Aketi!

I am convinced that what he was able to do while in office will continue to speak for him. He was, no doubt, a man of immense courage

•Body arrives Nigeria from Germany

By Simbo Olorunfemi

One thing that cannot be faulted is that Aketi was never afraid to speak his mind, where/when he should have. He was not one to hold back from stepping on toes of foes, and even friends, once he was convinced his was the right path. He was man of courage. He stood and lived by his convictions. He put in the shift to bring to realisation his vision.

It was only a few months ago, just about 15 months today, that the late Ondo State Governor, Arakunrin Rotimi Akeredolu came calling at the Federal Ministry of Transportation, Abuja.

It was a special visit, not just for the fact that it was Aketi’s first official visit to the then Minister of State, Prince Ademola Adegoroye, who had only a few months back been appointed as representative of Ondo State at the Federal Executive Council. This was a legacy-defining visit by the governor.

Aketi had committed himself, from the first day in office, to the actualisation of the dream he had of Ondo State developing its own seaport.

Months before the meeting in Abuja, he had lamented over what he referred to as “contradiction in our federalism,” which required a ‘port declaration’ by the Federal Executive Council before a port can receive approval for development.

“For us as a state, we have been at this since our first day in government. We found out that we have the deepest draft in Ondo State.” He vowed, “…on our port, we will go ahead. Nothing will stop it; it is a matter of time. It is a port, not only for Nigeria, but for the West Africa because of its deepest draft.”

Hence, it was in pursuit of his vision for the Ondo seaport to receive approval and necessary declaration that he went to the Ministry. So was his commitment to the vision that the ‘port declaration’ was the singular ‘request’ he asked of the Minister, Ademola Adegoroye, on assumption of office, and it was one which he embraced and pursued with unrelenting passion.

I was only a few seats away from Aketi at that meeting and after speaking, his passionate commitment to the realisation of the dream was what most striking to me, as I assumed it was for others there in the room.

That meeting summed up my impression of the man, one which I have had for many years, watching him from afar. He was a man clear and driven by his vision, unafraid to take on big ideas, no matter how controversial they may be, as long as he was convinced it was for the good of the state.

His vision and presence loomed large in the room, even though he was obviously frustrated at how legalese had stood in the way of a project he was convinced was for the good of the state, and one to which he had committed so much of himself and resources.

He was not as jovial or playful as he would ordinarily be, with his physique giving a hint that he was not exactly in top shape. But this was a project dear to him and he had to see it through.

The technical consultants and the state government had done well with the requirements. Aketi followed up with the history of the project and how constant fiddling with the goalposts by those vested with the power to moderate the process of approval had stalled it, even when Ondo State Government had done its bit.

The Minister of Transportation, Mu’azu Jaji Sambo, as usual, was straight to the point, convinced that Ondo had indeed fulfilled the requirements, and he promised to see through the process of ‘Port Declaration’ of the proposed Ondo Deep Sea Port, pursuant to Section 30 of the Ports Act. That process eventually climaxed with the Port receiving approval of the Federal Executive Council on 17th May, 2023.

That meeting was the only occasion I was privileged to see Arakunrin Akeredolu, in private, attending to official matters. I have played that meeting back, in my mind, many times. I have done that again, a few times since the news of his passing broke.

Unfortunately, Aketi had to take a bow before the end of his tenure. But I am convinced that what he was able to do while in office will continue to speak for him. He was, no doubt, a man of immense courage… May the soul of Arakunrin Rotimi Odunayo Akeredolu rest in peace.

I might not have agreed on the some of the tendencies that led to the emergence of Amotekun, and I did say so at the time, but he was forthright and courageous in the pursuit of an idea whose time he was convinced had come. Time has, in any case, proved him right, not only for what the corps has been able to achieve, but as template around which the idea of state police can be fashioned.

Some of his ideas might have been ahead of his time, and might have been stalled on account of that, but that, in no way, invalidated them.

Take, for instance, his proposition for the “cultivation of marijuana in controlled plantations under the full supervision of the National Drug Law Enforcement Agency,”which was misrepresented by many commentators more on the grounds of religious, moral and cultural assumptions, without proper consideration of the facts of the matter or the suggested path by the governor.

Even though Aketi eventually didn’t follow through with the idea, I remain of the view that the idea of the governor was right, on its merit, not only because I had earlier canvassed the same idea, the opportunity we have to take advantage of a market projected at $145 billion by 2025, according to The PUNCH newspaper, is one I can’t understand why we have refused to take.

May the soul of Arakunrin Rotimi Odunayo Akeredolu rest in peace.

Simbo Olorunfemi works for Hoofbeatdotcom, a Nigerian communications consultancy and publisher of Africa Enterprise. Twitter: @simboolorunfemi