I see Adedibu in my dreams once in two weeks –Widow Our Sources say this edited version does not contain the chilling news of Adedibus warning from the Grave that HELL IS REAL !
Rumours are circulating in Ibadan that Adedibu appeared to his widow and says he is burning in Hell Fire !
Below is the edited version
From AKEEB ALARAPE, Ibadan
For upward of 20 years, Alhaja Modinat Abosede Adedibu bestrode the political circles of Oyo State , side by side with her beloved husband, late Chief Lamidi Ariyibi Adedibu. Popularly referred to as ‘Yeye’, Alhaja Bose was a force to be reckoned in the running of Molete political empire of Adedibu. Her words are laws and you dare not look her in the face if you don’t want to curry the anger of the ‘boys’.
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At the death of her husband last year, the running of Molete naturally fell on her lap as Adedibu’s hangers-on departed Molete for greener pastures at the homes of other political leaders in the state.
Preparatory to the commemoration of the one year anniversary of the death of the strongman of Ibadan politics, Alhaja Bose opened up to Daily Sun on the challenges facing her and how she has been coping with life after the demise of his godfather husband.
Excerpts:
By June 11, it will be one year that Baba departed to the world beyond. How has life been without Baba?
Well, I thank God for everything. It has been okay, no matter what. We still miss him and we will miss him for life. I thank God for everything.
Is there any plan to commemorate the one year of his death?
So many people have their plans for remembering him, not only on Thursday or Friday; but those that he had touched their lives. They have their plans. I, too, have my plans. The children also have their own.
I know my husband loved prayers too much. Yes, I know he loved to pray and I too do pray for him whenever I pray five times daily. But in commemoration of one year of his death, I will organize special prayers for him on Thursday and Friday. The prayers will continue but at least to mark those two days.
On the plans by his political children, so many of them have contacted me but until that day I cannot say what they have up their sleeves. I can’t be asking them what they have for the man. But I think they know their responsibilities and rights.
They know this man had touched their lives and they want to pay him back after his demise. So, there are too many plans that I cannot go into details. Whoever comes that day will be welcome.
What has been your relationship with numerous political children left behind by Baba? Are they living up to expectations?
No. No. I mean most of them. There is a Yoruba proverb that says ‘iwon ba ni awon to le se ehin’, meaning; ‘only a few can represent one in ones absence’.
Have they been shutting their doors against you?
Well, like my husband, I too believe so much in prayers. But those that know God very well among them and who also believe that one day we will all go to where this man has gone, are still with me and the family.
Apart from being your husband, who was Adedibu to you?
Everything. Did you know him? If you happen to sit down with him; if you happen to talk with him, what will you say about him? That is why I said he is everything to me. There is an adage that says ‘a kii rin ki ori ma mi’, meaning; ‘nobody can be perfect’. The man was a fantastic man. When it comes to prayers, you cannot beat him. In politics, he is yet to be surpassed.
Whenever they called him the strongman of Ibadan politics, I just look at them. He was not a strongman of Ibadan politics, he was the strongman of Nigerian politics. Yes, the strongman of Nigerian politics. And he knew what he was doing. You know, he followed his masters faithfully and he learnt a lot from them. I thank God for his life because God was actually merciful to him.
If there is room for re-incarnation and you happen to meet him again as an Adedibu, a politician, will you marry him?
Yes. Yes. Honestly. Honestly, I will prefer to marry him if we meet again.
Is it because of the fame, or the financial benefit you drive from him? Domestically, are you saying he was also a fantastic husband?
Yes. He was a loving father and a caring husband. You people underrated him. With him and the children, you can never quantify him. As he had time for politics, he had time for the children also. I can say he even had time for the children more than politics. And he cared.
What have been the challenges facing the family since the last one year of Baba’s death?
So far, so good. That is why I say I thank God. So many challenges. So many things. For instance, there is a stupid boy that used to send text messages to my mobile phones even in the mid of the night. He will curse me and curse my children. And we did not know the boy.
