Unsung heroes of June 12

Emmanuel Oladesu

 

Twenty seven years after, the pain lingers. The scars have not faded. The agony has not ended. Although June 12 has replaced May 29 as Democracy Day, the historic reality was that the battle for the revalidation of the annulled June 12, 1993 presidential election won by Chief Moshood Abiola of the proscribed Social Democratic Party (SDP) was lost.

The symbol of the struggle and his devoted wife, Kudirat, perished in the war. So was the popular yearning for a new dawn. Therefore, 1993 paled into a year of wasted expectation. The hand of the military was heavy on the bewildered country. The cancellation of the democratic mandate underscored the illusion of hope.

The fighters of yore are still lamenting the huge gap between expectation and reality. In 1999, civil rule was restored. But, the main inheritor of the gains of the struggle was another military brand, ably supported by civilian collaborators who subverted the legitimate agitations.

After five years of serious protest, the slogan of the battle changed, following the mysterious death of the winner in detention. The people insisted in despair that the military must just go. But, 21 years later, the attainment of civil rule has not translated to democracy in the full sense of the word. The question is: are the labours of pro-June 12 crusaders not in vain?

References are often made to the heroic contributions of the leaders and arrowheads of the campaigns at home and abroad.

These leaders include Chief Adekunle Ajasin, Chief Anthony Enahoro, Chief Bola Ige, Rear Admiral Ndubudi Kanu, Air Commodore Dan Suleiman, Asiwaju Bola Tinubu, Chief Ayo Adebanjo, Chief John Odigie-Oyegun, Prof. Bolaji Akinyemi, Col. Dangiwa Umar, Prof. Wole Soyinka, Ayo Opadokun, Olu Falae, Frank Kokori, Fredrick Fasehun,  Kofo Bucknor Akerele, Ayoka Lawani, Gani Fawehinmi, Femi Falana, Chief Cornelius Adebayo, Ganiyu Dawodu, Olaniwun Ajayi, Olawale Oshun, Mohammed Arzika, Amos Akingba, and Olisa Agbakoba.

The list is inexhaustive. They suffered many bruises, particularly intimidation, oppression, repression, detention, and trials, before many of them went on exile.

But, apart from these leaders, many demonstrators at home also paid the supreme price in the process of sustaining the struggle. While some leaders abandoned the struggle for a morsel of porridge, many activists, students, and ordinary people faced bullets and endured tribulations under the military rule to the end. They are unknown and unsung in life and death. Indeed, “when paupers die, there are no comets seen; the heavens themselves blaze forth the death of kings.”

The battle became hotter as the maximum ruler, Gen. Sani Abacha, unfolded his self-succession agenda. Scores of protesters died as soldier opened fire along Ikorodu Road, Lagos in 1994. No fewer than 174 demonstrators were wounded. A year later, some students of Edo State University were killed by soldiers for demanding for democracy.

The media was caged. But, it was fruitless. Up came guerrilla journalism, which was nevertheless costly. The family of Baguda Kaltho is still in deep lamentation that the body of the murdered journalist is yet to be found.

Reflecting on the ordeals of the forgotten heroes of June 12, Oshun, Third Republic House of Representatives Chief Whip lamented in his book: ‘The Open Grave: NADECO and the struggle for democracy,’ that “too bad today, those who died then are now remembered in figures than in name,” although their deaths were not less poignant than that of Chief Alfred Rewane and Kudirat as they too were murdered in cold blood by blood thirsty operators of the dictatorship.

Little is known about the brave people, who agreed to serve as couriers, ferrying messages and documents across the border for pro-democracy movements. They are silent patriots.

Some of them were intercepted. A case in point was Mr. Laiyemo, Adebayo’s personal assistant, who was bearing a letter from the former Kwara State governor to a friend. He spent 36 months in detention.

The same fate would have befallen Rev. Tunji Adebiyi, who was bearing a letter from Lagos  NADECO leaders to Ajasin in Owo. He was caught at Maryland during a stop and search operation. He was saved by Kudirat, who made a passionate appeal for his release.

Who remembers the man called Uncle Johnson, who was drawn from his retirement to manage Radio Kudirat in exile by Akinrinade, or the information technology expert, Gbolahan Olalemi, who installed and ran Radio Freedom in Nigeria, with all its attendant risks? Olalemi had the misfortune of being caught and detained. He was kept in an underground cell, flogged by soldiers and even used as a bait to access Dapo Olorunyomi’s home in Mushin.

During the dark period, Tinubu’s aides-Benson Akintola and Akeem Apatira-were picked up by security agents in 1994 and detained at the Federal Interrogation and Investigation Bureau (FIIB), Alagbon, Lagos for three months. They were looking for information about Senator Tinubu, who had gone underground and later into exile.

When soldiers stormed the Ikeja residence of Akingba, the former don was nowhere to be found. They pounced on his nephew, Peter Ogunyamoju, who was later detained in Alagbon. The military planted a bomb in the house which exploded, killing Nelson Kassim and Dr. Omatsola.

