June 12

Late M.K.O Abiola's June 12
Speech| Do You Remember??
Many Nigerians will remember June 12, 1993....
June 12, 1993 was the day the late M.K.O
Abiola won the Presidential Election due to
majority vote. It was a time of the military rule
under General Ibrahim Babangida....
If you have forgotten, here the full speech that
won the majority for Abiola that year;
People of Nigeria, exactly one year ago,
you turned out in your millions to vote
for me, Chief M.K.O. Abiola, as the
President of the Federal Republic of
Nigeria. But politicians in uniform, who
call themselves soldiers but are more
devious than any civilian would want to
be, deprived you of your God-given right
to be ruled by the President you had
yourselves elected.
These soldier-politicians introduced into
our body politic, a concept hitherto
unknown to our political lexicography,
something strangely called the
“annulment” of an election perceived by
all to have been the fairest, cleanest and
most peaceful ever held in our nation.
Since that abominable act of naked
political armed robbery occurred, I have
been constantly urged by people of
goodwill, both in Nigeria and abroad, to
put the matter back into the people’s
hands and get them to actualise the
mandate they gave me at the polls. But
mindful of the need to ensure that peace
continues to reign in our fragile
federation, I have so far tried to pursue
sweet reason and negotiation.
My hope has always been to arouse
whatever remnants of patriotism are left
in the hearts of these thieves of your
mandate, and to persuade them that
they should not allow their personal
desire to rule to usher our beloved
country into an era of political instability
and economic ruin. All I have sought to
do, in seeking dialogue with them, has
been to try and get them to realise that
only real democracy can move our nation
forward towards progress, and earn her
the respect she deserves from the
international community.
However, although this peaceful
approach has exposed me to severe
censure by some who have mistaken it
for weakness on my part, those with
whom I have sought to dialogue have
remained like stones, neither stirred to
show loyalty to the collective decision of
the people of their own country, nor to
observe Allah’s injunction that they
should exhibit justice and fair-play in all
their dealings with their fellowmen.
Appeals to their honour as officers and
gentlemen of the gallant Nigerian Armed
Forces, have fallen on deaf ears. Instead,
they have resorted to the tactics of
divide and rule, bribery and political
perfidy, misinformation and (vile)
propaganda. They arrest everyone who
disagrees with them. Even the 71-year
old hero of our nation, Chief Anthony
Enahoro, was not spared. How much
longer can we tolerate all this?
People of Nigeria, you are all witnesses
that I have tried to climb the highest
mountain, cross the deepest river and
walk the longest mile, in order to get
these men to obey the will of our
people. There is no humiliation I have not
endured, no snare that has not been put
in my path, no “setup” that has not been
designed for me in my endeavour to use
the path of peace to enforce the
mandate that you bestowed on me one
year ago. It has been a long night. But
the dawn is here. Today, people of
Nigeria, I join you all in saying, “Enough
is Enough!”
We have endured 24 years of military
rule in our 34 years of independence.
Military rule has led to our nation
fighting a civil war with itself. Military
rule has destabilised our nation today as
not before in its history. Military rule has
impoverished our people and introduced
a dreadful trade in drugs which has made
our country’s name an anathema in many
parts of the world. Even soccer fans
going to watch the Green Eagles display
in America are being made to suffer
there needlessly because Nigeria’s name
is linked with credit card and fraud and
“419.” Politically, military rule has torn to
shreds the prestige due to our country
because of its size and population. The
permanent seat at the United Nations
Security Council that should be rightfully
ours, is all but lost. For who will vote for
Nigeria to get the seat if Nigerian
military rulers do not respect the votes
of their own people? Enough of military
rule. We are sickened to see people who
have shown little or no personal
achievement, either in building up private
businesses, or making success of any
tangible thing, being placed in charge of
the management of our nation’s
economy, by rulers who are not
accountable to anyone. Enough of square
pegs in round holes. We are tired of then
military repetitive tendency to
experiment with our economy: Today,
they say “no controls.” Tomorrow; they
say “Full controls”. The day after, they
say “Fine tuning”. The next day, they say
“Devaluation.” A few days later, they say
“Revalue the same naira upwards again
Abi?” All we can see are the
consequences of this permanent game of
military “about turns;” high inflation, a
huge budget deficit and an enormous
foreign debt repayment burden, dying
industries, high unemployment and a
demoralised populace.
Our youths, in particular, can see no
hope on the horizon, and many can only
dream of escaping from our shores to
join the brain drain. Is this the Nigeria we
want? We are plagued also by periodic
balance of payments crises, which have
led to a perennial shortage of essential
drugs, that has turned our hospitals and
clinics into mortuaries. A scarcity of
books and equipment has rendered our
schools into desolate deserts of
ignorance. Our factories are crying for
machinery, spare parts and raw
materials. But each day that passes,
instead of these economic diseases being
cured, they are rather strengthened as an
irrational allocation of foreign exchange
based on favouritism and corruption
becomes the order of the day. Enough is
enough of economic mismanagement!