On the Trail of Dimeji Bankole
Where is Dimeji Sabur Bankole? This seems to be the oftenrepeated question on the lips of many who have been watching the unfolding development in the nation’s political scene with unalloyed interest.
Until 2011 when he suffered an eclipse politically, he was a force to be reckoned with. Providence had been merciful to Bankole, who was then representing Abeokuta South Federal Constituency. He was well loved by members of the House of Representatives, a situation that led to his emergence as Speaker of the Lower Chamber of the National Assembly at 37. He had succeeded Ms. Patricia Etteh. By that feat, he became the youngest Speaker in the history of the House. What a lucky man!
Sadly, all that glory went with the winds in 2011 when he couldn’t return to the House. He tried to stage a comeback late last year after taking a compulsory sabbatical from politics with an attempt to contest for the number one political office of his state under the Peoples’ Democratic Party ( PDP). But it turned out a pipe dream, as the party leaders in the state saw him as a paperweight who couldn’t match the political muscle of Gboyega Nasir Isiaka. At that critical time, most people agreed that his tall ambition of ruling the Southwest state had suffered a kiss of death.
The ex- speaker is the son of Chief Alani Bankole, the Seriki Jagunmolu of Egbaland and a Second Republic politician and former national ViceChairman of the All Nigeria Peoples Party ( ANPP). His mother, Atinuke Bankole, is the Ekerin Iyalode of Egbaland.