The game changer

Meet your 2026-27 Rotary president, Olayinka Hakeem Babalola

Olayinka “Yinka” Hakeem Babalola is sitting on the wrong side of his desk, staring at the tiny squares on the laptop perched in front of him. He’s just finished speaking on a call with 300 Rotaractors from the African continent and other parts of the world, Rotary’s president-elect explains as he turns down the volume. “They held a celebration for me because I’m a past Rotaractor,” he says. By seeing Babalola, himself once in their shoes, embarking on the highest position in Rotary, who knows how many of the 300 he will inspire. It’s early October, less than two months since the Rotary International Board of Directors selected Babalola to lead Rotary, in a special session in late August after the resignation of RI President-elect SangKoo Yun, who died shortly after, following months of cancer treatment.

It’s only the second trip to Rotary headquarters for Babalola, of the Rotary Club of Trans Amadi in Nigeria, since his selection. His office is nearly empty, void so far of all the gifts Rotary leaders tend to accumulate during their travels as an incoming president.

While he’s new to the position, he has a long history with Rotary, starting as a Rotaractor in 1984 and then as a Rotarian in 1994. “One thing is for certain, preparing me for this role are my many years of engaging with Rotary” — over four decades, he says. “Not many people who get to this position have that privilege.”

In that time, he’s served not only as RI vice president and a member of the RI Board of Directors but also as an active leader and participant in RI committees such as the End Polio Now Countdown to History Campaign Committee and the Nigeria PolioPlus Committee. Babalola was a trustee of ShelterBox. His Rotary honors include the Regional Service Award for a Polio-Free World, the Service Above Self Award, and a Rotary Foundation Citation for Meritorious Service. He and his wife, Preba, a member of the Rotary Club of Port Harcourt Passport, are Arch Klumph Society members.

That’s all on top of his professional life. He worked for 25 years in the oil and gas industry, holding senior positions with Shell. He is the founder of two companies: Riviera Technical Services Ltd., an oil and gas infrastructure delivery company, and Lead and Change Consulting, an executive coaching and organizational performance advisory group.

Rotary magazine senior staff writer Diana Schoberg sat down with Babalola to find out more about the president-elect.

He was inspired to join Rotary because of something he saw on TV.

On summer break between his last year of high school and his first year of college, Babalola was hanging out at home watching TV when a well-dressed man on the screen caught his eye. The man was wearing all white, and “his English was something else,” Babalola recalls. Curious, he listened more closely. The man was talking about Rotary. “It was the first time I heard anything about Rotary,” Babalola says. “Like with most TV interviews, it probably lasted one or two minutes, but he made an impression on me.”

Fast forward to Babalola’s second year at the university, when the school’s public image director, a member of the Rotary Club of Bauchi, approached him with a proposal: Would Babalola like to help organize a Rotaract club at the school? “I still tell people I have no idea why he approached me,” Babalola says. He recalled the well-spoken man in white and asked if the director was somehow connected. It turns out the director knew the man on TV, who was the past district governor. Babalola was sold on the connection and went on to become the Rotaract club’s charter president.

He met his wife at a Rotaract meeting.

After finishing up his university education, Babalola moved to Port Harcourt and joined the community-based Rotaract Club of Trans Amadi. At one event, he recalls noticing a beautiful woman, the president of a university-based club. He pointed her out to a friend and said, “That’s the one.” He was right.

But Yinka and Preba aren’t the only members of their family who have been involved in Rotary. Their oldest daughter was the charter president of the Interact club at her secondary school. She moved to North America for college and today belongs to the Rotary Club of Winnipeg in Manitoba. Another daughter was the president of her university’s Rotaract club.

His nickname is “the game changer.”

Babalola served as district governor in 2011-12 while employed by Shell, a multinational energy company. This was unlike his predecessors, who were either retired or running their own businesses while they held that role. He knew things had to change for him to be successful.

At his first meeting with the assistant governors and committee chairs, he asked them to include what would be the “game changer” in their proposals: how they used to do things, and how their approach would change going forward. “If they have no answer,” he says, “the proposal is thrown away. They need to present it again.

“It occurred to people that this guy actually wants something different,” he continues. “I’m called the game changer, but the ideas that changed the game were not mine.”

He raised $80,000 with a text message.

Part of Babalola’s effort to make changes as district governor involved his use of technology. On 1 November, the start of Rotary Foundation Month, he woke up around 3 a.m. and sent a request to a district group on a BlackBerry messaging app asking everyone on the platform to give something to the Foundation that day, no matter how small. Then he went back to sleep. When he woke up a few hours later, he made his own donation and posted the evidence. Within a few hours, the group had raised $80,000. “Usually, you would gather people together, you’d talk to them, and ask for it,” he says. “But with technology, you could ask virtually.”

