Fuel Subsidy, election defeat: 10 key issues Tinubu addressed in his first Democracy Day broadcast
On Monday, June 12, 2023, President Bola Tinubu delivered his first Democracy Day address in a nationwide broadcast in memory of Moshood Abiola, the adjudged winner of the June 12, 1993, presidential election.
“It is exactly three decades today that Nigerians went to the polls to exercise their inalienable right to elect a President of their choice to lead the transition from military dictatorship to a representative government of the people,” he said in his Democracy Day speech.
Tinubu’s democracy day address is coming exactly two weeks after he was sworn in as Nigeria’s 16th president and less than four months after the February 25, 2023, presidential election, which many believe was marred by widespread cases of irregularities, voter suppression, malpractices, with the two major candidates, Atiku Abubakar of the People’s Democratic Party, and Peter Obi of the Labour Party, challenging the outcome in court.
In June 2018, former President Muhammadu Buhari declared June 12 as Nigeria’s Democracy Day in memory of the annulment of the June 12, 1993, election by Ibrahim Babangida.
Tinubu, who was also a member of Abiola’s Social Democratic Party (SDP), was actively involved in the June 12, 1993, election after winning election in 1992 as Senator representing Lagos West.
From describing MKO Abiola’s sacrifice as martyrdom to asking Nigerians to bear economic hardship caused by the removal of fuel subsidy as it is for the greater good, here are 10 things Tinubu said in his Democracy Day address.
June 12, 1993, election was Nigeria’s second freest election:
Making reference to the June 12, 1993 election, Tinubu said, “The abortion, by military fiat, of the decisive victory of Chief Moshood Kashimawo Olawale Abiola of the defunct Social Democratic Party (SDP) in the June 12, 1993, presidential election, up to that time, the fairest and freest election in the country’s political evolution, turned out, ironically, to be the seed that germinated into the prolonged struggle that gave birth to the democracy we currently enjoy since 1999.”
While the president failed to expressly state which election that preceded the June 12 election was more credible, many Nigerians believe that he has adjudged the 2023 presidential election, which he won amidst controversies, as the most credible.
Those who can’t endure election defeat don’t deserve the joy of victory:
On the results of February 25, 2023, presidential election being challenged in court by Peter Obi and Atiku Abubakar, the President appears to emphasize the significance of accepting election results, even in the face of defeat.
“Those who cannot endure and accept the pain of defeat in elections do not deserve the joy of victory when it is their turn to triumph,” he said.
However, MKO Abiola, after being denied the winner of the 1993 election, declared himself president in 1994 and refused to accept the annulment of the election until his death on July 7, 1998.
MKO Abiola’s sacrifice ascribed as martyrdom:
As President Tinubu pays tribute to Chief MKO Abiola, he emphasizes how his sacrifice, refusal to compromise, commitment to democracy, and subsequent death while in custody became a symbol of the fight for democracy in Nigeria.
“We can easily recall the sacrifice and martyrdom of Chief MKO Abiola, the custodian of the sacred mandate that was so cruelly annulled. He sacrificed his life in unyielding, patriotic defense of the ideals of democracy as symbolised in his choice, by his fellow countrymen and women, as their duly-elected President.”
Tinubu chronicles Nigeria’s fallen heroes of democracy:
“Every day, on this day, throughout the ages, we will recall the several other heroes of democracy, such as Kudirat Abiola, the wife of Chief Abiola, who was brutally murdered while fighting on the side of the people. We remember Pa Alfred Rewane, one of the heroes of our independence struggle, and Major General Shehu Musa Yar’Adua (rtd), who were silenced by the military junta while pursuing democracy. They gave their yesterday for the liberty that is ours today,” he said.
Those who lose today can win tomorrow:
Making reference to the keenly contested 2023 elections, Tinubu said that the beauty of democracy is that those who lost will have the opportunity to compete again in the next election cycle.
“That the polls were intensely contested is itself positive evidence that democracy is alive and well in our land. It is only natural that while those who won and experienced victory in the various elections are elated and fulfilled, those who lost are disenchanted and disappointed. But the beauty of democracy is that those who win today can lose tomorrow, and those who lose today will have an opportunity to compete and win in the next round of elections.”
Strengthening the Rule of Law:
On Thursday, June 8, 2023, President Bola Tinubu signed into law the bill unifying the retirement age of Nigerian judges from the High Court to the Supreme Court. It is his first legislation signed into law since he took office on May 29, 2023. In his Democracy Day address, the president said that the signed bill is in line with his resolution to strengthen the rule of law in Nigeria.
“The recent harmonization of the retirement age for judicial officers is meant to strengthen the rule of law, which is a critical pillar of democracy. The reform has just started.”
Sacrifice for the removal of fuel subsidy:
Although committed to continuing the previous administration’s decision to remove fuel subsidies and providing funding for subsidies for the first six months of the year in the 2023 budget, Tinubu’s “fuel subsidy is gone” comment during his inaugural address on May 29, 2023, caused the price of fuel to increase by over 100%. However, the President, who advocated against the removal in 2012, leading to the Occupy Nigeria protest, has asked Nigerians to “sacrifice a little more for the survival of our country.”
“I admit that the decision (fuel subsidy removal) will impose an extra burden on the masses of our people… Painfully, I have asked you, my compatriots, to sacrifice a little more for the survival of our country. For your trust and belief in us, I assure you that your sacrifice shall not be in vain. The government I lead will repay you through massive investment in transportation infrastructure, education, regular power supply, healthcare, and other public utilities that will improve the quality of lives,” he said.
Campaigners against the June 12 annulment equivalent to the battle against colonial rule:
“The fierce opposition to the annulment of the June 12, 1993, presidential election and the unrelenting pro-democracy onslaught it unleashed was equivalent to the battle against colonial rule by our founding fathers, resulting in the gaining of Nigeria’s independence in 1960.”
Why Nigeria’s democracy should be jealously guarded:
“The point is that we must never take this democracy for granted. We must forever jealously guard and protect it like a precious jewel. For a people can never truly appreciate the freedoms and rights democracy guarantees them until they lose it.”
Why keenly contested polls are evidence of democracy:
“The fact that the polls were keenly contested is itself positive evidence that democracy is alive and well in our land. It is only natural that while those who won and experienced victory in the various elections are elated and fulfilled, those who lost are disenchanted and disappointed.”
