Gani Adams, Falana, Sowore, others honour late Afenifere spokesman, Odumakin

The Aare Ona Kakanfo of Yorubaland, Iba Gani Adams; human rights activist, Femi Falana; 2023 presidential candidate of the African Action Congress (AAC), Omoyele Sowore; the deceased’s wife, Joe Okei-Odumakin; and others have commemorated the life and times of the former spokesman of the Afenifere Group, Yinka Odumakin.

They expressed their emotions at the 4th anniversary of Comrade Yinka Odumakin’s lecture titled Selflessness in Leadership: The Yinka Odumakin Example, held on Wednesday in Lagos.

Falana emphasised the deceased’s consistency and integrity during his lifetime. He urged people to uphold the values that Odumakin stood for.

Meanwhile, the Senior Advocate of Nigeria criticised the ongoing demolition of shanties in Lagos State. He called on people to defend the poor, noting that the former governor of the state, Lateef Jakande, built houses for the poor that are still standing.

Falana remarked, “The earlier people understand that it is rule of rulers, not rule of law, the better it is.

“I want to celebrate Yinka’s consistency and integrity during his lifetime. This is the reason why we need to stand and defend what he stood for.

“Meanwhile, Lagos State Government is currently demolishing houses in shanties built by the poor. Let us defend our people.

“The Jakande regime built houses for people, and they still stand. Demolishing the houses of the poor must stop. Let us understand that this is typically rule of rulers, not rule of law.”

Drawing from the memoirs of the late Afenifere spokesman, Sowore urged people to keep their circle small but not abandon one another. He noted that the deceased had many fair-weather friends, including former presidents Muhammadu Buhari and Goodluck Jonathan.

According to Sowore, both Buhari and Jonathan benefited from Odumakin’s intellect before becoming presidents but later abandoned him.

“I am one of the few people who knew Yinka Odumakin very privately, and the reason I do is that he was one of my biggest reporters in Sahara Reporters.

“For people here, let us keep the circle very small, but don’t ever let us abandon ourselves.

“What I have noticed in this world today is that there are friends and there are fair-weather friends.

“Yinka had a lot of fair-weather friends like former President Muhammadu Buhari, who is not here today but benefited from Odumakin’s intellect that made him contest for the third time and win the election.

“Another one is Goodluck Jonathan. Yinka fought for him, but where is he today?”

In her remarks, the wife of the deceased, Joe Okei-Odumakin, said part of her is gone, describing her late husband as restless. She noted that the deceased had friends across various fields but was relentless in calling out any of them whenever they went off track.

Okei-Odumakin described her husband as a fighter for the commoner and never a fence-sitter.

“A part of me is gone and buried. He was a restless being.

“He had friends across fields, but once off track, he would call them out.

“He would never sit on the fence and always fight for a common cause. I want us all to rededicate our lives.”

ALSO READ FROM NIGERIAN TRIBUNE