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‘No woman wants to stay with my disabled condition’ + How Nigerian doctors made me unable to walk again – Gani Fawehinmi’s son, Mohammed laments

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Mohammed Fawehinmi is the first child of late legal luminary, Chief Gani Fawehinmi. After a car accident in 2003, the 47-year-old lost his ability to walk. He told Eric Dumo how the incident changed his life and how he has managed to keep hope alive.

What was it like growing up under the roof of Gani Fawehinmi?

It was like growing up in a military camp. He gave the order and you must comply. You failed to do so and you got thoroughly punished. I particularly have been displaced with any sort of rod that you can imagine. Until the anger in him calmed, he would not stop punishing you. The only time you would offend my father and he let you walk away was whenever he sighted his mother. No matter your offence, he would not punish you once she was there.

Being the first child, my father made sure he disciplined me the most.

Did he groom you differently from the others being the first child and son?

Yes, he did. He’d always tell me that once he was gone, the mantle would fall on me. For the fact that I was very young then, I would always wonder what he was saying. But he never allowed me to rest; he ensured that I did more than the others in every aspect just because I was the first born. He groomed me like a man even as a boy.

What dreams did you nurse as a child?

I wanted to become an army general. I had three uncles in the army. Two of them were captains while one was a major. I loved the uniform and personality of military men, being like them was just what I wanted for myself.

When I was 14, we were given forms in school for the Nigerian Defence Academy. I hurriedly filled mine and took it to my father for him to sign; I never knew I had courted trouble. Till he died, I don’t think he had ever been that angry. He said I wanted to go and join the people that were throwing him in jail all the time. He said I wanted to join those who wanted to kill him. He said that it was better he killed me before I joined his enemies.

It took four senior lawyers to hold him down that day. One of them was OAR Ogunde, a senior advocate, Mr. Tayo Oyetibo, Mike Philips and one other person. I had to run away from the scene as fast as I could and managed to jump the fence before tearing the form. I thought he had forgotten about everything but I was surprised when he woke me up with the cane at about 2:30am the next morning. He dealt with me thoroughly that day.

Later in life, I wanted to become a business administrator even though the desire to become a military man never left me. When I went to England to study law after my first degree in Business Administration from the University of Lagos, I met a military general who further aroused my interest in the profession.

But immediately I finished my studies, my father was on my neck to return to Nigeria to attend law school. For a while, that interest waned in me but whenever I come across a military cantonment and I see the way the officers move, I feel like being a part of them.

You were not born with disability; at what point did this challenge occur?

I was coming from the chambers at night on the evening of September 23, 2003. The accident happened around 9:48pm. I used to stay at Ajao Estate then and I usually took the airport route to connect Ikeja. It was a Mercedes E320. By the time I got to the toll gate, I bought call card and prayed, something I had never done before because when I was at that place, I didn’t usually stop. I thereafter turned to link the express, as I approached a popular filling station on the axis, my car skidded off the road and leaped into the place. As the car landed, I tried to apply the brakes but it wasn’t responding. Eventually, the outlet where they used to check for petrol gauge stopped the vehicle. The airbag from the front came out and pinned me to the seat while the one from the side shifted me and broke my neck. After about one-and-a-half minute of struggle to burst the airbag, my entire body went numb. It was a naval officer who stopped to rescue me from the car, otherwise I could have been burnt alive in it because petrol was already spilling from it.

The first hospital I was rushed to at Ajao Estate said they could not handle my case, so I was taken to Maryland Specialist Hospital where we were advised to go to the National Orthopaedic Hospital, Igbobi. It was while I was there that my parents were informed that I had been involved in an accident. I was there for about two days before my father secured a visa and moved me to England for further treatment.

I underwent several scans and examinations over there but the specialist surgeon said he didn’t see anything. I had to be operated upon. After the operation, the surgeon said I could have been walking the following week after the accident if not for the way I was handled at the hospital in Nigeria. He said the particular spot where the injury occurred should have been frozen with a special spray after the accident rather than being handled anyhow. That spray cost about N8,000 when converted to our local currency. It is so common abroad but up till now, many hospitals don’t even have it in Nigeria.

However, I was told that by 2006 I should have been walking. That year, I went for check-up in Isreal where they removed my bone marrows to go and inject in Turkey. After that procedure, my legs and hands jerked as if they wanted to detach themselves from my body. But since that time, I have not seen any sign of walking. I have been to several places since then for solution but there has been no significant luck.

