VOL. 9. NO.086 NNNNN5050505050SUNDAY, JULY 20, 2014

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

Front Page Comment Who KilledChief Bola Ige,former Attorney-

General andMinister of

Justice? IGE

•(L-R) The deputy governor, State of Osun, Otunba (Mrs) Grace Titi Laoye-Tomori; Governor Rauf Aregbesola and his wife, Sherifat, during the Year 2014 Sensitization andAwareness Day on women participation in politics in Osogbo, last Tuesday. Photo: GBENGA ADENIYI.

- See StoryOn Page 2

- See StoryOn Page 4Osun 2014: How PDP Planned To Rig Election

Osun PDPIn Disarray

•As Omisore Slaps Party Chair Over N1bn Campaign Fund

As August 9 drawscloser by the day wemust continue to re-mind the electoratein our dear state oft h e i rresponsibiliies; theneed to vote rightand to jealouslyguard their votes. Touse the power of our

Compatriots, JealouslyGuard Your Votes!

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

going on in thestate since the in-ception of OgbeniAregbesola's ad-ministration - isour first major

responsi bility asresponsible citizensof our state. Ofcourse we are not indoubt that the votesof our people will befor OgbeniAregbesola who hasdone the state muchgood.

Continue on pg5

2 OSUN DEFENDER Sunday, July 20, 2014News

By KEHINDE AYANTUNJI

By ISMAEEL UTHMAN

Osun O’ Mediation, A good Initiative For Peaceful Environment

THE Senior Special Assistant to Governor Raji Fasholaof Lagos State on Justice Sector Reform, Mr.Olanrewaju Akinsola, has described the establishment

of Osun Mediation Centre as a good initiative needed forthe promotion of peace and justice in the society.

Akinsola, who laudedGovernor Rauf Aregbesola forsetting up the mediation centre,urged the people of the Stateof Osun to employ mediationas a means of settling disputes,instead of dragging all cases tocourt of law.

According to Akinsola, theestablishment of a disputeresolution body would givethose that could not affordlegal fees in seeking justice, theopportunity to seek redresswith the help of thecommission.

Akinsola spoke onWednesday in Osogbo whiledelivering a lecture titled: “TheProblems and Prospects ofMediation: The OsunExperience”, to mark one yearanniversary of Osun Citizens’

Mediation Centre.The O’ Mediation was

established on June 25, 2013 by

Governor Aregbesola with theaim of settling disputesamicably among aggrievedparties in the state.

Akinsola, who maintainedthat access to justice should beguaranteed, however, urged thepeople of the state to seemediation as the bestalternative to disputeresolution.

Earlier in his welcome

address, the State of OsunCommissioner for RegionalIntegration and Special Duties,Mr. Ajibola Basiru, noted thatthe commission in the last oneyear has received 470 cases inwhich 142 have been resolved.

Basiru disclosed thatN8,726,725 have beenrecovered out of N16,364,990aimed to be retrieved.

The programme, which was

Osun Rep Trains, Procures Tools For 500Women And YouthsCHAIRMAN, Federal House of Representatives

Committee on Debt Management, HonourableAdeyinka Ajayi, representing Ifelodun/Boripe/Odo-

Otin Federal Constituency of the State of Osun, has procuredworking tools for 500 women and youths, who have completedhis skill acquisition training.

materials, catering equipmentamong others.

At an elaborate graduationceremony held last week atSt. Saviour’s Primary School,Ikirun, the facilitator, OJENCONigeria Limited, issuedcertificates to theparticipants, who laterreceived their working tools.

Speaking during the formalpresentation of the tools,Honourable Ajayi said theempowerment programmewas part of his commitmentto the Governor Aregbesola’ssix-point integral action planaiming at banishing hungerand poverty in the state.

He said the empowermentprogramme, which was partof his constituency outreach,would give hope to thegranduands by ensuring theyare economicallyindependent.

According to thelawmaker, the four-weektraining commenced onAugust 12 last year acrossthe federal constituency, withtwo centers each in Iree and

Ada, another two centers inIfelodun Local Governmen t,and other three centers inOdo-Otin LocalGovernment.

The granduands,according to him, were drawnfrom the three localgovernment council areas andtrained in different ninecourses.

Speaking earlier, theChairman of OJENCO NigeriaLimited, Mr Adebayo Sowo,said the beneficiaries, withthe training, can compete withany of their contemporariesin Nigeria and abroad.

He added that the trainingwas designed and handledby the best instructors andexpressed satisfaction on theperformance of thegranduands during and afterthe training and urged themto use their skills effectively.

Adebayo commendedAjayi for procuring theworking tools for thegranduands after thecompletion of the training,saying his company would beexpecting millionaires fromamong them in no distanttime.

In his remarks, the Chief ofStaff to the Governor, AlhajiGboyega Oyetola,commended the lawmaker’s

held at Centre for Black Cultureand InternationalUnderstanding, Abere, had inattendance royal fathers likethe Aragbiji of Iragbiji, ObaAbdulRasheed Olabomi,Oloogi of Ogi, Oba Adeleke ,Justice Moshood Adeigbe ofOsun State High Court, andothers important personalities.

The equipment procuredby the lawmaker includessewing machines, hair-dryers,clippers, soap-makingequipment, events decoration

initiative and urged thegranduands not to defeat thepurpose of the empowermentprogramme by practicingwhatever they have learnt.

He urged other publicoffice holders in the area toemulate the sponsor bysupporting the six-ponitintegral action plans ofGovernor Aregbesola tobanish hunger and poverty.

Adeyemi Kudirat fromWard 6 Ororuwo, BoripeLocal Government CouncilArea, who acquired skills onFashion Design, commendedthe lawmaker for theinitiative, saying the trainingwas well-organised, byemploying competentinstructors and thanked thelawmaker for providing thetools for them to take-off.

Dignitaries at thegraduation ceremonyincluded, Honourable WaleAfolabi, the State AttorneyGeneral and Commissioner forJustice; Honourable BelloOsuolale, representingBoripe/Boluwaduro StateConstituency; ChairmanHouse of Assembly ServiceCommission, HonourableOlawuwo Hassan and PrinceAdeleke Adebayo amongothers.

Elebu-Ibon Dispels ProphecyRumours On Osun Gov Election

THE Araba of Osogboland, Chief Ifayemi Elebuibon,has dispelled rumours circulating around in theState of Osun that an oracle has revealed to him who

would emerge the winner of the August 9, 2014gubernatorial election in the state.

By KAZEEM MOHAMMED

The denial camefollowing the rumour millingthe round that ChiefElebuibon has beenworking for the PeoplesDemocratic Party (PDP)candidate, Senator IyiolaOmisore, to win the election.

In a statement issued byhis Press Secretary, Mr.Adeshina Adisa, ChiefElebu-Ibon said the rumourwas fabricated by somepoliticians, whom hedescribed as mischiefmakers, as an attempt todiscourage the electoratefrom voting for their

favourite candidate.He noted that apart from

the fact that it is wrong forany religious leader in asociety to get involved inpolitics, it is also illegal forany individual to announcethe winner of an electionthat is yet to be conductedand concluded by theIndependent NationalElectoral Commission(INEC).

Chief Elebuibon, whoimplored the electorate noto be deterred by the rumour,encouraged them to go outand vote for their favouritecandidate during the

August 9, 2014gubernatorial election in thestate.

He said the antecedentsand contributions of each ofthe candidates for theelection are enough forpeople to decide who theyshould vote in during theelection.

The Ifa priest thenadvised politicians not toengage in any act that couldcause disharmony in thestate, all in the name ofseeking political powers,saying it is only God thatputs whoever he wants inpower.

He also warned those hedescribed as mischiefmakers to stop using hisname to seek politicalrelevance, threatening toinvite the wrath of gods onsuch persons.

Osun PDP In Disarray•As Omisore Slaps Party Chair Over N1bn Campaign Fund

By SHINA ABUBAKAR

CONTRARY to explanations offered by the State ofOsun Chapter of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP)for the suspension of their rallies last week, fresh

fact emerging has shown that the party suspended itscampaign for the week because of a rift over money.

Investigations gathered byOSUN DEFENDER revealedthat the Federal Governmentferried about N1 billion througha cardinal to the state chapterof the party to prosecute theAugust 9, 2014 gubernatorialelection in the state, but thearrival of the cash turned thepolitical gladiators todesperadoes.

According to findings, itwas gathered that the formulaon how to share the cash andin whose possession to keepthe money became an issue, asseveral party chieftains wereall eager to have first handaccess to the cash.

It was gathered that how toshare the money led to a battlebetween the partygovernorship candidate,Senator Iyiola Omisore and theState Chairman of the party,Alhaji Gani Ola-Oluwa, leadingto the former physicallyassaulting the latter.

The medium learnt thatOmisore is not really interestedin entrusting the cash withanyone among his associates,whom he felt were not reallytrustworthy and insisted onpersonally distributing thecash, a position which did notgo down well with other party

stance and had to challenge him,leading to hot altercationbetween the two gladiators andboth had to go their differentways.

According to a source closeto the former Customs officer,the man had to stay away fromcampaign organised by theparty, unlike in the past that hemoved around all rallies in

solidarity with thegovernorship candidate.

Checks further showed thatsome chieftains of the partywere not happy withOmisore’s disposition on themoney, on the ground that thegubernatorial campaign is notbeing prosecuted withindividual money, but acollective action.

It was gathered that it tookthe intervention of theNational Secretariat of theparty and the Presidency tomake sure the campaign wasnot totally grounded, hence,the divided house resumed itselectioneering campaign.

Although, things seem calmamong the gladiators in theparty presently, it was

gathered that the reason somestill stick to the campaignprogramme is to know how thebounties would be shared afterthe election.

It was learnt that even thesponsors of the campaign,including the presidency, arenot hell-bent on winning thegovernorship poll, but tomuzzle about 25-30 per centof the votes in the state inpreparation of the 2015 generalelections.

chieftains.A retired Customs officer

was said to be seriouslyangered by the candidate’s

3 News OSUN DEFENDER Sunday, July 20, 2014

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•Some of the traditional rulers in Ijesaland praying for Governor Rauf Aregbesola of the State of Osun at Olosunjela’s Palace during his re-election mega rally in Ilesa, last Tuesday. Photo: GBENGA ADENIYI

Osun NMA Flays FG Over Attempt ToPolarize, Politicize Association

By ISMAEEL UTHMAN

THE Nigerian Medical Association (NMA) in the Stateof Osun has flayed the Federal Government over itsalleged attempt to polarise the organization by

sponsoring some political elements to infiltrate the group.According to the NMA,

the Federal Government hasbeen introducingpoliticians, who are nottrained medical personnelinto the union, describingthe step as a deliberateattempt to weaken the groupand cause disintegrationamong its members.

