Comrade Kemi Olaitan, a prominent member of the Nigeria Union of Journalists (NUJ), Oyo State Council, on Monday, lost his elder brother, Professor Wale Are Olaitan, to the cold hands of death. The news of the death of the late Professor Olaitan, a former Vice Chancellor of Olabisi Onabanjo University (OOU), Ago-Iwoye, Ogun State, was broken by the NUJ chairman, Oyo State Council, Comrade Ademola Babalola.

The renowned academic was said to have died at the age of 60 after a prolonged battle with a liver-related disease. Beyond academia, Professor Olaitan was a prolific public intellectual. He maintained a widely respected weekly column, “Discourse,” in the Nigerian Tribune, where he passionately engaged with national and global issues.

He syndicated the same column in NewsScroll, an online newspaper on which board he served as Editorial Advisor. Throughout his career, he stood firmly with the marginalized, using his voice to champion the cause of ordinary Nigerians, the poor, and the oppressed. Professor Olaitan is survived by his wife, Kemi, and two cherished children, Alanu and Judge.

Babalola, in a statement expressed condolences with Comrade Kemi Olaitan over the death of his elder brother, describing it as a huge loss to the family and the academic community.