Former vice-chairman of the Association of Nigerian Authors (ANA) Eddie Aderinokun has died, his family announced on Monday.
The veteran journalist died on Sunday aged 80 following a brief illness.
A statement by his brother Kayode Aderinokun reads: “With great sadness, but with submission to the will of God, we announce the passing on to glory of our beloved Father, Grandfather, Husband, Brother, Otunba Eddie, Olayiwola Aderinokun on the 3rd of January 2021, following a brief illness.
“Funeral arrangements will be announced by the Family.”
He was the elder brother of late GTBank MD Tayo Aderinokun.
The sports enthusiast is regarded by many as the progenitor of pop music in Nigeria.
In the late sixties, he founded The Clusters, a pop group in Lagos, and featured great talents such as Berkeley Jones (guitarist), Tony Amadi, Linus Okechi and Jibade Thomas.
He was a patron of the Committee for Relevant Arts (CORA).
Meanwhile, President Muhammadu Buhari said he is mourning the journalist, poet, author and sports administrator, Otunba Eddie Aderinokun, who passed on January 3, 2021, aged 80.
Femi Adesina
Special Adviser to the President
(Media and Publicity) made this known.
The President salutes the more than 60 years of vibrant journalism practice by Aderinokun, which saw him rise to editorship of the then reputable Daily Express Newspaper, and his contribution to literature through many books, particularly on poetry.
“Also unforgettable are his footprints in sports development, particularly volleyball, where he made his mark as a very successful Chairman of the Nigerian Volleyball Federation,” President Buhari says.
The President lauds the fact that Aderinokun, as President of Nigeria League of Veteran Journalists, shared his wealth of experience, and guided younger professionals on the path of ethics and good conduct, adding that all these would be recorded in his favour by posterity.
He condoles with family, friends, the media, and sporting fraternity, urging them to strive to keep Otunba Aderinokun’s memory aliv
