From Kaduna prison to Jos prison, from Gombe prison to portharcourt prison, from Kuje prison to Ikoyi prison, Chief Gani Fawehinmi was the most jailed human right activist from Nigeria.
For raising his voice against injustice, his books were confiscated, his library set ablaze, his house and chambers were always raided and he was assaulted on Mobolaji Bank Anthony Way in Lagos by Naval officers.
His travails from security agents never dissuaded him from defending the poor and the weak in society.
“I defended the students of the University of Ibadan in 1971 when one of the students, Kunle Adepeju, was shot dead by the police under Gowon’s regime and the government of the day set up a commission of enquiry headed by Justice B. O. Kazim and I represented the students for 5 months in that tribunal of enquiry.
In 1976, I defended the students of the University of Benin against the wrath of the military government.
In 1983, under Shehu Shagari, there was a peaceful demonstration by more than 4000 students of the University of Maiduguri against the misdirected high handedness of the leadership of Professor Jubril Aminu, (former Nigerian Ambassador to the U.S.) Several students were expelled and their education illegally truncated. I fought to the Supreme Court to obtain victory. This is just to mention a few of my struggles for justice.” Gani recalled.
They always came for him. He was arrested on his 50th birthday.
“I witnessed one of the times they came to arrest him in the house. They were about armed 20 policemen. It was as if they were coming to take a criminal and they brought a big Black Maria. He told them, ‘Gentlemen how are you? Are you ready?’ He told my mum to take care of us and he followed them” His daughter, Idiat recalled.
Due to incessant arrest Chief Gani always kept a bag with toothpaste, toothbrush and the Qur’an with him-always ready for jail.
When he was asked the possibility of defending Ralph Uwazurike he said:
“If i am approached by Uwazurike to take up his case, I will fly straight to wherever he is or, if I cannot go there by air, I will go there by road. If I cannot go there by road, I will trek to defend his right to hold an opinion because freedom of speech is a fundamental right.
Because he has the right to pursue any objective and if they feel that his objective is criminal, then he has the right to defend himself in the court of law and we shall defend the issue of his fundamental rights”.
The incorruptible Chief Gani was able to speak truth to powers because he had nothing to hide. He once said; “I have never got any contracts from any local government, state government or from the federal government. I don’t even know the house of ministers. I never met any Head of State in my life. I’ve never met any minister in my life. I’ve never submitted an application for contract anywhere in my life. I have never submitted an application for a contract at any level whatsoever.”
Chief Gani was an unbiased, detribalized and unsentimental patriot. When his own daughter was working in his Chambers, she either resumed before/at 7 am or be locked outside the gate like any latecomer.
Chief Gani’s lung began to deteriorate while doctors were busy focusing on his heart and blood pressure. It got so bad that he called his cardiologist, Dr Mike Fadayomi, his childhood friend from the age of four. He is one of the best cardiologists in this world. He directed Chief Gani to a radiologist to do the X-ray first. When he (radiologist) came with the wet X-ray and showed it to Gani and Fadayomi, the cardiologist shouted;
“Gani something dangerous is wrong with your left lung. You must run to London. I don’t understand this”
When Chief Gani got to London the doctors told him that he was among the 5% patients in the world who don’t smoke or drink and yet had lung cancer.
Gani narrated his ordeals to the doctors in London and one of them hinted that his “horrible detention” must have triggered the lung failure.
The human right activist was asked to prepare for the worst and Gani wept.
To prevent politicians from “hijacking” his burial, Gani bought his casket while alive and made cash available for his funeral with instructions to his children about how he liked his funeral to be.
Chief Gani Fawehinmi literally lost his voice to the ravaging lung cancer before his Sun finally set on 9th September 2009. And Nigeria hasn’t been able to find a replacement for that voice of justice and courage till date.
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