THOUGH it was supposed to be an occasion for the celebration of the life, times and contributions of the late social crusader and legal icon, Chief Ganiyu Oyesola Fawehinmi, it ended up being a sombre event with many tearful moments.
The Ondo State government had organised the event as part of the week-long funeral rites of the social critic to, in the words of Ranti Akerele, the state commissioner for information, "celebrate this illustrious son who epitomised all the noble characters of an average Ondo man".
The event, for which musicians were lined up to entertain the crowd to create a carnival-like atmosphere, was conducted with sober reflections on the deeds of "Gani", his exploits in the course of human rights advocacy, promotion of good governance and extra-ordinary support and philanthropic gestures to needy Nigerians.
Instead of dancing and singing as envisaged by the organisers, the ceremony seemed to have brought on the crowd, the full realisation of the death of the legal giant whose body, dressed in the traditional garb of an Ondo titled chief and laid in a glass casket, was the centre of attraction at the Akure Sports Stadium, venue of the ceremony.
Although the musicians, led by another Ondo indigene and music icon, King Sunny Ade and supported by Olu Maintain and Lord of Ajasa, attempted to thrill the crowd, the people who thronged the venue wore long faces.
The multitude of lawyers, all members of the Nigerian Bar Association (NBA), led by their President, Rotimi Akeredolu (SAN) wearing black gowns and wigs, who filed past Gani's remains with solemn expressions and the black background of the huge motorised stage on which dignitaries were seated, added a mournful tinge to the atmosphere.
Except for one or two moments when the radical music of Fela Anikulapo Kuti, which was played intermittently as the programme progressed, stirred the crowd, the whole event showed the deep feeling of loss that people felt with Gani's demise.
And when it was time for tributes, that feeling of loss was exemplified by the various speakers who all recounted the noble exploits of Gani, his consistency and persistency at making the country a society that would take care of its weak and the failure of the state to heed his message.
Many of the tributes, rendered by representatives of selected groups, including the NBA, the Afenifere Renewal Group (ARG), the Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC), the National Association of Ondo State Students (NAOSS) and the Movement for the Survival of Ogoni People (MOSOP), moved many in the crowd to tears.
President of the West Africa Bar Association (WABA) and Gani's comrade-in-arm, Femi Falana, who fought alongside the late activist in his many battles against injustice, lost his voice and broke down in tears as he was rounding off his tribute in which he charged Nigerians to live a life that would be worth celebrating after their death.
Falana, in an emotion-laden voice which reverberated through the stadium, said Nigerians should follow the biblical injunction of celebrating character rather than wealth.
According to him, "we are not here to celebrate Gani's wealth. He had wealth in abundance as he was one of the richest Nigerians. We are here to celebrate his consistency, his courage, his truthfulness, his integrity and his honesty."
He recounted a moment during their incarceration together at Kuje Prison when a priest approached Gani and told him to stop his anti-government postures and embrace the authority.
"Gani asked the priest to open his Bible to the book of Isaiah, Chapter 10 verse 10 where the man read 'Woe unto those who make unjust laws'. Fawehinmi then told him: 'We are fighting those who made unjust laws.' The priest didn't know what to say again," he said.
Falana particularly referred to the lyrics of Fela where he condemned the Babangida regime for thinking that human rights was a privilege to Nigerians saying "Gani believed that it is our inalienable rights and we must live that belief."
Although the ceremony was slated to begin by 10 am, the convoy that brought Fawehinmi's remains with other family members, including the wives and children, did not arrive at the venue until 1.20 p.m., having been met at the entrance to the state by a cabinet committee led by the state Attorney-General and Commissioner for Justice, Eyitayo Jegede (SAN).
On arrival, the body was moved from the ash-coloured Mercedes Benz hearse (with "Gani" inscribed on the plate number) by a group of pall bearers wearing traditional attires followed by family members who wore a uniform lace material amid songs of solidarity by members of the NLC and student bodies with lawyers in their black gowns lining the route to the podium.
Ondo State governor, Dr. Olusegun Mimiko, who eulogized Gani, urged the family not to mourn his death 'for he lived a life that was worth emulating by all noble men and women".
