Gani Fawehinmi and the Digbo Lu gi... uncontrollables ! By Kayode Ogundamisi

Gani Fawehinmi and the Digbo Lu gi... uncontrollables ! By Kayode Ogundamisi

Tamedo: Unmm Did you notice the “grand” burial given to Chief Gani Fawheinmi!
Lagbaja: The man is a great man, from the moment he passed away his GRA Ikeja house became a “Mecca”; all the activists gathered in less than one minute.
Tamedo: Activist? Do we still have them?
Lagbaja: Of course we have them they came from all the nooks and crannies of Nigeria even NANS came.
Tamedo: NANS? Did they not give all kinds of awards to all manner of governors for bringing Mr Biggs to state capitals?
Lagbaja: What is your problem? They came and I saw them with my korokoro eyes. They vowed to continue Ganis struggle, as a matter of fact Governor Fashola met them and they immediately surrounded him shouting Baba ni governor
Tamedo: Oh so the governor is in town?
Lagbaja: Yes and he came with a seasoned activist in his government as they drove out then came the two Odua leaders?
Tamedoa: Enm me I no dey o, don’t say anything funny about the Odua people o!
Lagbaja: No I won’t, the younger Odua leader got a resounding welcome, sebi you know Gani backed him during the Odua crisis? He waved , shook hands and then signed the condolence register, as he moved to his jeep the other leader came and someone in the crowd shouted hey Baba what are you doing here did you not once describe Chief Gani Fawheinmi as “Digbolugi”?
Tamedo: A-a-ah Lagbaja please shut up! You are trying to make something out of nothing, that was in the past and things have changed. At least Nuhu Ribadu came and you can not accuse him of not being sincere! Imagine he risked his life just to come and “touch” Gani’s body...that young man should be president he is the kind of courageous leader Gani was talking about.
Lagbaja: I can’t comment on Nuhu I don’t want EFCC problem. You know if I say nice things about him Farida will start asking me for the receipt of my table fan. But I can assure you Babangida sent his condolence
Tamedo: Baba wetin? You mean Baba Gana Kingibe?
Lagbaja: No not Kingibe. Ibrahim Badamasi Babangida. He called Gani a national hero!Tamedo: A national what?
Lagbaja: Hero! Wonders will never end, even Olagunsoye Oyinlola made it to Ondo to Honour Gani. And Bola Tinubu too; he gave a very moving speech.
Tamedo: Did Tinubu mention Chicago?
Lagbaja: No!
Tamedo: Did he remind the crowd of how Gani fought him almost to a standstill?
Lagbaja: You are a trouble maker, I won’t comment, I live close to Alausa. I was also reliably informed that Gbenga Daniels sent his delegates to Lagos. He did not show up and busy bodies kept saying he was busy at Okija shrine...
Tamedo: Okija? In Ogun State?
Lagbaja: Sorry Ikija , but the people’s Democratic Party promise to create a foundation for Gani and also carry out Gani’s programmes in One year.
Tamedo: Even the PDP? Wonders will never end. Gani called the PDP Evil party.
Lagbaja: I don’t know about that but Adams Oshiomole promise to hand over his 25 million Naira ‘Silverbird Man of the Year’ award to a newly created “Gani Fawheinmi Foundation”
Tamedo: Are you serious? Did the owner of silverbird not make money under Obasonjo? Or are you telling me Obasonjo’s money will go into Gani’s foundation?
Lagbaja: That is your problem, Oshiomole joined AC but I think after Gani’s death he will move to the National Conscience Party in honour of Gani, you know to build a true opposition party not owned by any god father.
Tamedo: What about the lawyers?
Lagbaja: Ah! they all came even all the Senior Advocates that denied him SAN suddenly remembered being Gani’s best friend. Even lawyers who usually did not want to be identified with Gani during the struggle against military dictatorship brought memorable pictures. As a matter of fact the courts became a mini carnival centre.
Tamedo: I was told Gani’s clothes were changed several times.
Lagbaja: Mind your business they changed his clothes to match the occasion but when they got to Edo they could not get the Oshiomole kind of Khaki for Gani.
Tamedo: So after Ganis burial what will happen
Lagbaja: ‘To thy tents o Israel’. The activists will go underground again and leave Yar’adua to continue his misrule; ye pa did I just say that? I withdraw that statement o. I don’t want to be “Boko Harramed”. Anyway it is a regime of “Ruse of Law” I am safe. So the activist will resume the usual conferences, symposium , parliamentary lobby, and then wait for 2011 to serve as consultants’ to politicians and then wait for God forbid another important activist and they will all gather again like locusts.
Tamedo: Haba, in your entire story you did not even mention the Nigerian masses
Lagbaja: Masses ke! Is that not the name of Late Moji Obasonjo’s political party
Tamedo: No it is the name of ordinary Nigerians
Lagbaja: O I see...they ke? They buried Gani Fawehinmi in their hearts. They love him to bits and know that someday very soon, another Gani will rise again.
Tamedo: I am going to sleep o jare. Digbolugi...ah, that person must be wicked to describe Gani as Digbolugi and yet shed the most tears, what a world.
Lagbaja: Good Night.

