A human rights activist and Executive Chairman, Centre for Human Rights and Social Justice (CHRSJ), Comrade Adeniyi, Alimi Sulaiman, has urged President Muhammadu Buhari to recognise the late MKO Abiola, acclaimed winner of the June 12 presidential election in 1993 as a former President of the country. He maintained that late Abiola, his wife, Kudirat and other martyr laid down their lives for the enthronement of the current democratic experiment in the land.

He also stated that non-recognition of Chief Abiola since the enthronement of present democratic experience on May 29, 1999, has been hurting the present political system, insisting that the only solution to the many political challenges currently facing the nation was to first give Chief Abiola the rightful place in the country’s political history and development, adding that national monuments like University of Abuja and Eagle Square should be named after him.

Comrade Sulaiman urged the present administration to make June 12 one of the national public holidays for the remembrance of the turning point election that was adjudged as “freest and fairest election ever held in the political history of the land since independence on October 1, 1960.

He commended the states of the federation that declare June 12 as public holiday for keeping the ideals and philosophy which June 12 stands for in the evolution of political history of the country.

The rights activist, who participated in the struggle for the revalidation of June 12 that lead to the enthronement of current democracy in Nigeria, insisted that June 12 should be recognised as Democracy Day and not May 29 as presently regarded.

Sulaiman saluted the courage of the likes of late Chief Gani Fawehinmi (SAN), late Pa Abraham Adesanya, late Chief Bola Ige, late Kudirat Abiola, Professor Wole Soyinka, Barrister Femi Falana, Senator Shehu Sani and a host of other heroes and heroines of June 12, 1993 Presidential election revalidation struggle.

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