Sat Dec 12 2020
It was a short post from Isiaq Ajibola, former COO of Media Trust, on the WhatsApp platform of the Northern Media Forum, that drew attention to the passing of Sam Nda-Isaiah, just a few minutes past midnight, today, Saturday, 12th December, 2020. To say that I was stunned, was to understate my emotions! I placed a call to Ajibola, and he confirmed the story, as well as giving me some background. So much has raced through my mind, about Sam, in the past three hours. That he died from complications of Covid-19, has been reported by some online media outlets. And I couldn’t but recall that Sam and I compared notes, as we planned to write tributes to the late Malam Abba Kyari, when he passed earlier in the year, ironically, as one of the earliest victims of Covid-19, in Nigeria. It was also just as we had discussed writing birthday appreciations for Malam Mamman Daura, last year. And indeed that was the man, Sam was: loyal to his friends, with a large heart, and ever willing to throw himself into defending your corner, once he was convinced about the righteousness of the position. He gives his all, in every sense, especially to right a wrong!