₦airaland Forum

I was excited late last year when I saw this story. But when I researched it, I found no reliable website that confirmed it - only small Nigerian unknown sites.

It seems to have been concocted by a smart Alec just to feel good.

https://www.google.com/amp/s/www.okayafrica.com/brazil-has-not-made-yoruba-an-official-language.amp

INNOSON’S DISPUTE WITH GTB: The Facts of the Matter

EXCESS AND UNLAWFUL CHARGES
At all material times Innoson Nigeria Ltd operates a current account with GTB. Subsequently, Innoson discovered that GTB imposed excess and unlawful charges in its current account in the sum of N560 Million and was demanding it to pay this to it with the accrued interest thereon. Innoson requested GTB to credit its account with the N560 Million and the accrued interest. GTB refused this request. As a result Innoson commenced suit No: FHC/AWK/CS/139/2012 against GTB at the Federal High Court, Awka and obtained judgement in excess of N4.7 Billion against GTB.

GTB appealed against the judgment to the Court of Appeal, Enugu Division, appoxite Appeal No: CA/E/288/2013. The Court of Appeal Enugu in a considered ruling ordered GTB to pay the judgment debt of N5.7 Billion inclusive of the accrued interest and any interest that would subsequently accrue thereon into an interest yielding account in the name of the Chief Registrar of the court.

JUDGMENT DEBT OF OVER N2.4 BILLION
Nigerian Customs services sold Innoson Nigeria Ltd’s goods by auction. Innoson commenced suit No: FHC/L/CS/603/2006 against customs. Thereat, judgment was rendered in excess of N2.4 Billion in favour of Innoson in the suit against customs. Subsequently, Innoson garnisheed customs’ account with GTB. Through a garnishee order absolute the learned trial judge ordered GTB to pay the judgment debt of over N2.4 Billion to Innoson from customs account with it.

GTB appealed against this decision to the Court of Appeal, Ibadan Division, vide Appeal No: CA/I/258/2011. However, in a considered judgment of 6th February 2014, the court of Appeal, Ibadan Division dismissed GTB’s appeal, affirmed the decision of the Federal High Court and ordered GTB to pay the judgment debt of over N2.4 Billion to Innoson from customs account with it.

CONSIGNMENT OF GOODS AND BILLS OF LADING
At all material times, goods imported by Innoson were consigned to GTB under the relevant Bills of lading. GTB endorsed the Bills of lading to Innoson and released same to Innoson. GTB recorded its endorsement and releasing of the Bills of lading to Innoson in its records. To this extent, before GTB released any of the Bills of lading to Innoson, it would first enter the particulars or details of the Bill of lading in a book – register – and then both the GTB officer releasing the Bill of lading and Innoson’s staff collecting the Bill of lading signed the book- the register. GTB released all the Bills of lading to Innoson and they were all dully recorded and signed for in GTB’s record-book.

Again, all the duties paid for the consignments – goods – were paid by GTB. Upon completion of clearing and taking delivery of each consignment, Innoson returned the exchange control copies in relation thereto to GTB for onward transmission to CBN, which GTB transmitted to CBN.

EFCC INVESTIGATION
EFCC discovered in conjunction with NDIC that reconciled and or audited Innoson’s account with GTB that GTB imposed excess and unlawful charges in the sum of N560 Million in Innoson’s account with it and was demanding Innoson to pay same to it as its legitimate earnings.

Also, EFCC discovered that GTB had a register wherein it entered the particulars/details of all the Bills of lading it endorsed over to Innoson and that GTB’s staff signed the register for the release of the Bills of lading to Innoson’s staff who also signed his collection/receipt of the Bills of lading from GTB in the register. Consequently, EFCC asked GTB to produce the register but till date GTB failed and refused to produce the register.

INVESTIGATION BY THE POLICE
The Police also investigated the issue of the endorsement of the Bills of lading. However, during an interview between GTB and Innoson’s representatives before the former Inspector General of Police, M.D. Abubakar, the then Inspector General of Police also discovered that there was such register. Upon the discovery, the former Inspector General of Police asked GTB to produce the register but GTB responded that the register was burnt by fire. With this answer, the former Inspector General of Police cautioned GTB over frivolous allegation and asked Innoson’s representatives to go.