It was not until Friday, June 5 that we discovered him. I would have reported him but I was told to leave him to God. And I have decided to leave him to God because this particular boy is one of my handwork. So, for him to be sending text messages to me, cursing me in the absence of my husband; if my husband were to be alive, can he do that?
That is one of the insults. But the boy will soon know that God is a God of justice. He will soon realize that God will reward his deeds very soon.
What was his grouse?
Nothing between me and him. He was sending text messages to me because he claimed he heard that I wanted to contest the Federal House of Representatives seat, which Hon. Folake Oshinowo is presently occupying. He didn’t ask me; I didn’t tell anybody I am going to contest. Maybe, he was trying to satisfy Hon. Folake; I don’t know.
But Hon. Folake and I are in good terms. She is my very good sister and her husband too is my very good brother. We are very close. I don’t know the boy’s problem. You know, maybe he is benefiting something from Hon. Folake and he has to show that he is doing something in her favour in return. But I am very sure that very soon, he will meet his waterloo.
You still look young and beautiful. Do you have any plan to remarry after Baba’s demise or you are contented living as his widow?
(Laughs). How can I plan to remarry? Well, if I want to marry, I can still marry but it is not in my plan. My children are enough for me and they are doing fine.
Did Baba give you any specific message or instruction before his death or a premonition of his death?
No, he did not. He might have known that he was about to die but he did not tell me anything. Maybe, he had known that he wanted to die because his attitude changed even not three days before he died. That was why, before he died, I used to sit beside him; to monitor him and to correct him. What he was saying was the normal instructions and I did not see anything special about them.
As husband and wife, we used to discuss a lot. Now that he had died, I tend to reflect on some of the things he told me and now connect them with his death. Then, it dawned on me that he might have seen his death coming.
In the last one year, have you had the cause of seeing him in your dream?
Yes, all the time. At least, once in two weeks, I will see him in my dream. He will give me instructions on those he used to assist with money when he was alive and that I should go and give them money. He will advise me about matters affecting the children and he will always admonish me not to fight.
He also used to ask aftermembers of his political family, especially those who have stopped coming to see us. I don’t know how he got to know all these from his new abode.
You have learnt a lot from Baba that you too can now be described as a politician, is it true you are planning to contest or you prefer to remain a godmother?
Hmm. I don’t really want to contest. Initially, I wanted to contest before the arrival of my son-in-law, Senator Kamarudeen Adedibu; but since he has been there, I have dropped the idea.
You still maintain all the domestic staff left behind by Baba Adedibu, how are you managing to cope with them?
Thank God, I am doing my best. But I will say it is to God’s intervention. I am trying to cope.
Is there any plan to immortalize Adedibu’s name in view of his contribution to the politics of the state?
You mean in terms of a foundation in his name and all that? Well, there is. We are on it. The children and the government are putting something together. But I don’t know what Baba’s political children are doing to immortalize his names.
However, the governor and the deputy-governor have been doing their best for the family of Adedibu. If the governor is not coming to Molete again that does not mean he is not doing what is expected of him. You know, he cannot satisfy everybody since the family is a very large one. To me, his not coming here (Molete) does not mean anything. Whenever I want to see him or any member of the family, he sees us at interval.
The deputy-governor too has been doing fine. You know, his relationship is not based on politics. He is a son to Baba. So, he cannot afford to forget his father’s house.
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FEUDING BILLIONAIRES,AND THEIR AFFECT ON YOU
Nigerians love a good fight. Even better if it's the variety that pits one moneybag against the other. It is said money-making skills usually come with a personality that exudes discipline and calm; but we are often happy to see the richest among us occasionally let down their guards and reveal they are just as passionate and temperamental as the rest of us. Yes, ready to mix it up.
Such public scrapes let us know those in the monied class also have their moments of anger, that certain things make them mad and which they just won't take anymore. At those moments, the feuding rich among us are more like the touts and "agberos" of the numerous motorparks and less than the high-flying Croesus whose unfathomable wealth hold the rest of us in thrall.
But big money men (and women) do not quite fight like motor park touts and "agberos". No, it is much more serious. Others will even say "deadly". One can often hang around to see how a shouting match or brawl between two or more touts in a motor park will end. If you're unfortunate, you might probably get cut by a shard of broken glass or other objects inadvertently thrown your way by one of the urchin-like gladiators.
