- Safiu Kehinde
Today, one of the largest cities in Africa, Ibadan, will witness the coronation of Oba Abdul Rasheed Ladoja as the new and 44th Olubadan of Ibadanland.
The weeklong preparation for the historical ceremony, which is set to attract dignitaries and high-ranking public figures, including President Bola Tinubu, will finally take place at the Mapo Hall.
Oba Ladoja’s coronation is considered historical and one of its kind as the political tycoon is the first ever Olubadan to have previously served as the governor of Oyo State.
While his ascension to the Olubadan throne might sound regale, the political journey of Ladoja was not as gracious as it appears. His was a journey earmarked by struggles and rejection.
Born on the 25th of September 1944, Ladoja’s political journey kicked off with his election as a Senator in 1993 during the late Maj.Gen. Sani Abacha’s political transition from military rule to a civilian Third Republic which was however short-lived.
He contested for the seat under the umbrella of the now-defunct United Nigeria Congress Party (UNCP).
Following return to democracy, Ladoja was elected governor of Oyo State in April 2003 on the Peoples Democratic Party’s (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 with the then PDP national chairman, Ahmadu Ali, ordering Ladoja to take instructions from Lamidi Adedibu.
The fallout with the party leadership would on the 12th of January 2006 lead to Ladoja’s impeachment by Oyo State legislators. He was forced out of office with his deputy, Christopher Adebayo Alao-Akala, sworn in as the new governor.
Ladoja would be vindicated on the 1st of November 2006 as the Appeal Court in the state capital, Ibadan, declared the impeachment null and illegal. The court however advised waiting for confirmation of this decision by the Supreme Court.
The Supreme Court upheld the decision on 11 November 2006, and Ladoja officially resumed office on the 12th of December 2006.
Ahead of his return, 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’s political struggle however continued at the end of his tenure as he 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 with 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, Adebayo Akala, sacked the council chairmen shortly after taking office and replaced them with PDP supporters.
Having failed to secure PDP’s ticket for a second term in office, Ladoja reignited his quest for another four years as he emerged the governorship candidate for Accord party in Oyo State during the April 2011 and 2015 elections which he lost to Senator Abiola Ajimobi.
He later merged his Accord Party back into PDP in 2017.
However, dispute in PDP made him and other allies (from Labour Party, All Progressives Congress APC etc.) to move over African Democratic Congress (ADC) in 2018.
After a brief sojourn in ADC which proved to be a marriage of strange bedfellows, Ladoja with his followers moved to the Zenith Labour Party (ZLP) in December 2018.
Ladoja’s political struggle also saw him dine on the interrogation desk of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) as he was arrested on the 28th of August 2008 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 the 30 August 2008.
Ladoja was eventually granted bail on the 5th of September, in the amount of N100 million 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.
Despite his political hassles, Ladoja’s ultimate dream was the throne of Olubadan. This saw him slowly climbed through the chieftaincy ranks and files. This began in 1991 with his emergence as Mogaji (family head) of the Arusa compound in Isale Osi, a deeply rooted quarter in Ibadan South-West Local Government Area.
That symbolic beginning, according to reports, marked the first step on Ibadan’s rigorous 36-step chieftaincy ladder, reserved for those destined to wear the revered crown.
Unlike other Yoruba traditial royal thrones narrowed to specific lineages, the Olubadan succession system is unique among Yoruba kingdoms.
Having emerged as Mogaji, aspiring Olubadan must also climb the pedestal of concurrent title of the Otun and the Balogun.
Evenutally, Ladoja was on the 1st of October 1993, installed as Jagun Balogun Olubadan, formally entering the military line of succession. With further fulfilments of other time testing and enduring requirements, Ladoja’s ultimate dream is now a matter of minutes away with his coronation as the 44th Olubadan of Ibadanland.