Akokostars’s Blog

Gov.Mimiko

Mimiko administration is a total failure-Abayomi

Dr.Tunji Abayomi is an Okeagbe Akoko-born human rights and social crusader  of  international repute,a successful lawyer and a politician who have been at the vanguard of the enthronement of democracy in Nigeria.He has been to different detention centers and jail for his for his unrepentant and die hard stance against the military junta.He was among the men who led the emergent of Dr Mimiko as governor of Ondo State. In this interview with GOKE OLUWOLE the editor in chief,of Akokostars Dr Abayomi take s Gov Mimiko and the LP to the cleaner as he score them zero.Excerpts…

Gov.Mimiko recently celebrated two years in office as one of the protagonist of his emergent, how would you rate his performance? 

Government is rated in my view in two major department of life, the capacity to bring about change; you might call it transformational change not just a stability or building a single house or a single project,it is what I call semantic change or systematic change to give an example.When Awo saw that the Yorubas, in old Western Region face the crises of education, he established a free Primary Education.When he saw that Yoruba Western Region face the crises of water, he built dams all over the places.When he saw they face the crises of health, he started to build and did construct General Hospitals around the town. If you now look at government of Mimiko, the administration is a total failure and it appears as if it is an emergency government,his activities appear to be an emergence of a periodic dream, I do not see any systematic transformational capacity in him.I give a single example, government is commiting N3.7 billion or thereabout to whatever he calls it in Akure Oba Adesida Road. He first told us he is going to give us 6 [six] lanes, they started to demolish homes at the end of the day, they did not give us any lane as a matter of fact, they have only construct a set of ugly divide in the middle of the road, removed all the street lights that were okay destroyed all that was there to what was not suppose to be there.In Ijapo, the Ikoyi of Ondo State, scarcely can you see a street that is tarred. Then you will ask what is the need of a government to commiting over three billion naira[N3bn] to a road that is okay,you now ask yourself what act of reasonning will caused  the government to commit such a whopping sum, for a serious minded  government will know that what is required in Oba Adesida road is just service but  an unserious government would think that what is required is construction not service  to that extend I  will say am very disappointed in Gov.Mimiko’s developmental capacity.

If you will  take that before looking into the issue of health  to my mind it is silly to say you are building a Mother and Child Hospital like a woman said  does this man want our fathers and husband to die if he’s only trying to protect the women and the children, this man left the general hospitals that have been internalised by our people that you are going to give them  a mother and child hospital ,if you look at all the projects embarked upon by Dr Mimiko they are gingantic projects conceived out an ad-hoc dreams.Totally unsystematic and with little benefit.

I listen to him on television saying that the reason why he is expanding the road from airport to Akure is because when people are coming to Akure they can just zoom in to Akure but to  my mind that is an odd thinking must you commit so much resources to just few people who are coming into the state through the airport to Akure when you have not commit so much to the people who rightly need it.Though that is his own thinking.

The balance is why are you going to commit so much resources for just very few people that will come from the airport to Akure,when you have not even committed resources to the benefit and the generality of the citizens of Ondo State who are actually the full developers of  Ondo State.So in terms of developments, I see disorder in the developmental thinking of the Government and am thoroughly unimpressed. Let’s look at other issues, am now talking about the moral responsibility of the Government to layout values because this is essential for any Government. The fundamental disagreement between me and Governor Mimiko started from the conduct of the Akure North Local Government. My problem with him with due respect  is that he came out to say that the election was free and fair, elections he knew that was manifestly rigged by Labour Party [LP] his own party.This was just four days after the elaborate and exceedingly costly burial of Chief Gani Fawehinmi.So, I wrote him a letter and asking him how is he’s comfortable with that, does he not know that the dispatches from the grave  will disturb our conscience after burying our illustriuos son late Gani Fawehinmi and we are now rigging election.After the whole thing, I know see him as part of the coalition of election rigging in the country.Because when you look at the PDP election in 2007 when he turned against Adefarati to join PDP, the votes he rigged for PDP in Ondo town was close to a hundred thousand. The entire voting population of Ondo as at that time was about 35,000 elector and he rigged almost 60,000 illegal votes when he became the flagbearer of the Labour Party[LP] as governorship aspirant.The total votes cast  for him is about 35,000 and in that election, both the lame and the able body, everybody precisely voted for him in Ondo Town so, when everybody voted for him in Ondo Town, he got about 35,000 because that time, he didn’t see the need to rig because everybody will vote but in the PDP election which he crossed and rigged for PDP, he rigged almost 100,000  for PDP. So when I looked at that, and look at Akure South election I said well, may be I was foolish to think that he has changed and that he’s a new creature. So, my disappointment with him is very deep rooted. It is moral as well as strategic developmental issue.

