The Gani Fawehinmi brand and Nigerian society, by Fashola Thursday, 09 October 2014 07:30 Written by Wole Oyebade Category: Focus Hits: 47 Print Email Lagos State governor Babatunde Fashola (SAN) recently took the podium at University of Lagos to discuss the ideals of Gani Fawehinmi, with the submission that there is no consolidation of democratic norms without the culture of hard work, justice, fairness, rule of law and accountability. WOLE OYEBADE reports. IT was a packed audience of law students that congregated at the Main Auditorium of the University of Lagos (UNILAG) recently. They have come to listen to the Lagos State governor, Babatunde Fashola (SAN) as he delivers the 2014 Gani Fawehinmi Memorial Colloquium. And it was a rewarding experience indeed and in truth. Except for occasional interjections and cheers of approval in enchanting moments, it was more of a pin drop silence for 80 minutes that he spoke on the theme of the colloquium: “Consolidating democratic norms through credible electoral process” pegged on the values of Fawehinmi. The occasion, organised by the Gani Fawehinmi Students’ Chamber, Law Faculty of the university, was auspicious for the aspiring lawyers; all disciples of Fawehinmi – the face of civil rights struggle in Nigeria. The choice of the guest lecturer (Fashola) – a legal luminary turned statesman – was significant in many ways than one. First daughter of the Human Rights legend, Barr. Basirat Fawehinmi-Biobaku recalled how her dad – in his sick bed – remarked that “that boy” (Fashola) is one of the best things to happen to Lagos after the days of Lateef Jakande. As an advocate of town-and-gown synergy for social development, Fashola is also endeared to university community. Dean of the Faculty, Prof. Akin Ibidapo-Obe attested to his financial support for their programmes. This, he appreciated as much as the multi-door court initiative to dispute resolution and Office of the Public Defender (OPD) offering pro bono legal services. Fashola therefore had no difficulty accepting the invitation, he said in his pre-ambles. It was partly for the reputation of Prof. Itse Sagay, the patron of the Gani Fawehinmi Students’ Chambers who had also taught Fashola for four years at University of Benin. Besides, the event is about students, who had chosen a relevant topic of discourse, some months before general election. It was exactly 245 days before the end of his eight years (two-term) tenure as Lagos goveror. And if gains of past years must be consolidated, it has become part of his duty to advice the electorate to choose their leaders wisely. He was quick to remind the students that democracy, in principle, is man-made and imperfect. It would not guarantee good governance without universal ideals that the likes of Fawehinmi represents. The Gani Fawehinmi brand, according to Fashola, was built on the best values that the Nigerian society must collectively aspire to propagate. They are hard work, justice, fair play, rule of law, equity before the law, anti-corruption, public accountability, freedom of expression and speaking the truth to power. Fashola observed that they are principles that turned Fawehinmi into a public figure, international icon and metamorphosing into what is today known as the legendary Gani Fawehinmi brand. Describing the icon, he said: “When Gani took the public space, it was not for personal fame. It was in the pursuit of public good. His methods were his own and this is where I would caution that whether the brand moves from being global to becoming timeless depends on what is done with it.” To immortalise the icon, the governor noted that Lagos had created a public centre in Ojota and built a memorial park “dedicated to a man who spoke publicly and spoke the truth to power.” “But it has assumed a different meaning for some people. It is a place to hold political rally. For those who chose to be loud in order to seek public fame under the guise of being like Gani, I think you missed it. You might diminish the brand.” He noted that Fawehinmi was never acting loud to be heard. He was naturally vocal. He never used his public presence to disturb public order; he used it to promote public good. “If the process of public order was sometimes disrupted, I do not think that was Gani’s purpose.” Again, “Gani did not hide behind students and incite them to lawlessness; he led their causes from the front, using the instrumentality of law to bring relief to the distressed. “The streets were not Gani’s theatre of expression; they were only sometimes incidental to this purpose. His theatre of justice against oppression was the courtroom. He did not seek fame; fame came looking for him. “Therefore dear students, in order to consolidate on our democratic norms, we must all unite ourselves with our values and from there it seems to me that our democratic journey will be less arduous that it currently is.” Notwithstanding his rich background, Fashola recounts, Fawehinmi became what he was by dint of hard work and good education. The source of his income was known – law practice and his business interests. He was never celebrated for his money, but known in the legal profession as a tireless advocate, with persistence in his believes even though he is not always right. In terms of recognition, “he received awards, honours and recognitions from our higher institutions and internationally for hard work. All of these seemed like yesterday. But what do you have today? In a society where there is so much to do and