During the said press conference, Chief Fawehinmi accused Nigeria's President, Gen. Olusegun Obasanjo, of conniving with INEC to preclude his party from being registered and added that this was because the President was afraid that he would beat him in the upcoming presidential election, if he were allowed to contest.

It should be recalled that the National Conscience Party was founded about eight years ago by Chief Fawehinmi, in defiance of the ban on formation of political parties. Since then, he has continued to step up awareness about the existence of the party in so many creative ways, often acting and living his life in consonance with the name of the party. It is therefore understandable that he feels the way he does towards INEC and the Presidency, for denying him the opportunity to actualize his long-held dream of contesting the presidency of Nigeria. Having said that, I must state categorically, that I am disappointed that someone of Gani's repute, who has championed human rights causes in Nigeria, made such a far-reaching statement! This type of statement, which exudes a subversive undertone, has the capability of whipping up unneeded sentiments that could torpedo the nation's young democracy. I therefore submit, that the legal luminary, whom I have a lot of respect for, has indeed erred in words and for the sake of Nigeria's fledgling democracy, he should retract the statement, and make it abundantly clear to all, that he has no intentions of "making Nigeria ungovernable"

About a year and half ago, another prominent Nigerian made this type of inflammatory statement in Anambra State. The billionaire vowed to make the State ungovernable because he felt that Governor Mbadinuju was not living up to expectation. Currently, every citizen of Anambra State is feeling the pang of that threat in one-way or the other. When Chief Emeka Offor made the statement, according to him, his goal was to bring about accountability and good governance in the state, so that the masses would reap the benefits of democracy. Well, make Anambra State ungovernable he did, but the people who are suffering as a result of his actions, are not his intended targets, instead, it is those he purportedly wants to protect. This goes to buttress the age-old wise saying that when two elephants fight, it is the ground that suffers.

To avoid plunging Nigeria into the same plight that Anambra State is currently in, Chief Fawehinmi should tread softly in his bid to right the perceived wrongs of INEC. He is a respectable man; most well meaning Nigerians identify solidly with his human rights crusade and his continual struggle to ensure the entrenchment of democratic ethos into Nigeria's polity. He should realize that if he goes through with his threat in whatever form he intends to, the repercussions would not be faced by his intended targets - the President and his administration, instead, the masses for whom he has fought so long to protect, would face it. Also, the democracy, which he has fought for so long and went to jail for, would also become threatened. I am sure that this is not the intention of the legal luminary, but there are discordant Nigerians who always look for flimsy reasons to foment trouble and instability. This category of Nigerians might mistake his statement as marching orders to start on the part of destruction. In view of this, I once again encourage him to disavow this statement, declare it null, void and of no consequence.

Chief Gani Fawehinmi has been called the "political gadfly" of Nigeria. His wife, Mrs. Ganiat Fawehinmi has been quoted as saying, " Chief Gani Fawehinmi has always been a thorn in the flesh of military governments�. He is a non-violent, patriotic, hardworking, very intelligent man�".

I agree that he has irritated more military presidents than any Nigerian alive because of his crusades for justice and equality. On January 30, 1996, during Abacha's administration, officers of the State Security Service arrested him in his home because he was about to deliver an address at a political rally at the University of Lagos to call for a return to democracy. Also, when prominent Nigerian citizens were" bolting" out of the country to escape the oppressive regime of Sani Abacha in 1995, he had the courage to lead the defense team of Ken Saro Wiwa before he was forced to withdraw. The withdrawal did not dampen his ardor because right after the execution of Saro Wiwa, he again filed a motion, challenging the legality of the executions of November 1995.

Furthermore, after the assassination of Dele Giwa via a parcel bomb in October of 1986, Gani Fawehinmi was one of the few Nigerians who had the guts to speak up publicly against the dastardly act. He even named names of those he felt were responsible. He did all these in the face of tacit threats of recriminations from the military. The issue of Dele Giwa's murder has taken center stage once again, this time with more promising results. This is due in part to the tireless efforts of Chief Fawehinmi.

When all these bold achievements of Chief Fawehinmi are placed side by side with his current effusive threat of "making Nigeria ungovernable", it paints a different picture of the man who is sometimes referred to as the "conscience of Nigeria". If he follows through with his threats, thereby crippling Nigeria's struggling democracy, just because he feels wronged by INEC, critics would be left with no other choice than to brand him a selfish man. They would assert and rightly so, that he allowed his personal ambition to supercede the interest of the masses.

Nigeria is a nation where many have been wronged in one way or the other both jointly and severally. More are still being wronged. However, Nigerians, including Chief Fawehinmi, must always resort to the courts to seek redress, as guaranteed in our constitution as a democracy. He has done this many times; he understands how to use the courts, infact, he is a master of the courts. I therefore urge him to go to court, lay out his case, and follow it up to where ever it may lead. Inflammatory remarks would not only expose him to odium, but would exacerbate an already tense situation in the country.

Chief Fawehinmi raised a very vital point during the press conference however; he called on INEC to make public all information pertaining to how they reached their decision. I support this call in the interest of accountability and transparency. It is not enough for INEC to tell the nation that out of 24 parties that applied for registration, they only obliged the requests of 3. The commission must give the nation the details of how they reached their decision. It should also make known the details of the verification exercise they carried out in all 36 states. Against this backdrop therefore, I am calling on INEC chairman, Dr. Guobadia, to release with dispatch, all pertinent information as outlined above, for all Nigerians to see.

At the press conference during which Dr. Guobadia announced the outcome of the registration exercise, he refused to take questions from the press. In the opinion of this writer, that was a mistake. He should correct this by releasing all pertinent documents immediately. All things being equal, release of the documents might convince the public that the commission was not teleguided by Obasanjo's administration as alleged by Chief Fawehinmi. If this is not done and done with dispatch, there would always be an element of suspicion hanging over the process. The inevitable corollary is that a sour taste will be left in the mouths of Nigerians. Also, a widespread disenchantment amongst the populace would start brewing. It must be noted that prophets of doom have started telling Nigerians that this coming election would be unsuccessful and characterized by violence. INEC must not play into the hands of these naysayers by leaving elements of doubt in the registration process, thereby stoking the fire of potential violence. Those who have ears let them hear; those who have eyes let them see.

HERE I STAND!