Defection: What does Mimiko want?

Immediate past governor of Ondo State, Olusegun Mimiko, formally defected from the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) to the Labour Party (LP). HAKEEM GBADAMOSI examines the various political adventures of Mimiko and writes on the gains, losses and politics of the defection.

After months of speculation, the immediate past governor of Ondo State, Dr. Olusegun Mimiko, last Thursday, finally left the main opposition party in the country, the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), to rejoin the Labour Party (LP) which he described as his true and real political home.  The defection, to many, confirmed that it was not yet uhuru within the PDP and many observers described the move as another blow that would shake the fractured PDP, not only in the state, but also at the national level.

The move by Mimiko, who served as the state governor between 2009 and 2017 to become the first and only LP to win governorship election in the country, and the first governor to serve a two-term tenure, after challenging the result of the 2007 governorship election in the state. The Appeal Court in 2009 upheld the decision of the Tribunal, citing massive irregularities in the 2007 election, and ordered that the late Dr. Olusegun Agagu be replaced by Mimiko as governor.

Speaking during the rally to welcome him back to LP, Mimiko explained that he decided to pitch tent with the LP so as to join hands with people of like minds in creating and building a more egalitarian society with leftist ideology which will support social change and create concern for those who are disadvantaged, relative to some others in the society.

Mimiko said his decision to return to LP was borne “out of the conviction on the need to catalyse a greater focus on the ideological content of the Nigerian political firmament,” while stressing that “we have come with the conviction, consequent upon several years of practical involvement in the nation’s political process, that the need for ideologically focused political engagement is now more pressing than ever before.”

He said “virtually all the existing political parties in Nigeria today belong to the right of the centre, ensconced as it were in a neo-liberal mental construct, the name or mantra they choose to enrobe themselves in notwithstanding.

“This is evident not in terms of the pretentious claims they make to ideological purity, but in the way and manner they have used power; including the extent to which they have mainstreamed the interest and welfare of the weak and poor in our society.

“This ideological fluidity, within which the nation’s extant democracy has evolved since 1999, deserves now to be fully interrogated, with a view to engendering a transition to a more ideologically defined system of engagement.”

But Mimiko expressed optimism that the LP leftist would provide the Nigerian people with real alternatives to redefine the system and also help the electorate in making informed decisions as to which individual or platform to invest with power. “We have come to the conclusion that these are the missing links in our political process, which have tended to make an all comers game of it, and one in which the interest of the mass of the people has been greatly marginalized in several of our governance spaces, since 1999.”

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Mimiko’s political trajectory

Political analysts have described Mimiko as one of the leading nomadic politicians since the beginning of this present political dispensation in 1999, noting that his penchant for cross-carpeting and jumping ship at critical moments dated back to 2002. An analyst in the state said looking at history of Mimiko’s political adventure, “this is the season of cross carpeting and defection for the former governor of Ondo State,” noting that Mimiko usually leaves his camp for another camp at the wake of nearly every general election.

Mimiko was a member of the Alliance for Democracy (AD) during the advent of the present political dispensation in 1999 and contributed towards the victory of the party in the state during the 1999 election. The medical doctor turned politician was appointed as the Commissioner for Health in the state as part of recognition for his extensive contribution to the victory of the AD in the 1999 governorship election in the state.

Mimiko however resigned in November 2002 to heed the call to join the gubernatorial race under the AD platform but eventually left AD for PDP over what he described as irregularities during the gubernatorial primaries of the AD. Mimiko was handsomely rewarded by the Agagu government after PDP victory in 2003 polls, and he was appointed Secretary to the State Government (SSG), a position he occupied till July 2005 when he was appointed by then president, Chief Olusegun Obasanjo as Minister of Housing and Urban Development.

Mimiko, till date, remains the only minister to resign his appointment to contest governorship election on another platform from the ruling party, to win the election, in the annals of Nigeria’s political history. He dared former President Obasanjo and eventually won the election, though not without some judicial fireworks to retrieve the mandate. He joined LP on December 14, 2006 to win the election and was inaugurated as the fifth governor of the state. He also won re-election in 2012 beating opposition APC and PDP candidates.

Iroko, as he is popularly called, crossed to PDP during the build up to the 2015 general election, but his movement then to PDP, according to him, was not for personal gain but for the interest of the nation and Nigeria.

However, despite being the master of the game, Mimiko was beaten during the last gubernatorial election in the state, with his anointed candidate, Eyitayo Jegede, losing to the APC candidate, Rotimi Akeredolu. Though the events leading to the lost election will remain in the memories of members of PDP in the state,  and the abracadabra that characterised the election will not be forgotten by  major political players.

But reacting to Mimiko’s defection, the PDP in the state, said Mimiko’s defection would not have any negative effect on the chances of the party ahead of the 2019 general election. The state chairman of PDP, Chief Clement Faboyede, said though Mimiko had contributed his quota to the development of the party in the state wished the former governor the best in his new political adventure, while he maintained that no action of individuals within the party could destroy the party.

However, most of the party leaders who spoke on the implications of Mimiko’s exit unanimously agreed that it might have some effects around which the party was already finding a way, particularly in Ondo state while some independent observers were of the opinion that the defection of Mimiko could be an ill wind that could blow both parties no good in the urgent need for unity among the opposition in the state.

Political analysts however queried the notion behind Mimiko’s defection to LP. Some were of the opinion that the defection of Mimiko to LP at this critical period was to use the platform to negotiate towards next year election.

Some observed that most of Mimiko’s allies failed to join his latest sojourn to return to LP, turning the former governor to a war general without lieutenants. Most of his former aides and followers rejected the proposal to abandon the PDP for any other party particularly the suggestion of a return to the LP while others termed the move as objectionable.

Predictably, the event where Mimiko announced his defection was massively boycotted, except for some people who were adorned with the orange colour of the LP. Visibly absent were members of his cabinet except Alhaji Lasisi Oluboyo, his Deputy who was appointed in the last two years after the impeachment of Alhaji Alli Olanusi. Others included Mr. Gboye Adegbenro, Commissioner of Works; Sola Atere, former Secretary to the State Government;  Rotimi Adelola, and most notable politicians from the two local government areas from Ondo kingdom, particularly those seeking elections.

The rally was noticeably boycotted by scores of his foot soldiers and long time associates, including Dr Kola Ademujimi, his Chief of Staff, Engineer Faboyede, his anointed PDP state chairman, Remi Olatubora, his later Attorney General after Jegede’s resignation,  Kayode Akinmade, Commissioner of Information. Others include Dayo Awude, culture and tourism, Princess Jumoke Akindele, his anointed speaker and other members of the state House of Assembly.

However, some pundits concluded that the absence of these political associates and foot soldiers of Mimiko will not stop Iroko from achieving his goal. They described Mimiko as one politician who always abandon certainty for uncertainty. An analyst who spoke on the condition of anonymity said, “one will be wondering what does Iroko want again with his latest political move? Many are curious to know, but only Mimiko knows and can explain the reason for the moves. It may be good for him but not too good for opposition politics, especially in the state. His return to LP has decimated the opposition in the state.”