Just about a week ago, the atmosphere in Ondo state was
delicately electric with political rallies and activities. The customary music and good-natured banter on
the airwaves were drowned in the din of political jingles and advertisements from
political parties promising the people of Ondo state a better deal. The vitriolic
attacks and counter attacks saturated the environment, affected relationships
and created palpable tension in the land. The quixotic peace that we knew was
constantly assaulted with sirens and hoards of campaigners from neighbouring
states and Abuja. The target was Government House, Alagbaka; that sprawling gem
piece that seats on acres of rolling hills and symbolises the power, hopes and
aspirations of the proud people of Ondo state.
Your adversaries sought to create a sweeping impression that you had not
earned your keep in Alagbaka while you pointed at your endeavours to convince
the people of Ondo you were worthy of further investment of faith and hope.
That is all a vote counts for; faith in the candidate and
hope in his person, world view, programmes and power of execution.
On the 20th of October 2012, the people of Ondo
state braved heavy militarisation of their homeland and trooped to polling
stations to choose between you, Olusegun Abdulrahman Mimiko and two eminently
qualified sons of Ondo state : Barristers Oluwarotimi Akeredolu and Femi Oke of
the Action Congress of Nigeria and the Peoples Democratic Party. From Ilaje to
Ilara, Irun to Ondo, Igbokoda, Idanre, Owo, and Akure, the people of Ondo state
delivered a resounding acceptance of your leadership and voted you in for a
second term as the popularly elected executive
governor of Ondo State. We rejected the ACB franchise and the PDP hegemony.
This open letter comes first to congratulate you on this hard-fought
and hard-won success. I deliberately avoided the word “victory”! This open
letter also comes to challenge you by laying out an agenda, expressing the
augmented expectations of the people of Ondo state. I am sure you know that the
reward for good work is greater expectation. I am confident that this open
letter will be read by a number of people who are your advisers and supporters in
the cyber environment. I am deeply optimistic that they will transmit this
letter to you.
Reconciliation and Integration
I am particularly happy
with the congratulatory messages you have received from a broad spectrum of people,
including members of the opposition. It should remind you of the goodwill of
brotherhood in Ondo state and the elevation of our common good above all
individual pursuits and political permutations. It is clear that you may not
achieve acceptance from all parties to the election as the Action Congress of
Nigeria might still pursue a needless legal jamboree which will ostensibly
serve to distract you from the achievement of your programmes and perpetuate
the bad blood that the election created.
In spite of that, it
is time for you to repudiate the primordial instinct of vendetta and focus on
peace-building and integration of all supporters of progress in Ondo state irrespective
of opinion and political leaning. We need to repair our hitherto fine-woven
social fabric, torn by acrimonious campaign jingles, reckless personal attacks
and vituperations. In politicising everything over the past one year, the
people of the state now see themselves more in their ethnocentric garbs and
affinities. It is time for you to display the magnanimity of a man on a
mission, and eschew the urge to lead only the people who follow you while alienating the people who dissent. Your
widespread appeal in the last election is a double –edged sword, allowing you
to lay claim to being the people’s choice on one hand while demanding that you
display the openness to receive criticism from all quarters without being
defensive. It is now time for the Iroko to provide shade for all.
Youth Employment and Engagement
Without fear of
contradiction, it is clear that more than half of the total votes cast in the elections
in Ondo state were cast by people under the age of thirty. This indicates that you
have a large population of youths in the state whose faith you must recompense.
Ondo state has an educated and energetic
youth segment, ready and capable of gainful employment. I have supported your refusal to send
graduates to expressways to cut grasses in uniforms under some ill-conceived
scheme of underemployment while minting false political currency under the
guise of “youth employment”. I am one of those advocating a more futuristic
strategy for youth employment and engagement. Your government needs to show
other states how to create wealth through human capital development especially
in the youth space. First, the voice of the youth needs to be heard more in
your government. I am aware that a sizeable number of your advisers are young
and competent but it is time to create a team of youths whose main goal would
be to proffer solutions to the challenges facing the youth.