SUIT AGAINST THE POLICE AND EFCC
Innoson sued EFCC and the Police to enforce its fundamental human right and that of its staff that it alleged was breached in the course of the investigation; and for an order of the court that all the documents that were subject to forensic investigation be sent to independent investigation, viz – FBI and or Scotland yard for analysis – since GTB was corrupting/influencing the forensic analysis of the documents by the Police.


FACILITIES FROM GTB
GTB granted various facilities to Innoson which Innoson secured with a legal mortgage of over N4 Billion and had defrayed them save the illegal, dubious and excess charges which was a subject of law suit in suit No: FHC/AWK/CS/139/2012 at the Federal High Court, Awka for which Innoson has subsisting judgment in excess of N6 Billion in its favour against GTB. In the GTB’s case – suit No: FHC/L/CS/1119/2014 against Innoson at the Federal High Court, Lagos, GTB never claimed or mentioned that Innoson was indebted to it in the sum of N2.4 Billion.

GTB’S SUIT AGAINST INNOSON
The suit which GTB filed against Innoson Nigeria Ltd, appoxite suit No: FHC/L/CS/1119/2014 at the Federal High Court, Lagos Division and froze Innoson’s account in all the Banks in Nigeria from 18th September, 2014 until 10th June 2015 was dismissed and the freezing order set aside. As a result Innoson commenced N30 Billion suit against GTB for damages it suffered as a result of the freezing order.

GTB’s CLAIM OF NON ENDORSEMENT OF BILLS OF LADING
The claim is a ruse aimed at GTB not honouring the various judgment debts of over N10 Billion it owes Innoson. In all the cases, GTB was represented by eminent lawyers.

QUESTIONS

1. Despite GTB’s claim that Innoson is indebted to it in the sum of N2.4 Billion and cleared the goods without its endorsing the Bills of lading to it, why is GTB losing all the cases to Innoson?

2. The N560 Million excess charges which GTB imposed and debited Innoson’s account with it, is it depositors’ fund?

3. The compound interest which GTB was charging on the excess charge of N560 Million which resulted in the judgment debt of over N4.7 Billion in suit No: FHC/AWK/CS/139/2012 is it the depositors’ fund?

4. Why is GTB refusing to produce its register where it entered the details of all the Bills of Lading it endorsed over to and released to Innoson and which register its staff and Innoson’s staff signed?

5. Why did GTB pay the customs duties necessary for clearing of the goods evidenced by the Bills of Lading?

6. Why did GTB receive from Innoson and send to CBN exchange control copies evidencing the clearing of the goods represented by the Bills of Lading by Innoson?

FINALLY
GTB is not the only Bank in Nigeria. Innoson has been having dealings with other Banks in Nigeria - 15 of the Banks - and none of them is having any issue with Innoson and its managing director.

Source: INNOSON

I realized that one major difference between the richest men in the world and the rest of us (who are in the majority) is that they mind their business passionately and smartly, while we mind other people's businesses grudgingly.

August Business School presents: Mind Your Business for Goodness’ Sake, a workshop with a blueprint on how to kick-start your business with little or nothing. Venue: Hanging Gardens, Ikeja, Lagos. Date: Saturday, Nov 19, 2011. Time: 9am. For enquiries, pls call IK on 0809-8727-263 or 01-8182141. Email: abs@augustconsulting.biz

The list is outrageous, to say the least. Such lists fuel the belief that it very expensive to marry from Igboland. Each town and family MUST insist that such ridiculous lists are not given to prospective suitors. We have done it in my town and family. My father collected the same N100 for my sisters' bride price. My father-in-law also did it - he collected only N100 from me as bride price.

Let the man be concerned mainly with the cost of the food and drinks guests will take on the D-Day. A man must not be fleeced because he wants to marry.

I think the headline is misleading. Abati NEVER thought in the article above that Nigeria was a failed state. He just gauged the people's pulse and put their frustrations down. And it was factual. Nigeria has been stagnating for decades, making everybody "mad" at the state of affairs despite our immense resources. Let's see what Abati and his boss will do to either better Nigeria's lot or worsen it.

I hope it's not true that Pastor Tunde Bakare called a fellow human being a "bastard". If indeed he did, then his claim of being a Christian is questionable. The reason Christ came and died was to remove mankind from all forms of bondage. His death removed a barrier between Jews and Gentiles, Circumcised and un-circumsised, free-born and slaves/outcasts, etc. No real Christian (not one who simply goes to church) will ever call a man created in the image of God a bastard. This is shameful.

