As an oil-producing state, Ondo is the next economically viable state, coming next to Lagos, in the South West geo-political zone of the country. But those who held sway were content with providing palliative measures; they were more or less at a loss as to what should be done to move the state beyond what is normally called the ’civil service state,’ a tag put on less endowed states, especially in the area of industrialisation.
There is no doubting the fact that Ondo has what it takes to be in the forefront of the nationwide move towards industrialisation, aptly tagged vision 20:2020. It is endowed with human and natural resources, with vast arable land that can sustain varied crops.
Under Mimiko, the state seems to have found the solution to its myriad of problems. Since taking over the mantle of leadership, Ondo has never been the same; the governor could be described as having the Midas touch as he has been quietly turning the state around for the better.
In this quiet revolution, many areas have had the governor’s imprint; education, health, urban development, rural transformation, road construction and poverty alleviation, and all have had a turn-around for the better.
One area where the present government in Ondo State have made tremendous impact is the health sector. Before the assumption of office by Mimiko, infant mortality rate in the state was among the highest in the country. In Nigeria, maternal death is the second highest in the world, with one in every eight women dying at childbirth. Today, Ondo has the lowest mortality rate, a feat yet unparalleled in the history of the country. But how was the administration able to achieve this laudable progress, which not only earned the state government national award, but recognition by the World Health Organisation (WHO)?
Being a medical doctor himself, the governor could not have come up with a better idea, knowing the danger associated with pregnancy. The idea gave birth to the Safe Motherhood (Abiye) programme, which was launched two years ago. This programme has not only benefitted Ondo indigenes alone, even people from neighbouring states have been flocking in to take advantage of a free and comprehensive health programme.
The Abiye programme has also had a tremendous impact in reducing maternal mortality rate in neighbouring states. This achievement has launched Nigeria into global reckoning.
To underscore the commitment of the government towards broadening the scope of the programme, all the local governments in the state are to have their own, with the expected delivery of more than 30, 000 babies every year.
For this, the state is committing about N2 billion, according to the Commissioner for Health, Dr. Dayo Adeyanju, who also said that 31, 000 patients have received treatment, including 11, 879 deliveries and 1, 400 caesarean sections at no cost under the Abiye programme in the last two years.
The Mimiko idea also gave birth to the Gani Fawehinmi Diagnostic Centre in Ondo. Named after the late erudite lawyer, Chief Gani Fawehinmi, the world class centre has CT scan station, Sonography station/colour, Doppler, MRI station, Digital X-ray station, MRI system room, Mammography station, Pathology station, Video conferencing auditorium, Telemedicine and VIP lounge.
The centre is part of the Mimiko administration’s determination to wage war against untimely deaths in the society due to ignorance of the actual ailment or diseases people are suffering from and in partial fulfilment of his promise to provide the best health care facilities for the people of the state.
Another leg of the administration’s initiative in the health sector is the Mother and Child Hospital, with the provision of state-of-the-art equipment, meant to enhance safe delivery. The first hospital, which was built in Akure has succeeded in ensuring the safe delivery of over 11,000 babies since it was established in October 2009.
Now, three others are being established in the three senatorial zones to ensure an even coverage of the entire state and prevent a situation where facilities in the hospital are overstretched.
In education, the Mimiko administration has also committed itself to raising the falling standard, with the construction of mega and model schools with facilities and environment that enhance learning. Old Ondo was among the highest with literate level in the country, but the problem in the sector, which leads to a drastic fall in standard, has also affected the state.
The administration’s antidote is the Mega Schools, which are of three types. Type A has capacity to accommodate 500 pupils with classrooms fitted with modern facilities. It has science laboratories, computer room and a hall. The hall is to encourage the pupils to engage in debates and extra-curricular activities including school drama.
Type B has capacity to accommodate 1,500 pupils. The classrooms are also fitted with state-of-the-art equipment. The idea is to bring the schools within the same neighbourhood under the same environment.
Type C has capacity to accommodate 2, 500 pupils.
In line with world standards, all the schools comply with UNESCO recommendation of a teacher to an average of 25 pupils in a class, while teachers have sharpened their skills under the state’s Quality Assurance Programme. Already, about 14 of such mega schools have been constructed by the government.
Nothing can be more heart-warming than the current urban renewal project currently going on, especially in Akure, the state capital. This town, famous for years, looked more like a glorified village until the government set cracking the urban renewal scheme. Now, Akure is looking more like a state capital with the many road expansions that are going on simultaneously in many parts of the metropolis. Of note is the dualisation of the Arakale road which is almost completed. The Fiwasaye- Ado roads have become glossy, thus allowing for a smooth ride. Oke Ijebu and Ondo roads have also experienced a rebirth, not to mention the ongoing Oba-Ile Road project.
On completion of the ongoing projects, Akure, no doubt, would have had an enhanced beauty, while the perennial traffic snarl would be eliminated. It is worthy of note that the road projects are not limited to Akure, the state capital alone. Road repairs are simultaneously going on in major towns in the state like Owo, Ikare and Ondo, among others.
In connection with this urban renewal programme is the establishment of a centralised market for automobile dealers, aptly named Auto Mart on Ilesha Road.
The Auto Mart, which has capacity for more than 1, 000 vehicles, is the first of its kind in Nigeria. Its establishment will help in decongesting Akure; while at the same time creating an avenue for buyers and sellers of automobiles to interact.
The government is also establishing a Central Park behind the Central Mosque on Oba Adesida road to eliminate the perennial traffic bottleneck around that axis. There is the modern Arakale Market, which is also an innovative idea by the government. The market is equipped with facilities meant to enhance the convenience of both buyers and sellers in a modern day, with hygiene as a major priority.
Ondo, Ikare, Okitipupa, Ore and Owo are other urban centres to benefit from the urban renewal programme. These towns would be redesigned and upgraded as a prelude to making them meet the criteria of modern cities.
The rural transformation agenda, which encompasses total transformation, including the establishment of cottage industries to reduce the rural-urban drift is being pursued by the government. Mimiko’s idea of cottage industries in the rural villages is novel in the sense that enumerators were sent out early in the life of the administration to identify resources peculiar to each locality, with a view to tapping such resources to create employment for the people. This will not only create the needed employment, it will also enhance the revenue base of such a locale, thereby ensuring even distribution of wealth.
Employment generation is also a major plank of the Mimiko government with the provision of jobs to more than 5, 000 school leavers till date. These were people contracted under the government’s Volunteer Project, trained in vocational skills and provided with finance to be able to stand on their own, and in not too distant future, also become employers of labour.
The government is making good use of its potentialities in the area of agriculture to create employment to the state’s young graduates who are making the best of the opportunity at the various farm cities in the state. The farm cities have become a model for other states.
The government has touched almost every area in the state. In the housing sector, more than 3, 000 houses have either been delivered or are ongoing.
It is, therefore, not a surprise that Iroko’s achievements within such a short time have been recognised with many awards of recognition to the bargain. Indeed, to show that Ondo State is working, the state, for the first time in its history won the National Productivity Award. But more important is the award bestowed on the governor by no less than the watchdog of the society, the Nigeria Union of Journalist (NUJ), which capped all the awards with that of the Governor of the Year.It is also on record that Mimiko is also the current holder of The Nigerian Tribune Governor of the year 2011, Best Governor, Ben TV London.
These honours are aside the Honorary Doctor of Science he got from the Federal University of Technology Akure and the Radio Nigeria Achievers award, among others.
These awards are pointers to the reality that Ondo is working and Mimiko, as the driver behind the wheel, is heading in the right direction
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