Abdulkareem Adisa
Encyclopedia
Abdulkareem Adisa was a Nigeria
n Major-General who was Military Governor of Oyo State
(August 1990 - January 1992) during the military regime of Major-General Ibrahim Babangida
.
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.
, now in Kwara State
.
As a Lieutenant during the Nigerian Civil War
, he was captured by Biafra
n forces in August 1967, and was detained until January 1970.
Abdulkareem Adisa was appointed Military Governor of Oyo State
in August 1990 by the head of state, Major-General Ibrahim Babangida
, holding office until January 1992.
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 Adeshina. The second statue was pulled down a few days after Governor Adeshina left office.
, who became head of state in November 1993, appointed him Minister of Works and Housing.
He investigated the conduct of his predecessor at the ministry, Alhaji Lateef Kayode Jakande, and absolved him of any wrong doing.
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.
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.
Abdulkareem Adisa directed that the Federal School of Surveying should channel the evolution from analogue to digital methods.
, along with Lt-General Oladipo Diya
, Major-General Tajudeen Olanrewaju and others.
He was tried and found guilty on 28 April 1998.
In June 1998 he was on death row when Abacha died suddenly.
In March, 1999, Nigeria's outgoing military government granted state pardons to Adisa and the others convicted of the coup attempt.
, which was later withdrawn.
In 2003 Adisa said he would not accept a pardon from President Olusegun Obasanjo, who had himself participated in a coup attempt in 1995.
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.
Adisa also became vice-chairman of the Kwara Progressive Movement (KPM).
Abdulkareem 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.
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.
Abdulkareem Adisa died in a London hospital in February 2005 from injuries sustained in an 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 former General Ibrahim Babangida.
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.
Nigeria
Nigeria , officially the Federal Republic of Nigeria, is a federal constitutional republic comprising 36 states and its Federal Capital Territory, Abuja. The country is located in West Africa and shares land borders with the Republic of Benin in the west, Chad and Cameroon in the east, and Niger in...
n Major-General who was Military Governor of Oyo State
Oyo State
Ọyọ State is an inland state in south-western Nigeria, with its capital at Ibadan. It is bounded in the north by Kwara State, in the east by Osun State, in the south by Ogun State and in the west partly by Ogun State and partly by the Republic of Benin....
(August 1990 - January 1992) during the military regime of Major-General Ibrahim Babangida
Ibrahim Babangida
General Ibrahim Badamasi Babangida CFR DSS mni , popularly known as IBB, was a Nigerian Army officer and military ruler of Nigeria...
.
He was convicted for involvement in an attempted coup against military head of state General Sani Abacha
Sani Abacha
General Sani Abacha was a Nigerian military leader and politician. A Kanuri from Borno by tribe, he was born and brought up in Kano, Nigeria. He was the de facto President of Nigeria from 1993 to 1998....
in 1997, and was on death row when Abacha died in June 1998. He was subsequently pardoned.
Military career
Abdulkareem Adisa was born in IlorinIlorin
Ilorin is one of the largest cities in Nigeria and is the capital of Kwara State. As of 2007 it had a population of 847,582.-History:Ilorin was founded by the Yoruba, one of the three largest ethnic groups in Nigeria, in 1450...
, now in Kwara State
Kwara State
Kwara State is one of the 36 states of Nigeria. Its capital is Ilorin. The primary ethnic group of Kwara State is Yoruba, with significant Nupe, Bariba and Fulani minorities.- History :...
.
As a Lieutenant during the Nigerian Civil War
Nigerian Civil War
The Nigerian Civil War, also known as the Nigerian-Biafran War, 6 July 1967–15 January 1970, was a political conflict caused by the attempted secession of the southeastern provinces of Nigeria as the self-proclaimed Republic of Biafra...
, he was captured by Biafra
Biafra
Biafra, officially the Republic of Biafra, was a secessionist state in south-eastern Nigeria that existed from 30 May 1967 to 15 January 1970, taking its name from the Bight of Biafra . The inhabitants were mostly the Igbo people who led the secession due to economic, ethnic, cultural and religious...
n forces in August 1967, and was detained until January 1970.
Abdulkareem Adisa was appointed Military Governor of Oyo State
Oyo State
Ọyọ State is an inland state in south-western Nigeria, with its capital at Ibadan. It is bounded in the north by Kwara State, in the east by Osun State, in the south by Ogun State and in the west partly by Ogun State and partly by the Republic of Benin....
in August 1990 by the head of state, Major-General Ibrahim Babangida
Ibrahim Babangida
General Ibrahim Badamasi Babangida CFR DSS mni , popularly known as IBB, was a Nigerian Army officer and military ruler of Nigeria...
