Gani Fawehinmi’s legal battles opened Nigeria’s political space

Kaduna State Governor, Uba Sani, has described the late human rights lawyer and pro-democracy activist, Gani Fawehinmi, as one of the key figures whose struggles opened Nigeria’s political space to opposition parties and political plurality.

Mr Sani said Mr Fawehinmi’s most consequential contributions to Nigeria’s democracy were his successful challenge of attempts to restrict the registration and participation of political parties.

The governor spoke 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.

Recalling the struggle for political party registration, Mr Sani said many human rights and pro-democracy activists had become deeply disillusioned with the stringent conditions imposed by the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) on political associations seeking party registration.

He said, however, that Mr Fawehinmi refused to allow frustration to derail the democratic struggle.

“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.”

According to the governor, Mr Fawehinmi and the former governor of Kaduna State, Balarabe Musa, subsequently went to court to challenge INEC’s position.

He said the legal battle lasted more than two years before the Court of Appeal delivered judgement in their favour.

“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,” Mr Sani said.

The governor said the judicial victory had far-reaching consequences for Nigeria’s democracy.

“The verdict opened the political space in Nigeria and paved the way for the emergence of more political parties,” he said.

Mr Sani urged Nigerians to remember the struggles that made political plurality possible, saying many politicians enjoying the freedom to operate on different platforms today may not appreciate the sacrifices made by earlier generations of activists.

“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 said.

“Democracy has a history, and every freedom has a cost”, he said.

‘Fawehinmi believed in a united Nigeria’

Mr Sani also portrayed Mr Fawehinmi as more than a campaigner for political freedom, describing him as a committed pan-Nigerian who believed that Nigeria’s progress depended on the development of all parts of the country.

He said the late activist advocated the empowerment of citizens irrespective of their region, ethnicity, religion or social status.

The governor particularly highlighted Mr Fawehinmi’s commitment to education, recalling his role in establishing the Gani Fawehinmi Scholarship Foundation.

Mr Sani said he was entrusted with coordinating the foundation’s activities in Northern Nigeria and persuaded Mr Fawehinmi to establish a major scholarship programme for brilliant but indigent university students in the region.

He said the initiative eventually supported more than 1,000 students across northern Nigeria.

“We travelled across northern universities to identify deserving beneficiaries,” he said, adding that many of the beneficiaries had gone on to become doctors, lawyers, academics, engineers and other professionals contributing to national development.

Mr Sani recalled that at the flag-off of the scholarship scheme in northern Nigeria 26 years ago at Arewa House, Kaduna, Mr Fawehinmi challenged northern leaders to confront the region’s educational crisis.

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According to him, Mr Fawehinmi warned that if educational backwardness was not urgently addressed, it could become a “monster”.

The governor said the warning remains relevant, arguing that many of the challenges confronting northern Nigeria today are linked, directly or indirectly, to inadequate investment in human capital.

‘He put principle above personal comfort’

Describing Mr Fawehinmi as one of the most formidable Nigerians of his generation, Mr Sani said the late activist possessed the courage to place principle above personal comfort and justice above 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,” he said.

The governor congratulated the author of the book, Mrs Fawehinmi-Biobaku, for documenting a relationship that began as a personal mentorship and later took on wider national significance.

“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,” Sani said.