I have come across interviews and analyses about the battle against the annulment of the June 12, 1993 presidential poll, and the declaration of late of June 12 as Democracy Day through the courage of President Muhammadu Buhari who also honoured the heroes, both living and dead, of the struggle.

Tinubu

Of particular interest to me is the interview of Mr. Kola Abiola, son of the late Chief Moshood Kashimawo Olawale Abiola (MKO), winner of the annulled June 12 election, who gave his own perspectives of the struggle whilst his late dad was incarcerated by the late General Sani Abacha government for demanding the revalidation of his stolen mandate.

However, one thing I find unacceptable is when stories of such political agitations are told with sensational coloration, elevation of falsehoods and fabrication over truth. As a stakeholder who was a victim of that despotic regime, it then became necessary for me to speak out against the narrative that seeks to obliterate the facts of the June 12 struggle as they concern labour leaders (especially oil and gas workers), rights activists, the press, student unions, etc.

For clarity, in July 1994, the National Executive Council (NEC) of the Nigerian Union of Petroleum and Natural Gas Workers (NUPENG) took the patriotic decision to fight for the actualization of the June 12, 1993 presidential election results through the process of political strike to put pressure on the Abacha regime to install Abiola as the President of Nigeria.

The same decision was taken by the NEC of the Petroleum and Natural Gas Senior Staff Association of Nigeria (PENGASSAN). The stay at home strike action by members of NUPENG and PENGASSAN started with full commitment of the oil workers. It was a classical strike action devoid of economic interest but political.

The reasons for the commitment of the oil and gas workers to actualize the result of June 12, 1993 election were as follows:

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1. It was the most free, fair, credible and peaceful election ever conducted in Nigeria Even the opposition candidate, Alhaji Uthman Bashir Tofa, lost to Abiola in his ward

iii.That the results of that election would have resolved two of the major problems plaguing the development of Nigeria, i.e. the winner of that election would have been a Muslim-Muslim ticket (Chief MKO Abiola/Ambassador Babagana Kingibe). Also it would have resolved the problem of ethnicity and North-South divide (Ambassador Babagana Kingibe of the North and MKO Abiola of the South respectively)

1. That there were no legitimate reasons for the annulment of the election by the government in power

Throughout the nine weeks strike action led by Comrade Frank Ovie Kokori as General Secretary of NUPENG and myself as Deputy General Secretary, Senator Bola Ahmed Tinubu was always in contact with NUPENG and PENGASSAN to sustain the pressure against the government in order to ensure the enthronement of democracy and, most importantly, the swearing-in of Abiola as President.

When Abiola came back from London, it was Tinubu who organized a meeting with us and Abiola for the first time, precisely two weeks after our strike had started.

At that meeting, held at one of Abiola’s hideouts at Ologun Agbaje Street, Victoria Island, Lagos, Abiola thanked us for our patriotism and for the strike action which took place even without prompting from him.

In the light of this, it became absolutely illogical and unthinkable for Tinubu, who was known for consistently encouraging us with people like the late Dr. Beko Ransome-Kuti, the late Dr. Fredrick Fasheun, Mr. Femi Falana (SAN) and other civil rights activists, to now simultaneously lobby for the post of Administrator, Deputy Administrator or Commissioner under the same unpopular military junta.

It is most unfair for anyone, including Kola Abiola, to come up with insinuations or innuendos that are damaging, misleading and erroneous against such a man of good conscience.

Within the labour movement, then-President of the Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC), the late Comrade Pascal Bafyau, had his own grudge against Abiola.

Pascal’s grudge against Abiola was that he dropped him as running mate in favour of Ambassador Babagana Kingibe.

Pascal quoted one of Abiola’s sons as saying during a media interview that the reason his father dropped him as vice presidential candidate was that Pascal would have been a political liability to his father.

Consequently, Pascal was demobilizing the labour movement at that time from going on strike.

It was his deputy, Comrade Adams Oshiomhole, with some other resolute industrial union leaders that supported NUPENG and PENGASSAN’s actions.

Without prejudice, those to be considered as heroes of democracy include Kokori, Kojo Agamene of blessed memory, then-President of NUPENG, Chief W. Babibi, and then-General Secretary of PENGASSAN, S.F. Oginni, H. Falaye, etc.

Although different people played different negative roles both in public and in secret, all I know is that some people stood firm to the end. With the actualization of the election, we would have destroyed religious and ethnic divisions in Nigeria.

June 12, 1993 poll was a watershed in Nigeria’s history. Though some powerful people tried to wish away that date, the date has eventually survived political suppression over the years through the popular willpower of the current democratic regime. It is a landmark and momentous accomplishment on the part of President Buhari.

It is my utmost desire for a peaceful, united and prosperous Nigeria as well as political leadership with a strong-will that could also dispassionately promote democratic virtues and engender even distribution of Nigeria’s commonwealth.

It is equally my wish to see a flourishing, safe, and investment friendly socio-economic clime accompanied by sound education, robust human capital development, abundant employment opportunities and capacity building initiatives for the youths, good health care system, increase infrastructure development and other basic needs of Nigerians in the next 4 years so that the people can be more united and be a force to be reckoned with in Africa and the world.