While a vast section of the population is eligible to run political offices, very few do. And of those who do, few are women. There are a variety of barriers that make it more difficult for women to access the necessary resources (time, money, self- confidence, ambition, selection) to run a political office. However, increasing numbers of women are being considered for political positions in Oyo State. There’s also greater awareness of the need for more women in political life, and organisations such as Governor Seyi Makinde is doing much to inspire, equip and support women to run political offices in Oyo State.

Governor Seyi Makinde who already set up his cabinet for second term administration has not nominated names for Commissioners for youth and sport, also health.

Based on the analysis of the list being considered by Oyo Governor for the Youth and Sport Ministry, Atunwa Bushirah Omolara is the youngest. She is 27 years old.

Atunwa Bushirah is from Ibarapa East Local Government of Oyo State.

Busirah is the daughter of Eruwa politician, Alhaji Atunwa, who was the former PDP Secretary and later, Chairman of Ward 6, Ibarapa East LG.

She studied microbiology at the University of Ilorin, Ilorin; and holds Master’s degrees in environmental biology and public health from the Federal University of Technology Akure, Akure.

She was the Ambassador, UNICEF hand washing project in 2009, overall best graduating student in Oyo State in 2012 and became the One-day Chairman of Ibarapa East Local Government also in 2012.

She is certified in Information Technology- British Computer Society, Business intelligence and data analytics, Google Digital Skills for Africa, Financial Modelling and valuation analytics.

She is currently completing a course on Google Project Management.

Busirah who is the pioneer initiator of Intensive Awareness on Teenage Pregnancy has worked with few private companies and will make a great addition to the cabinet of Governor Seyi Makinde.

60 Garlands for Ibarapa Premier High School (Igboora High School).

By: Badiu Akin’ Akinbode

I am a meloneer 
And I’m proud to be
There are uplands amidst melon ponds
My cradle of education lies
Igboora Igboora high school 
Spendid, innocent with glory 
Ibarapa Premier High School
Igboora High School so there you are
Architect of success of mine
Higher higher ever will the flag flies

My path the light direct
When in light and green
You teach me to value character and knowledge 
Igboora Igboora High School
Resplendid, with glory and beauty
You help me against life battle
A priceless legacy this blessing is
So I will ever sing thy praise
And pray for the star to shine and brighter still.

Up school!!!

If you attended Igboora High School (IHS) like me, you would have been singing the above anthem with nostalgia. Today, January 18, 2023, it is exactly 60 years since the first secondary school in Ibarapa was established. This calls for a celebration, and it is also a call to remember the founding fathers who laid the foundation of the premier high school in Ibarapa Land.

Fiften years ago, I became an alumnus of the school by accident. This is a decision I have come to embrace as one of the life-changing moments in my life. If you belong to my generation and age group (early 30s to late 30s) from Igboora, you will agree with me that the most fascinating decision in Igboora in the late 90s to the early millennium was finishing primary school, most likely from Adegoke Nursery & Primary School, and then proceeding to a Private/Federal Government College in Abeokuta, Ibadan, Lagos, Oyo, Ogbomosho, and Odogbolu. I was not an exemption, as I made the decision to go to Ogbomosho. After three years, I mistakenly had the feeling that I had outgrown BPCCG, Ogbomosho and that I should aim for the stars. I proceeded to Wesley College Elekuro for my senior high school, but I had the shock of my life: in the private secondary school I attended in Ogbomosho, I was in a class of 25–30, but at Wesley College, it was an entirely different system, and I was placed in SS1H. My set had SS1A–J, by the way, with each class comprising at least 100 students. I was sincerely not cut out for that, and I was not ready for that challenge. Thus, I wrote a letter to my Dad, informing him that I would like to return to Ogbomosho to finish my studies. My principled Dad would have none of it, and he offered me two decisions to choose from: to finish my studies at Wesley or return to Igboora High School. Hahaha! Sha’gba fo, Igboora ke! How would I explain to my friends that I left a porsche private secondary school in Ogbomosho for a nationally renowned secondary school in Nigeria (Wesley College, Ibadan) to coming back to Igboora? It was one of the toughest decisions of my life, but I was done with Wesley as my grades were already average, and it’s looking like it will get worse. I therefore decided to return to Igboora to finish my studies in 2007.

But I digress: this is about IHS @ 60 and not my odyssey. However, both are inseparable. It is no longer news that Igboora High School produced every of the “firsts” you can mention from all the 7 towns in Ibarapa Land: the first Professor in Ibarapa Land, the first female Professor in Ibarapa Land, the first Medical Doctor, Engineer, Lawyer, Architect, and most recently the first Indigenous Rector of Oyo State College of Agriculture and Technology and Adeseun Ogundoyin Polytechnic in Igboora and Eruwa respectively, all of whom are alumni of IHS. Igboora High School accounts for more than 50% of the professors Ibarapa can lay claim to at home and overseas. 

