Chairman / Chief Executive Officer of Nigerians in Diaspora Commission (NiDCOM), Abike Dabiri- Erewa, National President Association of Communication Scholars & Professionals of Nigeria (ACSPN) Prof. Rotimi Olatunji, former Head Department of Mass Communication University of Lagos (UNILAG), Prof. Abigail Ogwezzy-Ndisika, African representative at the World Journalism Education Congress (WJEC), Prof. Ralph Akinfeleye, Prof. of Publishing, Journalism and Media Studies Babcock University, Samuel Okere and lecturer Department of Mass Communication, Olabisi Onabanjo University, Ago Iwoye, Ogun State, Dr Oludare Ogunyombo were among the distinguished personalities who described the media scholar, Prof. Idowu Sobowale as a great Nigerian, whose exemplary leadership qualities is worthy of emulation.

In separate reactions, they also agreed Prof. Sobowale left a legacy of academic and professional excellence.

Saying everyone who went through Sobowale’s tutelage cannot be the same without his guidance and mentorship, Dabiri- Erewa described him as one of the lecturers that students would love to remain in touch with, even after many years of leaving the institution.

She added, “I condole with his lovely wife and family and his legacy will leave on in the lives of all of us that he has taught and mentored. May his soul rest in perfect peace, dear Prof. Sho.!”

Speaking in a similar vein, Olatunji recalled, “I first met Prof. Sobowale as pioneer ean, School of Communication, LASU in 2002/2003. I later served under him as sub-Dean. He personally used his hard earned income to import desktop computers for the use of the entire students population in the school and gave a set of the desktop computers to each academic staff at the time. He compelled each staff member to use the computer, by insisting that each of us submitted our reports and requests in type-written form.

That was leadership that empowers mentors.”

Describing him as a man, who led by example, Olatunji said, “he was prompt at his scheduled lectures. His interpersonal relationships were unrivalled. He gave me his shoulders to ride on, and gave me wings to fly. He introduced me to his circle of influence. He gave me assignments that prepared me for life. He positively impacted my family and career. He was instrumental to my serving as National Public Relations Executive of the African Council of Communication Education (ACCE). He ensured that I was involved in the activities of the Association of Communication Scholars & Professionals from inception.”

“He shapened my administrative acumen. He was with us wherever we took the Idowu Sobowale International Conference, which was instituted by another equally impactful personality, late Prof. Lai Oso. The leadership and Mentorship qualities of Prof Sobowale were unrivalled. He was a transformational leader.

He was a father, an amazing person, an enigmatic personality, an Iconic character, a phenomenal and truly amazing leader. He was recently conferred with the ACSPN Fellowship and life membership of the Association, an Association where he served as the pioneer and Lifetime Chair of the Board of Trustees. May God grant his soul eternal rest.”

On her part, Ogwezzy-Ndisika recounted, “on personal reflection, to many of us at the Department of Mass Communication, University of Lagos and across academia, Prof. Sobowale was more than a professor; he was a beacon of intellectual discipline, integrity and warmth. As one who followed in the footsteps of giants at UNILAG, I benefited immensely from his encouragement and commitment to nurturing generations of scholars and media practitioners. He modelled what it meant to lead with passion, scholarly exactitude and administrative clarity.”

To the don, “his national honour of Officer of the Order of the Niger (OON) and his Lifetime Achievement Awards were true reflections of a lifetime devoted to national service, ethical journalism and communication research. Though we mourn his physical departure, we take solace in the enduring institution he built and the hundreds of academic “children” and industry leaders carrying his mantle today. On behalf of my family, colleagues and the academic community, I extend my deepest condolences to the Sobowale family, the University of Lagos community, the ACSPN and the media industry in Nigeria. May his noble soul rest in eternal peace and may his memory remain a guiding light for communication scholarship in Nigeria.”

In his tributes, Akinfeleye added, “what a big calamity! It is shocking and shockingly devastating at this critical stage when all roads should be heading to Olabisi Onabanjo University, Ago Iwoye, fo J- Students in Unilag ,Lagos State University (LASU) and others in Nigeria!! May his gentle soul continue to rest in perfect peace! Good night my very dear Professor and amiable brother, Show!!!’’

On his part, Okere noted, “some met him in the formal classroom as their teacher while some of us met him in the classroom of communication circles. Wherever you met Prof. Idowu Sobowale, you were sure to benefit from his liberal and deliberate tutelage carried out in such a fatherly and encouraging manner.”

Okere, who is also the Special Adviser on Press Matters to the President/Vice Chancellor of Babcock University, added, “though we shall miss his humane guidance, his legacy of hucapacity development shall endure. Death indeed is a severe handler. Thank God for the hope of resurrection for the Saints of God at the Second Coming of Jesus Christ our Saviour. Until then, may God Almighty keep comforting us, the Communication and Media family, and the immediate family of our beloved teacher and mentor, Prof. Sobowale.”

Ogunyombo recalled, “my department is planning the 6th Idowu Sobowale conference. A conference that was instituted in his name when he was alive to celebrate his contribution to communication in the county, both scholarship and practice. That conference is coming up on November 3 to 5, 2026. We were also planning to visit him the week he died.”

Ogunyombo, who is also the Chairman Training and Professional Development for Nigerian Institute of Public Relations (NIPR) described Sobowale as a very humble man.

He recalled, “I witnessed his humility in terms of knowledge sharing. As an undergraduate at LASU, he was our Dean and would do everything possible to engage students. When he was Commissioner for Education in Lagos State was my first contact with him. When I was a secretary at a syndicate session where he was the chairman, he was willing to learn from those of us that are very young. He also initiated the idea of specialisation in communication studies. Now, Mass Communication has been unbundled. So, I see him also as a visioner. I wish his family well.’

Born on January 4 1941, in Ashipa near Abeokuta, Ogun State, he was one of the pioneer students at the Daily Times Training School.

He later attended the University of Lagos, where he received a Diploma and BA (Hons) degree in Mass Communication. In 1975, he left the Daily Times to join University of Lagos as an assistant lecturer. A year later, he left for Syracuse University, USA, for his masters’ degree but returned in 1978 with a PhD degree, specialising in Precision or Scientific Journalism.

While in the employ of the University of Lagos, he also introduced opinion polling to Nigerian journalism by establishing a Public Opinion Polling Desk at the Punch newspaper under the leadership of Sam Amuka.

A believer in the collaboration of the Town and Gown, he served as a special assistant to the Governor of Lagos State, Alhaji Lateef Jakande, and as commissioner for Education to the government of Governor Bola Tinubu in Lagos.

He was appointed a Prof. of Journalism by the LASU, which he helped to establish in 1983. In 2005, Sobowale delivered his inaugural lecture titled, ‘Opinion polling in Nigeria: The neglected route to national development.’

He further went on to develop the postgraduate programme in Mass Communication at the Olabisi Onabanjo University, Ogun State.

Sobowale’s pioneering activities, among others, made the government of firmer President Olusegun Obasanjo award him the national honour of Officer of the Order of the Niger, (OON). He was also honoured with the DAME Lifetime Achievement Award at the 23rd DAME.