I won't comment on the issue of not drawing a line between speaking against misrule/sin in governance and fighting his political opponents from his pulpit or his justification of the killing of the innocent in the North in the name of party politics. His members who listen to him know what to do if they are not happy about his sermons.

This is unbelievable! That Nairalanders can debate politics without insulting one another and each other's ethnic zone or religion? God be praised. Moderator, thanks too. Nairaland was becoming too predictive and banal. It seems to be where people come to display their lack of home training and hatred for other ethnic zones because of the anonymous cover it provides. Seun and his moderators must start being firm against ill-mannered commentators or cultured people will not bother to visit Nairaland. But thanks, guys, for the deep insights and sentiments you have shared on this debate. That is the way to go. Nigeria must be great again!

@ Saidsalla,

Without meaning any insult, I think you should not be commenting on this thread. I don't think your intellectual capacity measures up to the level needed here. You are simply dragging the discussion down. And it is looking childish. This topic is too serious for pettiness and mediocrity. Pls don't feel offended.

People like us want to know why these cases of violence emanate regularly from Muslims across the world and what can be done to curb them, not bandying words on who is right and who is wrong and other issues not related to the issue on ground.

@ Truly and Amalaaba

It is a pity the way you reason despite your presumed education. It is obvious that despite your pretensions, you enjoy these bombs and murders by Islamic fundamentalists. You will even sponsor them if you have the money.

I hate it when people bash other people's religion like some people are doing to Islam on this thread, but many non-Muslims get infuriated by the justification many Muslims usually give to senseless and barbaric murders of innocent people and they therefore erroneously conclude that all Muslims are the same.

If you truly love your religion, you should be scandalized about those who murder in the name of your religion and should not in any way justify such acts by telling us how Christians have killed others in the past.

There are Muslims in the South West and Edo State - they are very peaceful unlike those from Northern Nigeria. There are Muslims in Indonesia, Malaysia, etc - they are peaceful unlike those from Arab countries. Why is this so? And how can this Islamic fundamentalism be curbed before the whole world is consumed? These are the issues we expect you to address.

I think the Yorubas are the most tolerant as regards religion in the whole world. I stand corrected if anyone has any record of any other people who feel at home with the man a Muslim, wife Christian, 1st son Muslim, 2nd son Cele, 3rd son agnostic, daughter Christ Embassy, and yet they all live in peace and celebrate all their festivals together. I have never seen it in any other ethnic group in the world.

Secondly, Yorubas are the most rugged, consistent human rights fighters in Nigeria - Tai, Gani, Falana, Fela, Beko, etc.

Therefore, the Yoruba Muslims should as a matter of urgency lead a campaign against religious terrorism across the nation - organize a million-man march of only Muslims in Lagos, Ibadan, Akure etc to condemn in strong terms all acts of terrorism by fellow Muslims under the guise of Islam. The Hausa Muslims should also organize such marches and rallies in the North. This will send a message to the terrorists that even their Muslim brothers and sisters are against them.

No sacrifice is too much to fight this religious extremism. Violence begets violence.

I decided to take a break from participating in Nairaland and be an onlooker because of all the hate words that are spewed by some people on it, but I decided to come back because of this thread.

I commend the poster of this topic. That is a step in the right direction. Muslims who truly love their religion need to take serious action by demarketing the extremists/terrorists, forming groups against extremism and demonstrating against those who kill in the name of Islam. One Islamic cleric in America passed a fatwa on all Islamic fundamentalists some months ago.

@ Beta Thing, you sound educated and intelligent, so I expected you to make reasonable arguments. I am really disappointed at your worn-out, hackneyed attempt to prove that Christians, Japanese, Chinese, etc committed atrocities against other people, as well as saying that people kill others because they are under pressure. It is this type of mindset that makes other people conclude that all Muslims condone and defend terrorism.

The truth is that Islamic fundamentalists have made every Muslim across the world suspect. Muslims should be so scandalized and disgusted with these acts of terrorism that they should take every action necessary to reclaim their religion and portray it as the religion of peace.

But really, this is no news. When the offer was made to Ekwueme in 1998/99, he publicly said that he became the No 2 man in 1979 when he was 46 years and would not want to become the No 3 man in 1999 at 66 years.

