INTRODUCTION
ANCESTRY
BIRTH AND EARLY DAYS
EDUCATION
LOVE, MARRIAGE & FAMILY
LAW CAREER
STRUGGLES
POLITICS
HIS WORDS
INTERESTING THINGS ABOUT THE LATE GANI FAWEHINMI
WHAT OTHERS SAY ABOUT HIM
CONTROVERSY AND CRITICISM
HIS WILL
DEATH
BURIAL
LEGACY AND REMEMBRANCE

He was a lion of a man. And a very ferocious one at that. In a nation of over one hundred million, he had the stunning audacity and spellbinding temerity not just to criticize some of the world's most brutal military dictators, but he also took the battle right to their doorsteps. He was a one-man army, an irrepressible machine of raw physical and mental strength. Never in the history of Nigeria has any man that incredibly fearless challenged the terrifying authority of the earthly rulers with so much persistence, determination and single-minded focus as this man. The 'people's president' was so courageous that his bravery sometimes defied logic and the limit of human endurance. His name? Gani.

ANCESTRY
Atimes, when looking at the boldness with which the late Gani carried out some of his struggles, one cannot but wonder where he got such fearlessness from. But it comes out that it was already wired in his genes. His grandfather, the late Chief Lisa 'Alujanu' Fawehinmi was a legendary warrior who took part in many successful battles and war campaigns for the Ondo people, and he also confronted the colonial forces of Britain in the 19th and 20th centuries. His nickname was 'Alujanu' meaning 'spirit' or 'jinn'. Some kudos to the DNA there. The revered 'Alujanu' would later die at the age of 92.

BIRTH AND EARLY DAYS
A high chief among his native Yorubas in southwestern Nigeria, the late Abdul-Ganiyu 'Gani' Oyesola Fawehinmi was born on the 22nd of April, 1938 to the prominent Fawehinmi family in Ondo Town, Ondo State. His father, Saheed Tugbobo Fawehinmi, also a titled chief, was the Seriki Musulumi of Ondo (head of Muslims in Ondo) in addition to being a very successful forestry merchant. The young Gani would pick a lot from his father who was also a philanthropist and civil activist who fought against the imposition of heavy taxes upon the poor. History tells us that Chief Fawehinmi Senior was one of those who introduced Islam to Ondo by being a follower of Ajao who cleared the area of traditional African religions. On the 5th of February, 1963, the same year Nigeria became a republic, his father joined his ancestors, he was aged 89.

EDUCATION
Schooling for the late Gani Fawehinmi started when he enrolled in 1947 at the Ansar-Ud-Deen Primary School, Iyemaja-Ondo and finished in 1953. From there, he proceeded to a Christian school, the Victory College, Ikare, for his high school education. He was there from 1954 to 1958 when he sat for the West African School Certificate Examination. After high school, the young Gani worked as a clerk at the Lagos High Court and from there, it was time to fly off to the United Kingdom where he enrolled at the Holborn College of Law at the University of London in 1961. While a student there, almost finishing his second year as an undergrad, tragedy struck. He got a message that his benefactor and the sole sponsor of education, his father has passed away. For a child who grew up in considerable comfort and appreciable luxury, life suddenly turned upside down. Hardship set in and the son of a wealthy African timber merchant had to drop out as a fulltime student and became a toilet cleaner in London and between February 1963 and August 1964, he worked as a sweeper at the Old Gatwick Airport. By the time he returned to Lagos in 1964, he was poorer than a pious rodent. All he had were scanty essentials stuffed into a small suitcase. He said all he was able to buy were "all of low quality and cheaply bought at rock-bottom prices in general sales at Caledonia Road, North London". That was the quintessential Gani for you. Hin no dey form unnecessary posh like some wey no go let pesin rest on top BB Porsche. Upon landing in Lagos, he enrolled at the Nigerian Law School, No, 213A, Igbosere Road, Lagos.

