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June 12:
Bitter Sixteen |
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A Press Release by the NLF!
newsdiaryonline Sat. June
13,2009 |
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Nigeria: P . O . Box 3720 Ikeja, Lagos.
Nigeria.
Website: www.nigerialibertyforum.org.uk
E mail admin@nigerialibertyforum.org.uk
Friday, June 12, 2009
PRESS RELEASE
June 12: Bitter Sixteen
Apart from the Nigerian Civil War and
the events immediately leading up to it,
perhaps nothing has wrought worst
physical and psychological trauma on
Nigerians than the June 12 1993 election
and its aftermath. Indeed, we have
proceeded since then on a fast-forwarded
downward spiral that’s still got us all
in a ghastly spin. We have witnessed an
Ernest Shonekan, a civilian giant of
industry with the best of western
education, take on the cloak of
democracy-killer in the form of the
doomed-from-day-one contraption called
Interim National Government (ING). We
have witnessed the loveless General Sani
Abacha experiment with our sanity,
losing his own and his life in the
process, but not without sending many
patriots to gruesome and untimely death.
We have seen General Absulsalami
Abubakar quickly ease the poisoned
chalice to another old general who has
now passed it on to the clueless brother
of another dead general. Nigeria is
creaking and tottering and the man who
set off this mad attack on our national
psyche, the gap-toothed general looks on
distantly from his Minna mount. Sixteen
years of this bitter military pill has
been hard to swallow and today, June 12,
we are reminded once again where the
rain began to beat us.
Of course, Nigerian history did not
begin on June 12 1993; but on that day,
it took a devious course to oblivion. It
could have been different. Patient
Nigerians had watched the tinkering
Maradona exhaust his many dance steps
and, worthily, they got the best of all
available options – Option A4. Suddenly,
those who thought conducting a free and
fair election in Nigeria was a mirage
found real reason to eat their words.
The world came, saw and reported –
“Mirror, mirror on the wall; this is the
fairest and freest election of them
all!” Nigerians who delivered this
couldn’t believe they did it as well.
But they did it! Just as they rolled out
the drums and began clanging their
cymbals, General Ibrahim Babangida
struck. He had his reasons, now well
rehearsed and we will not dignify them
with a mention here, except to say he,
out of his own wish for
self-preservation, chose to affect the
nation’s destiny by torching it. It’s
still burning.
Today, the Nigeria Liberty Forum (NLF),
Respect Nigerians Coalition (RNC) and
all the organizations that joined us at
the May 29 State of the Nation
Conference are not celebrating. Yes, we
did not celebrate May 29 and we are not
celebrating June 12 - one, because it is
a fraud and the second because it is a
loss. On June 12, we lost the soul of
our nation and ever since we have been
on a wild goose chase trying to get it
back. Oh yeah, we will get it back. We
are on our way. Time has done its duty;
we now know those who’ve yanked off our
nation’s heart and they know themselves
as well. The trees are falling and the
chicken’s feathers are blowing in the
unforgiving breeze! The rumps, yes the
pimpled, sickly rumps are well and truly
exposed! These tin-gods have no clothes!
Today, we call on Nigerians to engage in
a sober reflection. We call on you to
reflect deeply on our journey to install
true democracy in our nation. We call on
you to remember the great and ordinary
men who were felled by the killers of
our nation, not least, MKO Abiola, who,
despite what anyone says today was an
exemplary patriot, a martyr for
democracy and a worthy symbol of a
people’s continued attempt to reach out
to each other to achieve their full
potential. Remember those that were
mowed down by the Goggled One on the
streets for no bigger offence than
calling for their votes to count.
Remember those that were hunted and cut
down by the killer squads recruited and
paid by the state to sell us
unadulterated fear. Remember, because
your only treasure is a long, long
memory. Don’t lose it!
June 12 tells us we are capable of
achieving what we want to achieve
electorally. On May 29, we told you of
our mission to begin a national
sensitization programme towards another
type of activism. We called it Electoral
Activism and we promised to give you
details of how we hope to achieve it in
the not-too-distant future. That promise
still stands. But today, reflect on it.
In the light of what happened in Ekiti
State, reflect on it. We are no animals.
We are human beings who deserve to have
people we have chosen serve us in public
service - not those who’ve killed our
fathers, mothers, brothers, sisters,
neighbours and nation! June 12 gave us a
glimpse of our power as a people. Our
mission is to reclaim that magic. We
will not forget. Bitter sixteen, yes;
but the sweet days shall be ours to
claim. That’s our Promise to our
children.
Signed:
Kayode Ogundamisi
Kennedy Emetulu
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