By Tunji Wusu –
The death of Professor Lai Oso, the founding president of the Association of Communication Scholars and Professionals of Nigeria (ACSPN), has been hailed as a major loss to the association as well as the Nigerian and global mass communication and journalism communities.
Oso, who served as President of ACSPN in 2014 after the Association’s establishment late in 2013, was killed in a horrific car accident on the Benin-Sagamu Expressway on Saturday, June 25, 2023.
The association described the late university don as having 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 in a statement issued by its Public Relations Officer, Mr. Lanre Arogundade, on Sunday.
Professor Umaru Pate, Vice Chancellor of Federal University, Kashere, Gombe State, was also described in the release as praising the dead as a someone who pursued this commitment relentlessly.
Professor Nosa Owens-Ibie, General Secretary of ACSPN and Vice Chancellor of Caleb University, Imota, Lagos, said in his tribute: “Under his tenure, the association began the process by producing 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.”
“He was a scholar who helped others become scholars through knowledge building, scholarly articles, and book publication, and it was also under his leadership that ACSPN launched many niche programs, including its mentorship series, and organized town-meet-gown training and knowledge sharing events across the country.”
“Even after leaving office as President, Prof. Oso remained a pillar of support for ASCPN, actively participating in the organization’s zonal and national events, the most recent of which was the Annual Conference held in September 2022 at the Rockview Hotel in Abuja.”
“Prof. Oso was affable and humble, qualities that endeared him to a younger generation of media and communication scholars and professionals who sought his advice and mentoring on a regular basis.” His services were also in high demand by academic institutions and civil society.
“It is regrettable that he died on his way back from Delta State University (DELSU), where he served as an external examiner until the day before,” he said.
Oso taught media and communications at Moshood Abiola Polytechnic in Abeokuta, Caleb University in Imota, Lagos, and Lagos State University in Ojoo, among other institutions.
The association also expressed heartfelt sympathies to Prof. Oso’s wife and children, as well as his other relatives, associates, and colleagues.
