SPEECH DELIVERED BY DISTINGUISHED SENATOR SURAJUDEEN AJIBOLA BASIRU PH.D., BL AT THE EMPOWERMENT PROGRAMME FOR THE GOOD PEOPLE OF OSUN CENTRAL SENATORIAL DISTRICT AT ADENLE EVENT PARK, AYETORO JUNCTION, OSOGBO ON THE 19TH DAY OF DECEMBER, 2020.
Bismillah Rahman Rahim
Protocol
It is with profound joy that I welcome you all to this august occasion in the name of Allah, the Benevolent and the Merciful. I am excited and particularly happy as today marks another historic day for me and the good people of our Osun Central Senatorial District. This event is not a jamboree. No, it is even not about distributing empowerment tools to our people alone. It is more of an avenue to render my account of stewardship to the good people of Osun State Central Senatorial District.
This year has been a very challenging one. Firstly, the corona virus shook the world to its very foundation. As at today, the world has not fully recovered from the distortions occasioned by the pandemic. In the midst of efforts to tackle the Covid-19 pandemic came the #EndSars protest. What initially started as a legitimate demand for police reforms was violently hijacked by criminal elements and became a vehicle for unleashing economic and physical pains on the citizenry. I must commend Mr. Governor, Alhaji Gboyega Oyetola, for being proactive in curtailing the violence that would otherwise have thrown our dear State into untold hardship during the unwarranted and callous act of brigandage that ravaged the Country and our State during the #ENDSARS protest in October this year.
I must also commend the people of Osogbo and the Osun Central Senatorial District at large for the uncommon love and affection shown towards me and my family over the condemnable act of brigandage and wanton destruction of my personal property by hoodlums and armed robbers who masqueraded under #ENDSARS protest. May the protection of Almighty Allah continue to be with us now and always.
Ladies and gentlemen, during my electioneering campaign tours, I made several promises, but amongst the several promises, I stated and asserted that human capacity development is my core priority. Osun Central is unique in several respects which include being the seat of government and the fact that it has the highest concentration of businesses and therefore must benefit from human capital development.
You will also recall that in December, 2019, while unveiling the Osun Central Constituency Office, I reiterated the fact that welfare of the people of the Osun Central shall be the first line charge in my programme. True to that promise, aside participation in legislative assignments (at plenary and committee levels), majority of my activities were scheduled to facilitate a wide range of social services and public amenities, and encourage the cooperation and participation of the Osun Central inhabitants in joint endeavours towards the improvement of their conditions of living. From empowering, through capacity building and knowledge (Education), building a world of business opportunities, to the meeting of basic needs in water (provision of power), electrification, agriculture and other forms of social intervention, the objective is to substantially improve the welfare of the people.
Some of the interventions are:
Education
(i) Facilitation of award by Universal Basic Education Commission (UBEC) of the construction of 2 classrooms with office and store and provision of furniture at the following 5 schools:
a. Surajudeen Primary School, Ora Igbomina, Ifedayo Local Government.
b. Apoun Baptist Primary School, Asubiaro, Osogbo Local Government.
c. NUD Primary School, Oke Oja Area, Igbajo Boluwaduro Local Government.
d. Methodist Primary School, Otapete, Iragbiji, Boripe Local Government.
e. AUD Primary School, behind Yidi, Oke Baale Osogbo Local Government.
(ii) Facilitation of award by Office of the Senior Special Assistant to the President of Sustainable Development Goals (SDG) of the construction of 3 classrooms at the following 2 schools:
(a) AUD Primary School “C”, Okele, Erin Osun, Irepodun Local Government.
(b) St Gabriel Primary School, Ore, Odo-Otin Local Government.
(iii) Donation of Books and Desktop to the Faculty of Law, Fountain University, Osogbo
a. Books (including text books, reference materials and law reports) worth one million naira (N1, 000, 000)
b. HP All-in-one Desktop with Law Pavilion worth four hundred thousand naira (N400, 000).
c. Award of Scholarship to deserving constituents.
Capacity Building
(i) I facilitated a three-day intensive capacity building training for co-operators in Osun Central Senatorial District. The Training which took place from Tuesday, August 25, 2020 to Thursday, August 27, 2020 and coordinated by the Federal Cooperative College, Ibadan was designed to enhance the capacity of co-operators on the following information and communication technology, entrepreneurship management, cooperative law, values and studies.
