Human rights activists defied the downpour in parts of Lagos on Friday to bid farewell to a late Socialist Democratic Movement (SDM) Leader, Segun Aderemi.
Among the activists were constitutional lawyer, Femi Falana SAN; Director of the International Press Center (IPC), Lanre Arogundade.
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Late Aderemi popularly known as Sango who passed on Monday 23, May 2022 after a protracted illness was laid to rest at Atan Cemetery at Yaba, Lagos.
In his tribute, Femi Falana, SAN described the deceased as one of the nationalists that fought for the freedom of Nigerians from different walks of life.
“He (late Segun) was dedicated every day to the struggle for the liberalisation of the oppressed people of Nigerians. As a lawyer, Segun understood the meaning of the legal practice, he always reminded me that the struggle of a just rule of law and socio-economic order has to be waged outside the courtroom.
“Segun was in the forefront of the struggle of protecting students who were rusticated or expelled by authoritarian campus authorities in Nigeria. He was also involved in the defence of workers who were victimized in the public and private sectors,” he said.
He urged teeming comrades to embrace the comradeship style of the late Segun, describing the call to increase fire of struggle as Segun Sango declaration.
“Instead of mourning Segun Sango or his prestigious title, all his comrades should resolve to be fulfilled commitment, in term of modernizing the Nigerian working class, to intensify the struggle, to take back our country from imperialism and that is what I call Segun Sango declaration today,” he said.
According to the IPC Director, Mr. Lanre Arogundade, the departure of Aderemi created a vacuum in the struggle to free Nigerians from the chains of capitalist exploitation, describing the deceased as a revolutionary.
“We mourn and cry because your passage has created a big vacuum in the struggle for the emancipation of Nigerian peoples from the shackles of imperialist and capitalist exploitation; and the revolutionary socialist transformation of Nigeria so that the peoples’ collectively produced wealth can be used for the benefit of the majority, and not that of a greedy and thieving few.
“It was a struggle to which you gave and dedicated your entire life in the classical tradition of renowned revolutionaries such as Karl Marx, Leon Trostky, Rosa Luxembourg, Nelson Mandela, etc,” he said.
The first child of the deceased, Mrs. Omotola Adeniyi, described her late father as one who was contented with what he had, adding that he ensured that all his children were educated.
“Half of the things said today that I don’t even know about, they are totally different from the part we got to know at home.
“We learnt a whole lot of things, my dad was one that was contended with things of life. He was always like when you have the basic amenities, that was how we were brought up.”
The deceased is survived by his wife Tinuke Aderemi and three children; Omotola, Tunde and Subomi.