The late Governor Oluwarotimi Akeredolu of Ondo State, popularly called Aketi, was a lawyer of no mean repute. Known for his fearless disposition to issues, Aketi was respected among his peers and in the legal profession. He fell ill in his second tenure as the governor of Ondo State and died on December 27, 2023, while receiving medical treatment in Germany for protracted prostate cancer. He was aged 67. In a statement, the Ondo State Commissioner for Information and Orientation, Bamidele Ademola-Olateju, said Akeredolu’s death “has left behind a profound void in our hearts.”
Born at Owo in Ondo State on July 21, 1956, to the late Rev. J.O. Ola Akeredolu and Lady Evangelist Grace Akeredolu, Aketi started his primary school education at Government School, Owo, and later proceeded to the famous Aquinas College, Akure, in 1968. In 1969, he proceeded to Loyola College, Ibadan, to complete his secondary education. He also attended Comprehensive High School, Ayetoro, for his higher secondary school certificate. He later attended the University of Ife, now Obafemi Awolowo University, Ile-Ife, where he obtained his LLB degree in 1977. He was called to the Bar in 1978 after attending the Nigerian Law School for his BL.
Aketi did not joke with his career as a lawyer. He was a managing partner at the law firm of Olujinmi & Akeredolu, which he co-founded with the former Attorney-General of the Federation and Minister of Justice, Chief Akin Olujinmi. He was secretary-general of the Nigerian Bar Association (NBA), Ibadan branch, from 1985 to 1986. He was attorney-general of Ondo State, from 1997 to 1999. He rose to become a Senior Advocate of Nigeria (SAN) in 1998 and later served as the chairman of the Legal Aid Council, from 2005 to 2006. He became the president of the NBA, from 2008 to 2009. During his tenure as president of the NBA, the body was vibrant and intervened on a number of issues bedevilling the nation.
His sojourn into politics was no less eventful. He was a member of the All Progressives Congress (APC). He became governor of Ondo State on February 24, 2017, and was sworn in for a second tenure on February 24, 2021. He was to complete his second tenure in 2025. Unfortunately, death came knocking and he died in active service.
Akeredolu would be fondly remembered for his activism even as governor. Until his death, he was the chairman of the South-West Governors Forum as well as the ghairman of the Southern Governors Forum. He spoke strongly against taking the presidency away from the South, saying it was the turn of the South to produce the President in 2023. He was among the 17 southern governors who met in Asaba, Delta State, in 2021 and made some suggestions to the federal government on how to rescue Nigeria from collapse. Among the issues they addressed were convocation of a national dialogue, restructuring the country, creation of state police and ban on open grazing in the southern part of the country.
When the spate of insecurity was high in the South-West, he galvanized his fellow governors to establish Operation Amotekun, a security outfit for the South-West. Even when the then presidency appeared not comfortable with the outfit, Aketi stood his ground, saying the region had every right to establish a security outfit to protect its territory.
When terrorists attacked St. Francis Catholic Church in Owo, Ondo State, in June 2022, he was at the forefront of the efforts to apprehend the culprits and bring them to book. The terrorists killed over 40 worshippers and injured many others during a Mass in the church.
He had a running battle with Fulani herdsmen when they were on the rampage in the South-West. He served eviction notice on unregistered herdsmen occupying the state’s forest reserves in 2021. He took the decision based on security reports linking kidnapping and other violent crimes to criminals operating from those forests. This generated some controversies. Some people erroneously interpreted Akeredolu’s directive to mean that he ordered all Fulani herdsmen to leave Ondo State.
The Presidency, in particular, warned Akeredolu to retrace his steps, saying there was need to delink terrorism and crimes from ethnicity, geographical origins and religion. Eventually, reason prevailed as both the Nigerian Governors Forum and the leadership of the Miyetti Allah Cattle Breeders Association of Nigeria reportedly endorsed the action of the governor. They also agreed that night and free range grazing and underage herding should be banned to avoid conflicts between farmers and herders.
Aketi won a number of awards and recognitions in life. Among them were Loyola College Old Boys’ Association Merit Award 1995, OAU Alumni Association Merit Award, and the NBA award of recognition on the conferment of the SAN title in 1998.
He was married to Betty Anyanwu-Akeredolu, the founder of the Breast Cancer Association of Nigeria (BRECAN). He had four children and many grandchildren. We commiserate with his family, the government and people of Ondo State and his friends and well-wishers. Ondo State Government should consider immortalising him. May his soul rest in peace.