Lagos State governor, Mr Babajide Sanwo-Olu, has commiserated with the management and staff of the New Telegraph Newspaper on the death of its Saturday editor, Alhaji Waheed Bakare, describing the loss as the painful end of a promising journalistic career.
The governor also commiserated with Lagos State chapter of Nigeria Union of Journalists (NUJ), as well as the Nigeria Guild of Editors (NGE) on the death of Waheed Bakare, who he described as a cerebral and prolific writer.
Sanwo-Olu said this in a statement by his Chief Press Secretary (CPS), Mr Gboyega Akosile, noting that though the demise of Bakare was a rude shock to his family, friends, colleagues and associates, it was what all as believers should accept as the will of Allah.
The governor said all those left behind by the deceased should, however, be consoled by his modest achievements, declaring that death was inevitable as all humans would surely die.
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According to Sanwo-Olu, “Our goal in life is not to live forever but to create something that will outlive us, bearing it in mind that it is not the length of life that matters, but the depth of life.”
“Waheed lived an exemplary life. He was a devout Muslim, a dutiful husband and a good father to his children. Above all, he touched millions of lives through his chosen profession as a journalist, who rose to the position of Saturday editor of a national newspaper.”
Sanwo-Olu, while consoling the Lagos NUJ and NGE, said there was no doubt that the Union both at the state and national levels, as well as the Guild of Editors, would by now be mourning the loss of an illustrious member, praying that God would comfort them.
“No doubt, the Nigeria Union of Journalists both at the State and the national level, as well as the Nigeria Guild of Editors, will by now be mourning the loss of an illustrious member. I pray that God will comfort you,” the governor said.
“May God comfort his immediate family, friends and associates. May God grant them the fortitude to bear the irreplaceable loss. May He grant the soul of Waheed al-Jannah Firdaus, amen,” he prayed.
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