David made the list of the most powerful and influential
It was an easy selection.
The coffee-table book listed and profiled 100 Nigerians who retain charismatic power to impact society in any way
Charismatic power is the ability to move things, people and outcomes without the necessary use of appointive office but with sheer vision
David Adeleke was always going to make that list
Apart from his super career as a global Afrobeat superstar, his trajectory in social impact put him on our trail.
I have been mapping his trajectory as a social impact force force for a bit now.
He first came to my reckoning when he raised billions for the underprivileged during one of his birthdays
All he did was ask his friends, and before you knew it, money started raining
Then the End SARS debacle, and he was the first to mobilise and join
He even had a meeting with the then IG, and you could see his voice strong and viral in that movement
In politics, he has landed with a heavy thud
The issue has always been how our social activists can transform social media followership to votes and real-life impact
Some huge Social Media power bases like Funke Akindele have tried and failed woefully
With over 20m followers on all of her platforms, she was not able to translate that to votes as a deputy Governor candidate in Lagos State
So she quickly retired from politics and used her immense social clout to build one of the most enduring and lucrative movie careers.
What David did in Osun is a clear show of visionary power
From mobilisation to executive prowess to still getting them to secure the votes was all very remarkable
In a recent interview, he talked about defeating 17 Sitting Governors, the Senate President and the full might of the Federal Government
The system recognised his might too late, leading to the Senate President and Aliko Dangote allegedly calling him to pull down his tweets, as reported
He has done much damage to the Edo Governor, who made the grave mistake of calling out his uncle, the Governor, for dancing too much
David released that one’s WAEC result, which was woeful, and verbally attacked him
This led to other influencers in Edo State picking at the carcass of the Governor
That Davido played a remarkable role in the Osun Elections with his ‘phone’ cannot be denied
It is this social force, this visionary leadership, that we set out to curate and map out with the Maddtimes power list coffee-table book; hence his entry and nomination
Read David Adeleke’s full entry and profile in the 538-page Maddtimes Power List coffee-table book, which just arrived from Dubai
Limited quantities available – ask for your copy now.
Thanks
Duke of Shomolu
Last modified: August 19, 2026