Gani Fawehinmi A man for whom silence was never an option, the conscience of 150 million Nigerians:

Gani Fawehinmi A man for whom silence was never an option, the conscience of 150 million Nigerians: Lawyer and activist who fought for human rights in Nigeria

“Every time we choose safety, we reinforce fear.” I am off to Nigeria! Kayode Ogundamisi

“Every time we choose safety, we reinforce fear.” I am off to Nigeria! Kayode Ogundamisi

Dear Friends and Adversary alike ,

The words from Cheri Hubber above best describe the raison d’être not to desert our homeland based on the fear that forces of evil will exterminate us. As a consequence of a collective resolution of members, volunteers and sympathisers of the Nigeria Liberty Forum I will be arriving Nigeria on Wednesday 8th of July 2009.

Due to my absence I may not be able to update your face book news page on a regular basis as I am off to my country of birth Nigeria. I do appreciate the interruption my absence would bring to a few people who rely on the updates we offer here as a source of information.

Those who may feel the absence of the regular update would be our Diaspora brothers and sisters who write in to make suggestions on how we can make the page serve you better.

My trip to Nigeria is very important, as it is a mandate we have to fulfil. The need to network with Nigerian based organisations, identify areas of need in community development and also work for the people of Nigeria trough the Nigeria Liberty Forum.

We are aware of concerns raised about our safety in Nigeria. We want to re assure you all that We are very confident that all will be well in our homeland and that whatever may happen we must not lose sight of the fact that the struggle is not about the safety of our individual self but the safety and survival of the ordinary people who sweat daily under the most dehumanising conditions in Nigeria and under a thieving, evil political class and those who collaborate with them in subjecting our people to a perpetual state of INDIRECT SLAVERY.

We have faith in our common destiny for a better Nigeria but faith alone do not move mountains the work of our hands will help in moving mountains and obstacles. The Nigerian trip is important and as we always say only us can “SAVE NIGERIA FROM NIGERIANS.”

I doubt if I would be detained in Nigeria as I have done all I do bearing in mind my rights as a citizen of a free world and my limitations under the law. I have not in anyway violated any known law of the Federal Republic of Nigeria.

Luckily the Musa Yaradua government believe firmly in the “RUSE OF LAW” and the administration would not want to contaminate that reputation, but in any case if my self or any of my colleagues get picked up on arrival at the Muritala Muhammed International Airport on the 8th of July or in Nigeria, We want you all to be resolute in demanding for a just, equitable Nigeria and make the campaign less about us.
In my absence I recommend a sister publication http://www.saharareporters.com/ as an alternative source of news. If you need any enquiry about our work in Nigeria please contact the NLF trough http://www.nigerialibertyforum.org.uk/ as our team will be updating the website as soon as practicable.

You may contact the Nigeria Liberty Forum in Nigeria on +2348058325505 or P.O.BOX 3720 Ikeja Lagos Nigeria.I want to thank you all for your understanding and words of encouragement. May I emphasize again that our cause is not about individuals but about our collective destiny.

Hopefully in few weeks time your page will be back in full strength. Permit me to leave you with the words of MARGARET CHASE SMITH

“Moral cowardice that keeps us from speaking our minds is as dangerous to this country as irresponsible talk. The right way is not always the popular and easy way. Standing for right when it is unpopular is a true test of moral character.”

Nigeria shall Rise Again!

Kayode Ogundamisi

odamisi2000@yahoo.com

MY TAKE: Taking a measure of Nigeria in London By Okey Ndibe

MY TAKE: Taking a measure of Nigeria in London
Okey Ndibe
June 9, 2009.

Anybody who wished to gauge what Nigerians think about their country's bizarre brand of "democracy" should have been in London on May 29.

I was there as one of the speakers in a symposium tagged "The State of the Nigerian Nation." It was clear to me that Nigerians had exhausted their patience with the coterie of criminals who have hijacked their nation, and that something is about to give.

Headlined by Nobel laureate Wole Soyinka, the event was organised by the Nigerian Liberty Forum. The NLF, whose public face is Kayode Ogundamisi, exemplifies what can be achieved when committed, mostly young, citizens come together to exclaim no to the diabolical bunch who're mortgaging their country's interests.

Given many Nigerians' tendency to quickly discount the perfidious acts of their so-called leaders, it's comforting to behold a group that's sworn not to forget.
Instead, the NLF maintains a formidable sense of the multiple ways in which Nigeria has been betrayed. The group's goals include advocacy of "good governance, accountability and the enthronement of democracy" and the organisation of "peaceful public protests against corrupt Nigerian practices."

