Olusegun Adeniyi (born 6 November 1965) is a Nigerian journalist, current chair of the editorial board of

ThisDay ''This Day'' is a Nigerian national newspaper. It is the flagship newspaper of Leaders & Company Ltd and was first published on 22 January 1995. It has its headquarters in Apapa, Lagos State. Founded by Nduka Obaigbena, the Chairman & Editor-i ...

newspapers and a former presidential spokesman to the late President

Umaru Musa Yar'Adua Umaru Musa Yar'Adua (16 August 19515 May 2010) was a Nigerian politician who, was the President of Nigeria from 2007 to 2010. He was declared the winner of the Nigerian presidential election held on 21 April 2007, and was sworn in on 29 May 2 ...

Early life and education

Adeniyi was born in Ile-Ife,

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 ...

. He is a 1989 BSc holder in International Relations from

Obafemi Awolowo University Obafemi Awolowo University (OAU) is a federal government-owned university that is located in the ancient city of Ile-Ife, Osun State, Nigeria. The university was founded in 1961 and classes commenced in October 1962 as the University of Ife ...

, Ile-Ife with a 1997 Masters in International Law and Diplomacy (MILD) from the

University of Lagos The University of Lagos, popularly known as UNILAG, is a public research university located in Lagos, Nigeria and was founded in 1962. UNILAG is one of the first generation universities in Nigeria and is ranked among the top universities in th ...

, and he was also a Fellow at the Weatherhead Centre for International Affairs,

Harvard University Harvard University is a private Ivy League research university in Cambridge, Massachusetts. Founded in 1636 as Harvard College and named for its first benefactor, the Puritan clergyman John Harvard, it is the oldest institution of higher le ...

in 2010/2011 academic session. He conducted his research on the factors that shape incumbent presidential elections in Africa.

Career

He began his journalism career as a Staff Reporter with ''

The Guardian ''The Guardian'' is a British daily newspaper. It was founded in 1821 as ''The Manchester Guardian'', and changed its name in 1959. Along with its sister papers ''The Observer'' and ''The Guardian Weekly'', ''The Guardian'' is part of the Gu ...

'' Newspapers in December 1990. In April 1992, he left to join the now rested ''African Concord'' magazine as a Senior Staff Writer and in September of the same year, he was appointed the magazine’s Abuja Bureau Chief with accreditation to cover the State House. Adeniyi, who joined ''

'' newspaper in January 1999 as Deputy Editor of the Saturday newspaper, rose to become editor of the Sunday ''THISDAY'' and in August 2005, he was appointed the editor of the ''THISDAY'' title paper. On 30 May 2007, he was appointed by the late President Umaru Musa Yar’Adua to be his Special Adviser on Media and Publicity, a position he occupied until Yar’Adua demise on 5 May 2010. He has since written about his experience working for the deceased president. In July 2007, Adeniyi attended the International Visitor Leadership Programme organised by the US State Department. He was also a Fellow at the Weatherhead Centre for International Affairs, Harvard University in 2010/2011 academic session. He is currently the chair of the editorial board of ThisDay newspapers. A fellow of the Nigeria Leadership Initiative (NLI), Adeniyi is also a founding member of the National Stakeholder Working Group of the Nigeria Extractive Industries Transparency Initiative (NEITI).

Personal life

Adeniyi is married with three children.

Books

Adeniyi is the author of the following books: *''The Last 100 Days of Abacha'' *''Abiola’s Travails'' *''Fortress on Quicksand'' *''POLITRICKS: National Assembly under Military Dictatorship'' *''Power, Politics and Death: A front-row account of Nigeria under the late President Yar’Adua'' *''Against the Run of Play: How an incumbent president was defeated in Nigeria'' * ''From Fry Pan To Fire''

Awards

*1992 Jakande Prize or Political Reporter of the Year at Nigeria Media Merit Awards (NMMA)

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Adeniyi, Olusegun 1965 births Living people Yoruba journalists Nigerian newspaper journalists Obafemi Awolowo University alumni University of Lagos alumni People from Ife Nigerian editors