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Tag: June 12

  • Photos: Tinubu, Kola Abiola in Aso Rock

    Asiwaju Bola Tinubu, Kola Abiola  in Aso Rock during  the Special National Honours Investiture for Chief MKO Abiola on Tuesday.

     

  • Falana to Buhari: You’ve declared 1993 election result

    Lagos lawyer, Femi Falana, said on Tuesday that President Muhammadu Buhari has announced the result of the annulled June 12, 1993 presidential election by honouring the presumed winner of the poll, late Chief Moshood Abiola.

    He urged the President to direct security chiefs to restore the rights of all Nigerians.

    President Buhari had earlier on Tuesday apologized to Nigerians over the annulment of the election by former President Ibrahim Babangida’s administration.

    He spoke at the investiture of national honours on Abiola and other heroes of democracy.

    The President conferred posthumous national honours of Grand Commander of the Federal Republic (GCFR) on the late business mogul.

    He also conferred a posthumous Grand Commander of the Order of Niger (GCON) honour on the late foremost rights activist, Chief Gani Fawehinmi.

    He decorated Abiola’s running mate in the 1993 election, Amb. Babagana Kingibe, with the Grand Commander of the Order of Niger (GCON) honour.

     

     

  • Kola Abiola receives national honour on father’s behalf

    Kola, the eldest son of late Chief Moshood Abiola, on Tuesday received the Grand Commander of the Federal Republic (GCFR) award on behalf of his father.

    President Muhammadu Buhari presented the insignia to Kola after the citation for Abiola, the presumed winner of the June 12, 1993 presidential election, was read at the Presidential Villa, Abuja.

    The Federal Government had last week conferred national honours on the late politician and two other heroes of democracy.

    Read Also: Buhari apologises over Abiola ’s mandate annulment

    The late foremost human rights activist, Chief Gani Fawehinmi and Abiola’s running mate in 1993, Amb. Babagana Kingibe, also received the Grand Commander of the Order of the Niger (GCON) award.

    Fawehinmi was conferred with a posthumous GCON honour.

     

  • Buhari apologises over June 12 poll annulment

    President Muhammadu Buhari on Tuesday apologized on behalf of the administration of former President Ibrahim Badamosi Babangida for annulling the June 12, 1993 presidential elections presumably won by the late MKO Abiola.

    He spoke at the investiture of national honours on Abiola and other who played key roles in ensuring that Nigeria returned to democratic government.

    The President conferred posthumous national honours on Chief M.K.O. Abiola as Grand Commander of the Federal Republic (GCFR), Chief Gani Fawehinmi as the Grand Commander of the Order of the Niger (GCON) and decoration of Ambassador Babagana Kingibe with the Grand Commander of the Order of the Niger (GCON).

    Stressing that the government now cannot rewind back to 1993, but he said that it can correct some of the errors made by the government at the time.

    Read Also: June 12 like no other

    The awards and recognitions, he said, is in the national interest and boost reconciliation.

    “What we are doing is to celebrate the positive side of June 12.” he said

    He urged all Nigerians to accept the recognitions and awards in good faith.

    According to him, Nigeria will no longer tolerate such perversion of justice.

  • June 12 like no other

    Twenty-five years after Nigeria’s ultimate electoral crime, today is June 12 like no other.

    In 1993, Gen. Ibrahim Babangida, with his deluded junta, cancelled the presidential mandate Basorun MKO won on June 12, 1993; thus inflicting on Nigeria the political equivalent of a spiritual curse.

    Today, June 12, 2018, exactly 25 years after that epochal poll, President Muhammadu Buhari is lifting that curse.

    He is correcting the grave injustice of 23 June 1993, when the IBB junta, in a fit of swashbuckling impunity, pushed out an unsigned document to purportedly annul the MKO mandate, freely given by 14 million Nigerians, for or against.

    Today, MKO gets honoured with the Grand Commander of the Federal Republic (GCFR), reserved only for Nigeria’s past Presidents or military heads of state.  His running mate, Ambassador Baba Gana Kingibe, also gets invested with the Grand Commander of the Order of the Niger (GCON), reserved for Nigeria’s Vice Presidents.  That is a tacit acknowledgement of a presidential term crookedly denied.

    From 2019, June 12 becomes Nigeria’s Democracy Day, burying May 29, the civil take-over date in 1999, former President Olusegun Obasanjo had hoisted, to bury June 12, with its troubling MKO ghost.  Talk of the reverse burial of the spiteful undertaker!

    But even more pungent symbolism: the late Chief Gani Fawehinmi, SAM, SAN, iconic arrowhead of the June 12 resistance army, also gets a posthumous GCON.

