Asiwaju Bola Tinubu, has described the National Publicity Secretary of Yoruba socio-political group, Afenifere, Yinka Odumakin, as a committed fighter for democracy.
Odumakin died at the COVID-19 Isolation Centre of the Lagos State University Teaching Hospital on Saturday due to complications from COVID-19.
Tinubu and the deceased were allies in the days of the National Democratic Coalition (NADECO) that fought General Sani Abacha’s regime after the annulment of the June 12, 1993 election.
The latter played a significant role in Tinubu’s emergence as the governorship candidate of the Alliance for Democracy for the 2007 election.
They later fell out, with Odumakin becoming a vocal critic of the APC national leader.
Tinubu, in a condolence letter he signed on Saturday, said although he differed with the deceased politically, he respects what he stood for.
He condoled with Odumakin’s widow, describing the two of them as “iconic soul mates in the ceaseless battle for a better and greater Nigeria”.
“Like millions of Nigerians, I received with profound shock the news of the death early this morning of Mr Yinka Odumakin, spokesman of Afenifere, committed fighter for democracy, dedicated civil society activist, a courageous and outspoken defender of whatever ideals and principles he believed in and a patriotic citizen in every sense of the word.
“Ever since his student days, Odumakin had been fearless and unrelenting in speaking up in promoting the cause of justice and what he perceived as the best interest of the citizens of Nigeria. He participated actively at the forefront in the various students and youth struggles against successive military dictatorships in the 1980s and 1990s. In the process, he was arrested, harassed and even detained several times. Yet, he never allowed himself to succumb to tyranny or be pressured into submissive and pliant silence.
“In the struggle against the annulment of the June 12, 1993, presidential election and the perpetuation of military dictatorship, Odumakin was never found wanting. He was at the vanguard of the battle, even at the risk of his life and liberty. It is impossible to credibly tell the story of the emergence of the democracy we enjoy in this dispensation today without emblazoning Odumakin’s name in gold. He was a doughty fighter for freedom and the rule of law. He was rock solid in his commitment to Afenifere, the Yoruba people and several other civil society groups in which he played active roles.
“Odumakin never held public office. But he has been a constant feature and part of our public consciousness over the last two decades of this unbroken democratic dispensation. He epitomized the true definition of the citizen; a patriot who was ever conscious of the fact that his life could not be complete or his humanity meaningful if he did not take an active interest in and join likeminded fellow citizens in seeking always to promote the common good of his community and country.
“In the course of the last two and a half decades, Odumakin and I had cause to collaborate in various organizations and in pursuit of different political causes at different times, and I can testify to his capacity for hard work, his brilliance, his tenacity in his loyalty to his cherished principles. Even if we differed politically, I had no cause to doubt his sincerity in charting his chosen path. He will forever remain a model of what a citizen who places his country’s good above his interest could be. Given his talents and abilities, Odumakin could easily have opted to focus on his welfare and that of his family rather than embroil himself in the several struggles he dedicated his life to.”
