BY: Hassan Temitope
For more than a two decades now, twenty four years to be exact, the killers of the June 12 hero, Bashorun Moshood Kashimawo Abiola are still walking freely on streets. There has never been any sincere and serious attempt to bring mouths of these evil-minded people to the grind stone of justice. What a shame to the nation called Nigeria!
Have you ever wonder why this nation has not moved an inch from its cradleness? It is simply because our land has failed to acknowledge the sacrifices made by the men of the past for lasting peace, sanity, progress and unity to reign in the country, so as to possibly achieve its full potential, like that of Chief MKO Abiola, who paid the ultimate price for democracy to come to stay in the country.
Upon all the democratic strong-headedness of Abiola , he was cruely bent till he breathed the last breath at the Aguda house, where some malicious foes in cloth of allies summoned him for meeting in an attempt to persuade him so that he could possibly rest the fight to claim his rightful mandate. It was there and then that they served him some poisened tea and he unfortunately sipped and evacuated this world a hurt heart on the 7th day of July 1998. If not for the terrific death this iconic soul, the country would have been saved from the ruling of the mischievious men in khaki? The Nigeria Machievila that you all know_that dark googled deadly dictator would have been on the realm of power, possibly till date, because he was said to be harbouring the plans to stay in power till death, and God so good, he died mysteriously four days to the 5th anniversary of June 12 and Nigerian heaved some heavy sigh that Abiola would be released from the prison but as fate would have it, MKO followed Abacha just a month after. What a twisted faith!
The incidence of June 12 was not just about Abiola, though he was the historic hero of the day, which marked a moment where all citizens of Nigeria moved out in mass to vote for change as we had it just two years ago during the last Presidential election that made the ailing Muhammad Buhari the ruler of the country presently. Just as what could have happened, if Goodluck Jonathan had failed to accept the defeat during the last election.
Also, another importance of June12 day to the history of this country is that it saw the birth of new progressive politicians that were too young to know what was going on politically in the country during the days of the great Chief Obafemi Awolowo. Bola Ahmed Tinubu, the present party leader of the ruling party and ex-Governor of centre of execelence state, is one of these politicians. The June 12 and the crisis that came after marked the begining of the war for democracy, before it was won on May 29, 1999, the day in the calendar set aside for democracy day, instead of June 12. Can we have a chicken without an egg?
However, few Nigerians remember the history, that is why it is only two or three states out of the whole 36 states in the country, that observe the June 12 as a working free day to honour those, who fought for what we stand to be enjoying today. Is it that the things that happened then only affected a particular part of the country or ethnicity sentiment had clouded some peoples mind to know that this day was the day when the voice of Nigerians was raped and the culprits are yet to be brought to court for judgement? There is no sense in raising any question, because Nigeria is not one, we are only bond in guise of Unity.
This should be evenly and heavily saved in the minds of everyone that until this country sees history as a key towards progress; justice, no more placed under some particular people, while it is being placed above others and religion together with ethnicity sentiment are totally erased from affairs of the country, then we can talk about tranquillity.