    That is for the hundreds of Campaign for Democracy (CD) protesters, mown down on Lagos streets, by a rogue military under Sani Abacha as Defence Minister, for mounting civil protests against the brazen annulment.

    Also, for the brave Chima Ubani, grand Marshall of those Lagos June 12 protests, who would die much later in an auto crash in the North.  He must be smiling from his grave.

    June 12, 2018 thus marks the beginning of concrete and laudable steps to bring a final closure to the ultimate crime by IBB, his reckless junta and their no less criminal civilian collaborators.

    Even then, are these steps perfect?  Definitely not.  For one, the president’s proclamation, which he personally signed, still referred to MKO as “presumed winner”.  That, with all due respect to the president, appears a historical fraud.

    Yes, “presumed” could be technically correct, because the final results of the elections were never formally declared.  But that proved nothing for, thanks to the Modified Open Ballot System (MOBS) adopted, the final results were an open secret, given certified collations from election zones nationwide.

    Then, the Kingibe question.  Should he have shared from the current gains, because he virtually threw off his mandate, by joining the Abacha government as Foreign minister?

    Legitimate query.  Still, it’s better to do right in an imperfect situation, than stall because you await the perfect moment that never comes.  So, let Kingibe be.

    Besides, despite the MKO rehabilitation — which cannot be under-stressed in any way: you don’t kill both a man and his wife for winning a free election and hope to live happily ever after? — the philosophy behind rehabilitating June 12 is even more electorally immaculate:  the people’s choice is inviolate; and you cannot wipe it away without dreadful consequences.

    That is the eternal disgrace IBB and his deluded junta, with their civilian collaborators, must grapple with till they enter their graves — and God, in His infinite mercies, has preserved most of MKO’s principal June 12 traducers to taste this disgrace.

    IBB: Each time MKO “resurrects” on June 12, IBB gets buried, for being the arrowhead of an evil junta, that played God with their compatriots’ electoral will and goaded their country to needless catastrophe.

    History would even be harsher to him, for his epigram may well read: Here lies a wayward general, who nearly baited his country with ruin, by organizing its sanest election, yet cancelled the results!

    Obasanjo: A master-writer of self-fawning history, this June 12 bubble has exposed him in his full nakedness — and the sight is not pretty!

    The author and finisher of a presidential library, of vacuous philosophical and moral value, you could feel his full emptiness, as he falls flat in basic human virtues: charity, gratitude, fairness, justice and conscience.

    Sani Abacha: Manifestation of the quintessential Yoruba proverb, of the opportunist that would rather perish, than let go of his freebie.

    He expired still clutching his toy.  But he lost his honour.  Still, Abacha’s faith would appear far better than those now consigned to the living dead.

    The living dead aside, it is even more alarming the decay, sustaining the June 12 injustice, has inflicted on Nigeria’s moral infrastructure.

    In 1993, the Christian Association of Nigeria (CAN) was most vociferous on condemning the annulment crime, while its Moslem counterpart, the Nigerian Supreme Council of Islamic Affairs (NSCIA) hee-hawed, save the public bucking of that cant by its late secretary-general, Dr. Lateef Adegbite.

    Twenty-five years later, at the correction of that epochal injustice, CAN’s loud silence is well and truly stunning.  Even if you dismiss the Pentecostals as mainly lost in their holy mammon, what of the Catholics — no Father Mathew Kukah, to cook fresh polemics that leaves you winded and lost?  No people’s priest, from the Lagos front, to rally the troops in a whoop of moral victory?  Indeed, no thundering release from the CAN Secretariat? And the Anglicans and the Baptists?

    Might less than six years of a “Christian” president, in Goodluck Jonathan (2010-2015), have gifted Nigerian Christendom the moral pathology NSCIA manifested when the June 12 crisis broke out in 1993?

    And Afenifere!  The restoration of June 12 ought to be its sweetest victory, for it waged the battle when the war was bitterest.  But no thanks to its self-imposed dissonance, it is acting as if its own very victory is mere ash in its mouth!

    The reason is its latter-day ultra-nationalism, and the anti-Hausa-Fulani ethnic baiting by many of its guiding lights.  Why, an Afenifere elder last year granted The Punch an interview, claiming the so-called Hausa-Fulani were “Yoruba enemies”!  Well, it so happens the so-called “enemy” has granted MKO the honour a prodigal Yoruba son could not, even in 10 lifetimes!

    Many have pilloried Vanguard’s Ocherome Nnanna for his anti-Yoruba bigotry — and frankly, the man deserves all the flak that has hurtled his way.

