POLITICS: Nigerians Remember Abiola the Pro-Democracy Campaigner

By Toye Olori Reprint | | Print |

Toye Olori

LAGOS, Jun 12 2002 (IPS) - Rallies were held Wednesday in major cities across south-western Nigeria to mark the Jun 12, 1993 presidential elections won by Moshood Abiola, but annulled by the military.

The rallies were organised by the Alliance for Democracy (AD), the dominant party in the region, where Abiola – a Yoruba – hailed from.

The name of Abiola, a business tycoon, who died in General Sani Abacha’s detention chamber on July 7, 1998, has become synonymous with the struggle for democracy in Nigeria.

Kudirat, Abiola’s wife, also lost her life during the struggle, murdered by people believed to be General Abacha’s henchmen. Abacha, who ruled Nigeria with an iron fist for six years, died of a heart attack on Jun 8, 1998.

His death marked the ‘end’ of the military rule in Nigeria. The army ruled the vast West African nation of about 120 million people for 33 years of its 42 years of independence.

In the south-west Nigeria, the six states have named roads, streets and public institutions after Abiola and Kudirat, his slain wife, but the federal government has yet to honour the couple, now regarded as the symbol of Nigeria’s democratic struggle.

Eminent citizens and pro-democracy campaigners have called on the government of President Olusegun Obasanjo, himself from the south-west — who was detained by the late Abacha for allegedly plotting to overthrow him — to honour Abiola.

The campaigners, who have secured the signatures of 225 prominent Nigerians, want national institutions such as the National Stadium under construction in the capital Abuja named after Abiola. They also have called for the creation of a National Democracy Endowment Fund and the declaration of Jun 12 as “Democracy Day” in Abiola’s honour.

In an eight-paragraph letter to President Obasanjo on Tuesday, the Campaign for Democracy (CD), which played a prominent role in Wednesday’s rallies, said: “There can be no excuse anymore for ignoring Abiola whose blood watered the tree that bore the fruit of freedom, in three years of your Presidency”.

In the letter, titled “Honour M.K.O. Abiola Now”, the campaigners argued that it would be unfortunate if the demand to honour Abiola was allowed to become a campaign issue in the 2003 Presidential elections.

“You will recollect that on June 12, 1993, Nigerians trooped out in millions to elect a President. But instead of having a President, they were handed an annulment (by the military),” the letter said. “The heroic resistance to that whimsical violation of the people’s right has been well documented in our recent history and needs not be recounted.”

In a goodwill message, Dele Alake, Lagos State Commissioner for Information and Strategy — a former editor of National Concord Newspaper owned by Abiola — described his former boss as an epitome of peace.

“Abiola had everything in his capacity to wage a war on the country to revalidate his stolen mandate from the military dictatorship, but he restrained himself after considering that he got votes from all parts of the country,” Alake said.

Orji Kanu, governor of the Eastern State of Abia, has gone further by declaring Jun 12 as public holiday in his state.

Adding its voice to the campaign, the Association of Catholic Media Practitioners in Lagos said “Jun 12 is not an issue that can be sidelined because of the spoils of office. As a matter of fact, Jun 12 should be renamed Democracy Day”.

“It is lamentable that our rulers have forgotten our political struggles and how we got to our present democratic position. There is need to build a national landmark in the country to remind future generations of the importance of Jun 12 and Abiola in the country’s political emancipation,” said the Association in a statement signed by Father Gabriel Osu.