THE LION-HEART OF NIGERIAN POLITICS
EYITOPE OGUNBODEDE pays tribute to Rotimi Akeredolu, former Governor of Ondo State
It is a harrowing experience writing this piece on Arakunrin Oluwarotimi Odunayo Akeredolu, who many prefer to call by his alias of “Aketi”. I am united to Aketi not only by his and my membership of the Owo Community in Ondo State or by virtue of Obafemi Awolowo University (OAU), of which he was a committed alumnus, but also as bosom friends. Oluwarotimi Odunayo Akeredolu (SAN, CON), born on 21 July, 1956 in Owo to Reverend Jacob Ola Akeredolu and Lady Evangelist Grace Bosede Akeredolu of Aderoyiju family of Igbotu, EseOdo, in Ondo State, passed on to glory on December 27, 2023 while serving his second term as Governor of Ondo State.
He studied Law at the University of Ife (now Obafemi Awolowo University OAU), graduating in 1977 and was called to the Nigerian Bar in 1978. He served as the Attorney-General of Ondo State from 1997 to 1999. In 1998, he attained the enviable status of a Senior Advocate of Nigeria. He was chairman of the Legal Aid Council from 2005 to 2006. He became president of the Nigerian Bar Association in 2008. In 2012, the Nigerian Bar Association named its new secretariat in Abuja after him for “his selfless service”. He was a Managing Partner at the Law firm of Olujinmi & Akeredolu, which he co-founded with Chief Akin Olujinmi, a former Attorney-General and Minister for Justice of Nigeria.
Akeredolu was sworn in as the governor of Ondo State on 24 February, 2017 in Akure, the Ondo State capital, having won as the flagbearer of the ruling party, the All Progressives Congress (APC). While at OAU as a student, he served as president of the Law Students Society. He was also an active member of the National Union of Nigerian Students (NUNS), which metamorphosed into the National Association of Nigerian Students (NANS) in 1980. Akeredolu displayed great passion for Obafemi Awolowo University, his alma mater. Their Law firm, Olujinmi & Akeredolu, are External Solicitors to OAU and it handled many cases for the university pro bono. He eruditely delivered the OAU Convocation Lecture at the December 2021 convocation during which Professor Yemi Osinbajo, representing the Visitor, humorously referred to him as “the Commander-in-Chief of Amotekun Forces”!
Akeredolu was an ardent lover and supporter of the African culture. During one of his invitations to OAU, he was officially welcomed by the Kegites Club. To the surprise of all that were present, he took the microphone and sang some old Kegites tunes, which were unknown to the current members. He was their “World Songito” and composed many songs for the Kegites during his student days at Great Ife. The Kegites Club, with the motto “Unity in Diversity”, is the first socio-cultural club in the world, founded in 1962 at the Ibadan campus of the then University of Ife (now Obafemi Awolowo University) by students. There are now branches nationally, UK, India, USA and others. Akeredolu was, until his death, working on a befitting World Headquarters for the Kegites Club at OAU. I do hope the project will be completed.
A major lesson to learn from Aketi’s life and times is that when we think as mere mortals that it will be long, God in His own mysterious ways may decide to make it gloriously short for His own purpose. Dying at 67 years is untimely and saddens us but it is comprehensible because we are mere mortals that can be called home at any time or age. In the case of Akeredolu, we have every reason to be thankful because, while he has physically departed, his legacy, good deeds, love for humanity and memory will live forever.
Aketi demonstrated very clearly the numerous positive contributions that can emanate from the toils of a genuine patriot, committed leader and political strategist. He was an epitome of humility, commitment, competence, tenacity of purpose and absolute dedication. He was a political leader that refused to play “politics” with his people. When I challenged him on his posture on some trending issues during his campaign for second term, he simply retorted “Tope, I will only promise what I know is possible. If I fail, I will go back to my law practice. It is not a do-or-die matter”.
In the heat of his bid for a second term, the leadership of the Peoples Democratic Party at a press conference falsely alluded that I was the Returning Officer invited by INEC for the (Ondo State) governorship election. The party further disclosed that it was rejecting my appointment because I was “a known crony of Governor Akeredolu of the All Progressives Congress and hails from Owo, the same hometown as the APC candidate”. The embarrassment to me was mitigated when INEC immediately countered the spurious assertion, informing the public that “the Returning Officer for the Ondo Governorship election is not from Ondo State and not from the university mentioned in the said press conference.”
Aketi called me and asked in his characteristic humorous manner “Tope, what is this falsehood that they are peddling about you? If they truly know you, they will know that you will never accept INEC’s invitation to serve as the Returning Officer for Ondo State where I am one of the candidates. Don’t worry, it is all politics and will soon be over.” I met Governor Seyi Makinde at the book launch of Professor Tope Alonge at Ibadan in March 2021. It was a great surprise to me that he openly apologised for the embarrassment that the misrepresentation must have caused me. I was not expecting any Governor in Nigeria to tender an apology to an “ordinary” citizen. In that rare gesture, Governor Makinde actually deviated from the norms and exemplified humility at its best. His attitude to power is worth emulating and my respect for him has soared since that Ibadan meeting.
All who know Akeredolu will agree that he was not the conventional politician whose main preoccupation is to talk and act in ways that sway the voters and endear them to support him. He not only declined chieftaincy titles but officially adopted the sobriquet “Arakunrin”, the Yoruba equivalent of “Mister”. Even as governor, he refused every opportunity to play to the gallery. An example will suffice. He was at a wedding ceremony in Akure on my invitation. At the end of the church service, he pulled me aside and jokingly expressed in Owo dialect his displeasure on the physical condition of the church. Three days later, he called to inform me that he had taken a decision to personally and anonymously complete the construction of the church, and that I should not disclose to the church that he was the benefactor.
When construction materials were deposited in the church, the leadership called me to find out who was the generous donor. I told them the donor said I should not disclose, and they misinterpreted my statement to mean that I must be the one. When I found that the renovation of the church was being arrogated to me, I called Aketi to let him know that I needed to divulge the information to the church. Though he raised a serious objection, I went ahead to let the cat out of the bag! The church members were in utter bewilderment because it came from an angle they never imagined. The church was completely transformed within a few weeks. That is Aketi for you!
It will surprise many to know that in 2019, when the staff of OAU were being kidnapped along the Ife-Ibadan express road, I ran to Aketi in Akure for advice. He listened attentively to me and retorted “Tope, we will find a solution to the problem”. He immediately called the then AIG in charge of Zone II comprising of Ondo, Oyo and Osun States, Mr. Adeleye Oyebade (who later retired as DIG in 2020): “Leye, I want you to please help us look closely into this challenge on Ife-Ibadan road. The VC of OAU is with me now and the university community is worried”. I am aware that DIG Oyebade (rtd.) immediately swung into action and, working assiduously with the then Commissioner of Police in Osun State, Mrs. Abiodun Ige, they combed the entire landscape and found a solution. The rest, as they say, is history.