The sudden demise of Aminu Kano on April 17, 1983 has continued to widen the vacuum it created in the political life of our country.
He was famously known for compromising his ambition in the overall interest of the country. He was extraordinarily a model who was always demonstrating high sensitivity to the plight of the ordinary citizens who have little say in the running of the country.
He was above all, a law-abiding and peace-loving politician who had never advocated violence. He cherished his nation in great esteem.
Malam Aminu had never been accustomed to materialism. He resisted all temptations to persuade him to lust for power and luxury by any means. He held several key positions in government including one-time Federal Commissioner of Communications but exercised a great deal of accountability and probity. Honesty was his guiding principle. He didn’t make a lot of money, as he was highly preoccupied with matters pertinent to the well-being of the under privileged people.
In the aftermath of his demise, there was astounding astonishment when it became very obvious that there was virtually nothing to bequeath to the bereaved. This had led people who do not even share his thoughts to acknowledge the sincerity of his commitment to champion the cause of the downtrodden.
On party politics, he played the game according to the rules. Late Malam was not the type of politician who exploited religion and other affiliations by traducing public utterances inimical to stability and cohesion to gain cheap popularity. He was just frolicking about abiding by the spirit of good sportsmanship. He was humbly altruistic and cared much about the progress of the nation.
Aminu Kano had always restrained his supporters from engaging their opponents in violence. He vociferously denounced this abhorrent politicking and never took kindly to it. He used peaceful means rather than violent approach in the event of any undue provocation. There was a time in 1980, when he was addressing a gathering of party stalwarts in Jos and a number of complaints were lodged against rivals for mounting harassment and intimidation. His response was soft and he urged all members and supporters not to resort to unlawful actions but seek legal means to counter hostilities. This attitude by Malam made almost everyone in the party go about on campaigning without breach of the peace, as the main actor was not complaisant to those who were out to rule at the expense of tranquility.
There was never a period of time when Malam Aminu Kano opposed the verdict of the electorate after the polls. He was quite optimistic and accepted results in good faith.
He did not cast aspersion on popular judgment or go to court to challenge what was unanimously held as free and fair even though he achieved little success. Whenever he was asked to comment on the results of elections, Malam was normally say that theirs was the party of the future.
Malam Aminu Kano was counted among several statemen whose patriotic effort had helped a lot in bringing about the existing development we enjoy today.
They regarded the interest of the country as being more important than their personal ambition. No amount of temptations ever influenced their resolve to promote the well-being of the nation.