By Achike Chude
He died! Just two days ago. On Sunday the 12th of October 2025, the great Comrade Fidelista Abiodun Aremu left our world with all its pains, contradictions, and uncertainties and ascended the heights.
If only the world knew the depth and the goodness and nobility of the soul that departed that evening from the street of Ifo, Ogun State and ascended into the pantheon of the truly greats.
I am not aware that he was a person of noble birth, (whatever that means). His father did not own vast sums of wealth and estates and got his familyto live in grandeur and style. He was also not a person from a very humble background (if a very humble background means a place of great poverty).
No! His father did not need to own the world to do his duties. He simply did.
While his father was busy ensuring that the homestead was taken care of, his beloved mother was equally busy doing her part. And they did! Because out of the stable of the Aremu household came a human being who embodied and personified the word ‘humanism’ to the core.
You could see it in him: In his thoughts, his speech, his values, his friendships and his mannerisms – Abiodun Aremu was a humanist through and through. It is why he neither spoke English nor Yoruba , Ibo, nor any other language. His language was the universal language of brotherhood and sisterhood. When he spoke in any form, it was to simply use it to communicate his powerful ideals and ideas. Of course! he was aware of, and proud of his ancestral heritage. He knew who his father was and knew what it meant to be African.
If only Nigerians know who they have lost!
Comrade Fidelista Abiodun organised for Nigerians, agonised for Nigerians, cried for Nigerians, bled for Nigerians, was incarcerated for Nigerians, and faced the threat of bullets so many times for Nigerians. And he did it boldly and fearlessly. If ever there was one person you wanted beside you in a battle, any battle, it was ‘Field Marshall Abiodun Aremu’. We saw him firsthand because we were often there with him at the barricades and were awed at his transformation in the ‘battlefield’ as he held firm and urged everyone to hold the line even as the guns and tear gas of the agents of the ‘oppressors’ were trained on those of us who dared to defy the status quo.
If there was one word whose true meaning would not be lost on Aremu, it was the word, ‘consistent’. Abiodun Aremu was consistent because for him in the human space, there were certain universal objective truths that must never be compromised regardless of context. Long ago, Aremson had established the cv and credentials that could have gotten him into any government at state or national level or he could have been tamed into taciturnity on national issues in exchange for personal gratification. Not Aremson! He was bigger than government positions and unearned and unmerited financial rewards. His most-heartfelt desire was the liberation of his dearly beloved Nigerians and the black race from mental slavery which he saw as the beginning of real emancipation from economic and social shackles.
At the personal and humaine level, beyond Comrade Aremu’s ideological compass and world view was a very compassionate and kind heart. His was a heart full of kindness and he was generous to a fault. If you asked him for help that he was not in a position to render, he would be restless until he had been able to help alleviate your problem, even resorting to indebting himself by borrowing to help a soul in need. He was there for his comrades in need. Most importantly, he was always there for the families of his fallen comrades who had been beset with hard times following the demise of their bread winners. How Aremson was able to come somewhat to their aid inspite of his limitations was always a mystery.
We cannot talk enough about his passion and boundless energy. They were infectious. But most importantly, they were genuine. The desire for a Nigeria, shorn of despots and endless kleptocracy and rapacity was the fuel that filled his person, empowered him, and drove him in his engagements with his beloved Joint Action Front (JAF), his inspiration and brainchild, the Amilcar Cabral Ideological School (ACIS) and the special purpose vehicle of the Labour Civil Society Coalition (LASCO) as well as the Kolagbodi foundation. Arguably, after our losses of the past two decades and half, following the demise of Chima Ubani, Bamidele Aturu, Abubakar Momoh e.t.c, Abiodun Aremu’s voice has been one of the most consistent and strident from the left. The Nigerian left has been further diminished by his absence.
The last time I saw the great Aremson alive was when he called me about four months back to inform me that he was in Abuja for an event at the Cuban Embassy. As I picked him up and drove him to the embassy, I could not have derived more pride and honour to reunite with my comrade JAF secretary and mentor from whom I had learned so much from. Life is indeed unfathomable! Who knew that that would be the last time that I would see him in the flesh? Though the once vibrant voice and gestures had been somewhat diminished by a partial stroke that he suffered about three years previously, you could tell that the fire in him was still aflame as he called on the American government to commit to dialogue with the government of Cuba and lift the blockade imposed on the tiny Island country.
Genuine tributes have come in from everywhere from true patriots, the Nigeria Labour Congress, Trade Union Congress and labour in general to which Aremu committed so much of his time and efforts to strenghten. All of these tributes are very much deserved and more so.
Comrade Aremson, you have run your race as only you knew how to, and boy! you ran it so well.
No one knows what will eventually happen to your beloved Nigeria. If it does inexplicably turn out right for Nigeria, then know that you also had your hand in it.
You never formally called me your brother, but each time we talked, I could see it in your eyes that you were talking to your brother. You were my brother too!
Adios! my friend and brother, the great Abiodun Aremu (Aremson).
You were one of the best!
Achike Chude
