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Tag: June 12

  • JUNE 12: Abiola family to shun events

    JUNE 12: Abiola family to shun events

    Chief Muritala Abiola, the head of the Abiola family, has declared that the family will not take part in the annual celebration of the annulment of the June 12, 1993 Presidential election this year.

    June 12 every year has been set aside by democracy activists to commemorate the annulled election which Chief M. K. O. Abiola was believed to have won but was annulled by the military government of Gen Ibrahim Babangida.

    Speaking from his home in Agbado area of Ogun State on the border with Lagos, Chief Abiola lauded the fatherly role of Asiwaju Bola Ahmed Tinubu, the National Leader of the All Progressives Congress (APC) towards the family and also the supportive role of the Lagos State government for the regular recognition given to the family. He, however, said Governor Ibikunle Amosun of Ogun State has totally ignored the family and treated the family with disdain.

    He said, “Several times we have made moves. We have been there to see Governor Amosun, but they will not allow us to see him. I have written to the governor that the June 12 celebration they are doing, we as a family will not be part of it. We know that June 12 is not for the family alone, it is for the people of Ogun State and the people of Nigeria as a whole. But they are just camouflaging and using us.”

     

  • June 12 now public holiday in Ondo

    June 12 now public holiday in Ondo

    June 12 has become a work-free day in Ondo State under the present administration, in honour of the presumed winner of the June 12, 1993 presidential election, the late Chief MKO Abiola.
    Governor Oluwarotimi Akeredolu, who spoke yesterday in Akure at an event to mark the 2017 Democracy day, described Abiola as the father of democracy.
    He said the state would continue to celebrate him even in death, “for paying the price of democracy we are enjoying today.”

  • June 12: How IBB’s gamble on Tofa backfired, by Anenih

    June 12: How IBB’s gamble on Tofa backfired, by Anenih

    A sinister political gamble by then military dictator Gen. Ibrahim Babangida on the presidential candidate of the National Republican Convention (NRC), Alhaji Othman Tofa, to win the June 12, 1993 presidential election became Babangida’s undoing, it was learnt.
    Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) Board of Trustees (BoT) former Chairman Chief Tony Anenih narrated the insidious scheme by the former military ruler to truncate the transition to democratic governance at the time.
    Incidentally, the victory by the business mogul and philanthropist, the late Chief Moshood Abiola, who contested on the platform of the rival Social Democratic Party (SDP), defeated Babangida’s well-laid out scheme.
    In his autobiography, My Life And Nigerian Politics, which was unveiled in Abuja on Saturday, Anenih said Babangida was banking on Tofa’s victory to give him cogent reasons to annul the poll, knowing well that Tofa was not qualified to contest the election in the first place.
    According to Anenih, who was national chairman of the defunct SDP, when Babangida’s plethora of excuses to annul the election failed to convince the leadership of the party, he then brought out a dismal “dossier” on Tofa.
    Anenih said on page 91 of the book, “he (Tofa) had used in his nomination form a woman’s membership card number. The photocopies of the Kano NRC membership register showing the woman’s form, name and other details were produced, meaning that at the time Tofa was nominated as NRC candidate, he did not have an NRC membership card.
    “He was not an NRC member after all, but could be regarded as an independent candidate. He could easily have been disqualified by the government if he had won the election on the NRC platform as security reports earlier indicated.
    “The discomfiture of the military arose from the fact that it was Chief Abiola, not Alhaji Tofa, who won the election.
    “Having set the machinery ready to disqualify Tofa after his assumed victory by getting all the documents in readiness for that action, the military got caught in their web when they found that their plans did not fit into the new equation of an Abiola victory.
    “All the clumsy steps taken by them at the tail end of the election stemmed from this fact.”
    On Abiola, the former PDP BoT chair said the only accusation Babangida could raise for denying him the presidency was that all the contracts executed for the Federal Government by the ITT, in which Abiola had major interest, were “grossly inflated”.
    Anenih narrated how Babangida mounted pressure on the leadership of the two political parties to go for fresh election, even when it was obvious that a fresh presidential election was not feasible.
    He told of how he resisted the suggestion for fresh election and how the NRC, led by the late Dr. Hemmed Kusamotu, jumped at the offer, a development which he said, portrayed the NRC as a lackey of the Babangida regime.
    Failing to convince the parties to go for a fresh election, Babangida then suggested the formation of an Interim Government as an alternative, which Anenih said the NRC leadership agreed to.
    The PDP chieftain said while permutations were going on, Chief Ernest Shonekan, who Babangida eventually handed over to as head of the Interim Government, was in the background, attending meetings from the Babangida camp.
    According to him, the leadership of the two parties eventually met and agreed on the Interim Government option to get the military out of power.
    He added, however, that the SDP still insisted that forming the Interim Government should not in any way invalidate Abiola’s mandate.
    “We had it in our plans that once the Interim Government was put in place, and the military was removed from office, we would start again with our demand for release of the June 12 election results,” Anenih stated.
    The Uromi, Edo State, born politician added that it became obvious that Babangida had mobilised military chiefs and top police officers under his government to resist a handover to Abiola.
    According to him, Babangida’s reluctance to play by the rule became more glaring when he stopped attending meetings with leadership of the two parties and subsequently sending his deputy, Admiral Augustus Aikhomu, to meet with the politicians with a prepared speech at each meeting.
    Anenih inferred that from Aikhomu’s utterances and body language at the meetings, it was apparent that the Babangida government had made up its mind on the direction it was headed.
    He rued the imposition of Interim Government and the subsequent overthrow of Shonekan by the late Gen. Sani Abacha.
    “The Abacha regime sounded the final death knell on June 12 and the last nail on the coffin of June 12,” Anenih said.

  • June 12 Plus

     Many others see June 12 as a fitting time to repeat the demand for restructuring while others would rather not be bothered for calling for the kind of change that restructuring entails

    A well-deserved ritualisation of June 12 took place last Sunday. As usual, this year’s ritual of remembrance of the period of loss as a device to engineer reform went well in most of the Southwest states, leading to public holidays in some states, street marches in others, calls for  symbolic and substantive compensation in others, and reinforcement of twenty-three-year old call for true federalism in others. Today’s piece, ‘June 12 Plus’ is to remind readers of what the June 12 struggle failed to achieve and the new thorns thrown on the road opened by June 12 to re-federalisation and full democratisation of Nigeria.

