Ademola Adeyemo
25 June 2009
analysis
Lagos — In a normal setting, the National Union of Road Transport Workers (NURTW) is supposed to be an ordinary industrial union, but in Oyo State, the situation is different. Members of this union constitute an alternative government, taking laws into their own hands.
They also serve as ready tools of violence in the hands of desperate politicians seeking public offices or selfish goals. Ademola Adeyemo in this report chronicles the intrigues and politics behind the recent removal of the NURTW helmsman in Oyo State, Alhaji Lateef Akinsola, alias Tokyo
Alhaji Lateef Akinsola (a.k.aTokyo) until his recent deposition was the strong man of the Oyo State chapter of the National Union of Road Transport Workers (NURTW) as well as a leader of the militant arm of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) in Oyo State.
However, Akinsola's 26 years reign as the strongman of Oyo NURTW came to an end abruptly last week when he was arrested by the state Police Command for alleged conspiracy and murder. He was first declared wanted by the state Police Commissioner, Mr Baba Adisa Bolanta. Akinsola was later arrested hiding inside the ceiling of his house and has since being clamped into detention. To compound his problem, his deputy, Alhaji Lateef Salako was sworn in last Monday by the national president of NURTW, Alhaji Gidado Hamman, as the new helmsman in the state thus putting an end to a reign of terror.
The rise of Akinsola, an ordinary trade union leader to a politically powerful man in Oyo politics was dramatic. Prior to the present democratic experience in 1999, Akinsola a union leader was arrested along with some pro-democracy activists including late Chief Bola Ige , Alhaji Lam Adesina former governor of Oyo State by the late General Sani Abacha's military government and clamped into prison for organizing protest against the annulment of the June 12,1993 presidential election. The detainees were declared as prisoners of war (POW) by the then military governor of Oyo state, Col. Ahmed Usman.
Akinsola and Adesina shared the same cell at Agodi prison and after their release, Adesina later became the governor of Oyo state in 1999 and brought his friend Akinsola into government house where he created an office for him titled "friend of the governor". Akinsola was integrated into the then ruling party, Alliance for Democracy (AD) as the leader of the NURTW chapter.
Akinsola and his men were used to fester AD's political hold on the state. However, he was later lured into the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) by late Alhaji Lamidi Adedibu, his union was regularly used to organise violence on political opponents in the state which paved way for the emergence of Senator Rashidi Ladoja as the governor of Oyo State having defeated Adesina in 2003. Since then Akinsola gained political recognition in the state and a tool of violence in the hands of politicians.
In 2004, Akinsola was detained for the murder of Adeniran Onabole, a chieftain of NURTW in Ogbomosho. He was held in Agodi prison for over two years, before being discharged and acquitted in 2006 as a result of Adedibu's connection and influence. Since then he had became so powerful and untouchable in the politics of Oyo State. His association with the power that be had turned him into a' tin god' in the state. He ruled NURTW like an emperor and his words were laws.
However, due to his lack of understanding of the nature of power, Akinsola misapplied power in conducting the affairs of his union; he also failed to realize that the power of government is awesome and omnipotent. No doubt, he enjoyed maximum protection from Adedibu's political machinery.
But Akinsola's fall from grace to grass started early this year when he started creating his own empire to rival the ruling PDP in the state. Armed with an exaggerated impression of his power and influence, he was said to have met with the leaders of the opposition Action Congress with the aim to support the party's candidate in the 2011 election who is an indigene of Ibadan.
Akinsola was said to have told his close associates that come 2011, he would not support Akala for his second term in office bid but instead he has pitched his tent with a governorship aspirant of an Ibadan origin. Akala's camp was angered by this act of betrayal of a supposed loyal party man and vowed to ensure his removal from office before the next general election, so as to avoid a situation where he will be used by an opponent to thwart Akala's ambition. This development accounted for his fall out with the power that be in the state and it was obvious from then that his days as NURTW were numbered. Arrangement was therefore quickly set in motion to find a replacement for Akinsola. His deputy Alhaji Lateef Salako (a.k.a Lati Eleweomo) was found more loyal and asked to take over.
The supporters of the two leaders engaged themselves in violence attacks as. Akinsola and Salako were locked in a battle for the control of the union. Many were injured during the encounter, and vehicles damaged. Also two guards attached to Salako's residence were killed by the hoodlums. This prompted the police to declare Akinsola wanted in connection with the murder. .
Shortly after the attack, Akinsola attempted to see Akala in his country home, Ogbomoso, but the governor who neither condones any act of lawlessness nor indiscipline, openly rebuffed him. Also, Akinsola made similar overtures to one of the key aides to the Governor, and expectedly he met a brick wall. It was at this point that the magnitude of his action dawned on him and subsequently went into hiding.
Police immediately swung into action. He was eventually arrested in the roof of a house he had been using as his hideout. Among those arrested with him were 15 members of the union who were alleged to have been involved in the murder of the two guards. He was handcuffed and conveyed to the Headquarters of the State Police Command, in an Armored Personnel Carrier (APC).
The arrest however demystified Akinsola who was said to have gone down on his kneels begging the police commissioner not to detain him .He said, "Please, don't be annoyed that I did not heed the call. It is the work of the devil. I beg you in the name of God, you will not make mistake in the course of your service. See my hands. They are bruised".
