Veteran broadcaster, musician and one of the pioneers of the growth of Scrabble in Nigeria, Prince Gbade Sanda is dead. He passed away at the early hours of the 18th of November 2019 at the age of 70 years.

A graduate of Theatre Arts at the University of Ibadan, Prince Sanda was former General Manager of the Nigerian Television Authority (NTA), Ibadan. He also worked at the Broadcasting Corporation of Oyo State (BCOS) and was also formerly the Public Relations Manager of the defunct Savanah Bank of Nigeria. Prince Sanda was a member of veteran folk artiste Tunji Oyelana's Benders Band where he played the guitar.

Prince Gbade Sande was one of the founding fathers of Scrabble in Nigeria. He was the first Chairman, Ibadan Scrabble Club widely acknowledged as the oldest Scrabble club in Nigeria. Along with elder Segun Adegbenro, Femi Fadahunsi, elder Lanre Agoro, Gen. (Rtd) Gold Eburu and others, the first organized Scrabble club/association was inaugurated in Nigeria in 1987. In 1989, Prince Sanda was elected as the first President of the Scrabble Association of Nigeria (SCAN) which later metamorphosed to the NSF.

Prince Sanda will be laid to rest in Ibadan on Tuesday, 17th December 2019.

Photo credit: Femi Simpson