Prince (Dr.) Tajudeen Oluyole Olusi, MON, OON

Introduction

Prince Tajudeen Olusi is one of Lagos's most senior elder statesmen. His public service spans from the Lagos Town Council in 1962 to the chairmanship of the Lagos State Governance Advisory Council today. He is one of the foremost authorities on the history of Lagos, which is why the Motherland Heritage Cup counts him as Life Patron.

Royal roots

He was born on 13 October 1936 on Lagos Island, the son of Oba Sanusi Olusi, the first Muslim Oba of Lagos. He grew up in the Olusi Palace at Oke Arin, where chiefs and elders gathered to settle disputes and tell the history of Lagos. This upbringing shaped his lifelong interest in history and politics. President Tinubu describes him as "a prince of Lagos by his father and a prince of Ado-Ekiti by his mother."

Education

He attended primary school in Lagos and spent part of his boyhood in Ghana, completing middle school at the United Middle School, Tamale. He returned to Lagos for secondary school at Ansar-ud-Deen College, then sat his General Certificate of Education at the Lagos Centre for Higher Studies in 1959–1960. In 2024, Lagos State University conferred on him an honorary Doctor of Literature (History, Education and Community Development).

Public service

1962: Elected a councillor of the Lagos Town Council at 26, in the era of Chief Obafemi Awolowo's Action Group.

1979–1983: A founding member of the Unity Party of Nigeria and its first Lagos Division Secretary. He represented Lagos South in the House of Representatives until the military takeover of December 1983.

1990s: Served as Social Democratic Party chairman in Lagos State.

1993–1996: Commissioner for Commerce and Industry in Lagos State, under Military Administrator Olagunsoye Oyinlola.

Today: Chairman of the Lagos State Governance Advisory Council, the apex advisory body of the Lagos APC. At his 90th birthday, President Tinubu said: "Baba is not just a politician; he is an institution."

Keeper of Lagos history

He is a prolific author on Lagos history and traditional institutions:

• ◆Do Not Be a Low Mean Man, his autobiography (2013)
• ◆Essays and Evidences Relating to Lagos Obaship and Chieftaincies (2019)
• ◆A Short History of Obaship in Lagos (2020)
• ◆The Kingdom of Lagos, launched in 2026 at the University of Lagos Institute of African and Diaspora Studies' Lagos Lecture Series, held in his honour

Education and community

The Prince Tajudeen Olusi Educational Fund was launched around his 90th birthday. The Prince Tajudeen Olusi Annual Prizes at LASU — for outstanding results in History and International Studies and in Sociology — were first awarded at the university's 30th combined convocation. He is a lifelong member of the Boys' Scout Movement in Nigeria, the first National Vice-President of the Zumratul-Ul-Islammiyah Society, and a former chairman of the Lagos State Pilgrims Board.

Titles and honours

• ◆Atobatele of Ado-Ekiti, conferred by the Ewi of Ado-Ekiti in March 2025
• ◆Baba Adinni of Yorubaland, turbaned at the Onikan Stadium, Lagos, in 2026 by the Council of Islamic Preachers
• ◆Member (MON) and Officer (OON) of the Order of the Niger
• ◆Honorary Doctor of Literature, Lagos State University, 2024

Role with the Motherland Heritage Cup

As Life Patron, Prince Tajudeen lends the tournament the standing of one of Lagos's most respected custodians of heritage — precisely the spirit of a competition built around African and diaspora identity.

Prince Olusi turned 90 on 13 October 2026.