FAWEHINMIISM...: February 2015

Prof. Yemi Osinbajo at the Lecture

Recently, the Ikeja Branch of the Nigerian Bar Association held the 11th edition of the Annual Gani Fawehinmi Lecture/Symposium at the Oranmiyan Hall of the Airport Hotel in Lagos.
The event is held yearly is to celebrate and promote the ideas, principles, courage, achievements and contributions of late lawyer and human rights activist, Chief Gani Fawehinmi, a Senior Advocate of Nigeria.
Two things made this event stand out. One of them was that an Integrity Award was conferred on late lawyer and human rights activist, Bamidele Aturu and the Vice-Presidential candidate of the All Progressives Congress, Professor Yemi Osinbajo, who is a Senior Advocate of Nigeria.
The other thing that made the event unique was that a book titled: Stand Up for What is Right, Even If You Are Standing Alone, which is a compendium of lectures delivered at the yearly event from 2005 to 2014, was unveiled and launched. The presentation was done by Femi Falana, a Senior Advocate of Nigeria.
This year’s lecture was captioned Ethnicity, Religion, Illiteracy: The Promises and Illusions of Democracy in the Struggle to Uplift the Nigerian masses from Impoverishment. Among those who spoke at the event were, Anthony Cardinal Olubunmi Okogie who was the Chairman of the event, Femi Falana, a scholar, Dr. Timilehin Zaid and the Chairman of the NBA, Ikeja Branch, Yinka Farounbi. Olubunmi Okogie:-
This former Catholic Archbishop of Lagos, said that the President Goodluck Jonathan-led Federal government was clueless just as he stated that the country needed an urgent rescue from what he described as “imminent brink of irredeemable destruction.”
Okogie said, “There is extra urgency to rescue Nigeria. This is the time when every right-thinking Nigerian must pray to hate the present situation strong enough so as to desire the fortitude to act right.
“This time does not allow for indifference. All must rise to save Nigeria from the brink of irredeemable destruction. This is the time we must play politics of the best, for the best position, in order to guarantee the best for our nation.
“Let only those with the fear of God and love of their neighbours rule Nigeria; only those who know what to do should sit at the helm of affairs. Enough of mediocrity, enough of failures, enough of nepotism, and enough of ethnicity.”
Okogie, who described Fawehinmi, as a courageous, principled, selfless and detribalised statesman, stated that the late activist was restless in his grave given the present state of the nation.
“It is said that Gani Fawehinmi died a sad man. For a man, who was fearless in speaking his mind without caring whose ox is gored. He was jailed many times and detained many more times for no personal crimes but for his struggle to ensure justice, fairness and good governance in the country, dying without seeing signs that the new dispensation he struggled for will be achieved, is a devastating blow. Now in his death, the knowledge that Nigeria had deteriorated so badly since his passing away must be giving Gani sleeplessness in his grave. We may think we know Gani; one thing we may never fully comprehend, is what motivated a Nigerian in the midst of the opportunities in our style of wealth without accountability, to still remain different, disciplined and selfless.
“Gani must be terribly worried about the general decay in our political and economic atmosphere which is riddled with lies, deception, incompetence, lawlessness and lack of vision.
“Gani would be saddened that in this age and time, that Nigeria is still playing politics of religion and tribe/ethnicity when the primary concern should be capability. Gain would have been grossly infuriated with the quality of leadership in Nigeria today and would have fought intensely for a change.”
Femi Falana:-
The human rights lawyer also paid a glowing tribute to Fawehinmi
“Since the Russian Revolutionary, George Plekhanov, wrote 117 years ago his famous essay entitled ‘The Role of the Individual in History,’ historians on the Left and Right have been debating what impact could an individual make in changing the course of history. Although Plekhanov strategically disagreed with other leaders of the Russian revolution, his younger comrade (and by the way, a lawyer too), Vladimir Lenin, acknowledged his “immense contributions” especially in providing theoretical insights. One of those contributions of Plekanov was theorising about the interplay of objective and subjective forces as exemplified in the essay we are referring to here.
“It is hardly imaginable for any theoretician to enter into the debate on the role of the individual in history in the Nigerian context today without examining the role of Gani Fawehinmi whose memory is richly honoured by the presentation of the book under review. Indeed, there is hardly a more fitting epitaph to Fawehinmi than the title of the book, STAND UP FOR WHAT IS RIGHT, EVEN IF YOU ARE STANDING ALONE. Every minute of the life and times of the man, described by Justice Kayode Esho in the book as “one of the greatest advocates that have worn the Silk,” was a teachable moment. In theory and practice, Fawehinmi taught us lessons about what difference a man make without prejudice to the defining role of organisation and other historical forces. As Professor Bolaji Akinyemi once put it another forum, it is said that a tree does not make a forest, but Gani’s tree actually strove assiduously to make a forest in the struggle for social justice and freedom.
“Like every human being, Gani, of course, had his faults, but you could never accuse him of not standing up for what he was convinced about; he was never lacking in the rare virtue of courage of conviction. He stood up for his conviction by tirelessly offering the public ideas to solve socio-economic and political problems. He not only spoke out loudly against injustice and unfreedom, he also acted in the courtrooms and on the streets. That is why the Ikeja NBA should be commended for keeping the memory of Fawehinmi alive with the bounteous harvest of ideas embodied in this book of great value. It is a great service to posterity.
“Fawehinmi devoted his life to the advancement of human progress; embodied in the well-edited book are ideas from divergent perspectives about what is to be done to advance human progress. The reader is therefore invited to partake freely in the big harvest of ideas on freedom, democracy, good governance, legal activism, fighting corruption, eradicating poverty, electoral integrity and a people-centred political economy. These themes and others efficiently explored in the book, of course, coincided with the themes of Fawehinmi’s perspicacious interventions in the public sphere.
“In fact, they defined Fawehinmi’s life historically. Between 2005 and 2014, the Ikeja NBA, the organisers of the Fawehinmiism Lecture Series, invited men and women imbued with some ideas in the respective themes to make presentations which are now complied into a book in an exemplary institution-building manner. It is salutary that those who institutionalised this remarkable Lecture Series were able to attract these great women and men of ideas to be part of this feast of the minds over the years.
“Furthermore, it is a tribute to the culture of documentation, which, as we all could remember, was one of those great Fawehinmi’s passions. Fawehinmi’s passion for ideas and documentation was such that it would be eternally regretted that he couldn’t publish his definitive memoirs before the callous illness took over his life. But his numerous polemical statements and insightful publications would remain veritable sources for synthetizing ideas for progress. Meanwhile, if you like to decode the philosophy of Fawehinmiism, the starting point may as well be reading STAND UP FOR WHAT IS RIGHT, EVEN IF YOU ARE STANDING ALONE. Indeed these words came directly from Fawehinmi himself. “
Timilehin Zaid:-
The scholar and Muslim Cleric, Dr Timilehin Zaid, stated that if people really kept to the tenets of the religion they professed there would be a change in the country.
“Though not many will agree with me if I say true religion has the solution to the myriad of problems facing Nigeria. By religion, I do not mean a particular faith tradition. I mean religion as it is and as it ought to be. I mean the universal value system common to all faith traditions. If we are truly religious, as we often pretend to be our actions would be guided by God-consciousness. We would know that the promises we make, the responsibilities we bear and our numerous undertakings all have a trans-human reference. Absolute justice is the soul of any true system of governance. All religions including African Traditional Religion social justice in its broadest sense which includes justice, fairness and righteousness.”
Yinka Farounbi:-
“Gani Fawehinmi lives permanently in the subconscious minds of the people. Apart from JesusChrist and Prophet Mohammed, only few other persons have their names constantly mentioned like Gani.”

