‘Press Coverage of Oil And Gas Issues In Nigeria (2015 – 2021),’ details of the thesis that earned the multiple award-winning journalist/Journalism researcher the highest degree in Communication Studies at the prestigious Lagos State University
The Team Lead of Platforms Africa, Adeola Yusuf, has bagged the Doctor of Philosophy (Ph.D.) degree in communication studies.
A panel of assessors chaired by renowned professor of communication and Deputy Vice-Chancellor of Ajayi Crowther University, Oyo, Prof. Muyiwa Popoola, pronounced Adeola Yusuf, a doctor of Philosophy after the researcher successfully defended his thesis titled; “Press Coverage of Oil And Gas Issies In Nigeria (2015-2021),’ at the School of Post-graduate studies, the Lagos State University (LASU) on Wednesday, May 28, 2025.
The thesis described as a landmark study in addressing the paucity of research on evaluation of newspaper’s reportage of oil and gas covering a seven- year period, was supervised by three renowned professors of communication; Professor Lai Oso (late), Professor Jide Peter Jimoh, and Professor Rotimi Williams Olatunji, with Professor Ahove as the internal external examiner.
Stating that studying newspaper reportage in energy (oil and gas) sector is necessary, the external examiner, Professor Popoola, noted that the sector largely influences Nigeria’s economy.
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Adeola Yusuf, a multiple award-winning journalist and researcher, is a fellow of Thomson Reuters Foundation (scheme) on Illicit Finance Reporting in Africa.
Arguably the most decorated energy journalist in the continent, Adeola Yusuf is the team lead of the leading Africa-focus media group, Platforms Africa, winner, Entrepreneurship Directorate Online media of the Year, 2024, and Nigerian Content Development and Monitoring Board (NCDMB) nominee for Nigerian Content Development Media of The Year.
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He is one of the most sought-after energy analysts in Nigeria who has featured on Channels TV, TV Continental (TVC), Arise TV, News Central TV, Lagos Television (LTV), Ogun State Television (OGTV), Radio Lagos, Mainland FM, Rock City FM, Radio One, Women Radio, among others.
Business Communication, Energy Journalism, And The Thesis In-Between
The thesis, titled; ‘Press Coverage of Oil And Gas Issues In Nigeria (2015-2021), which earned Adeola Yusuf the highest degree in Business Communication with specialisation in Energy Journalism, is a modest effort to contribute to the energy communication development in Nigeria by empirically testing newspapers performance in the reportage of the critical sector.
Exploring both material and human population, the research, which used agenda setting theory and development theory of communication, used descriptive survey design, focusing on describing the characteristics of phenomena.
To achieve this, the research explored qualitative content analysis and key informant interviews (KII).
Content of four newspapers – The PUNCH, DAILY TRUST, BUSINESSDAY, and NIGER DELTA HERALD – purposively chosen based on ownership type and structure, location, and philosophical underpinning, were analysed, while eight experienced energy journalists were interviewed as key informants.
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