During the last ACN rally in Akure the leaders of your party openly denounced Gov Mimiko and LP,calling them betrayer.At what point does things started falling appart between the LP  and  your party?

I think the principal reason really is because we do not see him as a democrat. I’m one of the people that discussed the issue of Labour Party [LP] in this State and am one of the people that influence the thinking of our party.Let me give you a simple example,we are  today in Ondo State two years after the election we are still being governed by dictatorship in the eighteen [18]  Local Governments, now here is a governor that collect the allocation of 18 Local Governments close to about two billion naira[N2bn], collecting it every month and expending it.The constitution says that a state owes the duty to guarantee a democratically elected governor at any level. In other words, you have put the people above yourself.In his own government, he is sovereign not the people so he corner these things up. Initially I supported him on these Local Government controversies he has with PDP but I didn’t support him to impose on people a new dictatorship that is even more pervassed  than the experience we had before so he  is not a democrat in the real sense that it doesn’t represent our thinking. For example, what you see in Lagos is what you see in Edo,do you see them celebrating the little they have, putting all the resources,all the energy celebrating what they do sing praising themselves all the time,know you can see them doing that little they do but the reverse is the case here you only see them praising themselves in the media,this does not represent the organic thinking of ACN.At least i held two meetings with him asking him forge a progressive alliance for the development of this State.But  since he is not interested in it but he has more interested in supporting a conservative course. We need to depart from the error.

Is that why your Chamber accepted the brief and act as the legal adviser and solicitor to an Akoko local government aspirant who dragged Dr.Mimiko to court over the council poll?

The problem of Government rigging by instruction,by selection,by wish is that it often leads into error. It does not differentiate government from dictatorship and that is the emphasis I was laying in my book “STATE AND CITIZEN”.Because you surpressed the people making them slaves to government.Again in the papers today; PDP is claiming to have left thirty eight billion naira [N38bn] in the coffers, you collected that, you collected all the allowances which is now over a hundred billion naira,[N1000bn] you collected the Local Government Allocation which is probably close to three billion naira[N3bn]. So, we are talking about money close to about one hundred and fifty billion naira [N150bn] collected by you without any control, no accountability, no auditing, and nothing. Whether the leadership of the people is using the money for their own private deals, we do not know. In all these local governments how can people who have right, honour accept something like that,Gov.Mmimiko regime lacks accountability and corporate governance,in the last two years his book has not been audited,has he made what we could called the state of the state broadcast on expenditure how much have we actually earned and how has the money been spent,is it spending N150 million on ‘KAADI  Igbe Ayo”a totally useless card that can not get you into bank,it can not get you voting access,it can not get you anything,it can do nothing for you.We spent another N150million on rebranding,“ISE LOOGUN ISE” when people have gotten no portable water to drink,no good schools,the health institution are in a complete mess,and no electricity.Why not create business centre to partner with development developers to achieve sincere credibility.You didn’t do that, you said you are building mega this, mega that, mega hospital, mega home,You think Awolowo can not build mega school thus he embarked on building schools in every towns,communities and villages.Before these decisions were taken it was based on highly  intellectually excersion before mega school was embarked upon it wasn’t so is that what we need in a developing nation mega this mega that look at the Mega Dome Project it is another mega doom  problem after they have tried to construct they then suddenly discovered that the cover is in appropriate it was deficient of mega thinking because Gov.Mimiko and his team are not rarely thinking is that what we really need.What we really need is to develop the small communities arround.this can be easily achieved through Private Partnersip Initiatives.[PPI] as developer instead you are just surfering from megalomania

As an a stakeholder in Akokoland,What will you say about the roles played by the Obas in the emergent of Prof.Ajayi Bororffice as LP senatorial flagbearer as against  Dr Olu Agunloye of ACN?

