Fawehinmi fought to keep Nigeria’s political space open, Uba Sani says

Gani Fawehinmi refused to let frustration become despair when Nigeria’s political space narrowed, Kaduna State Governor Uba Sani said at the presentation of a book about their relationship as mentor and mentee.

Sani said the late human rights lawyer led the legal struggle against stringent conditions imposed by the Independent National Electoral Commission on political associations seeking registration. Fawehinmi and former Kaduna State governor Balarabe Musa took the matter to court, beginning a legal battle that lasted more than two years.

The Court of Appeal ruled in their favour in 2002, and the Supreme Court upheld the decision in January 2003 after INEC appealed. Sani said the judgments opened Nigeria’s political space and paved the way for the emergence of more political parties.

“Democracy has a history, and every freedom has a cost,” Sani said. He urged activists, politicians and academics to remember the Nigerians who fought for political plurality and constitutional rights, saying many people who exercise those freedoms today may not know how difficult the struggle was.

Sani also described Fawehinmi as a pan-Nigerian who supported citizens regardless of region, ethnicity, religion or social standing. He said Fawehinmi’s commitment to education led to the Gani Fawehinmi Scholarship Foundation. Sani recalled coordinating its programme in Northern Nigeria and persuading Fawehinmi to establish a major scheme for brilliant but indigent university students. More than 1,000 students across the region received scholarships, he said.

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Democracy has a history, and every freedom has a cost.