Oba Ladoja was born on September 25, 1944, in Gambari, a rural village near Ogbomoso, Oyo State. He attended Ibadan Boys High School, where he excelled in academics and later taught briefly. He attended Olivet Heights, Oyo, for his Higher School Certificate programme, after winning a scholarship based on outstanding performance in entrance exams.
He benefited from both Western Region and Federal Government scholarships. He was initially admitted into Ahmadu Bello University for Mechanical Engineering and the University of Lagos for Electrical Engineering, but he eventually travelled abroad on scholarship to Belgium, where he studied Chemical Engineering.
He joined Total Oil Nigeria in 1972 before even completing his university education. He worked for 13 years in various positions in Total Oil Nigeria before entering private business in 1985. His business interests include shipping, manufacturing, banking, agriculture, and transportation.
He built a successful career in the oil industry, working during a crucial era of refinery expansion and petroleum sector development in Nigeria. Ladoja rose to prominence in business as an oil executive, gaining significant expertise in petroleum operations and refining.
Political Journey:
Ladoja was elected to the Senate of Nigeria in 1993, during the short-lived Nigerian Third Republic. He was elected on the platform of the Social Democratic Party.
He later became a member of NADECO, opposing the Gen Sani Abacha regime and going into exile during the struggle for democracy after the annulment of the June 12, 1993, election.
He was elected governor of Oyo State in April 2003 on the Peoples Democratic Party platform, having defeated incumbent Governor Lam Adesina, and took office on May 29, 2003. He was supported by Alhaji Lamidi Adedibu, a PDP power broker in the state and an Ibadan high chief. By August 2004, Ladoja and Adedibu were locked in a fierce struggle over the political control of Oyo State. On January 12, 2006, Ladoja was impeached by Oyo State legislators and forced out of office. His deputy, Adebayo Alao-Akala (now late), was sworn in as the new governor. On November 1, 2006, the Appeal Court in Ibadan declared the impeachment null and illegal, and the Supreme Court upheld the decision on December 11, 2006.
With his reinstatement, Ladoja officially resumed office on December 12, 2006. He, however, failed to win the PDP nomination for a second term and backed the candidate of the All Nigeria Peoples Party in the 2007 election, Senator Abiola Ajimobi.
After the 2007 election, Ladoja’s attempts to return to the Agodi Government House were unsuccessful. He was the governorship candidate for Accord in the 2011 and 2015 elections but lost to Ajimobi. In 2017, he merged Accord into the PDP and later moved to the new coalition party, the African Democratic Congress, in 2018. Ladoja again left for the Zenith Labour Party in December 2018.
Monarchy Journey:
Ladoja began the journey to the Olubadan throne with his emergence as the Mogaji of Arusa Compound of Isale Osi in the 1980s. He was on the queue to join the Olubadan line until his eventual climb on Oct 1, 1993, when he became Jagun Olubadan.
He passed through all 22 steps of the Otun line and emerged as the Otun Olubadan-designate when the then Olubadan, Oba Lekan Balogun, ascended the throne on March 11, 2022. He was later promoted to the title by Oba Balogun.
Ladoja became the Olubadan-designate after the Olubadan-in-Council submitted his selection to the Oyo State Government on August 4, 2025.
On August 21, 2025, Governor Seyi Makinde, in exercise of the power conferred on him by the 1957 Olubadan Chieftaincy Declaration, officially approved Ladoja as the 44th Olubadan-designate and slated a formal coronation ceremony for Friday, September 26, 2025, at Mapo Hall, Ibadan.
From Jagun Olubadan on October 1, 1993, to becoming Olubadan-in-waiting 32 years later at the age of 81, Oba Rashidi Ladoja’s rise reflects the patience, endurance, and resilience required to climb Ibadan’s time-honoured chieftaincy ladder.
By Laolu Afolabi.
