– A Tribute to Governor Dapo Abiodun @65
By Lanre Alfred
He turns sixty-five soon, but his spirit bears no age. Governor Dapo Abiodun strides into this milestone not as a weary statesman but as a tireless builder, whose hands are calloused by care and whose eyes emit the prescience of a patriot. Some men gather years as dust gathers on ancient frames, but Abiodun gathers them as goldsmiths gather ore, burnished by service, refined by love.
To celebrate Abiodun is to croon a descant of gratitude. To reflect on his journey is to trace the lines of a purposeful map pared by grace, guided by wisdom, and seasoned with compassion. The years may have weathered his days, but they have also refined his essence, mellowed his voice into music, and tuned his life into melody. In Dapo Abiodun, Nigeria has found its song. In Iperu, his nativity has found its son.
Abiodun’s heart pulses like an ever-burning hearth in the hall of our shared aspirations. Those who have worked with him and those who have walked beside him know this to be true. The governor leads with a firm gentleness, a dignity so rare that it stirs the silent envy of lesser men.
Not merely a governor, nor simply an entrepreneur of storied enterprise, he is a quiet blaze—illuminating, warming, yet never burning. At 65, he stands like a seasoned baobab, majestic, enduring, and sheltering all who come under the shade of his influence. In all my years of knowing him, he has never put me through the shingles of regret. When the vision of the SouthWest Games 2025 was at its teething stage, Governor Abiodun supported it with his full weight.
I had seen many men in high places pretend at support, issuing bland nods and staged handshakes. But Governor Abiodun was different offering his endorsement without hesitation. In the middle of a crushing schedule, at a time when state affairs threatened to overwhelm even the strongest of men, he broke protocol and made room in his crowded itinerary to stand with us, shoulder to shoulder, for promotional photographs. That gesture, though seemingly small, carried the weight of a thousand policy memos—it spoke of faith, belief, and camaraderie. It said, “I see you; I am with you.”
This is his way. He has always treated me as kin. He does the same with countless others, offering support without being asked, listening without being prompted, giving without being begged. That is the true mark of nobility. That is the signature of Dapo Abiodun.
Some would call him the giver with the velvet heart. Yet to describe him merely as generous would be to call the ocean “wet.” His goodwill is a river that never runs dry. Those who drink from it find not just relief, but renewal. There is a kind of giving that seeks applause and another that flows from an inner wellspring of empathy. His’ belongs to the latter.
His compassion is not the staged variety that politicians wheel out during campaign seasons. It is woven into his daily life. The old, the young, the forgotten, they are all accounted for in the map of his mercy. His public policies wear the thread of equity. His private acts of kindness leave behind echoes that speak louder than headlines.
He walks into rooms not with the pomp of power, but with the presence of peace. His is a leadership that hugs the soul.
Long before he donned the embroidered agbada of public office, he wore the hard hat of enterprise. As the founder and CEO of Heyden Oil, Dapo Abiodun carved a path through Nigeria’s unforgiving corporate jungle with brilliance and tenacity. His was not inherited success; it was earned. Brick by brick, deal by deal, he built a name that commanded respect in oil circles across the continent.
Yet in those years of boardroom battles and midnight strategy sessions, the core of his being never changed. He remained warm. He remained gracious. The oilfields did not harden him. The wealth did not remove him. He walked as one who understood that power is only meaningful when shared.
He employed not just hands but hearts. His business philosophy always bore the silhouette of his soul: give, uplift, build. Even in profit, he found purpose.
Now, as a two-term governor, he wears the robes of state with the same humility he wore as a private citizen. Ogun State has seen him not as a ruler, but as a gardener, tending dreams, weeding out decay, and sowing seeds of innovation.
Under his watch, infrastructure found new life. Roads once forgotten now carry commerce. Schools once ignored now carry the laughter of children. Hospitals once gasping now breathe again. He has been relentless, not loud. Strategic, not showy. Impactful, not imperious.
He believes governance is not a theatre of self-celebration but a sacred calling. That belief lights his every decision. That belief gives rhythm to his policies and poetry to his politics.
He is not one to decorate himself with borrowed accolades. He lets his work do the talking, and his work speaks in volumes too deep for mere noise.
Think of him as the patriot with the kindest soul. Dapo Abiodun belongs to Nigeria, not just Ogun. His impact flows beyond state lines and political maps. In national conversations, his voice rings with reason. In crises, his calm offers comfort. He is a bridge between generations, a model of what quiet influence and consistent values can achieve in a country desperate for both.
There is a tenderness about him that feels almost unmodern, a trait from a lost age of grace, when leaders led with their hearts and not their hashtags. In a country overrun with performance politics, Abiodun remains an elegant exception. His patriotism is not draped in flags; it is embedded in his deeds.
When others grandstand, he gets to work. When others build monuments to ego, he builds institutions for people. When others chase headlines, he chases harmony.
As he turns 65, Nigeria must pause. Not merely to count his years, but to weigh the wonder of them. The political class must take note—here is a leader who does not need to shout to be heard. The business elite must nod, here is a titan who climbed without trampling. The youth must look closely—here is a model of success that marries ambition with integrity.
He is proof that kindness is not weakness. That power can wear a smile. That generosity can coexist with discipline. He is the quiet anthem in a nation often too loud for its own good. He is the warm hand in a cold room.
I very happy to have walked beside him, to have seen his heart up close, to have benefited from his boundless kindness. As I reflect on everything, I realise this truth anew: Dapo Abiodun is not just a man. He is a movement of grace. A whisper of hope. A vessel of divine favour.
At sixty-five, Abiodun towers on a summit of past glories, but at a new beginning. The horizon still calls. The road still unfolds. The world, still weary, needs men like him, men who lead by light and live by love.
May his days ahead be long and golden. May his health never falter. May his influence expand like morning sun across the hills. May the hands he has lifted rise to bless him. May the hearts he has healed sing his name in gratitude.
And when the final tally of Nigerian patriots is taken, those who built without boasting, gave without grudging, and loved without limit, may Dapo Abiodun be found among the few, the rare, the truly great.
And here goes my coda for his noble soul: For Dapo Abiodun, I wish that the bells of Ogun ring with joy; that the corridors of selfless labour resound with applause; that all those who have known his touch, felt his favour, tasted his goodwill, rise and toast to the man whose ascension to the ripe age of commands the monument of endless applause.
I pray that every street he has paved, every school he has rebuilt, every young dream he has funded, rise in chorus to say: Happy 65th, our melody in human form.
Happy birthday, my big brother, my leader, my governor. May the God who made you keep you. May the country you love cherish you. And may your legacy, like your love, never end.
Congratulations to the statesman, whose life has become music. May the song never end. May the chorus swell. May the rhythm persist for decades more.
In Dapo Abiodun, Nigeria has found its song. In Iperu, Ogun State, the earth has found its son.