    Historically, the June 12 struggle had three goals: restoration of MKO Abiola’s presidential mandate given to him by the fairest and freest election in the country’s history; de-militarisation of the country’s polity; and return of federal system of governance to the country. After the death of Abacha and later of Abiola in circumstances that continue to raise questions till today, the struggle lost its first goal. The second goal was partially won at the time General Olusegun Obasanjo became president at the end of General Abdusalami’s transition to democracy in 1999. But Obasanjo’s presidential election was not guided by any visible constitution to let citizens and candidates know what they were bargaining for. And the third goal, re-federalisation of the polity, had been hanging in the air ever since. Even after four post-military presidential elections, Nigeria is still saddled with a constitution crafted behind closed doors by military rulers.

    Surprisingly, seventeen years of elected governments have not alleviated the problems that arose from June 12. On the contrary, the period of post-military rule has aggravated the unsolved problems left behind after Abiola’s death and the transition to civil rule that followed it. Interestingly, the narrative of re-federalisation had not died even 23 years after annulment of Abiola’s election, but its retelling has been hobbled by confusion arising from several quarters. NADECO at home and abroad suffered some gradual haemorrhaging since some of its members came to political power in the Yoruba region. Only a few of the governors/lawmakers elected since 1999 and a few NADECO leaders remained vocal in calling for re-federalisation, either in terms of fiscal federalism or true federalism.

    The frustration in the course of realising the goal of re-federalisation has taken many forms. NADECO became war weary after the death of Abiola and the promise of return to democratic rule by the Abdulsalami Abubakar government. Others found selling re-federalisation to politicians as a stratagem to mobilise for electoral support by politicians of their liking to be fashionable and profitable. Some found creation of mushroom organisations as vehicles for calling for federalism stimulating and rewarding as a means of staying politically and socially relevant in their communities. Many others see June 12 as a fitting time to repeat the demand for restructuring while others would rather not be bothered for calling for the kind of change that restructuring entails.

    Ironically, a former chieftain of NADECO-abroad, now leader of the All Progressives Congress, opened a hydrant on the fire of re-federalisation a few days before this year’s June 12 anniversary when he announced that federalism is not a priority of the new administration. Many who voted for a New Nigeria in 2015 are already feeling confused by the pronouncement of the chairman of APC and President Buhari’s media assistant who characterised the call for federalism as a distraction from the ruling party’s priorities. But the following statement in the highlights of APC manifesto: Initiate action to amend our Constitution with a view to devolving powers, duties and responsibilities to states and local governments in order to entrench true Federalism and the Federal spirit, does not suggest that an item in the highlights of the party’s manifesto is not a priority item. From information available to the electorate, the manifesto of APC emphasises re-federalisation or reforming the existing largely unitary system through amendment of the 1999 Constitution. If the spirit to do what was promised is no longer there, it is important for the party to say so. And I believe doing so should go beyond an ex-tempore assessment of Buhari administration’s priorities by the ruling party’s chairman.

    More than two decades after NADECO’s struggles for democracy for universal and cultural democracy, Nigeria is still largely at the same point that it was after the election of the first post-military government of Obasanjo. The partial de-militarisation achieved through election of Obasanjo as a civilian and of subsequent civilian presidents and lawmakers remains as limited as it was in 1999. The constitution that presents a unitary system as a federal one is still intact. And the largest chunk of the nation’s revenue is still going to the central government that has no direct constituents to service while states and local governments that house and provide direct service to citizens receive much less than the central government. The imbalance between subnational and national governance is even getting worse as the golden eggs of petroleum start decreasing. States are now leaving on bailouts and loans, instead of being empowered constitutionally to produce what they consume, all in an effort to sustain the old system of fragmented states that have to be nurtured as subordinates rather than coordinates of the central government.

    ‘June-twelvers’ who have remained committed to the ideals and goals of June 12 deserve to be congratulated for not becoming despondent after another two decades of a constitution that is afraid to come to terms with the demands of managing a culturally diverse country. Since 1966, Nigeria has been trying to find its way to the map of modern development. Rather, it has been moving from one crisis to the other, a situation that had made nonsense of the lives of millions of people who had died while waiting for justice and progress and of the chances of many others still alive to have a good life in a country whose progress is undermined politically and economically by its flawed structure. There is, however, danger in allowing the government spawned by a party popularly known as A New Party for a New Nigeria for the purpose of Building a New Nigeria which we voted for massively in 2015 to be derailed by what looks like right wing interpretation of the platform presented by General Buhari in 2015.

    In addition, ‘June-twelvers’ and others genuinely committed to bringing federalism back to the country should not be contented with gathering every year to remember the injustice of the past. Remembering Abiola and June 12 must include working towards realisation of the missed goals of the NADECO struggle, not just through gathering of motley associations, but through a return to a cohesive organisation to revive the struggle for true federalism. At present, there must be in the Yoruba region alone hundreds of groups working towards restructuring with very little communication or cooperation among them. If truly, the Yoruba desire a return to the federal system, they need to know that a calendrical ritual of remembrance of a period of democratic loss may not be enough to galvanise the rest of the country to accept the inevitability of change through re-federalisation. For example, it is important to recognise that true federalism cannot come from the obsession of alumni of Jonathan’s national dialogue with recommendations of the conference that Jonathan himself was reluctant to implement. Believers in the demands of the June 12 struggle, especially in full de-militarisation of the polity and restoration of federalism through a people’s constitution need to remember the old saying: There are no shortcuts to any place worth going. Confusing recommendations of Jonathan’s conference with restructuring that Nigerians have been calling for since the 1990s is akin to preferring to find a shortcut to taking time to identify a place worth going.

  • June 12: Babangida’s turn

    June 12: Babangida’s turn

    Why did military president Ibrahim Babangida annul the June12, 1993 Presidential election, the anniversary of which was marked over the weekend?

    Twenty-three years later, he has not been able to give a coherent answer.  Rather, he has been fudging and dissembling as is his wont.  He has said, among other things, that he annulled the  election as a favour to Abiola, because Abiola would have been overthrown and probably killed if Abiola was allowed to take office.

    Babangida laid out his reasons in his June 23, 1993 broadcast.  But as I will try to show presently, the case falls apart under close scrutiny.

    Those were desperate days in Abuja – days of wild improvisation and frenzied experimentation.  The scheduling of the broadcast shows that much.

    The broadcast would be made at mid-day, according to an official statement.  It did not take place.  It was rescheduled for an hour later.  Still, no broadcast.  The broadcast would now take place at 7 p.m, they said.  The hour came and passed without the broadcast.

