EGBE Omo Yoruba North America (Egbe) is the leading organization in North America for the social, cultural, and economic interests of the Yoruba. Recently, the leadership of the organization commemorated the 27th anniversary of the Nigerian Presidential election of June 12, 1993, which was adjudged the freest and fairest in the history of elections in Nigeria. Won by Chief M. K. O. Abiola, the Ibrahim Babangida military regime annulled the election, the first such blatant act of injustice in the history of the country.
As one of the organizations that celebrated the fairness of the elections and the victory of Chief Abiola, Egbe stood firm against the annulment, committing its human and material resources to fighting it alongside many partners including NALICON, UDFN, NADECO Abroad, and others. For the reason of its deep involvement in the struggle for the validation of Abiola’s mandate, Egbe and June 12 became like Siamese twins. It was not unusual in those days for mockers to introduce our members as Mister or Madam June 12.
Egbe wore such mockery as a badge of honor. And for 27 years, the National Executive Council and members have held events commemorating the struggle for the validation of that election, which ended unfortunately in July 1998 with the death of Chief Abiola. Thus, on Friday June 12, 2020, under the leadership of Dr. Odimayo Akindutire, Egbe invited its founding members far and near, and Yoruba leaders from other regions to a Zoom conference in celebration of the day and for reflections on the struggle and its aftermath. Appropriately titled “June 12, A Mirror of Our Polity: How Far We Have Come and Where are We Going?” its objective was to discuss lessons learnt from the struggle and its outcome in light of the politics of the 4th Republic.
Given my own investment of time and resources in that struggle, my subsequent observation of events after the death of Chief Abiola, and my personal disappointment with the political wilderness in which the country found herself post-1999, my preference was to attend the conference and just listen. Unfortunately for me, President Akindutire insisted that I must not only speak but also keynote the session. I thank him for the honor.
My short keynote focused on the theme of justice and injustice. I observed that the Yoruba have always been in the forefront of the struggle for justice because they are strongly averse to injustice. I argued that the reason that the Yoruba people so intensely engaged in the struggle against the annulment of the June 12 1993 election was not because the winner of that election was a Yoruba. I observed that if Alhaji Tofa had won that election and the military had annulled it, the Yoruba would have been no less enraged.
Should anyone seriously doubt this simple submission, let them ask themselves some pointed questions: Who led the fight for the adoption of the practice of federalism in a diverse nation-state such as Nigeria? Who led the struggle for the creation of states so that minorities may have equal representation? Which nationality first accepted the creation of a region for the minority group in its population? From the colonial times to the present 4th Republic, as a collective, the strength that the Yoruba bring to Nigerian political and social life is serving as the gadfly for justice. This was what galvanised mainstream Yoruba political structure to dig in on behalf of democracy and justice with regard to the June 12, 1993 election and its annulment.
Egbe Omo Yoruba got involved in the struggle because, as I put it to the conference, we are true sons and daughters of our parents and true descendants of our ancestors. We cannot but fight injustice wherever it occurs. Now, the annulment of a free and fair election was an injustice and a gross abuse of power by the Babangida military regime. But many civilians across the nation, including some Yoruba aided and abetted the injustice. Many others refused to lift a finger for reasons best known to them. We cannot now complain about those individuals and groups. We thank God for the grace we had to be on the right side of history. It is up to them to learn from their past mistake of commission and omission.
My second point of emphasis to the conference was to remind our people that appreciation and gratitude are important elements of the practice of justice. This is why our elders compare an unappreciated good deed to a case of armed robbery which denies its victim his or her possessions. Unfortunately, those who should know better the contributions that many people, including foreigners, made to the struggle, have shirked a very important responsibility. It took twenty years for the federal government to recognise Chief M. K. O. Abiola who paid the supreme sacrifice which made it possible for the 4th republic to last this long. Even the first beneficiary of his sacrifice didn’t consider it fitting to honor him. How sad and petty!
Beside Chief Abiola and his wife, Kudirat, many individuals lost their lives along the way. More than 200 souls were lost to the military clampdown on protesters in Lagos. Now that June 12 has been recognized as Democracy Day, we need a monument to all those who fought and died struggling for its recognition. Hopefully, President Buhari will find the courage to conclude what he started so well.
On my part, whenever and wherever I have the opportunity, I will always say the names of those whose courage never dimmed, whose forthrightness was never in doubt, as they fought side by side with us. Though no longer with us, their legacy continues to make us proud. Among those Yoruba heroes were Chief Abiola himself, Alhaja Kudirat Abiola, Baba Adekunle Ajasin, Baba Abraham Adesanya, Pa Onasanya, Chief Bola Ige, Alhaji Ganiyu Dawodu, Chief Wumi Adegbonmire, Baba Olanihun Ajayi, Dr. Tai Solarin, Dr. Ola Oni, Chief Gani Fawehinmi, Baba Omojola, Dr. Fredrick Fasehun, Professor Olikoye Ransome Kuti, Fela Anikulapo Kuti, Dr. Beko Ransome Kuti, Dr. Wahab Dosunmu and many others. In Egbe Omo Yoruba, those who are gone home now included Ezekiel Ayotunde, Titus Folayan, Paul Olatoye, Adekunle Sobajo, Tokunbo Marcarthy, Professor Layiwola Abegunrin, Olaseni Ajao, Kehinde Lijadu, and Dr. Nurudeen Olowopopo. Chief Anthony Enahoro was the mighty oak that served as an umbrella for all of us. My advice to the Egbe was to strive always to keep alive the memories of these heroes of our struggle.
Of course, pertinent questions remain. What was the long-term outcome of the struggle? Did we achieve our goals and objectives? In view of where our politics is now, can we truly answer this question in the affirmative? Indeed, President Akindutire insisted on knowing if we had any regrets given what turned out to be the status quo outcome.
My answer to this burning question of course was that personally I have no regrets and I don’t think that the Egbe should regret its involvement. As previously observed, if we didn’t get involved, we would have denied our heritage. Could we have done anything more in the wake of the return to civil rule? We were not willing to get involved in the new world of partisan politics. But we did expect our partners to be guided by the principles and ideals that we all fought for, including the need to establish a true federal structure and to institutionalize electoral integrity. Unfortunately, they found themselves outwitted by the military transition.
What next? Egbe Omo Yoruba is fully aware that our people are not satisfied with the state of affairs. They are unhappy that restructuring is still far from the front burner of national discourse. They are unhappy about electoral malpractice. And they are frustrated with the pace of progress on the economy and infrastructural development. As long as there are lice on our national outfit, we will have blood-stained fingers. But whatever it takes, Egbe must keep fighting for justice and fairness, the enduring value of our forebears.