*Donatus Duru, late Chairman, Editorial Board, Independent Newspapers
By Ade Ogidan
It has been most difficult for me to script this mournful message in respect of my darling friend, colleague and confidant, Donatus Duru, who passed on exactly eight days ago, at the General Hospital, Gbagada, Lagos.
The difficulty has to do with my poor mental disposition in accepting that Duru, the Chairman of Editorial Board, Independent Newspapers Limited (INL), will now be referred to in the past tense.
When I assumed duties in 2016 as Managing Director and Editor-In-Chief of the media house, I knew very well that the task of repositioning the company would be highly challenging. I had earlier held fort as General Manager, Commercial; and Managing Editor.
But Duru, in his characteristic candour and valour, came in as a reliable ally in charting the path for the newspapers' sustainable redemption.