    The broadcast took place, finally, two hours later, at 9 pm. It is a sprawling, laboured speech,       some 2,700 words long.

    The first part of the speech was an exercise in self-glorification.  Babangida said that the policies and programmes he had pursued –SAP, for example? — were sound “in understanding, conception, formulation and articulation,” and “comparatively unassailable,” and that history would certainly score the administration high in its governance of Nigeria.

    Twenty three years later, the most widely-held verdict is that Babangida is the prime architect of the nation’s current woes, and that his policies drove Nigeria to the end of ruin.

    So much for the testimonial he issued himself.   The concern here is with the rest of the speech, in which Babangida laid out his reason for annulling the election.

    In implementing its reform programmes, he said, the regime had to contend with social forces that had in the past impeded national growth and development, as well as new social forces that the programmes spawned. To resolve matters, he said, the regime was constrained to tamper with the rules governing the transition.

    Here, one must ask: What happened to the “in-built” corrective mechanism that the regime and its palace intellectuals had forever advertised as a unique feature of the transition design?

    To return to the speech:  Tampering with the rules out of sheer necessity unwittingly attracted “enormous public suspicions” of the regime’s intentions and policies.”  Translation:  The attentive public came to the conclusion that Babangida was nursing a secret agenda, the object being to perpetuate himself in office and in power.

    The transition programme, Babangida continued, was about building a lasting foundation for democracy.  But “lasting democracy,” hear all ye idle chatterers and self-styled human rights activists and your captive press, “lasting democracy is not a temporary show of excitement and manipulation by an over-articulate section of the elite of the whole nation and the political process; lasting democracy is a permanent diet to nurture the soul of the whole nation and the political process.”

    Democracy as “soul food?”   As “stomach infrastructure,” in other words?  Shades of Ayo Fayose.

    The June 12 election, like the presidential primaries that were cancelled the previous year, Babangida said, did not meet the basic requirements of democracy:  free and fair elections, un-coerced expression of voters’ preference, respect for the electorate as final arbiter in elections, decorum and fairness on the part of electoral umpires, and absolute respect for the rule of law.

    But because the administration was determined to keep faith with the deadline of 27th August, 1993 for the return to civil rule, it overlooked the reported breaches. The breaches continued into the June 12, 1993, on an even greater scale, but Humphrey Nwosu’s National Electoral Commission went ahead and cleared the candidates.

    There was also a conflict of interest between the government and both presidential candidates that would have compromised their positions and responsibilities were they to become president.

    The courts had been intimidated and subjected to “the manipulation of the political process by vested interests, to the point that the entire political system was endangered.  Under these circumstances, the National Defence and Security Council decided to annul the election “in the supreme interest of law and order, political stability and peace.”

    Do you hear, all ye skeptics: The election was annulled in the supreme interest of law and order, political stability and peace.

    Resting his case, Babangida declared: “To continue action on the basis of the June 12, 1993 election, and to proclaim and swear in a president who encouraged a campaign of divide and rule among our ethnic groups would have been detrimental to the survival of the Third Republic.”

    Thus spaketh Himself military president Ibrahim Babangida, on June 23, 1993.

    On the top of his form, Argentine soccer maestro Diego Maradona could not have done a better job of faking.

    Despite all the fudging, it is beyond dispute that the NDSC approved holding the election. Babangida admitted that much in the broadcast, perhaps unwittingly. Keep in mind that the NDSC in whose name he claimed to have acted was for all practical purposes a phantom of his own making.

    It was Babangida’s proxy, Arthur Nzeribe and his so-called Association for a Better Nigeria that, to use Babangida’s words, “intimidated and manipulated” the courts.  In that subversive undertaking, they were aided and sheltered by the regime’s Attorney-General and Minster of Justice, Clement Akpamgbo, and his retinue of shysters and cardsharpers.

    The breaches of the electoral laws that vitiated the election, as Babangida claims, furnished an opportunity to disqualify and prosecute the perpetrators and clean up the process.  Why did he put up with them for so long?

    The public was well primed to vote on June 12.  That date had been seared into its consciousness.  It was Babangida’s regime, not NEC, that created a climate of uncertainty around it.  Even so, 14 million Nigerians came out to vote.

    To invoke the “rule of law” to justify the annulment as Babangida did was to stand that concept on its head.  How can a regime that promulgated retroactive laws and routinely ousted the courts of jurisdiction honestly claim adherence to the rule of law?

    Which of the candidates, by the way, encouraged a campaign of divide-and-rule among Nigeria’s ethnic groups, as Babangida claimed?   A candidate for national office employing such tactics would have known that he was committing electoral suicide.  The public would have rejected him emphatically.

    Nothing emblematizes Babangida’s signature duplicity and chicanery better than the claim he now makes at every opportunity that he presided over the freest and fairest election ever held in Nigeria.  How can he reconcile this claim with his sweeping rejection of the June 12 election?

    The legal titan Professor Ben Nwabueze, who served as Secretary for Education in Babangida’s ineffectual Transitional Council and doubled as a strategist in the evisceration of the June 12 election, provides an important clue as to Babangida’s disposition at that critical time.

    “His behavior in the last days of his regime, “Nwabueze wrote in the rather inelegantly titled June 12, 1993 Election:  Problems and Solutions, “left a rather strong impression of a man forced to quit against his will, of one un-reconciled to quitting in the last days of his rule and in the face of defeat, he cut a figure of someone unwilling to reconcile himself with composure to the adverse torrent of events, of an angry and bitterly disappointed man.”

    More tellingly, Nwabueze wrote of Babangida, “His mind, his motions and his actions seemed to have become somewhat disoriented, and no longer governed by disinterested, patriotic considerations. In the event, he quit office in a rather undignified, unceremonious manner.”

    There is nothing more to add.

  • June 12: Ambode, others demand true federalism

    June 12: Ambode, others demand true federalism

    Abiola should be confirmed president, says family

    Kanu, Opadokun stress restructuring

    The 23rd anniversary of the June 12, 1993 presidential election won by the late business mogul, Bashorun Moshood Abiola, was yesterday marked in Lagos, Ogun, Osun and Ondo states.

    The governments of Oyo and Osun states declared today a public holiday to commemorate Nigeria’s  fairest and freest ever.

    Abiola, a billionaire accountant and publisher, won a pan-Nigerian mandate on the platform of his Social Democratic Party (SDP), beating Bashir Tofa, the Kano-born businessman, who ran on the ticket of the National Republican Convention (NRC).