do much to build, we have more awards than developments we can call our own and yet there are more awards still coming. “Conferment of awards has become a business. Our Ivory Towers are guilty and they must change. They must lead us away from this path that seems to celebrate only mediocrity and wealth,” he said. Fashola was more emphatic: “We cannot have so many honourary Doctorate conferments amidst this level of under-development. It does not speak well of us. In my own little corner, I have declined five of such offers and I have persuaded our state university to suspend such conferment. “This is not because I am a saint or because there are no deserving people that our state university can honour. On the contrary, it is because I believe that those awards are critical building blocks of the moral and developmental fibre of our society and I feel duty bound to ensure, at least on my own watch, that we do not lose or destroy those blocks,” he said. Fashola queried that how do we inspire people to hard work, when all our newspapers are taken over by self-serving advertisements for congratulations to public officers and some private officers simply because they have been appointed to serve in an office. “The concept of giving awards to serving public officers simply offends me. Because, what do you then give to that person after he has finished and done well? Even in football, they don’t give Most Valuable Player (MVP) award to anyone during play, but after. ” He added that Nigeria couldn’t consolidate on democratic gains unless there is justice and fairness, both of which are dependent on the rule of law. While he advocated for willful compliance to the rule of law, as against coercive enforcement, he was of the view that the electoral process would be enriched when everyone have the same mindset to act willfully and would not seek to gain any illegal disadvantage. Fashola said it was most unfortunate that despite clear provisions of the electoral laws, some people had started campaign, and in the process “breaking the law to get illegal advantage.” “And you think there will be credible election, when the person that should be calling us to order is already cheating? “It diminishes the electoral process when the independence of the judiciary, who should settle disputes, is usurped by the removal of a judge like Justice Ayo Salami simply because he acted to nullify elections that were proved by evidence to have been fraudulent. That was his offence. “The credibility of the electoral process is further undermined by the refusal to restore this judge to office in spite of reports that showed that he was not guilty to any wrongdoing. That is not fair play, that is not justice and this offends the rule of law.” He also recalled that it was Fawehinmi’s sense of justice and his quest for fair play that led him to court to file an action challenging the de-registration or refusal to register more parties. He succeeded and the effort had strengthened multi-party democracy and choice. “Sadly, those gains are gradually being eroded by those who abhor fair play, and who despise justice. They have adopted a combination of tactics. They staged manage disruptions in small parties, they induce them with money, they send their agent provocateurs to disrupt their cohesion. “What are they afraid of? If they have a message, they should bring it out and contest fairly. They have gained so much than they probably even expected because some of those parties that Gani fought to get registered have betrayed their own loyal members by already endorsing a candidate in an opposing party (and I’m assuming that they are in opposing party and not two sides of the same coin) that has not even said he would contest. That is the one you are endorsing as your candidate in an opponent’s camp. Very strange.” On the value of freedom of expression, otherwise called, speaking the truth to power, Fashola said the press has a lot to learn, adding that a vibrant press with strong and ethical editorial policy is a necessary institution for the consolidation of democracy norm. He observed that there are categories of media: some soft, some in between and some very serious. “While those in the first and second categories may be forgiven if their platforms are used as a vehicle of patronage, I can only say that for those who are categorized as serious, it is the public who are their mainstay, who determine their rating. “The least we should therefore expect is that they will resist the temptation of offering their platform as patronage. It does a lot to confuse the public and obscure society’s sense of propriety and values. “I can only now assume that the jury will be out about how many of those in that category can be truly said in the eyes of the public to remain in that category, especially with some of the messages they now carry which suggest to us that our country is better than the experience we live with today. “We see messages of Martin Luther-King; Liu Kuan Yiu, Barak Obama. Well, maybe it is happening in another country. We are seeing photography of Benin-Ore road, Second Niger Bridge. But I know what is out there. For me, it is not just a matter of conscience, it is a national duty to speak the truth to authority and maintain the purity of editorial control in the overall national interest.” He added that if there is any area where the country is seriously challenged, it is in the area of accountability. Fashola said though the private sector could not be absolved of the