. . President Buhari says massive media fish lost
Mr. Sam Nda-Isiah is dead. Reports first published by Daily Nigerian say Mr. Nda-Isiah, who is publisher of Leadership newspapers, a trained pharmacist who made his name and fortunes in journalism has died Friday (12/12/2020) at the age of 58.
Although details of the death were still sketchy, as our reporters string the news bits together, sources confirmed that he died around 11pm.
The President, General Muhammadu Buhari, who arrived his Daura, Katsina state country home for a weeklong private visit Friday evening, has “expressed shock and sadness at the death of Publisher of Leadership Newspapers, Sam Nda-Isaiah.
In a statement by Presidential spokesman, Femi Adesina, General Buhari described Late Sam as “a friend and ally.”
The President expressed his condolences to the media fraternity, the Nda-Isaiah family, friends and associates of the deceased, saying “the country has lost a man of conviction, a resolute and dogged believer in a better Nigeria.”
“He will be sorely missed. This is a massive fish gone out of the media ocean,” President Buhari further says of the pharmacist, renowned columnist, and one time presidential aspirant on the platform of the All Progressives Congress, APC.
Born in 1962 in Minna, Niger State, Mr Nda-Isaiah, who held the traditional title of Kakaki Nupe, acquired a B.Sc. degree in Pharmacy at Obafemi Awolowo University. On graduation he worked with the global pharmacy conglomerate, Pfizer in its Nigeria franchise, rising to a senior management post before branching out into journalism and politics.
He was one of the celebrated columnists on Daily Trust at its peak. Sam’s Monday Backpage column was a must read for those interested in developments on the national political space especially at the inception of the 4th republic civilian government of General Obasanjo, who was often at the receiving end of Sam’s biting and ascerbic weekly features on the Daily Trust. Sam who later established Leadership Newspapers in 2001, with the motto, “For God and Country” carried over his “Monday Backpage” column to Leadership Newspapers Group.
Over the years the Leadership Newspapers under the guiding hands of Sam, has grown to publish daily and weekly newspapers. Sam introduced a new concept in Nigerian journalism where the “Leadership Hausa” was a publication retaining the name of the English Language title, while only appending “Hausa” as its defining difference. It publishes in the hausa language without a defined, separate Hausa language name to the Hausa title as is the practice in previous, and in fact later titles, beginning with iconic Hausa newspapers such as, “Gaskiya Ta Fi Kwabo”, “Alfijir”, “Albishir”, “Aminiya”, “Fitila” and others.
Sam Nda-Isiah father Mr. Clement Isiah was a renowned journalist who trained a significant proportion of Nigerian journalists in the print media, notably in Kaduna based New Nigerian (1970s) and Kano state government owned Triumph newspapers and publishing company in the 1980s.
Mr. Clement Isiah was Managing Editor led production of newspapers in the Triumph stable set up by Governor Muhammadu Abubakar Rimi’s PRP Government under Dr. Haruna al-Rasheed Adamu as founding Managing Director.
Sam Nda-Isiah was a prominent Northern activist keen on seeing good governance take root in Nigeria with a focus on the North his home base. He was part of the team of campaigners in the TBO (The Buhari Organisation) when General Muhammadu Buhari joined ANPP in 2002.
He was an aspirant who campaigned and lost to General Muhammadu Buhari in APC following the merger of Buhari’s CPC, ACN, ANPP, the new PDP and a faction of the APGA.
Sam was a member of the Northern Elders Forum (NEF) Think Tank convened by Late NEF Chairman, Alhaji Yusuf Maitama Sule, Danmasanin Kano shortly before he died. As well as being a member of the enlarged NEF, Sam was deputy chairman of the NEF Think Tank that has Alhaji Muhammad Hayatuddeen as Chairman, alongside a host of Northern intellectuals and political activists.
