The national leadership of the PDP also congratulated Mimiko on his re-election even as it commended the people of Ondo State for The national leadership of the PDP also congratulated Mimiko on his re-election even as it commended the people of Ondo State for what it termed their emphatic rejection of tribalism and narrow political adventurism which it stressed were the hallmark of the campaign of the ACN.

The PDP in a statement by its National Publicity Secretary, Chief Olisa Metuh, nevertheless, hailed its candidate, Oke for his courage, determination and doggedness, adding, “though the PDP was not declared the winner of the election, the Party was happy with the performance of its candidate “who obviously joined the race late.”

Children trooped to the Government House in jubilation as Mimiko was declared winner of the poll. Photo by Dare Fasube

“How better do Nigerians say no to the drumbeats of tribalism and political narrowness than what the people of Ondo have just done with their votes? “It is a quantum forward leap for those who understand the dangers of undue manipulation of national diversity for narrow political whims and a huge set back, utter rejection for the champions of ethnic politics.

“While we commend, Chief Olusola Oke, his running mate, members and supporters of our party, we wish to also congratulate Chief Olusegun Mimiko on his victory.

“Another lesson is here for the nation, especially the opposition political parties to draw from the commitment of our great Party to the full entrenchment of the legacy of free, fair and credible polls. Ostensible is the manifest unwavering devotion of President Goodluck Jonathan to the cause of democracy. He led the campaign of our Party to Ondo and promised free and fair election. He has once more delivered.”

Also hailing the Independent National Electoral Commission, INEC and the security agencies for the peaceful conduct of the polls, the PDP however urged “them to learn from any observed loopholes so as to continue improving in future elections.”

We are still studying the situation — ACN

The national leadership of the ACN on its part stopped short of congratulating Mimiko as it noted that it was still studying the results of the election which it claimed was marked with several irregularities.

A statement issued by the national chairman of the ACN, Chief Bisi Akande yesterday declared:

“All politicians worthy of their salt must always expect victory or defeat. We recognize that it is the sovereign right of the people to decide what kind of government they want. This is the challenge of democracy. Our party believes that there was and still is need for change in Ondo State. Thus, our party will study carefully the general details of the results with a view to taking a final position.

“Our party has always been and remains proud of our candidate, Mr. Oluwarotimi Akeredolu, SAN, and this election has reinforced our confidence in his ability to lead and stimulate life back into the Action Congress of Nigeria in Ondo State. Through him, our party will continue to express gratitude to the leadership and general members of our party and to the electorate of Ondo State in general. We are glad that they performed that brilliantly in spite of many challenges, glaring lapses in the system and institutional inefficiency in the conduct of Ondo state governorship election.

“I must congratulate our teeming members in Ondo state for their hard work at resuscitating the party and putting it in a position of reckoning in such a short time.

“Our party will continue this post mortem analysis of the lapses in all the institutions involved in the conduct of the Ondo election.”

The PDP candidate, Oke, however, differed with the national party in his assessment of the election which he described as heavily flawed.

Speaking through the Director General of the Olusola Oke/Saka Lawal Campaign Organisation, Dr. Dare Bada at a press conference in Akure yesterday, he accused INEC of undersupplying his strongholds of election materials.

He alleged that there was concentration of troops and heavy security presence in urban centres thereby leaving the rural areas unprotected, saying this gave room for malpractices in the rural areas.

“It is regrettable, shameful and disgraceful to our country. It is and will remain unacceptable to us as a political party and as stakeholders.

“Accordingly, we reject it and call for a total overhauling of the office of INEC in Ondo state as well as the State Command of the SSS, Police and the entire Army and Naval operations in the state”.

The Centre for Human Rights and Ethics in Development (CHRED) and the Conference of Human Rights Activists (CNCRA), however, disagreed saying the results were reflective of the wishes of the people.

In a preliminary report on its observation of the election by the Executive Director of CHRED, Moshood Erubami, the body said that” voting was conducted smoothly and peacefully across the state.

