That the light of prosperity may shine on the people of the sunshine State.

I have always harbored a romantic dream of Ondo, my home state and this dated back to my childhood days when I travelled in “Bolekaja” vehicles from Akoko to New Bussa and Jebba in present day Niger and Kwara States respectively. I still remember meandering uphill and descending onto valleys in manners reminiscent of a roller coaster ride. The sight of cocoa farms lining the roads on both sides was a marvel. I still reminisce on that dream any time I had to make that long but very bumpy ride from Lagos to my village in the dusty hills of Akoko land in Ondo State.

My recent journeys to the State have however evoked a different feeling. A feeling of loss, of paradise lost. I am still shocked by the current image of communities as one sojourned from Igbara Oke, through the outskirts of Ilara Mokin, Akure,Owo and the erstwhile prosperous farming communities that welcome one to the hilly terrains of Akoko land, or through Ore, Ondo, Idanre inwards. Save for Akure and some cosmetic parts of Ondo town, all the communities share one thing in common. They all look like communities in some parts of Nigeria that have endured the ravages of the Boko Haram insurgency. The smell of poverty is so pervading that it almost chokes as one commutes through these villages. I wondered if the state had suffered a natural disaster that was for some reasons not captured in the news but was informed that there has been none since inception of the state.

What then could be the problem? Where did this once prosperous state and its people take flight? What has happened to my beloved state? What happened to the entrepreneurial spirit that produced so many unlettered but wealthy millionaires in the past? As I pondered over the poverty that stared me in the face, it occurred to me that my dear state has indeed been devastated by the insurgency of government neglect. A neglect emanating from deficit of ideas and non-realization that success and prosperity must be internally driven. A people who once raised and nurtured home grown wealth have been turned to people who look up to Abuja for sustenance. Through a gradual misdirection, our people have abandoned the foundation of wealth to focus on hand me downs by successive political leaders.

I must confess at this juncture that until now I have not been in mainstream politics, but I’ve been close enough to power to appreciate that service to community is possible where there is the will. I have been serving this lovely but challenged nation in different capacities and also nurturing personal businesses to devote myself to full time politics. To the glory of God I have been able to apply the benefit of my education to the service of the nation & then my private business after retirement. I do not have deep pockets neither do I have a Godfather to bankroll a political adventure. Even if the resources were to be available, I was almost certain that my immediate family would oppose such adventure as being too dangerous.

Yet, as I look at the ruins of my state and the overwhelming poverty, I am faced with a dilemma. Stay in my comfort zone and appropriate the intellectual depth, experiences and blessings which God has bestowed on me alone, or set aside my own comfort to make available to my state my unique talents, knowledge, wide contact and experiences. As I pondered over Abraham Maslow’s hierarchy of needs and realizing that I am at the apex of the pyramid, I realized that it is time to give back to the society that nurtured me and gave me opportunities. How best do I give back to a State so rich in human capacity but yet so lacking in leadership?  This is by no means an easy decision, but I take motivation from Isaiah 6: 8 ‘ And I heard the voice of the Lord saying “whom shall we send? And who will go for us? And I said… “Here I am! Send me’.

I am therefore persuaded to throw my hat in the ring and be part of the contest for Governorship of Ondo State in the November 2016 elections. My decision is predicated on a desire to serve, to offer leadership and direction. To rekindle the entrepreneurial spirit of the Ondo man and cause our youths to begin to see and enjoy prosperity again. To set the foundation and pillars to elevate our state from its rusty rural outlook to one where the diverse human and natural resources yield limitless wealth for the benefit of the citizens.

I am not under any illusion that it is going to be an easy task, but politics is not for the faint hearted. I have the Lord on my side. I will toil day and night to earn the trust of the people, starting form members of my political party to every citizen and resident of Ondo state. Together with a team of like-minded friends, we shall leave no stone unturned. As noted in Ecclesiastes ‪9:11, ‘Again I saw that under the sun, the race is not to the swift, nor the battle to the strong, nor the bread to the wise, nor the riches to the intelligent, nor favor to those with knowledge, but time and chance happen to them all.

The story of Leicester football club in the 2015/16 English Premier League season is a big lesson to all.  It is a story of hard work, toil and self-belief. At the beginning of the season in August 2015, Leicester was one of the teams marked out as relegation candidates. Eight matches away from the end of the season, Leicester, with less resources and supposedly less endowed manpower is seating pretty at the top of the Barclays premier league where teams with awe inspiring resources like Chelsea are struggling in mid table. Theirs is defined by the acumen of one man: Coach Claudio Ranieri, a man known for harnessing raw talents into refined super stars. The landscape of Ondo State is brimming with abundant human and material resources capable of making the state the envy of others.  What is needed is an astute coach to put together men & women of talent that will develop the abundant raw talents and material resources into a state of champions in all fields of human endeavor.  The lesson in the Leicester story is never to write off an underdog.  When God blesses your hustle, success comes like a miracle.

With God guiding me, I present myself to the service of my state as the tinker man, that will, acting with the support of all the progressives & citizens of our dear state, provide the opportunity for the fulfillment of the aspiration of all Ondo people yearning for a new day under the sun. Our people have been beaten by the rain of poverty God being on my side and with the support of the people we will once more make the light of prosperity shine on our State.

Ade Adeogun (March 15, 2016)