It is exactly two months ago today that we lost the publisher of The Eagle Online, Dotun Oladipo.
I got the news early on August 26 through a WhatsApp group created by Daily Global News with the title: “Dotun Oladipo at 56: The bird has flown.”
I reflected on the meaning. I couldn’t comprehend it until I dialled his number to hear from him. That was when it dawned on me that I had lost a dear brother and confidant.
I couldn’t process my thoughts because the loss was so sudden and huge. It is exactly two months today. Sixty days. In the calendar of life, it is such a short time.
But in the hearts of those who knew him, loved him, worked with him, and leaned on him, it feels like an eternity. It feels like just yesterday.
His phone number is still on my phone as if he is still alive. His voice is still in my ears. His last call to me is still fresh in my memory. That is how deep the wound still is.
Death is the end for all beings, but the memories of Dotun Oladipo will continue to linger in our hearts because he was an embodiment of peace. If you knew Dotun, you knew peace.
In a profession often defined by noise, chaos, controversy and conflict, he chose a different path. He was peace in human form. He was calm when others were shouting. He was quiet when others were grandstanding. He was the man who settled quarrels and made peace between warring colleagues. He gave so much of his life to the profession that made him who he was.
Journalism was not what Dotun did. Journalism was who he was. He breathed journalism. He lived journalism. He slept and woke up in journalism.
From his early days in the newsroom to the day he founded The Eagle Online, one of Nigeria’s most respected online newspapers, he gave his all. He did not treat journalism as a job to make money.
He treated it as a calling to serve humanity. He gave his life to the profession, and in return, the profession gave him a name, a legacy, and an immortality that death cannot erase.
The late Dotun Oladipo was not just an ordinary journalist; he was an embodiment of truth and professionalism.
In an age where the line between journalism and rumour-peddling is becoming dangerously thin, where many have abandoned ethics for clicks, Dotun stood out.
He believed in truth, facts and fairness. He believed a story must be true, balanced and useful to society. He was honest and hardworking — the hallmark of a good journalist.
His life was short, but the legacies he left behind cannot be forgotten easily. He left when we still needed him most. When Nigerian journalism still needed his stabilising voice.
When young journalists still needed his mentorship. When the online media industry he helped build from scratch still needed his leadership.
But even in that short life, what he built will outlive many who will live for a hundred years. What is legacy? Legacy is not money, houses or cars. It is the footprints you leave in the sands of time.
Dotun left huge footprints. He left The Eagle Online, a platform that gave voice to the voiceless. He left a generation of reporters who passed through him.
He left a standard of what online journalism should be. He was a complete gentleman, always ready to support any idea that could help humanity and transform lives.
Everyone who met Dotun will agree he never raised his voice. He never embarrassed anyone. He was respectful, even to those younger than him. He was not selfish. He wanted others to succeed.
Until his death, he was ready to help anybody who had the opportunity to meet him. He was a blessing to Nigeria, to journalism and to humanity. Many have testified how he helped them. He did not have too much, but from the little he had, he gave.
Dotun wasn’t a rich man, but he was contented and happy with what God had blessed him with. In a world where everyone is chasing wealth and vanity, Dotun chose contentment. He wasn’t rich by Nigerian standards — with convoys and mansions.
But he was rich in character and rich in peace. To understand his influence, you need to understand the history of Nigerian online journalism.
At a time when many established newspaper owners dismissed online journalism as inferior, as “blogging,” Dotun saw the future. He pioneered. He believed news could be delivered faster, cleaner and more professionally online.
And he proved it with The Eagle Online. Today, every major newspaper in Nigeria has gone online.
Dotun was among the men who showed the way. His gentle soul influenced the print, electronic and online media.
He was a bridge between the old and the new. Let me give one personal example.
He was the one who encouraged me to write a weekly column for The Eagle Online titled “Reflection on Monday.”
That singular encouragement created a big opportunity for me as a journalist. He did not have to do it.
He could have said, “We have enough columnists.” But he believed in me and gave me a platform without collecting a kobo.
How many publishers will do that today? He was a builder of people. Our last discussion was on August 23rd, just two days before his death.
He called me, requesting that I send the contact of some prominent activists to him, which I did, without knowing it would be my last encounter with him on earth.
His voice was normal — calm, friendly, purposeful. We ended the call.
I thought we would talk again the following week, especially at the Freedom Online Annual Lecture that was a few days away. I never knew it would be our last conversation.
That is why, till date, his death is still like a dream to me because I always saw him as a confidant and a brother who was always available to help.
May the Lord bless his soul and give the family the fortitude to bear this irreparable loss.
*Aderemi is a Lagos-based journalist.
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