GANI: THE LEGAL GLADIATOR AT 70

THERE are parallels between the lives of Chief Gani Fawehinmi and Eugene Debs, the American pacifist and socialist. Debs was born in 1855 and devoted his life to fighting oppression. He founded the American Railway Union and, in 1894, the union called a strike which virtually crippled the United States.

THIS was the Pullman strike. The management of the Pullman Company had cut workers’ wages and sacked union leaders when they protested against the pay cut. The strike started in a local chapter, but soon spread to many parts of the United States. Debs was jailed for the violation of a crooked court injunction.

DEBS was back in prison for opposing the First World War. Debs ran for the presidency of the United States five times. He was the candidate of the Socialist Party and polled, from prison, one million votes in 1920.

DEBS was oppressed by the United States government for daring to speak for the oppressed, the victims of cruel capitalism. But he never wavered. He was known for his courage and never capitulated.

GANI - everybody knows who Gani is — is a study in courage and tenacity. He has battled serious illness in the past few months in the same determined way that he fought the deadly diseases of corruption, injustice and impunity in Nigeria. He achieved notable successes, using the courts to cure many of the ills of society.

LIKE Debs, Gani abhors violence. But he was not afraid to confront rulers who replaced the constitution with a cudgel. He hates dictatorship of any kind and did everything within the law to dethrone the military monarchs.

GANI was detained several times for calling for a just society. He was kept in solitary confinement and poorly fed. They believed the harsh, inhumane treatment would make him abandon his convictions. But he was more than their match. Prison affected his health but not his spirits. They could not still his voice. The thunder in his voice has not become a retreating rumble. He continues to torment the corrupt and the cruel.

UNLIKE many people in the public eye, Gani is a stranger to scandals. Rulers and their security agencies had no dirt to dish on him. The law is his living. He has never taken a government contract. He is an excellent lawyer and makes a good living. His law reports have immensely enriched the legal profession in Nigeria. Their quick production - they are released not long after important judgments are delivered does not affect their quality.

THEY are of the highest standard. There are now imitators but Gani has no superior. Indeed, he has no equal.

GANI is a noted pamphleteer. His pamphlets do not suffer from the ephemerality of most hasty productions. They contain facts and figures carefully collected and thoroughly cross-checked. They are of uncommon value to the nation.

GANI does not draw attention to his extensive philanthropy. He has saved many wrongly accused poor people from jail. He has successfully argued the cases of students victimised by jittery university authorities. Some vice chancellors criminalise even responsible student unionism.

WHILE some university expelled activist students, Gani’s scholarships ensured that many Nigerians got university education. These were brilliant but poor students, people that could have ended up as stevedores or worse. There are two Nigerian nations, the one created by the power elite for themselves and children with the resources of the country, and the impoverished original. Gani’s scholarships gave many people hope and turned their despair into achieved dreams.

IT is, therefore, no surprise that Gani cannot stand corrupt public officials. This may have been responsible for his decision to recognise the tribunals that were set up to try politicians accused of corruption after the military coup in December 1983. The Nigerian Bar Association (NBA) had directed lawyers not to appear for defendants at the tribunals.

GANI was estranged from the NBA for many years. He did not become a Senior Advocate of Nigeria (SAN), though he was eminently qualified for the award. Students awarded him

SAM - Senior Advocate of the Masses.

BUT the disagreement between the NBA and Gani was eventually and wisely settled and he became a SAN. It was an award richly deserved.

GANI turned 70 on April 22. It has been a long journey from Ondo, his hometown, and his legal studies in England. He returned to Nigeria and legal practice was never the same again. He removed the starch and gave it beneficial substance. He made the law to serve the people. His court suits opened many windows of freedom and unsettled tyrants.

DEBS has been described as a martyr; Gani is both a martyr and a messiah. He has not completed his mission and cannot depart. We wish him a quick and full recovery.

hyat: hovering dangerously

THE Minister of State in charge of Air Transportation, Mr. Felix Hyat, appears to have his head in the clouds. The plane of policies and performances that he flies crashes and does not cruise. Mr. Hyat is a dreamy pilot, always thinking about matters that have nothing to do with his duties.

MR. Hyat himself has said so. He has proudly said that he is easily taken in. Only dreamers are easily deceived. Mr. Hyat has his head in the clouds and there are no silver linings.

MR. Hyat announced that a plane that disappeared had been promptly found. He said the three crew members were sadly dead. A day later, he said he had been deceived and that the plane was still missing.

HE said last week, more than a month after the plane disappeared, that Nigeria lacked the equipment to locate crashed planes. How did he know? An official told him, of course. Mr. Hyat may say tomorrow that he was deceived by the official.

MR. Hyat also said last week that he had been deceived by the employees of the Federal Airports Authority of Nigeria (FAAN). The workers had told him that they were super efficient and he had said he believed them. Only Mr. Hyat does not appear to know that most of the country’s public servants are as dedicated as the dodo.

POLITICIANS are said to be deceivers, but Minister Hyat says he is a dupe, something of a strange reversal of roles. But the truth is that Mr. Hyat is a clever politician. He is very good at passing the buck.

HE has warned Nigerians that he may press a button that will lead to a catastrophe. He needs to be brought down to hard earth from cloud nine.