Rashidi Ladoja To Succeed Late Owolabi Olakulehin As New Olubadan Of Ibadanland

Former Oyo State Governor, Rashidi Adewolu Ladoja, is reportedly set to become the next Olubadan of Ibadanland following the death of Oba Owolabi Olakulehin.

KanyiDaily recalls that Oba Owolabi Olakulehin died on Monday, July 7, 2025, at the age of 90, less than a year after he became the 43rd Olubadan in July 2024.

Olakulehin had succeeded Oba Dr. Mohood Lekan Balogun, who died in March 2024 after a brief illness.

By Ibadan tradition, the Olubadan title rotates between two royal lines: the Egbe Agba (civil line) and the Balogun (military line).

Since the late Olakulehin came from the Balogun line, the next Olubadan is expected from the Egbe Agba side, where Ladoja is currently the most senior High Chief.

Rashidi Ladoja, who governed Oyo State between 2003 and 2007 and also served as a senator, has steadily moved up the traditional hierarchy in Ibadan.

He turned 80 in September 2024 and, a month earlier in August, was crowned as the Otun Olubadan, a key position in the succession line to the Olubadan throne.

That coronation ceremony was performed by the late Oba Olakulehin at the Olubadan palace in Oke Aremo, Ibadan.

The then-acting governor, Bayo Lawal, attended the event, alongside other top government officials, and presented Ladoja with his staff and instrument of office.

The ceremony followed a meeting of the Olubadan-in-Council and effectively settled previous disputes around Ladoja’s acceptance of a chieftaincy title.

After receiving his beaded crown and taking the title of Oba, Ladoja addressed lingering concerns about the reforms to the Olubadan chieftaincy structure.

He made it clear there was no conflict over his place in the traditional order, stressing that the Olubadan remains the only paramount ruler in Ibadanland, and other titleholders, even those referred to as Obas, serve as advisers and subjects.

He also responded to earlier fears that reforms to the Olubadan succession system might spark unrest in the city, emphasizing that past disagreements were mostly due to confusion over the roles of newly crowned chiefs.

Ladoja also pointed out that not everyone who rises to the top of the hierarchy automatically becomes Olubadan, noting that it ultimately depends on destiny.

Ladoja stated, “We can do our things on our own in Ibadanland. Those thinking that Ibadan will burn are liars. Whenever there is an issue among us, you will see that things will change once we enter the room and come out, that’s all because we know what is right.

“Misunderstanding was the cause of what happened before because what we were asking before was that as a king, where is our domain?

“They have answered us that we were king in the Olubadan line because what the declaration tells us was that Otun can become king, Osi, Asipa, and Ekeerin, including all of us in the Olubadan line, can become king.

“The question I have been asking, where is our domain, has been answered. Only those that God destined can become the Olubadan. We have seen some who rose to the post of the Otun and Balogun but eventually didn’t become the Olubadan.

“Now that we have become the king, we have become the adviser and servant to Oba Olakulehin because he can send us to wherever he wants as our king. We only have one king in Ibadanland, Oba Olakulehin is our king.”

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