By; Bayo Akamo, Ibadan.
Governor Abiola Ajimobi, has asked the Federal Government “to immortalize and officially recognize Late Chief MKO Abiola as a former President of the Federal Republic of Nigeria”.
The governor made the call in a statement made available to journalists in Ibadan and signed by his Special Adviser on Communication and Strategy, Mr. Yomi Layinka.
Governor Ajimobi who also declared today (Monday), June 13, as a public holiday in commemoration of the annulment of the June 12, 1993,Presidential election pointed out that June 12 remains a watershed in the history of Nigeria’s democratic journey, having broken all ethnic and religious barriers.
He stressed that “much as the electoral umpire that midwifed subsequent elections had tried, the annulled election remains the best in terms of organization and no system adopted for the conduct of subsequent elections is yet to match Option A4 used to conduct the June 12 election”.
“June 12 remains a watershed in the history of the country, because of the significance of the day in the nation. The annulled election is yet to be matched in terms of freeness, fairness, transparency, openness and widespread acceptability. Besides, the resolve of Nigerians to put aside their differences and troop out en masse to collectively vote for a positive change was a demonstration of the fact that Nigerians were not ready to negotiate the unity of the country even in the face of diversity”, he said.
Governor Ajimobi added that “the symbol of the annulled election, Chief MKO Abiola, opted to pay the supreme price to defend his mandate has deepened democracy and the price he paid is the comfort the political leaders are enjoying up till today”.
“I want to, once again, urge the Federal Government to immortalize and officially recognize Abiola as a former President of the Federal Republic of Nigeria and to confer on him the highest honour in the land befitting of a former President. There is no doubt that Abiola won the election, despite failed attempts by those that contested the election with him to twist facts and re-write history”.
The governor maintained that there is the need for Nigerians particularly the political leaders to be keeping the memory of Abiola alive by always commemorating June 12 and bring out its fond memories as a lesson in electoral transparency and openness.
“We should not forget him as he remains one of the greatest martyrs this country has ever produced, so that generations yet unborn will know that somebody laid down his life in defence of democracy and the rule of law. His death in custody of the then Federal Government is known to God and may his soul continue to rest in perfect peace”.
He however advised the present crop of political leaders in the country “to be prepared to leave their comfort zones and be prepared to make sacrifices to defend the democracy we are enjoying today and should not allow parochial interest to overshadow the collective interest of the electorate”.