    The two parties were the creation of the Gen. Ibrahim Babangida  military regime, which supervised the election. But the government annulled the results, leading to a national crisis. Abiola, who declared himself president, was arrested. He died in detention in 1998.

    In Lagos, there were at least three activities.

    The Abiola family called on the Federal Government to declare him the winner of the election and pay presidential entitlements to his family.

    The head of the family Alhaji Muritala Abiola, made the demand  at the commemoration event in Abeokuta, organised by the Ogun State government.

    “First, we want the Federal Government to declare June 12 as Democracy Day. It should do even more than that.

    “Ken Saro Wiwa died fighting over Ogoni oil spillage, the Federal Government is doing the cleaning up of the oil spillage in Ogoni land.

    “MKO was killed because of an election he won; it is you journalists or the government calling him acclaimed winner.

    “ He is not acclaimed winner, they should confirm him as the slain president of Nigeria,” he said

    Osun State Governor Rauf Aregbesola described June 12 as the real Democracy Day, saying May 29, which is marked as Democracy Day, is only a symbol of the transfer of power from the military to civilians.

    Lagos State Governor Akinwunmi Ambode, one-time Military Governor of Lagos Rear Admiral Ndubuisi Kanu and Convener of the Coalition of Democrats for Electoral Reforms (CODER) Mr Ayo Opadokun, called for the restructuring of the country as a “true federation”.

    Ambode, who was represented by Secretary to the State Government Tunji Bello, said: “Going by what we have today, we still have a long way to go, and that is to say that we are not practising true federalism.  What we owe Nigeria today is nothing but true Federalism and for us to be able to achieve true federalism, we have to work hard for it.

    ”Lagos, as it is today, has everything to stand on its own. We run the police, we have the most viable infrastructure in the country, yet we are not given what we deserve. Look at the number of local governments we have, if we run true federalism we would not be having 37 Local Council Development Areas and 20 Local Governments. We should be able to create the number of local governments that we desire.”

    Ambode said it was imperative to ensure that some of the things that the country has gained since return to democracy is not wasted; one of which is to install a viable federal structure, through which the memory of the late Abiola will continue to guide and abide with us.

    Kanu said: “We are at this time struggling to build and we may still have the chance to build the country but it is a dwindling chance. Whatever is happening now in the country, either militancy, Independent People of Biafra and others will not stop until we go back to the Nigeria that we are expected to build; a federal Nigeria.

    “We should be prepared. Prayer will not solve the problem. We have to get back to a federal Nigeria. If not, we should be prepared because what we are seeing is just a child’s play. I have not lost faith in the country’s old anthem- Nigeria we hail thee”

    Opadokun said the country  won’t get out of the wood until it restructures this “skewed, warped, lopsided national structure; we will continue to grope in the dark. We will never find our bearing until we restructure the country.”

    At another event, prominent Nigerians urged Nigerians to keep the dream of June 12 alive.

    Guest lecturer and human rights activist, Mr. Femi Falana (SAN) said the role of the media in pushing for a better Nigeria is huge.

    “The restructuring called for by Atiku Abubakar will not lead the country to anywhere because it will only amount to the transfer of power from Abuja to the state governments.

    “That means transferring power without responsibilities. You will recall that nobody debates the budget of states. The governors are so powerful and would move against those who wish to stand between them and their plans. No President can do that in Abuja,” he said.

    Publisher Ray Ekpu put the blame of the problems facing the country on former Military President Ibrahim Babangida and Gen. Abdulsalami Abubakar.

    “They brought a man and showed him to Nigerians, but the man initially objected, but he later accepted and became Nigeria’s President.

    “President Olusegun Obasanjo also gave Nigeria the late Umaru Yar’Adua and President Goodluck Jonathan. Nigerians have not actually elected their own President; it has always been tele-guided”

    Ekpu urged the government to look into the reports of the 2014 National Conference, stressing that it was the most comprehensive paper that addresses the problems facing the country.

    “People have told President Muhammadu Buhari not to look into the reports. They don’t even know what it contains, as far as I am concerned, the reports are the best for Nigeria.

    “The Avengers in the Nigeria Delta have done colossal damage to the economy, what they are simply saying is that they have not been fairly treated. Though, the method is condemnable. We have to look at the restructuring issues very seriously,” he said.

    Pro-democracy activists also had a solemn evet at the late Abiola’s residence in Ikeja. They called for the restructuring of the polity.

    The activists had a prayer session at the late politician’s tomb and laid some wreaths.

    The late Abiola’s son, Alhaji Jamiu Abiola, who said he believes that President Muhammadu Buhari will eventually recognise his father as the winner of the election and accord him all the rights and privileges as a former President.

    The young Abiola said Nigeria is like a country standing on a quicksand, because it does not stand on the truth. He said: “This country cannot move forward, because it does not stand on the truth; any country that does not stand on the truth cannot move forward.”

    Among those at the ceremony were Mr. Wale Okunniyi, Mr. Debo Adeniran, Mr. Chido Onumah,  Dr.  Chris Nwaokobia, Mike Ozekhome, Dr. Tunji Abayomi and Alhaji Shettima Yerima.

  • June 12: Governors, activists, others call for justice

    June 12: Governors, activists, others call for justice

    MMORTALISATION  of the acclaimed winner of the annulled June 12, 1993 presidential election, the late Chief Moshood Abiola and the recognisiton of June 12 as Nigeria’s Democracy Day reverbrated in some parts of the country yesterday.

    Across the Southwest region, pro-democracy activists assembled to mark the 23rd anniversary of the election, acclaimed by local and international observers as the  freest and fairness in the country.

    The election was aborted by the President Ibrahim Babangida led-military administration when the results were being announced.

    In Oyo and Osun States, governors Abiola Ajimobi and Rauf Aregbesola decraled today public holiday and urged the Federal Government to do the needful.

    Their counterpart in Lagos, Akinwumi Ambode said the entrenehment of an enduring democracy and good governance renamed the best way to immortalise Abiola, who paid the Supreme sacrifice in the struggle for democratic rule.

     

    Holiday in Oyo, as Ajimobiwants Abiola immortalised

    Oyo State Governor Abiola Ajimobi yesterday declared today a public holiday in commemoration of the annulment of the June 12, 1993, presidential election.

    The Special Adviser, Communication & Strategy to the Governor, Mr. Yomi Layinka, conveyed the governor’s decision in a statement yesterday.

    The statement described June 12 as a watershed in the nation’s history, because of the significance of the day in the democratic journey, having broken all ethnic and religious barriers.

