The Nigerian Tribune has a long history of leadership in column and informed commentary writing in Nigeria spanning its entire 75 years of existence.
Egbemode, Ogbodo and Are-Olaitan, who is reviving his old column, are coming in to strengthen that legacy of excellence in furtherance of the Tribune’s mandate of service to the Nigerian nation, its people and the reading public.
Each of these professionals is bringing into the Nigerian Tribune over three decades of experience in commentary and column writing. They have each been assigned a day to serve delicious bowls of excellent writing, exceptionally presented with civility, without bias, without fear and without favour.
Funke Egbemode
Mrs Funke Egbemode, a 1988 English Studies graduate of the Obafemi Awolowo University, Ile Ife, wrote three columns: Adam’s Apple, Intimate Affairs and Funke Egbemode (a political commentary) for The Punch between 1993 and 1999. She later moved and became editor of The Post Express on Saturday where she continued writing incisive columns, a feat she carried to The Sun in 2007 where she was Editor at Large and later, Editor, Sunday Sun.
Egbemode moved up to become General Editor at The Sun and, later, Managing Director/Editor in Chief of The New Telegraph. She went back to column writing in 2023 after a four-year stint as Commissioner for Information in Osun State. She was President, Nigeria Guild of Editors, serving two terms till 2019 when she became the spokesperson of the Osun State Government.
Egbemode brings that huge resume of professionalism into the Nigerian Tribune, Nigeria’s oldest surviving newspaper, joining our ace columnists.
Abraham Ogbodo
Mr. Abraham Obomeyoma Ogbodo retired in June 2019 as the Editor of The Guardian newspaper. His media career started as a Sub-editor at African Guardian Magazine in February 1989. He rose through the ranks to become the editor of the Daily Guardian in 2016.
Ogbodo attended the University of Calabar between 1983 and 1987 and holds a BA (Theatre Arts). In 2009, he took a leave of absence to serve as Special Adviser (Media) to the then MD/CEO of the Niger Delta Development Commission (NDDC), Mr. Chibuzor Ugoha.
Ogbodo resumed at The Guardian on November 1, 2011 as Deputy Political Editor and relocated a year later to Port Harcourt as the regional editor in charge of the six South-South states of Edo, Delta, Bayelsa, Rivers, Akwa-Ibom and Cross River. On February 1, 2013, he was appointed Editor of The Guardian On Sunday and the Daily Editor on June 28, 2016. He won the ultimate national professional prize of Editor of The Year in 2018. He retired a year later. Mr. Ogbodo wrote the popular ‘Backlash’ column for The Guardian.
Wale Are-Olaitan
Professor of Political Science and Chairman of the Editorial Board of the Nigerian Tribune, Olaitan is a former vice chancellor of the Olabisi Onabanjo University, Ago Iwoye, Ogun State. He is a distinguished scholar, public intellectual and columnist of repute.
From January 2025, these great men and woman will be writing for Tribune in addition to the existing columnists who are established market leaders.
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