The Chairman of the great occasion, milord Honourable Justice Salihu Modibo Alfa Belgore, the immediate past Chief Justice of Nigeria, the Hon. Minister for Information and Telecommunication, Prof. Dora Akunyili, milords Honourable Justices of the Court of Appeal, Lagos division, milords Honourable Judges of the High Court of Lagos State here present, your Honours, the president of the Nigerian Bar Association, Mr. Rotimi Akeredolu SAN, all members of NBA NEC, Learned Senior Advocates here present, Chairman and executive members of branches of NBA in Lagos State and beyond, my learned colleagues, gentlemen of the Press, distinguished ladies and gentlemen.
It is my great honour and pleasure to welcome you all to this epoch making event designed and articulated to celebrate the apostle of change, the voice of the voiceless, the defender of the orphans and the oppressed, the dogged, unrepentant and consistent human, civil, political and economic rights crusader, the greatest of them all.
The man we are celebrating today is of the belief that Nigeria has no business with poverty, disease and illiteracy, considering the enormous resources God had bestowed upon us as a nation. This belief, he has pursued with unusual courage and commitment even at the risk of his life. His courage has earned him the fame he enjoys today.
What then is courage? Courage is;
• Confronting the dragons
• Overcoming the obstacles
• Understanding risks
• Really living
• Always believing
• Going the distance
• Expecting the best
You will agree with me that Chief Fawehinmi SAN has all these attributes.
Talking further on courage, Martin Luther King Jr. said:
"Courage faces fear and thereby masters it. Cowardice represses fear and is thereby mastered by it. Courageous men never lose zest for living even though their life situation is zestless; coward men overwhelmed by the uncertainties of life lose the will to live"
What distinguished Gani from his contemporaries was his unusual courage/ he was never known to have chickened out when the chips were down. No wonder Keshavan Nair said:
"with courage you will dare to take risks, have the strength to be compassionate and the wisdom to be humble. Courage is the foundation of integrity"
No wonder Gani is endowed with the following attributes: compassion, humility, and integrity.
Gani is not only known for his consistent, courageous and radical beliefs, the legal profession was privileged to enjoy the products of his industry as evidenced in his various law publications particularly the Nigerian Weekly Law Reports, before the advent of the NWLR, only few Legal Practitioners enjoyed the privilege of having the latest decisions of appellate courts in Nigeria. Gani blazed the trail of liberalization and deregulation of law reporting in Nigeria.
The virtues aforestated made the flagship of the Nigerian Bar, NBA Ikeja to resolve to immortalize Gani with this annual lectures, Symposia series, I am proud to say that I was part of the team that designed and executed the 1st Chief Gani Fawehinmi Lectures in 2005 and has remained part to date.
The rationales behind the instituting of this programme are basically:
1. To demonstrate that consistency in fighting for and on the side of the people pays.
2. To encourage the generation next to make sacrifices for their nation with Chief Fawehinmi as a worthy example,
3. To propagate what Gani stands for, i.e, the ideals of Fawehinmiism.
4. To show Nigerians the contenders and the pretenders in the struggle to liberate the nation from shackles of extreme poverty, misrule and cycle of under-development.
Chief Fawehinmi has been consistent and vocal on national issues inspite of ill health and has won several awards both at home and abroad. How far has Nigeria been able to implement the Cam's ideals is for all to judge e.g
1. Has there been free and fair election at all levels of government?
2. Has the natural resources of Nigeria been used for the overall benefit of the people?
3. Has there been strict adherence to rule of law?
4. Does our country consider merit above mediocrity?
5. How serious and consistent are we in our battle against corruption?
6. Any hope for the poor in the face of mass unemployment, constant power how has our education system fared?
These are some of the questions we should be asking ourselves, because these questions summarise what Gani has been fighting for.
In rounding up, I wish to express our heartfelt appreciation to our guests today from Milord the Chairman who is retired but not tired Honourable Justice SMA Belgore, Prof. Dora Akunyili, the amazon with a common touch, we wish you well in your new posting, our own Femi Falana my big brother, my learned senior Mrs. Ayo Obe who accepted our invitation first via text messages; milord Rhodes-Vivour JCA, milord Judges of the Lagos State High Court, and other eminent personalities here present, may the Lord continue to preserve, promote and provide for you all.
Above all, I wish to thank the Almighty God for making today a reality.
Once again I welcome you all to the celebration of this great son of Africa, spokesman for the oppressed, defender of the defenceless, friend of the wretched of the earth, terror to treasury looters and executive lawlessness.
Thank you all.
No comments:
Post a Comment