By Daniel Ayodeji
At 71, Ladi Ayodeji stands as living evidence that greatness is not inherited. It is built patiently and deliberately from the ground up. His story does not begin with comfort, connections, or privilege, but with discipline, manual labour, and an unyielding hunger for knowledge. Long before his name became associated with influential writing, ministry, and public thought, he learned survival through work of the hands and growth through self-education.
Born into an Anglican family and educated in modest missionary schools across Minna and Kano, his early years were defined by movement, adaptation, and responsibility. As a young man, he underwent apprenticeship as an auto electrician, panel beater, and mechanic, trades that demanded precision, endurance, and humility. When he migrated to Lagos in the early 1970s, life did not suddenly improve. He worked as a labourer for years, enduring physical hardship while quietly preparing for a future few could see. During this period, without formal privilege or academic sponsorship, he sat for and passed the GCE O and A Levels in twelve subjects. This achievement was the result of discipline and sustained private study. Scoring an A1 in English was not accidental. It confirmed a long-standing mastery of language.
That result redirected his life. Journalism became not just a career, but a calling. In 1980, he was employed by The Punch newspaper as a cub reporter. Shortly after, he was sent on a 12-week sandwich course in News Reporting at the Nigerian Institute of Journalism, a practical training that sharpened his reporting instincts. After a brief stint on the labour desk, his deployment to the entertainment desk proved decisive. Within months, he transformed the entertainment pages into must-read content, attracting an unprecedented following and building a loyal fan base that culminated in the Ladi Fan Club. His impact set a standard that endured beyond his tenure.
This same trajectory of rising through mastery rather than shortcuts has defined every phase of his life. As the author of the Motivation Power column, published by The Sun newspaper, his writing speaks from experience, not theory. When he writes about discovering one’s God-given assignment, divine empowerment, discipline, and responsibility, he does so as a man who has known misalignment, correction, and clarity. His reflections on Nigeria’s challenges, including overpopulation, corruption, insecurity, and leadership failure, are grounded in decades of observation and engagement across social and economic divides.
Ladi Ayodeji (right) receiving an award from the Institute of Management Consultants.
As a counsellor, pastor, author and speaker, his influence has extended quietly but deeply through books, seminars, youth gatherings, marriage teachings, and faith instruction. His spiritual journey reached defining clarity under the ministry of Rev. Chris Okotie, whom he has consistently described as his destiny helper, greatest supporter, and the most influential figure in his spiritual life. Through that relationship, inherited religion matured into disciplined, intentional faith. Today, as Spiritual Director of Obey’s Prayer Mountain in Abeokuta, a long-standing media adviser, entrepreneur, teacher, and mentor, he continues to work because purpose does not retire.
At 71, Ladi Ayodeji represents a generation that believed in apprenticeship, self-education, moral clarity and earned authority. His life affirms a simple truth. When a man submits to process, honours learning, and obeys his calling, his influence becomes inevitable.
Happy 71st Birthday to a man forged by labour, refined by knowledge, anchored in faith, and proven by time. Your beginnings were humble, your journey was demanding, and your legacy is solid.