Iroko.
I got to know that about this alias
while I was in Secondary School.
It was particularly interesting
because since my school was in Ondo State, my teachers, classmates, seniors and
juniors were drawn against each other in terms of choice for the Governorship
elections in the state. We had die- hard PDPians and some others who could
almost enjoy a dance in the market at the sound of the Labour Party themed Mimiko jingles.
So the elections held in 2007. I
was in SS1. I had spent an appreciable 3 years in Ondo State. I did not know
much but I realised that a lot of the people around me, especially during my
Mid –term breaks in Oka Akoko, lined
up behind the Iroko - Like he was
the big tree in the forest that could take Ondo State to the promise land.
Although, they didn’t have many reasons to fault the outgoing Olusegun Agagu administration,
I just saw an energy that demonstrated that they believed that Mimiko was a
better option.
The election ended, Agagu was
adjudged the winner.
My Teacher, Mr. Aminu was happy.
For that reason alone, a lot of the students were not happy; he is not someone
we really loved. But countdown to the journey to the tribunal which ended in
the Appeal court on February, 23, 2009, the Joy returned! And there was an
unusual burst that the saviour has arrived.
Fast forward to February, 2017….8
years of the Mimiko administration of two terms; a good number of the
population are heaving a sigh of relief that the Iroko is going back to the
forest. I wonder why! What changed?
Is it because he joined PDP? Or
was it his policies or decisions?
I began with my secondary school
story to show the depth of hope; even Secondary school students hoped for the
best.
Mimiko’s administration began
when I was leaving the state, I was in SS3. And the end of his tenure coincided
with my return to the state for youth service, two different times and I met a
hugely opposite level of reception.
To his credit, we have wonderful
mega schools in almost all LGAs of the state if not all; we have an improved
health care system, even if people will complain that the options are majorly
around the central senatorial district. During his administration, Ondo State produced one of the
best female football teams in the country- Sunshine Queens, Best Volley ball
team in the country and some of the best wrestlers in the country – Odunayo
Adekuroye and Ameenat Adeniyi etc.
However, the focus is Arakunrin.
After a hard fought victory,
weathering the storm of intra – party struggles, and two strong opposing
candidates in Eyitayo Jegede of the People’s
Democratic Party and Olusola Oke of the Alliance for Democracy,he has emerged as the Governor of Ondo State. The second
coming!
Although there is a difference in
the level of excitment! The hope levels are not as high
as that of Iroko so the onus lies on the
Newly inaugurated Governor of Ondo State, Oluwarotimi Akeredolu to know that
time and chance happens to us all, and the main question is what will he be
remembered for when he leaves office?
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| Photo credits : Aketi media page. |
Ore. This town for me is the most
underutilized and unexploited in the world.
Yes, the world. Its proximity to Lagos – the economic capital of Nigeria
and the vast available lands is a huge potential that is not being properly
exploited. It can be an alternative industrial hub, with a national reach, a
cargo /Passenger airport (It’s just few hours to Akure) and deep shoreline that
can accommodate ships ( it’s close to Ilaje/Okitipupa). Can we have more
efforts like the Olokola Deep sea port and free trade zone?
What of the state’s Bitumen? This
is an issue I am tired of thinking and talking about. Since we now have a
government that is close to the Centre and a Minister of Solid Minerals that
visited the state more than twice during the Election campaigns…we shouldn’t
have an excuse. This time, bitumen must be properly mined for the economic
benefit of the state. If we cannot do the exploration, we can sign an MOU with
construction companies to do modular exploration. I wait.
Cocoa! How much more can we talk
about this? I still do not know why we do not have a budding Cocoa processing
industry in Ondo State. Can we court chocolate and other front -end products industries
to set up in the state and not just the many “Buy and take away” structures
that we have? Anyway, a major part of Arakunrin’s campaign was massive
development of the Agriculture sector; we can only hope this sector receives
massive attention. I visited Araromi Obu and the Rubber plantation I saw there
was huge…there are so many other crops that can grow on our wonderful arable
lands.
Ondo State is blessed with one of
the most educated populace in the country. The state has about ten tertiary
institutions which includes one of the best Technology school in the country
(Federal University of Technology, Akure), A University of Medical Sciences,
Adeyemi College of Education and some of the best secondary schools in Nigeria.
I know this last part because my school went on different competitions and I
know how much exploits we did in national competitions. So the state is not
lacking in terms of manpower. It has the human resource to drive
industrialisation, Agriculture and economic development…Will we get a political
will to ensure that massive all round development happens in the state?
We can still talk about tourism:
Idanre Hills, Ebomi Lake and a variety of potential tourist attractions that
are of historical, culture and artistic values.
Let me stop here.
If we can work on the very few
ones I have listed, we can begin a revolution that will change Ondo State and
make it the darling of the south west. As a state, we have the capacity to be
the pride of the nation. My friend, Kitan says Ondo State is rich but rich in
potentials; sadly having potential does not translate to development.
We can build; we can shine….will
Arakunrin be the man?