    But the true Yoruba must be seriously perturbed at, from their own ranks, the flare of ultra-nationalist venom, anti-Fulani poison and a heady roar of irredentism and ethnic smugness, mostly from these old folks, simply because a Fulani president, not of their preference, holds the reins.

    If the Yoruba command respect in Nigerian political discourse, it is not because they are the brightest or the most talented or even the most articulate.

    It is rather because of their penchant to stick to justice and fairness, even if many of theirs end up holding the short end of the stick.  It is that spirit that landed this great June 12 victory, 25 years after, when all seemed totally lost.

    So, let every Nigerian clamber back on the spirit of June 12.  It is the Justice-to-all credo Nigeria sorely needs to navigate the present bend — one of the most challenging in its chequered history.

  • Lessons of June 12

    The ‘June 12’ struggle was a long and tortuous one. The advocacy for the recognition of what the 1993 presidential election stands for has had its ups and downs. MUSA ODOSHIMOKHE examines the lessons and how they may shape the future of the country.

    THE June 12, 1993 presidential election has become a watershed in Nigeria’s political history. The election was adjudged as the fairest and the freest the country has ever witnessed.

    The election was widely believed to have been won by Chief Moshood Abiola and his running mate, Alhaji Babagana Kingibe. The uproar that greeted the annulment of the election by military President Ibrahim Babangida forced him to ‘step aside’ from the seat of power. Since then, it has been one turmoil after another and this has drawn the country backward.

    The huge socio-political and economic deficit imposed by the annulment has not been fully recovered; hence Nigerians have continued to count their losses on June 12.

    It had left a trail of lessons; some of them pointing the way forward, while in other cases the damage may never be recovered.

    While analysts believe it had strengthened the resolve to keep the country united, no matter the cost, unfolding development indicated that the unity could only become a reality when the country is eventually restructured.

    The military, if not for June 12 were not willing to leave power. The military hierarchy had already made up its mind to hold on to power, by transferring it from one military ruler to another.

    Observers say that was the reason why Babangida had indicated that he knew those who would not succeed him, but may not know those who will succeed. To back his decision, he blocked avenues that would lead to discussions likely to pave way for the de-annulment of the election.

    Even when pressure was mounted on the military to save its face by constituting a national government to be headed by Abiola, the effort was thwarted by the military. Sources said Babangida was bent on not allowing a national government to see the light of the day, because of the fear that he would be called to account for his misdeeds.

    The sources maintained that the military was favourably disposed to an Interim National Government (ING), headed by Chief Ernest Shonekan from the same Ogun State, where Abiola hailed from.

    This was actually designed to create a division in Yoruba land. It went further to bring some prominent Yorubas to serve in the ING and these crop of leaders later joined forces to undermine Abiola, by persuading him to soft pedal.

    Reading between the lines, Nigerians have come to realise that the military, no matter how beautifully robed it is, should be kept arm’s length. It should never be allowed to find its way by into governance again.

    Observers say the present democratic structure should be protected and efforts should be made to make it a constitutional matter that any coup that topples civilian administration should not be recognised locally and internationally.

    Over time, the country had faced one form of religious bigotry or the other. The June 12 lesson indicated that religious animosity was actually the creation of corrupt elements in the society to gain political dominance.

    To prove that religion was no issue, the combination of Abiola and his running mate Kingibe, both Muslims, won the election. That election has continued to blur the line of religion as an important factor in political stability.

    Observers say the country’s secular position should remain sacrosanct, by making reference to the feat of Abiola and Kingibe in 1993.

    Buttressing why religion should not be an issue, former Executive Secretary of the National Union of Petroleum and Natural Gas Workers (NUPENG), Frank Kokori, said those whipping religious sentiments in the country are corrupt. He said it was a method used by politicians to seek power in a corrupt way, noting that Abiola/Kingibe ticket was one of the best in the country.

    Analysts also say that June 12 point to the direction that Nigeria should seek competence, instead of fanning the embers of religious division. “Any election that whips religious sentiments, instead of looking for capable hands will not get the best materials to lead.”

    June 12 was instrumental to the harmonization of political divisions in the country. One of such analysts said the North/South dichotomy has been abridged by the outcome of that election.

    The annulment of that election exposed the political hypocrisy in the country. Prior to the election, it was believed only the North had the wherewithal to attain political leadership in the country.

    Nigerians believed that if you did not come from the North, you could not win election in the country. The assertion was based on previous election held in the country, where only northern-dominated political parties like the defunct Northern Peoples Congress (NPC) and the equally defunct National Party of Nigeria (NPN) produced the Prime Minister and the President respectively.

    In the midst of the narrative, Abiola, a southerner who is believed to have won the election was denied the mandate. This created ill-feelings between the different sections of the country.

