Written by

Rufus Akomolafe

10th October, 2022.

When Lanre Arogundade was born six decades ago, little did anyone know that a die-hard activist and freedom fighter had just arrived the planet earth. On that fateful day, the sun must have risen from the east and set in the west as usual, but what other constellations did or said are still in the realm of conjectures. Did any sign appear in the firmament? Was there a rearrangement of the galaxy of stars? What type of cloud gathered in the sky on that day? What exactly did the astrologers see as soon as he was born? Did the cock crow differently or something? So many questions begging for answers! 

Our paths first crossed at Ekiti Parapo College, Ido Ekiti, where he was my classmate for five solid years, (1973 - 1978). We were not very close then, because he was in a different Boarding House from mine. While I was in Ekiti Progressive Union (EPU) House, he was in Ekiti National Association (ENA) House. The two houses were not even in the same block. We were also in different arms of our class back then. I was in the B arm, while he was in either A or C. I cant remember so well now. Telling the story of over forty years ago can be very daunting!

 In our final year, he was our Social Perfect, a role he played to the admiration of every member of that generation of students. He raised the bar of performance to an exceedingly enviable pedestal. It was during his tenure that our school staged a play titled "Kiriji War" in which he featured prominently. That play shot our school to the limelight, as it was staged at different locations in the southwestern part of the country, with unprecedented accolades and applause from everyone that watched it. Our Saturday evening Social Gathering programme was a potpourri of events; balloon debate, inter-house quiz competition, and variety night were some of the life changing events that got a boost in his tenure, under the watchful eyes and thorough supervision of Mr Bayo Adeniran aka "Oga Bayo."

While studying at the Obafemi Awolowo University in the eighties, Lanre became the President of the National Association of Nigerian Students (NANS). He crisscrossed the length and breadth of Nigeria, advocating for improved welfare for university students, freedom of expression for the citizenry and the return of democratic governance into the countrys polity. In the process, he ruffled the feathers of the military junta of that time. He and some of his comrades in arms made life very unbearable for the profiteers of those days. Those were the days when student unionism was worth its name, unlike the ragtag, inconsistent and dubiously political arrangements of the present time. Some of Lanres fellow freedom fighters have passed on, while others, along with him, are still engaged in relentless agitation for better life for every Nigerian. I wonder when the struggle will be over. He should tell the whole world.

The activist in Lanres blood did not come to me as a surprise. I remember we read "Tell Freedom" as one of our literature books in our secondary school days. Another one we read in our early days in school was "The Passport of Mallam Iliya." I guessed Lanre and other classmates of ours in the Arts class later read "Weep Not Child" after some of us left literature and went for the sciences. I also read that same book some years after my secondary education. So, the turn of events in the later life of Lanre is quite understandable. How he survived the frequent onslaught of the military boys and their collaborators in "Agbada" needs some explanations!

Sometime later, I learnt that he became the Chairman of the Nigerian Union of Journalists (NUJ), Lagos State branch. It was then I knew he took to journalism at last. In one of his previous write-ups, he had something to say about how he missed studying Theatre Arts, but I cannot remember exactly what he said. Maybe he will still say it one of these days. Maybe! All I know is that he has made and is still making very indellible marks in the annals of journalism in Nigeria and beyond. Lanre is a well traveled journalist, attending and organising training programmes for budding journalits in Africa and beyond. 

Currently, Lanre is the Secretary of our Set, Class 78 of Ekiti Parapo College. We call him "Akowe" because of the dexterity and candour with which he handles the demands of that office. He had stood in for our current President, Dr (Mrs) Funmilayo Odunayo, another astute educationist and consumate business mongul, on one or two occasions. He has a way of getting something done, not minding any challenges on the way of making a success of any particular assignment. Indeed, he is a man without cant.

My friend, Lanre, is a wonderful family man. The way he always works towards ensuring that his children have quality education is very amazing to say the least. I could still remember his trip to Ife some months ago in search of the best of education for one of his children. He came along with his lovely wife, who I was knowing for the first time. My first and only question for the woman was how she has been able to cope with my very "troublesome" friend all these years. She just smiled and said that the Lord God who has helped her for over two decades would continue to be her strength. My amen was very prompt and loud, because I knew her answer was very pregnant. Lanre and I spoke passionately on the need to give our children very sound footing in education in this twenty first century. It was indeed a time of refreshment and happy reunion.