PRESIDENT Bola Tinubu, yesterday, expressed sadness over the passing of celebrated writer, author and literary scholar, Professor Kole Omotoso.

Professor Omotoso died at the age of 80, in South Africa, where he had been sick for a while.

Omotoso's family, in a statement to confirm the author's death, said: "Our beloved father and husband moved on from this plane on Wednesday, July 19."

Mourning the late Omotoso, the President, in a statement by his Special Adviser on Special Duties, Communication and Strategy, Dele Alake, said his demise is a significant loss to Nigeria, Africa and the literary world.

The statement reads: "I am deeply saddened by the passing of the prodigious writer, author and academic, Prof. Kole Omotoso.

"A literary giant best known for his works of fiction and literary criticism, Prof. Omotoso's books and collections of short stories radiated beyond the shores of Nigeria. Africa was his oasis.

"Most of his works harped on Africa's renaissance and for the continent to win back her lost glory, much more like what my leadership of the ECOWAS Authority of Heads of State and Government is focused on doing for Africa, particularly the West Africa sub-region.

"Prof. Omotoso infused his commitment and dedication to the socio-political regeneration of Africa and respect for human dignity into most of his literary works and seminal interventions, which is why he had such a huge following in Africa and impacted many."