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Journey

Rung by rung.

Nobody climbs in one jump. This is the order it happened in, from student councils in Ikorodu to a book of his own.

Olalekan speaking on stage at a creative arts conference
Rung 1

Student leadership

At Moshood Abiola Polytechnic he sat on the Students’ Representative Council and served as Clerk of the Students’ Judiciary Council. Representation started early.

Students’ association inauguration in Ikorodu
Rung 2

National Youth Service

He served as Coordinator of the Ode-Aye CDS group in Ondo State during his NYSC year.

Rung 3

Ikorodu youth leadership

He coordinated the Ikorodu Local Branch of the National Youth Council of Nigeria and became a member of the Ikorodu Division Resource Group.

Inauguration into the Ikorodu Division Resource Group
Rung 4

Yoruba Youth Council

He became State Chairman of the Yoruba Youth Council, taking his work beyond Ikorodu.

State chairmen of the Youth Council from the Southwest
Rung 5

NYCN Lagos, 2020 to 2024

As State Chairman of the National Youth Council of Nigeria, Lagos State Chapter, he led the Changing the Narratives agenda: repositioning youth leadership, strengthening the Council as an institution and widening the places open to young people in governance and development.

Olalekan after emerging as State Chairman in 2020
Rung 6

Forward Lagos

He convenes Forward Lagos, a civic movement built on shared responsibility and long-term thinking. It gives residents, the diaspora and young Lagosians practical ways to take part in shaping their city, from sharing priorities on the Pulse to following how commitments are kept.

Olalekan championing civic education
Rung 7

Public service

He took the same habits into public service. He serves as Senior Special Assistant to the Governor of Lagos State on Social Development, working on social interventions, inclusion and civic participation across the state.

At the State House in Lagos
Rung 8

Author, 2026

One Rung at a Time: Echoes from the Ladder of Becoming. Eighteen chapters on growth, leadership, mentorship and becoming.

Cover of One Rung at a Time

The ladder is still going up.

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Olalekan Biliamin Oba

Civic leader, mentor and author. Building platforms, people and institutions that outlast any one person.

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