Life is filled with a lot of mysteries with definite constants. One of these constants is death. Every living inhabitant on planet earth is bound to die at some point. While the causes of death may vary from old age to illness and accidents or war, amongst others, the reality of dying one day is etched on all minds. When will death come has to be the most rhetorical question asked. This uncertainty is why many try to live their best lives before death comes unannounced or in some cases, announced.
As a state, Nigeria has lost a great number of citizens to death. In most cases, the causes of death were avoidable. The deadly insurgency in the North, banditry, terrorism, kidnappings amongst others have contributed to the massive loss of lives in the country. Her poor health sector has also contributed to the high mortality rate. Without a doubt, both the poor and the influential will at some point die. Again, the question beckons, what impact did an individual make before death came?
On the 5th September 2009, Nigeria lost a patriot, an enigma and an erudite whose fight against the carnages in the country will forever be in our history books. At 71 years of age, Prof. Ganiyu Adeola Fawehinmi was lost to the cold hand of death having lived an impactful life.
Picking it from where it all started, Gani-as he is mostly called- Fawehinmi was born on the 22nd of April 1938 in Ondo State, Nigeria, to Saheed And Ganiyat Fawehinmi. He was the 1st of his mother’s children, her only son and 3rd of his father’s. His father, Chief Saheed Tugbogbo was the Seriki Musulumi of Ondo and his grandfather, Chief Lisa Alujanu Fawehinmi was the spirit of the town as a result of his exploits in the 19tu century which resulted in Islam being practised in present-day Ondo.
Gani Fawehinmi had his primary education at Ansar-ud-deen Primary School in Iyemaja from 1947 to 1953. From 1954 to 1958, he had his secondary education at Victory College, Ikare under the leadership of Late Reverend Akinyele where he was known as “The nation” for his interest in national, legal and political affairs. Acting on the advice of the Reverend, he was urged to study law by his father. He went to Lagos where he worked as a high court clerk (his first paying job) for 2 years. He then left for the United Kingdom in April 1961 where he enrolled at Holborn College of Law- the University of London in September, the same year. Two years into the course, Chief Saheed died in 1963 leading to a financial crisis. For this reason, Gani had to take up part-time work and tutor himself. In 1964, Gani returned home to attend the Nigerian Law school as a mandatory process to practice law in Nigeria. He was called to the bar on January 15, 1965.
His legal career began with him working in his brother Rasheed Fawehinmi’s law Chamber. He worked with his brother for 2 months before setting up his chamber in April 1965. The Gani Fawehinmi chamber has been reported to have been one of the largest law firms in the country. From 1971 to 1973, Gani held the position of Secretary of the Nigerian Bar Association.
Having over 5700 briefs, he took up and solved many cases. What gave him national recognition was the case of Bala Abashe v Andrew Obeya. This case began Gani’s journey to prison as he was detained for 9 months. Another case that gave him prominence was in 1986 where he represented Dele Giwa, a Nigerian journalist who was later assassinated with a letter bomb. Gani Fawehinmi was known for his vehement stance for human rights which he advocated without fear for the state. He was a pro bono lawyer. He was one person who could not stand injustice no matter where it was coming from. Be it the military government or the civilian government, Gani made sure to stand behind the citizens who were usually the victims. He spent a lot of time in jails. For a total of 40 years, he was detained for over 12 years in several prisons in the country. He had his properties confiscated and books ruined all while being a lawyer and human rights activist. In 2001, Gani Fawehinmi became a Senior Advocate of Nigeria.
Besides being a practising lawyer, he was also an author (legal writer, reporter). As a matter of fact, he began the publishing of the Nigerian Weekly Law Report in 1985. He was the editor in Chief for years till his death. He had quite a number of published works which spans from 1986 to 1999 among which is The Murder of Dele Giwa: The Rights of a Private Prosecutor (1988). He also had a library that contained his books, other books written by prominent authors and information materials amounting to over a million collections. This library was established in 1965 and was originally situated at 116, Denton street, Ebute Meta. It was then moved to 28, Sabiu Ajose Crescent, Surulere, Lagos in setting up his chamber in 1974. In 1978, the library changed its location to 35, Adeniran Ajao Road, Ajao Estate, Anthony Village, Lagos. After the death of Gani Fawehinmi in 2009, the library was moved to its current and permanent location at Otunba Jobi-Fele Way, Central Business District, Alausa- Ikeja.
During his lifetime, he was recognized and nominated for quite a number of awards although he rejected some. Among these awards which were given to him is the Bruno Kreizky Prize on June 11 1993. He also received the International Bar Association’s Bernard Simmons award in 1998 which shows acknowledgement for his human rights and pro-democracy activities. Posthumously, he was awarded the Order of Nigeria in 2018.
Due to mal-administration in Nigeria in the late 1980s and the increased suffering of the people, Gani Fawehinmi turned his National Conscience movement which was originally set up as a human rights movement into a political party. According to him, he gave the notification 6 months earlier before officially making the change. As a member of the party, Gani Fawehinmi contested the 2003 presidential elections. He was called The People’s President. Although he lost the election, he never relented in his fight against corruption and human right violation by the state. Gani Fawehinmi displayed his honesty till his last days, stood his ground and was always ready to live up to his words.
FATHIA ABOLORE YUSUF
