Ladoja 

 

Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) and Action Congress of Nigeria (ACN) are mounting pressures on Accord leader Senator Rashidi Ladoja to join forces with them to alter the political calculation in Oyo State. Deputy Political Editor EMMANUEL OLADESU examines the implications of the options before him.

Rashidi Adewolu Ladoja, prominent Ibadan chief, Third Republic Senator and former governor of Oyo State, appears to be in a fix.

At the twilight of his political career, he is confronted with a dilemma of choice between the two parties that are wooing him.  Yet, not making any choice at all may do him more political harm than good. Three  options are on the card; retracing his steps to the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), joining forces with the Action Congress of Nigeria (ACN) or driving the faulty Accord Party (AP) vehicle.

Analysts contend that, currently, Ladoja is relevant in Oyo State politics because he is a towering figure in a small party that is giving  the ruling and main opposition party a  nightmare of sorts. Big wigs in PDP and ACN are making  overtures to the engineer-turned politician. It is evident that they need the political bride for different reasons.

According to sources, PDP is wooing him and his fragile party to alter the geo-political calculations in the state, to the detriment of Governor Abiola Ajimobi and ACN. Of the 32 members of the House of Assembly, PDP has 11, ACN, 15 and AP, seven. If Ladoja defects to PDP and AP members follow him, the table may turn against ACN. As it happened Adedibu’s days, the impeachment hammer may dangle before Ajimobi.  ACN is, therefore, not leaving anything to chance. The party is wooing Ladoja to consolidate its grip on power in the Pacesetter State.

Everyday, whether he is at home in Ibadan, on the farm at Yakooyo, or his ‘shipping’ office in Lagos, Ladoja’s phones are bombarded with calls. His movements are monitored by top politicians in the state across the divides. Prominent actors, including his erstwhile deputy-turned successor, Chief Adebayo Alao-Akala, former Senate Leader Teslim Folarin, PDP elder Dr. Dejo Raimi, former deputy governor Taofeek Arapaja, and former President Olusegun Obasanjo, who  plotted his impeachment in 2005, have visited him.

When ACN saw the handwriting on the wall, the party promptly dispatched Osun State Governor Rauf Aregbesola to Ibadan to talk  with Ladoja. For PDP, the rejected stone is now fit to become the cornerstone. Yet, ACN stalwarts appear more persuasive.  Sources said  Ladoja is being reminded of his political antecedents as a co-traveler on a truncated progressive voyage on the Social Democratic Party (SDP) ship and role in the National Democratic Coalition (NADECO) which fought the military to a standstill.

Many associates also remind him of his turbulent past, when he was  rescued by the court when the PDP hawks shoved him aside in a carefully planned impeachment hatched by the late Ibadan kingpin, Alhaji Lamidi Adedibu.

His party, Accord, is also polarised by the issue. Three strands of opinion tend to create intra-party tension. Sources said some party members want the status quo to remain in the interest of peace and to prevent a relapse to crises that enveloped the state from 2003 to 2011. To these people, Ladoja is rich and comfortable, and since his motivation in politics is not materialism, he should concentrate on building AP to an enviable opposition party fit for power in the future.

Another group within the party, which objects to this line of thought, believe that, Accord should either dissolve into ACN or remain its partner in progress. They premise their argument on the fact that top ACN leaders have never been hostile to Ladoja and Accord Party, adding that Governor Ajimobi was ready to give concessions to Ladoja’s men, although he appears to be slow in this regard.

“During the impeachment problem, which lasted for 11 months, AC leaders stood behind him (Ladoja), on principle, despite the fact that he was in the PDP. He has a bigger bargaining power and chance in ACN than PDP, although we perceive differences between him and the governor (Ajimobi)”, said a member of the group who added: “PDP has let Ladoja down. They said they would make him the national secretary, if he defected. They reneged on the promise. Instead, they created divide-and-rule in his family by making one of his wives an ex-officio member from the zone”.

The source warned that, if Ladoja goes back to PDP without proper consultations, his group would be balkanised. “Some followers will not see the need to go back with him”, he said.

However, the third group, mostly former defectors from PDP, want Ladoja to return to the ruling party at the centre. Their calculation is that, since major state appointments have eluded them, they would find accommodation in the PDP, especially now that Project 2015 is about to begin. Asked to shed light on the project, a member of the group said: “The President wants to remain in power beyond 2015 and he is most likely to begin his underground Southwest campaigns from Oyo State, where his party appears to retain a sizeable followership, in spite of the 2011 power shift”. Besides, some felt that, in the PDP, there will be occasions to accord him the respect of a founding member.

It is not the first time Ladoja would be under severe pressure to make a political statement. But the eminent politician has not lived up to the billing of a successful manager of crowd and opportunities.

 In 2007, the former governor was undecided when ACN beckoned on him to switch camp and fly its governorship flag. He buried himself in the illusion of hope that, as the sitting PDP governor, he would be crowned as the candidate. Although he has the traits of a pseudo-progressive politician, he  prefers to distance himself  from progressive arrowheads.

Wealthy and cool-headed, Ladoja  retains a curious look of a commoner. As governor, he maintained decorum and honour, refusing to misuse state resources. He loathes thuggery and discourages the disreuption of public peace. But a sleeping giant, when tribulation arose and Adedibu turned the hit on him, many of his followers dispersed. 

As a secondary modern school boy, he had been exposed to politics when his father and Adedibu fought for a councillorship seat in Ibadan Divisional Council in the fifties. Ironically, in 2003,  he became governor on Adedibu’s terms, although he failed the three questions posed to him. Adedibu put Ladoja on the weighing scale and asked: “Can you kill a fellow human being for politics? Can you tell lies to rope in a political foe? Can you swear by the Quran and deny it afterwards? Ladoja’s answers were in the negative. While orally denying the devil and turning around to dine with him, Ladoja became a man of contrasting personalities. 

Top leaders of Accord Party, who spoke on the prolonged PDP/Accord negotiation confided that it will take a long time before agreement is reached. “PDP has problems and we don’t want to go into a party with that kind of problem. Again, they have done their convention and congress. What will be the lot of Accord defectors? We are yet to reach any agreement”, said a former senatorial hopeful in AP. “It is true that our leader has been convinced by Obasanjo, but can he move without his followers? Many issues must be resolved before a final decision is taken. We don’t want to jump from frying pan to fire. We are not blindfolded “, he added.

 If ladoja joins PDP, he will still be a sheep in the midst of wolves. Recently, former Adedibu’s aide, Afeez Gborarunmi, allegedly said that, if he returns, he would not be allowed to be a landlord to eject any tenant. Observers contend that Ladoja would return into a divided party. Besides, since PDP has a bad reputation in the Southwest, his followers are really concerned about the implication of re-joining a bad company.

It is an understatement. Apart from its diminishing prestige, Oyo PDP is divided. Three leaders are locked in war of attrition over the soul of the party in the state. They are Oloye Jumoke Akinjide, minister and arrowhead of the party, Alao-Akala, and Teslim, who is backed by Senator Hosea Agboola. The polarisation is now headache to the new zonal leader, Mr. Segun Oni. who is facing similar in-fighting at home.

At the weekend, party sources hinted that the new PDP zonal leadership may meet the former governor again at Ibadan. Also, individuals in ACN who are Ladoja’s personal friends and old SDP associates are dissuading from contemplating a wrong step. What is next for Ladoja? Time will tell.