Dr. Doyinsola Hamidat Abiola, Nigeria’s pioneering female newspaper editor and widow of Chief MKO Abiola, passed away on Tuesday, August 5, 2025, at 9:15 p.m. aged 82, following a period of illness.
She lived as a trailblazer for journalism, social justice, and women’s rights, especially in her role at Concord Newspaper.
Life and Journalism
Dr. Doyin Abiola was born in 1943 in Igbajo, Osun State. She graduated with a degree in English and Drama from the University of Ibadan in 1969 and swiftly began her career at Daily Sketch.
Her column, “Tiro”, quickly stood out for its bold commentary on public issues, including gender equality, a rarity at the time. In 1970, she left for the United States for a Master’s in Journalism, returning to join Daily Times as a Features Writer and later rising to Group Features Editor after declining to be confined to the “Women’s Desk.”
In 1979, she earned a PhD in Communications and Political Science from New York University and returned to Nigeria to join the Daily Times editorial board alongside Stanley Macebuh, Dele Giwa, and Amma Ogan. A year later, she broke new ground as the first female editor of a Nigerian national daily, National Concord, founded by her future husband. In 1986, she became the first Nigerian woman to serve as Managing Director and Editor-in-Chief of a national newspaper group, leading National Concord for over three decades.
Dr. Abiola married Chief MKO Abiola in 1981 and stood firmly by him during the political crisis following the annulled June 12, 1993, presidential election. Even amid military repression and the collapse of the Concord titles, she remained a vocal advocate of press freedom and democracy.
A mentor to generations of journalists, Dr. Abiola chaired the Nigerian Media Merit Award nominating panel and served on Ogun State University’s Advisory Council. She was the first Nigerian woman to receive the Eisenhower Fellowship (1986) and, in 2015, won the DAME Lifetime Achievement Award, becoming only the second woman to receive the honor.