The Kaduna State Governor, Senator Uba Sani, on Sunday, said the enthronement of the nation’s fledgling democracy was made possible by human rights icons, such as the late Chief Gani Fawehinmi, Beko Ransome-Kuti, Alhaji Balarabe Musa and a host of others, past and present.
The governor stated this on Sunday at the 86th Gani Fawehinmi posthumous birthday celebration and immortalisation of Balarabe Musa.
The event was held at the Umar Musa Yardua Hall, Kaduna.
Sani added that some of the pro-democracy activists, including himself, paid dearly for the democracy being enjoyed in the country at the moment
He added that he remained a representative of the human rights community while holding forth in government.
The governor, therefore, called on pro-democracy activists, as the conscience of the Nigerian society, to jealously protect and defend democracy because “we made this democracy possible”.
While also extolling the virtues of Fawehinmi, Beko Ransome-Kuti and Balarabe Musa, Sani said the trio devoted their lives to the struggle for social justice for Nigeria and Nigerians.
“Chief Gani Fawehinmi used the instrumentality of the law to fight for social justice, while Alhaji Balarabe Musa deployed his mobilisational skills to rally the masses to take their destiny into their own hands”, he said.
Sani said he honed his political skills in the “furnace” of the struggle for the enthronement of democracy, noting that “I was the National Vice Chairman (North-West) of the Campaign for Democracy, which was then headed by Dr. Beko Ransome-Kuti, of blessed memory.
“Thereafter, we decided to form a coalition of opposition groups against military rule. We formed the Joint Action Committee of Nigeria, which was headed by the legendary Chief Gani Fawehinmi, also of blessed memory. In JACON, I also became the Deputy National Chairman, North”.
The governor said that given his background in activism, he saw himself as a representative of the human rights and pro-democracy movement in government because “we are running an inclusive, pro-people government committed to bringing succour to the poor, vulnerable and underserved in Kaduna State”.
“The Kaduna State government is implementing a massive rural transformation programme. We have identified poverty reduction in rural areas as key to unlocking the enormous potential of Kaduna State. We have, therefore, committed ourselves to promoting integrated and comprehensive accelerated rural development for economic and sustainable growth. This is being achieved by extending the required socio-economic infrastructure that will support work and social lives in our rural communities”, Sani said.
Earlier in his remarks, the Chairman of the Gani Fewehinmi Memorial Organisation, Agunbiade Tunde, said the organisation, founded over 13 years ago, stands to honour Fawehinmi who stood for the rule of law, democracy, human rights and press freedom.
According to him, this year’s celebration of Gani Fawehinmi’s posthumous birthday has the approval and support of the Kaduna governor.
