Do you know that Oyo State Governor, Senator Abiola Ajimobi and former Oyo State Governor, Senator Rashidi Ladoja are cousins? We bet you don’t know. We can tell you authoritatively. Now you know.
But it is curious that the 2 respected Ibadan men don’t see eye-to-eye. All over Ibadan right now, its no longer news that all is not well between Senator Abiola Ajimobi and Senator Rashidi Ladoja.
Since Ajimobi came in 6 years ago, both have been at daggers drawn. Though, either of them has not admitted that there is a problem, their utterances and body language suggests this. Many of those close to Ladoja allege that the problems Ladoja had with the EFCC after he left office may have been instigated by the Ajimobi administration. Only recently Ladoja alleged that the ongoing chieftaincy review problems the Governor has with the Olubadan was because of Ajimobi’s plans to stop him from becoming Olubadan in the nearest future, because Ladoja is on the queue to become Olubadan. He is the Osi Olubadan.
Many of those who know both Gov. Ajimobi and Senator Ladoja well are amazed that both of them can be at war. This is because they have many things in common.
First and foremost, they are both core Ibadan indigenes. Secondly, both of them are cousins and their relationship dates back centuries. Thirdly, both of them are Olubadan’s Chiefs. They are also ex-senators.
So, why the fight? City People spoke to both the supporters of the Governor and that of Ladoja. Whilst the supporters of Gov. Ajimobi insists that the Governor is not fighting anybody, those loyal to Ladoja also insist that Gov. Ajimobi’s ongoing chieftaincy reforms is targeted at Ladoja. Ladoja himself has said this openly.
That Ladoja also does not like Ajimobi came out in one newspaper interview he granted not too long ago in which he called Ajimobi a fake dreamer.
‘Ajimobi is a fake dreamer’ he said. The former governor took on Oyo State Governor Abiola Ajimobi, who him as a dreamer. Ladoja admitted dreaming but that while he was a real and positive dreamer in a way that transformed Oyo State infrastructure, education, health and agriculture during his tenure of office, Ajimobi is a fake dreamer, whose purported dream for the people of the state never came to fruition. His words: “Ajimobi, my cousin, called me a dreamer. I know I am a dreamer but where my dreams had come to pass while in office, he has remained a dreamer whose dream for Oyo State people never came to reality.
“I dreamed about agricultural revolution and I did it by distributing tractors to farmers which boosted food production for the people. I dreamed about dualisation of Mokola/Sango road which I did. I dreamed about dualisation of Iwo Road, which I did. I dreamed about having an Oyo State school where one class would have 30 children and it came to pass because I did. Today America is talking about 15 children per class but I started something close during my administration so much so that we ranked second to Katsina State by SUBEB rating.
The Mokola bridge that he couldn’t do well, I dreamed of it. It was my dream but which I did not have the time on my side to do before I left office. Instead of him to come and ask what that dream entails and how to go about it, he is calling me a dreamer.”
Interestingly many people do not know Sen. Ladoja deeply. At 73, he has remained a rugged politician. Lets tell you more. Rashidi Adewolu Ladoja was born on 25 September 1944 in Gambari village near Ibadan. He attended Ibadan Boys High School (1958–1963) and Olivet Baptist High School (1964–1965). He studied at the University of Liège, Belgium (1966–1972) where he earned a degree in Chemical Engineering. He obtained a job with Total Nigeria, an oil company, where he worked for 13 years in various positions before entering private business in 1985. His business interests include Shipping, Manufacturing, Banking, Agriculture and Transportation. He was elected to the Senate of Nigeria in 1993 during the short-lived Nigerian Third Republic.By2000,Ladoja had become a director of Standard Trust Bank Limited.
Ladoja was elected governor of Oyo State in April 2003 on the PDP platform, and took office on 29 May 2003.He was supported by Alhaji Lamidi Adedibu, a PDP power broker in the state. By August 2004, Ladoja and Adedibu were locked in a fierce struggle over allocation of government appointees.Ladoja was not supported by the party in this dispute. In an interview in late 2005, the PDP national chairman, Ahmadu Ali, said that Rasheed Ladoja should take instructions from Lamidi Adedibu.
On 12 January 2006, Ladoja was impeached by Oyo State legislators and forced out of office. The impeachment may have been due to the argument between Ladoja and LamidiAdedibu. His deputy, Christopher Adebayo Alao-Akala, was sworn in as the new governor.On 1 November 2006, the Appeal Court in the state capital, Ibadan, declared the impeachment null and illegal, but advised waiting for confirmation of this decision by the Supreme Court. The Supreme Court upheld the decision on November 11, 2009, and Ladajo officially resumed office on December 12, 2006. Anti-riot police were deployed along the main roads leading to the main government offices to prevent violence from supporters of Adebayo Alao-Akala and Lamidi Adedibu during his reinstatement.
Ladoja failed to win the PDP nomination as candidate for a second term. He chose to back the Action Congress candidates for 33 local council chairmanship elections. The PDP refused to participate in the elections. As a result, the Action Congress (AC) won 26 seats and the All Nigeria Peoples Party (ANPP) won seven. However, his successor as governor, his former deputy and former acting governor Christopher Adebayo Akala, sacked the council chairmen shortly after taking office and replaced them with PDP supporters.
On 28 August 2008, he was arrested by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) over allegations of non-remittance of the proceeds of sale of government shares totaling N1.9 billion during his administration. He was briefly remanded in prison by the Federal High Court in Lagos on 30 August 2008. He was granted bail on 5 September in the amount of 100 million naira with two sureties for the same sum. In March 2009, a former aide testified on the way on which the share money had been divided between Ladoja’s family, bodyguard, senior politicians and lawyers.
