The Courage of Conviction
The path to industrialisation is paved with more than just policy documents; it requires a convergence of vision, stability, and execution. The triumvirate of Tinubu, Ladoja, and Makinde represent the three critical pillars of this process. Their shared background in the high-stakes, project-driven world of oil and gas is not incidental—it’s foundational. They understand scale, infrastructure, and the language of capital. Today, I choose to examine one portrait in destiny’s Hall of Fame, a Nigerian mosaic of power, resilience, and rule of law.
In the quiet contemplation that travel often affords, a singular image crystallized in my mind this past week. I was traversing Asia, moving through the financial hubs of the GCC, finalising transactions poised to revolutionise healthcare delivery across continents. The work was demanding, the distance from home vast. My journey back was abruptly interrupted – a cancelled British Airways Flight 108 from Dubai to London and then to Ibadan via Lagos, a logistical vexation that would prevent my physical presence at a momentous occasion in Nigeria. I was not overly angry – it is best to arrive alive. Yet, despite the thousands of miles and the tyranny of airline schedules, I was there in spirit and soul, fixated on a masterpiece of history being unveiled in real-time.
This masterpiece was a portrait, not of paint and canvas, but of flesh, spirit, and an indomitable will. It was framed by the Coronation of the 44th Olubadan of Ibadan, His Imperial Majesty, Oba Rashidi Adewolu Ladoja, an event that served as a powerful focal point for a narrative far grandeur than one man’s ascension. It is a truth of history that greatness is rarely forged in ease. It is born in defiance—of odds, of mockery, of the sheer weight of impossibility. The portrait that emerged from my reflections is of this very defiance, etched by the ink of endurance, the sweat of sacrifice, and the scars of resistance.
Within this frame stand three men, majestic and immovable, their careers a complex mosaic of Nigerian ambition and power. First, a Senator who became a Governor, and then President – Asiwaju Bola Ahmed Tinubu. Second, a Senator who became a Governor, and now, a King – Oba Rashidi Adewolu Ladoja. And third, an Engineer who became a Governor, and is viewed by many as, undeniably, a President in the making – His Excellency, Engineer Oluseyi Abiodun Makinde.
This is not merely a photograph of powerful men. It is a testament to destiny, carved through immense courage, refined in the furnace of adversity, and sealed by an unwavering conviction. Their bond is deeper than political alliance; it is rooted in a shared crucible. They were all titans of Nigeria’s formidable Oil and Gas sector – Tinubu at Mobil; Ladoja at Total; and Makinde at Shell. Yet, the true significance of their story is not that this industry made them, but that they refused to be defined solely by it, instead using its unforgiving landscape as a training ground for the political battles to come.
To the cynical observer, the alignment of these three figures in their current roles was a divine impossibility. At every critical juncture of their careers, they were dismissed, discouraged, and even derided. They were told their visions were fantasies, their paths unwinnable. But the road to glory is never paved with the permission of naysayers. It demands a grit that borders on the sublime, and these men possessed it in abundance.
Tinubu’s journey is a study in long-game strategy and sheer tenacity. When he laid out his early blueprints for a modern Lagos, they were dismissed by many as impossibly ambitious. His vision for a self-sustaining mega-city, independent of fluctuating federal oil revenues, seemed a fool’s errand. His political path was even more fraught. Forced into exile for his pro-democracy activism during the military junta, he became a pillar of the resistance, funding the struggle from his own means when many others capitulated. This was not the act of a cautious politician, but of a man staking everything on a future he could see when others could not.
Upon his return, he had to fight tooth and nail against internal party imposition just to secure a fair chance to contest for the governorship. Once in office, his trials intensified. He battled betrayals from friends and foes alike, often navigating fierce opposition from within his own team while simultaneously fending off a hostile federal government. Yet, through it all, he turned Lagos into a functioning model of what Nigerian statehood could be. Now, as President, he faces the monumental task of turning Nigeria itself toward a promise long deferred, armed with a mandate to renew hope on a national scale.