    Given that the struggle to validate June 12 was mostly championed by those from the South, there was an understanding in 1999 that the North should not field a candidate in the election.

    The 1999 election, which was won by former President Olusegun Obasanjo, who hails from the same ethnic origin as Abiola, was to pacify the Southwest for the injustice done to the region. The gesture was to extend the hand of brotherhood to them by the North that had orchestrated the June 12 annulment.

    Observers believe the lessons of June 12 will continue to linger. For instance, political parties have now devised a method of trying every section of the country along. As it is, the six geo-political zones have become the barometer for sharing political offices.

    Zoning, which is part of the constitution of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), has become entrenched in Nigeria’s polity. That is why the party zoned its presidential ticket in next year’s election to the North. Even the All Progressives Congress (APC), which does not have zoning its constitution, has joined the bandwagon, to ensure balance in its political decisions.

    June 12 made it possible to have a common ground on issues that threatened the civil society and pro-democracy community. Though he belonged to the ruling class then, former Kaduna State Military Governor, Lt. Col. Abukakar Umar, was one of those who backed the June 12 struggle in the early stages, by denouncing Banbangida, who was his benefactor at the time.

    The likes of Alhaji Balarabe Musa and other northern elements did not only put their lives on the line, by supporting the call for Babangida to quit, but faced the risk of being ostracized in the North.

    Another lesson which the government is yet to key into is the adoption of a two-party system. The June 12 election was contested by two political parties; the Social Democratic Party (SDP) and the National Republican Convention (NRC). Nigerians have continued to call for the return to the two-party system. They are of the opinion that it will minimize wastage of tax-payers’ money and election will be well managed.

    Today, the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), has registered no fewer than 60 parties and more are likely going to come up before next year’s general elections. Observers say the unwieldy size of registered political parties has made the conduct of elections cumbersome.

    They even made reference to the example of the United States of America, where Nigeria copied its Presidential System of government; the country has two major political parties. For the APC to be able to defeat the then ruling PDP, several parties had to come together to form a bigger platform, to give it more leverage at the polls.

    The formation of the APC was made possible through the coming together of the defunct Congress for Progressive Change (CPC), the former Action Congress of Nigeria (ACN), the defunct All Nigeria Peoples Party (ANPP) and part of All Progressives Grand Alliance (APGA).

    The lesson here is that most of the parties dotting the political firmament are actually not necessary. They should be urged to merge to save INEC the challenges associated with having too many parties on the ballot.

    The recognition of June 12 as democracy day by President Muhammadu Buhari has finally proved that once the people have decided to have a change nobody can stop them.

    Hitherto, June 12 was marked by public holidays and other activities only by states in the Southwest.

    Observers say what former Obasanjo and former President Goodluck Jonathan failed to do have now been corrected by a leader of northern extraction. The lesson from this is that leaders should be courageous to do what is right, instead of looking at issues because of their personal interest.

    Speaking on the lesson, Lagos APC chieftain, Mr. Lanre Razak, said it was divine intervention that held the country together.

    He said: “Except for God June 12 could have been a distabilising issue in the country. That God has wonderfully assisted Nigeria to manage it to this point and Buhari bringing another unifying effort to ensure Nigeria to remain a united country, we have to thank God.”

  • June 12: Remove all obstacles to free, fair, credible elections – NLC

    The Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC) on Monday asked the federal government to identify fully with the ideals and lessons of June 12 by removing all obstacles to free, fair and credible elections in the country.

    In a statement made available to newsmen in Abuja, President of Congress, Comrade Ayuba Wabba also wants the federal government to erect a cenotaph in honour of Nigerians and foreigners alike who participated in the June 12 struggle.

    The NLC said that beyond declaring June 12 as a national holiday, the government should do everything possible to institutionalise the lessons learnt from the June 12 experience.

    According to the congress, one of the “lesson of June 12 is our capacity as a people to organize free, fair and credible elections. The National Electoral Commission headed by Professor Humphrey Nwosu designed a very unique system of electioneering known as Option A4.

    “This dealt a mortal jab at numerous infractions in our electoral process. Nigerian workers expect that with the introduction of technology in our electoral process, elections in Nigeria should be freer, fairer and more credible than the June 12 outcome.

    “Unfortunately, this is not so as politicians have shown from their conduct in recent elections that violence, vote buying, fraud and abuse of the power of incumbency, and not the will of the electorate, are the most critical success factors in electoral contests.

    “There is more to June 12 than the symbolic commemorations. We urge the Federal Government to identify fully with the ideals and lessons of June 12 by removing all obstacles to free, fair and credible elections in Nigeria.

