Chief
Chief may refer to:
Title or rank
Military and law enforcement
* Chief master sergeant, the ninth, and highest, enlisted rank in the U.S. Air Force and U.S. Space Force
* Chief of police, the head of a police department
* Chief of the boat ...
Lamidi Ariyibi Akanji Adedibu (; 24 October 1927 – 11 June 2008) was an
aristocratic
Aristocracy (; ) is a form of government that places power in the hands of a small, privileged ruling class, the aristocrats.
Across Europe, the aristocracy exercised immense economic, political, and social influence. In Western Christian co ...
power broker in
Oyo State
Oyo is a States of Nigeria, state in South West (Nigeria), southwestern Nigeria. Its capital is Ibadan, the List of Nigerian cities by population, third most populous city in the country and formerly the second most populous city in Africa. Oyo ...
,
Nigeria
Nigeria, officially the Federal Republic of Nigeria, is a country in West Africa. It is situated between the Sahel to the north and the Gulf of Guinea in the Atlantic Ocean to the south. It covers an area of . With Demographics of Nigeria, ...
. Former President
Olusegun Obasanjo
Chief Olusegun Matthew Okikiola Ogunboye Aremu Obasanjo (; ; born 5 March 1937) is a Nigerian former army general, politician and statesman who served as Nigeria's head of state from 1976 to 1979 and later as its president from 1999 to 200 ...
described him as the "father of the PDP".
Biography
Adedibu was born on 24 October 1927 at Oja-Oba,
Ibadan
Ibadan (, ; ) is the Capital city, capital and most populous city of Oyo State, in Nigeria. It is the List of Nigerian cities by population, third-largest city by population in Nigeria after Lagos and Kano (city), Kano, with a total populatio ...
, a member of the Olupoyi
chieftaincy
A tribal chief, chieftain, or headman is a leader of a tribal society or chiefdom.
Tribal societies
There is no definition for "tribe".
The concept of tribe is a broadly applied concept, based on tribal concepts of societies of western Af ...
ruling house.
Adedibu entered politics in the 1950s, when he became a member of the Ibadan People's Party, and then joined the Action Group under Chief
Obafemi Awolowo
Obafemi Jeremiah Oyeniyi Awolowo (6 March 1909 – 9 May 1987) was a Nigerian politician who served as the first Premier of the Western region of Nigeria. He was known as one of the key figure towards Nigeria's independence movement from 1957 ...
. Later he was a member of the
National Party of Nigeria
The National Party of Nigeria (NPN) was the dominant political party in Nigeria during the Second Republic (1979–1983).
History Formation
The party's beginning could be traced to private and sometimes secret meetings among key Northern Nigeri ...
Richard Akinjide
Chieftain, Chief Osuolale Abimbola Richard Akinjide, Senior Advocate of Nigeria, SAN (4 November 1930 – 21 April 2020) was a Nigerian lawyer and politician. He served as the federal minister, minister of Education minister, education in the ...
. He became an increasing force in politics during the military reign of General
Ibrahim Babangida
Ibrahim Badamasi Babangida (born 17 August 1941) is a Nigerian statesman and military dictator who ruled as military president of Nigeria from 1985 when he orchestrated a coup d'état against his military and political arch-rival Muhammadu ...
, where he backed the candidature of Major General
Shehu Musa Yar'adua
Shehu Musa Yar'Adua (; 5 March 1943 – 8 December 1997) was a Nigerian general and politician who was the ''de facto'' vice president of Nigeria as Chief of Staff, Supreme Headquarters when Nigeria was under military rule from 1976 to 1979. H ...
in the
Social Democratic Party
The name Social Democratic Party or Social Democrats has been used by many political parties in various countries around the world. Such parties are most commonly aligned to social democracy as their political ideology.
Active parties
Form ...
together with other politicians such as
Babagana Kingibe
Babagana Kingibe OV GCON (born 25 June 1945) is a Nigerian diplomat, politician and civil servant who has held several high ranking government offices, culminating in his appointment as the Secretary to the Government of the Federation from 200 ...
,
Atiku Abubakar
Atiku Abubakar (; born 25 November 1946) is a Nigerian politician and businessman who served as the vice president of Nigeria from 1999 to 2007 during the presidency of Olusegun Obasanjo. He ran for the office of governor of Adamawa State i ...
and
Abdullahi Aliyu Sumaila
Abdullahi Aliyu Sumaila (23 March 1946 – 11 January 2003) was a Nigerian politician and administrator. One of the first administrators to inherit the post first republican administrative structure instituted by the military, he served the Local ...
.
His brand of politics was described as a blend of populism and raw thuggery that often compelled either violent loyalty or violent opposition.
It was said that nobody assumed any political post in Oyo state without Adedibu's approval, leading to him being called "the strong man of Ibadan politics".
His son, Kamorudeen Adekunle Adedibu, was elected Senator for Oyo South in April 2007.
Senator Teslim Folarin, elected to the Senate for Oyo Central was his protégé.
Rasheed Ladoja
Oba Rashidi Adewolu Ladoja (; born 25 September 1944) is a Nigerian businessman and politician who served as the governor of Oyo State from 2003 to 2006; and from 2006 to 2007. He was impeached in January 2006, and reinstated in December 2006.
...
, who became governor of the state in May 2003, was another protégé, although by August 2004, Ladoja and Adedibu were locked in a fierce struggle over allocation of government appointees.
Adedibu died at the University College Hospital in Ibadan on 11 June 2008, leaving the chiefly rank and title of the Ekarun of
Ibadan
Ibadan (, ; ) is the Capital city, capital and most populous city of Oyo State, in Nigeria. It is the List of Nigerian cities by population, third-largest city by population in Nigeria after Lagos and Kano (city), Kano, with a total populatio ...
to be assumed by one of his subordinates in the clan's royal