ON the occasion of the 10th anniversary of the annulled June 12, 1993 presidential election won by the late Chief M. K. O. Abiola, one-time Chief of General Staff (CGS), Commodore Ebitu Ukiwe (rtd.), has expressed disappointment at the current quality of governance in the country, "when you consider the purpose of the struggle."

Former US Ambassador to Nigeria, Mr. Walter Carrington, on his part, defined Nigeria's current stage of democracy as government by the people but not yet for the people, while Lagos lawyer, Chief Gani Fawehinmi declared that any politician who has ruled in Nigeria after that election (June 12) but refused to recognise it "is betraying the course of history."

Commodore Ukiwe in an interview with Vanguard said: "Right now, Obasanjo is in power and he is a product of that struggle, even though he behaves as if he is not. I supported Abiola and I was also part of the establishment of NADECO. But I do not think what we have now satisfies me when you consider the purpose of the struggle. "What I see now in some cases embarrass me; certainly the quality of governance has to improve; the quality of leadership has to improve. And when I talk about leadership I do not mean just the Presidency, I am talking generally. The way I see us moving if we are not careful we might find ourselves sliding into anarchy.

"The June 12 election was very orderly and I voted. It was relatively freer, but this time (this year's elections) there seemed to be so much interest. You see people struggling to ensure that they returned to office. That has made it a little embarrassing."

Senator Jonathan Zwingina, who was Abiola's campaign manager in a separate interview said the record of June 12 as the best election has not been matched. "I think June 12 was an overwhelming election. I think it was an election that up till now surpasses all other elections. June 12 election has clearly surpassed the election of 1999, because in 1999, the winner did not have all the zones. He did not have South-West at least. In the election of 2003, the winner did not have all the zones, at least he did not have North-West. But in the June 12 election, we won in all the states and we had one-third of the votes in all the states except Sokoto and Rivers. So, I think the overwhelming record of June 12 has not been broken and I think it is something that tells a very good story about how that election was conducted."

Also speaking, Dr. Lateef Adegbite, Secretary-General of the Supreme Council for Islamic Affairs (SCIA) asked the Federal Government to recognise the significance of the day. "We have all complained herein and here-out on this issue. I wish they appreciate that. They are inheritors of Abiola's June 12 legacy and therefore there has to be better acknowledgement. Ogun State has done well and some other states also, Federal Government should do better. This is a landmark date. This year is the tenth year of the June 12, I hope that the Federal Government would do something."

Lagos lawyer, Chief Gani Fawehinmi said of the annulled election: "June 12 is a symbol of our democracy. It was a day Nigeria and Nigerians without any discrimination whatsoever united in voting Chief M. K. O. Abiola in the freest election in the history of election in Nigeria.

"That the election was annulled and Abiola was arrested, detained for four years and murdered shows he paid the supreme price for the emergence of democratic process in Nigeria.

"Therefore all those who have ruled after June 12 owe their existence to M. K. O. Abiola's sacrifice. Anyone of them who refuses to recognise this immutable fact is betraying the course of history.

"Therefore immortalisation of M. K. O. Abiola by succeeding government must be a national duty. Failure of any government from 1999 to date to immortalise M. K. O. Abiola amounts to a betrayal of the course of freedom and democracy. Consequently, Obasanjo stands condemned before all those who struggled for the emergence of democracy in Nigeria because June 12 and not May 29 is our democracy day.

"The way Abiola's election was annulled on June 24, 1993 by the military is the way democracy was scuttled by the monumental fraud and manipulations that brought into existence the government of the PDP in the South- West.

"There is no difference between scuttling of the democratic process in 1993 by Babangida and the rigging of the general elections by PDP government in 2003. Consequently, the recipients of the fraud committed in April 12, April 19 and May 3 by the PDP in the South-West is reminiscent of the scuttling of election by Babangida on June 23, 1993.

"That is why PDP in the South-West fails to recognise June 12."

*Carrington on democracy

And speaking at a symposium in Lagos, yesterday to mark the June 12, election, former Ambassador of the United States of America to Nigeria, Mr. Walter Carrington, said Nigeria's democracy could only be defined as government by the people, but not yet for the people.

Also at the symposium, Gov. Bola Tinubu of Lagos State declared that the June 12 presidential election made him a completely detribalised Nigerian, while stressing the need for the political class to serve for the benefit of the people by declaring war on poverty in the country.

According to Carrington, evidence abounds that the nation's democracy does not revolve around the ordinary people yet, adding that poverty is still unavoidably high in the country. He noted that his country's democracy was still also faced with the challenge of enthroning government by the people and for the people, despite its over 200 years of practising democracy.

"Today in Nigeria, we have democracy by the people, not for the people. We are still having that problem in America after 200 years of democracy. It is important for those in power to pay attention to the poverty in the country, which is still relatively high," the former Ambassador stated.

Carrington, who implored Nigerians to insist on a people's constitution, recalled that with the June 12 elections in 1993, Nigeria looked like having a government of the people, stressing that that informed the burning desire that greeted his expectation to submit his letter of credence to the late Chief Abiola as President of the country.

The election, he recalled, was generally free and fair, and would have by virtue of its wide acceptability and clout of the winner, Chief Abiola, changed the fortunes of the people for the better. He lamented meeting a situation different from what he expected when he had to submit his letter of credence to the Head of the Interim National Government (ING), Chief Ernest Shonekan, after the annulment of the election. Carrington expressed delight that the fervour for democracy amongst Nigerians was still very strong, even as he said he was encouraged by the fact that the country would never again return to "those evil days of military rule," each time he now visited the country.

Also speaking at the symposium, Gov. Tinubu noted that the June 12 polls broke ethnic and religious barriers to throw up the late Chief Abiola as winner. "June 12 will never go away. It was the day I became a totally detribalised Nigerian; the day I vowed never to play tribal politics because that was the day Chief Abiola was voted across the country, irrespective of ethnic or tribal divides," Tinubu stated. Tinubu said there could be no May 29 without June 12, as "June 12 is the father, mother, grand-father and grand-mother of May 29."

The governor, who restated his call for convocation of a Sovereign National Conference (SNC), said Nigeria would see no stability nor peace, if such a conference was not convoked to fashion out a people's constitution by Nigerians.

"What we are doing now is playing around with power and not emphasising service to the people and solving the problem of poverty in the country," Gov. Tinubu said.

Chairman of the occasion and NADECO chieftain, Rear Admiral Ndubuisi Kanu (rtd.) said though Chief Abiola and many other Nigerians who died in the struggle to actualise the June 12 mandate already made a lot of sacrifices with their lives, Nigerians should be ready to make more sacrifices, if the nation's democracy must to be sustained.