Oluremi Oyo (12 October 19521 October 2014) was a Nigerian journalist.

Early life and education

Remi Oyo was born on 12 October 1952 in

Ilorin Ilorin is the List of capitals of states of Nigeria, capital city of Kwara State in Western Nigeria.. Retrieved 18 February 2007 As of the 2006 census, it had a population of 777,667, making it the List of Nigerian cities by population, 7th ...

Kwara State Kwara State ( yo, Ìpínlẹ̀ Kwárà), is a state in Western Nigeria, bordered to the east by Kogi State, to the north by Niger state, and to the south by Ekiti, Osun, and Oyo states, while its western border makes up part of the internation ...

, North Central

Nigeria Nigeria ( ), , ig, Naìjíríyà, yo, Nàìjíríà, pcm, Naijá , ff, Naajeeriya, kcg, Naijeriya officially the Federal Republic of Nigeria, is a country in West Africa. It is situated between the Sahel to the north and the Gulf o ...

. She attended St. James’ Catholic Primary School in Ilorin and St. Louis Secondary School in Bompai,

Kano State Kano State (Hausa: ''Jihar Kano''جىِهَر كَنوُ) (Fula: Leydi Kano 𞤤𞤫𞤴𞤣𞤭 𞤳𞤢𞤲𞤮𞥅 ) is one of the 36 states of Nigeria, located in the northern region of the country. According to the national census done in ...

. She attended the University of Lagos earning a

bachelor's degree A bachelor's degree (from Middle Latin ''baccalaureus'') or baccalaureate (from Modern Latin ''baccalaureatus'') is an undergraduate academic degree awarded by colleges and universities upon completion of a course of study lasting three to six ...

mass communication Mass communication is the process of imparting and exchanging information through mass media to large segments of the population. It is usually understood for relating to various forms of media, as its technologies are used for the dissemination o ...

and

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 ...

. She got a postgraduate diploma in

international relations International relations (IR), sometimes referred to as international studies and international affairs, is the scientific study of interactions between sovereign states. In a broader sense, it concerns all activities between states—such as ...

from the Nigerian Institute of International Affairs. She further obtained a

master's degree A master's degree (from Latin ) is an academic degree awarded by universities or colleges upon completion of a course of study demonstrating mastery or a high-order overview of a specific field of study or area of professional practice.

in international relations at the

University of Kent , motto_lang = , mottoeng = Literal translation: 'Whom to serve is to reign'(Book of Common Prayer translation: 'whose service is perfect freedom')Graham Martin, ''From Vision to Reality: the Making of the University of Kent at Canterbury'' ...

in the

United Kingdom The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom (UK) or Britain, is a country in Europe, off the north-western coast of the continental mainland. It comprises England, Scotland, Wales and North ...

Career

Oyo was a

journalist A journalist is an individual that collects/gathers information in form of text, audio, or pictures, processes them into a news-worthy form, and disseminates it to the public. The act or process mainly done by the journalist is called journalism ...

. She was appointed Senior Special Assistant/Spokesperson of Media and Publicity to then Nigeria's President

Olusegun Obasanjo Chief Olusegun Matthew Okikiola Ogunboye Aremu Obasanjo, , ( ; yo, Olúṣẹ́gun Ọbásanjọ́ ; born 5 March 1937) is a Nigerian political and military leader who served as Nigeria's head of state from 1976 to 1979 and later as its pres ...

in 2003, and was reinstated in 2007. Her career in journalism began as a reporter in 1973 with the

Nigerian Broadcasting Corporation The Voice of Nigeria or VON is the official international broadcasting station of Nigeria. History Founded in 1961, the Voice of Nigeria began life as the External Service of the then Nigerian Broadcasting Corporation (now Federal Radio Corpora ...

(NBC). She then joined News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) as a desk editor in 1981, but eventually its principal editor. She was said to be the first woman to attain such a high position in NAN before she eventually left in 1985. From NAN, she joined the

Inter Press Service Inter Press Service (IPS) is a global news agency headquartered in Rome, Italy. Its main focus is news and analysis about social, political, civil, and economic subjects as it relates to the Global South, civil society and globalization. Hist ...

(IPS) as the Nigerian Bureau Chief and later rose to become IPS West African Bureau Chief. She first served as the Secretary to the

Nigerian Guild of Editors Nigerian Guild of Editors (NGE) is a network of more experienced journalists who have attained the position of editors. It is an independent non-profit and non-partisan organisation established to develop human capacity, economic empowerment, prote ...

(NGE). Later, she was elected by her professional colleagues as the first woman to be the President of the NGE. She eventually served two consecutive terms from 1999 to 2003. Shortly after her time with the former president, she was announced as the managing director of the News Agency of Nigeria. She was even acclaimed to have rekindled the flame of professionalism in her management style at the NAN. She served two full terms before eventually moving on. Former Head of State General Abdulsalami Abubakar was the first to tout her

patriotism Patriotism is the feeling of love, devotion, and sense of attachment to one's country. This attachment can be a combination of many different feelings, language relating to one's own homeland, including ethnic, cultural, political or histor ...

when he appointed her to the membership of the 1999 Constitution Drafting Committee. In 2006, she was awarded a national OON conferred on her by President

. She later received awards from other organisations, such as the National Council of Catholic Women Organisation of Nigeria, the

Nigerian Institute of Management The Nigerian Institute of Management (NIM) is a non-profit institution that defines the required skills and standards for professional managers, and offers courses leading to diplomas in Management. History The Nigerian Management Group was formed ...

(NIM) and the Nigerian Institute of Peace Administrators.

Personal life

Married to Victor Oyo, a BBC-Trained journalist, they had two children, Otome and Okiemuote, and three grandchildren.

Death and burial

Oluremi died on 1 October 2014 at 62 years of age due to

cancer Cancer is a group of diseases involving abnormal cell growth with the potential to invade or spread to other parts of the body. These contrast with benign tumors, which do not spread. Possible signs and symptoms include a lump, abnormal b ...

while receiving treatment in the United Kingdom. The news of her death went viral. She is buried at the

Yaba Cemetery Yaba Cemetery is situated in Yaba, an eastern suburb of Lagos, Nigeria Nigeria ( ), , ig, Naìjíríyà, yo, Nàìjíríà, pcm, Naijá , ff, Naajeeriya, kcg, Naijeriya officially the Federal Republic of Nigeria, is a country in Wes ...

, Lagos.

Tributes, awards, and recognition

Bemoaning her passage, Otome, her son said Even her colleagues in the media were not left out of the scores of accolades showered on the woman who had made a diverse impact on the Nigerian media Just as national leaders and others mourn her passage Oyo, who was not a member of any gender-based

organizations once noted that she was of the view that one's professional actions and conduct would speak for the person regardless of whether the person is a male or a female. She always addressed herself as a ‘pressman’. Even co-women in her Church, the National Council of Catholic Women Organisation of Nigeria once offered her a merit award reiterated in one of the news reports after her demise. * Recipient, National Council of Catholic Women Organisation of Nigeria merit award. * Fellow of the

(NGE), the

(NIM), and the Nigerian Institute of Public Administrators * Oyo was awarded the national award of Officer of the Order of Niger, OON, in 2006. * Senior Special Assistant to President Olusegun Obasanjo for media and publicity.

References