IBB’s A Journey In Service Stands As Vital Response To June 12 Struggle – Kola Abiola
KOLA ABIOLA
IBB’s A Journey In Service Stands As Vital Response To June 12 Struggle – Kola Abiola
After the return to democracy in Nigeria, we sought the official recognition of the June 12 elections and Chief MKO Abiola’s victory. On June 12th 2018, the Federal Republic of Nigeria awarded Bashorun M.K.O Abiola the posthumous national award of Grand Commander of the Federal Republic (GCFR). His running mate, Ambassador Baba Kingibe, was also awarded the Grand Commander of Nigeria (GCON). This belated recognition came 25 years after the election they won in 1993.
At the event, President Muhammadu Buhari said, “The decision and this event is not meant to be and is not an attempt to open old wounds, but to put right a national wrong. Nigerians of their own freewill voted for Late Chief MKO Abiola and Amb. Baba Gana Kingibe, the Presidential flag bearer and running mate of the Social Democratic Party (SDP) in the 1993 elections. The Government of the day inexplicably cancelled the elections when it was clear who were going to be the winners.”
He further said, “On behalf of the Federal Government, I tender the nation’s apology to the family of Late MKO Abiola, who got the highest votes and to those that lost their loved ones in the cause of June 12 struggle.”
With this announcement, our prayer was answered. On that day in 2018, our father stopped being the “presumed winner” of the 1993 election to being recognised as Nigeria’s posthumous President. After 25 years of emotional and psychological trauma, the award in 2018 went a long way to bringing closure for some of us. Once again, we would like to acknowledge and appreciate the courage of President Buhari for that bold step.
The Obasanjo government refused to recognise or honour June 12 or Bashorun MKO Abiola in its eight years of governance. In contrast, President Buhari’s government also designated June 12 as National Democracy Day in 2018, replacing May 29, President Obasanjo’s preferred date. Further, the National Stadium was renamed MKO Abiola Stadium in 2019.
As of February 27th 2025, the day of the IBB book launch, 62% of MKO’s children were 45 years old and below. This percentage correlates with Nigeria’s demographic distribution today.
On June 12th 1993, 35 years ago, most of us would have been 10 years old or younger. Many were toddlers or teenagers with limited knowledge and understanding of the facts surrounding the June 12 election and the colossal tragedy that unfolded thereafter.
As such it is necessary for us as a nation to acknowledge and document facts for the proper preservation of history, justice and accountability.
After the coup of 1985 that brought the government of the Military President IBB into power, there was a national agitation for a return to civilian rule. In a speech to the nation in 1987, IBB announced a political transition programme. The initial handover was supposed to be 1990. This was changed to 1992 and eventually culminated in the annulment of the June 12 1993 election. The transition process started with the creation of grassroots political parties. The party registration criteria required parties to have representation in every state, local government and ward of the federation.
After two years of this process, the then military administration proscribed all the political parties and decided to foist a two-party system on the nation with the creation of SDP and NRC. That singular act led to the detention of many politicians and impoverished a lot of Nigerians who had expended their resources into building political institutions that they believed promoted their political ideologies.
Even though Nigerians were experiencing economic hardship directly caused by government’s Structural Adjustment Programme (SAP), the military government, to meet the party formation requirement it had earlier set for politicians, took on the colossal expense of building secretariats for the two parties in every state and in all then 454 local governments of the federation. The huge expense included staff salaries and other recurrent expenses. Sadly, this long-winded process cost the nation approximately 5 Billion USD in 1993. It eventually dawned on Nigerians that the entire transition process was never sincere and a betrayal of Nigerians’ democratic expectations.
Not since the civil war had there been an event that shook the foundation of our nation like the June 12 annulment tragedy. For an election that was acknowledged by all, including today’s IBB, to be free, fair and devoid of ethnic and religious cleavages, the annulment threatened the unity of Nigeria by reopening a lot of old wounds. Some of those wounds still haunt us till this day.
As at 1993, MKO Abiola’s group of companies was the largest private sector employer of labour in Nigeria at that time, with over 15,000 employees spread across every state, right down to local governments of Ardo Kola in Taraba State, Lafiagi in Kwara State and Oriown Local Government in Edo State amongst others under the Community Concord newspaper. These businesses were disabled by the military government of the time expressly because of MKO Abiola’s victory in a free and fair election. The direct and indirect loss of livelihood for these Nigerians cannot be quantified. We were all casualties of the annulment.
The integrity of the June 12 elections and MKO Abiola’s victory were finally acknowledged by Military President General Babangida in his speech at his book launch on February 20th 2025. In the address, IBB blamed the annulment on some powerful Northern generals and politicians opposed to MKO’s victory. IBB specifically identified General Abacha and an unnamed Lieutenant General as opposed to his personal unwillingness to give up power.
After 32 years out of office, one wonders why IBB believes that the living culprits should still remain nameless. He found it easy to name Abacha, who is late and can’t defend himself from the grave, but struggles to apologise or properly own up to the truth and consequences of his action.
In his 420-page memoir, he states that if he had gone ahead and upheld the results of the June 12 election, there was a threat to his life and that of MKO. 32 years after, he is alive to write and launch and benefit from his memoirs, while MKO was consumed by the whole ordeal. What an irony; a battle tested General and Military President for eight and half years who survived at least one bloody coup attempt was afraid of death while a civilian, MKO, confronted the dangers head on. If for just that one loss of MKO Abiola, the names of the culprits, dead or alive, should have been mentioned 32 years after, starting with the unnamed Lieutenant General. To do otherwise is to confirm that this has always been about self-preservation and IBB’s desire to remain in power. Not uncommon with politicians of the day.
Governance is a continuous and evolving process. The government of the day should take responsibility for and strive to correct misdeeds and injustices of the past. This process was started by President Muhammadu Buhari in 2018 and we would like to urge the government of President Bola Ahmed Tinubu to complete the task of “putting right a national wrong.”
Firstly, we recommend that the Federal Government also formally recognise the sacrifice of the following people:
• Alhaja Kudirat Abiola
• Chief Alfred Rewane
• Other heroes of the NADECO struggle
• Journalists and activists such as Mallam Mohammed Adamu, Mr Alao Aka- Bashorun, Mr Olu Akerele, Rtd Col. Olu Bamgbose, Mr Frank Kokori, amongst many who were either jailed or killed
We also recommend the opening of a national register of hitherto now unnamed victims of the June 12 annulment tragedy along with a national monument to mark this phase of our history.
In my previous statement, I questioned if we have learnt any lesson from the terrible experience of June 12. I still believe we haven’t. I come to this conclusion from the perspective of someone who was deeply involved in the June 12 story.
Beyond honouring and recognising the victims of June 12, I believe we owe it to the generations coming after us to speak the truth and state the facts about this part of our history as opposed to revising or rewriting it. We owe this to the demographic that makes up 65% of our population and who are the future of our nation. We therefore also recommend that an accurate June 12 history be included in the national educational curriculum.
Thank you.
God bless Nigeria.
Kola Abiola
