Mimiko begins second term in office
FROM NIYI BELLO,
We will defeat him at tribunal, says PDP
AT exactly 1.10 p.m. Sunday, Governor Olusegun Mimiko, who was declared by the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) as winner of the October 20, 2012 governorship election in Ondo State, renewed his administrative control of the state for a second term of four years.
In reaction, the state chapter of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) criticised the ceremony which it described as “absolutely elaborate and flamboyant” and expressed the hope of defeating Mimiko at the election petition tribunal.
Accompanied by his wife, Olukemi and members of his immediate family of three girls and a boy, Mimiko was sworn-in by the Chief Judge, Justice Olaseinde Kumuyi.
And like it was done at his February 2009 inauguration, Pastor Tunde Adesida of the Redeemed Christian Church of God (RCCG), poured anointing oil on Mimiko’s head and beseeched God to endow the governor with the needed attributes for a successful tenure in office.
Thirty minutes before, in front of an assemblage of eminent personalities that cut across political and regional divides and scores of religious and community leaders, his running mate, Alhaji Alli Olanusi was sworn-in as the deputy-governor.
Sunday’s inauguration climaxed a week-long activities that included prayers in churches and mosques, a command performance and a lecture delivered last Saturday by eminent International Relations scholar and former Foreign Affairs Minister, Prof. Bolaji Akinyemi.
Reflecting on his first term in office, Mimiko, who said he believed he has been able to “work for you, the people of Ondo State” as promised four years ago, declared that he was ready to make the next four years “even more fulfilling in the achievement of our goals of development.
“In the past four years, we have sought to re-engineer the education sector to be able to produce truly competitive and socio-economically relevant products who will be equipped to climb the social ladder; to continually create a vibrant middle class that will continue to innovate and drive our development.
“Education must serve the present generation, like those before it, as a tool of social mobility; to do otherwise is to wittingly or unwittingly recycle generational poverty and close the hope of generations for better lives.
“We can only do these at our peril because we shall be multiplying the tribe of hooligans, armed robbers, kidnappers and suicide bombers. That is why, in the past four years, we have invested massively in education; that is why we created the Quality Education Assurance Agency as a tool of effective monitoring, measurement and evaluation.
“In the past four years, the health sector has witnessed a new fillip. Our home grown initiatives, geared at removing all impediments to quality health care for our pregnant women and infants have received and continue to receive both national and international accolades.”
Mimiko recalled: “We have declared that ‘pregnancy will no longer be death sentence in our state.’ Our health institutions have become generally more patient-friendly. We are also about to complete an integrated Emergency Medical Service Scheme, which will drastically reduce the toll of trauma, especially Road Traffic Accident, on our people.
Important personalities that graced his inauguration included former Head of State, Gen. Abdusalaam Abubakar, governors of Abia, Theodore Orji and his Ekiti, Nasarawa and Anambra counterparts, Kayode Fayemi, Umar Almakura and Peter Obi respectively.
Governor Ibikunle Amosun of Ogun State was represented by his deputy, Segun Adesegun
http://segunmimiko.com/index.php/okonofua-mimiko-and-celebration-of-excellence/
ON February 22, 2013, Dr. Olusegun Rahman Mimiko will be sworn in as the first Executive Governor to serve second term in the Sunshine State –Ondo State. When I first learnt that Dr. Olusegun Mimiko wanted to contest the governorship election of Ondo State in 2007, I was one of those who wished him well, knowing that there was no way he would fail the people of his state. Segun is someone I had known since we were both medical undergraduates at the Obafemi Awolowo University (then the University of Ife) in the early and mid-1970s. Both in his inspiring characteristics and mannerisms and the nature of medical education he received at the time, I knew he would apply himself to the governance of his people in a way never before seen in this country. Today, I can state with great conviction and without any fear of contradiction that Dr. Mimiko is one of the most celebrated and successful governors in Nigeria who has contributed immensely to the development and growth of his state in more ways than one. He has raised the bar on social governance in this country that would be difficult to beat in many years to come. Indeed, my prediction is that his best has not yet been seen in Ondo State. I can prophesy that in his second term, he would usher in a period of accelerated growth and prosperity, which would throw up Ondo State as a shining example in good governance in the country. The central thesis of this essay is to posit that Mimiko’s success is driven principally by his background preparedness for the high office. He has had no mentor or godfather to oil his political machine. By contrast, his has been a single-minded determination to serve his people and despite attempts to whittle down his relevance at every turn, he has continued to soar to the consternation of many people who are yet to understand the meaning of foundational politics. Mimiko’s brand of grassroots politics has its background in the type of medical education he received at the Obafemi Awolowo University. The medical school was established in 1972, under a philosophy carved by the foundation Dean, Professor Ige Grillo (of blessed memory) and later referred to as the Ife philosophy. That philosophy emphasized the importance of community service right from the beginning of the medical education, de-emphasized the self-deluding importance and secluded position in which doctors trained in other medical schools often see themselves, and encouraged students to see medical