…Gov says Aketi’s ideas still illuminating Nigeria’s path
Ondo State Governor, His Excellency, Hon. Lucky Orimisan Aiyedatiwa, has said the ideas championed by the late former governor of the state, Arakunrin Oluwarotimi Odunayo Akeredolu, particularly his advocacy for State Police and a new security architecture, have continued to shape Nigeria’s national policy and constitutional discourse.
Governor Aiyedatiwa spoke on Thursday at a colloquium in Ibadan to commemorate Akeredolu’s 70th birthday, with the theme, “Fundamentals and Governance of State Policing: Towards a New Architecture for National Security in Nigeria”.
He described Akeredolu’s advocacy for a restructured security system as an idea that had moved from regional advocacy to the centre of Nigeria’s national policy and constitutional conversation.
Governor Aiyedatiwa said the posthumous celebration provided an opportunity to honour a legacy that continues to inspire Ondo State and Nigeria.
Describing Akeredolu, whom he fondly called “My Oga”, as a selfless public servant, Governor Aiyedatiwa said great men are measured not merely by the length of their lives but by the courage with which they pursue their convictions, the consequences of their choices and the enduring value of the causes they serve.
He recalled Akeredolu’s service as Attorney-General of Ondo State, President of the Nigerian Bar Association, Governor of Ondo State, Chairman of the South-West Governors’ Forum and Chairman of the Southern Nigeria Governors’ Forum.
According to him, Akeredolu combined intellectual rigour, legal scholarship, courage and commitment to justice, while his advocacy for true federalism was neither rhetorical nor cosmetic.
He recalled that when insecurity tested Nigerians’ confidence, Akeredolu and other South-West governors did not merely complain about the shortcomings of the existing security structure but established the South-West Security Network, Amotekun Corps.
The initiative, he said, demonstrated the principle that those closest to the people should have a meaningful role in protecting them.
Governor Aiyedatiwa said the Ondo State Amotekun recently demonstrated the importance of the initiative when it joined the DSS, Army and other security agencies in confronting terrorists identified as ISWAP operatives in the state’s forests.
According to him, the group initially emerged from the farmer-herder challenge before developing into a terrorist organisation that terrorised people in farmsteads but had now been dislodged from Ondo State.
He said the operation strengthened the argument for a security system built around local knowledge and participation, adding that its significance had gone beyond the region to become part of the national debate on State Police and Nigeria’s future security architecture.
He said President Bola Ahmed Tinubu has demonstrated commitment to moving State Police from debate to institutional reform.
He said Akeredolu’s proposition of State Police should be integrated into efforts to establish a policing architecture that w
Is responsive, accountable, professional and proactive.
The Governor stressed that the proposed framework must go beyond the creation of State Police to addressing the conditions necessary to make the institution worthy of public trust, including credible recruitment and vetting.
He said the most fitting memorial to Akeredolu would not be monuments, ceremonies and tributes but a Nigeria that is safer, more federal, more just and more responsive to its citizens.
Such a Nigeria, he said, would have a security system understood at the grassroots rather than merely commanded from afar, intelligence gathered before danger becomes disaster, communities involved in their own protection and policing measured not only by state power but by citizens’ confidence.
The governor pledged to continue celebrating and advancing Akeredolu’s legacy, saying he is not doing so merely with words but had become a symbol of the former governor’s legacy.
He said he had continued to execute projects initiated by Akeredolu, particularly road projects discussed during Executive Council meetings.
According to him, Akeredolu worked with the understanding that whoever succeeded him would complete projects he could not finish.
He prayed for God’s blessing upon Akeredolu’s family and for the late governor’s memory to remain blessed.
In his keynote address, Ogun State Governor, Prince Dapo Abiodun, said Nigeria requires 554,353 additional police personnel to meet the United Nations-recommended police-to-citizen ratio, calling for comprehensive reforms to make State Police effective and sustainable.
He said the gathering should go beyond mourning and celebration to addressing the reforms required to strengthen security and governance.
According to him, Akeredolu’s vision went beyond security hardware, as he understood the relationship between security and economic development and laid the groundwork for the South-West Development Commission.
“A secure region is a prosperous region,” Abiodun said, adding that Amotekun demonstrated the value of community intelligence and rapid response and had helped make the South-West one of the safest regions.
Abiodun, who chairs the Nigeria Governors’ Forum Committee on State Police, said “the seeds Aketi sowed have matured into a national consensus”, with all six geopolitical zones now recognising that centralisation of security had run its course.
Former Ekiti State Governor and former Chairman of the Nigeria Governors’ Forum, Dr Kayode Fayemi, described Akeredolu as an irreplaceable defender of the defenceless and a courageous voice who consistently spoke truth to power.
He said Akeredolu was a “man of many parts”, able to relate with both the elite and ordinary people while combining seriousness with a playful personality.
Fayemi recalled Akeredolu singing in the choir, appearing at a Kegite shrine and entertaining people with lyrics. He also recalled Akeredolu dancing to Fela and Femi Kuti’s “Water No Get Enemy” and Orlando Owo.
He said Akeredolu’s ideology was centred on the common good and bringing joy to the greatest number of people.
Fayemi also recalled his role in the Southern Governors’ Forum, where he insisted on the rotation of the presidency to the South despite political party interests.
He said Akeredolu remained committed to building a prosperous, united, safe and secure Nigeria and was never driven by the politics of bitterness.
Lagos State Governor, Babajide Sanwo-Olu, described the late Ondo State Governor as a steadfast and courageous voice for the interests, dignity and security of the South-West.
Sanwo-Olu, represented by the Lagos State Secretary to the State Government, Barrister Salu Hundeyin, said Akeredolu regarded leadership as responsibility rather than privilege and demonstrated conviction and courage in confronting challenges affecting his people.
Sanwo-Olu urged Nigerians to draw courage from Akeredolu’s convictions and leadership example.
“Aketi may no longer be with us, but his example remains. His voice may have fallen, but the cause for which he stood continues to speak,” he said.
Also speaking, Ekiti State Governor, Biodun Oyebanji, said Akeredolu was a courageous leader whose determination in confronting insecurity contributed significantly to the establishment of the Amotekun security network.
Represented by the Secretary to the Ekiti State Government, Prof. Habibat Omolara Adubiaro, he said Akeredolu stood with other South-West governors, irrespective of political parties, against insecurity and Federal Government opposition.
He urged South-West governors to deepen regional integration and challenged the South-West Development Commission to undertake ambitious projects capable of transforming the region rather than limiting interventions to token projects.
The Director-General of the DAWN Commission, Dr Seye Oyeleye, said the late Akeredolu championed decentralised policing, stressing that Nigeria could no longer rely on a single police force controlled from Abuja.
Oyeleye said the system is inadequate for Nigeria’s population, noting that Amotekun has demonstrated that state and regional policing could work.
Akeredolu’s first son, Oluwarotimi O. Akeredolu Jr, described his father as a courageous advocate of justice, human rights, political freedom and accountable government, recalling his student activism, legal career, June 12 struggle, 2012 fuel-price protest and fight against insecurity.
In attendance were; Wife of the Governor; Mrs Esther Aiyedatiwa; Speaker Ondo State House of Assembly, Rt. Hon. Olamide Oladiji; Secretary to the State Government, Dr Taiwo Fasoranti; State Chairman of APC; Hon. Kolawole Babatunde; Chief of Staff, Prince Segun Omojuwa; former and current members of the State Executive Council; political leaders; among other eminent personalities.
Share this content:
About The Author
