Adedayo Oketola, a highly decorated journalist, author and former newspaper editor, is seeing his work transcend the newsroom. His award-winning reports are now being cited in academic journals, policy papers, and international forums, proving that rigorous journalism remains a critical force in driving research, accountability, and reform across sectors. Uzoma Mba writes that the 

award-winning editor’s impactful reporting is influencing scholarship and shaping governance conversations

Adedayo Oketola is a globally recognised Nigerian journalist, author, and strategic, energy and tech communications expert with over two decades of high-impact experience in journalism, editorial leadership, and media innovation. He is one of Africa’s most decorated editors and investigative journalists, having won over 15 prestigious journalism awards across local and international platforms. He served as Editor of The PUNCH, Nigeria’s most widely read and influential newspaper, from 2022 to 2024, leading it to consecutive Newspaper of the Year wins and earning the Editor of the Year award from the Nigeria Media Merit Awards (NMMA) in 2023 and the Diamond Awards for Media Excellence (DAME) in 2024.

He had earlier served as the Editor of PUNCH Weekend Titles, namely Saturday PUNCH and Sunday PUNCH, for three years; the first in the 50-year history of the media group to edit both Saturday PUNCH and Sunday PUNCH simultaneously.  In that capacity, he oversaw The PUNCH weekend publications that produced many awardees under his supervision, tutelage and mentorship.

With a career spanning frontline journalism, media strategy, and thought leadership, Oketola exemplifies the highest level of professional distinction, innovation, and influence that he is deploying on platforms like the International Visitor Leadership Program Alumni Association (IVLPAA), a body under the auspices of the U.S. Mission in Nigeria, where he currently serves as president.

Delivering in his capacity as a key member of the fourth estate of the realm, Oketola’s work has influenced public policy, exposed systemic corruption, and advanced national conversations on disability, social inclusion, the power sector, energy transition, agriculture, anti-corruption, and drug trafficking prevention, among others. His investigative journalism, cited in both national and international fora, has earned him many accolades.

Three of his reports, namely, ‘How Banks in Nigeria Shut out 22 Million People with Disabilities; ‘Left Behind: A Telecoms Revolution without the Blind, Deaf and Dumb”, and “Social Exclusion: Pains, Agony of Lawyers Living with Disabilities”, published between 2011 and 2015,  described PWDs’ everyday pain aggravated by the lack of ramps across banks, telecoms service centres, and courts, among others. These reports, among others, pushed authorities to mandate the installation of ramps in banks, service centres, and all public buildings in Lagos and some other states.

“Gridlock: 10 million Lagosians battle traffic robbers amid endless wait for N555bn mass transit systems” published on November 7, 2015, documented the suffering of over 10 million Lagos commuters at the hands of traffic robbers due to the unending gridlock while awaiting the N555bn light rail and commercial car transit systems. After the report was published, the then-governor of Lagos State tackled traffic robbery headlong, critical roads were redesigned to ease traffic, and the government renewed the drive to deliver the blue and red rail lines, which had recently been launched.

“Trapped Overseas: Stranded Nigerian Youths Traffic Drug to Fund Return Home” and “Abandoned by Men: Hard Times Push Women into Drugs, Arrest and Regrets’ focused on the travails of young Nigerians stranded overseas who began trafficking drugs to fund their home return. The reports were aimed at discouraging youths from drug trafficking.

In his award-winning report titled “NigComSat-1R becoming white elephant four years after –Investigation”, Oketola exposed the shortcomings of Nigeria’s communication satellite and its inability to deepen broadband penetration as promised. The report won a continental fact-checking prize for uncovering the corruption going on at NigComSat.

Titled, “Power Failure: Nigerians burn N17.5tn fuel on a generator in five years”, the report was a poignant commentary on Nigeria’s endemic energy poverty. A follow-up to that report, which concentrated on small businesses, titled “Nigerian small businesses on ‘death row’ –SMEs, traders losing investments to power shortage”, challenged the government to address the power crisis crippling businesses and investments.