The story of Oba Ladoja is one of profound endurance, a masterclass in navigating betrayal with grace. His term as Governor of Oyo State was violently shaken by a politically motivated impeachment, an act of brute force orchestrated with a shocking disregard for legal and democratic norms. His mandate was stolen. In that moment of darkness, when many would have called for chaos in the streets, Ladoja chose the methodical, arduous path of the courts. He placed his faith in truth over vengeance, in institutions over anarchy.
His eventual restoration was a landmark victory for Nigeria’s judiciary, but the personal toll was immense. He emerged not bitter, but regal. His path to the Olubadan throne was similarly labyrinthine, marked by twists and turns, trials and tribulations, tremors and trepidation. Yet, on Friday, 26th of September 2025, it culminated in ultimate triumph.
In a quiet, reflective moment I shared with Kabiyesi on the morning of his Coronation, my words were simple but heavy with the weight of recent history: “Congratulations. We made it!!!” It wasn’t a cry of victory, but a cathartic sigh of arrival at the watershed of History and the redefining of a future – still in the making. It was an acknowledgement that after all the intrigues, the destination had been reached, and we were alive to see it. That journey—from a stolen governorship to a sacred throne—is the stuff of a masterclass at leading Business Schools. I hope the Class of 2026 takes note.
Industrialization requires long-term investment, and capital is famously timid; it flees from instability. Kabiyesi’s ascension to the revered throne of the Olubadan provides an essential, non-political anchor of stability and cultural continuity. As a former governor and industrialist himself, he is uniquely positioned to mediate disputes, rally community support for major projects, and provide the historical legitimacy that assures investors that their ventures are built on solid ground, not shifting political sands. He represents the soul of the land, ensuring that progress does not erase heritage, a balance crucial for sustainable development.
And what of Makinde? His ascent is perhaps the most unconventional. He came not from a lineage of political royalty but from the refining furnace of private enterprise. An engineer by training, he brought a technocrat’s precision and a businessman’s pragmatism to the chaotic world of Nigerian politics. He dared to speak truth in a cacophony of compromise, refusing to bend to the transactional whims of party godfathers.
When he first stood against entrenched interests, he was mocked for standing alone. When he rejected party imposition and chose principle over the patronage that typically guarantees political advancement, many predicted his swift and permanent fall. They saw a political novice, not a seasoned strategist who understood that true power emanates from the people, not from smoke-filled rooms. But he stood, and still stands, governing Oyo State with a compelling blend of logic, compassion, and unyielding poise that has set a new standard for leadership. He stands as tall as the others in this portrait, not just for the office he holds, but for the principles he upheld to get there.
What truly binds these men is not just the offices they have held or the industry that shaped them. It is the courage of their convictions—that rare and precious ability to remain resolute in the face of profound personal peril. It is the willingness to walk alone when the crowd chooses the comfort of the herd, and the foresight to choose posterity over fleeting popularity.
Each man, in his own time, walked into history without waiting for applause. Tinubu, exiled and isolated, saw a democratic Nigeria worth fighting for. Ladoja, illegally impeached, saw a rule of law worth defending. Makinde, politically ostracised, saw a governance model based on principle worth building. They took different roads, but their shared ethos of principled defiance has led them to be framed together in the hallowed halls of destiny.
This portrait should remind us all that history does not only remember titles; it remembers impact. It remembers the conviction of men who dared to chart their own course. And it records, for all time, the stories of those who were repeatedly told “impossible”—but who had the audacity to insist, “Let’s try.”
In essence, one sets the national stage, another ensures the foundation is stable and culturally resonant, and yet another executes the specific, on-the-ground projects. Their combined influence create a uniquely fertile ecosystem for the industrialisation of Oyo State to finally, and sustainably, take root. And yet, whatever we may think of these three men, there stand an undeniable portrait in the halls of fame of destiny – the mosaic of Ahmed, Adewolu and Abiodun.