The area of
information technology is viable for
investment and engagement for the youth. I foresee an Ondo state that
will partner with the major telecommunications operators to provide contact
centre solutions. I see data warehouses in Ondo and Akure, providing cloud computing
services for people all over Nigeria. I see creative incubators like the
Co-Creation hub in Lagos and Ibridge Hub in Ibadan, springing up in Oka, Ondo, Okitipupa and
Akure to nurture bankable idease, linking enterprise with finance. I see
application developers, graphic artists and software programmers, working out
of purposely built youth centres in Ondo state. I see you leading a youth segment
that is gainfully and joyfully engaged in what they love to do. We need to
create an employability hub for graduates in Ondo state so they can clinch more jobs in the open market. Currently I observe sporadic youth engagement
in the form of speaking engagements and once-in-a-year conferences. Our state
actually requires a workable youth engagement strategy, crafted by youth for
youth and driven by dynamic people. I would have said “progressive” but that
word has undergone “progressive” degeneration in Ondo state. Kayode Ogundamisi and Gbenga Sesan are two
notable Ondo exports who come to mind out of numerous who have blazed the trail
in information technology and advocacy. We need to sit down with all stakeholders and
discuss how to put the youth to work.
Iroko, most governments treat the youth as necessary
nuisance, gullible enough to become election thugs and independent enough only
to use facebook and twitter in voting on game shows. You can change this perception. Your
investment in education sets a solid foundation for the profitable employment
of the youths. You may have to look at the Indian and Philipino models. It is time to build a wide
area network in Ondo state. I have been talking about this since 2009.
Education
I have listened to you share your vision for the educational
sector in Ondo state and I am convinced of your good intentions and sound
judgement. I can see the excellent educational infrastructure that you are
creating. Students from Ondo state have
emerged tops in national examinations. Your resolve to provide quality
education in Ondo state is very evident. You created a quality assurance development for
education! It is indeed one of the shining jewels of your administration. I
however feel that your brick and mortar investments must be complemented by other
soft elements.
First on this list is teacher training and re-orientation. I
have witnessed a South west state which provided internet connection for schools
under a world bank funded scheme and the modems, routers and other hardware
were locked up in the principal’s
office. I have seen overhead projectors locked in filing cabinets so teachers will
not spoil them. I have seen teachers preferring to use chalk and blackboards
instead or Microsoft Powerpoint. In Nigeria’s educational sector, we now have
students who are more adept at sourcing information and researching using
information technology while their teachers carry outdated textbooks. Our ministry
of education needs to provide training in twenty-first century learner profile and teacher competencies, capable of educating
young people who can take on an increasingly technical and ICT –driven job
space. Ondo must lead the way in training teachers who model the new teacher’s
roles as defined by UNESCO. Our current crop of teachers needs to be retrained.
We also need to inject new blood by making teaching interesting for young
graduates. They must be IT –savvy, young and dynamic to use information
technology tools to teach subjects in an engaging and fun manner.
The school curriculum needs to change from a model that
merely utilises ICT to teach, to a more futuristic model that embeds ICT in
daily learning. Our current curriculum emphasises literacy in English and
Mathematics. I envision an Ondo state that defines ICT literacy as important to
modern day life and provides the curriculum to empower her citizens to use ICT
to solve problems and create new value. New policy must be created to support
this new reality. You cannot wait for the federal government to do this for you
or with you, as Iroko you need to do this alone.
To support this curriculum, Ondo state needs to invest in ICT
infrastructure for its education sector.
We require internet in all schools beginning with Megaschools. The Joint Admissions
and Matriculations Board just announced that the examination for admissions
into Nigerian universities will now be a computer-based test. This is a wake-up
call to discerning governments to provide internet facilities in schools and embed
ICT in learning. You would have done
well in 2016, if all schools in Ondo state enjoy internet access and we have
built our own learning management system that standardises curriculum, teaching
practices and learning experience. The “Sunshine
Learning Portal” is possible. There are
several strategic partnerships that offer direction and assistance in making
this possible.
Industrialisation and Investment Drive
I recall with
nostalgia, the interior of the Lagos office of the Nigerian Romanian Wood
Industry (NIROWI), a building that still stands on Campbell Street in Lagos
Island; right behind Freedom Park. The building was panelled and decorated with
beautiful Ondo wood and furniture. The Romanians who worked with Mr. Sunmola
came to our house to eat pounded yam with relish before hurrying back to Ondo to
continue their work. It is therefore disheartening to me that we have allowed
the Nigerian syndrome to defeat NIROWI. With an unrivalled forest belt and immense
timber reserves, your administration
should resuscitate the furniture industry under a Public Private Partnership
that guarantees employment for Ondo youths and exports furniture products
nationally and internationally. The defunct NIROWI needs to become the new Ondo
Furniture Village, producing quality products and bringing additional income to Ondo state. With
our proximity to the Abuja Market, we should compete in the furniture market.
