By Macbeth Ojugbeli
May 4, 2015 in Benin City, Edo State.
The Book: ‘Olaitan Oyerinde: His Struggles for a Better Nigeria’ was written out of passion, love and respect for humanity; this is to immortalize our Comrade Olaitan Oyerinde for the inspiring life he lived while he was with us. It is a document raised to give a voice to admire the life that Olaitan lived, to remind the government to carry out proper investigation and resolve not only Olaitan’s murder but previous unresolved murder cases in Nigeria, so that justice should not only be served but seen by all to have been served. The Author is Lois Otse Adams.
Olaitan Oyerinde lives on.
We are still celebrating him. For me, the murder of our comrade was a wasted effort. Yes, Olaitan did not have to be killed because he lives on in our minds. This book is beyond a biography, it is a document written as a source of inspiration to the Nigerian Workers, young security operatives, students of history and every Nigerian who wants to contribute to moving this country; Nigeria forward.
The man on the cover page, whose legacies are immortalized, was a great man; those who have read the book have testified this. Therefore, do not allow the dying reading culture in Nigeria deny you of reading and enjoying the treasure in this book.
The book was officially presented in Abuja, June 28, 2014, at the Labour House, two years after our former Editor (Olaitan) was killed. A 256 page document, reviewed by Comrade Issa Aremu of Textile Union and the then Deputy President, Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC) with a forward by the immediate past President of Nigeria Labour Congress, Comrade Abdulwahed Ibrahim Omar and the present Governor of Osun State, Mr. Rauf Aregbesola.
The book is divided into six (6) chapters. Chapter one exposes the family background of Oyerinde, his birth, early childhood, Olaitan as an adolescent and his early struggles. Chapter two features his struggles, many arrests and prisons Olaitan slept as a student unionist and comrade; this was as a result of his resilient spirit against corruption and intimidation and dedication to positive activities for good causes. Chapter three reveals the kind of relationship that existed between Comrade Adams Oshiomhole and Comrade Olaitan Oyerinde, how Olaitan guided and wanted his boss to succeed and how Oshiomhole reciprocated by resting his right hand upon Olaitan. Chapter four is a publication of photographs of events capturing Olaitan and friends, colleagues at the Edo State Government House, Nigeria Labour Congress and his burial. End of the dream makes chapter five which talks about how the attempt to kill Olaitan’s dreams was carried out by killing him, the actualization of these dreams through the legacies he left behind. It also reveals the ugly, unfair, confusing, controversial and annoying investigation reports of Olaitan’s murder case, and took us back to look at many other unresolved murder cases in Nigeria. This chapter concludes that, Olaitan’s killers may or may not be brought to justice considering the trend of previous murder cases. The last chapter; six reveals sweet moments Nigerians had with Olaitan, text of tributes from loved ones and family members, associates and other who heard about Olaitan.
The high quality paper used represents the quality of life Olaitan lived and the quality of service he rendered to his country.
The content portrays his intellectual capability, it was not written to make money, several editorial decisions were made, over twenty editors went through the content of the book, a London based Nigerian scholar Levi Odoe Ph.D read it and approved it, a Nigerian Ph.D holder with western education read the book and approved it; these were done within two years before the book was published, approved by the National Library of Nigeria.
The colour of the cover page gives mental picture of how Olaitan bled to death on May 4, 2012; it also represents the Nigeria Labour Congress where until death he was the Deputy Secretary. The cover photo illustrates how dedicated Olaitan was and how he used his pen to solve many critical issues during the struggle.
The book is printed in Nigeria because Olaitan was a proud Nigerian, the first signal he will give you when you meet him is ‘I am a proud Nigerian and I will not sit down and watch my fellow Nigerians suffer.’
First set of prints were distributed as complimentary copies during and after the official presentation. We have distributed thousands of free copies both local and international level. The book have been reviewed and reprinted in January 2015. The online version via www.starsandstyles.com.ng is free download. We did this because Olaitan was not selfish with ideas, he transformed those who met him and wanted to grow in life through great ideas.
Something about the book that is noteworthy is that it represents what Olaitan stood for and nothing else. So far, proceeds from the sale of the book have been used to empower the less privileged ones in some communities we could access, invested in community development in Edo State, Osun State and Federal Capital Territory and a foundation had been set up in his memory, Olaitan Oyerinde Foundation and we are touching lives.
The Foundation is a big home for the voiceless, the oppressed and young researchers who crave to help others to have access to justice.
