June 12 is at the soul of our democratic struggle; a threshold in our national life.

The significance of the celebration of June 12, 1993, Presidential Election is a reminder of our history to becoming a democratic country. On this day twenty-six years ago, Nigeria voted for democracy against the jackboot notion of oppressive totalitarianism.

The collective decision by Nigerians to elect democracy on that day was not to aggrandize the political elite or to replace the military dictatorship with civilian autocracy. No! The choice of democracy was to restore power to the people.

Suffice it to state that the idea of June 12 is not merely to declare it as a Democracy Day – much as celebratory and commendable it might seem. The idea behind the event of June 12, 1993, embodies something much bigger than that. It was a threshold moment in our national life that demands of us as democrats to do a soul searching and ask the salient question of all time: how better off are Nigerians?

It is not enough to declare June 12 a Democracy Day when the government of the day is disrespectful of the rule of law and wantonly disregards court orders on issues that border on fundamental human rights. It is not enough to declare June 12 a work-free day when the ordinary people of Nigeria still don’t have the freedom to find a better life from the suffocating grip of poverty, when Nigeria is now the global headquarters of extreme poverty. It is not enough to declare June 12 a work-free day when a disproportionate number of citizens are not sure of where their next meal will come from and when the sanctity of their lives is not guaranteed. It is not enough to declare June 12 a work-free day when freedom of the press, and of speech, fundamentals of democracy is being assailed.

As a compatriot who stood shoulder to shoulder with the icon of the June 12 struggle, Chief MKO Abiola of blessed memory, I know first-hand that the choice of HOPE as his campaign slogan wasn’t merely a populist tokenism. He didn’t mean to deceive Nigerians with a hope he could not deliver upon. And, today, the minimum requirement for any June 12 convert is to demand of them wherever they may be – either in government or in private lives – to deliver on the promises they made to the people.

It is therefore not acceptable that an administration which had an opportunity of four years to deliver the promise of change to Nigerians, not only reneged on that promise but propelled the country into a near-comatose state will lay claims to being a true friend of the June 12 struggle.

To be a lover of June 12 is to believe in the common good of the people. June 12 is about the political leadership having the focus to retool the Nigerian economy. It is about having the skills to create wealth and jobs for the teeming mass of unemployed. It is not about the inclination for shared pains; it is about shared prosperity.

As we celebrate yet another episode of the June 12 struggle, the desire for hope is more preponderant today much as it was twenty-six years ago. So, for all true lovers of democracy, let us keep the HOPE alive.

June 12, 2019
Atiku Abubakar
Waziri Adamawa
Vice President of Nigeria, 1999-2007

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Source: https://mandynews.com/democracy-day-celebration-atiku-urges-nigerians-to-keep-their-hopes-alive/

“This year’s recall of an uplifting day in the year 1993 comes up against a background of its most shameful disavowal: the 2019 elections still under judicial contestation.An event that would be more accurately described as an exercise in body count rather than ballot count,” he said.

“The elections however merely reflected a pattern of savagery & abandonment of human sensibilities that have eaten away the sheerest sense of community in the nation. I have already described it as the final descent into the abyss of human degradation.

https://www.thecable.ng/soyinka-i-wont-participate-in-june-12-celebrations/amp
Keep hope alive your excellency.Justice must be done.

There's sense in that. Truth be told.

Atiku is living in delusion

2 Thessalonians 2:11 And for this cause God shall send them strong delusion, that they should believe a lie:

D

With many youths we have on this forum, and their comments, our leaders will continue to cheat us all.

crane45:
relly?

I swear atiku go dey in pain ryt now

Ok

If u are hopeful that Atiku regain his mantle. Click like and keep the hope alive.

Oga Atiku has refused to move on o

Igbo no sabi politics I swear!

Atiku is Cumming to Cameroon

Lol,

I feel sorry for him though, no one deserves the predicament he suffers, they didn't even consider he is an orphan b4 giving him the treatment

Thank you Mr Atiku, but stop distracting your president abeg

gather here make we laugh

Ok. The last line “Vice President 1999 - 2007 “ suits him well. It should remain like that In Jesus name Amen

I guess he is speaking to ipob

Which hope exactly is he talking about.... the same hope we've kept for decades and nothing happened because him and his old cohorts won't quit and won't stop to make the country go miserable for their own gain.

There's is no hope for Nigeria. in fact the country is a scam.

HOPELESS VENTURE.U GO WAIT TIRE TILL 2023 AND RETIRE BACK TO CAMEROON

Keep your own hope alive too.