Lecturers at the Lagos State University (LASU) have visited the late Prof Lai Oso’s family.
Oso, 67, died in a road accident along Ore-Sagamu Expressway on Saturday evening.
He was said to be coming from Delta State University (DELSU) where he was an external examiner at the department of mass communication.
Dean of the Faculty of Communication and Media Studies at LASU Prof Olayinka Alawode led some colleagues on a condolence visit to the deceased’s Sagamu home on Sunday.
Alawode said Oso positively influenced communication programmes in various universities.
“It will be difficult to find someone else to fill the gap in left behind. His death was as a result of his sacrifice on the altar of academics; he died returning from a university where he went to examine some students.
“He was a father to all. He really touched lives. There is no school of communication in any university that he did not influence positively,” he said.
His predecessor Prof Rotimi Olatunji, who joined in visiting the bereaved family, described Oso as a pathfinder and bridge builder.
“I’m still in shock as to the passing of our great intellectual icon – a renowned scholar. He was a great mentor, a brother, and a friend who stuck more than a family. He was my confidante and above all he was a trailblazer and a humanist par excellence.
“Professor Oso was so committed to people’s development. He invested his life in mentoring the younger ones in academics and the profession. He has touched so many lives. If I can count correctly, at the LASU’s Faculty of Communication and Media Studies alone, he had up to 20 PhD candidates that he has successfully supervised since 2014 when we started the PhD programme,” he told Premium Times.
