Date Published: 09/07/09
Gani Fawehinmi in History
By Comrade Eneruvie Enakoko
History is made up of landmark events and spectacular individuals who shaped our destinies and influenced our societies. Gani Fawehinmi’s contributions to Nigeria’s chronicle, nay, Africa’s history placed him in this matchless position. But this piece is not just to bemoan his sad loss but to rather extol his virtues and to re-awaken the patriotic ideals for which he which he lived as well as to drive home to Nigerians, especially those in government, that we all like Chief Fawehinmi will certainly come to meet our day; the day that we will all be visited by life’s common denominator. How we meet that day is not important. What will truly count is how well we lived our lives and what we stood for.
Chief Ganiyu Oyesola Fawehinmi (SAN) entered the stage of history a little over 71 years ago. In the years he was privileged to act on this mortal stage, he played his part extremely well. Now the curtain is drawn, the drama of his life has come to an end and he is to be committed to eternity from which he came.
Indeed, Gani as he was well known was very instrumental in correcting some of the unspeakable flaws that tarnished our image as a nation. He was the quintessential shining Knight in Armour in the majestic struggle for justice and freedom. He met freedom’s challenge on the firing line. His death therefore poses a huge question mark on the survival of freedom in our nation. His loss is a big setback to the civil rights movement in Nigeria and indeed the human rights world.
The events that happened in and around Gani’s life were earthshaking, from Ondo Town to the UK and back to Lagos; but he was able to use them to transform his world using the law as a powerful tool of social change. At a time when many in our country sold their birthright and conscience for a lawless and unjust mess of porridge, this great man pitched his tent with hapless Nigerians. He provided a guideline for us to know what is right so that we can reject being treated as second class citizens in our own motherland. He illuminated our eyes with the shining light of justice. The significant qualities of this remarkable man cannot be underestimated nor taken for granted. Through his vast knowledge of the law, he espoused and exposed the insincerity and greed of successive governments feeding fat on the commonwealth of Nigerians. There was scarcely any issue of genuine national concern that Gani didn’t lend his voice to. He fought relentlessly to ensure the killers of Dele Giwa, Founding Editor and Chief Executive of Newswatch Communications Ltd are brought to book. All through the heady days of the military in governance, Gani was staunchly pitted against them. Many criticised him and labeled him a cynic for his pessimism as regards the sincerity of any government but his critics have eventually be proven wrong, because time and again, the various governments had failed woefully thus making Nigeria a failed State in the comity of nations. Gani was probably the only Nigerian in the legal profession who had been consistent in his leanings. His weekly law reports (Nigeria Weekly Law Reports) are legendary opening the purview of case laws; this invaluable legacy must be sustained and not be allowed to die; his children and the editorial board must see to that. He was a dogged campaigner for human rights and was helpful in the struggle for human worth and dignity. Even in thorny issues, where angels dread to tread and mortals feared to rock the boat, Gani never remained silent. When Dele Giwa was brutally cut down by a parcel bomb, he spoke and fought. Similarly, he took on Bola Tinubu, former Lagos State Governor over the controversy generated on his supposedly falsified credentials notwithstanding the fact that they were very good friends. To Gani, there were no permanent friends but permanent principles and therefore, when faced with a choice between friendship and principle, he always chose the latter. In the same vein, when the former first lady; Stella Obasanjo died in an operating theatre overseas, the social crusader wrote an open letter to the ex-president demanding answers to the cause of her death. So many at the time described the radical lawyer as wicked, inhuman and insensitive for writing such a letter to a man in grief as it were, but Gani was undaunted. Even the much hated Sani Abacha, whom many rejoiced over his death, was no exception; Gani wasn’t one to rejoice over such as he demanded an autopsy from the government on the late tyrant’s death. When Obasanjo contested and won the 1999 polls, Gani declared that the Administration would amount to no good. Those who vilified him then and pronounce him a cynic had since buried their heads in shame. And when the same Administration rigged itself back to power in 2003, Gani had observed: If the Nigerian people failed to protest the results of this election, it shows that they have chosen to vote for poverty, oppression and injustice. The prophetic power of this legal icon was staggering. The Legal Luminary was perhaps the singular factor responsible for the opening of the political space with his landmark case on registration of political parties in Nigeria
He was equally in the forefront of the anti-corruption war. He dared to stand for his beliefs, sometimes alone in his support for Nuhu Ribadu tactics of waging the war on corruption. Despite his ill health due chiefly to several incarcerations in the cold hands of successive governments, he never wavered in his insistence on the rule of law or in his crusade for social justice for all.
Chief Gani Fawehinmi was the victim of successive governments who reneged on their constitutional obligation. But he died nobly and he was a hero of a holy crusade for freedom and human dignity. And somehow, he has something to say to us even in his death. His death has something to say to every politician who has fed his constituents with lies and enriched themselves to their detriment. He has something to say to every religious leader who has been sitting on the sidelines with I don care attitude in the struggle for human dignity and social equality. Nay! His death due to the ravaging claws of cancer has something to say to a government that has compromised with the collective wealth of Nigerians. He says to us that we must not just be concerned about a prostrate health sector that resulted in the wrong prognosis which somehow led to his death, but about the system, the way of life and philosophy that produced such deathtraps and similar ills in our society. His death says to us in essence that we must work unrelentingly and assiduously to entrench the roots of democracy and for adequate provision of social facilities in our nation. And if can join hands to make this country work, his death would not have been in vain.
There is absolutely no doubt that Chief Fawehinmi paid his dues and contributed his quota in no small measure to the upliftment and development of our dear nation. Now that he has gone the way of all mortals, the onus is on us to pay ours and contribute our own quota to our nation’s democracy. Don’t live only for yourself as if others don’t matter. History is replete with the sad end of selfish men who lived to the detriment of their fellow men.
Like Gani, we must be concerned about Nigeria and our fellow citizens. Never forget that, no matter where you are today, somebody helped you to get there. You didn’t arrive there by yourself. Let us continually strive for what is right and guarantee fairness and justice in our nation. Let’s continue from where Gani stopped, and engage the government to deliver its promises to the people. We must move against the popular opinion of getting on to power only to loot the treasury to better our lot to the detriment of the people.
Chief Fawehinmi may not have left stolen billions for his children, but he certainly left a committed life behind which we all can learn from if we so wish.
May his soul find a peaceful rest in God’s bosom and may God’s peace be on his family now and forevermore, Amen.
Eneruvie Enakoko is Chairman of the Civil Liberties Organisation (CLO) in Lagos. ruvie@justice.com 08033188864.
© 2009 Eneruvie Enakoko Papers Project. All Rights Reserved.
--
Civil Liberties Organisation (CLO), Lagos 13, Soji Adepegba Close, Off
Allen Ave, Ikeja/Lagos. Tel: 234-1-08033188864, 4939324-5, 7746694.
Fax: 01-4939324, P.O Box 53328, Ikoyi, Lagos. Email:
clolagosnigeria@gmail.com, clolagos@yahoo.com, Website: www.clo-ng.org
