Tunji Braithwaite Dead At 82 • How The Lawyer, Author, Politician Died After Falling From Treadmill

His son, Olumide, said the legal icon and activist politician fell ill in the early hours of yesterday and was rushed to St Nicholas Hospital where he died at 5.55 am. Family sources said that  Dr Braithwaite fell from a treadmill a few weeks ago and had been ill since then.

The illness reportedly worsened on Monday morning when he had breathing problems prompting his being rushed to the hospital.

Olumide, who is yet to come to terms with his father's passing, said the family was sad about his death but they are also happy about what he stood for while he was alive.

"I believe if Nigeria has a minimum of 10 fearless personalities who are fighting for the masses like my father did all his life, Nigeria would have been a better country today.

"My father stood for integrity, steadfastness, uprightness, courage, bravery and the voice for the masses of Nigeria. In his early 40’s, he contested against the known names in the political annals of this country which include, Chief Obafemi Awolowo, the great Zik and Shehu Shagari. I can say without being immodest that his name also opened a lot of goodwill for the children and family anywhere we found ourselves."

Asked if his father had any regrets, Olumide said: "Anybody who knows my father knew that he was an enigmatic personality and he had so much hope for this country and that was why he sacrificed all he had and was never seen being bought over throughout his entire struggles. “His greatest regret in life was that after fighting all these battles, the masses in Nigeria are yet to be free and emancipated from the political shackles of this country."

Sharing his thoughts in his last interview, the late Second Republic politician, lawyer and philanthropist died with one major regret and an unfinished assignment. Braithwaite had not completed the book he was writing on the politics of Second Republic, to capture the men and factors that shaped that era as well as the  politico-legal and social relations between him and the late sage, Chief Obafemi Awolowo.

He made eradication of corruption (clearing rats, mosquitoes and cockroaches) the fulcrum of his presidential campaign in 1983 when he ran on the platform of the Nigeria Advance Party, NAP, he founded.

Born in 1933, Mr. Braithwaite was the youngest son of eight children.

He was educated at CMS Grammar School, entering the school’s preparatory section in 1946 and completing his education seven years later.

In 1955, he sat for his A-Levels at the London University at Kennington College, and enrolled in 1957/58 as a Law student at the Council of Legal Education in London.

He was called to the Bar in 1961 at Lincoln’s Inn and thereafter signed the Rolls of Barristers at the High Court of Justice, London, before returning to Nigeria.

The lawyer, politician, pro-democracy activist, and author was married to his childhood sweetheart, Grace Falade, in 1956 while they were undergraduates.

He is survived by five children and many grandchildren.