Water
(i) Completion of nine (9) fully equipped boreholes at the following communities:
a. Omigade area, Ogo-Oluwa Osogbo Local Government.
b. Sabo area, Olorunda Local Government.
c. Owode area, Olorunda Local Government.
d. Iragbiji, Boripe Local Government.
e. Ororuwo community, Boripe Local Government.
f. Olobu Market, Ilobu, Irepodun Local Government.
g. Oja-Oba Market, Ila-Orangun Local Government.
h. Oja-Oba Market, Ikirun, Ifelodun Local Government.
i. Oloyan Market, Oyan Market, Odo-Otin Local Government.
j. Anaye Market, Olorunda LGA
(ii) There are three (3) others that are ongoing and they are:
a. Opposite Iyalode House Oke-Ila.
b. Otakiti area, Station Road, Osogbo.
c. Olutimehin Estate Oke Ayepe Area, Osogbo.
Road
(i) My office has also graded many rural roads across the Senatorial District. These include:
a. Obaagun, Ifelodun Local Government.
b. Ila, Ila Local Government.
We are also using this period of dry season to embark of grading of roads across many communities in the Senatorial District.
Electrification
a. Provision of solar powered lights at Oja Oba in Osogbo.
Security
a. Assisted the Nigeria Security and Civil Defence Corps in assisting on securing a befitting office accommodation at Iludun Area, Testing Ground, Osogbo.
b. Provision of solar powered light at Oja Oba Police Station.
Social Intervention: Covid-19 Support
a. Financial Support of minimum of N2,000 paid to over 4,000 constituents to cushion the effect of the Covid-19 lockdown.
b. Provision of 10,000 facemasks and hand sanitizers.
c. Emergency health and safety response projects such as:
(i) rehabilitation of water points in public places
(ii) installation of new solar boreholes in public places
(iii) provision of mobile fixed handwashing facilities in public areas
(iv) installation of sanitation facilities in the public areas
d. Provision of palliatives (food – 268 bags of rice, 40 bags of beans and other items such as yams, instant noodles, etc.)
e. Sponsorship of programs and jingles on radio and TV stations to enlighten and sensitize the public on the dangers of Covid-19 and how to observe the safety measures.
Employment
a. Empowered 81 youths in Osun Central with appointments as Special Advisers Senior Special Assistants, Special Assistants and Personal Assistants.
b. Facilitated employment for youths in Osun Central under the various Social Intervention Programmes (N-Power Tech).
c. Facilitated Federal Government jobs to some youths in the last one year.
Today, I have come before my people in Osun Central to render my stewardship and empower some of them. We have selected people across Osun Central Senatorial District in a way that reflects spread and need in all the nooks and crannies of the District and I can assure you that in spite of the decimation of the empowerment machines and equipment that we are distributing today by hoodlums during the afore-stated #ENDSARS protest in October, we have carefully ensured that no Local Government, community or interest in the Osun Central Senatorial District has been left out in the distribution process as all interest groups are fairly represented. Apart from the Zonal Intervention Project, Eight Million Naira is being distributed today to aid traders under Trade Support Intervention (TSI).
The aim of empowering our people is borne out of the dire state of the economy and the attendant strain and the need for the people to be able to fend for themselves without recourse to begging or waiting on the government and political office holders for handouts. It is also to make our people to be self-reliant and encourage productivity which will contribute to the growth of National Gross Domestic Products while the effort will also allow for rural development both in capital and human resources. It is also to complement efforts of the Osun State Government, under the leadership of Alhaji Gboyega Oyetola, at achieving good standards of living for the people and most importantly, to safeguard and ensure human dignity by engaging in productive activities.
As you might have known, and this is unequivocal, the people of Osun Central are known to be very industrious, accommodating, brilliant and well informed, these attributes would assist at maximizing the utilization of these items being distributed today.
The state of Global economy at present is worrisome and Nigeria is not exempted, the effect of the Covid-19 pandemic still lingers and the world economy is in a limbo thus there is the urgent need to empower our people to now diversify in line with current realities for continuous sustainability.
Today, we have in stock varieties of items to be distributed, ranging from Motorcycles, Grinding Machines, Generators, Freezers and Hair Dryers. I want to implore the lucky ones who are recipients of these tools to make good and judicious use of the equipment and machines to their full capacity so as to create wealth, not only for themselves but for their immediate society and Osun State at large. The Yoruba adage that goes thus; “Ti ebi ba kuro ninu ise, ise bu’se” is very instructive here, my philosophy right from early childhood is that everybody should be afforded the legitimate opportunity to be able to fend for themselves and sustain their economic well-being.
At this juncture, I want to thank our Leaders, party members and other constituents who identify with us on this great occasion and we implore you to be our eyes in ensuring that these tools are utilized in the most productive ways to elevate the living standards of the recipients and their immediate communities and the economy of the State at large.
In conclusion, I want to assure all and sundry that the empowerment programme is a continuous exercise, so we implore our teeming supporters to be patient as it will go round as reasonably as possible in the coming months. Improving the living and social standard of our people is my priority and in sha Allah, I will not fail you.
Thank you
Senator Surajudeen Ajibola Basiru Ph.D., BL.
(Osun Central Senatorial District)
