Gani, the Law Was His Own Weapon

GANI THE LAW
Credit: TELL Photo

La 'ilaha-Lahu wahdahu la sharika lahu lahul-mulku wa lahul-hamdu yuhyi wa yumitu wa huwal-hayyul-ladhi la yamutu biyadihil-khayru wa huwa 'ala kulli shay in qadirun. There is no god except Allah; He is only One; He has no associate; to Him belong all sovereignity and praise; He causes life and death; He is ever-living who will never die; He possesses excellence and He is the most powerful over all things. True, Allah is the Alpha and the Omega. He has done His will and who are we, mere mortals, to question His wisdom? He does as He pleases. If He likes He can spare the wicked and strike down the merciful just as He has done to Abdul-Ganiyu Oyesola Fawehinmi, our brother and benefactor. Weep not, comrades. Let me now invite the leader of the Social Science Party to deliver his speech.

Thank you. In this casket lies one of the greatest men of our time, Abdul-Ganiyu Oyesola Fawehinmi, author, publisher, philanthropist, human rights campaigner, activist lawyer, maverick politician, visionary leader, scourge of villainy, veritable conscience of the nation, champion of the interests and causes of the masses and the sphygmomanometer with which the blood pressure of dictators is gauged. We salute his undying courage and love for the country. On behalf of the members of our great party I join others in saying farewell to our dear leader.

Can I now call on Mallam Zakaria Biu, leader of the Maryland Mendicants Movement, to present his short address.

Assalamu Alaikum, Jama’a. As you see me so, me I sabi this man. Na good man sham! He kind well well. As you see me so, me I dey represent all beggars wey dey for this our country, no be Maryland alone. I am for the poor, the hungry, the thirsty, the homeless and the hopeless. Gani na our aboki. Na mutumin kirki; he no be mutumin banza like those wey dey government. But me I no sabi the thing wey that person wey speak before me dey talk. He call our friend, Gani, “flenty flenty” names wey me I no Sabi. He say Gani na blood pressure. He talk am say our aboki na sifigicinimameta or wetin he call am? Kai! Menene? Which kind suna be that? Wallahi, me I no sabi that one before before. Ka ji ko? Me I sure say na this kind dogon turanci (big grammar) wey kill am, no be cancer at all, at all. We dey too knack grammar for this our country. Hospital, 'e no dey. NEPA, 'e no dey. Road, 'e no dey. School, 'e no dey. Food, 'e no dey. Water, 'e no dey. Na soso big, big grammar for radio, for television, and for paper yet no peace, but na wahala everyday. In fact the time wey our aboki dey alive we dey tell am say all this your turanci no fit work. He no go listen. Me sef I tell am say if na for bow and arrow we get am boku for north. Dagger, akoi fala fala. Talisman, he dey “flenty” for we pocket. I talk am say we fit do Boko Haram for we oppressors. Even I tell am say for your people sef, dem get original juju like the people of Okija but he go tell me say law na him own juju wey he dey use to fight. One day, I ask am, you be Timi the Law or wetin dey do you sef? He just vex “flenty flenty”, he come talk say him own law no be for chop and quench but for...but for...wetin again be that word he use o? Kai! Me I don forget...Yes, I get am! I get am! He say him own law na for (social) engineering. I look am for face sotey I come ask am, you be engineer too? Aboki surprise me well well when he talk am say true true he be engineer. Me I think say he dey craze. Abi na me de craze? He say he be like mechanic wey wan repair vehicle (this country) wey wan yamutu. That kind proverb me I no sabi am at all, at all. But the thing wey I sabi be say Gani na great man.

Thank you, mallam. I shall now call on Gani's old schoolmate to say a few words.

Let me begin by saying, I have not come to bury Gani but to exhume the past when Gani was a kid. We were two of a kind. I was stubborn. Gani was rascally. The two of us constituted a double thorn in the flesh of our teachers but Gani was a particularly troublesome pupil. Here he was, a microscopic tiny Gulliver among giant seniors yet he was atakorowonuado. He was the proverbial mosquito that perched on the wrong side of one's anatomy. He would stand like a junior David before any of the senior Goliaths and take them up on what he called acts of injustice and wickedness. He loathed their dictatorial, arrogant tendencies. I'm not surprised that he chose to champion the cause of the oppressed throughout his enduring life. He was a fighter, very bold and daring. I remember Gani used to kill snakes with his bare hands. This may sound like a fairy tale but it happened on so many occasions. He once did kill a snake like that and brought the fresh carcass into the classroom. Both teacher and pupils fled through openings other than the exit door where Gani stood triumphantly, giggling with his long, swirling "trophy". He was the type of student who would be asked to kneel down, close his eyes and raise up his two hands to the high heavens while others were being taught arithmetic, geometry or algebra and he still excelled in any test arising from the lesson he was deprived of. And what was his offence? He opposed the dictatorship of the "student bourgeoise". But Gani did not care. He was ever ready to risk his own freedom for the benefit of fellow compatriots. And, perhaps, I should say this. The seniors really feared him for being too quarrelsome and hyper argumentative. The principal, however, saw something in him: "This boy would make a good lawyer." Ladies and gentlemen, here lies GANI, the principal's, the principal and the principled lawyer of our time.

At this juncture, may I call on the Lisa of Eginland, who is the representative of the Osemabook, to deliver a short address.

I want to remark that we are really pleased with the tributes already paid to the memory of our son, brother, uncle, father, granny and chief ombudsman of the masses, Abdul-Ganiyu Oyesola Fawehinmi. We are indeed pleased to listen to his exploits while on this terrestrial pedestal. To some of us in Eginland, Gani had only behaved to type. As we say in Yorubaland, the offspring of Ajanaku will always take after the elephant. Gani is a true son of his father who was a wealthy timber merchant, a lover of education and a great opponent of excessive taxation of the poor. He was a devout Muslim as well as a prolific polygamist. He had 15 wives and 40 children. His own father, Chief Lisa Alujonnu Fawehinmi, was a valiant warrior who fought many battles for and on behalf of the Egin people. Gani, his son, did no less. Fighting for others runs through the veins of the Fawehinmis. Don't be surprised if Mohammed, his son, rises up from the wheelchair tomorrow, on the direct command of Almighty Allah, to carry on the struggle where his father stopped. Nothing is impossible with Olodumare (God). Mohammed will not be the first alujonnu (enfant terrible). His father was. His grandfather was. His great grandfather was. Allahu Akbar! Olorun tobi loba! God is great!