Dele Giwa - Background

Background

Dele Giwa was born on 16 March 1947 to a poor family working in the palace of Oba Adesoji Aderemi, the Ooni of Ife. He attended local Authority Modern School in Lagere, Ile-lfe. When his father moved to Oduduwa College, Ile-Ife as a laundry man, he gained admission to that school. Dele Giwa travelled to the USA for his higher education. Giwa's first wife was Florence Ita Giwa, who later went on to become a Senator and an Adviser to President Olusegun Obasanjo.

Dele Giwa and fellow journalists Ray Ekpu, Dan Agbese and Yakubu Mohammed founded Newswatch in 1984, and the first edition was distributed on January 28, 1985. A 1989 description of the magazine said it "changed the format of print journalism in Nigeria introduced bold, investigative formats to news reporting in Nigeria". However, in the first few months of the administration of General Ibrahim Babangida, who took power in August 1985, the magazine was shamelessly flattering. It printed his face on the cover four times and even criticized "anyone who attempted to make life unpleasant for Babangida". Later, the paper took a more hostile view of the Babangida regime.

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