    It reads: “The annulled election is yet to be matched in terms of freeness, fairness, transparency, openness and widespread acceptability. Much as the electoral umpire that midwifed subsequent elections had tried, the annulled election remains the best in terms of organisation and no system adopted for the conduct of subsequent elections is yet to match Option A4 used to conduct the June 12 election.

    “Besides, the resolve of Nigerians to put aside their differences and troop out en masse to collectively vote for a positive change was a demonstration of the fact that Nigerians were not ready to negotiate the unity of the country even in the face of diversity.

    “That the symbol of the annulled election, Chief MKO Abiola, opted to pay the supreme price to defend his mandate has deepened democracy and the price he paid is what the comfort the political leaders are enjoying up till today.

    “I want to, once again, urge the Federal Government to immortalise and officially recognize Abiola as a former president of the Federal Republic of Nigeria and to confer on him the highest honour in the land befitting of a former president.”

    He urged political leaders to be prepared to leave their comfort zones in defence democracy, warning that they should not allow parochial interests to overshadow the collective interests.

    The statement further said: “There is no doubt that the late Abiola won the election, despite failed attempts by those that contested the election with him to twist facts and re-write history.

    “We must keep the memory of Abiola alive and the least we can do is to continue to commemorate the day and bring out its fond memories as a lesson in electoral transparency and openness.

    “We should not forget him as he remains one of the greatest martyrs this country has ever produced, so that generations yet unborn will know that somebody laid down his life in defence of democracy and the rule of law. His death in custody of the then Federal Government is known to God and may his soul continue to rest in perfect peace.”

     

    How to immortalise MKO Abiola, by Ambode

    Lagos State Governor Akinwunmi Ambode yesterday called for the entrenchment of viable democracy in the country, saying it remained the best way immortalise what the acclaimed winner of June 12, 1993 presidential election, Chief M.K.O Abiola, stood for.

    This, he said can be achieved through the practice of true federalism.

    The governor, who spoke at a forum organised by the state government to mark the 23rd anniversary of June 12, said the country owes the late Abiola a duty to entrench democracy in the system and practice it the right way.

    It was at the Blue Roof, Lagos Television (LTV 8), on Lateef Kayode Jakande Road, Agidingbi, Ikeja.

    Speaking on the theme: “Democracy and inclusiveness: Basis for good governance,” Ambode, who was represented by the Secretary to the State Government (SSG), Mr. Tunji Bello, said June 12 would continue to be remembered. He said the country must be prepared to travel through the journey of ensuring the right things are done in proper ways.

    Ambode said: “This is a day we must continue to remember because we have been practicing democracy and at the end of the day, we are not actually doing what we should be doing. If you look at the topic of today, it says democracy and its inclusiveness, what we have today, we still have a long way to go, and that is to say that we are not practicing true federalism.

    “What we owe Nigeria today is nothing but true Federalism and for us to be able to achieve true federalism, we have to work hard for it and that is the message the governor has asked me to deliver.

    “We still have a long way to go. If you want to live by Abiola’s memory, if you want to honour him, we owe him a duty to ensure that we install a viable democracy and that viable democracy can only be installed if we have true federalism which we are presently not practicing, and that is very important.”

    The governor added that the federating units of the country must be allowed to develop at their own pace, saying that it was important for the country address the very evident wrongs of the past.

    He said: “For us in Lagos here, Lagos as it is today has everything to stand by its own. We run the police, we have the most viable infrastructure in the whole country, yet we are not given what we deserve.

    “Look at the number of local governments we have, if we run true federalism, we would not be having 37 Local Council Development Areas (LCDAs) and 20 local governments. We should be able to create the number of local governments that we desire.”

    In his remarks, a former military administrator, Rear Admiral Ndubuisi Kanu (rtd.) painted a gloomy picture when he said: “We are at this time struggling to build and we may still have the chance to build the country but it is a dwindling chance.

    “Whatever is happening now in the country either militancy, Independent People Of Biafra and others will not stop until we go back to the Nigeria that we are expected to build; a federal Nigeria.

    “We should brace up and be prepared. Prayer will not solve the problem. We have to get back to a federal Nigeria. If not, we should be prepared because what we are seeing is just a child’s play. I have not lost faith in the country’s old anthem.”

    Also speaking, the former General Secretary of the defunct National Democratic Coalition (NADECO) and Convener of the Coalition of Democrats for Electoral Reforms (CODER),  Ayo Opadokun, urged President Muhammadu Buhari to urgently recognise late Abiola as a former President of Nigeria and name a national monument after him.

    Opadokun lamented that it was unfortunate that former President Olusegun Obasanjo, who he described as the major beneficiary of the June 12 struggle, failed to accord Abiola the due recognition throughout his eight-year tenure, but urged the Federal Government to write the wrongs to Abiola by paying his family for the crippling of his businesses during the struggle.

    He said it was unthinkable that Nigeria, as the eightth largest exporter of oil, still has the poorest population in the world, adding that the country may not get out of the wood until the restructuring of the skewed and lopsided structure.

    Opadokun also called for urgent address of injustice in the system, saying the federation must be reconfigured for equality and total removal of the traces of injustice and unfairness.

    He said: “For instance, in 1960, there were four political divisions in Lagos and two in Kano. As we speak, Jigawa State has been created out of Kano with 27 local government areas, while Kano itself has 44, making a total of 71. Lagos, on the other hand, has just 20 local government areas. This is injustice.

    “Something must be wrong with us. Something wonderful is wrong with Nigeria. Let me say here that Nigeria will never get out of the wood until we restructure this skewed, warped and lopsided national structure. We will continue to grope in the dark. We will never find our bearing until we restructure the country.”

     

    Aregbesola insists June 12 most suitable for Democracy Day

    IF Osun State Governor Rauf Aregbesola has his way; June 12 would be declared Nigeria’s Democracy Day.

    Declaring today a s a public holiday in the Living Spring state, the governor described June 12 as the most suitable and proper day as the anniversary of democracy. He spoke in an address delivered to mark the 23rd anniversary of June 12 1993 presidential election, the result of which was annulled by former President Ibrahim Babangida.

    According to him, it was the date Nigerians freely elected a candidate of their choice and a day they unequivocally affirmed the unity of the country.

    He maintained that lovers of democracy would remain committed to June 12 as a political watershed in the annals of the nation, saying May 29 only symbolises the day the military handed over the affairs of the country to a democratically elected government.

    According to him, Nigerians united 23 years ago to vote the acclaimed winner of the annulled presidential election, the late MKO Abiola without recourse to religion, ethnicity or ideology.

