Opinion: Gani Fawehinmi: Defiance As A Cause, By Lanre Arogundade and Hassan Soweto
Gani lived a life that was quintessentially defined by uncommon defiance of manifestations of the abuse of power, especially corruption, at the top levels of society and governance. He simply detested such and fought it with all he had.
On this tenth anniversary of the passing of Gani Fawehinmi, therefore, what might come across as astounding is how far the country is from the goal of changing it for the better, despite the monumental struggles that a person like Gani engaged in.
On the other hand, he held as sacrosanct, the right of citizens to protest against social, economic and political injustice, up to and including defying unjust laws such as the ones banning public protests or denying citizens the right to unionise, to mention a few examples. Then followed series of legal battles on behalf of victimised students leaders including the late Segun Okeowo who got dismissed from the University of Lagos after he led the famous Ali-Mun-Go protests of 1978 against increase in tuition fees in the Universities as the then president of the National Union of Nigerian Students .
It only took few years under the Obasanjo presidency for Gani to come to the conclusion that the NCP was needed to challenge for power. Thus began the titanic battle that was waged politically and legally up to the supreme court before the NCP was cleared to contest the 2003 elections on the basis of a ten-care programme that encompassed education care, health care, women care, to mention a few.
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