The Social Democratic Party (SDP), under whose banner billionaire politician, Chief Moshood Abiola, contested and won the 12 June 1993 presidential election, has lamented that the hopes and promises of the entrepreneur remain unfulfilled 33 years after, accusing subsequent administrations of failing to ‘prioritise the true interests of the people and the country’.
In a statement on Friday, SDP’s National Publicity Secretary, Araba Rufus Aiyenigba, said: ‘The mass of the Nigerian people, sadly, still contend, today, with dehumanising poverty and rising costs of living, unemployment, poor governance outcomes, rising corruption, poor public accountability, worsening national and human security, national despair, dwindling public trust in government and failing public institutions, and supressed civil liberties’.
The party, however, assured that its vision for a greater Nigeria endures, adding: ‘Today, as we celebrate June 12, a date which will continue to have an enduring significance in our democratic history, the SDP, under the leadership of Prof. Sadiq Umar Abubakar Gombe as National Chairman and Prince Adewole Adebayo as the presidential candidate for 2027 general elections offers the most credible alternative platform for national redemption’.
The full statement:
On this day, thirty-three years ago, the Nigerian people, across the north and south divides, came out in their numbers and spoke loudly with their votes, against poverty in the midst of plenty; against lack of social justice; against poor public governance; against nepotism; against oppressive regimes, and against governance without a human face.
Enthusiastic electorate trooped out in large numbers in Kano, Benue, Yobe, Gombe, Oyo, Lagos, Cross River, Plateau, Borno, Bauchi, and other states, and in countless number of communities across the federation, and voted for Chief Moshood Kasimawo Olawale Abiola, the candidate of the Social Democratic Party (SDP), whom they related with as being the bearer of true hope for a better Nigeria.
Significantly, voters in Kano and its constituencies preferred MKO Abiola over Alhaji Bashir Tofa, their own son, who was the candidate of the National Republican Convention (NRC), as the SDP won in the state. The pan-Nigerian outlook of the electoral outcome of that election showed the overwhelming popularity of Abiola and how acceptable his party, the SDP, was across the country.
It is important to note that the national appeal of old, which the party had, remains the same today, three decades later.
Unfortunately, the 12 June 1993 presidential election, which was adjudged the freest, fairest, peaceful and most credible election in the political history of Nigeria, was annulled, and its prospects and gains of a better life for Nigerians and national integration were aborted.
The ill-advised action of the military junta in annuling the election, in which a winner had emerged, was met with unparalleled national outrage and civil resistance, which evolved into a marked period of political instability, during which Chief MKO Abiola, winner of the election, was incarcerated and died while being held.
Not a few citizens were felled by the bullets of the military during the national resistance against the annulment, while a number of front-line pro-democracy activists and thousands of activists who championed the national civil actions were brutalised and some of them hounded into exile.
It is commendable that the late President Muhammadu Buhari, GCFR, in 2018, stood on the side of history and the true national interest by declaring June 12 as Nigeria’s Democracy Day, thereby replacing May 29, which had hitherto been celebrated as the day. The National Assembly, in 2019, also acted by institutionalising the date, through necessary amendments to our Public Holiday Laws, making it a public holiday, and as the official Democracy Day.
Three decades later, the hopes and promises that MKO Abiola’s presidency would have delivered to Nigeria remain unfulfilled, as successive governments have failed to prioritise the true interests of the people and the country.
The mass of the Nigerian people, sadly, still contend, today, with dehumanising poverty and rising costs of living, unemployment, poor governance outcomes, rising corruption, poor public accountability, worsening national and human security, national despair, dwindling public trust in government and failing public institutions, and suppressed civil liberties.
The foregoing was what 12 June symbolised, and the presidency of MKO Abiola, and an SDP government would have delivered for the good of the Nigerian people and would have laid a solid foundation upon which successive administrations after him would have built upon.
It is regrettable that Nigeria lost the opportunity to have MKO Abiola deliver on his mission, but the SDP vision for a greater Nigeria endures.
Notwithstanding the failures of past administrations, and the harrowing experiences of Nigerians under the present civil regime, the Social Democratic Party (SDP), on this momentous occasion of the anniversary of 12 June, which occupies a unique place in the history of our democratic journey as a nation, assures Nigerians that the date, as a defining juncture, remains an enduring inspiration for democratic consolidation.
The party assures that a truly refreshing hope is on the horizon – not that of the renewed hopelessness that currently pervades the landscape under the watch of the task masters and unclean sweepers.
Today, as we celebrate June 12, a date which will continue to have an enduring significance in our democratic history, the SDP, under the leadership of Prof. Sadiq Umar Abubakar Gombe as National Chairman and Prince Adewole Adebayo as the presidential candidate for 2027 general elections offers the most credible alternative platform for national redemption.
The party is well-primed and poised to re-enact 12 June 1993 electoral outcome. It is strongly committed to strengthening our public institutions; killing corruption; implementing Chapter 2 of the Nigerian Constitution; engendering and entrenching the Nigerian dream, and making life truly meaningful for all Nigerians, and making our nation safe for all.
While recognising that the times are hard for Nigerians, and that people are yet to get the desired fruits of their democratic labours, the SDP celebrates the unforgettable sacrifices of the late Chief MKO Abiola, GCFR, his wife Alhaja Kudirat, and all the heroes, heroines and martyrs of democracy, who paid the supreme price for the freedom we enjoy today.
The party enjoins Nigerians to always call to mind the sublime popular quotation that “eternal vigilance is the price of liberty”.
Nigerian citizens need to be mindful that a democracy that is not watched, hardens and slides to despotism in no time; that complacency is the key enemy of people’s freedom, and that democratic freedom is not a permanent state of being, and for them to keep their rights, they need to constantly pay attention to what matters, and always work to protect and defend democracy with their active participation, and guard against those who abuse their mandates.
As Nigeria prepares for the 2027 general elections, the SDP salutes the courage of all Nigerian compatriots and democracy activists who are currently championing relentlessly the promotion of the true interests of the nation.
The SDP promises to continue to stand with the people. The party will offer the Nigerian elecorate the most credible candidates for all elective positions.
We call on the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) to act as being truly independent and work for democracy and not the interest of a few. That is the only way the Commission can earn the trust of Nigerians.
All relevant institutions and stakeholders associated with our electoral processes need to prioritise the true interest of Nigeria for the good of all.
2027 is a critical juncture for democratic consolidation. We must join hands to make democracy work and build a Nigeria that we can all be proud of.
Happy Democracy Day to all Nigerians.
