Hendrix Oliomogbe
He has ran a good race and fought a fair fight for the masses of Nigeria, through the years. He refused to be fouled and kept the faith with them.
Like the legendary African leopard that doesn't change its distinctive spot, so also is human rights crusader, Dr. Osagie Obayuwana, who turned 70 on April 19, 2025. In the sunset of his life, he vowed that he will stand by the choice he made many years ago to stand with the poor till the very end.
Even at the biblical three scores and ten, Dr. Obayuwana, former national chairman of the National Conscience Party (NCP) is still blasting away, singing solidarity songs of freedom and pumping his fist in the air with his comrades in the struggle. So it was during his 70th in Beni City, Edo State recently.
It was a gathering of the tribe from far and near. Friends, family, colleagues, clansmen, mates, associates, civil society groups, and of course members of the human rights community, all came to celebrate the human rights icon, right in the Edo State capital city. The roof of the Benin City, Nigeria Bar Association (NBA) headquarters venue of the celebration was nearly brought down by echoes of Isoleto! iAfrika! Victoria ascetra!
True to his calling, the theme of the birthday celebration, "Eradicating all Forms of Poverty in Nigeria" was very apt. Dr. Obayuwana hates to see people suffering and can do anything legally possible to uplift their plight. If his country men are in trouble, so is he.
Right from his school days at the famous Immaculate Conception College (OCC), Benin to A&M University in Alabama, United States of America where he took a degree in Accounting to the University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA) where he studied Law and back home to the University of Benin (UNIBEN) where he lectured in the Faculty of Law.
Exceptionally brilliant, he dashed into unionism like a fish to water at UNIBEN, where he became the secretary of the local chapter of the Academic Staff Union of Universities (ASUU. Fighting for the common good races in his veins. Activism lights up his life.
For fellow human rights activist, Dr. Femi Aborisade, the ex-secretary of NCP, the former NCP chairman has remained an inspiration and role model to him, a guarding star.
He said that the history of June 12, 1993 will not be complete without the role played by Dr. Obayuwana, who transformed life into the main bed of militant political action.
Dr. Aborisade described the legal luminary as a great mobilizer and organizer, who coordinated different youth platforms into an organic unit that became the Mainland Progressives Youth Movement (MPYM) cadre and Campaign for Democracy (CD) as well as the Committee for the Defence of Human Rights (CDHR) structures in Lagos.
He eulogized: "It was the charisma and extra coordinate ability of Dr. Obayuwana that united notable groups and individuals including Dr. Ebun Adegoruwa, who was a student then."
He said sadly that as Attorney-General and Commissioner of Justice during Senator Adams Oshiomhole stint as governor, he was committed to prison over the controversial sale of Edo State Government property by a past governor, which he knew nothing about, having just been appointed to the position.
Former President of World Medical Association (WMA), Dr. Osahon Enabulele decried the troubling economic downturn, rising insecurity, unemployment and mass poverty in Nigeria, lamenting that no fewer than 1,420 people have been killed and 537 people kidnapped in various tragic incidents across Nigeria, in the first quarter of 2025.
On the way out of the quagmire, Dr. Enabulele , who stood in for celebrated human rights lawyer, Mr. Femi Falana (SAN) as chairman of the occasion, said that unless the people are rallied to push for justifiability of the ideals, objectives and provisions enshrined in Chapter Two of the 1999 Constitution, (as amended), it will not be possible to abolish poverty from Nigeria.
He therefore called on all Nigerians to galvanize forces to propel the statutory organs of government, particularly the executive and legislative arms of government, to without further delay, commit to the justifiability of Chapter Two of the Constitution.
He equally charged Nigerians to demand for reform of Nigeria’s electoral system, and to continuously take governments at all levels to account, as it concerns the important task of eliminating corruption, and other societal ills.
He said: "There should be a tentative framework for the manifesto for change, the implementation of Chapter 2 of the 1999 Constitution (as amended) or transfer of its provisions to Chapter 4 of the Constitution, such that socio-economic rights are constitutionally backed as fundamental rights."
Comrade Falana SAN called on the government to account for recovered assets, including the 735 duplexes recovered from the former Governor of the Central Bank (CBN), Mr Godwin Emiefele.
He also charged the Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC) and Trade Union Congress (TUC) to insist on a transfer of the recovered estates to the poor.
The legal icon frowned at government’s flagrant abuse of the people’s rights, particularly the right to movement and peaceful protest, and supported the call for enforcement of these rights and implementation of the provisions in Chapter 2 of the 1999 constitution (as amended).
On the call for Nigerians to bear arms for self-defense on account of the menacingly despicable activities of herdsmen across various parts of Nigeria, the learned silk cautioned against the proposal, basing his position on the worrisome rate of gun killings in the United States of America (the home of gun ownership).
Dr. Obayuwana, a loving husband and father, argued that those denied socio-economic rights, including right to education at all levels; health care based on need and not ability to pay; shelter; pension; disability; and so many others, should be allowed to go to court to enforce these rights.
He added: "Chapter Two of the Constitution, attempts to draw a distinction between civil and socio-economic rights. It makes the enjoyment of these rights not judiciable and so should be amended. That portion of the Constitution which is Chapter Two Section 66 (c), should be amended. These rights should be classified as fundamental human rights."
For Comrade Obayuwana, activists, just like old soldiers, never die. Always upbeat, in every kind of weather, he tenaciously holds that the struggle by the poor against the forces of repression and oppression will forever continue.
Clenching his fist, the septuagenarian again bellowed: "Isoleto! iAfrika! Victoria ascetra!"
The struggle, no doubt is his life.
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