December 10, (THEWILL) – After wasting time and money on a political misadventure, Shakiru Olajimi Adebisi Lawal, widely known as Jimi Lawal, has retreated to the private sector. He is all set to feature prominently as one of the founding directors and initial shareholders of former Kaduna State governor, Nasir el-Rufai’s new N100 million venture capital/private equity firm, Afri-Venture Capital Company Limited, which will begin operations in 2024.
Having lost out from bagging a ministerial position for ‘security reasons,’ el-Rufai decided to take a much-needed break from the public scene only to return with talks of a venture capital firm. That el-Rufai and Lawal are like two peas in a pod would be simply stating the obvious. Little wonder, the duo have remained inseparable and the tie that binds them, unbreakable.
A long-time confidante of El-Rufai, Lawal’s path crossed with el-Rufai when the latter allegedly worked with him at Alpha Properties. Lawal would later go on to become the managing director of the now defunct Alpha Merchant Bank. The bank eventually went under in 1993 after five years of his being on the saddle due to the sleaze that went on in the bank.
Lawal had allegedly used the bank to shortchange depositors and investors. He was thereafter convicted by Zone 2 of the Failed Banks Tribunal three years later on three counts of criminal offences (banking malpractices). Lawal, a non-executive director of the bank, and two other managers of the bank were found guilty of running Alpha Merchant Bank aground through unethical banking practices. But luck was on his side as he got acquitted in 2004 by a Federal High Court in Lagos for lack of jurisdiction.
Following his acquittal, Lawal who had gone off the public radar returned in 2006 to work with his bosom friend, el-Rufai, who was then the Minister of the Federal Capital Territory, FCT, as a consultant on land matters. When el-Rufai became governor, Lawal was with him all through his eight-year tenure, tied to his apron strings as a Senior Adviser Counsellor. He was also the chairman of the state’s Economic Development Council.
Towards the twilight of el-Rufai’s second tenure, Lawal decided to test the political waters by vying as a governorship aspirant in Ogun State on the platform of the Peoples Democratic Party, PDP. But on losing out at the primary election that saw Ladi Adebutu emerge as the party’s candidate, he turned himself into a thorn in the flesh of the party. He employed various schemes to oust Adebutu as the party’s candidate in Ogun State in order to take his place, using court injunctions, interlocutory appeals, etc.
Lawal knew within him that he stood no chance, but in hindsight, many political watchers considered him nothing but a mole planted to destabilise the party and its candidate. In the end, his alleged game plan worked out and he is now back in the bosom of his friend and benefactor.
