The flag bearer of the All Progressives Congress (APC) in the upcoming 2023 general elections, Senator Bola Tinubu has called on Nigerians from all walks of life and all parts of the country to unite and build a more industrious and peaceful society.
Tinubu, who made this known in a statement by his media aide, Mr Tunde Rahman in Lagos on Saturday, said that Nigerians would enjoy a greater future.
According to him, as the nation marks this year’s Democracy Day, the spirit of June 12 will expand to become the spirit of Nigeria and national greatness of their dreams.
108scoop reports that the Federal Government has declared Monday, June 12, as a public holiday to mark the event.
June 12 was declared democracy day by the present administration to celebrate Chief MKO Abiola’s victory in the presidential election on June 12, 1993.
Tinubu, however, said that the June 12, 1993 election remained the freest and fairest election the country had experienced up to that moment and it yet remained as one of the best elections the nation had seen.
He noted that this occasion also compels them to again thank President Muhammadu Buhari for his successful efforts to name June 12 as Democracy Day for their beloved republic.
The former governor of Lagos, said that on this Democracy Day, he had dedicated himself and his upcoming campaign to the spirit of June 12 and what it best symbolized for today’s Nigeria.
“Just like democracy finally won against dictatorship, I know that prosperity shall overcome poverty, peace shall outlast violence, and compassion will conquer hatred and good will defeat evil.
“Justice, security, and economic development will visit and reside in every hamlet, household, village, and city in our nation.
“The spirit of June 12 shall expand to become the spirit of Nigeria and our national greatness and destiny,’’ he said.
Tinubu noted that on this day, they were celebrating democracy and commemorating those who had sacrificed so much to establish this most benign and noble form of governance in their land.
“We must keep in special and important remembrance why June 12 is Democracy Day and why all Nigerians should honor it.
Tinubu said a new way had come to the country even though the present democracy would not have been established without greater struggle, adding that dictatorship would not recede willingly and without struggles.
He noted that a new way had come to the country even though the present democracy would not have been established without greater struggle.
Tinubu said that dictatorship would not recede willingly and without struggles, adding that as the country marked this year’s Democracy Day, the spirit of June 12 would expand to become the spirit of Nigeria and national greatness of their dreams.
“The annulment compelled the nation into an epic struggle of democracy versus dictatorship, choice versus coercion, and people versus power.
“In this confrontation between a bright future and bleak past, goodness, and the belief that we can become our better selves triumphed over cynicism and the blatant disregard of a powerful few for the collective welfare of the many.
“Democracy won but it did so at a high price. The man who should have been president lost his life while suffering in unlawful detention. Other democratic patriots suffered the same fate.
“Lives and livelihoods were endangered and shattered. But the love of the human spirit for freedom and justice is unstoppable.
“No amount of weaponry, no measure of suppressive force and no amount of propaganda can long restrain the cry for liberty and the rightful demand for a voice in how society is governed.
“That election, though almost thirty years ago, provides vital and reassuring lessons to Nigeria today,” Tinubu stressed, saying that “ first, it showed that they were capable of democratic excellence and conducting elections as good as anywhere else on earth.
“Secondly, Abiola won a truly national mandate, his victory and mandate, though unfairly and unlawfully stolen, showed Nigeria’s unity was not an impractical dream.
“Although we are diverse in terms of ethnicity and religion, we all seek good governance, a better life and the positive things that result from sustained good governance.’’
Tinubu added that this year’s Democracy Day held greater significance because the ruling party just concluded fair, transparent, and open primaries.
He, however, congratulated all the other candidates for their nominations and their parties for doing their part to sustain democratic processes as the mainstay of their political life.
He said APC was able to conduct a successful primary election due to the leadership of Buhari, and key party stakeholders like the governors, party leadership and delegates.
