By Our Correspondent
A coalition of civil society organizations has called on President Bola Ahmed Tinubu to officially recognize grassroots activists and martyrs of the historic June 12, 1993 democratic struggle, as Nigeria marks the 32nd anniversary of the annulled election.
Speaking at a world press conference in Lagos on Thursday, the Defend Nigeria Movement (DNM) and Nigerians Unite for Democracy (NUD) emphasized that while June 12 has rightfully earned a place as Nigeria’s Democracy Day, the recognition was one-sided and has neglected ordinary people.
“There is no administration since 1999 that can be acknowledged as the Baby of the June 12 struggle than the present administration of Asiwaju Bola Ahmed Tinubu. This is not only because the President was a key player among those who made sacrifices in those days and who later as governor of Lagos State was adept at innovations towards development and defiance of authoritarian central government, but also because of its richness in progressive elements and democrats. It is therefore not surprising that alongside policies geared towards economic and socio-political transformation the government has also not forgotten the heroes of the past. This cannot be denied and we are not about to do that.
“However, we make bold to state that this recognition appears to have been one-sided. The heroic deeds of the grassroots people defined that struggle. Their resilience bore the banner forward and their sweet and blood watered the flowers of struggle. Too many unsung heroes. Too many forgotten ordinary people. President Tinubu, himself a player in the board room and in the street of the struggle, need to pay attention to this.
“Therefore, we demand that the President give due recognition to the June 12 Activists and Martyrs.”
The coalition also demanded that there should also be a monument to the unsung heroes of June 12. “They are our own unknown soldiers.”
“The government at all levels needs to urgently address our security challenges by leveraging technology and community participation. State police and community policing have become a matter of urgency, beyond rhetorics and sentimental considerations. Security in the real sense should be the collective responsibility of the people, not as empty declarations but with indigenous and innovative inputs.
“We equally salute the tenacity and perseverance of our people in standing firm and keeping faith with democracy despite the challenges and provocations and we urge them to remain resolutely undeterred despite attempts to gain political capital and make a mockery of their economic plights by agents of “ebi n pawa” or “we are hungry” which has now become a political and blackmail slogan.”
The activists emphasised that since the birth of the current democratic dispensation on May 29, 1999, June 12 has become a symbol of national unity and consciousness, showcasing Nigerians’ ability to unite around an ideology despite its differences.
According to the CSO groups, the annulment of the June 12 election didn’t just mark a turning point in Nigeria’s democratic journey, but it is also a symbol of its democratic culture and resilience.
“The declaration of June 12 as a national public holiday by President Muhammadu Buhari has given the epoch its pride of place in Nigeria’s socio-political calendar. This move has helped to promote the value and symbolism of June 12. However, we need to deepen the gains of the lessons of June 12.
*The June 12, 1993 struggle was a pivotal moment in Nigeria’s democratic journey, symbolizing the fight against military tyranny and the quest for good governance. Thirty-two years after the annulment of the June 12, 1993 presidential election, the inspiration from the courage and determination of our struggle still motivates us.
“We must use this medium to congratulate Nigerians for keeping faith with democracy despite the challenges that confront us as a people with 26 years of unprecedented and unbroken democratic system and like the saying goes, a people united, can never be defeated.
“Today, no matter the antics and provocation, the human dignity that democracy confers on human beings is our lot as we make our laws in a civilian parliament and not by decree as witnessed under military despotism. We are consolidating our democracy no doubt with its own glaring challenges and improvements is imminent and possible.
“While acknowledging the initial pains and inconvenience, we congratulate and commend President Bola Tinubu for his bold and daring economic reforms which has extinguished the hemorrhaging of our economy through the termination of the fuel subsidy regime and the unification of the foreign exchange system. By these two critical policies, the President Tinubu administration has saved the country the loss of about $10bn annually in the last two years and the result is that the three tiers of government now receive almost triple their allocations from the federation account to enable them provide the dividends of democracy to the citizenry.
“We can all see the gains of the economic re-engineering of the President Bola Tinubu administration begin to manifest in infrastructural renewal as well as other policies which are making positive impacts in every other sectors of the Nigerian economy, eg. Lagos Calabar Coastal highway, Lagos Sokoto highway, naira for crude, NELFUND, tax reforms bills, etc,” the coalition said.
