Osun State Governor, Senator Ademola Adeleke has revealed that his administration is considering creation of liaison offices in some West African, European and American countries.
Adeleke said this is part of his administration’s yearnings to attend to the needs and aspirations of Osun indigenes in African countries and other parts of the world.
It is estimated that hundreds of thousands of Osun indigenes are resident in Benin, Togo, Ghana with a very huge population in Ivory Coast. This is in addition to a very huge diaspora population of Osun origin living in Europe and North America.
According to a statement by Olawale Rasheed, his spokesperson, the Governor Adeleke made the disclosure while receiving Osun indigenes who came for sallah celebration from several West African countries.
“Tell our people from Cotonou to Abidjan, from London to Atlanta that we have plans to integrate them into our good governance agenda. I am working on the creation of a diaspora office to document, engage and involve our people.
“I know our people across West Africa are mostly artisans and small scale business people. The proposed office will capture their data to see where to come in to assist and support them. I may even appoint a liaison officer to be based at Abidjan.
“For our North American and European diaspora community, I am part of you. Your population is different from that of our brothers and sisters across West Africa. We are already reaching out to you, to drive investment into Osun and ensure your involvement in our administration.
“I know of some towns in Osun where almost every household has several family members, of several generations in Abidjan, Cotonou and others. I want to put up formal structures to address these various categories of our people”, the Governor noted.
Governor Adeleke who promised to unveil details of the plan in due course noted that Osun needs all hands on deck to resolve her developmental challenges, tackle poverty and fast track state development.