So, how tough was it for you adjusting to your new situation?

I look at my ordeal as part of life’s ‘buffet’, just like it served my late father on several occasions. I feel I’m in a mini detention centre at the moment, but then, I’m positive that one day, I’ll be free.

But I’m glad that I have been able to practise as a trained lawyer despite the tragedy that I’ve encountered in life.

Are you able to access all the courts your cases are assigned following your inability to walk?

This is where I am not happy with government in Nigeria. In all the courts in Lagos, there is nowhere that lifts are functioning. On several occasions, my cases are assigned to courts on top floors, so I have to be carried by at least two people to be able to attend such sessions. It shouldn’t be this way.

Personally, I have written several letters to the Lagos State Government to call their attention to this but nothing has been done. I am really saddened by this because it is really affecting people like me.

Apart from not being able to move around freely, what other areas would you say the accident of 2003 has changed your life?

I am a man who was trained to work through the night. This accident has affected me in this regard because I am not able to do that now. The pain I go through at night is too severe for me to even think of doing such.

Also, the number of cases I’m able to handle in a day and week has reduced. This is a very painful restraint for me because I am somebody who loves to multi-task.

The accident has also affected my social life. I am somebody who loves to go out and have great times with friends but since this restriction occurred, I have been forced to abandon that aspect. But once in a while, I go out to eat ‘isi ewu’ and ‘nkwobi’.

You are yet to marry, what is the reason behind this? Is it that you’ve not found the right woman or your taste is high?

I certainly wish to marry and have children but then, there are so many things responsible for why I’m yet to do so.

I was around 32 when I had that accident and I already had a lady I wanted to marry. She was a very beautiful Igbo lady I met close to my father’s chambers. Even after the accident happened, she still wanted to stay with me; I was the one who advised her to move on because she may not be able to cope with the demands of my new condition. I couldn’t do anything on my own but depended on the help of others to survive. I didn’t want that huge burden on her, so I told her to move on and get herself another man. I was just being considerate. The lady went away disappointed.

I just felt that I shouldn’t bother any woman with my condition. I didn’t want anybody to marry me out of pity. Even though I always have females around me, it is not every woman that can stay with a person with disability of my kind. Most of the women I have met in recent times are not the ones that can stay with a man, they are the type who would want to attend parties and keep all sorts of friends instead of looking after me. Of course, a few have come close to what I want but the temperament is nothing to write home about.

Is there no pressure on you to marry from family members?

In fact, words can’t describe the intensity of the pressure on me right now as far as marriage is concerned. My mother and uncles disturb me about this topic almost every day. But what they don’t understand is that most women I have met hardly want to commit themselves after the initial meeting because of my condition. As it is, I am just praying that there’ll be a miracle from God in this aspect.

I am very optimistic that one day, I am going to walk again but then I’ll be glad if it will be to walk down the aisle with my soulmate. I really want to marry and have children. I think about this every day.

As successful as you are as a lawyer and even coupled with your father’s name, do people still stigmatise you?

A lot of people treat me like a leper on many occasions as a result of my condition. People say all sorts of nasty things to me and call me all sorts of names. But because I know that those words cannot limit my progress in life, I just ignore such.

What are some of the biggest barriers you’ve had to break to get to where you are today?

At every point in my journey, I’ve had to convince people with my performance that I can still achieve a lot despite my disability. Getting my chamber registered and even handling big cases have been huge barriers I’ve had to surmount to get to this point in my career.

Would you say your father’s name has opened or closed more doors against you?

It’s a balance. Some people appreciate me for being his son, while others stylishly turn me down for being his child.

Are you sometimes under pressure to fill the vacuum left behind by your father being his first child?

I am perpetually under pressure to fill the void left by my father. As a result of who my father was, there are certain things I must not be involved in. In fact, there are things I must make my own business whether I like it or not. It is a huge role to play and sometimes, I feel the heat.

How do you think government can make life better for people living with disabilities in Nigeria?

They must first of all do an in-depth study on the needs of the people in this category. It is only through this means that a comprehensive policy that would cater for the needs of people with special needs can be addressed.

 

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Public Health Alert: The Dangers of Oko Oba Abattoir’s Unhygienic Conditions for Lagos Residents

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Time was when the Oko Oba Abbatoir was the cynosure of all eyes.

The professionalism and neatness depicted by the Butchers and the distribution Unit of the Abbatoir was applauded by all.

