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Ladoja/Adedibu: Man in the storm
Semiu Okanlawon
THURSDAY July 8, 2004 is one day the people of Oyo State must be looking forward to eagerly. It is the day the leadership of the Peoples Democratic Party have set aside to settle the rift between two of the party�s bigwigs from the state: the state Governor, Alhaji Rashidi Ladoja, and his estranged godfather, Alhaji Lamidi Adedibu. The face-off, which started shortly after the inauguration of Ladoja, had taken a dangerous dimension in the last few months with the state governor being attacked by men suspected to be loyal to Adedibu.
But the face-off between the two close associates came as a surprise to watchers of political events in the state. Those who knew the relationship between Ladoja and Adedibu during the campaigns for the 2003 general elections will still vividly remember the Siamese twins closeness that existed between them. Adedibu wields so much influence that anybody who wanted to be politically relevant in the state, especially in the state capital, Ibadan, must be prepared to pay homage to the Molete home of Adedibu in Ibadan.
Adedibu�s home, literally speaking, was believed to be the hatchery of many previous political strategies. Even the leadership of the local government councils within Ibadan metropolis, to a large extent, was determined by Adedibu, who has come to be known as the Molete political lord.
For the 2003 general elections, Adedibu assumed the posture of the father of Ladoja, telling whoever cared to listen that the regime of the immediate past Governor, Alhaji Lam Adesina, had come to an end and that Ladoja was going to be inaugurated on May 29, 2003. And so it was.
Less than six months after Ladoja was inaugurated, however, the father-son relationship between the two crumbled. Oyo State, popularly called The Pacesetters State, had not been at peace since then. It had witnessed several bloody confrontations between the supporters of both men.
But Adedibu had left no one in doubt that he has the muscle to check Ladoja and his supporters. Indeed, it was reported that not only did the supporters of Adedibu seek to disgrace Ladoja during the recent Peoples Democratic Party�s South-West programme held two weeks ago in Abeokuta, the Ogun State capital, they actually went ahead to lay ambush for the governor on his way back to Ibadan.
But while all these are going on, the presence of one man in Ladoja�s government baffles watchers of the political scene. He is the Oyo State Attorney General and Commissioner for Justice, Mr. Lekan Latinwo. He may have been left at the crossroad.
Latinwo, like Ladoja, is known to be Adedibu�s political son. Indeed, before his appointment, the Commissioner had his law chambers almost within the political �palace� of Adedibu at the Molete area of Ibadan. If Ladoja had actually picked just one candidate out of about 13 allegedly forwarded to him by Adedibu for appointment as executive council members, it must have been Latinwo. No one would deny the fact that Latinwo is Adedibu�s eye in Ladoja�s government. And with the standoff between the �father� and the �son,� where does Latinwo stand? And this is the question many have not yet found an answer to.
But sources in Ladoja�s office said one of the things that have remained baffling is the way Latinwo had survived within the cabinet even with the unending feud between Adedibu and Ladoja. A source said it appears that despite Adedibu�s uncompromising posture against Ladoja, the governor seems not to be bothered by the presence of Latinwo in his cabinet. Our correspondent also gathered from the source that Adedibu, despite his distaste for Ladoja�s disposition towards him, had not been foisting opinions and instructions on Latinwo. Adedibu, perhaps, prefers to leave the commissioner to do his job without necessarily disowning him.
Said the source that craved anonymity, �I think both Adedibu and the governor are showing that they have large hearts. You know some people have been canvassing for the removal of Latinwo from the cabinet because of the belief that he might be giving Adedibu vital information. And I am sure some people must have also advised Adedibu to ask Latinwo to resign his appointment. But the governor seems undisturbed by this. And I am sure the Commissioner himself must have really decided that since he had been given a job to do, he has to do it while not disrespecting his mentor.�
When our correspondent met Latinwo last week, he declined any comment on the face-off between Ladoja and Adedibu, especially where that places him in Ladoja�s administration. Latinwo refused to comment further on the issue despite the attempts made by our correspondent to make him do so.
But with the decision of the national secretariat of the PDP to step into the issue, relief may soon come Latinwo�s way. According to the National Publicity Secretary of the PDP, Mr. Venatius Ikem, the party does not want the face-off to affect its fortunes in the state again. Ikem said that the party was not prepared to watch the situation degenerate further. He said everything humanly possible would be done to normalise the relationship between Adedibu and Ladoja.
Among the chieftains of the PDP expected at the peace parley to be held in Ibadan, but without a specific venue yet, are the National Chairman, Chief Audu Ogbeh; the National Vice-Chairman, South-West, Chief Bode George and Ikem. Others include the state executive of the party in Oyo State and senior members of the party who are holding political appointments.
But some watchers of political events in the state are scared that the peace parley may be a waste of time if past experiences at resolving the face-off are anything to go by. Numerous prominent citizens of the state, including first class traditional rulers have made efforts in the last one year to resolve the conflict without success. Both men, believed to be wrongly advised by few individuals who are benefitting from the crisis have insisted on maintaining the stand on the issue rigidly.
Among the prominent Oyo State citizens that have attempted resolving the face-off are prominent businessmen, Alhaji Arisekola Alao, Chief Bode Akindele and Dr. Lekan Are. The three prominent sons of the state, sources said, have met with both Ladoja and Adedibu individually and together to find a lasting solution to the problem. In fact, Alao, who had remained apolitical, was said to have felt bad that the two men are maintaining their rigid positions despite the calibre of people that had tried to intervene in the crisis. The last of such botched attempt at resolving the crisis was the intervention of the Chief Imam of Ibadanland, Alhaji Busari Adisa, following Arisekola�s plea with the head of the Muslim community in the town to talk with the two men.
First class obas, whom sources said had intervened unsuccessfully in the crisis are the Olubadan of Ibadanland, Alhaji Yinusa Ogundipe; the Alaafin of Oyo, Alhaji Lamidi Adeyemi, and the Soun of Ogbomoso, Alhaji Jimoh Oyewumi. The first class traditional rulers, who were said to have also met with Ladoja and Adedibu individually and together, are also reported to have become disenchanted with their attitude.
A prominent citizen of the state told our correspondent that citizens of the state would welcome any intervention that was capable of restoring peace to the state. He said that since the outbreak of the crisis, the state had not witnessed any development, adding that instead of concentrating on developing the state, Ladoja�s main preoccupation was attending to his face-off with Ladoja. Added the source, �For most of us, our concern is that these people are politicians, they are bound to leave the political scene one day. But our state would be the worse for it as they would have succeeded in impoverishing our people the more by using resources meant for the development of the state in fighting themselves. So, whoever would be able to resolve this conflict would be welcome.�
The people of the state, Latinwo in particular, are waiting to see how successful the intervention of the PDP would be.
The Punch, Monday July 05, 2004
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