All\nProgressives Congress National Stalwart, Asiwaju Bola Tinubu, has paid a\nspecial tribute to former Chief of Defence Staff, General Alani Akinrinade, as\nhe clock 80 on October 3rd, 2019, describing him a fighter for democracy, rule\nof law and social justice with whom he was in the trenches during the military\nera.<\/p>\n\n\n
He said General\nAkinrinade is a true democrat, an unrelenting fighter for rule of law and\nsocial justice and a statesman extraordinary who served and continues to serve\nhis country with all that he has: \u201chis intellect, energy, power, doggedness and\ncommitment\u201d.<\/p>\n\n\n
Asiwaju said\nin the emotional tribute: \u201cWhether in the army or in retirement, General Alani\nAkinrinade deployed all he is endowed with to accomplish whatever tasks he is\ngiven or to the goals he sets for himself. He served and continues to serve his\ncountry with all that he has: his intellect, energy, power, doggedness and\ncommitment. He served the military meritoriously and faithfully. Given his\nbrilliance and tenacity, he rose to the pinnacle of the military profession as\nChief of Army Staff and later Chief of Defence Staff, appointed to help in\nstabilizing the new civilian government then in 1979 during the Second\nRepublic. He, however, quit barely a year after, retiring from the\nmilitary, as it were, at just 38.<\/p>\n\n\n
\u201cThe\ncircumstance of General Akinrinade\u2019s retirement is a testament to his\nimpeccable character and good qualities. Sensing that some in the then\nPresident Shehu Shagari government he was left behind by the military to assist\nfeared there could be issues of trust in his position, General Akinrinade put\nin his resignation letter in order not to compromise himself and the principles\nhe stood for. This was to the discomfiture of President Shagari and some top\nYoruba functionaries in that NPN government who tried to prevail on him to\nchange his mind. That is not in his character. Once he is convinced in a course\nof action and makes his decision, General Akinrinade I know does not look back.<\/p>\n\n\n
\u201cFor close to\n30 years that our paths have crossed in the field of struggle for the\ntermination of military rule in Nigeria and political emancipation of\nNigerians, General Akinrinade has not changed a bit. He is a true democrat, an\nunrelenting fighter for rule of law and social justice and a statesman\nextraordinary. He is very political, though not a politician. After the\nannulment of the June 12 election, General Akinrinade was among the few of us\nwho formed NADECO to demand the de-annulment of that election. From the Egbe\nIlosiwaju Yoruba which he belonged to and where he first espoused robust\nengagement with the military forces over the annulment, he later agreed that a\nbit of force was needed to actualise June 12 and correct the ills in the system.\nWe were in the trenches together with General Akinrinade. Together, we were\nforced on exile from where we continued the struggle. A combatant soldier who\nis no stranger to battles, he provided direction and leadership for us in the\npush back against the annulment.<\/p>\n\n\n
\u201cGeneral\nAkinrinade deserves all the accolades he is getting today<\/a>. He deserves our\ngratitude. He is one of those who sacrificed for the democracy we enjoy in the\ncountry today<\/a>. For democracy, he suffered untold deprivation. He was hounded\nendlessly by agents of the military dictator. His house was burnt down, his\nbusiness crippled. We thank God that the General bounced back and he is living\nwell to witness the democracy he fought for and to tell his story of\nconviction, courage and victory to the younger generations. <\/p>\n\n\n \u201cGeneral Akinrinade\nhas remained who he is -humble, modest, firm and focused on changing our\nsociety for better. He lives a Spartan way of life,\nradiating simplicity, happiness and self-contentment. Indeed, the General has\nlived a good life. His patriotism, commitment to democracy, rule of law, social\njustice and worthy causes and his simple way of life deserves to be emulated. <\/p>\n\n\n \u201cThough he is\nnow gradually retiring to a life in the quietude of his ancestral home, Nigeria\nstill needs his services, his wise counsel. We need his constant intervention\nin national politics. I wish General Akinriande a wonderful 80th<\/sup> birthday.\nMy prayers for him is that God grant him more years, good health and renewed\nenergy to continue to be who he is and continue to contribute to national\ndevelopment.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" All Progressives Congress National Stalwart, Asiwaju Bola Tinubu, has paid a special tribute to former Chief of Defence Staff, General Alani Akinrinade, as he clock 80 on October 3rd, 2019, describing him a fighter for democracy, rule of law and social justice with whom he was in the trenches during the military era. He said […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":7,"featured_media":21226,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-21223","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-uncategorized"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/everyday.ng\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/21223","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/everyday.ng\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/everyday.ng\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/everyday.ng\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/7"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/everyday.ng\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=21223"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/everyday.ng\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/21223\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/everyday.ng\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=21223"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/everyday.ng\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=21223"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/everyday.ng\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=21223"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}