Frank Kokori, a labour union leader who spent four years in jail under military rule for leading a devastating oil and gas workers’ strike in 1994, died on Thursday at a hospital in Warri, Delta State. His death, after a protracted battle with kidney-related ailments, came on his 80th birthday. The strike by the Nigeria Union of Petroleum and Natural Gas Workers (NUPENG), of which Mr Kokori was the secretary general, and the Petroleum and Natural Gas Senior Staff Association of Nigeria (PENGASSAN) was in support of the clamour for the validation of the annulled 12 June 1993 presidential election and the release of the winner of the election, Moshood Abiola, from detention.
Tributes have since appeared from different quarters in praise of Mr Kokori’s pivotal role in that struggle that was eventually instrumental in ending 29 years of military rule in Nigeria (January 1966 – October 1979 and December 1983 – May 1999) and opening the gates to the Fourth Republic.
In his condolence message, President Bola Tinubu described Mr Kokori as “a thoroughbred democrat and activist.” The president, who was also in the vanguard of the pro-June 12 struggle, added: “He fought for democracy at a great personal cost. He surrendered his liberty to fight for truth and justice. He was the finest among reformers and champions of civil rights in Nigeria.”
