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Ayo Adebanjo: Nigerian Nationalist and Social Justice Crusader:
Ayo Adebanjo, who has died at the age of 96, was one of Nigeria’s foremost federalists, a pro-democracy activist and a social justice campaigner.
He dedicated his life to the advancement of social justice in Nigeria through various groups and structures. He played leading roles in Afenifere, the National Democratic Coalition and the Obidient movement. Both Afenifere and the coalition were founded as a response to the annulment of the 12 June 1993 presidential election.
Afenifere is a Yoruba socio-cultural organisation. The National Democratic Coalition, formed in May 1994, was made up of activists who called on the Sani Abacha-led military government to step down for Moshood Abiola. Abiola was the acknowledged winner of the election as the candidate of the Social Democratic Party. The Obidient Movement was made up mostly of young Nigerians who mobilised support for the 2023 presidential candidature of Peter Obi.
Adebanjo mobilised Afenifere to endorse Obi’s candidacy, generating a furore as Obi belonged to the Labour Party and is not Yoruba. But he argued that the decision was in line with Afenifere’s ideological convictions. He said Obi fitted with the social welfarist, federalist and inclusive ideology of the defunct Action Group.
The physical presence of a 94-year-old Adebanjo on the podium during the Labour Party’s presidential rally in Ogun State was an interesting spectacle. It was the climax of his commitment to his ideological conviction as a social democrat, federalist and nation-builder.
Adebanjo’s early life
Pa Adebanjo, as he was widely known, was born on 10 April 1928 in Ogun State, south-west Nigeria. Between 1934 and 1943, he had his early education in Lagos.
His earliest job in 1950 was in the health ministry in Lagos as a clerical officer in a department responsible for birth and death registrations. He had a turbulent career there, ending in his dismissal for joining pro-independence demonstrations. This was a period of struggle against colonial rule in Nigeria.
Adebanjo joined politics in 1943 as a Zikist, a follower of Nnamdi Azikiwe in the fight for Nigeria’s independence.
He worked as a journalist with the Nigerian Tribune from 1947 to 1953. Tribune’s founder, Obafemi Awolowo, also started the Action Group, one of Nigeria’s pre-independence political parties.
Adebanjo’s journalism career became a springboard for joining the youth wing of the Action Group. He later served as the Action Group’s organising secretary.
His formative years were largely influenced by discipline, hard work and social justice. These were also his guiding principles in journalism, politics and law.
Adebanjo’s early contact with Azikiwe and Awolowo exposed him to Nigeria’s nationalist movement. Despite their ideological differences, these leaders were united in their commitment to the Nigerian independence struggle.
In 1953, Adebanjo moved to the UK to study law, to equip himself for his campaign for federalism, constitutional democracy and social justice. He completed his law studies in 1961 and was called to the English Bar at Lincoln’s Inn.
His politics and fight for democracy
Adebanjo returned to Nigeria in 1961. This was a time of political instability in western Nigeria due to the crisis within the Action Group. It was partly about the party’s new ideology of democratic socialism, but later revolved around a clash between Awolowo, its national leader, and Samuel Akintola, his deputy.
In 1962, Adebanjo and some Action Group leaders fled to Ghana. They were granted asylum but this was revoked after Kwame Nkrumah’s ouster in 1966. They were then repatriated for trial. They were convicted and jailed.
In the Second Republic, 1979 to 1983, Adebanjo was an active member of the Unity Party of Nigeria. Awolowo unsuccessfully ran for Nigeria’s presidency under the party’s banner.
During the botched Third Republic, Adebanjo became a founding member of the National Democratic Coalition. With others, he advocated for Yoruba nationalism and return to democratic rule. They mobilised progressive Nigerians against military dictatorship.
Like others, he was arrested and detained many times because of this.
Adebanjo became a member of the Alliance for Democracy after Nigeria’s return to party politics in 1998. But in his view the alliance came to deviate from Awolowo’s ideas.
Accordingly, he stayed away from party politics and became more committed to Afenifere. The group seems more inclined to the Awoist ideology of social democracy and federalism.
Adebanjo campaigned vigorously for restructuring Nigeria into a federal state. He maintained that restructuring was not a call for separation; instead, the neglect of fiscal federalism was at the root of ethno-regional agitations for separation.
Adebanjo’s legacy
Though most of the ideals Adebanjo fought for have not been realised, his life of political consistency and ideological commitment to Awoism is noteworthy.
This is important in a country where party switching is more of a norm than an aberration.
Chikodiri Nwangwu is affiliated with the Centre for Africa-China Studies, University of Johannesburg as a postdoctoral research fellow.
– MyZA
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