Osun State is located in the South-Western part of Nigeria. It covers an area of approximately 14,875 square kilometers, lies between longitude 04 00E and latitude 05 558”, and is bounded by Ogun, Kwara, Oyo and Ondo States in the South, North, West and East respectively. It was created on August 27, 1991.
Tourist centres abound across the State. Some of the popular ones are the Oranmiyan Staff, Ife Museum, Obafemi Awolowo University Zoological gardens, Ile-Ase, Yeyemolu and Oduduwa Shrines and groove, all at Ile-Ife. Osun Osogbo groove which is the venue of the internationally recognized Osun Osogbo festival and now a world heritage site listed by UNESCO. Others include the Mbari-Mbayo cultural Heritage, Idi-Baba Cultural Centre, Adunni Susuan Wengers Centre and Nike Arts Gallery, all based in Osogbo. There are also the Olumirin Water-Falls at Erin-Ijesa, Igbo-Sango at Ede and the Ayikunugba Water-Falls at Oke-Ila. The UNESCO Centre for African Studies approved for the state is programmed to take off next year.
Tourists in Osun State are guaranteed maximum hospitality as there are standard hotels in all the major towns in the State which cater for their basic needs. They provide suitable accommodation and render other hotel/catering services at moderate charges. An ultra modern, State-owned Five Star Hotels is under construction in the State Capital.
The State also boasts of the existence of a modern golf course at the Mic-Com Golf and Holiday Resort, a serene settlement on the outskirts of Osogbo. The hospitality industry is developing at a fast pace in the State.
The State government accords great importance to tourism. All issues pertaining to tourism are now handled by the newly created State Ministry of Tourism. This Ministry is charged with the responsibility of modernizing and developing tourism in the State.
Osun State operates a free Market economy under which the role of government is limited to that of a facilitator and creator of a friendly investment environment. The government has embarked on a privatization programme, divesting its investment in companies and leaving the private sector to play the dominant role.
As a way of reducing the initial cost of investment and operating cost, the State Government has embarked on the provision of industrial estates. Government has commenced the development of the estates in phases in all the zones of the State. The government is providing in each estate, necessary infrastructures such as roads, pipe-borne water, electricity and telecommunications facilities. An Extension Services Unit of the Department of Industries, Ministry of Commerce, Industry and Co-operatives are being located in each estate to provide extension services.
The industrial policy of Osun State government is to accelerate the pace of industrial development of the State through the provision of an enabling environment by the Government while the private sector is motivated to directly engage in industrial investments. In other words, the State Government leaves the ownership of industrial projects in the hands of private/corporate investors while concentrating on activities that promote and facilitate the propagation and profitable operation of the projects. A key element of the policy is the non-discriminatory encouragement of both local and foreign investors.
Osun State is endowed with abundant human resources, which could provide a worthy pedestal for the success of any concern. The State parades a highly articulate informed and enlightened citizenry. It can equally boast of skilled and unskilled manpower required for the take-off of investments in the State.
Labour constitutes a major, indeed the most crucial determinant of the success of any business. Skilled manpower is available in abundance in the State. This is a direct result of the State government’s massive investment in education. Products of the State’s tertiary institutions in various disciplines are turned out annually to provide industries with adequate top-level manpower. To produce semi-skilled Labour, the State Government runs technical colleges where various trades are learnt.
As a way of improving the skill of its pool of manpower, the State, through the Department of Industries and other relevant government agencies, organizes periodic skill improvement workshops as well as Entrepreneurship Development Programme (EDP) for them. The availability of required manpower for various industrial ventures is assured.
One of the basic ingredients for the promotion of investments is security. It is an incontrovertible fact that Osun State, Nigeria, has a track record with regard to the maintenance of law and order. The State is very peaceful with the people co-existing in harmony. The serene atmosphere pervading the State makes it investment-friendly. Investments in Osun State are therefore safe and secure. The political environment is stable and peaceful.
One of the major areas of focus is the development of infrastructure. This objective has been prosecuted with the greatest vigour, commitment and dedication such that we have been able to achieve in three years what we promised to deliver at the end of the tenure of this administration.