A NADECO chieftain, who had escaped abroad, Chief Ralph Onioha, was helpless as news got to him that one of his boys, Abayomi Kehinde, was arrested as a pro-democracy agent. Also, for being in possession of anti-military  leaflets and posters, Abdulsalam Danladi was detained in Lagos between May and June 1998. Another June 12 traveller, Samuel Asogwa, was detained for three weeks for circulating pro-democracy posters and literature. He was charged with sedition.

It was the same fate that befell Ebun Adegboruwa, a lawyer in Fawehinmi Chambers. He was detained between November 1997 and June 1998 “for being in possession of subversive documents.” His 75 year-old father was previously held in lieu of him for initially  failing to honour a summon by the Directorate of Military Intelligence (DMI).

A similar scenario played out in Ijebu-Ode where Ayomide Lijadu was arrested in place of her father, who had organised a rally to protest Kudirat’s assassination.

Adegboruwa’s colleague at the bar, Bamidele Aturu, was detained for a month because his client, Isaac Osuoka, was in possession of posters denouncing Abacha’s self-succession plan.

For 18 months, Prince Ademola Adeniji-Adele languished in detention for his NADECO activism. Captured as a prisoner of war at Ibadan, Lam Adesina lost his freedom between May and June 1998.

Between May 1995 and July 1998, Kunle Ajibade had the worst experience. He was jailed for “accessory after the fact of a coup.” He was jailed for 15 years over a story by The News.

It was not the best of times for journalists. Chris Anyanwu lost her freedom between June 16, 1995 and June 15, 1998. She was charged before a military tribunal for accessory after the  fact of treason. Her Sunday Magazine’s coverage of the phantom coup trials was infuriating to Abacha. She was initially jailed for life. Later, the sentence was reduced to 15 years.

Also, a journalist,  Moshood Fayemiwo, was detained for a year and seven months. His paper published materials that revealed the looting of the treasury by the military while also campaigning for the revalidation of June 12 election.

For Nosa Igiebor, it was a hell of time. For seven months, he was detained. His offence was that his magazine published a story exposing Abacha’s plan to ‘punish’ neighbouring countries that showed sympathy for pro-democracy movements.

Labour activist Joseph Akinlaja was detained for days for partaking in an illegal meeting where bombing of oil refineries and depots were discussed and for being in a crowd of pro-June 12 crusaders.

A soldier, Major Akinloye Akinyemi, was detained for four years for coup plotting. But, it was believed that he was picked up because he is the younger brother of Prof. Akinyemi, a NADECO chieftain. The elder Akinyemi was in exile for four years.

Eminent banker and politician Olabiyi Durojaye’s case was pathetic. He was detained for seven months. The reason was unknown. “They told me they were just directed to keep me here,” he said.

For declaring Abacha regime illegal, Senator Polycarp Nwite was detained for one year. The NADECO member was accused of planting bombs. In 1995, Rev. Peter Obadan was also held for calling for the revalidation of the annulled poll.

Others detainees include Prof. Omo Omoruyi, who was shot and wounded for calling for the revalidation of June 12, Babafemi Ojydu for his anti-Agacha stance, Soji Omotunde for decrying dictatorship, Mrs Iluyomade, wife of Gen. Iluyomade, and daughter, who lost a pregnancy in detention, Arthur Nwankwo for harbouring anti-Abacha pamphlets, Olorunyomi’s wife, Ladi in lieu of her husband, 80 year old Chief Solanke Onasanya, who was asked to explain what he did not do; Kudirat’s murder; Abdul Oroh of Civil Liberty Organisation(CLO) for his links with Soyinka and pro-June 12 campaigns, Onome Osifo-Whiskey for criticising Abacha, Bayo Osinowo for his association with Abiola, Niyi Owolade for anti- government May Day riot at Ibadan, and Chima Ubani for for inciting Nigerians against the military government.

Others are Nike Ransome-Kuti, Solomon Sobande, Emeka Ugwuoke for circulating pro-democracy posters, Olusegun Mayegun, Popoola Ajayi, and Jerry Yusuf for hijacking a plane in protest against the Interim National Government and calling for the restoration of Abiola’s mandate. The list is endless.

It is thus evident that the restoration of civil rule was not achieved on a platter of gold. It was a collective enterprise involving the mighty and the mighty, with the active support of the low and suppressed masses; professionals, youths, students, artisans, peasants and the ordinary man in the street.

How do these unsung heroes feel now when dividends of democracy are still scanty, when corruption is still growing in leaps and bounds, when piecemeal political reforms are being dangled, when federalism is a tall order, when insecurity persists, when the economy is malevolent, when unemployment has assumed geometric proportions, when infrastructure are still decayed, when the quality of living falls persistently?

The only point of departure, so far, is democratic stability. Nigeria has witnessed transition from civil to civil rule. The accompanied crisis and stress were also managed. But, the fruits are inadequate.

The onus is on the civilian administration to reposition the country through the building of institutions, politico-electoral reforms, security, restructuring and restoration of federal principle and abolition of poverty, which was the Abiola’s cardinal objective.

If these goals are accomplished, then, the unsung heroes will heave a sigh of relief that the struggle was, after all, not totally in vain.