Dear all,



I know that many of you had the pleasure of working with Taju Abdul-Raheem, Deputy Director for Africa for the UN Millennium Campaign, and it is with great sadness that I write to say that Taju met with a fatal road accident yesterday in Nairobi. Taju was amongst Africa’s foremost voices for pan Africanism and social justice, both inside and outside the continent. His weekly post card and columns in about 10 major African newspapers made him known to virtually everybody in Africa and friends of Africa across the world. Over the last four years, Taju has tirelessly campaigned for African leaders to keep their commitment to achieve the Millennium Development Goals and poverty eradication by 2015. Taju’s towering intellect, moral fiber and courage of conviction allowed him to speak truth to power like nobody could. It is ironic that on Africa Day (25 May) Africa has lost one of its greatest voices and the Millennium Development Goals, its most credible advocate in Africa.



With maybe one or two exceptions, Taju was the greatest Obama supporter on the Campaign. I had told him that on his next visit to the States he'd have to come to Washington, where I'd arrange for a White House tour and perhaps he could help ME get a meeting with the President and secure President Obama’s agreement to participate in the Stand Up day of action this October.



Yesterday was Memorial Day in the US, and President Obama asked Americans to sound a bell at 3pm in honor of the fallen. I had learned of Taju's passing only a few minutes before, and not having a bell improvised by ringing my family's wind chime in his honor. Taju didn't wear a uniform, but he did wage fierce battle against injustice, was an unconventional soldier in the war against global poverty, fought bravely for the rights of the marginalized, and believed deeply that the MDGs must be achieved. He will be missed.



The official notice is on our website and you can leave your own condolence message at http://www.endpoverty2015.org.



In solidarity,

Anita





Anita Sharma

North American Coordinator

United Nations Millennium Campaign

1800 Massachusetts Avenue, NW Suite 400

Washington, DC 20036

202-778-1628 (p)

202-887-9021 (f)

anita.sharma@undp.org

www.endpoverty2015.org



endPoverty_vertical_cmyk





Here is the notice on the Campaign’s Website:

Millennium Campaign Announces Passing of Dr. Tajudeen Abdul-Raheem, Deputy Director for Africa

Nairobi, May 25, 2009: It is with deep sadness that we announce the passing of the United Nations Millennium Campaign Deputy Director for Africa and leading Pan-Africanist Dr. Tajudeen Abdul-Raheem. He passed away in a road accident on his way to launch a maternal health campaign in Kigali, Rwanda. The accident happened early this morning on Mombasa road en route to Jomo Kenyatta airport, in Nairobi, Kenya.

UN Millennium Campaign Director Salil Shetty said that Africa had suffered an irreplaceable loss. “Taju was amongst Africa’s foremost voices for pan Africanism and social justice, both inside and outside the continent and his weekly postcard and columns in about 10 major African newspapers made him known to virtually everybody in Africa and friends of Africa across the world,” he said.


Noting that Dr. Tajudeen has over the last four years tirelessly campaigned for African leaders to keep their commitments to achieve the Millennium Development Goals and poverty eradication by 2015, he added, “Dr. Tajudeen’s towering intellect, moral fiber and courage of conviction allowed him to speak truth to power like nobody could. It is ironic that on Africa Day (May 25) Africa has lost one of its greatest voices and the Millennium Development Goals, its most credible advocate in Africa.”

Dr. Tajudeen Abdul-Raheem joined the UN Millennium Campaign in March 2006 as the Deputy Director for Africa. His primary role was to lead the Africa team in inspiring citizens across Africa to become more proactive in engaging their leaders to deliver on the Millennium Development Goals. He is recognized for his outspokenness and strong leadership role in campaigning for global justice, good governance, public accountability, human rights, democracy, regional integration and Pan Africanism.

He has also been a freelance journalist, writer and political analyst writing and speaking regularly on contemporary Africa in newspapers, magazines, journals and radio and was an analyst for the BBC's World Service Programs on Africa in Hausa and English, Radio France International and Voice of America. He was the founding coordinator of the London-based Africa Research and Information Bureau and also editor of its journal, Africa World Review. He is better known on the internet and in the print media for his syndicated weekly column, TAJUDEEN’S POSTCARD, which is widely circulated online and is published in several newspapers in different countries in Africa.

Until his death, he was serving as a trustee, board member or patron of many civil society organizations and charities including the Centre for Democracy and Development, Justice Africa, Hauwa Memorial College and the Pan African Development Education and Advocacy Programme. He was also the Secretary to the Advisory Committee of the Abuja-based Media Trust Group of Newspapers’ “African Person of the Year Award” which recognises Africans who have made real contributions to the development of Africa in the preceding year.

Prior to joining the Millennium Campaign, he was the General Secretary of the Pan African Movement Secretariat in Kampala, Uganda and Co-Director of the London-based human rights and peace organization Justice AFRICA.

Dr. Abdul-Raheem was born in 1961 in Funtua, Katsina State, Nigeria. He was educated at government schools in Funtua and went to Bayero University, Kano, where he graduated with a first class honours degree in Political Science in 1982. He was winner of the Federal Government of Nigeria's Merit Award as the best student of Political Science between 1980-1982 at Bayero University. After his National Youth Service, Tajudeen was elected Rhodes Scholar for Nigeria and preceded to St. Peter's College, Oxford University, United Kingdom, where he obtained a Doctor of Philosophy degree in Politics.

He will be laid to rest at his ancestral home in Funtua, Katsina State, Nigeria on May, 26 2009. UN staff, civil society campaigners and grassroots activists will pay their last respects at the Lee Funeral Home in Nairobi today at 1:00 p.m.

* Please join in passing on our deepest condolences to his wife and his two children and his extended family