June 12: Buhari apologises to Abiola's family, others You can’t honour MKO and admire his tormentor – Soyinka
President Muhammadu Buhari yesterday, on behalf of the Federal Government, tendered "the nation’s apology to the family of Late MKO Abiola, who got the highest votes and to those that lost their loved ones in the cause of June 12 struggle."
The president called for one-minute silence in honour of the memory of Abiola and Fawehinmi "and indeed all those who lost their lives in the struggle of June 12 1993."
Buhari was speaking at the old Banquet Hall of the Aso Rock Presidential Villa in Abuja at the commemoration and investiture honouring the heroes of the election annulled by the military government of General Ibrahim Babangida.
Buhari honoured the presumed winner of the 1993 Badamasi
presidential election, the late Chief Moshood Kashimawo Olawale Abiola, with the posthumous award of the Grand Commander of the Federal Republic (GCFR).
Abiola’s running mate, Baba Gana Kingibe and the late human rights lawyer, Gani Fawehinmi, were also honoured with the Grand Commander of the Order of the Niger (GCON).
The president said he was very happy to be present and to preside over the event organised to mark the Federal Government’s formal and official recognition of June 12 as National Democracy Day.
“Nigerians of their own free will voted for Late Chief MKO Abiola and Amb. Baba Gana Kingibe, the Presidential flag bearer and running mate of the Social Democratic Party (SDP) in the 1993 elections. The government of the day inexplicably cancelled the elections when it was clear who were going to be the winners.
“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,” he said.
Buhari said the retrospective and posthumous recognition was only a symbolic token of redress and recompense for the grievous injury done to the peace and unity of the country.
He noted that his administration’s decision to recognize and honour June 12 and its actors was in the national interest “aimed at setting national healing process and reconciliation of the 25 year festering wound caused by the annulment of the June 12 elections. I earnestly invite all Nigerians across all our national divide to accept it in good faith.
You can’t honour MKO and admire his tormentor - Soyinka
Nobel laureate, Professor Wole Soyinka, in his goodwill message, asked Buhari to stop confusing Nigerians, saying it is not possible for the president to honour Abiola in one breath and admire his tormentor in another.
The literary guru was making a veiled reference to Buhari’s recent statement that he had no regret serving under the late head of state, General Sani Abacha, who incarcerated Abiola.
Soyinka said: “Most of what I wanted to say have been actually knocked off my mouth by one singular gesture, the presidential apology. It’s a dimension which I did not expect from today’s ceremony. And I had a lot to say, but unfortunately, the words have been taken off my mouth.
“However, I’ll like to make a request. Mr. President, since we’re honouring heroes of democracy today, I’ll like to request that you manage to stop creating confusion in the minds of Nigerians. It’s not possible to honour MKO Abiola in one breath and admire his tormentor in another breath. Loyalty is all very well, but loyalty can become perverse if that loyalty is retained to an individual who, if he were alive today, would be before the International Court of Crimes against humanity, the one who broke the laws of Nigeria, International laws, pauperized this nation. It’s confusing if professional loyalty is carried so far as to be accorded such an individual.”
Abiola the messiah Nigeria never had -Kingibe
Kingibe described Abiola as his leader, friend, benefactor and mentor, and the messiah whose liberating impact Nigerians never had the opportunity to feel.
He said the annulment of the election had “the tragic consequence of dissolving the unity the citizens exhibited on June 12 and turning the nation into a divided people who see themselves as enemies.”
Kingibe acknowledged that taking a decision to recognise June 12 required a man of courage and conviction, saying the decision came to Buhari “naturally because he is a principled politician who refused to be swayed by the expediency of the moment.
Don’t see opposition as enemy, Ayu tells Buhari
A former Senate president elected on the platform of the SDP, Iyorchia Ayu, asked Buhari to respect democratic tenets and the rule of law, and bear in mind that in a democracy, the opposition is not an enemy.
He said though some people had the impression that Buhari was unforgiving, he (Ayu) believed that by recognising June 12, the president has a large heart.
deserves
Buhari 2nd
term
Tinubu
A national leader of the All Progressives Congress, Ahmed Bola Tinubu, said honouring Abiola was a rekindle of “our hope believing that no matter how far falsehood has taken place, truth can easily catch up.”
Tinubu said the nation’s commitment to democracy had been further strengthened by his “courageous determination” to recognise June 12.
He said for fulfilling his promise to be committed to transparency and ideals constitutional democracy, the president deserved a second term.
“I know some of the ex-presidents because of June 12, who threatened to throw me out of the helicopter. But you remain resolute to put Nigeria back on self-discovery, great determination and fidelity with democratic principles.
“Thank you, Mr. President. It is not a question of second term, you deserve it. We’re going to work for it. No annulment on it, you are going to win it,” he said.
Buhari has brought reconciliation - Abiola’s family
Abiola’s eldest son, Kola, who received his father’s award, said the family accepted Buhari’s apology, thanking him for the honour which he described as a decisive measure “to strengthen our democracy and guarantee our future by reconciling our past.”
Abiola’s daughter, Hafsat, testified that President Buhari had brought reconciliation and healing to the country by recognising her father.
She said her mummy told her that as results were trickling in, Abiola had prepared his election victory to express his love to Nigerians, saying he preferred losing his life to compromising his mandate.
She said Buhari’s apology meant so much as she lost her mother in the struggle. She affirmed that by recognising June 12, Buhari had honoured many heroes and heroines of Nigeria’s struggle who stood firm.
She prayed that Buhari’s fight for the nation’s defence would not take his life “as it has taken MKO. But let us fight and bring about the conclusion of MKO struggle that the Nigerian people should be the ones in full control of this country, not for a few landlords whoever they maybe, it is for the 200 million people of Nigeria.”
Fawehinmi’s son, Mohammed, described Buhari as the first sensitive and reasonable head of state that had listened to Nigerians and acted accordingly.
Fawehinmi, who urged all Nigerians to support Buhari, attributed the nation’s current problems to what he called “hatred of values.”
Our correspondent reports that Fawehinmi’s wife, Ganiyat, received the award on behalf of the family.
A human rights lawyer Femi Falana, urged the president to take a step further in honouring Abiola by waging a “meaningful war” against poverty, saying the nation had enough resources.
He pledged that activists in the country would work with President Buhari “to put an end to the reckless killings of our people.”
A leader of the June 12 movement, Frank Kokori, commended the president for honouring Abiola, saying he was the least person expected to do so.