By The news of the death of Yinka Odumakin, the National Publicity Secretary of the pan-Yoruba group, Afenifere, has indeed left Nigerians stunned.
Dr Joe Yinka-Odumakin, wife of late Odumaki who made known the death of the National Secretary said ‘that a big part of her is gone’.
She described him as an “irreplaceable soul mate”, stating he died of complications from respiratory issues due to complications from COVID-19 from which she claimed he already recovered from.
While Dr Joe Yinka-Odumakin and other Nigerians mourn the departure of Yinka Odumakin, below are some facts we know about Dr Joe;
Josephine “Joe” Obiajulu Okei-Odumakin is a Nigerian women’s rights activist. She is the president of the human rights groups, Women Arise for Change Initiative and the Campaign for Democracy.
Odumakin who grew up in a Roman Catholic household was born in Zaria, Kaduna on the 4th of July 1966.
She received a bachelor’s degree in English Education in 1987, followed by a master’s in Guidance and Counseling and doctorate in History and Policy of Education from the University of Ilorin.
She has frequently been arrested for her activism, detained 17 times during the military rule of Ibrahim Babangida.
She was involved with over 2,000 cases where a woman’s rights had been disregarded. The cases included extrajudicial killings of women or their husbands by the police. The rights of their children were also ignored by the Nigerian school or even hospital authorities.
In 2013, Odumakin was presented an International Women of Courage Award from the United States Department of State. The award was made by Michelle Obama and John Kerry at the US State Department’s Dean Acheson Auditorium in celebration of International Women’s Day.
In the year 2019, Dr Odumakin facilitated the training of participants at the 10th Civil Society Organization Professionalism, Effectiveness and Therapy (CSO-CPET) Workshop themed Mobilizing Women for Change. The training is bi-annual, and it is aimed at building capacity and promoting excellence among civil society groups, inspiring and driving professional ethics in the business operations of CSOs and creating new solutions to the prevalent challenges faced by private organisations.
Being the executive director of the Institute of Human Rights & Democratic Studies; the founding president of Women Arise for Change Initiative; the chairman of the Task Force of the Citizen Forum; the president of the Centre for Change in Community Development & Public Awareness; the president of the Centre for Participatory Democracy; and spokesperson for the Coalition of Civil Society Organizations in Nigeria, she is also recognised as a courageous fighter whose consistent challenge against human rights abuses has exposed her to harrowing experiences under the most repressive regimes Nigeria has ever witnessed.
