Good Night Adedibu

I received a mail from Nigeria yesterday that the strong man of Ibadan Politics, Chief (thug) Lamidi Ariyibi Akanbi Adedibu has died. I had to make calls to Nigeria to confirm that the news was true. Rumours about the death of Nigerian politicians are quite rife. This same Adedibu was rumoured to have died sometime last year.

Your reaction to Adedibu’s death will depend on what side of the political spectrum you belong to. Adedibu was a self confessed political thug. He has been a thug since he was twenty-four years old with the now defunct Action Group. He once said in an interview that he could not separate Politics from thuggery.

Adedibu had several acronyms, which included, ‘the Alafin of Molete’, ‘Adedibully’, ‘the Ekarun of Olubadan’. Other acronyms included ‘Field Marshall of the Garrison Command of Ibadan Politics. He was perhaps best known as the exponent of ‘Amala politics’.

He was a man who believed a certain portion of the monthly allocation for Oyo state was his divine right. It is said that the former Oyo State governor, Ladoja, was impeached because he failed to pay Adedibu 25% of the Government’s monthly security vote. Although the governor was later re-instated but Adedibu promised him that he would not be voted for a second term in office and that was exactly what happened.

The late exponent of ‘Amala politics’ was the one who determined who held what position in Oyo state and for how long the position was held by that person. Forget about your qualifications or lack of it you held whatever position in Oyo state that Adedibu deemed fit for you - no questions asked.

Adedibu’s thugs destroyed Oyo State controlled broadcasting stations recently. Reason: Baba did not want the governor to use the media to make any announcements to the state.

Ten years from today some of the people who had benefited from his ‘Amala politics’ would stand up and say that Adedibu was a man of peace who contributed immensely to the development of Oyo State and Nigeria in particular.

Anyhoos, I saw this clip on YouTube and I thought you guys would love it. Enjoy and have a nice weekend.

Where Is Nigeria's Obama?

I’m sure most of you will be wondering, ‘wetin concern Naijaleta with Obama sef, abi im tink say when Obama become President im go dey dash Naija pipul visa go America anyhow?’ Well, there’s nothing wrong in having hopes, is there?

Anyway, that is really not the point. I ended my last post by asking when Britain is going to have an Obama. The next question then is, when are we going to have an ‘Obama’ in Nigeria?

When are we going to have someone, who was completely unknown to the rest of the world four years ago, contesting to become President of Nigeria under the banner of one of the most prominent political parties in Nigeria? I tell my friends here in the UK that Nigeria is a very green country and I’m not referring to our National colour. What I mean is that we believe so much in recycling that we even recycle our old politicians. After a politician serves a particular Government we don’t allow him to retire we put him back on the queue to serve in another Government or make him head another public body immediately, ignoring his poor performance in Government and the plethora of allegations of incompetence and financial impropriety being levied against him. Abi no be recycling be dat?

I was ashamed to read about President Yar’adua’s election on the BBC website. It wasn’t his victory that was being reported it was the fact that he was Nigeria’s first graduate president since independence. I’m not being biased but I think it’s a shame that we are yet to produce a lawyer President in Nigeria. Some of the greatest leaders in the world were qualified Legal Practitioners before they became leaders of their respective countries. People like Nelson Mandela of South Africa, Bill Clinton of the United States, Tony Blair of the United Kingdom and even Fidel Castro of Cuba. Little wonder George Bush is not a lawyer. Yeye man. Of course, Barack Obama is a lawyer as well. When are we going to have an eloquent, soft-spoken, brilliant, lawyer contesting on the platform of a prominent Nigerian party to become President of Nigeria?

When will the time come when a member of a minority tribe in Nigeria be chosen as the Presidential candidate for a prominent Nigerian political party? Obama is considered black. When Obama was born there were no equal rights for black people in the United States but today his chances of becoming the next President of the US look brighter than that of any other person. Can a man from Isoko, a tribe from Delta State that I had never heard of until two years ago, ever dream of becoming Nigeria’s next President?

Finally, we must remember madam, Mama Clinton. How many of you noticed that she is not talking of joining another party or even registering another one quickly? After all, over eighteen million Americans voted for her. If she decided to break away and form another party or declare herself an independent candidate she could still have a shot at the Presidency. No, her principles would not allow her to do that. She has decided to support Obama’s Presidential campaign for the sake of the Democratic Party, which they both belong to. She considers the party’s interest more important than hers. When are we going to start having politicians like Barack Obama and Hilary Clinton in Nigeria?