A frontline pharmacist and publisher of Leadership Newspaper, Sam Nda-Isaiah, is dead. He was aged 58.
According to the family sources, he died at about 11.00pm on Friday night after complaining of feeling unwell earlier in the day.
Nda-Isaiah last public outing was the meeting of the Newspapers Proprietors Association of Nigeria (NPAN) last week in Lagos.
The Niger State-born pharmacist attended the University of Ife and once aspired to be president on the platform of the All Progressives Congress (APC).
He attended the Federal Government College, Kaduna, from 1974 to 1979. He later studied Pharmacy at the Obafemi Awolowo University and did his National Youth Service Corps programme at the Ekiti State General Hospital in 1984.
Nda-Isaiah began his working career as a pharmacist at the Kano Specialist Hospital before he moved to the General Hospital, Minna. He worked at Pfizer Products Limited from 1985 to 1989.
A passionate newspaperman and pundit, his column, “Last Word” with a footnote, “Earshot”, was a must read. He started the column as special writer and editorial board member of Daily Trust, before he founded LEADERSHIP with proceeds from the launch of a collection of some of his finest articles in 2001.
Before LEADERSHIP became a full-fledged newspaper, Nda-Isaiah started with, LEADERSHIP CONFIDENTIAL, a newsletter that was of tremendous value and insights, especially among diplomats, top politicians and business owners.
Sam demonstrated exceptional courage through his write-ups, a quality that popularised the newspaper and often put him at odds with government, especially under former Presidents Umaru Musa Yar’Adua and Olusegun Obasanjo.
As a result of his contributions to the media industry, Nda-Isaiah was called to serve as a committee member in the Kano State government to revive The Triumph Newspapers owned by the state government. In 2003, he was in charge of President Muhammadu Buhari’s presidential campaign publicity.
He was a member of the Asian think-tank, the Global Institute for Tomorrow in Hong Kong. In 2019 he was appointed board member of the Baze University, Abuja.
In 2015, Nda-Isaiah ran for the country’s presidency, contesting in the primaries of the All Progressives Congress (APC), with the campaign slogan, Big Ideas. He however lost in the keenly contested primaries.
Nda Isaiah, a Fellow of the Pharmaceutical Society of Nigeria (PSN), held the title of Kakaki Nupe conferred on him by the current Etsu Nupe, Alhaji Yahaya Abubakar. He was also conferred with a chieftaincy title, Aare Baaroyin of Akure Kingdom, by Oba Aladetoyinbo Ogunlade Aladelusi, Odundun.
