Dele Giwa was a trailblazing Nigerian journalist whose commitment to truth and justice knew no bounds.
Born in Ife in 1947, Giwa’s early years were marked by a thirst for knowledge that led him to the United States, where he earned degrees from Brooklyn College and Fordham University. Returning to Nigeria in 1979, he quickly made a name for himself as a fearless and meticulous reporter, first at Daily Times and later at Sunday Concord.
In 1984, Giwa co-founded Newswatch magazine, which “changed the format of print journalism in Nigeria and introduced bold, investigative formats to news reporting”.
The magazine’s critical coverage of the Babangida regime soon put Giwa on a collision course with the authorities.
In 1982, he was arrested for one of his publications in Sunday Concord.
Giwa’s unwavering pursuit of the truth made him many powerful enemies in government and business circles. As a journalist’s journalist, he had “no patience with government and the so-called classified matters”. Giwa believed that “the way to go about correcting a bad situation is to first make it known”.
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On October 19, 1986, Giwa’s life was cut short when he opened a parcel bomb delivered to his home in Lagos. The novelty and senselessness of his assassination through a parcel bomb only served to immortalize him as a martyr for press freedom.
Giwa was the first Nigerian to be bombed to death in peacetime.
In the years since his murdered, various investigations have pointed to the culpability of the Babangida government. However, successive administrations have been unwilling to bring the perpetrators to justice.
The Human Rights Violations Investigations Commission (HRVIC) headed by Oputa alleged that the government stonewalled its investigation into the assassination.
Dele Giwa’s legacy lives on through the countless journalists he inspired with his fearlessness and commitment to excellence.
As a nation, we must honor his memory by rededicating ourselves to the ideals of truth, justice, and press freedom for which he gave his life. Only then can we truly say that Dele Giwa did not die in vain.