What Gani should mean to Nigerians

While most Nigerians recognised and appreciated his temerity, some considered his methods unprofessional; there is no doubt that Gani’s style was intentionally unorthodox, his speeches were persistently prolix and verbose with the intended effect of intimidation achieved almost all the time, and when the words didn’t cut it, his arrival at the court rooms with […]

While most Nigerians recognised and appreciated his temerity, some considered his methods unprofessional; there is no doubt that Gani’s style was intentionally unorthodox, his speeches were persistently prolix and verbose with the intended effect of intimidation achieved almost all the time, and when the words didn’t cut it, his arrival at the court rooms with a retinue of legal aides and tons of massive legal reference books usually did the trick. Nigerians loved him for his willingness to face the tyrants head on but they loved him more for this showmanship which he executed with dramatic accuracy.

In 1986, the death of Dele Giwa raised many questions; beyond the typical whodunits and how, in 1988 Gani raised the spectre; allowing Nigerians to see the possibilities of a direct confrontation with a perceived demagogue. He went for the jugular of those perceived as culprits in the sordid act, in his true character he instituted a suit that would, for many years, hang like an ever tightening noose around the necks of those he fingered as culprits. This was the famous Gani Fawehinmi v. Akilu and Another, asking the Director of Prosecutions of Lagos State to charge the persons of Col. Halilu Akilu and Lt. Col. A. K. Togun to court over alleged conspiracy to murder and over alleged the murder. His conviction, that the General Ibrahim Babangida government was complicit in the murder, never waned. He was not done; in 1999 it was his temerity, dedication, and fearlessness that once again awoke a nation’s sleeping conscience to the belief that justice must serve its course no matter how long it takes. At the Justice Chukwdifu Oputa Panel hearings on past misdeeds during the military years, Gani, in his emotion laden voice, boldly pointed fingers at the same people he had long chased with the whip of justice over the Dele Giwa affair.

In the case entitled Chief Gani Fawehinmi and Another v. NNPC and Four others, Gani once again alerted Nigerians to alleged misappropriation of funds by the military administration. In the suit he sought to compel the military government, then Minister of Petroleum, Professor Jubril Aminu, and the Governor of the Central Bank of Nigeria to render an account of all export earnings realised by Nigeria from the sale of crude oil during the gulf war in 1991. There were many more that exposed Nigerians to the alleged mismanagement and government ineptitude in high offices. Though we knew many of these cases wouldn’t change the dysfunctional system that existed (and still exists) Nigerians still relished the euphoria these legal battles sparked.

At this point it was clear this crusader had few limitations in his battles, Nigerians admired this courage but feared for his life, we knew that enemies in high places fought dirty, conscience was a missing word in their vocabulary. On the contrary, Gani’s only weapons were his voice and an astute understanding of the legal process. For the courts that heard his cases, it was a barrage of sorts that would keep them constantly on their feeble and submissive feet while they tried to stifle his efforts through legal technicalities. This was one of his greatest strengths; that he was never tired of knocking on the doors of the courts, hard as they tried to frustrate his efforts, was a proof of his tenacity.

Nigeria admits that it owes this icon of justice immense gratitude for his years of selfless service to the neglected, and the wretched of the nation, but what Nigeria has always failed to admit is the fact that in Gani, Nigerians were able to sleep easy knowing the night watchman was a capable hand. Gani was the night watchman for most Nigerians; with his tenacity and voice as his only weapons-but how effective they were-he embarked on a journey few dared to attempt and it was a marvel to see how he was willing to bear the consequences for his actions. The hurdles were many; prison became a second home, just as he came to accept the fact that arbitrary arrests had become his lot.

What Gani became was not, in any way, as a result of a Damascene experience he felt later in life; he entered the arena a willing fighter and he remained one until the very end, at least until the pangs of a debilitating illness stifled his most admired abilities. His other popular battles were a fixture in the minds of every Nigerian so much so that, at a time, Gani’s mere words on the pages of newspapers forced a largely non-reading society on a mad rush to the newsstands.

While his many awards stand as testament to his recognition, they do not truly express the feelings of gratitude that a nation must show to one of its most outstanding heroes.

Barrett writes from N26, Nuru Oniwo Street, Aguda, Surulere, Lagos ([email protected])