By Bolu Olu-Esho
In the past, political parties endeared themselves to the electorate by their varying mind-blowing manifestos.
The people, particularly in the present Southwest, would study and weigh the prosperity in the manifestos made available by the array of political parties presenting candidates for different elective positions.
Usually, in the then Western Region, political party with greater people-oriented programmes carried the day.
But that belongs to the past now. Politicians have successfully hoodwinked the electorate to trade off their future for the peanuts offered them at polling booths.
The electorate hardly request for political candidate’s manifesto during election season. They are usually carried away by deniable electioneering promises dished out impulsively by the candidates on the podium.
Leveraging on the development, politicians have impoverished the electorate more, so that they would keep looking for what to eat instantly rather than securing the future.
As the people of Ondo State are preparing to seize another opportunity presented by Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) for them to elect a governor who will run the affairs of the state for another four years, a young politician, who witnessed the meteoric development experienced by the people of the state in the old time past, is working assiduously to reinstate the old order.
Just as Walt Disney has rightly put, “All our dreams can come true, if we have the courage to pursue them,” Isaacs Duerimini Kekemeke is working against all odds to ensure Ondo State is brought back to the development track in which human capacity building takes the front burner.
A close look at his manifesto, which he personally prepared and packaged for the people of Ondo State, the prominent governorship aspirant on the platform of All Progressives Congress (APC) exhumed the programmes which still endear the late sage, Chief Obafemi Awolowo, Chief Michael Adekunle Ajasin and others to the people of old Western Region.
Though he redesigned some aspects of the programmes to meet up with demands of changes brought about by advancement of science and technology.
Investigations by our correspondent revealed that the manifesto being flaunted by the former member of the state House of Assembly was not a product of consultants who deal in fashioning make-believe concepts for politicians to make them appear prepared for the elective positions they are vying for.
His set objectives target at deploying fully entire government power to wage war against hunger, poverty, unemployment, insecurity and decayed basic infrastructure in the state.
It’s no longer news that there’s hunger and poverty in the nation. This has been the bane of development in the nation as most the people would have loved to elect those they actually know could lead them to promise land into power, but the urgent need to feed make them look the way of those who hand them paltry sum while casting their votes.
Listening to Kekemeke on how he wants to take his people out of the woods revealed how prepared and determined he is in delivering this. As it has been argued in many fora, the APC chieftain has it well spelt out in his manifesto that access to basic education would be a right of every citizen when his government berths. He reasoned that education is key in ensuring sustainable development and as such, there would be free and compulsory primary and secondary education in the state.
Having realised the current challenges the nation is facing in terms of technical works, the erstwhile chairman of National Examinations Council(NECO), who worked assiduously to see NECO certificates are accepted nationally and internationally, planned to refocus and reorganise technical schools to produce Asian-type engineers and technicians.
Currently, Nigeria relies on technicians from other African nations and some expatriates from Asia to handle as little as tiling of floors.
It would be foolhardy to say students and parents are having education made easy in Ondo State. Many parents have been frustrated by the astronomical hike in school fees by the Governor Oluwarotimi Akeredolu-led administration as many of them could no longer afford the fees.
Parents who had more than one wards in schools like Adekunle Ajasin University, Akungba-Akoko could only continue to pay for one while others were advised to drop out of school.
This is quite different from students who were doing menial jobs to fund their academic ambitions in the school. Majority of students in this class are currently praying for the Akeredolu-led administration to pass away by February next year so they could continue their education.
Students and prospective applicants in tertiary institutions in the state would find respite in Kekemeke’s programmes designed for them.
In an outright departure from Akeredolu’s perception about education, Kekemeke designed a highly subsidized tertiary education to be introduced in all state-owned higher institutions and scholarship for outstanding performing students from the state in all tertiary institutions in the country.
Students’ Loan Scheme, according to the pioneer chairman of APC in the state, would be reintroduced to support serious-minded but indigent children of the state to pursue their tertiary education. So, he’s set to transform both physical and human infrastructure in all the schools in the state.
Chief Obafemi Awolowo and his political associates were able to achieve so much success in all sectors of the economy due to their passion for setting their people free from all forms of imprisonment.
There is no doubt that they explored and exploited all that agricultural sector offered them to the point of building a skyscraper, Cocoa House, named after one of the major farm produce in the region then.
Kekemeke is looking into that direction as well with a touch of improvement on the approach.
He stated that “there shall be massive investment in Agriculture with the introduction of the concept of the ‘Civil Farmers'(Agbe Olowo Osu).
Partnership with Benin/Owens River Basin Development Authority would be done by the state government in construction of irrigation and drilling of boreholes.
The farming scheme would be mechanised and various provisions would be made by the government to attract many people, especially youths to going into different areas of farming.
Kekemeke is looking into establishing cottage agro-allied industries to mop up the labour market in the state.
While speaking with our correspondent on his manifesto, the highly prepared governorship aspirant disclosed that he planned to establish cottage industries in various parts of the state to harness available natural resources across the state.
He’s focusing on how to explore the local businesses people of the state in different parts are known for with a view to enchanting the quality and quantity of the produce and or products as well as shoring up the revenue generation of the people.
The APC chieftain, who’s had started informing the people of the state about his programmes at different meetings for the past two years, listed yam and plantain flour mills, fish mills, gin distillery, palm wine bottling, gbanunu, oil palm mills, chocolate, feeds mills as some of the cottage industries his administration would establish within a short time he forms his government.
The late Chief Michael Adekunle Ajasin established a number of industries during his administration between 1979 and 1983. Virtually all the industries had been run aground by subsequent administrations.
Kekemeke is looking at revamping those that could still be salvaged among them. Industrialists who are able to employ 500 to 1000 citizens of the state would enjoy tax holiday.
According to him, his administration would work with technical tertiary institutions in the state to establish some facilities including storage facilities for farms.
On security, he explained that traditional rulers and community heads would be actively involved in providing security in their communities and for intelligence gathering.
Kekemeke was among the twelve governorship aspirants on the platform of APC who were screened last week at the party’s national Secretariat in Abuja.
Other aspirants are Governor Oluwarotimi Akeredolu, Dr Abraham Olusegun Michael, Olubukola Adetula, Olusola Oke Alex, Joseph Olusola Iji, Odimayo Okunjimi, Olayide Owolabi Adelami, lfeoluwa Olusola 0yedele, Olajumoke Olubusola Anifowoshe, Awodeyi Akinsehinwa Akinola Colinus, and Dr Nathaniel Adojutelegan.
Nonetheless, it behoves the people of the state to retrace their footsteps and determine to see to their future rather than seeking one off largesse from politicians at the polling stations.
Independent