Nonetheless, my generation prefers to travel further south in pursuit of high school in advanced neighbouring towns of Ibarapa. A headcount of youths performing well in their fields of endeavour will still conveniently have five out of every ten having graduated from IHS. Thanks are in no small measure due to generations of principals and teachers of the school from 1963 till date, including my own father (Azeez Alarape Akinbode), who was also a student of the school between 1973 and 1978 and an agricultural science teacher in the same school between 1996 and 2003.

Having spent one of the best two years of my life as a student of IHS, I would not fail to mention some of the teachers who shaped my life as a student. Some of them include my beloved Principal, Mr. O.A Olusegun Olugbile. Unarguably one of the best principals the school has produced, his time at the school witnessed remarkable achievements as the school became the best in Ibarapa Land. We outshone other schools in Oyo State as the best secondary school. Not only did I come first in Ibarapa land during an inter-school debate amongst secondary schools in Ibarapa during the school’s 45th anniversary in January 2008, but also the set after mine, which includes Akinbode Sukurat, emerged the best student in Oyo State in a National Competition, and Abibat Adedeji, emerging the 3rd best student in Oyo State the subsequent years. It is needless to mention other local competitions where we successively dominated in major competitions (Debate, Quiz). As if that was not enough, Mr. Olugbile’s team of IHS was the neatest school in Oyo State for three successive years between 2007 and 2010. If there’s a hall of fame of Principals from the premier high school, he would be there standing tall. Dr. Adedeji I.A., Mr. Luqman Adesope, and Mrs. Kelechi Cynthia Akalonu were my English language teachers; they were the very best in their crafts. If we have learned to string words together better in the Queen’s language, it is owing to the efforts of Dr. Adedeji and others who made it happen. He developed us beyond the teaching of English. He groomed my interest in current affairs, and he would not hesitate to sing my praises at any available opportunity in the staff room. In fact, a few weeks after I joined IHS, he dragged me straight in as part of the school team for quiz competitions; I owe him till eternity. Mr. Yusuff Idowu was more than my mathematics teacher; he’s a father-teacher-brother-guardian woven into an entity. A decade and a half after school, we are still exchanging messages, and he is always quick to ask about my development, career, and progress. Even though I came to IHS with an average understanding of mathematics, I left as a better student of mathematics two years later. Thank you for the general and private tutoring by Mr. Yusuff. Also, I was taught by Mr. AbdulGaniyy Ademola Opaesan. It is impossible to forget the impact the Lanlate-born, Mining Engineering graduate of FUTA had on my career. Beyond teaching me Physics and Further Mathematics, he was a big uncle who had my back during the toughest days of my teething career. If not for the brevity of time, I could go on to mention other teachers and the profound legacies and memories I had of them. If I had indeed gone farther in life, it’s because of my teachers at Igboora High School. 

Beyond the euphoria of celebration, all of us (alumni of IHS) must indeed come together and channel efforts toward having the school be the best it used to be. We must be sincere with ourselves and admit the school is no longer where it used to be. A few days ago, the largest educational event in Ibarapa land was organised by the Peoples Conscience, and for the second year running, our school was not among the prize winners in both the quiz and debate competitions. A clarion call it was for a school that was not even familiar with coming second. Something is wrong somewhere, and the earlier we find a solution, the better for us to be different from a school that will only resort to the past glory in the comity of schools in Ibarapa land.

On behalf of my family, many of whom are alumni themselves, including my big uncle and guardian; Nurse Yousuph Akinbode Alabere, I wish our dear high school a happy 60th anniversary.

Badiu Akin’ Akinbode was the Library prefect of the school a decade and a half ago. 
He writes from Gdańsk where he is temporarily residing as a Graduate student at Gdańsk University of Technology, Poland.

Today, I eat my words and decision to stay publicly neutral in the daily bickering within our political space, particularly as it affects our dear region. While the raging controversy relating to the recent outburst of Remi Oseni, the APC House of Representative Candidate for Ibarapa East/Ido Federal Constituency, informed my change of heart, this piece will randomly address several issues as it relates to the politics of development in Ibarapa. Long gone is the era of political correctness. We must face “our giants” headlong.

May I quickly issue a disclaimer that I have never met Mr. Remi Oseni, nor have I ever spoken to him or anyone directly linked to him. As a matter of fact, I have been quite curious about his sudden philanthropy in his constituency and indeed wish he, like every other candidate in the coming election, had a clear roadmap for addressing the searing underdevelopment in the region.

