Dr. Adetolu Ademujimi

  He was an attorney, activist, administrator, advocate of good governance, family man and politician whom God crowned his multi-faceted career with the people’s mandate as Governor of Ondo State when he took the oath of office first on 24 th February, 2017 and for the second time on a similar date in 2021. Notwithstanding his imperfections like you and I, one trait stood him out in the crowd of Nigeria’s political actors; he was exceptionally frank! Truth is an indomitable and immortal antidote to political falsehoods, social half-truths, governance pretences, economic tricks, legal charades, and administrative shams, all of which are despicably synonymous with Nigeria’s recent history. Aketi was unshaken in conveying that truth. Despite his membership of the privileged class of political elite – the Nigeria Governors’ Forum – from 2017 till death, this courageous man often spoke as though he was a part of the dissatisfied and oppressed. Despite his membership of the ruling All

  Nigeria’s overcentralized headquarters, Abuja, may be symbolic of the central seat of power but operationally, it should not continue to deprive majority of Nigerians the opportunity of welfare and security that the closest units of government – States and Local – ought to offer them. I have never hidden my disdain for the perpetual clustering of toothless super structures in Abuja in the name of centralization of authority to the point that bureaucracy becomes an enemy of the intention of these establishments. To have deliberately, mischievously or inadvertently copied from the United States in half-measure, the current Federal system of government that we pretend to run, is a grave injustice to past, present and future generations of Nigerians, with the ineffectual operation of our internal security architecture as one of the profound consequences of that folly. Like several rational Nigerians, I am an ardent proponent of Federalism with the expected resultant constitutional devo