Addressing a pressconference in Osogbo onWednesday, the NMAchairman in the state, Dr.Anthony Onipede, said thehealth practitioners wouldresist any attempt topoliticize the medicalprofession, even as hestated that the groupdeserved proper attentionfrom the government.

Onipede decried thecreation of multiple directorsand awarding of politicaltitles to healthprofessionals with the aimof compromising theirprinciples, warning thatsuch step might bringadverse effect on theactivities of the medicalpractitioners.

He said: “We are opposedto self-serving anddisruptive positions andtitles that will not augur well

for the system andultimately, the patients.”

The state NMA chairmandisclosed that a group

within the medicalprofession has been havingromance with the FederalGovernment with a view topolarizing the union,warning the FederalGovernment not to accedeto any request fromindividuals or groups onbehalf of the association.

Onipede also advised thegovernment not to grant anyrequest that will turn Nigeriainto a laughing stock in thecomity of nations.

He said: “The NMA andthe doctors in Nigeriahereby state categoricallythat we will not allow ourprofession and the

healthcare industry to bedestroyed by self-aggrandizement andpersonal interest of the few.

“Any attempt tosubjugate the medical anddental profession anddestroy the internationallyestablished best practicesin the health sector shall beresisted with all legitimatemeans available to us.”

Aregbesola Advocates More Attention On Basic EducationBy KEHINDE AYANTUNJI

THE governor of the State of Osun, OgbeniRauf Argbesosla, on Wednesday advocatedmore funding and government concentration

on basic education, which, he described, as thefoundation of knowledge.

Aregbesola said withoutquality and sound basiceducation, a large chunk ofthe Nigerian universitygraduate may continue to

be unproductive. Aregbesola said this

while playing host to theCommittee of Deans ofEngineering and

Technology in NigerianUniversities, who paid hima courtesy visit at theGovernment House,Osogbo, the state capital.

He noted that theeducation sector in thecountry is currently indisarray as a result ofneglect of basic education,which he described, as thefoundation to any good

education.According to him,

before education can bemeaningful at the tertiarylevel, the foundation,which is the basic level,must be taken seriously bygiving it the necessaryattention it deserves.

He maintained that agood basic education iscapable of guiding,

moulding and preparingthe pupils for the futurechallenges, whichaccording to him, was themajor reason hisa d m i n i s t r a t i o nconcentrates mostly onbasic education.

The governor held thatfor tertiary education inthe country to have anymeaningful impact on the

lives of the Nigerianyouths, the basic level ofeducation must not behandled with kid gloves.

He added that anyindividual with good basiceducation can conquer anychallenge or obstacle in life,as a complete individual ismade at the elementarylevel.

He described the “OponImo” project of hisadministration as a world-beater, saying hisadministration decided toinvest in the project in a bidto democratise education inthe state.

Chairman of theCommittee of Deans ofEngineering andTechnology in NigerianUniversities, ProfessorAdagbonyi Obasi, earlier inhis remark, said thecommittee decided to paythe governor a visit toencourage him on his giantstrides in the educationsector.

He described Osun as arole model in terms ofeducational revolution.

He said the passion ofthe governor in his attemptto revamp the educationsector in the state deservescommendation.

Aregbesola’s style ofgovernance, according toObasi, is capable ofinstilling in the students ofthe state, the discipline thatis needed in making thembetter individuals.

Obasi however,expressed optimism that theachievements of thegovernor in his first termin office will be enough tomake him emerge as thewinner in the forthcominggovernorship elections inthe state.

Osun 2014: Orolu Agog For Aregbesola•Rejects Omisore’s ‘Fufu’ AgendaIT was a carnival-like event when a sea of heads,

broom-wielding supporters of the AllProgressives Congress (APC) in Ifon-Osun,

headquarters of Orolu Local Government CouncilArea of the State of Osun, trooped out in a largenumber without mobilization or invitation, duringthe sensitization and solidarity rally organized bythe Orolu APC last Saturday.

The crowd wasmammoth and veryorderly during the rally,which was purposelyorganized to campaign forthe re-election bid ofGovernor Rauf Aregbesolain the August 9governorship election.

Members of APC andresidents of the ancienttown were seen dancingand singing against whatthey called, “fufu agenda”.

It would be recalled thatwhen Senator IyiolaOmisore visited Ifon aspart of his electioneering

campaign across the state,he promised that everyOrolu indigene would beeating seven wraps ofFufu each when hebecomes governor.

Indication to show thatevery Orolu son anddaughter recognizes andappreciate goodgovernance, the solidarityrally for Aregbesola startedwith an endurance trek,where party men andwomen, as well asmembers and supporters,c o m m e r c i a lmotorcyclists, popularly

called Okada riders,drivers, market men andwomen, students andothers took off from OoyeCompound to most majorstreets in the ancient townthrough the palace, andterminated at the partysecretariat at OoyeCompound.

An APC leader in OroluLocal Government CouncilArea, Alhaji KilaniOrisawale, whileaddressing the crowd,described OgbeniA r e g b e s o l a - l e dadministration as anadministration that haspeople as its focus and willnot relent its efforts inmaking life moremeaningful for the peopleof the state.

According to him; “thisis the first time the state

has been blessed with agovernor that has touchedlives positively through hisu n p r e c e d e n t e ddevelopmental projects”,adding that Aregbesola’scontinuity in office wouldbenefit the people and theentire state beyondexpectations.

In a goodwill message,state APC DeputyTreasurer, PrinceAdekunle Benson,commended the people ofthe area for turning out enmasse to express theirunalloyed support forOgbeni Aregbesola and theAPC, noting that Ifon-Orolu is known forprogressive at all timesuntil when PDP rigged the2003 election.

He therefore, urgedmembers and supportersto ensure that they keeptheir voters’ cards intact,to be able to exercise theirrights as voters

Benson also enjoinedthem not to be deceived byany politician who mightwant to buy their cards andmake them in eligible tovote.

While speaking,Honourable Kamil Oyedele,representing Irepodun/Orolu Constituency at thestate parliament, eulogizedOgbeni Aregbesola for hisunusual developmentalachievements within thelast 44 months, saying,only a progressive partycan make positive impacton people of the state.

Oyedele therefore,advised youths, as leadersof tomorrow, to avoidbeing used by desperatepoliticians, who mightwant to lure them withmoney.

He also advised them tostay away from anythingthat can tarnish the imageof the party, as well asmembers of the APC.

OSUN DEFENDER Sunday, July 20, 20144 News

•(R-L) Wife of the governor, State of Osun, Mrs Sherifat Aregbesola in a discussion with an Assistant Chief of Staff tothe Governor, Honourable Toogun Oguntola, during the special gathering with members of Osun Fulani Communityby Governor Rauf Aregbesola at the State Government House, Osogbo, last Monday.

Photo: GBENGA ADENIYI.

Osun Fulani Community Endorses AregbesolaBy KEHINDE AYANTUNJI

MEMBERS of the Fulani Community in the State ofOsun on Sunday endorsed the second termambition of Governor Rauf Aregbesola.

Majority of the Fulanicommunity members, whoare mostly herdsmen,stormed the GovernmentHouse in their hundreds torally support for thegovernor.

Speaking on behalf of theFulani Community in thestate, Alhaji Toyin Sulaiman,expressed appreciation tothe governor for advancingthe course of Fulanis in thestate.

Sulaiman said most of theprogrammes of the presentadministration in the ruralareas are targeted towardsmaking life better andmeaningful for the Fulaniherdsmen and their familiesin the state.

Sulaiman called on thegovernor to create moreopportunities for Fulanicommunity by assisting inboosting their cattlebusiness.

He also called on thegovernment to assist themin the area of building moreschools in theircommunities and createemployment opportunitiesfor their educated children.

He said: “We are in fullsupport of youradministration because nogovernment has supportedand assisted our people likeyour administration.

“We are so happy that

you have given us so muchrecognition by setting upthis committee that will seeto the needs of our people,which no government hasever done before in thisstate.”

Within the first term of thecurrent administration,Aregbesola has displayeduncommon zeal, to banishhunger, poverty,unemployment and restorehealthy living beyond theimagination of the people.

Responding, GovernorAregbesola urged everyethnic group in the state todraw closer to the presentadministration in the state,as a way of knowing furtherthe yearnings of everyresident of the state.

Aregbesola, who laudedthe efforts of the committeeon harmonious relationshipbetween Fulani herdsmenand farmers, said the six-point integral action plan ofthe government touchesevery live in the state.

He said the Fulanis arenot left out, having beenable to supply the stategovernment with about onethousand cows for theschool’s feedingprogramme (O-MEAL) inthe last two years.

According toAregbesola: “Our six-point

integral action plan carriesyou along in the schemes ofthings and we are not readyor planning to leave anyethnic group, especially theFulanis, out in ourdevelopmental agenda.”

“Our programmestowards development haveno preferential treatment forany religion or group. Thisadministration is an

administration foreverybody and it willcontinue to be like that.”

“Our six-point integralaction plan cuts acrossevery citizen in this state,regardless of your tribe andreligion. I implore you notto distant yourselves fromthis government and therest of this state because weare one and we want to make

life more meaningful andeasier for you.”

Also speaking earlier,Assistant Chief of Staff andChairman of the Committeeon HarmoniousRelationship between theFulani Herdsmen and theFarmers, HonourableOguntola Toogun, said thecommittee, with the supportof the state government, has

Osun 2014: University Don WarnsElectorate Against Deceit

By KAZEEM MOHAMMED

A Professor of Political Science and the formerSpeaker of the State Assembly of Osun, ProfessorMojeed Alabi, has warned that the implication would

be catastrophic, if the people of the state could allowthemselves to be deceived by the antics of the PeoplesDemocratic Party (PDP) who want power by all means.

