Dr Abass Mimiko, younger brother of a former governor of Ondo State, Dr Olusegun Mimiko, is contesting the November 16 governorship election in the state under the platform of the Zenith Labour Party. He speaks about the forthcoming poll and other political issues concerning the state and the country in this interview with PETER DADA What informed your coming back to Nigeria after being employed in the US? Before I left Nigeria, I already told myself that I had a certain number of years that I would spend in the United States. I didn’t want to go and grow in another man’s land.
By the time I was trained as a psychiatrist, there were probably no more than 100 active psychiatrists in Nigeria. So, I didn’t really want a scenario where you got trained and your people were in need, you are feeding a system that is already saturated. I was doing very well in the US but I believe that we all need to give something back to Nigeria.
I went to medical school for virtually free. You can imagine in the US the least they would have in debt by the time they finish medical school would be about $200,000 or more. So, as a proud citizen of Nigeria, I wanted to give something back.
That was the major incentive that brought me back. The other incentive was that my brother was running for governorship in Ondo State then. The calibre of person I know him to be, I wanted to come back and contribute my quota to his success as a governor.
Not much is known is about you...
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