We Have Institutionalized Hard Work And Productivity In Osun – Aregbesola

The Governor of Osun, Ogbeni Rauf Aregbesola, has said his administration has made a huge success in re-branding Osun and making the people of the state to be productive through hard work and commitment to duty.

He said his government has succeeded in changing the people’s attitude towards hard work and productivity as being reflected in the path of prosperity the state has been trailing.

Aregbesola held that his government successfully executed meaningful infrastructure projects which could have been difficult to do now if not done at that period with loans that were granted to the state.

Governor Aregbesola made the statement while addressing the people at the ‎‎2018 National Productivity and State of Osun Merit Awards/Public Service Lecture, at Aurora Event Centre, Osogbo.

‎Aregbesola who described hard work and productivity as the bedrock of development said his administration has moved Osun from civil service state to industrial and commercial state through the promotion of hard work and productivity.

He tasked Nigerians on the need to be hardworking and see work as the only means of human survival in life.

For him, “Productivity is the ability to alter any state of matter or service, alone or in combinations into a more desirable form – product or service and the process of bringing about that alteration or the effort we put into achieving this is called work.

‎”The inescapable truth is that our productivity is very low, this is why poverty is prevalent in our land. Even in agriculture which is the main occupation in Africa, productivity has been very low.

“If we can double our food output from cultivating the same land size as we currently do, it is possible to eliminate hunger from the land, but this will require innovation in crop science, agriculture mechanisation, improved inputs and agriculture entrepreneurship.

“We should however develop a template for measuring productivity in the public sector, both corporately and individually. For an organisation, we should be able to measure productivity by relating corporate objectives with the resources deployed.

“For an individual, productivity should be measured by the inputs of salaries, infrastructure and tools available and other emoluments received in light of set goals and job description. ‎

“So, to overcome our plethora of challenges as a people, as a state and as a nation, we must engage in productive activities to satisfy our needs while ensuring that we do not jeopardize the interest of the future generations to come”, Aregbesola added.

In his goodwill message, a foremost international labour leader and Chairman Osun Revenue Apportionment Committee, Comrade Hassan Sunmonu, lauded Governor Aregbesola for always exhibiting rare commitment and high sense of sensitivity to workers’ needs since assumption of office.‎

He said the state government under the leadership of Governor Aregbesola has remained committed to the general well being of the entire workforce in the state.

Sunmonu however commended the workers in the state for being cooperative and collaborative to the state regardless of the present economic realities.

According to him, “the Aregbesola’s administration has shown extra-ordinary leadership quality in the management of the state resources for the betterment of all, particularly the workers in the state.

“Even at a time the state was battling with economic doldrums, Osun government remained dogged and resilient in the financial management of the state’s resources coupled with the needs of the workforce in terms of prompt salary and emoluments‎ payment to both active and passive workers.

“Osun government has demonstrated high sense of commitment to the welfare of workers to the extent that no worker was neither retrenched nor relieved from service even at a time the state was experiencing economic hardship.

“As the Chairman of Revenue Apportionment Committee, a committee set up by the state government to oversee the entire revenue coming to the state on monthly basis, we have been successfully managing salary payment since the committee was constituted.

“We resolved at the modulated salary at a time the state found it extremely difficult to pay full salary and we thank God that we are improving on‎ this because the state took the decision at a right time to the extent that many states came to learn and understudy how Osun managed her workers in terms of salary and pension payment at economic challenging periods’, he added.

Earlier in his welcome address, the Head of Service in the state, Festus Oyebade Olowogboyega, lauded the administration of Governor Aregbesola for prioritizing the general well being of workers in the state.

He lauded the state government for promoting productivity, diligence, steadfastness and wealth creation in public and private sectors in the state.

Olowogboyega expressed gratitude on the state’s determination at raising the bar of good governance with positive rewards on the lives of workers, saying Osun has become a model in the civil and public service management since the inception of the present administration.

The number one civil servant in the state thanked Governor Aregbesola for always showing heart of love and care to the plights of workers in the state, which has made Osun workers to be the most efficient in the country.

‎Some of the awardees includes: the former Governor of the state, Chief Adebisi Akande (Most Outstanding Politician); Osun Deputy Governor, Iyaafin Titilayo Laoye Tomori (Most Loyal Deputy Governor); Speaker Osun House of Assembly, Hon. Najeem Folasayo Salam (Award of Excellence in Effective Parliamentary Practice); Osun Chief Judge, Justice Adepele Ojo (Award of Excellence in Administration of Justice); General Overseer Redeemed Church of God (Father of the State); Akinrun of Ikirun, Oba Rauf Olayiwola Adedeji (Most Distinguished Traditional Ruler).

Others include: Chairman Osun State Chapter of the All Progressives Congress, Prince Gboyega Famodun (Outstanding Party Administrator); Acting Secretary to the Osun State Government, Sen. Mudashir Hussain (Award of Excellence in Humility), Commandante, Osun Youth Empowerment Scheme (OYES), Colonel Enibukun Oyewola (rtd) (Award of Excellence for Youth Creativity and Engagement) among others.