June 12: Afenifere, Atiku, others insist on restructuring

.It’s the only way Nigeria will fulfill her destiny-Afenifere

. It will put an end to various agitations currently going on, says APC chieftain

As Nigerians today mark 24 years of the annulment of the June 12, 1993 presidential election, presumably won by business mogul, Bashorun MKO Abiola, Yoruba socio-political organisation, Afenifere, on Sunday, restated its call for a restructured federation, insisting that this is the only way Nigeria would be able to fulfill its destiny.

This is even as former Vice-President, Alhaji Atiku Abubakar, says Nigeria’s restructuring would “give greater impetus” to the unity of the country and “consolidate” the thriving democracy.

Recall that the Minister of Information and Culture, Alhaji Lai Mohammed recently said restructuring the country was not a priority for the President Muhammadu Buhari-led administration, adding that due to what the present government inherited, restructuring was not a factor.

Afenifere in a statement signed by its National Publicity Secretary, Yinka Odumakin, expressed worry over recent developments in the country and condemned the position of a section of the country who are shouting down the strident calls of most peoples of Nigeria for restructuring and ignoring the fact that it is only in a restructured Nigeria that equity, justice, fairness, peaceful co-existence, harmony and a progressing country can be guaranteed.

“When we attained independence in 1960, Nigeria’s pot was standing on a tripod. Two legs out of the three are now in a near-war face-off. It would be an illusion of grandeur to think that this pot can continue to stand in this way!

“To this end, we, Afenifere, restate the Yoruba belief that the only way that Nigeria would be able to fulfill its destiny as one country is that all Nigerian nationalities should be able to run their lives according to their civilizations in a restructured polity that practices Federalism in its truest form. That remains the unchangeable preference of the Yoruba nation. If, however, our compatriots from the North and East are not averse to the continuation of Nigeria as a country, the only acceptable path toward this end is political restructuring. Fortunately, we have a roadmap in the recommendations of the last Confab, which must now be pursued and implemented,” the Yoruba socio-political organisation said.

Describing the June 12, 1993 election as the cleanest election ever held in the nation’s history, Afenifere noted that in the last 18 years, the country has fumbled and wobbled pretending that its unity is settled.

“We have fumbled and wobbled through eighteen years of pretending that our unity is settled, mouthing hackneyed phrases like
“indissoluble union” and “non-negotiable unity”, while the country falls more and more into pieces on a daily basis,” the group said.

Afenifere also expressed worry over the October 1 quit order to Ndigbo by a coalition of Northern youth groups, who Afenifere claims, have also secured endorsement from the Northern Elders Forum, saying such actions further signals danger to the unity of the nation.

“We now mark another June 12 amidst an October 1 quit order to Ndigbo by Arewa youths who have also secured endorsement from the Northern Elders Forum, with the Arewa Consultative Forum conceding what they called “the frustrations of the youth” with Ndigbo.

“While the primary targets of the Arewa youths’ quit order are the Ndigbo residents in the North, we are not deceived that when the rubber hits the road, the Almajaris and the Mujaheedin would pick and choose among all Southerners in the North for the baying of blood.

“This is why the Yoruba nation is warning that this is a déjà vu and that no country has ever survived two civil wars. We recall how events cascaded in the 1960’s from the moment emergency rule was imposed on the Western Region until war broke out in 1967.

“The same arrogance of power, insensitivity and atrocious impunity that were at play then are still very much at play today. The same section of Nigeria that rejected the outcome of Aburi is still shouting down the strident calls of most peoples of Nigeria for restructuring today, because command and control is more important to them than equity, justice, fairness, peaceful co-existence, harmony and a progressing country.

“A climate of fear, apprehension and anxiety now pervades the country as no one knows what can happen, with the absence of a leadership that can rise up to the occasion to save the Republic,” Afenifere said.

Also speaking in a goodwill message to Nigerians on the occasion of the anniversary of the June 12, 1993 Presidential election, Alhaji Atiku Abubakar said the unity and comradeship displayed by Nigerians on that election day are “watershed in the history of the nation and it behooves on all Nigerians to work hard to ensure that the nation never again repeats that painful experience.”

