A REJOINDER TO EBUN OLU ADEGBORUWA (SAN), "THE STRUGGLE IS MY LIFE" BY DAVID ADENEKAN
#Ìròyìn Òmìnira
December 12th, 2021
Despite the uphill and challenges that you will face to champion the cause of the masses in today's Nigeria, the steadfastness and commitment of Comrade Ebun Olu Adegboruwa for the emancipation of Nigeria masses, cannot be overemphasized.
Yes, you are one among equal!
Again, I want to salute the courage and zeal in the life of Comrade Ebun Olu Adegboruwa for keeping the fire burning. Yes, you are such a firebrand in this precarious age that we found ourselves as citizens.
Moreover, for few of us that "borrow a leaf" from you, "the struggle is our lives."
Thanks Ebun for the historical perspective of your life in the struggle for a better society. This is the metaphor of the lives of a few Comrades that are still consistent in the struggle for the emancipation of Nigeria masses.
Ebun, "more grease to your elbow."
Yes, "the struggle is our lives," for many of us who were student union activists in the nineties. It was a turbulent time as we faced the darkest age of military dictators, from General Ibrahim Badamosi Babangida to General Sanni Abacha; these were the most cruel and despotic leaders of the 20th century in Nigeria.
Who was that student union leader that would not got his finger burnt by the iron fist of the military regime during this period?
It was really a tough age and we faced the challenges head on. During the struggle against the annulment of June 12 presidential election, we were branded thugs and hoodlums by many who, what they did was "sidon and look." They are the onlookers waiting for the slightest opportunity to grab power for their own selfish interests. These are the kind of people that are mostly occupying the positions of leadership in Nigeria today. They lack historical perspective and ideological conviction to steer the leadership of a country.
Yes, we challenged the military regime but we also paid a price for it. Many were expelled or rusticated by their school authorities for demanding for good governance and better welfare conditions for our students.
Also, some of us were arrested by the junta and spent months or years in detention.
What about many lives that we lost during the sit-at-home protest against the unlawful annulment of the most peaceful and fairest presidential election in the history of Nigeria. The sit-at-home protest was declared by Campaign For Democracy under the leadership of Dr. Bekolari Ransome Kuti of blessed memory.
Bidemi Idowu was crushed by the military armoured tank and he died in our hands and his blood stains turned our clothes to red. Bidemi Idowu died the day his only child was forty days on the face of earth. May the blood of Bidemi Idowu continue to water the trees of freedom. Amen!
Another tragic event that I could remember was the death of a bouncing baby girl. It was the heavy smoke of teargas released into the air by the Nigeria police during one of the big rallies that we organized at Evans square in Ebute Meta, Lagos that choked the baby to death. I was part of the think-tank that led the protest against the military junta during this dark age and I led Dr. Bekolari Ransome Kuti to the house (No 74 Simpson Street, Yaba, Lagos) of the bereaved woman that lost her baby girl.
Yes, the struggle is our lives. You dear not venture into student unionism if you are not brilliant and ready to combine your academic works with student unionism. In our own time, you must be brilliant and ideologically inclined to be a student union activist. You will miss a lot of classes because, while your colleagues are in the classroom receiving lectures, you are fighting for their rights and welfare. Yes, you must be selfless and ready to face the consequences as a student union activist.
Therefore, where are the words; "DROP OUT OF SCHOOL" coming from, for a brilliant Comrade (Ebun Olu Adegboruwa, SAN) that earned a law degree from the prestigious citadel of learning, Obafemi Awolowo University, Ile-Ife and went ahead to the law school and came out with flying colors; and has made the struggle for a better society his life???
Yes, "the struggle is our lives" because we are all in it together.
In 2007, I visited the law firm of Ebun Olu Adegboruwa (SAN) and I asked him, where are all the Comrades that fought and brought the military junta to a standstill that paved the way for the democracy that we have today and why are they not the ones running the affairs of men? His response was that we were asked to submit names so that we will be the ones to run the government but, all our Comrades were not interested in governance. According to him, this was how we allowed mediocres and hoodlums to run the affairs of men. I asked him what is the solution? He said, we shall continue to fight for a better Nigeria until we put credible and competent people to run the affairs of men.
However, the question that ought to trigger off the line "The struggle is my life" is, are we not still in the struggle for a better society, even in our fifties? Did Ebun Adegboruwa not fight the Lagos state government over the money they are collecting at the Lekki Toll gate? Did he not get his finger burnt and almost lost his precious life? Did Ebun Olu Adegboruwa not receive a threat to his life for standing up for the EndSARS protesters that were massacred at the Lekki Toll Gate?
In the final analysis, the likes of Comrade Ebun Olu Adegboruwa, Comrade Omoyele Sowore and my humble self in our fifties have made the struggle our lives.
Again, even in our fifties, "the struggle is still our lives."
Aluta Continual Victoria Ascerta!
Hmmmm, what a life of struggle indeed!
Time will tell!!
David Adenekan writes from Chicago, Illinois.
Davidadenekan5**********.
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- 18 Dec, 2021
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