Dr. Olusegun Mimiko

To those who had suggested that Mimiko is a fair weather politician who jumps ship at the slightest discomfort, he has this to say:

“Yes, I am impatient with incompetence. I just cannot stand it. I don’t want to belong where the people are short-changed. I will leave wherever the leaders have a mindset that is anti-people.”

Vanguard (Bolade Omonijo) analyzes politics in Ondo State as it is 6 days before the elections.

Ondo State: The race in Ondo is open, too. The major candidates include the incumbent, Dr. Olusegun Agagu of the PDP, Dr. Rahman Mimiko of Labour Party and Hon. Ademola Adegoroye of the AC. In favour of Agagu is the incumbency advantage. First, he is already in focus. While others have to make strenuous efforts to get noticed, he is in the public eye. He is experienced having once served as deputy governor of the state in the third republic, a minister in the Obasanjo administration and now a governor since 2003.

He is an accomplished academic, an astute administrator, a consumate strategist and an experienced politician. These qualities should stand him in good stead on April 14. Agagu cannot be dismissed as a featherweight. Even in 1999 when the weight of public opinion was heavily in favour of the AD in the South West, Agagu who was the flag bearer of the PDP made almost a 40 per cent mark where others obtained 15 per cent of the votes.

However, the South West is a zone where the incumbency factor could be a major advantage or a huge disadvantage. The governor has been quick to point out the giant strides made by his administration in terms of road construction in all the three senatorial districts especially in the riverine South Senatorial District, in decongesting the classrooms to create a conducive environment for learning, equipping the hospitals and giving the urban areas face lift. He also argues that a lot has been done to lay a foundation for economic take off with the Olokola Free Trade Zone, the power plant by the federal government due for commissioning soon and the agricultural revolution the government is spearheading in collaboration with businessmen from Thailand. It is however a different thing if the public appreciates this.

One formidable obstacle against the return of Agagu to the Alagbaaka Government House is Ondo-born Mimiko. This medical doctor turned politician has all that Agagu has. He was a member of the Evangelist Bamidele Olumilua administration of the third repubic, resurfaced in the Adefarati administration in the fourth republic, crossed over from the AD to PDP in 2003 and played a major role in the Agagu success of that year, thus emerging the SSG to the Agagu administration before he was moved to the centre as minister of urban development and housing. Mimiko is a grassroots politician, a popular figure, a man of the people and has the reputation of an achiever.

He has been a leading figure in his Ondo base since the second republic when he was a local leader of the Unity Party of Nigeria. His campaign rallies have witnessed tumultuous turn out by partisans who would not wait to see him emerge governor. For those who had seen Mimiko as a local champion, the welcome he received in Okitipupa, the home of the incumbent and Akoko must have ben a big surprise.

To those who had suggested that Mimiko is a fair weather politician who jumps ship at the slightest discomfort, he has this to say: “Yes, I am impatient with incompetence. I just cannot stand it. I don’t want to belong where the people are short-changed. I will leave wherever the leaders have a mindset that is anti-people.”

Mimiko’s ambition is helped by the stream of defection from the PDP to Labour. His running mate, Alhaji Olanusi Ali, from Akoko was until his defection, the state chairman of the PDP while his secretary, Mr. Boluwaji Kunlere, has similarly moved. He is from the governor’s home base. These have made the contest very interesting and difficult to predict. The AC would have been another major opponent but the internal crisis that greeted the internal selection process that threw Hon Adegoroye up has weakened the party in the state. Dr Dare Bada who has the support of all the other aspirants has taken a large chunk of the party out and this is a big blow to the party’s efforts.

Even in Akure, where Adegoroye, yet to mark his 40th birthday, is a prince, there are no signs that he has a large following. He is likely to emerge a distant third. He will most likely be followed by Olu Agbesua of the Democratic Peoples Alliance, Bankole Oluwajana of the AD and Professor Arifalo of the ANPP. Although Mimiko has a very good chance, his ambition might suffer somersault with the division of votes of the opposition. If, before the polls, the fractured opposition succeeds in putting its house in order, Agagu’s days in office may be over by April 14, but, if they fail to close ranks, Mimiko might fall a little short in achieving the mark.