By; BAYO AKAMO, Ibadan
The Senator representing Oyo South Senatorial District, Senator Kola Balogun on Monday declared that the event of June 12, 1993 and its hero, the late Chief MKO Abiola, laid the foundation for the unbroken 23 years of democracy in the country.
Senator Balogun in a message by his media adviser, Mr Dapo Falade to congratulate Nigerians on the celebration of the 23rd anniversary of the National Democracy Day said June 12, the Democracy Day, remains very fundamental watershed in the country’s national history.
The Senator representing Oyo South maintained that achieving 23 unbroken years in democratic experiment called for celebrations, and that “June 12, the date associated with the Democracy Day, is not only historical, but also fundamental to the political development of the country”.
Emphasizing that Nigeria ” is not yet there in terms of ideals of democracy,” he said with the course of time and if not truncated, the country would attain a level of political development that can be at par with developed democracies.
” It is with a heart of gratitude to God that I felicitate Nigerians on this year’s celebration of our Democracy Day. It is heart-warming to note that this is the first time in the annals of our national history that we will be experiencing 23 years of unbroken democratic experiment in our country”, he said.
Senator Balogun added, ” this is highly very commendable and we must acknowledge that the events of 12 June, 1993 is the precursor to the democracy that we are enjoying now. June 12, the date fixed for the celebration of our Democracy Day, is of fundamental watershed in our attempt at attaining democracy development and ideals of democracy”.
” On that day, some 23 years ago, we had a pan-Nigerian election as almost the entire country decided to exercise their voting right and unanimously voted for a candidate of their choice in the presidential election. The decision to vote for the man who has come to be regarded as the Symbol of Democracy, the late Chief MKO Abiola, was, indeed, a significant and fundamental watershed”.
Senator Balogun stated further, “the electorate voted enmasse for the late MKO Abiola, irrespective of their tribe and racial differences or their religious and socio-economic views.June 12 will always remain a fundamental watershed in our political development. This fact was not lost on the President Muhammadu Buhari-led administration that officially recognised the date as the true essence of democracy.
He however stressed, ” it is not yet Uhuru in our practice of democracy; we still have some very noticeable flaws here and there. But, if our current experiment is not truncated, we shall surely get to the Promised Land.”
