Major General
Abdulkareem Adisa
Military Governor of Oyo State
In office
August 1990 – January 1992
Preceded byColonel Sasaenia Oresanya
Succeeded byChief Kolapo Olawuyi Ishola
Personal details
Born(1948-08-22)22 August 1948
Died25 February 2005(2005-02-25) (aged 56)
NationalityNigerian
Military service
Allegiance Nigeria
Branch/service Nigerian Army
Years of service1970 – 1997
Rank Major General

Abdulkareem Adisa (Yoruba pronunciationⓘ; 22 August 1948[1] – 25 February 2005)[2] was a Nigerian major general who was military governor of Oyo State (August 1990 – January 1992) during the military regime of General Ibrahim Babangida.[3] He was convicted for involvement in an attempted coup against military head of state General Sani Abacha in 1997, and was on death row when Abacha died in June 1998. He was subsequently pardoned.[4]

Early years and education

Abdulkareem Adisa was born in Ilorin, now in Kwara State.[5]

He attended Quranic School in Ilorin between 1951-1953 and received his elementary education at Catholic Primary School, Ibuso Gboro Ibadan from 1953 to 1958. He got his secondary education at Nigerian Military School, Zaria from 1962 to 1965, and started his time in the Nigerian Army as an officer cadet in 1967 with the Nigerian Defence Academy, Kaduna where he graduated from in 1970.[2]

Military career

As a Lieutenant during the Nigerian Civil War, he was captured by Biafran forces in August 1967, and was detained until January 1970.[6]

Abdulkareem Adisa was appointed military governor of Oyo State in August 1990 by the military president, General Ibrahim Babangida, holding office until January 1992.[3] Governor Adisa is popularly remembered for his statement 'who build the gada' which was used by many to adjudge the governor's literacy level as he should have said bridge rather than gada.[citation needed] He was a 'no nonsense' governor and was well respected generally by the citizens.[citation needed]

While governor of Oyo State, Adisa erected a statue of the unknown soldier in front of government house, Ibadan. This statue was destroyed and replaced with a statue of Obafemi Awolowo by Governor Lam Adesina. The second statue was pulled down a few days after Governor Adeshina left office.[7]

Minister of Works & Housing

General Sani Abacha, who became head of state in November 1993, appointed him Minister of Works and Housing.[8] He investigated the conduct of his predecessor at the ministry, Alhaji Lateef Kayode Jakande, and absolved him of any wrongdoing.[9] He continued the National Housing Policy initiated by Lateef Jakande, which planned to build affordable units across Nigeria, but more than doubled the price of each type of house.[10] During his term of office, deposits for the houses were used to award contracts for infrastructure to the sites. As a result, many years later a considerable number of depositors had not got houses or refunds of their deposits.[11]

Adisa directed that the Federal School of Surveying should channel the evolution from analogue to digital methods.[12]

Coup attempt and trial

In December 1997, Abdulkareem Adisa was arrested on charges of participating in a coup attempt against General Sani Abacha, along with Lt-General Oladipo Diya, Major-General Tajudeen Olanrewaju and others.[13] He was tried and found guilty on 28 April 1998.[14] In June 1998, he was on death row when Abacha died suddenly.[15] In March 1999, Nigeria's outgoing military government granted state pardons to Adisa and the others convicted of the coup attempt.[16]

He appeared before The Human Rights Violation Investigation Commission of Nigeria (also known as Oputa Panel) confirming that he heard of the 4 point agenda, just 9 days before his arrest for participating in a coup, from Gen Oladipo Diya and was informed about the coup by nobody else apart from him. He also confessed that he begged for mercy to save his life from Major Hamza al-Mustapha.

Later career

After the return to democracy in 1999, Adisa ventured into publishing with a paper The People's Advocate based in Ilorin. The paper was the target of a N250 million libel action from the Kwara State Governor, Mohammed Lawal, which was later withdrawn.[17]

In 2003, Adisa said he would not accept a pardon from President Olusegun Obasanjo, who had himself participated in a coup attempt in 1995.[18] In April 2004, he was active in the People's Democratic Party (PDP) in Kwara State. One PDP group suspended the Minister of State for Women Affairs, Miss Funke Adedoyin, but another group of PDP elders, led by Adisa, voided Adedoyin's suspension.[19] Adisa also became vice-chairman of the Kwara Progressive Movement (KPM).[20]

