‘Many misunderstood Agagu but later appreciated him’

Professor Akinbo  Adesomoju, a retired Professor of Chemistry and Chairman, Governing Council, Ondo State University of Technology, Okitipupa, relives his experience as a friend and associate of the late Dr Olusegun Agagu in this interview by AKINWALE ABOLUWADE. Excerpts: 

As a friend, what memory does the 5th anniversary of the late Dr Segun Agagu bring to your mind? 

The death of Dr Olusegun Agagu in 2013 was a great loss to the family, Ondo State and Nigeria as a whole because he was very committed to the development of this country in all its ramifications. That we lost him at a time when he was still very active and very committed to the course of Ondo State and Nigeria was very tragic.

How would you describe the late Dr Agagu? 

On personal term, he was a good friend. I knew him since our undergraduate days at the University of Ibadan, but much more closely when we started as young lecturers till the time he died, even after he had left the university. He went into business and then into politics full time. He was gifted in term of ideas about development. He demonstrated this quality when he was deputy governor in Ondo State as well as when he was governor. He was concerned about how Nigeria could move forward. Any time we discussed, it was about how to move Ondo State and the country forward.

ALSO READ: WORDOC: Tackling gender-based stereotypes

What differentiated him from other politicians in the country? 

It depends on the perspective from which you are looking at it. I can say not many people know the late Dr Agagu very well. Those of us who interacted with him very well know that he should be a role model to many politicians in the sense that his priority as a governor was to improve his state. But in Nigeria when people are in authority, people always misread them. For instance, if you are the type that would not want to waste government fund in terms of giving stomach infrastructure to people around you but you promote ideas on development and block people from stealing money, they will give you all sorts of names. That, to me, was one major aspect of him that many people didn’t understand. He wanted people to see, first and foremost, that if they were occupying positions on trust, their first commitment should be development. Of course, you have to prevent wastage in terms of spending and converting public property to private use. But people would say you are stingy. There was a time when I was in his office and somebody came in. They were going to take the cultural troupe in Ondo State for an event in Egypt and it was to be sponsored by the state government. They brought paper to him for approval. He looked at it and asked the person that brought it if he was sure that the long list was that of members of his troupe and not government officials and the person said yes. He asked for the list and the man started fidgeting. He found out that three-quarter of the names they brought for approval was not that of members of the group but government officials. I am sure that the officials would not be happy with him because they saw it as an opportunity to go with the team and to collect estacode. When you have that type of attitude, some people would appreciate it but a lot of people would feel that you are blocking their way.

Taking a cue from his attitude to life, what advice would you give to those in leadership positions? 

First, you must have the vision of what you want to achieve in whatever you are doing. You must have the drive and your goal must be very clear. For instance, if you are seeking political office, before you get there you should have done your homework. But this is missing in our politicians nowadays. You should have a plan. You should not get there and say, ‘oh there is no money’. You should have known that there is no money and made a plan on how to generate fund for the projects, at least, to a certain level. Agagu set his target but many people misunderstood him. It was later that they began to appreciate what he was doing. In the first few months of his administration in Ondo State, he brought his team and explained what he wanted to achieve. He developed a roadmap. I remember another governor in a neighbouring state at that time said he didn’t need a roadmap. Of course, the difference was quite clear later. As a leader, your followers must see your actions, not just what you say.  You must show clearly your sense of commitment because one thing is that if you are saying they should not do something and you are doing it yourself, they will say this guy is not serious.