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Nigeria’s first female daily newspaper editor passes after brief illness
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Veteran journalist died at 9:15pm Tuesday, family confirm
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She led National Concord for three decades in historic media career
Dr Doyin Abiola, widow of the late Concord publisher and acclaimed winner of the June 12, 1993 presidential election, Chief MKO Abiola, has died at the age of 82.
The media icon and former Managing Director and Editor-in-Chief of National Concord breathed her last at exactly 9:15 p.m. on Tuesday, after a brief illness, family sources confirmed.
Dr Abiola, widely regarded as Nigeria’s first female editor of a daily newspaper, spent over three decades shaping the country’s media landscape and stood as a formidable figure in the journalism industry.
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A graduate of the University of Ibadan, she earned her bachelor’s degree in English and Drama in 1969 and began her journalism career at the Daily Sketch. There, she launched a column titled Tiro, tackling public issues and gender advocacy. In 1970, she left for the United States to pursue a Master’s in Journalism, and later obtained a PhD in Communications and Political Science from New York University in 1979.
On her return to Nigeria, Dr Abiola joined Daily Times as a Features Writer and rose to become the Group Features Editor. She was eventually invited to join the newly established National Concord, where she became its pioneering daily editor.
In 1986, she was promoted to Managing Director/Editor-in-Chief — the first Nigerian woman to occupy such a position in a daily newspaper.
Throughout the military-era repression and the political storm that followed the annulment of the 1993 election, Dr Abiola remained resolute both in her family and professional life. Her marriage to MKO Abiola in 1981 and her leadership of the Concord titles during turbulent years positioned her at the centre of Nigeria’s media resistance and democratic advocacy.
She served on various boards and committees in the country’s media sector, playing a critical role in shaping media standards, policies, and ethics in Nigeria.
