Speaker of the Lagos State House of Assembly, Rt. Hon. Mudashiru Ajayi Obasa, has joined the Nigerian media industry and family members of the late publisher of The Eagle Online news website, Dotun Oladipo, to grieve his tragic and untimely loss. Oladipo, 56, died after a brief illness on Tuesday, August 25.
In a statement signed by Adeshina Oyetayo, his Special Adviser on Research, Media and Documentation, Speaker Obasa said he received the news of the demise of the consummate journalist with profound sadness and shock, saying, “His reputation for professional and ethical journalism, the type that is rare in this fast-paced world of social media where noise often drowns out substance, preceded him.
“We had cause to interact at close quarters over the past couple of years as one of our dependable media partners, and he came across as a genuinely good person and thoroughbred reporter. During those brief interactions, too, he was always ready to offer perspicacious insights and invaluable advice on any topical issue.”
Further, Speaker Obasa stated, “With his medium – The Eagle Online – he contributed in no small measure in propagating, engendering, and deepening an understanding of legislative activities while providing fair, factual, and accurate reportage of the Assembly and my Office for which we remain indebted to him.”
Speaker Obasa said that while mourning his loss, the entire Nigerian media community should rally themselves – across the traditional and social media, both of which he straddled with remarkable ingenuity and indelible impact over the past three decades, and endeavour to sustain his legacy of personal and professional fealty, diligence, enterprise, and originality.
“What the entire media community owes his memory now is to ensure that they rededicate themselves to those values he swore by, which endeared him to you all, carry it forward, and sanitise the media space.”
Speaker Obasa concluded, “To his family, the management and staff of The Eagle Online, the Guild of Corporate Online Publishers, and the entire Nigerian media community, the Lagos State House of Assembly extends its heartfelt condolences and prays that the Almighty Allah (SWT) grants his good soul eternal rest and gives you all the fortitude to bear this irreparable loss”.
