Significant heroes of June 12 President Tinubu ignored on Democracy Day

An African proverb states: ‘If the lion does not tell his story, the hunter will’, which was later refined by Chinua Achebe – ‘Until the lions have their own historians, the history of the hunt will always glorify the hunter.’ This was the hornet’s nest President Bola Ahmed Tinubu stirred up in his Democracy Day broadcast delivered penultimate Wednesday to commemorate the 31st anniversary of June 12, a watershed in Nigeria’s history and 25 years of unbroken democracy.

Until former President Muhammadu Buhari eventually acknowledged June 12 for its place in the nation’s trajectory and fittingly substituted the day with May 29 as Democracy Day in 2018, June 12 was only previously celebrated as a public holiday in some Southwestern states to commemorate the annulled election; but Buhari, on June 6, 2018, announced that it would be a national holiday to reflect on and assess the country’s democratic journey and remember Chief Moshood Kashimawo Olawale (MKO) Abiola and all the people who died in their struggle for a civilian rule in the country. This came after former presidents since 1999 – Olusegun Obasanjo, Umaru Musa Yar’Adua and Goodluck Jonathan – all turned deaf ears to calls demanding national recognition for June 12.

Aside from the date change, Buhari also honoured Abiola by posthumously conferring on him the highest award of the Grand Commander of the Federal Republic (GCFR). Buhari also admitted the error in annulling the June 12, 1993 election by Gen. Ibrahim Badamosi Babangida (IBB), declaring Abiola as a Nigerian President and renaming the Abuja National Stadium to Moshood Abiola Stadium. Abiola’s running mate, Babagana Kingibe, was also conferred with the title of Grand Commander of the Order of the Niger (GCON), alongside late human rights activist and respected lawyer, Gani Fawehinmi.

Tinubu’s Democracy Day Heroes
On May 29, 2023, one of the front-liners in the June 12 struggle, Tinubu, was inaugurated as Nigeria’s president. Barely two weeks in office and with the chaos his ‘Subsidy is Gone’ statement was causing in the polity, last year’s Democracy Day and the 30th anniversary of June 12 was uneventful. All eyes were on this year’s celebration to see the ‘Steeze’ that would accompany this year’s commemoration after leading the cause as governor of Lagos State to push for June 12 as a national significance.

The much-awaited Tinubu’s Democracy Day came. While the day would be long remembered for the President’s ‘Dobale’ for Democracy, Tinubu’s national broadcast, which listed some heroes of democracy became the major talking point of the day.

He said: “We lost great heroes and heroines along the way. In this struggle, the winner of the June 12, 1993 presidential election, Chief MKO Abiola, the most significant symbol of our democratic struggle; his wife, Kudirat; General Shehu Musa Yar’Adua and Pa Alfred Rewane, among others sacrificed their very lives. They bravely surrendered their futures, so that our nation might have a better one.
“Let us honour the memories of Chief Anthony Enahoro, Chief Abraham Adesanya, Commodore Dan Suleiman, Chief Arthur Nwankwo, Chief Chukwuemeka Ezeife, Admiral Ndubuisi Kanu, Chief Frank Kokori, Chief Bola Ige, Chief Adekunle Ajasin, Chief Ganiyu Dawodu, Chief Ayo Fasanmi, Chief Gani Fawehinmi, Chief Olabiyi Durojaiye, Dr. Beko Ransome-Kuti, Chima Ubani, and others who have transited to the higher realm.

“The sacrifices of General Alani Akinrinade, Prof Bolaji Akinyemi, Prof Wole Soyinka, Chief Ralph Obioha, Chief Cornelius Adebayo, among many others, should never be forgotten. For at least six years, they bore the pains and difficulties of life in exile.

“While the exiled pro-democracy activists kept the fire burning, their comrades at home sustained the pressure on the military brass hats. Among the latter are Olisa Agbakoba, Femi Falana, Abdul Oroh, Senator Shehu Sani, Governor Uba Sani, Chief Olu Falae, and other National Democratic Coalition (NADECO) leaders such as Chief Ayo Adebanjo and Chief Ayo Opadokun. The sacrifices they made, and the precious gift brought about by their selfless devotion can never be repaid. Neither shall it be forgotten.

