The Alaafin of Oyo, and Permanent Chairman, Oyo State Council of Obas and Chiefs, Iku Baba Yeye, Oba [Dr.] Lamidi Olayiwola Adeyemi 111, has eulogised President Muhammadu Buhari for his visionary zeal on the restoration of June 12 as the country’s Democracy Day, and bestowed the highest national honour on a hero of the country’s democracy, the late Chief Moshood Kashimawo Abiola.
The Nation reports that Oba Adeyemi in a congratulatory message to the president noted that the victory, delivered by Nigerians across geopolitical and ethno-religious lines, undoubtedly remains the most unequivocal demonstration of the popular will in our democratic history.
Extolling the virtues of the late Abiola, the presumed winner of the annulled June 12 1993 presidential election, and the immediate past Aare Ona Kakanfo of Yorubaland, the Alaafin described him as ” a popular businessman, publisher and politician who epitomised perseverance in the face of daunting challenges.
”Indeed, his uncommon ability to overcome adversity and achieve tremendous fortune must have stirred in M.K.O Abiola a philanthropic spirit that remains unrivalled. The late MKO Abiola was a detribalised Nigerian who built bridges across the country and a pan-African patriot driven by a quest for justice and the eradication of inequality. Abiola’s connections, philanthropy and admiration were resoundingly pan-Nigerian as was his resounding victory.”
The paramount ruler stressed that ”the huge socio-political and economic deficit imposed by the annulment of June 12, 1993 presidential election, 26 years after, has not been fully recovered; hence Nigerians have continued to count their losses on June 12.”
