After a series of denials from the camp of Abiola Ajimobi, the death of the ex-governor was made known to the public on 25th of June, 2020 . He died as a result of health complications from COVID 19 infection. Immediately the news was announced to the public, his house was besieged by followers and party members.
Isiaka Abiola Ajimobi, a former chief executive officer in a multinational company, former Senator of the Federal Republic of Nigeria and the first two times governor of Oyo State has departed the world of mortals, Koseleri (it has never happened before) is gone!
While he was the governor of Oyo State, he did many things to improve the state economy and also worked on the infrastructural facilities within the state. In the 8 years of governing Oyo State, four major controversies sprung up under his leadership which is inseparable with the 8 years rule of Ajimobi. These controversies are part of the hallmark of his rule and they will journey even to the grave with him. When a man is gone, his legacy speaks for him, these are the controversies associated with Abiola Ajimobi led government.
1. Kingship tussle: During the second tenure of Abiola Ajimobi as the governor of Oyo State, he reviewed the Olubadan chieftaincy title which led to 21 chiefs being upgraded to Obas, a clear violation to an ancient system of choosing kings in Ibadan land. This created a tension-filled scene within the city of Ibadan, a court of law was approached to help settle out the issue. This led to a 2-year old rumbling between the Olubadan-in council and the Ibadan traditional Obaship system. The controversy was put to an end when all the parties involved agreed to the out-of-court settlement court judgment.
2.Demolition of Yinka Ayefele's music house: The Ajimobi led government marked the music house that belonged to a popular musician, Yinka Ayefele for demolition. This purported demolition generated a lot of heat within the state. On August 19th in the year 2018, the house was demolished in the early hours of the day. At daybreak, a lot of sympathizers had gathered at the just demolished house, it was such a sad gathering, it was just a matter of time before the video of the demolition went viral on the internet. Ajimobi's government was bombarded with a barrage of criticisms, many tagged him a tyrant and an undemocratic leader. Due to public condemnation that followed the demolition, the Oyo State government had to agree with Yinka Ayefele to rebuild the music house.
3. Ajimobi Vs LAUTECH students: The students of the Ladoke Akintola University of Technology, Ogbomosho, converged at the government house to protest against the closure of the school for a period of 8 months. Ex-governor Ajimobi met with them, but the way he addressed the student-generated a very fierce controversy that was felt all over the nation. The students felt a display of arrogance and lack of empathy for their predicament from the governor. The protests would have snowballed into very ugly gathering if not for the intervention of the security officials. His confrontation with LAUTECH students earned him the name " Mr. Constituted Authority"
4. Privatization of public schools: Ex-governor Abiola Ajimobi decided to do something about the standard of education in the state, which later confirmed when the state was announced by WAEC to have occupied 34 out of the 36 states in the federation based on the performance in the last examination held by the body, Ajimobi decided to privatize the public schools to make them better.
The idea of privatization was not bought into by major stakeholders of education in the state. The parents were not forthcoming as regards the payment of #1000 per child, many parents made it known to the then-governor that they could not afford it. The labour union of teachers in the state was skeptical about the idea, this was not well accepted by the governor.
In one of the stakeholders meeting called by the Oyo State government, the labour union leaders stormed the venue and disrupted the meeting. They were later arrested and the meeting was held. The labour leaders were charged to court on trump up accusation which they denied, they were later taken to Agodi Prison where they spent three days before they were released. On one of the occasions that the governor interacted with students of secondary schools in the state, the student booed the governor.
The controversies happened during the tenure of Abiola Ajimobi as the governor of Oyo State.
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