Our policy of investment in infrastructure, especially in road, transportation, electricity and water-supply has always been accorded priority attention.
There is a vast and limitless opportunity to participate in the development of agriculture in Osun state. The groundwork has been laid for massive investments in agriculture through a private sector driven economy so that Osun State can consolidate itself as an international agricultural force.
The Government’s food production drive has been bolstered with the purchase of 336 tractors and implements for the cultivation of the available vast farmlands through mechanization and expanded irrigation. The farm settlements being sited in all the 30 Local Governments in the state as well as the mini-water schemes available all over Osun State will provide for an all-year round farming.
Government is current perfecting its harvest strategy with arrangements already in place for the purchase of excess farm produce for exportation.
In addition to agricultural crops, wood is also the chief product obtained from Osun State forests. The high forest reserves in Southern Nigeria contain most of the timber species that are of commercial value. The importance of this forested zone of the timber trade is evident from the concentration there of about 98% of the total number of sawmills in the country. The forest reserves and some riparian vegetation communities in the southern Guinea zone contain timber species suitable for exploitation.
There also exists a variety of agricultural produce that can support the establishment and operation of manufacturing activities. This vast potential remains untapped to the detriment of industrial development in the State. The possibilities are demonstrated in the recent concerted action on cassava and maize, which are now being produced in large quantities to meet the needs of the poultry and cassava products.
Convinced that education is the key to complete human emancipation, the State Government has restructured and committed enormous resources to the education sector. The Government operates free and qualitative education at all levels.
There are 1,460 primary and 550 secondary schools in the State. There are 24 State-owned Technical Colleges of Two Colleges of Education, a Polytechnic and a College of Technology which are also run by the State while a Federal Polytechnic is also located in the State. The State is a joint-owner of Ladoke Akintola University of Technology, Ogbomosho with Oyo State. The College of Medicine of the University is located in Osogbo. Bowen University, Iwo, owned by the Nigerian Baptist Convention operates in Osun State while the permanent site of Redeemed University is located in Ede, also in Osun State. Fountain University owned by NASFAT is already licensed by NUC, it billed to take off soon. In addition, the site of the proposed Hijirah University is located in Ede, Osun State.
Since the inception of the present administration in May, 2003, an appreciable amount has been committed to Education and the Government is determined to continue to accord the sector priority.
One of the positive results of our bold initiatives in the Education sector is the establishment of the Osun State University, which is now operational in all the six campuses located in the six zones in the State. The University took off in September this year in their permanent sites.
Largely, we have applied a multi-dimensional approach to the issue of improving this all important sector. The overhauling and revitalization of the Inspectorate Department of the Ministry of Education has undoubtedly enhanced the performances of teachers and students in our schools. It is noteworthy that the number of public secondary schools in the State has increased from 336 in year 2003 to 559 this year. In an attempt to ensure the provision of qualitative education, 2,500 Oyincorps members were recruited this year to teach in our schools. In addition, over 13,000 teachers in our public primary schools were promoted to various positions during the going year. Eligible non-teaching staff in all the 30 Local Education Authority also enjoyed promotions as and when due.
It is also pertinent to inform the populace that as one of the 12 pilot States of the Federation where the Home Grown School Feeding and Health Programme have taken off, Osun is the first and still the only State which has extended the feeding programme to the kindergarten and pupils in primaries one and two in all public primary schools. This has evidently accounted for the upsurge in public primary schools enrolment in the State.
To demonstrate the commitment of Government to the provision of quality education, Government, during the year, set aside a sum of N850million for the purchase of textbooks in core subjects for all students in public secondary schools during the going year. One other area where we made tremendous impact is the construction of new classrooms in educational institutions all over the State. The projects, constructed through the constituency development projects programme of the honourable members of the Osun State House of Assembly, Chairmen of Local Governments and the State Universal Basic Education Board, through an inter-governmental arrangement, is directed at replacing old and dilapidated structures constructed for the implementation of the 1955 Free Education programme of the old Western Region.
I must also note with satisfaction that furniture items worth N110million were provided for public primary and secondary schools while the two technical colleges in Ile-Ife and Osogbo benefited from the supply of technical equipment worth N55million. Furthermore, government paid the sum of N130million as WAEC Senior Secondary School Certificate Examination fees and has also continued to pay the NABTEB fees of all final year students in our technical institutions. Government is aware of the importance of education to our people and will therefore continue to accord it the priority it deserves.
