Gani lives on in Uba Sani — Fawehinmi’s daughter

The daughter of the late human rights activist and pro-democracy campaigner, Chief Gani Fawehinmi, Basirat Fawehinmi-Biobaku, has praised Kaduna State Governor Uba Sani for what she described as his commitment to improving the lives of ordinary citizens.

Fawehinmi-Biobaku said her father would have been proud of Sani’s administration, recalling the advice he gave the governor more than three decades ago when Sani lived with the Fawehinmi family.

She disclosed this at the presentation of her book, Gani Fawehinmi and Uba Sani: A Tale of Mentor and Mentee, held at the Brigadier Abba Kyari Banquet Hall at the weekend.

According to her, Fawehinmi had urged the then Comrade Uba Sani to always prioritise the interests of ordinary Nigerians if he ever got the opportunity to serve.

She quoted her father as telling Sani: “Uba, if you ever have the opportunity to serve our country, Nigeria, in any capacity, make sure you never ever forget the masses of our people.”

Fawehinmi-Biobaku said Sani’s four-year stay with her family at 9A Ademola Close, GRA, Ikeja, further strengthened the relationship between the activist and the politician.

“Together, they lived very peacefully. Comrade Uba Sani lived in our house for four good years—that’s 9A Ademola Close, GRA, Ikeja. Every morning, he had breakfast with Gani. They went to the office together,” she said.

The author said she had visited different parts of Kaduna State and assessed some of the projects and programmes implemented under Sani, arguing that they reflected the values her father had instilled in him.

She cited interventions in education, including the construction of schools and classrooms, as well as efforts to reduce the number of out-of-school children through free education from primary to secondary school.

She also commended the administration’s investment in healthcare, saying Primary Healthcare Centres had been provided across all 255 wards in the state.

According to her, the governor’s infrastructure and rural development projects had improved transportation, facilitated the movement of agricultural produce to markets, reduced travel time and strengthened commercial activities.

Fawehinmi-Biobaku further credited Sani with promoting peace and unity between northern and southern Kaduna, stressing that development could not thrive without peace.

“I’m not a politician, but I must speak on this: his choice of Deputy Governor, a Christian from Southern Kaduna. Governor Comrade Uba Sani, if Gani Fawehinmi were alive today, he would have been very proud of you,” she said.

She also conveyed the message of her mother, Mrs Ganiat Fawehinmi, who was unable to attend the event because of her age.

Fawehinmi-Biobaku said her mother, who is 77, asked her to tell the governor that the family remained proud of his achievements.

“She asked me to tell you: Gani lives on. We know. Uba, well done. In Comrade Uba Sani, Gani definitely lives on,” she added.