At June 12 anniversary, Shehu Sani, Orji Kalu, others call for new Nigeria

Nigerians from all walks of life on Monday rose to mark the anniversary of the June 12, 1993 presidential election presumably won by the late Chief MKO Abiola but annulled by the then Military President, Gen. Ibrahim Babangida, with a call on the people to rise up and demand of those in power what rightly belongs to them.

It was an opportunity for human rights activists and political elites to once again converge at the various locations in Lagos and some other parts of the country to discuss the event of 24 years ago and think out a new road map for the nation.

Human rights activist and Senator representing Kaduna Central in the National Assembly, Senator Shehu Sani, who was the keynote Speaker at a Breakfast Prayers and Tributes session organised by the June 12 Democracy Movement in conjunction with Change Agents of Nigeria Network, at the Ikeja residence of the late Abiola, said that it was high time Nigerians began to rethink the way they relate with those holding political office and start demanding for that which is theirs.

There were other activists and political minds that joined him to proffer solution to the myriads of Nigeria’s problems, including former Director General of the Nigerian Institute of International Affairs, Prof. Bola Akinterinwa, Prof. Ishaq Akintola of MURIC, former Speaker of the Lagos House of Assembly, Rt. Hon. Adeyemi Ikuforiji, Chairman of NCP, Dr. Tanko Yinusa among many others.

This is even as others gathered at the LTV Blueroof Alausa and Excellence Hotel, Ogba, all with one purpose, to think out how to translate the gains of June 12 to better the political life of Nigerians.

According to Senator Sani, it was time Nigeria designs a new master plan that would challenge the status quo, “a master plan that will address those germane issues that challenges our very existence as a nation and becoming a plague that is threatening to consume the whole country. We must tell ourselves the truth.

“This is the day for Nigerians to use as an opportunity to question power, to question the inability of power to address the myriads of social economic and political challenges. Solution to the problems of Nigeria is not only the reconstruction of the politics or the reconstruction of our economy and reconstruction of our social existence, but also the reconstruction of the mind.”

The Senator said the reason Nigeria has not improved beyond what it is today is because Nigerians have concentrated in fighting the wrong enemies instead of combining their efforts to fight their common enemy.

Also speaking, former Speaker of the Lagos State House of Assembly, Rt. Hon. Adeyemi Ikuforiji, bemoaned what he deemed the loss of value system among all cadres in the nation, a situation he said had further worsened the state of things.

“Our society is that of lost value; our value system has been upside down. Those who played no part in our struggle for democracy are the ones leading, therefore, you don’t expect them to give anything meaningful. The so-called ‘leaders’ today are now trying to change the content of our struggles and history, and yet, we are docile about it,” he noted.

The ex-speaker posited that it was good if everyone learned from the past so that the mistakes of the past would not be repeated.

At the Excellence Hotel venue, put together by the National Coordinator of the Oodua People’s Congress (OPC), Otunba Gani Adams, former Abia State governor, Dr. Orji Uzor Kalu, who was the guest speaker, proposed a change to the nations’ democracy day, saying “The Democracy Day celebration should not be on May 29, but on June 12. That date should be the symbol of fairness, equity and obedience to the rule of law.”

Kalu argued that Nigeria as a country is in urgent need of healing as many things have gone wrong with the system, saying “Nigeria is our country and we cannot run away from it. The country is in need of assimilation, healing and the right democratic ethos. People have a right to do anything that they want, but do not have the right to carry arms.

“In countries like The Gambia, you would not know the difference between a Muslim and a Christian, but Nigeria is drifting away because of quarrel and strife. I am a Catholic, but I have always taken part in all the Ramadan fasts.”

He, like Sanni also urged Nigerian masses to stick together against their oppressors instead of fighting themselves, “The governors have their club, so does the political elite and they are usually united in pushing forward their agenda, but in the end, if the masses do not stick together by pushing their own agenda through the ballot box, they are the ones that will suffer.”

In his opening remarks, Otunba Adams said that, “June 12 will always be remembered by those who have defied the culture of silence and conspiracy against a significant moment in Nigeria’s history, to remind us of how today, 24 years ago, the battle against the exit of the military from power was fought at the ballot by a determined Nigerian people”.

At the LTV Blueroof ground, Alausa, Lagos State Governor, Akinwunmi Ambode, used the opportunity to pay glowing tributes to the late Abiola and other martyrs of democracy who laid down their lives in the struggle to entrench good governance in the country, urging Nigerians to continue to remain united and uphold democratic values.

Speaking at a symposium put together by the State Government in conjunction with June 12 Coalition of Democratic Formations to mark the 24th anniversary of the annulled election, Governor Ambode said the day and the events that followed would remain evergreen in Nigeria’s political history, being a process through which Abiola and others laid down their lives in a bid to actualize the popular will of the people expressed through the ballot box.

Governor Ambode, who was represented by the State’s Deputy Governor, Dr. (Mrs.). Idiat Oluranti Adebule, said the seed of the 4th Republic currently being enjoyed was sown and watered by the blood of men and women who were cut down in their prime, adding that their memories would be honoured until the end of time.

On his part, Chairman of the occasion and former Military Administrator of Lagos State, Rear Admiral Ndubuisi Kanu (rtd.) said even though a thick cloud is hanging in the horizon on the state of the nation especially with agitations from all parts of the country, he was of the firm believe that the situation could still be salvaged through restructuring which would not be about re-inventing the will but returning to a federation of different peoples.