LATE CHIEF GANI FAWEHINMI

When Chief Gani's 14-year old first child asked for his dad's support to go to the Nigeria Defence Academy taking the NDA's form to his father to sign, Chief Gani left the form, reached for the cane and flogged the young man for planning to join his tormentors.

From Kaduna prison to Jos prison, from Gombe prison to portharcourt prison, from Kuje prison to Ikoyi prison, Chief Gani Fawehinmi was the most jailed human right activist from Nigeria. 

For raising his voice against injustice, his books were confiscated, his library set ablaze, his house and chambers were always raided and he was assaulted on Mobolaji Bank Anthony Way in Lagos by Naval officers.

His travails from security agents never dissuaded him from defending the poor and the weak in the society.

"I defended the students of University of Ibadan in 1971 when one of the students, Kunle Adepeju, was shot dead by the police under Gowon’s regime and the government of the day set up a Commission of enquiry headed by Justice B. O. Kazim and I represented the students for 5 months in that tribunal of enquiry. In 1976, I defended the students of University of Benin against the wrath of the military government. In 1983, under Shehu Shagari, there was a peaceful demonstration by more than 4000 students of the University of Maiduguri against the misdirected high handedness of the leadership of Professor Jubril Aminu, (former Nigerian Ambassador to the U.S.) Several students were expelled and their education illegally truncated. I fought to the Supreme Court to obtain victory. This is just to mention few of my struggles for justice." Gani recalled.

They always came for him. He was arrested on his 50th birthday.

"I witnessed one of the times they came to arrest him in the house. They were about armed 20 policemen. It was as if they were coming to take a criminal and they brought a big Black Maria. He told them, ‘Gentlemen how are you? Are you ready?’ He told my mum to take care of us and he followed them" His daughter, Idiat recalled.

Due to incessant arrest Chief Gani always kept a bag with toothpaste, toothbrush and the Qur'an with him-always ready for jail.

When he was asked the possibility of defending Ralph Uwazurike he said:

"If am approached by Uwazurike to take up his case, I will fly straight to wherever he is or, if I cannot go there by air, I will go there by road. If I cannot go there by road, I will trek to defend his right to hold an opinion because freedom of speech is a fundamental right. Because he has the right to pursue any objective and if they feel that his objective is criminal, then he has the right to defend himself in the court of law and we shall defend the issue of his fundamental rights".

The incorruptible Chief Gani was able to speak truth to powers because he had nothing to hide. He once said;

"I have never got any contracts from any local government, state government or from federal government. I don’t even know the house of ministers. I never met any Head of State in my life. I’ve never met any minister in my life. I’ve never submitted any application for contract anywhere in my life. I have never submitted any application for contract at any level whatsoever."

Chief Gani was Unbiased, detribalized and unsentimental patriot. When his own daughter was working in his Chambers, she either resumed before/at 7am or be locked outside the gate like any latecomer.

Chief Gani's lung began to deteriorate while doctors were busy focusing on his heart and blood pressure. It got so bad that he called his cardiologist, Dr Mike Fadayomi, his childhood friend from the age of four. He is one of the best cardiologist in this world. He directed Chief Gani to a radiologist to do the X-ray first. When he (radiologist) came with the wet X-ray and showed it to Gani and Fadayomi, the cardiologist shouted;

"Gani something dangerous is wrong with your left lung. You must run to London. I don't understand this"

When Chief Gani got to London the doctors told him that he was among the 5% patients in the world who don't smoke or drink and yet had lung cancer.

Gani narrated his ordeals to the doctors in London and one of them hinted that his "horrible detention" must have triggered the lung failure.

The human right activist was asked to prepare for the worst and Gani wept.

To prevent politicians from "hijacking" his burial, Gani bought his casket while alive and made cash available for his funeral with instructions to his children about how he liked his funeral to be.

Chief Gani Fawehinmi literally lost his voice to the ravaging lung cancer before his Sun finally set on 9th September 2009. And Nigeria hasn't been able to find a replacement for that voice of justice and courage till date.

Let's celebrate another selfless Nigerian

A legal icon

A symbol of justice

And OUR HERO.

A Cry For Help From RMS Titanic

 

The world was shocked when RMS Titanic sank 107 years ago.

But the tragic saga has been told and retold over the decades since her sinking; her story stirs the imagination to this day.

