Chief Chief may refer to: Title or rank Military and law enforcement * Chief master sergeant, the ninth, and highest, enlisted rank in the U.S. Air Force and U.S. Space Force * Chief of police, the head of a police department * Chief of the boat ...

Olusegun Osoba (born 15 July 1939) is a Nigerian journalist and politician who served twice as governor of Ogun State first from 1992 to 1993 during the

Nigerian Third Republic The Third Republic was the planned republicanism, republican government of Nigeria in 1992 which was to be governed by the Third Republican constitution. In the Third Republic, there were to be state governors, state assemblies, and the Nation ...

and then from 1999 to 2003.

Early life and education

Olusegun Osoba was born to Mr. and Mrs. Jonathan Babatunde Osoba. Osoba attended a series of professional courses after high school graduation from

Methodist Boys' High School, Lagos Methodist Boys' High School, Lagos (MBHS Lagos) is a secondary school for boys located in Victoria Island, Lagos, Nigeria. Founded in 1878, it was the second secondary school established in Nigeria. History The leaders of the Methodist communit ...

. He obtained a diploma in journalism at the

University of Lagos The University of Lagos (UNILAG) is a Public university, public research university located in Lagos, Nigeria, which was founded in 1962. UNILAG is one of the education in Nigeria#First generation universities, first generation universities in ...

and went for one-year course in the United Kingdom on the scholarship of the

Commonwealth Press Union The Commonwealth Press Union (CPU), formerly the Empire Press Union, was an association composed of 750 members in 49 countries, including newspaper groups (with several hundred newspapers), individual newspapers, and news agencies throughout the Co ...

in 1967. In 1969, he was studying in Bloomington, USA at

Indiana University Indiana University (IU) is a state university system, system of Public university, public universities in the U.S. state of Indiana. The system has two core campuses, five regional campuses, and two regional centers under the administration o ...

's department of journalism. In 1974 he won the

Nieman Fellowship The Nieman Fellowship is a fellowship from the Nieman Foundation for Journalism at Harvard University. It awards multiple types of fellowships. Nieman Fellowships for journalists The Nieman Fellowship is an award given to journalists by the Nieman ...

award for journalism for years of postgraduate study at

Harvard University Harvard University is a Private university, private Ivy League research university in Cambridge, Massachusetts, United States. Founded in 1636 and named for its first benefactor, the History of the Puritans in North America, Puritan clergyma ...

Cambridge Cambridge ( ) is a List of cities in the United Kingdom, city and non-metropolitan district in the county of Cambridgeshire, England. It is the county town of Cambridgeshire and is located on the River Cam, north of London. As of the 2021 Unit ...

Massachusetts Massachusetts ( ; ), officially the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, is a U.S. state, state in the New England region of the Northeastern United States. It borders the Atlantic Ocean and the Gulf of Maine to its east, Connecticut and Rhode ...

, USA. He is the first Nigerian to have won this prestigious Nieman Fellowship for Journalism.

Journalism

Osoba started his career in journalism in 1964 working with the ''

Daily Times of Nigeria ''The Daily Times'' was a Nigerian newspaper with headquarters in Lagos. At its peak, in the 1970s, it was one of the most successful locally-owned businesses in Africa. The paper went into decline after it was purchased by the government in 1975 ...

'' as a trainee reporter covering crime stories and by 1966, he was the diplomatic correspondent of the ''Times''. He became news editor in 1968, deputy editor of the ''Sunday Times'' in 1971 and deputy editor of the ''Times'' in 1972. In August 1975, he became the editor of the ''Daily Times of Nigeria'', then left the firm in November 1975 to take up the task of General Manager of the

Ilorin Ilorin is the capital city of Kwara State located in the Western region of Nigeria. The city is a major hub for transportation and commerce in the region. . Retrieved 18 February 2007 Although Ilorin is classified under the North-Central g ...

based ''Nigerian Herald''. He returned to the ''Times'' in 1984 as the managing director. Internationally, he worked as a stringer or local correspondent for the

British Broadcasting Corporation The British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC) is a British public broadcasting, public service broadcaster headquartered at Broadcasting House in London, England. Originally established in 1922 as the British Broadcasting Company, it evolved in ...

