Politics
Ajimobi @ 68: The Making of A godfather in Oyo State politics
TODAY, Saturday, December 16, 2017 is a watershed in Oyo state’s political history as the die hard political juggernauts of the conservative party are being formally welcomed into the progressive fold. One man, Sen. Abiola Ajimobi, the executive governor of Oyo State, is the focal point of this rare marriage and incidentally he is celebrating his birthday today.
HAZEEZ AYANSOLA examines the man who is fast becoming a deciding factor in Oyo state’s politics in this piece titled: AJIMOBI @ 68: THE MAKING OF A GOD-FATHER.
Loathe him or like him, one thing that you cannot take away from the present governor of Oyo state, Sen. Abiola Ajimobi, is his ability to fashion out successes from what his contemporary see as unachievable tasks. Sen. Abiola Ajimobi in his characteristic manner has been creating paths where his peers see dead end. Yes, some might argue that his achievements so far have coloration of luck but to say these achievements are totally luck-dependent is to say a farmer does not need to produce any sweat on his farmland before he could have bountiful harvest since he has got fertile land and viable seedlings.
No it doesn’t work that way, God in His infinite mercy has given each individual the intellectual capacity to bend his immediate environment to his caprice but in His bizarre wisdom He has also made each individual a stumbling block to his own achievement. What I am saying is not a scientific jargon nor is it a philosophical expression, it is what the nature has woven arround the success’ secret; to lay hands on the success, one must first of all conquer himself before he can think of conquering others, the vital ingredient that any serious achiever needs to be on top of his game- success creation-.
The ability to discover self, understand the nature of oneself and then playing to the strengths and weaknesses of that self is what Abiola Ajimobi has consistently done, thus, making consistent nonsense of his political opponents in Oyo State each time there is need for political contest. Their failure to neutralise his moves before its inevitable result unfolds in their very eyes is a testament of his superior smartness over all of them put together.
In his room of wisdom, he has mastered keenly the tricks and flicks of these gladiators during contests such that he has always been several steps ahead of them anytime there is need for them to square up with him inside a political ring. It is not as if his opponent enter the ring unprepared, they do not, but what they fail to do each time when they are face to face with him in a ring is to adapt themselves to his technical jabbings, the very tools he uses to wear them out before he descends on them his sucker punches which ultimately send them to their canvass.
In the run-off to 2011 gubernatorial election in Oyo State, he recognized that there were three individuals who held the ace to his becoming the number one citizen in Oyo state, he ensured that he did not mend fences with them, he also railroaded himself into their good books thus earning their endorsement at the expense of the Ankara crusader. While the two of them are now late, Aare Musulumi, Alhaji AbdulAzeez Arisekola and former governor of Oyo State, Alhaji Lam Adesina, the remaining person, Alaafin of Oyo, Oba Lamidi Adeyemi is still being managed up till today. While he was plotting his victory even before they go to electoral field, his opponents felt their raw power was enough to make them emerge the winner in the royal rumble of Oyo State politics.
As 2015 gubernatorial election was approaching, he knew he needed more than the magic hand of the last-man standing Alaafin of Oyo, instead, he rather campaigned as if his life depended on it. Being a man that covets ‘the first’, Abiola Ajimobi went back to his political magic mirror once more and with it, he was able to discover that his victory key was hidden in Oke-Ogun part of Oyo State. For days he combed the entire senatorial district while his opponents, once again, was battling with supremacy battle in the highly damaged and ruptured Peoples Democratic Party, PDP then at the same time he was liaising with power brokers in that part of the town.
At the end, he ensured that he did not leave the zone without the electoral key in his pocket, he left Ogbomoso zone (his weak area) for Akala, but instead concentrating vigorously on his strong and highly populated areas of Ibadan land. Although the fight was intense as his opponents gave him a good fight but when they all got to the doorstep of power chamber; all he needed to do was to reach out to the key inside his pocket which ensured his passage into the highly coveted seat at Agodi governor’s lodge, he was there seated when the Accord Party but who is not in accord with his words were fighting a lost cause in the court of law. To him, it was a political abracadabra, which left him marveled. Having crossed the path his predecessors failed to do, this time, he has resulted to the victorial tactic (electoral alliance) that was right there infront of his opponents during the run off to his second term election but which pride prevented from making use of.
