Remembering Abiola, Nigeria’s uncrowned messiah

BARELY a week after marking this year’s Democracy Day, nothing was on the horizon to suggest a shift in policy, a monumental one for that matter that will obliterate the military-imposed May 29 on Nigerians.  On Wednesday, June 6, the country woke up to a unique Press Statement signed by the President himself. “…In the view of Nigerians, as shared by this administration, June 12, 1993 was far more symbolic of democracy in the Nigerian context than May 29 or even the October 1st”, the five-paragraph statement said in part. Perhaps with the knowledge of Mr. Kola Abiola and a few close aides and confidants, President Muhammadu Buhari succeeded in pulling off this coup de grace on the country. The son of the acclaimed winner of the 1993 election himself has disclosed his seeming persistent resolve, right from the Tunde Idiagbon era, to get recognition for his father; the highest medal in the land,  Grand Commander of the Federal Republic, GCFR.

Indeed, the event of last June 12 was a defining moment. The old banquet hall at the seat of power in Aso Villa assumed a carnival-like atmosphere. There was plenty of back-slapping; palpable nostalgia marked by the re-union of old   political associates and comrades in the June 12 Movement.

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The feeling was akin to attending the swearing-in-ceremony of Moshood Abiola, the colourful politician who won the June 12, 1993, presidential election but denied his mandate by the then military junta led by General Ibrahim Babangida. There were royal fathers, religious clerics, sports enthusiasts, artistes, business gurus and politicians of all persuasion. It was indeed like an ‘Oyingbo’ market where the Yoruba will say no one notices who is absent. The announcement of the names of absentees by the master of ceremony attracted a few murmurs. Gen. Babangida excused himself citing indisposition, Chief Olusegun Obasanjo was far away in Norway while Prof. Humphrey Nwosu wrote to applaud the day although he was also outside the country. To recall, Prof. Nwosu supervised the historic election as the Chairman of the defunct National Electoral Commission.

Perhaps leading the clapping party, Prof. Nwosu, who has been labeled a “hero” and a “coward” by different commentators on the June 12 saga, praised President Buhari for recognising June 12 as Nigeria’s Democracy Day and for honouring the memory of Chief Abiola. In a letter to the Secretary to the Government of the Federation, Boss Mustapha, Nwosu said the conferment of national honours on Chief Abiola and his running mate, Ambassador Babagana Kingibe “will rekindle the national consciousness of all Nigerians for a better nation.” Boss Mustapha, the amiable scribe to the Federal Government set the tone for proceedings for what he described as “a historic day in the life of our dear country, Nigeria. This is a particularly significant event as it marks Government’s proclamation of June 12 as Democracy Day and its public acknowledgment of our heroes past whose supreme efforts laid the foundation for our nascent democracy.”

Delivering the key message of the day, he said: “Today marks a new dawn in the Nation’s political and democratic advancement signaling the deepening of our belief in the democratic principles of inclusiveness in governance and hope for a greater Nigeria. The monumental election that took place on June 12, 1993 represented the first time in the history of our nation that Nigerians voted not for tribe or creed or region but for their convictions, affirming their common heritage and unity of purpose.” Mustapha, himself a member of Abiola’s defunct Social Democratic Party, noted that “June 12, which more than any other day, symbolizes the varied struggles and sacrifices made by fellow citizens of this great nation, established democracy as our political system of governance, and opened a new chapter in the political history. “It is in commemoration of this day, the spirit of which should be internalised in the consciousness of Nigerians of all ages and taught to our children and generations of Nigerians yet unborn, that this Administration has, in placing history in the right perspective, declared June 12 of every year as Democracy Day and as a national holiday,” he explained.

President Buhari stamped the occasion as the “official Federal Government recognition of June 12 as National Democracy Day” even as he reiterated that the gesture “was not an attempt to open old wounds but to put right a national wrong.”Indeed, the president agreed that “we cannot rewind the past but we can at least assuage our feelings; recognize that a wrong has been committed and resolve to stand firm now and in the future for the sanctity of free elections. Nigerians would no longer tolerate such perversion of justice. This retrospective and posthumous recognition is only a symbolic token of redress and recompense for the grievous injury done to the peace and unity of our country.” For those seeking to attach meanings to his decision, the President said: “Our decision to recognise and honour June 12 and its actors is in the national interest. It is aimed at setting national healing process and reconciliation of the 25 year festering wound caused by the annulment of the June 12th elections.

“Our action today is to bury the negative side of June 12, the side of ill-feelings, hate, frustrations and agony. What we are doing is celebrating and appreciating the positive side of June 12…which restarted democracy and freedom…that overcome our various divide…that produced unity and National cohesion. This is the June 12 we are celebrating today and we will nurture it to our next generation,” President Buhari declared. The climax came when President Buhari said: “On behalf of the Federal Government, I tender the nation’s apology to the family of late Moshood Abiola, who got the highest votes and to those that lost their loved ones in the cause of June 12 struggle.” The ovation was thunderous as Nigerians watched and heard a genuinely reconciliatory tone of a leader that delivered a political bombshell! President Buhari later called for a minute silence in honour of the memory of Chief Abiola and Chief Fawehinmi and all those who lost their lives in the turmoil generated by the annulment.

In a rare departure from tradition, 16 people spoke after the president. Listed were Nobel laurette, Prof Wole Soyinka; Kingibe; Kola and Hafsat Abiola; Fawehinmi’s widow, Hajia Ganiyat; Asiwaju  Bola Tinubu; former governors and lawmakers of the old SDP and representatives of allied combatants- the press and civil society organizations. Kola Abiola and Muhammed Fawehinmi delivered their appreciation; Hafsat , poetic and pungent, also drew a loud applause when she apologized to President Buhari and his family for his father’s perceived role in the coup which toppled his military junta in 1985. Tinubu was patronizing; Soyinka, Mr. Femi Falana, Senator Iyorchia Ayu and Chief Agunwa Anekwe assigned tasks to the president. They asked him to review his policies and assume direct control of governance.  Mohammed Fawehinmi described Buhari as “first sensitive and reasonable Head of State in Nigeria” for recognising June 12 which he said was the foundation of democracy in Nigeria. He said Abiola and his father sacrificed everything for Nigeria. “Their sacrifice has not been in vain. It will serve as a tonic to entrench unity,” he opined.

• Kareem is a media strategist and policy analyst in Abuja.