Daily Independent Online.
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Monday, June 14, 2004.
Democracy has been hijacked, says Kokori
By Habib Aruna
Assistant
Political Editor, Lagos
Frontline Labour activist and former
Secretary General of the National Union of Petroleum and Natural Gas Workers
(NUPENG), Chief Frank Kokori, at the weekend painted a gory picture of the
nation’s nascent democracy and said it has been hijacked by a cabal.
Kokori lamented that politicians have not
learnt any lessons from the past because, according to him, they did not
participate in installing democracy. “It has been rough but it is still
better than the junta and that is why we are still free to do a lot of
things”, the labour leader said in Lagos while speaking during the
commemoration of the 11th anniversary of the June 12, 1993 presidential
election.
Kokori explained that it was difficult to
defend what one did not fought
for, adding that the democratic process has been taken over by those he claimed
did not suffer for it. “Democracy has been hijacked by a cabal. By those
who did not fight for June 12, which many others fought for, which we in the
oil industry fought for,” he stressed.
Even then, Kokori who was a principal
character in the struggle for the actualisation of June 12 frowned at the
attitude of Nigerians to struggle against injustice, lamenting that Nigerians
are ready to persevere under suffering than pick up arms against repressive
regimes. “Nigerians are optimists, they cannot commit suicide, they
believe something will happen to relieve them from their condition. They do not
take the risk to die. Even though their lives are hopeless, they do not want to
go into martyrdom and if not that General Sani Abacha drop dead, we would have
died in prison.
“You don’t remove a ruthless
dictator with a street protest. I have never regretted the role I played during
the June 12 struggle because those who fought for freedom never lived to enjoy
it and if we didn’t do it at that time, nobody would have done it. So, we
have to thank the oil workers, the human rights community and the militant
press,” Kokori stressed.
He said he was disturbed that when their efforts were
scuttled, Nigerians kept quiet and did not do anything, adding that Nigerians
are not yet ready for a revolution.
On the rumoured ambition of former military president, General Ibrahim
Babangida, Kokori said there was nothing he could do if he has already been
forgiven by the family of Chief Moshood Abiola. Reviewing the last Nigeria
Labour Congress (NLC) protest and strike against increase in petroleum
products, Kokori said Comrade Adams Oshiomhole, the NLC president, has started
well and that the gains of the strike have started to manifest with the
re-adjustment in the price of the products.
