By Msonter Anzaa
It was on September ninth when Chief Gani Fawehinmi died of cancer in Lagos. His death though expected one of the days, shocked the nation. Tributes continued to pour in from all corners of the nation even after his burial. I donot seek to pay tribute to him in this piece. Instead, I seek to explore some of his qualities and also talk about why his ideas must live on.
Gain had been a very popular figure in Nigeria and that was not for nothing. To begin with, he exhibited a kind of allergy to injustice. He was so allergic to injustice that he opposed it wherever it occurred. He fought inhuman policies of government and constantly demanded accountability from our governments. His struggle for free freedom spanned through military and civilian regimes earning him over twenty jail terms. Chief Gani was courageously bold in his struggles.
While he knew the level of illegality especially in military regimes, he fought on. Gain believed that honor and fame are not won by following the crowd but by standing out and opposing the evil political forces of oppression. He feared no death and worshiped no man. He too could have feigned ignorance or helplessness when Nigerians were being enslaved by irresponsible administrations. He could have earned a good financial fortune by keeping quiet. But his love for justice inspired him to fight on all his life. So when death came, it was a moment of pride that a warrior of justice was bowing out of war, still holding onto the very ideas that sent him to the war. Gain came, saw and when death came, he was caught still conquering.
Chief Gani’s attitude and qualities are what we must emulate in Nigeria. At a time when there is so much evil in public life, what is needed is Chief Gani’s unyielding attitude. Nigerians must be courageous enough to look the evil forces in the face and aggressively oppose their evil practices. We must for instance, develop a compulsory interest in the governance of our country. We must ask questions and firmly demand answers. We must all rise and make our leaders grant us our rights to good governance and a decent public life. The threat of physical elimination must from now henceforth, be seen as an inspiring stimulus. We must look at the war against corruption and bad governance as the struggle for survival in a life that we must live. Nigerians must all set themselves free from evil political forces that seek to enslave them in their own land. We must learn to seek justice in all things no matter how little.
The phenomenon of Gani’s life teaches the value of courage. His life teaches that we can never have an amount of freedom greater than we are able to consistently defend. And good governance, accountability, freedom and justice are not freely given as Christmas gifts. People demand and defend them consistently. This is Chief Gani’s ideology that must live on.
