Before now, democracy day was marked every May 29th. This was when the newly elected Olusegun Obasanjo took office as the President of Nigeria in 1999, ending multiple decades of military rule that began in 1966 and had been interrupted only by a brief period of democracy from 1979 to 1983.
However, on June 6, 2018, eight days after May 29, 2018 had been celebrated as Democracy Day, the President Buhari-led Federal Government of Nigeria declared June 12 to be the new Democracy Day.
Buhari would give his inaugural address for his second term on June 12, 2019. These were done to commemorate the democratic election of MKO Abiola on June 12, 1993, in what has been adjudged to be Nigeria’s freest and fairest elections.
Chief MKO Abiola polled a total number of 8,342,309 against Tofa, his arch rival who garnered 5,952,087 votes. This was wrongly cancelled by the Ibrahim Babangida Junta. MKO Abiola was later detained after he rightfully declared himself the president. Chief MKO Abiola died mysteriously after drinking tea during the negotiation of his release. He started coughing in presence of Kofi Annan and later died in the hospital in detention. MKO had promised the restoration of good governance in Nigeria.
Here are 20 facts you should know about late Chief MKO Abiola
1. He died at the age of 60 as he was born on the 24th August, 1937 and died 7th July, 1998
2. His parents – Salawu and Suliat were poor as they traded in cocoa and kolanuts respectively, and he too sold firewoods at the age of nine to survive until he grew up with a passionate spirit to succeed
3. He had many wives with the prominent ones known to be late Simbiat, Kudirat, Doyinsola, Modupe and Remi
4. He had many children as well with the likes of the notable ones as Kola, Deji, Lola, Hafsat, Wura and others
5. He hailed from Abeokuta, Ogun State in the South-West region of Nigeria
6. He was a secondary school classmate of former President Olusegun Obasanjo at Baptist Boys High School, Abeokuta
7. He became the editor of his Secondary School magazine called The Trumpeter as Obasanjo was the deputy editor
8. He joined the political party National Council of Nigeria and the Cameroons established by late Dr Nnamdi Azikwe at the age of 19
9. He had a degree in Accountancy from the University of Glasgow, Scotland through a scholarship from the Nigerian government
10. He was a Fellow member of the Institute of Chartered Accountant of Nigeria
11. He was one of Nigeria’s finest business tycoon, philanthropist, politician and publisher
12. He had many investments contributing to the socio-economic developments of Nigeria which included Abiola Farms, Abiola Bookshops, Radio Communications Nigeria, Concord Press, Concord Airlines, Wonder Bakeries, Summit Oil International Limited, Habib Bank and Abiola Football Club among others
13. He was detained for four years by late Nigeria’s military dictator, Sani Abacha from 1994 to 1998
14. He was a personal friend to the ex-Military leader, Ibrahim Babangida, who annulled his election results
15. He started his professional career as a clerk in 1956 with Barclays Bank in Ibadan, the then old Western region headquarters and the modern Oyo state capital
16. He was actively involved in the formation and activities of the National Sharia Committee in the 1980s
17. He petitioned the United States and other European countries demanding compensations for their enslavement of African people in the 1980s
18. He supported the Southern African Liberation Movements from the 1970s
19. He was a Chairman of the G15 Business Council in the 1980s
20. He was once the President of the Nigerian Stock Exchange in the 1980s