From Bamigbola Gbolagumnte, Akure

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For Oluwarotimi Odunayo Akeredolu (SAN), lawyer, politician, rights activist, businessman and incumbent Governor of Ondo state, Friday, 24th February, 2017 will remain indelible in his mind. This is so, not because it was the day he was sworn in as the sixth executive governor of the state, but because he was coming in exactly 34 years after another Owo –born elder statesman; Chief Adekunle Ajasin left office as the governor of the state.
In 2012 he contested for the same position but lost to the former governor of the state, Dr. Olusegun Mimiko, who won on the platform of the Labour Party (LP). Mimiko, however later defected to the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP).
Therefore, the joy of the Olowo of Owo, Oba Olateru Olagbegi and the entire indigenes of the town knew no bound as Akeredolu became the second Owo person, to serve as governor of the state since its creation in 1976. Other towns that have produced governors in the past are: Akungba Akoko in Akoko North West Local Government Area, Ondo town, the headquarters of Ondo West Local Government Area of the state and Iju-Odo in Okitipupa Local Government Area.
Others, who had ruled the state under civilian administration before Akeredolu, were Chief Ajasin who ruled from 1979 to 1983, Evangelist Bamidele Olumilua from 1992 to 1993, Chief Adebayo Adefarati 1999 to 2003, Dr Olusegun Agaju from 2003 to 2009 and Dr. Olusegun Mimiko from 2009 to February, 2017.
The events that led to the emergence of Akeredolu were dramatic as many had thought that he would not clinch the exalted position, since  he was not the preferred choice of the National Leader of the party, Asiwaju Bola Ahmed Tinubu, who many felt would decide the choice of the candidate of the APC. However, Akeredolu emerged the winner of the APC primary election without the support of Tinubu and eventually won the governorship election, despite the fact that many members of his party,
(APC), defected to the Alliance for Democracy (AD) and supported Chief Olusola Oke, the gubernatorial candidate of the party.
It was indeed a day of joy for Akeredolu and members of his family including his 85 years old mother who was full of praises to God for witnessing the inauguration of his son as the governor of the ‘Sun
Shine’ state.
Akure, the state capital came alive on this fateful day and it stood still for several hours, as eminent personalities and leaders of thoughts from all walks of life converged on the town in honour of Akeredolu. The inauguration ceremony, which was held at the Akure city stadium, witnessed a tumultuous crowd as all the roads leading to the venue of the ceremony were blocked, even as the facility was filled to its capacity with traditional rulers, politicians, students, youths and women organization in attendance.
The array of dignitaries at the event included the Senate President, Dr Bukola Saraki, Speaker of the House of Representatives, Hon Yakubu Dogara who was represented by the Deputy Speaker, Hon Lasun Yusuf, National chairman of APC, Chief John Oyegun, National Leader of the APC and former Governor of Lagos State, Asiwaju Bola Ahmed Tinubu and the former National chairman of the party, Chief Bisi Akande.
Others were the Minister of Information, Alhaji Lai Mohammed, Minister of Labour and Productivity, Dr Chris Ngige, Minister of State for Niger/Delta, Prof. Claudius Daramola, Minister of Communications, Alhaji Adebayo Shittu, Minister of Solid Minerals Development, Dr. Kayode Fayemi and the Minister of Agriculture, Chief Audu Ogbeh.
Also at the ceremony were:  Governors Abiola Ajimobi (Oyo), Aminu Tambuwal (Sokoto), Umar Ganduje (Kano), Ibikunle Amosun (Ogun), Abubarkar Bello (Niger),Ayodele Fayose (Ekiti), Rochas Okorocha (Imo), Bello Yahaya (Kogi), Godwin Obaseki (Edo) and Abdulfatah Ahmed
(Kwara).
Other dignitaries at the ceremony were leader of the pan Yoruba socio-cultural organization, Afenifere, Chief Reuben Fasoranti, former Military Administrator of Ondo state, General Ekundayo Opaleye, former Governor of Ogun state, Chief Segun Osoba, former Governor of Osun state, Prince Olagunsoye Oyinlola, former Governor of Ekiti state, Chief Segun Oni, Senate Chief whip, Prof. Sola Adeyeye, former Governor of Osun state, Senator Isiaka Adeleke, Senior Special Assistant to the
President on Diaspora Mrs. Abike Dabiri and rights activist, Mr. Femi Falana (SAN) among others.
