By Prince Adewale
The story of Moses and Joshua in the bible is not new to us, God annoited Moses to lead the Israelites to the promise land (Canaanland), but along the line, Moses also annoited Joshua following his conviction that he might not finish the race according to Num: 27 vrs 18.
The short biblical story above played out in the political sojourn of late Gov. Oluwarotimi Akeredolu of Ondo State and Barr. Jimoh Ibrahim, many naysayers might not believe this but its a spiritusl connotation.
Lets take a political voyage to 2012 when Akeredolu and late Paul Akintelure contested for governorship candidate and running mate under the platform of defunct Action Congress of Nigeria (ACN), but both them lost the election to Gov. Olusegun Mimiko of the Labour Party (LP) who ran for second term in office.
In 2013, the three largest opposition parties, the.ACN, the Congress for Progressive Change (CPC) and the All Nigeria Peoples Party (ANPP) along with a breakaway faction of the All Progressives Grand Alliance (APGA) merged to form the All Progressives Congress (APC) an opposition to the almighty People’s Democratic Party (PDP) then
Four years after Akeredolu lost his election in the defunct ACN, in 2016, he recontested his governirship bid alongside Agboola Ajayi on the the platform of APC, Akeredolu would have lost that election again but for an angel (Jimoh Ibrahim) who broke the camel’s back of former governor Mimiko.
Mimiko roared like a lion saying after late Dr. Olusegun Agagu, there was no one again in Ondo South, he demistfied Ondo South which was hitherto the goose that lays the golden egg for the state to ranked as oil producing state.
Mimiko, brought his stooge, Eyitayo Jegede (SAN) from the same Ondo Central to contest the number one seat of the state under the People’s Democratic Party (PDP) after he spent his eight year stretch as governor of the state.
Ibrahim, who was also in PDP then was infuriated for denigrating the Southern part and stepped in, the PDP produced two factional PDP governirship candidates, Ibrahim and Jegede, the brouhaha dealth a big blow to Mimiko and Jegede.
It was just four days to the governirship election before the Supreme Court declared Jegede as the authentic governirship candidate but the deed has been done as the fracas deliberately worked in favour of Akeredolu, as he later emerged as the governor the state and since then APC was installed and rooted as a party to reckon with in the state till date.
Akeredolu never forgot this scenario, he always echoed Ibrahim as ‘My Angel’ because he would not have become a governor without God and Ibrahim and since then, he has annoited Ibeahim as the Joshua after him, Moses
Don’t let us forget in a hurry that the ‘Talk and Do’ governor, wished to take Ondo State to the promise land but gave up the ghost on Dec. 27, 2023, following a protracted cancer, God giveth and God taketh, may his soul continue to rest in peace.
Away from the political voyage and to the political realities, no fewer than 16 aspirants are jostling to clinch the APC ticket at the primary scheduled for Saturday, April 20 in the state.
Without mincing words, I see just four aspirants: Gov. Lucky Aiyedatiwa, Ibrahim, Wale Akintetinwa and Chief Olusola Oke, but among these four aspirants, only one stand tall, and that is the Joshua annoited for the race, Sen. (Dr) Jimoh Ibrahim, (PhD Cantab) OFR, CFR.
Let’s leave politics alone and dissect the personalities of these aspirants, among them all, Ibrahim is the only RED FISH, who was prepared and ready to turn the state around, he is a lawyer, a philanthropist,, an oil magnate, an entrepreneur of repute, international business tycoon, and international scholar per excellence, a real estate expert, a technocrat, a tax expert, hospitality expert, a master strategist and a billionaire business mogul
Ibrahim, was among the top 10 richest men in Nigeria as at today and that is to tell you that he would not be a state governor to syphone state funds, he has all the requisite knowledge, technological innovation, business acumen and the wherewithal to turn the goldmine of the state to economic prosperity and put the state in the world map.
Ibrahim’s world-class University of Fortune, Igbotako was the first in Africa which spanned over one-thousand hecters of land with over 160 gigantic buildings and affailiated with all prestigeous universities like Harvard, Oxford and Cambridge, where he bagged most of his degrees and PhD’s.
Sen. Ibrahim, who currently represents Ondo South at the Senate, within six months has put Ondo South on Nigeria”s map, sponsored over 15 bills and moved motions of establishment of universities, Colleges of Education, taming of Aiyetoro sea incursion and the exploration of bitumen among others.
Ondo State is blessed with Agricultural resources, like cocoa, rice, palm oil, rubber and mineral resources like crude oil, bitumen, silka sand among others, the state sea port in Igbokoda which was the longest coastline in African will bring economic prosperity and open up the state to the world.
But, only and an educated, a knowledgeable, business ivy and a well exposed technocrat can help the state to take it’s rightful place in the committee of states and take indegenes to the land of prosperity.
Ondo indigene and Party faithfuls, let Jimoh Ibrahim be the Joshua who will lead Ondo State to the promise land, look no other, Canvass, Support and Vote Ibrahim as APC Governorship Candidate on April 20.
Aseyori ni Temi, Aseyori ni Tie, Aseyori ni ti gbogbo wa oooo.
C 2024: Aseyori Lekansii Media Team
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