Obasanjo: How Ladoja could have avoided impeachment

Ex-President Olusegun Obasanjo on Thursday said Rashidi Ladoja, former governor of Oyo, was impeached for being ungrateful to Lamidi Adedibu and Yekinni Adeojo.

Adedibu, now late, was referred to as the strongman of Ibadan politics, while Adeojo is a prominent politician in Oyo.

Speaking during the launch of the autobiography of Adebayo Alao-Akala, also a former governor of Oyo, Obasanjo said Ladoja had turned deaf ears to his entreaties and he paid heavily for it.

“You pointed out on page 140 that Ladoja picked up a quarrel with me for reason of a non-existent third term,” he said.

“I didn’t know that Ladoja picked up a quarrel that his becoming governor was due to the grace of God and major contributions of the two people.

“I pleaded with him to make accommodation for them both. He told me that they were all Ibadan people and they knew how to deal with themselves. He subsequently proved himself right as they dealt with themselves and he, Ladoja, came out the worse for it.”

Alao-Akala was the deputy governor of the state from 2003 to 2007 until Ladoja was impeached.

On his part, Alao-Alala said that he was a product of grace, saying God paved his way to greatness.

He narrated how his long anticipated desire was fulfilled, notwithstanding threat to achieving the dream.

“The tragic death of my father in a road accident in 1952 single-handedly threatened my dream of getting to the cusp of my life aspirations,” he said.

“But providence miraculously found for me a path to the top.”

Alao-Akala said the 140-page book contained how he attained his desire and changed the lives of the people in the state.

“How I became governor of Oyo state is also documented which serves as a reminder to those who may be prone to being quickly swept off by the amnesia of history that God used me.

“How myself and my team of dependable colleagues at that period in time changed the lives of the people in the state.”