The Lawlessness Of Lamidi Adedibu In Ibadan

Ibadan, the Oyo State capital was literally seized by the throat recently by suspected hoodlums loyal to Alhaji Lamidi Adedibu. The political godfather of Ibadan politics as opposed to the return of the state governor, Alhaji Rasheed Ladoja, whose controversial impeachment was recently nullified by the Court of Appeal. Several people were feared dead in the reign of terror unleashed by the hoodlums, who also dealt machete blows on several persons, while policemen just looked on. The hoodlums, mostly members of the National Union of Road Transport Workers (NURTW), armed with various dangerous weapons, including machetes and charms freely molested innocent citizens, the hoodlums who took off from the Molete area of the city, sacked the entire area and nearby Oke-Ado automobile market.

They then proceeded to the heart of the city daring any of Ladoja’s supporters to come out. They went around the city in over 35 commercial buses brandishing guns and other dangerous weapons and caused panic in the city. Residents ran helter-skelter for dear lives. From Oke-Ado, the thugs who were smoking Indian hemp moved to a different location within the Ibadan metropolis forcing shops to close down, asking people to stay at home, beating peace-loving and innocuous citizens blue and black, the peace and orderliness of the ancient city of Ibadan was disturbed beyond what mere words could describe. Harmless and law-abiding citizens were killed, never as Ibadan witnessed this kind of madness, and the goons were acting on the directive of Lamidi Adedibu, the custodian of Amala and gbegiri politics.

It is very disturbing to note that the police commissioner in Oyo State claimed that nothing of such happened in Ibadan; he said Ibadan was calm and that there is no cause for alarm. This is not just a matter of dereliction of duty, it is the most unreasonable thing to do, it means that the police commissioner has compromised his job, hence he should be eased out of the system. But much more importantly is the fact that Adedibu is a confirmed thug that has become a law unto himself, he behaves as if nobody can call him to order, even Alao-Akala goes to his house to pay homage to him, according to the 1999 constitution, the security and welfare of the citizens are the primary responsibility of government. And, what has given Adedibu the effrontery and temerity to unleash terror on people, is the kind of immoral support president Obasanjo has given to him since 1999 for political reasons.

Under normal circumstances, this thug ought to have been arrested and put behind bars as he has become a great danger to human society, but he has continued to carry on knowing fully well that we are in a lawless society. It has been said that Adedibu is working in concert with the government at the centre with the thinking that if a state of lawlessness is created, a state of emergency will be imposed rather than Governor Ladoja reclaiming his seat. It is also on record that both Adedibu and Akala said the court judgment cannot return Ladoja back to the government house. In order words, they don’t have respect for the rule of law and court orders without which democracy cannot strive. If those in positions of authority now fail to deal with the cancerous character now, it will no doubt hurt them in the future.

Adedibu has unleashed more than sufficient mayhem on the city of Ibadan, he has wrecked more than enough bedlam, now the point must be made that enough is enough. All men of goodwill and conscience should come together to fight these aberrations in our midst, the likes of Adedibu are not fit for human society, he is not only a problem to himself, but he also becomes a nuisance to society. Until those in government start doing the right thing, such nonentities like Adedibu will continue to feed fat on the sweat of the people. Those in government should have the fear of God and do the right thing, Adedibu has become a pain in the neck to the people of Ibadan and something should be done very fast before the situation degenerates beyond this point.