- Safiu Kehinde
The body late former Guild of Corporate Online Publishers (GOCOP) President, Dotun Oladipo, has been laid to rest in Lagos.
Oladipo who passed away on the 25th of August 2026, was buried at the Oasis Cemetery at Alagbado area of the state.
The burial marked the end of the two-funeral service which started with a Service of Songs programme on Thursday with family and friends paying tribute to the late publisher of the Eagles Online.
This would continue on Friday as family, friends, and colleagues of the late Oladipo converged again for the final rite.
The Friday service started with the daughter of the late journalist delivering the Bible reading.
This was followed by tributes from friends and associates.
In his tribute, Mr. Nnkanu Egbe, an executive member of the Innovative Media Partners and Cooperative Society, recounted Oladipo’s efforts and contribution to the society, particularly his quest towards brings several media practitioners on board.
‘I know he has family, but Dotun was my younger brother. One the assignment that Dotun had was building the innovative media partners and cooperative multipurpose society.
‘His mission was to bring as many media professions as possible under one umbrella so that their welfare like issues of retirement can be secured.
‘He used to refer to me as my oga and I used to call him my Oga Presido. I was worried about the haste and the energy that he was applying. And now I understand why he was in such a haste.
‘On the 28th of August, we were supposed to have the inaugural meeting of committee chairpeople. We were still talking until that faithful Tuesday.
‘He wanted real estate; he wanted your businesses to grow. He wanted so many things to happen. The business of the cooperative continues and Dotun forever in our hearts. I will just say goodnight Dotun, not goodbye. We will continue to remember him.’ Egbe said.
Also speaking, Mrs. Omowunmi Alli-Balogun, a neighbour of the Oladipo family, recalled how the the late journalist helped them settle in the community.
Alli-Balogun described Oladipo as her husband’s role model.
‘He was a family to us, and he was instrumental to us moving into the neighbourhood. I recall the very first time we go to that house, he gave us the needed support. He helped me to even get the metre.
‘He gave us the contact of a cleaner. He is a very available person. He is a father and a very good husband.
‘My husband used him as a role model because I see him go out to the gym with his wife every morning. He is close to his children.
‘His daughters are his best friend. He is somebody that never had any altercation. He never had an argument. We live in the same house, and we had a lot of services that we shared together.
‘He is always at the forefront to make sure that everything works very well in the house.
‘I know that I will miss him very greatly because of all of the things that he had done and he was always very lively. I pray that we will see him very soon.’ She said.
Speaking of behalf of members of DayStar church who knew the late publisher of the Eagle Online, Prof. Jide Johnson, said Oladipo exemplified the character of the church’s General Overseer, Pastor Sam Adeyemi, in terms of humility, love, and patience.
‘He is gentle. He is Pastor Sam exemplified. For those of you in the media industry, if you are looking for humility per excellence, he is someone that exemplified the character of Pastor Sam. He loved his wife. You will hardly see the two of them away from each other.
‘On Sunday, you will always see them together. Most importantly, Sister Taiwo is part of our cell system. We do have meeting after church service.
‘Sometimes the meeting drags when we have serious issues. He will wait patiently without complaining, buying stuffs for the kids, coming to check when they are through. He is a kind man.
‘From professional point of view, regularly, Brother Dotun will reach out to us. We will send him students for internship.
‘And when we send them to him, he takes it upon himself to sponsor the students when they come back from their programme. He will pay for their fees and ensure they complete that programme.’ Prof. Jide said.
The children of the late journalist also delivered special tribute to their father before the word of exhortation by Pastor Solomon Kpandei.
The clergyman, in his sermon, harped on the need for every human to live a life of impact.
‘A wise man once said that the value of a man’s life is not measured by his duration but by his donation.
‘In other words, we desire to live a long life. We pray for it and it is a good desire. However, it is not how long you live that matters. It is how much you positive impacted the society.
He also urged those at the service to factor God in their decision-making and actions.
Following the funeral service, the body of the late Oladipo was escort by convoy of families, friends, and colleagues to the Oasis cemetery for internment.
He was laid to rest as his wife, daughters, brothers, and other members of the family bade a final farewell to him.