But while he was in school and even in the face of the biting hardship he was experiencing, his interest in education never waned and not even once did his passion for political, legal and national issues die. He was fondly called 'Nation' for his deep-rooted interest and passion in these areas. He was a voracious reader of the most popular Nigerian newspapers at that time: the West African Pilot and the Daily Times.

LOVE, MARRIAGE & FAMILY

The late Gani was married to two wives: Ganiyat Ibukun (nee Orebela) and Abike (nee Ikuomuyilo). He fathered a total of 14 children, eight from the first wife, a native of Ago-Iwoye, Ogun State while the second wife, Abike from Ondo, bore him six children. His children, Mohammed Fawehinmi and Mrs. Basirat Fawehinmi-Biobaku are both lawyers. Gani was also a disciplinarian father. According to his son, Mohammed: My father used wood, horsewhip, cane and wire to flog any of his children that erred. I tasted them all. There were many instances. When I was in form three at the Federal Government College, Sokoto, I went to the Nigerian Television Authority in the state with some friends to dance. The dance was later shown on television. He was at home watching the television with my mother when he saw me dancing. My father was very angry and took the first flight the following day to Sokoto. He came to the school and when I saw him, he asked what I was doing at NTA. I told him we went there to learn about the music and culture of the people in that part of the country. He asked me if that was what he sent me to do in school. Then he started flogging me with the horsewhip he had brought with him.

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another nice one!

Well done

Gani of yesterday-Gani the brave one..ooooooI LOVE this MAN....*singing...I want to be like Moses,take my people to the promise land,but then I noticed something,people wey try am don de under ground*mmmm...dats all

He and Fela are true yoruba leaders, unfortunately their kinsmen despise them and choose to kiss the shoes of the likes of Tinubu and OBJ

Radical lawyer.

3ace: Radical lawyer.

Rephrase your BS, he was not a radical lawyer but a man that fought against injustice.

A great man he was . Not lyk festus kiyamo elenu lawyer

A legal icon none to another.
The first and still the last.
Yet to see any Nigerian lawyer who can fill the vaccum he left behind.

To long to read

saheedbadmus: A great man he was . Not lyk festus kiyamo elenu lawyer

Keyamo is an opportunist, Falana is a showbiz lawyer.

Nice Write up.

Senior Advocate of owambe masses?

....This poor man had never done anything for his tribe and the nation whil he was alive...he only good at cramming grammar.

xykms101: Senior Advocate of owambe masses?

....This poor man had never done anything for his tribe and the nation whil he was alive...he only good at cramming grammar.

Mr Man, you need help and if God dont help you, no one can

bootlegaz:
Rephrase your BS, he was not a radical lawyer but a man that fought against injustice.

Ode, what is the meaning of "radical"? The word doesn't describe him negatively. He fought injustice and was radical about it.

A story to learn from. ♓☺w I wish our present day leaders will take a clue from his legacy. Nigeria will indeed be lovely.

pls I want to be a mod

He got his fearlessness from his father but I don't think any of his children has his nature in this respect. Maybe his grandchildren will.

xykms101: Senior Advocate of owambe masses?

....This poor man had never done anything for his tribe and the nation whil he was alive...he only good at cramming grammar.

U must be a kid who knows absolutely nothing about Gani. But then u should have just shut up instead of exposing urself.

If he was still alive, retardeen and his baby elephant for don go back to fishing by now

One word

#RESPECT#

True Nigerian, Not the like of Tinubu who people foolishly worship while he steals them blind

His luv 4 humanity is undiluted..

Yours GEJ,:
If he was still alive, retardeen and his baby elephant for don go back to fishing by now

The same way he pursued obasanjo? ....Mumu

...The lousy man wasn't different from an ordinary charge and bail lawyer.

Wil b back

Gani Is Dead But His Manhood Lives Forever... R.I.P

Nice write up. He is truly a man of the people.

In other news, I'm drunk now!