Tinubu: Still Another Ranting on Mimiko
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Tinubu: Still Another Ranting On Mimiko In an interview he granted The Guardian newspaper on Sunday, riddled with many patronising questions, leader of the Action Congress of Nigeria (ACN), Senator Bola Tinubu, once again launched acerbic attacks on Governor Olusegun Mimiko of Ondo State, claiming that Mimiko merely out-smarted him in the October 20 governorship election and accusing the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) of rigging the election. He also accused Governor Mimiko of colluding with President Goodluck Jonathan to rig the election while, almost by the minute, stating the insulting claim: “I am a born democrat.’’ Obviously, born democrats of the Tinubu hue do not accept election defeat; they do not congratulate winners---after all, in their view, Mitt Romney is a fool for doing so!- --and they have no regard for the office of Governor Olusegun Mimiko the President and Commander-in-Chief. It is indeed saddening that President Goodluck Jonathan’s constant effort to rule with the fear of God and enthrone fairness in electoral contests only invites scorn and contempt from the ACN, its writers and the newspapers which project their maladies. Tinubu had the temerity to state that Mimiko ”courted the protection of Abuja overtly and covertly’’ and that the president rigged the election for him. This is emergency senility at best, and political armed robbery at worst. In truth, ACN stinks too badly! Now that The Guardian, which published an extensive pullout on “The encircled Iroko’’ (see The Guardian, Sunday May 13, 2012), documenting the ACN’s tirade without even quoting at least a sentence from Mimiko or any of his aides, has once again given considerable space to Tinubu’s diatribes against Mimiko and all lovers of true development, fairness demands that Mimiko, too, be interviewed so that he can state his own side of the story. One can guarantee that the intellectual depth would not only be far beyond the shallowness of Sunday; even the command of English would be incomparable. Any day, really. Of course, given his pedigree and ideological/cultural credentials, Mimiko will never launch any personal attacks on Tinubu, Rauf Aregbesola or any of their kind who rail at him by the day, all because their planned seizure of the resources of Ondo State, mouthing a puerile and criminal theory of “integration’’ (please read unified theft of resources and the pauperisation of future generations), was curtailed by the vigilant people of Ondo State. An in road into Tinubu’s incredible and unprecedentedly megalomaniac mind was provided by the final campaign rally of the Ondo State, where he said that he was an unabashed godfather because Christians call God their father! While his logic was so badly fractured, his language terrible and his demeanour lost in haughtiness, the sheer disrespect of equating oneself with the Almighty God could not have passed unnoticed by discerning minds. Mr Tinubu is advised, if he wants to end well, to avoid such examples in future. God Almighty is not to be dragged into blind politics. Now, on Sunday, Tinubu actually uttered the following incredible lies against Dr Mimiko: “You must ask questions whether Ondo has even made progress, and whether the promises to the people have been fulfilled, other than cosmetic and window dressing projects. Why is it that the road from Akure to Ondo is not done; how many roads were commissioned? When you look at the resources made available to Ondo, how many of the Mother Care hospitals were commissioned and in what places? Are there Primary Healthcare Centres in the various wards, and there are 203 wards in Ondo.’’ So, Mimiko’s projects, recognised by World Bank, the UN Habitat Scroll of Honour, the National Association of Nigerian Students, African Independence Television, the Nigerian Tribune, Afenifere, Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC), Nigeria Governors’ Forum, Ben TV London, etc, are mere window dressing? Of course, paying the highest minimum wage in the country, building 54 mega schools without a parallel anywhere in Africa (Mr Tinubu indeed has said that Ondo does not need mega schools!); building state-of-the-art neighbourhood markets at zero cost to the users, establishing three agricultural estates with the best of digital facilities; building a driver’ s airport with arrival/departure lounge, etc, at zero cost to the users; running the most peaceful state in the country; building a solar- powered mechanic village at zero cost to the users; taking children to school in luxury buses, establishing the only Quality Education Assurance Agency in the country, among others, is window dressing! Africa’s first court in prison, built by Mimiko, is mere cosmetics. That engineering students are paying only N25,000 per session in Ondo State’s University is window dressing; certainly, the modern roads, with the full complements of a walkway, car park, setbacks, median, street light, etc, is window dressing! Since Tinubu willingly does know how many health care centres are in Ondo State, it is okay to tell him. General hospitals, 14 in number, are in Ipe, Irun Akoko, Iwara Oka, Idoani, Idanre, Bolorunduro, Ode- Irele, Igbekebo, Igbokoda, Ile-Oluji, Ore, Iju/Ita Ogbolu, Owo and Igbara Oke. There are a total of four state specialist hospitals in Ikare, Ondo, Okitipupa and Akure. There are 37 Comprehensive Health Centres across the state, 18 Basic Health Centres and, of course, there is the Mother and Child Hospital, a pilot scheme, based in Akure and another ready for commissioning at the medical village Ondo. Also situated at the medical village are the Gani Fawehinmi diagnostic and Trauma centres. Looking at the depth of the Ondo health care system, the World Bank adopted it as a model for Africa, while the Federal Government is aggressively keying in into the programme without apology to ACN bandits and naysayers. But what does Tinubu and his party say? They say that Mimiko has built only one hospital. This was the same Tinubu who promised 10,000 housing units per year, and should have left 80,000 housing units in Lagos, but did not leave any even though funds were allegedly mobilised for the project; the same individual who promised a Fourth Mainland Bridge; 20 millennium schools (in fairness to him, he at least delivered four schools, even though they can never compare to Mimiko’s mega schools Type C); the same human being who invested Lagos’ N5 billion in ECONET wireless, a project shrouded in mystery till date. Tinubu’s daughter, Sade, is the deputy Iyaloja of Lagos, his son-in-law is a lawmaker in Ekiti; his wife is a senator, etc. Mr Tinubu is a born democrat, but the great Awo did not impose his family members on anybody. Of course, the man vowed that he did not impose anyone on anybody. Although Tinubu liked the sound of his own megalomaniac voice when he said “My party went into that race convinced of the superiority of our ideas and the sale-ability of our programme,’’ only a fool, and the Ondo people are not fools, would have failed to see the desperation with which he sought to harness Ondo State to his dream empire. Just what programmes did the ACN, which said mega schools were mere cosmetics, purvey in Ondo State ahead of October 20? All the party shouted was integration galore. Does anyone know what joint projects have been undertaken by these integration apostles in the states that they control? For over two years, the disgraced lawmaker, Abena in Akure, staged shows in Akure castigating Governor Mimiko and saying that the ACN was ready to rout him. Senator Ajayi Boroffice, in company of many others, did all they could to sell their party to the electorate, but Tinubu now claims that the ACN entered into the race late! Obviously, truth has no meaning to ACN’s house of fraud; after all, in their deluded grandeur, they rule the world and Jonathan, INEC, the security agencies, the conscientious media, election observers (all of whom hailed the Ondo election), are mere nobodies. In any case, in the ongoing constitution review, the Yoruba race will have no major political voice to push its mandate since Mulikat Akande- Adeola, the Yoruba and PDP candidate for the House of Reps, was betrayed by the traitors of the race, leaving the land in the political wilderness. Talking about betrayal still, the ACN chairman in Kaduna State has already availed Nigerians with the facts of the criminal deal that saw Nuhu Ribadu behind traded by the ACN leadership on the altar of political expediency. Tinubu can launder his image for as long as he desires; he can attack Dr Mimiko for as long as he pleases. He is already on his road to political irrelevance. It is a road of no return. .