Aregbesola, Nigerian revolutionaries honour late Atilade on last journey home
By Samuel Bakare
Hundreds of progressives, activists and faith-based groups on Monday at Mushin in Lagos showered praises on the late Archbishop Magnus Atilade whose transition memorial events began this week. The renowned liberation theologian died early January at the age of 75.
He was well known for his scathing criticisms of the capitalist economic system which he devoted more than half of his entire life fighting. The late Bishop Atilade was one of the uncommon Christian leaders who stood firm in the face of injustice devoting his time to social and political activism all throughout his youthful and adult years. Irohinoodua was at the event.
The comrades described him as a rare gem who used Christianity as a spring board to pursue radical political and economic changes for the common good.
According to Comrade Rauf Aregbesola, the late Bishop Atilade represented an embodiment of genuine love for the people and the world.
He said ‘’I met Bishop Atilade not in the Christian field or the educational platform, but met in the commitment to the struggle of the ordinary people in our land who daily go through sweat, pain and anguish to live and indeed it was a very expedient thing for a man to combine rare zeal and yet succeeded in excelling in virtually every sphere of life.
T he audience made up of labour union leaders, the proletarian class, students and the downtrodden masses spoke one after the other praising his legacies and the life of sacrifice to which he devoted his energy.
Mushin, a largely lower class district, where the late Atilade converted to his ideological training ground is itself considered as a hub for radical activism.
The Nigeria-Cuba friendship and cultural Association led the solidarity memorial in honour of the late Comrade Bishop Magnus Atilade. “In one of my meetings with him I asked you wear your missionary cloth and yet you are a revolutionary and he replied it will be foolish for anyone to genuinely follow Christ and yet not have compassion for the common people”. Aregbesola added.
In his speech, Comrade Abdulkareem Motajo said the Bishop led an exemplary life of discipline, commitment to duty and an extra-ordinary appetite for learning. Comrade Abiodun Aremu said Bishop Atilade demonstrated in no small measure how religion can be used as a weapon for the liberation of mankind from the troubles of poverty, melancholy and want which define the social relationship in Nigeria.
He said the Bishop stood al his life fighting for the working class.
Oyeronke Atilade nephew of the late Bishop and the administrator of the New State High School preferred to speak of him in present tense. He said, “Bishop Atilade is a very passionate person, he is not one that don’t seat idly by and watch things go by.
“Having a life that has meaning and that has touched lives of people from different sides of life.” She concluded.
Comrade Wale Balogun gave the final tribute to the legend saying he was sure his shoulder-high support for the working class would earn him a special place in heaven. A five day event had been slated for his memorial. It ends on Friday with his burial at Ikoyi Cemetery.