June 12: Protagonist to President, By M.B.O Owolowo
President Bola Ahmed Tinubu was one of the paladins of the June 12 struggle that eventually ousted the military and birthed ‘democracy’ in Nigeria. He has patently paid his dues, and only those who have been inordinately influenced by politically-induced amnesia would not acknowledge this fact. President Tinubu is probably the most prepared democratically-elected president since 1999. When Retired Gen. Olusegun Obasanjo was ‘selected’ by the military junta, he became the ultimate beneficiary, albeit compensatory, of a struggle (June 12) he was not a participator. Umaru Musa Yar’Adua was reported to have other plans before being ‘selected’ by Obasanjo to be president in 2007. Following the demise of Yar’Adua in 2010, the vice-president Goodluck Jonathan emerged president. Muhammadu Buhari had failed in his quest to be president thrice, and had given up on his ambition, until he was convinced to contest again in 2015 and became president. However, the case of Asiwaju Bola Ahmed Tinubu follows a rather different trajectory because of his cardinal association with the June 12 struggle.
Asiwaju Bola Ahmed Tinubu was emphatic with his presidential ambition from inception. When Asiwaju Tinubu professed ‘Emi Lo Kan’ in Abeokuta on June 3, 2022 it reverberated across Nigeria and beyond. The statement was an affirmation of his ambition and an insight into decades of struggle. Tinubu was elected senator, went on exile during the dark days of the Abacha era, and was part of the National Democratic Coalition (NADECO). He was elected as governor of Lagos in 1999, and became the ‘last man standing’ from Alliance for Democracy (AD) in 2003, when Obasanjo literally decimated the political landscape of Yorubaland – Western Nigeria. Asiwaju Tinubu spread his tentacles nationally and has remained politically relevant ever since.
The dexterity of his political enterprise was evidenced by his ability to nominate the vice-president under President Buhari, and the revelation of his nominee as virtually a political placeholder with minimal electoral value, when it mattered.
Asiwaju Tinubu aka ‘Jagaban’ has demonstrated the requisite savoir faire throughout his political career. I am not exactly sure what went through the mind of Asiwaju Tinubu when he said “Emi Lo Kan” but I reckon some of the dues he has paid since the annulment of the June 12 Presidential elections of MKO Abiola in 1993, must have been pivotal to his thought processes.
Some of us have celebrated June 12 way before President Buhari officially declared it Democracy day in 2019, because we know what we lost. Beyond the personal losses, it was an opportunity lost for Nigeria. Some of my articles on June 12 include: June 12: Hope and The ‘Dividends’ of Democracy, June 12: Sacrifices, Unity & Politics of Division, June 12: Blood Democracy & Spirit of Reconciliation, June 12: 20 Years of Democracy, and June 12: Political Struggle as the Pathway to Egalitarianism and Future of Nigeria’s Development.
I had planned to conclude the June 12 series about a couple of years ago, particularly because I was not convinced the dividends of ‘democracy’ was getting to the appropriate quarters among the masses. To put things into perspective, I remember listening to an Emirati stating that most of the infrastructure that is in the UAE presently did not exist in 1999! Nigeria returned to ‘democracy’ 1999.
The emergence of President Bola Ahmed Tinubu has a somewhat different feel, because he is someone that went through the arduous process of battling a military dictatorship. Understanding socio-political realities is not about loathing or loving Tinubu but respecting his political tenacity. Those who accuse him of political high-handedness, especially in Lagos, miss the point by not acknowledging he is a political maverick. And it is actually disparaging to Lagosians, especially the Yoruba, to assume their subjection to some protracted cajolement. It must be emphasized that Western Nigeria has mastered the art of opposition politics since before Nigeria’s independence in 1960. So if the people really don’t want someone, they are well-equipped to publicly register their political aversion.
The reality is that Nigeria’s version of ‘democracy’ did not just happen; some people actually fought and died for the freedoms being enjoyed and sometimes taken for granted! Analysing the political scene since 1999, it at times feels as if “democracy” fell on the lap of some overnight politicians.
When you do not struggle for something, there is a tendency to take that thing for granted. Some of us suffered for the June 12 struggle, whilst others got ‘democracy’ on a platter! For example, Goodluck Jonathan cannot claim to have participated in any struggle against the military, but benefited from the toil of others to emerge a ‘democratic’ president. That is the case with many in the political class. Some of the citizenry may have also taken certain ‘privileges’ for granted. The actuality of the existential disconnect dawned on me when a youth referred to a skit-maker as an activist! Many of our current youth have no experience of a draconian military rule. An entire generation has been raised not knowing what really happened. That was the era of looking over shoulders, speaking in hushed tones, public flogging, frog jumps, pistol-whipping, butt-stroking, illegal incarcerations, extrajudicial killings, assassinations, and many other atrocities. The real activists took on and survived the most brutal military regimes, not the keyboard warriors claiming to be ‘activists’. Nowadays, there are social media ‘activists’ prancing around like constipated comedians. In their attempt to emulate the ‘Aluta’ of their parents or older generations, some youth get matters convoluted, and are cajoled into fighting for the wrong causes. The hijacked ‘Endsars’ protest is a typical example. Some were out there shouting “Endsars” without knowing the actual basis of the protest or what real activism actually entails. I saw so-called ‘protesters’ eating jollof rice and chicken. Partying and snapping pictures for social media. When we protested under military dictatorship decades ago, we weren’t sure if we would make it back home alive. My views on the events surrounded ‘Endsars’ is documented in “Once Upon A Protest”.
I must confess that I sometimes feel some level of sympathy for some activists of yore who have suffered decades of frustration. The truth is that some people from that era have been damaged psychologically, and are products of the broken system that characterised that era. People employ various types of coping mechanisms to deal with the trauma of societal upheavals: some shout “Revolution”, whilst others wanted to imitate their former oppressors. There are those who migrated way before ‘japa’ became a thing that has cumulatively contributed to the brain drain.
There are sections of the society who just wanted governance and a better life for future generations, but feel betrayed. That class of people are hoping this may just be the government that fixes the effects of decades of maladministration.
The reveries of great expectations pre-2015 have been smacked back to reality following the Buhari administration. If anything, it has been reaffirmed there are no ‘saints’ in politics, and there is a vast difference between goodwill and know-how. Muhammadu Buhari did well by initiating the healing process for the injustices that materialized since the annulment of the June 12, 1993 elections, even if it was to his political advantage. For some of us scarred from the June 12 struggles, it did some sort of healing. A Bola Ahmed Tinubu (BAT) presidency is like the cake and a potentially successful tenure is the cherry on top.
Moshood Kashimawo Olawale Abiola ran on Hope 1993, and 30 years later Asiwaju Bola Ahmed Tinubu won with Renewed Hoped 2023. President Bola Ahmed Tinubu has had three decades of preparation, so he has no choice but to perform exceptionally well.
Happy June 12 Democracy Day and God Bless!
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© M.B.O 2023