    Read Also:June 12 annulment elite conspiracy, says Presidency

    “This can be best achieved by evolving the needed political will for the deepening of popular democracy and fully implementing the Justice Uwais Electoral Reform Report especially aspects that recommended the setting up of Election Offences Commission, representative cum non-partisan recruitment of INEC leadership and INEC unbundling for increased professionalism.

    “We also call on the government to also enforce relevant provisions in our Electoral Act that place a ceiling on political campaign financing and criminalize violence, vote buying and sundry fraudulent acts.”

    The statement reads: “The Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC) on behalf of Nigerian workers celebrates and congratulates all Nigerians on the 25th Anniversary of the June 12, 1993 presidential election. President Muhammadu Buhari has already declared June 12 as a national holiday in commemoration of our democracy.

    “He has also conferred the highest honour in the land to the arrowhead of the June 12 struggle, Chief MKO Abiola. This confirms June 12 as a muster point of our democratic aspirations as one people united by the quest for wellbeing, dignity and prosperity.

    “We salute the working class, civil society activists, the trade unions, women and student groups for their roles and sacrifice in defending the sanctity of June 12 and enthroning our current democracy.

    “Nigerian workers celebrate not just the day – June 12 – but the ideals and the progressive credentials of the icons behind the day. The mast of Chief MKO Abiola’s campaign was “Hope 93”. The core of his campaign message was the promise to eradicate poverty.

    “Not a few political commentators believe that Chief Abiola’s towering image as a foremost international philanthropist and humanist rubbed a lot of credence on his promise of hope.

    “The results of June 12, 1993 elections showed clearly that Chief MKO Abiola’s personality and promise of poverty eradication united millions of Nigerians who defied religious and ethnic boundaries to elect him as the President of the aborted Third Republic.

    “Out of the then 30 states, Chief Abiola won 19 states. A significant feat of great political value was that Chief Abiola won at least a state in all the geopolitical zones of Nigeria.

    “Though from Ogun State in Southern Nigeria, Chief Abiola defeated his only rival, Alhaji Bashir Tofa, in both his ward and in his home state of Kano State. Such a feat has never been recorded in Nigeria’s political history. June 12 was simply epochal.

    “When the June 12, 1993 elections was annulled by the military junta led by General Ibrahim Badamosi Babangida, it was like dusk at sun rise. Nigerians from all walks of life were united in condemning the annulment and demanding the inauguration of Chief MKO Abiola as the President of the Federal Republic.

    “Perhaps, apart from Labour’s struggle against neo-liberal tendencies of successive governments, no other struggle has resonated with Nigerians as the June 12 struggle. For this reason, at an occasion like this, we must all be sobered and tempered by the ideals and lessons of June 12.

    “The first lesson of June 12, is the capacity of our people to rise above ethnic and religious sentiments to recruit political leadership solely on the basis of antecedence, performance and ability to deliver desired developmental goals. This credits our ability as a people to build a modern nation state.

    “The fact that Chief MKO Abiola and his running mate, Ambassador Baba Gana Kingibe; both Muslims, enjoyed popular acceptance across the geo-political zones of Nigeria deals a cruel blow on the aspirations of many politicians of today to acquire political capital on ethnic and religious premise.

    “Abiola’s politics had content – freedom from poverty. He walked the talk. Nigerians trusted him with their votes. We can hardly say the same of today’s politician who though adorned in the garb of ethno-religious pretensions yet impoverishes the rest of us with mindless looting and dubious perks of office.

    “The second lesson of June 12 is that of the nobility of democratic values and struggles. June 12 represents the struggle for the enthronement of democracy in Nigeria. June 12 also epitomizes the values of freedom, respect for the rule of law and social justice for all.

    “June 12 teaches us that there is lasting reward for every genuine effort to dare injustice. Chief MKO Abiola did not give up on the mandate freely given to him by Nigerians. He dared. Today, he has truly won.

    “We can say the same of other Nigerians such as the legendary Senior Advocate of the Masses, Chief Gani Fawehinmi, who was mercurial in his fight for democratic rights. There is also the slain wife of Chief Abiola, Alhaji Kudirat Abiola, who soldiered on like a true amazon behind her persuasion on the sanctity of June 12, and amidst very horrifying odds.

    “The 25th Anniversary of June 12 grants us a good space to reflect on our role as organized labour in the promotion and defense of democracy in Nigeria. The Nigeria Labour Congress was proscribed by the military dictatorship of General Sani Abacha on the account of our principled rejection of the annulment of June 12.

    “Many of our comrades and labour leaders suffered extreme persecution in the hands of the state because of their persuasion on Jun 12.  Comrade Frank Kokori was incarcerated in Bama Prisons on the account of June 12. Space will fail us to list the names of labour leaders, academics, activists and other patriotic Nigerians including NADECO leaders who were tortured, imprisoned, exiled or even killed because of June 12.

