country’s history. When those that procured and sustained the
annulment of the June 12 1993 election thought they had successfully
buried that epochal historicity in the thick grave that enshroud the
country’s chequered political history, that date has shot up and
assumed its rightful place as the foremost Democracy Day when the
labours of the Patriots and martyrs that fought against militarism and
civilian democracy was restored and rightly documented.
This year, precisely June 12, 2019, Nigerians will celebrate the real
Democracy Day which highlights the gritty and nervy fight Nigerians
undertook to rout the military from the country’s politics and
re-establish civilian democratic rule.This historical celebration of
the rightful date that midwifed the present democratic dispensation
was granted by President Muhammadu Buhari via a Presidential Order
last year, which boldly decided to break from the sash of a
thick-hooded conspiracy that sought to bury that historical date and
rather divert its glory to May 29when civilian governments took off in
1999. In releasing the Executive Order that rightly accorded June 12
its rightful place as the country’s DemocracyDay. President Buhari
decided to lead the country to strike a clean break froma dubious past
that was webbed to misappropriate the rightful roots of the present
long stretch democratic epoch, deny the heroes of the struggle that
brought democracy their rightful and earned places in history and
replace these with impostors and transient fortune hunters who
misappropriated the fruits of those that laid down their lives for the
enthronement of the present democracy.
So after a long 26 years living in denial, the country is this year,
celebrating democracy Day on its rightful date. In invoking that
Presidential Order, PresidentBuhari had rightly mended history, healed
open and festering wounds and indeed brought to fruition those
indelible words in our national anthem that ‘the labours of our heroes
past shall never be in vain’. In recognizing some of the leading
lights of the fitful struggle to bring democracy, the government
demonstrated a desire to stop the misapplication of honors and
recognize it for what it really is. That June 12 rose, several years
after its brutal suppression and equally brutal efforts to sustain
that wrong shows the staying power of truth over blemished lies.
As a core participant in the efforts to restore the sanctity of June
12 and accord it its rightful place in our country’s history, I see
the decision of President Buhari to do right to the festering sore as
a crowning of our efforts to do right and stand by that. I see the
validation of June 12 as the right move Nigerians need to fire their
moral function and do what is right in all situations, no matter the
cost. I see the hallowed place June 12 is getting from this year as a
timely message to a citizenry that is being persuaded to trifle with
lasting values and mores and embrace base interests because of their
mundane pecuniary value. For me and millions of Nigerians who
struggled against the brutal military and their civilian collaborators
to restore the sanctity of June 12, the declaration of a National
Holiday on June 12 and its recognition as Democracy Day is enough
reward for the struggle. That this year, twenty-six whole years after
that epic event, Nigerians are doing away with the lie that robbed the
date of its value and are going back to theroots of this democratic
order shows the staying power of truth. It can be persecuted,
rubbished, deprived but it can never get buried.
Those who were underserved beneficiaries of the June 12 struggle did
everything to bury June 12. Those who anchored their selfish interests
on suppressing June 12 did everything to kill it. Those who see their
future selfish interests nestled on killing June 12 did everything to
inter that date but, because it is a struggle anchored injustice, it
rose triumphant when they least expected and this year, Nigeria is one
boundless crescendo celebrating this date for what it rightly is.
When we recall that some of those that made the loudest noise standing
on June 12 are today seized by bitter pain and agony because June 12is
given its rightful place by the Buhari regime, we will better
understand what fired some of the people in the struggle. It is
obvious that most of those that hustled for photo-ops with Chief MKO
Abiola and who vowed and swore to stand and die by June 12 were only
hustling for their selfish interests. They neither had the conviction
that encased this struggle nor the selfless desire to see that justice
was served by the actualization of June 12. They were on positioning
themselves for the anticipated nectars of the struggle. That is why
most of them are seized with fits of bitterness and anger this year
when they should be in their Christmas bests. Their anger is ruled by
selfish desires and narrow interests that have made some of them
disgruntled stakeholders in a PDP, whose leading lights played pivotal
roles in annulling and sustaining the annulment of June 12. Their
bitterness betrays their pretensions of standing for the lofty ideals
of June 12. It was obvious that when Chief Abiola died, most of these
players surveyed the ground for where best to attend to their carnal
desires. Some of them were seduced to serve the subsequent military
governments. With the advent of the civilian government, most of them
cozied up to Obasanjo and his PDP who were natural foes of June 12 and
what it represents and for 16 years the PDP controlled power, these
impostors were comfortable with the shoddy manner June 12 was treated.
They went to bed with PDP and forgot June 12 and for them, the
struggle was ended because there were nofurther prospects for their
elephantine interests in a June 12 their new allies did everything to
inter.
Like a Daniel come to judgment, not many were surprised that the
Buhari regime restored June 12 when almost every Nigeria thought the
date has become history and had cozied up with the lie that May 29 was
the DemocracyDay as Obasanjo and his PDP confederates sold. What was
rather surprising is that many of those that struggled for photo-op
sessions with Chief Abiola and were waving the bandana of June 12 are
not happy today because the right thing was done by Buhari. Many of
those that reveled as friends and associates of Abiola and who made a
loud noise about their pre-eminent roles in the struggle for the
actualization of June 12 are today very sad that June 12 was indeed
actualized. They felt at home that an impostor on May 29 was drafted
as democracy day by their collaborators in PDP and are bitter that
June 12, the real democracy day is being restored. What more, many of
them had frantically tried to pour cold water on that gargantuan
effort by Buhari because they are today activists for PDP and the very
interests that killed and buried June 12.
But the flipsides of June 12 will not prevent millions of Nigerians
from celebrating that historical date for what it is; the very root of
the present democratic order. The betrayals that attend June 12
started from the very early days of the struggle when party chieftains
that should protect its sanctity traded it to the devious regime that
annulled it. It dates back to when the Vice Presidential candidate of
that ticket sold out to the military for a price lesser than what
Judas betrayed Jesus Christ for. The betrayals were enormous and
expansive since then but even in their hefty nature, they are not
strong enough to stop its triumph when the Buhari government declared
it a national holiday, restored its status as the Democracy Day,
apologized to Abiola family, presented Chief Abiola the country’s
highest national honor, declared him the winner of June 12, 1993,
election and honored many who were prominent in the fight for the
actualization of June 12 and the restoration of democracy in Nigeria.
These were healing balms that attends to such open sores inflicted not
only on Abiola but Nigerians in general.
As Nigerians celebrate the actualization of June 12, its rightful role
as the Democracy Day, its dethronement of the impostor of May 29, what
should rule our minds is the resolve to say never again will some
self-serving interests play the nation that hard card again. And never
again will bestial interests deal us such evil bad card of injustice
as was done to June 12. Happy celebrations to all Nigerians!
Peter Claver Oparah
Ikeja, Lagos.
E-mail: peterclaver2000@yahoo.com