AREGBESOLA IS THE MOST INNOVATIVE GOVERNOR IN HIS FIRST TERMSource: business WorldBusinessWorld Newspaper, Nigeria’s leading business weekly, will, on Saturday May 3, 2014, unveil Ogbeni Rauf Aregbesola, governor of the State of Osun, as the Most Innovative Nigerian Governor in His First Term.The award will be presented to Governor Aregbesola in Osogbo, the state’s capital.It is in recognition of his innovative governance underscored by equity participation, pluralism, transparency, accountability and the rule of law, in an effective, efficient and enduring manner.The choice of Aregbesola was arrived at after a careful, extensive study and evaluation of governance in 12 states across the six geopolitical zones of the country by the editorial board of BusinessWorld Newspaper. The evaluation and review of the processes took about twomonths to accomplish.According to BusinessWorld Intelligence, the greatest threats to good and innovative governance come from corruption, violenceand poverty, all of which undermine transparency, security, participation and fundamental freedoms.However, Governor Aregbesola has advanced development in the State of Osunin his first term by bringing his energies to bear on such tasks as eradicating poverty,protecting the environment, ensuring gender equality, and providing for sustainable livelihood. He has ensured thatcivil society plays an active role in setting priorities and making the needs of the mostvulnerable people in society known.In so doing, good governance provides the setting for the equitable distribution of benefits for growth and development.Our evaluation also revealed that many parts of the country have continued to face enormous environmental, social and economic challenges. At the same time, opportunities for growth and change are often not identified early enough, not analysed deeply enough or not systematically integrated into actions efficiently.In almost four years of administering the state, Governor Aregbesola has focused on development projects and practices that have tremendously increased the efficiencyand competitive advantage of the state. This is now seen by the people of the state as major catalyst in the achievement of the administration’s objectives and the fulfilment of its obligations.Measured in line with international standards, the State of Osun’s education system is among the best in the country. Some important shifts are already taking place. Changes in schooling reflect a growing emphasis on how students learn, rather than only on what they learn. Young people need to learn to live together peacefully in a diverse and connected world. There is commitment to equal educational opportunity as well as a promise of optimal benefits for all young people in the state. There may be legitimate differences in benefits for individual students, as a result of individualinterests or abilities for example, but schooling must ensure that all students areable to make the most of their potential believing that in today’s world, all young people need the competencies once reserved for the few.The state has a firm foundation to build on and a growing commitment to the dual educational goals of equity and excellence.Innovations at all levels of the system are opening up new possibilities and contributing knowledge about what works best. Aregbesola now encourages and supports engaging learning environments emerging in many schools.In order to pursue universal access to basic education, the current administration banned levies and changed funding from a “per school” to a “per child” basis. The running cost grant has since been increased to ensure adequate provision of all facilities for the pupils.There are currently 1,378 primary schools in the state with a population of about 357,000; while funding has increased from N43 million to about N428 million.Aregbesola’s innovation include the overhauling of the primary and secondary schools system from the usual six-year primary and six-year secondary schools system to elementary, middle and high school, bringing it at par with world standard.The State of Osun under Aregbesola has conceived programmes that can get the youths off the streets and engage them in viable ventures. BusinessWorld Intelligence sees the Osun Youths Empowerment Scheme (OYES) within the context of national and global unemployment programme
Posted on: Thu, 20 Mar 2014 17:37:26 +0000
Trending Topics
Recently Viewed Topics
© 2015