June 12: Buhari should declare Abiola president – Kokori

Fiery labour leader and former General Secretary of the Nigerian Union of Petroleum & Natural Gas workers (NUPENG), Chief Frank Kokori, has urged President Muhammadu Buhari to take a step further to declare Chief MKO Abiola as president.

Kokori, who’s also a chieftain of the All Progressives Congress (APC) in Delta State, gave the admonition while on phone to Tribube Online on Thursday in Warri, Delta State.

Recall that President Buhari, on Wednesday, announced in a statement, declaring June the 12 as Democracy Day and conferred the highest honour of the Grand Commander of the Federal Republic (GCFR) on the presumed winner of the annulled June 12, 1993 presidential election, Chief Abiola.

“Abiola is a president that never was. Yes, Buhari can pronounce him as president,” he quipped when asked.

“We’ve always advocated this. He won election and was a president. I’m quite in support of Abiola being declared president with all its entitlements given to him as former president,” Kokori further averred.

He chided those suggesting that Buhari’s gesture was belated, describing it as “childish.”

“It’s childish to say Buhari should have made the June 12 declaration when he took over in 2015,” Kokori stated.

Taking past presidents to the cleaners, the septuagenarian chided: “Obasanjo should have been the first person to have written his name in gold, but he did not.

“Every president would ordinarily like to be popular. Obasanjo had eight years, he couldn’t do it. Ya’Adua couldn’t do it. Jonathan was there, he couldn’t do it.

“I’ve promoted Buhari as part of heroes of democracy. In my book, I didn’t mention him. But I’ve promoted him to be part of heroes of democracy because he’s done the right thing.”

Kokori further opined that May 29, the old date for Democracy Day, meant nothing to the country, adding: “June 12 symbolizes freedom from long clutches of military rule.”

When asked if he (Kokori) does not deserve honour for leading the struggle, Chief Kokori said while he would not like to blow his own trumpet, Nigerians and people the world over know what he did.

“Although I shouldn’t blow my trumpet, people like us deserve honour, too. All over the world, I’ve been recognised.

“But Nigerians know what I did. Whether they say Buhari’s action was political or not, I was the happiest man yesterday and I thank Buhari for it.

“I’m the happiest man on earth, now. We know what we went through and they (past leaders) were just playing it down for 25 years,” he lamented.

Chief Kokori has, however, disclosed that as the arrowhead for the actualization of the annulled June 12, 1993 presidential election, NUPENG will soon come out with its proposals and resolutions on what the government should do next.

He enjoined Nigerians to read his book where he historicised the June 12 struggle and where he listed the heroes of democracy to include, among others, late Gani Fawehinmi, late Beeko Ransom-Kuti, Bola Tinubu and the personages of Afenifere.