Nekan Olateru-Olagbegi is a governorship aspirant on the platform of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) in Ondo State. The Owo prince and Coordinator of Public Private Partnership (PPP) spoke with DAMISI OJO on his ambition and other related issues.
Despite your accomplishments, why did you still venture into politics?
Truly, if personal accomplishments and contentment is the hallmark of success, I believe I have made an effort, but there is this burden I must shoulder; the task of helping my people out of poverty and want and this cannot be fully accomplished through personal efforts alone. This is what has dragged me into the murky waters of Nigerian politics. To me, politics has become inevitable, if my people must put poverty and misery behind them.
You are the Coordinator of Public Private Partnership (PPP) in Ondo State for the past two years. How has it been?
We have brought into reality the Akure Mall, which we were able to broker for the state; the developers were able to deliver the project within cost and time and I am glad that a lot of people are enjoying the facility today. Indeed, it has changed the landscape of Akure and it has gradually brought back entertainment and night life to the city. But, that is just one of the things we have achieved in with PPP. Now, we have landed a deep seaport, which, once we finalise the details with the Federal Government, would be a hub for the entire West African coast. This is the Ilaje Deep Sea Port and as we are close to getting the final approval. Once this is done, the promoters are ready to raise the funds to execute the project. It is also tagged the mining port; a solution-port for the mining industry of Nigeria. So, these are well-thought out innovative ways that we have managed to solve the Nigerian mining problems because we have looked at the fact that we have so many ports in Nigeria, but none of them is a mining port. As you know, we always try to make a statement with whatever we lay our hands on in Ondo State. We don’t want to develop just a seaport, we want to change the lives of our people; that will change the life of our people, so that is what the seaport will represent. The Nigerian economy is talking about mining and agriculture, but now even from our own end, we have provided solutions ahead of time. By the time you mine those minerals such as iron-ore, the coal, the granite and all other minerals in neighbouring states, you can easily ship them out through our seaport. With the railroad we are constructing from Ilaje all the way to the Northern fringes of Ondo State and to Kogi Area and dualized roads we are also constructing, it will be easy to bring goods to the port. From Ore to Ilaje, definitely it would open up the entire Southern Senatorial District of Ondo State for investment.
What about diversification of the economy?
We are pursuing cocoa revolution here in Ondo State. We already have the chocolate factory in Idanre where we can now use our cocoa beans, instead of exporting everything. Besides, we have developed cocoa agriculture in Ondo State that a farmer can now sell to exporters without passing through middlemen. With these, they would have more profit and better motivations. The list goes on and on. We believe that we need to create jobs for our teaming youths. It is all about jobs for these younger ones, and with all that we have laid down, once it starts rolling, nobody will be able to beat Ondo State. There is no reason for anybody to be poor in Ondo State. The revenues of Ondo State will increase significantly and we would not be waiting for Abuja for money anymore.
A group of youths recently endorsed your bid for governorship…
I must appreciate the youth for their observations and for being alive to their environment. We are happy that our little efforts are being acknowledged; we are working day and night to make sure that we industrialise the state. We are working closely with the Governor to make sure that we bring many industries here. This is for no other reason but for the youths, because when Ondo State is able to do that, we will be able to create more employment for our teeming youth. If that is the criteria for appreciating me, they also need to be appreciated for their depth and intuitiveness. This is because the next level in Ondo State is the industrialisation of the state. We have been pursuing this vigorously in the last two years and we have gone far on that project.
If you are given the opportunity to govern the state, what will be your priorities?
The biggest assets that I will get as a successor of Dr. Mimiko, if given the opportunity, is the fact that the man has already laid the foundation. The biggest problem is to be able to start up. Just as I have mentioned earlier on, the foundation for urban development in the state has already been put in place, even with the paucity of funds. It is not too big a task, we only have to be creative and get innovative, knowing well that God has blessed us in Ondo State in terms of human and natural resources and if we just look inwards, we just use what we have, I am sure that the sky is our limits. In the areas of forestry alone, for example, where I live in Atlanta, Georgia, United States of America, called Georgio specific, one of the top corporations in the world, which deals in forest products, is located there. The company has been able to do paper, pulp, paints, gazebos, construct roofing sheets and furnitures, just from forest alone. These are the future we will be bringing to Ondo State.
.....The Nation