Ladi Adebutu: The best man for Ogun top seat

It is pertinent to know that the value of a man is in the value he adds to people. If there is one man that stands tall among the candidates jostling for the top job in the government house of Ogun State today, it is a no-brainer to consider a successful entrepreneur, wealth creator and philanthropist of international repute.

As of today, I make bold to say that, at the risk of a hyperbole, the destiny of the good people of Ogun rest on the shoulders of one man. His name is Oladipupo Olatunde Adebutu.

Born on February 25, 1962, Mr Ladi has been in the scene and scheme of event as far back as 1992, at age 30, when he was elected into the National Assembly to represent the Remo Federal Constituency under the umbrella of the now defunct Social Democratic Party (SDP).

He has had a fantastic education sojourn and poses more than the requisite requirement for running for the governorship of the state. He is largely perceived by many as a grassroot politician and businessman.

In 1964, he began his primary education at the International Day Nursery school, Yaba and went on to further his education at St. Saviours Primary School, Oke-Ira, Ebute-Metta before proceeding to Igbobi College, in 1978, where he obtained his West African School Certificate.

Adebutu completed his educational career in Ireland where he obtained an Irish Leaving Certificate in 1980 and an Irish National Certificate in 1983. In 1984, he obtained an Irish National Diploma in Analytical Chemistry, before deciding to get back into the country to improve the well-being of his people through politics and entrepreneurship.

He has experience in the public sector too, having served as a Commissioner in the state’s Local Government Service Commission and as chairman, House of Representatives Committee on Agriculture and Rural Development. Mr Ladi is well positioned to do well if elected as governor of Ogun State.

He is not just an performing politician but also an astute businessman, managing one of the biggest poultry farms the country can boast of — JB Farms — a piggery with over 23,000 pigs. He continues to do well in the business necessitating him to establish the largest pig farm which focuses on the production of livestock feeds and other services, Solomon Kessington Agro-Allied Limited. Here is a man who is passionate about food security and agricultural development.

The son of a lion can’t grow up to be anything less than a lion himself. Mr Ladi is the proudly a noble son of the millennial icon, ace entrepreneur, humanitarian, leader and father to many, Sir Kessington Adebutu.

Character, charisma and competence are the three C’s he brings to the table, in such a time as this. No doubt, these qualities are urgently needed at this crucial time in Ogun State. I reckon that Mr Oladipupo Olatunde Adebutu is turn the fortune of Ogun State around for good, if given the opportunity to govern.

Dr. Segun Rotimi is a businessman and wrote this piece from Lagos.