Date Published: 09/07/09
The passing on of Chief Gani Fawehinmi: An Eagle has flown away
By Temple Chima Ubochi ubochit@yahoo.com Bonn, Germany
If you can't feed a hundred people, then feed just one. (Mother Teresa)
He has the right to criticize who has the heart to help. (Abraham Lincoln)
We can do no great things, only small things with great love. (Mother Teresa)
In about the same degree as you are helpful, you will be happy. (Karl Reiland)
The great use of life is to spend it for something that outlasts it. (William James)
Be ashamed to die until you have won some victory for humanity. (Horace Mann)
We make a living by what we get, but we make a life by what we give. (Winston Churchill)
I've seen and met angels wearing the disguise of ordinary people living ordinary lives. (Tracy Chapman)
Dare to reach out your hand into the darkness, to pull another hand into the light. (Norman B. Rice)
While earning your daily bread, be sure you share a slice with those less fortunate. (H. Jackson Brown, Jr.)
If we could all hear one another's prayers, God might be relieved of some of his burdens. (Ashleigh Brilliant)
Find out how much God has given you and from it take what you need; the remainder is needed by others. (Saint Augustine)
The legal practitioner lives for the direction of his people and the advancement of the cause of his country (Christopher Sapara Williams)
What we have done for ourselves alone dies with us; what we have done for others and the world remains and is immortal. (Albert Pike)
Thousands of candles can be lighted from a single candle, and the life of the candle will not be shortened. Happiness never decreases by being shared. (Buddha)
Chief Ganiyu Oyesola Fawehinmi, friend of the toiling masses, fearless advocate, humanist par excellence, irrepressible enemy of oppressors, human rights crusader of inimitable courage, unassuming philanthropist, and an indefatigable patriot of unparalleled commitment is dead. We thank God for his life. Given the harassment, physical and psychological torture inflicted on him and his family by the Nigerian state, not many people thought that he would have lived up to 71.
This death is heavy on my heart, infact words are failing me as I cannot express my feelings the way I should have. This would be a bit long essay in honour of our dear hero, Gani. Would Nigeria ever have a new dogged, fervent and incorruptible social agent like Gani? Who would keep us in continuous remembrance by ensuring that the issues that matter remain in the front-burner, via protests, court actions, newspaper articles, speeches etc? This was the only man who really lived his life for others. Who would take the place of Gani? Let’s first understand who Gani was.
Chief Ganiyu Oyesola Fawehinmi was born on Friday, April 22 1938 into the Fawehinmi family of Ondo in Ondo State. His father, Chief Saheed Tugbobo Fawehinmi, the Seriki Musulimi of Ondo, was a successful timber magnate, a philanthropist and a deeply religious Muslim leader said to have brought Islam to Ondo town. His mother, Alhaja Muniratu Fawehinmi, also a devout Muslim, had six children for the husband of which Gani was the first child and her only son. Gani claimed that this late mother was the spiritual link between him and God. Gani, a polygamist, is married to Mrs Ganiat Ibukun Fawehinmi and Mrs Abike Fawehinmi and had 14 children.
Gani had his early education at Ansar- Un- Deen Primary School, lyemaja, Ondo from 1947 to 1953. He had his secondary school education at the famous Victory College Ikare, ironically a Christian School, from 1954 to 1958, where he passed out in flying colours.
Gani displayed his potentials as a lawyer right from the secondary school. This attracted the attention of his principal who sent a note to his father, advising him to encourage Gani to study law as a profession. In his college days he earned the alias “Nation” because of his burning interest in political, legal and national issues.
Gani was critical and analytical from his adolescence. Gani enrolled in the Holborn College of Law of the University of London for the LL.B. degree as an external candidate in September 1961 after having a short working experience as a court clerk in Nigeria. Because of his financial problems, in the United Kingdom, Gani took to menial jobs like toilet cleaning and sweeping to sustain his university education. He eventually bagged his LL.B. degree in 1964 amidst all odds. He was then called to the Nigerian Bar on the 15th of January 1965, after a successful completion of the three months mandatory practical course in the Nigerian Law School.
