Tributes for Aremu as Labour, activists vow to sustain struggle

•Death a telephone for struggle, not surrender — NLC
•A stroke to justness conflict — TUC
•My past treatment with him — Falana
•He pledged enactment for our strike—ASUU

By Victor Ahiuma-Young, Juliet Umeh, Efe Onodjae & Mirable Okeke

It was a gale of tributes yesterday arsenic members of Organised Labour, civilian nine organizations, CSOs among others, paid glowing tributes to renowned activistic and revolutionary, Biodun “Fidelista” Aremu, up of his burial today.

At the time of tributes organized successful his honour successful Lagos, titled “Celebrating the beingness of a steadfast people’s revolutionary”, labour leaders, quality rights, lawyers, academics and civilian nine groups vowed to prolong his lifelong conflict for justice, equity, and workers’ emancipation.

The Nigeria Labour Congress, NLC described his passing arsenic a devastating nonaccomplishment to the moving class, but declared that it indispensable not beryllium a infinitesimal of despair — rather, “a renewed telephone to struggle, not surrender.”

Speaking, NLC President Joe Ajaero, represented by Congress Acting General Secretary, Benson Upah, said: “Today, we stitchery not conscionable successful grief but successful the shadiness of a colossal histrion that has fallen successful the wood of our struggle. Comrade Abiodun ‘Fidelista’ Aremu was not an mean antheral — helium was a teacher, an organizer, and a revolutionary wide whose full beingness was dedicated to the liberation of the moving class.”

Ajaero said Aremu was taken “in a mode arsenic brutal arsenic the strategy helium fought each his beingness to dismantle,” but reminded workers that “they tin termination the body, but ne'er the ideas for which that assemblage stood.”

Describing him arsenic an integrated intelligence who lived and breathed socialism, the NLC President recalled however Aremu utilized platforms specified arsenic the Labour and Civil Society Coalition, LASCO, and the Joint Action Front, JAF, to span gaps betwixt the organised moving people and the masses.

Ajaero said: “He understood that the chains of poorness and inequality could lone beryllium breached by a agreed front. He ne'er wavered, ne'er compromised, and ne'er retreated from the frontlines of struggle.”

Ajaero listed Aremu’s constitution of the Amilcar Cabral Institute of Ideological Studies (ACIS) arsenic 1 of his top legacies — “an ideological arsenal for conscientising the younker and arming them with the tools of technological socialism.”

He recalled that conscionable past month, Aremu participated successful the Abuja commemoration of Fidel Castro’s day and was already mobilising for the memorial of Pa Michael Imoudu, Nigeria’s archetypal labour leader.

A stroke to conflict for justness — TUC

In a akin tone, the Trade Union Congress of Nigeria, TUC, described Aremu’s decease arsenic “a devastating stroke to the conflict for justice, equity and the emancipation of the Nigerian moving class.”

Its Secretary-General, Nuhu Toro, said Aremu’s decease was not conscionable the nonaccomplishment of a antheral but “the autumn of a titan — a relentless revolutionary who gave his each to the work of humanity. He was a antheral of conviction, not convenience,” Toro said. “He spoke information to powerfulness with courage, clarity and unwavering motivation strength. He ne'er compromised his principles, nary substance however unsmooth the roadworthy oregon however lonely the path.”

My past treatment with him — Falana

On his part, quality rights lawyer, Femi Falana, SAN, said 3 days earlier Aremu was killed, helium had warned that Nigeria’s labour question would look extinction should Dangote win successful de-unionising the Petroleum and Natural Gas Senior Staff Association of Nigeria, PENGASSAN, and the Nigeria Union of Petroleum and Natural Gas Workers, NUPENG, from Dangote’s Refinery and Petrochemicals.

According to him, “Aremu warned that If Aliko Dangote succeeds successful de-unionising those 2 unions, that whitethorn beryllium the extremity of commercialized unionism successful Nigeria. We indispensable defy immoderate effort to weaken organised labour. Once those 2 unions spell down, the remainder of the labour question volition crumble. That was 3 days earlier helium was killed by a hit-and tally driver.”

He linked his informing to Aremu’s lifelong defence of national rights, recalling however the precocious activistic dedicated his beingness to societal justice.

“Like Mandela, the conflict was his beingness and helium dedicated his full beingness to it,” Falana said.

He recounted Aremu’s aboriginal days arsenic a pupil activistic from Ilo...