Ladoja, a former governor of Oyo State (2003-2007), was nominated by the Olubadan-in-Council and confirmed by the state government following the death of Oba Owolabi Olakunlehin, the immediate past Olubadan.
His story is one of perseverance and tenacity as he fulfills his lifelong dream of ascending to the Olubadan throne.
Below are the 20 things many people don't know about Oba Rashidi Ladoja.
Ladoja's emergence as the Olubadan has elicited a lot of excitement in the ancient city of Ibadan, the capital of Oyo State, and the expectations of the people are high.
Just as he has built himself into a brand, he has promised to run a collective and all-inclusive administration aimed at taking Ibadan to the next level.
2. He was born on September 25, 1944, in Gambari, a rural village near Ogbomoso in Oyo State, to the family of Alhaji Aruna Ladoja and Alhaja Haleemat Ladoja from Arusa Compound in Isale Osi, Ibadan.
3. Ladoja was educated at Ibadan Boys High School (1958–1963) and Olivet Baptist High School (1964–1965) for his secondary school education. He later proceeded to the University of Liège, Belgium (1966–1972), where he earned a degree in chemical engineering.
4. He had a less than rosy beginning, as he had to drop out of school in Form Four at Ibadan Boys High School due to his parents' inability to pay the boarding fees, but he re-entered the following year.
5. Upon completing his university education, Ladoja, as a result of his father's advice not to stray from the field of education, turned down a job offer from the Cocoa Research Institute and instead opted to teach at his alma mater
6. His first job was with Total Nigeria, an oil company, where he worked in various capacities for 13 years before venturing into private business in 1985. His business interests cut across shipping, manufacturing, banking, agriculture, and transportation.
7. After a successful career in business, Ladoja joined politics and was elected to the Senate (Oyo South) in 1993 during the short-lived Nigerian Third Republic under the Social Democratic Party (SDP). At one point, he was also a member of the United Nigeria Congress Party (UNCP) during the Abacha political transition.
8. Ladoja was a director at Standard Trust Bank, now known as United Bank for Africa (UBA), after what was described as one of the largest mergers in Nigeria's banking sector.
9. By April 2003, he was elected governor of Oyo State under the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) but was impeached on January 12, 2006. His impeachment resulted from a face-off between him and his political godfather, the late Alhaji Lamidi Adedibu. However, he was reinstated after an Ibadan Appeal Court declared the impeachment null and void, and the Supreme Court upheld this decision on December 11, 2006.
10. After his failure to secure a return ticket in PDP to contest the 2007 elections, Ladoja made many attempts to return to Agodi. He was the governorship candidate for the Accord Party in Oyo State during the April 2011 and 2015 elections, but he lost to the late Abiola Ajimobi on both occasions.
11. In 2017, he merged his Accord Party into the PDP. Disputes within the PDP prompted him and other allies (from the Labour Party, All Progressives Congress, APC, etc.) to move to the African Democratic Congress (ADC) in 2018. After a brief sojourn in the ADC, which didn't yield any meaningful results, Ladoja and his followers moved to the Zenith Labour Party (ZLP) in December 2018.
12. After the Presidential and National Assembly elections in 2019, Ladoja led the coalition that resulted in the collapse of the structures of his candidate, Sarafadeen Alli, the ADC’s candidate, Femi Lanlehin, among others, in favor of the eventual winner, Seyi Makinde of the PDP.
13. Apart from the impeachment saga, another major legal battle fought by Ladoja was the review of the 1957 Olubadan chieftaincy declaration, initiated by the late former governor Abiola Ajimobi. Ladoja was the only high chief who refused to accept the beaded crown when Ajimobi coronated his colleagues in the Olubadan-in-Council. This legal imbroglio, concerning the introduction of more Obas wearing beaded crowns in Ibadan, continued into the administration of the current governor, Seyi Makinde, who ultimately executed the plan through a formal declaration.
14. Even after Governor Makinde elevated and crowned other high chiefs in July 2023, Ladoja, the then Otun Olubadan of Ibadanland, was determined to see the legal battle against the late Oba Lekan Balogun, Governor Makinde, and members of the Olubadan-in-Council reach a logical conclusion. However, he withdrew the case to pave the way for the enthronement of the late Oba Owolabi Olakunlehin.
15. Ladoja is principled. He enjoys a simple lifestyle despite his wealth. He mostly appears in Ankara, a style he adopted after a tour of the Benin Republic with a Nigerian former President, Chief Olusegun Obasanjo, before their eventual falling out that led to Ladoja’s impeachment.
16. Away from politics, Ladoja is a family man. He has a number of wives including the former First Lady, Chief Mrs. Mutiat Ladoja, late Mrs. Tinuade Ladoja, Mrs. Bukola Ladoja, and Barr. Yinka Ladoja.
17. Interestingly, he has well-cultured children about whom many people in Ibadan know little.
18. Ladoja became an Oba after he received a ceremonial beaded crown on 12 August 2024.
19. His life has been marked by many firsts—he came first in his Higher School Certificate programme at Olivet Baptist High School, Oyo. He graduated with a first-class degree in chemical engineering from the University of Liège, Belgium.
20. Now he's about to make another history as far as Ibadan is concerned. Ladoja has ticked all the boxes for the revered Olubadan throne, demonstrating the perfect combination of experience and leadership skills as a successful businessman, a political icon, and a community leader who has previously served as a senator, a governor, and an Oba before finally becoming Olubadan. He will be known and addressed as His Imperial Majesty, Oba Senator Rashidi Adewolu Ladoja, Arusa I, the Olubadan of Ibadanland.
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