Odyssey of a statesman

A review of Olu Obafemi’s  Mimiko’s Odyssey: A Biography of Revelations, by SINA OLADEINDE.

DR Olusegun Rahman Mimiko has cut quite a figure for himself in Nigerian politics. Since the return of the country to civilian rule, Iroko, as he is fondly called by his supporters, has played significant roles, holding different positions at different times and tenaciously following up  his dreams of building a legacy of service for his people as a two-time elected governor of Ondo State.

But there is more to the story of Rahman as the biography, Mimiko’s Odyssey: A Biography of Revelations, written by Professor Olu Obafemi reveals. Indeed, right from the choice of its title, Mimiko’s Odyssey’s as a biographical engagement has demonstrated an aptness that clearly defines the scope of its literary trajectory, giving ample insight into the rarity of the repast it is offering the reader.

The aptness of the title, explicably can be drawn from the identities and demonstrated characters of the subject, Mimiko and his biographer, Obafemi. One, both of them share a certain similar trait, an evasive lifestyle despite being public figures or celebrities of sorts.  Dr Mimiko as a politician who should derive pleasure from the klieg  light abhors  unnecessary publicity  and any attention seeking enterprise for himself while Obafemi, a professor of Literature and dramatist would rather prefer to dissipate his creative energy on more challenging dramatic explorations of societal or human foible rather than on a genre, biography, that has been bastardised and politicised in the country. Therefore, that both of these personalities even agreed to collaborate on the literary voyage is indeed a revelation.

The result of the collaboration offers the reader more than a glimpse into the life of Olusegun Rahman Mimiko; the book vividly captures the whole essence of Mimiko’s personality, by painstakingly tracing his sojourn right from the source: his family, his birth, education and political involvement to his present position. The author and his associates, Sunday Ododo, also a professor and Akeem Adeyanju, effectively relied on credible sources, including Mimiko himself, his mother, siblings to gather materials for the book.

Mimiko’s Odyssey: A Biography of Revelations provides detail insight into the Mimiko family, especially its pre-eminence in the Ondo kingdom political and traditional history. His great-great grandfather, Adaja Gbegbaje, a successful merchant who rose to become a high chief in Ondo  kingdom, was one of those who laid the solid foundation for the Mimiko family, especially the future generation by ensuring proper upbringing and wellbeing of the children.  His own father, Pa Atiku Bamidele Mimiko, it is revealed in the book, demonstrated high resourcefulness and enviable administrative acumen just like his forebears and also ensured that he preserved these family traditions and passed them on to his own children.

There is  no doubting the fact that Mimiko inherited all these treasured values  from his forebears. The family has a rich and enviable history of valour, industry, tenacity, altruism and service, as well as loyalty to good cause. In other words, all the personality traits of  Mimiko were actually the derivative of rich inheritance, an innate inclination that can be found in all the Mimikos.

Like a spider, the author intricately unwound a web of intriguing stories of the subject that are unknown to the public. For instance, it unravelled the controversy surrounding his birth on the third of  October  1954 and the expectations of family members, his precociousness, having had to start school at the age of four at Apomu Primary School, even at a time when one’s hands must effectively reach one’s ears before one could be considered for admission, his secondary school education and eventual admission to the university and his activism as a student leader. There are many other startling revelations about Mimiko that readers will definitely find not just interesting. The author ensured that not an inch of his life was left uncovered. Every detail to the littlest of information about the subject, including his professional life as a medical doctor and love life, was adequately covered in the book to foreground the reason for his phenomenal success as a politician and statesman.

His family life, especially how he met his wife, Olukemi, their courtship and the daring manner he proposed marriage should tickle the fancy of the reader. In addition, the often proclaimed vacuum in any politician’s life is the home front. Mimiko let the reader into his own home management secret in the book by explaining what he did to balance the arduous demand of public life with the equally tasking family life and parenting.

What is perhaps more interesting is the free flowing narrative style adopted by the author. Biographies, especially the Nigerian outlook of the genre, have a penchant for boredom as they sensationally appraise their subjects by  laboriously creating heroes out of celebrated villains. Mimiko’s Odyssey, however, is a great departure.  Rather than gravitating towards hero-worshiping of the subject, the book offers a critical outlook of events surrounding the subject, his actions and inaction, since the beginning of his life’s adventure by relying on facts and hard evidence from interviews and record books. It lays bare his strengths and weaknesses as perceived by his family members, friends and associates. It also exposes  his fundamental principle for service, his passion for a life of service and desire to leave a befitting legacy for his people. All these the author presented in a rich narrative, exploring his creative background to dramatically retell the Mimiko’s story.

Professor David Ker, who penned the foreword calls the book an epic, confirming its historic excursion into and discourse of Ondo, Yoruba and indeed Nigerian political history and evolution from which Mimiko has emerged from being a student to a strong, active  player. According to Ker, “…Mimiko’s Odyssey is indeed an epic journey which has been well written by Olu Obafemi and his team…  it is a very engaging story told from several perspectives and it is suitable and an exciting text for just any reader interested in the history and politics of Ondo. It is, however, not just.

about Ondo State. In this rich book you will find what you need to know about politics in South-West Nigeria, about the key figures that have made and continue to make the South-West Region such a vibrant and unforgettable part of Nigerian history and politics.

“The subject Dr Olusegun Mimiko has been at the feet of the legendary sage Chief Obafemi Awolowo,  but he has been through the tutelage of Chief Ajasin, Olumilua, Adefarati and several other key  figures of the older and younger generation of the South-West. .. Mimiko’s life is a text book on how to survive in the turbulent world of politics. His travails give credence to the saying that

nothing good comes easy. As young people see hustling as a new way of life they may do well to see from Governor Mimiko that hard work and commitment are still the basis of success and that courage and good judgment will serve them well as they seek to inherit a worthy legacy…”

It is not only Ker who has found the subject worthy of his current pre-eminence in Nigeria’s politics and the attention of a biography, great patriots like Chief Emeka Anyaoku, Emeritus  Professor Akin Mabogunje, professor Bolaji Akinyemi, among others, have at one time or the other critically assessed Mimiko. For instance Chief Anyaoku in the book said of the subject:  “I have seen a number of landmarks which on questioning was told were built during Mimiko’s Governorship and from that I can say that this word, that is often abused, is genuinely and truly applicable to Dr. Mimiko’s stewardship – and the word is transformation.”

The story of Mimiko as presented in the book is not only revealing, it will also supply the inspirational fuel to the reader, especially the younger generation. It is a book themed on commitment, hard work, dedication, love and service to humanity and is worth the attention of any reader who desires all these values.