“We could not have won the battle against military dictatorship without the irrepressible Nigerian journalists who mounted the barricades along with the pro-democracy activists. We celebrate them today, along with their media establishments such as The Punch, The Guardian, National Concord, Tribune, The News/Tempo, and TELL Magazines. Military authorities proscribed these media establishments and jailed their journalists for standing for free speech and civil liberties.”

In all, the president’s speech listed 32 names, seven organizations and maqny others in the 30-minute-long and 1,800 words broadcast. That was where the list and recognition ended, eliciting strident reactions of many prominent and significant contributors to the struggle that were glaringly left out.

The ‘Many Others’ Tinubu failed to mention
Many commentators and critics who have declared the president’s list ‘Inconclusive’ have stated that the presidency only listed some prominent people while ignoring some significant others. It was an American pastor and author, Rick Warren, who wrote the classic and bestseller for 21st century titled ‘The Purpose Driven Life’, who espoused the concept of prominent and significant people.

The last but one chapter of the book talked about people who are prominent and people who are significant. According to his thesis, some of the people in this world are prominent but may not be significant and in the same vein, some people are significant but are not prominent.

Many of the people listed for recognition are prominent, in fact most of them are prominent but not all of them are significant to the struggle because some of them have even left the struggle and some by omission or commission betrayed the struggle before the Fourth Republic berthed on May 29, 1999.

In no particular order, the Church embodying the vociferous voices of the clergy and the laity applied pressure on the already choked military government and the interim interregnum after being assailed on all sides by activists, the media, civil society groups, politicians and diplomats.

Everything about June 12 was symbolic. The church was in the forefront of the restoration of Abiola’s mandate not minding he was a Muslim. The Christian Association of Nigeria (CAN) led by Dr Sunday Mbang was a thorn in the junta’s flesh.

The Catholic Church of Nigeria immediately after the annulment announced on June 23, 1993, issued out a prayer for the nation titled: Prayer for Nigeria in Distress. There was hardly any adult member of the Catholic Church that did not memorise or recite this prayer. The Church of Nigeria (Anglican Communion) with its leader, Archbishop Abiodun Adetiloye, did not also look the other way while the nation burned. They also gave three prayer versions to be recited daily. Pastor Tunde Bakare of the Latter Rain Assembly and Father Matthew Kukah, Secretary General of the Catholic Secretariat of Nigeria, Lagos added some touch of activism to the call for daily supplications.

The climax of the church’s role was when Pope John Paul II, leader of over one billion Catholics across the world made a historic visit to Nigeria in March 1998. Two important issues brought the Pope to the country, the beautification of Michael Tansi and to mediate in Nigeria’s political crisis. After meeting the then Head of State, Gen. Sani Abacha, the Pope presented a list containing 60 names of political prisoners including Abiola and Olusegun Obasanjo who should be granted freedom. The Pontiff’s plea which was globally televised was flagrantly rebuffed.

Next are the pressure groups. NADECO’s role with some of its leading members was duly acknowledged by the president. One group Nigerians will not forget in a hurry is Transparency International and TransAfrica, an assemblage of some of the most prominent African Americans at the time included Maya Angelou, Danny Glover and Rev. Jesse Jackson, applying pressure from the international front. There was of course an unforgettable diplomat working on the inside, the U.S. Ambassador to Nigeria, Walter Carrington.

At home, it was a marathon with several groups exchanging the baton. They include the Concerned Professionals (CP) led by Pat Utomi, Nigerian Medical Association (NMA) led by Dr. Oye Oyediran, Nigerian Bar Association (NBA) led by Priscilla Kuye, Academic Staff Union of Universities (ASUU) led by Dr Asobie and Attahiru Jega, Universal Defenders of Democracy (UDD) led by Mike Ozekhome, Civil Liberties Organisation (CLO) led by Ayo Obe, and Lagos chapter of the Nigeria Union of Journalists (NUJ) led by Lanre Arogundade.

Roll call of individuals are: Dr Federick Faseun of the Odua Peoples Congress (OPC), Dr. Kayode Fayemi of Radio Kudirat, Dr Tunji Abayomi, Polycap Nwite, Femi Aborishade, Segun Osoba, Ken Saro-Wiwa, Bamidele Aturu, Tony Enahoro, Bucknor Akerele, Prof Itse Sagay, Oby Ezekwesili, Clement Nwankwo, Chief Olu Falae, Col. Abubakar Umar, General Ishola Williams, Balarabe Musa, M.D. Yusuf, and Tunji Braithwaite.

