All Progressives Congress Leader, Asiwaju Bola Tinubu, has recalled the role that deceased Spokesperson of the Afenifere, Yinka Odumakin, played during the June 12 struggle.
He said he fought with all his heart to see the watershed presidential election won by the late MKO Abiola but annulled by the Babangida junta realised.
Tinubu paid Odumakin tribute in a statement on Saturday.
Odumakin died of COVID-19 complications.
Tinubu 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.
“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.”