I highlighted the plight of NIROWI to underscore the baggage
of moribund industrial opportunities that you inherited and need to turn around
and harness. The movement towards and Industrial giant that Ondo can be is
filled with challenges but I am sure you were born for a time like this, filled
with setbacks, political twists and policy turn-arounds. You need to set up a
task force of eminent Ondo state indigenes and industrialists to identify Ondo industries
that require attention. A proper asset audit, feasibility study and market
analysis needs to be carried out to arrive at a clear strategic direction for
these industries. Your administration
needs to forge strategic alliances with investors and industrialists who have
the competence, technical and financial resources to fulfil their obligations.
Ondo state needs to come up with a fiscal policy that makes
Ondo state an investment destination of choice in Nigeria. We must create tax
breaks, policy framework and investment incentives that create value for anyone
who has legitimate investment ambitions in Ondo state. The federal government
already makes business difficult in Nigeria, Ondo should lead the way in making
business friendly and sustainable.
In clear departure from the normal practice of state
governments in Nigeria to spend huge amounts of money on international travels
in a bid to “woo international investors”
and participate in overseas exhibitions
to no gain, you must plan and organise an Ondo Investment and Industrialisation
Exhibition where you will showcase the immense
resources and opportunities that
are available in the Sunshine State. This high-level event should also showcase
your policy framework, fiscal incentives and overall industrial and investment
strategy to stimulate interest in our dear state. With Dr. Rotimi Adelola and
other capable men and women, I am sure this is achievable.
Ondo has immense potential to provide power which will
sustain the industrial revolution that I propose. Because Ondo is an oil
producing state, we must embrace and harness the gas resources which currently
waste due to flaring. We must invest in Independent Power Projects in conjunction
with private investors who will provide power to drive the engines of growth.
Other areas of power generation open to Ondo state include solar energy which
you already champion, hydro energy which is currently under-utilised and wind
farms which should benefit the rural communities in Ondo State. There are
several alternative energy companies who are trying to secure investment
opportunities in Nigeria.
Agriculture
My recent trips to
Ondo state allowed me to buy a cocoa pod for my children. I bought the cocoa
pod in Ilara Mokin to remind myself of that time in the history of the old Ondo
state when all villages produced cocoa and other crops in significant volumes. I know your government has established four
farm settlements in order to boost the allure of agriculture in Ondo state. Laudable
as these investments are, I believe it is time to call in the big guns. All
over Southern Africa, there are large agricultural organisations and investors
waiting to foray into the West African market and I think of no other place to
tempt them into Nigeria than the amazingly fertile lands on Ondo State. Kwara
state has a Tshonga Pategi model initiated by Bukola Saraki. This programme needs to be replicated in the
several sectors of agriculture. Ilaje and Ese Odo should focus on fisheries
while the Ondo,Ilaje, Ese-Odo and Ifedore Axis should focus on crops. Akoko
should become a hub for animal husbandry and poultry. A few investors like the
Botswana Meat Commision are making enquiries about Nigeria. Ondo State should
pitch for their investment. Ondo state must use the God-given resources to
attract and retain large scale farmers who will make Ondo state an agricultural
giant. We must also strengthen the partenership between us and research
institutes which provide high grade agricultural inputs and technical expertise.
Health
I have been in several
meetings where you have spoken passionately about your vision for a health
system that works in Ondo state. In your campaign moments, your achievements in
the health sector resonated more with your audiences especially when numerous
foreign organisations including the World Health Organisation have endorsed
your health strategy. The implementation of your health strategy needs to move
from piloting to overdrive. You need to
replicate the Mother and Child hospital in all the zones and provide the
necessary medical and infrastructure support.
You must upgrade the health facilities in all areas of the
state to meet international standards. The doctor-patient ratio in some hospitals
must also be improved. The people of Ondo want to show that it is not an
accident that an Ife-trained medical doctor was chosen by God to improve the
life expectancy of the people of Ondo State.
With Dr. Dayo Adeyanju championing your health agenda and the
completion of the medical village complex, I am sure Ondo State will surpass the
MDG targets that are related to health by 2016. He will have the task of
replicating the Trauma Hospital in Laje and the Ambulance Base Station in other areas of the state.
I am confident that Ondo state will lead Nigeria in health by
2016.
Urban Renewal, Roads and Tourism
My friends who travel
to Akure now marvel at the amount of work that has been done in the metropolis.
I have noticed your attempts at incorporating aesthetics into urban
spaces. It is high time you replicated
this across Ondo state, creating little oases of development in our patched nation. Like every other area of governance, you will
need to partner with PPP investors to move at a faster rate, creating jobs and
investment opportunities for your citizens.
