By Damola Emmanuel
Like a thief in the night, death, the grim reaper came, Monday morning, for Mrs. Yetunde Oladeinde, an Assistant Editor with The Nation newspaper, and one of the most hard-working female journalists Nigeria ever produced.
She died on Monday at the age of 56.
But when death came, it met her doing what she loved most-writing and newspaper production.
According to her colleagues who are still in shock at the top journalist’s sudden demise, Mrs. Oladeinde came to work on Saturday, February 17, 2024, and participated fully in the newspaper’s production process.
On Sunday, she was said to have woken up without betraying any visible sign of ailment. But she reportedly too ill suddenly and was rushed to hospital.
She went the way of all flesh on Monday morning. She would have been 57 on October 7, 2024, having been born on October 7, 1967.
The Nigerian media has been thrown into deep mourning since the news of Mrs. Oladeinde broke. Social media has been flaring with the news of the death of the prolific journalist and human rights defender.
Mrs. Oladeinde made her name at Weekend Concord, Nigeria’s first Saturday newspaper, with Chief Mike Awoyinfa as the pioneer Editor, and the late Pastor Dimgba Igwe as his deputy.
Apart from breaking many front-page stories, she religiously maintained a very popular column, Grandma’s Diary.
The departed journalist was also at The Sun newspaper, where she made impact with her unique feature stories, as well as stories on Family and feminine matters. She also worked at the National Life newspaper, with Mr. Louis Odion as Managing Director/Editor-in-Chief.
Until her sudden death, she was in charge of the fashion and flair page of The Nation newspaper. She also produced the lifestyle interview page for the weekend desk of the newspaper where she also maintained a weekly column, Pillow Talk.
A prominent member of several non-governmental organisations, Mrs. Oladeinde graduated from the University of Lagos in 1989 with a B.Ed degree in English and Literature; and in 2002, she took a post-graduate diploma from Nigeria Institute of Journalism (NIJ), Lagos.
A member of the Nigerian Union of Jounralists, as well as the National Association of Women Journalists, NAWOJ, Mrs. Yetunde Oladeinde, nee Francis, belonged to several civil society organisations, including: Business and Women Professional (BPW) Nigeria, Association of Nigerian Women Business Network; Echoes of Women in Africa (ECOWA), among others.
