Good Night, The Courageously Fearless Aketi
It is said that cowards die many times before their deaths; while the valiant never taste of death but once. This quote aptly described the life and time of the former Governor of Ondo State, Arakunrin Oluwarotimi Odunayo Akeredolu, SAN, CON. Although death will always leave a heartache that no one can heal; just as love will readily leave a memory that no one can steal.
Aketi, as Arakunrin Rotimi Akeredolu was popularly known served as the Governor of Ondo State until the early hours of Wednesday, December 27,2023 when he succumbed to prostrate cancer in a German hospital at age 67. The death of Aketi wad undoubtedly a monumental loss to Ondo State and Nigeria at large.
Notwithstanding the untimely demise of Oluwarotimi Akeredolu, solace had been taken in the fact that he made impacts in every office he ever occupied. While Aketi manifested the expected ethos of Omoluabi, he likewise never failed to demonstrate the indomitable, irrepressible, courageous and fearless spirits that the people of Ondo State are well known for.
The famous English author, George Eliot once write that our dead are never dead to us until we have forgotten them. This quote to a large extent speaks volumes about the outstanding achievements of Rotimi Akeredolu. The achievements will also keep him in the consciousness of Nigerians for a long time to come.There is no doubt that the late Aketi successfully etched his name in the sand of time.
While Rotimi Akeredolu was on the side of the earthly divide, he positively affected humanity. He did not allow anything to limit him, but went ahead to attain success against all odds. He also never yielded any space to fear, including the ultimate fear of death while still alive. Aketi was quite conscious that those that are afraid of death will end up carrying it on their shoulders.
Oluwarotimi Akeredolu breathed the first air of the earthly world on Saturday, July 21, 1956 in the present day Owo Local Government of Ondo State. He was born to the family of late Reverend J. Ola Akeredolu and the late Lady Evangelist Grace B. Akeredolu of Aderoyiju family of Igbotu in Ese Odo Local Government Area of Ondo State.
The young Oluwarotimi Odunayo Akeredolu had his primary school education at Government Primary School in Owo. He thereafter proceeded to Aquinas College in Akure, Ondo State and from there to Loyola College in Ibadan and Comprehensive High School at Ayetoro for his secondary education and Higher School Certificate, respectively. He subsequently attended University of Ife, now Obafemi Awolowo UniversityUniversity in Ile-Ife where he studied Law and graduated in 1977. Akeredolu thereafter attended the Lagos campus of the Nigerian Law School in 1978.
The late Aketi began his legal career as a junior counsel at the Law Firm of GM Ibru & Co. He later became a Managing Partner at the law firm of Olujinmi & Akeredolu, which he co-founded with Chief Akin Olujinmi, a former Attorney General and Minister of Justice for Nigeria.
Akeredolu was appointed and served as the Ondo State Commissioner for Justice and Attorney General from 1997 to 1999. Aketi rose to the pinnacle of his career when he was honored with the prestigious legal rank of the Senior Advocate of Nigeria (SAN) in 1998. He subsequently served as the Chairman of the Legal Aid Council from 2005 to 2006. Thereafter, he got elected and served as the President of Nigerian Bar Association in 2008.
The legal luminary came into national and global limelight in December 2009 when he stated that Nigerian president at the time, Umaru Yar’Adua should have handed over power to Vice President Goodluck Jonathan in an acting capacity during the time of his illness. The same statement was to be backed by the Nigerian Bar Association as the official position of the body.
In appreciation of his invaluable contributions to the legal profession, new secretarial of the Nigerian Bar Association in Abuja was named after Oluwarotimi Akeredolu in 2012. Reason for this honour was hinged on the need for generational identification and recognition of those that had contributed immensely to the development of the Nigerian Bar Association. Another reason for the honour done to Aketi by the NBA was on account of his selfless services to the association.
Akeredolu joined partisan politics in 2011 when he expressed interest in the governorship of Ondo State. He did win the ticket of the Action Congress of Nigeria (ACN), but was unsuccessful in the 2012 general election. Aketi however, took another shot at the governorship position of Ondo State in 2016 on the platform of the then newly merged All Progressive Congress (APC). He won the gubernatorial ticket of the APC on September 12, 2016 and went ahead to win the governorship election om November 27, 2016.