Those who fought in the law courts were Justice Dolapo Akinsanya, who declared Ernest Sonekan’s Interim National Government illegal, G.O.K. Ajayi who fought for Abiola’s freedom in the courts, Afe Babalola and Alao Aka-Bashorun, who initially headed Abiola’s defense team.

Son of Aka-Bashorun, Dipo, speaking on the non-recognition of his father by the president, said: “When the family requested that we should respond to the absence of his name during the President’s June 12 dinner speech, it was not because we were lacking in recognition of our father’s contribution to the actualisation of democracy in Nigeria and June 12, in particular. He wouldn’t have wanted us to seek recognition but he would have wanted us to set the record straight with anything attached to his name. And June 12, like so many notable Nigerians, is inextricably connected to his name.

“Where to start? His conviction of G.O.K Ajayi, to join him and mount the legal defense of Chief Abiola at his trial for treason? His public warnings to the nation and to foreign governments, years prior to the elections, that the Babangida junta was going to manipulate the elections?

“How about his years in exile? Having had to leave Nigeria with a passport issued by the United Nations after the People’s Chambers (his law office) had been raided, sealed off and his Nigerian passport seized? His role as a leading member of the Human Rights movement to take the case of Nigeria’s human rights abuses to The United Kingdom and the United States?

“On June 4, 1996, Alao Aka-Bashorun was one of the first persons to see Kudirat Abiola’s bullet-ridden body at the hospital. She had been on her way to pick him up for a meeting. The shock was too much to bear and he broke down at the scene and would never fully recover his memory again. Such was the price of democracy.”

The front role seat of the media in the struggle

Immediately after the annulment of June 12, the press had declared total war on the military junta and there was no stopping the ‘Press Boys’. Babangida eventually succumbed to pressure and was forced to step aside. When Abacha took over power in November 1993, he tried to warm his way by de-proscribing the media houses that Babangida had proscribed but it didn’t take long for the dictator to come in full fury against the media. Barely a year later, Abacha signed three degrees at once proscribing The Guardian, Punch and the Concord for 11 months.

While the media organizations got a generous mention in the President’s speech, its principal actors, who at great risk to their lives, made June 12 reportage and coverage a national assignment, were roundly ignored as heroes. There were many great writers, editors, publishers and columnists who made profound contributions to the struggle.

There was Alex Ibru of The Guardian, Nosa Igiebor of Tell magazine, Uncle Sam Amuka of the Vanguard, Doyin Abiola of the Concord, the Aboderins of the Punch, Bayo Onanuga, publishers of The News, PM News, and Ray Ekpu of Newswatch.

Principal actors were Pini Jason, Frank Aigbogun, Duro Onabule, Odia Ofeimun, Lade Bonuola, Emeka Izeze, Debo Adesina, Babafemi Ojudu, Doyin Okupe, Reuben Abati, Dare Babarinsa, Onome Osifo-Whiskey, Dele Omotunde, Dele Shobowale, Soji Omotunde, Kunle Ajibade, Ogaga Ifowodo, Nnimmo Bassey and the late Bagauda Kaltho.

A chronicler’s account of June 12
The Guardian’s former Managing Director and Editor-in-Chief, Martin Oloja, in an introspective journey down memory lane recalls some significant events of the watershed era in relation to the media’s role.

He said: “I was worried about the inconclusive nature of the president’s list. The June 12 phenomenon should not have been handled as an event. The universe of that part of history should not have just been about activists, NADECO members and people who were out of the country at that time, it was a national event and national tragedy and all the 36 states of the federation contributed to why it has become an unforgettable part of Nigeria’s history.

“Abiola won everywhere; he defeated Bashir Tofa even in his home state of Kano according to records. So, to limit the heroes of that democracy to just a few people in the president’s speech was an injustice to history. The president of the Federal Republic who was celebrating 25 years of unbroken democracy, his speech should have been exhaustive; they should have conducted research on who contributed what. They just listed some prominent people without even remembering some significant people.

