The family members, friends and associates of the late rights activist, Comrade Ariyo Dare-Atoye, have launched a sure-footed plan to immortalise him.
According to a statement from the group, part of the plan is to use the platform of #HelpForAriyo, to launch an endowment fund for the education of his three little children and an annual memorial lecture to boot.
Dare-Atoye died on October 27, 2022 at the age of 41, from lung cancer after a luminous epoch in socio-political crusading.
The statement described him as “a drum major in the civil society space for electoral reforms which culminated in President Muhammadu Buhari’s assent to the Electoral Act Amendment Bill 2022.”
The statement, however, noted that the late Ariyo would be committed to mother earth on Monday, November 7, 2022.
It stated that the final rites of passage will begin in Abuja on Friday, November 4, 2022 with a Service of Songs at the Redeemed Christian Church of God, RCCG, Garki 2, Abuja.
Other programmes that would precede the burial include, “a memorial/evening of tributes will hold at the Yar’Adua Centre, Abuja, on Saturday, November 5, 2022 to offer a veritable platform for a further validation of Ariyo Dare-Atoye’s exemplary life and contributions to socio-political causes he believed in and committed the totality of his life.
“According to a programme released by his family, friends and associates in the civil society organisation, his body would depart Abuja for Igbara-Odo, Ekiti, on Sunday, November 6.
The statement further read, “Meanwhile, as arrangements for Ariyo Dare-Atoye’s interment inch closer to completion on Monday, November 7, friends and associates, operating on the platform of #HelpForAriyo, have indicated their readiness to launch an Endowment Fund for the education of his three little children and an annual memorial lecture to boot.
“The intellectual perspective to his memory under the construct of the Ariyo Dare Atoye Memorial Lecture on Citizenship and Electoral Democracy derives from his intellectual investments in his struggle for a better socio-economic and political condition for Nigerians.
“A preface to the concept note, brilliantly scripted by a renowned public intellectual, University lecturer and Arise TV analyst, Dr Sam Amadi reads: “the late Comrade Ariyo Dare Atoye was a well-known Nigerian human rights activist who worked very hard to ensure the reform of Nigerian electoral system. He led efforts to pressure the National Assembly to pass into law a new electoral regime that includes electronic transmission of results and other innovations to ensure free, fair, and credible elections.
“Comrade Ariyo was sacrificial and patriotic in fighting for the democracy and good governance in Nigeria.
“As part of memorialising his commitment and sacrifice for electoral democracy in Nigeria, we propose to institutionalize an annual Ariyo Dare Atoye Memorial Lecture on Citizenship and Electoral Democracy.
“The lecture series will focus on highlighting the role of citizens and citizen group in protecting democracy from the threat it faces in the age of digital technology and increasing authoritarian impulses across the world.
“The lecture will offer scholars, researchers and activists in the social space an opportunity to reflect on the challenges of democracy and development in Nigeria and on the ways of countering the threats and improving the performance of democracy.”