The Lagos State Governor, Babajide Sanwo-Olu, on Wednesday, said the Renewed Hope Agenda of President Bola Tinubu aligned with the vision of the late MKO Abiola, the adjudged winner of the June 12, 1993 presidential election.
Sanwo-Olu added that former President Muhammadu Buhari deserved commendation for naming June 12 as Nigeria’s Democracy Day in recognition of Abiola’s struggle for democracy.
Represented by his deputy, Dr Obafemi Hamzat, the governor spoke at a programme held at Abiola Crescent, Ikeja, Lagos, to honour the memory of Abiola.
The event was organised by the Committee for the Defence of Human Rights, the Centre for Anti-Corruption and Open Leadership and the Moshood Abiola Mandate Movement.
While speaking, Hamzat said the June 12 event made many persons lose faith in Nigeria, “but we must appreciate (former President) Muhammadu Buhari, who officially recognised that election; who recognised June 12 and gave our father (Abiola) the title of the Grand Commander of the Order of the Federal Republic, which is the highest honour that this country can bestow upon someone.”
Hamzat said, “We do this every year. Some of us were not too young when the election was held, and it was regarded as the freest and fairest election. At that time, a lot of us lost faith in our country. We wondered what was going on with Nigeria. Is it that we’re cursed? Why can’t we do this? A great election, why will the military stop it?
“We must also thank President Bola Tinubu who was part of the process; that is why the appellation ‘Renewed Hope’ makes sense. The Renewed Hope was targeted at MKO Abiola’s mantra.”
Abiola’s first daughter, Lola Abiola-Edewor, said the ‘Renewed Hope’ mantra of President Tinubu, aligned with that of her father’s.
Edewor said it was significant that Tinubu chose the mantra, which, she said, aligned with the Hope ‘93 slogan used by Abiola during his presidential campaign in 1993.
“This day in particular is very memorable. If we recall, the mantra of this present government is Renewed Hope. Remember also that the mantra of MKO Abiola during his campaign was Hope ‘93. It’s very significant in my opinion that our President chose his mantra to be Renewed Hope,” she told the audience in the hall filled with government officials, Abiola’s family, pressmen and members of the public.
She said, “He (Tinubu) knows; when we say Renewed Hope, he knew where he took over from the past government. He’s a grassroots politician, he has been through this political work for a long time and he’s very close to the people. So, for him to have chosen the mantra Renewed Hope, he knew that Nigerians were beginning to lose hope, and he made many promises to us. I have confidence that those promises will come to pass.”
Governor Sanwo-Olu’s Chief of Staff, Tayo Ayinde, and the Lagos State Commissioner for Information, Gbenga Omotoso, were also at the event alongside the Managing Director of the Lagos Metropolitan Area Transport Authority, Abimbola Akinajo.
Nigerians observed Democracy Day on Wednesday in commemoration of the June 12 1993 event. However, protests were held by civil society organisations and other Nigerians in Lagos, Oyo, Osun and Abuja among others.