ADEREMI OGUNLANA (1959-2019): TRIBUTE TO A PASSIONATE COMRADE BY ABIODUN OLAMOSU

We have lost a friend and comrade of four decades in social movement in person of Comrade Remi Ogunlana. Oguns as he was being called was a socialist activist for the greater parts of his adult life. He was an activist per excellence as he committed all at his possession including time, intellect and energy to the cause of the working class and students-youth. He hailed from Ikere Ekiti where he attended both elementary and secondary school, Local Authority Primary School and Amoye Grammar School respectively. While we shared this common background together but our path did not cross until we met at The Polytechnic Ibadan as student where we joined a political and ideological group, Marxist-Socialist Youth Movement (MSYM) together the same day in 1981.

He studied Town Planning at the School and graduated with HND within the record period. He had a full Diploma in the same course later at Yaba College of Technology, Lagos. Along with his academic pursuit, he was also active in students’ union as well as ideological student movement. For this reason he became the president of the students’ union and senate president of the National Association of Nigerian Students (NANS) the same year, 1983. He was the first socialist to become the student union president of the School.

Upon graduation and after the compulsory one year youth service he got employment as a teacher of mathematics in Owo area of the old Ondo State where he excelled in laying a solid working class tradition of building structure of struggle where hitherto there was none. He along with other contemporary teachers that include Okijiola, Dan, Bose, Itadare, Oniyelu, etc organized Association of Patriotic Teachers (APT) among the rank and file teachers within National Union of Teachers to take control of the Union and resisted the hitherto power of dominance by the school headmasters/mistresses and principals of primary and secondary schools respectively. The aims and objectives of the Association was achieved to certain extent as the school teachers later took control of their Union from the impostors. This tradition later spread to other parts of the country and was the basis of the new Union formation comprising of secondary school teachers in separation from NUT. The Association was recognized by the Ondo State NLC led by Comrade Oyekan Arije and both became partners in struggle. The relationship became strengthened in the course of struggle for minimum wage that the government led by Evangelist Olumilua resisted vehemently that he could not pay but was made to pay

His activism in Owo was not limited to work within the Union but include the pro-democracy movement of the period starting with the Babangida-must-go campaign. This took a new turn with the Abacha full blown dictatorship resulting to assassination of opposition while some were forced to go into exile. Oguns was a victim as his activities could not go unnoticed. He was arrested, brutalized and detained by the State Security Service. He nearly loss his sight in the circumstances. Some of his personal files carted away by these officials were never returned to him.

 At this period the headquarters of NADECO was situated in Owo as Chief Michael Adekunle Ajasin, the head of the opposition group resided there; but their tradition of struggle was limited as they did not share with other young and working class oriented organizations the tradition of mass struggle. But the presence of the Labour Militant group led by Oguns in the place changed the narration as they embarked on activities of mobilizing the entire community against military dictatorship and for the disannulment of presidential election result of June 12 1993. The group was noted for embarking on street march, leafleteering and protest to carry out their grievances like it was the case in other big cities in Ibadan and Lagos.

Oguns shifted base to Lagos on getting new employment in the Local Government Service. He became an invaluable addition to the number of experienced activists on ground. He and Comrade Ayodele Akele constituted the leadership of Campaign for Independent Unionism, a campaign front of the Labour Militant group as Secretary and chair respectively. The organization became our eyes in the other united front organizations such as Joint Action Committee (JAC) and United Action for Democracy (UAD) led by Chief Gani Fawehinmi and Olisa Agbakogba respectively. Together we organized the National Conscience Party to the state of maturity, fought the titanic struggles against military dictatorship on the street of Lagos and especially the 2million people March rally against Abacha.

The role of Oguns in the political contestation of the period also include the work of the organization where he held forth as the treasurer of the organization and also write for its tabloid on a regular basis. As a member of the central committee, that is to oversea day-to-day activities of the organization he impacted on the work of the organization by his independent contributions on issues without fear or favour. The tour he made to sister group in Britain on behalf of Nigeria section took him to various branches including London, Scotland, Ireland, Liverpool, etc where he addressed not a few workers on the nature of our campaign against military dictatorship and for independent unionism. The travel was the best to have been achieved by any member of the group in terms of the benefit accrued to us here.

For obvious reason of charting a new way forward after our intervention in the election of 2003, some of us including Remi Ogunlana, Femi Aborisade, Bashirat Ogunalana, Funmi Adewumi, Tunde Owolabi based in Lagos (apart from other members in Owo, Akure, Ibadan, Oyo, Jos, Nasarawa, etc) came together and agreed to form a new organization based on a new perspective along that of the International Socialist Tendency. The result of this was the formation of Socialist League that later transformed to Socialist Workers and Youth League.

Adieu my good friend, Oguns best known in his younger days as Sugar. I can assure, you came and conquered and your bountiful role in our collective struggle was wholesome and can never be forgotten in a hurry. Rest in peace and your legacy shall speak for you.