EIGHT DAYS AFTER: Filling Adedibu’s vacuum
Written by Ola Ajayi
Wednesday, 18 June 2008



, A short list of possible successors
TO his die-hard supporters, they did not believe that the strongman of Ibadan politics, Chief Lamidi Adedibu, could die just like that. In fact, majority of them still see the news of his death to be one of those rumours that the man had died. While he was alive, they idolised him thinking he had some political solution to offer even when death came calling.

But when they got to his residence and saw the teeming crowd wearing mournful looks, they started asking questions if indeed it was true that the big elephant had submitted to the final call.




Late Chief AdedibuSome minutes after, they realised that it was not a mere fantasy, neither was it a rumour that the ‘Alaafin Molete” had bidden farewell to his palatial modern complex as the undertakers with the inscription ‘Ultimate’ on their black jumper, brought out the remains of their adored father.

On seeing reality stare them in the face, they all chorused, “so, it is true that our papa is dead. Where else shall we go. Who else can be as generous and accommodating as this man. No one can step into his shoes. Ha! What is left for us again”.

A particular woman caught the attention of other mourners as she almost stripped herself naked crying uncontrollably. For the visitors, they might think she was one of the wives of the politician. She shunned all entreaties.

Going by the crowd at the burial, it is no gain saying that late Adedibu was a colossus in the political arena of the South West. The city of Ibadan indeed knew that somebody important had gone to the great beyond.

Though, none of the South West governors was seen, the crowd was too overwhelming for anybody to notice if they were not there except for a vigilant person.

Gaining entry into the residence of the politician became a tug of war. Even popular politicians, except those who came in company of their private guards, were shoved aside by the surging crowd.
The flyover which oversees the residence of the politician, nearby buildings and all other available rooftops and shops were filled to the brim by the admirers and those who just wanted to catch the glimpse of the activities going on on the premises.

With the political muscle he wielded during his lifetime, questions that bothered the minds of political observers in the state is what becomes of Adedibu’s dynasty?


During his lifetime, he was very careful whenever the question was put to him on who succeeds him after he might have answered the last call. In one of the interviews that Vanguard had with him, he tried as much as possible to parry the question. All he said was that there were many of his trainees that could step into his shoes. To say that someone could step into the shoes of the politician is a mirage. He had been on the political landscape since 1951. Indeed, no one can fill the vacuum that his death has created.


Before his death, many observers had been saying that his political style would die with him as the elites in the ancient city are already fed up with the political misfortune of the state. They strongly believe in the emergence of political renegade like him.


In the political history of the city, a person like the late politician had always emerged right from the time of Busari Adelakun alias “Eruobodo”. His behaviour was antithetical to political decency. Those who would appreciate him better was the former Attorney-General and Minister of Justice, Chief Bola Ige. But as popular as he was, he was still trailing Chief Adedibu.

Adedibu the compassionate

With all the avalanche of criticisms that greeted his political style, the late politician had some enviable qualities which somehow endeared him to his admirers.


He was generous to a fault. His generosity to all and sundry increased his followership on daily basis. One needed to see how his expansive complex was always filled with thousands of people. And he would patiently attend to them all, everyone of them smiling home with some naira notes in their hands. Many of those who were weeping at his funeral were those who depended on him for their survival.


Another enviable quality of the dead politician is that he was accessible and accommodating to everybody. Though he might pretend as if he was reading the pile of newspapers before him, he was paying rapt attention to their demands and complaints.


He was also ready to help, though, he resorted into jungle justice at times to have his way. He was practical as a politician. He was not all that educated as he struggled to complete his secondary education. But surprisingly, he played politics and at times outwitted those who really had university education.


Unlike some politicians who see media men as their errand boys to be used and discarded, he gave due respect to the press despite many negative reports. He kept on saying, “my children. I know it was your bosses from Lagos that are fond of writing rubbish about me”.


Adedibu found it very easy to forgive. He seemed to believe the cliché that in politics, there is no permanent enemy and no permanent friend.


He was a very humorous and mature politician. As good as he seemed to be, he was hated by those who did not believe in his ‘win-at-all-cost’ political style. Chief Adedibu said something which did not go down well with Ibadan indigenes but which confirmed the fact that the politician was considerate of others. He said it was not fair that only Ibadan indigenes should monopolise the governorship seat of the state. He insisted that it must be evenly shared among other zones in the state.

Adedibu the mean

What most people hated in the popular politician was his uncivil approach to issues. It was said then that he forcefully acquired many properties in the city. And he used all methods known to him to attack all his perceived political rivals.


Apart from other issues, the case of the PELLY FOAM LTD in Dugbe readily comes to mind when one flashes back at some of the excesses of the politician. Though, the matter was not directly linked to him, he was seen as trying to avenge the wrong done to his loyalist even when the case was still binding.


From time immemorial, he had the magic wand with which he made sure that all his choice candidates won their elections. He was instrumental in the ascension to the throne of many governors in the state. They are Lam Adesina, Kolapo Ishola, Senator Rashidi Ladoja and many others.
Also, people were alleging that he used to harbour criminals, the allegations that could not really be substantiated.


What attracted more hatred to him was his romance with former President Chief Olusegun Obasanjo to primitively topple a democratically elected governor of the state then. This was against the wills of the Central Council of Ibadan Indigenes (CCII), Ibadan Elders Forum. He was seen as having connived with an outsider to impeach the governor because he did not benefit much from him.


His loyalists atimes did criminal things claiming that he sent them even when he did not know anything about the crimes they committed.


