June 12 Coalition Of Democratic Formations Statement At A World Press Conference On June 16th, 2016 In Lagos
The June 12 Coalition of Democratic Formations (J12CODEF) having observed the drift of the Nigerian state since the ill-advised annulment of the June 12, 1993 Presidential election by the Ibrahim Babangida military junta, is once again propelled by the spirit of patriotism to critically analyze issues and proffer a way out of the quagmire that we have found ourselves as a country.
The consciousness of Nigerians about the importance of June 12 in the political life of our country and democracy has repeatedly been demonstrated by the yearly commemoration of the anniversary of the election nationwide by the mass of the people through seminars, workshops, symposiums, lectures, rallies, walk, media engagements, etc which has gone a long way in deepening the tenets of democracy.
It would be recalled that the June 12, 1993 Presidential election which was won by late business mogul and politician, Bashorun M.K.O. Abiola was certified as free, fair and credible by both local and international observers as well as other stakeholders in the electoral process. The credibility of the election reverberates till today to the extent that it is still regarded as the freest and fairest election in Nigeria’s political history.
Late Chief M.K.O. Abiola was a reputable and successful businessman, philanthropist and politician who when contesting the June 12, 1993 Presidential election had only two things in mind; (1) If he loses the election, he will go back up the pieces of his shattered business due to the vagaries of electioneering expenses and (2) If he had won, would have gone into office to implement his farewell to poverty manifesto.
Unfortunately, late Bashorun M.K.O. Abiola never bargained that in winning a Presidential election free and fair, that it would be annulled, himself arrested for insisting on actualizing a mandate freely given by the Nigerian people, incarcerated, tortured and eventually killed by his abductors, his wife Kudirat Abiola assassinated by agents of the state for resolutely standing by her husband to reclaim the peoples mandate, his business empire destroyed and his children, orphaned.
Notwithstanding, it must be stated that the then military junta of General Ibrahim Babangida (Rtd.), usurped the powers of the National Electoral Commission (NEC), the electoral umpire in annulling the June 12, 1993 Presidential election. This criminal annulment of the election was an assault on the collective sensibilities of millions of Nigerians who freely gave their mandate to late Chief M.K.O. Abiola via the ballot box.
Thus, the failure of successive governments since the advent of democratic rule in 1999 to address the issue of June 12 on the side of justice has resulted in sundry crisis bedeviling the Nigerian state such as Boko haram, IPOB/Biafra, Corruption, militancy in the Niger Delta, herdmens menace, kidnappings, etc.
RECOMMENDATIONS:
- The crisis bedeviling the Nigerian state cannot be resolved without restructuring the country along the lines of true federalism.
- The June 12 Coalition demands the establishment of a technical committee to review and harmonize the reports of the past National Conferences since independence and Pro National Conference (PRONACO) draft constitution as a way forward. The report of the technical committee should be used to draw up a people’s constitution which should be subjected to a popular referendum.
- The Federal Government should as a matter of urgency direct the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) to make public the results of the June 12, 1993 Presidential election and officially declare the winner in person of late Chief M.K.O. Abiola of the then Social Democracy Party (SDP).
- The Federal Government should post humously recognize late Chief M.K.O. Abiola as the President Elect of the Federal Republic of Nigeria based on the June 12, 1993 Presidential election and immortalize the memory of the custodian of the mandate and the day by declaring June 12 every year as M.K.O. Abiola DAY.
- The Right to Self Determination is one of the issues enshrined as a fundamental political principle in the United Nations Charter. Since the end of the Nigerian civil war in 1970, the United Nations through its Agencies, Conventions, Commissions, Protocols, Panels and Declarations have established mechanisms on how Ethnic Nationalities in nation states could fight for their right to self determination without resorting to violence.
- It in this regards that the June 12 Coalition of Democratic Formations strongly call on the Federal Government not to treat nationalities agitating for the right to self determination as nation wreckers that must be crushed with the heavy force of arms. Rather, Government should open all channels of communication for dialogue.
CONCLUSION:
In order to avert the reoccurrence of crisis of various magnitudes which seems to be the lot of the Nigerian state, it becomes expedient to admonish the Nigerian government to be responsible and responsive to resolve the National Question, peacefully.
Thanks for your precious time.
Yours Sincerely,
Alfred Ilenre Nelson Ekujumi
Chairman General Secretary