ICONS: Rashidi Ladoja

•            Oba Rashidi Adewolu Ladoja was born on 25 September, 1944, in Gambari village near Ibadan, Oyo State. 

•            He attended Ibadan Boys High School (1958–1963) and Olivet Baptist High School (1964–1965). He studied at the University of Liège, Belgium (1966–1972) where he earned a degree in chemical engineering.

•            He is a Nigerian businessman and politician who served as the governor of Oyo State from 2003 to 2006 on the PDP platform; and from 2006 to 2007.

•            He was elected to the Senate of Nigeria in 1993 during the short-lived Nigerian Third Republic, he was a member of the United Nigeria Congress Party (UNCP) during the Abacha Political Transition. By 2000, Ladoja had become a director of Standard Trust Bank Limited.

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•            Ladoja became an Oba after he received a ceremonial beaded crown from reigning Olubadan and the Government of Oyo State on 12 August 2024. Following the death of Oba Owolabi Olakulehin, the 43rd Olubadan, Ladoja was announced as the incoming Olubadan on 7 July 2025.