To promote Osun government’s drive to take youths off vices, the Osun Football Association (FA) and Friends of Gov. Rauf Aregbesola, say they will organise the 3rd Governor’s Golden Cup football competition.
 

 
The Project’s Coordinator, Lawrence Ayeni, told a news conference on Thursday in Osogbo, that the competition would also be used to identify talents at the grassroots.
Ayeni said that arrangements for the competition to mark the second year of Aregbesola’s second term in office had been concluded.
He said that some of the players who participated in the previous two editions of the competition were now playing for major clubs in the country.
“During the previous editions, many talented players were discovered by different professional football clubs from across the country and cash prizes were also given out.
“Kits were equally provided for all the teams that took part in the first two editions and this helped to solve some of the problems of the football clubs.
“The competition has also created a platform that took most of our youths off the street and engaged them in sports as against vices,’’ Ayeni said.
He said that N600,000 would be given to the first four teams as follows; N250,000, N150,000, N100,000 and N50,000 respectively.
He said the remaining N50,000 from the total cash reward would be shared among players who distinguished themselves during the competition.
According to him, the competition is scheduled to start from Oct. 6 to Oct. 26, adding that there will be adequate security.

On Thursday, September 1, 2016, President Muhammadu Buhari chose to visit Osun among eleven states celebrating the silver jubilee of their creation in 1991. He did so for a number of reasons. The public script focused on his visit to some newly built elementary, middle, and high schools, capped by the inauguration of the Osogbo Government High School.
 

 
 
The occasion was my third visit to the same school since the commencement of its construction. Having visited many other secondary schools in the country, I concur with Mohammed Haruna that, in terms of learning space and facilities, Osogbo Government High School “must be one of the largest, most beautiful and most well equipped secondary schools in the country” (“Education: Aregbesola as an exemplar”, The Nation, September 8, 2016). It is a 3000 student capacity school, divided into three wings, each housing 1000 students. In addition to three principals, each manning a wing of the school, there is an overall supervising principal. Overall, the school has 72 classrooms, a 1000 capacity hall, a large ICT room, a spacious library, and various playing grounds.
So far, 13 mega High Schools of the same size have been completed or are almost completed. Adapting a similar template to elementary and middle schools, 28 Elementary Schools have been completed or renovated, each with a capacity of 900 pupils, while 22 Middle Schools have been completed, each with a capacity of 1000 students.
 
 
The underlying script for the President’s visit, however, is the fascination with the progress of Aregbesola’s primary and secondary education project in Osun, especially the state’s Home Grown School Feeding programme, which provides a reference point for a similar programme by other states and even by the Federal Government. Intended to provide a nutritious hot meal for over 24 million primary school children and, in the process, create over one million new jobs and boost the local economies across the country, the Federal Government’s school feeding programme was launched in June, 2016, as one of five projects under the N500b Social Investment Plan.
 
It will be recalled that after flagging off the Federal Government’s HGSF programme, a federal delegation visited Osun State in July to understudy the successful implementation of the state’s school feeding programme, styled O’MEALS. Many other states, including Kaduna, which flagged off its own programme in January, 2016, have equally visited Osun.
 
Osun remains the only one among 13 participating states in the pilot HGSF programme in 2005. Aregbesola resuscitated the programme in 2012, and it has been running uninterrupted ever since. Today, nearly 300,000 pupils are served one hot meal per school day by over 3000 food vendors. In addition to improving the nutritional and health status of the pupils, the programme has contributed directly to increased enrollment, which has nearly doubled since 2012, when 155,318 pupils started with the programme.
 
The multiplier effects of the programme are noteworthy. It has generated employment and created wealth not only for food vendors, but also for farmers, food produce sellers, and transporters. In addition to improving the nutrition of school children, who are its direct beneficiaries, the programme also enhances the nutrition of the immediate community of the food vendors, who are empowered to provide catering services in their respective communities.
 
