Thursday, April 24, 2025, that is, eight days ago, was a day that transported me to a remembered past. It happened in a manner that was not, that was never, anticipated by this chronicler and thinker. The transportation was not at all anticipated; it was not at all envisaged. But it happened because it had to happen. The said day was the day Barrister Comrade Osagie Obayuwana, a quality, a high quality, human rights activist in every respect entered his 70th natural landscape on this earth plane.

This is not a metaphor I wish to pursue or extend beyond what it is. But it is worth noting here – and very sincerely and urgently so – that at 70 years old, Comrade Osagie Obayuwana is truly at the height of his fame whose landscape crowds of persons entered and gathered to see and celebrate with on his blessedly blessed day.

Who really is Barrister Osagie Obayuwana, a Comrade of Comrades? Many of the readers of this column today may not have heard of him. Yet he is one activist, one human rights activist, I consider to be a frontline and perfect mobiliser of crowds and believers of like minds, similar attitudes and goals who are very patriotically committed to changing Nigeria your country my country our country from its present status of a Yeyenatu of a country to one of a gloriously glorious beauty in every sphere.

Osagie Obayuwana whose primary base is Benin of tempestuous tempests where he operates possesses acutely legal, progressive, constructive, virtuous and vigorous perspectives and judgments which typify his character and objectify it to reflect his deep and wide concern for people and country. He belongs to the Gani Fawehinmin absolutely courageous School of Law and Legal Practice. Of course, his aesthetic outlook and gentle mien of a warrior-legal pugilist based on his legal consciousness cannot be divorced from those of his illustrious master-personage in whose chamber he acquired appropriate, requisite practical legal training in human rights activism.

Before he went into full blown legal practice and dynamic activism, he was at the Law Faculty at the University of Benin where he began his career as an academic, as an early career academic – who, to boot, was a past secretary of the University of Benin Branch of the Academic Staff Union of Universities (ASUU).

My memorable memory tells me that he gave super-qualitative service to ASUU in the same way and approach that the irrepressible Festus Iyayi and Fatunde (both of whom are now late), and other past executive servants of the Union uniquely did stretching back into the nineteen eighties.

This was when ASUU was ASUU of fearless fearlessness without qualms. Osagie Obayuwana was truly of that mold. He shied away from no tempestuous tempests. His gentle mien wore the cloak of deception and deceptiveness.

At a personal level, he possesses a generous, virtuous, sympathetic heart with which he deals with every individual or persons in ways and manners that benefit them delightfully. In this wise, his ethical goodness is often underlined in a manner that justifies his concern and love for justice and humankind.

His large heartedness is the result of this. It throws without questions positive light on his high moral standing which elucidates his courage that enables him to embark on any matter and action he engages his mind to embark on. I am speaking or, better, I have spoken so far from personal experience stretching back into time.

This brilliant man and mind never, as far as I remember or know, betrayed a friend or stabbed him in the back – never as far as my recollection can recollect it – either by bad words or bad actions behind a friend’s back. (I am refraining from giving personal examples to illustrate my reflections because it is necessary for now that I should do so. Another time will command or conjure me to do so).

At the modest Bar House of the equally modest Nigerian Bar Association (NBA) Secretariat, Benin City which I visited for the very first time and where I joined the crowds of friends and strangers to celebrate his new status of elderly elder of mere seventy years old with him, the above words, all of them, formed aspects of what constituted my reflections on Dr Osagie Obayuwana.

My reflections may be a product of my subjective mental processes, but they contain very objective features which are delightful to my natural landscape that on the aforesaid 24 September without speculation welcomed Comrade Dr Osagie Obayuwana to his new landscape. On the occasion, Comrade (Barrister) Femi Aborisade was the guest lecturer, whose lecture realistically and comradely entitled “Abolition of all forms of poverty in Nigeria: Whose task?” did academic and legal justice to Dr Osagie Obayuwana.

In the words of Aborisade, “The celebration of Dr Osagie Obayuwana is a celebration of his consistent commitment to shared ideas, values, principles and struggles of the poor for emancipation.” When the guest lecturer uttered these words and other pertinently relevant ones, Festus Iyayi and Jonathan Ihonde, Osagie Obayuwana’s elderly soul-mates, who have left us physically forever, entered my consciousness for the right reasons. And I remember these immortally immortal words I always espouse, among others:

“Don’t change yourself so that other people will like you. Be yourself so the right people will love you.”

Rightly and rightly, Osagie Obayuwana, Festus Iyayi, Jonathan Ihonde (and this gleaner) are of this frame.

This reflection accompanied the gleaner out of the Bar House well before Dr. Osagie Obayuwana’s social celebration began. He was en route to Warri to engage in another reflection (of a different kind).

Happy birthday, Comrade.

Afejuku can be reached via 08055213059.