Osun Govt To Resuscitate Cooperative College

By Ayobami Agboola, Osogbo

The Government of Osun State on Wednesday said it has concluded plans to resuscitate the state’s Cooperative College located at Odeomu, Ayedaade Local Government Area of the state and make it functional.

The state Commissioner for Commerce, Industry, Cooperatives and Empowerment, Dr Bode Olaonipekun stated this while fielding questions from journalists in his office on some issues affecting the Cooperative college.

Some members of the hosting community had recently raised alarm over the dwindling glory of the college, calling on the state government to expedite action that would lead to the resuscitation of the dying college.

Dr Olaonipekun who said that the college has not been abandoned explained that the government, through the Ministry of Commerce and Cooperatives was working strategically on how to ensure the college comes back to live and function well.

He said: ” What we are working on right now in resuscitating the school is to bring in some new curriculum that is unique to attract people to that school because cooperative is a sector on its own. Any strategy to be put in place must be unique.

“There are three strategic plans that we are working on from the angle of the ministry and angle of government. First is to bring in courses that are contemporary to cooperative management worldwide. Cooperative management is a worldwide affairs.

“We are also looking at curricular of developed economy. In United State of America, some Cooperatives have banks. There are Federation of Cooperative Society in United State that run like commercial banks but they are cooperative banks.

“We are looking at contemporary curricular and we can also borrow developed economy to strengthen the curricular in our Cooperative college that would attract students who are contemporary in their outlook in that place.

“Another strategic plan is to bring out a situation whereby all cooperative societies in Osun, they are in hundreds, we are working on a policy that would make it compulsory for every cooperative societies to have a graduate of the Cooperatives college to manage the affairs of their cooperatives and by so doing they would have to send their students to that school and be populated.

“The strategy we are also working on is to ensure that the school is sustainable, as we all know that the government cannot carry the burden of paying lecturers and then what we have done to mitigate the total closure of the school is that staff of the ministry were deployed to teach the students that are there if not the school would have closed down” he said.

The commissioner who noted that school management and the host community have vital roles to play towards the sustainability of the school said by the time the government make use of the three strategic plans, the school would automatically be resuscitated.

Speaking on how to boost the state economy, Dr Olaonipekun enjoined residents of the state on the need to always purchase their goods and services in Osun instead of traveling down the neighboring states .

He said there was the need for every citizen to collectively grow the economy of the state. He added that they should all ensure that public properties are protected.