The death of the former Governor of Oyo state, Senator Abiola Ajimobi, following COVID -19 related complications may have opened windows for the All Progressives Congress (APC) and the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) to score cheap political points ABDULRAHMAN ZAKARIYAU writes.
The for Governor of Oyo state, Senator Isiaka Abiola Adeyemi Ajimobi, was born on December 16, 1949, to the Ajimobi family of Ibadan at Oja-Iba, Ibadan.
He started his education at Saint Patricks Primary School, Oke-Padre in Ibadan, and completed his primary education at Ibadan City Council Primary School, Aperin. His secondary school education was at Lagelu Grammar School.
Ajimobi’s university education was at the United States of America, where he studied Business Administration and Finance at the State University of New York, where he graduating with a Bachelor of Science degree.
His MBA was in Operations Research and Marketing with a concentration in Finance at Governors State University, University Park, Illinois.
Prior to joining politics, he was formerly the Managing Director/Chief Executive Officer of the National Oil and Chemical Marketing Company, a subsidiary of Shell Petroleum, Nigeria.
He left the oil sector in 2002 after 26 years to seek political office and was elected in 2003 as a Senator representing Oyo South Senatorial District on the platform of the Alliance for Democracy (AD).
After one term in the senate, he contested in 2007 for the governorship seat of Oyo state under the banner of the All Nigeria Peoples Party (APP) but lost.
He contested again in the April 2011 gubernatorial elections under the Action Congress of Nigeria (CAN) and was elected governor in a closely contested poll.
Ajimobi was returned for a second term as governor in 2015 on the platform of the All Progressives Congress (APC), breaking the jinx as the first governor to be elected for a second term in office in Oyo state. However, his bid to return to the Senate 2019 was unsuccessful.
According to Reuben Abati, “His tenure as governor was quite controversial with mixed results and divided opinions on his achievement. He was a very frank and outspoken governor who was also very conscious of his social status and the powers attached to his office. He was also quite audacious. He engaged the Olubadan in an open battle when he chose in one instance to transform some High Chiefs of the Olubadan-in-Council into beaded kings.”
Beginning of the end
In June 2020, news broke that the former governor had tested positive for the Coronavirus (COVID-19), however, the development was not confirmed by his family or the APC. Media reports had it that he was subsequently moved from Abuja to Lagos.
His health status became a subject of public discourse and concern when the National Working Committee (NWC) of the APC named Ajimobi, who was the APC Deputy National Chairman (South), as acting National Chairman on June 16, 2020, after the Court of Appeal in Abuja upheld the suspension of the party’s National Chairman, Adams Oshiomhole.
Following controversies surrounding the health of the former governor’s the APC Deputy National Secretary, Victor Giadom, announced himself as acting national chairman throwing the party into further confusion and controversy. Regrettably, Ajimobi’s Covid-19 positive status became a political matter that some political actors cashed into for their selfish ends.
On June 18, the social media was awash with reports of Ajimobi’s death, however, his family and his media aide Bolaji Tunji debunked the news stating: “Kindly disregards all rumours, just rumours. In all, we remain prayerful. I spoke with those around him not long ago and they confirmed to me that he is still alive.”
Buhari’s intervention
As the controversy raged over the leadership of the ruling party as well as the health status of the acting national chairman President Muhammadu Buhari intervened sacking the entire National Working Committee (NWC) of the party.
Surprisingly, just hours after the President’s dissolution of the NWC the death of the former governor was announced reportedly as a result of multiple organ failure as a result of Covid-19. The 70-year-old politician was said to have been on life-support-machine at First Cardiology Hospital in Ikoyi, Lagos.
The secrecy that surrounded his health status as well as the earlier death rumours sparked controversy and political undertone that some people may have attempted to take undue advantage of the situation to score political points.
Widow accuses state govt of playing politics
The Wife of the late former Governor, Florence Ajimobi, had berated Governor Makinde over his government’s handling of her husband’s death stating that he was playing politics with the death of the former governor.
“My husband took ill precisely on May 27, 2020, and he was hospitalised. I read on the papers that he (the governor) claimed that he called me but I didn’t pick. He didn’t call me, even if he had called me, I never had his number. He should have sent text messages for record purposes.
“The governor of Oyo state never called me. He never signed a condolence message. He never called even when my husband was on his sick bed for one month. What politics are you playing, please?
“Life is short. I am a Christian and my husband was a Muslim. We should allow fear of God to guide us in whatever we do. Ajimobi is gone today, I am going to mourn and respect his wishes. That is what I am doing today. Lay him to rest peacefully. I don’t want any controversy.
“Everything I read in the papers, I just swallowed it and I let it go. Please, the press are here, we never had any rift with the governor or the state government. I never dialogue with them and I never confronted them and I never sent them a word because I didn’t know it was necessary for me to send an official message.
“I didn’t send a message to Governor Fayemi, I didn’t send to Governor Ganduje, and I didn’t send to Governor Sanwolu. I didn’t send to anybody. It was all over the social media. They knew my husband was ill. The least anybody could do was to send me a word of encouragement at that time.”
Makinde, Ajimobi’s family face-off avoidable
A political analyst based in Oyo state Ibrahim Abolore told our correspondent that Ajimobi’s death was politicised because he was a politician of note in the state.
Abolore in a phone chat with Blueprint Weekend said, “There are many reasons for the political atmosphere that has followed the death of the two-term governor of Oyo state. One it is that the late Ajimobi, no doubt, was a politician of note, not only in Oyo state, but in Nigeria at large.
“Another thing is they style of leadership he adopted when he was at the helms of affairs. So, his actions and inactions are political. As such people will continue to talk about it politically even after his death.
“Though the face-off between the late Ajimobi’s family and the Engr. Seyi Makinde led government was uncalled for, but it is so because they both belong to different political parties. So, the political differences brought about the cold war between the state government and the family. If they were in the same political party all these issues would not have been in the public domain for analysis or discussion.
“To a large, the fault also goes to Ajimobi’s family, the way and manner they handled the situation was like they were spoiling for war. Ajimobi deserves better having served the state for eight years as governor.”
What it means for APC, PDP
Ajimobi’s death obviously means different things to different people. For the APC in Oyo state it is a great setback as they have lost one of the pillars of the party in the state.
Consensus of opinion is that Ajimobi died when the APC in the state needed him to bring about lasting peace and return it to power in the state.
For political pundits, the situation has accorded the PDP a great advantage to further spread its tentacle and capture the entire state.
This is against the background that Ajimobi was seen as a major stumbling block to the influence of the PDP in the state, however, with his death the party has ample opportunity to dominate and take over.
