About
OLAYINKA HAKEEM BABALOLA
Olayinka Hakeem Babalola
President 2026–2027, Rotary International
Rotary Club of Trans Amadi, Nigeria
Olayinka Hakeem Babalola’s Rotary story began long before the highest offices of the organisation. He began as a Rotaractor in 1984, became a Rotarian in 1994, and grew in Rotary through club, district, regional and international leadership. This gives his presidency a particular depth. He understands Rotary from the inside: the energy of young leaders, the discipline of club service, and the responsibility that comes with global leadership.
One of the most memorable details in his story begins with a television interview. As a young man, he heard about Rotary through a short broadcast that spoke about people coming together to serve their communities. Later, at university, he helped charter a Rotaract club and became its charter president. It is a powerful reminder of what public image can do at its best. A well-told Rotary story can open a door to a lifetime of service.
Within Rotary, Babalola is often described as “the game changer”. In his case, the phrase is not decoration. As District Governor in 2011–2012, he encouraged his team to look for ideas that would genuinely change the way things were done. One practical example became part of his leadership story: using fast communication through a BlackBerry group to mobilise support for The Rotary Foundation. Within hours, US$80,000 had been raised. By the end of the year, every club in the district had contributed to the Foundation. It was Rotary leadership at work: clear purpose, trust, speed and action.
His professional background helps explain the way he leads. Babalola is an engineer with long experience in the oil and gas industry, including senior roles at Shell PLC. He is the founder of Riviera Technical Services Ltd. and Lead and Change Consulting, an executive coaching and organisational performance advisory group. For him, change is not an abstract word. It is a professional discipline: understanding systems, recognising resistance, building capacity and helping people move towards a better result.
His 2026–2027 presidential message, Create Lasting Impact, grows naturally from that way of thinking. For Babalola, Rotary action matters when it leaves something behind. A project has meaning when it continues to serve people after the event has ended, after the photographs have been taken, after the reports have been submitted. This is why he speaks about more welcoming clubs, more impactful projects, and Rotary experiences that transform us as people.
There is also a deeply personal lesson about belonging in his Rotary journey. As a young Rotaractor, he once attended a Rotary club meeting because he wanted to become a Rotarian. He was challenged with the question of what he was doing there. Then one Rotarian, Soji Fowode, chose to open the door and agreed to sponsor him. That moment stayed with him. One voice can close a door. One voice can open it. The future of Rotary is often decided in that simple human moment.
Babalola brings a strong commitment to PolioPlus, peacebuilding and The Rotary Foundation. His Rotary service includes work with End Polio Now and PolioPlus initiatives in Nigeria, as well as support for Rotary’s peace efforts. He has also been connected with the development of the Rotary Peace Center at Makerere University in Uganda, the first Rotary Peace Center on the African continent.
As President of Rotary International, he places one clear question before every club and every leader: what will remain after us? The answer is not found in the number of events we hold. It is found in the people we welcome, the communities we strengthen, the trust we build, and the change that continues to live after our work is done.
For Olayinka Hakeem Babalola, Create Lasting Impact is more than a presidential message. It is a life story, a leadership principle and an invitation to the whole Rotary family: to practise Rotary in a way that people can recognise, trust and remember.
