By Emmanuel Ajibulu

Hon. (Comrade) Joseph Iranola Akinlaja represents Ondo East/West Federal Constituency at the National Assembly in Abuja and doubles as Chairman Iroko Legacy Platform, a group set up to identify, monitor and document the achievements of Governor Olusegun Mimiko of Ondo State so as to create room for generation yet unborn to have records of his indelible milestones.

Akinlaja was Assistant General Secretary of Nigeria Union of Petroleum and Natural Gas Workers, NUPENG, between1981 – 1999, General Secretary 2001 – 2004 and Deputy President, Nigeria Labour Congress between 2003– 2006. He is presently the Grand Patron and Technical Consultant to Petroleum Tankers Drivers Association of Nigeria. In this interview, he gives insight into the Iroko Legacy Platform and his political aspirations.

Excerpts:

As Chairman of Iroko Legacy Platform, can share the group’s vision?

I must first of all thank the principled people of Ondo State for voting Governor Olusegun Mimiko as their leader for the first and second terms respectively and, to the glory of God, the state is better for it today. Mimiko has placed Ondo State on an enviable footing through various programmes and legacy projects that he put in place since the inception of his administration on February 24, 2009.

It is most gratifying and commendable that today we all can see a developed and prosperous Ondo State which has become the pride of Africa and the black race. He has consistently displayed courage, and, out of his wealth of experience, rekindled our innovative instinct as a state, showcased our character and turned the dream of Ondo State into reality.

I must also note that I am encouraged by the teeming support we have received from our youth who are endowed with fresh ideas, bubbling energy and a passionate desire for the sustenance of Iroko Legacies, they are the hope of this nation, without them, we really can’t talk of a future with hope and confidence. I should not be misconstrued though, because Iroko Legacy Platform is not exclusively for the youth, people of older generation have a part to play in this as well.

Hon. Joseph Akinlaja, Prof. Femi Mimiko and Governor Olusegun Mimiko

Now, to be more direct, Iroko Legacy Platform is saddled with the responsibility of documenting the achievements of Governor Mimiko among other things, such that even when he eventually leaves office, generation yet unborn will be able to have access to those records of his indelible milestones which have largely portrayed our focused and amiable governor as best in Nigeria in the areas of health care delivery with a particular emphasis on infant and maternal mortality, this particular milestone which is popularly called Abiye is the mother of all achievements in my personal view.

Others are human capital development and capacity building, urban renewal, agriculture, social welfare, education and so on. Interestingly, his legacies would serve as benchmark for good governance in the state in particular and Nigeria in general. It would be a benchmark through which the performance of subsequent governors would be measured. Again, for all of us in Ondo state, it would be our abiding duty therefore to ingrain into the subconscious minds of Nigerians the enviable Legacies of Governor Olusegun Mimiko of our time.

Why did you consider Abiye health initiative of Governor Mimiko as mother of all achievements?

The facts are very empirical. Within four years of his first term, Governor Olusegun Mimiko effectively surpassed the Millennium Development Goals 4 and 5 which many countries of the world are still battling to meet up with; I think this symbolic achievement is quite remarkable and should not be downplayed. We must continue to say this for others to emulate and join the trend of visionary and purposeful leadership for the good of our people so that posterity won’t judge them harshly.

From the point of view of the governor, the Abiye programme was conceived to ensure that pregnancy would no longer be a death sentence for women in Ondo State, through the provision of free and adequate healthcare for pregnant women and children of zero to five years of age. The programme was clearly designed to tackle four major factors predisposing pregnant women to death, namely; delay in seeking care when complications arise; delay in reaching care when decisions are made; delay in accessing care on arrival at healthcare facilities; and delay in referring care from where it is initiated to where it can be completed.

The Abiye strategy was therefore put in place to counter delay in seeking care, delay in reaching care, delay in accessing care and delay in referring care through various provisions and actions ranging from assigning Health Rangers to pregnant women for proper monitoring from conception to birth; provision of mobile phones for maintaining free contact with Health Rangers and Healthcare Providers; provision of appropriate transportation like four-wheel and tricycle ambulances; renovation of existing basic health centres and construction of new ones and adequate provision of drugs and other consumables.

Abiye has recorded so much success such that it has been signposted as the model for tackling infant and maternal mortality in the developing world. This global acclaim is evident in the fact that the World Bank officially listed Ondo State Abiye programme on its website as one of the success stories coming out of Africa. The tertiary healthcare aspect of the Mimiko Healthcare Revolution revolves around the Mother and Child Hospital, Akure, the Medical Village, Ondo, which accommodates among others, the Trauma Centre, Kidney Care Centre, Gani Fawehinmi Diagnostic Centre and another Mother and Child Hospital. All these are my convictions.

You already have your ticket to run for another term as representative of Ondo East/West Federal Constituency at the National Assembly on the platform of People’s Democratic Party, what’s your reaction?

Honestly I feel so elated and rewarded for another opportunity given to me by my people to test my popularity once again at the 2015 National Assembly polls, it is not everybody that is so privileged to enjoy such rare grace. Remember we were in Labour Party before, until recently when we have to collapse our structure and join force with PDP, and this is a party which already has its existing structures in place, some of these realities made the whole process not to appear as easy as some people may think, but today we thank God, things are falling into places in the interest of our party.

I don’t know if you could permit me to use this platform to extend my profound gratitude to my constituents, Governor Olusegun Mimiko and political associates, especially the leadership of Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) in Ondo State as well as those who share our views and aspirations. I reassure them all that I will not disappoint them.