He noted that with thefoundation that GovernorRauf Aregbesola has laid,Osun may not be able to getback on line for many yearsto come, should the peopleallow the antics of theopposition to rob them oftheir mandate.

Speaking during a chatwith journalists in Osogbo,the university don said thepeople of Osun shoulddisplay their civilisation andensure that the kind ofcalamity that befell EkitiState people during theirgovernorship election is notallowed to have its way inOsun.

“The issue in this electionis development versus‘chop-make-I-chop’ and Iknow that the people ofOsun are much moresophisticated to be able tosee and read between thelines and know where theirinterest lies.

“I also know that theirinterest lies in continuationof our development thatAregbesola has started,because I don’t want toimagine Aregbesola losingthat election. Does it meanall these roads will stop?Does it mean O’YES willstop? Does it mean school

feeding of children will stop?Does it mean theconstruction of newschools will stop?

“The implication of thisloss, if we can allow it, willbe too catashtrophic for theentirety of Osun and wemay not get back on line formany years to come.

“So, for me, I don’t seeanything that will stop theman Aregbesola fromwinning the election.

“Of course, there areother things that people areinsinuating like bringingsoldiers, police, usingphotocromic votingequipment, rigging, violenceand all that, but I think wehave risen beyond that level.

“Our people in Osun arecivilised and the kind ofcalamity that befell thepeople of Ekiti will not befallus in Osun by the grace ofGod. Come August 9, 2014,the people of Osun will beable to show to the worldthat we can see thedifference between aperson, who wants to makea positive impact on us andsomeone who wants to milkus.

“We should all work hard

to make sure that thesedividends of democracy,which are pleasing to all ofus, will continue for quitesome time,” Professor Alabistressed.

The university don saidAregbesola has laid a properfoundation for thedevelopment of the stateand he should be givenchance to build on it duringhis second term in office.

been able to maintain goodrelationship between thetwo groups, adding thatother pending issues wouldbe settled soon.

He said the committeeworked in collaborationwith all the executivesecretaries in the state,which has made the jobeasier.

PDP Thugs Attack Aregbesola’s Mobiliser

A member of De Raufs Volunteer Group, a socio-political organization, championing the secondterm agenda of Governor Rauf Aregbesola of the

State of Osun, Mr Lukman Abimbola Bello, was recentlyattacked by some thugs suspected to be Peoples DemocraticParty (PDP) loyalists.

Relating his ordeal toOSUN DEFENDER,Lukman, who is the Directorof Mobilization of the groupin the 30 local governmentareas of the state and theArea Office in Modakeke,revealed that he wasmobbed and in the process,lost a sum of N250,000 andtwo mobile phones.

He expressed sadnessover the way he wasattacked and noted that asan indigene of the state,why should loyalists ofsome political parties beresulting to violent attack inthe name of election.

“It is indeed sad the waybillboards, posters andoffices belonging to the AllProgressives Congress(APC) are being destroyedby members of the PeoplesDemocratic Party (PDP).

“The attacks on thepeople are pure invitation toanarchy and if we just foldour arms and watch, thingswill definitely get out ofhands. This may spell doomfor our democracy in thestate.

“What we are expectingfrom all the politicalgladiators contesting for thegovernorship office is for

them to have the fear of Godin all their activities,”

He expressed surprisethat all other contestantshave been imbibing suchfear, except for the PDP,whose sole aim, accordingto him, is to maim, kill anddestroy, adding that politicsshould be aimed atalleviating the sufferings ofthe people and giving themthe dividends ofdemocracy.

The Founder of DeRauf,Comrade Amitolu Shittu,while corroborating theclaim, said the PDP membershave also been involved inthe act of tearing all theposters belonging to theAPC candidate.

He described the act asuncalled for in a democraticstate, calling on the securityagents to call the attackersto order.

By AKINPELU ABOSEDE

Osun 2014: How PDP Planned To Rig ElectionBy SHINA ABUBAKAR

THE Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), the State ofOsun chapter, has concluded plans on how to rigthe August 9, 2014 governorship election, whether

the electorate vote for its candidate or not.

Findings revealed that theparty has resolved to importthe Ekiti State strategy to rigthe Osun poll, where itwould induce voters, whosevoters’ cards details andmobile phone numbers hadalready been collected twodays before the poll.

A source disclosed to themedium that Ekiti State pollwas the most expensiveever prosecuted by the PDPsince the return ofdemocracy in the country.

It was gathered thatvoters during the poll wereinduced with N10,000,N5,000 and small, mediumbags of rice, to vote for thegovernor-elect under theplatform of the PDP, a featthe party intends to repeatto rig the August 9, 2014 poll

in Osun.It would be recalled that

allegations of buying ofvoters’ cards have been onfor over a month in the state,with the All ProgressivesCongress (APC) accusingthe PDP of attempting to useit to contact voters beforethe poll, with a view toinducing them.

Meanwhile, the party alsohas in its kitty a plan B inthe event of the failure ofbuying votes, as a result of

massive publicity launchedagainst releasing of voters’cards details to suspectingmembers of the public.

The plan B, which isalready in play, is tothumbprint ballot papers forsixteen local governmentcouncil areas of the stateand should the PDP lose thepoll, it would collude withINEC to substitute the ballotand proceed to the tribunal.

Findings revealed that theparty is confident ofwinning the polls at thetribunal, if the move to buyvotes is not successful.

It was gathered that someballot papers had beenthumbprinted in the houses

of some notable PDPchieftains in the statecapital, who the partybelieve would not besuspected by the public.

It was alleged that thehouses of people beingused include a formertransport union boss and aformer national officer of theparty in the state capital.

Findings revealed that thePDP is also jittery of theincreasing popularity of theincumbent governor andagreed that it would be atedious task to wrestle thestate from his grip; hence, itresorted to intimidatingmembers of the public.

5OSUN DEFENDER Sunday, July 20, 2014

Compatriots, Jealously Guard Your Votes!Continued fromg1

But to guard our votesjealously could even be said to bemore important than casting ourvotes. This is in view of thedesperation of the far from beingdemocratic Peoples DemocraticParty (PDP) and its gubernatorial'wannabe' in the state, IyiolaOmisore Mr. 'Money miss road',to coast home victory in thecoming election. Thus while it'simportant to give our votes toOgbeni, it's even more importantto jealously guard our votes. Thisis what we need to do to ensurethat the PDP doesn't succeed in itsevil machinations.

Already there are threats of vio-lence from the party on membersof the ruling party, APC as they(PDP) are threatening fire againstAPC members. Going by their an-tecedent violence and rigging aretheir stock-in-trade. And since thereis no hope for them of winning thecoming election through 'One manOne vote' then their hope lies in re-peating what they know how to dobest.

Another way through which thePDP is hoping to claim victory is bythrowing money and other valuablegifts out to entice voters to sell theirvotes. In this regard the handwrit-ing had for long appeared on the

wall. With the distribution of kero-sene to their members and somemembers of the public whichstarted last year their journey toentice voters with the aim of buy-ing their votes started.

This stratagem rather than strat-egy, being viciously employed bythe PDP in the state of Osun, iswhat we see as 'jeun s'iku' shouldcitizens get swayed by it. 'Jeuns'iku' literally means 'eat and die'or 'eat the food that will lead youto your grave'. The money andother forms of gift which the PDPand Iyiola Omisore rely on to buycitizens' votes are nothing but'Greek gift' and 'blood money' andcollecting them to do their bidingmeans doing so at one's peril. Itsimply means sending our stateback to the pre-Aregbesola era;backwater of development. MayGod forbid!

But it's not enough to pray toGod to forbid evil things. We thecitizens must also not use our ownhands to bring evil things on ourheads. To collect PDP's bloodmoney to sell our conscience in thecoming election will be tantamountto 'jeun s'iku' the consequence ofwhich will be dire for our state. Ofcourse the citizens can collect thegift of money and other gifts thePDP is ready to offer them but theymust not do so to do their bidding.The votes in the coming election

are for Ogbeni Aregbesola who hasraised the bar of good and respon-sible governance in the state andshould never go to any other partylet alone the PDP.

The PDP and Iyiola Omisore arefree to go about to throw carrot tothe people in their desperation tocapture the conscience of voters butnever should the voters allow theirconscience to be captured by theseunscrupulous elements who havenothing to offer our state. The PDPhas been in power for close to eightyears here without any positive thingto show for it. All it had to show forits eight years of misrule are purelynegative; violence, hunger, unem-ployment, collapsed school system,bad roads and general under-devel-opment across the state.

And on the part of the party's can-didate, 'Mr. Money miss road' him-self, he too had nothing positive toshow for representing the state at thehighest legislative body of this coun-try even as he held a juicy positionin the Senate, being Chairman Ap-propriation Committee for fouryears. Rather than serving the peopleand made positive impact in theirlives he was only there to serve hisown pocket. So in what way arethey - both the PDP and Omisore -going to effect any meaningful changein the life of the state as they areshouting around?

We know that the virtuous andresponsible citizens of our statewho have enjoyed dividends of de-mocracy in unprecedented termunder the able and visionary lead-ership of Ogbeni Aregbesola willnot waste their votes. We are surethey are not going to sell their con-science. We believe fervently thattheir votes will be for Aregbesolaas they are not ready to 'jeun s'iku'.However,as we said above it's onething to vote, the next importanttask before them come electionday after voting is for them to pro-tect their votes.

Our people must guard theirvotes jealously so that these vision-less elements who rely on votestealing like they did in 2007 andwho have nothing to offer the stateand its people don't succeed intheir fraudulent and evil plans. Forthem not to succeed the ball is inthe court of the people. Our re-sponsibilities are clear; to vote andto protect our votes. These arewhat we must do to ensure the re-turn of the Aregbesola-led pro-gressive government that has doneso well for our state.

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OSUN DEFENDER Sunday, July 20, 20146 FEATURE

Osun2014: Jonathan Rubbishing Governance – AregbesolaOsun State Governor, Mr. Rauf Aregbesola, who is also the candidate of the All Progressives

Congress, in this interview with TUNDE ODESOLA, comments on the forthcoming Osungovernorship election. Excerpt.YOUR administration has been

severely criticised for youreducational policies which

include provision of same schooluniforms for all students and themerging of schools.

