From LASU to DELSU, where he performed his last academic assignment as an examiner, among other institutions, including civil society, and newsrooms, Nigerians have continued to share their experiences with Mr Oso in his 67 years sojourn on earth.
Since the news of his demise filtered in on Sunday morning, soothing tributes in honour of the late communication and journalism scholar, Lai Oso, have continued to flood the Nigerian media space.
From his last place of work - Lagos State University (LASU), Ojo, to Delta State University (DELSU), Abraka, where he performed his last academic assignment as an external examiner, and many other institutions in Nigeria including civil society, and newsrooms, prominent Nigerians have continued to share their experiences with Mr Oso in his 67 years sojourn on earth.
PREMIUM TIMES had earlier on Sunday reported Mr Oso's death which reportedly occurred on Saturday along the Benin-Sagamu expressway while returning from DELSU.
As an external examiner, Mr Oso was said to be reviewing the work of some PhD students at DELSU's Department of Mass Communication, and was on the campus until Saturday when he decided to return home.
Mr Oso was a deputy provost at the Ogun State Polytechnic, now Moshood Abiola Polytechnic, Abeokuta; dean of the School of Communication, now Faculty of Communication and Media Studies, LASU, and President of the Association of Communication Scholars and Professionals of Nigeria (ACSPN), among other numerous roles he played within the media and communication industry in Nigeria and beyond.
Tributes from LASU
From the incumbent Vice-Chancellor of LASU, Ibiyemi Olatunji-Bello, to her predecessor, Olanrewaju Fagbohun, and the school's current and immediate past deans of the Faculty of Communication and Media Studies (formerly School of Communication), Yinka Alawode, and Rotimi Olatunji, respectively, sharing memories of a man they regarded as a "mentor of mentors" became a difficult task.
Speaking with PREMIUM TIMES on Sunday, Mrs Olatunji-Bello, a professor of Physiology, said the development was too shocking for her to either say or pen a word in honour of the deceased.
"I am in shock! It is too early for me to say anything for now. So sad."
But Mrs Olatunji-Bello's predecessor, Mr Fagbohun, a professor of Law and Senior Advocate of Nigeria (SAN), in his tribute shared with our reporter on Sunday, described Mr Oso's death as "the exit of a methodical communications statesman."
He wrote: "Professor Oso was a 'luminary of Communication', who oozed excellence and wit. He wrote precisely what he meant to say and delivers the same with resonating eloquence and great confidence. He was a highly respected practitioner with a reserved and endearing personality.
"While I was Vice-Chancellor at LASU, he was one of the few who was very thorough, reliable, and straightforward. I remember seeking his advice on different occasions and he was very blunt without any iota of sentiments. He has my respect, always."
The current dean of the communication and media faculty in LASU, Mr Alawode, a professor, who led some colleagues on a condolence visit to the deceased's Sagamu home on Sunday, said he was too devastated to speak at the time our reporter called.
But his predecessor, Mr Olatunji, a professor, who was also returning from the visit to the family, described Mr Oso as a pathfinder and a bridge builder.
He said: "I'm still in shock as to the passing of our great intellectual icon - a renowned scholar. He was a great mentor, a brother, and a friend who stuck more than a family. He was my confidante and above all he was a trailblazer and a humanist par excellence.
"Professor Oso was so committed to people's development. He invested his life in mentoring the younger ones in academics and the profession. He has touched so many lives. If I can count correctly, at the LASU's Faculty of Communication and Media Studies alone, he had up to 20 PhD candidates that he has successfully supervised since 2014 when we started the PhD programme."
Also speaking about the deceased, a lecturer in the faculty who described herself as one of Mr Oso's many academic mentees, Ganiyat Tijani-Adenle, a PhD holder in Journalism, said; "He served with honour and diligence as the Dean of FCMS and he was a well-respected member of LASU community."
ACSPN mourns
In a statement issued on Sunday evening, ACSPN, the association the deceased led between 2014 and 2020 as its president, said the development constitutes a monumental loss to the association and a "huge loss to the Nigerian and global mass communication and journalism community".
The statement, which was issued on behalf of the association by its Public Relations Officer, Lanre Areogundade, quoted the incumbent President of the association and Vice-Chancellor of Federal University, Kashere, Gombe State, saying; "Professor Oso held the firm conviction that the meeting of the gown and town would benefit the mass communication and media fields for the maximum impact of both professions on democracy and development. He pursued this conviction relentlessly and his death is a collective loss".