That year, every club throughout the district gave something to the Foundation. The nearly $1 million raised was, he says, the highest amount ever from a district on the African continent for The Rotary Foundation.

He wishes he had more time to go scuba diving.

Babalola is certified to dive to 30 meters and has done some diving in the Mediterranean, the Red Sea, and the Atlantic. He’s looking forward to someday diving in Hurghada, a resort city on Egypt’s Red Sea coast that’s known for its marine life, iconic wrecks, and high visibility in the water. “The reefs are wonderful,” he says.

He also enjoys other outdoor pursuits including swimming, gardening, and bird-watching. One of the most interesting birds he’s seen is the Ibadan malimbe, a rare songbird with bright red feathers around its head and face that is found only near his hometown.

The 2026-27 presidential message is Create Lasting Impact.

If you need it, here’s a refresher on Rotary’s vision statement: “Together, we see a world where people unite and take action to create lasting change — across the globe, in our communities, and in ourselves.” This Rotary year, Babalola explains, RI has been focusing on that first word, “together,” through the message Unite for Good. In 2026-27, members will tackle the next part of the vision statement: creating change that lasts.

Reprint from Rotary International: https://www.rotary.org/en/the-game-changer
Source: https://www.rotary.org/en/the-game-changer

One of the highlights of our recent meeting was seeing so many of our Past Presidents together for a group photo. It was a wonderful opportunity to recognize the men and women who have helped lead the Rotary Club of Omaha over the years.

Each of these leaders has played an important role in our club's history. Through their dedication, vision, and willingness to serve, they have guided projects, supported fellow members, and helped our club continue its tradition of making a difference in the community.

While their terms as president may have ended, their commitment to Rotary certainly hasn't. Many continue to mentor new members, volunteer at club events, and support the mission of Rotary in countless ways.

Thank you to all of our Past Presidents for your leadership, friendship, and continued service. We are grateful for everything you have done—and continue to do—to make the Rotary Club of Omaha such a special place.

Our Rotary family is delighted to welcome home Yama Nieje after an unforgettable year as a Rotary Youth Exchange student in Japan.

During her exchange, Yama embraced a new culture, built lifelong friendships, and experienced daily life in Japan in ways that will stay with her forever. From learning the language and traditions to attending school and becoming part of her host community, she represented our club and community with enthusiasm, respect, and an open heart.

The Rotary Youth Exchange program is about much more than travel—it helps young people grow in confidence, develop leadership skills, and gain a deeper understanding of the world. Yama's journey is a wonderful example of how cultural exchange creates lasting connections and promotes goodwill across countries.

We are proud of everything Yama has accomplished and look forward to hearing about her experiences, the lessons she learned, and the memories she made during her year abroad.

Welcome home, Yama! Your Rotary family is excited to have you back, and we can't wait to hear your story.

Within hours of deadly floods and landslides that struck Mexico in October, Rotary members were responding. In hard-hit Poza Rica, Rotary and Rotaract members brought residents to safety, plowed mud-laden streets, and moved house to house to clean properties. The effort was supported by clubs throughout District 4185 and by neighboring districts and others abroad. The Rotary Club of Poza Rica joined the nonprofit Planet Water Foundation to install four water towers and a water block in the neediest area and deliver purified water elsewhere. The club also coordinated with World Central Kitchen to provide hot meals. Still, “we desperately need help to get back on our feet and return to our normal lives,” says club member Pepe Badillo. “The houses were a total loss. Everything was destroyed, from a single plate to the bedrooms on the second floor.”

India

The city of Thane, northeast of Mumbai, is recognized for its arts and culture scene. It’s home to drama troupes, an art expo, international film festivals, and comedy venues. What it was lacking, says Atul Bhide, of the Rotary Club of Thane Hills, was a large showcase for aficionados of the written word. To amend that, the club (which also sponsors a book-reading initiative for youth) launched the Thane Literature Festival. Over two days in November, bibliophiles toasted 22 authors and poets who read from their work and participated in panel discussions. The event honored journalist and writing coach Bachi Karkaria with the Thane Literature Festival lifetime achievement award, and judges critiqued entries in a short-story contest. “Encouraging reading habits and love for literature for Gen-Next is also our motive behind this literature festival,” says Bhide.

Source: https://www.rotary.org/en/rotary-projects-around-globe-april-2026