Olajide Esan is a Nigerian businessman, and politician representing Osun State. He is the governorship candidate for the African Action Congress (AAC) in the governorship election in Osun State on Saturday, August 15, 2026.
Esan Olajide is his name on the records of the Independent National Electoral Commission, INEC. He is recognized by many as The Youth Governor. Not only is he one of the youngest to run, but he has pledged to return power to the people if elected.
Who is Olajide Esan?
Olajide Esan is an entrepreneur, a car dealer, and a trained geographer. He was born and grew up in Ejigbo LGA, Osun State.
He calls himself a proud son of Ejigbo and Osun soil. He isn’t a career politician. Prior to entering the governorship race in 2026, he worked his way up the corporate ladder and learned how to make society better for the masses.
He frequently claims that he became a politician because “the big parties have been oppressing people for too long through poverty. In his acceptance speech after his party primary, he said the big political parties have been oppressing Nigerians, and that their kind of leadership has turned poverty into a weapon.
Early Life and Education
Olajide Esan had a simple upbringing in Osun State. His first school was Hope Nursery and Primary School. He then went to A.D School of Science for his secondary education. Post secondary school, he was admitted to Osun State University, UNIOSUN, to study Geography and Resource Management and eventually became a Bachelor of Science.
As a self-described geographer, he has a strong background in Spatial Analysis, Geographic Information Systems (GIS), Geographic Information System (GIS), and Human Consciousness.
He has many times indicated that his training in GIS will enable him to manage the land, security and resources of Osun State using data and not guesswork. He also claims to have an IQ of 146, which he states helps him to find solutions when others find problems.
He loves to say he is a curious person who is always driven by the desire to understand, to innovate and to find better ways to serve humanity.
How old is Olajide Esan?
Olajide Esan is 37 years old. His year of birth is 1987. In December 2025, he was identified as an entrepreneur of 39 years old by almost all media houses when he made his appearance as AAC candidate.
He is one of the youngest candidates to run for governor in 2026, with just a handful of candidates younger than him. On the campaign trail he leverages his age as a selling point. He tells voters that he is a product of the same generation of young Nigerians who are battling for jobs while the recycled leaders who have been in power in the state for decades fail to understand their pain.
He urges Osun to get new energy and new ideas, rather than the same old politicians getting in rotation.
Career and Business 
In the business world, Olajide Esan is a well-known car dealer. He is the Founder and Director of Jyde Autos and Logistics, a company dealing in automobiles and logistics. He was instrumental in the creation of the company and it’s currently doing business in Nigeria and other countries.
The business taught him to manage money, make jobs and endure tough times and in his campaign he brings that experience with him. He says if a man who has made a real business will use public money well, he will be a better man than one who has never made anything at all. He is an entrepreneur and has an interest in other businesses besides his car business.
He’s never held public office before and that is his biggest asset, he says. He claims there is no burden on him because of his failures and that the emergence of him as the AAC candidate is a result of the people’s trust in the fact that they are looking for real ideological change and not money politics.
Political Party
Olajide Esan is flying the flag of the African Action Congress, AAC. The AAC is a leftist party and claims to be with the masses. Omoyele Sowore, the famous human rights activist and former presidential candidate, is its national leader.
It is a small party but has a strong voice on national issues, when compared with the APC and PDP. On Saturday 13th December, 2025, Esan was declared the AAC governorship candidate in Osun State. He was elected by a consensus of members of his party.
The exercise was conducted at the secretariat of the party in Powerline neighborhood of Osogbo and supervised by INEC officials. Osun State Chairman AAC, Tayo Adeyemi, announced his emergence, and stated that members of the party across Osun have endorsed him fully.
He is running with Bello Muideen Yekeen, a 51 year-old man, also known as Alhaji Muideen Bello.
His campaign is branded Irapada Osun 2026, which means Rescue Osun 2026. His manifesto is called A Covenant with the People of Osun, and he calls it a solution dense blueprint built from deep reflection and genuine love for the people.
He says it is built on five transformative pillars that cover economic growth, welfare, security, education and infrastructure. These are some of his more vocal promises. As governor he will donate all of his salary to pensioners, he says.
He will set up a Citizens Database so the government knows every resident and can plan properly. He will build an IT and Tech Hub at Fakunle in Osogbo, where young people will learn coding, software development, AI, robotics, data analytics and cybersecurity for free.
He plans an Osun Child Trust Fund that will open an investment account for every child born in the state, which the child will access at the age of 18 for school or business. He wants to raise N5 billion every year from responsible mining, especially gold from the Ilesha axis, through an Osun Mining Development Corporation.
He also plans an Automobile Village, an Electronics Hub, agro processing plants, and the development of Erin Ijesha Waterfall into a world class tourism site.
On security, he has promised technology driven policing with aerial surveillance, weapon detection and georeferenced house numbering, using his GIS skills.
He also wants a percentage of local government revenue to go to traditional rulers, and he has promised a Public Finance Dashboard so citizens can track every naira the government spends.
His campaign has had some notable moments. In April 2026, the Ogiyan of Ejigbo, Oba Omowonuola Oyeyode Oyesosin II, openly endorsed him at the palace in Ejigbo.
The monarch said Osun people can no longer afford to recycle leadership without results, and he praised Sowore for always standing with the people. In July 2026, Esan appeared on the Osun NUJ Guest Platform in Osogbo, where he called for sweeping reforms of the Nigerian political system.
The system does not allow ideas to be elected to office, it allows for those who think of politics as a business, he said. In the same month, he had a showdown with Amotekun operatives when they reported that the new bridge was faulty, prompting him to go and check the Lameco Flyover in Osogbo.
He had earlier warned the state government about the project. A few days later a stretch of the flyover collapsed, causing him to call for the immediate arrest and prosecution of the contractor.
He was one of the candidates who joined other candidates at the Arise Townhall Meeting in Osogbo in August 2026, slamming the two Governors, Adeleke, Bola Oyebamiji and Najeem Salaam for failing to debate for the governorship. Leaders who avoid questions don’t deserve votes, he said
Wife
Olajide Esan keeps his family life away from the public eye. He hasn’t brought any female out on the campaign trail as his wife, and he does not mention his wife in interviews.
He does not speak about his home in his public speeches and campaign materials, but about his plans for Osun State. As such, at the time of writing, no name/mouse yet exists publicly for his wife and there is no picture of her available.
Maybe he is married and he’s just trying to shield his family from the racket of politics. A lot of politicians do the same. However, none of the credible local news outlets has reported anything about the wife of Olajide Esan and he has never appeared in public to talk about her.
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Children
The same goes for his children. There is no evidence of any children for Olajide Esan and no public record names any of his children.
However, in all of his interviews, from the Independent newspaper interview to the Punch interview, he talked openly about his education, his business and his plans, but he did not mention a child. But he has been kind of soft to kids in his policies. His Osun Child Trust Fund is based on the premise that all children in Osun state must have a future.
Yet, his family is private and there are no verified public records to confirm the names of his children.
Conclusion
Olajide Esan is a fresh face in Osun politics. He is young, bold and outspoken.
He is bidding for the seat with big names such as the Governor Ademola Adeleke and the APC candidate, Bola Oyebamiji, but is not afraid of the battle.
The election is a clash between “recycled politicians” and a “new generation that wants real change,” he says. On Saturday, August 15, 2026, voters of Osun have the opportunity to determine whether the Youth Governor would get a chance to prove his Covenant with the People of Osun.