Conveying the neatly packed Meats in an enclosed Van called ‘Eko Meat Van’ to various locations saw the Lagos State Government receiving accolades from opposition Parties, Lagosians alike for the initiative.

Years down the line, the once celebrated initiative has become a shadow of itself.

For a first timer visiting the Oko Oba Abbatoir, what greets the person is an offensive odour oozing from the Canals that passes behind the Abbatoir.

The stench is very strong. It fouls the air. It often even triggers breathing discomforts in people not used to such a sudden and unpleasant odour.

The drainage at the entrance of the facility is filthy. It is a major source of the pungent stench disturbing passersby and visitors to the abattoir.

This however poses health threats to Lagosians who inhale this offensive odour.

Aside the Canals, the environment of the Abbatoir is in a pathetic state, as dirt litters the environment with bloods of the butchered Cows stagnated at some potholes in the Abbatoir.

This is however unhygienic to the health of Lagosians who consume the Meats.

The safety of meat processed at Oko-Oba Abattoir, Agege, Lagos, has become a source of concern to beef consumers in the state owing to the unhygienic practices and poor sanitation that characterise meat processing at the facility.

Aside from the dirty drainage, the slaughter slabs where animals are slaughtered are not only dirty but also reek of the foul smell of cow dung as well as that of decomposing animal waste and blood.

The once upgraded processing equipment and units of the Abbatoir have become a shadow of itself.

Experts say poor handling of meat in abattoirs could lead to physical contamination, stressing that a situation where all manner of people accesses the slaughterhouse without check is inappropriate for a place where meat is processed for human consumption.

Investigation reveals that the handlers of the Abattoir are the one causing major problems by not allowing external body or professionals to handle the situation because of their selfish interest.

Moreso, it was also gathered that past administration has also put measures to salvage the situation but all to know avail as the activities of the centre is allegedly run by one family.

The said family is been alleged to be sabotaging the efforts of the Lagos State Government in changing the narratives in this regard, by monopolizing the administration of Abbatoir.

Sources who are in the know of the politicking happening at the Abbatoir that has made it leveraging on its past glory, say that if other Companies are saddled with the responsibilities of maintaining the Abbatoir, there will be drastic changes in the affairs of the Abbatoir, that will be a far cry from its present state.

It was also gathered that the Sub Concessionaire approved by the Ministry who has certain projects at the Abbatoir is allegedly been frustrated by the Main Concessionaire in connivance with the Commissioner.

This has further added to the pathetic situation of the Abbatoir.

Investigation also revealed that there are Shanties at the Abbatoir where some people allegedly live and pay rent to certain individuals at the Abbatoir.

This poses Security threat to the Abbatoir and residents around the Abbatoir, at a time when the economic fortunes of the nation has dwindled.

Sources revealed that the Abbatoir is porous, which exposes the State to impending danger that needs to be urgently addressed before it escalates.

No doubt, the present state of the Abbatoir is a far cry from what the Abbatoir was known for years back, leading to the call on the Governor Babajide Olusola Sanwo-olu led administration, the Ministry of Environment, Ministry of Health and the Ministry Of Agriculture to wade into this issue and earnestly address the worrisome and abysmal state of the Oko Oba Abbatoir, no matter who ox is gored.

 

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TIME TO RECONSIDER OUR TIES WITH ISRAEL

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DO PALESTINIAN LIVES MATTER? 

TIME TO RECONSIDER OUR TIES WITH ISRAEL

 

 

 

 

Sahara Weekly Reports That In an article titled “Is Nigeria fuelling Israel’s genocide against Palestinians?” which was published in Businessday on October 30th, 2024, one Suraya Dadoo, who wrote in from South Africa, opened his contribution by quoting our Hon. Minister of Foreign Affairs, my friend and brother, Ambassador Yusuf Tuggar who he attributed the following words to.

 

 

“There is no justification for the carnage that is going on in Gaza… the complete disregard for the proportionality of force that is being meted out on innocent civilians. This carnage is completely out of hand and unacceptable. There is no way to explain the double standards; it has to stop”.

 

 

He went further by quoting our nation’s number two citizen, Vice President Kashim Shettima’s words at the UN General Assembly (UNGA) in September where he said the following.

 

 

“Justice is antithetical to revenge… Freedom is an inalienable right and a natural entitlement that cannot be denied to any person. The Palestinian people deserve their independence.”

 

 

 

Both the Minister and the Vice President have done us proud with their courageous words and bold stand and it is a reflection of the fact that the Tinubu administration represents the thinking and has expressed the sentiments of the overwhelming majority of Nigerians and have opted to tread the right path when it comes to the tragic events in Gaza and the pitiful plight of the Palestinian people.

