Nigeria, March 29, 2016 – The Trade Union Congress(TUC) says it has received with shock the sudden death of Dr. Olatunji Braithwaite at the age of 82 during a brief illness.
“Until his death he was one of the country’s elder statesmen, whose ardent legal, political and social activism sought to make governance positively impact the citizens. He would have been 83 on September 13”, TUC said in a statement by its President and Secretary, Comrades Bobboi Kaigama and Simeso Amachree.
TUC said the labour movement will not forget the late legal luminary in a hurry.
“The memory is still very fresh on the number of times the sage, Prof. Wale Soyinka, late Beko Ransome-Kuti, the organised labour and the civil society allies have had course to hit the street to protest obnoxious government policies. The deceased for us was a leading light in Nigeria’s politics and his chosen legal profession, where he was variously referred to as “a walking encyclopaedia,” TUC said.
According to TUC, the late icon was the presidential candidate of the Nigerian Advance Party (NAP), a party he founded during the Second Republic and on which platform he contested the 1983 elections.
It added that some except the organised labour describe him as a controversial activist because his opinion on issues were always very critical.
“In no small measure comrade Braithwaite has helped in shaping the politics of Nigeria and finding solutions to the country’s myriad of problems because he was not known to shy away from national discourse”, the TUC said.
The TUC alluded to his comments on the 1999 constitution when he argued that it would make the governors emperors, a position that was corroborated recently by a former president.
Braitwait, TUC said condemned governors determining their security votes which they do not account for.
“We shall not join those who are of the opinion that the lawyer, author and politician was indeed old because this is the time his wisdom, vast knowledge and experience would have been of tremendous benefit to the country. His immeasurable contributions to the development of democracy, rule of law and human rights in Nigeria will definitely outlive him”, TUC said.
