DISCLAIMER
RE: Ondo: The Men Who Uprooted Iroko
I hereby refer to a report published in the Sunday (11th December, 2016) edition of the leadership newspaper with the above caption whence it was stated that some individuals were responsible for “uprooting Iroko.” The name Iroko points to no other person than Governor Mimiko and the uprooting refers to the defeat suffered by his anointed candidate in the recently concluded gubernatorial poll. The shocking report itemized the names of some locally-based politicians as well as some federal powers as the brain behind the displacement of the anointed candidate of Governor Mimiko. I am compelled to write this disclaimer in order to set the record straight.

In disclaiming that misleading report, it must be said that some “factors” and not “men” were responsible for the purported uprooting of Mimiko, this is because, just as the saying goes, one cannot build something on nothing, hence, the federal might and their agents or “men” could have simply fallen in the absence of these factors. It must also be included that it is not surprising to find quite misleading reports such as this emerging after elections on account of the enthusiasm typical of some reporters. Yes, there were contributions from the individuals mentioned in the report, but in the presence of these factors, these “contributions” only amounts to “efforts.” The headline should have been quoted as, “Ondo: The men who contributed to the Victory of the APC.”
Thus, contrary to the impression created in the misleading report, the factors that uprooted Mimiko are as follows;

1. Decline in Mimiko’s popularity amongst the civil servants
A larger chunk of the civil servants that I know did not vote for Governor Mimiko’s anointed candidate, albeit whether or not they voted for the APC is not the bone of contention. This disaffection might have been caused by the experience the workers had with Governor Mimiko in the last few months. All these experiences did not augur well with the Civil Servants who trooped out en masse to uproot the Governor with their thumbs. Being a civil service state, the influence of the total workforce in Ondo state cannot be overemphasized, thus, the federal might only had a fertile soil to plant their seeds.

2. Decline in Mimiko’s popularity amongst the residents
Governor Mimiko’s performance in his first term in office was said to have been enormous and had as such earned him his second term ticket. The masses in no doubt enthusiastically voted him in expectation of the continuity of the widely acclaimed “Iroko revolution.” But to the disappointment of the masses, the Governor was discovered to have expended his second term in showcasing the achievements associated with his first term in office. The disillusionment with the government in no small way contributed to the failure of the Governor because the federal might had to only plant the “seed of stipends” on the already existing soil of disillusionment to achieve their aims.

3. The Accompanying effect of 1 and 2 above
In the event that the explanations (1 and 2) above holds, the citizens would be forced to subscribe to the other political parties as against the ruling PDP, thus, they are confronted with only two choices viz; the Alliance for Democracy (AD), and the All Progressive Congress (APC). It should however be noted that in Nigeria, in the absence of an independent candidature and under normal circumstances, people vote for political parties as reflected on the ballot paper, and at that, there are two major political parties in Nigeria, which is the PDP and the APC, the others are additions, oftentimes, regardless of the candidate(s) involved. It is therefore, not surprising that the residents voted resoundingly for the opposition.

4. Funds
The high rate of poverty aggravated by the harsh economic realities and the non-payment of salaries made the matter worse. I would admit at this point, that to some extent, the election went for the highest bidder.

Again, it was Iroko that uprooted himself by his doings, others only facilitated it. The Kolanut thus germinated in the place where it is meant to be planted.

Finally, as the saying goes, “when a man’s time comes, nobody can stop it,” so also, when it is not yet a man’s time, efforts and might would only amount to naught.

Therefore, nobody should bathe in reflected glory of an election which manifested the decision of the good people of Ondo state who made their choice.

ORIMOLOYE, Ifeoluwa
©2016