Adamu Aminu
Monday, May 8, 2023, was a somber and gloomy day for us at Express Radio. The shocking news of the late Malama Khadija’s death diluted the solemn ambience of the station. I was an editor entrusted with the news summary beat every Monday morning, and the news of her passing came to me through a colleague while I was busy meeting the deadline to give our listeners a tidbit of what’s expected in the subsequent full-time news story.
The news of late Malama Khadija’s demise descended with a thunderbolt-like effect. It reminded us that “from Allah we came, and to him we shall return,” and every mortal being must surely taste the bitterness of death sooner or later.
I first met late Khadija Adam in 2008 at Ray Power and AIT Kano, through the then head of station, late AbdulMalik Addy. In those nostalgic days, Khadija produced and presented weekly religious programs both on TV and radio, featuring learned religious clerics, while I was a newscaster, translator, and roving reporter.
We worked with each other for a good five consecutive years at Ray Power FM as colleagues as well as a bonded family. With or without official engagement, I used to pay her a visit in her then-domain at Danladi Nasidi Housing Estate. My face was a common sight to her family.
The late Malama, as we respectfully called her, also hardly uttered my name openly, despite the fact that I’m her father’s namesake and despite the fact that we were colleagues. However, I treated her with motherly respect.
Later in 2001, destiny brought us to Express 90.3 FM as the first batch of pioneer staff. We maintained the status quo of being in a cordial relationship, as we had grown used to. The late Khadija Adam continued to run interactive religious programs on Express Radio with zeal and dedication, as she was earlier known from the cradle of her career in Kaduna.
In our tenth year on Express Radio, Malama Khadija Adam Muhammad answered the call of God to mark the beginning of a life of everlasting eternity. She will be constantly remembered for her carefully cultivated relationships with people and her unconditional dedication to serving God and humanity throughout her journalistic career.
Malama, Allah ya jikanki da gafara. Amin
