Olu Aboderin

Olu Aboderin
Olu Aboderin
Born	James Olubunmi Aboderin; 3 September 1934; Oyo State, Nigeria
Nationality	Nigerian
Citizenship	Nigeria
Occupation	Journalist
Years active	1961 - 1984
Known for	The Punch

Olu Aboderin (3 September 1934 – 28 February 1984) was a

Newspaper Proprietors’ Association of Nigeria until his death in 1984. He was also a trained accountant who left the National Bank of Nigeria as its chief accountant. The Punch newspaper is the most widely read newspaper in Nigeria.^[1] He established The Punch with the founder of Vanguard newspaper, Sam Amuka-Pemu, on 1 November 1976.^[2]^[3]

He was a lover of arts and a patron of the Performing Musicians Association of Nigeria.

Life

Aboderin was born to the family of James Oyebode and Janet Aboderin in

Nigerian civil war

. During this period, the bank operated in many liberated towns and established an offshore branch. He also served on the boards of a few regional government owned parastatals such as West African Pictures, Nigeria Spinning Company, and General Insurance. He resigned as Chief Accountant of the bank in 1971 and went into private business.

He started a few business ventures, including a travel agency and Feedwell Nigeria Ltd. In 1976, he established The Punch newspaper. Originally starting it as a Sunday newspaper, he brought new ideas of operations to the firm. The Punch expanded into the Daily Punch, Sunday Punch, Happyhome magazine, and Top Life magazine.

He died in the Princess Grace Hospital, in London. Before his death, he issued a press statement defending Haroun Adamu, a jailed journalist as the head of the newspaper proprietors association in Nigeria. Right towards the end of 1983, his newspaper was very critical of the administration of Shehu Shagari.

He held the traditional Ibadan title of Ashipa Parakoyi of Ibadan.

References

^ "The unforgettable Olu Aboderin, 1934-1984". The Sun News. Retrieved 14 June 2015.
^ "Buhari pays tribute to mauka pemu at 80". The Nation News. Retrieved 14 June 2015.
^ "Remembering James Olubunmi Aboderin (1934-1984)". The Punch News. Retrieved 14 June 2015.

[1] "The unforgettable Olu Aboderin, 1934-1984". The Sun News. Retrieved 14 June 2015.

[2] "Buhari pays tribute to mauka pemu at 80". The Nation News. Retrieved 14 June 2015.

[3] "Remembering James Olubunmi Aboderin (1934-1984)". The Punch News. Retrieved 14 June 2015.

[1]

[2]

[3]