By Yinka Giwa
President Bola Tinubu has paid tribute to the late Chief Moshood Kashimawo Olawale Abiola and Nigerians who fought for the restoration of democracy, as the Presidency declared that the freely expressed will of the people must never again be overturned by any authority.
Tinubu, accompanied by First Lady Senator Oluremi Tinubu, attended the national premiere of MKO, a documentary chronicling Abiola’s life, the annulled June 12, 1993 presidential election, and the pro-democracy struggle that followed.
The screening, held at the Wole Soyinka Centre for Culture and Creative Arts as part of activities marking Nigeria’s 66th Independence anniversary, attracted senior government officials, political leaders, and veterans of Nigeria’s democratic struggle.
Special Adviser to the President on Information and Strategy, Bayo Onanuga, led the gathering in observing a minute’s silence for Nigerians who lost their lives in the struggle, declaring that the freedoms enjoyed today were purchased through enormous sacrifice.
“The democracy we enjoy today was built upon the courage and sacrifices of the people we have identified,” Onanuga said.
“We owe them more than remembrance. We owe them a duty to ensure that no authority ever again overturns the freely expressed will of Nigerians.”
He paid tribute to Chief Anthony Enahoro, Pa Adekunle Ajasin, Senator Abraham Adesanya, Chief Gani Fawehinmi, Dr Beko Ransome-Kuti, Pa Alfred Rewane, Chief Frank Kokori, Rear Admiral Ndubuisi Kanu, Commodore Dan Suleiman, Chima Ubani, Chief Bola Ige, Senator Cornelius Adebayo, Chief Ayo Adebanjo, Alhaji Balarabe Musa, and other leaders and members of the National Democratic Coalition, Campaign for Democracy, and the labour movement.
Onanuga also honoured journalists, lawyers, students, workers, academics, printers, and Nigerians in the diaspora who resisted military repression and sustained the campaign for the validation of the June 12 mandate.
He said many activists were detained without trial, driven into exile, or deprived of their livelihoods, while others lost their lives because they refused to abandon their democratic convictions.
According to him, their sacrifices ultimately helped usher in Nigeria’s longest period of uninterrupted democratic rule, which has lasted since 1999.
He said Abiola, once described as the “assumed” or “presumed” winner of the June 12 election, had now been officially acknowledged as its winner and enduring symbol of the struggle.
Minister of Art, Culture, Tourism, and the Creative Economy, Hannatu Musa Musawa, said the documentary traced the events leading to the June 12 election, its annulment by the military authorities, Abiola’s arrest in 1994 after declaring his mandate, and his death in detention in 1998.
“This documentary is in honour of the heroes of June 12, the men and women who gave their lives for the mandate of June 12, 1993, and for the democracy Nigeria enjoys today,” Musawa said.
She said preserving the history was particularly important for younger Nigerians who did not experience the period, stressing that the country’s democracy came at a heavy price and must be jealously protected.
The documentary’s producer, US-based filmmaker Ose Oyamendan, praised Tinubu’s role in the democratic struggle and recalled interviewing him as a senator in 1992.
Among dignitaries at the premiere were Senate President Godswill Akpabio; House Speaker Tajudeen Abbas; Kwara State Governor AbdulRahman AbdulRazaq; Lagos State Governor Babajide Sanwo-Olu; Ogun State Governor Dapo Abiodun; Plateau State Governor Caleb Mutfwang; Chief of Staff Femi Gbajabiamila; former Ogun State Governor Olusegun Osoba; ministers and members of the National Assembly.
The documentary is expected to introduce a new generation of Nigerians to the personalities, sacrifices, and political upheavals surrounding June 12 and the struggle that eventually culminated in the return to civilian rule in 1999.
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