With the formal defection of the hitherto power blocks (Akala, Teslim Folarin, Arapaja) of the PDP today into All Progressives Congress (APC), the 2019 electoral contest in Oyo state can be regarded as a game-over for PDP remnants as far as common sense is concerned. With this bizarre marriage with his erstwhile political foes, Abiola Ajimobi must have peeped into the playbook of his political mentor, Chief Bola Ahmed Tinubu which plotted the strategy that catapulted APC into Aso-rock’s throne.
They say Abiola Ajimobi is proud but yet he has never allowed his pride to get in the way of achieving result anytime the need arises. It is ironical to say that what Akanji is accused of (arrogance) is the very thing that has eluded them when these people need to breast the tape of electoral victory. They have failed to realise that pride to Ajimobi is a mere tool with which he uses to construe hate hole in their minds, thus, thinking in their wildest imagination that eventually he would be consumed with it. The present hate hole they have dug now is the Olubadan chieftaincy issue but Ajimobi being a smart person that he is will ensure that they are the ones that will be used to fill their self dug hole.
What surprises me is their difficulty to decode that they are all pawns in Ajimobi political chess game. Upon being voted into power in 2011 he found a perfect pawn in Ladoja’s Accord Party members in the Oyo State House of Assembly when he used them to the maximum to stabilise his government. It was Akala’s turn in 2015 as he used his boys to ensure that the leadership of the legislative remains firmly in his grip. He has now gone a step further in his quest to add another first to his plethora of several firsts- not only is he the first to become a senator before being elected as a governor, he is also the first to get elected twice by the ever critical Oyo State electorate as well as being the first to implement the dreaded and sacred Olubadan Chieftaincy Review.
As proud as Ajimobi appears to be, he always been found a perfect ally when the need arises for political alliances in Oyo state. His man management and the ability to hop into the same bed with those that can be regarded as strange bed fellows speaks volume of the emotional intelligence of ‘Mr. Dependable’.
He has taken his time to select his ‘wise men’ in different parts of the state whose views are sacred to him. Where his tentacles could not penetrate yet, he results to alliance using his suaveness to keep them under his wings. If his anointed candidate eventually becomes the number one citizen in Oyo State come May 29, 2019, another godfather can be said to have emerged in the murky and ever tidal of Oyo State political Island except that this one is devoid of political brigandage and crude tactical political warfare of the Late Ibadan strong politician, Alhaji Lamidi Ariyibi Adedibu, Sen. Abiola Ajimobi, rather, is a suave, smart and socially intelligent political godfather.
Politics
From ‘Books to Shops’: Oyo APC Slams Makinde Over ‘Shameful’ Library Conversion
The All Progressives Congress (APC) in Oyo State has criticized the alleged forceful conversion of public reading and learning facilities in Dugbe, Ibadan, into shopping malls and lock-up shops by the state government, describing the development as shameful, ill-conceived, and unacceptable.
In a statement released over the weekend by its Publicity Secretary, Olawale Sadare, and made available to journalists in Ibadan, the APC also raised concerns about the alleged sale of the modern motor park facility at Wema Area on New Ife Road, Ibadan, built during the administration of the late Senator Abiola Ajimobi.
According to the party, the motor park has been sold to a pastor who presides over a popular church near the facility.
Residents of Ibadan, the state capital, were reportedly stunned when they noticed the sudden erection of massive private business complexes within the premises of the Oyo State Library Board.
The facilities, built by the defunct Western Region government, had served as public libraries and archives for decades, benefitting students, researchers, and tourists until recently.
“It is a sad reality that the buildings which used to serve as public libraries and archives in Dugbe axis of Ibadan have now paved the way for the development of commercial and business structures,” Sadare said.
“The implication is that education and research development have been relegated to the background in the state by an administration that has done little to address the poor reading culture among young students.”
The APC expressed alarm over what it termed the erosion of public heritage under Governor Seyi Makinde’s administration, alleging that public properties are being sold or leased to private individuals and groups under questionable circumstances.
