Former chairman of the National Hajj Commission of Nigeria (NAHCON), Mukhtar Abdullahi, has condoled with the Nigeria Union of Journalists (NUJ) over the death of veteran journalists, Suleiman Yakubu and Shehu Goro.
Malam Suleiman Yakubu, editor of Freedom Radio, Kaduna died last week Tuesday after protracted illness, while ex-Today Newspaper, ex-Daily Trust photo journalist, Shehu Umar Goro died early hours of last week, Friday following asthmatic attack.
Speaking during a condolence visit to the NUJ, Kaduna state council Thursday, Abdullahi, who was represented by Alhaji Abdullahi Bayero and Alhaji Ibrahim Mohammed, said the late veteran journalist and photojournalist were very committed and passionate about the job and have contributed immensely to the growth of journalism in the country.
“We are here to condole with NUJ over the death of Yakubu Suleiman and Shehu Goro. Goro was a quiet, humble person. His death is a loss that would be difficult to replace. It is an irreparable loss.
“Yakubu was a gentle person whose death has created a vacuum that would be difficult to fill. We are here to commiserate with NUJ over their death. May Allah forgive them and grant them Aljannat Firdausi,” Abdullahi Bayero said, noting that the ex-NAHCON boss could not come with them because of his tight schedule and he would not want to postpone the visit.
Responding to the visitors, chairman NUJ, Kaduna state council, Comrade Adamu Yusuf, said NUJ is still in mourning mood over the demise of the two veterans.
“We are in very sad mood to lose two of our veterans within 68 hours.
” Yakubu was down for a long time after his wife died some four or five months ago. He has been showing sign of her loss. He was sick and we rallied round him as a union, then he was admitted at emergency unit of Barau Dikko Specialist Hospital, Kaduna.
“Maureen, his colleague at Freedom Radio called me and said I should come and see him, so I went to see him at the hospital, where the doctor said they would observe him for the day before referring him to Ahmadu Bello University Teaching Hospital the next day. Only the next morning, Maureen called me to say he had passed on.
“We couldn’t meet the janaiza (burial) because we received the NUJ president on a visit, but we went to his house to condole with the family. Goro was here at NUJ on Thursday when the Speaker Kaduna State House of Assembly paid a condolence visit on NUJ only for us to hear that he had asthmatic attack at 3am Friday morning and did not survive it. They were huge losses to us.”
