Interview with Dr Joe Okei-Odumakin

BY OKUNADE ADEKUNLE

Dr Joe Okei-Odumakin is the President of Campaign for Democracy(CD) and also the Convener of Women Arise. In this interview with OKUNADE ADEKUNLE, she speaks on the annulled 1993 Presidential election, the role of the Civil Society Organisations in the development of the country’s democracy and other national issues. Excerpts
It is 22 years now that the June 12, 1993 Presidential election was annulled. What can you say about the country so far?
The ghost of that annulled election is still hunting us till date as a Nation and until justice is done and Chief MKO Abiola is officially recognized as the true winner of that election even though He is late, the spirit of June 12 may continue to hunt us as a Nation
The struggle is believed to be what brought about this current political dispensation, what is your impression of the country’s political system since 1999?
What we have had since 1999 can be best described as a civil rule because the system has not for us been what the Pro-Democracy movement in Nigeria fought for after the annulment of the June 12 election. Until we have a true peoples participatory democracy, we cannot in anyway say it is yet uhuru.
Do you think the present day politicians are fair to the legacy which the June 12 brought about?
Not at all. Not only have they continued to work contrary to the tenets of true democracy, they have also consciously failed to recognize the labour of the heroes and heroines who fought and in some cases sacrificed their lives for us to have the democracy that they are all beneficiaries of today.
During the inaugural speech of Buhari on May 29, many expected that he would pay homage to Abiola but he did not, what are your views on this?
While I may not want to see that as a deliberate action from the side of President Buhari, it is my view that the coming June 12 remembrance offers an opportunity for the President and the new administration to acknowledge the significance of June 12 to our democracy and make positive statements in this regard.
From the look of things, it seems M.K.O Abiola has been forgotten by the political class and even some of the members of the Civil Society Organisations (CSO), what can you say are the things that accounted for it?
MKO Abiola can never be forgotten, not even by the current generation of Nigerians but even by generations to come. What obtains today like I have said earlier is a deliberate attempt by the political class to undermine the significance of June 12 to the enthronement of the current democracy. The Civil society movement to the best of my knowledge has continued to remember the legacies of Chief Abiola particularly the ultimate price he paid in the struggle for the actualization of June 12 and enthronement of democracy in Nigeria.

You participated actively in the June 12 struggle to an extent that you were detained by the Military Junta, what can you say about the current activists and how they have been championing their struggle?
I like several other s who were part of the June 12 movement have remained committed to struggle and whatever limitations that may be observed on the part of the current generation of activist cannot be separated from their limited knowledge of events before and during the struggle. Therefore, I have to say that the movement remains as vibrant as ever.
It was few days ago that the National Assembly elected their leadership although there was very thick politicking in the process, Do you believe that the National Assembly can operate independently despite the fact that the choice of the APC did not emerge?
What is paramount and I think we should preoccupy ourselves with as Nigerians is the legitimacy of the new leadership of the National Assembly which for now is constitutionally legitimate. Nonetheless, I believe that the ability of the National Assembly irrespective of who their leaders are, to make laws that will improve the lives of Nigerians should be the priorty. Even though these legislators are elected on party platforms, they are regarded as being the representatives of all from the time they take their oath of allegiance to the Federal Republic. Therefore, I do not think there is anything that should hinder them from preforming their duties as Nigerian lawmakers.
Concerning the security problem which the country is facing currently, based on the track record of Buhari, do you have confidence in his government putting to an end the Boko Haram bombings?
It may be wrong for us to continually believe that the President no matter his individual capacity can tackle the nation’s security challenges. But he has a duty to provide leadership and engage other relevant stakeholders from the security agencies to the civil populace in the fight against insurgency. Otherwise, we may continue to revolve around the same spot that we’ve been ove r the years.
The politics of the country is tinted along ethnicity, tribalism and religion. All of these surfaced during the last general elections and it nearly divided the country the more, how is the CSOs trying to increase the consciousness of the people as regards these social factors in our polity?
Before, during and after every elections, the CSOs have always taken it upon themselves to educate Nigerians through several platforms on what is expected of them as citizens and advise against antics of politicians characterized by all that you’ve listed above. This has greatly assisted in limiting the negatives consequences that such tendencies seek to promote among our people.
What advice do you have for the political class and the citizens as the country moves on in its political journey?
We must continue to believe is our country and remain committed to the defense of our democracy as it grows. Nigerians must unite against terror and we must all add our voices to the call on the government to rescue the Chibok girls now.