In his inaugural speech entitled “Journey to Redemption”, Governor Akeredolu said he was determined to ensure a rapid transformation of Ondo state and make a difference in the state, even as he promised to address all the anxieties of all indigenes of the state. He said he had offered himself to lead a competent team to save Ondo State and return it to prosperity, adding that “I have come to you with a message of hope and a vision of life abundant. Together, we
shall make our society viable and we shall build a new Ondo state, where honesty, integrity and accountability will be our common identity.”
Governor Akeredolu, who called for the support of all and sundry, stressed the need for the participation of all indigenes of the state in the running of affairs of the state, saying he could not alone deliver the needed transformation to the state.
His words “We can rise out of this dust and build a new Ondo state where honesty, prosperity and confidence can once again be our self-identity. We can pull ourselves by the bootstraps and shake off
our current frustrations and disappointments. We must recognize the need for a cohesive platform, indispensable to an effective and efficient implementation of policies and programmes of both government “Divergence of opinions is integral to party politics. We are bound to disagree as politicians but we must cast aside bitter recriminations and destructive predilections. Democracy thrives on infinite multiplicity of ideas. Popular participation is one of its fundamental norms. The subordination of individual preferences for the collective will is essential if we are to avoid anarchy. Party supremacy should
be respected at all times. This should not be difficult for us to accept if we are truly desirous of bringing about positive change in the lives of our people,” Akeredolu, said. Expressing his readiness to deliver on his campaign promises, the governor again, said: “We listened to the voices of our people in the course of our campaigns to all the nooks and crannies of the state. We heard them loud and clear through their votes. We witnessed, first hand, the deplorable conditions under which they exist. To those who cast their ballots in favour of our programmes, your trust is not misplaced. We are determined to make the difference with the specific mandate of redemption liberally handed over to us. Those who expressed other preferences are no less patriotic. Before long their anxieties will be addressed, realistically. All of us will be involved in the reconstruction project.
The collective interest of the state must be our paramount focus. Consequently, we stand before you to pledge, with the guidance of God and our resolve not to renege on our promise, that your welfare shall form the basis of all our activities.
“To achieve this, the main mission of our administration is therefore to lead a patriotic, highly inspired and competent team to rescue the ship of our state. We intend to help rebuild our economy, resuscitate
damaged infrastructure, restore hope and return our state to a prosperous land. We are determined as an administration to break down the barriers that have made stagnation possible. We will break down the barriers to honest leadership, to comprehensive development, to physical growth and social security. These we intend to do through the promotion of transparent leadership, rule of law, extensive consultation, quality and accessible public utilities and social security; all in a sustainable manner.”
Akeredolu was however quick to add that, redeeming his campaign promises would also come with some pains and sacrifices. Hear him: “But make no mistake about it; our journey to redemption will not be without stress and undulating curves. There are mountains before us to climb. As we climb up these steep mountains. Sometimes we may trip or slip, we will get back up. We will focus on the journey. We will never stop. We will never stop. We will never stop. In the end we will reach our goal, which is to bring back jobs to our youths, food to families, safety, confidence and prosperity to this land.
“For all these to happen, I am humbly going to ask only one thing from you, good people of Ondo state. What I ask for is Attitude. We need to come with an attitude of belief and transformation.
Indeed, in all successful cultures and societies, attitude is the spirit and driver of victory.”
Earlier, the immediate past governor of the state, Dr Mimiko had handed over to Akeredolu; with a promise to always make himself available for the state in any area his services may be required.
Mimiko noted that “the state is in good hand with a man like Akeredolu taking over from me. I have no doubt that Akeredolu will serve the state well. I will continue to pray for the state and offer myself for its development when necessary.  God has been very good to me and I will forever be grateful to the good people of Ondo state for the confidence they have in me and the opportunity they gave me to serve them for eight good years.”
In is valedictory speech,  Mimiko, had  said “at my inauguration in 2009, I made a solemn commitment to work for you, the good people of Ondo State, at all times and in all seasons.