Lai Oso, a researcher of communication and journalism, passed away on Sunday morning, and since then, comforting tributes to him have poured into the Nigerian media.
Prominent Nigerians have continued to share their experiences with Mr. Oso throughout his 67 years on earth, from his final workplace at Lagos State University (LASU), Ojo, to Delta State University (DELSU), Abraka, where he completed his final academic assignment as an external examiner, and many other institutions in Nigeria, including civil society and newsrooms.
On Sunday morning, Propolitics announced the death of Mr. Oso, who purportedly passed away on Saturday while returning from DELSU along the Benin-Sagamu expressway.
Mr. Oso was reportedly examining some PhD students’ work at the DELSU Department of Mass Communication as an external examiner, and he remained on campus until Saturday before choosing to leave for his native country.
Among the many positions he held in the media and communication sector in Nigeria and elsewhere, Mr. Oso served as the deputy provost at the Ogun State Polytechnic, now known as the Moshood Abiola Polytechnic in Abeokuta; dean of the School of Communication, now known as the Faculty of Communication and Media Studies at LASU; and president of the Association of Communication Scholars and Professionals of Nigeria (ACSPN).
Tributes from LASU
Sharing memories of a man they regarded as a “mentor of mentors” became challenging for LASU’s current Vice-Chancellor, Ibiyemi Olatunji-Bello, to do with her predecessor, Olanrewaju Fagbohun, and the school’s current and previous deans of the Faculty of Communication and Media Studies (formerly School of Communication), Yinka Alawode and Rotimi Olatunji, respectively.
Mrs. Olatunji-Bello, a professor of physiology who spoke with Propolitics on Sunday, said the development was too startling for her to speak or write anything in memory of the deceased.
“I am in shock! It is too early for me to say anything for now. So sad.”
However, in his eulogy given to our reporter on Sunday, Mr. Fagbohun, a law professor and Senior Advocate of Nigeria (SAN), referred to Mr. Oso’s passing as “the exit of a methodical communications statesman.”
He wrote: “Professor Oso was a ‘luminary of Communication’, who oozed excellence and wit. He wrote precisely what he meant to say and delivers the same with resonating eloquence and great confidence. He was a highly respected practitioner with a reserved and endearing personality.
“While I was Vice-Chancellor at LASU, he was one of the few who was very thorough, reliable, and straightforward. I remember seeking his advice on different occasions and he was very blunt without any iota of sentiments. He has my respect, always.”
Professor Mr. Alawode, the current dean of the LASU communication and media faculty, led some colleagues on a condolence visit to the deceased’s Sagamu house on Sunday. When our reporter contacted, he said he was too shocked to talk.
But his predecessor, Mr Olatunji, a professor, who was also returning from the visit to the family, described Mr Oso as a pathfinder and a bridge builder.
He said: “I’m still in shock as to the passing of our great intellectual icon – a renowned scholar. He was a great mentor, a brother, and a friend who stuck more than a family. He was my confidante and above all he was a trailblazer and a humanist par excellence.
“Professor Oso was so committed to people’s development. He invested his life in mentoring the younger ones in academics and the profession. He has touched so many lives. If I can count correctly, at the LASU’s Faculty of Communication and Media Studies alone, he had up to 20 PhD candidates that he has successfully supervised since 2014 when we started the PhD programme.”
ACSPN mourns
The association the deceased served as president of from 2014 to 2020, ACSPN, said in a statement on Sunday night that the development is a “huge loss to the Nigerian and global mass communication and journalism community” as well as a “colossal loss to the association.”
Professor Oso was quoted in the statement as saying: “Professor Oso held the firm conviction that the meeting of the gown and town would benefit the mass communication and media fields for the maximum impact of both professions on democracy and development. The statement was released on behalf of the association by its Public Relations Officer, Lanre Areogundade. His death is a communal loss since he relentlessly pursued this commitment.
Nosa Owens-Ibie, a professor and the association’s secretary at Caleb University in Imota, Lagos, was quoted in the statement as saying: “Under his tenure, the association began the process by producing, in collaboration with UNESCO and other stakeholders, the first draft of what has now been launched as the Unbundled Mass Communication curriculum, following a curriculum development workshop for communication and journalism courses in November 2015”.
As a “scholar who helped to make scholars out of others through knowledge building, scholarly articles, and book publications,” Mr. Owens-Ibie described the deceased.
The association noted that he was kind and humble, and that these traits “endeared him to the younger generation of media and communication scholars and professionals who constantly sought his support and mentorship.”
