Kaduna State Governor, Uba Sani, has said one of the late Chief Gani Fawehinmi’s most consequential contributions to Nigeria was his determination to keep the political space open.
He recalled that the late pro-democracy activist spearheaded the struggle against the decision of the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) to impose stringent conditions on political associations seeking registration as political parties.
The governor, who noted that most human rights and pro-democracy activists were deeply disillusioned at the time, made this known at the public presentation of a book titled Gani Fawehinmi And Uba Sani, A Tale Of Mentor And Mentee in Kaduna on Saturday.
“At a serious meeting, we told Chief Fawehinmi, our leader, that we were beginning to lose faith in democracy. But he would not permit frustration to become despair.
“He told us to have faith in the judiciary, faith in the rule of law and faith in democracy itself. Rather than abandon the democratic process, we would use the democratic process to defend democracy,” he argued.
According to the governor, Fawehinmi and Alhaji Balarabe Musa went to court and “the legal battle lasted more than two years before the Court of Appeal delivered judgment.”
“I recall that the ruling was delivered by Justice Dahiru Mustapha in 2002. INEC appealed to the Supreme Court, but in January 2003, the Supreme Court again ruled in our favour,” he added.
Governor Uba Sani pointed out that the verdict “opened the political space in Nigeria and paved the way for the emergence of more political parties.”
“Therefore, whenever we celebrate political plurality in Nigeria, whenever new parties emerge and whenever citizens exercise their rights to organise politically, we should remember those who fought to make that space possible.
“Many of those proudly identifying with all sorts of political platforms today may not know that the freedom they exercise was secured through difficult struggles by people like Chief Gani Fawehinmi. Democracy has a history, and every freedom has a cost,” he said.
The governor advised activists, politicians across different parties and academics to gather from time to time to “remember the heroes and those who fought and put their lives on the line for us to have democracy in Nigeria.”
He described Fawehinmi as more than a fighter for political freedom, but “a profoundly committed pan-Nigerian who believed that the greatness of Nigeria depended on the development of every part of the country.”
Governor Uba Sani also said the late activist believed in “the empowerment of every citizen, regardless of region, ethnicity, religion or social standing.”
The governor further said education was one of Fawehinmi’s deepest convictions, adding that this explained why he instituted the Gani Fawehinmi Scholarship Foundation, where “I was entrusted with the responsibility of serving as Northern Coordinator.”
“I persuaded him to institute a major scholarship programme for brilliant but indigent university students in Northern Nigeria because educational deprivation was particularly severe in our region at the time,” he added.
Governor Uba Sani disclosed that the programme awarded scholarships to more than 1,000 indigent students across Northern Nigeria, recalling that they travelled across northern universities to identify deserving beneficiaries.
“Many of those beneficiaries have since become medical doctors, lawyers, academics, engineers and professionals who are contributing meaningfully to national development,” he said.
The governor recalled that at the flag-off of the Fawehinmi Scholarship Scheme in northern Nigeria 26 years ago at Arewa House, Chief Fawehinmi challenged Northern leaders to confront the educational crisis in the region.
Governor Uba Sani said the late activist had warned that if educational backwardness was not addressed, it could become a monster, adding that “that warning remains profoundly relevant.”
“Many of the challenges confronting Northern Nigeria today are connected, directly or indirectly, to inadequate investment in human capital,” he added.
Describing the late Chief Fawehinmi as one of the most formidable Nigerians of his generation, the governor said he “possessed the rare courage to make principle more important than comfort and justice more compelling than personal convenience.”
“He used the law as an instrument of liberation, defended ordinary citizens against arbitrary power and contributed immensely to Nigeria’s struggle for democracy, accountability and human dignity,” Governor Uba Sani added.
He congratulated the author, Mrs Basirat Fawehinmi-Biobaku, “for preserving a relationship that began as a deeply personal bond of mentorship but acquired, over time, a much larger national significance.”
According to him, “this is not simply the story of a mentor and his mentee. It is a story about courage, democratic struggle, social justice, education, leadership and the solemn responsibility of one generation to prepare another for service.”
