By Akinrinlola Olumide

For the benefit of those who probably have not seen Hon. Banji Okunomo that got Ondo State talking today with reference to his current political aspiration of becoming the governor of the state in 2020, Okunomo hails from Ode-Etikan community in Ilaje local government area of Ondo state. He had his primary school education in the same town, and his secondary school education at community grammar school, Zion Pepe, a neighbouring community in the same Local Government. He thereafter proceeded to Federal University of Technology, Akure, where he bagged a degree in biochemistry in 2001. He is a Lawyer in equity.

As a graduate of biochemistry who has scientific background, Okunomo is a technocrat; and as a man who is professionally involved in politics, he is a politician; and as an employer of labour and entrepreneur who involves in the business sector, Okunomo is also a business man. He is vast in all of these areas because he believes life must culminate into positive results in order to make a meaningful impact in life. Okunomo veered into all of these areas to become a full fledged man in our society today.

As a middle aged man, he has achieved some levels in life; and he is sufficiently self dependent. He doesn’t depend on any man to survive because he has the minimum requirements in life to be able to live as a responsible man, a father of four children and husband of one wife from a first class royal family of Mahin Kingdom in Ilaje Local government of Ondo State. He had impacted the lives of people as a technocrat, as a politician, and as a business man.

He has created lot of employment opportunities for people to work and make a living, being a believer in the philosophy, “ a man that has not yet started living until he can rise above the narrow confine of his individualistic concern to the brother concern for all humanity”. Okunomo ventured into politics to be part of people molding the society for better, so that the people can live a meaningful life because through politics, the lives of the people could be easily affected positively.

While sojourning in politics, he was appointed chairman Ilaje Local Government between 2011 to 2013 by former governor Olusegun Mimiko.

He made a remarkable breakthrough as council chairman because he created unbeatable legacies that demonstrated remarkable distinction between the past and the present. On the strength of the foregoing, He bagged an award of best Local government chairman in Ondo State during his reign.

As chairman of Ilaje Local Government, he birthed the payment of bursary for students in higher institutions to support their education which earned him the only chairman who looked inwardly to pay bursary to Ilaje students of higher institutions till date among his contemporaries. He also donated official vehicle for the mobility of the executives of the National Association of Ilaje Students, a development that was unprecedented in the history of Ilaje Local government. In further demonstration of his love for education, and promotion of a social-cultural heritage of his people, Okunomo was giving subventions of N50,000 to every chapters of the association of Ilaje students in various higher institutions for the purpose of supporting the logistics needs of the Ilaje cultural day. He constructed many abandoned roads in Ilaje particularly interlocking of Igbokoda Secretariat road. He also constructed some foot bridges to enhance ease of transportation in the riverine communities. He declared emergency on the high rate of unemployment by employing 344 unemployed youths at a go – a major achievement in his time. He created community policing to support security agencies which has today reduced the level of insecurity in the riverine communities. He bought patrol vans to ease mobility of the security team; and he ensured strict supervision of their work to regulate their operations in line with the law of the land.

He embarked upon several empowerment programmes for market women, traders, artisan and small scale business owners. Okunomo government was the first to introduce tricycle popularly known as “keke Napep” to all the 12 wards in Ilaje for the empowerment of transporters within the local government. He also donated Eight vehicles to 8 people as means of empowerment. He partnered the state government on the rehabilitation and resuscitation of rural hospitals and health centers in Ilaje Local Government.

The last time electricity was restored to Ilaje Local government was when Okunomo was chairman after paying for the repairs of electrical damages. The current central motor park at Igbokoda was also built by Okunomo. He also built a modern civic center at Ode Etikan in his home town. It must be mentioned that Okunomo was the brain behind some NDDC constructed roads in Igodan-Lisa and Ayeka towns under Okitipupa Local Government areas of Ondo State in Government Reserved Areas (GRA) known as NDDC quarters.

As a Public Servant working with the Niger Delta Development Commission (NDDC), Okunomo was elected Public Relations Officer of the entire NDDC workforce in the nine States of Niger Delta. His tenure engineered a paradigm improvement of the welfare condition of workers in the commission. As a management staff of the commission, he had served as a Senior Manager in charge of Environment in the Directorate of Environmental Protection and Control in the NDDC. His professional contributions to the Commission are overwhelming.