We are saying we want to change anew set of Nigerians that will not harbourthe weaknesses which our generationharbours. We want to create a new manon which society will be borne and youcan’t do it on what is presently here. Thatis why I said people should visit our megaschool in Ejigbo and see what is there. Itis named after the best literary icon Africahas produced (Wole Soyinka). It is aworthy investment in education. The ideais you cannot get education and still comeout and be the same man. That is howeducation is supposed to be. Education issupposed to refine you and make you theman or woman you must be. Our highschools are being constructed toaccommodate 36,000 students becauseeach of the high schools willaccommodate about 3,000 studentsthough the recommendation of UNESCOis that a school must have a maximum of athousand students. So, what do we nowhave? We have three schools in one. Wewill have a school on one side and thenwe’ll have school A, B, C with threeprincipals and one coordinating principal.

Are you afraid that you might lose theoncoming election going by the fact thatEkiti just fell to the Peoples DemocraticParty?

I don’t even think of it and that is theinteresting thing. In the first instance, Iresolved to be very conscious of ademocratic norm. And what is thedemocratic norm? It was expressed in astatement I issued after the Ekiti election. Isaid a genuine democrat must be willingand ready to embrace the state. I willaccept the result of the election providedthe election is transparent, credible, freeand fair. So it is not about you, it is aboutthe quality of the electoral process, oncethe quality is good, whatever the peoplesay, because they are the ultimate deciderof who represents them or governs them. Isaid democratic choices are expected tobe correct, good and right but it is notalways that the choice is good, correctand right but human beings are forever indemocracy for themselves and inchoosing who governs them.

Are you worried of losing theelection?

Even before I assumed this office, Iprepared so well for the office to theextent that I should not be workingpresently the way I am still working. Acommentator said something about me. Hesaid I am one of the few politicians thatfrom day one, I designed my campaign.From the very first day I entered thisoffice, I started my campaign. How manygovernors walk the streets with theircitizens? I’ve been doing that since myfirst month in office. How many governorscreate an interactive forum in Nigeria? Iwas the first governor to devote close to10-12 hours of continuous engagementwith the citizenry on a quarterly basis.How many governors create theopportunity for community meeting wherethe governor sits and all the stakeholdersin the community comment on thegovernment, tells you what you want tohear, tells you want you don’t want tohear, asks you pointedly questions abouttheir lives. We did that in every federalconstituency. Every month I take a walkround every community, it is carnival-like.There is no household, including those ofthe PDP and other political parties thatour programmes have not reached, none. Ifeed 300,000 pupils every school day atthe cost of N3.6bn a year. I have beendoing it since 2012 so I have spent clearlyN10.3bn on that.

Why is your administration havingconflicts with civil servants, commercial

motorcyclists, and students of higherinstitutions?

It is impossible for humans to existwithout conflicts. Yoruba say even thetongue and mouth fight. The teethsometime bite the tongue. Please forgoodness sake, a sociologist who is ahuman scientist, will not therefore basehis assessment of any sector on wherethere is disagreements. Let us look at thegood that has been done because that ishow you must situate your relationshipthough that you have done well does notmean that some people will not just likeyou. What should concern you are notthose who are opposed to you. What weare doing is to ensure that this section ofpeople that you have mentioned don’thave any basis at all to be opposed to us.

But there was a protest against youradministration by students last year.

We met a condition here wherestudents were given N3,000 as bursaryand they were not even getting thebursary on time and it was full of scam.Some people would come and negotiateand collect the money and nobody wouldget it. They brought it to me to sign and Isaid why would I have to sign N3, 000 foranybody? It’s best you don’t give thisbursary or we give it meaningfully. Weraised the money to N10, 000 flat. Formedical students and law students, weraised it to N20,000. For students in LawSchool, we made it N100,000. There was aclamour for the reduction of school feesand we reduced it and we have beeninvesting in developing the institutions ashard up as we are, more than any otheradministration has done in the history ofthis state. Yes, we are having challengeswith the lecturers but it is not peculiar tous. The demands of these lecturers aresuch that you just have to bear it. I willnot say more than that now because it is

sensitive. ‘Okada riders’ do not have aproblem with us. They may want us todo things for them as we have done toother groups. There is no part of thisstate where we have not constructed alink road. Roads with drainage,concrete, with stone base, with thickasphaltic covers. Motorists andmotorcyclists are enjoying the use ofthese roads.

Many see the various constructionworks your administration is doingas cosmetic and unnecessary.

I have two challenges that motivateme: The mass poverty and thehopelessness of the black man. So, Iwas so determined to get to where I amtoday because I wanted to make myown little contribution to change thoseterrible things. Part of what I havestarted to do is to build roads. Weneed to lift up our spirits. No city wasbuilt in heaven and brought back toearth, they were built by humanbeings. Are they more brilliant thanus? When Maktoum started theconstruction of Dubai, he was notolder than me. He was 40 somethingwhile I am 57. So, if people in otherparts of the world are using their God-given abilities to change theirlandscape. What stops us fromdeveloping ours? Six years ago, Ivisited Dubai, a semi-desert. Such anation that was an arid land 15 yearsago is now a place that everybodywants to be.

Why are you in conflict withworkers?

As for civil servants, before myadvent, they did not know salariescould be paid before the end of themonth. Before December 2010, salarieswere not being paid before the end ofthe month for seven and a half years.

Nobody even knew it was possible to paybefore the end of the month. I resumed officeon November 27 and salaries had not beenpaid and no one expected salaries to be paid.Anyway, by December 3, I paid Novembersalary. Before the end of the year, which endsat December 25, I paid 10 per cent of basicsalaries as 13th month salary. I paidDecember salary before the end of the year.

Since that day, up till December 2013, I paidsalaries on or before the 25th of every monthbut as of January 2014, we ran into problemswhich we explained to everybody six monthsahead. In July of 2013, the FederalGovernment came up with a story that400,000 barrels of crude oil were being stolenevery day. When we first heard we did notknow that a problem was coming. Instead ofcollecting N4.6bn as allocation, they gave usN2.6bn, 40 per cent was gone. We thought itwould be temporary because after thatmonth, the Federal Government said only20,000 barrels was being lost per day. Whenthe oil being lost reduced from 400,000 to20,000 per day, should we still expect a 40 percent cut? From that July till now, the maximumallocation this state has ever received isN3.2bn which was in November 2013.

Now ask me, how was I able to cope tillDecember? I had been managing the moneysuch that 10 per cent of allocations andgenerated money was put in reserve whichwas also a buildup to my refusal to form acabinet for 10 months. I saved the money thatI should have paid to commissioners for 10months. Whereas my income fell to N2.6bn atthe lowest and N3.2bn at the highest for amonth, my statutory expenditures, these areexpenditures that I have no control over onceyou’ve agreed on it. An example of suchexpenditure is salary and pensions and itcosts N3.6bn every month. I don’t havepower over it; I cannot say I am not paying it.Between July and December last year, Iaugmented our income with N5.4bn all in thehope that this thing would go. It has notgone till now. It is even worse. Before, whenyou get the allocation, you cash it on the15th of the following month and that is whythey were paying salaries on the 15th ofevery month before we came. But now,because they want to squeeze the oppositiongovernment, they are also squeezingthemselves. Nobody gets allocation beforethe 25th of the following month.

In your manifesto, you promised thatyou’ll create a market environment thatwould make people buy goods in Osogbofor the prices they are sold in Lagos. Thishas not come to pass.

By the sixth month of being in power, I gota deal from a Chinese company to give mefive locomotives without paying a kobo. Ihad this programme then of transportinggoods, farm produce from here to Lagos freeof charge. I also transported finishedproducts from Lagos to here and it is stillthere so as to turn this place into a hub forpeople to come from the hinterland and buythings because once you remove the cost oftransportation, goods would sell here at theprice of Lagos. I stayed in front of thePresident’s Office in Abuja for close to threehours in the night just to get the President’sapproval to use the rail. By 3am the Presidentcame and said ‘Governor of Osun you arehere.’ What was I requesting? Allow the useof your tracks. Once you allow it, the Chinesepeople are ready to give me the fivelocomotives. I can’t bring the locomotives inhere if I can’t use the railway. I went back andthey said write another letter which I did. I amtelling you what is painful to me. I am nottalking about my achievements now but howtotally insensitive some of us are to thesecritical issues. These are issues that I can’teven understand. It is not about whether youare in All Progressives Congress or PeoplesDemocratic Party. Your mandate is to improvethe lives of the people and when you get tooffice, you must shun partisanship.

Culled from ThePUNCH

•AREGBESOLA

OSUN DEFENDER Sunday, July 20, 2014 7

8 OSUN DEFENDER Sunday, July 20, 2014PHOTOTALK

•Some Fulani women cheering Governor Aregbesola at the event.

Special Gathering With Osun Fulani Community By Governor Rauf Aregbesola, AtThe State Governmnet House, Osogbo, Last Monday. Photo: GBENGA ADENIYI.

•(L-R) Professor Olasupo Oladipo and Chief of Staff to the Governor, Alhaji GboyegaOyetola.

•(R-L) Governor Rauf Aregbesola; Leader of the Fulani Community, Alhaji Toyin Sulaimon and Alhaji Babatunde Bello, Sheriki Fulani in Osogbo.

•A cross section of Fulanis at the gathering.

9OSUN DEFENDER Sunday, July 20, 2014 PHOTOTALK

•Some of the Women Leaders (Iyalodes) from various communities of the state at the programme.

2014 Sensitization And Awareness Day On Women Participation In Politics In Osogbo,State Of Osun, Last Tuesday. Photo: GBENGA ADENIYI.

•A cross section of market women at the event.

•

•(L-R) State of Osun Commissioner for Agriculture and Food Security, Prince Wale Adedoyin; Special Adviser to the Governor on Women and Children Affairs, Mrs FunmilayoEso-Williams and state Commissioner for Women and Children Affairs, Mrs Adetoun Adegboyega.

•Some of the dignitaries during the programme.

10 OSUN DEFENDER Sunday, July 20, 2014

•

More Pix From The All Progressives Congress (APC) Mega Rally For The Re-election Of Ogbeni Rauf Aregbesola In Ilesa, State Of Osun, Last Tuesday.

Photo: GBEGA ADENIYI And SHOLA ADERINTO.