    “The NLC has consolidated these efforts by championing national campaigns for electoral reforms. The most prominent milestone of our modest strive are fruits from Justice Uwais Electoral Reform Committee, which NLC was part of. We are also making efforts to reposition the Labour Party. As we said at the 2018 May Day celebration, Nigerian workers will continue to dare and to win.

    “Nigerian workers enjoin the Federal Government to honour Nigerians and even foreigners who suffered enormous discomfort, endured state persecution and even paid the supreme price on the account of their unwavering commitment to the June 12 struggle.

    “Like we admonished in our earlier press statement commending the government of President Muhammadu Buhari for the recent honor done to the memory of Chief MKO Abiola, we restate our appeal that a June 12 Cenotaph be erected in the honour of heroes, heroines and icons of the June 12 struggle.”

  • Nwosu hails Buhari for recognizing June 12 Democracy Day

    The Chairman of the defunct National Electoral Commission, Prof. Humphrey Nwosu has praised President Muhammadu Buhari for recognizing June 12 as Nigeria’s Democracy Day and for honouring the memory of Chief MKO Abiola, the presumed winner of the 1993 election.

    This was contained in a letter to the Secretary to the Government of the Federation, Boss Mustapha.

    Professor Nwosu, who presided over the polls later annulled by the military junta, said the conferment of national honours on Chief Abiola and his running mate, Amb. Babagana Kingibe “will rekindle the national consciousness of all Nigerians for a better nation.”

    Read Also:June 12: Delta APC salutes Buhari for honouring Abiola, others

    The letter reads: “I thank His Excellency, the President of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, Muhammadu Buhari and the Federal Government of Nigeria for recognizing June 12 as Democracy Day and also honouring the winner of June 12, 1993 presidential election, Chief M.K.O. Abiola.

    “Indeed, June 12, 1993 marked a turning point in Nigeria’s tortuous journey towards a democratic polity. It is an honour to the very hard-working men and women of the defunct National Electoral Commission under my leadership at this long awaited recognition. I humbly commend this action by the President.

    “Undoubtedly, the democratic system of governance is the best especially for the multi ethnic nation like ours. I thank you for building on the foundation which my team and I labored strenuously to establish and actualize on June 12, 1993. It is our hope that expanding the frontiers of democracy of which all the people of Nigeria, regardless of ethnic group, will provide economic, social and developmental benefits that will certainly make Nigeria a great nation not only in Africa but across the world.

    “Certainly, the scheduled event on Tuesday, June 12, 2018 will rekindle the national consciousness of all Nigerians for a better Nation. Unfortunately, due to circumstances beyond my control I will not be present at the investiture ceremony as I am outside the country,” he wrote.

  • June 12: A long, tortuous walk to justice

    All roads tomorrow leads to the State House in Abuja for the conferment of posthumous national awards of Grand Commander of the Federal Republic (GCFR) on Chief Moshood Abiola and Grand Commander of the Order of the Niger (GCON) on Chief Gani Fawehinmi. Abiola’s running mate in the scuttled election Babagana Kingibe, will also be honoured with the GCON award. Musa Odoshimokhe profiles some of the pro-democracy activists.

    AFTER twenty-five years of agitation, pro-democracy forces can now heave a sigh of relief. Their clamour for recognition for the acclaimed winner of the June 12, 1993 presidential election, Chief MKO Abiola, will tomorrow be officially granted.

    Key leaders in the struggle for the revalidation of the results the first-ever general elections adjudged as the fairest and fairest, have been invited by the Federal Government for posthumous proclamation of the highest national  award of the Grand Commander of the Federal Republic (GCFR) on the symbol of the struggle.

    The results of the election were “arrested” in a terse statement by the then presidential spokesman Nduka Irabor during the administration of self-styled military President Gen. Ibrahim Babangida, who superintended the election.

    All previous administrations turned down the activists’ yearly request that the presumed winner of the election be immortalised.

    But in a statement on June 6, President Muhammadu Buhari proclaimed June 12 Democracy Day and the conferment of national honours on the late Abiola, his running mate Ambassador Babagana Kingibe and foremost pro-democracy activist, the late Gani Fawehinmi.

    As at last night, four Southwest states of Lagos, Ogun, Ondo and Osun, have declared tomorrow a work-free day to mark the 25th anniversary of the annulment of a presidential poll adjudged by local and international observers as Nigeria’s best.

    Some of activists, who took to the streets in cities centres to protest the annulment of the results and demanded for revalidation, are profiled below.

