When Senator Edward Kennedy passed on recently, Americans felt a deep sense of loss because a truly national hero and patriot was gone. Few public figures in the world can serve for as long as he did without losing focus or becoming a villain. Yet, for the four decades he served in the US Senate, Ted remained focused and consistent on his message. His life and time demonstrated the value of patriotism and dedication to a good cause.
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Just about the time Senator Kennedy was settling down to business in the American Senate, back home in Nigeria, a young lawyer named Gani Fawahenmi was also setting out on a cause from which he would never abdicate: fighting for the oppressed. It was a cause to which he would dedicate his entire life. For someone never to have held public office, it is hard to find a personality that has become a household name as Gani was for virtually his entire life.
Following the deluge of tributes to the life and times of my good friend, and one of the greatest Nigerians of this generation, Gani Fawehinmi, the natural inclination is to pay silent tribute to the selfless compatriot, who can be referred to as the conscience of Nigerians.
On reflection, it is my conviction that a few words to mourn the exit of the legal luminary would do justice to the man who lived and died fighting for justice. Gani was many things to many people, but ultimately, he will be always remembered as an anti corruption crusader who spent four decades challenging the status quo.
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Gani’s death has created a vacuum that will be difficult to fill not because there are no lawyers of his ilk in the country. What Gani has taken from Nigeria is the selfless zeal, commitment and fearlessness with which he challenged those in authority on any perceived injustice. It would be difficult to find any Nigerian that has been to prison as many times as my late friend in his quest for justice.
The demise of Gani must of necessity make one reflect on the absence of real statesmen in Nigeria. Where are the heroes to whom our young must look up to? Where are statesmen around whom the history of this epoch will be told? It is in answering these questions that the greatness of Gani will manifest. This man was offered, and turned down high public office more than any living Nigerian. Yet, we must look up to him as a hero and a statesman. That, to me is the greatest tribute to Gani.
This short tribute to the life and times of the legal luminary will be incomplete without mentioning his many battles not only with the government, but even within his immediate constituency- the Nigerian Bar Association. At a time when the NBA declared military tribunals under the Buhari Regime illegal, Gani, on the basis of his fight against corruption went contrary to the body. Reflecting on the ills wrought by corruption on Nigeria today, Gani was right to have taken that position.
Gani’s many battles with successive administrations are public knowledge. His stand against the evil of corruption is legendary. His commitment to a better Nigeria was unrivalled. His stand against injustice was unquestionable. But beyond all these, Gani Fawehenmi will be remembered as a hero in a nation in search of heroes.
Beyond all the flowery eloquence on the death of this hero, how can we honour his memory? How can Nigerians ensure that the fight to which Gani committed over forty years of his life is not lost? The corruption against which Gani fought all his life is still very much alive. The bad governance that Gani fought with so much stamina is very much around. The injustice of a system that rewards the corrupt, and punishes the honest is still self-evident.
Ultimately, to honour the memory of this great Nigerian and ensure that his selfless service to Nigeria is not in vain, all Nigerians everywhere in the world, and of all ages must, as a matter of urgency begin to consult, on the way forward. Good governance does not happen by accident. It must be fought for. Corruption will not die a natural death. It must be killed.
It is time for Nigerians to come together as one to fight for, and institutionalize the values of justice, transparency and accountability in the conduct of public affairs. That way, Gani’s struggles would not have been in vain, and the Nigeria of our dreams will become a reality. But to achieve these, we must be willing to fight the fight. The choice is ours.
Nnamani is a former President of the Senate of the Federal Republic of Nigeria.
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