Akeredolu scored 244,842 votes in the election to defeat the duo of Eyitayo Jegede of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) who garnered 150,380 votes and Olusola Oke of the Alliance for Democracy (AD) who scored 126,889 votes. He was sworn-in as the governor of Ondo State on 24 February 24, 2017 in Akure, the capital of Ondo State.
Aketi stepped out once again on the same platform of the All Progressive Congress (APC) to seek another term of office as Ondo State Governor. He went ahead to pick Hon. Lucky Orimisan Aiyedatiwa as his running mate in the governorship election, following the crisis between him and his former deputy, Agboola Ajayi. He however, got elected on October 11, 2020 with 292,830 valid votes to defeat his major opponents, Eyitayo Jegede of the Peoplee Democratic Party (PDP) and his erstwhile deputy, Hon. Agboola Ajayi of the Zenith Labour Party (ZLP).
Rotimi Akeredolu was sworn-in for another term of office on February 24, 2021; alongside his new deputy, Lucky Aiyedatiwa. Until the time of bis death, Aketi was the Chairman of the Southwest Governors’ Forum, a forum that consist of governors of the South West states.
The irrepressible Aketi seriously frowned at and condemned in the strongest terms the sacrilegious attack visited on a Catholic church in Owo by some suspected bandits in June 2022. He specifically described the attack which claimed the lives of dozens of innocent church worshippers as satanic.
The late Aketi was on February 4, 2022
named the Grand Patron of the National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA)
by its Chairman, Brigadier General Mohammed Buba Marwa.(rtd). Akeredolu was equally in October 2022 conferred with the National Honour of Commander of the Order of the Niger (CON) by the then President Muhammadu Buhari.
He however, began his medical battles with leukaemia in January 2023 and was away in a German hospital for a number of months. He yet again, transmitted power to his deputy, Hon. Lucky Aiyedatiwa to serve as Ondo State Governor in acting capacity. He unfortunately lost the battle to leukamia and prostate cancer in the early hours of December 27, 2023 in a German hospital.
Oluwarotimi Odunayo Akeredolu recorded several achievements while he served as the Governor of Ondo State for a period of almost 7-years. Some of the applaudable legacies of Aketi manifestly cut across all sectors of Ondo State, South West and Nigeria.
Establishment of Amotekun Corps
One of the flagship achievements of the late Odunayo Akeredolu was the role he played in the establishment of the Western Nigeria Security Network (WNSN), popularly known as Amotekun corps. At the time that Akeredolu championed the establishment of Amotekun, the South Western part of Nigeria was already under the siege of armed robbers, kidnappers, armed robbers and ritual killers. The 58-year-old Mrs Olufunke Olakunrin, a daughter of the leader of Afenifere, Pa Reuben Fasoranti was killed by some criminal herders during this period of security siege on the South West.
Despite the stiff opposition of the Buhari led administration at the time to the establishment of Amotekun corps, Akeredolu spiritedly rallied his colleague from the South West zone to have a unifying local security outfit that will tackle headlong, the menace of insecurity in the region. Surprisingly, this effort was courageously made at the time that Akeredolu was seeking another term of office. He however, remained undaunted despite the opposition of the then Minister of Justice and Attorney General, Abubakar Malami to the establishment of Amotekun.
Malami was even very categorical at the time that the creation of Amotekun was unconstitutional. Irrespective of the clog-in-wheel roles of the then Attorney General, Akeredolu and his South West colleagues pressed on with the security project. Aketi also did so well by securing the full support of Governors Seyi Makinde of Oyo State, Adegboyega Oyetola of Osun State, Babajide Sanwo-Olu of Lagos State, Kayode Fayemi of Ekiti State and Dapo Abiodun of Ogun State for the establishment of Amotekun Corps.
After all the hues and cries, Amotekun was eventually launched in Ibadan on Thursday, 9th January 2020. The event was attended by the South West governors alongside some stakeholders in the region. More so, the creation of Amotekun Corps has thus far helped to strengthen and shapen the security architecture of the South West region.
INFRASTRUCTURE
The late Rotimi Akeredolu realized pretty early in the life of his administration the importance of road infrastructure as a major catalyst of development. He therefore did very well by making heavy investment in the roads across the Sunshine State.
Akeredolu built the very first flyover bridge at the cross-section of Lagos- Benin expressway in Ore area of Ondo State.The facility was christened the ‘Redemption Bridge’ and it has put an end to the hitherto carnage at the location. He had also commemced the construction of a befitting Governor’s Lodge in Akure, the state capital and the project was close to completion at the time of his death.
