Olu Aboderin (3 September 1934 – 28 February 1984) was a

Nigerian Nigerians or the Nigerian people are citizens of Nigeria or people with ancestry from Nigeria. The name Nigeria was derived from the Niger River running through the country. This name was allegedly coined in the late 19th century by British jo ...

newspaper publisher who was a co-founder of ''

The Punch ''The Punch'' is a Nigerian daily newspaper founded on August 8, 1970. Punch Nigeria Limited is registered under the Companies Act of 1968 to publish newspapers, magazines and other periodicals. The newspaper's aim is said to be to "inform, edu ...

'' of Nigeria and was the president of the

Newspaper Proprietors’ Association of Nigeria The Newspaper Proprietors' Association of Nigeria or NPAN is a professional body concerned with the regulation of journalism in Nigeria. The President of the Association is Nduka Obaigbena, a Nigerian journalist, columnist and founder of '' Thisda ...

until his death in 1984. He was also a trained accountant who left the National Bank of Nigeria as its chief accountant. ''The Punch'' newspaper is the most widely read newspaper in Nigeria. He established ''The Punch'' with the founder of ''

Vanguard The vanguard (sometimes abbreviated to van and also called the advance guard) is the leading part of an advancing military formation. It has a number of functions, including seeking out the enemy and securing ground in advance of the main force. ...

'' newspaper, Sam Amuka-Pemu, on 1 November 1976. He was a lover of arts and a patron of the Performing Musicians Association of Nigeria.

Life

Aboderin was born to the family of James Oyebode and Janet Aboderin in

Ibadan Ibadan (, ; ) is the Capital city, capital and most populous city of Oyo State, in Nigeria. It is the List of Nigerian cities by population, third-largest city by population in Nigeria after Lagos and Kano (city), Kano, with a total populatio ...

. From 1941 to 1944, he attended a Native Authority primary school in Oranyan, Ibadan before proceeding to Ibadan Grammar School. At grammar school, he enjoyed playing soccer, a passion that continued after secondary school. He finished his secondary education studies by passing the

A-level The A-level (Advanced Level) is a subject-based qualification conferred as part of the General Certificate of Education, as well as a school leaving qualification offered by the educational bodies in the United Kingdom and the educational ...

. In the mid-1950s, he traveled to London and studied history at

Northwestern Polytechnic Northwestern Polytechnic (NWP), previously known as Grande Prairie Regional College (GPRC) is a publicly funded educational institution located in northwestern Alberta, Canada. Founded in 1966 as Grande Prairie Junior College with Henry Anders ...

. While in the city, he took the Institute of Chartered Accountants exam and was admitted into the institute in May 1964. During this period, he worked as a clerk with a firm in Brighton, Sussex, and from 1963 to 1964, he worked with the firm of Bradley, Lytton & Co, an accounting firm in

Moorgate Moorgate was one of the City of London's northern gates in its defensive wall, the last to be built. The gate took its name from the Moorfields, an area of marshy land that lay immediately north of the wall. The gate was demolished in 1762, but ...

, London. He returned to Nigeria in 1964 and gained employment with the firm of Pannell Fitzpatrick & Co, chartered accountants. He joined the National Bank of Nigeria in 1967 and was an accountant with the bank during the

Nigerian civil war The Nigerian Civil War (6 July 1967 – 15 January 1970), also known as the Biafran War, Nigeria-Biafra War, or Biafra War, was fought between Nigeria and the Republic of Biafra, a Secession, secessionist state which had declared its independen ...

. During this period, the bank operated in many liberated towns and established an offshore branch. He also served on the boards of a few regional government owned parastatals such as West African Pictures, Nigeria Spinning Company, and General Insurance. He resigned as Chief Accountant of the bank in 1971 and went into private business. He started a few business ventures, including a travel agency and Feedwell Nigeria Ltd. In 1976, he established ''The Punch'' newspaper. Originally starting it as a Sunday newspaper, he brought new ideas of operations to the firm. ''The Punch'' expanded into the ''Daily Punch'', ''Sunday Punch'', ''Happyhome'' magazine, and ''Top Life'' magazine.

Death

He died in the Princess Grace Hospital, in London. Before his death, he issued a press statement defending Haroun Adamu, a jailed journalist as the head of the newspaper proprietors association in Nigeria. Right towards the end of 1983, his newspaper was very critical of the administration of

Shehu Shagari Shehu Usman Aliyu Shagari (; 25 February 1925 – 28 December 2018) was a Nigerian politician who was the first democratically elected president of Nigeria, after the transfer of power by Military Head of State of Nigeria, military head of sta ...

. He held the traditional Ibadan title of Ashipa Parakoyi of Ibadan.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Aboderin, Olu Nigerian journalists 1984 deaths Nigerian newspaper founders 20th-century Nigerian writers Ibadan Grammar School alumni People from Ibadan 1934 births 20th-century Nigerian journalists