 

 

 

Dadoo went further by writing the following,

 

 

“The Nigerian government has consistently condemned Israel’s military occupation of Palestine and has been particularly outspoken against Israel since October 7. Historically, Nigeria has been a strong supporter of the Palestinian liberation struggle, and Nigeria was central in efforts to ensure that Israel was not granted observer status at the African Union (AU). According to sources who were at the October 2021 meeting of the AU executive council attended by Africa’s foreign ministers in the Ethiopian capital, Addis Ababa, Nigeria’s then Foreign Minister Geoffrey Onyeama took the lead in objecting to Israel’s accreditation and urged other member states to do the same”.

 

Again, this is comforting, but he follows it by getting to the crux of his essay and the heart of the matter by dropping the following clanger. He wrote,

 

 

“While the Nigerian government has strongly condemned Israel’s military onslaught on Gaza it also stands accused of fuelling the Israeli war machine that had already killed, at the time of writing, more than 40,000 Palestinians through direct violence and bombing”.

 

 

To substantiate his point he wrote,

 

 

“According to a recently released report titled “Behind the Barrel: New Insights into the Countries and Companies Behind Israel’s Fuel Supply,” Nigeria accounts for 9 percent of the total crude oil supplied to Israel between October 21, 2023, and July 12, 2024. The researcher analyzed satellite imagery, ship positions, shipping logs, commodity trade flows, information from port authorities, and financial and media reports to track 65 oil and fuel shipments to Israel in that period”.

 

 

He concludes by alleging that,

 

 

“Over 133 kilotons of Nigerian crude were delivered to Israel from Chevron, Eni, Exxon, Shell, and TotalEnergies. Gabonese crude accounted for 22 percent, and the Republic of the Congo supplied 6 percent, but it is Nigeria’s contribution that has raised eyebrows given the country’s vocal criticism of Israel”.

 

 

 

Dodoo’s allegation, if proven to be true, is deeply troubling and needs to be taken very seriously, indeed, lest we leave ourselves open to his grave charge of complicity in the genocide that is being unleashed on Gaza by the Zionists.

 

 

The matter can be resolved by simply banning all crude oil shipments from Nigeria to Israel.

 

I hereby call on our President, Asiwaju Bola Ahmed Tinubu, to do precisely that and take an even stronger stance against the Zionists by banning all arms purchases from them and terminating any military and/or intelligence advice or services that the Israelis are offering or providing us with.

 

 

 

If he could find the courage to implement a number of bold and much-needed fiscal, economic, and constitutional reforms and policies such as the removal of the oil subsidy, the floating of the naira, the establishment of autonomy for the local government areas, the implementation of the students loan fund, the numerous tax reforms and most important of all the refusal to go to war against Niger Republic despite the enormous pressure that the western powers, led by France and the United States of America, put on him to do so earlier this year, he can certainly muster same to kick the Zionists out of Nigeria, nullify their pervasive influence in our country and sub-region and sever all trade, economic and diplomatic ties and relations with them.

 

 

 

General Yakubu Gowon, our reverred former Head of State, did this in 1973 when he was in power and as Chairman of the then OAU (AUtoto punished the Jewish State for its attack on the Palestinians during the Yom Kippur War.

 

 

 

For several years before then and specifically during the three-year civil war, Gowon had viewed Israel with much distrust and suspicion, given the covert support she gave to the Biafran secessionists and her complicity in the attempt to dismember and break up our beloved country.

 

 

 

However, the straw did not break the camels back until 1973, after which the final break took place, and diplomatic relations between our two countries were not restored until September 1992 by the then Head of State General Ibrahim Badamasi Babangida.

 

 

 

I am constrained to say that now is the time to break diplomatic ties with Israel again.

 

 

 

This is the proper thing to do in light of their insatiable compulsion and appetite for mass murder, ethnic cleansing, crimes against humanity, war crimes, and genocide, given their insane and psychotic disposition for murdering helpless and defenseless women and children and for killing babies.

 

 

 

Again this is the proper thing to do given the fact that they have not only illegally occupied the land of the Palestinian people for over 76 years and slaughtered and incarcerated millions of them but they have also unleashed what can best be described as the second holocaust against them over the last one year killing over 60,000 in Gaza alone and thousands more in the West Bank, Lebanon and Syria!