I saw that as a sign of being principled and contented

Such a pity. May his great soul rest in peace.


As usual in Nigeria, when people die the cause of their death is made a secret.

There is this funny belief in Nigeria that there are some illnesses that should not be disclosed - evidence of retrogressive thinking. Thank God for a man like Prof Olikoye Ransome-Kuti who was bold to inform the world that his younger brother Fela died of AIDS.

babapupa:
Ask yourself,

Was Gani the premier of the western region? Was he the premier of the eastern region? Was he the premier of the northern region?


The thread starter asserted the quote below as the main contentions and body of his summation,


So, was Gani a politician?

Was Gani a political colleague of Awolowo?

They didn't ask you to compare apples and oranges.

Obviously, your reading and comprehension skill betrayed you?

The paragraph of the quote you refered to says: [b]"Within the context of Nigerian, and indeed within African politics, Awolowo had no equal. He towered above his colleagues. To truly appreciate his greatness, all you need do is to take a look at the men and women who now dot, and have dotted our public estate and public space. Do so and you’d be hard-pressed to name a political leader in Nigeria, in the last 50 years, who did more for his people and for his country than Awolowo."[/b]

Gani Fawehinmi lived in Nigeria's public estate and public space in the last 50 years. He also led a political party called NCP. So I compared his contributions to Nigeria vis-a-vis Awo's contributions to Nigeria and Gani beat Awo in my estimation.

babapupa:
Abeg stop this shallow and irrelevant nonsense.

Do you even know anything about job discriprion?

Awolowo's main job, the job he swore oath to perform was to lead the western region, to look out for and take care of the western region, not federal republic of Nigeria or the African continent.


If Zik derelict and go do what they didn't ask him to do and shortchanged is people in the process, that one na Zik's problem and the people wey hire or appoint him.

Zik was the president of Nigeria and Awo was the premier of THE WESTERN REGION. Get it trough your thick skull,

I try hard not to laugh at Igbo people's sense of reasoning and sad ways of letting Zik off the hook. They say things like, oh, he did not do anything because he was a pan africanist, he was for a united Nigeria. WTF has that got to do with you job? Wtf has tat got to do with taking care of your people? Was he trying to build a bridge across africa and call it pan african bridge?

Was he appointed or elected to be a pan africanist or what ever sorry a/s/s labels you guys affix to his shortcomings.


You guys really need to go peddle that redundant pan african nonsense elsewhere,


And if Igbo people don't have any pride in their leaders and can not highlight their achievements, that's your problem and if Yoruba people wanna yell Awolowo till eternity, that's their prerogative, so why are you Igbo people running around as if your birthrights got taken away?

Of course, it's all about your backward ways of thinking and communal insecurities. 

Again, this is about Awolowo, not Gani.

King Solomon, pls get it into your great brain that no Igbo man gives excuses for Zik because of his pan-African view. I hope you don't have comprehension problem: I said that the reason Igbos do not venerate Zik was because he didn't take Igbo issues to heart like Awo and Bello did. That does not mean that when Zik was premier of Eastern Region that he did not do anything in the East. I mentioned some projects he started including the first indigenous Nigerian university. But Igbos felt sad that he talked more about Nig and Africa than Igbo land, even after he was no longer the premier.

Note too that Awo was not Premier of Western Nigeria all his life. He was a minister of finance during the Civil War and after. He held no political post many years of his life. But he was still an opinion moulder in Nigerian affairs until his death. So his job descriptions were never to take care of Western Nigeria alone.

Note too, Wise King Solomon, that Igbos or Hausas never complain when you praise your leaders to high heavens as you claim. (I said in my first post that Awo was great.) They only complain when you tell them to their faces that your leader was better than theirs. And I tell you that in human relations, try hard as you like, no Igbo man or Hausa man or Ijaw man will accept that your leader is better than his leader. It is not possible. No matter the 'facts' you peddle.

Note too that one's strengths can also be the source of one's weakness. Have you asked yourself why despite the great leadership qualities of Awo, he could not win elections outside Western Region? Why was it that an Abiola that was not held in high esteem at home (WEST) was able to sweep votes in all regions, while Awo with his political sagacity and managerial skills could not?

