Chief Olu Oyesanya (26 April 1923 – 24 October 1999) was a Nigerian journalist and diplomat.

Early life and education

Oyesanya was born on

Lagos Island Lagos Island (''Ìsàlẹ̀ Èkó'') is the principal and central local government area (LGA) in Lagos, it was the capital of Lagos State until 1957. It is part of the Lagos Division. As of the preliminary 2006 Nigerian census, the LGA had a pop ...

Lagos State Lagos State ( yo, Ìpínlẹ̀ Èkó) is a States of Nigeria, state in South West (Nigeria), southwestern Nigeria. Of the 36 States of Nigeria, states, it is both the List of Nigerian states by population, most populous and List of Nigerian state ...

to Simeon Oyesanya Ogunledun of Sagamu,

Ogun State Ogun State is a state in southwestern Nigeria. Created on 3 February 1976 from the former Western State. Ogun State borders Lagos State to the south, Oyo State and Osun State to the north, Ondo State to the east, and the Republic of Benin to the ...

and Eunice Irebowale Ogunledun (née Adeeso of Simawa, Ogun State). He attended Tinubu Methodist School, Lagos State from 1932 to 1934. He also attended St. Paul’s School Shagamu and

Ijebu Ode Grammar School Ijebu Ode Grammar School (JOGS) is a boys-only secondary school located in Ijebu Ode local government area of Ogun State, South-Western Nigeria. Founded on 20 January 1913, the school is one of the oldest schools in Nigeria. Houses *Gansallo House ...

, Ogun State from 1942 to 1946, where he was made a senior prefect during the tenure of Reverends Efunkoya and Nicholas, and was the captain of the school's first football team. After completing his secondary education, he worked at the Federal Survey Department as a third class clerk under his boss the late Mr. Ojemuyiwa of Isara-Remo. From there he developed an interest in

journalism Journalism is the production and distribution of reports on the interaction of events, facts, ideas, and people that are the "news of the day" and that informs society to at least some degree. The word, a noun, applies to the occupation (profes ...

Career

Oyesanya became an Editor of the ''Daily Service'' paper (now defunct), and won a Federal Government scholarship in 1952 to further his training in Journalism at the Royal Polytechnic Institution in

London London is the capital and largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary down to the North Sea, and has been a majo ...

(now known as

Westminster Westminster is an area of Central London, part of the wider City of Westminster. The area, which extends from the River Thames to Oxford Street, has many visitor attractions and historic landmarks, including the Palace of Westminster, Bu ...

). After getting his diploma, he trained at the ''Sunday Pictorial'' (now ''

Sunday Mirror The ''Sunday Mirror'' is the Sunday sister paper of the ''Daily Mirror''. It began life in 1915 as the ''Sunday Pictorial'' and was renamed the ''Sunday Mirror'' in 1963. In 2016 it had an average weekly circulation of 620,861, dropping marke ...

'') in London. Upon his return to Nigeria, he founded the Nigerian Union of Journalism (NUJ), as he said “For the development of the profession of Journalism in Nigeria”. On 15 March 1954 the inaugural meeting of the NUJ was held at St. Paul’s School, Breadfruit Lagos, Nigeria and a resolution was passed forming the organization. He became the first Secretary in 1955 to 1959. In March 1955, he was appointed as the Press Officer to the United States Consulate-General in Lagos, Nigeria, and was sent to the State Department in Washington where he undertook an orientation course in Foreign Service and Public Affairs, under the sponsorship of the

United States Information Agency The United States Information Agency (USIA), which operated from 1953 to 1999, was a United States agency devoted to "public diplomacy". In 1999, prior to the reorganization of intelligence agencies by President George W. Bush, President Bill C ...

. He later became a guest writer on the Minneapolis ''

Star Tribune The ''Star Tribune'' is the largest newspaper in Minnesota. It originated as the ''Minneapolis Tribune'' in 1867 and the competing ''Minneapolis Daily Star'' in 1920. During the 1930s and 1940s, Minneapolis's competing newspapers were consolida ...

'' in

Minnesota Minnesota () is a state in the upper midwestern region of the United States. It is the 12th largest U.S. state in area and the 22nd most populous, with over 5.75 million residents. Minnesota is home to western prairies, now given over to ...

. Oyesanya joined the Federal Ministry of Information in 1958, and was posted to the Nigerian High Commission in London to assist in establishing the Department of External Publicity. After accomplishing these tasks, in 1965 he returned to the Ministry of External Affairs in Nigeria. During the

Nigerian Civil War The Nigerian Civil War (6 July 1967 – 15 January 1970), also known as the Nigerian–Biafran War or the Biafran War, was a civil war fought between Nigeria and the Republic of Biafra, a secessionist state which had declared its independence f ...

from 1967 to 1970, he was appointed as the Director and Head of Nigerian Information Services in Europe. At the end of the Civil War he was posted back to Nigeria. In 1976, he was assigned as the Director of Publicity FESTAC ’77, which was the Festival for Arts and Culture held in Nigeria. This was penultimate to his appointment as the Secretary-Registrar and Chief Executive of the Nigerian Press Council in 1979, where he played a principal role in making it acceptable to member organizations. He was eventually awarded the NUJ Gold medal for his contribution to the development of Journalism in Nigeria in 1986. He was survived by his wife Princess Tanimowo Oyesanya (née Okupe) and his five children.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Oyesanya, Olu, Chief 1923 births 1999 deaths Yoruba journalists People from Lagos Nigerian newspaper journalists Alumni of the University of Westminster Nigerian diplomats Yoruba people Ijebu Ode Grammar School alumni Nigerian expatriates in the United Kingdom Nigerian expatriates in the United States