…in retrospect, what now promises to be the greatest of the Rashidi Ladoja episodes of resurgences, is scheduled for 26 September. That day, the sounds of gongs, drums, and Sèkèrè would accompany the best dancers, chanters and masquerades through the hilly surfaces of this great city of warriors, to usher Oba Rashidi Adewolu Ladoja to the throne of his forefathers.
Adéwòlú came into our consciousness, first, as a cameo, and since then Ibadan has witnessed dramatic episodes of the Rashidi Ladoja Resurgence on about four occasions in the city’s chequered history in the last four decades. The first was as a senator in 1992, decades after Yunusa Ladoja planted the first seed of partisan politics in the Ladoja clan under the umbrella of Adegoke Adelabu and the Ibadan District Council (IDC) in 1952.
The cameo ended abruptly: Ladoja was elected senator in the aborted Third Republic and forced to go on exile shortly after the men of guns and bullets took over the reign of power.
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The second resurgence was shortly after the military returned to the Baracks, and Ladoja returned to Nigeria alongside other pro-democracy campaigners. But it was one return that was bereft of pomp and pageantry, quiet in its airs of uncertainty, one that robbed his name — Adewolu, meaning “royalty enters the town” — of its subtextual essence. It was a moment of calm and sobriety, in the wake of Abacha’s reign of lunacy.
Exactly ten years after the cameo appearance, Ladoja recorded yet another triumphant entry into Ibadan, this time into the Agodi government House as governor. But the joys and mirth that accompanied that resurgence would soon be punctured by the ominous sounds of bullets, the genesis of what’s better known as the years of brigandage in Oyo politics. With Alhaji Lamidi Adedibu calling the shots from Molete, and the late Adebayo Alao-Akala presumably playing Lago, Ladoja governed in turbulent, treacherous waters. He was inevitably impeached under an atmosphere of chaos in 2006 and was forced out of Ibadan, the very city he loves intensely, for nearly a year.
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Again, after months of intense battles in the hallowed chambers of the courtrooms, Senator Ladoja, ever the irrepressible fighter, regained entry into the city in December 2006, shutting the door against naysayers.
He attempted yet another resurgence in 2011 and, less successfully, in 2015, with plans to regain entry into the Agodi Government House under the ACCORD Party, but failed.
So in some ways, the 2006 resurgence could be considered his biggest moment of glory in all of his dramatic entries into Ibadan. But interestingly, if there was any doubt about the veracity of that claim, fate has since put paid to it.
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And in retrospect, what now promises to be the greatest of the Rashidi Ladoja episodes of resurgences, is scheduled for 26 September. That day, the sounds of gongs, drums, and Sèkèrè would accompany the best dancers, chanters and masquerades through the hilly surfaces of this great city of warriors, to usher Oba Rashidi Adewolu Ladoja to the throne of his forefathers.
And across Ibadan, one could feel the pulse of the people already: in the joyful words spoken by random traders in Ode-Aje Alásé and Oranyan markets; in the big, ubiquitous posters announcing the coronation ceremonies along Aleshinloye and Ring Road and elsewhere; in the sheer enthusiasm with which otherwise cantankerous Micra drivers look forward to his reign along Sango-Eleyele road; in the culture-rich jingles announcing his triumphant entry into the Olubadan Palace on radio stations across the city.
Ibadan is alive, awaiting what appears as the most anticipated coronation ceremony in its recent history: the Rashidi Ladoja royal resurgence.
It was no surprise that when the courts sent Alao-Akala packing, he was ushered into Agodi by the very ordinary people in Ayeye, Oje, Agodi, through Idi-Ose. And when he floated Accord Party in 2011, he almost singlehandedly installed about a dozen House of Representatives and state assembly members, especially in Ibadan – a testament to his charismatic appeal within the city.
II
Ibadan peoples’ love for Olubadan Rashidi Ladoja is quite intense, steeped in the broader Yoruba peoples’ love for the valiant fighter, and specifically, his near-perfect personification of the Ibadan warrior’s image. But the story appears fluid, beginning with Baba Yunusa Ladoja, his father.
In the 1950s, Alhaji Olayiwola Yunusa Ladoja defeated the late garrison commander of Ibadan politics, Alhaji Lamidi Ariyibi Akanji Adedibu, and became councilor.
In his book, What I Saw in the Politics and Chieftaincy Affairs of Ibadanland, Adedibu narrates the defeat, in such dramatically painful tone, and some Ibadan historians suggest that Adedibu abandoned elective politics (and became godfather) because of that experience. So in 2006, when Adedibu became quite invincible, with President Obasanjo’s conspiratorial support, and the impeachment war reached its crescendo, it felt like a replay of the 1952 battle. And when Ladoja eventually returned to Agodi, the love was more pronounced: he was like his father, a Silent Fighter.
But beyond that, this love isn’t without its basis, whether in history, culture, or even governance records —–warts and all.
