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Former governor of Oyo State, Rasidi
Ladoja, has described the current leadership of the state as
illiterates, saying his desire to dislodge the illiterates from the
state’s Government House informs his decision to contest in the next
governorship election.

Mr Ladoja, who was speaking at a
special lecture organized to mark his 66th birthday in Ibadan at the
weekend, said he was going to run for the office of state governor even
if the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), his current party, refuses him
the ticket.

“As I said, I have no choice nowadays, because of my children, to fight and get the glory of Oyo State back.

“If it is the quest of the people, at
the appropriate time, we will tell you the direction we are going. I
will contest. I will not loot the treasury. I will not betray your
trust. I will work assiduously for you all. I have said it; I will
contest with or without PDP,” he said.

He expressed worries that thugs have
taken over the running of the state, having successfully eased out the
best brains, urging the people to rise up to the task of taking the
power back from them.

“How did we get to this stage today?
The ball is in the court of all of us today. We must get them out of
that place. I told people that I am not afraid of death. The average
life-span in Nigeria is between 54 and 66. I am a father, I am a
grandfather. So I have decided that whatever is left for me will be
used on this struggle because I don’t want my grandchildren to be led
by thugs.

“One thing that I am grateful for is
that I gave good governance to the people of Oyo State when I was in
government. I did not add one block to my house, I did not add one
extra car to my fleet of cars and I did not add a plot to my estate. I
swear, I did not. So our intention is to let people know today that it
is a fight that we must fight, if we must get the government back from
the illiterates for the enlightened. We must be ready.” Rescue team
Adeniyi Akintola, a Senior Advocate of Nigeria (SAN), who gave the
birthday lecture, however, scored all those who have governed of the
state in the last 12 years low in terms of quality governance,
suggesting that the state needs a rescue team to get it out of the
current doldrums.

In a lecture, titled “50 Years of
Independence in Nigeria, Oyo State as a Pace Setter”, Mr Akintola
traced the problem of Oyo State to leadership, stating that “no pace
has been set and none is being contemplated” for her.

Specifically speaking on the last 12
years of our nation’s democracy, the senior lawyer said Oyo has been
bedevilled by rudderless leadership, who have failed to give it any
meaningful development.

“Virtually all the development projects
the state can boast of presently are the legacies of the late Chief
Obafemi Awolowo, General David Jemibewon and Chief Bola Ige, all of
whom worked tirelessly to champion the cause of the sustainable growth
and development of the state during their respective eras,” he said.

“Frankly speaking, the present day Oyo
State only sets the pace in culpable atrocities and evil deeds,
unbridled official corruption, inept leadership, massive election
rigging, institutional decay and gross underdevelopment.” He noted
further that the state has received several billions of naira in
statutory allocations since 1999, without anything tangible to show for
it, saying “under the present dispensation, selfless service and
commitment to the cause of the state on the part of the leaders are now
a thing of the past, with an attendant leadership failure now
militating against the sustainable growth and development of the state”.

The only way out, he explained, was for the political elite in the
south-west of the country to wake up from their slumber and wrestle
power from the current crop of leaders who have failed to give the
state, the political headquarters of the region, the required direction.