From the above, you will agree with me that Okunomo is three in one with diverse experience. His wealth of experience cuts across the business sector, political sector, and the government sector. No wonder he stands out where others are standing because his experience is ubiquitous. He is a man I respect so much because he knows something about everything.

Asked about his wealth of experience as a Governorship Aspirant, especially when we have former Commissioners, Ex- Lawmakers and highly placed party Leaders aspiring for the same position in 2020, Banji Okunomo said the following:

Maybe there are people older than me, who have been commissioners and the rest in government and the society at large. I have come across this question of experience, that people are asking. I laugh over it because I believe there are lots of misconceptions about who’s the more experienced person between a former commissioner and a former local government chairman.”

My brother, Nigeria operates a-three tier of government which is of course tailored after that of America, which also reflects our own local democracy. In Nigeria today, the three tiers of government are: federal, state, and local government. If you look at Nigeria, you will see that in all of these three structures, the content and their functions are thesame. The difference is that as you go higher, the components expand. For example, all the departments that are at the local government level are also duplicated as ministries at the state level. If you are a local government chairman, you are the administrator of the council. You are the head of the government; and it means you are heading the various departments equivalent to that of ministries at the state level.”

So as a local government chairman, you will have experience on how to manage people, departments and everything under those departments. But at the state level, you are only a commissioner. You are only managing a micro component of the entire government, which is the Ministry assigned to you to manage by the head of the government which is the governor of the state. A commissioner is liable and responsible to the governor. You are not the head of the government like a council chairman because you are not the one implementing or presiding over the policy makings of the government. You can see that the difference is very clear either in the constitution or in practice.”

As a former local government chairman, I was once the head of a government (Local Government) which falls under the Local government system. I know how jobs and employments are created, how projects are implemented, how policies are formulated and how security matters are handled because I head the various departments unlike a commissioner of a particular ministry, who is limited to the scope of his/her ministry. So comparatively, I can say, I am one of the most experienced if not the most experienced among all the Governorship Aspirants in the PDP today. It’s not about age, a lot of people think experience goes with age, the answer is no. Experience is all about what you’ve actually done and learnt in life that you can put to use”

Above in quote were the words of Okunomo, the leading Governorship Aspirant of People’s Democratic Party (PDP) in Ondo State ahead of 2020 gubernatorial election. He responded to question put to him about his wealth of experience as he aspires to be governor of Ondo State under the PDP. From his responses, you can see that Okunomo is very brilliant and knowledgeable in all the required areas needed to govern Ondo State.

His vibrancy and oratory gift is without limitation. It may interest you to know that Banji Okunomo is the Publicity Secretary of PDP in Ondo State. He is very vocal and intelligently wise. Okunomo political pedigree cannot be doubted. This is a man who has been physically involved in many elections in Ondo State. He is a good information Manager, the Image Maker of the PDP in Ondo State which catapulted the party to the recent electoral victories where the juggernaut of political actors of the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC) in Ondo State were rattled and defeated by the PDP during the last Presidential and National Assembly Election in Ondo South Senatorial district of the state with staggering margins of defeat against the ruling APC.

As chairman of Ilaje Local government, Okunomo was actively involved in the second term reelection of former governor Olusegun Mimiko in Ondo State. As the chief information manager of the party in Ondo State, he doubled as the Director-General of the campaign council in the Southern district, working in contact with select vibrant team of men and women, adopting sophisticated and strategic scientific approach, whereby his team delivered the best election results for the PDP in Ondo State with the Senatorial seat won, two of House of Representatives out of the three won for the PDP. While the third of House of Representatives seat of Ile-Oluji/Okeigbo federal constituency was narrowly declared for the APC with a margin of 170 votes which is still pending for judicial determination before Ondo State Election Petition Tribunal.

These are few of the qualities many don’t know about Okunomo, the man who conforms with the current digital generation we are all yearning for.

Until we meet in our next edition, think Banji Okunomo whenever you are thinking about the gubernatorial election in Ondo State come 2020.

He’s going to make a difference…

The Author, Akinrinlola Olumide, is a pastor, an ex-banker, a specialist in micro finance, a property consultant, a media practitioner and the current Special Assistant on Media and Publicity to Senator Nicholas Tofowomo