Senator Olalekan Balogun (18 October 1942–14 March 2024) was a Nigerian monarch. He was the 42nd Olubadan in Ibadan.
Senator Lekan Balogun Biography
Moshood Olalekan Balogun was born on October 18, 1942, in Ali-Iwo compound, now known as Ibadan North East Local Government Area in Oyo State, Nigeria.
Balogun came to the United Kingdom to study for his O- and A-level certificates while working part-time to support himself. Lekan Balogun attended Brunel University after finishing his O- and A-level programmes. He graduated from the institution in 1973 with a master’s degree in administration and economics. He then worked for the Lambeth Local Government Social Services Department for one and a half years before deciding to pursue his PhD.
Career
Lekan Balogun was a presidential candidate for the Social Democratic Party (S.D.P.), as well as a gubernatorial candidate for the People’s Democratic Party (P.D.P.) in Oyo State within the current political climate. In addition, he served as a senator of the Federal Republic of Nigeria during the Fourth Republic.
From 1999 to 2003, Lekan Balogun represented the Oyo Central Senatorial District. As a senator, he chaired the Senate Committee on National Planning and served on other Senate Committees, including Appropriations, Security and Intelligence, Police Affairs, and Defence (Army).
Balogun previously worked as a lecturer at Ahmadu Bello University in Zaria, Kaduna State; an editor of the monthly magazine The Nigerian Pathfinder; a director with Triumph Newspaper in Kano; and a management consultant for multinational corporations such as Leyland, Exide Battery, and Nigerian Breweries.
Balogun worked for Shell British Petroleum Company, where he climbed to the post of administrator/head of Industrial Relations, Recruitment and Scholarships, and Planning and Development divisions.
Balogun authored and published extensively. Some of his publications include:
- A Review of Nigeria’s 4-year Development Plan, 1970–1974
- Social Justice or Doom
- Power for Sale
- Arrogance of Power.
On March 11, 2022, Governor Seyi Makinde of Oyo State crowned Balogun, the Otun Olubadan of Ibadanland (one of Ibadanland’s two most senior chiefs), as the 42nd Olubadan of Ibadanland.
Personal Life and Death
Lekan Balogun was Muslim and had two wives and children. He died on March 14, 2024, at the age of 81.
