A human rights lawyer,
Olisa Agbakoba, says declaring June 12 as the new date for the celebration of
Democracy Day in Nigeria was illegal but he would not challenge it because it
is a popular declaration.
President Muhammadu Buhari
recently declared the new date as against May 29, on which Nigeria had
celebrated Democracy Day since 1999.
Mr Buhari made the
declaration in honour of Moshood Abiola who won the presidential election of
that date in 1993 but was not allowed to be sworn in by the military government
of Ibrahim Babangida.
Mr Abiola died in detention
in June 1998 in the struggle to validate the mandate of that election.
The president also
posthumously conferred the highest national honour of Grand Commander of the
Federal Republic (GCFR) on Mr Abiola at a ceremony last week Tuesday in Abuja.
Mr Agbakoba was among the
few Nigerians invited to that ceremony.
On Monday, the senior
lawyer said the aspect concerning Democracy Day was "clearly an illegal
declaration, but a popular one."
Mr Agbakoba, a former
President of the Nigeria Bar Association (NBA), stated this in an interview
with the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) in Lagos.
"I also think that the
declaration is illegal, but I do not think that it is important. What is
important is that there is a declaration that is popular; so, that is how we
will take it.
"I know it is illegal,
but I don't feel aggrieved. I will not go to court to challenge the
declaration; those who feel aggrieved can go to court and challenge it.
"But, I know that the
late Abiola's family deserve the recognition," he said.
Mr Agbakoba's stance
appears similar to that of a former Chief Justice of Nigeria, Alfa Belgore.
PREMIUM TIMES reported Mr Belgore's argument that the award was illegal because
it could not be given posthumously. Many lawyers, however, countered that
argument. An argument that the president giving such award without consulting
the National Council of States made it illegal was also countered by other lawyers.
Mr Agbakoba, however, urged
presidential aspirants to emulate the legacies of the late Moshood Abiola to
enthrone good governance in 2019 and beyond.
"Our presidential
aspirants in the coming 2019 elections should be purposeful and think about the
electorate, the people, like the late Abiola.
"When you are running
for an office, you are running to carry the burden of the people. It is like
becoming the father of the house.
"Many of these
politicians often forget why they go there and do away with all their campaign
promises.
"So, it is very
simple; to be a politician, all you need to do is to remember the people that
voted you to power, that is all.
"If you do that, you
will find that wherever you go, you will be honoured.
"When MKO was alive,
he was remarkable, because he had the will to listen and attend to the
yearnings of the people.
"That is why today, we
are honouring him, even in death. A politician must remember his political goal
by providing good roads, healthcare, education and basic amenities for the
people.
"The way forward in
Nigeria is to get a good leader to rule this country," he said.
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