What happens when two billionaires fight? For one, you might not even know there is a major altercation underway. That is, until your life savings---and even your life---start melting away before your very eyes. This is the spectacle being inflicted on ordinary Nigerians caught in the middle of the on-going battle of wits---and wills---between billionaires Aliko Dangote and Femi Otedola.
Both men are the only two Nigerians among a handful of others from the African continent who have managed to make it to the authoritative Forbes magazine's list of dollar-denominated billionaires in the world. While Dangote's rating improved from 334 in 2008 to 261 this year, Otedola is a new entrant to the list. Dangote, 51, is now reportedly worth $2.5 billion, while Otedola, 42, is worth $1.2 billion.
Aside from the Forbes connection, Otedola and Dangote have, until recently, enjoyed a close personal bond, which makes their present feud all the more unfathomable. Only a few years ago, it is said, the two men operated like inseparable twins. They also suckled and were extensively nurtured under the generous governmental and financial patronage of erstwhile president, Olusegun Obasanjo.
Even before Obasanjo's second coming, Dangote was widely known as the scion of a rich trading family from Kano who had for decades maintained a near-monopoly on the supply of rice, sugar and cement into the vast, domestic Nigerian market. The Obasanjo Presidency and its privatization exercise brought even more opportunities for the Dangote brand. The man is now believed to have a stranglehold on the supply of these and other commodities in the Nigerian market. Those vast, new opportunities garnered during the Obasanjo dispensation surely helped a great deal to earn Dangote the honour of being named to Forbes' magazine's list of the world's richest men.
But did that particular distinction also lay the groundwork for Dangote's feud with his former "BFF", Otedola?
Not too long after Dangote's first Forbes appearance, a cryptic announcement came from his bosom friend, Femi Otedola, to the effect that his holding company planned to start making massive investments in companies engaged in sugar and cement production, starting with the Dangote Group. But one would have expected that Otedola, a diesel magnate, would direct his investment efforts to the Nigerian oil and gas sector, especially the profitable but capital-intensive upstream sector monopolized by multinational corporations.
It has been said that Otedola started buying shares in Dangote's publicly-traded sugar company in revenge for the latter's action in preventing Otedola-owned Zenon Oil's bid to buy Chevron's local Nigerian subsidiary. However, one fears this is simply a fight ignited by a much-hyped billionaires list; a fight spurred by over-sized egos pandering to entrance and retention in the big-bucks cult of Forbes.
When the announcement of Dangote's first appearance on the billionaires list was made, many must have thought the immediate danger was the opportunity created for influence-peddling by potential "Forbes brokers", both foreign and domestic, who would promise lobbying on behalf of Nigeria's tribe of billionaires to make their name appear on the list, in exchange for hefty "consultation fees".
Among the billionaires themselves, the infamous Nigerian factor now appears to have crept in. Thus, an appearance on the Forbes list has now become a title to be chased and celebrated by the billionaires and their supporters alike, much like the chieftaincy and honourary doctorate titles that have become a staple of Nigeria's monied ranks in the recent past. Even the brief description of Otedola in the current Forbes list mentioned his feud with Dangote, a distinction reserved for only the two Nigerian entrants on the list!
It is within this context that one locates the controversy regarding the alleged manipulation of Otedola-owned African Petroleum shares on the floor of the Nigerian Stock Exchange by Nova Securities and Finance Limited, stockbrokers to the Dangote Group.
AP had alleged that NOVA, acting on Dangote's instructions, manipulated its share's value through incessant buy and sell transactions, a situation that caused its (AP) share price to fall steeply from around N293 per share to just N50 per share within the space of eight weeks, an 82% drop and with losses to AP and its investors in the tens of billions of naira. It was further learnt during the investigation that Chairman of Nova, one Eugene Anenih, was said to have confessed his company carried out the alleged manipulation of AP shares on instructions from certain principals within the Dangote Group.
