Nigeria and the Dearth of Patriots and Statesmen: An Essay in Honour of Gani Fawehinmi

Abstract

One tragic calamity that has befallen Nigeria as a country is the fact that it has been plagued by one of the most avaricious, unproductive and parasitic political classes on earth. Since the attainment of self-rule in 1960, the country has been terribly misruled by extremely unpatriotic and thoroughly corrupt elite. This underpins the mass poverty and gross underdevelopment which have bedeviled the country over the decades. But on 22^nd April, 1938, Nigeria experienced some good fortune with the birth of an indisputably phenomenal man, who, for seventy-one eventful years, abandoned the privileges bestowed on him by his enormous skills, talents and knowledge, and took the side of the Nigerian hoi-polloi. This essay is in honour of Chief Abdulganiyu Oyesola Fawehinmi, Senior Advocate of the Masses (SAM); SAN, popularly and affectionately called Gani. This extraordinary man sacrificed everything in his struggles against bad governance in Nigeria and the numerous improprieties of the Nigerian elite. Gani was special; he was an icon and a hero; he was a fearless and vocal patriot; and he was a compassionate and kind-hearted statesman. This is the focus of this paper.