Now look at this: In 1998, the AD had a choice to make between Olu Falae and Bola Ige as a presidential candidate. It is clear to all that Ige was wiser, more intelligent, more charismatic, a better speaker, a better manager, a better leader than Falae. But why did AD choose Falae? Because they knew that Bola Ige had an image of a core Afenifere man, who "may" be perceived as being more concerned about Yoruba issues than Nigeria. Mind you, I said 'may' - it was just a matter of perception. Despite Ige's sterling qualities over Falae, still AD chose Falae because they felt it would be easier to sell him to Nigerians than Ige. So there are so many factors you consider when you say that someone is "better."

Another example: Rev Jesse Jackson and other Black crusaders who came out for elections in the US had no fighting chance because of perception. But Obama who was accused of not belonging to mainstream Black movement or cause (who had a White mother and a Black father) suceeded where others failed.

And I still advise you show good breeding by controlling the way you insult people. I will not descend low to join you in that, no matter the insults you heap on me or Igbos. An adult should be able to argue his point without dragging himself in the mud. But if you think because you use a pseudonym on the internet, there is nothing to fear, you can go on. It merely reduces the regard readers have for you.

babapupa:
Is this a case of inability to read and comprehend or just flapping your fingers because you have cheap access to the internet?


Onece again, the tread is titled Awo had no equal, not Gani had no equal.

Gani was a great man, but we are not talking about Gani today and if Gani is it for you today, go and start your own thread and title it Gani had no equal. I'll stop by and contribute gan sef.

For now, clear road abeg.

Oga, the speed at which you go personal says a lot about you. Your love for insults really cheapens you.

Talking about understanding the thread, I think you should be the one I should ask if you have a problem comprehending me.

The post says: "Awo had no equal." And I respond thus: "I disagree; Awo has a superior in Gani. Gani Fawehinmi was better than he or any other Nigerian past or present."

Why is it too difficult for you to accept that I have a right to have my choice?

M.K.O:
I have taken the pain to read all the post on this thread and i must confess Nigeria has a very long way to go in terms of coming out of the blues.The so called educated people are nothing more than ignorant people who cannot even marshall a point without resulting to abuses.No wonder you guys throw chairs and table at the various assemblies.This is just a representation of what has happened so far.I am sure if it were possible ,chairs and tables would have been flying.
Now back to the topic,somebody made a claim backed with fact on why he feels that somebody is a better leader than the others .what you need to do is to intelligently make your own case on why you think he is not stating the fact .
Forget about all the hearsays and what have you ,thats sensational journalism that which depicts the state of nigerian judiciary.No jpournalist has been sentenced to jail for reporting falsehood.
Let me help all .These are the facts.
Nigeria ,had three regions then consisting of Western region,Eastern region and northern region each one manned by their leaders.

to know who is the better leader you have to judge each leaders performance on equal pedestal,according to the resources at their disposal.that is how it should be done not all those tribal poo you guys are protraying .For guys like ezeuche and his likes you are not making any sense.i know you will never change so continue.

Pls let's make this clear: Judging which among Awo, Zik and Sardauna as regional premiers achieved most for his people is clearly different from 'Awo has no equal'. If what you said was the thrust of the argument, no Igbo man would claim that Zik did more for the Igbos than Awo or Bello. The reason why Igbos don't venerate Zik like the Yorubas and Hausas venerate Awo and Bello is that while the other two made it clear that they were out to take care of the interest of their people, Zik was more concerned about Nigeria and Africa. Example: When Zik founded Nigeria's first indigenous university, he called it University of Nigeria, Nsukka. When Awo founded his, he called it University of Ife, while Sardauna called his University of Zaria.  Zik founded a bank and called it African Continental Bank. Zik founded a neswpaper and called it the West African Pilot. He founded a party and called it NCNC -National Congress of Nigerian Citizens - at a time some others named theirs after their regions, etc

Igbos don't see Zik as an Igbo leader. They see him as a Nigerian leader. The people they see as Igbo leaders are Ojukwu, M.I. Okpara. Hausas don't see Balewa as Hausa leader; their eternal leader was/is Sir Ahmadu Bello (Sardauna of Sokoto).