education and health service provision as part of the broader developmental agenda of the country. Rather than sit in the comfort of air-conditioned consulting rooms, while majority of citizens suffer in utter ignorance of health issues and are dis-empowered by socio-economic and cultural imperatives and impunities, the Grillo philosophy encouraged medical doctors to position themselves strongly to be part of the solution to societal problems. Indeed, his admonition was that there was no point sitting idly and pretending to be doing some “good work” in medical clinics when policy decisions are taken by those less able to do so. In many cases, some of these decisions often run counter in actual fact to the principle on which sound medical practice are founded. Today, Mimiko’s high success as governor of Ondo is one of the proven examples of the appropriateness of the Ife philosophy. There are many more examples, but Governor Mimiko is the focus of this article. Dr. Olusegun Mimiko was one of several students of Professor Grillo who believed in the Ife philosophy and who are morbid disciples and adherents of its practice. As a student, Segun was always internally reflective, very focussed, read books and journals outside the domain of medicine and was very active in progressive students’ activism. I saw him then as a social activist devoted to social justice and human rights principles and always concerned with the problems of the poor and the downtrodden. What pleases me most is that when I see Segun today as a Governor, I still see those social trade-marks he bore in younger years. He has remained unchanged in his mass movement appeal and focus, and he has refused to take the easy path of abandonment of principles that people who get to position of authority often thread. As evidence of his determination to serve his people, Dr. Mimiko opened a medical clinic in his native Ondo town as soon as he completed medical school, from where he offered selfless, patriotic and committed clinical services to his people. I can recall when I was a consultant obstetrician and gynaecologist at the Obafemi Awolowo University Teaching Hospital in Ile-Ife, when Dr. Mimiko referred difficult cases from his clinic for specialist care. On several occasions, he not only drove the patients to the teaching hospital in his personal car, he waited for us to complete treatment and even paid for treatment of the poor women who could not afford the cost of treatment in the teaching hospital. He could never have become rich through medical practice because he believed that medicine is designed to serve the people and to offer succour to the poor and the under-privileged. Thus, I was not surprised when he began a phenomenal transformation of the public health delivery system in Ondo as soon as he began his tenure as governor of the state. The Abiye programme of maternity care, which he initiated has been cited by several international organisations as one of the most progressive and ambitious medical programmes ever embarked upon by any government in any developing country. The programme provides free tertiary services, including free maternity care, free mobile phones for pregnant women to reach their health providers, and ambulances for the rapid transfer of women who are experiencing complications of pregnancy and labour. The Women and Children Hospital in Akure, which he built within one year in office is one of the very few tertiary hospitals in the country that offer free medical services. As I write, a larger Women and Children Hospital is being opened in Ondo town to also offer comprehensive free medical services for citizens. These high level contributions need to be understood against the background that Ondo State does not have federal medical presence that other states have, which means that all medical expenses are borne by the state government without complimentary contribution from the Federal Government. Today, Ondo State has been cited as one state with the lowest maternal mortality rate in the country, as well as a state where high political commitment exists for the promotion of maternal and child health and the alleviation of poverty. I should conclude this piece by citing two lessons that I have personally uncovered from the unique experience I have had in knowing Dr. Mimiko from his teenage years up to this day. The first is that successful governance is about securing the well-being and social welfare of people. Anything else is ephemeral. It needs to be understood that when governance is focussed on raising human dignity and the quality of living, it resonates for all time. Mimiko’s passion is geared towards improving the quality of life of the down-trodden and bridging the gap between the rich and the poor. That is why he may not be very popular with those who believe that money making is the essence of life, but he remains highly respected and revered by those who believe in the sanctity and equality of human existence. The second lesson that I have uncovered from the Mimiko experience is the effect of preparation on the quality of governance. The failure of governance at every level in this country can be traced to the fact that those who occupy high positions were never prepared for those positions. They were simply catapulted by basic considerations of where they come from, who they were born to or who they have been loyal to, rather than by their deep preparations and readiness to occupy those positions. Mimiko has not risen from any of these mundane considerations, but has been a product of deep reflection and supersonic devotion to high-level beliefs and practices. He is clearly one of a few examples that amplify the dictum that hard work pays, and he remains a good role model to our younger generation. Our flagging democracy can only grow if more leaders emerge through the process that threw up Dr. Mimiko in Ondo State, while Ondo people who have been so resilient in supporting him must consider themselves the principal architects and exemplars in Nigeria’s match to true democracy. • Okonofua is Professor of Obstetrics and Gynaecology, University of Benin.
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