Following the demise of Oba Owolabi Olakulehin, plans are in top gear for the coronation and presentation of staff and instrument of office to Rasheed Adewolu Ladoja as the 44th Olubadan of Ibadanland.
A check by WITHIN NIGERIA revealed that since the inception of Seyi Makinde as the Governor of Oyo State, three individuals, namely, the late Oba Lekan Balogun, the late Oba Owolabi Olakulehin, and Oba Rasheed Adewolu Ladoja, have been crowned as the Olubadan of Ibadanland.
Oba Lekan Balogun was crowned the 42nd Olubadan of Ibadanland on March 11, 2022. Oba Owolabi Olakulehin was crowned the 43rd Olubadan of Ibadan on July 12, 2024. Oba Rasheed Adewolu Ladoja will be crowned the 44th Olubadan of Ibadanland by Governor Seyi Makinde.
Meet the three (3) Olubadans who received their official documents and staff of office from Governor Seyi Makinde.
OBA LEKAN BALOGUN
He was born on October 18, 1942, in Ibadan. His late father, Ibrahim Balogun, was a foremost cocoa producer. He earned a master’s degree in administration and economics in 1973 at Brunel University in the UK. He also attended Columbus International University and Manchester University in the UK.He also worked as a lecturer at Ahmadu Bello University, Zaria.
He served as an editor for The Nigerian Pathfinder magazine. He held a director position at Triumph Newspaper, Kano. He was a consultant for multinational organizations like Leyland, Exide Battery, and Nigerian Breweries. He was an administrative head at Shell British Petroleum Company. He oversaw industrial relations, recruitment, scholarships, and planning and development units.
He was a presidential aspirant on the platform of the Social Democratic Party (SDP). He contested for governor under the platform of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) in Oyo State. He represented the Oyo Central senatorial district as a senator in the Federal Republic of Nigeria between 1999 and 2003. He chaired the Senate Committee on National Planning and contributed to various committees.
OBA OWOLABI OLAKULEHIN
He was born in Okugbaja village, Ita Baale, near Akanran, Ibadan. He attended St. James Primary School, Oke Akanran, and Islamic School, Odoiye. He completed his primary education at St. Peter Primary School, Aremo, Ibadan. He later attended Yaba Technical Institute and Yaba College of Technology, where he obtained his Ordinary National Diploma and Higher National Diploma in Building.
He was enlisted in the Nigerian Army in 1970 as a 2nd lieutenant and served in the Nigerian Army Corps of Engineers, rising to the rank of major before retiring in 1979. He established FAKOL Nigeria Ltd., a construction contracting firm; Olakulehin Press (later rebranded as Solid Prints); and FAKOL Bakery in Ibadan after retiring from the army.
He was a member of the Social Democratic Party (SDP) and won a seat in the House of Representatives in 1992, representing the Ibadan South East constituency.
OBA RASHEED ADEWOLU LADOJA
He was born on September 25, 1944, in Gambari village near Ibadan. He attended Ibadan Boys High School and Olivet Baptist High School. He studied chemical engineering at the University of Liège in Belgium, where he earned his B.Sc. degree in 1972.
He worked with Total Nigeria for 13 years, rising to managerial and technical positions, before venturing into private business in 1985. He ventured into oil and gas, agriculture, shipping, banking, manufacturing, and transportation.
He was elected senator in 1993 during the short-lived Third Republic. He later served as governor of Oyo State under the People’s Democratic Party (PDP). He was impeached in 2006 but was reinstated by the Supreme Court and completed his term in May 2007.