“No serious problems emerged in the true sense of violent ridden election that we have ever witnessed in the country and in Ondo state history itself, the counting of votes and declaration of results were not tainted with any significant irregularities and delays in vote collation in some polling stations were due to difficult terrains of some polling stations like the riverrine and the late closing of accreditation and voting in some”.

A statement by the State Convener of CNCRA Ifeanyi Odili said, “The election had come and gone and it was free and fair, devoid of election malpractices. Anybody who says the election was not free and fair must be marking him or herself.”

Mimiko pledges

Addressing hundreds of party supporters who trooped to the Government House at Alagbaka to rejoice with him on his electoral victory, Dr. Mimiko said he was dedicating the victory to all lovers of democracy across the globe.

He pointed out that the poll conduct had raised the hope of a better future for the country. The governor urged his fellow contestants to join hands with him in the great task of building the state to an enviable status among its peers not only in the country but in the world at large.

Dr Mimiko pledged to work harder more than ever before in appreciation of the show of love and great support extended to him by the electorate both young and old, who defied the scorching sun on Saturday, to cast their votes for him.

“I commend every resident of our dear great state for counting me worthy of leading them as governor for another four years. I promise to break the jinx of non-performing second term governors by ensuring that we complete all on-going projects and initiate new ones for the benefit of our people.

“There will be more markets, job opportunities, mega schools, quality healthcare, favourable environment for commerce and trade. I will continue to work for you. I will not disappoint you. I will not let you down but please let all of us sustain the peace that we are all enjoying in the state by shunning any form of violence”.

Also the National Chairman of the Labour Party, Chief Dan Nwanyanwu said Mimiko’s victory at the poll had established the fact that the LP had done well for the people of Ondo in the last three and half years.

Members of the National Assembly, the state lawmakers, commissioners, other political office holders and members of the public were equally present at the re election celebration.

Information commissioner Mr. Kayode Akinmade, said the results of the election had shown that the people of the state would not allow a foreigner to dictate to them, their leader.

Akinmade: “The agent of foreign god had been defeated in the state for good. The governor had promised to consolidate on his achievements in the last three and half years.”

Daniel’s reaction

The former Governor of Ogun State Otunba Gbenga Daniel also described the victory of Dr Mimiko as a reaffirmation of the confidence earlier reposed in him by the people of Ondo State. He said the well deserved victory was a triumph for the rule of law and principle of one man one vote. “This is a victory that underscores the fact that the voice of the people is more resounding and would ultimately be triumphant no matter the odds.”

The Trade Union Congress of Nigeria, TUC on its part said the result was a triumph of service over posturing and grandstanding.

The congress in a statement jointly signed by its President-General and Secretary, Comrade Peter Esele and Chief John Kolawole, respectively declared that Mimiko’s victory was one for Nigerian workers.

“We saw the record clearly written on the roads, the Schools, the medical facilities and specifically, the wages of workers in the State. These have all spoken through the ballot and we are all in rejoicing mood. We rejoice with Ondo people for speaking massively through the ballot yesterday in favour of the man who has served them solidly and unwaveringly these past years.

“We call on Mimiko to see his re-election as a renewed mandate from Ondo people and workers to even do more for the total transformation of the State.”

Indigenes of Ondo State in Ogun, under the aegis of Oka-Akoko Progressive union equally hailed the victory of Governor Mimiko as a victory-well deserved.

The group in a statement jointly signed by President and the Secretary , Barrister Samson Oki and Patrick Asooto, respectively and made available to journalists in Abeokuta, said the voting pattern at the polls “is a pointer to the fact that our people know how and when to pay back good service.”

The Lagos League of Political Parties, LLPP, also yesterday congratulated Dr Mimiko and his Labour Party, LP, for winning the concluded the Ondo State governorship election.

In a statement by the chairman of LLPP, Chief Udoka Udeogaranya, the league said the victory and mandate given to Dr Mimiko by people of the State, showed the extent the people have benefited from his government, urging him not to relent on his leadership performance on good governance in the next four years.

