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Oluremi Oyo

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Felicia Oluwaremilekun Oyo
Managing Director of the News Agency of Nigeria
In office
July 2007 – 2013
Personal details
Born12 October 1952
Ilorin Kwara State Nigeria
Died1 October 2014(2014-10-01) (aged 61)
United Kingdom
Political partyNon-Partisan

Oluremi Oyo (12 October 1952 – 1 October 2014) was a Nigerian journalist.[1]

Early life and education

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Remi Oyo was born on 12 October 1952 in Ilorin, Kwara State, North Central Nigeria. She attended St. James’ Catholic Primary School in Ilorin and St. Louis Secondary School in Bompai, Kano State. She attended the University of Lagos earning a bachelor's degree in mass communication and journalism.[2] She got a postgraduate diploma in international relations from the Nigerian Institute of International Affairs. She further obtained a master's degree in international relations at the University of Kent in the United Kingdom.

Career

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Oyo was a journalist.[1] She was appointed Senior Special Assistant/Spokesperson of Media and Publicity to then Nigeria's President Olusegun Obasanjo in 2003, and was reinstated in 2007. Her career in journalism began as a reporter in 1973 with the Nigerian Broadcasting Corporation (NBC). She then joined News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) as a desk editor in 1981, but eventually its principal editor. She was said to be the first woman to attain such a high position in NAN before she eventually left in 1985.

From NAN, she joined the Inter Press Service (IPS) as the Nigerian Bureau Chief and later rose to become IPS West African Bureau Chief.

She first served as the Secretary to the Nigerian Guild of Editors (NGE). Later, she was elected by her professional colleagues as the first woman to be the President of the NGE.[3] She eventually served two consecutive terms from 1999 to 2003.

Shortly after her time with the former president, she was announced as the managing director of the News Agency of Nigeria.[4] She was even acclaimed to have rekindled the flame of professionalism in her management style at the NAN.[5] She served two full terms before eventually moving on.

Former Head of State General Abdulsalami Abubakar was the first to tout her patriotism when he appointed her to the membership of the 1999 Constitution Drafting Committee. In 2006, she was awarded a national OON conferred on her by President Olusegun Obasanjo. She later received awards from other organisations, such as the National Council of Catholic Women Organisation of Nigeria, the Nigerian Institute of Management (NIM) and the Nigerian Institute of Peace Administrators.[6]

Personal life

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Married to Victor Oyo, a BBC-Trained journalist, they had two children, Otome and Okiemuote, and three grandchildren.[7][1]

Death and burial

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Oluremi died on 1 October 2014 at 62 years of age[1] due to cancer while receiving treatment in the United Kingdom. The news of her death went viral.[8][9][10][11][12][13][14]

She is buried at the Yaba Cemetery, Lagos.[15][16]

Tributes, awards, and recognition

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Bemoaning her passage, Otome, her son said [17] Even her colleagues in the media were not left out of the scores of accolades showered on the woman who had made a diverse impact on the Nigerian media [18] Just as national leaders and others mourn her passage [19]

Oyo, who was not a member of any gender-based journalism organizations once noted that she was of the view that one's professional actions and conduct would speak for the person regardless of whether the person is a male or a female. She always addressed herself as a ‘pressman’.

Even co-women in her Church, the National Council of Catholic Women Organisation of Nigeria once offered her a merit award reiterated in one of the news reports after her demise.[20]

  • Recipient, National Council of Catholic Women Organisation of Nigeria merit award.
  • Fellow of the Nigerian Guild of Editors (NGE), the Nigerian Institute of Management (NIM), and the Nigerian Institute of Public Administrators[11]
  • Oyo was awarded the national award of Officer of the Order of Niger, OON, in 2006.[11]
  • Senior Special Assistant to President Olusegun Obasanjo for media and publicity.

See also

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References

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  1. ^ a b c d Utebor, Simon (3 August 2019). "Mum was the force that held us together – Oluremi Oyo's son". Punch Newspapers. Retrieved 12 June 2024.
  2. ^ "Jonathan, Obasanjo, Mark, others extol Remi Oyo's Virtues, Mourn her". Thisday.
  3. ^ "First Female President of Nigerian Guild of Editors Remi Oyo Passes Away". 2 October 2014.
  4. ^ "Nigeria: Remi Oyo Gets Second Term as News Agency MD". allafrica.com. Retrieved 20 May 2024.
  5. ^ "OBITUARY: Remi Oyo, the woman who transformed NAN, loses battle to cancer at 61". 2 October 2014.
  6. ^ "Nigeria: Eke - Remi Oyo: Rare Gem of Our Time". allafrica.com. Retrieved 20 May 2024.
  7. ^ "Remi Oyo, Biography". 21 February 2020.
  8. ^ "Ex- presidential aide Remi Oyo dies at 61". 3 October 2014.
  9. ^ "Former Managing Director of NAN. Oyo Is Dead ‹International Centre for Investigative Reporting". 2 October 2014. Retrieved 4 October 2014.
  10. ^ siteadmin (2 October 2014). "Former President Obasanjo's spokesperson, Oyo, Dies At 62 | Sahara Reporters". Sahara Reporters. Retrieved 22 December 2017.
  11. ^ a b c "Former President Obasanjo's spokesperson, Oyo, Dies At 62". Sahara Reporters. 2 October 2014.
  12. ^ "Oyo is dead". The Sun. 3 October 2014. Retrieved 14 November 2014.
  13. ^ "My last moment with Oyo in UK hospital – Nephew :: The Nation". Retrieved 4 October 2014.
  14. ^ "President Jonathan Mourns Ex-Nan Boss, Oyo". Archived from the original on 6 October 2014. Retrieved 4 October 2014.
  15. ^ "Remi Oyo buried". 24 October 2014.
  16. ^ "Tears, tributes as Oyo is buried in Lagos". The Sun. 25 October 2014. Retrieved 14 November 2014.
  17. ^ "Mum was the force that held us together – Oluremi Oyo's son". 3 August 2019.
  18. ^ "Remi Oyo honoured in 'The Media Afternoon of Tributes'". 21 October 2014.
  19. ^ "President Jonathan, Obasanjo, NGE, govs mourn Remi Oyo". 3 October 2014.
  20. ^ "Oluremi Oyo, former News Agency of Nigeria boss dies | Premium Times Nigeria". 2 October 2014.
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