Shehu Sani
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Shehu Sani (born 29 October 1967) is a
Nigerian Nigerians or the Nigerian people are citizens of Nigeria or people with ancestry from Nigeria. The name Nigeria was derived from the Niger River running through the country. This name was allegedly coined in the late 19th century by British jo ...
senator, an author,
playwright A playwright or dramatist is a person who writes play (theatre), plays, which are a form of drama that primarily consists of dialogue between Character (arts), characters and is intended for Theatre, theatrical performance rather than just Readin ...
and a human rights activist. He is the President of the Civil Rights Congress of Nigeria - (CRCN). and was the Chairman of Hand-in-Hand, Africa. He was a leading figure in the struggle for the restoration of democracy in Nigeria. He has been arrested and jailed by successive past military regimes in Nigeria. He was released from life imprisonment when democracy was restored in Nigeria in 1999. He contested and won the Kaduna Central Senatorial District on the platform of the
All Progressive Congress The All Progressives Congress (APC) is one of the two major contemporary political parties in Nigeria, along with the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP). Founded on 6 February 2013 from a merger of Nigeria's three largest opposition parties, th ...
on 28 March 2015.


Early life

Sani was born on the 29th of October, 1967 in Tudun Wada, Kaduna. He had his primary school at the Local Government
Education Education is the transmission of knowledge and skills and the development of character traits. Formal education occurs within a structured institutional framework, such as public schools, following a curriculum. Non-formal education als ...
Authority (LGEA), Badarawa Kaduna between 1975 and 1980. He enrolled at the Government Day Secondary school, Kagara, Niger State, from 1980 to 1984, and proceeded to Government Science College School, Kagara, Niger State. He went to the Kaduna Polytechnic from 1984 to 1993 where he earned an associate degree in Agricultural Engineering.


Unionism and activism

During his school days at the Kaduna Polytechnic, he was a student union activist. He served as the Chairman, Central Mobilization Committee of PAN-African Student Organization and President African Democratic Youth Congress. He also served as social Director
Kaduna State Kaduna (, جىِهَر كَدُنا; مدينة كدونا; , ; ) is a States of Nigeria, state in the northwest geopolitical zone of Nigeria. The state capital is its namesake, the city of Kaduna (city), Kaduna, which was the List of Nigerian ...
Students Union. Sani came from a Nigerian middle-class family. His father was a production manager. He trained in the UK and
Germany Germany, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It lies between the Baltic Sea and the North Sea to the north and the Alps to the south. Its sixteen States of Germany, constituent states have a total popu ...
, and worked with the pro-Northern ''New Nigerian Newspaper'' for 30 years. Before that he worked as a printer with the Kano-based ''Daily Mail''. He was also the government printer for
Sokoto State Sokoto ( Hausa: ; Fula: , ''Leydi Sokoto'') is one of the 36 states of Nigeria, located in the extreme northwest of the country. It is bounded by Republic of the Niger to the north and west for 363 km (226 miles), and the states of Zamf ...
from 1976 to 1979. His father had a well-stocked library where Sani advanced his studies through literary knowledge and was especially influenced on books propounding the ideals of socialism and politics of the left; this being a period of massive inflow of literature from Eastern Europe. The exposure to books helped shaped his thoughts and leftist perception of life, as well as exposing him to the reality and decadence brought to the society by military dictatorship. Sani was equally influenced by his mother, who was a community women's leader; and the likes of
Aminu Kano Mallam Aminu Kano (9 August 1920 — 17 April 1983) was a Nigerian radical opposition political leader, teacher, poet, playwright, and trade unionist from Kano. He played an active role during the transition from British colonial rule t ...
and the Northern Elements Progressive Union (NEPU) and PRP ( Peoples Redemption party) radical politics. From Kaduna Polytechnic, Sani plunged into national activism. He was introduced into the Campaign for Democracy (CD), Nigeria's umbrella pro-democracy group by activists like Femi Falana and Beko Ransome-Kuti and thereafter served as the Northern Coordinator and National Vice-Chairman of the group. He was first detained in July 1993 under the regime of General Babagida. His offences then was that he advocated for the revalidation of the result of 12 June 1993 Presidential election polls won by the Late Chief M. K. O. Abiola. Sani was charged at a magistrate court, Ibrahim Taiwo Road, Kaduna, for sedition. During the interim government of Earnest Shonekan, Sani was arrested and detained for two weeks and later charged to court for sedition again. During General
Sani Abacha Sani Abacha (; (20 September 1943 – 8 June 1998) was a Nigerian military dictator and statesman who ruled Nigeria with an iron fist as military head of state from 1993 following a palace coup d'état until his death in 1998. Abacha's seiz ...
's regime, he was implicated in the 1995 phantom coup and subsequently jailed for life in prison and later commuted to 15 years by the Patrick Aziza Special Military Tribunal that convicted the likes of General
Olusegun Obasanjo Chief Olusegun Matthew Okikiola Ogunboye Aremu Obasanjo (; ; born 5 March 1937) is a Nigerian former army general, politician and statesman who served as Nigeria's head of state from 1976 to 1979 and later as its president from 1999 to 200 ...
(later President), Col. Lawan Gwadabe (rtd) and Chris Anyanwu and other journalists; his charges were: "Accessory to the fact of treason and managing an unlawful society (the Campaign for Democracy)". He was detained in various prisons:
Kirikiri This is a list of visual novel engines. Artemis Artemis, also known as Artemis Engine, is a cross-platform, but closed-source visual novel engine that can work on Windows, IOS, Android, PlayStation 4, and Nintendo Switch. Its scripting uses Lua ...
, Kaduna, Port-Harcourt, Enugu and Aba. Before his several incarcerations, Sani co-founded the Movement for Unity and Progress and teamed up with other northern progressives such as Abubakar Dangiwa Umar, Bala Usman, James Bawa Magaji and Balarabe Musa, to fight for the actualization of 12 June annulled presidential election and other causes. Sani is renowned for providing human rights campaign support to the poor and the disadvantage and in the process had clashed with security agents and other state power-wielders. During the religious riots in Kaduna in 2000, he was the only human right activist in Kaduna that came out in the heat of the violence to condemn the massacre. In 2005, he was appointed to reshape the
civil society Civil society can be understood as the "third sector" of society, distinct from government and business, and including the family and the private sphere.Olusegun Obasanjo Chief Olusegun Matthew Okikiola Ogunboye Aremu Obasanjo (; ; born 5 March 1937) is a Nigerian former army general, politician and statesman who served as Nigeria's head of state from 1976 to 1979 and later as its president from 1999 to 200 ...
to the family of slain
Boko Haram Boko Haram, officially known as Jama'at Ahl al-Sunna li al-Da'wa wa al-Jihad (), is a self-proclaimed jihadist militant group based in northeastern Nigeria and also active in Chad, Niger, northern Cameroon, and Mali. In 2016, the group spli ...
Leader Muhammed Yusuf in 2011; His initiative ignited a debate and dialogue. * In 2013, he was appointed by President
Goodluck Jonathan Goodluck Ebele Azikiwe Jonathan (born 20 November 1957) is a Nigerian politician who served as the president of Nigeria from 2010 to 2015. He lost the 2015 presidential election to former military head of state General Muhammadu Buhari and ...
into a Federal Government National Committee to Dialogue with the
Boko Haram Boko Haram, officially known as Jama'at Ahl al-Sunna li al-Da'wa wa al-Jihad (), is a self-proclaimed jihadist militant group based in northeastern Nigeria and also active in Chad, Niger, northern Cameroon, and Mali. In 2016, the group spli ...
insurgency, he turned down the offer on the ground that his previous recommendation was not used.


