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Simon Kolawole

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Simon Kolawole
NationalityNigerian
EducationUniversity of Lagos
University of Sussex
SOAS University of London
Occupation(s)Nigerian journalist and media entrepreneur
Known forFounder, CEO at TheCable

Simon Kolawole is a Nigerian journalist, public speaker and media entrepreneur.[1][2][3][4] He is the founder and chief executive officer of Cable Newspaper Limited.,[5] publisher of TheCable, Nigeria's Independent online newspaper[6] In 2012, the World Economic Forum named him one of the Young Global Leaders as a recognition of his record of professional accomplishments and commitment to the society.[7][8]

According to Daily Trust, Kolawole, at 29, became the youngest editor of a national newspaper in Nigeria.[9] By 2007, when he was appointed the editor and associate director of This Day, he was also the youngest Nigerian to have ever achieved such a feat.[10]

Early life and education

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Kolawole was born in Ilorin, Kwara State, Nigeria, but moved to Mopa, in present-day Kogi State, Nigeria to live with his grandmother after his father died in a road accident in 1976. He moved to Lagos, Nigeria, in 1989 to study Mass Communications at the University of Lagos.[3][11][12] He won the Chevening Scholarship to study for a Master's degree in Governance and Development at the Institute of Development Studies,[13] University of Sussex, UK in the 2005/2006 academic year.[14][15][16] In 2010, he was selected as one of the Governance for Development Fellows at the School of Oriental and African Studies (SOAS), University of London.[17]

In 2007, he was appointed editor of This Day, regarded as Nigeria’s most influential newspaper.[18] He edited the paper for five years, before he resigned in 2012. He has taken leadership courses at Yale University and Harvard Kennedy School of Government as a Young Global Leader of World Economic Forum.

Career

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Kolawole's journey into journalism was inspired by veteran journalist, Dele Giwa, who was killed in the line of duty.[11] Prior to setting up TheCable, Kolawole worked at Encomium Magazine, Complete Football, Thisweek,[19][20] Tempo, This Day.[21] He was staff writer at Complete Football in 1993; senior correspondent TheNews/TEMPO 1994-95; features writer, later sports editor, Today's News Today 1995-96; assistant editor, City People 1996-97; assistant editor, This Day 1997; features editor This Day, 1998-1999; deputy editor, Financial Standard 1999-2001; editor, TheWeek magazine, 2001-2002; Saturday editor, This Day 2002-2005; managing editor, This Day 2006-07; editor and associate director, This Day 2007-2012.

In 2008, Kolawole published a comprehensive This Day Oil Report, titled "Nigeria and Other Oil-Producing Countries: A Comparative Study". His other works have been cited in the Journal of Asian and African Social Science and Humanities,[22] and in many other academic works[23]

In 2012, Kolawole resigned from his position as editor of THISDAY newspaper and was replaced by Ijeoma Nwaogwugwu.[24]

He is currently the CEO, TheCable; Executive Director, Cable Newspaper Journalism Foundation;[25] Founder and CEO, Ideas Planet Ltd. He is also a member of the board at two non-profit organisation for development in Nigeria; Leap Africa and Rise Networks[14][26]

References

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  1. ^ Agoro, Adegbenga. "Simon Kolawole | The Platform Nigeria .::. The Platform 11.0, The October Event". www.theplatformnigeria.com. Retrieved 2018-05-06.
  2. ^ Editor. "Simon Kolawole, Publisher of The Cable | Africainterviews". www.africainterviews.com. Retrieved 2018-05-06. {{cite web}}: |last= has generic name (help)
  3. ^ a b Adebanwi, Wale (1 January 2008). Trials and Triumphs: The Story of TheNEWS. African Books Collective. ISBN 9789781532320 – via Google Books.
  4. ^ "simon kolawole (@simonkolawole) | Twitter". twitter.com. Retrieved 2018-04-26.
  5. ^ "Simon Kolawole - SMWLagos". SMWLagos. Retrieved 2018-05-06.
  6. ^ "Simon Kolawole - World Economic Forum". World Economic Forum.
  7. ^ "Community". The Forum of Young Global Leaders. Retrieved 2020-03-09.
  8. ^ "Nigeria: Kolawole, Thisday Editor, Named Young Global Leader". 7 March 2012 – via AllAfrica.
  9. ^ "16783 When ex thisday editor unveiled the cable newspaper". Daily Trust Nigeria. Retrieved 9 March 2020.
  10. ^ Banker, The. "Search -". www.thebanker.com.
  11. ^ a b "How I Gave My Life To Christ Jesus – Simon Kolawole, Cable News CEO". PRAYERS FIRE. 2016-07-29. Retrieved 2018-05-06.
  12. ^ "Advisory Board". risenetworks.org. Retrieved 2018-05-06.
  13. ^ Kolawole, Simon (November 2008). "THE IMPACT OF THE GLOBAL FINANCIAL CRISIS ON DEVELOPING COUNTRIES" (PDF). Institute of Development Studies, Sussex.
  14. ^ a b "Rise Networks". risenetworks.org.
  15. ^ "Kolawole, THISDAY Editor, named Young Global Leader - Vanguard News". 7 March 2012.
  16. ^ "Sussex University Seeks For More Collaboration With Alumni — Leadership Newspaper". leadership.ng. Retrieved 2018-05-06.
  17. ^ "Nigeria: Thisday Editor Wins Mo Ibrahim Fellowship". AllAfrica. 19 April 2010.[dead link]
  18. ^ "2007 Review of the Year - Highs and Lows from the World of International Development".
  19. ^ "Shall we tell the president? - TheCable". TheCable. 2018-04-22. Retrieved 2018-04-26.
  20. ^ "Shall We Tell the President? - THISDAYLIVE". THISDAYLIVE. 2018-04-22. Retrieved 2018-04-26.
  21. ^ "TheCable CEO on news delivered in a world of the Internet | Technology Times". Technology Times. 2016-09-26. Retrieved 2018-05-06.
  22. ^ Daoud, Balogun Adekunle; Yusuff, Jelili Amuda (14 June 2016). "A DESCRIPTIVE ANALYSIS OF THE INFLUENCE OF PUBLIC SECTOR CORRUPTION ON THE PRIVATIZATION OF NIGERIAN ROADS". Journal of Asian and African Social Science and Humanities. 2 (2): 1–30 – via www.aarcentre.com.
  23. ^ "Simon Kolawole - Google Scholar". scholar.google.com.
  24. ^ "THISDAY editor, Simon Kolawole, resigns in protest | Premium Times Nigeria". 2012-06-10. Retrieved 2021-05-05.
  25. ^ "Simon Kolawole - Cable Newspaper Journalism Foundation (CNJF)". www.cablefoundation.org.
  26. ^ "Our Board – LEAP Africa". leapafrica.org.