    Also yesterday in Osogbo, the state capital, pro-democracy activists staged a rally in commemoration of the 23rd anniversary of the annulled election.

    Led by some activists, the activists staged a walk from Ayetoro junction to the Freedom Park, where their leaders addressed a rally.

    At the rally were: Chief Amitolu Shitu, Waheed Lawal, Dr. Olowogboyega Oyebade, Waheed Saka, Toyin Eweje, Rahamon Shenge, Wale Balogun and Wale Adebisi.

    The activist took their turns to address the people and spoke on the significance of June 12 election to the nation’s democracy.

    Proposing to the Federal Government to recognise June 12 as Democracy Day instead of May 29, they commended Aregbesola for declaring today as public holiday in Osun State to mark the annulment of June 12, 1993 election and for remembrance of late Moshood Kasimawo Olawale Abiola believed to have won the election that was adjudged as the freest and fairest election in the country.

    They urged other governors to emulate Aregbesola by giving due recognition to June 12, lamenting that Nigerians have not enjoyed adequate dividends of democracy.

     

    Lagos State House Assembly

    Lagos State House of Assembly Speaker Mudashiru Obasa, has described the June 12, 1993 presidential election as the fountain from which the present democratic dispensation derived its source.

    Obasa made the remarks in a statement by his spokesman Musbau Rasak on the 23rd celebration of the historic election.

    He said: “It was an historic election which was adjudged the freest, fairest and most peaceful election not only in Nigeria but also in the continent of Africa. It is indeed a watershed in Nigeria’s political history and a moment of joy for the people. The ultimate triumph of the people’s will over brute force”.

    According to Obasa, perhaps without June 12 election and the struggle to actualise it, the country might still be wallowing under military dictatorship.

    “June 12 opened our eyes to the beauty of democracy and the need to achieve it. It was the foundation on which the present political dispensation is built. Thus, all of us in the present political class are beneficiaries of its essence”, he said.

    The Speaker urged appropriate authorities to recognise the heroes and heroines, who sacrificed their lives for the enthronement of democracy, naming the late Chief MKO Abiola, his wife, Alhaja Kudirat Abiola as parts of such heroes and heroines, deserving national recognition.

    “They paid the supreme price for all of us to enjoy this particular democracy hence they deserved to be honoured by the Federal Government and that is why I am in support of those calling for making June 12 our Democracy Day,”  he said.

    According to him, marking June 12 has become an annual ritual for the progressives because its advent gave birth to the present democracy and “we must continue to celebrate it and remind ourselves of its significance in our political history”.

     

    Mimiko pledges commitment to June 12 ideals

    In Akure, the Ondo State capital, Governor Olusegun Mimiko said a noted that the late Chief Moshood Abiola’s foray into politics was informed by his desire to upgrade the living standard of the underprivileged.

    In a statement by his Information and Orientation Commissioner Kayode Akinmade, the governor said his administration has been marking the anniversaries of the freest election won by the late politician but annulled by the military in the Sunshine State with lectures and symposia and celebration of life-changing projects dedicated to MKO’s memory.

    He noted that the free shuttle buses were inaugurated for school children on June 12, 2012 with 39 vehicles and increased the fleet to 90 a year later.

    Akinmade quoted the governor as speaking at the Adegbemile Cultural Centre during this year’s anniversary of June 12, 1993.

    The statement reads: “Mimiko had promised that we shall continue to honour these patriots, not just in rhetorics but by the actualization of  the noble values of good governance and democracy which many of them lived and died for.

    “We shall continue to consolidate on our numerous programmes targeted at improving the lives of the people and residents of our state, and focus on the governance content of June 12.

    “As we remember June 12, we, as critical stakeholders in the project Nigeria, must continually play the game with the sole aim of deepening the country’s democratic culture and peaceful co-existence among the various political, religious, ethnic and socio-economic entities.”

    Akeredolu tasks leaders

    Nigerian Bar Association (NBA) former president Mr. Oluwarotimi Akeredolu, a Senior Advocate of Nigeria (SAN), commended the resilience and sacrifice of Nigerians which culminated in the enthronement of democratic governance.

    Akeredolu, a governorship aspirant in Ondo State on the platform of the All Progressives Party (APC), praised Nigerians for consolidating on the enthronement of democracy by voting into power the progressives at the federal level and in many states in last year’s general elections.

    According to him, the journey to last year’s victory began with the June 12, 1993 presidential election, believed to have been won by the late Chief Moshood Kashinmawo Abiola. He said the annulled results of the June 12, 1993 presidention election, remained the indisputable foundation and the offshoot for free and fair elections.

    In statement released by the Aketi Media Group (AMG) to mark the 23rd anniversary of the June 1993 presidential poll, Akeredolu urged President Muhammadu Buhari to take urgent and realistic decision to honour the late Abiola and others who paid the supreme price for the enthronement of democracy.

    He argued that honouring the late Abiola and others is perfectly in agreement with the National Anthem that the labour of our heroes shall not be in vain.

    Akeredolu said “I want to plead with President Muhhamadu Buhari to use his good offices to honour MKO Abiola and the others who contributed in no small measures to the enthronement of democracy in Nigeria.

    “Such gesture, I am sure will give birth to a new generation of Nigerians who will be will to sacrifice for their fatherland, knowing that such sacrifice would not be in vain.”

    The former NBA chief, while commending the resilience and dedication of the National Leader of APC, Asiwaju Bola Tinubu and other leaders of the party to the ethos of democracy, hailed some states in the Southwest for declaring June 12 a public holiday in honour of Abiola and all the heroes of democracy in Nigeria.

    “As Nigerians commemorate this great milestone, we must continue to hold our leaders accountable and ensure zero tolerance for impunity and subversion of popular will of the people. No society thrives in an atmosphere of arbitrariness. We must defend the ideals of democracy and put the interest of the people far above personal, egocentric and hegemonic desires of a privileged few”, Akeredolu declared.

     

    Kinsmen demand presidential benefits

    MEMBERS of the family of the winner of the botched June 12, 1993 presidential election, Chief Moshood Kashimawo Olawale (MKO) Abiola, yesterday called on the Federal Government to declare him a “slain president” and pay his presidential entitlements to them, even as they rued the golden opportunity denied him to govern Nigeria.

    They said the harrowing experience buffeting Nigerians today due to economic downturn, would have not arisen had MKO Abiola been allowed to lead the country and placed it on the path of wealth and greatness.

