- The most educated Olubadan departs
There was unusual suspense when it was his turn to be crowned the Olubadan of Ibadan, the pre-eminent traditional ruler of the prominent ancient Yoruba city and capital of Oyo State. Under Ibadan’s long-standing traditional rulership system, the hierarchy was clear and the successor to a departed Olubadan was clear. But the predictable and seamless Olubadan succession system had been complicated by the controversial 2017 crowning of 21 high chiefs as kings, or Obas, in the land under the then governor, Abiola Ajimobi. Ibadan had hitherto been under one king.
Oba Lekan Balogun, the Olubadan of Ibadan, who died on March 14, aged 81, was among the elevated high chiefs at the time. But he was already positioned, as the Otun Olubadan, to succeed the then Olubadan, Oba Saliu Adetunji.
Oba Adetunji, who reigned from 2016 to 2022, inspired by a strong sense of tradition, had opposed the creation of new kings, and his supporters took the matter to court. In separate judgments in 2018 and 2019, the Oyo State High Court nullified the installation of new kings in Ibadan. Also, the state governor, Seyi Makinde, withdrew their crowns, and parties in the conflict reached an agreement to pursue an out-of-court settlement to restore peace.
In this context, the Olubadan succession system seemed threatened. It was, therefore, a triumph of tradition when Oba Balogun became the 42nd Olubadan of Ibadan in March 2022, after the death of Oba Adetunji. The succession was based on the old system.
Oba Balogun thus became the first Olubadan to be crowned as an Oba before he was crowned as Olubadan. Governor Makinde described his coronation as “victory for the sons and daughters of Ibadanland, and restoration of our traditional systems.” He observed that Oba Balogun “climbed the 22 steps on the Olubadan line starting from the lowest rung of Jagun Olubadan over a period of 39 years,” and urged the Olubadan-in-Council “to ensure that the laws having to do with the ascension to the throne of Olubadan remain sacrosanct.”
Interestingly, Makinde, in July 2023, re-elevated 10 Ibadan high chiefs to kings, stating that it “will not undermine the authority of the Olubadan nor alter the Olubadan succession arrangements in any way.”
Oba Balogun studied at Brunel University, London. He earned a master’s degree in Administration and Economics in 1973, and later got a doctorate. He was the most educated Olubadan in the history of the throne.
He ascended the throne after a multi-faceted journey. He worked as a lecturer at Ahmadu Bello University (ABU), Zaria. He was an editor at ‘The Nigerian Pathfinder’, a monthly magazine, and a director at ‘Triumph’ Newspaper, Kano. He was a management consultant to Leyland, Exide Battery, and Nigerian Breweries; and worked for Shell BP, where he headed the Industrial Relations, Recruitment and Scholarships, Planning and Development units.
As a politician, he contested the 1983 governorship election in the old Oyo State as the candidate of the Nigerian People’s Party (NPP). He was a senator from 1999 to 2003, chairman of the Senate Committee on National Planning, and a member of the Senate Committees on Appropriations, Security and Intelligence, Police Affairs and Defence. The Senate adopted a resolution to immortalise him by naming one of its committee rooms after him.
He authored books, including ‘A Review of Nigeria’s 4 Years’ Development Plan 1970-1974’; ‘Nigeria: Social Justice or Doom’; ‘Power for Sale’; ‘Arrogance of Power’; ‘Nigeria, The People Must Decide’; ‘To Lead is to Serve’; and ‘The Portrait of An Activist.’
The completion of the new palace for the Olubadan was a major milestone in his two-year reign, though he did not live there till he died. The construction of the palace was said to have started nearly 20 years ago. The new palace is a game changer because before its completion an incumbent Olubadan’s residence doubled as the palace.
Oba Balogun was seen as a moderniser. His death, after such a short reign, possibly robbed Ibadan of the fruits of his modernising influence.