Last Wednesday, October 17, was the International Day for the Eradication of Poverty. The day came and passed but the Nigerian government didn’t take any notice. The day is officially recognised by the United Nations and nations set this day aside to discuss ways to eradicate poverty. That’s what happened across the world on Wednesday.

It is quite telling that the Nigerian president and his handlers didn’t even mark the day. And that is for a country that has 110 million of its 167 million citizens living below $1 a day. That, precisely, shows how seriously Nigerian leaders take their people. This is further proved by the 2013 budget estimates just submitted to the National Assembly in which agriculture, which employs the vast majority of the people, received only 1 per cent of the budgetary allocations. Governance in Nigeria is not about the people.

It is extreme poverty that has compromised the security situation of the nation. It is what breeds the Niger Delta militancy, the Boko Haram insurgency and, substantially, the criminality that stalks the land. And this extreme poverty is engendered by the extreme corrupt practices of those who govern the country. It is this extreme corruption that will make it possible for N2.6 trillion of the about N4.5 trillion budget of last year to be stolen in the name of fuel subsidy payments. If we add the deficit, then, the actual budget of last year was less than N4.5 trillion. And it is from this that N2.6 trillion was stolen. That means that nearly three-quarters of the budgetary allocation was stolen last year. There is nowhere in the world that such brigandage would happen and the government would still be in power.

Imagine what would have happened if N1 trillion of the stolen N2.6 trillion had been ploughed back into agriculture in the six geopolitical zones of the country. To give an idea: the total investment of the four GSM companies since GSM came into Nigeria is just a little over N1 trillion, and we all know the level of activity and employment that the GSM revolution has generated in the past 11 years. And imagine that the balance were put into the implementation of policies that would create millions of small businesses that are the engine of job creation. An average small business creates between two and five new jobs. So imagine that five million small businesses were created. That could potentially mean the creation of up to 25 million new jobs. This is how it is done in serious countries and it could be even more successful in Nigeria where the average Nigerian, including the barely educated, is at heart an entrepreneur.

Free enterprise is the basic engine of prosperity, but, as has been established by such leaders as Deng Xioping of China, who was basically the harbinger of China’s economic superpower status, government has to invest in the big things that private companies cannot do, apart from adopting the right policies. That is also what is responsible for the economic success of South Korea, Thailand, Israel, Malaysia, Brazil, Singapore and a host of other countries that have successfully created jobs for their citizens.

In the United States today, the internet has created a boom in its economy, but it was the government that did the initial hard work and the very heavy investments to create the internet in the first place that made it possible for entrepreneurs to create Google, Yahoo, Ebay and Facebook and a host of others. So even in free enterprise economies, government is necessary to do the very big things. And serious governments all over the world busy themselves with how to make life easier for their people through policies and interventions that create jobs and eradicate poverty. But not the Nigerian government, apparently.

The Nigerian government could start encouraging internal job creation by patronising the few industries and service providers that are now barely surviving. If all government officials, including the nation’s legislators, used only Peugeot and other cars assembled in Nigeria as their official vehicles, for instance, PAN in Kaduna would pick up and other car manufacturers would open plants in Nigeria to create jobs. It is the reason that Toyota, Mercedes and BMW all have plants in South Africa, even though South Africa has a population of 50 million and Nigeria has 170 million. If there is a market, investors will overcome other problems. Ask MTN how it is doing it. If all government hospitals bought only medicines made in Nigeria, the pharmaceutical industry in the country would rise again as it did during the PTF days – at the time, the pharmaceutical industry operated at nearly 80 per cent capacity for precisely this reason. If the federal government invested heavily in mass housing as the military did in their days, several jobs would be created. The Abacha government showed that was possible with the Gwarinpa Estate which was adjudged as the biggest housing project in Africa. These are the little things that add up to make a huge difference. But, the last time I checked, President Jonathan had abandoned Nigerian rice farmers and had asked Malawian farmers to start exporting their rice to Nigeria.