In November 2009, Ladoja tried to persuade the local government chairmen sacked by his successor to withdraw a legal action they had started over their dismissal. This was said to be an attempt to make a deal that would result in a reduction of Ladoja’s sentence. However, 17 of the chairmen refused to withdraw their suit, saying “justice must be done”.
Ladoja was the governorship candidate for Accord Party in Oyo State during the April 2011 elections, he lost to Governor Abiola Ajimobi.
How about Ajimobi? He is another seasoned politician. In 2003, Gov. Ajimobi was elected a Senator. He was the Deputy Minority Leader of the Senate, one of the principal officers in the Upper Legislative Chamber. During his days in the Senate, precisely in 2005, he established the first and largest Free Vocational Training Centre in Oyo State, offering training in Computer Engineering, Computer Operations, Telephone Engineering, fashion designing hair dressing as well as tie and dye.
In 2007, Abiola Ajimobi contested for and was believed to have won the gubernatorial election in Oyo State under the umbrella of the All Nigeria Peoples Party (ANPP) but like most of his peers in the opposition parties, he was denied his mandate.
Characteristic of him, he left everything to God, but never gave up in his desire to serve. It was this desire that propelled him to join the April 2011 gubernatorial race under the platform of the Action Congress of Nigeria (ACNM) and with popular mandate of the people, he emerged victorious and was inaugurated as the Governor of Oyo State on May 29, 2011.
What is his past like? Born to the renowned Ajimobi family of Ibadan on the 16th of December, 1949, Abiola Adeyemi Ajimobi had his elementary education at St. Patrick Primary School, Abebi; ICC Primary School, Aperin and later attended Lagelu Grammar School for his secondary education. Whilst in school, Abiola was very active in sports, athletics and the school curriculum. He was the second fastest student manning the first leg for relay race and number two in 100 and 200 metres race. As a result of his all-rounder image, he was nicknamed Archipelago. He completed his secondary school education in flying colours.
He later proceeded to the United States of America where he attended the State University, New York in Buffalo, New York and the Governor’s State University, Park Forest, Illinois. He graduated with B.Sc (Honours) in Business Administration and Finance. He also obtained his Master of Science (MBA) degree in Operations Research and Marketing. As a result of his academic credentials and excellent performance at the New York Insurance Examinations, he was engaged as the first Nigeria state-certified underwriter by Equitable Life Assurance Corporation, which was the second largest Insurance Company in America.
Abiola Adeyemi Ajimobi returned to Nigeria in 1977 and joined Management and Industrial Consulting firm as a Senior Consultant. He, thereafter, worked briefly with Modulor Group as the Finance and Admin. Controller before joining Nestle Foods Plc as the Operations Controller and later as Marketing Controller. In 1979, Abiola Adeyemi Ajimobi joined National Oil and Chemical Marketing Company as the Consumer Products Manager. He was the youngest manager to occupy such as sensitive position. His performance quickly earned him promotion to the level of Divisional Manager within one and a half years, thus becoming the youngest Divisional Manager to be appointed. For his star performance, strategic business applications, helicopter views and visibility in the company, he was promoted again above his peers to head a newly-created Corporate Credit Division, reporting directly to the Managing Director. His successful performance made the division a cynosure of all eyes in the company.
As a top flyer in the company and based on his problem-solving ability, he was deployed to Ibadan Business District as the Area Manager to ensure the repositioning of the entire company activities in the area. The company and the district experienced his landmark achievements in modern retail network, resulting in the company’s first 3-in-1 largest retail outlet in Nigeria.
It is on record that the district office built by him during his tenure still stands out today in Ibadan. In 1987, based on a worldwide international strategic positioning of the lubricants business desired by Shell International Oil Company, Abiola Adeyemi Ajimobi was appointed the Lubricants’ Manager, unarguably the most important product portfolio of the company. We successfully built a new lubricant division which became the most profitable business of the company and the largest contributor to the corporate profit.
Having completed the strategic repositioning of the Lubricants Department, Abiola Adeyemi Ajimobi was moved to manage another troubled business arm – the Aviation Department. By 1993, Abiola Ajimobi had had successful and broad exposure in virtually all the marketing arms of the company and was obviously destined for the top.
As part of the grooming programme, he was posted on international assignment to Shell International Storage Company of Togo, serving the whole of West Africa as Chief Executive Officer.
He also was the Operations Director of Shell Marketing Company in Togo, covering some West African countries.
He returned to Nigeria in 1995 and was appointed as Oil Sales Manager in 1996. In 1998, he was appointed to the board of the company as Executive Director (Marketing), a position he held before his appointment on February 2001 as the Managing Director/Chief Executive Officer of the National Oil & Chemical Marketing Company. As Managing Director, he substantially improved the profitability of the company and the shareholders’ fortune.
In 2003, he voluntarily retired after 26 years of meritorious service in the Oil & Gas Industry. In his successful professional career spanning a period of over three decades, Abiola Ajimobi was smart, brilliant, quick-witted and positively impacted on the businesses and the people he interacted with.
One of Ladoja’s anger is that Gov. Ajimobi did not show gratitude to him for supporting his election when he came in 2011. Political analysts say it took Ladoja’s intervention to tell his supporters to vote for Ajimobi that made Ajimobi gather enough votes to beat the then governor, Alao Akala.
