Daring To Relive June 12   

Dr. Olatunji Dare presents his latest book on June 12 in Lagos

• Former Lagos State Governor, Asiwaju Ahmed Bola Tinubu flanked by other guests presenting the book: Diary of a Debacle. Tracking Nigeria’s Failed Democratic Transition (1989-1994) Pic: Idowu Ogunleye.

Though Bashorun Moshood Kasimawo Olawale Abiola, winner of the 12 June 1993  presidential election may be dead, he is still very much alive. This is because 17 years after Gen. Ibrahim Babangida (retd) annulled the election regarded as Nigeria’s fairest and freest, that singular action remains the staple item in political discourse.

This was one of the views expressed by those who spoke during the launch of Dr. Olatunji Dare, journalist, scholar and satirist’s latest book: Diary of a Debacle: Tracking Nigeria’s Failed Democratic Transition (1989-1994), on Tuesday 24 August, at the Agip Recital Hall, MUSON Centre, Lagos. The book puts into proper perspective events that led to the annulment of the 12 June 1993 election and its aftermath. Those present observed that the book has already scored another uniqueness as it was launched on M.K.O. Abiola’s 73rd post-humous birthday.

Setting the ball rolling was the chairman of the occasion, Rear Admiral Ndubuisi Kanu (retd), who in an impassioned speech paid glowing tribute to Abiola while at the same time bemoaning the misrule that has plagued the country since independence. “Not many countries, not many  people in this globe have had the solid honour of Abiola’s resolve and sacrifice,” he said.

The significance of the occasion was not lost as the Governor of Lagos State, Babatunde Raji Fashola, SAN, commended the author for choosing MKO’s birthday anniversary to present his book. “It is most thoughtful and considerable of you. Any time I reflect on the height I have attained, indeed, any time I have the opportunity to contribute to the 12 June election issue, I always ask myself whether I would have been governor if Bashorun M.K.O Abiola had not paid the Supreme Price to enthrone democracy in this country. And the answer clearly is that it may never have happened,” Fashola remarked. He also advised Nigerians to engage future public office holders in debates, not just to judge their suitability for public positions but also to test their resolve to serve.

In a message he sent from the United States and read by Mr. Olakunle Abimbola, one of his former students, Prof. Niyi Osundare unequivocally praised Dare, saying: “Your book, whose outing we are celebrating today could not have come through a better author; its  outing could not have come at a better time. Even 17 years later, our country is yet to experience peace because of the annulment of 12 June elections whose wrenching and macabre drama you so robustly captured and presented in the book.”

The former chairman of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission, EFCC, Malam Nuhu Ribadu, on his part poured encomiums on Dare, whom he regards as not just ethical but also a good man. “This work is a factual representation of one of our worst actions in history. And I am happy that it is coming from the stable of one of Africa’s most talented narrators,” Ribadu said. He used the occasion to debunk the notion that the 12 June 1993 election was annulled because the northerners were against the result. “The truth is that this is the biggest lie of the century. All Nigerians voted for Abiola. All of us stood for him and fought for him. He won in my own little village,” Ribadu averred, adding that the annulment was the handiwork of a few people, a tiny group of elites, and that Abiola remains an eternal hero who paid the greatest sacrifice to guarantee the relative freedom Nigerians are enjoying today. “But more importantly, Abiola was an excellent Nigerian. He was an example of what we could call a true Nigerian,” he added. Ribadu also bemoaned the fact that the federal government has yet to give the winner of the 12 June election national recognition and called on the government to do so.

In his very inspiring speech, Dare said his book was dedicated to the memory of the winner of the 12 June 1993 election and to what he called ‘the spirit of 12 June’. According to him, the spirit epitomises all what Abiola stood for—service, sacrifice, firm resolve, resilience, defiance etc. The author said the book was written so that Nigerians would remember the past and so be able to use it to chart a positive path towards the future. “The reason for this book is to awaken memories, to restore that which has been forgotten in the hope of perhaps helping to stave off a debacle even more tragic than the one I have tried to chronicle within the covers of this book,” he pointed out.

In his review, poet, scholar and activist, Mr. Odia Ofeimum pointed out the author’s unique qualities saying: “Some columnists are made forgettable by putting their pieces together. Another generation of readers may well believe that what they are given is just old hand, uninteresting if not downright banal. But there are journalists who actually gain more credence by being secure within covers. Most Nigerians who read newspapers would agree that Olatunji Dare is one of the few whose collected pieces can gain more credence than even his daily pieces.”

The former governor of Lagos State, Asiwaju Bola Tinubu, also spoke passionately about Abiola and the author. He called the author a role model, excellent teacher, unrivalled master newspaper columnist and fearless writer. He said the author was a ‘comrade for good causes’ because he practised what he preached. “That we are here to honour Olatunji Dare is not a coincidence. He has worked hard for it and it is his choice. And in doing so, he has come to remind us of the depth of gratitude that we owe a natural hero, MKO Abiola, without whose death democracy would have remained a mirage in this country.”

—Nehru Odeh

Tags:  Bashorun Moshood Kasimawo Olawale Abiola, Dr. Olatunji Dare, Gen. Ibrahim Babangida (retd), M.K.O. Abiola’s 73rd post-humous birthday