There is no doubt that the late fiery legal icon, and foremost human rights activist, late Gani Fawehinmi, (SAN) was able to etch his name in the consciousness of a large spectrum of the people ranging from the poor to the rich.
Here are some quotes people said about him when he was alive:
Gen Ibrahim Babangida
“If there is one man I respect, it is Gani, it sounds strange. I appreciate you that you have a strong conviction and fight for it consistently. This is the context in which I see Gani. I was a consistent evil and he was ... a dogged fighter and I respect him for this. In fact there are three of them I respect like that. They are Gani, late (Professor) Awojobi and Dr. Yusuf Bala Usman. None of them says anything without doing his homework first."
•Tell Magazine of July 24, 1995
Prince Olateru-Olagbegi,
"I know of no living lawyer who has gone through as much travails as he has in his pursuit of the rule of law and rights of the individual and yet stays on there undaunted and with renewed vigour after each travail."
•Lagos, Feb. 1998"
Dare Babarinsa
"If there is a Nigerian who deserves the Nobel Prize for Peace, he is Gani Fawehinmi, the great human rights campaigner and leading opponent of successive military juntas. Fawehinmi is a first class intellectual, humanist and indomitable fighter for freedom. Like William Du Bois, Marcus Garvey, Albert Lithuli, Nelson Mandela and Martin Luther King Jnr., he cares passionately for his fellow men. He believes that troubled and sick as Nigeria may be, it can be cured by pacific social engineering. He is ready, willing and able to put his broad shoulders to the plough. Now he is wasting away in Bauchi Prison, a hostage to Nigeria's latest dictator."
• Tell Magazine, August 26, 1996.
Bishop Emmanuel Bolanle Gbonigi,
"So, you can see the Obas. They have sold their honour. They have forfeited everything. Thatís why a person like my good friend in Lagos, Gani Fawehinmi said never again would he bow his head to any Oba in this country. And I know that man, he means every word. I donít think I have met him physically but I have a lot of respect for him.
If there is referendum in this country and the people are asked to nominate a candidate for president, that is my candidate. I know if Gani Fawehinmi becomes president of Nigeria, he would not steal money. He would spend the money to provide basic necessity for everybody, particularly education, from primary to university level. He would do everything to make sure that people not only have education, but they have work to do.'
•Weekend Concord of Saturday, January 31, 1998
Abubakar Dangiwa Umar
"A man like Gani will always be a shinning example to the society. I hope the Federal Government will choose to use somebody like Gani. Not only the Federal Government because I know Gani is always cautious about dealing with government. He is a natural rebel like me. Gani has played a vital role in the fight for human rights, right from the ë60'sí or so to this time. I am sure he will not rest. He will still be keeping current with events as it pertains to human rights. I have just read that he has gone to court on the issue of salaries for ex-presidents. I am with him. He is a detribalised and very honest Nigerian."
•Tell Magazine of July 12, 1999
Colonel Buba Marwa,
"...He is a great Nigerian. There is no question about it ... the most important thing that strikes one about Gani, honestly is his non-violent disposition in problem-solving. Once he is offended, he goes to court, rather than encourage violence."
•Weekend Concord of May 22, 1999
Joseph Contrears,
"Gani Fawehinmi is Nigeria's best-known human-rights attorney. He is also a leader of the pro-democracy movement that is currently protesting the de facto state of emergency imposed by the military regime of Gen. Sani Abacha."
•Newsweek magazine, October 10, 1994
James Brooke
"Fawehinmi is taking a different strategy to hasten the return of democracy to Nigeria, Africaís most populous nation. This year, he has emerged as a one-man movement battling Nigeriaís Military Government for more civil freedoms now."
•New York Times of Friday, October 28, 1988
Stephen Buckley
"Brash and Passionate, Fawehinmi, 57, has been arrested so many times for opposing military regimes that he keeps a bag packed in case he is unexpectedly hauled off to jail. Last year, being the only one who dares defies, he defied Abacha by forming the National Conscience Party, which has been harassed regularly when it holds public rallies -illegal during Abacha's reign. Last month, after Fawehinmi flew into a southern city for a party rally, state security forces refused to let him attend. They tossed him back into the plane. Yet, at some meetings or rallies, security forces applaud his speeches. He remains the only Nigerian who can not be intimidated."
•Washington Post on October 1, 1995
Catriona Rogan
"Nigeria’s ‘Steve Biko’, Chief Fawehinmi is a larger-than-life politician and lawyer with a track record of defending human rights activities, including the ethnic Ogoni, who have fought Shell oil which drills in their home land near the Niger River delta over environment issues."
The Washington Times of Thursday, November 23, 1995
Dr. Walter Carrington, former American Ambassador to Nigeria,
“I have been inspired by Gani. So, it is a great honour for me to be in this place. I would say this is the ëShrine of Democracy and the Rule of Lawí. And Gani has done so much to inspire not only people of this country but people around the world. If there were a Nobel Prize for Human Rights, it would have been given to Gani. Not so many people are known by one name. (But) just say ëGanií and everyone knows to whom you are referring.”
The Guardian on Wednesday, October 18, 2000
Dan Agbese
"Fawehinmi is tough. And Fawehinmi is courageous. He has the toughness of personal conviction; and he has the courage to speak his mind. When others are afraid to speak up, he dusts his Oxford Dictionary, gathers the press, turns his mouth into a rapier and promptly disembowels silence born of fear.
Newswatch Magazine on April 29, 1985 in an article titled "Without Blood."
Uthman Sodipe
"There is a legendary summative hugeness about this symbol of truth, this sworn seeker of the light; cudgelled, abused, vilified for his conscionable nobility. Savaged in Kirikiri, Gasua, and hundreds of other gulags, Fawehinmi remains in the unique, undaunted forbearance of the deathless, still mocking the primitive prompting of despotism. Even today, he is already etched in historical sacredness, far beyond the venom of the truncheon or the tarnishing abruptness of the grave. He reposes in eternal reference, a girdle to the weak, a scourge to the wicked."
•Guardian, Tuesday, October, 7, 1997
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