June 12: Oyetola advises Nigerians against sentiments threatening peace

The Osun State Governor, Adegboyega Oyetola, has called on Nigerians to jettison the age-old primordial sentiments that have continued to threaten the unity, peace, and progress of the country.

Governor Oyetola spoke at the June 12 commemoration event with the theme: ‘June 12: 29 years after, interrogating Nigeria’s democracy in the 4th republic: Osun State perspective,’ held in Osogbo.

He commended the President, Major General Muhammadu Buhari, (retd.), for recognising and declaring June 12 as the nation’s Democracy Day.

According to him, the June 12 struggle, personified by the indomitable spirit of the winner of the 1993 election, Chief Moshood Abiola, and the subsequent quest for enforcing the mandate by men of goodwill from across the length and breadth of our nation, you cannot but be comforted that our nation can rise from the rubble of failures and missteps of yesterday and reach its greatest heights.

“Doing so would necessarily require that we jettison the age-old primordial sentiments that continue to threaten our unity, peace, and progress.”

Also at another June 12 rally held in Osogbo, the Chairman, Osun Civil Societies Coalition, Comrade Waheed Lawal, harped on the need for government at all levels to up their efforts towards providing security for lives and property.

Lawal, who lamented insecurity in the country expressed disappointment that 29 years after the annulment of the June 12, 1993 election, Nigerians were still facing hardship in all strata of life.

He said, “MKO Abiola represented Hope for a better Nigeria. It is unfortunate that 29 years after the annulment of June 12, Nigeria is still far from its expected development pedestal. It is so unfortunate that ever since the return of democracy, our politicians have continued to re-echo the campaign manifesto of the Shagari regime in 1976, as their agenda for Nigeria close to five decades after.

“We still premise our yardstick of good governance to building roads, schools, providing potable water, electricity and the basic necessities for survival, when nations who got independence after us have moved beyond the basics.”