I have my own constituency in Ondo State, the Oba’s have their own constituency so I do not know anything about that but how can they endorse Professor Boroffice from Akoko while Dr Agunloye is also from Akoko.Do you know any father who will choose one child and say that this is my favorite child against the other? If that is the case, then something must be wrong.Professor Boroffice is somehow a family friend but I have fundamental disagreement with his choice.If Professor Borofice said he is the Asiwaju of Akoko Land then he should demonstrate it instead of nearly proclaiming it to use the word of  Wole Soyinka. If you are Asiwaju then you should lead by example.Am one of the people who went to Dr Agunloye to discuss with him and he told me what the Governor did by making Boroffice,by just telling them that you Boroffice go for senate and you Agunloye go for the house of representatives.Justice demand that he should allow the use of the chinese expression that the flowers should bloom freelly on the field one will rise and one will fall the soil is the premise for their growth.What I expect Prof.Boroffice to say that ‘Governor no that is not fair to Agunloye and if the governor insist I,Tunji Abayomi will withdraw my candidacy to demostrate leadership this is about making choices.Now saying you are Asiwaju, then your Asiwaju is more interested in your own gain rather than the love of somebody that is following you. To my mind, I feel embarrassed and that is why I found it totally unacceptable if that is the choice he made in the terms of moral crisis I think it is rather unfortunate and that is why in my view, the people of Akoko should let him know that what he has done is rather unfortunate and unacceptable to us.

Threre is a serious agitation among the political class in Ondo State that Akoko in Ondo NorthSenatorial District must produced the next governor come 2013,what is your take on this? 

The issue of Governor coming from Akoko is not an Akoko problem it is the problem of rotation and it is an unwritten law in this State. From north to south,south to central and now is back to the north.There is no second term in Ondo State. Governor Mimiko is the arrowhead of the campaign againt no second term and he is the highest beneficiary as an avowed and unrepentant canvasser against two term,you know how he fought against Pa Adebayo Adefarati, I was the lawyer who defended Adefarati when Governor Mimiko and one of his colleagues fought against him on second term and I won the case in Abuja.He then deflected and  also fought against Agagu on second term. And i stood by him supported him.It is a moral responsibility anyway,now it is his turn to play by the rule,what is good for the gander is also good for the goose .Mimiko must be honourable  in anyway I like the intelligence of Ondo  people, they will say do your four years and leave the place for the next person.There are over three million people who can as well occuppied the same position.Akoko has four local governbmnt and is very convinced that the next governor should come from Akokoland.And if I were Gov.Mimiko i will inspired the manifestation of the Akoko dream.But we all know him too well he and some of his polityical cohorts are already looking on how to beat the people but he will be meet a very strong coalition if he tries anything funny.

How would you relate rebranding in Osun,Ekiti that is the Omoluabi Context and the Land of Hounours ideology,and the Much touted Ondo State Ise logun Ise rebranding?

If it is to understand what an omoluwabi is from the stand point of the Yoruba cosmology ethmonological thinking, an omoluwabi would be responsible, an omoluwabi would be honest, he would not be carrying bible,dancing at redeemed camp and be rigging election, an omoluwabi would respect others, is not that an elder would come and see you and you will say you cannot see them and keep them at the gate of your house or office,an omoluwabi would listen to the voice of the others instead of his own voice alone, an omoluwabi would give good governance by example not by proclamation,an omoluwabi would care for the children to ensure they have good education, good health and worry about the lives of the aged, an omoluwabi would be in composition of the best and highest values in Yoruba ontological thinking that is an Omoluabi and that is also believed that you need the people, the Yoruba people.

What is your next political move ?

My next political move is to support my party to win in this coming election and I believed that generally and more especially, Yoruba people now realized that we must return to the past glory, the ideal of the government that raised us up. We have come to know a traumatic period when you say that you are talking of interacting with national something, that has not helped us. When we stand aloof, we are able to think deeply. There’s nobody that think in the crowd,when you want to think, you go to sober solitude and that is what the Yoruba through ACN  and that is why development is returned to the Yorubas.

Your candid advise to the people towards the next poll?

Understand, am one of the people in Abuja working closely in terms of ideas with the head of INEC because he is a distinguished man and so we submit ideas to him and he is an intelligent man,intelligent enough to look at the ideas, and in a number of seminars  that participated in the seminar. You stand to account, you wait to declare, and you rejoice or weep depending on who you are, it’s just that simple, so the people should be ready to defend their votes. There will be lots of guns and guns but how many are they going to kill. Look at what is going on in our State today between Labour Party and PDP marelly because of election, are they the party people want to elect, the people that will turn their State into a theatre of war, which is not the party fit for the good people of Ondo State.