Now that the people of Ondo state have decided that Rotimi Akeredolu (SAN), the candidate of the All Progressive Congress (APC) is next in line to pilot the affairs of the state for the next 4 years, it is most appropriate to discuss the roles of some key political actors in the campaign that made it possible to oust the incumbent Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) led by Dr Olusegun Mimiko (Iroko).

It was a journey that began in 2012 when Akeredolu, a professional in politics, became the governorship candidate of the defunct Action Congress of Nigeria (ACN) to run against Mimiko, a political mafia who was seeking a second term in office.

His emergence attracted many young people like me who believe in the abilities of the former Nigeria Bar Association (NBA) president to take our dear state to a whole new level.

As much as I like to go into details of all that happened in 2012, I will leave that for another publication as our candidate came third behind Governor Mimiko of Labour Party (LP) and Olusola Oke of PDP who came first and second respectively.

It was a sad experience; we had all we needed to have performed better. Dishonesty and betrayal by some elements within the 2012 AKETI campaign structure caused a major setback.

As broke as the campaign was, many still saw the project as a means to their financial breakthrough.

We lost and couldn’t keep the structure active until the APC was formed, Akeredolu decided to take the bull by the horn. He now understands politics better and could easily identify his own loyalists.

He started early and began to create a room for his loyal followers within the structure of the APC in the state from units to wards to local government and state level.

The race to become the candidate of the APC in 2015 was a tough one as the party witnessed a large turnout of aspirants with huge pedigree, such that Ondo state would have celebrated the emergence of anyone of those who participated in the primaries.

It all became tough when the state Chairman of the party, Hon D.I Kekemeke, committed what I call the biggest moral aberration from a leader by endorsing an aspirant over the others.

That moment, every men truly loyal to the AKETI project stood firm to seek justice while the money bag politicians pretended in loyalty to Asiwaju Bola Tinubu to follow the anointed Segun Abraham who is still aggrieved till date. God give him peace.

The primary that took place at the dome in Akure by all moral standards produced a candidate in Rotimi Akeredolu, he won. The victory immediately created a battle line within and outside the APC and Ondo state. It was time for the heroes who tore apart the Iroko with bare hands to emerge.

The leadership of the APC at national level from President Muhammadu Buhari to the least of them will not be mentioned. They have all done well by displaying the good sportsmanship spirit of a loyal party man.

As governor of Ondo state, Akeredolu’s loyalty to the party is one that can be taken to the bank.

These heroes performed the wonder that corrected all the errors in the 2012 campaign; they are more passionate about results than money to steal.

Rotimi Akeredolu (Discipline and Tenacity)

Of all the main actors, AKETI himself is key to his emergence as governor against all odds. He failed before and was determined not to fail again.

He knew what he wanted, he wasn’t ready to be a minister in Buhari’s cabinet and neither was he the regular politician who is ready to take any political jobs once power and money comes with it.

Though, Akeredolu transformed from a professional who found himself in politics to a professional who has studied and understands politics better, he maintained his discipline all through.

The interesting part was the fact that he remained tenacious in the face of all the challenges and banters aimed at his person.

His choice for deputy governor is another strategic move by the candidate who was faced with several other options especially from the central senatorial district who could have been seen as more popular than Hon. Agboola Ajayi in Ondo state.

Ajayi is a grassroots politician with religious followers. The former House of Representatives member is a kind of huge force with the ‘never try to outshine your master’ mentality, just what Akeredolu needs to excel.

Hon Ifedayo Abegunde aka Abena (Politician)

The former House of Representative member and a typical Akure son gave the campaign all that it could have lacked in Akure. Abena popularly called “for the people” by his disciples provided the true politician’s quality that APC could have missed in Ondo state due to the silence of Asiwaju Tinubu, Rauf Aregbesola and the likes.

In simple terms, Abena is the guy who understands that you don’t send party members giving him/her the exact money to do a job for the AKETI campaign without adding his/her own extra tip, else the job suffers.

He knows who should be given priority and those not to waste time on.

Abena was smart enough to know that his efforts alone cannot win Akure for AKETI when the incumbent raised a candidate from Akure based on the pleas of Akure people to install a governor.

He opened himself to Akure politicians who believed in the AKETI dream. The likes of Tunji Ariyomo, a former special adviser to late Chief Olusegun Agagu could freely add freshness to the campaign and also attract interests where Abena could not for Akeredolu.

Engineer Ade Adetimehin (Team spirit and Consistent)

Engnr Adetimehin is what I will call a central midfielder if this were to be a football team. The Ondo state Vice Chairman of the APC and also the campaign Chairman of the AKETI campaign is by far an excellent team player.

He links the defence well with the attack. Adetimehin created the balance between existing supporters and those converted after the primaries. He is a good listener with intelligence on how to manage people.

Adetimehin is one of the few Ondo state politicians who keep their loyalists and also strikes a good balance between the youths and the older generation. He is a religious follower of Akeredolu and a mobiliser per excellence.

AKETI Campaign Media team (Creative and open to ideas)

For the first time, Ondo state got a campaign with a media outing close to what is obtainable in Lagos state. Creativity flowed all through from traditional media to electronic media to new media. They left no stone unturned and confidently used information available to make the campaign a beautiful thing to admire.

Tinubu was silent but the campaign media maintained positive publicity that says Tinubu is with AKETI. They transformed a Mimiko quote on Akeredolu’s birthday into an undeniable endorsement from Mimiko in support of Akeredolu.

They cleaned up every mess with well circulated press statement and officially stayed away completely from the pig fights. All banters from them cannot be officially accredited to the campaign.

Though, they may not be the best and most creative hands but their ability to remain open to ideas and clues made them the best. For instance, when Ademola Adegoroye (one of APC gubernatorial aspirants in Ondo state) campaign secretariat was unveiled, it wowed the people of Akure.

In swift response, the media team knew they had to rebrand and come up with something fresh to show AKETI was the real contender. Fantastic outcome it was, kudos to them.

Victor Olabimtan (Experience)

A combined experience of a teacher and a former speaker of Ondo state House of assembly are bagged in the Director General of the AKETI campaign, Hon. Victor Olabimtan.

How can I define his immense contributions? He knows when to say stop and when to say go. Despite being one of the gubernatorial aspirants, his sportsmanship spirit and believe in party supremacy made it easy to support the candidate.

A tough job ahead

Going forward, the expectations of the people are high. It will be insane to say Governor Olusegun Mimiko has done nothing, surpassing his achievements is the big challenge.

Continuity of some of his people oriented projects may be very strategic as Akeredolu will move from being APC governor to governor of the people of Ondo State irrespective of their religion, political affiliation or senatorial district.

The incoming government should also encourage youths participation in governance as it remains the only way to connect with the direction of progress they desire for the state.

By Yemi Adebowale

Adebowale writes from Ondo