TO mark the first anniversary of the death of legal icon, Chief Gani Fawehinmi, Lagos State governor, Mr Babatunde Fashola (SAN) on Sunday, unveiled the statue of the legal luminary and also dedicated a memorial garden, stressing that government took the step as a token of appreciation for a life of leadership through spartan service to humanity that he lived.

According to Governor Fashola, who spoke at the Triangular Layby opposite Owena Motor Park, Ojota, “The state government is trying to demonstrate to others that it will not forget its heroes in the belief that some new leaders will hopefully be inspired to rise up and continue from where he left off.”

Said he: “The task is not completed. There is sweat and toil ahead. Our persistence and patience will be severely tested, but we are irrevocably committed to pursue our dream of a brighter rewarding future”.

He urged all Nigerians to always give suggestions to leaders and ensure that they get involved in the process of governance, stressing that elected leaders are just like every other citizen.

The governor explained that, “Late Chief Gani’s patriotism was not whimsical, but a devotion of a whole lifetime. It was an arduous devotion to a cause from which many have derailed or turned back. It is never easy to stand up for principles, especially when you stand alone.

“Gani committed a lifetime of 40 years of the prime of his life to this arduous devotion. He used law, civil rights movements, the media and politics as his tools to liberate the people he cared so passionately about from ignorance, repression and poverty; until he succumbed to his own mortality”, he added.

The Commissioner for the Environment, Dr Muiz Banire, in his address described late Chief Gani Fawehinmi as an hero, who was frantically energetic and courageous while his contributions to the law practice apart from court appearances were legendary and enduring.

He informed the gathering that taking over of the loop was not a tea party as it had to contend with miscreants and street urchins, adding that those who were familiar with the location would recall that it used to be a launch pad and hideout for criminals who terrorized motorists and commuters plying the Ojota axis.