In the year in which Aregbesola began the school feeding programme, he also initiated a physical education programme, focusing on calisthenics, with the assistance of a Cuban duo, Francis Rodriguez and Raiza Guerra. Calisthenics are physical exercises, using gross motor movements often to attain interesting rhythmic formations with others in a group. In addition to improving psychomotor skills, such as balance, agility, and coordination, calisthenics also helps to achieve group cohesion and discipline.
 
The Cuban duo initially trained a total of 8,000 athletes drawn from 24 schools and 60 coaches from the nine federal constituencies in the state. The group that performed four years ago, during the 21st anniversary of the creation of Osun, was drawn from this pool. The coaches trained by the Cubans were the ones who trained the next generation of pupils, who performed to wild applause during the commencement of the state’s 25th anniversary celebrations on Saturday, August 27, 2016.
 
The Osun calisthenics programme is integral to the reorganisation of the education system in Osun as it helps in the pupils’ physical development. As Aregbesola emphasized in his speech, “the calisthenics programme is not only an out-of-school sports activity but a lifestyle-change project for building a new generation of students who are physically fit, mentally sound and socially well-adjusted”. He added that calisthenics also helps to inculcate “the values of unity, harmony, discipline, teamwork, hard work and creativity into the school children”.
 
It is important to stress that school construction, school feeding, and calisthenics training are ongoing in Osun, despite dwindling resources and unjustified criticism leveled against Aregbesola’s education programme. Today, the worthlessness of the criticisms is brought into sharper focus by the national and international profile of the programme.
 
It is important to recall some of those criticisms, if only to highlight their wrongheadedness. For example, when Aregbesola reclassified schools into Elementary School (primary grades 1-4), Middle School (primary grades 5&6 plus JS 1-3), and High School (SS grades 1-3), he was roundly criticized for violating the 6-3-3-4 education policy. Yet, the Osun education system remains based on the 6-3-3-4 education policy, while the new classification was done mainly to create room for feeding children in elementary grades 1-4, that is, 6-9 year old pupils, who need a healthy head-start in school, and to separate them from other primary pupils, who will not be fed in school.
 
Similarly, the merging of schools, in order to maximise the benefits of infrastructural development and achieve cost effectiveness, was grossly misunderstood, due to false reporting, as mergers of Muslim and Christian Schools. Yet, the schools were never merged across religious boundaries. What was often ignored in the criticisms is the predominance of Muslim students even in many Christian schools in the state. The concocted hijab crisis found a basis in these distortions. In Baptist High School, Iwo, for example, where the hijab crisis was planted and nurtured to death, well over 60 per cent of the student population is Muslim.
 
The school feeding programme was not spared from criticism. Some said it was a fluke, while others ridiculed the government for some items on the menu, such as cocoyam, without caring to find out about its nutritive value.
 
Worse still, when political opponents saw the calisthenics training sessions of the pupils in 2012, they immediately alleged that Aregbesola was training the youths as armed militias, who would be used to assist his state in seceding from Nigeria!
True, the reward for Aregbesola’s educational revival in Osun may take some time to manifest. Nevertheless, a solid foundation has been laid for successive administrations to build on.

Towards stemming the tide of flooding, which recently ravaged a part of the state capital, Osogbo, the Osun State Government has moved to dredge further areas prone to flooding as its machines continued work on Wednesday.
 

At the sight of the machines, which moved to site again, residents applauded the state Governor, Rauf Aregbesola, on his proactive steps to save the state from flood disasters.
 
The Project contractor, Engineer Tope Awodiji, led a team on the dredging work.
 
Awodiji assured the residents of proper clearing of all the waterways in the state, adding that the machines had been strategically deployed to achieve the goal.
 
Awosiji listed areas such as Gbonmi, Alie Agbede, Fiwasaye, Obatede, Old Garage, Alekunwodo and Ita-Olokan, all in Osogbo, as areas of focus for the dredging at the state capital.
 
He said: “As we all aware since 2011, the present government has being dredging waterways in different areas across the state to prevent flooding and other natural disasters.
 
“We have started again to ensure that all our waterways, drainages and canal systems are cleared just as heavy machineries have been deployed in various areas of the state to ease the flow of water.”
 
Awosiji cautioned the people of the state against what he called indiscriminate dumping of wastes, adding that the nature and character of the waste excavated showed that residents need more education on their waste disposal culture.
 