Upon subsequent investigations, officials of the Nigerian Stock Exchange (NSE) suspended Nova Finance and Securities Limited from all capital market activities for breaching the rules of the Exchange in relation to the shares of AP. The Nigerian Stock Exchange further said Nova had failed to act with utmost regard to market integrity and the ethics of the stockbroking profession. It said its investigations and findings revealed Nova's dealings in that regard breached Articles 103 and 107 of the SEC's rules and regulations. These preclude the Exchange's Dealing Members from creating a false market on a specific security in order to effect a change in its price.
But, should we really believe Dangote or those acting on his behalf allegedly spent so much money to manipulate shares in Otedola's flagship company and dilute its value as a payback for Otedola's bid to become a sugar and cement baron overnight? One doesn't think so. The answer, to put it simply, lies in an expensive---and extensive--- bout of ego-tripping engendered by access to the giddy world of Forbes.
Think about it: if stock valuations of public companies figure so much in estimating an individual's net worth for the purpose of appearing on the Forbes' List, what better way to adversely affect that person's continued presence on the list than to manipulate the stock prices of the companies in which the (upstart) billionaire has an interest? This is probably the first time that stock manipulation and other forms of malfeances on a stock exchange will be driven not by greed and an insatiable quest for material wealth but by ego and self-aggrandizement, coupled with the need to clip someone else's "wings".
Another Nigerian first!
But this bout in ego-tripping comes at a very steep price. For Dangote, it is those shareholders of his publicly-held companies who will see the values of their shares plummet if the NSE and other authorities come up with further sanctions in response to the misguided onslaught allegedly launched against AP on the floor of the stock exchange. In more well-ordered climes, even the mere exposure of the manipulation allegedly orchestrated by Dangote would cause the shares of companies in the group to plummet, since sanctions against such acts usually run in the millions (or billions).
Even more, this strange fight between two rather mis-matched billionaires throw up certain issues regarding shareholders' rights. One is specifically referring to the ability of shareholders in publicly-quoted companies to file shareholder derivative lawsuits under the relevant securities laws, to target mismanagement by those in control of their company.
An obvious target in that regard will be owner-billionaires inclined to sacrifice the value of their companies' publicly-quoted shares in a fight over another person's net worth or appearance on the Forbes' billionaires list. When such a misguided fight ultimately and surely proves costly, either through litigation brought against the initiator-company by its adversary or sanctions imposed by authorities, then the shareholders should be empowered to recover against the "gladiator-owner or director" on behalf of the company, by pleading a breach of the duty of care.
Such a duty would also run to the owner/director of the company which stock was so allegedly targeted, in this case, Otedola's AP. That is, it is not just enough for him to enter into a truce with Dangote; he must also ensure, if he has not already initiated moves to do so, that whatever settlement is arrived at between him and his erstwhile friend leads to the recovery of the value in shares lost to the alleged manipulation, and restitution for his shareholders. Failure to do this justifiably leaves Otedola open to charges of breaching the duty of care owed his shareholders, who can then seek redress by filing a derivative lawsuit on behalf of the publicly-held company.
Beyond the potential reliefs to be obtained from courts, however, one feels strongly inclined to caution Nigerians who are on the Forbes list or eyeing same (or scheming to keep others off it) to check their egos when such come in conflict with the interests of shareholders in their publicly-quoted companies. Afterall, shareholders essentially "loaned" them the money raised from the capital market.
Granted that these massive capital market funds have swelled some of our billionaires' coffers well enough for them to be considered worthy of mention in the prestigious Forbes List. But didn't one of these home-grown billionaires say sometime ago that you're not really a billionaire if you owe equally massive amounts of money to someone else?
Like shareholders…
ok conclusion if Otedola lost half a billion how do you think he would get it back,1.Increase the price of Diesel etc and other products he controls.2.The NSE if and when they pay him will have to get that money from somewhere .3.If you bought shares in AP lets just also assume you have lost big time .4.If you own any Dangote Stock Please shine your eyes . The grass effect is the worst thing that can happen in this period of economic uncertaintys.Culled and Recut from nigeria World .comments are required . Thanks
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