Notwithstanding the crisis rocking the Peoples Democratic Party, the race for the national chairman of the party continues unabated. Segun James takes a look at the chances of one of the contenders, Jimi Agbaje
Although, the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) remained embroiled in a leadership crisis, yet the battle as to who will lead the party has resumed in earnest. For those who are following the polity closely, a changing nation means a changing political party, a changing political landscape and a changing political leadership. Therefore, the battle as to who is qualified and capable to lead the party towards the 2019 general election after the present crisis has become crucial.
The choice of who will lead the party after the Supreme Court has finally decided on who is in charge between Ali Modu Sherrif and Ahmed Makarfi is likely to be shaped by the apex court decision.
At a time when party loyalists were hoping that there was a solution in sight to the leadership crisis, events suddenly took a turn for the worse when Sherrif reportedly stormed out of a meeting called by former President Goodluck Jonathan. As it is now, the two combatants presently embroiled in a battle of wits over who is the authentic leader of the party, may have to wait for the judgment of the Supreme Court.
Enters Olujimi Kolawole Agbaje, aka Jimi Agbaje or J. K Agbaje, a pharmacist turned politician who believes he has the magic wand to turn the fortune of the former largest party in Africa around before the election. He is now locked in a battle with the former deputy national chairman of the battle and the leader of the party in the southwest, Chief Olabode George over who heads the party in the event that either a political or legal solution is found to the protracted crisis in the next few months.
While most people have thrown in the towel as the crisis rocking the party lingers, and in fact most of them have indeed found their way into the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC), Agbaje has remained resolute, committed, and determined as he soldiers on in the embattled political party.
Agbaje is an incurable optimist and very stubborn. Once he is convinced about anything, he sticks to it, no matter whose ox gored. Tell him that the PDP is a dead party; he would smile and tell you that nothing is entirely useless, not even a supposedly dead party. But then, Agbaje does not believe that the PDP is dead. That the party has problems, yes he has no doubts, but dead – certainly not. To him, the party may be having its own crisis and political tribulations, but he is optimistic that once the protracted legal battle which is now at its fianal stage in the Supreme Court is over, the party will, like the eagle, soar from the ashes of its crisis to victory in 2019.
Even before this renaissance, a lot of party members and former leaders have jumped ship to the APC instead of waiting to help salvage the situation and mend the leaking holes in the ship. Agbaje has refused to defect. He remains steadfast.
He would not cross from the embattled party to the APC as several others have done because he believes that everybody cannot all belong to just one political party. After all, the nation political system requires a virile opposition which is very essential for the system to function properly.
He, however also believes that for PDP to be a virile opposition force, it requires an effective leadership that should be ready to move it to the next level. This, he insisted, he is ready to provide for the party at this very crucial and critical stage as the preparation for the 2019 election gathers steam.
Agbaje believes that although an uneasy calm has returned to the party, the realisation that time is not in the hands of the party may be the pivot for an amicable solution and installation of a new party leadership.
When the search for the leadership of the PDP started last year, Agbaje was never in the reckoning. But following the decision of the party leadership to zone the national chairmanship to the southwest and the need for an effective leadership in the face of the crisis rocking the party after it loss power in the last general election, the party caucus decided that Agbaje has the charisma, leadership quality, ability and capability to lead the party at the most critical period in its history. Hence, he was persuaded to contest for the leadership.
Agbaje is one person that does not shy away from challenges and responsibility. He saw the invitation to lead the party at this critical time as a call to duty and challenge which must be faced head on in the interest of the nation. But Agbaje found a formidable opposition in his former mentor and political leader, Chief Bode George who had initially urged him on but later turned out to be his only opponent in the race. But undaunted, Agbaje is moving on. He believes he has what it will take to emerge chairman of the party. He was coasting to victory when the crisis in the party took a dramatic turn at the national convention of the party that was cancelled.
Today, there are four persons who have now indicated their interest in becoming the leader of the party. They include Bode George, former Chief of Staff to President Goodluck Jonathan, retired General Jones Arogbofa, former governor of Ondo State, Olusegun Mimiko and Agbaje. The battle has indeed started. Despite this, Agbaje is undaunted as he soldiers on in his resolve to lead the PDP out of the woods and into victory in 2019.
