No
doubt, the June 12, 1993, mandate freely and willingly given to the
late icon of democracy and philanthropist, Chief MKO Abiola, by
Nigerians but unfortunately annulled by the military junta led by
Ibrahim Badamasi Babangida, has come to be an integral part of our
democratic life as a nation. No one, not even history would forget that
the struggle of the late political giant and business mogul to have the
military respect the sanctity of choice made by Nigerians in that
historic election formed a watershed and kick started the beginning of
what has now become an enduring democratic system in our nation’s
history.
Although, Chief Abiola died in the
struggle, with the benefit of hindsight, it is painful but satisfactory
to state that he died a martyr. One can confidently say without any fear
of being contradicted that our democracy was eternally watered by his
unparalleled sacrifice, and we are today enjoying the fruits of his
labour and those of other heroes.
It is based on this premise that a good
number of progressives vigorously advocated that June 12 should be made a
public holiday of some sort or be declared Nigeria’s Democracy Day!
However, with the request not being acceded to by the federal
government, some state governments particularly in the South West
observe a holiday in commemoration of the day widely believed in some
quarters to be a day the roots of democracy was firmly planted in our
country.
Beyond the holidays, almost all those
who are inseparably attached to June 12 organise one form of symposium,
colloquium, seminar, conference, and such other talk shows or the other
on that day every year. These are very good! But there is one man who
has chosen to go beyond all the annual talk talk shows to
taking real action that reflect in its actual sense those principles and
legacies which the late Chief MKO Abiola would be proud of in his abode
of perpetual rest. And that man is Dr Olusegun Mimiko, the executive
governor of Ondo State.
Knowing full well that Abiola touched
the lives of our children and youths in his lifetime and would have done
even more if not for the cold hands of death that snatched him away
from us, Mimiko has decided to carry on with that legacy with his
plethora of children oriented programmes that are the first and never
been replicated by any other person or government in Nigeria and,
without sounding immodest, in some cases, the world.
No other government has embarked on such
robust and audacious projects whose target is to empower the children,
not necessarily because they are capital intensive in nature (for indeed
they are, which could be a justifiable reason) but because it takes a
“Caring Heart” indeed to brave the odds and reach out to the less
privileged, the powerless and the helpless in our society, and lift them
from a state where they are an object of pity to a height where they
are empowered to be that which they dream to be.
It is for these reasons, and perhaps
many more that Dr Olusegun Mimiko launched the Free Shuttle Bus Project
for students of the State on that same significant date of June 12 of
2012.
The project which has run for four full
years in the state without any form of interruption or disruption
involves 90 buses of comfort that convey about 50,000 students, both
primary and secondary, to and fro school everyday across the state. Just
like Chief Abiola would have done, the buses are not discriminatory
against students of private schools as any student in uniform is
conveyed free of charge.
Apart from the fact that this service is
at no cost whatsoever to the students, it is a model in service
delivery to the populace. With the lack of maintenance of government
property especially those used free of charge by members of the public,
and the lack of dedication by a majority of civil servants in areas
where there is no egunje, one wonders how Iroko has been able to keep this project running for four full years without interruption or disruption of any kind.
This can only be alluded to the
sincerity and incontestable commitment of the governor, who, as a leader
with a caring heart, has been able to sell his virtue of “service above
gain” to the good people of Ondo State who have also seen in their
leader the ingrained desire to serve them well even in the face of
dwindling economic fortunes. This virtue has not only permeated the rank
and file of the State civil service, it has also percolated down to the
ordinary man on the streets of Ondo to the extent that they have come
to see government projects as their very own.
This has had a multiplier effect on the
people as the burden of transportation to and fro school for the
students has been taken away from the parents. No student stays back at
home because he/she does not have transport fare. This also saves some
money for the parents and increases their spending power on other family
needs, thereby improving family prestige.
In order to make the Free Shuttle Bus
for students meaningful and not just a patch of a part of the whole,
Governor Mimiko has so far built about 51 mega schools with ultra-modern
facilities across the state. These schools are not referred to as
“mega” for nothing: the gigantic buildings, exotic ambience of the
classrooms, multiple playgrounds, administrative blocks that could
easily pass off as the Senate building of any university, well-stocked
libraries, modern ICT blocks, beautiful and well-maintained landscapes,
stand-by generators etc, the schools tower above the rest in any part of
Nigeria.
All these have also given a dramatic rise to the rate of school enrollment in the state especially in the last four years.
The other good factor is that this has
caused all the private schools in Ondo to up their game in order to stem
the tide of exodus of students from the private to the public schools
due to the restoration of parents’ faith in the public schools as a
result of the deliberate policies of the governor to empower the
students and get all children of school age in Ondo educated in an
atmosphere that builds confidence and imbues pride in them.
This, beyond the yearly rituals of
organizing seminars and symposia in honour of the late icon, as has
become the norm in other domains, no doubt, is exactly how to celebrate
one of Nigeria’s heroes of democracy, Chief MKO Abiola.
Beyond the rhetorics and verbosity often
associated with banal progressivism, Governor Olusegun Mimiko has shown
the practical and more impactful way winner of the June 12, 1993
presidential election can best be remembered and his memory preserved
for life. He has done this by impacting life just exactly as Abiola
himself would have done. Let other genuine progressives learn from the Iroko!
Jude
Ndukwe is a political analyst who lives and works in Abuja, Nigeria. He
is a member of The Trent’s Elite Columnists. His column is published
every Friday. He tweets from@stjudendukwe.
The opinions expressed in this article are solely those of the author.
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