Gani buried in gold casket - He is a candidate of Aljanah - Chief Imam
IN accordance with his wish, the remains of the fiery legal luminary, Chief Ganiyu Oyesola Fawehinmi, who died on September 5, were committed to mother earth near his mother’s graveside, within his compound in Ondo, Ondo State, on Tuesday. Fawehinmi’s burial rites took place amid encomiums from prominent and lowly-placed Nigerians.
At exactly 3:22 p.m., the remains of Chief Fawehinmi (SAN) were lowered into the grave dug beside that of his mother, Alhaja Munirat Fawehinmi, in his private residence at Oka area in Ondo town. He was buried in a gold casket after prayers were offered for the repose of his soul at the Ondo Central Mosque.
Fawehinmi’s body was brought from the Ondo Central Mosque accompanied by the state governor, Dr. Olusegun Mimiko; his Edo State counterpart, Comrade Adams Oshiomhole, former governor of Kano State, Alhaji Abubakar Rimi, former Minister of Power and Steel, Dr. Olu Agunloye, National President of the Nigerian Bar Association (NBA), Chief Rotimi Akeredolu, family members and a host of others.
From the venue of the lying-in-state, the remains of Chief Fawehinmi were taken to the Ondo Township Central Mosque where a special prayer was conducted for him by the Chief Imam, Alhaji Bashiru Alimi.
Speaking at the prayer session, the Chief Imam described the late lawyer as a God-sent helper to mankind, saying he was a pious and righteous Muslim who came to the world and accomplished all the missions assigned to him by God.
The Islamic cleric, who declared that Fawehinmi was a heaven-bound candidate, said that he was sure that the late human rights activist would definitely make Al-janah because of his numerous good deeds and for identifying with the poor while alive.
“When he was alive, some people felt he was antagonistic, but that was not the truth. Gani was always defending the truth and his good-naturedness could be seen in the number of people that have been coming to pay homage since his death 12 days ago.
“Again, the 12 days since his death and since he had been taken away from us to one place or the other can be compared to that of a man whose wife was kidnapped. One thing that he will be praying for is the release of his wife. Gani has been in the custody of his “kidnappers” in the last 12 days, but we are happy that he has been finally returned to us for proper burial”, he said.
The final burial was preceded by a lying-in-state organised by the Ondo Development Council (ODC). The Ondo Civic Centre, venue of the event was filled to capacity with more than half of the people that wanted to witness the programme unable to gain access to the hall.
Speaking at the programme, the Edo State governor, Comrade Adams Oshiomhole, said Fawehinmi would not die because all the ideals that he lived for would continue to live after him, adding that the people he fought, lived and suffered for would ever remember him.
He, however, said there were still many unanswered questions about the struggles of Fawehinmi, which, according to him, included education for all eligible children in the country, free and qualitative heath care for both the rich and the poor and legal representation for all irrespective of whether the person had legal fees or not.
The governor told the human rights crusaders left behind by Fawehinmi, particularly those in government now, to ensure that they worked for an egalitarian society where justice prevailed.
Kayode Soyinka in his tribute said but for the deceased, he would have been linked with the killing of the late publisher of Newswatch, Dele Giwa. Soyinka, who was with Giwa when he received a letter bomb that killed him said: “Fawehinmi was remarkable in many ways. He was the first caller in the hospital when Giwa was killed. Gani knew the meaning of friendship; he used the only instrument he had to fight for justice. We will invoke his sprit for the battle to liberate the people from oppression and want.”
Also speaking, Chief Ayo Adebanjo, an Afenifere leader and a core Awoist, described the late Gani as a courageous, consistent and fearless leader who gave all he had to defend the defenceless.
“No encomiums will be too much to shower on Gani and what he did cannot be rivalled. He was consistent and his devotion to the cause of the common man was unequalled. He was uncompromising and he was a believer in free education and free and fair elections.
“He served the nation with all the gifts and talents God gave him, even at the expense of his health and life. Gani is a difficult person to be replaced and it will be difficult for another Gani to come; his type comes around once in a while. He is an irreparable loss to his family, the bar and the political life of the country,” he said.
In the same vein, the NBA President, Rotimi Akeredolu, said that it was not so easy to describe the late lawyer in a few words having done so many things during his lifetime, but added that he would be greatly missed by the Bar.
“He was a fire-eater, a fire-fighter, a dogged and consistent fighter. He has put his house in order and he is leaving a good legacy, opening a vista for so many lawyers through his weekly law reports which are needed instruments for any lawyer,” he added.
The Afenifere Renewal Group (ARG), in its tribute read by Dr. Rotimi Ademodi, said “Gani was ubiquitous, as long as hearddistress call promptly he hearkened, he had journals for the studious, scholarship for the ambitious, impatience for the mediocre and intolerant he was to the tyrant.
“He had a dream that Nigeria is paradise where there is access to essentials of life, where even the poor can engage in litigation. Gani demystified the legal world and decompartmentalised religion”.
Also speaking, the national president of the Academic Staff Union of Nigeria (ASUU), Professor Ukachukwu Awuzie, said Fawehinmi would be remembered for his dogged fight for the downtrodden.
He said Fawehinmi struggled to ensure that Nigerians have free and qualitative education, adding that he also struggle against dictatorship. He said, “he struggled against dictatorship, his fight for students, for Nigerians generally placed him in a special position in the annal of this country.
“We will miss him in this struggle for genuine electoral reform because we are yet to have democracy in this country, what we have is an ordinary civilian rule”.
The chairman of ODC, Professor Ifedayo Oladapo, described Fawehinmi as a great son of Ondo town that would be remembered for his contributions to the country.
According to him, the late human rights lawyer’s life was worth celebrating as he was a thorn in the flesh of his adversaries. Also speaking, Mr. Tope Adeboyeku, a former student leader and currently working with the Ondo East Local Government Area as an accountant, described the late Gani Fawehinmi as “the Conscience of the Nation who trained us not to fear the bullet, but fear and respect our conscience.”
Adeboyeku was rusticated from the Yaba College of Technology, along with seven other students in 1991 for spearheading a protest against the decision of the then military ruler, General Ibrahim Babangida (rtd.), to buy a fleet of limousine cars for the African Heads of State who were in the country that year for the Organisation of African Unity (OAU) summit.
Recalling that the late Fawehinmi took up the case, which lasted four years without taking a kobo, the former student leader who carried a placard (along with one student) itemising the travails of the late lawyer, said; “some of our leaders today have dead conscience but are still living.”
Major market and shops in Ondo were closed early in the day as a mark of honour for the late lawyer, while major roads and street between Gani’s house in Oka area and Ife Motor Park were also closed by security men with broken wood and chairs to prevent the movement of vehicles and motorcycles, in compliance with the directives by the monarch of the town, Osemawe of Ondo, Oba Festus Kiladejo that the markets should be closed.
On the major roads commuters were stranded as students of the Ondo Boys High School and other schools in the community lined up the road to pay their last respects to the late human rights activist and beggars in their scores filed into the Oba Adesanoye Civic Centre venue to perform pay their last respects.
The body of late Gani Fawehinmi (SAN) was at exactly 10:40 a. m., conveyed in a gold casket into the centre for his final farewell by kith and kin and was accompanied by the children, led by his eldest son, Mohammed.
Other dignitaries included Chief Olu Falae, former Secretary to Federal Government, Alhaji Abubakar Rimi, ex-governor Kano State, Afenifere leader, Chief Reuben Fasoranti, Dr. Fredrick Fasheun, leader of Odu’a Peoples Congress (OPC)
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