Akeredolu also constructed a new office complex for Ondo State Internal Revenue Service in Akure. He also completed and commissioned the Civil Engineering Building at the Ministry of Works and Infrastructure.
Another flagship achievement of the late Aketi led administration was the construction of 250-bed hospital buildings in each of the Ondo town and Akure complexes of the University of Medical Sciences. These projects had reached advanced stages at the time of Akeredolu’s death.
It is worthy of note however, that the Akeredolu led administration constructed and completed over 300km of roads across Ondo, while 100 kilometers were at different completion stages at the time of his death. Some of the roads delivered by Aketi include :
i.The dualization of the once bloodsucking Oke-Alabojuto road in Ikare Akoko.
ii. Dualization of Emure-Owo road.
iii. Dualization of Ikare Akoko township road.
iv. Dualization of Oba Osupa road in Akure.
v. Dualization of Owo township road.
vi. Construction of Iyere-Ipele road.
vii. Dualization of Nepa-Hospital road in Akure.
viii. Dualization of CBN – Bishop Court road in Akure.
ix. Dualization of Oda road in Akure.
x. Construction of OAUSTECH Internal Access road in Okitipupa.
xi. Construction of Sabomi township Road.
xii. Construction of 12km Okitipupa – Igbokoda bypass road.
xiii. Construction of 16km Idanre – Ijoka virgin Road
xiv. Construction of Iwalewa – Hospital road in Akure.
xv. Construction of Abusoro-Ijoka road, Alagbaka SIB/Appeal Court Road in Akure.
xvi. Construction of Gaga community road in Akure.
xvii. Construction of Oke-Ogba community road in Akure.
xviii. Reconstruction of Ijapo road in Akure.
xix. Construction of Club 20 road.
xx. Reconstruction of Iwaro-Oka road. xxi.Reconstruction of Jubilee – Ugbe-Akoko road.
xxii. Asphalt overlay of Okitipupa township road.
xxiii. Construction of Igbara-Oke/Ibuji/Ekiti boundary road and a number of other roads.
HEALTH CARE
The late Rotimi Akeredolu led administration never relented in making efforts to uplift and transform the health sector of Ondo State. The former governor also recorded a number of achievements in the health sector. Some of these achievements include but not limited to the under listed :
i. Recruitment of over 500 health personnel and 200 medical doctors.
ii. Increment of the number of Mother and Child Hospitals in Ondo State from 2 to 7.
Mother and Child hospitals were only located in Akure and Ondo town before Akeredolu became governor; but he ensured that Mother and Child hospitals were built in Ikare-Akoko, Owo, Ore, Okitipupa and Igbokoda.
iii Construction of a new Critical Care Unit at UNIMED in Akure.
iv. Upgrading of Akure Specialist Hospital to UNIMED Teaching Hospital.
v. Distribution of about N2.1billion worth of medical equipment to health facilities across Ondo State.
vi. Rehabilitation of dilapidated health centres across the state.
vii. Construction of UNIMED Teaching Hospital in Ondo town.
EDUCATION
The educational sector of Ondo State also received the signature transformation of the late Governor Odunayo Akeredolu led administration. The achievements recorded by Aketi in the educational include but not limited to the under listed :
i. Construction and rehabilitation of over 700 public primary schools across the state.
ii Supply of 10,672 pieces of furniture to primary schools in the State.
iii. Supply of ICT facilities, solar systems, playground equipment to public primary schools across the state.
iv. romotion of teachers as and when due.
vi. Prioritizing the welfare of teachers in the primary and secondary schools of the state.
vii. Regular and prompt release of subvention to tertiary institutions in the state.
viii. Transformation of Olusegun Agagu University of Science and Technology (OAUSTECH), Okitipupa after 8-years of abandonment.The late Akeredolu
reconstructed the institution’s main gate, completed the construction of the university’s library, auditorium and the administrative building complex. Internal roads of the university were also constructed by the late Aketi.
INDUSTRIALIZATION
The late Rotimi Akeredolu made good his promise to transit Ondo State from a civil service state to an industrialized one. This promise was fulfilled with the setting up of Ondo-Linyi Industrial Hub in Ore. It is an industrial hub that houses about 6 industrial factories which include; Cassava-Ethanol Factory, Win-Win Textile Mill, Truck Assembly Plant, Wewood Factory, MDF/HDF Factory and a Paper Mill Factory.