issue, the public sector has done very poorly with the issue of the abducted schoolchildren in Chibok and $9.3m scandal. “Accountability must go beyond the lack of corruption or embezzlement of funds. It must include the existence of a guide for recording value accruals; and also the right to know. “The inconsistent information we were receiving about the situation in Chibok, and the attack on Bama did not do justice to the right to know. At one moment, the information was that the girls have been recovered. At another, there were doubts whether the girls were even abducted. At another moment, ‘we know where the girls are’. “Quite similar was the case in Bama. The media was castigated for reporting that Bama had been captured. Only few days later, the report was Bama had been recovered. So, you have recovered something that was not captured? “I know these are difficult times for our country, but we have a right to know and be consistent with the information. I recognize that right of the public to know. That is why every 100 days, I come out to the people who put me in office and tell them what I’ve been doing, the problem we had 100 days ago, where we are and where we are going.” He said further that Fawehinmi spent a useful part of his life challenging public officers to account for their actions and to take responsibility for them. “How will Gani have reacted today to stories we now hear today of the disappearance of $20b or $49b, depending on what side you believe? If you Google Buif Khalifat, the tallest building in the world, that building has held the whole world in stupor; the stupendous display of engineering audacious thinking. The whole world is going there every day to see the wonder of a leader’s vision. Do you know how much it cost? $1.5b only. And we say that we lost that we lost $20b! “We have spent $16b on electricity but you can’t switch it on. Now, as if that is not bad enough, we now trying to find out whether there was really an attempt to purchase ammunition for $9.3m. We are just being made a mess of all around the world because of the value choices we have made. “Let’s stop pointing fingers at those people, you voted for them and they are representatives of the values we have chosen to live with. Will Gani have stood by and watched without demanding an explanation about how we spent over N2 trillion on Petroleum Subsidy without appropriation? If Gani could see us, what will he be thinking?” he asked. In concluding, Fashola said the onus lies with the public to either reject the system in the next election if they don’t like what it has or keep it in place if they are satisfied. Either way, they are choices with consequences that must be lived with. The Gani Fawehinmi brand and Nigerian society, by Fashola Thursday, 09 October 2014 07:30 Written by Wole Oyebade Category: Focus Hits: 47 Print Email Lagos State governor Babatunde Fashola (SAN) recently took the podium at University of Lagos to discuss the ideals of Gani Fawehinmi, with the submission that there is no consolidation of democratic norms without the culture of hard work, justice, fairness, rule of law and accountability. WOLE OYEBADE reports. IT was a packed audience of law students that congregated at the Main Auditorium of the University of Lagos (UNILAG) recently. They have come to listen to the Lagos State governor, Babatunde Fashola (SAN) as he delivers the 2014 Gani Fawehinmi Memorial Colloquium. And it was a rewarding experience indeed and in truth. Except for occasional interjections and cheers of approval in enchanting moments, it was more of a pin drop silence for 80 minutes that he spoke on the theme of the colloquium: “Consolidating democratic norms through credible electoral process” pegged on the values of Fawehinmi. The occasion, organised by the Gani Fawehinmi Students’ Chamber, Law Faculty of the university, was auspicious for the aspiring lawyers; all disciples of Fawehinmi – the face of civil rights struggle in Nigeria. The choice of the guest lecturer (Fashola) – a legal luminary turned statesman – was significant in many ways than one. First daughter of the Human Rights legend, Barr. Basirat Fawehinmi-Biobaku recalled how her dad – in his sick bed – remarked that “that boy” (Fashola) is one of the best things to happen to Lagos after the days of Lateef Jakande. As an advocate of town-and-gown synergy for social development, Fashola is also endeared to university community. Dean of the Faculty, Prof. Akin Ibidapo-Obe attested to his financial support for their programmes. This, he appreciated as much as the multi-door court initiative to dispute resolution and Office of the Public Defender (OPD) offering pro bono legal services. Fashola therefore had no difficulty accepting the invitation, he said in his pre-ambles. It was partly for the reputation of Prof. Itse Sagay, the patron of the Gani Fawehinmi Students’ Chambers who had also taught Fashola for four years at University of Benin. Besides, the event is about students, who had chosen a relevant topic of discourse, some months before general election. It was exactly 245 days before the end of his eight years (two-term) tenure as Lagos goveror. And if gains of past years must be consolidated, it has become part of his duty to advice the electorate to choose their leaders wisely. He was quick to remind the students that democracy, in principle, is man-made and imperfect. It would not guarantee good governance without universal ideals that the likes of Fawehinmi represents. The Gani