The Presidency has vowed that the democratic choice of Nigerians will no longer be overturned by any authority, and that the sacrifices made during the June 12 struggle must continue to guide the country’s democratic journey.

 Politics Nigeria reports that the Special Adviser to the President on Information and Strategy, Bayo Onanuga, stated this on Thursday at the national premiere of MKO, a documentary on the life and political struggle of the late Chief Moshood Kashimawo Olawale Abiola.

The premiere, held at the Wole Soyinka Centre for Culture and Creative Arts, Lagos, formed part of activities marking Nigeria’s 66th Independence Anniversary.

President Bola Tinubu attended the event alongside his wife, First Lady Oluremi Tinubu, with senior government officials, lawmakers, governors and other dignitaries also present.

The documentary, produced by US-based filmmaker Ose Oyamendan, chronicles the events surrounding the June 12, 1993 presidential election, its annulment by the military government and Abiola’s subsequent struggle to reclaim what he regarded as his electoral mandate.

It also documents Abiola’s arrest in 1994 after declaring his mandate and his death in detention in 1998.

Leading a minute’s silence for Nigerians who died during the pro-democracy struggle, Onanuga said the sacrifices of those who resisted military rule must not be erased from the country’s history.

He listed several prominent figures associated with the struggle, including Anthony Enahoro, Adekunle Ajasin, Abraham Adesanya, Gani Fawehinmi, Beko Ransome-Kuti, Alfred Rewane, Frank Kokori, Ndubuisi Kanu, Dan Suleiman, Chima Ubani, Bola Ige, Cornelius Adebayo, Ayo Adebanjo and Balarabe Musa.

The presidential aide also honoured journalists and media organisations that continued to document the struggle despite arrests, kidnappings, seizures of publications and other forms of repression.

“We remember the lawyers who defended detainees, the students who staged countless protests on the streets and on their campuses, the workers, especially members of NUPENG, who withdrew their labour, the academics who gave the struggle a voice, and the Nigerians in the diaspora who mobilised international support for the sanctity of our democracy,” Onanuga said.

He recalled that many Nigerians were imprisoned without trial, driven into exile or lost their livelihoods and properties because of their opposition to military rule.

According to him, the restoration of democratic rule came at a heavy cost, adding that the June 12 struggle should serve as a reminder of the responsibility to protect the people’s mandate.

“The democracy we enjoy today was built upon the courage and sacrifices of the people we have identified. We owe them more than remembrance. We owe them a duty to ensure that no authority ever again overturns the freely expressed will of Nigerians,” he said.

Onanuga added that Abiola had been officially acknowledged as the winner of the June 12, 1993 presidential election, describing the documentary as a tribute to him and the wider pro-democracy movement.

Minister of Art, Culture, Tourism and the Creative Economy, Hannatu Musa Musawa, said the documentary was produced to preserve the history of the June 12 struggle for future generations.

“This documentary is in honour of the heroes of June 12, the men and women who gave their lives for the mandate of June 12, 1993 and for the democracy Nigeria enjoys today,” Musawa said.

She said the events surrounding the election, regarded as one of Nigeria’s freest and fairest elections, needed to be properly documented so younger Nigerians could understand the sacrifices that preceded the country’s current democratic system.

Musawa urged citizens to protect democracy and prevent the truncation of the people’s will.

The premiere was attended by Senate President Godswill Akpabio; Speaker of the House of Representatives Tajudeen Abbas; Kwara State Governor and Chairman of the Nigeria Governors’ Forum, AbdulRahman AbdulRazaq; Lagos State Governor Babajide Sanwo-Olu; Ogun State Governor Dapo Abiodun; Plateau State Governor Caleb Mutfwang; and Chief of Staff to the President, Femi Gbajabiamila.

Also present were Minister of Industry, Trade and Investment Jumoke Oduwole; Minister of Water Resources and Sanitation Joseph Utsev; former Ogun State Governor Olusegun Osoba; members of the National Assembly and other dignitaries.

Oyamendan, the documentary producer, thanked Tinubu and other individuals and organisations that supported the project, recalling that he interviewed the president when Tinubu was a senator in 1992.