President Bola Tinubu has commiserated with the management and staff of The Nation newspaper over the death of its assistant editor, Evelyn Osagie.
Osagie, 49, died last Sunday after a brief illness.
In a condolence statement signed by his special adviser on information and strategy, Bayo Onanuga on Saturday, the President described her death as “sad and heartbreaking.”
“The late Osagie was one of The Nation’s most talented, creative, and hardworking correspondents,” the statement read.
It recalled her contributions to journalism, especially in arts and culture reporting, as well as her advocacy on women’s issues.
Tinubu added, “A consummate poet in written and spoken forms with widespread influence and contacts in literary and cultural circles, the late Osagie distinguished herself in the various fields she traversed.”
The President prayed for the peaceful repose of her soul and for strength for her family, colleagues, and the management of The Nation.
Osagie, who joined The Nation in 2008, headed the arts and kife desk and also edited the women’s section of its mid-week magazine. She was a member of the Nigeria Union of Journalists (NUJ), Nigeria Association of Women Journalists (NAWOJ) and the Arts and Culture Writers Association of Nigeria (ACWAN).
In 2015, she won the Nigeria Media Merit Award (NMMA) Beatrice Bassey Prize for Female Reporter of the Year.
She was also a celebrated poet and performer whose works were endorsed by Nobel laureate Wole Soyinka.
Governor Babajide Sanwo-Olu and several voices in the cultural community, including literary critic Molara Wood, have also paid tributes to her.