Aside the Ondo-Linyi industrial hub, other giant strides made by Akeredolu to industrialize Ondo State include the under listed :
i. Commissioning of a granite and marble factory in Ose Local Goveremt Area of the state.
ii. Commissioning of the Sunshine chocolate factory in Idanre.
The factory is though a PPP arrangement between Ondo State Government and a United States company, Spagnvola Chocolatiers.
The essence is to create job opportunities and for economic development of the Sunshine StateState by leveraging on the value-chain of cocoa.
WELFARE OF WORKERS
Akeredolu prioritized the welfare of Ondo State workers throughout his almost 7-years of ruling the state. He paid 6 out of the 7 months salary arrears owed the civil servants by the administration of Olusegun Mimiko.He also committed over N4billion to the payment of gratuity inherited from the previous administration. Aketi also paid the new Minimum wage to workers in addition to the payment of 33.4% pension increase.The state workers were also promoted as and when due by the Akeredolu led administration.
EMPLOYMENT
The late Arakunrin Oluwarotimi Akeredolu gave employment lifelines to thousands of hitherto unemployed graduates in Ondo State.Some of the employment exercises he conducted include but not limited to the under listed :
i. Employment of over 420 fresh graduates into the state Board of Internal Revenue Service.
ii. Recruitment of over 500 health personnel and 200 medical doctors.
iii. Employment of 70 workers into Ondo State Radiovision Cooperation (OSRC).
iv. Employment of 35 special persons into the state civil service
v. Employment of over 2000 persons through the Ondo-Linyi Industrial Hub and other industries.
vi. Recruitment of 1000 teachers and 432 health workers to fill the personnel gaps in the Primary Health Care facilities across the state.
WATER SUPPLY
The late Arakunrin Akeredolu also prioritized the water needs of the people of Ondo State. He embarked on the digging and resuscitation of over 2000 boreholes in the rural and urban areas of Ondo State through the “Kamomi Aketi Water Scheme”.
He also ommissioned the 45.6 kilometre water rising mains and pipe laying project along Igbokoda – Ugbonla road in Ilaje Local Government Area of the state. The water project worth over #2.3 billion naira was embarked upon by the past government of Dr. Olusegun Mimiko, but it was not completed until the Akeredolu administration came to power.
AGRICULTURE
Serious attention and efforts were committed by the Akeredolued led administration to ensure food sufficiency and wealth creation for the people of Ondo State.
Some of the remarkable achievements of the late Oluwarotimi Akeredolu in the Agricultural sector of Ondo State include the under listed :
i. Distribution of over 800,000 cocoa seedlings to farmers in Ondo State to boost cocoa production.
ii. Procurement of 20 brand new tractors for farmers in the state.
iii. Reactivation of the afforestation projects of the state with 10,000 hectares in the state afforestation projects sited at Omotoso in Okitipupa Local Government Area. The projects is worth N20billion and it has thus far given employmemt to over 1,000 youths of the state.
The project is is a Public Private Partnership (PPP) with Weewood, a Chinese company.
iv. Disbursement of over N210,000,000 to farmers through Co-operative Societies in the state, under the FADAMA Scheme.
v.Distribution of over 1,000 metrics tons of fertilizers to farmers in Ondo state for enhancement of better farm yields.
vi. Distribution of of over 100,000 Brazilian cashew seedlings and top quality oil palm seedlings to farmers across the state.
vii. Empowerment and training of about 6,000 youths to become Agripreneurs
IGR INCREAMENT
One of the landmark achievements of the late Arakunrin Akeredolu was the increment recorded in the Internally Generated Revenue (IGR) of the state. He inherited a meagre monthly IGR of N700 million in 2017 and worked hard to increase same to an average of N2 billion on a monthly basis.Interestingly, this feat was achieved without putting additional burden on the people of Ondo State.
Death as it is known, is naturally a function of being born. Arakunrin Oluwarotimi Odunayo Akeredolu has ran his race and fulfilled his mission on the planet earth. He will definitely be sorely missed by members of his family, friends, professional colleagues, the good people of Ondo State and Nigerians at large. May the good Lord clear the paths of Arakunrin Oluwarotimi Odunayo Akeredolu to eternity and test his departed soul in the panthoem of saints.