Tajudeen Abdul-Raheem | |
---|---|
Born | 6 January 1961 |
Died | 25 May 2009 | (aged 48)
Nationality | Nigerian |
Occupation(s) | General Secretary of the Seventh Pan-African Congress, Director of Justice Africa, the Deputy Director of United Nations Millennium Campaign of Africa |
Known for | general secretary of the Pan-African Movement, director of Justice Africa, the Deputy Director of United Nations Millennium Campaign for Africa, as well as a writer for newspapers and journals across Africa |
Movement | Pan-Africanism |
Tajudeen Abdul-Raheem (6 January 1961 – 25 May 2009) was a Pan-African scholar and activist. His most prominent function was as the General Secretary of the Seventh Pan-African Congress in 1994. He also served as director of Justice Africa, the Deputy Director of United Nations Millennium Campaign for Africa, as well as a writer for newspapers and journals across Africa. [1]
Abdul-Raheem was born in Funtua, Nigeria in 1961. [2]
Abdul-Raheem obtained an undergraduate degree in political science from Bayero University Kano and was a Rhodes scholar at Oxford University, where he obtained his PhD in politics. [2] He also studied at Buffalo University. [3]
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Abdul-Raheem moved to London in 1989. While living here, he co-founded the Africa Research and Information Bureau (ARIB) in 1990. He went on to rise to prominence as the General Secretary of the Seventh Pan-African Congress that took place in Kampala in 1994. He was encouraged to take on this post by the former Tanzanian politician A.M. Babu. [4] He also served as director of Justice Africa, the Deputy Director of the United Nations Millennium Campaign for Africa, as well as a writer for newspapers and journals across Africa. [3]
Taju, as he was fondly called, dedicated his life to the Pan-African vision and the peaceful unification of Africa. He left behind a wife, Mounira Chaieb, and two daughters, Ayesha and Aida. [3]
A thinker and writer, but above all a mighty talker, he inspired and influenced a whole generation of Africans and Africanists with his mixture of passion and humor. It is considered ironic that he died on 25 May – Africa Day. [3]
Abdul-Raheem died at the age of 48 in a road accident on 25 May 2009 in Nairobi, Kenya. He was on his way to the airport to catch a flight to Rwanda, where he had been scheduled to meet with the President of Rwanda. [2] [5] According to geographer Patricia Daley, the accident took place in unclear and possibly suspicious circumstances: "Those who saw the body said his injuries were not consistent with driving at a high speed and there was no other vehicle involved." [6]