Simon Kolawole is a Nigerian journalist, public speaker and media entrepreneur. He is the founder and chief executive officer of Cable Newspaper Limited., publisher of

TheCable TheCable is an independent online newspaper in Nigeria. It was launched on April 29, 2014 by Simon Kolawole, the former editor of the This Day newspaper. Its publisher Cable Newspaper Ltd was established on November 29, 2011. Kolawole is a Cheven ...

, Nigeria's Independent online newspaper In 2012, the

World Economic Forum The World Economic Forum (WEF) is an international non-governmental and lobbying organisation based in Cologny, canton of Geneva, Switzerland. It was founded on 24 January 1971 by German engineer and economist Klaus Schwab. The foundation, ...

named him one of the Young Global Leaders as a recognition of his record of professional accomplishments and commitment to the society. According to Daily Trust, Kolawole, at 29, became the youngest editor of a national newspaper in Nigeria. By 2007, when he was appointed the editor and associate director of ''

This Day ''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-in ...

'', he was also the youngest Nigerian to have ever achieved such a feat.

Early life and education

Kolawole was born in Ilorin, Kwara State, Nigeria, but moved to Mopa, in present-day Kogi State, Nigeria to live with his grandmother after his father died in a road accident in 1976. He moved to Lagos, Nigeria, in 1989 to study Mass Communications at the University of Lagos. He won the

Chevening Scholarship The Chevening Scholarship is an international scholarship, funded by the British Foreign and Commonwealth Office, that lets foreign students with leadership qualities study at universities in the United Kingdom. History The Chevening Scholarship ...

to study for a Master's degree in Governance and Development at the Institute of Development Studies,

University of Sussex , mottoeng = Be Still and Know , established = , type = Public research university , endowment = £14.4 million (2020) , budget = £319.6 million (2019–20) , chancellor = Sanjeev Bhaskar , vice_chancellor = Sasha Roseneil , ...

, UK in the 2005/2006 academic year. In 2010, he was selected as one of the Governance for Development Fellows at the School of Oriental and African Studies (SOAS), University of London. In 2007, he was appointed editor of ''

'', regarded as Nigeria’s most influential newspaper. He edited the paper for five years, before he resigned in 2012. He has taken leadership courses at Yale University and Harvard Kennedy School of Government as a Young Global Leader of

Career

Kolawole's journey into journalism was inspired by veteran journalist,

Dele Giwa Dele Giwa (16 March 1947 – 19 October 1986) was a Nigerian journalist, editor and founder of '' Newswatch'' magazine. Early life and career Sumonu Oladele "Baines" Giwa was born on March 16, 1947 to a family working in the palace of Oba Ades ...

, who was killed in the line of duty. Prior to setting up TheCable, Kolawole worked at Encomium Magazine, Complete Football, Thisweek, Tempo, ''

''. He was staff writer at Complete Football in 1993; senior correspondent TheNews/TEMPO 1994-95; features writer, later sports editor, Today's News Today 1995-96; assistant editor, City People 1996-97; assistant editor, ''This Day'' 1997; features editor ''This Day'', 1998-1999; deputy editor, ''Financial Standard'' 1999-2001; editor, TheWeek magazine, 2001-2002; Saturday editor, ''This Day'' 2002-2005; managing editor, ''This Day'' 2006-07; editor and associate director, ''This Day'' 2007-2012. In 2008, Kolawole published a comprehensive ''This Day'' Oil Report, titled "Nigeria and Other Oil-Producing Countries: A Comparative Study". His other works have been cited in the Journal of Asian and African Social Science and Humanities, and in many other academic works In 2012, Kolawole resigned from his position as editor of THISDAY newspaper and was replaced by Ijeoma Nwaogwugwu. He is currently the CEO,

; Executive Director, Cable Newspaper Journalism Foundation; Founder and CEO, Ideas Planet Ltd. He is also a member of the board at two non-profit organisation for development in Nigeria; Leap Africa and Rise Networks

References

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Kolawole, Simon 1972 births Living people Nigerian journalists Chevening Scholars