He said: "For being a dogged fighter in the temple of Justice, Gani became the most persecuted Nigerian, dead or alive by successive governments. He was detained 32 times in police cells, slammed into prisons eight times and had his passports seized 25 times over a period of 25 years.
"Unbowed by the attendant hardships to a life of activism, Gani continued the struggle against corruption and bad governance by the remaining Tormentor-In-Chief to recent autocratic governments in Nigeria."
The governor announced the plan of the state to establish a "Gani Fawehinmi Diagnostic Centre in Ondo town to keep the memory of the indefatigable crusader alive. Towards this centre, a board of trustees will be set up to advise on the modalities to best actualize it."
Mimiko said the decision to set up the world-class centre was taken "to reduce the incidence of incorrect diagnosis of all ailments because Gani's cancer was diagnosed at the level of irreversible malignancy.
He disclosed that the board of trustees would include all past winners of the Nigeria National Merit Award from Ondo State and urged corporate bodies and individuals to contribute to the realisation of the dream while a foundation would be established to assist those who may want to use the facility.
Among dignitaries at the event were the Osun State governor, Olagunsoye Oyinlola, who while paying his tribute disclosed that it was Gani who supported him with books while he (Oyinlola) was studying law at Buckingham University; the Deputy-Governors of Ekiti, Sikiru Tae-Lawal and his Ogun State counterpart, Alhaja Salimot Badru.
Others were former governor of old Kano State, Alhaji Abubakar Rimi, Senator Bode Olajumoke, who represented the Senate President, David Mark; Senator Polycarp Nwite, Special Assistant to President Umaru Yar'Adua on Niger Delta; Retired General Adeyinka Adebayo and the National Chairman of Labour Party (LP), Dan Iwuanyanwu.
Still others were Chief Oyewole Fasawe, candidate of the Action Congress (AC) in the Ekiti gubernatorial polls, Kayode Fayemi; Afenifere leader, Chief Reuben Fasoranti, Chief Olu Falae and Reverend Bolanle Gbonigi. From the bar came Adeniyi Akintola, Tayo Oyetibo, both of them Senior Advocates.
The funeral rites would be finalized today as the remains would be interred at Gani's Oka, Ondo home beside the grave of his mother.
From Niyi Bello, Akure
The Ondo State government had organised the event as part of the week-long funeral rites of the social critic to, in the words of Ranti Akerele, the state commissioner for information, "celebrate this illustrious son who epitomised all the noble characters of an average Ondo man".
The event, for which musicians were lined up to entertain the crowd to create a carnival-like atmosphere, was conducted with sober reflections on the deeds of "Gani", his exploits in the course of human rights advocacy, promotion of good governance and extra-ordinary support and philanthropic gestures to needy Nigerians.
Instead of dancing and singing as envisaged by the organisers, the ceremony seemed to have brought on the crowd, the full realisation of the death of the legal giant whose body, dressed in the traditional garb of an Ondo titled chief and laid in a glass casket, was the centre of attraction at the Akure Sports Stadium, venue of the ceremony.
Although the musicians, led by another Ondo indigene and music icon, King Sunny Ade and supported by Olu Maintain and Lord of Ajasa, attempted to thrill the crowd, the people who thronged the venue wore long faces.
The multitude of lawyers, all members of the Nigerian Bar Association (NBA), led by their President, Rotimi Akeredolu (SAN) wearing black gowns and wigs, who filed past Gani's remains with solemn expressions and the black background of the huge motorised stage on which dignitaries were seated, added a mournful tinge to the atmosphere.
Except for one or two moments when the radical music of Fela Anikulapo Kuti, which was played intermittently as the programme progressed, stirred the crowd, the whole event showed the deep feeling of loss that people felt with Gani's demise.
And when it was time for tributes, that feeling of loss was exemplified by the various speakers who all recounted the noble exploits of Gani, his consistency and persistency at making the country a society that would take care of its weak and the failure of the state to heed his message.
Many of the tributes, rendered by representatives of selected groups, including the NBA, the Afenifere Renewal Group (ARG), the Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC), the National Association of Ondo State Students (NAOSS) and the Movement for the Survival of Ogoni People (MOSOP), moved many in the crowd to tears.