Pastor Tunde Bakare & Justice Ayo Salami at the event

Ayodele Olalere Legal practitioners and politicians, last Wednesday, gathered for the 10th Chief Gani Fawehinmi Annual Lecture and symposium tagged: ‘Fawehinmiism’, with the theme: ‘Nigeria at Centenary: A nation still in bondage? The lecture was attended by notable lawyers and politicians among who were retired former Appeal Court President, Justice Isa Ayo Salami, who served as the chairman of the event; religious leader cum politician, Pastor Tunde Bakare, the guest speaker, as well as the first civilian governor of the old Kaduna State, Dr. Balarabe Musa. It also witnessed the presence of many Senior Advocates of Nigeria (SAN).

Organised by the Ikeja branch of the Nigerian Bar Association (NBA), the event was put together to honour the late legal luminary, Chief Gani Fawehinmi (SAN). In his speech, while eulogising the virtue of Fawehinmi, Bakare said Gani, while alive, fought for the masses and was never afraid to fight for justice and truth. According to him, Gani proved he was indeed ‘Senior Advocate of the Masses’, a sobriquet he earned because of his fights for human rights. “He (Gani) was the dread of dictators, a thorn in the flesh of oppressors, a defender of the poor, the people’s lawyer. He is remembered today not for the houses he built though he built a few edifices, not for the cars he rode, though he was wealthy enough to afford them, not for his professional attainment though he won quite a few awards including the Bruno Kerensky Price for internationally recognised human rights advocates, the International Bar Association’s Bennard Simon’s Award and eventually, the highest honour in the Nigerian legal profession, Senior Advocate of Nigeria (SAN), after having been politically denied his due for many years. Gani is remembered today for the lives he uniquely touched,” he eulogised.

