Kemisola Oye
THE daughter of late human rights activist, Chief Gani Fawehinmi (SAN), Mrs Basirat Fawehinmi-Biobaku has appealed to President Bola Tinubu not to forget the masses and render good service to the nation.
Fawehinmi-Biobaku made the appeal in her remark at the 14th memorial programme for the late Fawehinmi which was held at the Bar Centre of the Ikeja branch of the Nigerian Bar Association (NBA).
She recounted that Tinubu was once an activist who believed in her late father’s policies and legacies.
“I use this medium to appeal to President Bola Tinubu to please carry on my late father’s policies because the president was once an activist.
“We are blessed with mineral resources and I urge Tinubu’s government to bring about eradication of poverty, free education, good road networks and the like.
“I want to speak to the president personally because he came to speak to my late father in 2009 at his residence in GRA and I was at that meeting. He spoke and assured my father that he would always have the interest of the masses at heart.
“Let it not be in your time that there is the highest record of death due to poverty and violations of human rights. Empower the rights institution..”
The lead speaker at the programme, Mr Tayo Oyetibo, (SAN), spoke on the sub-themes: “The Increase In Military Incursions Into Democratic Governance In West African Sub Region, What Lessons” Oyetibo berated the overthrow of governments in Niger and Gabon via military coups, noted that tenure elongation always brings civil disobedient.
According to him, there was no legal justification for coups and the nation could not glue to the military for the solution as they could only set the country backwards.
“The worst civilian government is better than the best military government. I, therefore, urge our leaders to be accountable and be of good service to the nation”
The Chairman of GAFAMORG, Dr. Yunusa Tanko in his keynote address, eulogized the late Fawehinmi for his exemplary and courageous life and revealed that the 15th edition of the memorial would be held in Kaduna State.
His words, “This is to show that Gani does not belong to Lagosians but Nigerians at large.”
The Director of Commonwealth Institute, Prof Anthony Killer and Prof Sylvester Odion-Akhaine corroborated Oyetibo (SAN), who said democracy gives good governance which is the process of transferring responsibility among knowledgeable people.
He admonished the leaders to allow democracy to work and the people must hold the government accountable. ” It is the duty of government to the people to ensure that democracy is worth having. Where there is large poverty and corruption, the system cannot progress.”
Also, the former Chairman of the Nigerian Electricity Regulatory Commission (NERC), Dr Sam Amadi, who spoke on “Rule of Law and Constitution Reform After Gani“, said, “The reckless actions of the leadership of the INEC in neglecting to electronically transmit the results of the last presidential election to the IReV portal as required by the Electoral Act, 2022 and the regulation it made pursuant to the Constitution is a subversion of the rule of law and undermines constitutional democracy.”
Amadi, who was represented by human rights activist, Mr. Inihebe Effiong, noted that “The temple of justice extends to politics and public leadership. Justice in politics is anchored on self-determination.
“We cannot talk about the administration of justice without talking about electoral justice. People should have the right to choose their leaders.
“This flows from the notion of human dignity, which is a fundamental quality of justice and the focus of law from the naturalist conception of law. The just law must grant people the right to choose their leaders. This right which is statutory in Nigeria for those who are adult citizens resident in Nigeria must be protected as a democratic right.
“The concept of democracy requires that all those who are eligible should be free to vote, the voting should happen in an environment devoid of coercion and violence, and everyone’s vote should count equally. These fundamentals of electoral justice are guaranteed by the quality of the rule of law.
“Electoral justice involves lawyers both in the electoral management body and in the courts. Lawyers are central to the function of these two organisations. It is the responsibility of lawyers in the two bodies to work for the promotion of the rule of law and protection of the constitution.
“The electoral management body is a quasi-judicial body that regulates the activities of politicians. Its regulatory duties require a degree of neutrality and independence that approaches those of judges.
“The officials of the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) must sequester themselves and not lend themselves to do the will of politicians. They ought to scrupulously uphold the Constitution and the electoral law.
“They ought to protect electoral justice by ensuring that politicians do not subvert the right to self-determination of the people by manipulating elections. Elections in a modern democracy are the most fundamental component of the rule of law.”
Eighteen-Eleven Media