Gani Fawehinmi’s Family Rejects Jonathan’s Centenary Award.

The family of late legal luminary Chief  Gani Fawehinmi, has turned down the centenary award to be bestowed on their father on Friday by President Goodluck Jonathan.

In a letter dated February 27, 2014, signed by the eldest son of the late lawyer, Mohammed Fawehinmi and addressed to the Secretary to the Federal Government of Nigeria, Anyim Pius Anyim, the family listed four reasons why it had to turn down the honour.Read it below;

Dear Sir,
RE: CENTENARY AWARD TO OUR LATE FATHER, CHIEF GANI FAWEHINMI (SAN)
We acknowledge the receipt of your letter, dated February 24, 2014, which was routed through Mr Tony Akiotu, Group Managing Director, DAAR Communications, Abuja, wherein our late father, Chief Gani Fawehinmi(SAN) was chosen as one of the awardees of the Centenary celebrations of Nigeria by President Goodluck Jonathan.We want thank the Federal Government for considering our late father for this HONOUR.
However, 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 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, 59 innocent students were mowed down by the blood-thirsty Boko Haram terrorists in Yobe state, while 20 other girls were similarly abducted by these 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 celebration under these circumstances? Certainly no.