Gani Fawehinmi: When Freedom Wears a Skirt

"I came into the practice of law with anger, brutal anger, with a bull-dog determination...." Gani Fawehinmi, quoted in p.g 131 of the book, Gani: Crusader For Justice by Prof. Akin Ibidapo-Obe.

The name 'Gani Fawehinmi' like the 1000 naira note needs no introduction on the soil of Nigeria. Consequently, I do not intend to write the biography nor chronicle the great deeds of Gani in the crusade for public justice in post-colonial Nigeria. Permit me to say, nevertheless, that Gani, very dogged and brave, fought with his blood and sweat against injustice and oppression of the powerless in Nigeria.

If injustice was a thick cloud of darkness, then Gani was the narrow light which pierced like a sword through it. And may the efforts of our heroes past never be in vain. And may the efforts of the great Gani Fawehinmi never be in vain.

And it was not surprising that when Gani joined his ancestors, hundreds of groups and thousands of individuals decided to honour and immortalize the late sage. The result was that streets, roads, parks, buildings, etc were named after Gani. Today, I still wonder why no single paper note or even coin, that is if coin still exists, in Nigeria carries the useful head of Gani Fawehinmi.

In Lagos, the reason for which I am now writing this essay, there is a popular park in Ojota named after Gani Fawehinmi. The park is known as "The Gani Fawehinmi Freedom Park". And indeed, the statue of Gani, a fine gentleman attired in glamorous legal gown and wig, has become a strong symbol of liberty and defiance against all forms of lawlessness and political recklessness against the masses. As a matter of fact, one of the largest protests in the democratic history of Nigeria, the Occupy Nigeria Protest led by the Save Nigeria Group of Pastor Tunde Bakare, took place in the Gani Fawehinmi Freedom Park. From that historical moment, the park became the convergence point for civil disobedience. And our democracy came of age, giving room for freedom of expression, expression of opinions and thoughts.

However, and sadly, the statue of Gani Fawehinmi, the symbol of freedom, the tower of strength, the tree of liberty, is now shrouded in a piece of white, unbefitting veil and skirted without any explanation by the Lagos State , I suspect. In the past one month or thereabouts, I have been shuttling around Ojota and noticing the vicious veil on the statue of Gani Fawehinmi. At first I thought it was due to some routine maintenance by the Lagos State ministry of environment but I fear this is not the case. Perhaps, there is a clandestine plan to silence the statue of Gani and even, if possible, rename the park.

On this note, I use this opportunity to call on the officials of Lagos State Government and other constituted authorities to urgently remove the veil across our beloved Gani Fawehinmi, and spare the park if there is any attempt to rename it, so that the labour of our heroes past shall not be in vain. Veiling a statue of freedom is, methinks, an assault on the collective conscience of all the lovers of freedom worldwide. Freedom should be left naked, without a skirt or any form of trousers.

David Ademule is a student of human society and crime; he lives and writes from Lagos where he goes about carrying his magical pen in his pockets.

Source: http://facebook.com/thesocialmicroscope

Cc lalasticalala, seun, ishilove, etc

Man of the people not this amala lawyer called Falana and his Aboki friend called Festus keyaAmu.

The great fawehinmi.
He was a nation himself. A lover of the masses.
I just remember again, where is muhammad fawehimin. No comments from him on national issues nowadays.

Surely, Ibrahim (Abraham) was a nation, (i.e., a leader,Imam) devout to Allah, unswervingly upright, and he was not of the associators, (Those who associate others with Allah)
(Quran 16:120)

https://quran.com/search?q=leader