allAfrica.com: Nigeria: Between Dora Akunyili And Lamidi Adedibu (Page 1 of 1)

It is often said that what a man can do, a woman can do even better.

In Nigeria, women have proven it time and time again, that they can match men in every aspect of human endeavor both positive and negative. Although, these two personalities became famous at the return of the present democracy, they are the opposite of each other whichever way we look at it. One can easily compare and contrast the character traits of these two great Nigerians. Both are daring and fearless. They carry out their jobs with passion, pump and pageantry. While Akunyili is a thorough bred professional, who has gone through the four corners of the classroom, Adedibu is a professional godfather, who relies on the use of brute force and intimidation to achieve his aims. Akunyili is a stickler to the rule of law, while Adedibu has a notorious fame for bending the laws of the land to suit his intentions. Professor Dora Akunyili is one of the shining lights of the present democracy that has been consistent in her quest for excellence, good governance and rule of law. Through dint of hard work and uncanny resilience and patriotism, Akunyili has been able to rid the nation of fake drugs, at least to some extent.

While Adedibu has been crowned the garrison commander of Ibadan politics, Akunyili has won several awards both locally and internationally, in recognition of her sterling performance in the last few years. Akunyili has survived an assassination attempt while Adedibu successfully midwifed the impeachment of his erstwhile god son and former governor of Oyo state, Alhaji Rashidi Ladoja.The meeting point of both Adedibu and her is that, while Akunyili was busy fighting fake drug dealers at the Onitsha market, Adedibu was plotting the removal of former governor Rasheed Ladoja. In Ibadan, the fear of Adedibu is the beginning of political success, while the fear of Akunyili is the end of fake drugs in the country.

Today, there is what I prefer to call a war between Adedibu and Akunyili, although it is clearly a matter between the state and Adedibu in the actual sense. Akunyili has accused Adedibu of preventing staff of the National Agency For Food and Drug Administration and Control (NAFDAC) from doing their job in Oyo state, and has threaten to withdraw the agency's personnel from Ibadan if nothing is done to tame the garrison commander. The NAFDAC director general is woman not given to semantics; she is a practical person and does not mince words when her job is put on line. I am very happy, Akunyili's SOS call is coming at a time we are emphasising due process and rule of law. In the years past, lawlessness was the order of the day, and Adedibu may not have realised the magnitude of the damage he had vested on the state and the people. For quite a long while, Adedibu has been allowed to go scot free with his antics. What Adedibu has exhibited in Oyo state in the past few years to me, is not different from what militants in the Niger Delta are doing. If he has the audacity to confront government workers and stop them from carrying out their official assignment, it is tantamount to kidnapping.

We are now in a new age and people like Adedibu must be whipped into line because Nigeria cannot continue this way. I learnt the garrison commander is not lettered and this may have been responsible for his blatant disregard for laws of the land. I have been made to understand that Adedibu is a close friend of former President Olusegun Obasanjo, and it was this same man that gave Akunyili the necessary impetus to excel in her assignment. The woman is doing a wonderful job and anything that would distract her attention must be resisted with all seriousness. If Obasanjo had tolerated Adedibu and created a monster out of him, president Yar'Adua should not fold his arms and allow such characters to have a field day, and turn the country into a "banana republic."

It baffles me that the southwest, which is the most educated and enlightened geo-political zone in the country has for sometime now been hijacked by illiterates. Is the area growing or going backwards? In the days of Pa. Awolowo, the educated people such as Fani Kayode, Akintola and a host of others dictated the tune of events, unfortunately the tide has changed and ugly ones have taken over leadership. It sounds incredible that an individual has arrogated absolute powers to himself, and the government seems hopeless or has refused to act for reasons best known to it. It is a fact that Adedibu is governor Akala's godfather and so Dora Akunyili's plea to him to help save her men from the hands of egbon Adedibu will not yield any positive result. But I believe, Adedibu is not Mike Okiro's godfather or President Yar'Adua's, this is the time to act. The earlier the government of the day nip this abnormalty in the bud, the better, because, if this trend is allowed to continue, we will soon have a situation whereby other powerful individuals in the society using their influence and money, would start emulating Adedibu and Nigeria may become a lawless state.

Alternatively, since President Yar'Adua is insisting on the rule of law, I will advise the NAFDAC director general, to take Adedibu to court for being an impediment to the agency, and forget about reporting him to the governor. As far as I am concerned, the governor is hopeless in this matter because, he lacks the courage to face Adedibu. Adedibu is a lord in Ibadan and was pivotal in ensuring that Akala emerged as governor and going by the antecedents of amala politics, there is no way, he will confront Adedibu with such a complaint. I will also encourage other security agencies in Oyo state to rise up to their responsibilities, and put the Adedibu's where they belong. If characters like this are given the latitude to operate in the society, what future are we preparing for our children? What legacy do we plan to leave for them? This is shameful and I will urge the inspector general of police to act immediately because this is anarchy!

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