Watchers of political events in the state expressed their surprise that the police could arrest Akinsola because of past experiences when serious allegations were leveled against him and he was neither detained nor questioned. He was the 'military general' of Adedibu, who was his major patron. They were however happy that Akinsola's arrest will bring an end to the crisis within the union. "If Governor Alao-Akala is sincere, it will mark an end to the problem", an observer said.
The ruling Peoples Democratic Party in the state has however, distanced itself from Akinsola. The party's secretary Mr. Basiru Akande, said the party would not involve itself in the case as a law abiding party. "Tokyo's case is with the police. We believe in the rule of law. The PDP will not intervene in any union matter. The fact that Tokyo is in the PDP does not make him above the law. We will not influence any matter with the police", he said.
However, in a swift move, Salako was last week sworn in as the acting chairman of the State chapter of NURTW by the National President of the union, Gidado Hamman.
This followed the passage of vote of no confidence on the former chairman by leaders of different branches of the union in the state. Oyo NURTW had in the said letter maintained that having being indicted by security reports, Akinsola could not be allowed to continue leading them, adding that urgent efforts should be made to redeem the image of the union.
Salako in his acceptance speech, promised to put an end to acts of thuggery and extortion of members which his predecessor's regime had allowed to dent the image of the union in the state in the past few years. Gidado said the national leadership of the union had nothing against Akinsola but only responded to a letter of no confidence dated June 18, 2009, passed against him by members in the state. He however, warned members against the use of fire arms and dangerous weapons saying the union will not condone the use of illegal arms by any of its members. He appealed to the police to prosecute any member of the union found in possession of illegal fire arms.
According to him, the leadership of the union is doing everything to insulate the NURTW from partisan politics, just as he urged security agents to treat any member of the union caught with gun or machete as criminal. However, after 14 days in police custody, Akinsola and four others were charged to court on a six-count charge of murder and felony to commit murder But Akinsola said that his present predicament has political undertones.
"I want to tell you that I knew nothing about this problem they arrested me for. My hands are clean and I want to say that it is political persecution"
But the governor has washed his hands clean of the former NURTW chairman's predicament. The Chief Press Secretary to the governor Mr Abraham Bolaji Ojo dismissed the accusation of insincererity leveled against the governor by the oppositions in the state. According to him "it is not unexpected that the opposition, in its usual characteristic manner of blackmail, lies, and even frivolities launched an unbridled attack on the Government of Oyo State accusing it of insincerity. What is very disheartening is the inability of the critics and the opposition to do a thorough home work before rushing to the press to air their erroneous views; otherwise they would have known the true position of issues and refrain from perpetual falsehood and lies"
"Given the fact that no meaningful development can be achieved in any organisation in an atmosphere of discord or rancour, the governor took it upon himself to ensure that every segment of the society is devoid of any destabilizing factor that can scuttle peaceful co-existence"
According to Ojo, "when the governor, based on security report, learnt of the impending imbroglio within the NURTW, he swung into action. Like the proverbial adage, "you don't sleep while your roof on fire", and as a true leader that he is, he stooped low to the level of the leadership of the NURTW. As a matter of fact, the governor on June 3 which happened to be his birthday set aside some important and pressing issues to dialogue with the leadership of the NURTW.
"Experience has shown that the NURTW is known for its violence and indeed anytime there is a clash amongst them over any issue, no matter how inconsequential, the aftermath of such clash is not palatable, sometimes leading to wanton destruction of property and loss of lives. The governor made a passionate plea to let peace reign, stressing that dialogue is the best option to resolve any issue relating to union matters. It was further gathered that the governor at the said meeting made it known that the law is no respecter of any body, however, as brothers and in the interest of peace, they should eschew any form of violence for the sake of peace and harmonious living"
He further explained that. Unknown to the governor, he was speaking to some deaf ears as in spite of all his passionate pleas, a faction of the NURTW was allegedly to have attacked a prominent member of the union, a day after the meeting with the governor, ransacking his house, where thy leashed a reign of terror in the neighborhood, where some people were alleged to have been killed.
He said that Alao-Akala has demonstrated his disgust at any act of lawlessness and will not under any circumstance offer any protective shield to any one suspected to have committed a criminal act, but will rather allow the law enforcement agencies to discharge their statutory responsibilities without let or hindrance.
"To therefore accuse the PDP controlled Government under the leadership of Otunba Alao-Akala of being insincere and lukewarm towards the crisis, and that the governor edged out Alhaji Akinsola Oluwatoki (Tokyo) to erect his own political structure towards the 2011 polls as orchestrated by a columnist in one of the dailies, smack of ignorance, mischief and an attempt to perpetuate falsehood all of which are hallmark of the opposition in its attempt to draw undeserved publicity to itself.
Be the first to Write a Comment!
Copyright © 2009 This Day. All rights reserved. Distributed by AllAfrica Global Media (allAfrica.com). To contact the copyright holder directly for corrections — or for permission to republish or make other authorized use of this material, click here.
AllAfrica aggregates and indexes content from over 125 African news organizations, plus more than 200 other sources, who are responsible for their own reporting and views. Articles and commentaries that identify allAfrica.com as the publisher are produced or commissioned by AllAfrica.
