The case for June 12 as Democracy Day

iam often perturbed when I hear the Federal Government led by the All Progressive Congress (APC) declaring and observing May 29 as the “Democracy Day.” It hurts me to my marrows that Nigerians quickly forsake our heroes who laid down their lives for this country and I have concluded that Nigeria is not worth dying for. The most annoying of it all is that some of the South-West states in Nigeria do not even bother to observe and declare June 12 as a public holiday to pay our due respects to the late Chief Moshood Kashimawo Olawale Abiola, the winner of the June 12 election which was adjudged as the freest and fairest election in the country.

Abiola fought tirelessly for the liberation of the common man to achieve our democracy. The usurpers, hijackers (military men) refused to relinquish power but preferred to kill the innocent men and women of Nigeria. He is the one who championed the cause of liberation and democracy we enjoy today. Why not celebrate the man of the people who engaged the military junta of General Sanni Abacha in a fierce battle over his mandate, demanding the declaration of the results of the June 12 election after he had won in many states of the federation, including the northern part of the country, defeating Bashir Tofa of the National Republican Convention (NRC)?

Nigerians need to celebrate June 12 in a sober mood and jettison idea of rolling out the drums on May 29 on a yearly basis. I remember vividly that when the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) was in power, the APC as an opposition party, especially in the South-West states, observed June 12 as a public holiday. But now, the reverse is the case. It seems that the marking of June 12 has faded out. The states now refuse to declare the day as work-free day, with a few exceptions. There is nothing wrong with the APC-led administration declaring the day as a holiday to pay tribute to Chief MKO Abiola.

June 12 is marked with a public holiday in Lagos, Osun, Oyo and maybe now in Ondo and Ogun states. The 1993 elections were the fairest and most credible elections Nigeria has ever had. The man under the limelight is Chief Moshood Kashimawo Olawale Abiola, MKO, who is one of the martyrs of Nigeria’s Democracy, a former business tycoon and a philanthropist. MKO Abiola was the undisputed winner of the 1993 election. Abiola died under suspicious circumstances shortly after the death of General  Sani Abacha. He died on the day he was due for release: July 7 1998. In order to appease the Westerners, Olusegun Obasanjo was picked up from prison as a substitute and furnished with all the resources needed for campaign and endorsement, to emerge as the first president in the fourth republic. In place of MKO Abiola, we were given a more loyal puppet, Obasanjo.

Abiola and Obasanjo had so many things in common and that probably informed the cabal’s choice of Obasanjo after Abiola’s death. Abiola and Obasanjo hailed from Ogun State, they attended the same secondary school – Baptist Grammar school in Abeokuta, now Baptists Boys High School (BBHS) where Abiola was the editor-in-chief of their school magazine (The Trumpeter) and Obasanjo was his assistant. Both shared almost the same circle of friends; they were considered legends in their own right and were being celebrated by the Yoruba nation. Abiola and Obasanjo were also polygamists and, frankly, they shared a remarkable degree of resemblance. Both are philanthropists but one exhibited greater philanthropy than the other. You can guess which. In any case, their generosity had earned them over 30 traditional titles each and multiple awards. Both had been wrongly convicted and sent to prison for crimes they did not commit.

On the other hand, Abiola proved to be more academically sound. He bagged a first class honours degree in Accountancy from the University of Glasgow, Scotland. He also received a distinction from the Institute of Chartered Accountants of Scotland. Academically, not much was said then about Obasanjo since he completed his military school in Kaduna. Chief MKO Abiola had been a politician and an entrepreneur right from the 60s and up to his death, whereas Obasanjo was a military man cum politician/businessman. Abiola was a Muslim though he was not keen about religion, but Obasanjo was a Christian. Perhaps the most distinguishing ideological difference between the two was that Abiola was more of a socialist while Obasanjo was a capitalist. Abiola was sensitive to the yearnings of the masses and that brought him unwavering support from all the commoners within the federation. Obasanjo was brought in for the sake of democracy in 1999.

Frankly speaking, I am not a fan of the “Democracy Day” celebration. I believe that June 12 remembrance is more justifiable, being the day Nigeria was denied the right to have a saner and more purposeful, people-oriented democracy. Obasanjo arbitrarily chose May 29 to be remembered as “Democracy Day” because he was the one who was handed the democracy baton. If he or Abdulsalami Abubakar had been a little more patient and waited 14 days longer, June 12 would have been our Democracy Day and, as such, it would have had more significance.

• Ademola, a public affairs analyst, writes in from Epe, Lagos State.