A coalition of civil society organizations in Osun State marked the 31st anniversary of Nigeria’s June 12 democracy day with twin demands – calling for the payment of late MKO Abiola’s presidential entitlements to his family while urging Governor Ademola Adeleke to address critical education and employment needs in the state.
During a democracy procession through Osogbo’s major streets, coalition chairman Waheed Lawal articulated their position to journalists at the Olaiya flyover: “We thank the Government for recognising the fact that late MKO Abiola won the June 12, 1993 election and giving him the highest honour that any president can have. We are demanding that whatever entitlement that accrued for any president elected in Nigeria should be given to the family of late Abiola.”
Lawal emphasized the moral imperative behind their demand: “He struggled, strived to make sure that we have a good legacy of democracy in Nigeria and that is what we are enjoying today. It will be an act of injustice not to reciprocate this by giving the family their entitlement. If the Federal Government owed Abiola family anything they should pay the family, it will be an atonement for the pains that they lost their beloved one.”
The procession, marked by solidarity songs and pro-democracy chants, also addressed contemporary governance challenges. The coalition pressed the state government to expedite the stalled teacher recruitment process: “For Osun government, it should strive to employ teachers to our schools, they have promised to engage some teachers who have been interviewed, they should do the needful on time.”
Expanding their demands, the activists called for broader employment generation and improved security: “The state government should also provide job opportunities for residents of the state. The state government should do the needful in terms of security of lives and property.”
The dual focus of the commemoration – honoring Nigeria’s democratic past while demanding accountability in present governance – reflects civil society’s bridging role between historical justice and contemporary development imperatives.
The Abiola benefit demand revives longstanding questions about reparations for the June 12 annulment, while the Osun-specific appeals highlight pressing subnational governance challenges three decades into Nigeria’s democratic era.