Fawehinmi brand, according to Fashola, was built on the best values that the Nigerian society must collectively aspire to propagate. They are hard work, justice, fair play, rule of law, equity before the law, anti-corruption, public accountability, freedom of expression and speaking the truth to power. Fashola observed that they are principles that turned Fawehinmi into a public figure, international icon and metamorphosing into what is today known as the legendary Gani Fawehinmi brand. Describing the icon, he said: “When Gani took the public space, it was not for personal fame. It was in the pursuit of public good. His methods were his own and this is where I would caution that whether the brand moves from being global to becoming timeless depends on what is done with it.” To immortalise the icon, the governor noted that Lagos had created a public centre in Ojota and built a memorial park “dedicated to a man who spoke publicly and spoke the truth to power.” “But it has assumed a different meaning for some people. It is a place to hold political rally. For those who chose to be loud in order to seek public fame under the guise of being like Gani, I think you missed it. You might diminish the brand.” He noted that Fawehinmi was never acting loud to be heard. He was naturally vocal. He never used his public presence to disturb public order; he used it to promote public good. “If the process of public order was sometimes disrupted, I do not think that was Gani’s purpose.” Again, “Gani did not hide behind students and incite them to lawlessness; he led their causes from the front, using the instrumentality of law to bring relief to the distressed. “The streets were not Gani’s theatre of expression; they were only sometimes incidental to this purpose. His theatre of justice against oppression was the courtroom. He did not seek fame; fame came looking for him. “Therefore dear students, in order to consolidate on our democratic norms, we must all unite ourselves with our values and from there it seems to me that our democratic journey will be less arduous that it currently is.” Notwithstanding his rich background, Fashola recounts, Fawehinmi became what he was by dint of hard work and good education. The source of his income was known – law practice and his business interests. He was never celebrated for his money, but known in the legal profession as a tireless advocate, with persistence in his believes even though he is not always right. In terms of recognition, “he received awards, honours and recognitions from our higher institutions and internationally for hard work. All of these seemed like yesterday. But what do you have today? In a society where there is so much to do and do much to build, we have more awards than developments we can call our own and yet there are more awards still coming. “Conferment of awards has become a business. Our Ivory Towers are guilty and they must change. They must lead us away from this path that seems to celebrate only mediocrity and wealth,” he said. Fashola was more emphatic: “We cannot have so many honourary Doctorate conferments amidst this level of under-development. It does not speak well of us. In my own little corner, I have declined five of such offers and I have persuaded our state university to suspend such conferment. “This is not because I am a saint or because there are no deserving people that our state university can honour. On the contrary, it is because I believe that those awards are critical building blocks of the moral and developmental fibre of our society and I feel duty bound to ensure, at least on my own watch, that we do not lose or destroy those blocks,” he said. Fashola queried that how do we inspire people to hard work, when all our newspapers are taken over by self-serving advertisements for congratulations to public officers and some private officers simply because they have been appointed to serve in an office. “The concept of giving awards to serving public officers simply offends me. Because, what do you then give to that person after he has finished and done well? Even in football, they don’t give Most Valuable Player (MVP) award to anyone during play, but after. ” He added that Nigeria couldn’t consolidate on democratic gains unless there is justice and fairness, both of which are dependent on the rule of law. While he advocated for willful compliance to the rule of law, as against coercive enforcement, he was of the view that the electoral process would be enriched when everyone have the same mindset to act willfully and would not seek to gain any illegal disadvantage. Fashola said it was most unfortunate that despite clear provisions of the electoral laws, some people had started campaign, and in the process “breaking the law to get illegal advantage.” “And you think there will be credible election, when the person that should be calling us to order is already cheating? “It diminishes the electoral process when the independence of the judiciary, who should settle disputes, is usurped by the removal of a judge like Justice Ayo Salami simply because he acted to nullify elections that were proved by evidence to have been fraudulent. That was his offence. “The credibility of the electoral process is further undermined by the refusal to restore this judge to office in spite of reports that showed that he was not guilty to any wrongdoing. That is not fair play, that is not justice and this offends the rule of law.” He also recalled that it was Fawehinmi’s sense of justice and