Buhari, Oyetola mourn New Telegraph’s editor Bakare

It was a sad moment for the media industry yesterday as the Saturday Editor of New Telegraph newspaper, Mr. Waheed Bakare, was buried amid tears from family and friends. Bakare, 50, died late Sunday, after the Eid-el-Fitri celebration after a brief illness. He was buried in his home in Ota, Ogun State according to Islamic rites.

President Muhammadu Buhari has commiserated with the media industry, particularly the Nigeria Union of Journalists (NUJ) and the Nigerian Guild of Editors (NGE), over the passing of Bakare. In a condolence message issued yesterday in Abuja by his Special Adviser on Media and Publicity, Femi Adesina, the president, who also condoled with the familiy of the deceased and management of the newspaper, described the incident as a “collective loss to the media and the nation that he served passionately with his talent.”

Also, Osun State governor, Mr. Gboyega Oyetola, described the passing of Bakare as devastating and a great loss not only to his immediate family but also to the journalism profession in Nigeria.

Oyetola, in a statement signed by his Chief Press Secretary, Ismail Omipidan, commiserated with Bakare’s family, friends, colleagues, the Journalists’ Hangout family and the management of New Telegraph newspapers.

National President, Muslim Media Practitioners of Nigeria (MMPN), Abdur-Rahman Balogun, described the deceased as a thoroughbred journalist, who was devoted to his religion. Bakare, according to him, recently took part in the financial contribution to the Covid-19 palliatives by a coalition of 55 Muslim groups in which MMPN is a member.

He said: “His death coming on Sallah day is quite painful to us as a group but we are consoled that he died as a believer and a committed Muslim.”