, ''The Times of London'', ''Newsweek Magazine'', and

United Press International United Press International (UPI) is an American international news agency whose newswires, photo, news film, and audio services provided news material to thousands of newspapers, magazines, radio and television stations for most of the 20th ce ...

News Agency. He is the chairman of the Governing Board of the

Nigerian Institute of Journalism The Nigerian Institute of Journalism is a Nigerian monotechnic located in Ikeja, Lagos State. The institute is a diploma awarding monotechnic established in 1963 by the International Press Institute and became fully operational in 1971. The ins ...

and a member of the executive board of the

International Press Institute International Press Institute (IPI) is a global organisation dedicated to the promotion and protection of press freedom and the improvement of journalism practices. The institution was founded by 34 editors from 15 countries at Columbia Universit ...

representing Black-Africa from 1984 to 1992. He was a member of the Nigerian Constituent Assembly in 1988. He is also a member of the

, London and the Nigerian Union of Journalist.

Political career

Osoba was elected on two occasions as Governor of

Ogun State Ogun State is a state in southwestern Nigeria. It is bordered to the south by Lagos State and the Bight of Benin, to the east by Ondo State, and to the north by Oyo and Osun states while its western border forms part of the national borde ...

first from January 1992 until November 1993 with the

Social Democratic Party The name Social Democratic Party or Social Democrats has been used by many political parties in various countries around the world. Such parties are most commonly aligned to social democracy as their political ideology. Active parties Form ...

(SDP). He was removed from office by

Sani Abacha Sani Abacha (; (20 September 1943 – 8 June 1998) was a Nigerian military dictator and statesman who ruled Nigeria with an iron fist as military head of state from 1993 following a palace coup d'état until his death in 1998. Abacha's seiz ...

's administration on 17 November 1993. In the 1999 Ogun State gubernatorial election, he was elected again as governor with the Alliance for Democracy party (AD), holding office between May 1999 and May 2003. He is a member of the 2014 National Conference. Even if Ogun State entirely will forget the impact of this politician, the Ipokia local government down to Wheke Akere will not forget his impact because he brought electricity into all communities around Maun Ward one and two.

Awards

Osoba holds the National Honours of the Commander of the

Order of the Federal Republic The Order of the Federal Republic (OFR) is one of two orders of merit, established by the Nigeria, Federal Republic of Nigeria in 1963. It is senior to the Order of the Niger. The highest honours are the Grand Commander in the Order of the Fede ...

(CFR) and the Commander of the

Order of the Niger The Order of the Niger (OON) is the second highest Award, national award in Nigeria. It was instituted in 1963 and is junior to the Order of the Federal Republic, the highest order of merit in the country. Award The two highest honours, the Gr ...

(CON).

Personal life

Osoba is married to Chief Aderinsola Osoba, the Beere Awujale of Ijebu. They are the parents of four children, two boys and two girls: Kemi, Olumide, Oluyinka and Tobi. Osoba holds the

chieftaincy A tribal chief, chieftain, or headman is a leader of a tribal society or chiefdom. Tribal societies There is no definition for "tribe". The concept of tribe is a broadly applied concept, based on tribal concepts of societies of western Af ...

titles of the Akinrogun of

Egbaland The Egba people are a subgroup of the Yoruba people, an ethnic group of western Nigeria, a majority of whom are from the central part of Ogun State, that is Ogun Central Senatorial District. Ogun Central Senatorial District comprises six local ...

and the Aremo Awujale of Ijebu.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Osoba, Segun 1941 births Living people Social Democratic Party (Nigeria) politicians Alliance for Democracy (Nigeria) politicians Governors of Ogun State Yoruba politicians University of Lagos alumni Nigerian journalists Yoruba journalists Indiana University Bloomington alumni Methodist Boys' High School alumni Nigerian editors Nieman Fellows People from Osogbo Commanders of the Order of the Federal Republic Commanders of the Order of the Niger