Journalists in Kaduna State have eulogized the contributions and characters of Abdulhamid Babatunde and Yinka Salau.
Babatunde and Salau who were both veteran journalists and had worked with the National Teachers Institute (NTI), Kaduna at one-time, died on Wednesday and Thursday, respectively.
Babatunde died in his sleep just a month after losing his wife, while Salau died after battling with an ailment.
Speaking with Daily Trust, a journalist, John Shiklam said, “I was very close to the late Babatunde. He was not in active journalism practice when I met him. He was consulting for the NTI at the time.”
He described him as a mentor and benefactor saying, “He often invited me for his programs. He was a detribalised, kind hearted and a silent philanthropist who impacted on the less privileged in his community.
“He shares motivational and important messages on WhatsApp, almost on a daily basis. News of his death this morning hit me hard. May God grant his soul peaceful rest and comfort his family.”
For Hassan Wuyo, Late Babatunde Abdulhamid was a highly respected veteran journalist who will be deeply missed.
According to him, “To many journalists in Kaduna, he was a role model, a teacher and mentor; he was always calm and ready to assist or guide those who aspire to reach the desired height in the noble profession.
“He was well connected and had assisted many to enhance the revenue profile of their media organisations through advert generation.”
He said, “Yinka Salau shall be remembered as a very friendly personality with a good smile. As a practicing journalist when she edited the Women Page in the defunct Democrat newspaper; she handled her job professionally to the admiration of many. Later as a staff of the NTI, many journalists who came across her in the course of their duty described her as being nice and helpful. Good night, good lady. It’s so sad to say goodbye.”
Born on February 26, 1956, Mal. Babatunde Agaka, joined the service of the New Nigerian Newspaper, the pioneer Northern newspaper based in Kaduna, in 1974. He later joined the Democrat Newspaper as an Editor in 1988, till 1997 when he went into media consultancy.
He was a fellow of the Nigerian Guild of Editors (NGE) and a one-time Secretary of the Jokolo Committee set up by the then President Olusegun Obasanjo, in 1999.
