Echoes of the June 12, 1993 presidential election
reverberated at the National Conference on Thursday when a motion seeking
national recognition for the presumed winner of the poll, the late Chief
Moshood Abiola, was moved at the confab.
The motion, which was moved by Orok Duke, saw the delegates
divided along regional lines as those from the southern Nigeria favoured the
motion while those from the North rejected it.
Those who were opposed to the motion, led by a
representative of the civil society, Mallam Nasir Kura, were shouting “no!,
no!”
The reaction led to a rowdy session, which attracted the
attention of security men and others, even outside the plenary.
The mover of the motion, Duke, said that apart from Abiola,
others that died as a result of the annulment of the election deserved to be
honoured.
He specifically asked for the permission of the plenary to
pay tributes to all those who died, including Abiola, who he described as the
one who spearheaded Nigeria’s democracy.
Duke added that the conference should cause the authorities
to always remember “June 12 as a watershed in the history of Nigeria.
“I suggest that a monument in tandem with what the conference
had proposed for other heroes and heroines should be recommended in honour of
MKO Abiola.”
His motion did not go down well with some delegates as they
continued with the shouts of no, no. But for the quick intervention of the
Chairman of the conference, Justice Idris Kutigi, the disagreement might have
probably led to a free-for-all among the delegates.
The anti-June 12 delegates, which included Umaru Mohammed
Hadejia, representing Jigawa State, continued their opposition to the motion,
but Duke refused to be intimidated.
He argued that the country could not afford to carry on as
if June 12 never existed, and further argued that many Nigerians died on that
day.
“June 12 is a preamble as to why we are here today, it is
for the continuation of an unfinished business of 1993 that we are here.
Moshood Abiola paid that ultimate sacrifice and it is not something we can wish
away and assume that it never happened to us.
“I was an active participant, and some of the delegates here
were victims of June 12. If we forget history it will repeat itself as a
tragedy. Those who fell for the sake of June 12 should be remembered today.”
Duke’s motion was supported by Chief Ayo Adebanjo, who said
he was disappointed by the opposition from some delegates to the motion.
He said, “It is unfortunate that even members of this
assembly, particularly those of us who were victims of Abacha, regard June 12,
1993 as a mere issue.
“I think the delegate who raised this motion should be
praised rather than vilified. Without June 12 there will be no May 29. June 12
is the basis of our freedom and democracy and we should remember the day for
what it is worth.”
The Deputy National President of the Nigeria Labour
Congress, Mr. Issa Aremu, agreed, adding that the best way to remember June 12
would be to have a free and fair elections in 2015.
Aremu said, “What we are seeing today shows we have not
learnt from what happened on June 12. Elections are still becoming a do or die
affair with a lot of unnecessary and avoidable violence.
“The real memory of June 12 to be significant for all of us
and for us to make it worthwhile is to reaffirm our commitment to free and fair
elections in Nigeria.”
But Hadejia described the motion as “irrelevant” and an
attempt aimed at wasting the time of the conference.
Source: Punch Newspaper.
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