NGERIA AND THE DEMOCRATIC JOURNEY (Being a press release by Zarephath Aid on the occasion of the June 12 celebration 2023)

 

1. On Monday June 12^th 2023, Nigerians at home and in the diaspora commemorated the 30^th anniversary of the Presidential election which was generally acknowledged to be the freest and most transparent election in Nigeria’s history but which was so callously annulled by the then Military Head of State, Gen Ibrahim Babangida.
2. In commemorating this historical epoch, speeches were made by various groups and persons, events were organized and history was retold, at least, for the benefit of those who were then unborn or were too young to comprehend the near-eternal significance of the 1993 event. Not left out in the speeches was the President, Bola Tinubu who used the occasion to call on Nigerians to unite amongst other key highlights of his speech.
3. To avoid being on the list of the increasing number of revisionists that ply the news and media highway lately, we note that June 12 1993 was a bold watershed in the annals of our dear country. The nauseating primordial cleavages and considerations which are today so unabashedly adopted by pseudo-democrats to win elections were totally absent as Nigerians trooped out to cast their votes for MKO Abiola and his running mate Babagana Kingibe of the defunct Social Democratic Party (SDP). On that day Nigerians were united in purpose and destiny to make the statement of their leadership choice. Prior to that day, Abiola and his team had run a very charismatic and issue-based campaign that deeply resonated with majority of Nigerians who had come to loathe the Military Government.
4. Little wonder then, the tumultuous global reaction that followed Babangida’s action. Clearly excoriated and upbraided, sustained civil resistance with international pressure cut short the regime. Unfortunately, Nigerians were deprived the good fortune to have the annulment lifted and the winner declared.
5. June 12 remains a symbol of unity and democracy in Nigeria and for Nigerians, for in it, ethnicity, clannishness and religious bigotry was entombed.
6. Beyond the speeches and activities to mark another commemoration of this watershed date, many questions seek answers in our democratic journey as a Nation, more so against the backdrop of recent events having a sense of foreboding. To many observers, what we witness today is a brand of democracy different from what MKO Abiola espoused that brought Nigerians together as one Nation under God on the fateful day. Following the recently held National and State elections and the call we made for true healing to begin in parts of Nigeria where ethnic tensions ran high, subsequent actions and utterances of some of the leading figures of State reveal that the days ahead hold ominous events.
7. Of particular note is the statement by the 3-term Speaker of the Lagos State House of Assembly on the occasion of the inauguration of the Assembly. He made it clear that the Assembly will make property and commercial laws against non-indigenes and non-yoruba residents of the State in a bid to protect the indigenes. Prior to that, Grapevine had it that following the results of the elections in Lagos State, non-yoruba people resident in the State would experience unpleasant consequences with State backing. With the Lagos Speaker’s statement, it is no longer grapevine news
8. In truth what more could be done to desecrate the spirit and symbol of June 12 than this statement by a Speaker of a legislative house on the eve of the 30^th anniversary of this global landmark that is continually being referred to as a rallying cry of true brotherliness? What the Speaker did was to put Nigerians on notice that in his brand of democracy, freedoms which were fought for and won by our forefathers were going to be curtailed and legally so. The Speaker seemed to forget that a key bastion of Democracy which differentiates it from autocracy and other crude forms of Government is lawmaking by elected lawmakers with the wellbeing of the people as a primary motive.
9. As an Organization envisioned with criminal justice reforms, we deprecate the unfortunate statement by the Speaker and all others in any place in Nigeria and promptly call these persons to order. We further call on National political, religious and other leaders and statesmen to rein in the Speaker and his cohorts whose statements and possible actions could truncate the peace and progress made so far in our democratic journey.
10. It is also a test of President Bola Tinubu’s statesmanship especially in his home State where, even though he may have lost the election, he has in his inaugural address called for National healing following the fallout of the elections.
11. Times like this demand, not sitting on the fence observers, but men and women who will take action, save our democracy and save our land. The events of 1966 to 1970, though pale in memory, bear out the need for today’s leaders most of whom were young at the time, to thread with caution.

 

E-Signed:

 

Ben Abraham, Esq

Founder, ZAREPHATH AID

www.zarephathaid.org

 

ZAREPHATH AID (ZA) is a dynamic Non-Government, Nonpolitical and Nonprofit Organization with a vision for Criminal Justice reforms via Legal aid, prisoners’ welfare and rehabilitation.