A lecture has been held at the Lagos Airport Hotel, Ikeja, in honour of the late Chief Gani Fawehinmi (SAN). ADEBISI ONANUGA was there.
The spirit of the late human rights crusader and constitutional lawyer, Chief Gani Fawehnmi (SAN), came alive in Lagos at his ninth yearly lecture / symposium entitled: Fawehinmiism.
At the event, eminent Nigerians took turns to eugolise the late Fawehinmi’s contribution to the development of the economy and his political and human rights crusades. The symposium’s theme was: “Economy, politics and human rights: whither Nigeria”
The speakers described Gani as a selfless lawyer , and the best ever, who gave his life for the course of the masses.
They, stressed the need for national re-birth that will guarantee the development of human rights in order to keep alive the late crusader’s struggle.
Dignitaries at the event, cut across social strata.
Lagos State Governor Babatunde Fashola (SAN), by the Solicitor-Genneral, Mr Lawal Pedro (SAN), his Ogun State counterpact represented by the Attorney-General and Commissioner for Justice, Mr Wemimo Ogunde (SAN), the Executive Chairman of the National Human Rights Commission (NHRC), Prof Chidi Odinkalu, human rights activisit, Chief Abiodun Owonikoko (SAN); Senator Enyinnaya Abaribe, Lagos State Chief Judge, Justice Ayotunde Phillips, Senior Advocates of Nigeria such as Ebun Sofunde, Femi Falana, Emeka Ngige, Augustine Alegeh, Niyi Akintola, Tayo Oyetibo and Dele Adesina, among others.
There was also the Resident Electoral commissioner for Cross Rivers State, Mike Igini; former commissioner in Lagos State, Dr Muiz Banire and Mazi Okechukwu Unegbu, among other.
They noted that bad economy, high poverty level and the high crime rate are inter related issues at the front burner of national discourse today and that attempts to provide answers to them amounted to digging at the foundation of Nigeria’s problems and thereby bringing the nation to the point of national rebirth.
The Chairman of NBA, Ikeja Branch, Mr Monday Ubani, said in his welcome address that, the late Fawehinmi was still angry from his grave that the problems of the country that truly facilitated his demise, instead of abating are growing daily.
According to him, every decent Nigerian will feel appalled at the rate the country had moved politically and economically, adding: “The nation has been denied growth by pervasive and institutionalised corruption everywhere. No institution or agency of the government is spared even the private sector is not innocent”.
Ubani lamented that the grave danger in all this was that the country has a populace that is less discerning and that which does not see any looming danger.
He said if the country must make progress economically and politically, “ a populace on red alert is the answer. He said: “If the rights of the citizen must be respected and duly observed, the populace has to insist on compliance by everyone, big or small. What I mean is that progress is not attained by docility and inertia. Countries that have experienced tremendous movement in terms of development had active, participatory and discerning populace as a catalyst. Chief Fawehinmi is missed greatly today because everyone in the nation knew that he was never docile, he was never asleep over breaches of government”.
He said the late Fawehinmi “will shout, he will scream and where they refused to hear, he will sue”.
According to Ubani, Fawhinmi had the Nigerian press as his greatest ally and that he was a firm believer in the rule of law and trusted the judiciary.
Ogun State Governor, Senator Ibikunle Amosun, described the lecture as another demonstration of the NBA’s readiness to engage issues affecting the country to provide platforms for cross-fertilisation of ideas that would bring solutions to issues bothering our development.
He lamented the fact that poor people could easily be induced to vote contrary to their objective judgment.
This, the governor said, could result in the emergence of leaders they least desire as well as results in poor policies and programmes, which in the end can could give rise to a bad economy.
Amosun emphasised the need for the Federal Government to get economy right to ensure that the nation’s democratic processes and polity are sustainable.
The governor stressed the need to empower the people to exercise their rights and defend them.
“Defending the rights of the citizenry and creating conducive atmosphere for people to realise their potential is the best means through which the government can become accountable to the people”, he added.
Amosun charged lawyers to see human rights beyond the narrow prism of right to life, free expression, fair hearing, education and other social rights contained in chapter four of the constitution.
He referred to some rights embedded in Chapter two of the constitution, which are non-justifiable, advising: “Your determination of rights must equally encompass all of economic rights, including but not limited to right to fair opportunities, decent and gainful employment”.
Pedro (SAN) who represented Governor Fashola urged lawyers to take up more public interest litigations and not to be concerned in making money alone.
Lawal explained that this was why the state government came up with the law encouraging lawyers to take up pro bono cases.He urged lawyers to emulate the late Chief Fawehinmi and to think of what they could do to make the society a better place for all of us.