Jimi Agbaje was born on the 2nd of March 1957 in Lagos State to the late Chief Julius Kosebinu, a banker and Mrs. Margaret Olabisi, a teacher. He is the second child and first male child of five siblings (two females and two males) including Segun Agbaje, CEO of Guaranty Trust Bank.
Agbaje attended the elite Corona School, Lagos for his primary education before proceeding to St. Gregory’s College for his secondary education where he was not only the school’s prefect, he was a great cricket and represented Lagos state in the National Cricket Competition! From here he proceeded to the University of Ife where he graduated as a Pharmacist in 1978.
In 1982, Agbaje founded his own company, JAYKAY Pharmaceutical and Chemical Company Limited and was Managing Director until 2005 when he decided to venture into politics. A consummate professional, he was a member of the Pharmacists Council of Nigeria (1999 – 2006); National Secretary of the Nigerian Association of General Practice Pharmacists (NAGPP) from 1987 – 1990; National Chairman NAGPP (1990 – 1993) and Chairman Pharmaceutical society of Nigeria Lagos State (1994 – 1997).
He was a member, Lagos State Task force on Fake and Adulterated Drugs (1989 – 1993), National Drug Formulary and Essential Drugs List (1986 – 1993) and Lagos Hospitals Management Board (1994 – 1997). Agbaje also sits on the board of other organizations including Oakwood Park Ltd, Atlantic Hall Secondary School Epe, Jimi Agbaje Outreach (a project dedicated to helping the less fortunate) and has served as business mentor at Fate Foundation.
In a 2013 interview Agbaje talked about how he began in politics: “It had to do with the Moshood Abiola/Bashir Tofa presidential election”, he said. “I saw the annulment as a personal insult and an assault on the Nigerian people. This led to my first entry into what I would call activism, working with other concerned professionals” such as Prof. Pat Utomi, Dr Ayo Ighodaro, Asue Ighodalo, Billy Lawson, Oby Ezekwesili, Tola Mobolurin and Hassan Odukale. Jimi was in one form of resistance group or the other which ultimately led him to join the socio-political organization, Afenifere where he served as national treasurer.
Based on his affiliation with Afenifere, Jimi Agbaje joined the Alliance for Democracy (AD) – his first political party and later the Action Congress (AC). In 2007, Agbaje who had initially aspired to contest for the Governor of Lagos State on the platform of the Action Congress left the party to join the Democratic People’s Alliance (DPA). He was among the eleven aspirants whomturned their back to the AC when it was alleged that Governor Bola Tinubu had already anointed someone else to succeed him even before the party’s primaries. Widely believed to have conducted the best campaign in 2007, Agbaje contested in gubernatorial election on the DPA platform, but eventually, alongside other major contenders like Musiliu Obanikoro of PDP, Femi Pedro of Labour Party – lost to Babatunde Raji Fashola of the Action Congress.
He left DPA in 2011 and went on to join the ruling party, the PDP following the de-registration of DPA by the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC). On October 29, 2014, he officially indicated his interest in giving the Lagos State gubernatorial elections another shot by picking up the PDP nomination form. On 8 December 2014, it was reported that he emerged as the candidate of the PDP for the 2015 Lagos State gubernatorial election, having defeated Musiliu Obanikoro in the primary. Musiliu Obanikoro was the former Minister of State for Defense who is also a member of the PDP.
He is married to Abiola Agbaje (née Bankole), a lawyer. The couple met as students at the University of Ife and dated for eight years before getting married. They have three children; two boys and a girl.
As the PDP continues to waddle toward the next general election, what the party requires to have any effective presence in the three governorship elections coming up in Anambra in later this year and in Osun and Ekiti states next year is a leader with proven ability who can effectively bring the member together for a great performance. Jimi Agbaje believes he is that leader.
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When the search for the leadership of the PDP started last year, Agbaje was never in the reckoning. But following the decision of the party leadership to zone the national chairmanship to the southwest and the need for an effective leadership in the face of the crisis rocking the party after it loss power in the last general election, the party caucus decided that Agbaje has the charisma, leadership quality, ability and capability to lead the party at the most critical period in its history. Hence, he was persuaded to contest for the leadership.