The legal icon established his law chambers in 1965 after staying briefly with his elder brother, now Hon. Justice Rasheed Fawehinmi (Rtd), for three months. Gani’s chambers is reputed to be the largest law chambers in Nigeria.
Chief Gani Fawehinmi, was an irrepressible human rights lawyer. He launched himself into public consciousness four years into his legal practice when he defended the wife of a driver against the then Benue Plateau government. Gani was detained throughout the period of the civil war for that action. In more senses than one, Gani was actually a story already told and there is simply no aspect of his renowned activism that would not fill volumes ever since he chose to put his legal services at the disposal of the poor and the oppressed, beginning with the Obeya case in 1969. Obeya, it should be recalled, was a poor driver, whose wife was snatched by a military Governor of the then Benue/Plateau state; and then to rob salt into injury, was illegally detained. Gani would have none of such injustice. He picked the gauntlet, instituted legal action on behalf of Obeya and won. Obeya’s case invariably turned out to be the tip of the iceberg in the anti-oppression armour of the gadfly.
He was always on the side of the low, the marginalised and the ignored. But Gani went beyond that. He wined and dined with beggars, and the lowest in society. This was actually his primary constituency. Adindu Ugwuzor, deputy head of the Gani Fawehinmi Chambers, at Anthony Village, Lagos, said during Gani´s 70th birthday celebration: “Gani has a constituency- the grass roots people, the beggars, the destitute, the handicapped, the cheated, the downtrodden, the ignored. They will gather in his house. They will be cutting the special birthday cake on 22 April, Tuesday, to mark his three scores and ten on earth. The birthday celebration is not going to be an upper class event as it is for beggars, the destitute, okada riders. They will converge in his residence, at 9a Ademola Close, off Fani-Kayode Street, GRA, Ikeja, at 10 am. It is not a birthday for the upper crust of the society. It is a birthday celebration to accommodate the constituency of the celebrant, Chief Gani Fawehinmi (SAN), who has stood for the poor masses of the Nigerian society.” Chief Gani Fawehinmi clearly belonged to the upper echelon of the Nigerian society, yet he elected, early in his to life, to align himself with the cause of the down-trodden. That explained why tens of hundreds of physically challenged persons flocked to his house on the occasion of his 70th and 71st birthday celebrations. The title, Senior Advocate of the Masses (SAM) awarded to him by the students of the then University of Ife, in the 1970s, was in recognition of his philanthropic bent of the mind.
Gani contributed a great deal to the growth and development of our legal system. He was the doyen of public impact litigation in this country. Regardless of the narrow conception of the doctrine of locus standi by the superior courts, Gani used the instrumentality of the law and the court to challenge every form of misbehaviour in government. There is no Nigerian, again living or dead, that has challenged governments and their policies in court on matters that are not personal than Chief Gani Fawehinmi. He expanded our legal frontiers in such a way that every branch of the law bears his imprint.
He was a thoroughbred, a distinguished international legal luminary, an effective judicial administrator and community leader who served as a role model to generations of Nigerians and a shinning example in hard work and integrity. He was a social critic of note whose singular voice brought and would continue to bring positive changes and development to Nigeria
Chief Gani was a foremost human rights crusader and an indomitable spokesperson for the poor. He was a rebel of a positive category. But his rebellion has to be socially deconstructed from his family background. His background, however, particularly his deprivations as a young scholar in Britain triggered his life’s convictions in consistently identifying with the poor and the underdogs. His life’s convictions were the main elements of his ethical life. His ethical choice was what drove him on a consistent collision course with the rich and the powerful. His preoccupation was the utilisation of law in enhancing the life chances of the poor and the underprivileged.
There are indeed many lawyers before Gani and even after? But who of the lot has really used the law as an instrument to advance the cause of the poor? Why has many legal practitioners preferred the use of law for social exclusion in place of social inclusion? The reason is that many lawyers are after “what's in it for me?”
