By Our Reporter
The Women’s Collaborative Research and Development Initiative (WCRDI) has expressed deep shock and sorrow at the passing recently of an esteemed member and Northern Nigeria’s first female professor of broadcasting, Professor Ladi Sandra Adamu.
A statement by the co-chair of WCRDI, Professor Chinedu Mba, pointed out that her untimely departure marked a profound loss to the academic and professional communities she so passionately served.
Mba, a professor at Algonquin College, Ottawa, lauded late Adamu as a distinguished scholar, researcher, teacher, and media specialist whose work and influence transcended classrooms and institutions. “As a dedicated member of WCRDI and the Mixed Methods Research Forum, she embodied the spirit of collaboration and innovation that defines our community—using research as a tool to shape policy, advance learning, foster advocacy, and promote social development,” Mba noted..
Her colleagues within WCRDI also spoke of her as a woman of conviction and deep intellect. Professor Bellarmine Ezumah, Professor and Director of the Graduate Program in Journalism and Mass Communication at Murray State University, Kentucky, reflected:, “Professor Ladi was a passionate media professional who approached her work with conviction informed by years of experience in the media sphere. She inspired me with her wisdom, passion, and willingness to serve and proffer meaningful ideas, I truly admired her.”
Dr. Chinelo Ude-Akpeh, Senior Lecturer at NTA Television College, Jos, beautifully captured Professor Adamu’s essence, noting: that her passing “marks the end of an extraordinary chapter in the story of courage, kindness, and unwavering dedication. She was more than an academic—she was a beacon of hope, faith, and empowerment to all who had the privilege of associating with her. Her life reminds us that goodness, once sown, never dies—it continues to bloom in the lives she touched.”
WCRDI Mentor and Advisor, Professor Emeritus at North Dakota State University ,Charles Okigbo, described her as one of the group’s most active and committed members. “Professor Sandra Ladi Adamu was ever so eager to see the group strongly established. She was equally active in the larger body of mixed methods researchers, where she served as co-chair of the TV team. We take solace in her multiple achievements as a communication scholar, teacher, researcher, and multimedia specialist.”
Professor Ladi Adamu was born on 17 July 1958 at Yaba, Lagos. She attended Queen Amina College, Kakuri, Kaduna. She proceeded to obtain her Bachelor’s degree in Mass Communication (specializing in radio and television) at Columbia College, Los Angeles, California (USA) and B.A. Journalism and Mass Communication, at City University, London, Credits transferred to Columbia College, Los Angeles (USA). she got her Master’s degree in Communication Arts – Film at Loyola Marymount University, Los Angeles, California (USA). Adamu went further to enrich herself with a PGD (Development Studies), from Mount Carmel Golda Meir Institute, Haifa (Israel), and finally settled down for Ph.D.
Distinguished Professor Ladi Adamu started her professional career as a Public Relations Officer at the Nigerian Consulate, Atlanta, Georgia, USA, between 1982 and 1984. She then resumed as News Editor, NYSC, NTA Jos, from 1984 to 1985. She was also at Nigerian Television Authority, NTA Jos, between 1985 and 1987.
In what seemed like a final destination for the seasoned scholar, Professor Ladi Adamu later settled down as Lecturer in the department of Mass Communication, Ahmadu Bello University, Zaria, in 1999, where she had remained and rose through the ranks to became the first professor of broadcasting in Northern Nigeria.