It has recorded some remarkable feats. When Umaru Yar'Adua visited the United Kingdom, the NLF mobilised Nigerians to come out and remind the man's British hosts about his tainted mandate.

More recently, the group pulled off a successful rally that sent former president, Olusegun Obasanjo cowering for cover. Obasanjo had been invited by the London School of Economics to talk about his role as a United Nations' peace envoy to the Congo.
The NLF felt that, given Obasanjo's record as president, his name and peace should never be mentioned in the same breath.

True, the NLF fell short of persuading LSE to withdraw its invitation. Even so, its members ensured that Obasanjo's inflated and delusional credential as a peacemaker was eloquently called into question.

In a sense, the symposium was proof that the NLF is far from just reactive. Its line-up of speakers was morally august. There was the former chair of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission Nuhu Ribadu.

Soft-spoken in voice and wiry in appearance, Ribadu's message resonated deeply with the audience. In what amounted to a cry from the heart, he implored Nigerians, one, to reject the false creeds those in power employ to divide and conquer and, two, to reclaim their country from the hands of its despoilers.

There was Femi Falana, one of Nigeria's most intrepid lawyers, whose insider account of the recent electoral shame in Ekiti reminded the audience about the depth of the ruling party's determination to emasculate the Nigerian electorate.
The unprepossessing Sowore Omoyele, publisher of saharareporters.com, proved a crowd favourite. Omoyele's website, which combines hard-edged investigative reports with an iconoclastic style, has endeared him to many Nigerians who relish the way he exposes the cupid underbelly of the ruling class.

He challenged Nigeria's traditional media to awaken to the need to identify with the cause of the masses or risk losing relevance.

Josephine Amuwo, who helps run a highly successful London-based agency that offers training and a variety of other services to women, gave a short but spirited testimony about her passion for Nigeria and her belief in its capacity to rise from the morass and achieve its promise.
Affiong L. Affiong, a former student activist, spoke movingly about the role of women in the struggle to liberate Nigeria.

The ever-ebullient Kennedy Emetulu and the energetic Professor Sola Adeyeye gave rousing performances as moderators of the morning and afternoon sessions respectively.
So much was at stake at the London symposium. That it was held on May 29, a day Obasanjo presumptuously declared "Democracy Day," was at once fortuitous and added to the dramatic temperature.

Soyinka's speech skewered the notion that May 29, rather than June 12 (when Nigerians held what's acknowledged as the finest election in their country's history), merits designation as the day democratic aspirations are to be celebrated.

There was, besides, a running subplot to the symposium that lent it some air of drama.
Prior to my arrival in London, I'd received feelers that the Yar'Adua regime was hostile to this gathering of Nigerians to take stock. In London, I was shocked to discover how chagrined Abuja was at the prospect of this meeting.

Under pressure from the Nigerian High Commission in London, the London Metropolitan University pulled out as co-sponsors of the event.

When Sowore, Ogundamisi and I sat down in the studios of BEN TV to do a live interview on the conference, the audio became unaccountably mute.
I later learned that the High Commission had registered its displeasure with the Nigerian owner of the studio for letting subversive elements appear on his TV. At the symposium, a man told me that the commission had signalled that any Nigerian groups that attended the event courted sharp censure.

Despite these shameful efforts, the hall was packed from morning till the event's conclusion. Still, the government's attempt to undermine the symposium struck me as powerful proof that our democracy is yet deformed.

Culled from NexT Newspaper.

http://234next.com/csp/cms/sites/Next/Opinion/Columns/5421223-183/MY_TAKE:_Taking_a_measure_of.csp#

Hanover blues! ich liebe dich !

Hanover blues!

By

Kayode Ogundamisi

Hanover ! How I so look forward to seeing you again! Pride of Niedersachsen and the blossom dew of River Leine.

You it was who gave me water when thirsty; you gave me the opportunity for rebirth. Your warmth from Schwarzer Bär to the dry tips of the Messe replaced my hate with love. No city can take your place. How I long to see you again, all others see your angst but to me you gave your sweetness, feeling my thoughts only with the beauty of life.

Even when my country of birth ounce hunt me like a demon, your reassurance thought me to love my Homeland more. Love Africa like never before, caressing Africa with my slim fragile finger’s from the topmost desert land of Morocco, Algeria, Libya, and Egypt, running my slim tender fingers across the African exotic jungle of Cameroon, Nigeria, Kenya, Uganda and reaching climax in the breathtaking African toe of Namibia, Botswana and South Africa.

Providing me with the soul of mercy, teaching me to love adversary and hope over browbeaten. As I leave the rustiness of little Britain to call on you again for wisdom and the way forward I say to you Hanover that part of you in me will never die. As I may never say to another soul, or to any other city but you, Hanover let me say it Loud to you. ich liebe dich !