Vice President Senator Kashim Shettima has remarked that history has, through divine orchestration, handed the baton of Nigeria’s democratic journey back to one of the closest allies of the late Chief Moshood Kashimawo Olawale (MKO) Abiola—President Bola Ahmed Tinubu—decades after the setback of the June 12, 1993 presidential election annulment.
Speaking on Thursday at the Presidential Villa in Abuja during a public lecture marking Nigeria’s 26th Democracy Day, the Vice President, who represented President Tinubu at the event, described the occasion as symbolic and spiritually resonant. He noted that in the final reckoning of Abiola’s legacy, hope stood out as an indelible element that could not be extinguished, even in the face of political suppression and personal sacrifice.
According to Shettima, what continues to sustain the Nigerian people today is not just the memory of that hope but an unyielding faith in the ideals that MKO Abiola embodied—ideals which he described as being rekindled under the current administration led by a man who once stood by Abiola in his quest for justice and equity.
He described the late MKO Abiola as a true patriot whose selfless contributions became the moral compass for Nigeria’s democracy. Shettima emphasized that Abiola’s ultimate sacrifice not only defined the struggle for civil rule but also laid the groundwork for the freedoms now enjoyed under a democratic dispensation.
“The great theatre of providence,” he said, “has returned the responsibility to a man shaped by that very struggle, one who shares in the pain, the vision, and the convictions of MKO Abiola. President Tinubu’s emergence is, in many ways, a continuation of the journey MKO began.”
The Vice President’s remarks were delivered to a distinguished audience of government officials, diplomats, civil society advocates, and members of the public gathered to reflect on Nigeria’s democratic progress since the country returned to civilian rule in 1999.
He concluded by stating that June 12 remains a timeless reminder of courage, sacrifice, and the enduring power of the people’s will, stressing that the lessons of that day must guide national decisions and democratic responsibilities in the years to come.
