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🇳🇬 Nigeria /Elections & Politics

Leadership Notes Gani Fawehinmi Bequeathed to Governor Uba Sani

From ThisDay · () English

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  • A book about the relationship between activist Gani Fawehinmi and Kaduna Governor Uba Sani examines how political mentorship can shape public service.
  • The book, presented in Kaduna on Sept. 5, 2026, highlights Fawehinmi's advice that Sani should remember disadvantaged Nigerians and unemployed young people if he entered public service.
  • Their relationship began in 1993, when Sani was a 22-year-old pro-democracy activist during Nigeria's political crisis after the annulment of the June 12 election.

The most enduring political legacy may not be a monument or a book, but a principle carried into public life by another generation. That is the argument at the heart of *Gani Fawehinmi and Uba Sani: A Tale of Mentor and Mentee*, authored by Basirat Fawehinmi-Biobaku, daughter of the late Nigerian lawyer and activist Chief Abdul-Ganiyu Oyesola Fawehinmi.

Presented in Kaduna on Saturday, Sept. 5, 2026, the book focuses on the relationship between the legendary activist and the much younger Uba Sani, now governor of Kaduna State. Its central concern, however, is larger than the story of two men. It explores how political courage is passed on, how democratic values take root, and how private mentorship can acquire public consequences.

Uba, if you ever have the opportunity to serve our country Nigeria in any capacity, make sure you do not ever forget the masses of our people, of course you know I mean the less privileged, and the unemployed youths which constitute the larger part of our population.

· Gani FawehinmiAdvice to Uba Sani, recalled in the book's Foreword, about serving disadvantaged Nigerians and unemployed young people.

The book's Foreword recalls a message Fawehinmi gave Sani more than three decades ago: "Uba, if you ever have the opportunity to serve our country Nigeria in any capacity, make sure you do not ever forget the masses of our people, of course you know I mean the less privileged, and the unemployed youths which constitute the larger part of our population." The instruction placed ordinary people, rather than power or political advantage, at the centre of public service.

Their story began in the tense political climate of 1993, after the annulment of Nigeria's June 12 presidential election. According to Fawehinmi-Biobaku, 10 young activists visited her father. When he asked why they had come, Sani replied that they were there "because we want to fight for the heart of Nigeria." Fawehinmi then asked whether they understood the consequences of the struggle before ordering that his detention bag be brought out. It was always packed, a reminder that democratic activism could bring arrest, detention, professional isolation and persecution.

because we want to fight for the heart of Nigeria.

· Uba SaniHis answer when Gani Fawehinmi asked why the young activists had come to see him in 1993.
About this summary

Originally published by ThisDay. Summarized and contextualized automatically by DistantNews, with a note on how the source frames the story. Not individually reviewed before publishing. How this works.

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