The Yusufu Bala Usman Institute has announced the death of its Chairman, Dr. Samuel Olusegun Osoba, who passed away peacefully on Wednesday, at his residence in Ijebu Ode. He was 92 years old.
In a statement signed by the Institute’s Director, Norma Perchonock, the organisation said it received the news “with heavy hearts but with gratitude for a life lived in the service of scholarship and humanity.”
Dr. Osoba was widely regarded as a distinguished scholar whose life and work were dedicated to teaching and research in economic history and political economy.
According to the Institute, his scholarship consistently examined the structures of capitalism and neo-colonialism in Nigeria, with a focus on pathways toward national development and emancipation.
Over the course of his career, he produced extensive academic and public-facing work, including books, scholarly papers, and newspaper columns that reached a broad audience beyond the academy. He is also noted for his collaboration with the late Professor Yusufu Bala Usman on The Minority Report and Draft Constitution for the Federal Republic of Nigeria (1976), a document the Institute described as influential in constitutional and governance debates in the country.
The Institute added that Dr. Osoba’s contributions to economic history were “groundbreaking,” particularly in his efforts to interrogate prevailing economic systems and their impact on development in Nigeria.
“Segun is gone but he has left an enduring legacy and a shining example for patriotic Nigerians to emulate,” the statement read.
Funeral arrangements will be announced by the family in due course.