“I remember in the 2000 or 2001 edition of the same June 12 celebration, I wrote an exclusive for The Guardian where I listed 34 names of people who signed away June 12 because in the heat of the struggle when they were finding solution, the Babangida administration set up a tripartite committee comprising the military, the political class and representatives of both NRC and SDP. They drew 34 members and those people signed this document to confine June 12 to history so that they could conduct fresh election. It was only John Nnia Nwodo who signed with reservation.

“Immediately after the annulment of that election, things began to happen. There was a report that a group of young men hijacked a plane that landed in Niger Republic. They wrongly attributed this action to some student activism from Federal University of Technology, Akure (FUTA), nobody remembered them or their identities. These are significant heroes of June 12. University of Lagos became like a focal point of student activism for actualisation of June 12. There was a student leader called Mayegun that security forces detained severally.

“So many people died, even Bagauda Kaltho. They just mentioned media in the president’s speech, there was no identification. Kaltho was only married for six years before he was killed; nobody has found his corpse till tomorrow. He was working for The News magazine in Kaduna. Even Bayo Onanuga who is working in the Presidency as a special adviser was not mentioned. He resigned as editor of African Concord and set up The News with Dapo Olorunyomi.

“So many people were crusading for June 12 who practiced guerilla journalism. Nosa Igiebor was the head of TELL magazine, they couldn’t stay at home as security forces were hounding them. Tempo came up at the time, Kunle Ajibade was even jailed. Because of an interview granted to an actor in the military at the time, David Mark, Dan Agbese, Yakubu Mohammed and Ray Ekpu were arrested on the same day on account of June 12.

“Some of the prominent names who we knew at that time as part of Radio Kudirat were not listed. Dr Kayode Fayemi was part of Radio Kudirat and he played some significant roles but he was not mentioned. He has since then became governor of Ekiti State and Minister of the Federal Republic, why should his name be omitted. They may have their own reason but he was part of the struggle.

“What of The Guardian newspaper, the role the flagship played? The newspaper invented the language of June 12… the presumed winner, the man generally believed to have won. Its managing director, Mr Lade Bonuola, was invited several times by the Omenka people at the Directorate of Military Intelligence (DMI) on the way they were covering June 12.

“The Guardian publisher joined the Abacha government as first Interior Minister from the South, but because he didn’t take The Guardian to propagate the junta, they shot and nearly killed him, he never recovered from that gunshot until he died in 2011. They closed down the newspaper for 11 months still on June 12 coverage. The list was not exhaustive and the president’s speech on that remarkable day, saying and others after mentioning some names was defective. Who are those others?

“For instance, Joe Igbokwe was so important more than so many of these prominent people in the struggle, an Ibo man from Nnewi and an engineer writing from a particular address in Surulere. There was no internet at that time, but he was writing letters and posting to all the editors, everyday. He even wrote a book, ‘Heroes of Democracy’. If the presidency had used his book as a reference, they won’t have made too many blunders like that.

“When Abacha was not ready to get us back to democracy, there were some very courageous men who formed G-5 and later G-18 led by Solomon Lar. They wrote a letter that he should not go the way he was going. Who were you to confront Abacha at that time but they confronted him. They expanded G-18 to G-34, led by late Alex Ekwueme. The way they confronted Abacha shortly before he died was significant to political history after five political parties had adopted him. They said no, we can’t get democracy through this way, you are not supposed to be part of this process but they confronted the dangerous man, these are heroes that were ignored.

“What of one Mohammed Adamu who wrote a cover for African Concord from titled ‘The Ruthless Man behind Abacha’, they didn’t put his name but through a betrayal, another journalist, the DSS people were able to find the writer even though the story on Hamza Al-Mustapha had no byline. He was arrested and detained for almost a year. The DSS people were able to protect him from what we learnt at the time from Mustapha’s men who were to waste him. Adamu is still alive today.

“There are others too numerous to mention like Prof. Olatunji Dare, who even wrote a book The Diary of a Debacle. I for instance was editor at the time for the first newspaper in Abuja in 1990, Abuja NewsDay. The June 12 debacle met us, we published two exclusives that made them to look for me, I was arrested once. Abuja NewsDay was also closed down the day Punch, Guardian, Concord, and Tell were shut. Why, we published two exclusive stories. One was revealed in a recent podcast by one of Abiola’s children that Abiola’s son, Kola and IBB’s daughter, Aisha were in hot romance. We saw them in Abuja in Sheraton, we published it as a lead story, shortly after that, there was one scoop, a world-class exclusive that we published, it was that Abiola and IBB met secretly inside Aso Rock while the SDP executives were meeting in Benin. Abiola wasn’t in hiding at that time, he hadn’t made Epetedo declaration but he was all over the place meeting with the military authorities over the actualisation of June 12. While they were meeting, he brought Kudirat and Kola, they came in the night with his Concord Airline and we published the story of IBB, Abiola in a secret meeting.

