At the center of a family that has made Nigerian history is the extraordinary 101-year-old Chief Raji Ayoola Adeleke. The late Isiaka Adeleke, also known as Serubawon, was the governor of Osun State from 1992 to 1993. His son Ademola Jackson Adeleke is the current governor. Afrobeat sensation David Adeleke, better known by his stage name Davido, is also the grandson of Chief Adeleke. The Adeleke family’s power in politics, business, and entertainment is further cemented by the fact that Davido’s father, millionaire businessman Adedeji Adeleke, is another of Chief Adeleke’s successful sons.
Osun State Senatorial District 11, which includes the six Local Governments of Ede, Osogbo, Irepodun, Ifelodun, Odo Otin, and Ila Orangun, was represented by Chief Raji Ayoola Adeleke, a Nigerian politician, labor leader, and senator during the second republic. Adeleke was born on December 27, 1923. On December 27, 1923, Adeleke was born in Ede, his hometown. The formal Iyalode (Head of Market Women) in Ede was his mother, Madam Adeboyin, who lived in OniIegogoro’s property.
Adeleke attended St. Peter’s Primary School in Ede, Osun, from 1935 to 1938. She then went on to Ibadan Grammar School, where she graduated in 1943. He graduated from the medical department nursing school in 1947 with a degree as a registered nurse. In 1948, he was one of the first members of the Union of Nigerian Nurses.
During his lifetime, he held the positions of Chairman of the Nigerian Red Cross, Ede, Osun Branch, Director of the Federal Labour Advisory Council, and Vice-President of the United Labour Congress of Nigeria. He received the title of Balogun of Ede in 1976. In the 1979 Nigerian parliamentary election, he was elected as a senator representing Osun State Senatorial District 11 under the Unity Party of Nigeria. He was married twice; his second wife, Mrs. Nnena Esther Adeleke, was from Old Enugu.
He had five children: Dr. Adedeji Adeleke, Pro-Chancellor of Adeleke University, Ede; Senator Isiaka Adetunji Alani Adeleke, who served as Osun’s first civilian governor from 1992 to 1993; and Ademola Adeleke, who represented Osun West Senatorial District.