The selling point for Gani ahead of many other prominent lawyers in Nigeria today was his belief that the law must serve the common good and that the law could be used for social advocacy, to right the wrongs of the society. It was the fervent and principled pursuit of this cause that made him suffer many indignities, deprivations, physical and psychological torture thereby putting him on collision course with most governments. His supporters called him “the scourge of irresponsible governments, a thermometer with which the blood pressure of dictators is gauged, the veritable conscience of the nation and the champion of the interests and causes of the masses”.
Gani's several detention experiences would be a study of the chronicle of regime decay, moral bankruptcy and authoritarianism in Nigeria. Gani's legal travails should help in weaving together and in highlighting the tapestry of Nigeria's socio-economic and political contestations and of the forces shaping our country. Glimpses from Gani's biography should enable other chop-I-chop lawyers to see themselves clearly and should be able to come to a robust understanding of how they had colluded and are colluding with the state and its key actors to plunder the resources of Nigeria.
In living an ethical life, uppermost in Gani's mind was the good for society. Any wonder that his own personal liberty and safety mattered little to him. Whatever our chosen profession, the relevant question is how is our existence connected to resolving Nigeria's development predicament, are we part of a solution like Gani was or are we part of the burden? We all loved and will continue to love Gani, even, in death. When Gani laughed, Nigerians laughed with him, when he cried, we cried with him. He was an unequalled friend of the people and a foremost nationalist. Of course, Gani's kind-heartedness was unrivalled. He was very generous.
Chief Gani Fawehinmi bravely fought the cancer of the lungs in the same way and manner he relentlessly fought the cancer of corruption, oppression, injustice and maladministration in our country. His courage and faith ought to infect all of us. His courage was scary. One incident that would forever remain etched in our collective memory was the scene at Yaba, under the military, where he laid down on the ground and dared the security personnel drafted to quell a public protest to run over him with their armoured tank. That underlined his willingness to pay the supreme sacrifice in the defence of the oppressed.
He was jailed more than any Nigerian, living or dead, he was arrested, detained, charged to court several times. His international passport was seized on many occasions. All these not for stealing public funds or for any crime but for challenging infamy in government; he was tear-gassed several times; humiliated on countless occasions and brutalised times without number. Yet he remained undaunted, unshaken and unwavering in his single-minded pursuit of the common good. As a result of his activities along these lines, his residence and Chambers were crudely searched several times. He was beaten up many times and was transferred from one part of the country to another to prevent him from being listened to by the masses. Some of his books which past military governments did not like were confiscated and one of his houses at Surulere, where the books were kept was about to be set ablaze when the would-be perpetrators were caught and apprehended by neighbours. Even his Chambers at Anthony Village in Lagos was violently attacked and invaded by persons suspected to be government security men during the Abacha dictatorship in 1994. The attack resulted in the shooting of the Chambers guards, seriously wounding two of them. To summarise it here: Gani offered himself as a sacrificial lamb, on several occasions, on the altars of unconscionable military and civilian despots. He was arrested and detained on forty occasions, and over thirteen criminal charges were filed against him by successive military and civilian administrations.
Gani was a phenomenon. One cannot pigeon hole the Gani persona in a strait jacket. Here was someone who was unusually bold and daring but at the same time, very soft and somewhat effeminate in disposition when he learnt of tragedy. Whenever a bad news was brought to Gani, he used to break down, weeping like a baby, a sharp contrast to the boisterous, bold and daring fighter who risked his life uncountable times in his fight for the less privileged. He was one of the most fearless persons ever seen in Nigeria. But whenever he saw others suffering, he wept like a baby.
Gani offered free legal services to the less privileged, particularly to students and he reaped some rewards for it. One example would suffice. In the famous Garba vs. University of Maiduguri case, some students were expelled by the then Vice Chancellor, Jubril Aminu, now a Senator and a reactionary.
The students ran to Gani and he defended them free of charge and the court ordered their reinstatement. However, several years later, the seed he sowed, he reaped it in an unusual manner.
