‘The Essence Of June 12 Has Not Been Realised’

Eromosele Ebhomele

The lawmaker representing Alimosho Constituency 1 at the Lagos State House of Assembly, Bisi Yusuf, has declared that the purpose of the annulled 12 June, 1993 elections has not been realised.

Yusuf, who is also the Chairman, House Committee on Commerce of the House, explained that the situation surrounding the election, which was won by the late Chief Moshood Abiola remained a dream because “those who were not part of the struggle, who murdered the struggle, buried it and benefited from the annulment are currently the ones occupying positions in the government at the centre today.”

He noted that it is because of r June 12 struggle that the country now celebrates Democracy Day every 29 May.

“How can this be?” He asked, “Democracy Day in Nigeria was the day the military junta handed over power to civilians. June 12 was the day ethnicity in Nigeria was cancelled, there was no upper, middle or lower class, it was the day a new Nigeria was born, they murdered June 12, but they cannot murder the tendency, the struggle is still on.”

Though there are still challenges in the country, he agreed that the country is progressing, judging by the activities of the 16 states controlled by the All Progressives Congress, APC.

The lawmaker denied that his party imposed candidates for political offices on the people. He said the emergence of any candidate happens only if the person belongs to the party as it is done everywhere.

He argued that those the party put in positions are those that have been groomed. “So what imposition are we talking about? You don’t just make allegations that you cannot substantiate.

“There is no guideline for choosing people for elective posts; we follow the regulations of our party. You can channel your grievances through the party if you are a good party man and that is if you have any.

“Your criticism must not be hearsay or just parlour talks. I appeal to our people to beware of people that parade themselves as party members, but who are not.

“That was what they said when Governor Babatunde Raji Fashola was chosen to be the party’s governorship candidate in Lagos years back. Would you now say he is not capable to be the governor of the state?

“A leader must be able to see far more than his members. Let them tell us, who is not capable to represent his constituency amongt those of us in the assembly,” he argued.

Yusuf, a former local government chairman, advised the Chairman of the Independent National Electoral Commission, INEC, Professor Attahiru Jega, to see the forthcoming governorship elections in Ekiti and Osun states as a test case for 2015.

“If he should allow one man, one vote strictly, the PDP and Labour Party might find it difficult to get 20 percent votes in Ekiti State; they would not even get 10 percent in Osun State. I am confident that we will win the states, but I hope they would allow the game to be fair,” he said.