Adisa was leader of a movement to elect General Ibrahim Babangida as president in 2007. He published an attack on the National Democratic Coalition (NADECO) in The Guardian of 28 April 2004, warning the group not to try to prevent the Babangida's presidential election.[21] He said the Yoruba would vote for Ibrahim Babangida despite his role in annulling the 12 June 1993 presidential election won by the Chief MKO Abiola.[22]

Adisa died in a London hospital on February 25, 2005[2] from injuries sustained in a car accident. His body was returned for burial in Ilorin, the Kwara State capital on 27 February 2005, in a ceremony attended by many prominent people including three former state governors and General Ibrahim Babangida.[20] On 23 June 2009, President Umaru Yar'Adua granted a presidential pardon to Abdulkareem Adisa and others convicted of treason for the Sani Abacha coup attempts.[4]

References

  1. ^ Oyo State (Nigeria). Ministry of Information, Youth, Sports, and Culture. Oyo State Past and Present. Ministry of Information, Youth, Sports & Culture, 2002. p. 48.((cite book)): CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link)
  2. ^ a b c "Abdulkarim Adisa: Remembering A Quintessential Officer". The Guardian (Nigeria). Retrieved 31 January 2021.
  3. ^ a b "Nigeria States". WorldStatesmen. Archived from the original on 23 January 2010. Retrieved 2010-01-13.
  4. ^ a b "Diya, Adisa, Olarewaju, Anyanwu others granted amnesty, compensation". OnlineNigeria Daily News. June 25, 2009. Archived from the original on February 25, 2012. Retrieved 2010-01-13.
  5. ^ "IBB project as 'oil block'". Sun News. July 25, 2004. Archived from the original on October 23, 2007. Retrieved 2010-01-13.
  6. ^ Samuel E Umweni (30 November 2008). "888 Days in Biafra (37)". Daily Trust. Archived from the original on 8 July 2011. Retrieved 2010-01-13.
  7. ^ Dr. Femi Ajayi (January 28, 2008). "Chief Adebayo Alao-Akala's Romance With the Unknown Soldier Statue". NigeriaWorld. Retrieved 2010-01-13.
  8. ^ Olusegun Adeniyi (2002-08-15). "Ill-Wind that Blows No Good". Archived from the original on 2005-01-31. Retrieved 2010-01-13.
  9. ^ Ebenezer Babatope (December 26, 2003). "Beyond 2007: The progressive Agenda". BNW News. Retrieved 2010-01-13.
  10. ^ Nasir Imam (May 16, 2003). "Whither NHP depositors fund?". Daily Trust. Retrieved 2010-01-13.
  11. ^ "Nigeria Struggles for Effective Housing Policy". ThisDay. 2004-04-27. Retrieved 2010-01-13.
  12. ^ Kofoworola Belo-Osagie (2009-10-29). "100 years on... surveying school dreams big". The Nation. Archived from the original on 2009-10-29. Retrieved 2010-01-13.
  13. ^ "Coups: The Victims, The Survivors". Vanguard. March 13, 1999. Archived from the original on 2 January 2010. Retrieved 2010-01-13.
  14. ^ "Secret Nigeria Tribunal Condemns 6 to Death". New York Times. April 29, 1998. Retrieved 2010-01-13.
  15. ^ Max Siollun (March 22, 2008). "What Really Happened to Abacha and Abiola?". Retrieved 2010-01-13.
  16. ^ "Nigeria frees coup plotters". BBC News. March 4, 1999. Retrieved 2010-01-13.
  17. ^ "Media Rights Monitor November 2000. Vol 5 No. 11" (PDF). Media Rights Agenda. Retrieved 2010-01-13.
  18. ^ Abiodun Fagbemi (November 18, 2003). "Adisa no more craves for pardon from Obasanjo". The Guardian. Retrieved 2010-01-13.
  19. ^ Olamilekan Lartey and Yusuf Alli (April 14, 2004). "LG poll: Naked women protest in Delta • PDP summons 28 governors". The Punch. Retrieved 2010-01-13.
  20. ^ a b "Governors, Babangida honour Adisa at burial". BNW News. February 28, 2005. Retrieved 2010-01-13.
  21. ^ Victor Oshisada (May 9, 2004). "Adisa And NADECO". The Guardian. Retrieved 2010-01-13.
  22. ^ Tolu Olarewaju (July 7, 2004). "Akinfenwa, myself are best of friends, says Akande". Daily Independent Online. Retrieved 2010-01-13.
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