The Minister of Justice has said the process of declaring June 12 a national holiday is in the works. They should speed it up and tidy things up before the Buhari administration winds down. The apologies offered by the president to the families of MKO, who lost both MKO and his wife, Kudirat, to the struggle; Gani’s, whose death was also as a result of his June 12 and other advocacies; and to other known and unknown heroes and martyrs of the struggle, are apt and well received. The appropriate people to have been in Abuja last Tuesday to complement Buhari’s efforts were the man who annulled the election, Ibrahim Babangida; the young army officers who reportedly blackmailed him into doing so, reportedly led by former Senate President David Mark, the Northern traditional rulers who kicked against MKO becoming president; ex-President Olusegun Obasanjo who found no stomach to do the needful for eight solid years that he was in power; and ex-President Goodluck Jonathan who was not courageous enough to redress the wrongs.
Of course, we must not forget that Abacha’s wife and children should have stepped forward to apologise for the heinous crimes of Sani Abacha; Turai, wife of the late President Umaru Yar’Adua, should have done similarly on behalf of the late president. Before receiving his own award, Kingibe should have expressed regrets and asked for forgiveness. The list is, however, endless. That these and other personalities who compromised June 12 did not avail themselves of last Tuesday’s opportunity means either they are waiting for another opportunity to offer their own apologies or they have determined to go to their grave without remorse. I almost forgot Gen. Abdulsalami Abubakar, under whose watch MKO was murdered. He has more than apologies to offer; he has explanations to make and a case to answer.
Finding out “who” and “what” killed MKO remains one of the unresolved issues of June 12. Others include that the results of the June 12, 1993 presidential election be declared. It is not enough to say, like the president said, that MKO won the majority of votes in that election; we must follow up with the official declaration of that result, state by state. This may prove a tall order for Buhari and the North’s political class because the results of that election, accepted by all as the fairest and freest in the history of this country, clearly revealed that there are more voters in the South than in the North by about 60 per cent to 40 per cent. It also shows that the millions of votes ascribed to Kano, Jigawa and many other states in the North are mere fiction. June 12, 1993 presidential election figures give the lie to the figures manufactured by Prof. Attahiru Jega’s INEC to favour his own region while visiting incalculable injustice and damage on the South. So, while it is even more agreeable to me for Prof. Humphrey Nwosu, whose electoral commission conducted the 1993 elections, to be honoured along with MKO and others, I am of the firm belief that Jega’s name should open the Hall of Shame that Nobel Laureate, Prof. Wole Soyinka, suggested should go hand-in-hand with the Hall of Fame. IBB, Mark, OBJ, Kingibe, others can then take their turn. Again, I almost forgot the “fidihe” man; I mean Interim National Government’s Chief Ernest Shonekan. It is clear as daylight on which of the two lists we shall have his name.
Another issue that needs be resolved is the court case hanging over MKO’s head until his death. It is not tidy to leave that noose hanging; the Minister of Justice should do the needful to get that case withdrawn, terminated or whatever. Justice has not, and cannot, be done to everyone who played a role in June 12. I therefore appeal to all those who have been calling on me to remind me of the leading role played by The PUNCH newspapers under my editorship as well as other newspapers and publications, but which appear to have been relegated or glossed over, to sheathe the sword. It is not possible to mention all names and efforts but suffice it to say that not only The News and Tell magazines fought the battle in the media. We did as much, if not far more, at The PUNCH and suffered as much, if not far more financial and personal losses. Those writing the June 12 story at the moment are the most conservative, reactionary and backward sections of the political and ruling class and the pseudo-progressive elements they have conscripted into their fold. The process of re-visiting June 12 has just started; the revalidation of the intrinsic values of that election, which has always been described as “What June 12 stands for” will be achieved some day down the line.
Nevertheless, I salute the courage of the titans who, last Tuesday, summoned the courage to beard the lion in his lair, as it were. Apart from recommending a “Hall of Shame” for those who compromised June 12, Soyinka also upbraided Buhari for running with the hare and hunting with the hound. How can the same man honour MKO but also lionise Sani Abacha? How can Buhari approbate and reprobate at same time? How can he speak from both sides of the mouth on the same issue? Scripture says a man cannot serve two masters; he has to hate one and love the other. Except he has now changed, it is obvious where Buhari’s loyalty and love lie between MKO and Abacha.
