Dr. Doyin Abiola, the first woman to become Managing Director and Editor-in-Chief of a national daily in Nigeria, has died.
She passed away at 9:15pm on Tuesday, August 5, according to family sources. She was 82.
Doyin, the widow of the late business mogul and politician Chief MKO Abiola, was a media powerhouse in her own right long before her name became linked to Nigeria’s most iconic democratic martyr.
She began her journalism journey in 1969 at the Daily Sketch, where her popular column “Tiro” tackled major societal issues including gender advocacy at a time when few dared.
In 1970, she left for the United States, bagged a master’s degree in journalism, and returned home to join Daily Times as a Features Writer. There, she rose to become Group Features Editor, and later secured a PhD in Communications and Political Science from New York in 1979.
On her return, she served on the Daily Times editorial board, where she worked alongside greats like Dele Giwa, Stanley Macebuh, and Amma Ogan.
But history would come calling when the National Concord, owned by MKO Abiola, appointed her as its pioneer daily editor. She eventually became Managing Director and Editor-in-Chief in 1986, becoming the first Nigerian woman to hold such a top role at a national daily.
Her career at the National Concord spanned three decades, and she remained a towering figure in Nigeria’s media landscape.
Dr. Doyin Abiola and MKO Abiola got married in 1981, and she stood firm through the highs of journalism and the political storms that trailed her husband’s June 12 presidential mandate.
