TRIBUTE TO A TITAN

“Of all the events which constitute a person's biography, there is scarcely one , to which the world so easily reconciles itself as to his death” – Nathaniel Hawthorne

On Saturday the 5th of September, 2009 death came and snatched away one of Nigeria’s human rights activists, a Senior Advocate of Nigeria and former presidential aspirant, Ganiyu Oyesola Fawehinmi. He had a long battle with cancer of the lungs and at the age of 71 years, he could fight no more. He was born on 22nd April 1938, into the Fawehinmi family of Ondo in Ondo State, Nigeria.

No word is enough to describe late Chief Gani Fawehinmi. He was an epitome of justice. He showed Nigerians that we can pursue justice despite all odds. He lived and died for the “masses” – the ordinary Nigerians. He was a philanthropist and many Nigerians depended on him for free food, free education and free ideas.

Gani Fawehinmi studied Law at the Holborn College of Law- University of London in 1961. While at University, his father died. He completed his degree in London with a measure of difficulty due to lack of funds. This involved doing various menial jobs in London. While in college, he was popularly known as "Nation" because of his passionate interest in national, legal and political affairs. In 1993 Fawehinmi was awarded the biennial Bruno Kreisky Prize. This prize, named in honour of Bruno Kreisky, is awarded to international figures who advance human rights causes. In 1998, he received the International Bar Association 'Bernard Simmons Award' in recognition of his human-rights and pro-democracy work. In 1994 he and some other notable Nigerians formed the National Conscience Party of Nigeria which exists till today and he stood for a presidential election in 2003 under the umbrella of the National Conscience Party.

Gani Fawehinmi was elevated to the rank of Senior Advocate of Nigeria (SAN), the highest legal title in Nigeria in September, 2001.

As a result of his activities, late Chief Gani Fawehinmi had been arrested, detained and charged to court several times. His international passport was seized on many occasions and his residence and Chambers were searched several times. He was beaten up time after time and was deported from one part of the country to another to prevent him from being able to effectively reach out to the masses among whom he was popular. In the process of his crusades for the rule of law, the hopes and aspirations of the poor and the oppressed, he fought many battles against military dictatorship as a result of which he had been arrested several times by the military governments and their numerous security agents. He was dumped in many police cells and detained in several prisons between 1969 and 1996.

In 2008 late Chief Gani Fawehinmi rejected one of the highest national honours that can be bestowed on a citizen by the Nigerian Government - Order of the Federal Republic (OFR) - in protest of the many years of misrule since Nigeria's independence. Many Nigerians called him the people's president.

In the words of late John F. Kennedy, he said “A man may die, nations may rise and fall, but an idea lives on”. Though Chief Gani Fawehinmi is dead but his ideas and legacies lives on. His death is indeed an irreplaceable loss. The question remains, how do we fill the huge vacuum created by his death?

This hub is a special tribute to late Chief Gani Fawehinmi. May his gentle soul rest in perfect peace. Amen.

may he RIP.

May his soul rest in peace