BY STEPHEN GBADAMOSI
In Nigerian journalism, some names become headlines. Others become institutions. Kehinde Olaosebikan managed to become both. In Ibadan, the capital of Oyo State, his initials tell a story that every Government House correspondent knows by heart: KO. Kehinde Olaosebikan. That’s what it stands for.
But ask any journalist who has covered the Oyo State Governor’s Office in the last two decades what KO means, and they won’t describe a man. They will describe an allowance. A monthly ritual that has outlived governments.
The story dates back to 1999.
A young, vibrant journalist, Kehinde Olaosebikan, had just been appointed Chief Press Secretary (CPS) to the governor of Oyo State. As a thoroughbred journalist himself, he understood the beat. He saw dedication, professionalism and partnership in the correspondents: but he also saw little support.
These were men and women who told the government’s story every day, yet struggled. He decided to dignify the partnership. With the blessing of his principal, he introduced a monthly welfare stipend for all journalists posted to the Governor’s Office in Ibadan without any discrimination. Kenny, as he I fondly called, who came into town from his position as the Regional Editor, Northern Operations for Vanguard Newspapers, did not separate journalists from photographers and neither did he rate any newspaper big or small. He gave due recognition to all and made the stipend flat. It was regular, it was respectful, and it immediately eased their burden.
The journalists, in their characteristic wit and deep appreciation, christened the stipend. They called it “KO” – after his initials.
That was in 1999. Today is 2026 – 27 years after.
Governors have come and gone – from Lam Adesina to Ladoja, Alao-Akala, Ajimobi and Makinde. Chief Press Secretaries have come and gone. Press Centres have been renovated and re-renovated. But KO has remained.
It has been institutionalised. Till today, as each month draws to a close, the familiar chorus still echoes in the Press Centre: “When are we collecting our KO?”
“Has KO entered?” They still mention him every month. They still collect him every month.
And then there was LYRICS.
Olaosebikan also noticed another vacuum: Ibadan, for all its grandeur and history, had no functional night club at that time. The city slept too early. Journalists, after filing their stories late into the night, had nowhere to unwind and bond. So, he established LYRICS Nite Club.
LYRICS was an instant and huge success. It brought back nightlife to Ibadan.
More than just a club, LYRICS became the journalists’ second home. It was their hangout, their celebration centre. Birthdays, bachelors’ eves, promotions, send-offs – they held them all at LYRICS, mostly free of charge.
Word spread across the South-West. Editors started trooping in from Lagos, Akure, Ekiti, Abeokuta, etc., just to share in the LYRICS experience. Ibadan came alive again.
He paid them with KO. He partied with them at LYRICS.
He understood a profound truth about people management: Welfare is not just money in the pocket; it is also joy in the heart. Today, Kehinde Olaosebikan is celebrated for many things – as a former council chairman, as a media strategist, as CEO of Midas Communications, as a publicist of note.
But in the newsrooms of Oyo State, he will forever be remembered as the man who gave them an allowance they still collect, and a nightlife they never forgot.
He is KO.
He is LYRICS.
And that is legacy.
*Gbadamosi is a journalist and public affair commentator.
