BY LINUS CHIBUIKE
PRESIDENT Muhammadu Buhari has expressed shock at the death of the Publisher of Leadership Newspapers, Sam Nda-Isaiah.
The President described the late media chief as “a friend and ally,” saying “the country has lost a man of conviction, a resolute and dogged believer in a better Nigeria.”
Nda-Isaiah reportedly died at an Isolation Centre in Abuja at the age of 58.
In a statement issued by his Special Adviser on Media and Publicity, Femi Adesina, in the early hours of Saturday, the President condoled with the media industry, the Nda-Isaiah family, friends and associates of the deceased, saying he would be sorely missed.
“This is a massive fish gone out of the media ocean,” Buhari said.
Born in Minna, Niger State, on May 1, 1962, he attended UNA Elementary School before crossing to Christ Church School, Kaduna in 1968.
He later proceeded to study at Federal Government College, Kaduna, from 1974 to 1979.
On his graduation, he was admitted to Obafemi Awolowo University where he studied pharmaceuticals.
While in school, he participated in the Kaduna State Schools Challenge, a quiz organized by the Kaduna Education Board. He won first prize.
The late Isaiah enrolled in the Lee Kuan Yew School of Public Policy at the National University of Singapore.
He completed the mandatory year of the National Youth Services Corps at the Ekiti General Hospital and the Ekiti State Hospital in 1984.
Career
Nda-Isaiah briefly worked as a pharmacist at the Kano Specialist Hospital before moving to General Hospital, Minna.
He also worked at Pfizer Products Limited from 1985 to 1989.
He began his column writing with The Daily Trust Editorial Board as a board member and worked as a committee member in the Kano State Government to revive The Triumph, a Kano State-owned newspaper.
In 2003, he headed the Muhammadu Buhari presidential campaign publicities.
In 2015 Nda-Isaiah ran for presidency with All Progressives Congress after suspending his columnist ambition but he lost to Muhammadu Buhari in the primaries.
He was conferred with the chieftaincy title “Aare Baaroyin of Akure Kingdom” by Oba Aladetoyinbo Ogunlade Aladelusi, Odundun.
Ndah-Isaiah is survived by wife Zainab and his four children.
