At 60, Olufemi Aduwo Has Paid His Dues

By Jonathan Eze

On October 4, 1963, a fiery, fearless advocate of human rights, civil society czar was born in Ondo State. His name is Olufemi Aduwo. He is the Chief Executive Officer of Rights Monitoring Group (RMG) and also the Chairman, Board of Directors, at Centre for Convention on Democratic Integrity Ltd/Gte(CCDI),a non- governmental organisation registered with CAC in Nigeria ,with a Consultative Status of ECOSOC/ United Nations since 2017.

To Femi Aduwo, activism is a way of life and the pursuit of change. He believes activism is specifically the pursuit of social, economic, political, or environmental reform. Activists fight for civil rights, for justice, for freedom. Activist movements are found in every country in the world and often focus on human rights. Throughout history, human rights activists have resisted slavery, corruption,oppression, patriarchy, and segregation. As long as there is injustice, there will be activists.

One notable qualities of Aduwo is his consistency. Since I met him 14 years ago, he has been constant like the northern star. In Shakespeare’s ”Julius Caesar,” the title character declares, ”But I am constant as the Northern Star, of whose true fixed and resting quality there is no fellow in the firmament. ‘, Caesar boasts of his constancy, his commitment to the law, and his refusal to waver under any persuasion. That’s what Aduwo has represented in the past decades. He takes on any one in the political or business firmament irrespective of his shared friendship with you. True, he boasts of so many persons in corridors of power yet he maintains his modesty at all times.

Another sterling quality of this great man is his ability to get news or information that are not readily available to the public. Though he had a stint in journalism, Aduwo till date boasts of powerful sources In the corridor of power. He gives firsthand information and news to his media friends and time and again, we have all found out that his information is legit.

To Aduwo, human rights activism is never for satisfaction of personal interest rather the goal is satisfaction of the interest of the public; justice; national development; among others for the sake of God Almighty (so, those who do not know some of these attributes of human rights activism, pick unnecessary annoyance at any person who is out to sacrifice his own personal interest for the interest of all humanity). These are some of the challenges in the path.

In fact, a human rights activist balances the living of man on earth. Assuming that no one takes up the functions of human rights activist, evils might likely be unavoidable on the earth. Tyranny, abuse of powers, oppression, corruption, etc., would prevail and so many citizens would become vulnerable and become victims of violation of human rights.

Aduwo is a media friendly personality. He is ever willing to discuss national issues, he is ready to grant interviews and he is a very generous man.

He is a family oriented man and cherishes the values of discipline, honesty, and these, he had inculcated in his children even as a single parent.

Aduwo has paid his dues In the civil society space, he has exposed corruptions at different levels and his contributions to scholarly discusses during World Bank/IMF meetings among others stands him out as a nationalist.

His quest for a better Nigeria is evident from his many recent interviews with screaming headlines like…Corruption in INEC is monumental —Aduwo, Bulkachuwa’s revelation confirms we have a black market judiciary —Aduwo, INEC disappointed Nigerians with conduct of presidential election ―Aduwo and many others.

As I round off this piece on this great fellow who has travelled round the world, I would recommend that he exercises more patience when he experiences disappointment, and when things don’t go well his way because patience is a virtue. A course on anger management too will suffice.

Above all, 60 looks good on Aduwo. I wish him  more wisdom and prosperity so he can continue his pursuit of his good cause and support all his friends.

*Eze, a media consultant, wrote from Abuja