Nigerian Veteran Journalist and Diplomat Dele Cole Dies at 86

Veteran journalist and diplomat Ambassador Dele Cole died at the age of 86 on the morning of Saturday, 17 October 2026, according to family sources. Cole was a former managing director of Nigeria’s Daily Times newspaper and later served as the country’s ambassador to Argentina and Brazil. Between 1999 and 2007 he acted as Special Adviser on International Relations to President Olusegun Obasanjo, and in the 1990s he was associated with the Social Democratic Party. Born on 4 August 1940 in Abonnema, Rivers State, Cole attended St Bartholomew’s School in Enugu, Baptist High School in Port Harcourt, and Ibadan Grammar School before studying at the University of Otago in New Zealand (1962‑1965) and the University of Cambridge in the United Kingdom (1966‑1970), where he became a fellow of King’s College and earned a doctorate in history. He joined the Daily Times as a non‑executive director in 1975 and rose to become its managing director, helping shape Nigeria’s journalism industry. His career spanned media, diplomacy, public service and politics, leaving a lasting impact on Nigeria’s information landscape and foreign relations. How will his contributions to Nigerian journalism and diplomacy be remembered by the next generation?

SOURCE: https://dailypost.ng/2026/10/17/veteran-journalist-dele-cole-dies-at-86/