Our problems are even much bigger. Since 1999 when Obasanjo and the PDP came to power, the price of oil has risen to unprecedented levels. Because of this high price, all oil-producing countries have experienced prosperity. Saudi Arabia and Venezuela have built new cities as a result. The people of Russia have experienced corresponding prosperity, Angola has surged, and even the people of the very corrupt Equitorial Guinea saw a difference. Poverty in all oil-producing countries reduced as a result -except in Nigeria where the number of those living on less than $1 a day increased from less than 80 million in 1998 to the current more than 110 million. This spike in poverty level has happened at a time oil prices moved from less than $20 per barrel during the military era to when it got to as high as $147 per barrel. It is only corruption that can explain this paradox.

In eradicating poverty, countries leverage on their strengths. Nigeria has a large population of nearly 170 million with an internet penetration of nearly 50 million users, with 105 million mobile phone users, with large arable land, mineral resources in virtually every state of the federation, with potential for oil in all the six geopolitical zones of the nation. Nigeria has no reason to have 110 million people living below the poverty line.

EARSHOT

Are We Planning For The Aftermath Of The Floods?

Nigeria is usually not prone to natural disasters but the recent floods across the country could spell real catastrophe next year. Most farms have been washed away; and, if the government does not start planning from now how to tackle the food crisis already staring us in the face, the overall national security problem that may ensue next year, if you add that to the current extreme poverty in the land, could be too hot to handle. Already, all the silos in the country are empty as they have not been replenished; so there will be no reserves to fall back on.

If the government does not work out a fallback position quickly, there will be real trouble ahead. Rural dwellers who produce most of the food for the country are themselves now seeking refuge in the cities where they have gone begging for food and shelter. A responsible government should be busy on finding a solution to this problem by now.

Over the years, I have known that our Special Projects Unit at Media Trust works in overdrive to identify upcoming events, ceremonies and birthdays so it could invite advertisers to send congratulatory messages to the celebrants. When I saw one such notice advertising the 78th birthday of General Yakubu Gowon, I thought Special Projects had misfired. It is not a question of deserving; this country’s many AGIPs do not pay half a million naira for a colour page to congratulate anyone who is no longer in a position to award juicy contracts.

I was not surprised to see that only a few people cared to congratulate General Yakubu Gowon, the most notable one being Colonel Ahmadu Ali, whom Gowon made the first Director General of NYSC in 1973. Gowon has been out of power for 37 years now, a fact not lost on any Nigerian AGIP.

The youngsters of today hardly know Yakubu Gowon. Since his toppling from power in 1975, a lot of water has passed [cascaded is the better word] under the railings-less Nigerian bridge. There have been 10 or 11 Nigerian Heads of State since Gowon, depending on how you count. I think Obasanjo, who ruled in 1976-79 and again in 1999-2007 should be counted twice, if we are to follow the American example. Barack Obama is the 44th POTUS [President of the United States] because American presidential historians count Grover Cleveland twice [he was US president in 1885-89 and again in 1893-97].

Throughout our primary school days, we were always chanting “GOWON–Go On With One Nigeria!” More than that, I had a few personal brushes with Yakubu Gowon, if you can call them that. In April 1969, when the Head of the Federal Military Government was getting married to Miss Victoria Zakari, kola nuts were distributed all over Sokoto. I was squatting in the driveway of our house at Lodge Road when a Government House kit car drove in and handed to me ten big pieces of white kola nuts, which I took to our father.

In February 1974, Gowon came to Sokoto on a 9-day working visit to the North Western State. His plane landed at the Old Airport and as secondary school students we lined up the route all the way into the town. For hours before he arrived, a policeman did elaborate stunts on a power bike to keep us entertained. A police Land Rover then drove by with a “Road Closed” sign, after which followed Gowon’s elaborate motorcade. He was forever smiling and waving to the crowd.

In those days, every student loved Yakubu Gowon. He was young, charming, colourful, dynamic and very humane. He had a brisk walk, always held a baton in his armpit, and had a pleasant voice that resonated very well on the radio. All the students in Sokoto turned up at the Race Course to welcome Gowon, who suddenly left the podium and walked through our lines saying, “God bless you!” A year later, Gowon returned to Sokoto in company of President Moukhtar Ould Dada of Mauritania, and many more days of festivities followed.