When asked about the sustainability of the exercise, Awosiji promised that it would go a long way to prevent the flood as it was aimed at facilitating free flow of water.
 
Some of the residents who expressed satisfaction over the dredging, said widening the waterways would definitely ensure permanent prevention of ecological challenges in the state.
Some of the residents of Alie Agbede Oke-Baale axis of Osogbo – Oladimeji Adenle, Oyewola Olowookere,
 
Muhammad Musbau and Adegoke Fadilulahi – commended the state government for embarking on the clearing projects.
 
According to Fadilullahi: “Governor Aregbesola has been so wonderful to citizens as his government has been successfully prioritizing our welfare as citizens.
 
“Every individual would attest to it that this government has tried in flood control since inception.
 
“Take for instance, since the recent flooding, the government has been working round the clock to avoid a future recurrence.”

The National Emergency Management Agency (NEMA) and the Osun Emergency Management Agency (OSEMA) are working to provide relief materials to victims of flood disaster in the state.
 

 
Mr Olanipekun Olanrewaju, the General Manager, OSEMA on Thursday in Osogbo, told the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) that the agency in collaboration with NEMA is working to bring succour to victims.
Olanrewaju said that OSEMA, which is saddled with the responsibility of providing relief materials to victims of disaster, had already sent official report to NEMA, through its Zonal Headquarters in Ado-Ekiti.
He said with the assistance of the state government and NEMA, OSEMA would provide relief materials to victims of the flood disaster soon.
The general manager, however, said there were procedures to follow for the distribution of relief materials.
He explained that victims of the flood have to formally request and present their case to the agency with photographs of their property that were damaged during the disaster attached.
Olanrewaju said without making request and providing photographs evidence of the affected or damaged property, it would be difficult for the agency to determine who to assist or provide with relief materials.

He reiterated what Gov. Rauf Aregbesola said, that the flood was caused by indiscriminate dumping of refuse in the waterways and water channels by residents.
According to him, the disaster should have been avoided, if people of the state dispose their wastes properly.
He said the state government was embarking on dredging and re-channelling of blocked waterways, canals and rivers in the state.
Olanrewaju said that structures along or on the waterways, obstructing free flow of water would all be demolished soon.
He said OSEMA had been sensitising the people of the state to the dangers of blocking rivers and waterways with refuse.
The general manager equally called on residents to change their habit and attitude, urging them to stop dumping refuse into the waterways and drains.
NAN recalls that five communities were flooded on Sept. 13 in Osogbo, while a middle-aged man was reported to have lost his life in the flood incident, after his vehicle was drowned in a river.

The Osun Government said on Wednesday that it was giving free tetanus vaccination to nursing mothers in the state in order to prevent infection.

Dr Akinyinka Esho, Permanent Secretary, Osun Ministry of Health, announced this in Osogbo through a statement.

Esho said in the statement that the vaccination was meant for all nursing mothers from ages 15 to 49.

He said that the vaccination was free of charge and would be given to nursing mothers in the 15 local government areas of the state.

The permanent secretary urged women of child bearing age to visit the nearest health facility to receive the tetanus vaccination.

He commended Gov. Rauf Aregbesola for providing the necessary logistics and facilities to ensure healthy living for all residents of the state.

He further said that the exercise which started on Monday, would end on Sunday.

Respite appeared to have come the way of the people of Ibokun, Obokun Local Government of Osun State, following the deployment of an Armoured Personnel Carrier to secure the town.
The deployment of the vehicle followed its facilitation and renovation by the House of Assembly member representing the area, Olatunbosun Oyintiloye.
The area has been under security threats since the armed robbery attack at Wema Bank, the only bank in the area, on December 15, 2015.
Two persons lost their lives, others were injured and large sum of money carted away.
The incident rendered the bank incapacitated from doing business since that time with economic activities in the areas affected.

