Since 2018, when former President Muhammadu Buhari changed Democracy Day from May 29 to June 12 of every year to commemorate the debacle of June 1993, when a popular electoral process was truncated while on course to a happy ending, events of the day have included remembrances and tributes to gallant Nigerians whose sacrifices ensured that democracy took root on Nigerian soil.
Democracy heroes, notably Chief M.K.O. Abiola, GCFR, who was cruising to electoral victory on the cusp of the popular and overwhelming mandate the Nigerian electorate across all the divides gave him, are remembered on Democracy Day, and their efforts in birthing democracy once again since the demise of the Second Republic are reiterated for posterity.
June 12, 2024, was no different. Other pro-democracy legends who staked their all to confront successive military regimes to a standstill, like Chief Gani Fawehinmi, Dr. Beko Ransome-Kuti, Alhaji Balarabe Musa, Chima Ubani, Uba Sani, Shehu Sani, and all other pro-democracy, human rights, and labour activists operating under different canopies of activism were Also remembered this year at national and state levels.
Senator Uba Sani, Governor of Kaduna State, and President Bola Ahmed Tinubu have many things in common. Two stand out clearly: both were in the trenches and suffered so many indignities at the hands of military regimes on account of their activism, and both happen now to be heading governments (President Tinubu started much earlier), meriting the tag “Democrats in the saddle.”
This edition of Kaduna Outlook is devoted to an assessment by independent commentators of Senator Uba Sani’s stewardship against the background of the special day in which he, along with other stalwarts of the fight to keep the flame of democracy alight, are being celebrated.
How has he fared in this dispensation? Has he walked the talk? And what, in particular, is the significance of the day to Kaduna State now that a democrat is at the helm? These have been the focus.
This is packaged in the form of a major interview by an academic who has seen it all, news features, comments, and snippets that highlight what the day means to the people and the role of personae involved in the struggle for democracy, such as Senator Uba Sani.
