Former Ondo State Governor, Dr Olusegun Mimiko yesterday got hard kicks for bungling the Olokola Deep Sea project which if implemented would have lauched the state into a huge economic empire.
The error has singled out “the Olusegun Mimiko administration out as a disaster to Ondo State and if we witnessed that again, Ondo State might not survive.”
The damning verdict was made by the Special Adviser to Ondo State Governor on Political Matters and strategy, Mr Victor Olabimtan during a media parley with Senior Editors of The Hope.
Olabimtan posited that the actualisation of a Deep Sea Port which he said was at an advanced stage among other industries already established in Ore Industrial hub would have made Ondo State financially buoyant and ended her reliance on monthly allocation from the Federation Account before payment of workers’ salaries and other statutory obligations .
He observed that the trajectory of the state’s industrial development was kicked started by the late Dr Olusegun Agagu administration but regretted that it was truncated by the immediate past administration.
“The administration had on its table the Dangote Refinery that was placed by God in the state and the Olokola Deep Seaport almost completed , the OKLNG that was jointly financed by the Federal Government, NNPC, British Oil and all of them jointly financing it and you allowed all these projects to go.
It was the worst disaster that had ever hàppened in Ondo State. It was an economic disaster, “he noted saying the Dangote Refinery has now been hijacked by Lagos state and employed over 1500 workers, which Ondo state should have grabbed.
Olabimtan, the Director-General of Akeredolu Campaign Committee declared that Ondo State has potential for development more than any other states, including Lagos in the Southwest, hoping that the federal government would approve the Ondo Deep Sea before the end of the year
He said the Port would be the mainstay of Ondo’s economy alongside bitumen that would be explored very soon with the efforts being exerted by the Akeredolu led administration
“In the whole of the South West, we have the greatest potential for growth than Lagos. I can assure you that within 10 years of Ondo Port, something will happen. That is going to be the mainstay of our economy.
“Ten years after that port is declared and work starts there, you will marvel at the development that will take place here in Ondo State. It is going to be a miracle to so many people. With that, once the economy is okay, we don’t have any problem,” he emphasised.
On the EndSARS protest, the former Speaker, Ondo State House of Assembly said Nigeria needed a total rethink, reorientation and should look inward, stressing that the problems of Nigeria started with the first military coup, when some inexperienced soldiers wanted to dislodge the elders but failed.
“If the coup of 1966 had one or two elderly persons among them, it would not have failed. The problem of Nigeria started from 1966. All the coup plotters none of them was 32 years when they plotted that coup.
“We talk about youths, were they not youths? Where they landed us is where we are today. All the military presidents, Obasanjo was 30 years when he became Head of State, Muritala, Gowon were 29, even Ironsi. When you look at them, they were all youths,” he said.
He also said some parents have abdicated their responsibilities in term of giving adequate training to their wards, unlike in the past, when parents were the best teachers of their children.
He however admitted that the grievances of the youth were due to the failure of those at the leadership positions, but noted that their protest should have been done in constructive manners rather than destructive.
Our youths have good grievances and they should go about it in a good way. It is high time for those of us in government to set things right. If we don’t do it now, in the future, there will be revolution in this country.”
On the immediate solution to hunger in the land, Olabimtan suggested the opening of the border as agreed to by the Southwest Governors, leaders and traditional rulers, stating that border closure had affected the Southwest Nigeria more than other regions.
He further recommended that states in the Southwest should embark on irrigation system if the problem of food shortage is to be averted in 2021.
“If you go to the North, they will dig well to irrigate their farms. We must practice irrigation. Southwest used to be the food basket of the whole Nigeria but now, it is the dumping ground of food from the North. Our people are no longer into agriculture,” he lamented.