(Updated) Afenifere Spokesman, Yinka Odumakin, is Dead

(Updated) Afenifere Spokesman, Yinka  Odumakin, is Dead

Mr. Yinka Odumakin, spokesman man of the Pan Yoruba socio-political group, Afenifere, is dead.

He died on Saturday at the Lagos State University Teaching Hospital (LASUTH) after a brief illness.

By Nseobong Okon-Ekong

Early indications from close family sources and associates of Odumakin showed that his death may be linked to complications from COVID-19.

Odumakin who was 56 years reportedly had a history of complex medical challenges including diabetes before the onset of COVID-19, which further worsened his health condition. In one of his last appearances in public, Odumakin could be seen nursing swollen legs and walking in a cautious manner. An explanation from www.healthline.com states: “Swelling in the feet can occur with or without diabetes, although having diabetes is frequently associated with leg swelling due to multiple causes.”

The late rights activist was a vociferous promoter of democracy and fought in the trenches along with other patriots against the Gen. Sani Abacha dictatorship until civil rule was restored to Nigeria in 1999.

Odumakin, who was a journalist before devoting the rest of his life to rights activism, was married to another colleague in the struggle for a better society, Dr. Joe Odumakin, President of Women Arise Nigeria and a protégé of the late Dr. Beko Ransome-Kuti.

His activism sometimes led to disagreement with other notable Yoruba leaders like former President Olusegun Obasanjo and the National Leader of the All Progressives Congress (APC) and former Governor of Lagos State, Senator Bola Ahmed Tinubu.

In 2015, he published a book, ‘Watch the Watchers’, in response to Obasanjo’s earlier book, ‘My Watch’, in which he severely debunked many of the assertions made by the former president in his book. 

Related Articles