     

    Femi Falana

     

    The activist-lawyer was in the vanguard of revalidation of June 12 presidential election results’ campaigners. Like other prominent figures, Falana took the battle to the streets where participated actively in demonstrations.

    Falana, now a Senior Advocate of Nigeria (SAN), in the company of others, suffered arrests and detention in the hands of government forces that took his positions on issues as affront to constituted authority.

    On many fora, Falana pointed out the evil associated with the annulment and barring the unforeseen, the Lagos-based lawyer will be in Abuja tomorrow for the ceremonial proclamation.

     

    Olabiyi Durojaiye

     

    The Ogun East Senator between 1999 and 2003 fought on the side of the masses for the actualization of the annulled election. Durojaiye was an active member of the National Democratic Coalition (NADECO), a pressure group that was turn in the flesh of the military administration of the late Gen. Sani Abacha.

    He was among those detained by Gen. Abachan as “Prisoners of War”.

    Following his release from after the death of Abacha, Durojaiye contested and won the Ogun East Senatorial seat under the Alliance for Democracy (AD). He is a staunch member of Afrenifere. His memoir on the annulled June 12, 1993, is in the works.

     

    Segun Osoba

     

    The former Ogun State governor under the defunct Social Democratic Party (SDP) played major role in the struggle. He supported the cause through media outreach and financial supports for pro-democracy groups including oil workers unions – National Union of Petroleum and Natural Gas Workers (NUPENG). He was a thorn in the flesh of antagonists of June 12. As a NADECO member, he faced persecution from the military and had to go underground from time to time to sustain the cause of June 12. He ranks among the heroes of democracy.

     

    Chima Ubani

     

    Ubani was one of the activists who lost his life in the struggle for a better Nigeria. He played critical role to ensure victory and he became a prisoner of conscience under the military.

    His thirst for a fair and better society led to his untimely death in an accident en route Maiduguri, Bornu State for a pro-democracy rally.  He was honoured locally and internationally for his selfless efforts.

     

    Beko Ransom Kuti

     

    He was the chairman for the Campaign for Democracy (CD), a forum he deployed to the emancipation of the downtrodden.

    The medical doctor-turned rights’ crusader was imprisoned by the military for speaking out against injustice.

     

    Baba Omojola

     

    Baba Omojola was a chieftain of the NADECO, a platform that rallied other coalition groups against dictatorship. The fiery rights’ activist was incarcerated for being in the forefront of against injustice.

    He did not abandon the cause even in the face of intimidation by the military. He would be remembered for his contributions to make the country a better place to live in for all.

     

    Tunji Abayomi

     

    Dr. Abayomi, a legal practitioner and activist known for his principle on fairness and justice, played an active role in the crusade for a better nation. To him, those who annulled the June 12 election murdered sleep.

    He was arrested and detained for several years by the military. Dr. Abayomi was in the forefront of the crusade to free Chief Olusegun Obasanjo, when he was arrested over the phantom coup plot against Gen. Abacha.

     

    Mike Ozekhome

     

    Mike Ozekhomhe is a lawyer and human rights’ activist. The Edo-born activist led youths and concerned stakeholders in the battle to liberate the country from the jackboots of the military. He equally deployed his legal support to ensure justice.

     

    Ayo Obe

     

    As President of Civil Liberties Organisations (CLO), Dr. Ayo Obe   was in the forefront of the agitation for justice. Through the CLO, she rallied many organisations to get justice for Abiola. She could not be cowed by the military as she threw all resources at her disposal into the crusade for a better Nigeria.

     

    Shehu Sani

     

    Senator Shehu Sani was fearless in the battle against military dictatorship.  The Kaduna Central District Senator was arrested and clamped into detention by government forces during the administration of Gen. Abacha.

    Yesterday, Sani shared on his twitter handle, photographs of his time in prison in 1995.

    He was sentenced to 15 years in prison for treason against the military.

    He shared on Twitter: “In my Prison Cell, Aba, Abia State, in 1995 serving 15-year sentence for (1) Treason against the Military Junta (2) Managing an unlawful society, The Campaign for Democracy CD. Prison number 95/1186. The other on the right, in my Cell in Kiri Kiri Maximum Security Prison Lagos.”

     

     

    The Annulment Statement by Nduka Irabor

    In view of the spirit of litigation pending in various courts, the federal government is compelled to take appropriate steps in order to rescue the judiciary from intra-voyaging. Those steps are taken so as to protect our legal system and the judiciary from being ridiculed and politicized, both nationally and internationally.

