A veteran communication scholar and former Lagos State commissioner of education, Idowu Akanbi Sobowale, is dead.
A family member, Richard Adeyinka Emmanuel, announced Mr Sobowale’s death in a statement on Thursday.
“My godfather, my teacher, my mentor, counselor, my boss, my friend! Pa Deacon Professor Idowu Sobowale, OON, LA, 85, joined the saints triumphant this morning, October 8, 2026,” the statement read.
He noted that arrangements for the deceased’s funeral would be announced later.
Mr Sobowale was one of Nigeria’s most influential figures in journalism, communication research and education administration.
He later earned a Diploma and BA (Hons) in Mass Communication at the University of Lagos, and after a stint as assistant lecturer at UNILAG, proceeded to Syracuse University in the United States where he obtained a PhD in Scientific Journalism in 1978.
He became Professor of Communication Studies at LASU and served as the pioneer Dean of the LASU School of Communication from 2004 to 2007.
The deceased was honoured with the Officer of the Order of the Niger (OON) by former President Olusegun Obasanjo for his contributions to national development.