To restore order and ensure that the bank re-open for business, Oyintiloye, with the approval of Governor Rauf Aregbesola, facilitated and finance the renovation of the vehicle.
There was jubilation in the ancient town, as residents trooped out at the weekend to receive the vehicle, which was led to Ibokun by the lawmaker and security operatives.
Oba’bokun of Ibokunland, Oba Festus Awogboro, hailed the efforts of the government and the lawmaker towards ensuring security of lives and property.
He lamented that the residents of Ibokun and its environ have been experiencing hardship in transacting banking business since the armed robbery attack.
He said the provision of the armoured vehicle has brought succour.
The Yeye Mojumu of Ibokun, Chief Adenike Dunsin and the Iyaloja of Ibokun, Chief Adeyemo Ramat said the provision of the armour vehicle was the exact need of the people for their economic growth.
Handing over the armoured vehicle to the District Police Officer in charge of the town, Durodola Taofeeq, Oyintiloye said the reopening of the bank would revive the commercial and economic activities of the town.

The Chairman, Committee on Information and Strategy at Osun State House of Assembly, Hon Olatunbosun Oyintiloye has begged Nigerians to be patient with All Progressive Congress (APC) led governments at federal and state levels, over the current economic challenges ravaging the nation.
Speaking with newsmen in Osogbo, Osun State capital at the weekend, Oyintiloye who represents Obokun State constituency expressed optimism that the nation would overcome the current economic recession and bounce back stronger.
 

 
He noted that it was understandable that the economic situation in the country has taken tolls on virtually every Nigerian.
Oyintiloye said that the efforts to turn things around should inspire hope and courage in the people.
He noted that the legislative arm is aware of the President Muhammadu Buhari-led administration’s economic strategies that would eventually make Nigeria better.
Oyintiloye commended the people of Osun State for their perseverance and patience in the face of economic crunch and pleaded that more patience and sacrifice are required.
“It is understandable that Nigerians are going through very hard time, owing to the poor economic situation and this has been causing a lot of pains.
“These pains cannot be unconnected with depreciation in the price of Naira, drop in the oil prices, scarcity of money in circulation and the corruption that had affected all the fabrics of our economy which the present government is now struggling to fight.
“On the other hand, it is understandable that the government led by President Buhari is working hard to turn things around”, he said.

Osun State government has appealed to the federal government to quicken the release of ecological funds to states to curb environmental disaster across the country.
The Osun state consultants on Urban Planning, Environment and Sanitation Hon. Bola Ilori made the call during his monitoring visit to Rasco bridge in Osogbo where dredging of water ways is going on.
 

 
Ilori blamed the recent flooding in parts of the state capital on massive and uncoordinated release of water from Asa Dam in Kwara State with direct consequence on Owala Dam that opened its gate for eventual flood that ravaged the town.

“The state was really shocked at the flooding that happened earlier in the week, we did not expect such level of flooding considering the efforts that had been put into dredging in the past five years.
“A critical study of the situation showed that the main cause of the problem was the uncoordinated release of water from Asa Dam in Kwara State that subsequently forced Owala Dam to open its gates which laid the foundation for the eventual flood that our people witnessed.”
“We have applied for the ecological funds and it is on record that Osun state has not earned 10kobo on ecological fund in the last five to six years since Governor Rauf Aregbesola came on board, yet we have dredged over 270 kilometres of waterway carting out 4.3 million metric tons of sand and debris in the last six years.” He said
He stated that since year 2010 up to 2014, the state has been dredging the waterways but mid-2015 the dredging became a victim of financial situation.
He further disclosed that Osun have expended 2.8 billion on dredging of waterways over the period of five years, but last year till this year it has not really dredged anything because of the financial challenges in the state.
“And even out of the 2.8 billion we are still owing, over 35% of the money, we have not been able to pay all the money, that is looking at the issue of flood and erosion control on the Ministry of Environment side, apart from what Ministry of works have done in terms of concreting some waterways. The state has serious ecological challenges that deserve urgent support from the federal government”. He said
According to Ilori, the revenue mobilisation commission had upon evaluation of the state’s ecological situation recommended 12 billion Naira for Osun September last year, but nothing has been released  and if the money has been released  the government would be able to pay their outstanding commitment and would be able to really line some of its waterways with concrete.