An image showing a person prostrating for Rashidi Ladoja, the Olubadan-in-waiting and former governor of Oyo state, is trending on social media.
The image was shared on Facebook, Twitter, and WhatsApp.
Many social media users who posted the viral image claimed that the person prostrating for Ladoja in the picture is former President Olusegun Obasanjo.
They also claimed that the incident occurred when the former president visited the Olubadan-in-waiting in Ibadan recently.
Ladoja is expected to be installed as the 44th Olubadan of Ibadanland following the death of Owolabi Olakulehin, the 43rd Olubadan, on July 7.
Some of those who shared the image captioned it with the phrase “nobody knows tomorrow,” alluding to Obasanjo’s involvement in the 2006 impeachment of Ladoja as Oyo governor.
Elected in 2003 under the platform of the People Democratic Party (PDP), the former Oyo governor was impeached in January 2006, reinstated in December 2006 after a supreme court judgment, and his term ended in 2007.
“What a lesson in life! Former President Obasanjo by his power impeached Pa Ladoja then. Today former governor is the next king of Ibadan, now he paid him home visit and prostrate before the then governor that he impeached. Lesson. Power doesn’t last for long. No one knows future,” an X user captioned the viral image.
The post can be seen here, here, here, and here
VERIFICATION
A close observation of the viral picture shows some cues that it was photoshopped to support the trending narrative.
First, the head region of the sitting figure shows that two images were imposed on each other.
The left side shows the image of Ladoja, while the right side shows the image of another person. The neck region shows that the image was digitally modified, as the necklace did not align with the neck.
Secondly, the face and features of the prostrating figure are blurry and do not resemble Obasanjo.
Another version of the viral picture was also published on Facebook. The version visibly shows that the image of Ladoja was cropped onto another image.
CableCheck also found that the photoshopped image of Ladoja was sourced from the internet.
Seyi Makinde, governor of Oyo, had posted the original image on September 24, 2024, via Facebook to celebrate Ladoja on his 80th birthday.
VERDICT
The image used to depict that Obasanjo prostrated for Ladoja was photoshopped.
