What a nightmare! What an unbelievable night. There are departures that leave sorrow, and there are those that leave the mind stunned, struggling to understand how a familiar voice could suddenly fall silent. That was the feeling when the news of Dotun Oladipo’s passing reached me. I was shocked, deeply saddened and, for a while, simply unable to comprehend it. Death, indeed, is cruel.
Dotun was a distinguished member of the Nigerian journalism fraternity whose professional journey traversed the old newsroom and the emerging digital frontier. From his years in established news organisations to founding The Eagle Online, he demonstrated the resilience of a journalist who understood that the profession must continually reinvent itself without losing its essential values.
His contribution went beyond publishing a newspaper. As a former president of the Guild of Corporate Online Publishers, he was part of the generation that helped give structure, voice and professional identity to Nigeria’s rapidly expanding online media space. He believed in the possibilities of journalism and committed himself to its continuing evolution.
My encounters with Dotun in recent times were not frequent, but they were meaningful. They often opened into thoughtful exchanges on journalism, public affairs and the changing character of our profession. I found in him an informed mind, a measured temperament and a professional who had accumulated the wisdom that comes from many years in the trenches.
And so, his sudden departure leaves one asking the questions that death habitually provokes, questions for which the living rarely receive answers.
The Scriptures teach us to give thanks in all circumstances. In grief, that instruction becomes difficult but also profound.
We give thanks for the life Dotun lived, for the work he accomplished, for the institution he built and for the professional footprint he leaves behind. We mourn the man, but we must also acknowledge the gift his life represented.
For his family, the pain is immeasurably greater. May the Almighty give his wife, children and loved ones the strength to endure this sudden rupture and the grace to preserve the best of his memory.
The Yoruba have a beautiful way of describing such a departure:
“Ìyẹ̀ la máa wò, àọ̀rì ẹyẹ rì mọ.”
The bird has gone, but its feather remains for us to admire.
Dotun has flown. His work remains. His memories remain. His contribution to journalism remains.
May his soul rest in peace.
*Lanre Ogundipe