When Gani was detained at Gusau prison by the Babangida government, he became unconscious in prison and had to be rushed to the University of Maiduguri Teaching hospital. Even in that life-threatening state, the SSS kept watch over him, not allowing visitors. However, something shocking happened. When he regained consciousness, Gani was apprehensive that the government may use the medical staff to inject him to death. But the doctor that was treating him said something shocking. He said in near whisper: “Chief, be at rest, you are in a safe hand.” Looking at him incredulously, Gani asked, “Who are you” to which the doctor retorted, “Chief, don’t you know me again? I was one of the students that were expelled at the University of Maiduguri and you fought our case before we were recalled through the court order. I am now a medical doctor and I am in charge of your treatment. So don’t worry.” That was how Gani’s life was saved due to the seed he had sown many years before.
Gani was a very solicitous and caring person. Several thousands of indigent people benefited from his large heart. He offered scholarship to about 40 indigent students every year. Bamidele Aturu told us it was Gani that paid his law school fees, an act of benevolence for which he shall remain eternally grateful. Aturu also said that when the power that be had made it clear that he could not get regular employment by seizing his NYSC Discharge Certificate after his first degree, Gani placed him on a monthly stipend. More to that, Bamidele Aturu recalled how Gani used his skills in court to get them back to school after the authorities at Ife dismissed them apparently “for not learning what their parents asked them to go there to learn”. The vintage Gani used any lawful means to secure justice for the downtrodden.
Fawehinmi was second to none, he was one of the most detribalised Nigerians ever, infact, he was a fighter-for-the-poor without borders. While still bedridden and in the intensive care unit of a London hospital, he still looked after the welfare of several people and he kept contributing to national discourse until doctors stopped him from speaking to anybody. As a consistent and courageous fighter for the masses whose activism spans a vast terrain, he never wavered. Gani managed to lead the struggle despite his failing health, the blame of which however rests squarely on the shoulders of Nigerian military dictators and their civilian collaborators who inflicted deep injuries on his health through numerous incarcerations in dungeons, called prisons, across the country. His consistency, courage, genuineness of purpose and political sagacity set him poles apart from pseudo-radicals, class collaborators and sidon-lookers who the Nigerian bourgeois press have the proclivity of celebrating as heroes of democracy. The story of Gani’s battles against injustice is of course of legendary stuff.
This was how others viewed the irrepressible Gani as recorded by Godwin Haruna in ThisDay Newspapers of April 22, 2008: Catriona Rogan a writer for the Washington Times: “Nigeria’s ‘Steve Biko’, Chief Fawehinmi is a larger-than-life politician and lawyer with a track record of defending human rights activities, including the ethnic Ogoni, who have fought Shell over oil which it drills in their home land near the Niger River delta over environment issues”.
Stephen Buckley of Washington Post on October 1, 1995 in an article titled” After 35 years, Nigeria Still Stumbling on Road to Democracy" wrote: "Brash and Passionate, Fawehinmi, 57, has been arrested so many times for opposing military regimes that he keeps a bag packed in case he is unexpectedly hauled off to jail. Last year, being the only one who dares defies, he defied Abacha by forming the National Conscience Party. Last month, after Fawehinmi flew into a southern city for a party rally, state security forces refused to let him attend. They tossed him back into the plane. Yet, at some meetings or rallies, security forces applauded his speeches. He remains the only Nigerian who can not be intimidated."
Dr. Walter Carrington, former American Ambassador to Nigeria, wrote in 2000: “I have been inspired by Gani. So, it is a great honour for me to be in this place. I would say this is the ‘Shrine of Democracy and the Rule of Law’. And Gani has done so much to inspire not only people of this country but people around the world. If there were a Nobel Prize for Human Rights, it would have been given to Gani. Not so many people are known by one name. (But) just say ‘Gani’ and everyone knows to whom you are referring. Gani is the kind of man I had always wanted to be from childhood - somebody who would not be afraid to put his life on the line. That great courage inspired me.”
