Oba Rasheed Adewolu Ladoja’s Ascendancy: An Olubadan Coronation Like Never Before | By Azeez T
On Friday, September 26, 2025, the ancient city of Ibadan will witness a coronation unlike any in its storied history. Drums will roll, agbadas will sway to the rhythm of bata drums, and the streets will breathe with festivity as a familiar face takes his place on a familiar throne. Rasheed Adewolu Ladoja — former governor, senator, seasoned politician, and survivor of Nigeria’s fiercest political storms — will be crowned the Olubadan of Ibadanland.
This moment will be more than a coronation. It will be epoch-making in the history of Ibadanland.
From Ibadan Roots to Global Horizons
Born on September 25, 1944, in Gambari, Surulere local government of Oyo State. Oba Ladoja’s life has always mirrored the resilience of the city he now leads – Ibadan. He grew up in a family steeped in Ibadan’s pride and traditions. After early education at Ibadan Boys’ High School and Olivet Baptist School in Oyo, he pursued chemical engineering at the University of Liège in Belgium. That international exposure widened his vision and gave him a dream of Ibadan as a city capable of standing shoulder to shoulder with the great urban centres of the world.
The Engineer, the Businessman, the Leader
Before stepping into politics, Ladoja built an enviable career in Nigeria’s oil and gas sector, rising through the ranks at Total Nigeria. He later ventured into private business, investing across industries with remarkable success. Colleagues often described him as a man with “an engineer’s mind and a businessman’s instinct”—precise”, calculating, yet visionary.
The Political Fighter
In 2003, he became Governor of Oyo State and the first under the People’s Democratic Party (PDP) in the state. His administration championed free education in public schools, expanded road networks, and sought to restore Ibadan’s long-lost urban pride.
But politics in Oyo was never a smooth terrain. In 2006, following a bitter fallout with his political godfather, the late Chief Lamidi Adedibu, he was impeached. In an unprecedented twist, the courts reinstated him months later. That dramatic comeback cemented his reputation as a fighter who refused to bow to political storms.
Climbing the Traditional Ladder
Away from politics, Ladoja was quietly climbing Ibadan’s revered traditional hierarchy — a system that rewards patience and resilience. From Mogaji (family head) to Otun Olubadan, he rose step by step over decades. His steady ascent was a masterclass in endurance and devotion to tradition.
When his turn came, Ibadan gained more than a monarch. It gained a ruler who had governed a state, managed billion-naira budgets, and walked the corridors of national power.
An Olubadan Like Never Before
Historically, no Olubadan before him has carried the unique experience of running a state. Oba Ladoja understands not only the weight of tradition but also the realities of governance. His voice will carry influence beyond Ibadan, giving the throne a new resonance in Nigeria’s national discourse.
As Olubadan, he embodies a bridge — between past and future, between heritage and modernity. He will be ascending the throne not merely with the staff of office, but with the aspirations of a city that has reinvented itself through generations of resilience.
The Legacy Begins
From engineer to businessman, from governor to custodian of Ibadan’s crown, Oba Rasheed Adewolu Ladoja — Arusa I — ascends as an Olubadan like never before. His coronation will not only be historic for Ibadan but symbolic for Nigeria: proof that leadership can wear many robes, from political office to ancestral throne.
As the first former governor to become Olubadan, his reign carves a record that may take generations to equal.