    In an attempt to end this ridiculous charade which may culminate in judicial anarchy, the Federal Military Government has decide to stop forthwith, all court proceedings pending or to be instituted and appeals thereon in respect of any matter touching, relating or concerning the presidential election held on June 12, 1993.

    The Transition to Civil Rule Political Programme (Amendment Number 3), Decree Number 52 of 1992 and the Presidential Election (Basic Constitutional and Transitional Provisions)Decree Number 13 of 1993 are hereby repealed. All acts or omissions done or purported to have been done, or to be done by any person, authority etc, under the above named decree are hereby declared invalid. The National Electoral Commission is hereby suspended. All acts or omissions done or purported to have been done by itself, its officers or agents under the repealed Decree number 13, 1993 are hereby nullified.”

     

     

  • Osoba to Nigerians: let’s learn from June 12

    •Lagos APC, Adams hail honour

    FORMER Ogun State Governor Olusegun Osoba has urged Nigerians to learn from the June 12, 1993 election annulment, which he described as the most transparent and credible poll in the nation’s history.

    He advised politicians to emulate the virtue of resilience and principled commitment to goals displayed by the winner, the late Chief Moshood Abiola, who, he said, never surrendered his mandate in the face of intimidation, oppression and repression.

    The Lagos State All Progressives Congress (APC) and the Aare Ona Kankanfo of Yorubaland and Coordinator of Oodua Peoples Congress (OPC), Gani Adams, also lauded President Muhammadu Buhari for honouring Abiola and human rights activist, Chief Gani Fawehinmi (SAN).

    Osoba, who spoke with reporters at the weekend, hailed the resilience of pro-democracy crusaders, saying that their efforts and sacrifices were not in vain.

    The former governor noted that he was the first governor in the country to make June 12 the ‘Democracy Day’ through a gazette he presented to Abiola’s family in Abeokuta, the state capital.

    The former governor declined to join the debate on the alleged real or imagined political tone underlying President Muhammadu Buhari’s action.

    To him, the President has met the popular yearnings of Nigerians.

    Osoba said the call for the release of the annulled results might not be necessary since the appointment of the Chairman of the defunct National Electoral Commission (NEC), Prof. Humphrey Nwosu, had been terminated. He added that the present Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) Chairman, Prof. Mahud Yakubu, has no business with the past exercise.

    The APC chieftain said Abiola deserved the honour bestowed on him and noted that the same award was given to the sage, the late Chief Obafemi Awolowo, by President Shehu Shagari in the Second Republic.

    Urging Nigerians to imbibe the “unlimited lessons” of the June 12, Osoba said: “God gave Abiola an unprecedented courage not to renege on his mandate till he died. God gave Abiola the wisdom to lay down his life for the future of Nigeria.”

    The former governor, who doubted the possibility of another Muslim/Muslim presidential ticket, however, said a two party system may naturally evolve in the country.

    Lagos State APC Secretary Dr. Wale Ahmed noted that the declaration of June 12 as the ‘Democracy Day’ was one of the best, altruistic and most justifiable actions of the President.

    Hailing Buhari’s courage and forthrightness, he said the scope of awards should be expanded to accommodate other freedom fighters, who never betrayed Abiola and Nigerians before and after the death of the symbol of democracy.

    Ahmed said: “I also seize this opportunity to advise that it would be better to recognise deserving Nigerians in their lifetime such as Asiwaju Bola Tinubu, who is without doubt a champion of democracy and good governance.”

    Reflecting on the annulment, Ahmed, a former member of the House of Assembly, noted the painful sacrifice of Nigerians who lost their lives, their loved ones, their means of livelihood and their careers during the battle for the enthronement of democracy.

    He said Buhari has demonstrated a deep sense of justice, a high sense of responsibility and justice by giving recognition to June 12 and its significance to Nigeria’s political and democratic experience.

    Ahmed added: “Those of us who were members of the Fourth House of Assembly (1999-2003) did what we could then by naming our official quarters after the June 12 hero and that is why we have MKO Abiola Gardens, Alausa, Ikeja, now.”

    Adams said: “The two eminent Nigerians – MKO Abiola and Gani Fawehinmi – were the two heroes that made me. And I count it as a Ramadan gift. The most important content is making June 12 a ‘Democracy Day.’ That is the day Nigerians should not forget, and the mistake of June 12, 1993 should not be repeated.

    “I commend President Buhari for taking this decision. In the last three years, this is the only thing that he has done that is heart-warming. His name will not be forgotten in the history of Nigeria. It is a welcome development.

    “The remaining decision is to restructure Nigeria. If he does that, all progressives will support him. No matter what he has done to offend anybody, restructuring will erase it, if he does it. It will save Nigeria from political instability and economic problems. We are waiting for the next gift, which is restructuring.”