ADEDIBU: THE LEGENDARY "HALF OF A CITY"

 

Chief Lamidi Ariyibi Akanji Adedibu was born on 24 October 1927 at Oja-Oba, Ibadan.

Adedibu entered politics in the 1950s  when he became a member of the Ibadan People's Party, and then joined the Action Group under Chief Obafemi Awolowo.

Later he was a member of the National Party of Nigeria (NPN) led by Chiefs Adisa Akinloye and Richard Akinjide. He became an increasing force in politics during the military reign of General Ibrahim Babangida, where he backed the candidature of Major General Shehu Musa Yar'adua in the Social Democratic Party together with other politicians such as Babagana Kingibe, Atiku Abubakar and Abdullahi Aliyu Sumaila. His brand of politics was described as a blend of populism and raw thuggery that often compelled either violent loyalty or violent opposition.

Nobody, at the time, assumed any political post in Oyo state without Adedibu's approval, leading to him being called "the strong man of Ibadan politics".

Senator Teslim Folarin, elected to the Senate for Oyo Central was his protégé.

Rasheed Ladoja, who became governor of the state in May 2003, was another protégé

His own son, Kamorudeen Adekunle Adedibu, was elected Senator for Oyo South in April 2007.

Lamidi Ariyibi Akanji Adedibu was one of the political forces to reckon with in the political history of Oyo state and Nigeria in general.

Former President Olusegun Obasanjo once described him as the "father of the PDP in Oyo State".

In 1991 the government of General Ibrahim Babangida had fixed the governorship election between its Social Democratic Party (SDP) and the National Republican Party (NRC).

But it was worried that old politicians were derailing its vision of a political dispensation dominated by new breed politicians. It went after the old folks. Among them were Chief Bola Ige, Major General Shehu Musa Yar’ Adua, Chief Jim Nwobodo, Dr Olusola Saraki, Alhaji Lateef Jakande, Alhaji Abubakar Rimi and Alhaji Lamidi Adedibu.

Adedibu’s inclusion was curious because, at that time, he had not attained the prominence comparable to the other detainees. They were taken to Kirikiri Maximum prison and Chief Bola Ige was worried about Adedibu. He protested vehemently that while the military government could complain that the political activities of these politicians threatened its agenda, Adedibu was unjustly included because his activities could in no way affect the transition programme.

Alhaji Adedibu said he immediately thanked Chief Bola Ige but protested against being released.

“Why will you protest being released when Chief Ige had made a case for your release?”, he was asked. “What will I be doing at home?”, He countered in Yoruba and continued: “In that detention camp were the First Eleven of Nigerian politics. If the newspapers are reporting that the most prominent politicians are detained, they will list my name among them. Will I gain such prominence if they release me and I go and sit at home?” His visibility at the national level was eventually enhanced by the detention.

The eminent politicians were initially detained at the Kirikiri Maximum Prison, Lagos. When the crowd of sympathizers that thronged the prison became unbearable to the military government, they were transferred to a detention camp at Epe, also in Lagos state.

Adedibu shared the same chalet with General Yar’Adua. They were not allowed visitors as the government controlled their contact with the outside world so that they would not influence the impending governorship election. Their contact with the outside world was at the benevolence of the ubiquitous security operatives detailed to keep watch over the detention camp.

Adedibu got a message out to one of his aides.

One morning, the aide arrived at the detention camp in the overalls of a medical doctor, a stethoscope and a bag of drugs requesting to see Chief Adedibu. On enquiry, he introduced himself as Adedibu’s personal doctor. He was allowed in. Yar’Adua was surprised when the "visiting doctor" turned out to be Adedibu’s personal assistant.

Adedibu had a good laugh. The aide gave Adedibu a detailed account of the political situation at home in Oyo state and received instructions on what should be done in preparation for the election.

Adedibu also wrote letters to some politicians on what he wanted them to do. The envelopes were addressed to Adedibu’s wives. Thinking that an obstinate security operative could insist on reading it and knowing that they were not from the southwest, he wrote the letters in Yoruba.

Yar’Adua expressed concern that he was cut off from political reports from home because he had no access to the radio, Adedibu’s aide then approached the security aides that Adedibu’s health was deteriorating and he urgently needed some drugs.

He returned with a small transistor radio that fit into the package of a drug. From the detention, Yar’Adua and Adedibu monitored political activities across the country.

 

A businessman who doubled as a politician had a transaction with Alhaji Adedibu and held on to his (Adedibu's) money. After much pestering, he issued a cheque to Adedibu. Pronto, Adedibu went to the bank, and the cheque bounced.

He was asked to re-present it. Using his network within the bank, he found out that the balance in the account was less than the amount on the cheque. Adedibu headed for the residence of his friend, Alhaji Azeez Arisekola Alao, telling him that he got a business deal that would yield a profit within 24 hours. He then asked the billionaire to lend him the shortfall in the funds he needed for only 24 hours.

