By
Tokunbo Ajasin
Much as I hate to get personal, I would be lying if I didn’t say that I and other members of my family were rather surprised that the name of our dad was not among those honoured by President Tinubu as he doled out National honours to June 12 heroes. Besides, I have been inundated with calls from friends and well-wishers wondering why my late dad’s name, Chief Michael Adekunle Ajasin was omitted from the list.
As is characteristic of the Ajasin family, our deeds are mostly altruistic, since there is usually no craving for any reward, notwithstanding our privations. Consequently, our deeds and performances very often go unnoticed/unrecognized. However, it is unconscionable that the leader of the group (NADECO) best known for fighting the military and bringing about the much-touted democracy never got a single mention in the scheme of June 12 celebration/anniversary
I do not know whether this conspicuous omission was deliberate or not, but be it known that Chief Michael Adekunle Ajasin CFR in his lifetime doubled as the Leader of Afenifere and NADECO, the two organizations that were the arrowheads and in the forefront of the fight against military dictatorship. It was Afenifere that provided the leadership for all the other activists and civil society organizations which included the Campaign for Democracy (CD), Committee for Defence of Human Rights (CDHR), Movement for National Reformation (MNR), National Conscience Party (NCP) Concerned Professionals (CP), etc.
According to Chief Osoba, former governor of Ogun State in his book, “Battle lines: Adventures in Power”, the 49 founding signatories of NADECO were: Chief Michael Adekunle Ajasin, Mallam Lawal Dambazzau, Commodore Ebitu Ukiwe, Chief Anthony Enahoro, Major General Adeyinka Adebayo (retd.), Chief Bola Ige, Commodore Dan Suleiman, Dr Chukwuemeka Ezeife, Professor Anya O. Anya, Colonel Yohanna Madaki, Reverend Father Moses Adasu, Dr Beko Ransome-Kuti, Reverend Tunji Adebiyi, Chief Ade Ojo, Chief Ralph Obioha, Chief Empire Kanu, Chief Michael Anyiam, Dr. Sola Soile, Vice Admiral Akin Aduwo, Chief E. Duru, Mr. Nick Dazzang, Mr. Labaran Maku, Dr A. A. Akingba, Mr Babas Eko Oyekanmi, Mr Alex Ayatolla, Mrs Sarah Jubril, Alhaji Ganiyu Dawodu, Mr O. P. Edodo, Mr A. Barber, Otunba Olabiyi Durojaiye, Chief Olusegun Osoba, Chief John Odigie-Oyegun, Prof. Bolaji Akinyemi, Alhaji Mohammed Siraj Hamza, Dr. Wahab Dosunmu, Otunba Aboyade Cole, Major General Olufemi Olutoye (rtd), Chief Sobo Sowemimo, Dr. Steve Achema, Chief Olaniwun Ajayi, Chief Olu Falae, Brigadier-General Jonah Jang, Chief Abraham Adesanya, Chief Ayo Adebanjo, Mr. Alao Aka-Bashorun, Mr. Emmanuel Njiwah, Chief Vincent Nwizugbo and Dr. Uma Eleazu
Other prominent NADECO leaders include but were not limited to Mr. Ayo Opadokun, Mr. Wale Osun, General Alani Akinrinade, Femi Falana, Bola Tinubu, Lam Adesina, Chief Segun Adegoke, Chief Adebayo Adefarati, Clement Nwankwo, Rear Admiral Ndubuisi Kanu and Senator Kofo Bucknor to name a few.
While Chief Ajasin was the leader of NADECO, Chief Anthony Enahoro was the Deputy leader, and Mr Ayo Opadokun was the General Secretary. None of these names appeared on the published list!
Even though the above list is by no means exhaustive, yet, most of the above names are missing from the list of heroes of June 12 that got published today. So what happened? Why are the bureaucrats getting it wrong? At the risk of being immodest, my father, our family and indeed the Owo community were subjected to all sorts of risks from the marauding goon of the Abacha regime. Even where no awards or rewards are dispensed to these heroes of democracy, they certainly deserve to be recognised and mentioned in a country that has a dearth of heroes. Many members of the group fled abroad on exile, others were imprisoned while some were martyred, yet many are still alive to tell their stories.
SON OF THE LATE NADECO AND AFENIFERE LEADER, CHIEF MICHAEL ADEKUNLE AJASIN, CHIEF TOKUNBO AJASIN WRITES THIS FOR THE FAMILY