Despite Gowon’s high regard among the populace, even then there were complaints in the newspapers especially against his eleven Military Governors and the Administrator, East Central State. The governors were unpopular in the newspapers and, as we learnt later, among the military brass as well.

The day General Gowon was overthrown, July 29, 1975, happened to be a day after my birthday. I bought a bottle of Coke from nearby Gawon Nama and as I sat down in one corner for a late birthday bash, I overheard my mother answering a phone call from my uncle in Lagos. She presently turned to me, with horror in her eyes, and said, “An hambare Gowon!” [Gowon has been overthrown].

In those days, there was no television in Sokoto, no mobile phones, no computers and no internet, not to mention cable television. Coups were frequent in Africa in those days. We quickly tuned on the radio and heard the broadcast by Colonel Joseph Nanven Garba. Even though we were saddened by Gowon’s overthrow, as impressionable youngsters we soon fell in love with his fiery successor General Murtala Mohamed. In contrast to the very tame Gowon, Murtala’s six-month reign had the force of a hurricane.

In the wake of Murtala’s death in the abortive coup of February 1976, the government headed by General Obasanjo accused Gowon of having fore knowledge of the coup. They said he had received coup leader Lt. Col Bukar Suka Dimka at his house in Britain. Personally I didn’t believe the story, because as far as we could see Yakubu Gowon was too gentlemanly to get involved with a counter coup. Recently though, when I read Alhaji Usman Faruk’s biography I entertained some doubt. Our former Military Governor of the North Western State narrated the story of how, ensconced in a Kampala hotel suite following his overthrow, Gowon briefly entertained the idea of accepting foreign troops to try to reverse the coup, until Faruk talked him out of it. I shouldn’t say too much about all that, a kid like me, since most of the leaders of the post-Murtala regime are still alive.

Sometimes good judgment appears to fail General Yakubu Gowon, despite his standing as one of Africa’s finest gentlemen. In early 1992, after General Babangida annulled the NRC and SDP presidential primaries, banned all 23 presidential aspirants and Prof Humphrey Nwosu then unrolled his Option A4 formula, to everyone’s surprise Gowon joined the fray and contested the NRC primaries in Zaria Local Government.

On that day I was sitting at the foot of General Hassan Usman Katsina and interviewing him for a commissioned biography. The sessions were proceeding very slowly because the old General had a telephone landline placed on a stool nearby, which rang every few minutes. I was soon transformed from biographer to secretary who answered all the calls. Presently, someone phoned and asked General Hassan about Gowon’s entry into politics. General Hassan was very displeased. I overheard him saying that a few days earlier Gowon visited him and he asked him if it was true that he was entering politics. He said Gowon was ambivalent, but that he urged him not to try it. Gowon subsequently lost to Dr Dalhatu Sarki Tafida.

Anyway, my favourite story about General Yakubu Gowon was told to me some 30 years ago by my late friend Danzaria, who was a student in Britain in the early 1980s. He said two of his colleagues from the Nigeria Television Authority [NTA] who were also studying in Britain at the time decided to visit Gowon who, following his overthrow, had enrolled at Warwick University and was then pursuing a Doctorate degree. In 1975, when it was reported that Gowon had enrolled at Warwick for a Bachelor’s degree in Political Science, there were many hostile comments in Nigerian newspapers. They said it was demeaning for a former Head of State and a former OAU chairman to sit in a classroom!

Back to our story, Danzaria’s two colleagues went to General Gowon’s hostel room at Warwick. Even though he did not know them, he received them warmly. One of them sat on the only available chair in the room while the other sat on the bed alongside Gowon, who then offered them tea. They accepted the offer and Gowon went out to get the tea. Assuming he had gone somewhere far away, the two boys began to gossip about Gowon’s changed circumstances. One of them was saying, “Look at this small bed! This is where our former Head of State now sleeps.” As he said so, Gowon stepped back into the room with two cups of tea in his hands. To their embarrassment, he overheard the gossip. Smiling broadly, Gowon said, “Yaro baka san duniya ba!” Small boy, you do not know this world!