The management of Folio Media Group (FMG), Publishers of Daily Times Newspapers, has expressed sadness over the passing of its former staff and Editorial Board member, Dr Doyin Abiola, who died on August 5 at the age of 82.
She was the wife of the late Chief MKO Abiola, winner of the June 12, 1993, presidential election, which was annulled by the military government of Gen. Ibrahim Babangida.
Doyin l Nigeria in 1970 and travelled to the United States (US) to pursue a Master’s degree programme in Journalism. Upon her return, she was employed by Daily Times as a Features Writer and rose to become the newspaper’s Group Features Editor.
She later travelled again for her PhD and returned to Daily Times as a member of the newspaper’s Editorial Board, alongside other notable and experienced editors like Stanley Macebuh, Dele Giwa and Amma Ogan.
In a statement issued on Wednesday by Dr Fidelis Anosike, Chairman/Publisher, Folio Media Group, described the death of Dr Doyin Abiola as ‘Shocking,’ saying she left at a time the media industry and the nation needed her wealth of experience the most.
Dr. Anosike said that Doyin, who later became Managing Director/Editor-In-Chief of National Concord, was a consummate journalist, writer, advocate of social justice and champion of women’s rights, adding that, as the first woman editor of a daily newspaper in Nigeria, she was a pathfinder to women journalists in particular and an inspiration to the media industry in general.
“It is with great shock and sadness that I have received the news of the passing of Dr. Doyin Abiola, a former Features Writer with Daily Times Newspapers who rose to the position of Group Features Editor and subsequently, a member of its Editorial Board.
“As in the 70s, it was big news for a woman to hold such a top position in the nation’s media industry and Doyin, indeed, distinguished herself and rose to the topmost of the Features Desk.
“That she later moved on to become the first woman editor of a daily newspaper in Nigeria was a loud testimony of the stuff she was made of, as a committed professional.
”The late Mrs. Doyin Abiola was a consummate journalist, writer, advocate of social justice and champion of women’s rights. For the pioneer positions she held in Nigeria’s media industry and for distinguishing herself in subsequent leadership positions, Doyin was a pathfinder to women journalists in particular and an inspiration to the media industry in general,” Anosike said.
“We at Folio Media Group, and Daily Times in particular, join the rest of well-meaning Nigerians and the global media industry to mourn the demise of Dr. Doyin Abiola and pray that her family be comforted,” Anosike stated.
He urged the Abiola family to take consolation in the fact that the late Doyin lived a fulfilled life, contributed immensely to the development of Nigeria and humanity, before her passing at a ripe age of 82.
Doyin Abiola was educated at the University of Ibadan, where she earned a degree in English and Drama in 1969.
After graduation, she started work with the Daily Sketch Newspaper and had a column in the newspaper called ‘Tiro,’ which addressed sundry issues of public concern, including gender matters, before moving to Daily Times and later going to New York University and obtaining a PhD in communications and political science in 1979.
She returned to the Daily Times and was deployed to the editorial board, where she worked with other experienced editors like Stanley Macebuh, Dele Giwa and Amma Ogan. Her next move was to the National Concord newspaper, where she was appointed as its pioneer daily editor.
She was promoted to managing director/editor-in-chief in 1986 and became the first Nigerian woman to become the editor-in-chief of a daily newspaper in Nigeria.
Her career at National Concord Newspaper spanned three decades. She also served in various capacities in the media industry in the country and was Chairperson of the Awards Nominating panel at the first Nigerian Media Merit Award to be hosted in the country, and also a member of the Advisory Council, Faculty of Social and Management Sciences, Ogun State University.
She was a recipient of Diamond Awards for Media Excellence (DAME) for her lifelong devotion to advancing the frontiers of knowledge and strengthening the media as a pillar of democracy.
The Trustees of DAME unanimously approved her selection as a recipient of its Lifetime Achievement Award at the 24th DAME Ceremony.
She was the second woman to receive a DAME Lifetime Achievement Award after Mrs. OmobolaOnajide) and was later granted an Eisenhower Fellowship in 1986.
