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“Be bold in pursuing what others believe is unrealistic because this will achieve more than being bland and unimaginative,” – Janna Cachola
Daniel Kanu
The special honour and recognition of the late Moshood Abiola and June 12 by President Muhammadu Buhari, no doubt, has bolstered the image of the All Progressives Congress-led government.
Denying Abiola his mandate over the years to most Nigerians caused the country a great and monumental setback and till date, the annulment of that mandate seems to be still haunting the country.
So, when President Buhari on Monday, June 10, at the Presidential Villa, signed the Public Holidays Act Amendment Bill into law, many heaved a sigh of relief.
The Act removed May 29 of every year as a public holiday, replacing it with June 12 as public holiday and Democracy Day in Nigeria.
May 29, was the day the military handed over power to an elected civilian government in 1999, hence the establishment of the date as a public holiday and Democracy Day by the then government in power headed by President Olusegun Obasanjo.
It is a tradition that has been held annually, beginning from 2000.
With the latest law, May 29 will henceforth only be observed as a handover date and working day.
Buhari had on June 6, last year declared June 12 to be the new Democracy Day in commemoration of the annulled June 12, 1993 presidential election claimed to have been won by the late MKO Abiola.
The election has been adjudged to be Nigeria’s freest and fairest democratic poll.
It was, however, annulled by the then military President, General Ibrahim Babangida (rtd), who later admitted that he was under pressure from unnamed forces in the hierarchy of the military leadership to do so.
The annulment of that historic election became a watershed that set Nigeria on the path of crisis, leading to many mysterious deaths of many Nigerians, including the wife of the winner, Kudirat Abiola, and elder statesman, Alfred Rewane.
In subsequent years, the Southwest states have kept hope alive on the June 12 revalidation with a public holiday, just as reports abound that former Abia State governor, Senator Orji Uzor Kalu also declared the date as a public holiday during his tenure.
Those noted to have stood firm for June 12 were hounded, some were allowed to languish in prison, many went underground while others went into self-exile for fear.
The recognition of Abiola as the acclaimed winner of that presidential election and declaration of the day as new Democracy Day to most observers is a political masterstroke by Buhari.
The president went further to immortalize the late politician by renaming the National Stadium Abuja after him.
Since that action, he has received a lot of accolades with some citizens temporarily forgetting about the security challenges as well as the harsh economy that abound.
“Buhari got this one right, he is on target. I can tell you this will shore up his acceptance into the hearts of most people. Others before him had the opportunity to redeem a legacy, but they refused and now Buhari, an unlikely person expected to do it, has taken the glory,” one of the elder statesmen said.
Granted that Buhari needed to win over the Yoruba voters, that singular action to political commentators has calmed frayed nerves, just as it has got the government endeared to the hearts of many citizens.
It was an action, Presidents Obasanjo, Jonathan refused to do. Recall that three Presidents before Buhari (Olusegun Obasanjo, Umaru Yar’Adua and Goodluck Jonathan) were unable to do it.
Some critics had berated Obasanjo over what they described as his “ego” over not recognizing June 12 as a remarkable day despite that Abiola was his kinsman who paid the supreme sacrifice with his life.
Yar’Adua, they maintained, could be excused due to his illness and short stay in office, but they also lampooned Jonathan whom they claimed had the opportunity to write his name in gold, but also refused to do the needful.
Former Senior Special Assistant on Public Affairs to former President Goodluck Jonathan, Doyin Okupe, threw more light on why Buhari shot the salvo with no resistance.
He said that providence had placed Buhari to institutionalize June 12, revealing that only a northern president well respected like Buhari could immortalize Abiola and that would be accepted by the northern elders and leaders.
“There is no better person; there is no better government that can institutionalize June 12 except a government headed by a strong northerner, otherwise it would create serious controversy. Buhari by providence has been well-placed.
“He is not just an ordinary northerner, but a very strong one that a lot of northerners have respect for, that even if they disagree (with him) they will not vent their disagreement. They will hold their peace. And, therefore, it was easier for him to do it. We give God the glory that it has been done. Delay is not denial,” Okupe said.
Nonetheless, it was gathered that pressure is now mounting on the Federal Government to go the whole hog in honouring the late Abiola as the winner of the annulled June 12, 1993, presidential election.
But it is not yet clear whether there will be a proclamation or legislation that will recognize the politician as a former President and accord him all state benefits, following the turn of events on the June 12, 1993 presidential poll.
Although Buhari has received commendations for that political vision, some activists believe that it is also a reward for tenacity as believers on June 12 did not allow the matter to come to closure until it was given its due.
Buhari was born on December 17, 1942 in Katsina State. He attended Katsina Model School and later the Government College Katsina (then known as Katsina Provincial Secondary School). He began his military journey at the age of 19, when he joined the Nigerian Military Training College (NMTC). The institution was later renamed the Nigerian Defence Academy (NDA).
He has been to Mons Officer Cadet School in Aldershot in England.
