Chief Abdul-Ganiyu "Gani" Oyesola Fawehinmi is a Nigerian author, publisher, philanthropist, social critic, human and civil rights lawyer and Politician.
His supporters have called him "the scourge of irresponsible governments, a thermometer with which the blood pressure of dictators is gauged, the veritable conscience of the nation and the champion of the interests and causes of the masses".

Fawehinmi, popularly called Gani, was born on 22 April 1938, into the Fawehinmi family of Ondo, in Ondo State.

Chief Gani was called to the Nigerian Bar on the 15th of January, 1965.

In 1993 Fawehinmi was awarded the biennial Bruno Kreisky Prize. This prize, named in honour of Bruno Kreisky, is awarded to international figures who advance human rights causes. In 1998, he received the International Bar Association's Bernard Simmons Award in recognition of his human-rights and pro-democracy work. In 1994 he and some other notable Nigerians formed the National Conscience Party of Nigeria which exists till today and he stood for a presidential election in 2003 under the umbrella of the National Conscience Party.

Gani Fawehinmi became a holder of the Senior Advocate of Nigeria (SAN) the highest legal title in Nigeria in September, 2001.

Gani is not everything to everybody. You either like him passionately or you hate him intensely. This is because of his boundless and sometimes suicidal energy with which he tenaciously and uncompromisingly pursues and crusades his beliefs, principles and ideals for the untrammelled rule of law, undiluted democracy, all embracing and expansive social justice, protection of fundamental human rights and respect for the hopes and aspirations of the masses who are victims of misgovernance of the affairs of the Nation.

As a result of his activities along these lines, he was arrested, detained, charged to court several times. His international passport was seized on many occasions. His residence and Chambers were crudely searched several times. He was beaten up many times and was deported from one part of the country to another to prevent him from being listened to by the masses. Some of his books which the Federal Military Government did not like were confiscated and one of his houses at Surulere where the books were kept was about to be set ablaze when the would be perpetrators were caught and apprehended by neighbors. Even his Chambers at Anthony Village, Lagos State, was violently attacked and invaded by persons suspected to be government security men on 26 August 1994 and they shot at the Chambers guard, seriously wounding two of them.

He has been a very strong pillar in Nigeria's journey towards a fair democracy and is still an important figure in the nations politics till today.