A report titled, “Firewood, Coal Usage Poses Great Danger to 120 Million Nigerians”, which won the energy report of the year raised the consciousness of policymakers, government and the populace to the incalculable diseases and death risk facing the majority of Nigerians cooking with dirty fuels (charcoal, firewood and sawdust). The report also pioneered strong advocacy for massive investment in clean cooking (use of Liquefied Petroleum Gas) from both the government and private sector.

Beyond the impact of many of Oketola’s landmark reports, some of his impactful reporting is now influencing scholarly research across the globe. His body of work has not only won numerous prestigious media awards but has also become a valuable resource for academic inquiry into Nigeria’s most pressing challenges. His investigative reports have been cited in peer-reviewed journals and university research, affirming the intellectual and societal impact of his journalism.

For instance, the Review of African Political Economy referenced his reporting in “International Crude Oil Theft: Elite Predatory Tendencies in Nigeria,” using his work to illustrate entrenched corruption in Nigeria’s oil sector. The paper was authored by Eddy Akpomera.

Similarly, his reporting on terrorism and governance has been instrumental to scholars like Prof. Ifeyinwa Emejulu and Charlesmartin Nnaegbuna, both of the Nnamdi Azikiwe University, Awka, who examined the impact of insecurity on tourism in Nigeria between 2009 and 2017 in a paper titled ‘Terrorism and Tourism in Nigeria’, published in the Interdisciplinary Journal of African & Asian Studies, Vol. 7, No.2, 2021.

In “Economy of the Third World and Search for Greener Pastures in the Desert,” published in the Brazilian Journal of African Studies, Emmanuel Akubor draws on Oketola’s journalistic insights to examine economic migration in Nigeria.

His work has also informed media and communication scholars such as Prof. Rotimi Olatunji of Lagos State University, who cited Oketola’s publications during the university’s prestigious 63rd Inaugural Lecture on Advertising and Public Discourse.

Moreover, his work on insurgency and religious extremism has been referenced in a global academic collaboration published in the special issue of Religion, Conflict Transformation, and Peacebuilding, co-authored by two scholars, Stephen Onakuse from University College Cork and Victor Jatula from the University of Utah (Asia Campus).

These citations are a testament to Oketola’s ability to bridge journalism and scholarship, providing nuanced, evidence-based narratives that both inform the public and enrich academic understanding of Nigeria’s socio-political complexities.

As a journalist whose work is not only impactful but also cited in international scholarship, Oketola occupies a rarefied position, which is one where public interest reporting fuels intellectual rigour and policy discussions.

In recognition of his contributions to journalism and intellectual development, former Nigerian President Chief Olusegun Obasanjo unveiled his debut book, and Mr. Oketola hosted Nigeria’s first-ever Exaugural Lecture by a newspaper editor to mark his transition from editorship and 20 years of service to journalism.

He is an Edward R. Murrow Fellow under the U.S. State Department’s International Visitor Leadership Program and has participated in advanced journalism training at Boston University’s New England Centre for Investigative Reporting. His global exposure includes attending and reporting from over 30 high-level international conferences across the U.S., U.K., Europe, Africa, and Asia.

Currently serving as a Strategic Communications Consultant, Oketola leads corporate and governmental PR initiatives, manages perception and crisis communications, and provides media training services. He writes commentaries on national issues and convenes the Africa Digital Economy & Innovation Conference (AFDEIC).

He is a member of notable professional and service organisations such as the Nigerian Guild of Editors, the Nigerian Institute of Management (Chartered), the Nigerian Institute of Public Relations (NIPR), and the Advertising Regulatory Council of Nigeria (ARCON) and Lions Clubs International, District 404B2 Nigeria.

The post Pen to Power: How Oketola’s Journalism now Shapes Academic Research, Public Policy appeared first on THISDAYLIVE.

​