Oluremi Oyo

Oluremi Oyo (12 October 1952 – 1 October 2014) was a Nigerian journalist.^[1]

Remi Oyo was born on 12 October 1952 in Ilorin, Kwara State, North Central Nigeria. She attended St. James’ Catholic Primary School in Ilorin and St. Louis Secondary School in Bompai, Kano State. She attended the University of Lagos earning a bachelor's degree in mass communication and journalism.^[2] She got a postgraduate diploma in international relations from the Nigerian Institute of International Affairs. She further obtained a master's degree in international relations at the University of Kent in the United Kingdom.

Oyo was a journalist.^[1] She was appointed Senior Special Assistant/Spokesperson of Media and Publicity to then Nigeria's President Olusegun Obasanjo in 2003, and was reinstated in 2007. Her career in journalism began as a reporter in 1973 with the Nigerian Broadcasting Corporation (NBC). She then joined News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) as a desk editor in 1981, but eventually its principal editor. She was said to be the first woman to attain such a high position in NAN before she eventually left in 1985.

From NAN, she joined the Inter Press Service (IPS) as the Nigerian Bureau Chief and later rose to become IPS West African Bureau Chief.

She first served as the Secretary to the Nigerian Guild of Editors (NGE). Later, she was elected by her professional colleagues as the first woman to be the President of the NGE.^[3] She eventually served two consecutive terms from 1999 to 2003.

Shortly after her time with the former president, she was announced as the managing director of the News Agency of Nigeria.^[4] She was even acclaimed to have rekindled the flame of professionalism in her management style at the NAN.^[5] She served two full terms before eventually moving on.

Former Head of State General Abdulsalami Abubakar was the first to tout her patriotism when he appointed her to the membership of the 1999 Constitution Drafting Committee. In 2006, she was awarded a national OON conferred on her by President Olusegun Obasanjo. She later received awards from other organisations, such as the National Council of Catholic Women Organisation of Nigeria, the Nigerian Institute of Management (NIM) and the Nigerian Institute of Peace Administrators.^[6]

Married to Victor Oyo, a BBC-Trained journalist, they had two children, Otome and Okiemuote, and three grandchildren.^[7][1]

Oluremi died on 1 October 2014 at 62 years of age^[1] due to cancer while receiving treatment in the United Kingdom. The news of her death went viral.^{[8][9][10][11][12][13][14]}

She is buried at the Yaba Cemetery, Lagos.^[15][16]

Bemoaning her passage, Otome, her son said ^[17] Even her colleagues in the media were not left out of the scores of accolades showered on the woman who had made a diverse impact on the Nigerian media ^[18] Just as national leaders and others mourn her passage ^[19]

Oyo, who was not a member of any gender-based journalism organizations once noted that she was of the view that one's professional actions and conduct would speak for the person regardless of whether the person is a male or a female. She always addressed herself as a ‘pressman’.

Even co-women in her Church, the National Council of Catholic Women Organisation of Nigeria once offered her a merit award reiterated in one of the news reports after her demise.^[20]

• Recipient, National Council of Catholic Women Organisation of Nigeria merit award.
• Fellow of the Nigerian Guild of Editors (NGE), the Nigerian Institute of Management (NIM), and the Nigerian Institute of Public Administrators^[11]
• Oyo was awarded the national award of Officer of the Order of Niger, OON, in 2006.^[11]
• Senior Special Assistant to President Olusegun Obasanjo for media and publicity.

• Olusegun Obasanjo
• Moji Makanjuola