Can we meet you Sir?
My name is Hon. Victor Olabimtan. I hale from Supare Akoko the place I always refer to as small London where I was born 60 years ago, here I am today. I have passed through Primary, Secondary and University. I worked in various places in Ondo State both the old and new Ondo State as a teacher becoming the Principal of a School before leaving teaching in 2001 to join the National Institute for Education Planning and Administration where I worked for about three years before resigning and contested for an election into the House of Assembly in 2003 by the grace of God, He has placed me to serve at various places. I have served as Speaker of Ondo State House of Assembly, I have served as the Chairman of Ondo State Teaching Service Commission and I had the privilege in representing this State (Ondo State) in the Federal Civil Service Commission as a Commissioner representing Edo, Ekiti and Ondo State and I have been privileged too, in wanting to become the Governor of this State and I give glory to God for spearing my life till today.
On your nomination as Ondo State Political Icon of the year, what can you say about the Award?
First and foremost, let me commend the effort of the Publisher and the Staff of Hero Magazine for the good job they are doing. I want to place on record that I felt honoured because my value, my worth is recognized as far as political space of Ondo State is concerned. When you are recognized, you are expected to be happy, I am very happy and it is a challenge that I need to do more and I have to work harder to be able to impact positively to the people of Ondo State.
As a politician of high repute, what can you say about the political development in the State?
Ondo State is naturally created by God. It is a gift from God and we thank God for where we are. We have had leaders who have piloted the affairs of this State. We have Baba Ajasin from Owo, Baba Adefarati from Akungba, we have the Late Dr. Olusegun Kokumo Agagu, my mentor, we have Olusegun Mimiko and now we are having Olurotimi Akeredolu. Ondo State is a State that has been destining to by God. This people I have mentioned did their best wanted to develop this State, but the eight years of Mimiko was a disaster to Ondo State, we where taken backward many years and that is a challenge to the incumbent governor that we need to reverse this ugly situation and move forward. We have a lot of potential and the potential were either killed or nock down by last administration rather, we retrogressed a lot of damaged was done to the sight of the State. I know Oluwarotimi Akeredolu will repair those damages and he will lunch Ondo State on a part of greatness again that is why I employ every citizen of Ondo State to rally round this man, he has good intention to the State. He is not a self man. He is not a man who has more peel desire to have more wealth but he is to come and develop this State better than the way he met it, and with that, I am assured in my mind that God gave us Akeredolu to revisit this ugly trend and move the State forward through rural development, agrarian revolution and lunching the State again to the industrial world through Olokola and other areas that will be developed. The road to Lagos that will be constructed now is going to open up Ondo State to development every thing and has been done under the leadership of Agagu and it was abandoned for eight years by Mimiko administration, and within two weeks of coming to power an MOU has been signed with the NDDC and the road will commence very soon. That is to show you a man who is interested in development of the State. He is not here to siphon government money but to make sure Ondo State move ahead, so I still believe and have hope that Ondo State will rise again by the Grace of God.
What are your challenges so far as a politician who has had several positions in the State and at the National level?
It is the normal challenges that everybody have money when you don’t see money to do what you want to do because everything in Nigeria monetized, no integrity any more, our people don’t even look at integrity anymore, what you can give them is what they are looking at. Our people don’t even look at achievement anymore. “What can he offer in terms of immediate benefit to their pocket and at such, that is how we have been producing bad leaders, I think tied will change, Akeredolu will change the tied, a challenge that we hurt to have been 100 meters away but we are about 500 meters backward, is a challenge. It is a challenge that workers will work for 6, 7, 8 months, they don’t get salary. It is a big challenge because this people will come back to you that “Sir, I don’t have money to feed, not even talk of my children school fees”. You are tasked to go beyond your net in wanting to satisfy those people. By the time the economic is put in normal shape, some of these challenges will go away and you will see that Ondo State will move forward, Nigeria will move forward.
Please can you talk briefly about your family and how you were able to cope as a politician in maintaining the people and the family?
It is the Grace of God; God has been so faithful to me. I am not a flamboyant politician; I don’t live beyond my needs. What does not belong to me I don’t look at it and I have this idea that in politics that if you make N100 you must be ready to give N60 back to the people who assisted and keep N40 and ask for the blessings of God on that N40. That has being my attitude and how I cope with my family. My childred too are not flamboyant, they took over their father. They are moderate in their demands and they know their father will not take anything that does not belong to him but will go any length to help the needs within my capability and I grateful to God for the children that I have for my family who are very supporting and we are going on fine and more also, I was able to cope because of my background. I come from humble family, from humble Community (Supare). In my community you don’t steal any day a Suparian joins in stealing, they will be caught and he or she will be the one to be punished. A Suparian does not believe in using something for money, it does not work for them. The only thing a Supare man enjoys is hard work, dedication and royalty therefore that shaped my life, so from the beginning I know I most not steal nor amount to myself. What does not belong to me and that I most be moderate in anything I do all this put together to shape my life.
What is your advice to the politician generally in the State?
My advice to them is that they must show commitment, royalty, genuine love for the people and not fake love for the people of Ondo State, they have to be tolerance because one of the problem of Ondo State people is that they jump into conclusion too much, if not, we wouldn’t have jesting the good administration that Agagu was pursuing then and take the one of Mimiko, which they are regretting it today and an adage says “The devil you know is better than the angel you don’t know”. Now they know who Mimiko is and who Agagu was, they can now compare and contrast the two that is what they call fascistic judgment. If you are giving N2.00 constantly and someone just come and say they are cheating you, that he will give you N5.00, you must think first. Is it going to be easy to jump from N2.00 to N5.00? At the end the man did not give you N5.00 nor N2.00. With this, you know you have injured yourself. That was what the people of Ondo State did, particularly the workers of Ondo State. They brought in Mimiko and the result is very clear to all of us at least, let there be two years before you make judgment.
What is your assessment on the present Government of Ondo State under the leadership of Rotimi Akeredolu?
So far, excellence, his doing best, he met seven months salaries unpaid, he got in February 24, at the end of that February, he paid the February salary despite the fact that he is not the one owing the February salary, it is part of what Mimiko is owing. He paid March salary in March and paid April in April and also went back to pay august last year that is also part of what Mimiko is owing, May will be paid as when due and he is planning to pay another one month arrears. In terms of works welfare fantastic, he is doing well, when you come to road construction, it is going on in every Local Government Area of the State. The road in Irele Eseodo Local government, the University in Okitipupa, the road is being tied, State hospital in Akure, the whole place has been tied, Ayedun in Akure, road construction is going on there in Idanre, Ikare, Ifon, Owo and Supare, simultaneously, all this are going on and in other areas he is doing his best everything is going on well and all these were done in less than three months, not up to 100 days in office, this is to show that this man is ready to move the State forward. He has set up a Committee headed by Chief Kupolokun to move Olokola which is going to open up the economic of Ondo State that Olokola was stated by Agagu and the last administration did not do anything for eight years and Olokola is the only place we can break through to have a lot of internal revenue. So far so good, Rotimi Akeredolu is doing a very good job. All we need to do is to support him and to pray for him because he needs our prayer. He is a human being like you and within the next two years, Ondo State would change completely.
What is your taken about the leadership of APC at the National level?
At National level, the APC leadership is O.K, they are doing well, we have our National Chairman, Chief John Oyegun, and he is doing well. We have our President, though do sick but we need to pray for him, his Vice is doing well. We are okay with the leadership of the part and we will continue to pray for all of them for that we can continually together try to shape Nigeria and our own State to a better place.
