Former Governor of Oyo State, Oba Rashidi Adewolu Ladoja, in a recent interview, shared surprising details about his impeachment during his tenure, clarifying the identity of the person responsible for his removal.
Contrary to popular belief, Ladoja revealed that his ousting was not orchestrated by the late political strongman, Alhaji Lamidi Adedibu, or his former deputy, Chief Adebayo Alao-Akala, as widely thought. Instead, it was former President Olusegun Obasanjo who played the key role in his impeachment.
Ladoja made this revelation during a radio interview with Isaac Brown on Fresh FM. He stated, “You see, some people said, it was Akala, it was Adedibu. No, it was not any of them. It was Obasanjo.”
Ladoja recalled the dramatic events leading to his impeachment and how he and a group of fellow governors from the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) attempted to prevent Obasanjo from going ahead with the plan. The group, including notable figures like Prince Olagunsoye Oyinlola, Otunba Gbenga Daniel, and Dr. Olusegun Agagu, traveled to Obasanjo’s residence in Abeokuta, Ogun State, to plead with him. It was during the Muslim festival of Eid-el-Kabir when they made the visit.
He said: “It was during the time of Ileya [Muslim festival Eid-el-Kabir]. We went to see Baba Obasanjo. I think it was on a Friday or Saturday that we went to see him in Abeokuta. I was there with Oyinlola, Daniel and Agagu.
“We did not call (Ayo) Fayose, because we knew that Fayose was Baba’s son. So they knelt down and I knelt down with them. They were begging him, ‘Baba, please, let Ladoja be’.
“Baba then said ‘Rashidi, go and resign!’ I said ‘No, I won’t resign!’ He said, ‘if you don’t resign, you would be removed’. I said ‘No, they cannot do it.’ He said ‘why’”. I said ‘because you cannot get two-thirds.’
“He said ‘two-thirds my foot’ and then he left the place in fury. [Gbenga] Daniel ran after him.
“While we were reflecting on what we were going to do, myself, Agagu and Oyinlola, a man came in; it was the former World Court Justice, Prince Bola Ajibola.
“He said ‘what is wrong with you?’ He said ‘I know your problem. Your problem is that you don’t want Ladoja to be impeached. They (Oyinlola, Agagau and Daniel) said yes.
“Justice Ajibola said ‘well, I’ve talked about it to Segun, he’s just adamant. He said ‘but you’re leaders in your own rights. There comes a time when you must have to stand up and fight.’
“Then he told us the story of ‘Jafitafita’. The story of ‘Jafitafita’ is simple. It is about tortoise and his wife, yannibo.”
“I must put it on record that Prince Ajibola did wonderfully for us because he told us exactly what to do: we ‘jafitafita’.
“When eventually we got the judgement of the Appeal Court, Baba said no. People said this is a declarative judgement; he said they are going to stay its execution.
“And eventually, it stayed until the Supreme Court confirmed the judgement of the Court of Appeal.”
