Pa Fasinro’s remains interred amidst encomiums

THE remains of Pa Hassan Fasinro were yesterday interred amidst encomiums from dignitaries and Islamic organisations.

A Janazah (prayer for the deceased) was held at the Anwar-Ul-Islam Mosque, Freeman on Lagos Island.

Chief Imam of Lagos State Sheikh Sulaimon Oluwatoyin Abou-Nolla led the prayer, before Senator Fasinro’s body was interred at Oke Suna Cemetery on Lagos Island.

Sheikh Abou-Nolla said: “It is with total submission to the will of Allah that the entire Lagos Muslim Community mourns the passage of our own Alhaji Fasinro.”

The revered cleric described the deceased as a great patriot and a Nigerian statesman.

“He was a true Lagosian; a man of character, integrity and an intellectual. He was a gentleman to the core and a great historian,” he said.

Mufti (Grand Shiekh) of Conference of Islamic Organisations (CIO) Sheikh Dhikrullah Shafi’I said Senator Fasinro was devoted to unity and progress of the nation.

Sheikh Shafi’I said the deceased was a lover of peace and dedicated his life to preach peaceful co-existence.

Muslim Rights Concern (MURIC) Director Prof Ishaq Akintola described Fashinro as a devoted Muslim, who dedicated the greater part of his life to the service of Islam and humanity.

However, Governor Akinwunmi Ambode and his deputy, Mrs. Idiat Adebule, yesterday visited the family of late elder statesman, Pa Hassan Fasinro, who died at the age of 99 on Sunday evening after a brief illness. Among other eminent Nigerians, who visited yesterday were former Lagos State Deputy Governors Otunba Femi Pedro and Alhaja Lateefat Okunnu; former Federal Commissioner for Works and Housing, Pa Femi Okunnu (SAN); former Nigeria’s High Commissioner to the United Kingdom, Dr. Christopher Kolade; chieftain of All Progressives Congress (APC), Chief Lanre Razaq, among others.

Read also: Former Lagos City Council Clerk Fashinro dies at 99

Lagos State Governor-elect Babajide Sanwo-Olu also expressed deep shock on the demise of Pa Fasinro.

Sanwo-Olu, in a statement issued yesterday morning, described Pa Fasinro’s passage as a great loss to Lagos State in particular and Nigeria in general.

Pa Fasinro, who was described as one of the founding fathers of Lagos, was a senator in the Second Republic and the first Clerk of Lagos City Council.

Speaking to reporters at the home of the deceased in Adeola Odeku area of Victoria Island, Ambode described Pa Fasinro as a great nationalist, who contributed significantly to the success story of Lagos.

“If you are actually looking at the real foundation makers of this state, the person you really have to refer to is Pa Fasinro. I was here last September to celebrate his 99th birthday and I had promised him I would be here for the centenary, but again you know the will of God must be obeyed.

“But what we are doing here today is to celebrate him; we are not mourning him because God gave Lagos State Pa Fasinro and whatever it is that we are today as a state, he was one of the founding fathers that made that happen and we must also celebrate the kind of achievements he made throughout his lifetime,” Ambode said.

The governor said he was particularly proud of the achievements of Pa Fasinro and his legacies, which, he said, were worthy of emulation.

The governor-elect, in his statement, said the Second Republic  Senator contributed immeasurably to the growth and development of the state since he was a Council Clerk at the Lagos City Council during the pre-independent era.

In his words: ‘’Lagos has lost a man with a repository of knowledge of ancient and modern Nigeria, a man we know as an encyclopedia of Lagos and Nigeria’s developmental trajectory. He served Lagos diligently and the country. Pa Fasinro, during his lifetime, was an accomplished man.  His footprints spread across many spheres of life as an author, politician, community leader, lawyer and above all, a firm believer in Allah.

“Papa also made history in 1950 when he emerged  as the first Clerk of Lagos City Council, which was the administrative unit of Lagos  created under a new Local Government Law in succession to the Council created by the 1941 Ordinance.’’Sanwo-Olu noted that he has personal affection and deep respect for the departed elder statesman.

Also yesterday, Lagos monarch, the Elegushi of Ikate Kingdom, Oba Saheed Ademola Elegushi, described the passing of Pa Fashinro has a great loss to Lagos and Nigeria, describing the deceased as father and pillar of support.