The recent problem he had was when he made sure that he imposed all his choice candidates and sent them to Senate, House of Representatives, Governorship, chairmanship and councillorship positions of the PDP. He was also accused of single-handedly appointing all the delegates from wards, local, and state levels. With all these seeming anomalies, he made sure that he achieved results whenever he was assigned by those who used him.

Who replaces him? Azeem Gbolarumi?

Gbolarumi was so close to the politician. He could be rightly called his right hand man. He was there when he needed him. To Gbolarumi, who was made to assist Alao-Akala during his 11 months as governor, he is the best person to step into papa’s shoes. But some things seem to be working against him. These things are his age, exposure, charisma, accessibility, and generosity.


Before the death of the politician, he left no one in doubt that he is the right person to take after papa. When Vanguard visited Gbolarumi’s residence at Bodija area, he built it exactly like the complex of the politician. And some of his loyalists too do go there for daily bread. But this is not all for anyone who wants to be in Adedibu’s shoes. For Gbolarumi to make it, he has to be more accommodating and develop thick skin for criticism like the late politician.


Alhaji Yekini Adeojo
He is very rich and he has large followership. But he is not as accessible and accommodating as Adedibu. If not for the distance he maintained from the politician, he could have been the choice candidate. With all these seeming hindrances, he, being one of the founding fathers of the PDP would have conveniently stepped into his shoes. He may not, however, employ the tough stance of the late politician in ensuring that his will must be imposed on others at all cost. That is, in the context of the strong-arm politics of today, unhelpful.

Kolapo Ishola

After his short tenure as the governor of the state, he completely went into oblivion. Except forf the fact that he also goes to the residence of the late politician, he is rarely seen in public places. He may not fit into the shoes of Adedibu.

Governor Alao-Akala

Like other past governors who had benefitted from Chief Adedibu, he got the support of the politician to have his way. His ascendancy to the number one seat in the state indeed proved that Adedibu was a strong politician. He whittled down all the threats from the elite and Ibadan elders and ensured that Alao-Akala won.


But, with the way the governor kept Adedibu at arm’s length after his victory clearly showed that all he wanted from him was the power. At a time, he seemed not comfortable with the highhandedness of the politician. With the authority and wealth at his disposal, he could win the sympathy of the loyalists of Adedibu, but may be difficult to sustain them. To all these, Akala’s supporters and sympathisers believe that till death, the governor remained very close to Adedibu.

Senator Teslim Folarin and Raji Rasaki

Though, they were close to Molete because they are both graduates of Molete politics, they can’t really win the popularity that Chief Adedibu enjoyed during his lifetime. Besides, their pockets may be too lean to practice the style of the dead politician.

Senator Kamardeen Adedibu

His life is totally different having spent most of his life abroad. He is usually called “Americana” in Molete. He is not close to the grassroot like his father and may not share the style of his politics.
The death of the politician, may give room for the likes of Lam Adesina, Richard Akinjide, Elder Wole Oyelese, Senator Lekan Balogun, to launch themselves into the mainstream of the politics of the state.

They consistently opposed the highhandedness of the late politician. Now that the coast is clear for them to prove their popularity, they should act quickly before another “Adedibu” emerges


source: http://www.vanguardngr.com/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=10488&Itemid=0

Its now clear that Oyo people intentonally allowed Adedibu to mess them up.
If amala politics continues in Oyo, then the people are to be blamed and not Adedibu and his likes. My hand no dey again.

WOW, the way this piece romanticized the various traits and style of politics Adedibu practiced is just quite surprising to say the least. Instead of saying people were beaten, killed, the masses terrorised etc so that Adedibu could have his way, more palatable language is used to justify all the actions of the late Adedibu. Saying things like he fed the masses (from the street) you have to wonder whether the writer can't see that such was needed in order to gain support and control of the hooligans he would later use to do his bidding while maitaining a very twisted robin hood status in corrupt eyes. One then also has to ask where the money was gotten from to feed all these people everyday. Didn't Adedibu use his will and "actions" to remove a governor because the governor was not using the state treasury to pay Adedibu his monthly "allowance"?

I won't even waste time going through the piece to pick off the various non sense making and contradicting lines but i will say this, we are supposed to be practising a democracy. Hence for that sake i desperately hope that not everyone in Oyo state feels the way the writer of the piece does because if they do then that is their own wahala. If they are so quick to find someone to fill the so called "giant" shoes of the late politician of Oyo state instead of stabbing the shoes with a stake and performing exorcism on it before raising funds to send someone abroad to blow up the so called shoes in a Nuclear reactor so that they are sure it is destroyed and can never be filled then that is up to them also. I just hope that thesame people would be courteous enough so as to suffer in silence and not come and start whining and disturbing everyone and complaining that their state is making no progress and is hell and insecure etc because that would just be the most irritating trite.

it works this way

Collect N1 million daily from touts and thugs ar motor parks in Ibadan. use N100000 to feed the touts lunch, ensuring total loyalty

Stage 2: As more thugs flock to your house to eat amala, the more loyal 'workers' you have. More parks are overrun and more levy is collected. take increases to N2 million daily. Feeding allowance goes up to N250000 (lunch and dinner)


Stage 3: Thugs give political power in the state. Politial godsons, mindful of the pitfalls in messing with Adedibu divert state money to his coffers. Take increases to N8 million daily. Add breakfast to the menu to confirm laoyalty of thugs. Feeding cash goes up to N500000. profit = N7500000. Great Success!!

Naturally, some stupid, bleeding heart journalist will one day forget all your crimes and eulogize you for your generosity for feeding the poor Area boys.