Secretary and Publicity of the Gani Fawehinmi Memorial Organisation’s Governing Council, Omokehinde Agbedina, has lamented that the deaths of lawwer and activist, Bamidele Aturu; and labour leader, Segun Akele, have weakened the organisation.
This is as it announced an emergency meeting to reorganise and reclaim its moral authority amidst its internal crisis, ahead of the 16th Memorial Anniversary of the late human rights lawyer.
GAFAMORG disclosed this in a statement on Friday in Lagos jointly signed by the Governing Council’s Secretary and the Publicity Secretary, Messrs Omokehinde Agbedina and Akintunde Adedeji, respectively.
The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that the extended emergency meeting of GAFAMORG’s Governing Council and key stakeholders is stated for Sept. 11 at the Right House, Ikeja, Lagos
.
According to Agbedina, the meeting is called to coincide with the 16th Memorial Anniversary of the late human rights lawyer.
“It marks a pivotal moment for the organisation to address internal challenges and reposition itself, as a relevant and powerful voice in Nigeria’s ongoing struggle for justice,” he said.
He said that the memorial anniversary was to honour the legacy of the late legal icon in a time of unprecedented need.
Agbedina said that Fawehinmi was not just a lawyer; he was an unwavering moral compass for Nigeria.
He said that Fawehinmi was known as the Senior Advocate of the Masses, adding that his life’s work was a testament to courage, integrity, and an uncompromising commitment to the poor, downtrodden and oppressed.
“Sixteen years after his passing, his legacy is needed more than ever as Nigeria grapples with a multi-faceted crisis.
“These include a crippling economy, escalating insecurity, rampant corruption, and the erosion of democratic values. These are the very battles Gani fought fiercely throughout his life.
“His voice is sorely missed in today’s Nigeria, but his spirit lives on.
“The organisation founded in his name cannot afford to be docile , complacent or silent, while the nation faces such existential threats,” he said.
Agbedina said that Nigerians had found hope in new-generation activists and advocates, who embody Gani’s fearless spirit, as touch bearers of today.
According to him, notable among these is Omoyele Sowore, who along with few others, continues to speak truth to power, demand accountability, and mobilize for justice, often at great personal risk.
He said that GAFAMORG recognised its duty was to support and amplify these voices, ensuring that Fawehinmi’s ideals and ideologies remained a driving force in the struggle for a just and equitable Nigeria.
Agbadina called on Fawehinmi contemporaries, associates, and disciples such as Mr Femi Falana, SAN; Mr Femi Aborishade, Dr Osagie Obayuwana, Mr Richard Akinola and “other notable advocates for the voiceless and defenceless to close ranks”.
He urged advocates “to form a formidable force to put the ruling cabals on their toes and rid our dear country of anti people/masses strangulating policies”.
Agbadina said that such policies had subjected the citizenry to unwarranted hardship and suffering, including the unfettered violations of their inalienable rights.
He said that GAFAMORG must reclaim its mandate by addressing internal leadership crisis.
“The organisation’s Governing Council, though subsisting, is inhibited in its mandate as the administrative organ.
“More critically, the Board of Trustees (BoT) has been critically weakened, due to a perennial void created, following the passing of the respected Barrister Bamidele Aturu and Comrade Segun Akele.
“With only two trustees remaining, the BoT is effectively paralysed, leaving a significant vacuum in the organisation’s highest leadership and strategic direction which should have been taken up by the Governing Council but not.
“This situation is unacceptable and an affront to everything Chief Fawehinmi stood for. We must rebuild from the ground up to restore our credibility and effectiveness,” he added.
He said that the emergency meeting remained a direct response to this internal turmoil.
According to him, the 16th Memorial must be more than a simple ceremony but a moment of renewal and re-dedication.
Agbedina said: “We call upon all GAFAMORG members, civil society organisations, professional bodies, the media, and the Nigerian public to join us in this critical process of reorganisation.
“To allow the organisation bearing Chief Gani Fawehinmi’s name to drift into irrelevance would be a betrayal of history and a disservice to Nigeria. As Gani himself would insist: “Stand firm, speak truth, and act with courage.”
