JUNE 12: OPC, Kalu, Evah, others insist on restructuring

Notable Nigerians, Including former governor of Abia, Orji Uzor Kalu and a former military administrator of Lagos State, Rear Admiral Ndubuisi Kanu (rtd ), and others have used the 2017 anniversary of the June 12 1993 election to call for restructuring of Nigeria.

The former governors and others, who spoke at the commemoration programme, organized by the Oodua People’ s Congress (OPC) to mark the 24th anniversary of the June 12 elections also expressed the great need to immortalize the perceived winner of the election, Late Bashorun MKO Abiola.

Others who spoke at the event, included national coordinator of the OPC, Otunba Gani Adams, Professor Sophie Oluwole, Dr (Mrs )Joe Okei – Odumakin and Comrade Tony Uranta among others.

Others were Comrade Debo Adeniran, Comrade Joseph Evah, Professor Banji Akintoye and Muhammed Kudu – Abubakar.

Kalu, who was the chairman of the event, which took place in Lagos, described June 12 as “a symbol of democracy for the people of Nigeria irrespective of the ethnic group’.

The former governor also said that “Democracy Day should have been June 12 and not May 29, which was wrongly chosen by those, who did not work for the democracy”.

He also stated that June 12 symbolizes equity, fairness and obedience to the rule of law. “These are the things the late Abiola died for. He wanted us to obey the rule of law in the country”.

Also, former military governor of Lagos State, Rear Admiral Ndubuizi Kanu, while making his remark at the occasion called on the federal government to consider the calls for restructuring as a way of moving Nigeria forward .

The former Lagos State governor said ‘if we fail to restructure Nigeria peacefully, we may have to do it the other way”.

Read also: JUNE 12: 24yrs after, 4 lessons Nigeria’s democracy is yet to learn

Otunba Adams on his part, decried the abandonment of June 12 by other regions in the country, apart from the South West.

The OPC chief said “It is indeed sad that apart from the Southwest states of Oyo, Ogun, Lagos and Osun, which have doggedly continued to celebrate the hero, and later martyr of that battle, Chief Moshood Kashimawo Olawale (MKO) Abiola, there has been studied indifference to the June 12 phenomenon by the Federal Government and remarkably, the rest of Nigeria”.

He also pointed out that “This is sadder still because the leader of that battle, MKO Abiola was not an ethnic champion: he was a man of pan-Nigerian vision and ambition, who went into politics to give the people hope, to unite them and lead them out of poverty.

His campaign manifesto was instructively titled “Hope 93 — Farewell to Poverty: How to make Nigeria a better place for all.”

Adams averred that “This is why I believe that if any date is deserving of celebration, it is June 12. The Federal Government of Nigeria, should as a matter of honour to the late politician and business mogul, Abiola, who fought and died for the current democracy, make June 12 of every year, a national holiday”.

The guest speaker at at the occasion, Dr Chidozie Okoro of the department of Philosophy, University of Lagos, described June 12 as “a symbol of freedom for Nigeria “

The university don also said that “now is the time to restructure Nigeria. The restructuring of Nigeria should be speedily and ultimately pursued“.

Odumakin said “the ideals of June 12 still live. We must imbibe them. The federal government must speak the change and act the change by declaring June 12 as Democracy Day in Nigeria.

She also called on the federal government to as a matter of urgency post – humously declare Abiola as the winner of tha election and that “Nigeria must be restructured“.

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