Late Chief John Aboyeji Abidoye

• Late Chief John Aboyeji Abidoye (1940-2008)

High Chief Ejemu John Aboyeji Abidoye widely and remarkably known as ‘Bulldozer’, was born in Aran-Orin on a fateful day, 4th of April, 1940. His parents were late Pa Lawrence Abidoye Oridekoda and late Mrs Elizabeth Ibitomi Abidoye of Iloro Quarters, Aran-Orin.

• EDUCATION

He attended St Michael’s Catholic Primary School at Ekan Meje from 1954 to 1961 where he obtained his First School Leaving Certificate. The young Abidoye enrolled at Mount Carmel Teacher Training College, Oloje, Ilorin.  He was in the pioneering set of 1962 and his name was number  one(1) in the School Register, by virtue of alphabetical order.

He was not to stay the course as he jumped ship and enrolled at the Electricity Corporation of Nigeria( ECN) Technical Training School, Kanji in 1964 where he obtained a Technical Certificate in Electrical Engineering in 1967. He was immediately posted to ECN, Kaduna for practical training in Distribution and Transmission.

•  PUBLIC SERVICE

His working stint started in earnest with the ECN in Kaduna where he was appointed a Supervisor, ECN Undertaking in August 1967 and shortly after was transferred to Surulere, Lagos also as a Supervisor. Between 1967 and 1970 Mr Abidoye was seconded to Niger Dams Authority, Kainji as Technical Officer in Training on Line Maintenance. He later served as Line Maintenance Technician with Niger Dams Authority, Kanji from 1970 and 1975. He retired voluntarily in 1975 after which he went into private business.

• PRIVATE BUSINESS

Mr Abidoye’s private business was in the terrain he had been familiar with for more than a decade. He had floated JOAB Electrical Company with headquarters in Ilorin as early as 1974. He later upgraded it to Joab Nigeria Ltd.

Business had been good and by1988 he had become a well recognized Consultant and Contractor to NEPA on Sub-Station Projects. An extract of the key projects he executed for NEPA include but not limited:

• The erection of 33/11 KVA substation at Ukpilla Cement factory
• 33/11 KVA Sub-Station at the Defence Industries Corporation, Kaduna which he maintained for one(1) year.

Others are:

• The installation of 45 MVA transformers at Irrua, and Effurun , Edo State and Delta State respectively.

 

• TRADITIONAL CHIEFTAINCY

An upwardly mobile and charismatic John Abidoye became the favourite to occupy the covetous position of Ejemu Alaran. He was installed Ejemu, High Chief Iwarefa title in 1983. He was equally decorated with different titles and honours across the length and breadth of Nigeria. Among others was the Bashorun of OIla in 1996.

• POLITICAL ADVENTURE

At a critical stage in the  life of Mr Abidoye, he took a decisive step and ventured into partisan politics which he combined with his primary calling. All efforts to dissuade him fell on deaf ears!. As luck would have it, he made immediate in-roads at his early years in politics as the next republic was about gathering momentum. In the process he moved from UPN into NPN and rapidly became a prominent figure; a turbulent player, feared, respected and you underestimate him at your own peril.

At the return of Democracy in 1999, he was in People’s Democratic Party after his short stay in APP while his political leader, Dr Olushola Saraki remained in APP. In his characteristic nature of being bold and never shy away from saying the way it was, he was the only who advised his political master to be wary of supporting the candidature of the late former governor, Mohammed Lawal because according to him, it would not end well. Like a prophet that Olushola Saraki later called him, it didn’t end well and like they say, the rest is history.

 

Dr Olushola Saraki later dumped Lawal and APP to join the likes of Late Chief John Abidoye in PDP. At this juncture, they found a common ground to fight a common enemy in the person of late former governor. Late Chief John Abidoye’s courageous nature made him to occupy a most strategic and front-line position all through the travails of this political battle. At this point, he was already the Deputy Chairman of PDP in Kwara State, he didn’t allow his driver to drive him any longer but decided to drive himself. He was a fearless, courageous and ‘never say die leader’, “Ato f’ise Ogun ran” indeed. They were not calling him Bulldozer for nothing. His roles within this period earned him the name. He had garnered considerable experiences from uncountable challenges and permutations, he was a daring of major party stalwarts; brilliant, ebullient, dashing , disagreeable, benevolent, and kind-hearted. His roles in bringing the political ‘green-horn’ like Dr Bukola Saraki to become governor of Kwara State in 2003 was remarkable. As a matter of fact, he was one of the people around Olusola Saraki who advised him to endorse Bukola Saraki’s candidature in 2002. His influence in that government was equally instructive.

Late Chief John Abidoye remained very relevant politically till he breathed his last. By his graveyard on the day he was burried, everyone who was important in Kwara State was in Aran-Orin. The first military governor of our state, Late Brig. General David Bamigboye (rtd), the party leaders, the state executive was led by the governor himself, Dr Bukola Saraki while the Speaker led the State legislature, other government functionaries at different levels were on ground. In his last tribute, Dr Bukola Saraki reported how he took permission from the then President, late Alhaji Musa Yar’Adua to be excused from a function they were attending together in Abuja in order to give late Chief John Abidoye a deserving last respect.  On that day, he equally said that he was already planning to fly him abroad when he saw that the health challenge was becoming serious and protracted. He also said the last conversation he had with the late PDP chieftain was a reminder on the construction of Aran-Orin township road. He however promised that not only that they would soon start the road but he would soon come to commission it. Unfortunately, that did not happen. His successor, Alhaji Dr Ahmed Fattah later did.

MARRIAGE

John Abidoye got married in 1978 and the family was blessed with six wonderful and successful children.

POLITICAL EXPLOITS AND OPPORTUNITIES

High Chief Abidoye’s exploits in politics can be viewed from various political offices and appointments he held during three active decades of his political adventure. Some of these posts and appointments include:

1. Member Kwara State Rural Electrification Board (1980 -82)
2. State Treasurer, National Party of Nigeria (1980 – 83)
3. Director NTA Zone F (1982-83)
4. First Executive Chairman, old IREPODUN LGA, now comprising of the present Irepodun LGA, Ekiti, Isin and OkeEro (1988 – 1989)
5.  State Treasurer, National Republican Convention, NRC (1990- 1993)
6.  State Publicity Secretary CNC (1997-1998)
7. Board Member, Federal Technology Development (2001 – 2003)
8. State Vice Chairman, PDP (2003 – 2007)
9. Chairman Governing Council, Federal College of Education, Omoku, Rivers State, (2005 – 2007)
10.  Ex-officio member North Central Geopolitical Zone, (2007 – 2008).

 

Late Chief John Abidoye came, he saw and he conquered! He succumbed to the cold hands of death after a brief illness on 29th of August in 2008. Even in death, his modest achievements is celebrated.

Adieu, Oloye Ejemu Alaran!