The Managing Director of Nigerian Railway Corporation Dr Kayode Opeifa has described the sudden death of the former President of the Guild of Corporate Online Publishers (GOCOP), as a great loss to the Nigeria’s media industry and to the nation.
Oladipo, former Politics Editor of The Punch Newspaper was until his death the publisher of The Eagle Online, and member of the Nigeria Guild of Editors (NGE) and the International Press Institute (IPI).
Oladipo had died on Tuesday few hours after getting to his office. He was said to have collapsed in his car on the way to the hospital and efforts to revive him had failed.
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 from the onslaught of charlatans and people of questionable characters which gave birth to the guild of journalists which greatly helped in sanitizing Nigeria’s digital media space would never be forgotten.
He described Oladipo’s professional career as one that reflects the important role journalists play in informing citizens, holding public officials to account and providing a robust platform for public discourse.
He recalls the deceased’s passion for his profession and his contributions to the growth of digital journalism saying 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 said.
