{"id":67423,"date":"2019-07-02T04:58:31","date_gmt":"2019-07-02T03:58:31","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/pointblanknews.com\/pbn\/?p=67423"},"modified":"2019-07-02T04:58:31","modified_gmt":"2019-07-02T03:58:31","slug":"beyond-the-symbolisms-of-june-12","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/pointblanknews.com\/pbn\/articles-opinions\/beyond-the-symbolisms-of-june-12\/","title":{"rendered":"Beyond the symbolisms of June 12"},"content":{"rendered":"
\n
By Tochukwu Ezukanma<\/div>\n
<\/div>\n
June 12 1993 was a milestone in the history of Nigeria democracy and<\/div>\n
\n
political evolution. It is a symbol of the people\u2019s struggle against
\nsocial injustice, ethnic chauvinism, and the repudiation of the
\ncollective will of the people by military tyrants; and the triumph of
\nthe will of the people, and their awakened aspirations over the terror
\nof the gun. However, in addition to its symbolisms, June 12 has some
\nlessons for Nigerians.<\/p>\n

To overcome the drawbacks of parliamentary democracy and enhance the
\nfragile unity of our heterogeneous country, the crafters of the Nigerian
\nconstitutions opted for presidential democracy. Conscientiously, they
\ncrafted the Nigerian constitution to encourage the election of national
\nand unifying figures to the presidency. Unlike in parliamentary
\ndemocracy, where a local, parochial bigot, elected to represent a
\nrustic, insular outpost in parliament, can, through the internal
\npower-play of parliament, emerge the prime minister, only a national
\nfigure, with an across the board appeal to the Nigerian electorate, can
\nbecome a president.<\/p>\n

Moshood Abiola was an epitome of this recherch\u00e9 national and unifying
\nfigure. For many years, he traversed the length and breadth of Nigeria
\nmaking friends, forming alliances and doling out his philanthropic
\nlargesse. Although, a devote Moslem, he transcended religious
\nintolerance that emanates from every religion\u2019s tendency to claim a
\nmonopoly on the Truth, and thus, impress it on its votaries that theirs
\nis the only true faith. He extended his patronage to Christians, and
\nChristian projects. It was a testament to the trust – that bestrides
\nreligious divides – reposed on him by Nigerians that Christians voted
\nen-masse for his Moslem\/Moslem presidential ticket. In addition, he
\nbestrode the divisiveness of tribe in Nigerian politics. His friendship
\nand benevolence knew no bounds; it was totally indifferent to tribal and
\nregional divides. Invariably, he unified what was, for long, a
\nfissiparous and finicky electorate notorious for its extreme sensitivity
\nto ethnic and other peculiarities. Thus, he won a decisive victory in
\nthat most transparent and credible presidential election in the history
\nof Nigeria.<\/p>\n

Unfortunately, in stark contrast to Moshood Abiola, President Buhari is
\nan Islamic fundamentalist and an unabashed proponent of the Sharia penal
\ncode. His undisguised religious bigotry unnerves many Nigerian
\nChristians; some even suspect that he has an agenda to Islamize Nigeria.
\nHis tribalism and nepotism are deepening and widening the ethnic and
\nsectarian fault lines of the country. Never before, not even during the
\ncivil war, have Nigerians been so divided along tribal, religious and
\nregional lines. Buhari\u2019s appointments, especially, in the security
\nagencies were totally insensitive to federal character. It was so skewed
\nagainst southern Nigerians, especially, the Igbo. Of his eighteen
\nappointees to head the military and other security agencies, fourteen
\nwere northerners, four, southerners, and none, Igbo. His Fulanization of
\nthe leadership of the Nigerian security apparatus and his
\nadministration\u2019s obvious support for the Fulani blood-spattered
\nincursions into the Middle Belt and South of Nigeria is very worrisome.
\nBuhari is an extremely divisive figure; his presidency is rattling the
\npeace of the country by eroding mutual trust amongst Nigerians and
\nexacerbating ethnic and sectarian discords.<\/p>\n

The June 12 election was acclaimed the most transparent and credible
\nelection in Nigerian history. Contrarily, the election that re-elected
\nBuhari to a second term was undoubtedly rigged in favor of Buhari. Many
\nNigerians suspected it and the opposition Peoples Democratic Party (PDP)
\nhas evidence to that effect. In addition, impartial and reputable
\ninternational election observers, including the European Union, and
\nInternational Republic Institute, in their final reports of the February
\n23rd 2019 presidential election that re-elected President Buhari to a
\nsecond term, wrote that the election was deeply flawed.<\/p>\n

So, as we extol the recognition of June 12 as the Nigerian Democracy
\nDay, it is important that we appreciate the lessons from June 12. The
\nlessons of June 12 are that Nigerians can organize and hold indisputably
\nfree and fair presidential election; and a true national and unifying
\nfigure can unify the Nigerian electorate and win a decisive presidential
\nvictory without resort to electoral fraud.\u00a0 The other lessons of June 12
\ninclude open-mindedness, religious tolerance, and accommodation for all
\nin total blindness to creed and tongue, as opposed to the
\nnarrow-mindedness, religious intolerance, tribalism, nepotism and
\nelectoral fraud that are the hallmarks of the Buhari administration.<\/p>\n

Tochukwu Ezukanma writes from Lagos, Nigeria
\nmaciln18@yahoo.com<\/a>
\n0803 529 2908<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

<\/div>\n<\/div>\n
<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

By Tochukwu Ezukanma June 12 1993 was a milestone in the history of Nigeria democracy and political evolution. 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