Guardian

NATIONAL Leader, Action Congress of Nigeria and former governor of Lagos State and one of the leaders of the June 12 struggle says the spirit of June 12 is alive and thriving and it will propel the process that will produce free and fair elections in 2015.

Meanwhile, Tinubu has called for electoral reforms ahead of the 2015 polls, saying without it, the will of the people “shall not be realised.”

He also dismissed the country’s much trumped economic growth, saying it was only making those at the top to get richer and not affecting the lives of millions of Nigerians squeezed at the bottom of the barrel.

Tinubu, while describing June 12 as Nigeria’s beacon in the dark, says the thirst for change is thick in the air and millions of Nigerians desperately want their votes to count in the next round of elections.         ‘‘June 12 remains indelibly etched in our memory, though it stands as a ringing indictment to the military and their civilian travellers who conspired against the wishes of millions of Nigerians. Because what happened on June 12 is deep rooted and genuine, the spirit behind it has refused to die”.

This pervading spirit of patriotic zeal, Tinubu insists has reached a critical mass powerful enough to propel the engines of change and the demand for a truly free and fair elections. The core of the June 12 elections was the transparency and the free and fair nature the election held. Twenty years after, Nigerians deserve no less.  The quality of our elections in the past few years has not attained the quality and transparency that surrounded the conduct of the June 12, 1993 elections”.

Continuing, the former governor of Lagos State said: “The symbol of June 12 and Nigeria’s Icon of Democracy, Chief Kashimawo Abiola gave to Nigeria a truly fine moment in history and taught us the lesson that Nigeria has all it takes to get it right and be great. “But we failed to recognise his mandate and heed the message of his victory at the poll. Rather, we rushed to crucify him and stifle the message of democracy for which he made great sacrifices”.

In his keynote speech to the British African Diaspora Conference at the House of Parliament -Grand Ballroom, Westminster Hall, London, on Monday, Tinubu outlined some of the manifesto of the newly formed mega-opposition All Progressives Congress (APC) and was of the view that in a freely and fairly contested election, APC will defeat of the ruling People’s Democratic Party, (PDP), which he termed a retrogressive one.

The former Lagos State governor also made a case for industrialisation and diversifying of the economy, saying these twin engines are capable of providing employment for the millions of Nigeria who are stuck in the poverty trap due to lack of work.

According to him, “there is a great philosophical gulf separating the current government from us progressives. This current Nigerian government is a retrogressive one,” and “much of what they claim as growth is but the harsh redistribution of wealth from the bottom to the top. The bottom gets squeezed while the top expands.”