Debo Adejugbe: Gov. Olusegun Mimiko is the reference point for real leadership (Y! Politico)

by Debo Adejugbe

Debo Adejugbe Y! Politico 2

“Leadership success is having a dream then work, work, work.” – Bill Newman

Recently, a friend asked me if I am sympathetic towards any political party. He wanted me to write in support of such a political party and help others choose a path come 2015. I had to think long and hard, the process took several weeks. This is the result!

In present day Nigeria, the quest to capture political power and its associated benefits has given rise to a deluge of mediocre minded persons masquerading as leaders. It is a known fact that angling for political power at all cost has gradually replaced the ability or desire to do something meaningful with the “captured” power. We, in the south-west, have had the opportunity of leafing through several pages of leadership material from at least four different political parties, since the advent of the new democratic order in 1999 and we keep exploring.

What have we learnt? Have we scrolled to the end of the page we are reading? And whatever the answer to that is, have we seen what we are looking for? In all honesty, my answers are personal. If I opine that the PDP – the self acclaimed biggest party in Africa – as an institution has been a failure to both themselves and the teeming populace of the country, few would argue. What this means therefore, is that we know what real leadership should look, sound and feel like. Only that we’ve been bedeviled with our own laziness and dismissive interest in getting it right in terms of choosing real leadership.

This is where Dr. Olusegun Mimiko and his orange revolution in Ondo state comes in. In the midst of all the damaging partisan and extremely personal campaigns we’ve witnessed in recent times, Olusegun Mimiko stands out as a reference point for meaningful and all encompassing leadership.

It has been a tale of leadership with tangible and physical rewards for the people of Ondo state. As a Medical Doctor, Mimiko understands the damning numbers that has become the hallmark of maternal / infant health in Nigeria which incidentally is the second highest in the world with 14 per cent of the world’s maternal deaths occuring in this country. With the Safe Motherhood (Abiye) programme – a free and comprehensive health programme, Ondo has been able to move from a state with one of the highest infant / maternal mortality rates to an unparalleled lowest mortality rate in the country. The programme has been lauded by health professionals around the world and recommended by World Health Organization (WHO) as the reference point for Africa in combating the scourge of high infant / maternal mortality.

Not content with addressing only maternal health care, the Mimiko-led administration established the Gani Fahehinmi diagnostic centre in Ondo, in collaboration with MerCure India HealthCare Limited to combat the untenable rate of untimely deaths. The state of the art centre boasts of facilities like Magnetic Resonance Imaging (MRI), Computerized Topographic Scan (CT Scan), Mammography and Digital x-ray, Sonography station / colour, Pathology station, Video conferencing auditorium, Telemedicine and VIP lounge among others and it has been highlighted as a major plus for health care in Nigeria. The Mother and Child hospitals built to help with safe delivery and the almost one hundred (100) basic health centres provided within his first two years as governor are a testament to the giant strides of Mimiko in Ondo.

There are times I marvel at what he has done and question why some of the other states are not learning from him. In a country where we thank elected officials for providing less than 5 per cent of what they promised during elections and are adequately funded to do, Mimiko and The Labour Party show that there is hope. Here is a governor who understands that infrastructural development is an essential part of the progress we genuinely crave and is painstakingly following a blueprint, as conceived by his party and the team of seasoned professionals he has put together.

Within his first four years, Dr. Mimiko was able to build Mega schools in the area of education; they are of three types (Types A, B and C) with 500, 1500 and 2500 pupils respectively all with state-of-the-art equipment adorning them. He has done this with basic standards in mind; all these schools comply with UNESCO’s recommendation of an average of 25 pupils in a class. The state’s Quality Assurance programme has helped sharpened the skills of teachers, so as to impart the needed knowledge on the pupils of these schools.

The Labour party government of Dr. Olusegun Mimiko has also undertaken massive urban renewal schemes to transform the state into a modern marvel. The state capital, Akure, is obviously the major beneficiary of this, as the government has powered and supported various schemes to turn the state into the envy of others. Other city centres such as Okitipupa, Ikare, Owo, Ore, Ondo are some of the cities benefiting from this drive by the government to transform the state under this scheme.

I make bold to say Akure is a different and better city from the one Mimiko met. With his vision and tireless drive, he has embarked on the construction and rehabilitation of several major roads and this is not limited to the state capital alone. He has built a centralized market system to cater for the needs of the Auto market, the establishment of a central park to ease up on traffic is a laudable scheme and the modern Arakale market must also be mentioned.

How do I know all these, even though I’m not an indigene of the state? True Leadership radiates! In an era where Governors repaint classrooms and commission them; donate a small power transformer and call up the whole country to come and witness its commissioning; take pictures of roads from other states and put it in almanacs as an achievement; construct a borehole and commission with fanfare, the type of leadership Mimiko offers is different, solid and a breath of fresh air. If other Governors, whose main instrument of power is lavishing money on needless endeavours such as buying hundreds of houses and cars can emulate Mimiko, Nigeria will be a better place.

In Ondo State, the people are involved in most of the projects structured in rural communities. The governor speaks: “We have in place over 350 projects in all our rural communities dictated by our people themselves”. There is a synergy, a bond that exists between the government and the people geared towards bringing the development, transformation and verifiable progress to their doorstep. What else can the people ask for? A promise from the government that it willl continue to do more and seamlessly deliver the dividends of democracy to the people.

As it happens so often in this generation, when some leaders attain success and rave reviews, they plateau. Not for Mimiko. He is still forging ahead and making his people smile. So, I can say with all conviction that Dr. Olusegun Mimiko is my kind of Governor and he is the reason I hope that the orange revolution of his party, will spread to other states come 2014 and 2015.

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Debo Adejugbe is a trained Telecommunications/Electronics Engineer and a certified IT professional living in Lagos. Dad to amazing Hailey and an advocate against Sexual and Domestic Abuses. He tweets from @deboadejugbe

 

Op-ed pieces and contributions are the opinions of the writers only and do not represent the opinions of Y!/YNaija.

One comment

  1. The taste of the pie is in the eating. The test of good leadership is in the impact felt and value created. We want more of this type of testimony.

    Well done, Debo

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