Gov. Mimiko: An ‘Antidote’ to Leadership Deficit – By Emmanuel Ajibulu

Posted by admin Articles, Columnists, Emmanuel Ajibulu, NNP Columnists, Ondo, State News Thursday, October 6th, 2011

Gov. Mimiko (Ondo)

By Emmanuel Ajibulu, Ondo, Nigeria – October 6, 2011 –

Over the years one of the disturbing concerns of ever-increasing
global challenge of the 21st century especially in Nigeria is finding
and nurturing purposeful leaders for socio-political and economic
advancement.

Many world leaders, leadership scholars, business gurus and mentors
equally express worries about the need for developing, training or
grooming the future leaders, but to date no feasible solution has been
recorded to expunge this jinx. Thankfully a glimpse of succour finally
came to life as His Excellency Governor Olusegun Mimiko of Ondo State
vigorously engage in ridi*ng off leadership deficit and creating an
enabling environment to foster millennium development goals, food
security, and human capital development among other things in Ondo
State.

Aside these sheer qualities of excellence which keep resonating in his
leadership style, Governor Mimiko has also began a voracious campaign
which can seamlessly help the Nigerian government to identify the fact
that if the country would have to succeed, its failure rate must be
doubled. This intellectual analysis of Governor Mimiko was potently
emphasised when he spoke on People, Power, Good Governance and the
Future of Democracy in Nigeria, during the public presentation of the
“Nigeria Golden Book” by The Sun Publishing Limited in Abuja, on
Tuesday (27th Sept 2011). He expressed regret that Nigeria was one of
the largest food importers in the world despite over 74 million
hectares of arable land in Nigeria, and as a result the country spends
an average of N24.5 trillion annually on food importation.

It does not take a genius to know that such scenario cannot in any way
sustain or encourage economic growth but would only raise inflation
rate and also cripple the efforts of our local farmers and causing
other devastating effects on our fragile economy. According to
Governor Mimiko during the key note address: “The food import bill of
Nigeria in 2007 to 2010 was N98 trillion or $628 billion. In 2010
alone, Nigeria spent N632 billion on importation of wheat, N356
billion on importation of rice. That means we spent N1 billion per day
on rice alone, N217 billion on sugar importation and with all the
marine resources, rivers, lakes and creeks, we are blessed with,
Nigeria spent N97 billion importing fish.” For those who might be
sceptical about this emphatic claims laced with facts and figures, the
Governor reliably got the figures from the Minister of Agriculture and
Rural Development, Dr. Akinwunmi Adesina, whom he quoted as saying
that Nigeria was completely unable to feed its citizens going by the
current trend of affairs.

He continued further: “This is a clear departure from the reality of
Nigeria in the 1960s when agriculture provided the main source of
employment, income and foreign exchange earnings for Nigeria. The
advent of commercial oil exploitation in the mid-1970s no doubt,
heralded an era of decay for agricultural output in Nigeria. It is
interesting to note that as a nation today, we produce 500,000 tonnes
of rice whereas we consume 2.5 million tonnes.”

While addressing the issue of the country’s educational system, Mimiko
affirmed that the state of infrastructure, institutional materials and
quality of teaching had nose-dived precipitously in the country. “The
products from our schools now have to grapple with the issue of the
integrity of their certificates. Our graduates are largely unemployed,
yet the number of those aspiring to secure places in the limited
number of higher institutions continues to rise. The loss of
confidence in the nation’s educational system has inadvertently opened
the floodgate of exodus of the nation’s youth to foreign lands.
Nigeria has recently become the country with the largest number of
students who attend universities and high schools in the United
States.”

