Bayo Onanuga Biography, Bayo Onanuga Age, Bayo Onanuga Net Worth, Bayo Onanuga Career, Bayo Onanuga State of Origin and Bayo Onanuga Controversy.
NewsOnline Nigeria reports that Bayo Onanuga, born on June 20, 1957, is a renowned Nigerian journalist. On October 13, 2023, he was appointed Special Adviser on Information and Strategy by Nigeria’s current President, Bola Ahmed Tinubu.
This Nigeria news platform understands that Bayo Onanuga co-founded TheNews Magazine and was named Managing Director of the News Agency of Nigeria by President Muhammadu Buhari in May 2016. He had earlier served as the CEO and Editor-in-Chief of both PM News and TheNEWS Magazine.
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Bayo Onanuga Biography Summary
- Full Name – Bayo Onanuga
- Date Of Birth – born on June 20, 1957
- Occupation – Journalist
- Wife – Toyin Machado-Onanuga
- Nationality – Nigeria
Bayo Onanuga Early Life and Education
Bayo Onanuga hails from the Anikilaya Ruling House in Ijebu Ode, Ogun State. He attended Moslem Primary School in Ijebu-Ode from 1962 to 1969, followed by Muslim College Ijebu Ode, where he graduated in 1974 with a Grade One. After working for a year, he pursued his A-Levels at Federal Government College, Odogbolu from 1975 to 1977. In September 1977, he was admitted to study Mass Communication at the University of Lagos, where he graduated with a second-class upper degree in 1980.
Bayo Onanuga started his career with Practions Partners in early 1982 before joining Ogun State Television as one of the pioneering staff in June of that year. By July 1983, he moved to The Guardian as a sub-editor, but left 17 months later to launch Weekly Titbits. When this venture did not succeed, Bayo Onanuga joined National Concord in January 1985 as a senior features writer. He was soon transferred to African Concord, becoming its international editor in 1989, stationed in London. He was later promoted to editor that same year.
In April 1992, Bayo Onanuga resigned from Concord after refusing to apologize to General Ibrahim Babangida following a controversial cover story, which led to the closure of the Concord Group by the military regime. In 1993, alongside other notable journalists, he co-founded TheNews Magazine. After TheNews was also shut down by the military, the team launched TEMPO magazine and later PM News in 1994.
Bayo Onanuga Career
In 2014, Bayo Onanuga announced his candidacy for the Ogun East senatorial seat in the 2015 elections under the All Progressives Congress (APC). During the Sani Abacha regime, Bayo Onanuga was detained by the State Security Service in Lagos, but later escaped and fled the country. He returned to Nigeria in 1998 after Abacha’s death.
Bayo Onanuga Personal Life
Bayo Onanuga is married to Toyin Machado-Onanuga. The couple keeps their personal life private, maintaining a clear separation between his public role and family life.
Awards and Honours
In 2023, Bayo Onanuga was awarded the National honor of Officer of the Order of the Niger (OON) by President Muhammadu Buhari.
Bayo Onanuga Social Media
Bayo Onanuga is active on Twitter, engaging the public on various professional matters through his handle, @aonanuga1956.
Bayo Onanuga Controversy
Since he was appointed the Special Adviser to the President on Information and Strategy, Bayo Onanuga has come under a lot of criticism and controversy.
Criticised for his controversial and divisive ethnocentric statement, Mr Onanuga in another tweet said “let me make myself abundantly clear: the views I express on Twitter are my personal views.
“I don’t owe anyone any apology for addressing the existential threats of our people. I am after all, first of all a Yoruba, before being a Nigerian,” he added.
