There is no humiliation I have not endured, no snare that has not been put in my path, no “setup” that has not been designed for me in my endeavour to use the path of peace to enforce the mandate that you bestowed on me one year ago. It has been a long night. But the dawn is here-Enough of military rule’ ‘Epetedo Proclamation’ ,by MKO Abiola
It has been a gruelling 25 years long wait for an apology, recognition and reconciliation with History; a time of sober reflection and injustice meted upon a man and by proxy the Nigerian people, and at last, the long wait is finally over. June 12 has been officially declared ‘Democracy day’ in order to celebrate the day Nigerians came together and put aside their differences and voted overwhelmingly for Moshood Kashimawho Abiola. An election which till date albeit annulled is unarguably described as the freest and fairest election yet.
Truly it has been a long night and the dawn is here, for those who may not know, MKO Abiola, a Muslim from Yoruba speaking nation of Nigeria, contested for the number 1 most sought after office in Nigeria. Tagged ‘Hope 93’ and running with the slogan ‘farewell to poverty, he effortlessly sold his manifesto and won the hearts of the Nigerian people. Unfortunately, the then military President Babangida annulled the election in which Abiola was the expected winner. He and other Nigerians died in the struggle while fighting for his mandate. June 12, since then has become the rallying cry for the down trodden against injustice and inequality.
It is pertinent to note that, in spite Abiola and his running mate being Muslims, Nigerians where able to see the ‘man by the content of his deeds and not his religion’. Little wonder he won the election convincingly. Juxtapose it with subsequent elections and you’ll realize how much this country has deteriorated along ethnic and religious lines. Elections are now judged not by the content of your deeds, character or contribution to the nation’s growth but by your religious affiliation, your ability to ‘share the money’ or handout ‘stomach infrastructure’. It should interest religious fanatics and gullible members of the electorate to know that the elites do not see or judge themselves by their religious or ethnic leanings; else, Abiola would have been the President. Or how does one explain these facts; the then President Ibrahim Babangida was a fellow Muslim and friend yet annulled the elections and denied him his mandate. Former President Olusegun Obasanjo, a political beneficiary who profited from the June 12 struggle as a direct effect of compensating the Yoruba nation after the demise of Abiola, failed and refused countless times to honour and extol Abiola, in spite of the fact he comes from the same ethnic nationality as Abiola. This is a clear proof that the political elites are always after one thing only-INTEREST, NOTHING MORE, And NOTHING LESS.
The beauty of the declaration of June 12 as democracy day, is not just in honour of Abiola but it is most significant becuase, objectivity in History has once again won the war over selfish individuals who tried to erase arguably one of the most memorable events this nation has ever witnessed. As earlier stated, former President Olusegun Obasanjo was a major beneficiary of the june 12 struggle; all he needed do was recognise the man who gave democracy a meaning to Nigerians. But strangely enough, against popular plea and will, he decided to declare May 29th democracy day, thus deliberately erasing an essential Historical event. Little wonder the adorable ‘indomie generation kids’(children born in the 90s) find it difficult reconciling and relating with the significance of the day ‘June 12’. Should I digress and talk about how History is yet to be brought back to our school curriculum? I feel so tempted but I will let the issue lie for now.
Furthermore, from a Political standpoint, there has been some criticism from several quarters claiming that the true motives of Buhari’s declaration of democracy day is to curry favour, soften the hearts of the Yorubas and get their votes as we usher in the 2019 elections. Well they are within their right to view it that way. But while they may be entitled to their opinions, they are not entitled to sacred facts, facts for which you must look beyond the rock and see what vermin lay beneath. Looking back at history, it is a known fact that after Abiola was robbed of his mandate, the Yorubas nation cried foul, they felt robbed and insisted they be compensated. It was in a bid to settle frayed nerves that all stakeholders during the 1999 elections decided to field across board, all parties, Yoruba candidates/tickets. This led to the two major parties, the People’s Democratic Party and Alliance for Democracy-All People’s Party which fielded Obasanjo and Olu Falae respectively. The rest is history now. So to think that Buhari’s true motive is to curry votes from the West and would cheaply condescend to this level to do such, is somewhat novel for a strategy. I say this because the easiest way to sway Nigerian voters which till date is not news, is simply by ‘spreading the dollars’ and in collaboration with ‘stomach infrastructure’; with these two, you’re home and dry. It’s a no brainer.
What if he actually did this to curry favour from the Yorubas? Oh well, the joke is still on the opposition People’s Democratic Party who decided to squander public goodwll in all their 16 years in power, yet did nothing about it. The closest they came was when former President Goodluck Jonathan, was ill advised as usual, to name University of Lagos after Abiola, without due consultation with stakeholders. His motives were good but it elicited widespread condemnation and had to be abandoned.
Politics is a game, an art, like love and war, all is fair. Even Groucho Marx goes further to describe it as the art of looking for trouble, finding it everywhere, diagnosing it incorrectly and applying the wrong remedies.” If we choose to look at Buhari’s political motives from a moral political and Historical standpoint, he just hit jackpot because whichever way you argue it, he saw a loophole and exploited it to his favour, who wouldn’t if you were in his shoes? Personally I think as a General, he bid his time to strike his enemies who have for a while now been flexing their muscles, taking advantage of his ‘I am for everyone and nobody’ weakness which has been his major undoing thus far. We may not yet know how much public damage Obj’s famous letter has caused Buhari, and in conjunction with Babangida who have been plotting behind the scenes to unseat him in his bid to get re-elected again. But one thing is certain, Buhari just did a ‘Ramos’ by employing a forbidden Judo skill, ‘Waki-gatame’ (arm lock technique) to destroy their shoulders. We may never know if like Salah, Obj and IBB would recover soonest for the 2019 election, but before then, grab your popcorn and enjoy the drama.
By Greenvolution