Bakare added that Gani’s passion for the masses made him to handle so many cases free of charge and was never overly concerned with material gains. “Gani fought like a bulldog and once he was persuaded that a case was worth handling, he would deploy the power of concentration and pursued it to a logical conclusion and he never abandoned his cases. Gani’s passion for justice was legendary and it overrode his need for profit, yet God blessed him with a business acumen that sustained his humanitarian life and purpose. He would not refuse cases simply on the basis of the inability of the prospective client to afford legal representation, rather once he was convinced that justice for the poor was at stake, he would handle such cases pro bono. The rule of law, fundamental human rights, democracy and social justice summed up the profit for which he laboured with boundless energy.” He added, “As a human right activist, Gani was in class of his own, ready to go solo for what he believed in, many times to the consternation of his colleagues in the struggle. He was in the struggle to spend and be spent. “As it were, he died for the people of this country when the cumulative effects of years of brutal treatment in jail cells finally told on him as he succumbed to lung cancer. Yet, heroically, even on his death bed, he remained a fighter, not just in instructing his chambers to pursue to logical conclusion his pending cases against the Federal Government, but also took the failure of our country’s medical system to diagnose his ailment early enough as evidence of the country’s social decay, as such expressed a desire that such facilities be made available for the Nigerian people. Therefore, in his life and death, Gani’s mission was the liberation of the people from social, economic and political bandage.”

Tracing the genesis of the Nigeria’s problem, the General Overseer of Latter Rain Assembly and convener of Safe Nigeria Group (SNG) said Nigeria began to experience problems the moment true federalism was jettisoned by past governments shortly after Nigeria gained independence. He added that selfishness on the part of politicians to acquire wealth plunged Nigeria to corruption. He further said that tribal sentiments fanned by politicians resulted into religious crisis which has thrown Nigeria into its present condition. “The framework of the democratic Nigerian state at independence was hinged on true federalism in acknowledgement of the fact that ours is a nation comprised of many national sub-entities. The new Nigerian state was structured along regional federating units that allowed each region to pursue its ideals and developmental aspirations at its own pace within Nigerian national ideal. Each region had its own constitution, each region had its own coat of arms, and each region possessed residual constitutional powers such that matters that were not within the national jurisdiction fell within regional legislative powers. “However, within a short while, abundance translated to selfishness as politicians became consumed with occupying the neo-colonial space in class distinction, but to sustain the class differences they resorted to corrupt and ostentatious living while living conditions became increasingly difficult for the people. Politicians fanned the embers of ethnic and regional divisions to consolidate their power bases and by so doing, gave up the pursuit of a Nigerian ideal thereby halting the evolution of a true Nigerian nation. Development was no longer the motivation for public service. Election rigging and politically motivated violence held sway in the west as the brightest were crowded out of the system. By these actions, the politicians had shown they are unable to govern and had demonstrated dependence on the military. With officials engrossed in corrupt enrichment, government’s focus shifted from developmental or transitional programmes and complacency set in. The Nigerian people would then become apathetic resigning themselves to the situation waiting for the next messiah, thereby demonstrating their inabilities to take their destinies, a despicable state of dependence.” Proffering solutions, Bakare said the proposed national conference is a good opportunity for Nigerians to come together and deliberate on our co-existence. He said emphasis should be placed on restructuring the country before the 2015 election. “We must return to the dialogue table to restructure. We must get set to rebuild and restore, we must retrieve what is remaining of the pillars of our founding fathers and we must restructure and reconstruct; we must rebuild from wall to wall, from gate to gate, from community to community, from city to city and from region to region until the whole nation is restored to its former and even greater glory. That is why we welcome the idea of a constitutional conference and insist that the modalities must be genuinely people driven. Those against it are selfish and self focused.” Continuing, he said: “Therefore, we must find a creative mechanism to bring all the sub-nationalities together to negotiate the destiny of our nation in such a manner that smoothly and peacefully transports us from the current system to a true people’s constitution that has genuine claims to the phrase ‘We the People’. Such a constitution must guarantee social and economic rights as well as civil and political rights without derogating these rights through backdoor provisions. We must embark on people-driven restructuring, cautiously impossible males violent change inevitable and that a constitution that will not bend will break.” On 2015, he said: “Therefore, we must not put the cart before the horse by placing emphasis on 2015. If we do not do the needful in 2014, there may be no 2015, but if we dedicate ourselves to restructuring our nation at this opportune time, the outcome will be the emergence of credible leadership that will ensure a Nigeria that works.”