BY AKINWALE ABOLUWADE, IBADAN
Following the passage of Oba Saliu Adetunji, Senator Lekan Balogun, the Otun Olubadan, is set for crowning as the next Olubadan of Ibadan.
Adetunji, who ascended the throne as the 41st Olubadan in 2016 joined his ancestors in the early hours of Sunday while receiving treatment at the University College Hospital, Ibadan.
In line with the hierarchy of ascension to the throne in Ibadanland, the Otun Olubadan is the next in line to mount the throne.
Two lines of ascension, (the Balogun and the Otun lines) qualify beneficiaries to the throne of Olubadan, with the most senior on each line ascending the throne on rotational basis.
The late Olubadan emerged from the Balogun line.
Balogun, who is from the Otun line, is the most senior and the one to succeed Oba Adetunji.
Balogun, who holds a Doctorate Degree in Public Administration; Public and Social Administration and Economics from Columbus International University, Brunel University, and Manchester University, in the United Kingdom, is from Ali-Iwo compound in Ibadan North East Local Government Area of Oyo State.
As a businessman, he currently sits on the board of several companies with interests in oil and gas, distributive trade, management consulting, mechanized farming, and export of non-oil items, as well as travels and tours.
The former senator was an Administrator/Head, Industrial Relations, Recruitment and Scholarships, Planning and Development units at Shell Petroleum Development Company.
Balogun was also a Research Fellow with the Ahmadu Bello University, Zaria, a director with Triumph Newspaper, Kano; Editor of the monthly magazine-“The Nigerian Pathfinder” as well as a Management Consultant for multinational organisations such as Leyland, Exiat Battery, and Nigerian Breweries.
He represented Oyo Central Senatorial District at the National Assembly between 1999 and 2003, and served as the Chairman, Senate Committee on National Planning. He was a member of Senate committees on Appropriations, Security and Intelligence, Police Affairs, and Defence (Army), among others.
He was a presidential aspirant on the platform of the Social Democratic Party in the 1992/1993 presidential election, and a governorship candidate for the PDP in Oyo State.
Balogun was a research fellow at the Ahmadu Bello University Zaria, Kaduna State.