President of the West Africa Bar Association (WABA) and Gani's comrade-in-arm, Femi Falana, who fought alongside the late activist in his many battles against injustice, lost his voice and broke down in tears as he was rounding off his tribute in which he charged Nigerians to live a life that would be worth celebrating after their death.
Falana, in an emotion-laden voice which reverberated through the stadium, said Nigerians should follow the biblical injunction of celebrating character rather than wealth.
According to him, "we are not here to celebrate Gani's wealth. He had wealth in abundance as he was one of the richest Nigerians. We are here to celebrate his consistency, his courage, his truthfulness, his integrity and his honesty."
He recounted a moment during their incarceration together at Kuje Prison when a priest approached Gani and told him to stop his anti-government postures and embrace the authority.
"Gani asked the priest to open his Bible to the book of Isaiah, Chapter 10 verse 10 where the man read 'Woe unto those who make unjust laws'. Fawehinmi then told him: 'We are fighting those who made unjust laws.' The priest didn't know what to say again," he said.
Falana particularly referred to the lyrics of Fela where he condemned the Babangida regime for thinking that human rights was a privilege to Nigerians saying "Gani believed that it is our inalienable rights and we must live that belief."
Although the ceremony was slated to begin by 10 am, the convoy that brought Fawehinmi's remains with other family members, including the wives and children, did not arrive at the venue until 1.20 p.m., having been met at the entrance to the state by a cabinet committee led by the state Attorney-General and Commissioner for Justice, Eyitayo Jegede (SAN).
On arrival, the body was moved from the ash-coloured Mercedes Benz hearse (with "Gani" inscribed on the plate number) by a group of pall bearers wearing traditional attires followed by family members who wore a uniform lace material amid songs of solidarity by members of the NLC and student bodies with lawyers in their black gowns lining the route to the podium.
Ondo State governor, Dr. Olusegun Mimiko, who eulogized Gani, urged the family not to mourn his death 'for he lived a life that was worth emulating by all noble men and women".
He said: "For being a dogged fighter in the temple of Justice, Gani became the most persecuted Nigerian, dead or alive by successive governments. He was detained 32 times in police cells, slammed into prisons eight times and had his passports seized 25 times over a period of 25 years.
"Unbowed by the attendant hardships to a life of activism, Gani continued the struggle against corruption and bad governance by the remaining Tormentor-In-Chief to recent autocratic governments in Nigeria."
The governor announced the plan of the state to establish a "Gani Fawehinmi Diagnostic Centre in Ondo town to keep the memory of the indefatigable crusader alive. Towards this centre, a board of trustees will be set up to advise on the modalities to best actualize it."
Mimiko said the decision to set up the world-class centre was taken "to reduce the incidence of incorrect diagnosis of all ailments because Gani's cancer was diagnosed at the level of irreversible malignancy.
He disclosed that the board of trustees would include all past winners of the Nigeria National Merit Award from Ondo State and urged corporate bodies and individuals to contribute to the realisation of the dream while a foundation would be established to assist those who may want to use the facility.
Among dignitaries at the event were the Osun State governor, Olagunsoye Oyinlola, who while paying his tribute disclosed that it was Gani who supported him with books while he (Oyinlola) was studying law at Buckingham University; the Deputy-Governors of Ekiti, Sikiru Tae-Lawal and his Ogun State counterpart, Alhaja Salimot Badru.
Others were former governor of old Kano State, Alhaji Abubakar Rimi, Senator Bode Olajumoke, who represented the Senate President, David Mark; Senator Polycarp Nwite, Special Assistant to President Umaru Yar'Adua on Niger Delta; Retired General Adeyinka Adebayo and the National Chairman of Labour Party (LP), Dan Iwuanyanwu.
Still others were Chief Oyewole Fasawe, candidate of the Action Congress (AC) in the Ekiti gubernatorial polls, Kayode Fayemi; Afenifere leader, Chief Reuben Fasoranti, Chief Olu Falae and Reverend Bolanle Gbonigi. From the bar came Adeniyi Akintola, Tayo Oyetibo, both of them Senior Advocates.
The funeral rites would be finalized today as the remains would be interred at Gani's Oka, Ondo home beside the grave of his mother.
From Niyi Bello, Akure
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