Lagos’ll be deeply involved in honouring Braithwaite, says Ambode

Lagos State Governor, Mr. Akinwunmi Ambode, has stated that his administration would be deeply involved in ensuring that the late political and legal luminary, Dr. Tunji Braithwaite, would be accorded a befitting posthumous honour.

Ambode spoke, on Wednesday, when he paid a condolence visit to the elder statesman at his  residence on Victoria Island. He said Braithwaite’s contributions to the emancipation of the masses and constitutional development in Nigeria would remain indelible.

“Once again, on behalf of Lagos State, I want to say that this is something that has thoroughly touched us. We are concerned about it and we would like to take an active and visible part in whatever you want to do to honour him, because this is a great loss to Lagos; and this is a great loss of a great man of Lagos and we intend to celebrate him.”

He said he was following in the footsteps of the late icon in using his position as the helmsman of the state to work for the masses and the majority, so as to make life meaningful to the generality of the people.

“I want to clearly state here that whatever it is that we are doing even as a government or as a party, they are the things that the late Dr. Braithwaite stood for.  If there was anybody that was always on the side of the masses, such person was the late Dr. Tunji Braithwaite. He believed, confessed and fought for the masses throughout his life time.

“No matter the side he was on, the political divide, his message was consistent, constant and he was a thorough-bred and that is why I have come here not only to console the family, but also to say that everything that I’m doing is on the side of the masses and is on the side of the majority which he also believed in, which he confessed, which he stood for, notwithstanding whatever challenges on his way,” Ambode said.

He added that he was happy that the Braithwaite also lived a Christian life till the end, just as he recalled his contribution to the upliftment of the body of Christ and advancement of evangelical works.

He said: “I was just sharing with Mama (Braithwaite’s widow) some of the legacies that the Braithwaite family put in place in the Anglican Church, in Epe, and the things they continued to do. My prayer is that wherever he has left his sermons, we, the younger generation, will continue to take on that and also ensure that the philosophy of what he believed in would not die.

“I want to console with the rest of the family and they should be assured that the name Braithwaite will never die. I believe strongly that anytime we are reading legal matters or any other issue that relates to constitutionalism in Nigeria, Braithwaite’s side of the story will remain indelible,” he said.

He was accompanied by some members of the State Executive Council – among whom were the Secretary to the State Government, Mr. Tunji Bello and Chief of Staff to the Governor, Samuel Olukunle Ojo.