@ babapupa and Akingbemaru

I actually thought I was discussing with gentlemen, people who could discuss without a siege mentality that everyone with a dissenting voice is an enemy. I am appalled and disgusted by your comments on my choice of Gani as my greatest Nigerian. I guess in your ethnic-infested view of life, you were shocked that an Igbo man could rate a Yoruba man as the greatest Nigerian. But what a pity! I don’t reason the way you do. What trips you is not what trips me.

Even though you insulted me the first time and I did not respond, you still went ahead to heap more insults on someone that has not insulted you in any way or attacked your point of view. Because I had a choice different from yours, you resorted to personal attacks and insults. That was a shame. I wish your children or younger ones could hear you display such low-road mentality. That type of dictatorial attitude to divergent view is the stuff people like Abacha and IBB are known. And it is clear you would be worse than they if you were a military ruler. God save us from people like you who will kill anybody who disagrees with them.

So the only way to make you happy is if all Nigerians agree with you that Awo was the greatest Nigerian? Sorry we no longer live under dictatorship. You chose Awo and I did not call you names; I made my own choice (who is not even from Igboland), and you went berserk.

Talking about not comparing a human rights activist and politician, was Mahatma Gandhi a political ruler? Is he not rated the No 1 in India and rated highly across the world? Was Martin Luther King Jnr a governor, senator or president in the ? Is he not rated higher than the majority of American presidents? What is this childish way of reasoning that as human rights activist cannot be compared to a politician?

For you, Awo is the greatest. I have no problem with that. For me, Gani Fawehinmi is my choice. QED. If you don’t like my view, you can buy yourself a beautiful heart attack. That is your business. It won’t remove a strand of hair from my head.

I had stated it before in a subtle way but it seems some people didn’t understand it. So let me put it now bluntly: Anybody who forces others to accept by “superior facts and argument” that his mother is better than their mothers is an irredeemable fool. Anybody who wants to force others to accept that his religion or ethnic group, or language, or culture, or party, or party leader, or sports club, etc is superior to others’ is a BIG FOOL to be pitied. Life does not work like that. Even if those men accept it at gunpoint, they will call you a fool in their hearts and wait until they are free. So save your breath. Dale Carnegie said: “Be smarter than others, if you can, but never tell them so.” They will never accept that you are smarter, neither will they respect you or like you. I rest my case.

Gani was in a class of his own. To me, no Nigerian comes close to him. Everyone thinks of self first, but Gani thinks of the Nigerian people first before his safety.

When the dreaded Abacha banned Nigerians from forming political parties, Gani defied him to form the National Conscience Party. Police and soldiers waited for him here and then to prevent him. He went ahead to form the party publicly.

When armoured tanks faced demonstrators at Yaba during the June 12 protests, Gani stood before the armoured tanks and dared them to kill him. Everyone thought the end had come. The security men held their fire and watched the man in disbelief. If it were in Tiananmen Square (China), it would have been on the front page of Time, Newsweek and other mags and dailies and hyped on CNN, BBC, Sky News, etc.

Gani was an asthmatic patient who required special care, yet he never tired of saying or doing things that got him arrested. There was no terrible prison that the evil-minded IBB and Abacha did not put him in. They baited him with money and appointments, he refused. They arrested and arrested him and got tired.

When the law establishment threatened to debar him about the publishing of Nig Law Reports, he went to court and won.

When Abacha’s henchman al-Mustafa was arrested by OBJ in 1999, he asked Gani to defend him but Gani told him that although as a lawyer he was bound to defend anybody who required his services, friends or foes, yet given the evil al-Mustafa and his principal Abacha committed against the Nigerian people, his conscience would not allow him to defend him.

We usually venerate politicians more than those who don’t hold political posts. That is why Bill Gates will currently be in Nigeria fighting polio, etc, with his well-earned money and it won’t be hot news, but if Secretary of State of the US or even George Bush Jnr or Robert Mugabe comes into Nigeria, it becomes hot news.


Gani was the Bomb. That was a Nigerian par excellence. When will another come?

bk/babe97:
Dude, if u really meant all u wrote up here then big kudos to u; URE THE MOST SENSIBLE NIGERIAN I'VE MET IN A MINUTE. Now, lemme go take a look at this Gani guy!

I never write what I don't mean. I am not using a pseudonym too.

Gani Fawehinmi was so detribalized and selfless that it was almost unnatural. Sometimes, I wondered if he was possessed. If he were from America, Europe or Asia, he would have won NOBEL PEACE Prize a long time and be equated to Martin Luther King, Lincoln etc, if not rated more than them.