From whichever perspective Gani’s life and career are assessed, the virtues of consistency, sincerity of purpose, courage of conviction, utmost selflessness and doggedness in pursuing the people’s cause cannot be denied. Even those who had cause to disagree with some of his actions and pronouncements did not deny that his motive was genuine and his commitment to the realisation of the common good was total. No matter the issue or circumstance, it was always predictable that Gani would stand on the side of the people. For him, even in moments of crisis the safest place to be was on the people’s side. Gani over the years dedicated his life, legal practice and time to the promotion and sustenance of the ideals of human rights in Nigeria, Africa and indeed the world at large.
Gani, was a unique Nigerian in a number of respects. He was one Nigerian who lived his life for the good of the country only in every way. At great personal risks to himself, he dared the military adventurers who usurped political power and imposed the authoritarian ethos of the garrison on our people. He was a consummate social critic, he never pushed positions for selfish reasons or for the mere purpose of attracting attention to himself as many gallingly do these days. He was not one to refrain from expressing unpopular positions. In many times he was challenged and even excoriated by many for some of his positions that went against the general tide of public opinion. One thing that is clear is that we would miss his nationalistic fervour and passion in any of his interventions and commentaries. Beyond that, a nation without an avant-garde like Gani who set agenda and thought ahead, will soon atrophy, unless his ilk would take over his place immediately. When he was alive, he did not claim to be without flaws, but the truth however, is that compared with many people in his generation and generations behind him, Gani was closer to a saint.
During his 71st birthday celebration, Gani, while still in London hospital bed,was asked to give his birthday message for Nigeria and he prayed for the nation, masses and leaders.
He prayed for those who had been neglected and cheated, urging God to strengthen them to be part of the development of the nation. He prayed that poverty should be defeated in the land because there is no dignity in poverty. In his words: “I pray to God to guide our leaders so that they will have the interest of the masses in their heart in terms of education, good health and infrastructure. I pray they should also have the interest of the masses in the areas of electricity, water and housing”. While stressing the need for social justice in the land, Gani said, “the act of governance lies in providing the people with their needs.” He further prayed that God should be on the side of the masses and appealed to the three arms of government to have the interest of the masses at heart. In his words: “I appeal to those in the executive, legislative and judicial arms of government to make the interest of the masses the cardinal basis of whatever they do. Justice for the people should be their priority”.
We need to continue this prayer in memory of Gani.
Gani, turned down the offer of the Order of the Federal Republic (OFR), dangled before him by President Umaru Yar'Adua, preferring to remain in an "honour-less" list of the government until the Nigeria of his dream takes shape. Unfortunately, he never lived to see it. Safe for Professor Chinua Achebe, who made headlines in 2006 when he rejected a similar award offered him by Olusegun Obasanjo's government, by his contention that the award was a charade that neither promotes excellence or hard work, no other Nigerian has rejected a national award. By rejecting the national award of OFR bestowed on him then, Fawehinmi demonstrated that the fountain of the honour given by the government was tainted and that the emergence and conduct of Yar'Adua as President was far from being honourable. Gani argued that “one does not give what he does not have” and that it was not yet ripe for him to take honour from the government, especially given the fact that Yar’Adua, had failed to practice what he has been preaching since he rode on the crest of Obasanjo's goodwill to Aso Rock. Gani not only painted a picture of a Nigerian society gradually sinking into a bottomless chasm of poverty and pestilence on prompting of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) government, but also chronicled the sins of the Yar'Adua regime, which he summed up as "a total failure." In Gani’s words: "I cannot accept the 'honour' of OFR; whether now or in the life beyond. How can I wake up in the morning and look at the insignia of honour bestowed on me under a government that persecutes anti-corruption effort, particularly those of Nuhu Ribadu? A government that covertly and overtly encourages corruption has no honour in its arsenal of power to dispense honour. Consequently, I reject the "Dishonour" of OFR termed "Honour" given to me by the Federal Government. In addition to my rejection of the honour of the OFR on the grounds of the Federal Government's conscious war against anti-corruption war, the decadent socio- economic situation does not engender the well being of ordinary people and there is no hope in sight."
