Eminent journalist Dr. Doyin Abiola and wife of the June 12, 1993 presidential election winner, Chief MKO Abiola, is dead.

She died at exactly 9.15 pm yesterday after illness.

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.

Here are 15 things to know about Dr. Doyin Abiola:

1. She was born on February 1, 1943

2. Doyin Abiola was educated at the University of Ibadan, Nigeria where she earned a degree in English and Drama in 1969.

3. After graduation, she started work with the Daily Sketch Newspaper in 1969. During this period, she started writing a column in the newspaper called Tiro which was addressing sundry issues of public concern, including gender matters.

4. In 1970, she left Daily Sketch Newspaper and traveled to the United States to pursue a master?s degree programme in Journalism.

5. After the Masters programme, she returned to Nigeria and was offered the position of Woman Editor at the Daily Times. She rejected the offer and was later employed as a Features Writer and rose to become the Group Features Editor.

6. She later went to New York University and obtained a PhD in communications and political science in 1979

7. After her PHD programme, she returned to the Daily Times and was deployed to the editorial board where she worked with other experienced editors like Stanley Macebuh, Dele Giwa and Amma Ogan.

8. It was, however, to be a short stay as the newly formed National Concord newspaper invited her to be its pioneer daily editor. She then moved to be an editor of National Concord.

9. She was promoted to be the managing director/editor-in-chief in 1986 and became the first Nigerian woman to become the editor in chief of a daily newspaper in Nigeria.

10. Abiola?s career at National Concord Newspaper spanned three decades. She also served in various capacities in the media industry in Nigeria.

11. She is also the widow of the first publisher and proprietor of National Concord Newspaper Chief Moshood Abiola whom she married in 1981.

12. She was also a member of Advisory Council, Faculty of Social and Management Sciences, Ogun State University.

13. 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.

14. She was the second woman to receive a DAME Lifetime Achievement Award after Mrs.(Omobola Onajide).

15. She was selected for the Eisenhower Fellowship in 1986, and was the first Nigerian woman to participate. (The Nation)

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