By Samuel Ibezim

Shehu Sani, senator representing Kaduna Central, has told President Muhammed Buhari that Nigerians will accept the June 12 declaration as democracy day but at the same time reject any political motive behind it considering that it is few months to elections.

Sani stated this in Lagos, at the 25 anniversary of June 12 presidential election organized by Oodua People’s Congress, OPC, in collaboration with Lagos State Council of Nigeria Union of Journalists, NUJ. The theme of the anniversary is “Nigerian Politics and Democratic Process: MKO Abiola and the June 12, 1993 Cries and Beyond”.

He commended NUJ, OPC, and activists that fought to ensure that Abiola got declared as the winner of the election. The senator said that June 12, has four categories which include the election, the annulment by the military, the struggle and the legacy. He accused some members of Social Democratic Party, SDP, on whose platform Abiola contested as its presidential candidate of betraying him by abandoning him in his moment of needs and working with late General Sani Abacha, former military ruler of Nigeria.

“Has the SDP ever issued a statement, not the SDP of today, the SDP of 1993? Where were they in the last 25 years? Many of them contributed immensely to the annulment of the election. They were traitors. Many of these in the SDP were Judas Iscariots,” Sani said.

He said that June 12 got light because Buhari honoured it and confirmed the president as a believer in June 12 and not a convert. The vocal senator advised the presidency to consult the real fighters for the realization so as not to honour traitors because many of the SDP members never attended the June 12, event in the last 18 to 19 years.

He said that the resistance by activists against the annulment gave life and resurrected the June 12 that many of the political class buried.

According to him, the posthumous recognition with the highest award given to Abiola is not enough because the government needs to live to the ideal which he sacrificed his life for by ensuring justice, putting a stop to the senseless killings and disobeying rule of law and dictatorship tendencies being witnessed currently.

The senator who was the chairman of the occasion, said that he may move for a motion at the senate to call on Humphrey Nwosu, then Independent National Electoral Commission, INEC, to declare Abiola as the winner of 1993 presidential election.

Also, he shared the memory of his time spent in prisons in Kaduna, Kirikiri, Port Harcourt and Aba because of his support for democracy and assured the political prisoners who died in the struggle that he will continue to fight to ensure that democracy is enthroned.

“Without the June 12 struggle, the military would have still been in power in Nigeria. The very fact that Chief MKO Abiola has been invested with Grand Commander of the Federal Republic means he is already a president. All that needs to be done is to ensure that all the privilege that are given to a presidential family should be given to his family.” Sani said.

Lastly, he called on those that annulled the June 12, and those that opposed it to apologise to Nigerians and wished that the event, which has been annually celebrated for over 18 years, be continued to keep the struggle alive.

June 12, 2018 @ 19:30 GMT |