 

 

 

If the world could go to war with Nazi Germany in 1936 as a consequence of the first holocaust, every civilized nation ought to, at the very least, be able to break diplomatic ties with Zionist Israel as a consequence of the second.

 

 

 

Morality, decency, and justice demand no less, and those nations that insist on applauding the atrocities of the Jewish state and selling weapons of mass destruction to her are not only complicit in her war crimes but are also from the pit of hell and in the service of shaitan.

 

 

 

The Holy Bible says there can be no fellowship between light and darkness. It says we must either choose God or Belial.

 

 

 

It also compels us to resist evil and fight for the weak, the poor, the vulnerable, and the oppressed.

 

 

 

The Holy Koran does the same and is emphatic on the importance of justice for all and support for the less privileged and the vulnerable.

 

 

 

Nigeria can and must NEVER be seen to be complicit in the bestial barbarity that is going on in Gaza or to have relations with the beasts that have relentlessly unleashed it.

 

 

 

Though we have many challenges, ours is a nation of decent, God-fearing, just, and right-thinking people who have a long history of standing for the oppressed all over Africa and contributing to the efforts of numerous liberation struggles.

 

 

 

Let us prove to the world once again that that is who and what we are by openly and loudly challenging the barbarity, lunacy, and thuggery of the State of Israel at the International Court of Justice, the International Criminal Court, the United Nations, the African Union, and all other relevant fora and calling her out for her continuous violations of international law, her disdain for an international rules-based system and her racist, fascist and ethnocentric disposition.

 

 

 

Let us expose her contempt for humanity and human life, her total and complete adoption, espousal, and implementation of apartheid as a fundamental principle and cardinal policy in her system of Government, and her religious fanaticism and proselytizing bigotry.

 

 

 

 

Let us vigorously and aggressively resist her hatred for Arabs and Africans, her appalling treatment of Christians and Muslims, her rejection of the two-state solution, her desire to ethnically cleanse, wipe out, and eradicate and eliminate the Palestinian race, her intention to establish a ‘Greater Israel’ whose borders would stretch from Egypt to Iran and her heinous crimes and unspeakable atrocities in Gaza, the West Bank, and Lebanon.

 

 

These are concrete and cogent steps that we as a people and nation can take to contribute our quota to the collective fight against the tyranny and oppression of the Zionists and I believe that we are still big and strong enough to take them.

 

 

 

May God guide and protect us in this noble endeavour and may history and posterity be kind to us.

 

 

 

 

 

(Chief Femi Fani-Kayode, is the Sadaukin Shinkafi, a former Minister of Aviation and a former Minister of Culture and Tourism of Nigeria)

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Michael Sijuade Bandele, distinguished legal expert and trailblazer, observes another birthday

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Michael Sijuade Bandele, distinguished legal expert and trailblazer, observes another birthday.

 

 

~By Oluwaseun Trust BethNews Media

 

 

Who is Michael Bandele?

 

Sijuade, a notable son of ErukuCity, hails from the renowned family of the late Baba Bandele, with their residence located directly opposite the Catholic Church on Oke Ogi Road

 

Michael Sijuade Bandele, distinguished legal expert and trailblazer, observes another birthday.

 

Michael Bandele, or ‘Mike’ to friends, displayed intelligence and determination during his early years at Secondary Commercial School, ErukuCity

 

 

This young man displays profound gratitude and a heart characterized by remarkable resilience and simplicity, reflecting the exemplary character of his late parents

 

 

The Law, my preferred name for him, has had a lasting impact on Kwara’s urban landscape and surrounding areas through his meticulous execution of duties and unwavering commitment, setting a benchmark for excellence

 

 

Michael Bandele’s outstanding achievements in fostering the growth and profitability of ErukuCity’s Ankara Night carnival exemplify his steadfast commitment and exceptional brilliance, earning recognition within the committee. His unwavering commitment to culinary excellence at Ankara Night, demonstrated by his expert preparation of Asun, Chicken, and Turkey, is truly exceptional

 

 

Michael Bandele exemplifies exceptional distinction, divinely appointed to pursue, overtake, and reclaim excellence

 

 

Through this feat, he maintains his status as an iconic figure of accomplishment amongst his equals, persistently innovating and leading the way

 

 

Today, I am delighted to be among distinguished associates, loved ones, acquaintances, and genuine well-wishers in celebrating your birthday, offering sincerest felicitations and warmest regards for many joyful years to come.

 

 

Oluwaseun Fabiyi a media practitioner writes from Lagos.

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