Olayinka “Yinka “ Hakeem Babalola 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 for this role of R .I. President are his many years of engaging with Rotary- over four decades. He says , “ not many people who get to this position have that privilege. He has served not only as R.I. vice- president and a member of the R.I. Board of Directors but also as an active leader and participant in R.I. committees such as the End Polio and the Nigeria Polio Plus Committee.

He was inspired to join Rotary because of something he saw on TV. Babalola was hanging out at home watching TV when a well-dressed man on the screen caught his eye. The man was all wearing white and his English was something else. He was talking about Rotary. It was the first time he heard anything about Rotary.
He and his wife , Preba, a member of the Rotary Club of Port Harcourt Passport, are Arch Klumph Society members. 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.

He met his wife at a Rotaract meeting . After finishing up his university education, Babalola moved to the Port Harcourt and joined the community based Rotary Club of Trans Amadi. But Yinka and Preba arenot the only members of their family who have been involved in Rotary. Their oldest daughter was the charter president of the Interact Club of her secondary school. Another daughter was the president of her university's Rotaract Club.

His nickname is “ the game changer “. Babalola served as DG in 2011-12 while employed by Shell, a multinational energy company. As DG the highest amount ever, raised nearly $ 1 million, from a district on the African continent for TRF.

The 2026-27 presidential message is Create Lasting Impact. Rotary made him a diplomat. As a Rotary Director in 2018-20, Babalola represented more than 80 Rotary countries and geographical areas – over a third of the Rotary world – including countries in Africa. The zones he represented included politically sensitive areas such as Israel, Lebanon, Ukraine and Afganistan. He is the second president from Africa.