Arisekola, a generous man by all standards, obliged. Adedibu got his men to deposit the amount in his debtor's account and after that presented the cheque again. The bank paid. Days after, the businessman got to know of the transaction and went to Adedibu to ask why he deposited money in his account to make up for the amount on the cheque. Adedibu retorted: "You forget that I am an Ibadan man. You cannot come from the village and play a smart one on an Ibadan man."

Arisekola was Adedibu’s closest ally in the politics of Oyo state. Adedibu was the politician, and Arisekola, the financier.

In the 1990s, Arisekola built what became one of the biggest mansions in the ancient city of Ibadan. The mansion was to have a zoological garden as a novelty. Adedibu told his friend Arisekola that he had contacts in Senegal who could supply lions to the zoo. Arisekola released N10 Million for the lions.

Week after week, there were no lions in sight. Arisekola was worried and became agitated. When Adedibu heard of his worries, he visited Arisekola one early morning.

As he climbed the stairs to his presence he announced: “Are, awa ti na owo awon kiniun re o. Bo’ba ju awa na sinu cage k’awon ara Ibadan o ma wa wowa”. (“Are, we have spent the money you gave us to buy lions. You may wish to put us in the cage meant for the lions so that the people of Ibadan can come and gawk at us”.

Both men had a good laugh, and their friendship continued

 

Adedibu never had it easy as a politician. While his most enduring epithet was “Strongman of Ibadan politics,” he had serious challenges winning elections in his Ibadan southwest local government, particularly in the Oke-Ado area where voters were mostly non-indigenes.

For every election, he did his calculations to make projections of where his votes will come from and where the greatest challenge is.

On this particular election, the major challenge was narrowed to a particular set of polling units in the premises of a school. His opponent was certain to record high votes to cancel out his advantage in other areas. 

Meanwhile, being a very generous man who gave alms to beggars and the needy, he had a very long list of disabled people who collected weekly monetary support from him.

One of them was a mentally deranged man who curiously came to collect alms on a particular day of the week without fail.

He had very bushy air, always dressed in rags and looked violent. Adedibu asked him to come on the election day.

On arrival, he was given more money than he expected and had the tag of “party agent” hung on his neck. They took him to the polling unit where Adedibu feared he would lose the election with a huge margin and was introduced as the party agent.

As word went round that a madman was a party agent at the unit, many voters stayed away. Adedibu successfully controlled the margin of his loss in the polling unit.

 

The above stories talk about the man Adedibu.

He had practical and unusual solutions for every problem.

Till date, references to “Baba Adedibu” are common in political circles.

Like an encyclopedia or reference book, Adedibu’s life and times is so often quoted as a standard for practical reasoning.

 

In 1979, Adedibu was a member of the National Party of Nigeria (NPN) and was elected to the Oyo State House of Assembly.

He was known for his tough stance and was instrumental in the election of Bola Ige as the governor of Oyo State.

 
However, after Ige’s victory, Adedibu refused to accept his appointment as commissioner and instead chose to remain a member of the House of Assembly. He

Adedibu was a key figure in the People’s Democratic Party (PDP) in Oyo State during the 2003 general elections.

He was accused of using his influence to manipulate the electoral process and ensure the victory of his preferred candidate, Rashidi Ladoja, as governor of Oyo State.

In 2005, Adedibu was instrumental in the impeachment of Ladoja as governor of Oyo State. He was accused of using his influence to manipulate the state House of Assembly and orchestrate Ladoja’s removal from office.

Adedibu’s actions were widely condemned by the public, and he was accused of

Adedibu continued to play a key role in Oyo State politics during the 2007 general elections. He was accused of using his influence to ensure the victory of his preferred candidate, Adebayo Alao-Akala, as governor of Oyo State.

Adedibu’s actions were widely criticized, and his involvement in the election was seen as a threat to the democratic process.

Adedibu died at the University College Hospital in Ibadan on 11 June 2008, leaving the chiefly rank and title of the Ekarun Of Olubadan to be assumed by one of his subordinates in the Ibadan royal line of succession.

He had visited Lagos earlier in the day for a routine check up at a high brow hospital on Victoria Island. He returned to Ibadan in the afternoon and headed straight for the Immigrations office where he had an appointment.

One of his aides, Mr. Lukman Agboluaje, told reporters that Baba Adedibu was going through some paperwork when he slumped. The politician lost consciousness and was rushed to the ICU of the hospital but he died on the way. He was pronounced Dead On Arrival (DOA).

Former President Olusegun Obasanjo told the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) in a telephone interview that Adedibu's place and role would be difficult to fill. “There will be no one to equal his feat in the politics of Ibadan and Oyo State since its creation just as no one was able to equal the feat of Alhaji Busari Adelakun, alias ‘Eruobodo’.

 

Femi Ladapo  writes from Ibadan, Nigeria

 

Disclaimer

The information in this article was curated from online sources. THE KALEIDOSCOPE MAGAZINE cannot independently verify all the details.