The remains of the founder/Chairman of the Leadership Group, publishers of Leadership, National Economy and the first Hausa Daily, Leadership Ayau newspapers, Sam Nda-Isaiah, were buried yesterday in Abuja amid tears and tributes.
The solemn event, which took place at the Gudu Cemetery in the nation’s capital, was attended by family members, friends, business associates and workers of the late entrepreneur, in line with Federal Government’s restriction on public gatherings.
The Archbishop of Abuja-based Supernatural Love Ministry, Dr. Calvin Antoza, who led the funeral service, said death is a reality that will happen to everybody.
“I know this year has been a tough one for many people. The pandemic has been ravaging all over the world. But our God has always given us an assurance. When we trust in Him, when we rely on Him, He will help us to navigate through the difficulties of life and even overcome some of these things that happen to us,” he said.
Antoza was assisted by Bishop Edwin Musa Jarumai and Bishop Habu Dawaki, both of the church, while Rev. Prof. George Moses offered the closing prayer.
The funeral was attended by a former Agriculture Minister and Chairman of the Arewa Consultative Forum (ACF), Chief Audu Ogbeh; representative of the Chief of Army Staff/Chief of Military-Civil Affairs, Maj.-Gen. H. I. Bature; Chairman of TACK Agro and Chemicals, Mr. Thomas Etuh and the National Coordinator of Initiative for Peoples Rebirth (IPR), Maj.-Gen. Henry Ayoola (retd.), among others.
Nda-Isaiah died on December 11, 2020, after a brief illness.
He was 58.
Addressing reporters after the funeral, Ogbeh recalled that prior to Nda-Isaiah’s death, he was going into big projects in agriculture and pharmaceutical industry.
“Each time he came to me, we kept talking about the country’s problems, our hopes and dreams; the problems confronting Nigeria now and the future, especially when the economy and politics,” he said.
A former Commander (Special Task Force) of Operation Safe Haven in Plateau State and current National Coordinator of Initiative for Peoples Rebirth (IPR), Maj.-Gen. Henry Ayoola (retd.), said the late Nda-Isaiah left a good and enduring legacy.
“He was a man that was highly endowed, who used all of that to benefit humanity,” he said.
By Gbenga Omokhunu