A PASSIONATE FRIENDLY APPEAL TO GENERAL IBRAHIM BADAMASI BABANGIDA:

APOLOGIZE TO NIGERIANS FOR JUNE 12 ON JUNE 23.

from

Professor Omo Omoruyi, mni

former Director General, Centre for Democratic Studies, Presidency, ABUJA NIGERIA.

OBSERVE JUNE 23 FOR DIDACTIC SIGNIFICANCE

I had argued elsewhere in an essay in circulation urging Nigerians to observe the June 23 of every year and not June 12 or May 29 as Democracy Day. I am therefore for the same reason pleading with my friend, General Ibrahim Badamasi Babangida to publicly apologize to the Nigerian people on June 23 of this year. Let me again use this medium to emphasize the didactic significance of June 23 in preference to June 12.

Yes June 12 was the date when election was held in 1993. What brought Nigeria to the brink of collapse and inflicted so much pain on the Nigerian people was not the act of the presidential election of that day or date. What brought Nigeria to the brink of collapse and inflicted so much pain on the Nigerian people occurred first on June 23 1993 and again on June 23 1994. What do we learn from these dates in 1993 and in 1994?

Unfortunately the mass media fail so far to appreciate the didactic significance of these two dates in the history of the crisis and are unduly focusing on June 12. I am afraid our history and political science books would soon forget that the annals of the Nigerian crisis of democratization had to do with the events of the two dates in 1993 and in 1994. Certainly the crisis had nothing to do with the act of the Nigerian people in over 110,000 polling stations in the country, who performed their democratic duty on that day. If anything at all, June 12 brought a national voice to the Nigerian people, which was partially drowned on June 23 1993. Whatever was left of the light from that election was finally extinguished on June 23, 1994.

THE June 23, 1993 was the day or date when General Ibrahim Badamasi Babangida (IBB) as the President, Commander in Chief of Nigeria in concert with his colleagues performed the act of betrayal of the democratic rights of the Nigerian people, which was announced early that day. It was this act that led the country to a period of uncertainty in Nigeria and in Africa.

THE June 23, 1994 was the day or date when the chosen successor of IBB, General Sani Abacha as the Head of State, Commander in Chief of Nigeria in concert with his colleagues then commenced the act of gross denial of the rights to human dignity of the Nigerian people. The series of acts began with the arrest early that morning of the winner of the June 12, 1993 Presidential election. Other acts were the assassination of Chief Alfred Rewane, the extra-judicial execution of the Ogoni 9 and other heinous human rights violations between then and the death of General Abacha in June 1998.

Coincidentally, the act of betrayal of the democratic rights of Nigerians and the act of gross denial of right to human dignity of the Nigerian people occurred on the same June 23 and in fact, at the same time in 1993 and in 1994 respectively. Should this not be an opportunity for General Ibrahim Badamasi Babangida to go to the Nigerian people and bare his mind to them ending with an apology? This is the subject of this public appeal to my friend, General Ibrahim Badamsi Babangida.

I am therefore using this medium since I do not know how to reach him otherwise to appeal to him to go to the Nigerian people and apologize. He should join and in fact lead the Nigerian people to resolve that never would the ‘voice of the Nigerian people’ through ‘their votes’ be drowned. It will be also be an opportunity for him to join other Nigerians to resolve that never again would Nigerians be subjected to the gross human rights violations as the Nigerian people experienced between 1994 and 1998.

This is a fervent appeal to a friend who I know even though he would not say so openly had been tormented by the development since the annulment and the arrest and eventual death of Chief Abiola.

May I in friendship and in humility and because of many years of our close personal mutual respect in the past counsel you, General Babangida that merely saying that you as the President, Commander in Chief take responsibility for what happened to the election is grossly inadequate.

General, may I therefore counsel you that you do not need to name the persons who misled you as you felt you would not be able to do for personal security of the persons involved.

General you will need to formally apologize to the Nigerian people.

General may humbly and sincerely appeal to you that the June 23 of this year is the opportunity for you to do so.

General Babangida ought to know or should have known that it is his unwillingness to apologize to the Nigerian people, that is responsible for President Obasanjo’s inability to do something about contemplating how to immortalize anything about June 12. General Babangida’s action now would free President Obasanjo from obvious constraints.

Yours sincerely

Professor Omo Omoruyi