The board of trustees and management of the Wole Soyinka Centre for Investigative Journalism (WSCIJ) join the global community to mourn the loss of Lai Oso, the stellar professor of Mass Communication. A long-time supporter of our work at the WSCIJ, Professor Oso served on the faculty of many of our training programmes and was a distinguished member of the judges’ board of our flagship award, the Wole Soyinka Award for Investigative Reporting (WSAIR), for a decade.
While serving on the board of judges, Lai Oso held the position of board chair on four occasions (2012, 2013, 2016, and 2017). On this platform, he called out injustice and insisted that the media be the voice for the voiceless. Through the years, he displayed an unwavering commitment to better journalism and the media and communication field in Nigeria, Africa and globally. He was dedicated. He demonstrated this in his consistent participation in many of our initiatives. When we started our Pro-Engage programme for campuses in 2011, Lai Oso was part of the team of resource persons who led the delegation to the University of Lagos (UNILAG), where more than 300 students from the Lagos State University (LASU) and Yaba College of Technology had gathered with the host school.
In 2012, he moderated the Wole Soyinka Centre Media Lecture series. In 2015, he eagerly accompanied us as we launched our House-to-House initiative with advocacy for investigative journalism desks in eight media organisations in Lagos and Abuja. Because of his love for cartoons, we invited him to give the keynote as we launched the Art of the Cartoon: Imaging Social Realities programme in 2016. Additionally, he contributed to the Free to Share initiative in 2021, showcasing his passion for media development despite the COVID-19 pandemic.
One of the works Lai Oso helped us to accomplish is the ‘Investigative Journalism Landscape Mapping’, a book project where we deliberately compiled edited versions of all winning works for the award to make a statement on the state of justice, human rights and corruption in Nigeria through the eyes of the media. His last direct assignment with us was as a keynote speaker at 2022 Amplify In-depth Media Conference and Award. There, he delivered an enlightening paper on the significant role of investigative journalism in shaping election outcomes and deepening democracy. These are only a few examples of our exploits with Lai Oso, the maestro journalist, scholar, teacher and partner for change, who served the people and society with glee.
The sudden demise of Lai Oso is a tragic event that sheds light on the deficiencies in Nigeria’s educational system. The WSCIJ expresses concerns over the circumstances surrounding his passing. His death raises questions about how a respected communication scholar and professor of mass communication had to undertake a road trip from Ogun to Delta State and back to supervise students. This incident serves as a wake-up call for the Nigerian government to declare a state of emergency in the educational sector, as we have demanded many times in the past.
Lai Oso was committed to professional and ethical journalism. His ability to collaborate with all stakeholders to give voice to the voiceless and strengthen democracy was exemplary. He advocated good journalism and media excellence and will continue to inspire future generations. The WSCIJ deeply appreciates his manifold contributions to our work and will continue to remember his profound impact on the advancement of the media industry in Nigeria.
As Professor Lai Oso is laid to rest on Friday 14 July as announced by his family, we again extend our heartfelt condolences to his wife, Abimbola Oso, his children, relatives, the academia, the journalism community and the country as we collectively mourn his loss. Our thoughts and prayers are with you all during this difficult time. May we find solace in the enduring legacies and profound impact Olayiwola Muraina Oso made throughout his lifetime.
Signed:
Motunrayo Alaka
Executive Director/CEO
WSCIJ
