Tinubu’s First Presidential Address on Democracy Day Sends Strong Message to Nigerians. The newly sworn-in President of Nigeria, Bola Ahmed Tinubu gave his first Democracy Day speech to Nigerians this morning, June 12, 2023.
It goes as follows;
Dear Nigerians,
Today marks the precise three decades since Nigerians went to the polls to exercise their intrinsic right to elect a President of their choosing to lead the transition from military dictatorship to a people’s representative government.
The military’s decision to annul Chief Moshood Kashimawo Olawale Abiola’s convincing victory in the June 12, 1993, presidential election, which had been the country’s fairest and freest election up to that point.
YOU MAY ALSO LIKE: Colombia Rescues 4 Missing Children After 40 Days
By rising to strongly oppose the arbitrary annulment of the majority of Nigerians’ will as expressed in that historic election, a significant number of our people demonstrated their fierce commitment to enthroning democracy as the form of government that best ennobles liberty, the dignity of the individual, and the integrity as well as the stability of the polity
The vehement reaction to the annulment of the June 12, 1993 presidential election, and the continuous pro-democracy onslaught it unleashed, was the equivalent of our founding fathers’ war against colonial authority, which resulted in Nigeria’s independence in 1960.
The pro-June 12 vanguard, like the anti-colonial movement, demonstrated the enduring validity of the 19th century historian Arnold Toynbee’s eternal postulation, that civilization and societies progress as they are forced to respond to environmental challenges.
The unfair annulment of a widely recognized free and fair election was a challenge that drew opposition from a revived civil society, eventually leading to our ‘second independence,’ as symbolized by the resumption of democratic governance in 1999.
Fellow citizens, we commemorate a day that has remained a watershed in our nation’s history, not just today, but for every June 12 that our dear country shall exist and wax stronger and stronger, generations after generations.
Many Nigerians will always remember that the democracy that is steadily growing to become the defining essence of our polity was not handed to us on a silver platter.
Every day, on this day, we shall remember countless additional heroes of democracy, such as Kudirat Abiola, Chief Abiola’s wife, who was ruthlessly slain while fighting on the side of the people.
We commemorate Pa Alfred Rewane, one of our freedom struggle’s heroes, and Major General Shehu Musa Yar’Adua (rtd), both of whom were silenced by the military regime while pursuing democracy. They sacrificed yesterday for the liberty we have today.
The point is, we should never take our democracy for granted. We must always closely watch and defend it as if it were a beautiful diamond. For a people may never completely appreciate the liberties and rights that democracy provides them until they lose them.
We’ve been down the dark, thorny road of dictatorship before, and those who have can attest to the unbridgeable chasm between the dignity of freedom and the humiliation and degradation of tyranny.
True, some people find rancorous debates, endless squabbling, never-ending quarrels, and harsh electoral contests to be unappealing aspects of democracy. But they also attest to its worth and worthiness.
The fact that the polls were hotly contested is proof that democracy is alive and strong in our country. It’s only natural for people who have won and experienced victory in Those who won feel delighted and fulfilled, whereas those who lost are jaded and disappointed.
However, the beauty of democracy is that those who win today may lose tomorrow, and those who lose today may compete and win in the next round of elections.
Those who cannot bear and accept the agony of defeat in elections do not deserve the joy of success when their turn comes. Above all, individuals who disagree with the election results are fully utilizing the constitutional rights to seek redress in court, which is one of the reasons why democracy remains the best form of government established by man.
For Chief MKO Abiola, the emblem of this day, whose memory is commemorated on June 12 as a national holiday, democracy is immortal. It is about the rule of law and a thriving judiciary that can be relied on to provide justice and enhance institutions.
The recent standardization of judicial officer retirement ages is intended to reinforce the rule of law, which is a vital foundation of democracy. The reform process has only recently begun. A democracy that pays out proper dividends to its shareholders entails more than just the freedom of choice and the opportunity to vote.
It is for this reason that, in my inaugural address on May 29, I gave effect to my predecessor-in-office’s decision to remove the fuel subsidy albatross and free up much-needed resources that had previously been plundered by a few wealthy.
I admit that the choice will place an additional strain on the majority of our people. I understand your anguish. This is one decision we must make in order to save our country and free our resources from the clutches of a few unpatriotic elements.
I have begged you, my countrymen, to make one more sacrifice for the sake of our country’s existence. I tell you that your faith and belief in us will be rewarded.
The democracy for which MKO Abiola died is one in which the welfare of the people takes precedence above the selfish interests of the ruling class, and in which the governed can find personal satisfaction and happiness. That is the hope that MKO Abiola instilled in our country in 1993.
On this year’s Democracy Day, I urge all of us to renew our commitment to developing the type of government of free peoples that has served as our guiding light for the past 24 years.
Those of us who have been elected to public offices at various levels in both the executive and legislative branches of government, in particular, must recommit to providing selfless service to the people and delivering concrete democracy dividends in accordance with our electoral mandates.
On my part and on behalf of my administration, I reaffirm our commitment to meticulously carrying out every component of our electoral covenant with the people – the ‘Renewed Hope’ agenda.
YOU MAY ALSO LIKE: DSS Confirms Arrest Of Suspended CBN Governor Emefiele
We will remain true to the truth. Respectful of equity. And committed to fairness. We will govern with fairness, respect for the rule of law, and a resolve to always preserve the dignity of all our people.
On that point, I wish us all a joyful Democracy Day celebration and pray that the torch of liberty never goes out in our country. Thank you all, and God bless the Federal Republic of Nigeria.
