As the battle for the Ogun State Government house otherwise known as Oke-Imosan which is currently occupied by Prince Dapo Abiodun gathers momentum, one of the key contenders for the exalted seat is Dr. Samuel Olufemi ADEYEMI of Action Alliance Political Party.
Born on the 24th of January 1961 at Oluyoro Catholic Hospital, Ibadan to Mr. Wilson Oluyemisi ADEYEMI and Mrs Felicia Akanke ADEYEMI (nee Nuga) both of blessed memory, Samuel Adeyemi, the proud son of Ijebu-Igbo in Ijebu- North Local Government area of Ogun State is coming into the contest with an outstanding or intimidating credentials and an uncommon level of preparedness for the herculian task of governance.
At a time that the educational background of most politicians is enveloped in controversies, the uncommon and verifiable academic attainments of Dr. Adeyemi puts him at a vantage position. Having graduated at Local Authority primary School, Egan-Moro near Ijebu-Igbo between 1967 and 1972, he proceeded to Molusi College Ijebu-Igbo in 1973 for his secondary education where he started his leadership prowess as the Library Prefect.
He sat for the 1977 West African School Certificate Examination in a combination of courses cutting across all divides namely; History, Bible Knowledge, English, Mathematics, Economics, Physics, Chemistry and Biology. He was the best graduating student of his set. He sat for the concessional examination to Universities in 1977 (No JAMB then) and was admitted to the Premier University to study Veterinary Medicine.
At the age of 22 in 1983, Dr. Adeyemi graduated as a Veterinary Doctor obtaining the departmental prize of the Department of Veterinary Physiology and Pharmacology and was registered with the Veterinary Council of Nigeria with number 1129 and in 1986, he obtained his Masters degree in Veterinary Public Health and Preventive Medicine from the same University.
The same Dr. Adeyemi obtained a Master of Business Administration degree from the same Premier University and a Bachelor of Pharmacy degree of the Olabisi Onabanjo University Ago Iwoye.
He therefore became perhaps the only Nigerian who is a Veterinary doctor and also a Human Pharmacist. He later obtained a Master of Science degree in Pharmaceutics and Pharmaceutical Technology of the Olabisi Onabanjo University.
With two distinct qualifications in his kitty and not satisfied yet, the gubernatorial candidate proceeded to the prestigious University of London for his Law degree which he obtained in a record time of 2 years thereby becoming the holder of the LL.B degree with Honours.
Not done yet, he enrolled with ICAN and within 2 years became a Chartered accountant ACA with number 050351. He therefore raised the bar further as perhaps the only Nigerian that is a Veterinary Doctor, a Pharmacist, a Lawyer, a Chartered accountant and a Management expert.
From the foregoing, it is crystal clear that he is naturally endowed and mentally prepared for the number one seat in Ogun State.
Not satisfied, he returned to the Premier University to obtain his Doctor of Philosophy (Ph.D) degree majoring in Molecular Epidemiology. Finally after years of intensive training, he obtained the “Fellowship of the College of Veterinary Surgeons of Nigeria” FCVSN.
Dr Adeyemi is a practising politician. He was a foundation member and Oyo State officer of the defunct National Republican Convention, NRC. He is today the Chairman Board of Trustees of “ACTION ALLIANCE” (one of the existing 18 INEC recognized Political Parties) on whose template he is contesting for the Governorship seat of Ogun State.
He is a complete man who has made impact in every sphere of his life, On the religious front, Dr. Adeyemi is a Deacon with the LIVING FAITH CHURCH (aka WINNERS CHAPEL), Oyo State headquarters Church, Basorun Ibadan. He is a holder of all the 3 WOFBI (Word of Faith Bible International) certificates. He is also a community man who for a long time was the Chairman of the IFESOWAPO (CELICA) Satellite community in Ibadan.
He is not an emergency leader or one that wants to get to office and hazard solutions to the myriad of challenges confronting Ogun State. Rather, his well conceptualised and articulated tripodal mandate clearly shows capacity, ingenuity and determination towards salvaging the Gateway State. He is among the very few politicians with a documented manifesto supported with workable methodologies of achieving the end result.
According to his manifesto made available recently, his tripodal mandate is : ‘
“To turn Ogun into the most secured State in Nigeria; the best economy and the most productive Centre for industrial activity.”
“To offer the populace a congenial environment in education, health care, commerce, agriculture, tourism, technology and sports so that they can be the best they aspire to be.”
“To bequeath Ogun with a state of the art infrastructures in roads, rail, aviation, electricity and water in order to make life more meaningful to residents and visitors alike.’’
According to him, ‘’Ogun State has hitherto been a leader in the academic spheres but the quality and comparative performance has been on a continuous decline within the last decade, this must be reversed immediately.”
‘’Bursaries and Scholarships will be re-introduced for those not covered. We will motivate the teachers by taking care of their welfare needs and ensuring regular training and retraining. There will be massive renovation of existing facilities while new ones will be constructed. Our tertiary institutions shall be adequately catered for and be made to contribute to the all-round development of Ogun State like never before.’’