He belonged to no Afenifere or Odua meeting or parapo group. He was the lawyer of OPC, but when OPC began attacking Hausas, Igbos and other non-Yorubas in 1999/2000 shortly after OBJ took over, he immediately publicly condemned OPC and withdrew his support for the body. Most other Yoruba leaders kept quiet or were giving excuses for OPC then.

When Abacha did not have an Igbo man in his PRC in 1993, Gani went to court to challenge Abacha. Abacha hastily added an Igboman in the PRC.

When most activists were running away under Abacha, Gani (with his passport seized) left Nigeria for medical treatment. Everyone thought he would dare not come back having left Nigeria illegally. But he came back immediately after treatment and was arrested.

When Olu Onagoruwa, the bestman at his wedding, took up appointment with Abacha, Gani distanced himself from him and continually condemned him publicly.

When Military Gov of Ondo (Onyearugbulem) arrived at an event in Ondo and everybody stood up, Gani sat down. When Nig national anthem was sung, Gani stood in deference to Nig. When the Gov asked him to visit him once in a while, he told him angrily that he never visited govt houses, that if the Gov wanted to see him, he should visit him at his chambers, and that he had no regard for a Gov who had no respect for his elders (the Gov had earlier harrassed Pa Ajasin for hosting NADECO meetings in Owo), and stormed out.

He gave scholarships to Nigerians from all parts of the country without bothering about their state of origin or religion. He took up cases of thousands of Nigerians free of charge. Any time he heard that any Nigerian from any part was being intimidated by any BIG MAN, he took it upon himself to go defend the man free of charge.

He took no govt contract, took no govt appointment, was no friend to no politician who stole money or misruled. He even asked that no govt should donate any money towards his burial.

Even when he was bugged down by cancer, he continued to lambast govt for not taking care of the masses till the day he died.

When he died, beggars, widows, poor people from the North and South trooped to his house to cry and honour him.

Gani was one Nigerian that could go to any part of Nigeria and be hailed by the masses. Most other Nigerians would only be hailed in the ethnic regions but stoned in other parts of Nigeria.

I have never seen any HUMAN BEING (I mean human being not God) like Gani Fawehinmi.

Pls note that in life, no matter how hard you try, you cannot prove to another man that your mother is better than his mother. To you, your mother or child is the best; to him, his mother or child is the best. So don't impose your mother or child on him. If out of his own volition he accepts your mother as the best mom on earth, then you are lucky. But allow him to make that choice.  Just a piece of advice worth 1 kobo. 

akigbemaru:
Not well said ooo, if you compared Gani to Awo, you are silly. They had different roles they played. But Awo's legacy speeds 10, 000 miles ahead of Gani. You "Ibos" like to come up with your silly bantering when you know the obvious truth that Awo stands tall either among Yorubas or his contemporaries!

If you Ibo people hate Awolowo, because of very good advice he gave, I guess you are insignificant in this equation. Because, you are just only 20 percent of what constituted BIAFRA. The 80 percent loves him, I am talking about Efiks, Ibibio, Ijaws and e.t.c.
Ijaws are 16 million strong today and would not play a second fiddle in present naija situation.

Pls note, I was not comparing just Awo to Gani. I was choosing my greatest Nigerian. Gani Fawehinmi is my choice. To me (not to you), he was greater than Awo, Zik, Ahmadu Bello, Ojukwu, etc, because he was one man who would go to jail to defend me, even though I am not related to him. Awo or Ahmadu Bello would never do it for me an Igboman. Awo could do it for a Yoruba, Ahmadu Bello could do it for a Hausa man but not for me. Ojukwu could do it for an Igbo man, but not for a Yoruba man or Hausa man. So for me, GANI was the greatest Nigerian dead or alive (even though he was not a political leader). And I am not speaking for the Igbos. I have a right to have my choice.

In the West (Yoruba), Awo is No 1
In the North (Hausa/Fulani), Ahmadu Bello is No 1
In the East (Igbo), Ojukwu (not Zik) is No 1


Awo cannot win elections in the East or North. Ahmadu Bello cannot win elections in the East or West. Ojukwu cannot win elections in the North or West. That is where their weakness lies.