his quest for fair play that led him to court to file an action challenging the de-registration or refusal to register more parties. He succeeded and the effort had strengthened multi-party democracy and choice. “Sadly, those gains are gradually being eroded by those who abhor fair play, and who despise justice. They have adopted a combination of tactics. They staged manage disruptions in small parties, they induce them with money, they send their agent provocateurs to disrupt their cohesion. “What are they afraid of? If they have a message, they should bring it out and contest fairly. They have gained so much than they probably even expected because some of those parties that Gani fought to get registered have betrayed their own loyal members by already endorsing a candidate in an opposing party (and I’m assuming that they are in opposing party and not two sides of the same coin) that has not even said he would contest. That is the one you are endorsing as your candidate in an opponent’s camp. Very strange.” On the value of freedom of expression, otherwise called, speaking the truth to power, Fashola said the press has a lot to learn, adding that a vibrant press with strong and ethical editorial policy is a necessary institution for the consolidation of democracy norm. He observed that there are categories of media: some soft, some in between and some very serious. “While those in the first and second categories may be forgiven if their platforms are used as a vehicle of patronage, I can only say that for those who are categorized as serious, it is the public who are their mainstay, who determine their rating. “The least we should therefore expect is that they will resist the temptation of offering their platform as patronage. It does a lot to confuse the public and obscure society’s sense of propriety and values. “I can only now assume that the jury will be out about how many of those in that category can be truly said in the eyes of the public to remain in that category, especially with some of the messages they now carry which suggest to us that our country is better than the experience we live with today. “We see messages of Martin Luther-King; Liu Kuan Yiu, Barak Obama. Well, maybe it is happening in another country. We are seeing photography of Benin-Ore road, Second Niger Bridge. But I know what is out there. For me, it is not just a matter of conscience, it is a national duty to speak the truth to authority and maintain the purity of editorial control in the overall national interest.” He added that if there is any area where the country is seriously challenged, it is in the area of accountability. Fashola said though the private sector could not be absolved of the issue, the public sector has done very poorly with the issue of the abducted schoolchildren in Chibok and $9.3m scandal. “Accountability must go beyond the lack of corruption or embezzlement of funds. It must include the existence of a guide for recording value accruals; and also the right to know. “The inconsistent information we were receiving about the situation in Chibok, and the attack on Bama did not do justice to the right to know. At one moment, the information was that the girls have been recovered. At another, there were doubts whether the girls were even abducted. At another moment, ‘we know where the girls are’. “Quite similar was the case in Bama. The media was castigated for reporting that Bama had been captured. Only few days later, the report was Bama had been recovered. So, you have recovered something that was not captured? “I know these are difficult times for our country, but we have a right to know and be consistent with the information. I recognize that right of the public to know. That is why every 100 days, I come out to the people who put me in office and tell them what I’ve been doing, the problem we had 100 days ago, where we are and where we are going.” He said further that Fawehinmi spent a useful part of his life challenging public officers to account for their actions and to take responsibility for them. “How will Gani have reacted today to stories we now hear today of the disappearance of $20b or $49b, depending on what side you believe? If you Google Buif Khalifat, the tallest building in the world, that building has held the whole world in stupor; the stupendous display of engineering audacious thinking. The whole world is going there every day to see the wonder of a leader’s vision. Do you know how much it cost? $1.5b only. And we say that we lost that we lost $20b! “We have spent $16b on electricity but you can’t switch it on. Now, as if that is not bad enough, we now trying to find out whether there was really an attempt to purchase ammunition for $9.3m. We are just being made a mess of all around the world because of the value choices we have made. “Let’s stop pointing fingers at those people, you voted for them and they are representatives of the values we have chosen to live with. Will Gani have stood by and watched without demanding an explanation about how we spent over N2 trillion on Petroleum Subsidy without appropriation? If Gani could see us, what will he be thinking?” he asked. In concluding, Fashola said the onus lies with the public to either reject the system in the next election if they don’t like what it has or keep it in place if they are satisfied. Either way, they are choices with consequences that must be lived with.
Posted on: Sat, 11 Oct 2014 13:13:52 +0000
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