Femi Falana also hit the nail on the head when he told Buhari to stop the killings in the Middle Belt especially. Rein-in the murderous Fulani herdsmen; stop defending them; stop rationalising the wanton destruction of lives and property; be the president of the whole nation and not of your tribe and religion alone; and bring the culprits to book. Iyorchia Ayu, one-time Senate President, resurfaced gloriously when he told Buhari that his enemies are not the opposition that he is vilifying and hounding with EFCC, DSS, and the police but the cabals around him who have not only held him hostage; prevented him from seeing reality; beclouded his rationality and sense of objectivity but have also helped to reduce his towering personality to that of a stuttering, wobbling, and fumbling Lilliputian derided all over the country these days instead of the “Sai Baba” that heralded him into office. May he have ears to hear and the courage to do the needful!
Akure: Costly mistakes that compromised June 12
THERE was drama at the June 12 investiture. The Abiola family apologised to Buhari. We all have heard the story that MKO bankrolled the Sani Abacha/IBB coup that toppled Buhari/Tunde Idiagbon and installed gap-toothed IBB. There are so many other stories of the sordid, if I can call it that, actions of MKO before his obvious redemption. There is no one God cannot redeem or use. We heard how MKO rose in ITT, how he financed the guerrilla warfare that toppled Milton Obote in Uganda; and we all saw how he founded Concord newspapers to scuttle the aspirations of Chief Obafemi Awolowo. We all know the amorous side of MKO. Why it was the same MKO that God chose to use for June 12 is best explained by God’s explanation to revered General Overseer of the Redeemed Christian Church of God on why he chose Solomon to sit on the throne of David, and not any of his brothers that, ordinarily, could be said to be his betters.
At Akure, the Ondo State capital last Tuesday, I witnessed the celebration of June 12 for the very first time at the invitation of my brother and professional colleague, Yemi Olowolabi, who is the State Commissioner for Information. I was glad to go because I am an indigene and also because I rarely go home these days. Ondo is one state that has kept the June 12 hope alive, marking the date year-in, year-out and also naming so many important landmarks after MKO. But the Abuja investiture depleted the Akure event in that the governor, Arakunrin Oluwarotimi Odunayo Akeredolu, had to be in Abuja; so also the chairman of the day, ex-Minister Kayode Fayemi. The crowd, however, was mammoth. Olu Adegboro, who stepped in as chairman, did a great job. I have often heard of his name and advocacies but, somehow, I admire more his younger brother, Banji, who was students’ union president at the University of Ibadan and who died early. I immortalise him by keeping his picture, which I cut from a newspaper, in my album. The elder Adegboro was also students’ union leader at the then University of Ife (now Obafemi Awolowo University). Incidentally, I attended both Ife and U.I.
The discussants were my brother and professional colleague, Dare Babarinsa; Prof. Bayo Aborisade of the Federal University of Technology, Akure (I never knew he was brother to my comrade and friend, Femi Aborisade); and civil society activist, Ifeanyi Odili. Time was short but all four eminent personalities did justice to the topic “June 12: Yesterday, today, and tomorrow”. Their views can be summarised as follows: The individuals and organisations who promoted the actualisation of June 12 as well as those who stood against it are too numerous to mention. Those who suffered for the cause and their losses cannot be appropriately quantified or adequately rewarded. There are so many questions that cannot be answered; so many controversies that are yet unresolved; and so many suppositions and “ifs” that, possibly, would have changed the course of June 12 on the one hand and Nigeria’s on the other.
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For instance, why did MKO fall for IBB’s deceit to contest the June 12, 1993 election after he had initially said bye-bye to politics? Why did MKO choose Kingibe as running mate and not Paschal Bafyau (favoured by IBB); Atiku Abubakar (favoured by the Musa Yar’Adua group) or MKO’s own preference, Commodore Dan Suleiman (retd)? Would the trajectory and outcome of June 12 have been different if the running mate had been different? Why did MKO not act when Justice Akinola Aguda ruled in Akure that the June 12, 1993 election results could not be annulled or when Justice (Mrs) Dolapo Akinsanya declared the ING government of Shonekan illegal in Lagos? Why did MKO choose instead of popular action to negotiate and reach a gentleman’s agreement with Abacha? Of course, we all know that Abacha only tricked MKO. Why, after he had initially travelled out of Nigeria, did MKO return again to country to make the Epetedo declaration, which eventually led to his arrest, detention and eventually death in detention? These were some of the questions that were asked at the Akure event where the Deputy Governor, Hon. Agboola Ajayi, stood in for the governor.
The preponderance of opinion sampled by me itemised three issues that will give blood and flesh to June 12. One: That government at all levels should restore hope to the people, which was the battle cry of Abiola’s Hope ’93 campaign. Two: That programmes, activities, and actions of government must be directed at banishing poverty from the land. “Farewell to poverty” was the motto of Abiola’s campaign which resonated well with the people. Finally, that our elections must be credible, free and fair. These are the enduring legacies of June 12.
and then