The Accord Party presidential candidate revisits his arrest during Margaret Thatcher’s January 7, 1988 visit to Lagos in his forthcoming autobiography, Sunrise At Midnight.
Dr. Gbenga Olawepo-Hashim, the Accord Party presidential candidate, has recounted how he and four fellow student activists broke through a police cordon at Lagos Airport on January 7, 1988, during a protest against former British Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher’s opposition to stronger economic sanctions against apartheid South Africa.
The incident, which led to the arrest of the five activists, is featured in an extract from Hashim’s forthcoming autobiography, Sunrise At Midnight. It recalls his involvement in the anti-apartheid movement as a student at the University of Lagos and the risks activists took to challenge policies they considered unjust.
Thatcher’s visit to Nigeria came amid mounting criticism of her government’s approach to apartheid. While anti-apartheid campaigners demanded stronger economic pressure on South Africa’s white-minority government, Thatcher argued that punitive sanctions could worsen the suffering of black South Africans and damage the economies of neighbouring African countries.
Speaking at an official dinner in Lagos that evening, Thatcher described apartheid as an affront to human dignity and basic human rights. However, she maintained that efforts to dismantle the system should focus on negotiations and practical assistance rather than measures designed to destroy South Africa’s economy. Her position drew criticism from Nigerian students, labour activists and other campaigners who believed stronger international pressure was necessary.
According to Hashim’s account, the demonstration began at the Nigeria Labour Congress secretariat on Olajuwon Street, Tejuosho, before protesters marched through Yaba and along Ikorodu Road towards Ikeja Airport. The demonstrators carried placards and African National Congress flags produced by the Nigeria-ANC Friendship and Cultural Association.
Hashim estimated that approximately 2,500 people took part in the procession, which stretched across parts of Lagos and disrupted traffic. Their destination was the airport’s Protocol Gate, where they hoped to make their opposition to Thatcher’s position known during her arrival.
Security authorities had anticipated the protest. Police officers were deployed along the route and around the airport, while a mass rally at the facility had been prohibited. Despite the restrictions, Hashim and four other student activists decided to push beyond the security cordon to bring their message closer to the visiting British leader.
When Thatcher’s aircraft landed at approximately 12:05 p.m., according to the account, the five activists broke through the police line and advanced onto the tarmac. Their move brought them towards the delegation receiving Thatcher, which included Augustus Aikhomu, then Nigeria’s Deputy Head of State and Chief of General Staff.
The unexpected appearance of the protesters reportedly caused alarm among officials and security personnel. Hashim recalls that Chief Press Secretary Duro Onabule shouted, “See them!” before an order was given: “Arrest them!”
The confrontation quickly turned into an arrest operation. The five activists identified in Hashim’s account were Odion Akhaine, Olaitan Oyerinde, Rotimi Ewebiyi, Chris Ayaeze and Hashim himself. They were taken to the Lagos Airport Police Station and detained in a small cell.
The episode reflected the determination of Nigerian activists who regarded the struggle against apartheid as a shared African responsibility. For them, opposing racial oppression in South Africa meant challenging not only the apartheid government itself but also the policies of foreign powers whose economic and diplomatic influence could affect the course of the struggle.
The protest also unfolded during a period of significant restrictions on public demonstrations in Nigeria. Authorities had maintained a ban on demonstrations in Lagos following earlier unrest, making the decision to challenge the security cordon particularly consequential for the activists involved.
Contemporary reports published on January 7 and 8, 1988, confirm that demonstrators protested Thatcher’s position on economic sanctions when she arrived in Nigeria. However, the specific details of the five activists’ movement onto the tarmac and their exchange with officials are drawn from Hashim’s personal recollection and should be understood in that context.
In Sunrise At Midnight, Hashim revisits the incident as part of a broader account of his early political activism, human-rights advocacy and opposition to authoritarian restrictions. The episode offers a personal perspective on the role Nigerian students and labour movements played in the international campaign against apartheid.
Nearly four decades later, the January 7, 1988 protest remains a significant chapter in Hashim’s account of his political journey. His recollection brings renewed attention to the five young activists who risked arrest to challenge Thatcher’s position on South Africa, believing that the fight against racial discrimination extended beyond national borders.
Their experience remains a reminder of the role civic activism played in drawing attention to apartheid and the disagreements over how the international community should respond to it.
