TUC mourns late Tunji Braithwaite

The Trade Union Congress of Nigeria has said that it received with shock the death of Dr. Olatunji Braithwaite at the age of 82, during a brief illness.

Until his death, Braithwaite was one of the country’s elder statesmen, whose ardent legal, political and social activism sought to make governance positively impact on the citizens. He would have been 83 on September 13.

Late Tunji Braithwaite

The TUC said: “The labour movement will not forget the late legal luminary in a hurry. The memory is still very fresh on the number of times the sage, Prof. Wole Soyinka, late Beko Ransome-Kuti, the organised labour and the civil society allies have had cause to hit the road in protest against obnoxious government policies. The deceased for us was a leading light in Nigeria’s politics and his chosen legal profession, where he was variously referred to as ‘a walking encyclopaedia’.

“The late icon was the presidential candidate of the Nigerian Advance Party (NAP), a party he founded during the Second Republic and on which platform he contested the 1983 elections. Some describe him as a controversial activist because his opinions on issues were always very critical. In no small measure, Comrade Braithwaite has helped in shaping the politics of Nigeria and finding solutions to the country’s myriad of problems because he was not known to shy away from national discourse.”

It will be recalled that the deceased warned against the military constitution of 1999. He argued that it would make the governors emperors, a position that was corroborated recently by a former president. He condemned governors determining their security votes which they do not account for. To make matter worse, the military constitution has made it impossible for them to be arrested. They brazenly loot the treasury and get away with it.

“We shall not join those who are of the opinion that the lawyer, author and politician was, indeed, old because this is the time his wisdom, vast knowledge and experience would have been of tremendous benefit to the country. His immeasurable contributions to the development of democracy, rule of law and human rights in Nigeria will definitely outlive him,” the TUC President, Comrade Bobboi Bala Kaigama and acting Secretary General, Comrade Simeso Amachree.