The Action Alliance candidate, is determined to work assiduously towards reducing unwarranted deaths and providing efficient and effective health care delivery. According to him : ‘’There shall be free health for pregnant mothers and neo-natal up to 18 years of age in the State. Primary Health Care Centre shall be constructed or rehabilitated in each of the 236 wards in the State, adequately equipped and with required manpower. This is expected to reduce the burden of the higher levels of health care institutions in the State. General Hospitals shall be adequately funded, equipped and appropriately staffed to provide a higher level of health care for patients requiring it. The University Teaching Hospital shall receive adequate attention to turn it into one of the best in the country. It will be given serious infrastructural facelift and adequately equipped. There is a plan to exploit the Medical Tourism potential of the State. ‘’
As a realistic approach towards mitigating the increasing effects of unemployment and increasing productivity, ValidViewNetwork reports Dr. Adeyemi has developed a multifaceted approach towards solving the prevailing challenges and restoring the glory of Ogun State.
‘’We shall mechanize agriculture in order to enhance youth participation. Ogun State shall become the largest producer of Cocoa and Palm oil in Nigeria. Irrigation farming shall be adopted and storage silos shall be installed at strategic places in the State to enhance food security. We shall set up Marketing Boards. Farmers shall be provided with soft loans at attractive rates to increase their production. We shall renovate existing farm settlement and or build new ones in different parts of the State, equipped with internet Wifi and digital television. Fully automated Palm oil processing plant shall be established in the State for the production of palm oil that will meet the stringent export quality. Egg powder and Cocoa powder plants shall be established in the State. A fruit juice concentration plant shall be established in each of the Local government area of the State. Our government shall provide the enabling environment for the establishment of Cattle ranches and Broiler processing plants in order to reduce our dependency on meat and dairy product from other parts of the country. A well-equipped Veterinary Hospital incorporating a diagnostic Centre shall be established in each of the 20 LG areas of the State in order to prevent zoonotic diseases. An Ultramodern Veterinary Teaching Hospital shall be established in the State.’’
It is a fundamental truth that most roads in Ogun State are in a sorry state and commuters have to contend with the terrible state of the roads on a daily basis losing quality man hour while many farm products are also lost. With an eye for the adoption of that which is good regardless of the source of the concept, Dr. Adeyemi stated his readiness to re-invigorate OGROMA, the brain child of a former governor which had been stepped aside due to a wrong culture of lack of continuity in governance.
According to the Oke- Imosan hopeful, ‘’ when elected , RURAL/URBAN OGROMA shall be re-invigorated and subdivided into 2 sections with mandate for Urban and Rural roads respectively. Our Secondary and tertiary students and unemployed graduates shall be mobilized for aggressive road and infrastructural construction and rehabilitation. Public/Private partnership may be adopted to finance certain critical infrastructures. There shall be aggressive rural electrification using different combinations of electricity generation sources. Potable water shall be provided for the populace especially in Abeokuta and the rural areas using both small scale and large scale water projects. We shall use our unemployed graduates and tertiary students and together with our soon to be established Ogun State Infrastructural Development Corporation (OGIDC) to reduce the cost of projects and to fast track infrastructural development. Each of the 236 wards in Ogun State will have a building constructed for the recreation of the Elderly and the physically challenged. ‘’
‘’Our royal fathers and Baales shall be treated with utmost dignity and respect. They shall be more involved in the security of their domain. Their emoluments shall be enhanced and efforts shall be made to provide vehicles for them to enhance the discharge of their responsibilities. Some of them will be made to chair specific institutions and agencies of government. They will be made to have direct access to the Governor.’’
In recognition of the importance of the civil servants, teachers, judiciary workers , NULGE and pensioners to the success of the administration, Dr. Adeyemi had stated :
‘’ We shall redress all injustices bedeviling all of the above government workers and retirees in its entirety and deal with our workforce with integrity and in a transparent manner. Transportation of workers to and from work will be assisted as much as practicable as a welfare investment in the workforce. Local Government autonomy shall be guaranteed under our administration. Pensioners shall be treated with absolute respect and with utmost dignity. This is because issues concerning the retirees is a race against time.’’
‘’We hope to establish a Pensioners’ Welfare Trust Fund. We hope to raise from extra government sources about $85m from Nigeria and Diaspora within one year in order to clear the projected N64B outstanding Pension and Gratuities.’’
‘’ The welfare of the physically challenged and the aged shall occupy a pride of place in our administration. Our building construction, employment processes and government appointment shall consider the peculiar needs of the physically challenged in the State. Special rehabilitation process shall be put in place for the destitute in order to make them useful citizens of the society. Special actions shall be taken to ensure that none of our indigent elder citizens of 70 years and above will ever go to bed hungry. We shall put in place special centres in each of the 236 wards where their welfare will be taken care of by the deployment of a card based technology.’’
