In the last few hours, cities and towns in the South-West region of
Nigeria have been shut down for the celebration of June 12’s 25th anniversary.
On June 11, 1994, Chief MKO Abiola, the winner of the 1993 Presidential Election
declared himself President of the country in a speech delivered at Epetedo area
of Lagos Island.
“As of now, from this moment, a new Government of National Unity is in
power throughout the length and breadth of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, led
by me, Bashorun M.K.O. Abiola, as President and Commander-in-Chief. The
National Assembly is hereby reconvened. All dismissed governors are reinstated.”
The highlighted are the powerful
words and phrases that got the government of General Sanni Abacha angry and led to the Chief MKO’s arrest.
The Speech
“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! People of
Nigeria, during the election campaign last year, I presented you with a
programme entitled “HOPE ’93. This programme was aimed precisely at solving
these economic (problems) that have demoralised us all. I toured every part of
Nigeria to present this programme to you the electorate. I was questioned on it
at public rallies and press conferences and I had the privilege of
incorporating into it much of the feedback that I obtained from the people.
Because you knew I would not only listen to you but
deliver superb results from the programme, you voted for me in your millions
and gave me an overwhelming majority over my opponent. To be precise, you gave
me 58.4 per cent of the popular vote and a majority in 20 out of 30 states plus
the Federal Capital Territory, Abuja. Not only that, you also enabled me to
fulfil the constitutional requirement that the winner should obtain one-third
of the votes in two-thirds of the states.
I am sure that when you cast an eye on the moribund state of
Nigeria today, you
ask yourselves: “What have we done to deserve this, when we have a president-
elect who can lead a government that can change things for the better? Our
patience has come to an end.
As of now, from this moment, a new Government of National
Unity is in power throughout the length and breadth of the Federal Republic of
Nigeria, led by me, Bashorun M.K.O. Abiola, as President and
Commander-in-Chief. The National Assembly is hereby reconvened. All dismissed governors
are reinstated.
The State Assemblies are reconstituted, as are all local
government councils. I urge them to adopt a bi-partisan approach to all the
issues that come before them. At the national level, a bi-partisan approach
will be our guiding principle. I call upon the usurper, General Sani Abacha, to announce his resignation
forthwith, together with the rest of his illegal ruling council. We are prepared to enter into
negotiations with them to work out the mechanics for a smooth transfer of power.
I pledge that if they hand over quietly, they will be
retired with all their entitlements, and their positions will be accorded all
the respect due to them. For our objective is neither recrimination nor
witch-hunting, but an enforcement of the will of the Nigerian people, as
expressed in free elections conducted by the duly constituted authority of the
time.
I hereby invoke the mandate bestowed upon me by my
victory in the said election, to call on all members of the Armed Forces and
the Police, the Civil and Public Services throughout the Federal Republic of
Nigeria, to obey only the Government of National Unity that is headed by me,
your only elected President.
My Government of National Unity is the only legitimate,
constituted authority in the Federal Republic of Nigeria, as of now. People of
Nigeria, these are challenging times in the history of our continent, Africa,
and we in Nigeria must not allow ourselves to be left behind. Our struggle is
the same as that waged by the people of South Africa, which has been
successfully concluded, with the inauguration of Mr. Nelson Mandela as the
first African President of that country.
Nelson Mandela fought to replace MINORITY rule with
MAJORITY rule. We in Nigeria are also fighting to replace MINORITY rule, for we
are ruled by only a tiny section of our armed forces. Like the South Africans,
we want MAJORITY rule today, that is rule only by those chosen by all the
people of Nigeria as a whole in free and fair elections.
The only difference between South Africa and Nigeria is
that those who imposed minority rule on the majority rule whether it is by
black or white, remains minority rule, and must be booted out. I call on you,
heroic people of Nigeria, to emulate the actions of your brothers and sisters
in South Africa and stand up as one person to throw away the yoke of minority
rule for ever.
The antics of every minority that oppresses the majority
are always the same. They will try to intimidate you with threats of police
action. But do not let us fear arrest. In South Africa, so many people were
arrested, during the campaign against the Pass Laws, for instance, that the
jails could not hold all of them. Today, apartheid is gone forever.
So, let it be with Nigeria. Let us say goodbye forever to
minority rule by the military. They talk of treason. But haven’t they heard of
the Rivonia treason trial in South Africa? Did those treason trials halt the
march of history? People of Nigeria, our time is now. You are the repository of
power in the land.
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