In the days of the regions, Nigerians (led by their regional leaders) played ethnic politics, and it became engrained in the system. I am happy that most of those who led that ethnic politics are leaving the scene. Gradually we will learn to play national politics, if we want to call ours one nation.

babapupa:
It's sometimes acceptable to carelessly spew nonsense because of misguided tribal or regional pride, but to keep repeating the same garbage clearly displays the saddest collective ignorance and zero knowledge of your own history.

Otunba Bupapupa, could you be clear and direct. I didn't get what you were driving at in your reaction to my comment.

Meanwhile, I take your insult as a compliment. As you may have noticed, no matter the provocation, I don't get involved in bashing of people, because I believe that even though this is the internet where people hide under pseudonyms and don't see face-to-face, yet people bashing or ethnic and religious bashing is not a sign of good breeding.

Was Awo great? Yes.

Was he the greatest to the Yorubas? Yes.

Was he the greatest to other Nigerians? Big No. (I prefer Gani Fawehinmi for his consistent sacrifice and defence of Nigerians no matter their ethnicity or religion, etc)

Now, can we talk about how to solve our problems as a nation and stop all this clannish pettiness.

nobody seems to be talking of our players getting injured trying to impress us. Abeg make they relax for that match ooo

jayzee_guy:
@ Azuka O.,

I think you still thinking something wrong with this issue alright ? But The religion of Senator is Islam, and nothing wrong with that in the religion, the issue is either the Senator has to obey the constitution or his religion, remember he take an oath with his Qur'an not the constitution.

Anyway, what I want to point out here is that, 9 year old girl can give birth a healthy baby, nothing new here please.

I know you made need link or an evidence of such, lets go :




The boy weighed 5 lbs and 9 ozs.

Lina is believed to be the youngest girl in the world to give birth to a healthy, full term baby.

Doctors found that Lina had a menstrual period at the young age of 8 months old.

The reason for this disorder is not known. As it's not everyday a 5 year old girl gets pregnant, research on the disorder is hard. Dr. Gerardo Lozada the doctor who delivered her son was astonished.

When asked who the father was, Lina did not give an answer. Many believed her father had molested her and got her pregnant. He was arrested, but because of lack of evidence, the case was dropped.

When her son, Gerardo (named after the doctor who delivered him), was 10 years old he discovered something quite shocking: the girl he believed to be his 15 year old sister was actually his mother.

Gerardo died at the age of 40 in 1979 from bone marrow disease. There is no evidence of the disease having anything to do with the fact that his mother had been so young when she had him.

Lina got married to Raúl Jurado in 1972 and had a second child 33 years after she gave birth to Gerardo. To this day the father of Gerardo is a mystery. Lina's second son currently lives in Mexico.

She was one of nine children born to country folk in Ticrapo, an Andean village at an altitude of 7,400 feet in Peru’s poorest province

A book, written by obstetrician Joseph Sandoval in 2002, who had been interested in her case, brought fresh attention to Medina’s story, and raised the prospect that the Peruvian government may belatedly offer her financial and other assistance. “The government condemned them to live in poverty back in 1939.

Extreme degrees of precocious puberty in children under 5 are very uncommon but not unheard of. Pregnancy and delivery by a child this young remains extremely rare because extremely precocious puberty is treated to suppress fertility, preserve growth potential, and reduce the social consequences of full sexual development in childhood.



http://www.incrediblebirths.com/Worlds-Youngest-Mother.html

I think you are either intentionally going off track or you are doing it unintentionally. But whichever way, I would want to discontinue with this discussion to avoid exchange of insults sooner or later.

But please let me clarify this point so that people will not be misled by your post: When you are holding the Bible or Koran while taking the oath of office, you are not swearing to uphold the Bible or Koran. You are swearing by the Bible or Koran that you will obey everything that is written in the constitution.

It's clear we cannot discuss or learn from each other on this issue. So thanks for your time.

@ Nopuqeater, Jayzee-guy and other Moslems,

I think you should stop wasting your energy defending Islam against Islam-bashers or -haters. Mind you, not everyone who bashes Islam goes to church. If you go to threads on Christianity, you will see worse bashing of Christianity, Jesus, churches, pastors etc. There is nothing you can do to stop those who have made up their mind against any religion or view.

What I think enlightened people like you guys can do is to speak on national or social issues dispassionately without bothering if a Moslem or Christain is involved or not.

Thanks