Joseph Akinlaja
Lately, I have been coming across lots of interviews and analyses from different stakeholders about the epic battle against the annulment of Saturday, June 12, 1993, presidential poll and the subsequent declaration of June 12 as Democracy Day through the courage of President Muhammadu Buhari, who even honoured the heroes, both living and the dead, that actively participated in the popular and legitimate political struggle.
Of particular interest to me was the interview of Mr. Kola Abiola, son of the late Chief Moshood Kashimawo Olawale Abiola (MKO), winner of the annulled June 12 election, who gave his own perspectives about the activities that greeted the struggle while his late dad was incarcerated by the late General Sani Abacha government for demanding the revalidation of his stolen mandate, which was willingly and constitutionally given to him by majority of Nigerians across the six geo-political zones of the country, irrespective of their religious background or class.
However, one thing I found dangerous and unacceptable was when stories of such political agitations are told with sensational colouration. As a stakeholder who was a victim of that despotic regime, who was also at the forefront of the struggle, it then became necessary for me to speak out and change the narrative to its true state and obliterate facts of historical events about ‘June 12’ struggle that were distorted, with a focus on the roles and contributions of freedom fighters, politicians, policymakers, labour leaders (especially oil and gas workers), rights activists, the press, student unions, etc, who put their lives and careers on the line and painstakingly laboured for the enthronement of democracy in Nigeria.
For clarity, in the month of July 1994, the National Executive Council of Nigeria Union of Petroleum and Natural Gas Workers (NUPENG) took the patriotic decision to fight for the actualisation of the June 12, 1993, presidential election results through the process of political strike to put pressure on the Abacha regime over the annulled election so as to bring back Chief MKO Abiola as the President of Nigeria as desired by Nigerians across board. Similarly, and in collaboration with Petroleum and Natural Gas Senior Staff Association of Nigeria (PENGASSAN), the same decision was taken by its NEC. The stay-at-home strike by members of NUPENG and PENGASSAN started with full commitment of the oil workers. It was a classical strike devoid of economic interest but political.
The reasons for the commitment of the oil and gas workers to actualise the result of June 12, 1993, presidential election were as follows:
i. It was the freest, fair, credible and peaceful election ever conducted in Nigeria
ii. The General Ibrahim Babangida eight years winding political transition programme at that time had gulped a whopping N45 billion and ended successfully by the election
iii. Even the opposition, Alhaji Uthman Bashir Tofa, lost to Chief MKO Abiola in his ward
iv. That the results of that election would have resolved two of the major problems plaguing and inhibiting development in Nigeria, i.e. the winner of that election would have been a Muslim-Muslim ticket (Chief MKO Abiola/Ambassador Babagana Kingibe). Also it would have resolved the problem of ethnicity and North-South divide (Ambassador Babagana Kingibe of the North and MKO Abiola of the South, respectively)
v. That there were no legitimate reasons for the annulment of the election by the government in power
Throughout the period of the nine-week strike led by Comrade (Chief) Frank Ovie Kokori as general secretary of NUPENG and myself as the deputy general secretary of the same union at that time, Senator Bola Ahmed Tinubu was always in contact with NUPENG and PENGASSAN to sustain the pressure against government in order to ensure the enthronement of democracy and, most importantly, the swearing in of Chief MKO Abiola as the President of Federal Republic of Nigeria.
At a point, when Chief MKO Abiola came back from London, it was Senator Bola Ahmed Tinubu who organised a meeting with us and Abiola for the first time, precisely two weeks after our strike had started. At that meeting, which held at one of Chief MKO Abiola’s hideouts on Ologun Agbaje Street, Victoria Island, Lagos, Chief Abiola commended and thanked us for our patriotism and for the strike, which took place even without prompting from him.
In the light of this, it then became absolutely illogical and unthinkable for an elected federal parliamentarian, Senator Bola Ahmed Tinubu, who throughout the nine weeks strike was known for consistently encouraging us with people like the late Dr. Beko Ransom-Kuti, the late Dr. Fredrick Fasheun, Mr. Femi Falana (SAN) and other civil rights activists, to now simultaneously lobby for the post of either administrator, deputy administrator or commissioner under the same unpopular military junta that Tinubu was grossly opposed to, openly mobilised against, at the risk of his personal life, would be most unfair for anyone, including the first son of late MKO, Kola Abiola, to come up with insinuations or innuendos that are damaging against such a man of good conscience who never compromised, despite the backlash.
Within the labour movement, the then president of the Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC), the late Comrade Pascal Bafyau, had his own grudge against Chief MKO Abiola and a prominent son of his. Comrade Pascal’s grudge against Chief MKO Abiola was that he dropped him as a promised vice presidential running mate in favour of Kingibe.
Secondly, Pascal said a prominent Abiola son emphatically said during an interview he had with the media that the reason his father dropped Pascal as Vice President was that he would have been a political liability to his father. For these reasons Pascal was, out of resentment, demobilising the labour movement at that time from going on strike. It was only his deputy at that time, Comrade Adams Oshiomhole, with some other resolute industrial union leaders, that supported NUPENG and PENGASSAN’s patriotic decisions and actions.
Without prejudice, among those to be considered as heroes of democracy, most deservedly should include Kokori, Kojo Agamene of blessed memory the then president of NUPENG, Chief W. Babibi, then general secretary of PENGASSAN, S.F. Oginni, H. Falaye, etc.
Although different people played different negative roles, both in public and in secret for the actualisation of the stolen June 12 mandate, some said in the national interest, some on the flipside said it would move Nigeria forward, so whatever they claimed were their reasons to work for the annulment or against the actualisation of June 12 are also known to them, as they have not made it public till today. All I know is that some people stood firm to the end for principle, patriotism and the fact that if the election had been allowed to stand, with the benefit of hindsight, Nigeria would have been better than what it is today. With the actualisation of the results of the election, we would have been able to destroy the scourge of religious and ethnic divisions in Nigeria.
June 12, 1993, election, in my view, was a watershed in Nigeria’s history, though political intrigues had somewhat tried to wish away that date, but the date has eventually survived political suppression over the years through the popular and acceptable political willpower of the current democratic regime. It is truly a landmark and momentous accomplishment on the part of President Buhari. It is my utmost desire for a peaceful, united and prosperous Nigeria as well as political leadership with strong will that could also dispassionately promote democratic virtues and engender even distribution of Nigeria’s commonwealth without bias or sentiments.
It is equally my wish to see a flourishing, safe, and investment-friendly socio-economic clime accompanied by sound education, robust human capital development, abundant employment opportunities and capacity building initiatives for youths, good health care system, increased infrastructure development and other basic needs of Nigerians in the next four years so that the people can be more united and be a force to be reckoned with in the world.
•Hon. Akinlaja, immediate past chairman, House of Representatives Committee on Petroleum Resources Downstream (of the 8th Assembly), former general secretary of NUPENG and deputy president, Nigeria Labour Congress