At Last, Annual Lecture for Abiola
Had the acclaimed winner of the June 12, 1993 Presidential election, Chief Moshood Kashimawo Olawale Abiola been alive, he would have celebrated his 67th birthday anniversary last Tuesday. Conscious of this fact, the Academic Staff Union of Nigerian Universities, ASUU, Lagos State Branch, last week, held the maiden edition of the lecture in honour of the late politician. Joseph Ushigiale, who was at the event reports
As the Master of Ceremony (MC) invited her to the podium for the customary acceptance speech on behalf of her late father, she stood up from her well positioned seat on the front row of the high table, walked briskly up to the wooden podium and grabbed the microphone.
Then it happened. Hafsat Abiola, the scion of the two key players in the democratic struggle, Late Chief Moshood Abiola and his wife, Kudirat, whose dogged contributions led to the birth of the present democratic dispensation, broke down. Her emotions took control and while the audience caught their breath, she sobbed pitifully. But the moment was brief and she soon overcame her sorrows, straightened up and spoke through the microphone.
"About 10 years ago, our parents sacrificed their lives for the birth of a democratic Nigeria. Today, our family mourn its losses. As we seat here, it would have been his 67th (Abiola) birthday, but even in death, he is still remembered.
"While he lived, his personage was woven around people and events. His going into politics and his eventual electoral success were to better the lives of the people. He sacrificed for the people so that they can see tomorrow. These selfless examples are what should spur us on to greater things. We should emulate them to make this country great."
By the time she ended her speech, everyone present at the MBA Hall at the Lagos State University (LASU) was touched by the short but emotional statement from the young lady, who has been orphaned by vagaries of political power struggle in the country.
Last week, the Academic Staff Union of Universities (ASUU), Lagos State branch, under the leadership of Dr. S G Adewumi, put together the maiden edition of the Moshood Kashimawo Abiola Lecture which held at the MBA Hall of the institution.
In his opening remarks, the Vice Chancellor, Prof. Abisogun Leigh lamented that Nigerians have no culture of remembering heroes, no matter their contributions to society, adding however that when they finally do, such honours are done posthumously. Leigh said the lecture series and the topic: "Our Heroes, Our Hope", is a concept of the institution's ASUU members.
He advised Nigerians to choose who their heroes are carefully and emulate them, adding that it is only through this way that lives of both the present and future generations are affected. Leigh also challenged the academia to emulate their counterparts in advanced countries by introducing programmes with intellectual bent to institutions in the country.
ASUU-LASU chairman, Odewumi said the philospophy behind the annual lecture series is "to remember our great matyr, Chief MKO Abiola every year on his birthday for paying the supreme price so that the government of the people, for the people and by the people shall be forever in our fatherland, Nigeria".
The guest speaker at the occassion, Governor Sam Egwu, who was represented by his deputy, Dr. Chigozie Ogbu in his lecture titled "Democracy and Responsiveness: The Socio-Contractual Interface," pointed out that the annulment of June 12 in 1993 remained sources of outrage to the country and the world at large. "The victory was unique and remarkable in its source which cut across all the divide in this country - geographic, ethnic, religious, political. Only a man with the character of Chief Abiola could achieve that feat" he added.
He noted that although, June 12 has become history, "the most enduring issue connected with the controversy has to do with the sanctity of election, which is the epicenter of true democracy."
According to him, "when elections are not free and fair, the result is that service delivery will be adversely affected owing to crisis of credibility on the part of the functionaries in public office. Without a free and fair election, no society can genuinely lay claim to democratic practice."
On the crises that have bedeviled the polity since the enthronement of democracy in 1999, Egwu said "in a heterogeneous society like ours, such issues as the nature of our federalism, the location, control and distribution of national resources, and the distribution of political power will remain at the foremost of public debate for as long as they remain unresolved with their attendant far-reaching impacts on the nation's democracy and stability."
While describing the late Abiola as an embodiment of humanitarian service to mankind, and that his philantrophy reached out to the poor, touched on education, sports, politics and health, he noted that his contributions were "unequaled in the history of Nigeria".
He noted that "his life enobled the black race. If any black man harboured an incurable passion for the cause of the black race and its unmitigated nobility, identity and greatness, it was Abiola. He was irrevocably committed to the redressing of the monumental and pathological racial hatred and injustice perpetrated against blacks during the obnoxious slave trade period."
Egwu said Abiola " was the apostle of reparation for Africa from the western world that plundered our human and material resources to enrich their countries. It was this irredeemable and overwhelming passion and commitment to the cause of the people that impelled him to go into politics. His entry into politics gave birth to our nascent democracy which has provided a platform for greatest service to our people."
He acknowledged that sovereignty lies with the people and that those who hold power derive their mandate from the people, adding that by delegating power to leaders or institution, the people are doing so on the condition that their needs and aspirations will dictate the direction of public policy.
Egwu described the country's democracy as an institution in transition, and that for it to survive, the people and government need absolute commitment, adding that "to guarantee this, the tree of social justice must continually be watered through the vehicles of civil liberties, national accommodation, administrative inclusion and responsiveness to the needs and aspirations of the people."
According to him, "a true democratic system must be participatory, representative and constitutional. The concept of constitutional democracy involves the notion of limited government, constrained by the constitution in the extent of its powers and the method of exercising it."
He emphasised that "while the need for effective governance requires that government be endowed with the capacity to perform its various tasks, a constitutional democracy should balance the guarantee of the fundamental rights of the citizen against the maintenance of public security, public order and the promotion of social programmes and services."
Egwu said democracy is not dependent on the rules in the constitution but at the same time, without a constitution, the conducive atmosphere for practice of true democracy and social justice may be lacking and resulting in "absolute power corrupts absolutely."
On the current clamour for a president of Igbo extraction in 2007, Governor Sam Egwu of Ebonyi State stated that unlike before, the zone is prepared to back and present a single candidate for the presidency.
He said contrary to the cacophony of voices and the disunity that were the bane of politicians in the zone in the past, "this time around, Ndigbo is united and will have a consensus candidate for the 2007 presidential race."
"The feeling in the South-east is that given the commitment and selfless service to the country and the thinking that the zone has never had a shot at the presidency, all we are asking every Nigerian is to be fair and for equity sake, the zone should produce the next President," he pointed out.
He said although the party would have a crucial role to play in deciding which zone produces the next president, a decision which the zone is ready to accept, he however said for equity and fairness sake, let's have it."
Egwu maintained that "whether on the basis of the current six geo-political zonal arrangement or on the basis of the former three regional structure, the Igbo race has never produced a president of Nigeria."
According to him, "apart from the sacrifices and towering contributions of the Igbo of this country, after the indigenes of that state, the Igbo are the next in terms of population. For a people who are so passionate in their conviction about the oneness of Nigeria that they are so widely dispersed in it, it is only fair that they be supported to produce the next president of the country in an atmosphere of democracy and accommodation."
To make the lecture a permanent feature, Egwu supported it with N.2m, another N1m was also donated to enable the ASUU-LASU continue with the annual lecture series and a pledge was made for a lecture hall in Egwu's honour.
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