Baba Aye's

In a few hours’ time, the body of Àbáyòmí Ilésanmí Àlùkò will lie in state at the Ilawe-Ekiti headquarters of the Ekiti South-West Local Government Area, his last duty post as a senior staff of the Ekiti Local Government Service Commission. Thereafter, my dearest friend’s remains will be committed to Mother Earth. He died on 12 October. It would be the second year in succession that I would lose a dear friend and comrade on that day. My birthday. Last year, we lost Abiodun Aremu “Aremson” that same day. Whilst a hit-and-run driver killed Aremu, the aftermath of a stroke he had suffered had a hand in that, with dulled reflexes. A stroke was also the precursor of Yomi’s death. Over the last week and a half, my mind has been a maelstrom of thoughts and feelings. Where do I start? How do I get to put some things into words? It’s very difficult to unpack a lot of what I would have to say. I have had quite a few great friends and wonderful comrades over the years. Not all comrades are fri...

Comrade Baba Aye, a veteran trade expert and activist, is Co-Convener of the Coalition for Revolution (CORE) and a Council Member of Progressive International (PI). Baba Aye, former Deputy National Secretary, Labour Party (LP) and former National Convener, United Action for Democracy (UAD), during the June 12 struggle and a member of the National Implementation Committee of the Campaign for Democracy (CD), in this interview with EJIKEME OMENAZU , speaks on the 66th Independence anniversary from a socialist point of view. Excerpt: Nigerians are in the Independence anniversary week. Looking at the state of the nation, do you think the 66th Independence anniversary is worth celebrating? The exit of colonial rulers could not have but, been a welcome development in 1960. Even today, we cannot discountenance it as a historic moment, despite reservations we do have about its significance and rightly so. The working masses – workers, peasants, poor women and marginalised youths – who ralli...