Dr. Eddy Olafeso is a former Commissioner for Information in Ondo State and an ex-National Vice Chairman of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) in the South-West. In this interview with BIYI ADEGOROYE, he speaks about the jubilee celebration of the existence of the state, and assesses the performance of various democratic government so far
Your state, Ondo, is 50 years old this week. How will you describe the journey so far?
A lot of missed opportunities, compared to the resources available to us in Ondo State. Ondo State was designed to be a signature state among its contemporaries, especially in view of the numerous resources available to the state. We have crude oil, gas deposits, marine and the blue economy, bitumen deposits, name it.
They are all there in Ondo State. When you look at these and juxtapose it with where we are today, it is still a long walk from the expected status of the state. It has great potential, but they are yet to be realised after 50 years.
One of the greatest moments in the state was the six years of Dr. Olusegun Agagu. You will recall that when its administration was truncated, about 20 years ago, he left over N45 billion in government coffers.
Even while in office, he put in place some legacy projects like reticulating the Owena Dam to provide water for the Central Senatorial District, completing over 1, 800 kilometres of roads, created several schools, constructed brand new buildings, massive employment of teachers, human capital development, just name it.
He was an all-rounder. Immediately after he left, everything became haphazard. The journey continued, but I think the situation should be better than what it is now if we had quality leaders to pilot the lofty ideas for the state.
Let’s take our mind back to 1979 when the legendary Chief Adekunle Ajasin was the first civilian governor. What are your reminiscences about that period?
No doubt, the first-class administrator like Chief Ajasin gave the state a head-start with businesses established by the state government.
At that time, we had the likes of Owena Motels, the Nigerian Romanian Wood Industry (NIROWI) in Ondo, afforestation programme where they harnessed the forest resources of the state, the establishment of industries along the three senatorial districts, the Okitipupa Oil Palm, Oluwa Glass and many more. Chief Ajasin was on top of it, despite the nascent nature of the government, coming from Ibadan.
We also had the creation of the Ijapo Housing Estate, along with so many other things that this man spent his shortlived tenure on. You know his government was truncated just four years into office. But within those years, he set the country on the pedestal of greatness.
To me the duo of Chief Ajasin and Agagu performed very far among all the governors of the state. The coming and going of military administration during the period and the inability of civilian administration to settle down to good governance created some of the setbacks the state had suffered in the last 50 years.
What about the period of Chief Adefarati in the state?
Yes, he spent just four years and he was purposeful, he was able to do a few more things which were concluded by Governor Agagu after 1999.
I must admit the fact that the OSOPADEC he established was enlarged under Dr. Agagu. He dealt with some challenges and a lot of violence regarding the chieftaincy crises in Owo marred his four years in office. This was followed by massive corruption after his tenure. He was not a corrupt leader.
What about the period of Governor Olusegun Mimiko?
In fairness to him, if you look at his own tenure, his urban renewal project and health programme actually set Ondo State apart from other states in the country.
Besides the Mother and Child hospitals and the transport system he put in place, he was the only governor who had completed his eight years in office.
Back to Dr. Agagu’s period, what would you identify as his major achievements? Reference is often made to the establishment of the Olokola Free Trade Zone, now being arrogated solely to Ogun State?
It is so unfortunate that we are here watching while our commonwealth is being taken for lack of knowledge. You will recollect that the Olokola Deep Seaport and Free Trade Zone were all conceptualized by Dr. Agagu.
All the time he was alive, until his government was truncated, he never moved away from those things. You cannot but agree with me that their coming into the Eba oil deposit area is an incursion to our resource.
That is something the current government in Ondo State must work to prevent. This incursion is something that could not have been contemplated when Dr Agagu was there. Ondo and Ogun states were working hand in hand on the project at that time and the current development is disturbing.
Will you say the current Ondo State governor is doing enough in asserting ownership?
No. We have not had any tangible comments from them, nor have we seen what they are doing in order to ensure that our common patrimony is not frittered away carelessly.
But I know that they must stand firm to ensure that what belongs to Ondo State is not taken away by anyone.
Oyo and Ogun states were created along with Ondo 50 years ago. How will you compare the level of developments in these states today?
In term of resources, we are ahead of them. What we need to do is to continue to use those resources appropriately for the development of our people.
Ogun has actually developed quantumly in the last decade, viewed from Lagos to the Longbridge, to Shagamu.
It has come a very long way. You can also look at Shagamu to Ijebu Ode, you can see how far it has come in terms of development of the state. Ogun is today an industrial hub no one can deny. It is flaunting prosperity.
You said in terms of resources and revenue, Ondo gets more. Why do you think the level of development in the state is not commensurate with such revenue?
Poor resource management, poor leadership are responsible. You cannot also rule out internal wangling among the people in government in Ondo State.
You can imagine we had three governments along different political parties within a few years. You had the PDP, the Labour Party and now the APC. People move for the control of high resources each time to establish themselves, and governance suffers, leaving our people far behind in poverty.
Look around today and you will see that those legacy industries are no longer in place. Industrialisation is suffering. Those are the issues for us. The earlier we upgrade our economy and take advantage of the opportunities we have the better for the state.
If you go to Oyo State today, you will see what Governor Seyi Makinde has done in six years. Ibadan has become a brand-new city. It is no longer the brown roofs and rusty irons of yester years, because of modernity and modernization. Thanks to the purposeful leadership of Governor Makinde of Oyo State.
Ondo has been at the vanguards of education in the South-West. How is it faring now?
I don’t even know where they are now in terms of success ratio and ranking in the West Africa School Certificate Examination in the region.
But I can say that many parents and children are now left on their own with little or nothing done to encourage them.
We need to take a thorough look at these areas because they are the matrix on which development is measure. The earlier we do that the better.
That way Ondo State can be the leader again in the education sector, while we pay attention to vocational education.