I have listened to most of the audio in circulation and read releases and counter-releases in this regard. While it is a season of politics and politicians are susceptible to latching on to any seemingly advantageous situations thrown up around their fellow politicians, the audio releases indeed raise some fundamental issues our region and society at large must address if indeed we are to witness any resemblance of development.

Despite how underdeveloped the Ibarapa region looks, the cost of running for any elective position is enough to fix a lot of problems that slow the growth and progress of the region, owing to the sheer exploitation of political candidates by the same people who mourn bad governance every day. How do you milk political candidates dry with millions of naira in loans from various banks and then expect them to perform wonders when they get into power? 

Most of us are as selfish as those we criticise. We must not measure the right candidate by our personal gain but vet candidates based on history, competence, and willingness to change our history of underdevelopment. Does the candidate understand our challenges? Does he know not only what the challenges are but how to tackle them headlong, among others?

A vast majority of us have developed a culture where it is important for political candidates to dispense, and this disposition makes candidates and political parties try to outspend one another, thereby building portfolios of debt before they gain political control. The debt, in most cases, as I am aware, is so huge that even the four years mandate may not be sufficient to defray it. 

I do understand though not appreciate the mindset that the best time to get anything from politicians, particularly candidates, is during electioneering as whoever emerges becomes a demi-god after election; that in reality is true, but should we use that to change the mentality of those who are intentional about their aspirations?

While this is the reality, this reality is, more often than not, orchestrated by such beliefs. We must, for the sake of good governance and development, presume, though rebuttably, that whoever emerges will automatically become our servant.

The audio in circulation is a good thing so that we become fully aware of how we drain aspiring politicians and those august visitors around. It has now become a “decent” way of life to table our problems before politicians, and that culture of entitlement must be expunged and thrashed in the dustbin if at all we want a society that is habitable for everyone to live. 

Also, we must not forget that a man who uses an elephant as bait does not want to catch a fish; he must want something bigger than an elephant. Therefore, as we continue to hype those aspiring politicians around us for doling out cash and solving our immediate needs because of the season, we may be ignorantly enjoying ourselves in advance at the expense of good infrastructure in our respective communities.

Mr. OSENI’s outburst was justified, though not as a Pastor. We need more blunt minds like him in our polity. Most of us rally round political candidates for personal gain, same way most people contest for personal gains. But this exploitative approach during electioneering is condemnable. Politicians and individuals must stop taking advantage of electioneering for personal gain. It is this same greedy approach that has prevented us over the years from putting our first eleven forward.

Unfortunately, most political parties, owing to the individual greed of our political leaders, who always go for the highest bidder and jettison due process, may have missed the chance to field the best of candidates. We cannot afford to also milk these candidates dry, such that those that eventually win will spend their entire tenure trying to recover and probably gain a return on investment instead of focusing on good governance. Enough is enough!

While I understand that a lot of politicians would want to politicise the serious concerns raised by Hon. Oseni just to feel that he insulted their people and leverage that to score cheap political points, the serious ones should see the outburst as the story of pain and anguish in the hearts of those we want to make our communities turn into a mass when they eventually gain political power. 

This Bloodshed Must Stop!

While Fulani may have been a challenge, the threat constituted by our people may even be greater. Anyone who covers up his relatives of questionable character or source of income is a traitor and betrayal of our commonwealth. In fact, he is a criminal of equal magnitude with these perpetrators, who maim and kill with reckless abandon. Recently, one Femi Adebayo, popularly known as Holy Temple in Eruwa, a serial entrepreneur, was dastardly murdered in his acrage of cocoa farm in Lanlate. Those who killed him have thrown many young and old in Ibarapa who work for him into the dark days of unemployment; they have killed the breadwinner of many families; they have derailed the destiny of those he supports with meagre resources; and they have reversed economic development in the region by this gruesome assassination. Up till now, not so much has been done to unravel the killing. Such a manner of killing was also recorded barely 9 days ago in Igboora, where all the private parts of a middle-aged student who travelled home for festive celebration were removed. The fact that it was not reported does not make his death less prominent.

This is a sign that the dark days aren’t over. The criminals are still with us. Eternal vigilance remains the price of freedom. Politicians must stop playing God with our security. The sanctity of life must be upheld by all.

These criminals live with us as they perpetrate their ritual killings in our respective communities, and the efforts to nip this in the bud must be intensified for the collective growth of Ibarapa Land.

Light is the least of our problems. We can’t hold darkness in our hearts and bloodshed in our hands and expect progress.

May we be wise and not ‘otherwise’!

Etomilade Oduola is the President of Ibarapa Development Forum