away from the Federalists to form the Republicans that protected the weak. That tension exists today with those who believe that anyone who is poor and fails is necessarily lazy. Philosopher Herbert Spencer says welfare institutionalises indolence. From the droves of children going to school in Osuns now, we know that is not true.
It takes an Ogbeni to prove that.
Culled From THE NATION newspaper

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1 Comment for “The compassionate state”

olayiwola Tayo

September 17, 2012 - 4:04 pm
This is good omen for the state of Osun. But to make these program last, the State should establish all these in bill passed by the State Assemble and signed by the governor. The things that make other nation great is the laws and order. It will be difficult once the program is base on the law of the land for anyone to comeby abolish it.

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THE STUDY OF IFA IN OSUN SCHOOLS; A PATH TO REAL DEVELOPMENT

Osun students to study Ifa – Aregbesola

Friday, September 21, 2012

The compassionate state

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Beyond the inauguration ritual