National assignment

Under President
Olusegun Obasanjo Chief Olusegun Matthew Okikiola Ogunboye Aremu Obasanjo (; ; born 5 March 1937) is a Nigerian former army general, politician and statesman who served as Nigeria's head of state from 1976 to 1979 and later as its president from 1999 to 200 ...
's administration Sani was appointed as a member of the African Union African Peer Review Mechanism, Member of the United Nation Reform Committee, appointed by Nigerian President as a Member of the Presidential Committee on
Prison A prison, also known as a jail, gaol, penitentiary, detention center, correction center, correctional facility, or remand center, is a facility where Prisoner, people are Imprisonment, imprisoned under the authority of the State (polity), state ...
Reforms, Presidential Committee on the Control of Violent Crimes and Illegal Weapons, Presidential Committee on Petroleum Products Prices, Presidential Committee on Conflict Resolution, Member of the Niger State Judicial Commission of Inquiry, Member of the National Political Reform Conference, Member of the Charles Taylor Investigation Committee, also appointed by the Nigerian Government as a Board Member of the Nigerian Extractive Industry Transparency Initiative (NEITI). Sani was a Member of the Presidential Committee on National Security and Civic Responsibility.


Writing

Sani has many literary works to his credit, including: Books * ''Killing Fields'', 2007 * ''Poverty in Northern Nigeria'' * ''Political Assassination in Nigeria'', 2007 * ''Youth as vanguard in the Battle against corruption'' * ''Scorpion under pillow'', 2007 * ''Civilian dictators of Africa'', 2008 * ''Always wrong, can Yar’adua get it right'', 2009 * ''Betrayal and Society'', 2009 * ''The Children of Kaduna'', 2011 * ''The Children of Jos'', 2011 * ''Protest and Freedom'', 2012 * ''Rebellious ideas'', 2013 * ''Nigeria and Ethiopia: An analysis of historical ties'', 2013 * ''Hatred for Black People'', 2013 Plays * ''Phantom Crescent'', 2009 * ''Thugs at the Helm'' Poetry * ''Prison anthology'', 2007 * ''The poem of peace in the season of bloodshed''


Politics

* In 2003, Sani contested for the Senate under Alliance for Democracy (AD) and lost to Senator Muktar Aruwa of the All Nigerian Peoples Party ANPP. * In 2011, he contested for the senate under
Congress for Progressive Change The Congress for Progressive Change (CPC) was a political party founded in Nigeria in 2009. In February 2013, the party merged with the Action Congress of Nigeria, the All Nigeria Peoples Party, and a faction of the All Progressives Grand Alli ...
(CPC) and lost to Senator Sani Saleh in the primaries. * In 2015, Sani won the senate seat after defeating Senator Sani Saleh in the primaries and defeated Senator Muktar Aruwa in the General Election. * On 4 September 2015, he became the first and only Nigerian Senator to declare his assets publicly. *On 20 October 2018, he announced his resignation from the ruling All Progressive Congress (APC) and defected to the Peoples Redemption Party (PRP) in Kaduna.


Senate

He was the Senate Committee Chairman on Local & Foreign Debts and also served as the Vice Chairman on Senate Committee on Foreign Affairs.


References


External links


Shehu Sani
–Shehu Sani profile on National Assembly Website {{DEFAULTSORT:Sani, Shehu 1967 births Living people Nigerian Muslims All Progressives Congress politicians Kaduna Polytechnic alumni Nigerian activists Nigerian poets Nigerian dramatists and playwrights Senators of the 8th National Assembly (Nigeria)