The "unsinkable" ship sank four days into her maiden voyage from Southampton to New York City, with an estimated 2,224 people on board, losing at least 1,517 lives, which makes it one of the deadliest maritime disasters in history. 

RMS Titanic hit an iceberg at 23:40 on the night of April 14, 1912. 

 

Just over 150 minutes later, the ship broke in two halves at around 02:20 on April 15 and sunk.

 

When the Titanic was hit hard & started sinking it began sending out distress signals.

 

Three ships were nearby before it sank. 

The first ship was known as SS Admiral Sampson.

 

SS Admiral Sampson was the closest to RMS Titanic. It was just 7 miles away from RMS Titanic.

 

They saw the white flares from RMS Titanic signaling danger and a call for help, but because the crew had been hunting seals illegally and didn’t want to be caught, they turned and went the opposite direction away from Titanic.

The second ship was SS Californian.

 

SS Californian was just 14 miles away from RMS Titanic, but they were surrounded by ice fields and the captain looked out and saw the white flares, but because the conditions weren’t favourable and it was dark, the captain and his crew decided to go back to bed and wait until morning. The crew tried to convince themselves that nothing was happening.

 

Early in the morning, at around 05:30, the wireless operator was awakened. He tried to communicate with the ship, but got the sad news instead – RMS Titanic has sunk.

The third ship was RMS Carpathia.

 

RMS Carpathia was 58 miles away from RMS Titanic and was headed in a southern direction when they heard the distress cries from RMS Titanic over the radio. The captain of this ship knelt down, prayed to God for direction, and then turned the ship around and went full steam ahead through fields of icebergs.

 

It would take her approximately three and a half hours to arrive at the position of RMS Titanic’s final distress call.

 

Captain Arthur Rostron speeds up his nine-year-old ship. The ship managed 17 knots, which far surpassed her quoted top speed making their way to the last known coordinates of RMS Titanic.

 

Meanwhile, Rostron’s crew kept busy making preparations to receive the surviving passengers of RMS Titanic, to ensure the rescue operation could be both as successful and as swift as possible.

 

RMS Carpathia arrived in the area at approximately 3:30 AM, that’s about an hour after the Titanic sank.

 

This was the ship that saved the 705 survivors of the Titanic. This is one of the most heroic and perilous rescue efforts. 

 

The remaining 1517 lives got lost in "watery grave". It is said that if the other two ships had responded all the people on-board the “Titanic” could have been saved.

 

When the captain looked back at the ice fields they had come through, he said; “someone else hands must have been at the helm of this ship.” 

 

Let us remember Titanic sent the distress signal to multiple ships shortly after midnight on April 15, 1912. Only the farthest ship; “RMS Carpathia” arrived on the scene and saved the 705 survivors of the Titanic. 

 

The story of the sinking of the RMS Titanic is similar to the story of "The Good Samaritan" and relates to the behaviour of humans.

What can we learn from it?

 

The first ship represents us and people like us who are so busy looking inward at our sin and lives that we can’t recognize when someone else is in need.

 

The second ship represents those of us who say I can’t do anything now. The conditions aren’t right for it and so we wait until conditions are perfect before going out.

 

The last ship! That's what we should all aim to be. To be there for each other and thrust everything into God's Hands.

Are you your brother's keeper?

 

Every day hundreds of youths are going into crime because their neighbour pretended not to see their distress signal and cry for help and looked the other way. And just like RMS Titanic, many glorious dreams are being buried in untimely and 'watery graves'.

 

The most worrisome of them are street and campus cultism which is the breeding ground for many other violent crimes such as thuggery, armed robbery, drug addiction/ trafficking, electoral violence, etc.

 

It is not enough to shout #EndSARS, #EndBadGovernment. 

 

If you are not doing something to help the people in your neighbourhood, you are not different from SS Sampson and SS Californian.

 

I am calling on you today to be your brother's keeper. 

A cup of rice or a piece of advice could save a soul from perishing.

A better society (Nigeria) starts in our neighbourhood.

 

Life whispers to your soul and speaks to your heart. We need to take the time to listen to these whispers and take heed.

Socrates said, ''Know Thyself.'' 

 

So ask yourself this moment, ''Who am I?'' Then, whatever good in your heart you want to do, do it!

 

Let's spread love and light. 

 

Make this post go viral. Someone somewhere could see it, read it, and have a change of heart. 

Remember, the Nigeria of our dream starts in our neighborhood.

Do not ignore the cry for help from "RMS Titanic."