Tributes pour in for Goke Akinrogunde as he clocks 50

Rights activists and former student leaders have lauded Goke Akinrogunde, principal associate at GTAKHEALTH Communication and Allied Services, on his 50th birthday anniversary.

The Campaign for Workers and Youths’ Alternative (CWA), a civil society group, organised a virtual symposium on Friday in honour of Akinrogunde, a former student activist at the University of Ilorin (UNILORIN).

Activists who attended the symposium included Omotoye Olorode, a professor at Obafemi Awolowo University (OAU); Oladipo Fashina, former national president of the Academic Staff Union of Universities (ASUU); Lanre Arogundade, director of the International Press Centre (IPC); Achike Chude, vice-chairman of Joint Action Front (JAF); Akinkunmi Olawoyin, a former OAU student union president, and Gbenga Komolafe, human rights activist and trade unionist.

Paying tribute to the celebrant, Achike Jude described Akinrogunde as an extraordinary person who gives high regards to people no matter who they are.

“We are celebrating an extraordinary person. The reality is that Goke is a universal person. He has a global view of everyone, regardless of where you come from or who you are. I’m privileged to know him as a person,” Jude said.

Arogundade described the celebrant as someone who is always preoccupied with the health conditions of other comrades like him.

“In addition to contributions to the thoughts, processes and actions for a better Nigeria that is transformed along socialist lines, his other preoccupations have been the health and wellbeing of comrades,” he said.

“He would ask: Have you taken this or that test? Can you come for this or that test? Can we come over to conduct this or that test? And whenever he renders his medical services, he would do so at affordable rates because his mission is to ensure that ill health does not continue to deplete the ranks of class fighters.”

Speaking on student unionism in Nigeria, Olorode said there is a cultural and ideological siege on the movement.

“Under the military dictatorship, definitely there was a lot of repression. But we were still able to struggle effectively. The irony of today is that our capacity, in spite of the relative freedom that we have now, has considerably reduced,” he said.

“My understanding of the reason is that there are all kinds of splits in the movement. And we must admit that there is a whole lot of sectarianism. There is an ideological and cultural siege of the movement. We must really address some of these things.”