Chief Gani Fawehinmi SAN finally succumbed to the cancer of the lungs early this morning. After fighting the dangerous disease gallantly in a London hospital for the past two years, he recently returned home to await the final hour. At long last, the Iroko has fallen.
Indubitably, Nigeria has lost a dogged fighter par excellence, a social cruisader of extraordinary moral fibre and a public interest litigator of unequal dimension who consistently confronted the menace of institutionalised injustice, wanton official corruption and excrutiating poverty unleashed on hapless Nigerians by a tiny rapacious ruling elite. It was the gross betrayal of the Nigerian people by the ruling PDP government which compelled Gani to reject the national award of the Officer of the Federal Republic (OFR) which the Umaru Musa Yar'Adua Administration wanted to confer on him last year.
Although Gani's unarguable contributions to legal development, Rule of Law and Human Rights is legendary, the Legal Practitioners Privileges Committee deliberately denied him the rank of Senior Advocate of Nigeria for over two decades. But he was richly honoured by the Nigerian people and the International Bar Association. However in 2001, the legal establishment belatedly conferred the SAN title on Gani when he no longer needed it!
The members of the illustrious Fawehinmi Family who stood by Gani in all his travails cannot afford to despair at the collossal loss of the foremost legal luminary and social crusader. The Family should take solace in the legacy of integrity, courage and consistency that he has left behind. Gani should not be mourned but celebrated in a land where people who are committed to principle and patriotism are rare to come by.
As for the progressive forces, Gani's exit should take the struggle to a greater height in the interest of our famished fatherland. The greatest tribute which can be paid to Gani is for all forces of social change and democracy to get organised to liberate the Nigerian people from the shackles of reactionary forces of internal colonialism. Instead of shedding official crocodile tears, the Federal Government should immediately set the engine in motion for the full implementation of the recommendations of the Mohammed Uwais' Report as a way of honouring Gani.
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