i know this almost two weeks late but here it is:
June 12 1993 , is a day that is forever etched in our memories and in the history of our country, Nigeria. One cannot talk about the journey of this nation without referring to June 12. It was a day of great hope and yet one of great sorrow. History remembers that day as the day that for once Nigeria did something right . on that day the freest and fairest election ever held in this country took place. The results of that election , named M.K.O Abiola as the winner and hence president elect of the federal republic of Nigeria. Whether he was the best person , whether he would have been able to take Nigeria to the next level is of no consequence, the point was that the people had made their choice and voice had been heard. Unfortunately the joy of the moment was short-lived as the then head of state Ibrahim Badamosi Babaginda declared the election null and void, turning a day that had started out so right into something so wrong. The voice of the people once again crushed and silenced. There is no need to rehash what happened after, we all know it very well. We ended up in the disastrous regime of General Sani Abacha and Nigeria ended in a pit that we are still trying to emerge from. Currently we are “enjoying” a sham that we call democracy ( looking at the last election, can we really say that we are in a democracy- a government of the people , for the people and by the people) hoping someday to recreate the June 12 election.
I was only three years old when June 12 saga took place. To me June 12 was a day to take cover and happily stay home from school (my constant prayer then was that June 12 would fall on a school day). As I grew older and became more aware of the world around me , I began to understand the deeper meaning of June 12. I wondered why there was so much fuss over that day, because as far as I was concerned Abiola was not the first man to be cheated out of what was rightfully his and he definitely has not been the last, so again why the fuss? As I looked at that day over the years, I came to realize that June 12 was so much more than Abiola. The man did not make the day, the day made the man.
To Nigeria and Nigerians, June 12 signifies the strength, unity, determination and courage inherent in the Nigerian people. This trait that endears and alienates us from other countries. June 12 is a day that carries the hope and dreams of the Nigerian people. On that day the Nigerian people cried out with one voice and that voice was heard. Since the first coup, Nigeria waited in silence for that day and now we look to the future believing that since that day came once , it can and it will come again. A day when the peoples’ will ,will stand and their voice heard again. The memory of that day gives us a reason to fight against the odds that seem insurmountable. It gives us the strength to face the new challenges and refuse to give up.
The inadequacies of our so called democracy are even more glaring because it fails to meet the standard that June 12 set. For on that day Nigeria for the first time experienced the true meaning of democracy - a government of the people, for the people and by the people. The essence of any country’s democracy is the people for without the people there is no government and obviously no democracy and June 12 was about the Nigerian people and what they wanted. We wait, looking for a day to replace June 12, a day that we will experience again, the true meaning of democracy.
So you see , June 12 is more than a day, more than man, it is the hope of Nigeria, the strength of our people and the foundation of our dreams. We look to that day when we want lose faith in our nation, when its seems that we can never do anything right, when it looks like our country is known only for the wrong reasons. We look to that day and we say once upon a time we did something right, we say on this piece of God given land freedom, fairness and justice prevailed and on this piece of God given land freedom fairness and justice will once again prevail.
Signed
Nessa D
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