It is with heavy heart that we at Northern Media Forum (NMF) mourn the passing of Malam Wada Maida, coming shortly after the death of Ismaila Isa Funtua, himself a pillar of the profession globally and locally.
Wada Maida was an accomplished and thorough-bred professional who symbolised decency and ethical journalism, and lived by those tenets.
A former Editor-in-Chief of News Agency of Nigeria(NAN) and was Chairmanof of the agency and Peoples Daily at the time of his death, Wada Maida was indeed an icon, who once served as Chief Press Secretary to President Muhammadu Buhari, when he was Military Head of State.
He never wavered from the straight and narrow path that ethical journalism is all about.
He worked and lived the Media, having been part of the founding of Daily Trust and served on the board of International Press Institute (IPI) and at one time the
president of the Nigerian Guild of Editors. He was also an active member of the Newspapers Proprietors Association of Nigeria (NPAN).
For us at the NMF, Wada Maida’s excellence shone brightly, as a founding member and one of its intellectual think-tank.
We remember him as one of a few working quietly to uplift the media industry in the service of the society and the country at large.
We therefore implore his family to take solace in his good works and footprints.
The NMF also wishes to condole his immediate and the entire media family he left behind.
I also wish to condole all the members of the NMF and urge all of us to bear the loss with fortitude.
May Allah admit him in aljannat firdaus.
Signed:
Dan Agbese, Chairman, Northern Media Forum (NMF).