“Nobody wanted to believe the story until people started confirming it, how come at a time when people were burning tyres and protesting everywhere, IBB and Abiola met. Part of the story was that even when IBB was trying to escort Abiola he forgot to put on his cap, he spoke in Yoruba to Abiola that he was going to put on his cap. That was the time even some of his aides knew that IBB could converse in Yoruba fluently.

“They just closed down the newspaper. As a consequence, the publisher ran away, I also escaped from Abuja and ran to Lagos. My publisher, Alhaji Bukar Zama, escaped to Kaduna, he was in his farm along Zaria Road when security operatives arrested him and detained him for some time. He was so frightened that he never reopened Abuja NewsDay. All others were reopened but that was the end of Abuja NewsDay. It’s not that we are looking for recognition but when a president decided to make a statement about heroes, it is not enough to just mention the newspapers without mentioning so many of the people, including journalists who were significant in their service to their country.

Wanted: A June 12 monument, roll call of honour
For Oloja, nothing can properly situate the efforts of the June 12 heroes without a proper monument dedicated to the famous and unsung heroes of the process. “Government should set up a committee to compile prominent and significant figures in the struggle for democracy in Nigeria so that some of our history will not be lost. Nothing is wrong in writing the names of such people on a monument like the victims who lost their lives to the 9/11 terrorist attack in the U.S. we can create a hall of fame for some of those people.

“Lest we forget, there was an African American, Walter Carrington, who was posted to Nigeria as the U.S. Ambassador and it is on account of his contributions that they even named a street after him because he was demonstrating like he was a Nigerian. Some other American diplomats have even been implicated in this June 12 struggle like Condoleezza Susan Rice and Thomas Pickering because they were present at the dying minutes of Abiola. She even wrote a book trying to exonerate herself from serving tea, that as a woman she was just concerned when Abiola was having difficulty in breathing and suggested if he would take tea to get some relief. She didn’t bring the tea, she just prepared it from the tray in the room Abiola was kept. Like Shakespeare would have said, all the perfumes of Arabia could not have washed her hands clean, but Carrington was like an activist, he went beyond the brief of a diplomat by the way he was supporting the struggle.

“This is a hero of democracy, so we should expand the universe of this discourse about heroes of democracy. Water Carrington should have been announced as a hero whether alive or dead. He was part of Epetedo declaration all through and even married a Nigerian lady, Arese. Should we say it was a deliberate or collective amnesia from the seat of power. It is not a fair deal to forget significant contributors to this present democracy.

“Beyond list, it is not enough to celebrate June 12, we should at this time be celebrating gains of democracy after 31 years. We should begin to find gains of democracy from the way we have simplified our electoral process. The transparency of the process must be addressed. South Africa just showed the world the majesty of democracy. Less than a week after the confirmation by the parliament, they did swearing-in, nobody is going to court to stop it, judiciary is not going to pronounce a president, they are not waiting for Supreme Court to confirm the president.

“So, it is not just enough to be celebrating and naming people, some of the heroes of democracy who are alive now are hungry, so we want dividends of democracy in a way that lives would be easier for the citizens, not that after 31 years, people are still looking for tomatoes to buy and if you can see it, it is expensive. Democracy should deliver some development that will enable and ensure happiness, we shouldn’t have hungry and angry heroes of democracy. We need a democracy that will disrupt our electoral process in such a way that we would not be spending too much money on elections. In the last election, a particular state government paid N30 billion on litigation to pay lawyers who handed their cases up to Supreme Court.

“If people are not happy, every year we gather and make noise about June 12 as democracy day, we can’t see the dividends of the democracy. The most important dividend of democracy is freedom – freedom of expression, of association, of voting, freedom of anything – we do not have that freedom now. They are picking up journalists everywhere. The police are now prosecuting journalists anyhow and nobody is rebuking them. That does not make us to remember the majesty of democracy that we are celebrating,” he concluded.

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