In his lecture, Odinkalu, who traced the problems of the country to the bastardisation of the judiciary and the police described Fawehinmi as a generalisiimo, who fought for an egalitarian society and challenged Nigerians to stand up against injustice.
Odinkalu called for an egalitarian society where every citizen irrespective of his political linings, religion or creed is allowed to exist.
The NHRC chief attributed Nigeria’s economic woes to the collapse of the police and the nation’s “lobotomised” judiciary, a situation, which he explained led to the belief among influential citizens that judgment could be purchased.
While describing patriots as part of Nigeria’s problems, Odinkalu said the clamour for the national conference would not bring solution to the national woes, but a distilling constitutional convention without violence. He lamented that violence has been democratised in the country and that nobody is being held accountable for it.
He recalled that the genesis of the insecurity in the country started with the murder of the former editor-chief, of the defunct News Watch, magazine Dele Giwa, and the “complicity of the state” in the murder or the state’s attempt to cover it up.
Odinkalu said a failed Nigeria would be catastrophic to Africa, adding that Nigerian leaders would be failing the country if they failed to address the problems of the country.
“The balkanisation of Nigeria has to end. We challenge the Nigerian government to end the bombings and extermination of one another in the country” he said.
Chief Niyi Akintola (SAN) agreed with the view espoused by Odinkalu that The Patriots under the leadership of the latenChief F.R.A. Williams and Prof. Ben Nwabueze and others failed the nation.
Owonikoko lamented that the country has become a nation of consistent despot. He said the leadership has misplaced their priorities and that this has great implications for the country. He said for the country to move forward, the culture of inefficient and misplaced priority in appropriating the resources of the state must stop.
He urged the government to put in place mechanisms for checking the excesses of politicians for the nation to move forward.
The President of the Nigeria Bar Association (NBA), Mr. Okey Wali, in an address described Nigeria as a country with all the trappings of a nation state but failed to grab them. According to him, Fawehinmi was known for public interest litigation. As a prolific icon, he resisted actions of the government that were inconsistent with the rule of law using public interest litigation. He recalled that Fawehinmi recorded great achievements in public interest litigations under severe and harsh legal frame work and environment.
Wali noted that the situation is no longer the same with the intoduction of the new Fundamental Rights Enforcement Procedure Rules 2009 which encourages courts to welcome public interest litigations without cases being dismissed or struck out for want of locus standi.
He, therefore, urged lawyers to take advantage of the new rules to emulate Chief Fawehinmi by taking up public interest litigation cases, since those symptoms and components of bad governance fought by the late human right crusader are still prevalent.
The NBA president also urged the Federal Government to intensify efforts in its fight against insecurity, saying that the issue is not only affecting human lives, but also the economy.
Wali who also noted that the nation’ economy has performed below potential due to inefficient systems, corruption and weak infrastructure called on the Federal Government to intensify efforts in its fight against insecurity.
He also said NBA would embark on aggressive advocacy for the reform of investment laws to make the country more investor-friendly.
On serial violations of human rights in Nigeria, and flagrant violation of human rights in extra judicial killing, Wali advised the Federal Government through the office of the Attorney General of the Federation to take urgent steps to curb the rising rate of extra- judicial killings.
“Pre-trial detention and unlawful detention with no prospect of trial are other kinds of abuse of human rights and poor administration of criminal justice that stare us in the face on daily basis”, he added.
The NBA president further called on the President Goodluck Jonathan to embark on aggressive electoral reforms and constitutional review to ensure credible and fair elections, which is one of the ingredient of good governance.
“A political arrangement that promotes justice must be fashioned out as a matter of our survival as no one will do it for us we must ourselves deal with this challenge”, he added.
In a citation entitled, “The Gani Fawhinmi I know”, Chief Wahab Shittu, described him as a foremost, bold and courageous nationalist and statesman, crusader for justice and rule of law, philanthropist extraordinaire, celebrated author, publisher and law reporter and activist founder of a political party.
Shittu said Fawehinmi was one lawyer, who was not afraid to stand alone in the pursuit of his beliefs. “He was able to achieve his desires and command respect of the rank and file because he had character and operated on a higher moral ground. Gani”, he added, “could never be faulted in terms of integrity and moral standing. He led by example and showed the way as a leading light in the society. He was also very principled and was adjudged consistently consistent, which is a mark of greatness.
“Indeed, Gani’s life has demonstrated that there are two categories of lawyers: those who are obsessed with the theory of change, and those who are obsessed with the theory of forestalling change”, he said, adding: “Gani, clearly was the leader of the first category”.
Shittu also said the lecture made all those present to reflect on the value of honesty, integrity, sincerity, truthfulness, diligence, determination to excel, self respect, humility, fearlessness, contentment, and believing in the dignity of human individual.
