President Muhammadu Buhari and the Lagos State governor, Mr. Babajide Sanwo-Olu, have paid tributes to the son of late Gani Fawehinmi, Mohammed, who died on Wednesday.
Mohammed Fawehinmi, who was confined to a wheelchair in 2003 following an accident continued with the legacy of his father Chief Gani Fawehinmi as a social critic and human rights activist until his death.
While commiserating with the family of the deceased in separate statements on Thursday, Buhari and Sanwo-Olu said Mohammed kept the memory of his father alive despite being confined to the wheelchair.
Buhari spoke in the statement issued by his Special Adviser to the President on Media and Publicity, Femi Adesina.
The statement read, “The President condoles with Ganiat, mother of the deceased, and the entire family, urging them to find comfort in God, who gives and takes and to draw consolation in the fact that the departed robustly fought a debilitating condition, which confined him to the wheelchair for many years.
“His body may have been broken, but his spirit was virile, agile, and he kept the flag of the family flying, doing justice to the memory of his late father,” the statement read in part.
The Lagos State governor who also commiserated with family and friends of the deceased described his death as a huge loss to the civil society in the country.
Sanwo-Olu said in a statement by his Chief Press Secretary, Mr. Gboyega Akosile, that Mohammed toed the path of his father by being persistent in the fight for the rights of the Nigerian people.
Sanwo-Olu added that the late Mohammed did not live under the shadows of his father as he had grown to become a dependable comrade despite his physical condition.
Sanwo-Olu said, “It is with a deep sense of sorrow that I commiserate with the family, friends, and associates of the Late Mohammed Fawehinmi. He was undoubtedly a great Nigerian, passionate human rights activist, and champion of a true Nigeria.
“As a civil rights activist, he spent his life in the service of humanity and particularly for the emancipation of the Nigerian people. Mohammed Fawehinmi was as consistent as his father, the late Chief Gani Fawehinmi. He kept the flame of his father burning by fighting for the masses even in his wheelchair.
“On behalf of my family and the people of Lagos State, I express my heartfelt condolences to his family, friends, associates, and members of the Civil Society Organisations in Nigeria. I pray that God will grant Mohammed Fawehinmi eternal rest and give the immediate family and friends the fortitude to bear the irreparable loss.”
