The founder of the Nigerian Advance Party and pro-democracy activist, Tunji Braithwaite, has passed away.
He was aged 82.
Mr. Braithwaite died at St. Nicholas Hospital, Lagos, on Monday after a brief illness, family members said.
Born in 1933, Mr. Braithwaite was the youngest son of eight children.
He was educated at CMS Grammar School, entering the school’s preparatory section in 1946 and completing his education seven years later.
In 1955, he sat for his A-Levels at the London University at Kennington College, and enrolled in 1957/58 as a Law student at the Council of Legal Education in London.
Former Vice President Atiku Abubakar has described the late veteran lawyer and politician as a man of principle and great conviction.
He said the death of Braithwaite has robbed the country of one of its greatest giants not only in the field of law, but also in politics.
In a statement by his media office in Abuja on Monday, Atiku said he particularly admired the late Braithwaite because of his unwavering commitment to constitutional reforms, especially his agitation for restructuring of the country.
The former Vice President explains that he shares in Braithwaite’s passion for creating a fairer federal system that would reduce the fear of too much power and resources at the centre at the expense of the federating units.
Atiku said he was keenly following Braithwaite’s contributions on the issue when he was a delegate at the 2014 National Conference, adding that his consistency in the pursuit of his convictions was remarkable.
On his part, Ondo State Governor, Dr. Olusegun Mimiko has described the death, on Easter Monday, March 28, 2016 of foremost nationalist and legal luminary, Dr Tunji Braithwaite as a great loss, submitting that the deceased operated in love and genuine concern for the downtrodden.
Governor Mimiko, who stated this in his condolence message following news of the death of the legal luminary cum politician, said “Dr Braithwaite’s death came to me as a rude shock because it was never envisaged that he was going to transit to the great beyond at this critical time in our nation’s history given his concern for the nation and commitment to the general well-being of the masses.”
Mimiko noted that it’s on record that the political and legal icon devoted his entire adult life to the emancipation of the common man in Nigeria through various platforms including his legendary Nigeria Advance Party (NAP), which he founded from his days as a student.
“It’s no doubt that as many of us in Nigeria and the African continent who have consistently drawn from his wisdom and wealth of experience as well as the masses on whose side he deployed his legal sagacity over the years will greatly miss him,” the Governor stated.
Submitting that Braithwaite’s contributions to Nigeria’s socio-political and economic development cannot be quantified, Mimiko said he no doubt left a legacy of love and genuine concern for the downtrodden whose cause he fought till the end and thus prayed that God grants the deceased eternal rest and the nation at large and his family in particular the fortitude to bear the irreparable loss.
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