In birthday message, Radwan Mujib appeals to people to wear a mask

Bangabandhu’s grandson Radwan Mujib Siddiq has appealed to the people to wear a face mask and keep their loved ones safe from the coronavirus.

He took to Facebook Friday to thank all for wishing him on his 41st birthday.

He said he limited the celebrations to home and his children came up “with an excellent plan to replace all meals with cake”.

Radwan said a year ago, he was “sure that things would be back to normal by now (the trouble with being an optimist), but there's a long way to go before everyone is protected from the virus”.

“There is light at the end of the tunnel but we can't put our guard down yet, so please wear a mask and keep your loved ones safe,” wrote Radwan, trustee of the Awami League’s think-tank Centre for Research and Information.

Youths, the ruling party, its research wing CRI and many leaders and people from different echelons of society wished him on his birthday on social media.

The eldest among three children of Bangabandhu’s younger daughter Sheikh Rehana and academician Shafiq Ahmed Siddique, Radwan was born on May 21, 1980.

Radwan’s sister Tulip Siddiq is a British MP representing London’s Hampstead and Kilburn. Their father Shafiq had worked in a number of universities in Bangladesh and abroad.

Radwan graduated in politics and history from the London School of Economics. He did his masters in comparative politics there.

He now looks after the CRI and is working to empower and inspire the youth through its Young Bangla platform.

Radwan is the publisher and architect behind ‘Mujib’, an autobiographical graphic novel on the Father of the Nation for the young readers.

He also played a key role in the making of “Hasina: A Daughter’s Tale”, a docudrama on his aunt Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina and mother Rehana.

Both the graphic novel and the docudrama were critically acclaimed in Bangladesh and abroad.

Radwan had talked about Hasina's future role in Bangladeshi politics and criticised the interim government's democratic credentials in an interview with renowned British broadcaster David Frost’s “Frost over the World” show on Al Jazeera during the 2007-08 caretaker government. It helped spark international calls for Hasina’s release and lifting of emergency.

He also works as a strategy and communications consultant at different local and international organisations.

"Happy birthday to our honourable trustee Radwan Mujib Siddiq. We wish you a healthy and happy life," CRI wrote on its Facebook page.

Bangladesh Awami League has posted an article published in bdnews24.com on its Facebook page marking Radwan's birthday.

“Wishing a happy birthday to our mentor and inspirational personality Radwan Mujib Siddiq," Young Bangla wrote on its Facebook page.