DR. TUNJI ABAYOMI DISCONNECT WITH REALITIES – Ranti Akerele
Ranti Akerele, a former broadcaster and media practitioner, is the present Commissioner for Information in Ondo State. He bares his mind in this chat on issues on ground in the sunshine state and Dr. Olusegun Mimiko’s led administration in the state. Excerpts:
On the magic behind the overwhelming victory of Labour Party in Ondo State in the last general elections:
– The fact that Labour Party (LP) continues to be the overwhelming choice of the Ondo State people is because the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) ruled them for four wasted years and another two illegal years and they neither saw changes in their circumstances nor improvement in their lot.
They voted out the PDP and after two illegal years of occupation by Dr. Olusegun Agagu, the people’s mandate was restored and today, Dr. Olusegun Mimiko has in just two years, given to Ondo State arguably the most progressive government in Nigeria today.
The general verdict now is that Olusegun Mimiko’s two years are more productive than Agagu’s six years.
On the remark by Dr. Tunji Abayomi, a chieftain of Action Congress of Nigeria (ACN) in Ondo State, that Dr. Mimiko’s led administration lacks control of public resources and that the governor is a financial dictator…:
– Dr. Tunji Abayomi has failed to see the paradigm shift in governance in Ondo State and he has a total disconnect from the realities on ground in the state. Dr. Abayomi will like to play up the outcome of the 2011 elections that ushered in the ACN into all Government Houses in the South-West, except Ondo State that voted solidly for the Labour Party.
What his likes fail to realize is that, his reductionist approach to the uniqueness of the Ondo State result will continue to expose his lack of knowledge of a typical Ondo State man. He does not know the Ondo State man does not suffer fools; you cannot lead the people by the nose. The government of Ondo State is so prudently run that there are no rooms for budget deficit as there is absolute fiscal discipline.
Every procurement is subjected to the Pricing and Project Monitoring Unit (PPMU), which scrutinizes and compares market prices and contracts awarded after advertisement in National dailies through competitive bidding done by the Executive Council on the recommendation of the State’s Tenders Board. I serve under this man and he treats my files.
I know Dr. Mimiko is prudent and meticulous to a fault when it comes to fiscal matters. So, definitely he is no dictator of any kind.
On some achievements of the present administration within the last two years:
– They are numerous. Take a look at the Mother and Child Hospital, the first of four others that are in various stages of completion in the three senatorial zones. Today, they are giving people first class medical services free of charge, inclusive of caesarean and other surgeries.
The Mother and Child Hospital at Oke Aro in Akure boasts of 100 bed facilities dedicated to the care of pregnant women and children of less than five years of age. It also offers tertiary health services free of charge. The vision is to reduce maternal and child mortality by 50% and 30% respectively by the year 2013.
The hospital has state of the art training mannequins including electronic force monitoring births. Airway management simulators for life like practical demonstrations and applications are there. The Mother and Child Hospital is collaborating with the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine on the Management of postpartum hemorrhage using tranexamic acid. As at May 2, 2011, amounting to about 15months of operations, over 10, 315 pregnant women and 14,216 children to include 2,574 as pediatric in-patients have been registered and treated. About 20% among them are non-residents of Ondo State.
In addition, over 5,499 safe deliveries have been conducted there, as the hospital is now the busiest in Ondo State and one of the busiest in Nigeria. Ambassador Moshe Ram, Israeli Ambassador to Nigeria, described it as “the most impressive hospital I have ever visited in Nigeria”. Cheryl Igiri, another diplomat with US Embassy, wrote in the visitors’ register “Professionals are dedicated to service”. Prof. O. Akinkugbe, Emeritus Professor of Medicine said “This is revolutionary, well-thought-out and a glowing testimony to team work” Dr. Ogunbayo of Nigeria’s Governors Forum called the hospital “Highly functional and impressive hospital, clearly well thought out”.
Not to mention the very successful urban renewal programme with its components of Auto-Mart, Car parks, modern markets, new roads, reclamation of flooded communities through channelization. Educational renewal initiatives are there for all to see Maybe Dr. Abayomi has never visited or seen any of these before condemning, which will prove to you that critics of the present administration like Dr. Abayomi are rabble rousers, who want to flaunt their so called human rights activism.
On the possibility of re-election of Dr. Mimiko for 2nd term:
– As an Ondo State man who have lived in Ondo State since 1984, working as a teacher, civil servant, broadcast journalist, now politician, we have not had a committed governor than Dr. Olusegun Mimiko.
I say without equivocation, that what he is doing today in Ondo State is no magic. He is today the most experienced politician in active service in government in the South-west. Starting with his first appointment as Commissioner for Health in 1992, following it up with the same portfolio in 1999, and later in 2003 when he was appointed Secretary to the State Government. He was later appointed Minister for Housing and Urban Development in year 2005 and resigned voluntarily in year 2006 to run for the position of governor against Agagu of the ruling PDP, to eventually become Governor.
On assumption of office, he hits the ground running, leading by example. In two years, he has been able to connect with grassroots, the ordinary man on the streets, artisans, the professionals, the students and all through a series of people oriented programmes. These are the reasons the Labour party is winning elections.
Given the realities on ground, he is the most suitable for Ondo State. Dr. Mimiko is winning elections because some of those who are opposing him are doing so because they couldn’t perform better, or because they have not done anything in the area of public management that makes them electable.