Governor Uba Sani of Kaduna State has stated that he honed his political skills from the Late Gani Fewehinmi and Beko Ransome Kuti after he graduated from school.
He made this known during the 86th Gani Fewehinmi Posthumous Birthday celebration and Immortalization of Balarabe Musa on 12th May, held at Umar Musa Yardua Hall, Kaduna on Sunday.
Gov Sani remarked “We are here to remember and honour two icons who devoted their lives to the struggle for social justice. Chief Gani Fawehinmi used the instrumentality of the law to fight for social justice, while Alhaji Balarabe Musa deployed his mobilizational skills to rally the masses to take their destiny in their own hands.”
To this end, he said he learned his political skills from the tutelage of the late Gani Fawehinmi and Beko Ransome Kuti.
He said, “l honed my political skills in the “furnace” of the struggle for the enthronement of democracy in Nigeria. I was a civil rights activist for so many years, after graduating as an Engineer. My colleagues and I fought for the enthronement of democracy in Nigeria.
“I was the National Vice Chairman (North West) of the Campaign for Democracy (CD), 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, JACON, which was headed by the legendary Chief Gani Fawehinmi, also of blessed memory. In JACON, I also became the Deputy National Chairman, North.
“As Governor, I see myself as a representative of the human rights and pro-democracy movement. We are running an inclusive, pro-people government committed to bringing succour to the poor, vulnerable and underserved in Kaduna State.
“We have come up with initiatives to lessen the pains of the people. 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.
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“We have therefore committed ourselves to promoting integrated and comprehensive accelerated rural development for economic and sustainable growth. This is been achieved by extending the required socio-economic infrastructure that will support work and social lives in our rural communities.
“Our administration has prioritized education. We are massively rehabilitating and constructing classrooms in primary and secondary schools across the State.
“Quranic or Tsangaya schools are also receiving the priority attention of our administration. Kaduna State Government in collaboration with AMAH Foundation built 4 modern Tsangaya schools at Maraban Gwanda and Hunkuyi in Kudan Local Government, Labar in Igabi LG, and Sabon Gayan in Chikun.
“We shall integrate vocational and technical skills training into their curriculum to enable them to gain employment or become self-employed after graduation.”
Earlier, the chairman of the Gani Fewehinmi Memorial Organization, 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.
He said this year’s celebration of Gani Fawehinmi’s posthumous birthday has the approval and support of the Governor of Kaduna state, Mallam Uba Sani.
He reiterated that the late Chief Gani Fawehinmi and Mallam Abdulkadir Balarabe Musa fought all their lives to ensure social equality, and human dignity, and for every Nigerian to have a sense of belonging and live a decent life.
