Bola Ahmed Tinubu, the former governor of Lagos State, on Monday, paid a condolence visit to Mrs Joe Okei-Odumakin, the bereaved widow of the late human-rights activist and columnist, Yinka Odumakin.
The National leader of the All Progressives Congress APC visited the widow at Odumakin’s Lagos residence.
We reported that Odumakin, who was the spokesman for pan-Yoruba group, Afenifere, died on Saturday at the Lagos State University Teaching Hospital Covid Isolation Centre.
Odumakin was a staunch critic of Tinubu and many other politicians in the country. The late activist canvassed the ideas of restructuring, fiscal federalism, decentralised policing as solutions to the country’s socio-economic challenges.
Tinubu had in a statement on Saturday said the story of Nigeria’s democracy will not be complete without mentioning Odumakin.
He had recalled the contribution of Odumakin to the June 12 struggle after the annulment of the election won by MKO Abiola.
The former governor in the statement titled, ‘Tinubu Condoles With the Family of Yinka Odumakin’ had said, “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 the several other civil society groups in which he played active roles.”
Tinubu had also described the late Afenifere Spokesman as a sincere man who always put Nigeria first despite their political differences.
“In the course of the last two and a half decades, Odumakin and I had cause to collaborate in various organisations 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 the good of his country above his personal interest could be,” the APC stalwart had added.