Quite frankly, I see a future that Nigeria can be proud of when I went
through the 512-page book by The Sun, which chronicled Nigeria’s
journey to statehood from 1914, when Sir Lord Lugard amalgamated the
northern and southern protectorates and christened the union, Nigeria
to the present day. The book succinctly tells the nation’s story with
an eye on the future, examines her journey through independence, the
post-independence crisis to the leadership challenges and the present
democratic dispensation. To the best of my knowledge book has been
receiving rare commendations from eminent Nigerians including past and
present leaders, traditional rulers, and captains of industry,
professionals, and politicians, among others. No wonder the event
witnessed the presence of political bigwigs, captains of industry,
technocrats, members of the diplomatic corps, etc. Anambra State
Governor Peter Obi, Jigawa State Governor Mallam Sule Lamido, among
others, made stimulating demands for a new deal anchored on the
expressed wishes of the people; even as former Head of State, who
chaired the event, Gen. Abdulsalami Abubakar warned that no effort to
re-shape the destiny of the country should be spared.

Without fear of contradictions kudos should be bestowed on Governor
Mimiko, who was the keynote speaker at the occasion, as he extolled
the “Can do Spirit” of Nigerians, which he observed, had been blighted
by stagnation in vital sectors, including agriculture, health,
infrastructure, leadership deficit and a defective structure. He
blamed the electoral woes of the past and the consistent decline in
economic growth on the malaise, and therefore called for an urgent
“discussion on the future of the nation.” In an ecclesiastical tone,
the governor said: “We must talk in this country. We cannot continue
to pretend and run away from it. There are structural problems. If we
don’t talk, people will talk for us in the streets; robbers,
kidnappers and terrorists will talk for us in the streets.” He
enjoined the National Assembly to join in the struggle to put together
a perfect structure that will fashion out a perfect constitution of
our dreams.
Meanwhile, during my intellectual discourse with a distinguish
lawmaker who shares same ideology with Governor Mimiko, Honourable
Joseph Akinlaja, (Labour leader in the Federal House of
Representatives), he equally attributed the positive improvement in
the last April elections to the amendment of the Constitution by the
National Assembly last year. He insisted that the National Assembly
will be unrepentant in its progressive strides irrespective of the
clamour for a Sovereign National Conference, (SNC). He noted that the
House would likely review the Land Use Act to encourage agriculture,
fiscal federalism to reduce tension in the polity, adding that the
House had already taken the lead by pruning down its running costs
which will foster a good direction for the polity. It is important to
note that Governor Mimiko was seemingly spot on, when he stressed that
‘‘we need to talk’’. And in fairness to the Governor, stakeholders
never sat down to develop this Constitution that was entrusted on us.
Every time amendment, amendment; Nigerians need to discuss that
document entirely. We’re either a federation or not. We really need to
state where we are.

Suffice to say in lips and bounds Governor Mimiko is acclaimed by many
as Nigeria’s best performing Governor and the facts are evident. In
the circle of intellectuals, particularly those with residential,
professional, or emotional stakes in Nigeria, he is honoured as an
exemplary leader exhibiting the realities of purposeful, progressive
and visionary governance. He is a cynosure of all eyes in a political
topography devoid of leadership and clarity of political vision, a
model deserving of widespread replication. Mimiko deserves all the
credit he is getting. His governance philosophy and his ability to
grow his ideas from paper to infrastructure and service-delivery
outcomes make him a champion in this segment of our on-going
democratic transition. However, in this era of leadership deficit in
our states and at the national level, we must look to the margins to
locate and celebrate every effective, disciplined, compassionate, and
result-oriented leaders; interestingly Governor Olusegun Mimiko is
that shining example that should be celebrated in that order. God
bless Nigeria.
Emmanuel Ajibulu is a Media Aide to Hon. Joseph Akinlaja (Ondo
East/West Federal Constituency); Hon Akinlaja is also Deputy National
Chairman of Labour Party, Nigeria.wp_posts

Short URL: https://newnigerianpolitics.com/?p=13628

Posted by admin on Oct 6 2011. Filed under Articles, Columnists, Emmanuel Ajibulu, NNP Columnists, Ondo, State News. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0. You can leave a response or trackback to this entry