Iyayi: Nigeria Has Lost A Complete Humanist – Ribadu

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IYAYI2011 Presidential candidate of the defunct Action Congress of Nigeria (ACN), Mallam Nuhu Ribadu has described the death of academic, writer and unionist, Prof Festus Iyayi as shocking and monumental loss to the country.

In a statement by his media aide, Abdulaziz Abdulaziz, Ribadu described late Iyayi, who died while on his way to attend ASUU congress in Kano, as a committed unionist who spent his life fighting for a just society and died in the course of it.

He said the late academic paid his dues in all the callings he chose for himself as a writer, academic and unionist. “But more edifying fact is that he tailored all the three personas into one direction – that of struggle for a better society,” he said.

“The breed of activism is once again deflated with the passage of Iyayi and in him Nigeria has lost a sincere patriot, proficient writer, thorough academic and dodged unionist. Personally, I have lost a friend who was always willing to provide a pillar of support,” Ribadu added.

Iyayi’s literary works, deal with issues that border on challenges facing the Nigerian poor that are still with the larger populace, Ribadu said, adding that Iyayi’s novels treat issues of labour relations, insensitive economic policies and dangers of individualism from a pragmatic Marxist stand.

As a mark of respect and immortalisation of the memory of late Iyayi, Ribadu repeated his call on the federal government to immediately bring an end to the lingering ASUU strike and move to improve the standard of the universities, a cause the late unionist died fighting for.

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