When Chief Jubril Dotun Sanusi rounds off 2025, it will be with praise on every lip, grace in every recounting, and gratitude etched deeply into the narrative of a year that would long be remembered as a defining chapter in contemporary Yoruba history and global African leadership.
Looking back from the vantage point of 2025, his journey reads not merely as a succession of achievements, but as a seamless alignment of destiny, service, culture, enterprise, and humanity.
From the very heart of Ile-Ife, the sacred cradle of Yoruba civilisation where every palm tree, drumbeat, and winding path carries the memory of kingship and cosmic order, a moment of rare historic consequence unfolded.
Chief Jubril Dotun Sanusi, distinguished entrepreneur and visionary CEO of Ilaji Hotels and Resorts, was formally installed as Okanlomo Oodua by His Imperial Majesty, Oba Adeyeye Enitan Ogunwusi, Ojaja II, the Ooni of Ife.
In retrospect, this was far more than a coronation. It was a moment when legacy announced itself with authority, when culture met modern excellence, and when the world paused to witness history being consciously preserved and powerfully redefined.
The weight of this honour can only be understood through the eternal figure of Odùduwà, progenitor of the Yoruba people, first ruler of Ilé-Ifẹ̀, and spiritual architect of Yoruba civilisation, kingship, order, and moral authority. Odùduwà represents origin itself, the fusion of divine mandate with human leadership.
To be named Okanlomo Oodua is to be entrusted with sacred responsibility: to guard heritage, to uphold the dignity of a people, and to embody the values that have sustained Yoruba kingdoms across centuries. It is not bloodline alone that earns such distinction; it is vision, stewardship, sacrifice, and consistent service.
As Chief Sanusi ascended the palace dais on that historic day, Ile-Ife itself seemed to breathe in reverence. The resplendent tapestries of Yoruba regalia shimmered beneath the sun, drums thundered with ancestral authority, and ululations rose like waves through time, binding past, present, and future into a single living moment.
Dignitaries, royal fathers, captains of industry, philanthropists, cultural custodians, and global business leaders gathered, not merely to observe a ceremony, but to witness the embodiment of excellence grounded in tradition and amplified by international relevance.
Among the eminent figures present, His Imperial Majesty, Oba Rashidi Ladoja, the Olubadan of Ibadanland, captured a timeless truth: that greatness is rooted in origin. Chief Sanusi, a proud son of Ibadan, now carried a title born in the spiritual heart of Yoruba civilisation, symbolically uniting geography, heritage, and influence.
It was a convergence that spoke volumes about continuity, unity, and shared destiny. In his acceptance speech, Chief Sanusi spoke with humility that matched the magnitude of the moment.
His words, now frequently quoted throughout 2025, framed the title not as personal glorification but as a solemn mandate for service, unity, and cultural fidelity.
He affirmed that the honour called him to uphold heritage, strengthen communal bonds, and contribute meaningfully to the advancement of the Yoruba people and humanity at large.
Those words travelled far beyond Ile-Ife, resonating across continents, because they reflected a life already devoted to transformation rather than rhetoric.
By the close of 2025, the truth of that declaration stood indisputable. Chief Sanusi’s leadership had consistently transcended wealth accumulation, finding its truest expression in community development, cultural preservation, and expansive philanthropy.
Through his enterprises, particularly Ilaji Hotels and Resorts, he had demonstrated how indigenous innovation can drive economic growth while creating employment, promoting tourism, and positioning Nigerian excellence on the global stage.
Beyond business, his philanthropic gestures continued to touch education, youth empowerment, healthcare support, community upliftment, and cultural advocacy, quietly but profoundly reshaping lives and restoring dignity where it was most needed.
The coronation itself had been more than visual splendour. It was rhetoric in motion. The drums spoke the language of ancestral legitimacy; the regalia narrated centuries of refinement and pride; the exchanges of respect among leaders illustrated a universal recognition of a life anchored in purpose.
In retrospect, the title of Okanlomo Oodua became a living argument that leadership rooted in integrity, heritage, and service commands admiration anywhere in the world.
The event also stood as a cultural thesis with enduring relevance. It asserted, without apology or ambiguity, that Yoruba heritage is neither relic nor ornament. It is living, dynamic, and globally resonant.
Chief Sanusi’s emergence as a custodian of this legacy reinforced a powerful truth: that tradition and modernity are not rivals, but allies capable of producing leaders whose impact is simultaneously local, national, and international.
By the time the sun set on 2025, the echoes of that day in Ile-Ife still lingered.
Chief Jubril Dotun Sanusi had firmly established himself as a bridge between ancestral legitimacy and contemporary brilliance, between cultural fidelity and global influence, between prosperity and compassion.
His life and leadership illuminated a path for future generations, proving that when heritage is paired with purpose, it becomes a force of admiration, unity, and transformative action.
In rounding off 2025, history did not merely remember a title conferred; it celebrated a man affirmed. The coronation of Okanlomo Oodua was not a moment frozen in time, but the beginning of a living legacy.
It declared that roots matter, vision matters, service matters, and that authentic greatness, grounded in grace and driven by responsibility, resonates across every corner of the world.
Segun Kehinde writes from Ibadan.
