Years after his
death, the legacy of violence entrenched in Oyo State by Lamidi
Adedibu, acclaimed strongman of Ibadan politics, still subsists.
The evidence reared
its ugly head on Thursday when a violent clash erupted between members
of the proscribed National Union of Road Transport Workers (NURTW) in
Oyo State and a contingent of the state government at the Olomi/Academy
area of Ibadan, the state capital.
According to
reports, no fewer than two people were feared dead while scores
sustained injuries during the clash. The state government team was
mobilised to the scene to demolish the state secretariat of the union
as earlier promised by the governor, Adebayo Alao-Akala.
The governor,
during a visit of Nojeem Yasin, NURTW national president, to his office
last year, indicated his intention to pull down the building, sighting
the hardship, residents of the neighbourhood face each and every time
factions of the union engage each other in show of strength.
His effort to make
good the promise last Thursday, however, turned bloody as members of
the union, loyal to Lateef Akinsola (aka Tokyo) gave the demolition
squad a fierce resistance. Eyewitnesses gave the names of the deceased
as Nurudeen Azeez and Ismaila Agbojo, adding that several others
injured during the encounter were being rushed to undisclosed hospitals.
The demolition
squad, led by the state’s Commissioner for the Environment and Water
Resources, Majekodunmi Aborode, had arrived the area around 8.00 am in
company of hundreds of fierce-looking anti-riot policemen. But before
they could settle down to execute their mission, members of the union,
who had been lurking around, came out, resisted them, and engaged the
policemen in gun duel. The resistance forced the squad to retreat and
called for reinforcement.
That did not work
either as the NURTW members did not only fiercely oppose the augmented
team, they also burnt two trailers used to convey the earth moving
equipment to the scene, as well as shot at and deflated the tyres of
the Armoured Personnel carrier (APC) that led the team there.
“We went there with
over 300 armed policemen. We never imagined that we can be confronted
with such huge resistance. The kind of arms available to those hoodlums
is enormous. If we decide to confront them, casualty figures will be
too high. That was why we retreated,” lamented a member of the
demolition team who pleaded anonymity.
The deceased and
the injured were said to have been hit during the cross fire that
lasted for hours. Residents of the area and passers-by scampered for
safety as sound of gunshots rented the air. Leaning on their past
experiences, residents of Ibadan, became jittery as news of the
encounter spread.
After successfully
chasing the government team away, the union members took over the
building and its environs, totting machetes, guns, sticks, broken
bottles and assorted charms.
When NEXT went back
to the scene early last Friday, eerie silence pervaded the whole area
as there were fears that the police might come back more forcefully to
go after the occupants and demolish the building.
Baba Adisa Bolanta,
Oyo police commissioner, who confirmed the incident on Thursday, said
he was yet to be formally informed of numbers of casualties involved.
He debunked the rumour that one of his policemen was among those killed
during the encounter.
According to him,
his men were at the scene to ensure peace and did not fire a shot
there, saying if any death was recorded, it was the handiwork of the
resisting unionists. The manner of operation is instilling fears on the
residents of the state as the April general elections approach.
“If the police
could be so resisted, it means we are in trouble in Oyo state. If this
is happening now, what do we expect during the election period?” a
resident quipped during a chat with NEXT.
Politicians from
other parties were quick to put blame on the ruling party . The Accord
Party which has former Governor Rashidi Ladoja, as its gubernatorial
candidate in the April poll, readily blames the governor for the crisis.
In a release issued
shortly after the incident, Segun Oyewole, a leader of the party, who
spoke on behalf of the candidate’s campaign organisation, noted that
the incessant clash between factions of the state NURTW, is a direct
result of the governor’s interference in their affairs. “Governor
Akala’s interference is connected to his sinister plan to use some
members of the Union to perpetuate evil during the April, 2011 general
elections,” the statement alleged.
Events took a
detour between the governor and Mr. Akinsola (aka Tokyo) after the
latter was said to be rooting for the emergence of Teslim Folarin,
Senate majority leader, as the next state governor in the elections.
Tokyo was the
leader of the NURTW, used to unleash terror on the state during the
2007 election, which was massively flawed in favour of Mr. Alao-Akala.
However, his new
stance on the state politics earned him the wrath of the governor, who
is making frantic effort to get rid of him. The effect was the sharp
crack within the union which is spilling blood within and outside the
ranks of the union.
Dotun Oyelade,
special adviser to the state governor on public communications,
attempted to rationalise the proscription of the state NURTW and
attempt to demolish its secretariat shortly after the Thursday
incident. “Government took decision to proscribe NURTW in Oyo State to
stem incessant crisis and later decided to demolish its Secretariat to
consolidate peace. In enforcing this, the plan was to erect a school on
the land to secure the lives of the residents from the hoodlums,” he
said in a statement.
