Guardian

TWENTY years after the June 12, 1993 presidential election, the unannounced but presumed winner of that year’s polls, Chief Moshood Abiola, has been described as one though dead, is still crying in the grave because his quest to banish poverty from Nigeria has remained unfulfilled.

Abiola’s then Special Assistant, Lisa Olu Akerele who expressed this view, told The Guardian on telephone Tuesday that the late philanthropist will still not find peace in the spiritual world as long as poverty still persists in the country; as he planned to eradicate poverty and unemployment if elected as president.

He decried the desperation of the political class for filthy lucre, saying that in their mission, they paid little attention to the ideals of Abiola who contested the said election on the platform of the defunct Social Democratic Party (SDP).

According to Akerele, the situation that persuaded Abiola to join the presidential race then still exists, and has even become worse. “Our hospitals, for instance, have deteriorated into consulting clinics and not actual treatment centres.

“Education standards have fallen precariously since June 12 despite purported huge public investments in that sector, while school environment has become hostile to low income earners who can no longer afford the high cost of education”.

Urging the Federal Government to immortalise the late hero whom he said died with the people’s mandate by setting aside June 12 as a national public holiday to commemorate his struggle for democracy, Akerele remarked that politicians could not even honour the sports enthusiast that promoted sports that has the potential of creating employment for the youth.

So that Abiola’ s supreme sacrifice would not be in vain, Lisa Akerele counseled politicians across the country to note that their interests are those of the people and not their personal ones, hence he advised that they should not provoke acts capable of eliciting mass revolt.