Kaduna State Governor, Uba Sani, has said the late human rights lawyer and pro-democracy activist, Chief Gani Fawehinmi, played a crucial role in opening Nigeria’s political space and creating room for political plurality.
Sani made the remarks on Saturday in Kaduna at the public presentation of a book titled Gani Fawehinmi and Uba Sani: A Tale of Mentor and Mentee, authored by Basirat Fawehinmi-Biobaku.
The governor recalled that Fawehinmi spearheaded the legal struggle against stringent conditions imposed by the Independent National Electoral Commission on political associations seeking registration as political parties.
According to Sani, the restrictions left many human rights and pro-democracy activists disillusioned, but Fawehinmi refused to allow frustration to turn into despair.
He said Fawehinmi encouraged activists to maintain faith in the judiciary, the rule of law and democracy, insisting that democratic processes could be used to defend democracy.
Sani recalled that Fawehinmi and former Kaduna State Governor, Balarabe Musa, subsequently approached the courts to challenge INEC’s position.
The legal battle lasted for more than two years before the Court of Appeal ruled in their favour in 2002. INEC appealed the judgment to the Supreme Court, which also ruled in their favour in January 2003.
Sani said the court victories helped open Nigeria’s political space and paved the way for the emergence of more political parties.
He urged Nigerians to remember the people who fought for political plurality whenever new parties emerge and citizens exercise their constitutional right to political association.
“Democracy has a history, and every freedom has a cost,” the governor said, stressing that many Nigerians enjoying political freedoms today may not fully appreciate the difficult struggles that helped secure those freedoms.
Sani also described Fawehinmi as more than a fighter for political freedom, portraying him as a committed pan-Nigerian who believed Nigeria’s development should benefit every part of the country.
He said the late activist advocated the empowerment of citizens regardless of their region, ethnicity, religion or social standing.
The governor further highlighted Fawehinmi’s commitment to education, particularly through the Gani Fawehinmi Scholarship Foundation.
Sani recalled that he was entrusted with coordinating the foundation’s scholarship programme in Northern Nigeria and said he persuaded Fawehinmi to establish a major scholarship scheme for brilliant but indigent university students in the region.
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