“How can a government wake up one day and convert public reading facilities and archives into lock-up shops in the name of making money, thereby subjecting society to the dangers of illiteracy and ignorance?” the statement queried.
The party also cited other instances of alleged mismanagement of public assets, including the concession of OYSADEP Guest House in Saki and Agbowo Shopping Complex in Ibadan, warning that the trend poses a serious threat to the state’s socio-economic development.
“Sad enough, the ignoble activities of the governor and a few other characters around him as they involve mismanagement of land and other resources belonging to the state have paved the way for a surge in land grabbing cases in most parts of the state capital. There are many cases involving appointees of the governor, PDP lawmakers, local government officials, and party chieftains,” the statement added.
The APC called on well-meaning individuals and stakeholders in the state to demand accountability from the Makinde administration and halt what it described as the systematic erosion of public resources and heritage.
Politics
Relief as Rep ‘Lafi’ Empowers 300 Constituents Through Skill Acquisition Programme
Over 300 constituents of Akinyele/Lagelu Federal Constituency in Oyo State benefitted from a skill acquisition and empowerment programme organized by their representative in the National Assembly, Hon. Akinmoyede Olafisoye.
The event, held at Faith Joe Event Centre, Alegongo, Akobo, Ibadan, aimed to address the challenges of unemployment and economic hardship by equipping participants with practical skills and financial support.
The programme focused on empowering youths, students, and unemployed graduates to become self-reliant. Each participant was provided with a certificate, a Point of Sale (POS) terminal, an umbrella, and ₦100,000 as a startup grant to kickstart their businesses.
The tools and financial aid were designed to enable beneficiaries to establish sustainable sources of income.
Participants received comprehensive training, gaining hands-on experience to ensure they could effectively utilize the tools provided. The POS machines were configured with the personal details of the recipients, ensuring proper use and discouraging unauthorized transfers.
Addressing the participants, Akinmoyede who is the Chairman House Committee on Nigeria/ Mexico Parliamentary Friendship enjoined the beneficiaries to explore the opportunity for their benefit by ensuring that they use the machines for the purpose it was meant for.
He added that all the machines have been configured with the documents of individual beneficiaries which will make it very difficult to transfer to another person.
In his goodwill message, the Oyo Central Senatorial chairman of APC, Hon. Joshua Oyebamiji said comparing what the lawmaker has been doing in the area of dishing out empowerment and palliatives to his constituents, it is difficult to tag him a first-timer at the national assembly.
While appreciating Akinmoyede for his gesture at the event, former APC Deputy State Chairman, Alhaji Isiaka Alimi, Hon. Fatai Awoyoola, and Hon. Akinbode Emmanuel said they were yet to discover the magic wand being used by the lawmaker for his constant and habitual empowerment programmes.
Some of the beneficiaries who spoke at the end of the training, Afolabi Kuburat, Akinropo Akindotun, Ajala Abisade Iyabo, and Grace Anuoluwapo Ayinde lauded the lawmaker for giving them the opportunity to be self-reliant at this time when Nigerians are facing economic hardship.
Politics
Oyo: Olafisoye Facilitates Capacity-Building Training for 300 Constituents
The House of Representatives member representing Akinyele/Lagelu federal constituency Oyo State, Hon. Prince Akinmoyede Olafisoye Wasiu has initiated another skill acquisition and capacity-building training for no fewer than 300 members of his constituency.
The initiative which is being organized in partnership with Federal Cooperative College, Ibadan is part of a strategic effort by the lawmaker to foster rural development of cooperative for their economic emancipation and break the shackles of poverty so as to alleviate the impact of the high cost of living among the people in Akinyele/Lagelu federal constituency he represents.
The training programme is coming up on Monday 18th November, 2024 at Faith Joe Event Centre hall. Alegongo, Ibadan by 8.00am.
A statement issued by the Special Assistant on Media to the lawmaker, Alimi Abdullahi stated that the capacity-building is designed to equip participants with essential entrepreneurial skills with a view to building sustainable livelihoods and improve the quality of lives of the people of Akinyele/Lagelu federal constituency.
All the participants for the training are expected to be at the venue by 8am so as not to miss any part of the training.
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