Unleash the Gani in you!

Makeyourvotescount.org, a grassroots, non-partisan, initiative dedicated to free, fair, and transparent elections, joins the rest of the world in mourning the passing of Nigeria’s foremost lawyer and rights activist, Chief Abdul-Ganiyu Oyesola Fawehinmi.

 Gani was a national hero and patriot whose contributions to human rights, rule of law, good governance, and democracy, will forever be remembered. In a country reputed for corruption, opportunism, gross malfeasance, and self-seeking public service, Gani remained focused and consistent on his message of social justice and commitment to the downtrodden.

Gani spoke out against oppression and injustice for which he endured incarcerations and untold hardship. He will be remembered for his long years of relentless support for Nigerian students and youths in their many battles against dictatorship and military rule. Nigerian students and youths, for whom Gani was a hero and role model, have lost a formidable ally and foot soldier.

Even as we eulogize him, it is our belief that Gani would want us to embolden ourselves and wake up to our responsibilities as citizens. The enemies of the Nigerian people have reinvented themselves. Patriotic Nigerians must adopt fresh and workable ideas to confront, corruption, bad governance, electoral fraud, lawlessness, ethnicity, poverty, and other national maladies. That is the greatest tribute we can pay to Gani.

We all should take time to reflect on what Gani lived and fought for. His death should mark the beginning of a new movement for the transformation of Nigeria. Let it be said in years to come that Gani’s death saw the emergence of a coalition of patriotic, passionate, and dedicated Nigerians committed to eradicating all forms of oppression in Nigeria.

Chido Onumah

Coordinator, Makeyourvotescount.org

MakeYourVotesCount.org (MY-VC.org) is a non-partisan grassroots-based initiative of the Youth Media & Communication Initiative (YMCI), Transparency & Anti-corruption Campaign in Africa (TRACA) and the African Centre of Media Literacy (ACML). The project aims to put the issue of free, fair and transparent elections on the front burner of the national political agenda.

Robot  # 1 | 12.09.2009 14:02

...Read the full article.

PAPIG  # 2 | 13.09.2009 07:13

Thank you for this article and hope that the passage of this icon (GANI) will unleash the GANI in all us for a better Nigeria.

anonimi  # 3 | 13.09.2009 08:22

we can start by educating those around us on the need to register and vote among other rights and duties of a 9ja citizen. moreover, we can report any suspicious person living above his possible legitimate income to law enforcement agents- EFCC, POLICE, INTERPOL etc. Let's remember that Madoff's kids reported him to keep their society clean and retain some iota of respect fo rthemselves!