June 12: Activists Call for Implementation of Confab Report, National Restructuring

L-R: Guest Speaker, Professor, Duro Oni; National Coordinator of OPC, Otunba Gani Adams; Admiral Ndubuisi Kanu, Chairman of the occasion;  Guest of Honour, President, Women Arise, Dr. Joe Okei-Odumakin; Professor Sophie Oluwole; and Comrade Rasaq Oladosu, ED, Ominira Yoruba Apapo (OYA) @  the 23rd Anniversary in commemoration of June, 12, 1993 Election organized by OODUA People’s Congress (OPC).

At a commemorative conference organized by the Oodua People's Congress (OPC) in respect of the annulled June 12, 1993 Presidential election, Students, Civil Society Activists, Religious Leaders, Academia, and Media Professionals gathered at the Excellence Hotel in Ogba on Sunday June 12, 2016 to mark the 23rd anniversary of the historic day in Nigeria.

In a welcome address by the National Coordinator of the OPC, Otunba Gani Adams, the group emphasized that MKO Abiola touched millions of lives in unique way, citing that the acclaimed winner of the June 12 1993 election had paid the supreme price with his own life for Democracy to live.

Gani Adams re-iterated the note that the country is at a brink and requires a necessary restructuring. He particularly said the report of the 2014 National Conference must be implemented as a panacea for the country to move forward from its current point.

In a similar vein, President of the Women Arise organization, Dr. Joe Okei-Odumakin, who is the special guest of honor at the occasion described the June 12 event as a defining moment in the nation's history. She said what took place on the date remains a watershed, producing a National Leader with mandate given by the masses.

Speaking further, Okei-Odumakin said June 12 marked the real change which laid the foundation for what is now called May 29.  "There would have been no democracy in the first place", she declared, insisting that June 12 remains the true Democracy Day for the masses. She lastly advised that Nigeria owes a debt to the memory of MKO Abiola, which can be paid with an official recognition of him as a former President of the country.

Chairman of the occasion, Admiral Ndubuisi Kanu, a former military administrator of Lagos State said June 12 is a reminder of the supreme price paid by Abiola who gave his own comfort away to ensure that Nigeria navigated into democracy. Ndubuisi Kanu also supported call for implementation of the National Conference report as a main activity to restructure the country.

A retired professor of African history, Professor Sophie Oluwole who was also a speaker at the occasion also buttressed that the Federal Government can make the implementation of the national conference report as tool to move the country forward.

For his part, the Guest Speaker at the occasion, Professor Duro Oni said every season that is celebrated has its own hero, alluding that MKO Abiola is the hero of June 12 celebration. He appealed that Nigerian citizens be patient and give support to the President Muhammadu Buhari-led APC Government to be able to bring about the desired change. 

In a comment, the leader of Arewa Consultative Youths Forum, Alhaji Yerima Shettima said Nigerians' voting for a Muslim/Muslim ticket is a clear indication that there are now issues causing divisions which must be immediately redressed.  Also reiterated that June 12 is masses' Democracy Day in Nigeria.