Governor Uba Sani of Kaduna State eulogized the late civil rights activist Chief Gani Fawehinmi, saying that his most consequential contributions to Nigeria was his determination to keep the political space open.

He also recalled that the late pro-democracy activist spear-headed the struggle against the decision of the Independent National Electoral Commission(INEC) to roll out stringent conditions for political associations seeking to be registered as political parties.

The Governor who explained that most human rights and pro-democracy activists were deeply disillusioned at that 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.

According to him, “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.”

‘Sani argued, “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,’’

The Governor further stressed, ” late 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 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”, he stressed.

‘’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 that activists, politicians of different parties and academics should 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 Chief 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 Sani also said that the late activist also believed in  ‘’the empowerment of every citizen, regardless of region, ethnicity, religion or social standing.’’

The Governor further said that education was one of his deepest convictions and that explains why he instituted the Gani Fawehinmi Scholarship Foundation, saying, ‘’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 Sani disclosed that that programme awarded scholarships to more than 1,000 indigent students across Northern Nigeria, recalling that they travelled across northern universities to identify deserving beneficiaries.