 |
| Alani Akinrinade |
Former Chief of Army Staff, Gen Alani Akinrinade, has advised President Muhammadu Buhari to make June 12 the inauguration day for President, governors and other political office holders in the country.
Akinrinade said this would bring more life to the significance of June 12 and its heroes who sacrificed their lives for the enthronement of democratic rule.
The former Chief of Defence Staff applauded President Buhari for recognising the significance of Abiolaโs struggle to Nigeriaโs democratic journey with the honour bestowed on him.
Akinrinade faulted the โFulanisationโ and โIslamisationโ allegation levelled by former President Olusegun Obasanjo against Buhari, stressing that the honour bestowed on Abiola, a Yoruba man, negates the position canvassed by the ex-president.
He spoke in Ado Ekiti yesterday at an event commemorating the June 12 democracy day with the theme: โJune 12: Lighting the Candle of Democracyโ.
Akinrinade disclosed that President Buhari was one of the first retired generals who stood up for June 12 struggle, but they became disappointed at a time because of the inordinate ambitions of the Yoruba.
He added: โSo they became scared until they were told that not all Yoruba are treacherous.
โSo, what he did was not for MKO Abiola but for our democracy to thrive.
โDonโt let us have the intention that President Buhari will โFulaniseโ us.
โI have always believed that a criminal is a criminal. Whether you are a Yoruba, Igbo or Hausa, when you commit an offence, you must be treated as a criminal.
โIt is not good to link every Fulani man to Buhari.โ
Akinrinade appealed to Buhari to cooperate with the governors on the issue of security, saying there cannot be meaningful growth and development when people are being killed or kidnapped.
The governor of the State, Dr. Kayode Fayemi, in his contribution, said the annulment of the June 12, 1993 presidential poll and the honour bestowed on the presumed winner of the election, Chief Abiola, showed that the country needed a strong and virile political institutions.
The governor described many of those who fought over the annulment of June 12 as committed patriots who made the sacrifice in the interest of democracy and not for the late Abiola.
He disclosed that many pro-democracy activists showed commitment to the struggle because Nigerians in their millions expressed their democratic will in what was widely adjudged the freest, fairest and most credible election in the countryโs electoral history.
โSome of those saying the June 12 was not worth dying for were poor students of history and not abreast of the war waged by people to restore democracy to the country.
โOver 70 per cent of our population did not have first-hand information about June 12, so those of us who knew what transpired must acknowledge the struggle.
โOne thing is clear: there wonโt be May 29 without June 12, and that was why President Buhari decided to honour the late Abiola.
โThe honour was not just about the man but about Nigerians who voted for Chief MKO Abiola.
โSome of us in the radical fold believed Chief Abiola was a military collaborator who used his money to fund coups. He was a capitalist but a populist on the other hand, because of his strong philanthropic gesture.
โThe man represented Nigeria in all its ramifications and he understood all the contradictions, so there are lessons to be learnt, especially with the way President Buhari decided to honour this man, who died for democracy.
โThat is why we have to strengthen this democracy. We are not yet where we are supposed to be.โ
The keynote speaker and Chairman of The Afenifere Renewal Group, Hon. Olawale Oshun, described June 12, 1993 as precursor to democracy in Nigeria, adding that it was a turning point in the countryโs tortuous journey towards enthronement of democratic governance.
Hon. Oshun berated the inherent contradictions in the 1999 Constitution which was bequeathed to Nigerians by the military, urging the federal government to fashion a new people-oriented legal framework that would address various challenges bedevilling the country.
โIt is not just a question of devolution in terms of administration but to fashion out a constitution that is acceptable to all.
โWe need a constitution that will address our peculiarities and clearly and lucidly state the power each of the federating units should exercise.
โIf this is done, the myriad of challenges stunting our growth and development as a country will be absolutely solved,โ he said.
Others who harped on the need for a strong and potent political institution in Nigeria at the event included the Speaker of Ekiti State House of Assembly, Rt. Hon. Funminiyi Afuye, and former Editor of Diet Magazine, Mr. Niran Malaolu.
The discussants include Rt. Hon. Afuye; a columnist, Dr. Femi Orebe; a veteran journalist, Dare Babarinsa; Prof. Bolaji Aluko and General Secretary, ARG, Chief Ayo Afolabi.
