Olusegun Osoba

Early life

Chief Olusegun Osoba, the Akinrogun of Egbaland and Aremo Awujale of Ijebuland, was born to Pa and Madam Jonathan Babatunde Osoba.

Education

Chief Olusegun Osoba attended a series of professional courses after high school graduation from Methodist Boys High School Lagos. He obtained a diploma in journalism at the University of Lagos and went for one-year course in the United Kingdom on the scholarship of the Commonwealth Press Union in 1967. In 1969, he was studying in Bloomington, USA at the Indiana University's department of journalism. In 1974 he won the Nieman Fellowship Award for journalism for years postgraduate study at Harvard University Cambridge, Massachusetts, USA. He is the first Nigerian to have won this prestigious Nieman Fellowship for Journalism.

Journalism

Chief Olusegun Osoba started his career in journalism in 1964 working with the Daily Times 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 based Nigerian Herald. He returned to the Times in 1984 as the managing director. Internationally, he worked as stringer or local correspondent for the following organizations: The British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC),The Times of London,Newsweek Magazine, U.S.A, United Press International News Agency (UPI). He was the chairman of the Governing Board of the Nigerian Institute of Journalism and Member of the Executive Board of the International Press Institute representing Black-Africa from 1984-1992. He was a member of the Nigerian Constituent Assembly in 1988. He is also member of the Commonwealth Press Union, London and the Nigerian union of Journalist (NUJ).

Political career

Chief Olusegun Osoba was elected on two different occasions as Governor of Ogun State first from January 1992 until November 1993 with the Social Democratic Party (SDP). He was removed from office by Sani Abacha's administration on 17 November 1993. In 1999, he was elected again as governor with the Alliance for Democracy party (AD), holding office between May 1999 and May 2003.

He holds the National Honours of the Commander of the Order of the Niger CON. He is a member of the National Conference 2014.

Personal life

Married to Beere Aderinsola and father of four children, two boys and two girls: Kemi, Olumide, Oluyinka and Tobi.