•Some members of the Ayeni Support Group under the APC during the rally.

PHOTOTALK

• A cross section of APC supporters at the rally.

•The governor, State of Osun, Ogbeni Rauf Aregbesola (on the podium) acknowledging, cheers from the ecstatic crowd of his supporters and sympathisers.

11 OSUN DEFENDER Sunday, July 20, 2014FEATURE

Ogbeni Aregbesola, Òrànmíyàn’s Chief Of Staff

I had sworn that my first visit toOsogbo would be to its world-

famousOsun Sacred Grove. Instead, I

attended a “mega” rally in the historictown of Iwo, one of many at whichOgbeni Rauf Aregbesola is asking theOsun people to renew his mandate astheir governor.

I set out from Osogbo at about 11am with Mr Solagbade Amodeni,former Commissioner for NaturalResources in Ondo State, childhoodfriend of Ogbeni’s and now a voluntarypolitical associate.

His mission of gauging the level ofpreparedness and mood of the peoplefor the rally coincides with mine. Veryearly in the morning, we saw buses,some screen-painted with campaignposters, ferrying supporters to thevenue, small roadside crowdsbrandishing brooms, the symbol ofOgbeni’s party, the All ProgressivesCongress (APC). We arrive in Iwo justafter noon and feel immediately theenergy in the air.

On Bowen University Road in theOke Odo area, all feet, it seems, areheading to the township stadium(actually, only a fenced field), venue ofthe rally, about a kilometre away.

A record store is blastingAregbesola’s praise in Yoruba. Varioustee-shirt groups, walking campaignposters: brown tee-shirts that say“’D’Team proudly support (sic) Rauf;”red-and-black shirts are the ProgressiveTorchbearers and say only “Rauf 2014OK;” green shirts proclaim him“Oranmiyan— Yoruba Legend;” lemon-green shirts matched with baseball capsare “DeRaufs,” among many otherpolitical aso-ebi.

Finally, we are at the venue, a thirdfull, the crowd swelling by the minute.Sounds of competing talking drumgroups, in uniforms, can now be heardunderneath the amplified music of KingWasiu Ayinde Marshall, KWAM I,leading his Fuji band to entertain thecrowd.

Brooms, banners and posterseverywhere, and even more tee-shirt

groups, among them a clutch ofwomen in navy-blue shirts advertisingAregbesola’s” tablets of knowledge”programme with the slogan “OponImo, Empowering minds, Enrichinglives.” I make my way towards thestage—two actually, one covered, withseats for dignitaries, and an open deckwith the microphone stands.

With the help of Amodeni, I amallowed past security and onto thespeakers’ deck where I can moreclearly see the crowd. To get there, Ihave to walk past the covered stage, atthe back of which is a big bannerannouncing Ogbeni’s signatureprogrammes: “O’Reap (rural enterpriseand agriculture), O’Schools (rebuildingschools), O’Meals (balanced dietnutrition for pupils), O’Yes(employment). At the bottom of thebanner, a sense of rhyme with O’seun!I climb up the speakers’ stage and scanthe “stadium,” nearly half-full and quiteagog by now.

The atmosphere is getting moreelectric, a red helicopter is hoveringabove the thickening crowd, circlingthe vicinity in wide surveillance arcs,and there is very little time to reminisce—that must wait till after the rally.Basiru and Semiu dart off and I turn toread the banner on the wall at the backof the speakers’ stage.

“Òrànmíyàn, Leekansi!” it says.“Òrànmíyàn, Once more.” It is a cleverpun, as another banner more baldlyasserts: “The Return of Òrànmíyàn.”Ogbeni as the re-incarnation of thelegendary son of Oduduwa whosefabled staff in Ife is probably the mosttreasured ancestral relic in Yorubaland.Ogbeni has even had the staff stitchedonto the breast pockets of some of hisshirts and wears it as a personal logo.If the fastidiously austere Aregbesolacan be accused of self-regard, it wouldbe in this appropriation of a hallowedancestor, but I strain in vain for anyoutward sign of insincerity. I see,instead, the clever use of myth, blendedwith pop culture. For soon, FadeyiOloro, a popular Yoruba actor famousfor his roles as Ifa priest, comes onstage with his entourage, all in danshikiand blackened faces and hands, one of

them carrying a basket of hornsadorned with feathers, cowries, stripsof red cloth; incantations follow. Attheir exit, pop culture takes the stage.

Campaign and security teams

KWAM I has left his band on a stage50 meters away to join Sir Shina Peters(Afro-juju/Aregbesola, the difference isclear), Weird MC and Tony Tetuila forbanter and photos with their fansamong the technical crew andcampaign and security teams. ThenPeters, Tetuila and Weird MC perform.Back with his band, KWAM I leadssweeping-dance choruses in-betweenhis colleagues’ acts: “Igbaletim’owa,DEMO nimotigba.”

With this broom, I will sweep thereactionary party away, DEMO being areference to S. L. Akintola’s NigerianNational Democratic Party which alliedwith the Northern People’s Congress inthe First Republic to break thedominance of Awolowo’s Action Groupin the old Western Region.

More than three hours have passedsince I entered the stadium. And now aloud buzz followed by faces turned enmasse to the stadium entrance warn ofAregbesola’s arrival. At the entrance tothe stage, he dismounts and half-runsto the speakers’ deck to greet thecrowd, not to speak yet, this timeserenaded by KWAM I.

Then he takes his seat on thecanopied stage while Osun’s politicalworthies in the APC fold address thecrowd: Isiaka Adeleke, the state’s firstgovernor, now a senator; Senator SolaAdeyeye, the re-election campaigndirector; Najeem Salaam, speaker of thestate house of assembly; Mrs GraceTitilayo Laoye-Tomori, the deputygovernor, among others.

At 4:55 PM, Ogbeni is introducedright after his deputy has addressed thecrowd. He dances onto the stage,broom in hand, to the pulsating beat ofSkelewu. He begins his address with aMuslim chant that progresses into acall-and-response with his audience,and then he goes through a long list ofpersonalities and groups whom hegreets.

Very stealthily, Ogbeni works thecrowd to a passionate affirmation of hisre-election against any machination ofthe opposition party, brooms hoisted,fists clenched and raised, talking-drumsin frenzied rhythms and KWAM Isupplying Fuji chants to every applauseline.

Ogbeni had been speaking for overhalf an hour to a rapturous crowd.Amodeni comes upstage to nudge meoff the loud-speaker box where I amnow seating to give my feet a littlereprieve. He says we should leave” justbefore Aregbe finishes his speech andthe crowd surges after him, hamperingour exit. I follow him. Many othershave decided to avoid that scenario aswell. Soon, we are back on BowenUniversity Road for the kilometre-longtrek to where Amodeni’s car is parked.Under a large white canopy on the rightside of the street, at about midway, is agathering that will discuss the rally tillthe wee hours.

Stomach infrastructure

Nineteen days after, Aregbesola’sbrother governor in neighbouring EkitiState shockingly loses his mandate to aformer governor impeached on severalgrounds, including corruption, in anelection that will be known to historyby the unfortunate phrase “stomachinfrastructure.” The very improbabilityof that victory gives the opposition inOsun, led once again by an aspirantunder a heavy cloud of suspicion, highhopes. If what I witnessed before,during and after the Iwo rally isanything to go by, I doubt very muchthat it is not a highly misplaced hope.Aregbesola cuts the picture of a mantotally immersed in his people and theirhistory, one who comes from and is ofthe masses. Blessed with boundlessenergy, he is astonishingly reanimatedin their midst to star in the “total”people’s theatre that each of his megarallies truly is. I don’t believe inreincarnation but I would bet onOgbeni’s return as Òrànmíyàn’s chiefof staff!

•Culled from Vanguard

By OGAGA IFOWODO

•ALL FOR GOVERNOR AREGBESOLA: A mammoth crowd of Governor Rauf Aregbesola’s admirers, welcoming him (on top of a bus), during his re-election mega rally inEde North/Ede South/Egbedore/Ejigbo Federal Constituency, held at the Seventh Day Adventist Grammar School, Ede, State of Osun, recently.

OSUN DEFENDER Sunday, July 20, 201412 FEATURE

The mega rallies of the State of Osun Chapter of the All Progressives Congress (APC) are ending on a quite interestingnote. As the party and its standard-bearer gain more in prominence and acceptance, more defectors troop to their side ofthe divide in their droves. This dramatic turn of events send cold shivers of jitters down the spine of the leading opposition.The events unfolding at Ilesa, the venue of the eighth rally last Tuesday threw in the towel for the forlorn party. Would itbe able to resist or withstand its imminent total fall as the Gubernatorial Election knocks harder at the door? NIYIOLASINDE acts as participating observer in proffering clues to this and other probing, puzzling questions, whichconstitute matters arising as aftermath to this latest rally.

IT was a cool, clement weather last Tuesday,reminiscent of Providence smiling on thesecond term bid of Ogbeni Rauf

Aregbesola; as the governor’s campaign trainmoved to Ilesa, the headquarters of Ijesa SouthFederal Constituency, to keep appointmentwith destiny as the eighth in the series of megarallies packaged to hold round the nine federalconstituencies of the state settled on theancient town. The federal constituencycomprises four local government council areas,namely Ilesa West, Ilesa East, AtakunmosaWest and Atakunmosa East local councils.With the earlier campaigns held at Ile-Ife andIbokun, it is the last of the three federalconstituencies in the Osun East (Ife / Ijesa)Senatorial District of the state to be socovered by the campaign rally.

The mega rally at Ilesa was true to itsrightful description in all ramifications, as itturned out to be a homecoming indeed for theincumbent governor of the state, Ogbeni RaufAdesoji Aregbesola, at the instance of whosere-election the rally was convened. OgbeniAregbesola hailed from the Ogbon ArogboQuarters of the ancient town of Ilesa. By thisfact, he is from the Ilesa East LocalGovernment Council Area of the state. Thefact remains therefore that it was normal anddeserving that his own people troop out toaccord him a rallying welcome; not only forthe fact that he is their kith and kin, butbecause he took time out, daring thelimitations imposed by paucity of funds tocater for the people of his place of birth in theareas of provision of amenities andinfrastructure and rendering of quality service.For the first time in a long period, the Ijesashad a genuine feel of a government at work.

