The funeral ceremony of Festus Iyayi continued yesterday with the lying in state of his remains at the Akin Deko auditorium of the University of Benin. The hall was packed to capacity as many sympathizers came to bid farewell to a fallen hero.
One of the seven officiating priests, Rev. Fr. Andrew Obiyan drew condemnations from the ASUU members present when he asked the Union to call off the strike instead of letting government defeat them.
Obiyan said, “The death of the faithful is precious in the eyes of God, so I want to admonish the family not to think of the pain of death, but think about the bright promise of immortality.”
He added, “Finally, I want to thank God because (ASUU) you have become the voice of the voiceless today. May that voice never die. But I want to remind you that there is no success without sacrifice; for Jesus to gain the whole world he had to give up his life. We give up to go up.
“My humble appeal to you as a minister of God is to kindly request you in the name of God to please surrender the tool of power. Do not give the federal government the privilege of satisfaction of fighting and defeating you. I encourage you to surrender first in this fight. You have made your point eloquently and clear enough.
“Sincere and intelligent Nigerians will consider will consider what you have done and will forever appreciate you for it. Your surrender at this time as a tool of power is the sign of strength, it’s not a sign of weakness. Our relationship with God our father shows that faith and trust navigate.
“We may not trust the federal government owing to their antecedents, but I humbly request you to please trust them now.”
Obiyun was booed roundly for these comments.
Addressing journalists at the end of the programme, ASUU President Nasir Fagge said the response of the crowd was enough indication of the temperature of ASUU members towards the strike action.
He said, “We were told here at this gathering there were some fundamental issues that bother the mind of our late comrade, as to the future of the struggle. For me, it is left for us to rally round those ideals and advance his legacies. You saw the reaction of the crowd to what was said about suspending the struggle, and that to me said it all.”