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Emmanuel Addeh in Abuja

Kola, the first son of the late billionaire businessman, Moshood Kashimawo Abiola, yesterday released what he described as a ‘substantive response’ to the recent book released by former Head of State, Ibrahim Babangida, calling on the federal government to formally honour persons who were murdered or jailed under the military regime of Sani Abacha.

Specifically, Kola mentioned Alhaja Kudirat Abiola and Chief Alfred Rewane; other heroes of the NADECO struggle as well as journalists and activists, including Mohammed Adamu;  Alao Aka- Bashorun, Mr Olu Akerele, Col. Olu Bamgbose (rtd) Mr Frank Kokori, amongst many others.

While highlighting former Muhammadu Buhari’s role in honouring Abiola, Kola recalled that the ex-President Olusegun Obasanjo refused to recognise or honour June 12 or  MKO Abiola in its eight years of governance.

In contrast, he stated that Buhari’s government designated June 12 as National Democracy Day in 2018, replacing May 29, President Obasanjo’s preferred date and renamed the National Stadium  MKO Abiola Stadium in 2019. 

“The government of the day should take responsibility for and strive to correct misdeeds and injustices of the past. This process was started by President Muhammadu Buhari in 2018 and we would like to urge the government of President Bola Ahmed Tinubu to complete the task of ‘putting right a national wrong,” he stated.

He also recommended the opening of a national register of hitherto now ‘unnamed victims’ of the June 12 annulment tragedy along with a national monument to mark this phase of Nigeria’s history.

Arguing that Nigeria hasn’t learnt any lesson from the ‘terrible’ experience of June 12, he  therefore recommended that an accurate June 12 history be included in the national educational curriculum.

Beyond honouring and recognising the victims of June 12, he said he  believed Nigeria owes it to the generations coming after this to speak the truth and state the facts about this part of the country’s history as opposed to revising or rewriting it.

“We owe this to the demographic that makes up 65 per cent of our population and who are the future of our nation,” he stated.

He also flayed Babangida for failing to name the persons who pressured him to cancel the polls, stressing that it was a letdown that a Military General was afraid of death.

“After 32 years out of office, one wonders why IBB believes that the living culprits should still remain nameless. He found it easy to name Abacha, who is late and can’t defend himself from the grave, but struggles to apologise or properly own up to the truth and consequences of his action.

“In his 420-page memoir, he states that if he had gone ahead and upheld the results of the June 12 election, there was a threat to his life and that of MKO. Thirty Two years after, he is alive to write and launch and benefit from his memoirs, while MKO was consumed by the whole ordeal.

“What an irony; a battle tested General and Military President for eight and half years who survived at least one bloody coup attempt was afraid of death while a civilian, MKO, confronted the dangers head on.

“If for just that one loss of MKO Abiola, the names of the culprits, dead or alive, should have been mentioned 32 years after, starting with the unnamed Lieutenant General. To do otherwise is to confirm that this has always been about self preservation and IBB’s desire to remain in power,” he added.