The town was already set for the event ofthe day. As early as the dawn of the day,people could be seen rushing up and down,obviously to get themselves adequatelyprepared for the big gathering. It was as ifOgbeni paved the way purposely for thatparticular event. The network of roads which Continued on page 13

he labored to put in place, which wascommissioned sometime early this year; gotits test-running as it came into full use on thatoccasion. This is not to say that the roads hadnot been in use since date of officialcommissioning. As a matter of fact, they hadbeen in use like others in their category uponcompletion, prior to their date ofcommissioning! The mammoth crowd of theday, coupled with what the degree ofattendant gridlock on such occasion wouldhave been justified the paving of such typeand quality of roads.

All the way from Osunjela, the Ijesaborder-end with Osogbo, the state capitalterritory; through all the communities whichadorn the way to Ilesa, people trooped out indroves to await the governor and his train andgive cheers of compliments and goodwill tothem as they rode to Ilesa. The turnout on thestreets of Ilesa was simply terrific. Right fromthe city entrance at Omi-Aladiye down to thecity-centre at Ereja Square, the crowd wastumultuous. The big roundabout in front ofAafin Adimula, where the cenotaph of OwaAjibogun stands tall became a stadium wherespectators had converged to play audience toone of the series of matches in the thenongoing 2014 FIFA World Cup tournament.Simply put, the crowd was rousing!

At the palace of the monarch, theparamount ruler of Ijesaland, Owa Obokun ofIjesaland, the crowd was amazing. Right insidethe palace square, all available spaces, therunway and car parks inclusive, played hostto hordes of people who had converged to bidwelcome to the governor of the state. It wouldnot be an overstatement to call it a triumphantentry. Candidly, it relived the experience of asimilar entry made into Jerusalem over two-thousand years ago by Jesus Christ. Thedegree of similarity was increased with thepresence of brooms – an extraction fromfronds of the Palm Tree. So, we would be rightif the day is tagged a Palm Tuesday.

As is his usual practice, Governor

Aregbesola was on a traditional homage-paying visit to the Owa Obokun of Ijesaland,Oba Gabriel Adekunle Aromolaran. Inaddition, the purpose of the visit was toofficially intimate the monarch and a galaxy ofothers in attendance with his second term bid,the raison d’être for the day’s rally and toreceive blessings from the monarchs beforeproceeding to the venue. The monarch was onhand to receive the governor. In attendance athis palace were other Obas in Ijesa SouthFederal Constituency, Owa-in-Council, Lojas,village heads and all royalties.

On the side of the governor, membership ofhis team was impressive. Governor Aregbesolawas accompanied by his counterpart fromOgun State, who had come to solidarize withhim, His Excellency, Senator Ibikunle Amosun.Others are selected members of the ExecutiveCouncil of the State of Osun, selectedhonourable members of the State House ofAssembly, some members of the hierarchy ofthe State Executive of the All ProgressivesCongress (APC) and other eminentpersonalities.

In his introductory speech at the event,Governor Aregbesola appreciated theauspicious roles played by the traditionalfathers in ensuring that peace reigned on theirdomains. He expressed the high value heplaced on their support, guidance andcontributions to his administration all thiswhile. He enumerated the achievements of hisadministration in the area; placing it all on theenabling environment they contributed toprovide. The governor then promised that allthat had been seen during his first tenurewould be miniature, compared with greaterlaudable programmes and projects which hestill had in stock if given the mandate to servefor another term in office. He concluded bysoliciting the assistance of the royal fathers inmaintaining peaceful conduct, enforcement oflaw and order before, during and after theGubernatorial Election that was fastapproaching.

In his response on behalf of all other royalfathers, the Owa Obokun applauded the giantstrides of the administration of OgbeniAregbesola, who according to him gad notbetrayed the trust and mandate of the people.He congratulated the governor on thesuccessful delivery of his pact and wished himsuccess in his bid to return to office. Hepromised the worthy son that he would besupporting him in prayers while the strugglelasts and prayed that the end will bring joyand satisfaction to all. Prayers were renderedbefore the campaign train departed the palacefor the venue of the big meet.

It was a big and eventful task for thegovernor’s campaign train to move from thepalace to the Irojo venue of the campaign. Allthrough the way, various thick and shades ofcrowd that had lined the streets cheered andapplauded the governor and his train invarious forms. Some sang while many morepraised him in many other forms. A majorityof them held brooms in their hands which theybrandished to cheer him.

The governor, in response either waved oroutstretched his hand with the “V” sign ofvictory in acknowledgement of praises fromthe crowd. It was his usual ride on the mini-luxury bus all the way. People of various ages,cutting across various age groups and classestrooped out to catch a glimpse of him andregister their welcome greetings to him. It wasan impressive turnout.

The roads earlier brought under referencewere filled with humans. Vehicular movementswere held in gridlock. People were sighted onbalconies and battlements of houses.Uncompleted buildings were not spared.Motorists and commercial motorcycleoperators; popularly referred to as okadariders were thrown into ecstatic mood as theyall caught the mood of the occasion.Disabilities were thrown to the winds as theblind sought to be led; while the crippledbegged to be carried to witness the big event.

Aregbesola’s Homestead Thunderous Welcome

. As Adeojo, Igbalaye, Others Dump PDP For APC

•The governor, State of Osun, Ogbeni Rauf Aregbesola and his Ogun State counterpart, Senator Ibikunle Amosun (left on top of a bus), acknowledging cheers from amammoth crowd of Aregbesola’s supporters during his re-election mega campaign in Ijesa-South Federal Constituency, held in Ilesa last Tuesday.

13 OSUN DEFENDER Sunday, July 20, 2014FEATURE

Continued from page 12

Thunderous Welcome!

ALL the way to the spacious andexpansive venue of the occasion,Governor Aregbesola rode atop the

bus with his Ogun State counterpart,Senator Ibikunle Amosun. The duo thrilledthe waiting audience with admiration asthey approached the entrance of the venue.

There at the venue, another crowd hadawaited their arrival. The events had alreadykicked off. Speaker after speaker had takenturns to address the surging crowd. Allspeakers dwelt on the long list ofachievements of Ogbeni, with which theyconvinced the people to poll massively forhim in the forthcoming election.

On hand to enliven the occasion wereD.J. Bazzman and the Fuji music maestro,King Wasiu Ayinde Marshall (K1). Some ofthe speakers who mounted the podium priorto the arrival of the governor include thestate chairman of the National Union of RoadTransport Workers (NURTW), ComradeLekan Salami, ably represented by ComradeAdebisi Adebowale, a representative eachof the Hausa and Ibo communities residentin Ilesa and its environs. In their variousspeeches which they spoke in theirrespective indigenous dialects, they tookturns to rally support for the governor andhis re-election, just as they brought out theall-important benefit of having Aregbesolaback in office. In addition, ComradeAdebowale counseled the people not to fearthe huge presence of security apparatus onthe Election Day. According to him, thepresence of soldiers, police and dogs at theelection venue was to prevent thebreakdown of law and order.

Next was enlightenment cumentertainment session by the ace actor andtelevision entertainer, Ojo Arowosafe, a.k.a.Fadeyi Oloro. Fadeyi Oloro cautioned thepeople against selling their voters’ cards.He however implored them to vote with themand do so overwhelmingly for Aregbesola,who he saw as the saviour and Messiah ofthe people. The proceedings wereintermittently interrupted with musicalinterludes by King Wasiu Ayinde K1.

The programme of events took anotherpositive turn with the arrival in quicksuccession of the Wife of the Governor,Alhaja Sherifat Abidemi Aregbesola, whoarrived the scene at 3:15 p.m. and thehusband, the governor, who stormed thevenue with his train at around 3:21 p.m.

These arrivals set the occasion aglow.As has earlier been alluded to, the

governor arrived in company of GovernorAmosun of Ogun State. Afteracknowledgement of cheers from the waitingcrowd of party members, supporters, partyfaithful, admirers and sympathizers, thegovernor and his guest alighted from thebus and immediately proceeded toexchange pleasantries with dignitaries at theoccasion, all of whom had been on groundto welcome him. Immediately thereafter, theevents-proper kicked off.

At exactly 3:37 p.m., the National Anthemand the State of Osun Anthems were sungback-to-back. This was followed with theintroduction of guests and dignitaries at theevent. Immediately upon his introduction,the Ogun State Governor, Senator IbikunleAmosun took to the stage to address thecrowd.

Amosun charged the atmosphere withsongs like “E di’bo fun Aregbesola”, “Se enri’se wa?” and “Dagunro o se e je”. Headmired the density and quality of the crowdand sued for people’s massive support bytrooping out on the d-day to perform theircivic obligations – that of voting forAregbesola. He expressed his wish for thegovernor’s overwhelming victory at thepolls. He assured the people that their voteswould count as the votes cannot be stolen,buttressing it with the Yoruba adage that“Omi t’o ba mo n’iwon la a re ila si”. Hecautioned the people to beware of and resistpoliticians of “stomachstructure”. Hepointed it out as a disgraceful trend for ourrace for governance to be reduced todistribution of rice and beans. He urged thepeople to shun and discountenance “amalapolitics”, which he pointed out as disgraceto our forebears. He acknowledged the factthat Governor Aregbesola is in the front-burner of upholding the philosophies ofgood governance laid down by the late sage,Chief Obafemi Awolowo.

Governor Amosun pointed out that allthe achievements recorded by theadministration of Ogbeni Aregbesola sincehis coming on board are indices ofdevelopment which are worth the pursuitsfor a race to move forward. Specifically, hecited schools, roads, quality education andhealth, care of the old, hospital infrastructureand all the rest as indices of developmentand good governance. He renewedAregbesola’s commitment to make his

laudable achievements a tip of the iceberg,compared to what he has in stock for hissecond term in office and with this; hesolicited the people to poll massively forhim to ensure the reality of his renewedmandate. He cited the development recordedin the Yorubaland of the illustrious past andrecommended that we should keep thefurnace of that tradition burning. He roundedoff his speech with giving references to theold number of late Hubert Ogunde, titled“Yoruba Ro’nu”.