Having looked at your
current model critically, Ondo state town
planners must include open spaces, parks and gardens in their urban renewal
strategy; creating liveable metropolis which provide wholesome wellness to its inhabitants. Our current model of
concrete configurations could be enhanced in order to provide recreational
facilities for everyone.
Rural roads did not feature prominently in your first three
years. This was used poignantly by your former adversaries. While I understand the need to pilot the new
urban renewal direction in the capital, my Akoko homeland would welcome new
roads linking our small villages to boost trade and social cohesion. I am sure more rural
communities feel the same way.
Importantly too, you must redouble
your efforts at providing portable water for more people in Ondo state before
you leave office. Water borne diseases still contribute to
hospital occupancy in Ondo state, contributing significantly to mortality
rates.
I must also alert you to the immense opportunities
that exist in tourism which have been harnessed only in a very haphazard
manner. First, you must set up an agency to register, standardise and regulate
the practice of hoteliering and hospitality management in Ondo state. I am a
frequent guest who has seen very good hotels and ridiculously sordid hotels. I say
boldly that some hotels in Ondo state compete favourably in terms of facilities
and service but this cream of the crust cannot cope with the potential deluge
of tourists that should stream into Ondo state to enjoy the warmth and
friendliness of our people.
We must find a service chief who will
drive the tourism ministry in Ondo State, synchronise tourist attractions in
Ondo state into a calendar and market the calendar in a planned marketing-savvy
way. You must take a cue from Cross River state and create an Ondo Tourism
brand. I recently witnessed the Ijesu Carnival in Ilara Mokin and was thrilled
by the applause it garnered from a few foreigners who witnessed it. We should
make money and create wealth through tourism.
Sports and Youth Development
Your
love for sports and football has been amply demonstrated in the huge investment
you placed in Sunshine Stars who dazzled on the continental stage and
represented Nigeria creditably. To support them, you must enlist the populace
in Ondo state by finishing the Akure Township Stadium so we can watch them
bedazzle their visitors. You must also
upgrade the Ondo township stadium and other facilities. Your transformation of
the Akure Stadium swimming pool signifies that you are capable of making this a
quick win project.
Away from football, we must create a
strategy for the development of other sports especially the engagement of that
strategy as part of the educational system. Schools in Ondo state should play
Basketball, Volleyball, Handball and Table Tennis as part of physical
education. I believe youthful exuberance projected through alcoholism, drug use
and other dysfunctional behaviours would reduce if we linked sports and
physical exercise to education and urban renewal.
We need to build eight youth development centres
across Ondo state. These development centres will provide vocational training, sports
facilities, counselling services, computer training, employability and career
development training to the teeming provide vocational training, sports
facilities, counselling services, computer training, employability and career
development training to the teeming population
of youths in Ondo state. The model also provides counselling on adult reproductive
health and educational counselling under the same roof. It is a great tool to engage
your youths and cater to their unique needs, creating a new skill set while
providing social services.
Security and Safety
Your
organisation was rated very high on this index during the campaign season. Even
your political adversaries agreed that Ondo state is one of the safest places to be in Nigeria. I think you
should move that up a notch by partnering with the private sector to launch the
Ondo State Security and Emergency Fund. This fund would assist the government
in providing world class security and emergency services to the people of Ondo
state. It will enable your government to buy more armoured personnel carriers
to secure the Ondo-Edo border communities and improve on the policing in the
Akungba to Okene stretch. It will fund new security gadgets to police the
Ilaje, Ese-odo and Igbokoda, Ilu Titun
areas while ensuring that our stretch of the Ore-Ondo-Akure highways
remain crime free.
Importantly too, this new fund will enable the new Ondo State Emergency Medical
Services Agency to acquire a new fleet
of first class trauma and life support ambulances to save lives and prevent unnecessary
death on our highways. The fund will also
enable Ondo State Emergency Management Agency to respond more proactively to
emergencies.
Conclusion
I
have written you this long letter to highlight the expectations of your people
who stood up for you when you needed us!
You must quickly unite your house and offer a hand of friendship to everyone
who participated in the electoral process.
You must listen to your critics; they serve the purpose of reminding you
of your mortality. You must humour opposition; they serve the purpose of
refining your thoughts, actions and outcomes. It is a democracy. Do not listen
to praise singers alone, GBASIBE has served its purpose, Ise Takuntakun needs
to resume in earnest.Lastly, you must handle Ondo state as one and lead with
conviction. You have our support.
My dear Dr. Olusegun Abdurahman
Mimiko, in all you do, do no harm.
God bless you and the beautiful state
you lead.