The statement also credited its secretary and Vice Chancellor of Caleb University, Imota, Lagos, Nosa Owens-Ibie, a professor, to have said: "Under his tenure, the association began the process by producing in collaboration with UNESCO and other stakeholders, the first draft of what has now been launched as the Unbundled Mass Communication curriculum, following a curriculum development workshop for communication and journalism courses in November 2015".
Mr Owens-Ibie described the deceased as a "scholar who helped to make scholars out of others through knowledge building, scholarly articles, and book publications..."
Described as affable and humble, the association said the combined qualities "endeared him to the younger generation of media and communication scholars and professionals who constantly sought his support and mentorship."
IPI speaks
Meanwhile, the International Press Institute Nigeria, the country's chapter of the global network of editors and media executives, said the deceased will be remembered for his huge contributions to the body of intellectual works in the fields of communication and media in the country and beyond.
The institute's President and Editor-in-Chief of PREMIUM TIMES, Musikilu Mojeed, said Mr Oso will be sorely missed.
Mr Mojeed said: "Professor Lai Oso will be remembered for his selfless and consistent advocacy for press freedom and independent journalism in Nigeria. He will also be remembered for training hundreds of scholars and practitioners of journalism and information managers in Nigeria.
"He will be sorely missed at this critical time in Nigeria's history when Nigerian journalists are finding it increasingly difficult to practice their craft and when advocacy and intellection by him will have been most useful."
CJID, WSCIJ, IPC, others speak
Dapo Olorunyomi is the Chief Executive Officer of the Centre for Journalism Innovation and Development (CJID) and Publisher of PREMIUM TIMES, who had a long-standing relationship with the deceased, including when he held sway as the helmsman at Freedom House in Nigeria.
Mr Olorunyomi, like many others, said he was devastated by the news of Mr Oso's demise, describing it as a big hole in the media, academic and journalism practice circle.
He said: "Professor Oso's sad and needless tragedy drills a long, dark, tunnel within the academic and practice environment of African journalism, and the complete implications of this convulsive loss will take time to interpret and even much more to mend."
Commenting on the development on a messaging platform on Sunday, an old ally of Mr Oso and respected media practitioner, Lanre Idowu, said the world lost a good man in Oso.
"We've lost a great scholar and a good man. We collaborated on several projects geared towards enhancing media responsibility. He will be greatly missed."
Also, the Chief Executive Officer of Wole Soyinka Centre for Investigative Journalism (WSCIJ), Motunrayo Alaka, was reportedly in tears after reading the news.
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Mrs Alaka said the deceased served her organisation as a judge of its flagship programme- the Wole Soyinka Award for Investigative Reporting, for about half a decade, even as she spoke of her "emptiness at this point".
Speaking on behalf of the International Press Centre, its founder, Lanre Arogundade, described the late don as a "mass communication scholar who mentored, encouraged and impacted so many professionals."
"He was also an ardent defender of press freedom who believed that journalism must have the enabling environment for the media to be able to fulfil its constitutional obligation," Mr Arogundade told PREMIUM TIMES.
Meanwhile, a Professor of Journalism and Communications Studies at the University of Lagos (UNILAG), and fellow alumnus of the Leicester University, United Kingdom, Ismail Ibraheem, noted that Mr Oso "was one of the scholars that brought the critical tradition of communications scholarship which Leicester University is known for to Nigeria."
"When I decided to go Leicester University for my postgraduate studies, to follow in His footsteps, he gave me the support that made me thrive in Leicester. He was an extraordinary mentor of mentors and a quintessential critical communication scholar. We will be eternally grateful for his leadership that gave birth to the ACSPN, especially the pivotal role he played in steering the ship of the association to the preeminent position it now occupies," Mr Ibraheem said.
Others
Also, other commentators across different newsrooms including Oba Adeoye of Arise Television, Ex-BBC Deployments Editor, Joshua Ajayi; a senior editor at The Nation Newspapers, Adekunle Yusuf, and the Team Lead of Platform Africa, and one of the Mr Oso's PhD supervisees, Adeola Yusuf, spoke glowingly of their relationships with the deceased.
Mr Oso is survived by his wife, famously called "Mama Oso," children which includes Moyo Oso - a lawyer, and grand-children.
Several professional mentees also trace their academic and professional trajectory to the late professor, who died at the age of 67.