    The head of the Abiola family, Chief Muritala Abiola, a younger brother of the late business magnate, made the disclosure in a chat with reporters in Abeokuta, the Ogun State capital, shortly after receiving the train of the Democracy Day rally.

    The rally was organised by the Ogun State Government at the Oja – Agbo, the ancestral home of the Abiolas in the ancient town in commemoration of the June 12, 1993 presidential election, presumed to have been won by late M.K.O Abiola.

    The Democracy Walk, was led by Deputy Governor Mrs. Yetunde Onanuga in the company of the Secretary to the State Government (SSG), Taiwo Adeoluwa, Ogun State House of Assembly Speaker Suraju Ishola and the Head of Service (HoS), Elder Sola Adeyemi, among others.

    Muritala said the “poverty” in the land which is biting Abiola’s family members harder, has also not spared the rest of Nigerians.

    According to him, had his brother and bread winner of the family, been allowed to use the mandate freely given by Nigerians to lead, he would surely have turned the country into another Kuwait in this part of the world.

    He said: “We feel the impact of his death because he is the breadwinner of the family. Every one of us, up to the aged, and since he died everything is going down. It was affecting the family before but now also the whole Nigerians.

    “The poverty now is much; about 90 percent of Nigerians, which I feel if MKO had become president, Nigeria would have just been like Kuwait. Kuwait is small, but it is one of the richest countries. Today, things have not been easy not for the Abiola family alone but the whole country.”

    The family head lamented that despite the huge sacrificed made, including the supreme sacrifice paid by Abiola, successive governments have not deemed it fit to bestow on the late politician, the honour he deserved.

    He urged the Federal Government to accord the presumed winner of the June 12, 1993 Presidential poll, the right honour and also declare him the “slained President of Nigeria.”

    Muritala said: “For example, Ken Saro Wiwa died on this Ogoni oil spillage; they are cleaning the oil splillage now. MKO was killed because of the election he won. Maybe you journalists, or the government should stop calling him acclaimed winner.

    “He’s not an acclaimed winner; they should confirm him as slain President of Nigeria. After all, somebody ruled for about six months, they said Interim National Government (ING), he is still enjoying presidential privileges. So, MKO should be declared President although slain, so, all the entitlements should go to the family.

    “I don’t want to raise eyebrow because as of today, I am aggrieved and that is my own opinion. People are telling us rule of law, June 12, but Ogun state House of Assembly enacted a law, declaring June 12 every year a Public holiday.

    “Just before yesterday when we went to Oke-Mosan, we heard that before, if it falls on Sunday there is no public holiday, it means the Ogun state government broke the law because if it October 1st falls on Sunday, there will be a Public holiday on Monday, it is just the same thing but I believe we don’t have leaders, we have opportunists.”

    In his goodwill message, Governor Ibikunle Amosun, who was represented by his deputy, Princess Onanuga, pledged to continue to sustain the spirit of the June 12, 1993 presidential election as a way of paying tribute to the illustrious son of the state, late M.K.O Abiola.

    Also speaking, one of the sons of the late politician, Lekan Abiola, rued that what the Abiola family, particularly the children lost to Abiola’s death and his wife, Kudirat, could neither be quantified nor regained till eternity.

    According to Lekan, while Abiola’s business empire suffered grave setbacks during Sani Abacha’s regime, the present crop of elected office holders in the country and direct beneficiaries of their parents’ death are not doing anything to immortalise him.

  • June 12: Cornerstone of our democracy

    June 12: Cornerstone of our democracy

    All Progressives Congress (APC) National Leader Asiwaju Bola Ahmed Tinubu played an important role in the struggle for the revalidation of the results of the June 12, 1993 presidential election. In this remarks, the former Lagos State Governor sees June 12 as the cornerstone of Nigeria’s burgeoning democracy 

    On this 23rd anniversary of June 12, 1993, we must not only cast our minds back to the events of that period, but we must never forget our patriots who lost lives and limbs in that epochal struggle. Beyond being a watershed, the June 12 election, the annulment and its aftermath remain the cornerstone of our democracy as a people today.

    Because a few courageous ones across the broad spectrum of the Nigerian society formed a coalition and led from the front, the military was unable to get away with its constitutional impunity.

    Fired on by patriotism, resistant of years of oppressive military dictatorship, and willingness to do something about the situation, Nigerians pushed the limits of civil disobedience against tyranny. By so doing, Nigerians pushed the military out, demanding for democratic governance and since then, there has been no looking back.

    The seed of democracy that was sown during the June 12 struggle, of which the late Chief Moshood Kashimawo Abiola remains the spirit and the moving force, is the fruit we now enjoy. Nigerians sustained the fervour and the patriotic disposition, necessary for a new political culture to take root. However, 16 years after that struggle ended, and the military departed, a new kind of struggle began. With a government of the people, by the people and for the people, the desire for rapid development and a disciplined and accountable leadership became an agenda. In the hands of the past government, led by the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), Nigerians got a raw deal.

    But again desirous of a change, Nigerians were again galvanised into voting the PDP out and voting in the APC with its message and philosophy of change.

    But beyond the historic mandate given to the All Progressives Congress (APC) is the urgent need to have every citizen as part of the change we want to see. From the streets to the crannies; from the classrooms to the boardrooms; from the lecture halls to the corridor of power, from lawmakers and ministers to leading politicians, this is a season that demands our contribution, requires our sacrifice and seeks that we work together towards building a critical mass that will see to the processes of the change vision now unfolding.

    Nigerians must demand from its leaders, performance and accountability.

    Just like in the moving spirit of June 12, Nigerians must speak up against any form of financial recklessness and corruption in high places, in their states or local administration and wherever this is found. Beyond speaking against and exposing corruption, Nigerians must speak for and in support of the on-going concerted efforts being coordinated by President Muhammadu Buhari.

    The lessons of the June 12 struggle abide and live on. To June 12 we must return to rekindle our love and devotion for democracy and Nigeria.

    We know that no change comes easy and we must be mindful of the fact that the success of the APC led government is the success of all of us.

    On this occasion, I shout out to all my colleagues from the days of the June 12 struggle, encompassing the National Democratic Coalition (NADECO) foot soldiers still alive today, pro-democracy activists, the civil society organisations and the professional bodies, who stood in defence of the democratic rights of Nigerians.

    With the new converts and company that have joined our rank and file, let us again stand guard and be vigilant to ensure that disgruntled elements and the powers of yesterday, who we overthrew with our votes, do not destroy our democracy.

