Olaoniye Hassan Adesodi is an award-winning writer and strategic communicator with a proven track record of driving legislative impact and media innovation, notably as a Legislative Aide at the National Assembly of Nigeria. Founder of a groundbreaking online investigative newspaper, Peoples Conscience, he is also the initiator of the Ibarapa Debate Competition, the biggest educational competition that awards scholarships to senior secondary school students in Ibarapa Land, comprising Lanlate, Eruwa, Igboora, Idere, Ayete, Tapa and Igangan.
Born into the popular Olaoniye family in Idere, Ibarapa Central Local Government Area of Oyo State, he attended Islamic Primary School II, Malete Idere, and later proceeded to Ayelogun Grammar School for his secondary school education. He graduated in 2013 with flying colours. He obtained a National Diploma Certificate in Mass Communication from the Adeseun Ogundoyin Polytechnic, Eruwa, formerly the Polytechnic Ibadan, in 2016. He also holds a Higher National Diploma (HND) in Mass Communication from the Federal Polytechnic Bida in Niger State with a BSc in Mass Communication in view from the prestigious Nasarawa State University.
Olaoniye launched Peoples Conscience (PC), an investigative news platform, in 2015 as an undergraduate student. The platform focuses on reporting events in the Ibarapa region of Oyo State and other regional news. As of December 2022, PC had gained a significant following, with over 176 countries accessing the platform due to its groundbreaking investigation and professional reportage on regional news. The outfit won the best Ibarapa-based online news website on two different occasions by PremPremMusic at the Ibarapa Merit Award held in 2020 and 2022.
As a community service volunteer, Hassan understands the importance of mentorship and lifelong learning. This informed his decision to initiate the Ibarapa Debate Competition in 2019, an annual educational event aimed at encouraging secondary school students in the Ibarapa region to prioritise their academic pursuits through scholarships and incentives worth over N3,000,000 yearly. The initiative is being supported and sponsored by Ibarapa indigenes at home and abroad. This initiative has been incredibly successful, as it has reduced the number of out-of-school children in Ibarapa Land to the barest minimum and enhanced academic excellence among the students of the region in various tertiary institutions of learning through the great academic foundation on which the initiative is premised.
Hassan has worked in different reputable organisations, including Crush Cafe in the nation’s capital, Abuja, where he spent six years and six months training over 500 members of staff.
He was a recipient of the Most Influential Ibarapa Indigene Below 40 in the year 2022, a distinguished award by PremPremMusic.
On July 26, 2023, Olaoniye was appointed as Special Adviser (Media and Publicity) to Hon. Dr. Anthony Adebayo Adepoju, PhD, member representing Ibarapa Central and Ibarapa North Federal Constituency in the Nigerian House of Representatives, becoming the first indigene of the constituency to be appointed in that capacity, a proof of his writing dexterity and command of language. This development followed his public resignation from Peoples Conscience “in order to avoid a clash of interests and to maintain the strong reputation and credibility of the outfit”, resulting in the formation of a new management team.
The Ibarapa-born writer is also currently a Legislative Aide at the National Assembly of Nigeria, where he monitors local, state and federal government actions for potential impact on his principal’s agenda, ensuring proactive response to emerging issues. He also composes correspondence for different agencies and parastatals of the federal government of Nigeria and gathers requisite information for motions and bills sponsorship on the floor of the House of Representatives for his principal. In addition to the aforementioned, he also prepares newsletters, press releases and news stories for different national dailies about the honourable lawmaker's activities and manages the lawmaker's constituency data in areas including but not limited to job opportunities and constituency projects, as well as creating comprehensive political, legislative and regulatory goals, strategies and plans.
On December 16, 2024, Hassan Olaoniye, through an unopposed contest, emerged as the Secretary of the Oyo State Caucus of Legislative Aides in the National Assembly of Nigeria, a position he has held with passion, integrity and distinction.
He is highly skilled in news writing, column writing, public speaking, social media and website management, writing and research, media relations, legislation tracking, government relations, public relations, media relations, in-depth investigation and reporting, speech writing, newsletter creation, bill and motion drafting, press release writing and volunteer management.
Hassan has had a series of training on professional and development studies, with Legislative Aide Training on Building the Capacity and Enhancing the Performance of Legislative Aides by the National Assembly of Nigeria as the most recent.
He is a member of National Assembly Legislative Aides Forum (NASSLAF)
Philosophy:
Olaoniye believes that education is key to the development of any society. He is committed to preparing Ibarapa secondary school students for later academic experiences and fostering unity and peaceful co-existence in the region.
0 Comments