The Association of Communication Scholars & Professionals of Nigeria (ACSPN) has mourned the death of Professor Idowu Sobowale, describing him as one of the pioneers and builders of communication scholarship and professional practice in Nigeria.
Sobowale, a former Special Adviser on Education to the Lagos State Government and later Commissioner for Education, died on Thursday, October 8, 2026.
Until his death, he was Chairman of the Board of Trustees (BoT) of the ACSPN, an organisation whose emergence he played a significant role in.
The association, in a statement by its General Secretary, Dr Solomon Oyeleye, described the deceased as an “iconic scholar, journalist, teacher, administrator, and public intellectual” who was one of the towering figures in the development of communication and journalism education in Nigeria.
Oyeleye said Sobowale was not merely a distinguished member of the communication community but was “integral to ACSPN’s institutional DNA.”
According to him, Sobowale’s contribution to the emergence of the association dated back to its inception.
He recalled that at the International Conference for Media Educators held at Babcock University in May 2012, where the idea of establishing a national association for communication scholars and professionals was seriously advanced, Sobowale supported the proposal and encouraged the process that eventually gave birth to ACSPN.
He said Sobowale, alongside Professor Dayo Alao, urged Professor Nosa Owens-Ibie to take up the challenge of giving the proposed association institutional form.
“After ACSPN was incorporated in 2013, Professor Sobowale served as Chairman of the Association’s Board of Trustees and presided over its inaugural General Meeting in February 2014.
“He later became Life Chairman of the Board of Trustees. This position reflected the enormous confidence and respect the communication community placed in his wisdom, experience, and commitment to the Association,” Oyeleye said.
He added that Sobowale remained an active custodian of the association’s values and institutional memory, offering counsel to successive leaderships and encouraging them to preserve the vision of its founding generation.
Beyond ACSPN, Oyeleye said Sobowale’s influence on Nigerian communication scholarship and journalism extended across generations.
He was among the first generation of Nigerian mass communication scholars and practitioners who helped lay the intellectual and professional foundations for contemporary communication education.
Sobowale taught at the Daily Times Training School and the University of Lagos, where he served as Head of the Department of Mass Communication. He later headed the department at Covenant University and played a key role in developing the Lagos State University School of Communication, serving as its pioneer Dean.
“For generations of students, journalists, academics, and communication professionals, Professor Sobowale was a teacher in the broadest sense,” Oyeleye said.
He added that the late scholar believed strongly in the capacity of communication to shape society, strengthen institutions and improve public life.
The ACSPN had, only last month, honoured Sobowale with its highest award, Fellow of the ACSPN, in recognition of his contributions to communication scholarship, journalism, professional development and the growth of the association.
Oyeleye said the association would remember Sobowale not only for the positions he held but also for the values he embodied, including intellectual courage, institutional commitment, professional excellence, service and mentorship.
“He was a pioneer when the idea of ACSPN was still a conversation; a trustee when the Association was taking institutional shape; a chairman when its foundations were being consolidated; and a mentor when new generations assumed responsibility for its future,” he said.This version gives the death and its significance the strongest prominence, then moves progressively into Sobowale’s institutional contributions, academic career and recent honour—consistent with the inverted-pyramid structure.
