Why family rejected FG's centenary award for Gani Fawehinmi

Gani

Members of family of the late human rights icon, Gani Fawehinmi (SAN), have rejected an award meant for the deceased Senior Advocate of Nigeria as part of the country’s centenary.

The family said the late legal icon would not have received any award at a time that insurgents are killing innocent citizens in the north and when the nation is in the throes of debilitating corruption allegations as in the case of missing $20bn oil funds.

In a letter dated February 27, 2014  and addressed to the Secretary to the Government of the Federation, Chief Anyim Pius Anyim, the family also said it could not receive the award because of the inclusion on the list of recipients  a  former dictator, Ibrahim Babangida, “who as military president, severally detained and tortured our late father.”

The letter was signed by the son of the late legal icon, Mohammed.

Fawehinmi is one of the one hundred individuals who have been billed to receive awards in various categories during the celebration, which marks the 100 years of amalgamation of Southern and Northern Nigeria.

The family letter read,  “For reasons stated here under, our family has decided it would be inexpedient to accept the award:

“1. In the list of the awardees published by the Federal Government was the name of former military dictator, General Ibrahim Babangida, who as military president, severally detained and tortured our late father. In the course of one of such illegal and inhuman detentions, our late father’s cell was sprayed with toxic substances while in Gashua prison (Yobe State) in 1987.

“The cumulative effect of that dastardly action led to our father, a non- smoker, contracting lung cancer, which eventually led to his death on September 5, 2009. We, therefore, find it morally incongruous and psychologically debilitating for our family to stand on the same podium with General Babangida to receive awards.

“2. Our late father was empathetic to the sufferings of our people, particularly students. In the last 72 hours, 43 innocent students were mowed down by the blood- thirsty Boko Haram terrorists in Yobe State, while 20 other girls were similarly abducted by this same band of terrorists. These girls are still in captivity while their fate is unknown. If our late father were to be alive, would he be wining and dining with all the glitterati at a Centenary under these circumstances? Certainly no.

“3. In the past few weeks, the polity has been assaulted with putrid odour of corruption with the alleged $20bn missing in NNPC, a development that became the Achilles heel of Mallam Sanusi Lamido Sanusi, the suspended Governor of Central Bank. As an anti-corruption activist, if he were to be alive, our late father would have confronted the issue headlong and possibly gone to court.

With the issue still raging, would our late father have accepted this award at this critical moment? Certainly no.

“4. Our late father was unrepentantly for the unity of Nigeria. However, with the level of profligacy in some of the events celebrating Nigeria’s Centenary, our late father would have preferred these multi- million Naira expenditures channeled to our decrepit Teaching Hospitals, than unproductive razzmatazz that do not improve the socio-Economic well being of our people.

“Sir, for these reasons, our family respectfully declines to receive the award about to be conferred on our late father by the government.”