Ex-OAU student leader Lanre ‘Legacy’ declares for Lagos governorship

A former President of the Students’ Union of Obafemi Awolowo University, Lanre Adeleke, popularly known as “Legacy,” has declared his intention to contest the Lagos State governorship election under the Labour Party.

Legacy made the announcement while addressing an audience at the July 10 Commemoration Symposium held at OAU, an annual event that honours the victims of the July 10, 1999, massacre.

A survivor and eyewitness of the July 10 killings on the campus, which claimed the lives of then Students’ Union Secretary-General George Iwilade, popularly known as Afrika, and four other students, Legacy reflected on his years of activism and the role it has played in shaping his political ideology.

Addressing the the students, he said his decision to join the governorship race was driven by a desire to translate the ideals and principles he had long advocated into practical governance.

He said, “We have to fight for the common man. I believe in a Lagos where poor people will be heard. I believe in a Lagos where equal rights will be given to the common man. I believe in a Lagos where children of the poor will have access to education. I believe in a Lagos where ordinary people will have access to quality healthcare. I believe in a Lagos where people will have good and decent accommodation. I believe in a Lagos where each and every one will be treated equally and with social justice. That is the kind of democracy we are fighting for.”

According to him, if elected the Governor of Lagos State, he would implement policies rooted in the progressive and people-centred ideology that defined his years in the student movement.

The announcement drew reactions from students and participants at the symposium, many of whom see Legacy as one of the prominent figures to emerge from OAU Students’ Union.