A doctor in politics A perspective review of ‘Mimikos Odyssey’
History is replete with an array of medical doctors who have also been politicians. Some of the famous ones are the Latin American Revolutionary Leader, Che Guevara, Hastings Kamuzu Banda of Malawi, Agostinho Neto of Angola, Salvador Allende of Chile, Francois Duvalier (Papa Doc) of Haiti, Gor Harlem Brundtland, First Norwegian Female PM, Houphoet Boigny of Ivory Coast, Nain Ramgoolan, PM of Mauritius as well as the great Mahathir Bin Mohammed of Malaysia who before his voluntary retirement from politics, led his country to one of the greatest economic renaissances of the century. While some of these doctors were highly successful politicians, some were not that good and in the cases of President Banda and Papa Doc, went on to become full blown dictators.
Coming back home to Nigeria, Nigerian doctors have been involved in politics since the 18th century when in 1908, Dr. J K Randle and Dr Orisadipe Obasa formed the Peoples Union, the first political party in Lagos and perhaps, in Nigeria, although some historians considered PU as just a Political Association while the first real Political Party in Nigeria was the NNDP formed by Herbert Macaulay in 1923. Since then, Nigerian doctors have come a long way in their involvement in politics. There was Dr. Koye Majekodunmi who served as the administrator of the then Western Region during the constitutional impasse of the 60’s as well as Dr Samuel Manuwa the first Nigerian Chief Medical Adviser who acted as the country’s Consular General anytime the CG was on leave.
Medical doctors who became state governors include Prof Ambrose Alli, Peter Odili, Bukola Saraki, Chimaoroke Nnamani, Chris Ngige, Emmanuel Uduaghan who was also succeeded by another medical doctor, Ifeanyi Okowa. Also remarkable are former Secretaries to State Governments, Senators and Members of the House of Representatives such as Bisi Odejide, Dalhatu Tafida, Jubril Aminu, Martins Yellowe, Olorunnimbe Mamora, Aminu Safana, Wale Okediran among others, not to talk of Heads of Parastatals, Commissioners and Local Government officers.
No other form of employment is as quite consuming as that of a politician. Apart from the daily demands of your political office, the demands on your time by your political party and constituents are enough to drain the best out of any politician. With all these problems and uncertainties, it then becomes a puzzle why a medical doctor will want to leave the peace and certainty of his medical practice for the murky and uncertain, and especially in Nigeria, violent world of politics.
It is also true that to succeed as a Doctor/Politician demands a high dose of late night stamina, optimism, self-confidence and brinkmanship. A cynical writer once remarked that these ingredients are essentially the same needed for gambling! Luckily, the book portrays Rahman Olusegun Mimiko as having all these characteristics. This was confirmed by no less a figure as Barrister Adegoke a foremost Ondo State politician; ‘’If there are 24 hours a day for politics, Mimiko will be active throughout. There was a meeting we started at about 9pm and we went as far as 2am. Mimiko was as bright as if we had just started the meeting. Some others at the meeting were already sleeping and snoring but not Mimiko. I had to ask him if he was on drugs and he said no. I have not seen anyone who can work like him.”
Rudolf Virchow, the famous German Pathologist had as far back as 1847 made that great observation that, Medicine and Politics are both social sciences in the sense that they are involved in the socio-economic good and advancement of man and society. This was after the then young scientist had released the report of his investigation of an epidemic of typhus which had occurred in Upper Silesia currently located in Poland. In the said report, Virchow concluded that the cause of the epidemic was caused by “mismanagement of the region by the Berlin government” His recommendation that democracy be allowed to thrive in Silesia dramatically changed the lot of the kingdom for the better.
Judging from his ability to successfully marry Medicine and Politics, it is obvious that in addition to Awolowo, Mimiko was also a disciple of Virchow. In narrating on his personal life, the book discusses how for many years, an hectic schedule as well as an obsession with Medicine and Politics almost made Dr Mimiko to forget to get married. As he himself put it; ‘’I never addressed my mind to marriage for a long time. It got to a stage that my friends said they were going to organise a bachelor’s eve party for me and I could go and marry any time I liked. The decision to get married took me like forever’’. On this note, I think we all have to thank the First Lady, Mrs Olukemi Mimiko for agreeing to marry this old man, if not, he would have remained a bachelor for ever.
The successful Doctor/Politician career of Dr. Mimiko can also be attributed to his spouse, Olukemi, who doesn’t object to long separations, to coming second, to being admired and petted, but sometimes ignored. Perhaps the first shock Mrs Mimiko had as a politician’s wife was the invasion of the family’s privacy; Hear her; ‘’There has been no secret room in my house down to the bedroom. They would come in to have a meeting and he will just tell me; ‘Please excuse us for a while.’ I will put food on the table longing to have a quiet time with my husband and children on the table but before turning back, people would sit round and I won’t even have a place to sit’’.
As the book, MIMIKOS ODYSSEY aptly revealed, being a Medical Doctor and Politician has several challenges. The first challenge for Rahman Mimiko was that of getting parental and sibling supports to wade into the topsy-turvy political climate of Nigeria. In this respect, Dr Mimiko’s father, a consummate believer in the social good of medicine with a passionate avarice for politics did not want his beloved son to practice politics. According to Barrister Adegoke; ‘’Papa did not like politicians. He believed that politicians are rogues, thieves and dishonest people. He wanted Olusegun to be like one of our fathers in Ondo, Dr Olamide Akinsete who was the first person to establish a private hospital in Ondo State’’. To show how deep his contempt to politics was, the senior Mimiko was not even impressed with Segun Mimiko’s inauguration as a Commissioner, an event which many people considered to be the beginning of the young man’s political career. Asked to name his happiest moment in life, Mimiko senior was unequivocal as he named the day Abass his youngest son visited Mecca.
As a student, Mimiko experienced the challenges of combining medical studies with political activism. As he put it in the book; ‘’I must confess, then I was spending more time with politics and less with my medical education. I got away with this until the third year when I flunked a class’’.
However, in accordance with the Hippocratic oath which doctors are sworn to, Mimiko brought dignity and nobility to his political performance. Judging from the copious accounts in the book of the Health and Welfare policies and programmes he initiated and implemented with international acknowledgements, one can say with all certainty that Olusegun Mimiko has greatly succeeded in this respect.
Prof Olu Obafemi concluded MIMIKOS ODYSSEY by summarizing the thrust of Olusegun Mimiko’s political ideology; ‘’This career duality of medicine and politics was a progressevist tradition cultivated from home and nurtured at school. In addition to being a means of rendering service to the people in later life, it has enabled Olusegun to chart a path as a courageous politician and kind-hearted Statesman’’.
Mimiko’s political ideological stand to my mind seemed to be a blend of those of two of his professional seniors, the revolutionary Che Guevera and the socialistic Mahathir bin Mohammed. As can be recalled, Guevara just like Mimiko was radicalized as a young medical student by the poverty, hunger, and disease he saw all around him as a youth. Also like Mimiko, Mahathir’s experience from his busy and successful medical practice which catered for the poor and downtrodden enriched his tenure as Prime Minister with Malaysia experiencing a period of rapid modernization in addition to a tremendous economic growth and a series of bold infrastructure projects.
Olu Obafemi’s MIMIKOS ODYSSEY is well researched and beautifully written. What makes the book exceptional is the author’s ability to maintain a suspenseful narrative in the midst of a gamut of facts, interviews and personal anecdotes. Just like Pa Mimiko, not everybody likes politics and politicians, but the book succeeded in provoking, delighting and impressing. It is a fascinating documentation of a landscape readers will surely want to wander in again and again!.