- Safiu Kehinde
Former Managing Director of the Guardian Newspaper, Lade Bonuola, has, in a heartfelt tribute, recalled his encounters with the late first female Managing Director of a national newspaper in Nigeria, Dr. Hamidat Doyin Abiola.
NPO earlier Reported the demise of the widow of the late Nigerian business mogul and politician, MKO Abiola.
Doyin Abiola passed away on Tuesday night at the age of 82.
Her demise had attracted tributes from prominent Nigerians including President Bola Tinubu.
In his tribute to the late former Managing Director of the National Concord, Bonuola described Doyin Abiola as quick-witted journalist.
He recounted their time together at Daily Times which the late Doyin Abiola joined in 1972.
Bonuola lauded the late Doyin Abiola for her punctuality and power-packed, hard-hitting editorials.
He described the ex-National Concord Managing Director as warm-hearted colleague who he worked fairly closely with.
Doyin Abiola has been off the beat for a long while. I did not suspect she had been down with ill-health.
“Quick witted, she joined us at the Daily Times in 1972 and she did not waste time in showing her class.
“She did not shrink pulling punches at our daily editorial conference, the conference of line editors in the Editor’s Office to consider materials going into the paper the following day.
“She was the chief leader writer at the time of Areoye Oyebola’s editorship and that of Olusegun Osoba, interesting Times that witnessed a gathering of very bright minds.
“You could trust Doyin Abiola (then Doyin Aboaba) with power-packed, hard-hitting editorials, predictably in language which was her indisputable forte. She was able to squeeze into her tight roll call time to lecture at the Daily Times Training School.
“For her, punctuality was the sole of business. She was not known to keep meetings waiting. She was as warm-hearted as she was unsparing when incidents called for it. We worked fairly closely: She was Features Editor and I was Chief Sub-Editor.
“May her path be blessed on her continuing journey in the Beyond and through Creation to the Heights.” Bonuola wrote.