For one, as a senator in 1992/93, Ladoja was one of the staunchest, principled defenders of the June 12 mandate, although he wasn’t loud. Self-effacing and limelight-shy, he threw his weight behind anti-Junta initiatives and was forced into exile for his pro-democracy principles.
On the cultural front, he supported some of the most important works of arts that gave meaning to the democratic struggle under the military junta. Think Saworoide. Think Agogo Ewo. I do not have details of the arrangement with the great TK, but Ladoja was “Executive Producer” for many of the classics of that era.
On the policy front, Ladoja’s approach to basic education was perhaps the most impactful in Oyo since 1999, reducing the number of out-of-school children quite drastically. His 30-pupils-per-class policy was quite commendable, shifting priority towards quality teaching.
For civil servants, Ladoja was their darling, with the prompt payment of salaries. Where Lam Adesina before him screamed “Awo o ka’ju ilu” — i.e allocations weren’t enough to cover overheads — workers felt some relief under him and when the floods came from Molete, they stood by him.
Not the most gifted of speakers, he made up for that with his down-to-earth persona. Heck, he loved the Ankara fabric – a fashion style President Kérékou hailed and admired about him in Benin Republic – and that endeared him to the hoi polloi.
It was no surprise that when the courts sent Alao-Akala packing, he was ushered into Agodi by the very ordinary people in Ayeye, Oje, Agodi, through Idi-Ose. And when he floated Accord Party in 2011, he almost singlehandedly installed about a dozen House of Representatives and state assembly members, especially in Ibadan – a testament to his charismatic appeal within the city.
From his antecedents, one can safely posit that he brings forth a fascinating blend of Oba Olakulehin’s regal aloofness; Oba Lekan Balogun’s political capital; Oba Saliu Adetunji’s strength, patience, and tenacity; Oba Samuel Odulana Odugade’s academic credentials, exposure, dispute-resolution skills and discipline; Oba Yunusa Ogundipe’s stabilising aura; Oba Yesufu Asanke’s popularity and charisma; Oba Gbadamosi Adebimpe’s royal grace…
Perhaps his most recent exhibition of the Ibadan warrior spirit and principled battles was during the furore over the review of the Olubadan Chieftaincy law under Abiola Ajimobi. A somewhat well-meaning but politicised reform, Ladoja stood his grounds against all odds, even as he had to make some diplomatic retreat afterwards.
Given the intense emotional investment Ibadan people have in the new Olubadan-designate, the pedant’s inquiry pops up: What does Olubadan Ladoja bring to the throne?
From his antecedents, one can safely posit that he brings forth a fascinating blend of Oba Olakulehin’s regal aloofness; Oba Lekan Balogun’s political capital; Oba Saliu Adetunji’s strength, patience, and tenacity; Oba Samuel Odulana Odugade’s academic credentials, exposure, dispute-resolution skills and discipline; Oba Yunusa Ogundipe’s stabilising aura; Oba Yesufu Asanke’s popularity and charisma; Oba Gbadamosi Adebimpe’s royal grace; Oba Isaac Akinyele’s reformist mindset; Oba Abass Aleshinloye’s redefining grace; and Iba Oluyole’s valour.
So far, Olubadan Ladoja has made two important interventions that I found quite impressive: in his very early interview shortly after the coast became clearer for his emergence, he visited his ancestral home in Isale-Osi and warned miscreants and hemp-smokers that the community would not tolerate crimes and indolence. Such reform-minded move would gladden the heart of any well-meaning Ibadan indigene with the faintest idea of the damage thuggery has done to too many young, impressionable minds in downtown Ibadan
In another interview, he promised to volunteer to teach at his alma mater, Ibadan Boy’s High School, upon being crowned as Olubadan. With Oyo State’s unenviable record as the state with (one of) the highest out-of-school children in southern Nigeria, there isn’t a better way of signalling how important the office would handle matters of (basic) education and improve enrolment with the right cultural influences!
Due to travels and work schedules, I have never attended the coronation of any Olubadan in recent history, not even that of Aje Oguguniso, a childhood friend of Alhaji J14, my grandpa. But shortly after he emerged Olubadan-designate, I made a promise to myself in a Twitter post: by God’s grace, I’d be there at Oba Rashidi Adewolu Ladoja’s – one of the greatest Ibadan sons since Lagelu.
So why does Ibadan love Olubadan Rashidi Adewolu Ladoja so intensely? Because he exemplifies what it means to be an Ibadan man – an eternal fighter.
Come 26 September 26, the greatest episode of the Rashidi Ladoja resurgence will unfold in Ibadan, and the subtextual meaning of his name, Adewolu, would come alive:
Eni e ní ó mó wò’Bàdàn
Tó b’Élékùró w’òlú
Ó d’élé tán,
Iba ni wón fi je.
Kááábíyèsí o!
Oladeinde Olawoyin, the Business Editor of Premium Times, writes from Abere Compound, Oja’ba, Ibadan.
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