, holding office until January 1992.
While governor of Oyo State, Adisa erected a statue of the unknown soldier
Tomb of the Unknown Soldier
Tomb of the Unknown Soldier refers to a grave in which the unidentifiable remains of a soldier are interred. Such tombs can be found in many nations and are usually high-profile national monuments. Throughout history, many soldiers have died in wars without their remains being identified...
in front of government house, Ibadan
Ibadan
Ibadan is the capital city of Oyo State and the third largest metropolitan area in Nigeria, after Lagos and Kano, with a population of 1,338,659 according to the 2006 census. Ibadan is also the largest metropolitan geographical area...
. This statue was destroyed and replaced with a statue of Obafemi Awolowo
Obafemi Awolowo
Jeremiah Obafemi Awolowo was a Nigerian politician, trade unionist, author and statesman. A Yoruba and native of Ikenne in Ogun State of Nigeria, he started his career as a regional political leader like most of his pre-independence contemporaries and was responsible for much of the progressive...
by Governor Lam Adeshina. The second statue was pulled down a few days after Governor Adeshina left office.
Minister of Works & Housing
General Sani AbachaSani Abacha
General Sani Abacha was a Nigerian military leader and politician. A Kanuri from Borno by tribe, he was born and brought up in Kano, Nigeria. He was the de facto President of Nigeria from 1993 to 1998....
, who became head of state in November 1993, appointed him Minister of Works and Housing.
He investigated the conduct of his predecessor at the ministry, Alhaji Lateef Kayode Jakande, and absolved him of any wrong doing.
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.
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.
Abdulkareem Adisa directed that the Federal School of Surveying should channel the evolution from analogue to digital methods.
Coup attempt and trial
In December 1997, Abdulkareem Adisa was arrested on charges of participating in a coup attempt against General Sani AbachaSani Abacha
General Sani Abacha was a Nigerian military leader and politician. A Kanuri from Borno by tribe, he was born and brought up in Kano, Nigeria. He was the de facto President of Nigeria from 1993 to 1998....
, along with Lt-General Oladipo Diya
Oladipo Diya
Donaldson Oladipo Diya is a retired Lt. General in the Nigerian Army.He was appointed Military Governor of Ogun State from January 1984 to August 1985....
, Major-General Tajudeen Olanrewaju and others.
He was tried and found guilty on 28 April 1998.
In June 1998 he was on death row when Abacha died suddenly.
In March, 1999, Nigeria's outgoing military government granted state pardons to Adisa and the others convicted of the coup attempt.
Later career
After the return to democracy in 1999, Abdulkareem 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 LawalMohammed Lawal
Rear Admiral Mohammed Alabi Lawal was a Nigerian naval officer who was military governor of Ogun State between December 1987 and August 1990 during the military administration of General Ibrahim Babangida...
, which was later withdrawn.
In 2003 Adisa said he would not accept a pardon from President Olusegun Obasanjo, who had himself participated in a coup attempt in 1995.
In April 2004 he was active in the People's Democratic Party
People's Democratic Party (Nigeria)
The People's Democratic Party is a political party in Nigeria. Its policies generally lie towards the right wing of the political spectrum. It has won every single Presidential elections since 1999, namely: 1999, 2003, 2007, and 2011, and is the dominant party in the Fourth Republic.-History:In...
(PDP) in Kwara State
Kwara State
Kwara State is one of the 36 states of Nigeria. Its capital is Ilorin. The primary ethnic group of Kwara State is Yoruba, with significant Nupe, Bariba and Fulani minorities.- History :...
.
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.
Adisa also became vice-chairman of the Kwara Progressive Movement (KPM).
Abdulkareem Adisa was leader of a movement to elect General Ibrahim Babangida as president in 2007.
He published an attack on the National Democratic Coalition
National Democratic Coalition (Nigeria)
The National Democratic Coalition was formed on May 15, 1994 by a broad coalition of Nigerian democrats, who called on the military government of Sani Abacha to step down in favor of the winner of the June 12, 1993 election, M. K. O...
(NADECO) in The Guardian of 28 April 2004, warning the group not to try to prevent the Babangida's presidential election.
He said the Yoruba
Yoruba people
The Yoruba people are one of the largest ethnic groups in West Africa. The majority of the Yoruba speak the Yoruba language...
would vote for Ibrahim Babangida despite his role in annulling the 12 June 1993 presidential election won by the Chief MKO Abiola.
Abdulkareem Adisa died in a London hospital in February 2005 from injuries sustained in an 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 former General Ibrahim Babangida.
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.