JUNE I2TH, 1993 - 27TH ANNIVERSARY

                                          JUNE 12 ANNIVERSARY

                                                          June 12th, 1993 - 27th anniversary

© Mbagwu Amarachi - MariTimes

Of all the dates I had never heard about in class before higher institution happened (for me) June 12th, 1993 was one of them.

It was the year democracy lost its original meaning in Nigeria.

The first and last time there has been a free and fair election in the history of Nigeria.

The June 12th, 1993 election had M.K.O. Abiola emerging as the winner of the presidential election, even though results were never released.

According to Femi Aribisala's article in the vanguard, the election was annulled by the corrupt government because it was a free and fair election and Abiola was never expected to win.

Abiola had more votes than his Northern opponent and the annulment came to play in a bid to hide the fact that there are more people in the South than there are in the North.

This reveals the truth behind the unbelievable number of votes always coming from the Northern states during presidential elections. Ones with million numbers over the votes from the acclaimed most populous state in the country.

Now, this corruption runs in the DNA of Nigerian elections. An evil Abiola was ready to fight had his life not been taken away from him in prison.

He was accused of treason for declaring himself the president of the country, put in prison on the orders of a corrupt Northerner, and died on the day he was supposed to be released.

I read Joe Igbokwe and Femi Aribisala's articles on M.K.O. Abiola, the 1993 election up till the most recent election and it's saddening that Nigeria has long been in the hands of corrupt leaders.

And that a free and fair election like the one history tells of June 12th, 1993, will be difficult to achieve again unless a miracle happens.

P.S: I think moving the democracy day to a day set out to honor a man of integrity by the present government is nothing less than a Greek gift to the Yorubas.

But what this government is yet to understand is that it is more of a Nigerian thing than it is tribal.

And the only way to make up for the past pain is to ensure that the democratic labors of our hero's past will never be in vain.

By employing transparency and honesty in our elections.

For MKO Abiola
PUBLISH: JerryTimes Network