Gani, was an unrepentant hardliner on national issues who stepped on the toes of all the political leaders in Nigeria, both military and civilian; all in an attempt to fight injustice and human rights abuses. In his letter to YarÁdua, Gani also offered a sort of a roadmap to the government by given a perception of what government should do for the governed. These include:
*The abolition of poverty from the face of our country.
*The unqualified need to preserve, defend and protect the fundamental human rights.
*The governance of our country through democratic processes.
*The subjection of everybody and everything to and under the rule of law.
*The right of the people to free and qualitative education at all levels.
*The right of the people to free and qualitative health services and facilities.
*The strengthening of our economy through sound development of infrastructure including power generation (electricity), good roads, good and modern rail-system across the length and breadth of Nigeria, good waterway transportation system.
*The overall duties of all Nigerians and governments (local, states and federal) to make Nigeria a corruption-free country.
This was what I wrote in an internet chat room that time when Gani rejected the national honour:
”Gani has proven once again that he is a hero, he is upright and doesn’t go back on his words. What kind of man is this? I doff my hart for Gani and from today, he belongs to the realm of angels for me. May God bless and heal him so that he can live longer for us. There is no other person like Gani in this wilderness called Nigeria”.
Chief Fawehinmi truly possessed the courage of a lion. He put his life on the line in defence of his ideas and beliefs. And indeed in a number of respects, Gani, our man, our fighter, our inspirer, our champion, our friend, our teacher, our mentor, our icon and our hero was really something else. Gani’s courage against power was inimitable; his courage in the defence of the common people, against dehumanized oppressors was uncommon. His selflessness and doggedness was truly unparalleled! What those of us who are inspired by his life can and must do is to continue in the track which he had beaten and to do everything possible to widen that track so that the clan of the despots can be thinned. We do not have any other choice, given the directionlessness of governments; given the scale of corruption; given the collapse of infrastructure and the lackadaisicalness of those who have robbed our people of their sacred mandate. Gani had beaten the path it is ours to follow.
Regrettably, the lofty dream that Gani had for Nigeria, was not realised, until his death and ten years into this democratic dispensation. The blunt truth remains that, without a genuine working people’s government coming to power, Nigeria shall unfortunately continue to reel under the misrule of one set of locusts or another parading themselves as leaders. There can be no greater lesson to learn from decades of Gani’s political activism. In celebrating Gani’s death, we must be empowered to make an ethical choice about how we chose to live, only then can Gani's life be helpful in shaping our own life struggles. Gani’s life would help us make a moral choice as to where on the battle line we wish to be counted. What we owe Ganiis to pick up the gauntlet that death and disease have forced him to drop. We must not forget that history would never forgive us if we fold our hands and do nothing.
Worth reiterating here is the fact that before giving up the ghost, Chief Gani Fawehinmi had a few words for all of us (his family, colleagues and Nigerians). According to his wife, Ganiat, who was by his bedside, Chief Fawehinmi vowed to continue the struggle for the emancipation of the masses in his grave. He lamented that he was not given the opportunity to be president to change things. He said if he had been president, he would have done a lot for the masses. He also urged the staff of his chambers to continue the dogged fight against injustice and assist the needy to obtain justice. Finally, he also said that the nation must try and improve the lives of the less privileged in the society. Gani fought the battle with all his might and has passed it on to us. It is either we keep the “fire” burning or allow it to quench where he (Gani) dropped it. Gani laid his life on the line for Nigerians, no love or legacy is greater than that.
May God’s blessings, love and protection be with Gani’s family now and for ever. May He give them the strength and courage to live through all this.
Adieu our friend and hero, Gani. Rest well in the bosom of our dear God, till the resurrection morning, when we would all meet to part no more.
There goes a saint, marching on!
THE THANXS IS ALL YOURS!!!
Reference:
Prof. Lai Olurode
Uduma kalu
Richard Akinnola
Lanre Arogundade
Segun Sango
Bamid ele Aturu