After this eloquent presentation, theChairman of the Aregbesola Second TermCampaign Committee for the federalconstituency, who doubles as leader of theState of Osun House of Assembly,Honourable Timothy Owoeye mounted thepodium to deliver his welcome address. Inhis speech, Owoeye commended GovernorAregbesola, who he remarked that hadperformed valiantly, and who did not let theIjesas down in government. He thanked thepeople too for keeping faith with theadministration and promised them highergrounds in the next dispensation – the morereason why they should re-elect Aregbesolafor the second term. He appreciated thewaiting crowd for the huge turnout and thepatience exercised. He then rounded off hisspeech with the song: “O ti mu wa gbagbe,Ibanuje igba kan…”.

Next to speak was the Interim Chairmanof the All Progressives Congress (APC) forthe State of Osun, Elder Adelowo Adebiyi.Adebiyi entered the stage on the note ofsong of appreciation, as he sang: “Olorunku ise o e…” a Christian chorus in Ijesadialect. He then announced that the StateHeadquarters of the Independent NationalElectoral Commission (INEC) hadconcluded plans that the Permanent Voters’Cards (PVCs) for the newly registered voterswould be ready for collection on the 26th

and 27th of July, and that the distributionwould be done on ward basis. He re-emphasized the need for prospective votersto keep their voters’ cards and not sell ofrelease the Personal Identification Number(PIN) on them to unscrupulous politiciansso as to be able to vote with them.

Elder Adebiyi then cautioned the peoplenot to fear security personnel on the ElectionDay. According to him, their huge presenceand the dogs they would bring are measuresto secure votes and enforce law and order.He conveyed messages from the leadership

of the Christian body and the ChristianAssociation of Nigeria (CAN) that they hadnot endorsed sentiments in voting; but thatvoters should exercise caution to vote forcredible and God-fearing leaders, not killers,desperate politicians or self-seeking ones.He then presented the candidate ofimpeccable character and pedigree GovernorAregbesola, who the people had alreadytested and trusted.

There and then, the chairman announcedthe presence of former stalwarts of theopposition, the Peoples Democratic Party(PDP) who were in attendance at the rally toofficially and publicly renounce theirmembership of the fold party and join thetrain of progress being championed by theAll Progressives Congress (APC).

The defectors are the former stateSecretary of the Peoples Democratic Party(PDP), Chief. Yinka Adeojo, former Chairmanof Osogbo Local Government, Alhaji TeslimIgbalaye and former Personal Assistant tothe erstwhile Governor OlagunsoyeOyinlola, Alhaji Rasaq Oyelami a.k.a. K.K.

Others are the ex-PDP chairman for Odo-Otin Local Government Council Area of thestate, Honourable Moyinoluwa Ogunwoleand Mrs. Kemi Adejare. All these came tothe rally to join the membership of the AllProgressives Congress (APC).

Speaking on behalf of the defectors,Alhaji Rasaq Oyelami rubbished the oldpolitical party he and his colleaguesdiscarded as brain behind all evil thatNigeria currently experiences. He attributedthe dwindling monthly revenue allocationaccruing to the state to their craft. Heremarked that the PDP comprises a bunchof disgruntled, grandiloquent and dare-devilpoliticians, who equate themselves to God;and who at best should be kept at an arm’slength.

In his analysis, Oyelami cautioned allremaining members in the forceful partycalled PDP to jettison the party and joinhands with the progressives. He cited thegood examples of positive leadershipprovided by Governor Aregbesola and ChiefAdebisi Akande, who had impactedpositively on the lives of the citizenry. Hereasoned that the good works so farwitnessed should automatically qualifyAregbesola for second term. Finally, heclassified their old party as not people-friendly and totally disintegrated andcollapsed.

The speech was rounded off with theformal presentation of flag of the APC tothe new entrants as symbol of their officialwelcome into the party. This was performedby the Leader of the party in the state, thegovernor, Ogbeni Aregbesola, who raisedthe Christian Hymn: “Ha Egbe Mi, Ew’asia..” and the chorus: “E ji gbogbo okant’o sun lo…” which the crowd sangenthusiastically.

In the speech, former governor of thestate Senator Isiaka Adeleke commendedthe governor and noted that since thegovernor had remarked at the palace of themonarch that all that he had done was thefoundation of greater things to come, themthe people had nothing to fear as the nextdispensation would bring more dividendsof democracy than the current one.According to him, the governor had raisedthe edifice of governance to the lintel level;all that remains is for the people to do theroofing with their votes on the 9th of August.He then cautioned the people againstelection fraud. The need for vigilance washammered, as he charged them to protecttheir votes.

At exactly 4:21 p.m., Governor Aregbesolamounted the rostrum. He entered with twochoruses: “Ope l’o ye O” and “Ogo Yi,Oluwa, Ye Ogo Yi”. The governor prescribedas usual the duties of electorate on theElection Day. He enunciated hisachievements so far and implored thepeople to cast their votes en masse for himso that the good work could continue. Hethen stressed the need for peaceful andorderly conduct on the Election Day.

•(L-R) The governor, State of Osun, Ogbeni Rauf Aregbesola; the Owa Obokun of Ijesaland, Oba Adekunle Aromolaran and OgunState Governor, Senator Ibikunle Amosun at Owa Obokun’s Palace when Governor Aregbesola’s paid homage to Oba Aromolaranpalace during re-election mega rally in Ilesa State of Osun, last Tuesday.

14 OSUN DEFENDER Sunday, July 20, 2014

President Jonathan Is Destroying Nigeria In His ObsessiveBid For Re-election – APC Chairman John Odigie-Oyegun

FOR THE RECORDS

Being the text of a press conference addressed in Abuja on Wednesday, July 16th 2014 by theChairman of the All Progressives Congress (APC), Chief John Odigie-Oyegun

ProtocolsGood morning, gentlemen of the press.Please permit me to start off this press

conference with a quote by Chilean writerIsabel Allende, which goes thus: “What Ifear most is power with impunity. I fearabuse of power, and the power toabuse.”Isabel, a victim of the Pinochetmilitary dictatorship, is not alone. AllNigerians must be worried about power withimpunity, which is what President GoodluckJonathan and his party, the PDP, haveresorted to in their desperation to crush theopposition and destroy Nigeria in theprocess.

I have called this Press Conference toaddress the grave dangers facing Nigeriansas a people, our country as a nation and ourdemocracy as our hope, at this very criticaltime.

Events in Nigeria in the past few weekspoint to a return to the dark old days ofstate dictatorship, lawlessness, impunityand repression.

Our freedoms are being emasculated, oureconomy being run to the ground, and ouronly hope of bringing about change – ourdemocratic expression is being smotheredbefore our very eyes all because PresidentGoodluck Jonathan is so obsessed withreelection in 2015 at all cost that he isdestroying not just all our key institutionsbut indeed the entire country.

At this critical juncture of our history anddespite our desire for restraint and matureengagement with President GoodluckJonathan and the ruling Peoples’Democratic Party (PDP) it is evident thatinaction is no longer an option and we mustresist.

Indeed keeping quiet in the face of theceaseless and unrelenting recklessviolations of all known laws of the land andthe Constitution will amount to complicityin the lawlessness and impunity that hasbecome the norm under President GoodluckJonathan.

We know it has been the dream of theruling PDP to rule for 60 unbroken years,not minding if Nigeria becomes a desert landin the process.Their evil machination hasmanifested in Ekiti. It has manifestedyesterday in Adamawa, They have carriedit to Nasarawa, and they have Edo, Osunand Rivers in their sights.In the statesmentioned, all of them oppositionstrongholds, President Jonathan and hisparty have abused national institutions,resorted to a crude use of force and engagedin unprecedented financial inducements toachieve their objectives.

All these anti-democratic tactics comeunder the umbrella of power with impunity!

But there is a bigger problem. PresidentJonathan is obsessed with his re-electionin 2015, and he does not mind if Nigeria isdestroyed in the process. He does not carewhether every institution of state, be it themilitary, the courts, INEC or any other one,is destroyed. All that matters now is his re-election.

This explains why he has embarked onthis war against the opposition, this waragainst all of Nigeria.

Having bastardized the army, the police,the courts, aviation and the electoralcommission, he has now moved to the nextlevel: Impeachment. Every impeachment orthreat of it in recent times has the imprint ofPresident Jonathan.

As we speak, the Governor of Adamawa,Murtala Nyako, has been impeached at theinstance of the President and his party, theyhave moved to Nasarawa, their next stop,while Rivers, Edo and Borno, all APC states,are not being spared the destabilization thatprecedes their new-found weapon.

What was Nyako impeached for?

Offences he allegedly committed five yearsago. Those offences were not impeachablewhen he was in the PDP. But the moment hedecamped to the APC, they becameimpeachable.

The entire “impeachment” of GovernorNyako is so fraught with irregularities, bias,judicial contradictions and in violation ofevery procedural and constitutionalprovisions that it is the worst manifestationof impunity. We intend to mount animmediate and rigorous challenge to thisgross injustice to the party and people ofAdamawa State.

What is Gov. Al-Makura of Nasarawabeing threatened with impeachment for?Allegations of extra-budgetary expenditure,the same offence that President Jonathanhas committed many times. In fact, on onlyon the 10th of July 2014, the Senate passeda resolution asking President GoodluckJonathan to prepare and submit to theNational Assembly supplementary budgetto cover the over expenditure in the sum ofN90.693 billion (US$585 billion) for PMSsubsidy 2012 and the sum of N685.910billion (US$4.430 billion) for Kerosene (DPK)subsidy expended without appropriation bythe National Assembly in 2012 and 2013!

In Adamawa, each member of the StateHouse of Assembly was allegedly given US$300,000 as part payment to impeach Gov.Nyako; some 500 million Naira has allegedlybeen moved to Nasarawa to induce thestate’s lawmakers to impeach Gov. Al-Makura, and in Edo, each lawmaker hasallegedly been offered 75 million Naira toimpeach Gov. Adams Oshiomhole.

Now, who is more guilty of grossmisconduct than a President who isfrittering away our commonwealth toinduce perfidious legislators to impeachtheir state Governors? Who is moreguilty of gross misconduct than aPresident who deploys troops to harass,intimidate and arrest the oppositionduring an election? Who deserves to beimpeached for gross misconduct morethan a President who uses nationalinstitutions against the opposition, andshuts airports arbitrarily?

