Eminent journalist and former diplomat, Ambassador Patrick Dele Cole, is dead. He was 86.
Family sources confirmed that Cole died on Saturday morning.
Cole, who was born on August 4, 1940, was a politician, journalist, historian and diplomat who served Nigeria in several capacities.
He became Managing Director of the Daily Times in 1976, where he was credited with restoring the newspaper’s glory and building it into one of Africa’s largest and most respected publications. During his tenure, he established Nigeria’s first editorial board and brought in influential journalists including Dele Giwa and Dr. Stanley Macebuh.
Cole later served as Nigeria’s Ambassador to Argentina and Brazil, and as Special Adviser on International Relations.
He was also a presidential aspirant on the platform of the Social Democratic Party in the early 1990s.
In August 2025, President Bola Tinubu celebrated Cole’s 85th birthday, describing him as “a patriot, intellectual giant, diplomat, doyen of journalism, and elder statesman who has served Nigeria with diligence and commitment”.
Cole studied at the University of Otago in New Zealand and earned a doctorate from King’s College London.
