Prominent Nigerians, including President Bola Tinubu, former presidents Muhammadu Buhari and Olusegun Obasanjo, and the 2023 presidential candidate of the Labour Party, Peter Obi, have mourned the demise of a leader of the pan-Yoruba socio-cultural group, Afenifere, Pa Ayodele Adebanjo.

Adebanjo, an advocate of true federalism and restructuring, died at the age of 96 at his Lekki, Lagos State residence.

The family confirmed his death in a statement made available to Saturday PUNCH on Friday.

Tinubu, in a statement he signed, said Nigeria had lost a political leader “whose decades of unwavering struggle for justice, democracy, and national unity left an indelible mark on our nation’s history.”

The President, while praising Adebanjo for his contributions to the entrenchment of democracy in Nigeria, said the elder statesman was one of the leading voices against military dictatorship, helping to galvanise a movement that became the bedrock of collective struggle to reclaim democratic governance.

Tinubu said, “Though our political paths diverged in later years, my respect and admiration for him (Adebanjo) never wavered. Until his death, I shared a deep personal bond with Baba Adebanjo; he was like a father figure.”

On his part, Obasanjo described the deceased as a great man, a committed nationalist, an effective representative of his people, and an unpretentious personality.

Obasanjo, in a tribute made available to journalists by his Special Assistant on Media, Kehinde Akinyemi, lamented that Adebanjo’s death was no doubt a huge loss not only to him, Ogun State but also to the country as a whole.

He said, “Looking back, Chief Adebanjo had a highly successful career with selfless service rendered to his community, state and, indeed, the entire nation. As a foundation member of the Action Group party, he will be remembered as a foremost nationalist and patriot who has given his best as an active community leader and an exemplary politician with integrity and one who has demonstrated that politics is an avenue not for mindless enrichment but for rendering faithful service to humanity.

“Until his death, he fought with courage and tenacity to see to the restructuring of the Nigerian nation through which good governance based on democratic principles and practice and leading to unity in diversity, justice and equity, political stability, nationalism, popular participation, peace and security and socio-economic progress with strong leadership would be enshrined.

“It is unfortunate that his dream to see this through couldn’t be actualised in his lifetime. Indeed, Chief Adebanjo’s contributions to the strengthening of our fledgling democracy will be missed by the entire nation.”

Also, Buhari described Adebanjo’s death as a loss for the nation.

In a statement issued by his spokesman, Garba Shehu, on Friday, Buhari said, “Late Chief Adebanjo was one of those rare politicians who straddled the worlds of the legal profession, politics, and socio-cultural activism.”

Obi described Adebanjo as a great pillar in the struggle for a new Nigeria.

https://punchng.com/tinubu-ex-presidents-pay-tributes-as-afenifere-leader-adebanjo-dies-at-96/