Oyo State chapter of the Action Congress of Nigeria (ACN) has said that it doubted the engineering certificate of former governor of the state and leader of Accord Party, Senator Rashidi Ladoja.
It made this known in a statement by its State Publicity Secretary, Mr. Dauda Kolawole, in response to a newspaper interview granted by Ladoja where he had cast aspersion on the recently inaugurated fly-over bridge constructed by the Senator Abiola Ajimobi administration.
Ladoja, in the interview, had wondered why barriers were put at the entrances of the bridge and said that it was a reflection of the fact that the bridge was badly constructed.
While reacting, however, the ACN said that the former governor was exhibiting his widely perceived mental limitations and depth.
“We wonder which school of engineering Ladoja passed through. Was he ever taught Introductory Highway Engineering in school? If he was, even though he claimed to be a Chemical Engineer, this naivety, dressed in the robe of ignorance, would have been addressed at such an elementary level. This naivety is too striking and recommends that his engineering certificate be withdrawn forthwith,” said the ACN.
The ACN said that in virtually all cities of the world, articulated vehicles and other heavy trucks were discouraged from highways, so as to minimize road casualties, stating that this was one of the main reasons barriers were placed on the overhead bridge.
“This is a usual Ladoja trait. He presents as a yokel, even on matters that demand frankness and forthrightness. But this exhibition of palpable naivety is embarrassing. To imagine that such a person, who could not articulate the need for a reduction in highway casualty, had been in the governorship saddle for that long in Oyo State is worse than a casualty,” the ACN said.
According to the party, one other reason which makes the need to barricade the bridge important was that if an articulated lorry or truck suddenly breaks down on it, it will cause a traffic gridlock that will inflict pain on road users.
“Ladoja is simply continuing his interminable dream. He said in that interview that he dreamt to build the Mokola Bridge and two others. We have reminded him in the past that, all over the world, no one remembers dreamers.
“Indeed, graveyards are full of them. The world only celebrates achievers and actualisers. He should continue to dream, while Ajimobi actualises. He also claimed that he had a blueprint which Ajimobi was following. Between Ladoja and Ajimobi, in terms of their mental depth, who should copy the blueprint of the other? It is his usual trait of deceptive politicking aimed at giving him undeserved relevance,” the ACN said.
While condemning the former governor for comparing his efforts in government with that of Ajimobi, the ACN said that “the people of the state are wiser”.
“Our people can differentiate who possesses superior mental capability to govern Oyo State between him and Ajimobi. The Iwo Road/Olodo Road he claimed to have constructed lasted for barely a year before it began to fall apart.
“How dare Ladoja put that dross of a road beside the world-class roads being constructed in Oyo State now? Ladoja should look behind him: the people are mocking him for those clearly worthless comparisons,” said the party.