  • ‘June 12 has restructured Nigeria’

    ‘June 12 has restructured Nigeria’

    In this piece, All Progressives Congress (APC) chieftain Hon. Niran Sule-Akinsuyi says the spirit of ‘June 12’ frustrated the antics of anti-democratic forces in last year’s presidential election.

    Tribute to all those who played vital roles in the making of this historic event; and those who sacrificed their life for democracy including their families. The story of June 12 cannot be complete without recognising their roles- I mean political associates, patriots and Pro-democracy activists who were sympathetic to the cause of June 12 and the strugAs a member of the Ondo State House of Assembly in the Third Republic, and a state delegate to the Social Democratic Party convention held in Jos where Chief MKO Abiola emerged as the party’s flagbearer, I am familiar with the political exploits culminating in the June 12, 1993 presidential elections which Chief MKO Abiola presumably won. Today, it is clear that the struggle by NADECO, the Nigeria Press and other Pro-democracy activities was not a labour in vain.

    June 12 is an unforgettable political event in Nigeria, and has taught us useful political lesson which helped Nigeria to learn more about peace, unity, and respect for one another. It has brought about the emergence of two presidential candidates of two major political parties (Chief Olu Falae APP and Chief Olusegun Obasanjo PDP) from the same geo-political zone – the South-West-in the general election of a multi ethnic nation like Nigeria. Such was the importance of June 12 as a lesson of history.

    June 12 erased the idea of political discrimination, the cornerstone of the multifaceted problems besetting the country and provided a platform for ethnic minority like Ijaw to be Vice President and President of this great country. Genuine concern aimed at restructuring Nigeria took off from the making of June 12; contrary to the current agitation designed to distract the Buhari Administration. We should see how we can consolidate on the gains and sacrifices made by patriotic Nigerians involved in the making of June 12 by giving every Nigerian a sense of belonging.

    Never again will any election be cancelled or annulled in Nigeria by reason of birth, circumstances, or ethnic region where the winner comes from. Never again will Nigerians allow their leader to convert the political space into a laboratory for trying all manner of selfish political experiment. The lesson of June 12 frustrated the evil plans of the likes of Orubebe who had thought that government machinery or federal might could be used to thwart the will of Nigerians in the April 2015 presidential election the same way machinery of government was used to annul the June 12 1993 Presidential elections. We hail the heroes of June 12, we hail patriotic Nigerians who believed in the lesson of June 12 and have imbibed the spirit behind it.

    Shouting restructuring barely one year into the life of this administration is a story the proponents should not expect Nigerians to buy. As a nation we ridiculously spent the sum of N9billion on a conference to discuss this subject in 2014. Regrettably no machinery was put in place to consider or implement its recommendation before the Jonathan administration was alternated through the ballot system.

    In our political history we have had many struggles; the struggle for independence from colonisation, the struggle for unity during the civil war years, the struggle for constitutional government and democracy, and we are currently in a struggle for good governance and economic development.

    Any economic or political theory that fails to appreciate the current struggles is shallow. Those clamouring for restructuring should find accommodation under the current struggle for good governance and economic development.

    Restructuring alone cannot sit on one leg of the tripod; other vices must also be eliminated. Local government funds are siphoned East, North and West of Nigeria the same way our governors dispense security votes with impunity across the length and breathe of the country. The same goes for the bailout funds release by the Buhari administration for the payment of workers’ salaries but diverted in about 22 states. Restructuring will not provide answers to the fatal looting of our treasury. It has not been established that the Federal structure is the root cause of corruption in Nigeria. From the courts presently, public officers from Hausa, Ibo, Yoruba, Ijaw land etc  are undergoing trials and prosecution for corruption.

    Local government elections in Nigeria are not won by political parties in opposition in the states, contrary to all the hues and cries for electoral reforms. What is required from the leadership in Nigeria is honesty and sincerity of purpose in accordance with the oath of office of public officers, like what President Muhammadu Buhari is currently offering Nigerians. I feel proud as a Nigerian listening to the opinion of the Archibishop of Canterbury about our President. I feel proud when Obama introduced him as “the President of Nigeria; a man of integrity”. Nigeria is a blessed nation full of opportunities, abundant potentials and God-given endowments. Nigeria needs decent men to run the apparatuses of government to make life better for people.

    Issues such as constitutional amendments to reduce federal powers, modify revenue allocation formula, allowing state police etc could be handled by the National Assembly, if that is the desire and wishes of Nigerians. Any of the federating states obviously would not require restructuring to be prudent and faithful to their people, embark and engage in massive food production and provide good governance free from corruption and embezzlement.

    • Niran Sule-Akinsuyi is a governorship aspirant in Ondo State, former member Ondo State House of Assembly and Commissioner for Special Duties

  • ‘June 12 still alive’

    The Chairman of the All Progressives Congress (APC) in Ondo State, Hon. Isaac Kekemeke yesterday said the spirit of June 12, is still alive among progressives in the country.

    Kekemeke said June 12 represents freedom in the political history of Nigeria.

    He made this known while addressing reporters at the June 12 freedom rally organised by the Coalition of Progressives in Ondo State.

    Kekemeke assured that the state, which will soon join the league of progressives, will give importance to June 12 in the future.

    Also speaking at the rally, the Publicity Secretary, Omo’ba Abayomi Adesanya, noted that June 12 was a watershed in the political history of Nigeria.

    According to him, June 12, 1993, is symbolic, special, heroic and indelible in the annals of the history of our democracy and the struggle for freedom for our dear people and country.

    He called on the Federal Government and the National Assembly to enact a law, institutionalizing June 12 as Freedom Day.

    “June 12, 1993 is a day Nigerians filed out in millions, to speak in one voice to elect the most popular President-elect, Chief Moshood Kashimawo Olawale Abiola, in an election that was annulled by a military junta led by General Ibrahim Badamosi Babangidam

    “We will continue to celebrate, respect, honour, remember, and pray for that day, June 12, Chief MKO Abiola, and those Nigerians who lost their lives, in the struggle for the actuallization of the presidential mandate freely given on June 12.”

    “Twelve itself is symbolic and spiritual, so let us all from the North, South ,East and West, respect and honour June 12 and put it in a place of pride.

    “A day will come, when the progressives, from the North and South, East and West, irrespective of their political divide and persuasion, language or tribe, culture or tradition, ideology or belief, will salvage our country Nigeria from the myriad of political, economic and social malaise. When the sovereignty of the people will be placed as a national priority through ballot, as one united Nigeria,” Adesanya stated.