MKO’s wife, Doyin Abiola, dies at 82
Omobola Sadiq
Ace journalist, former Managing Director and Editor-in-Chief of National Concord, and one of Nigeria’s most influential media figures, Dr. Doyin Abiola, has died at the age of 82.
The very accomplished media mogul was one of the wives of the late winner of the June 12 presidential election, Chief MKO Abiola.
According to family sources, the octogenarian died on Tuesday night, August 5, 2025 after a brief illness.
Dr Abiola’s impressive career shaped the editorial landscape of the Nigerian print media and earned her both local and international awards/recognition.
Abiola was a recipient of Diamond Awards for Media Excellence (DAME) for her lifelong devotion to advancing the frontiers of knowledge and strengthening the media as a pillar of democracy.
The Trustees of DAME unanimously approved her selection as a recipient of its Lifetime Achievement Award at the 24th DAME Ceremony. She was the second woman to receive a DAME Lifetime Achievement Award after Mrs Omobola Onajide.
She was granted Eisenhower Fellowship in 1986
Widely celebrated as the first Nigerian woman to become editor-in-chief of a national daily newspaper, Dr. Abiola spent over three decades in the media industry, breaking barriers and shaping public discourse through journalism.
Born in 1943, she earned a degree in English and Drama from the University of Ibadan in 1969 and began her career at Daily Sketch, where she wrote a widely read column, Tiro, focusing on public and gender issues.
In 1970, she travelled to the United States for postgraduate studies, and later obtained a PhD in Communications and Political Science from New York University in 1979.
