A deluge of tributes was poured out on the late spokesman for the pan-Yoruba socio-political group, Afenifere, Mr. Yinka Odumakin as he was interred yesterday in his home town, Moro in Osun State.
Leader of Afenifere, Mr. Ayo Adebanjo, described Odumakin as a true and uncompromised Awoist, who lived all his life to advocate for a better Nigeria, a nation that works for all and sundry.
“It is so painful that I am paying tribute to my grandson. It is against the culture of Yoruba land. Instead of him paying tribute to me I am paying tribute to him. Who am I to question God? God is powerful. How can he leave a man of 93 and take a man of 54, God does his work the way he likes, he knows why and how he will comfort us. Yinka speaks truth to power.
“He did great works for Yoruba land, the progressives and Nigeria. He was a rare gem not common among this generation. Yinka was consistent in fighting for the underdog, against injustice, he was an Awoist to the core.
“Yinka is gone but Afenifere will consistently be with his children. The prayer for Afenifere now is that God should quickly give us replacement particularly at this time when the country is burning. What he stands for was daring, he speaks truth to power that is”, he said.
The Ooni of Ife, Oba Adeyeye Ogunwusi who led other dignitaries to pay tributes to Odumakin described him as “an uncommon son of Oduduwa.”
“You were not only a worthy son of the House of Oduduwa. You lived Oduduwa land. You breathe Oduduwa. You worked tirelessly for Oduduwa. Your insightfully penetrative perspective on the Yoruba cause is uncommon. Neither is your incisively biting criticism of our steps, delivered impassionately,” said the Ooni who was represented by Sooko Kemade Olagbaju.
He added that even in death, the late Odumakin would remain an unforgettable nationalist.
“To us from your birth place, your ancestral, we will rather celebrate an icon that was graciously given to us by Olodumare (God). You are dead because you will forever live in our hearts. You were not only a son of Oduduwa land, you lived Oduduwa and you breathed Oduduwa,” he stated.
Speaking at the funeral service organised in honour of the departed, the governor of Osun State, Mr. Adegboyega Oyetola, said with Odumakin’s death, Nigeria and Osun, had lost a fearless fighter and a crusader of a new Nigeria.
He noted that the deceased left behind a legacy of inspirational service, fierce loyalty to the Yoruba race and relentless contributions to the quest for a greater nation.
Oyetola said Odumakin’s trajectory through life, whether as an impressionable undergraduate activist in Ife, a purposeful columnist, a fiery anti-dictatorship combatant, a vociferous Afenifere scribe, or his political involvement, reads like a profile in courage.
“He did not live a wasted life. He was an illustrious son of Osun and a man of deep conviction who constantly fought for what is right, just, and equitable.
“He simply lived for the people. He was a phenomenal leader, who, without holding public office, impacted us in unique ways.
“However, we must not sorrow like those who do not have hope. We must find comfort in the truly phenomenal life he lived. We should rejoice, knowing Odumakin has left for a better place.
“He has left for us on this side of humanity a legacy of inspirational service, fierce loyalty to the Yoruba race and relentless contributions to the quest for a greater nation,” he said.
Also speaking, the governor of Ekiti State, Dr. Kayode Fayemi, lauded the uncommon virtues of the deceased, and described him as an unapologetic leader to Yoruba nation’s agenda.
“Odumakin was unapologetic to Yoruba nation’s agenda and he was not a secessionist.
“Even as Afenifere spokesperson, he was a democrat, he was a nationalist without question, he was never apologetic about the Yoruba agenda but he was not a secessionist. He was always clear about the path to development and why regional autonomy offered the best route to progress and development in our country.
“We must not succumb to the merchants of division; we must not succumb to the merchant of secession and in order not to succumb to the merchant of secession, we must not give them the justification for all they are doing to run this country down. That is what we can do to keep the memory of our brother alive.
“As we all know, this country needs rescue from the evil merchants who want to drag it down. That is what our brother, the late Odumakin stood for all his life right from his days at the University of Ife now Obafemi Awolowo University.
“We will continue to pursue the courage of conviction, the determination not to give up, the pursuit of restructuring and all that Yinka stood for until we have a new Nigeria,” Fayemi added.
Also, the governor of Oyo State, Mr. Seyi Makinde, eulogised the courageous life lived by the deceased which according to him had paved the way for the emancipation of truthfulness, equity and justice in the human race.
“A life lived with integrity, commitment to one’s ideals, even if such life is without fortune or fame, it will be a shining star to light the path of others that are coming behind, and that is what the deceased–Yinka Odumakin — did for this generation.
“The ideals he lived for, the ideal to a new course, the struggle will forever be the shining star to light the path for us until we get the type of country that we deserve, and that himself and other comrades laboured for. He had done his own work for the rest of us to continue from it,” he said.