President Jonathan’s desperationknows no bounds, and he is willing toset a record of presiding over thegreatest number of impeachments underhis tenure. Before Nyako’s impeachmenton Tuesday, a total of five impeachmentshave been carried out in all of the 15years of the Fourth Republic. Butbetween now and 2015, PresidentJonathan is championing fiveimpeachments, in Adamawa, Nasarawa,Edo, Rivers and Borno.

In doing so, he is subverting hithertorespected national institutions. Thearmy has been so compromised that itcan no longer be trusted by anyone tobe neutral. The army has been so abusedthat it now carries out police duties.Soldiers were deployed to guard theresidence of the Chief Judge ofAdamawa while the impeachmentproceedings were on. Soldiers weredeployed to guard each member of theimpeachment panel. Soldiers were alsodeployed to guard the venue where the

panel sat.In Ekiti, soldiers were deployed to hunt down

the opposition and prevent them from movingaround freely, in contravention of the nation’sconstitution. In Osun, soldiers are again to bedeployed to shut down the state and go afterthe opposition.

By using the military for election duties,President Jonathan is clearly disobeying acourt order as the Court of Appeal had ruled asfar back as 2005 that the involvement of themilitary in the conduct of elections is anaberration and therefore unconstitutional.Indeed in the words of Salami, JCA on page 176in the case of Yusuf v Obasanjo (2005) 18 NWLR(Pt. 956 96@174-5)

“It is up to the police to protect our nascentdemocracy and not the military, otherwise thedemocracy might be wittingly or unwittinglymilitarised. This is not what the citizenrybargained for after 1999. Conscious step orsteps should be taken to civilianise the polityand thereby ensure survival and sustenanceof democracy.”

The Akure airport was suddenly slammedshut just to punish opposition leaders who hadconverged in Ekiti for Gov. Kayode Fayemi’scampaign rally. They had to travel all night byroad to Lagos.

In Borno, under the guise of ensuringsecurity, the Maiduguri Airport has been closedfor several weeks, hence the Borno Governorand the people of the state, including thepilgrims heading to lesser Hajj, have beenforced to travel by road to Kano to board theirflights. However, the reason for shutting theairport has suddenly vanished as the privateplane bearing former Governor Ali Modu Sheriffwas allowed to land at the airport on Monday,the same day the Governor had to travel byroad to Kano to see his brother who wasinvolved in an accident on the same road!

Obviously, President Jonathan is fast turningNigeria into George Orwell’s Animal Farm, wheresome animals are more equal than the others.

Welcome to Nigeria of President GoodluckEbele Jonathan, where the only people who aredeemed to be true Nigerians are those underthe umbrella of the PDP, where the only peopleworth protecting are PDP members!

ConclusionWe have raised the alarm several times that

President Jonathan’s obsession with his re-election is a clear and present danger to ourdemocracy. Today, we say this President’sobsession with re-election is threatening thevery existence of our nation.

Never in the history of our dear nation hasany President waged war on the country theway this President is doing. Never in the historyof our country has any President desecratednational institutions like this President is doingto the very institutions that sustain democracy.Never in the history of our country has ourpeople been so divided along ethnic, religious,political and social lines, with poverty risingastronomically in the backdrop of a claimedrapid growth in the nation’s GDP.

We warn that excessive political greed willalways have its consequences. Any student ofNigeria’s contemporary history will realize whatacts of impunity and desperation to winelections at all cost did to the country in 1965,1983 and 1993, just to mention a few.

We call on all friends of Nigeria to prevail onPresident Jonathan to apply the brakes in hisobsessive quest for power, because everyaction has consequences.

It is time for those who can still get the earsof this President to remind him that his ambitionis not worth the destruction of a whole country.All those who can must act now before it is toolate!

I thank you all for listening

Chief John Odigie-Oyegun

•JOHN ODIGIE OYEGUN

15 OSUN DEFENDER Sunday, July 20, 2014

•A sea of heads of Governor Rauf Aregbesola’s admirers at the mega rally.

•A mammoth crowd at the mega rally.

PHOTOTALK

More Pix On All Progressives Congress (APC) Mega Rally In Ilesa, State Of Osun,For The Re-election Of Ogbeni Rauf Aregbesola Last Tuesday.

Oranmiyan Democratz Organized A One-day Programme, Tagged ‘Let The LightContinue To Shine’, Held At Ila-Orangun Town Hall, State Of Osun, Recently.

•Mr. Titilola Moshood (with mic), National Convener, Oranmiyan Democratz, addressingmembers of All Progressives Congress (APC) during the meeting. •A cross Section of All Progressives Congress (APC) members at the programme.

SUNDAY, JULY 20, 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. All correspondenceto the Managing Editor, KOLA OLABISI, Telephone: 08033927286 (kolaolabisi@yahoo.com); Editor, KAYODE AGBAJE, Telephone: 0803-388-0205, E-mail: osundefender@yahoo.com,kayodeagbaje@yahoo.com. ISSN: 0794-8050.Website: www.osundefender.org.

Is Nigeria Drifting Towards The Precipe?

•JONATHAN

AUDACIOUSEXPLOIT

withMURTALA AGBOOLA

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

IT is my fervent hope that thedemocracy we are enjoyingtoday would not be aborted on

the platter of inordinate ambition.Some dramatis personae in thecurrent dispensation have chosento unleash brigandage on the goodpeople of the country in the desireto have their way.

When would Nigerians learnfrom history? The irony of theNigerian situation is that the realpeople, who went into the trenchesto fight military to a standstill,were not the real beneficiaries ofdemocracy. Unfortunately, thegreatest beneficiaries, who werenot active in the struggle, did notappreciate the value of democracyserved ala carte.

This is the bane of our currentdemocracy. Our leaders at the topare so consumed by the perquisiteand paraphernalia of office thatthey hardly care about what ishappening outside the confines oftheir offices. We need to go onhistorical journey to place what istranspiring now in the propercontext.

The genesis of the end of the firstrepublic started in the WesternRegion. The crisis in the rulingparty, the Action Group, hadinternal problems, which seriouslyaffected governance. Rather thanthe Federal Government led byAlhaji Abubakar Tafawa Balewa tomediate and caution both sides inthe interest of the nation, theNorthern Peoples Congress(NPC)- controlled governmenttook sides.

Chief Obafemi Awolowo, theleader of AG, had by that time beenincarcerated by the federalauthorities for plotting tooverthrow the government of thefederation. His deputy, ChiefLadoke Akintola, who was thePremier then, took control of theparty. The crisis first reared its uglyhead at the Jos convention of theparty in 1962, when the Premierwas sacked and in his place, AlhajiDauda Adegbenro was elected.Akintola did not take that lightlyand by 1965, he had established hisown party, the Nigeria NationalDemocratic Party (NNDP).

The Western Regional electionin 1965 was the crisis thatprecipitated the coming of themilitary. A Commonwealth ofNation Heads of Governmentconference took place in Lagoslate 1965, when intelligenceinformation filtered in that therewas coup de’tat in the offing. Butrather than preempt the deed, the

strong man of the first republicand Northern Premier, AlhajiAhmadu Bello preferred to playthe ostrich. His care-free attitudewas later to lead, not only to thetermination of the first republic bythe khaki boys, but also the lossof lives of some prominentpolitical figures, including Bello,Balewa and top military officers.

The lack of development in thecountry is contingent upon themilitary incursion into ourpolitics. Those of us who spentsubstantial part of lives under themilitary know that military rule isnot only an aberration but alsoanti-development. The progresswitnessed during the civiliandispensation since 1999 is moreprofound than what was witnessedduring the 28 years of militaryrule. Above all, human rights arerespected and the courts are freeto dispense justice without fear or

favour.The election in Ekiti State

recently has been touted as the bestever by the Independent NationalElectoral Commission (INEC).That election is also regarded aspeaceful but at what cost?Commuters were restrained fromtravelling to Ekiti on Thursdaypreceding the election. There wasno inter-state journey with EkitiState in any form forty eight hoursto the election day. Do we have tocut off with the outside worldbecause election was or is to beconducted? Security personnel inthe form of Department of StateSecurity (DSS), police, soldiers,Nigeria Security and Civil DefendCorps (NSCDC) flooded EkitiState days to the election.

In the State of Osun, the powersthat be are threatening that thesecurity that would be broughtwould double that of Ekiti State.

If the feelers coming in isanything to go by, the federal mightwould be imposed on the South-West so that the PeoplesDemocratic Party (PDP) wouldcapture the region. What offendsthe federal might is that it was onlyin the State of Osun that PresidentGoodluck Jonathan could not winthe mandatory twenty five percentrequired in the 2011 presidentialelection.

We need to tread softly in viewof our recent past history. We needto be extra vigilant and be on guard.To some discernible minds, ratherthan arm the states going throughelection why can’t we send themto Sambisa forest Borno State tofree our abducted school girls?

Besides, should Nigeria practicea sole-party system given ourdiversity in terms of religion andethnicity? Even above all, it is notin the interest of political powersat the top to scheme to have one-party state.

The plan seems orchestratedtowards emasculating thedissenting or opposition voices.The Governor of Adamawa State,Rear-Admiral Murtala Nyako(retd) has been shown the red cardostensibly by the powers at the top.If Mallam El-Rufai is to bebelieved, in the line to be oustedby the Abuja forces are GovernorTanko Al-Makura of Nassarawa,Rotimi Amaechi of Rivers andComrade Adams Oshiomhole ofEdo States respectively.

Our Commander-In-Chief couldnot visit the Borno and Yobe axiswhere the insurgents hold swayuntil the All Progressives Congressgovernors visited Borno. Nigeriansadvised the President to visit thehapless parents of the abductedChibok School girls. He hasrefused until the 17-year oldPakistani girls educationcampaigner, Miss Malala Yousafzaiadvised him to do so. The stomachinfrastructure which is thehallmark of the PDP strategy isbound to fail because it is temporaland ephemeral.

The South-West is moredeveloped and sophisticated to bedeceived by such petty things.Jonathan should be aware of piecesof advice offered by enemies ofprogress of Nigeria. We should allbe vigilant and work towards theprogress of the country. Ourimmediate pre-occupation shouldnot be our selfish aim of ensuringthat our party or candidate win atall cost, but the long termcorporate interest of the country.