By Okolo Chimennma
Let me start by saying that Chief MKO Abiola, the great philanthropist, business mogul, philosopher, Pan African crusader, and presumed winner of the June 12 presidential elections deserves any honour done to his memory.
It is safe to say that the democracy (however imperfect it is) we enjoy today was watered with his blood and that of his wife mama Kudirat. His family has suffered the loss of their loved ones, his business has been dealt a terrible blow and therefore no one can deny that he it was on whose shoulders we arrived at our current democratic experiment.
Whilst Obasanjo didn’t bother to give him his due, an attempt by GEJ was opposed mainly on the altar of bad politics.
Therefore any attempt to honour him should be supported.
However, Chief Abiola should be honoured in such a way and manner as to show that we truly appreciate the sacrifice he made to get us on the Democratic pathway.
Another person deserving of an award is the legal luminary and gadfly, the irrepressible and indomitable Chief Gani Fawehinmi, he practically gave his life for Nigeria and Nigerians.
However, the noble idea of honouring these two illustrious Nigerians has as all things Buhari been misapplied and mismanaged.
It is now basically a political stunt meant in the main to curry political favour from the people of South West.
It is obvious that the plan was not well thought, the only driving force is political mileage.
First, our laws do not give room for posthumous National honours of any kind.
Therefore to give them these honours, our statutes have to be amended, which Buhari has not done.
The proper thing to do would have been to get the NASS to make a special amendment to the National Honours Act to accommodate the planned honours.
Again before a national honours is awarded, the National Council of States would need to meet to advise, this obviously did not happen (I stand to be corrected).
So on the conferment of these honours Buhari goofed.
As to the declaration of June 12 as National Democracy day, it is an ONLY an Act of parliament that can transform June 12 as a national holiday officially. Again Buhari would have just approached the NASS to do the needful (I believe they would pass such a bill expeditiously) but his obvious desperation blinded him to the right things to be done.
In all whilst the intention is great, the execution has been as usual with this government shoddy and sloppy.
I have heard that he has directed that his latest faux pas should be gazetted; an anomaly that is gazetted is still an anomaly and will be kicked out by any court of law.
We cannot afford to accord these two proponents of rule of law and democracy any honours that smacks of arbitrariness and disregard to the rule of law. Such a move would be soiling their memory and doing them an injustice.
The funny aspect of this is that Buhari who truncated democracy and served in Abacha government which again set our democratic walk back by a long shot is today preaching June 12 is comedic. In all his stay in Abacha government Buhari never did anything covertly or overtly to support the democracy struggle and till today he honours Abacha as a saint.
The contradiction is quiet comedic but winning elections makes people do funny things. In all Buhari /APC has shown by these Ill thought out and poorly executed plans their desperation to win the 2019 elections.
I wish Nigeria well.
Okolo Chimennma is a Lawyer, Environmental and Equal Rights Campaigner and Self styled Rt. Hon. Speaker of the Masses Assembly and National President of Lazy Nigerian Youths Association
