Tinubu's Role in June 12 Struggle: Addressing Claims of Betrayal and Revisionism

Strategic Insights -

Presidential spokesperson, Bayo Onanuga, has categorically dismissed claims by former governor of Jigawa State, Alhaji Sule Lamido, that President Bola Tinubu betrayed the struggle for actualisation of June 12, 1993 presidential election. Tinubu's supporters, including the Minister of Solid Minerals Development, Dele Alake, have taken a similar stance, accusing Lamido of selective amnesia and attempting to rewrite history. The controversy surrounding Tinubu's role in the June 12 struggle has been fueled by Lamido's claims that Tinubu's mother, Hajia Abibatu Mogaji, mobilized market women to support Ibrahim Badamasi Babangida, who annulled the election.

Key Takeaways:

  • Tinubu, who was a senator at the time of the annulment, was at the vanguard for the de-annulment of the poll, according to Minister of Solid Minerals Development, Dele Alake.
  • Alake, who was the editor of Sunday Concord, which was owned by MKO Abiola, the winner of the election, claims that he wrote the first public statement of MKO Abiola's intention to run for office in January 1993, which was advertised in all Nigerian newspapers and television stations.
  • Tinubu was one of the funders and organizers of protests against the military in July 1993, long before Abacha's takeover in November 1993, as stated by Alake.
  • Presidential spokesperson, Bayo Onanuga, has accused Lamido of failing to defend MKO Abiola's mandate as SDP National Secretary and of capitulating to the military's injustice.
  • Onanuga stated that Tinubu stood firm against the annulment, condemning it as another coup d'etat on the senate floor on August 19, 1993.
  • Tinubu escorted MKO Abiola to meet with Abacha to negotiate his release and ultimately left the country through the NADECO route after Abacha ordered his arrest.
  • Tinubu was a central figure in the June 12 struggle, a consistent supporter of democracy, and a key funder of the NADECO resistance, as stated by Onanuga.

Statistics:

  • The June 12 election was annulled in 1993.
  • President Bola Tinubu was a senator during the annulment.
  • The June 12 struggle involved various protests against the military in 1993.
  • President Bola Tinubu stood firm against the annulment in a senate speech on August 19, 1993.
  • Abacha dissolved democratic structures on November 17, 1993.

Sources:

  • Presidential spokesperson, Bayo Onanuga
  • Minister of Solid Minerals Development, Dele Alake
  • Former governor of Jigawa State, Alhaji Sule Lamido
  • Presidential statement, "Setting the Record Straight"