Dr Kayode Opeifa, Managing Director of Nigerian Railway Corporation (NRC) has described the sudden death of Mr Dotun Oladipo as a great loss to Nigeria’s media industry and to the country.
He particularly acknowledged in a press release by the NRC Chief Public Relations Officer, Callistus Unyimadu, on Sunday, the contributions of the deceased to journalism.
Oladipo the former President of the Guild of Corporate Online Publishers (GOCOP), died Tuesday, last week at the age of 56.
He died a few hours after getting to his office as he was said to have collapsed in his car on the way to the hospital and efforts to revive him failed.
A former Politics Editor of The Punch Newspaper, he was, until his death, the Publisher of The Eagle Online, a member of the Nigeria Guild of Editors (NGE) and the International Press Institute (IPI).
Dr Kayode Opeifa on the death of Dotun Oladipo
Dr Opeifa said the deceased’s contributions to journalism, particularly his dedicated service in political reporting and his commitment to repositioning the digital media space.
He noted that his efforts to save the profession from the onslaught of charlatans and people of questionable characters gave birth to GOCOP which he added greatly helped in sanitizing Nigeria’s digital media space would never be forgotten.
He described Oladipo’s professional career as one that reflected the important role journalists play in informing citizens, holding public officials to account and providing a robust platform for public discourse.
He recalled the deceased’s passion for his profession and his contributions to the growth of digital journalism.
“Dotun’s death at 56 is a painful loss to the industry where he has emerged as a critical thought leader and a game changer and to Nigeria which has lost a light in the critical media which he represents.
“Dotun Oladipo’s death at the age of 56 is a painful loss to the Nigerian media community and to our nation.
“He was a committed believer in Nigeria’s democracy and through his public discourse you can see through him as a patriot who loves and is willing to protect public causes.
“I extend my heartfelt condolences to his dearest wife, his children, members of his family and his fitness and colleagues for this irreparable loss.
“I pray that the Almighty God will grant him eternal rest and family the fortitude to bear the loss.
“His contributions to political journalism and the digital media space will certainly not be forgotten,” Dr Opeifa stated in the release.
