Dr. Doyin Abiola, trailblazing journalist and wife of the late Chief MKO Abiola, has passed away. According to family sources, she died at about 9:15 p.m. on Tuesday, August 5.
Dr. Abiola made history as the first female Editor of a national daily in Nigeria and later as the first woman to become Managing Director and Editor-in-Chief of the National Concord newspaper.
Her journalism career began in 1969 at the Daily Sketch, where she wrote a popular column, Tiro, addressing public issues and gender matters. In 1970, she left to pursue a master’s degree in Journalism in the United States. After returning to Nigeria, she joined the Daily Times as a Features Writer and rose to become Group Features Editor.
In 1979, she earned a Ph.D. in Communications and Political Science in New York and rejoined the Daily Times, contributing to its editorial board alongside notable journalists like Dele Giwa, Stanley Macebuh, and Amma Ogan.
Dr. Abiola was later invited to join the newly established National Concord as its pioneer daily editor. She was promoted to Managing Director/Editor-in-Chief in 1986 — a role she held with distinction for nearly three decades.
She married Chief MKO Abiola in 1981 and remained a respected figure in the Nigerian media landscape throughout her life.