In a statement on Sunday, Atiku’s media office quoted him as saying that the annulled election and its aftereffects cannot be forgotten because of the unity displayed by Nigerians.

The Waziri Adamawa recalled that June 12 traumatised Nigerians and made some people to question the unity and oneness of the country whether true democracy can take its root.

“I commend Nigerians for moving beyond the challenges thrown up by June 12 and putting in place a democratic system of government that has lasted for 18 years.

“It is a testimony to the innate democratic nature of Nigerians that today, democracy is flourishing in the country and restructuring as being demanded by some well-meaning Nigerians would further consolidate democracy and give greater impetus to the unity and development of the country.

“Restructuring of the country would lay a solid foundation for prosperity and self-reliant development across the country by introducing healthy competition among the constituent parts of the Federation based on the principle of comparative advantage,” he said.

The former Vice President described late MKO Abiola, the leading personality of the June 12 struggle, as a “National Hero and Patriot” deserving of accolades and honour by Nigerians, calling on the Federal Government to pay the necessary tribute to the late Chief Abiola by naming a befitting national institution after him.

In the view of the national coordinator of the Oodua Peoples’ Congress (OPC), Otunba Gani Adams, restructuring Nigeria for progress and prosperity is not negotiable, saying that nothing positive can be achieved by the ruling class unless they open their hearts to the restructuring of the country.

Speaking on the occasion of the anniversary of the June 12 in a telephone chat, Adams noted that the core of the speech of the winner of the June 12 election, Chief MKO Abiola during his famous Epetedo declaration centered on the restructuring of the country for the purpose of development.

He said: “Even Abiola as the symbol of June 12, if you read through the Epetedo declaration, he was telling the whole world that Nigeria needs to be restructured, that without restructuring that there is no way he can galvanise Nigeria in the proper way.

“So, I think that most of the agitation about June 12 should be tailored towards restructuring of the country, because the problems facing the country right now there is no solution that any opinion moulder or political player can proffer more than restructuring. That is the only way to save this country, anything short of restructuring we are still playing towards crisis for the country. I think anything about June 12 should be related to restructuring the country”.

Also speaking, a chieftain of the All Progressives Congress (APC), Comrade Timi Frank, called on the Federal Government to reconsider and give attention to the need to urgently restructure the nation so as to put an end to various agitations currently going on.

Comrade Frank stated this in a statement on Sunday, adding that restructuring does not mean break-up. He appealed to all the regional leaders and their youth leaders to give peace a chance and refrain from making comments that could anger region against each other.

According to the APC Deputy Publicity Secretary, the recent Kaduna declaration by some Northern youths on Ndigbo living in the North to quit the region had been widely condemned, therefore other regions should take the path of peace instead of making comments capable of creating tension across the country.

“It is now very clear from different utterances’ coming from regional leaders that most people are tired of the current system. Therefore, for us to continue to keep Nigeria together, Nigerian government must restructure the system.

“We must also learn quickly from what happened in Rwanda and Sudan. That is why I am appealing to the government to reconsider the voices of most Nigerians calling for restructuring,” he said.

While declaring every region in the country important in the Nigerian project and to keep the nation together, Frank also urged the nation’s youths not to allow themselves to be used by “some politicians disguising in the name of fighting regional course.”

Meanwhile, Speaker of the Lagos State House of Assembly, Rt. Hon. Mudashiru Obasa, on Sunday said the annulled June 12 election is not only the mother of democracy in Nigeria, but also in the African continent as a whole.

He described the election as a positive reference point for free, fair and peaceful election in Nigeria in particular and the whole of Africa in general.

The Lagos Assembly Speaker said this in a statement to commemorate the 24th Anniversary of the election, signed by his Chief Press Secretary, Musbau Razak, noting that although the election was the best yet in Nigeria and Africa, but was annuled by the military junta led by General Ibrahim Babangida.

“It was the freest, fairest and most peaceful election in the history of democracy not only in Nigeria but also in Africa. It’s the harbinger of peaceful, free and fair electoral process in Nigeria. It is thus worthy of celebration, “Rt. Hon. Obasa said.
Obasa urged Nigerians to imbibe the lessons provided by the symbolism of the election.