The present administration in the State realized the role of adequate and timely dissemination of information to people. To bridge the gap between the governed and the government, the Ministry of Information is being encouraged through the provision of adequate equipment to project the image of the Government.
The State Broadcasting Corporation operates two radio stations and two television stations both of which are clearly received within and outside the State. One of the two radio stations is fully devoted to the use of Yoruba language. It is located in Ile-Ife the ancestral home of the Yorubas. The Reality Television, Iwo started by the administration of late Chief Bola Ige in 1983 and abandoned since then is now receiving attention. It has been completed and the transmission equipment is now being assembled. Transmission will definitely commence very soon. In addition, two television stations of the Nigeria Television Authority are located in Osogbo and Ile-ife respectively.
On Information Communication Technology, the State Government in 2003 established a Bureau of Computer Services, Information, and Communication Technology which has as statutory responsibility of computerization of all the activities of the State Government. This Bureau also trained top Government functionaries including senior civil servants on the use of computer. Almost all senior officers in the public service are ICT compliant with their offices hooked on internet. The Computer for all Nigerian Programme-CANi was launched a couple of months ago. Civil Servants in the State were supplied Computer Sets and Laptop at affordable prices and payable over a period of 24 months. Many serving officers have benefited from this scheme. The Bureau head will give details when he briefs you.
Government realizes a fact that Health Sector Reform must be prosecuted with vigour for the sustainable development of this State. Accordingly, we have, this year, ensured the continuity of our programme of equipping and staffing our health institutions on a sustainable basis, while also ensuring that sufficient drugs are available in our health facilities. A sum of N174million was expended on the procurement of drugs and medical consumables for health institutions in the State between January and November, this year. The Drugs Manufacturing Company is expected to be inaugurated in the first quarter of the coming year. To further demonstrate our full commitment to the prosecution of the free health programme, government during the going year, took delivery of equipment for the State’s Drugs Manufacturing Company which will ensure supply of sufficient genuine drugs. May I also state with great delight that a Memorandum of Understanding was recently signed with a Chinese company for the immediate construction of an anti-malaria drugs production company within the Livingspring Free Trade Zone. The project, estimated to cost Fifty Million United-States Dollars is expected to go into production this year.
This is another sector where this administration has recorded tremendous achievements. Ladies and gentlemen of the press, it will not offend modesty if you congratulate us for surpassing our goal of providing 30 mini-water schemes before the end of May 2007. To date, 34 mini water schemes have been embarked upon out of which 25 have been commissioned. Four other schemes are ready for commissioning, while others are at various stages of completion. In addition, government has continued to inject enormous resources into the maintenance and rehabilitation of existing urban water schemes in the State. It is most gratifying to note that the Federal Government has intervened in the construction of new water schemes in Ilesha and Ile-Ife.
Our administration has continued to introduce poverty reduction initiatives. During the going year, thousands of jobs were provided for unemployed youths while other efforts focused on women and disadvantaged groups. It is essential to highlight the fact that we have been able to put in place micro- credit schemes with loans which attract no interest to promote income generation activities and improve the utilization of locally
available human and material resources.
Government has continued to give the welfare of its staff as well as the people the desired attention. This administration is one which has combined consideration for humanity and physical achievements. It is gladdening to note that we have been able to pay the salaries and allowances of workers as at when due. More importantly, we have settled all arrears of gratuities totaling N2.5billion inherited from the immediate past administration. As at today, no civil servant is owed any gratuity while the outstanding gratuities of secondary school teachers would be settled within the first quarter of the next
year.
Public servants as well as the entire citizenry in this State have continued to reciprocate this good gesture of government by giving their total support to this administration.
The Legislature, as an arm of government has continued to be accorded the required recognition by the Osun State Government. Our distinguished Legislators have completed constituency-based projects, a development which has been copied by other State Assemblies in the country. It is also to be noted that another arm of government, the Judiciary, has demonstrated a commendable and high sense of patriotism and independence in the discharge of its functions.
