By Udenna Orji
Something new is brewing in Ondo state. There is a bludgeoning new movement and a popular new political lexicon on the lips of the good people and residents of Ondo state.
Everywhere you turn to in the state, you are peacefully accosted by the overwhelming presence of this new movement and the growing army of its adherents.
Politics is being redefined in the state. A massive new movement is bludgeoning in the state, made up of elites, commoners and the destitute, a grassroots movement marching towards the realization of the true tenet of democracy: a government of the people, by the people and for the people.
This new movement, which is spreading like wild fire in the state, is called “Lekeleke”.
“Lekeleke”, the new lexicon on everybody’s lip in Ondo State, is a massive movement growing in the state’s 18 local government areas, committed to enthroning in the state in 2020, a participatory, communal government that everyone in the state will be part of, a government that, in the words of the movement’s growing faithful, “is seeable, touchable and feelable”.
Lekeleke is a unity government run by all the communities in the state, a communal government that will be committed to ensuring that each and every indigene and resident of the state will see, touch, feel and benefit from the dividends of democracy and good governance, personally, in his or her life. A government run by the people themselves, a participatory government that is not disconnected from the people because it is run by the people themselves and focused on addressing their needs, individually and collectively.
People are flocking to the Lekeleke movement because it has developed and adopted a governance system that is not alien or distant from the people. The movement has committed to running a transparent and accountable government in which everyone will be in the position to not only know the facts and figures of governance but everyone will be contributing ideas and participating in actual governance.
A governance system that has no room or opportunity for corruption, manipulation or hijack by any interest or power group but collectively marching towards the realization of making Ondo State one of the greatest and most prosperous states in Nigeria; a haven of choice for investment inflows, with opportunities for everyone.
The master plan for the human resources, industrial, economic and cultural development of the state which many Ondo state indigenes and residents have seen and marveled at is what is drawing all and sundry into this massive and growing “Lekeleke” movement.
The movement is led by Hon. Isaac Kekemeke and has grown this big because of Kekemeke’s sterling performance in his 28 years of unbroken and meritorious service to the good people of Ondo Sate.
Kekemeke is immensely popular for his selfless service in the development of the state. There is hardly any community in the state that has not enjoyed the fruits of his political activism and selfless service.
As a youth activist and member of Ondo State House of Assembly during the tail end of the Ibrahim Babangida regime, Kekemeke, who was in his twenties and the youngest member of the House, was unarguably the most active politician not only in the House but in the state, and is remembered for being behind most of the bills and motions that brought development to the state and better standard of living to her peoples.
An astute lawyer, lover of education and pioneer chairman of the National Examinations Council (NECO), he is celebrated nationwide for being behind the high standard and excellence the examination body is well-known for.
Analysts say the highly cerebral Kekemeke further became the toast of the masses when as Ondo State Attorney-General and Commissioner for Justice, he established the Office of Public Defender which he used to fight for poor people in the state who could not afford to hire lawyers to defend themselves in court or to fight for their rights.
He ensured that poor people had access to lawyers, free of charge, for their court cases. This ensured access to justice by the masses.
Kekemeke also brought about modernization of judicial infrastructure in the state which brought about quick and fair dissemination of justice in the state.
His tenure as Ondo State Commissioner for Works, Lands and Housing is said to be a master stroke. Deploying his well-known sense of justice and love for infrastructural development, analysts say Kekemeke went on an unprecedented construction of roads, bridges, drainage and erosion controls which touched virtually every community in the state.
Rural areas were connected to the cities and this ensured easy movement of people, goods and services within the state. This brought him to national attention as he was honoured nationwide with the “Best Commissioner in Nigeria” award.
He later served as Secretary to the State Government (SSG), a period which Ondo State people nostalgically say witnessed a deep unity and understanding between the government and the people as government activities were conducted without bureaucratic delays and the state government promptly met its obligations to individuals and institutions in the state, leading to his being known in the state as a man of the people.
Appointed as a member of the Niger Delta Technical Committee by President Umaru Musa Yar’Adua, he is also highly respected for helping Yar’Adua to formulate policies like the ongoing Amnesty Programme which pacified Niger Delta militants and ended bloody agitations in the Niger Delta. Militant agitations had crippled oil production and threatened the economy and unity of Nigeria.
He was pioneer state secretary of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) and due to political developments in Ondo state, he later became the pioneer state chairman of the All Progressives Congress (APC).
As pioneer state chairman, he led the APC to victory in the Presidential, National and State Assembly elections in 2015 and was also instrumental to the party’s gubernatorial victory in 2016. The masses follow him in every election, leading people to call him the “field marshal of Ondo State politics”.
Analysts say if honesty, vision, track-record, competence, commitment, dedication and patriotism are taken into consideration in choosing who will govern a state, no one in Ondo state will be contesting against Kekemeke as he clearly possesses these qualities far above all those angling for the governorship seat.
Analysts opine that with the situation on ground in Ondo state, only an aspirant like him can rally voters across the various political parties where he also enjoys a large following, and retain Ondo state for the APC in next year’s governorship election.
- Udenna Orji, writer and political analyst.
