June 12: Lack Of Unity Among Opposition Threat To Democracy – Atiku

Ex-President, Atiku Abubakar, who led the mass exodus that led to the defeat of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) and foisted Muhammadu Buhari of the All Progressives Congress (APC) on Nigeria in 2015 has blamed the opposition for the sorry state of affairs in the country.

Speaking on the occasion of the June 12 democracy day, a day chosen to honour acclaimed winner of the June 12 1993 election, MKO Abiola, as the leader of Nigerian democracy, Atiku re-emphasised the need for unity among the opposition.

Having unsuccessfully dislodged the APC which he helped to form, Atiku has been pushing for all political parties to unite to defeat the party in 2027.

Atiku who was declared the first runner-up in the last election has been an ever present contestant and has failed on each occasion.

He ignited the call for a united opposition in the immediate post electoral defeat in 2023 stating that all opposition parties should unite, and recently stated he would not contest if his party settled for Peter Obi of the Labour Party as the opposition candidate.

Speaking on the occasion of June 12 on Wednesday, Atiku said the secondary purpose of declaring every June 12 as Democracy Day in the country is to commemorate the history of the country’s long journey of becoming a stable democratic country.

“Truth be told, there’s no substitute to democracy as a form of government,” he declared

He said, “Whereas our current democratic dispensation is a quarter of a century old, it will not be out of place to pay tributes to the sacrifices made by many patriots, chiefly among them Basorun MKO Abiola and his beloved wife, Alhaja (Mrs) Kudirat Abiola, Tafida Shehu Yar’Adua and Alfred Rewane, among many others.

“The historical timeline of the struggle that birthed this democracy is abundant with a series of coalitions and alliances amongst the political leaderships of that era to flush away the vestiges of military and dictatorial governance in order to return power to the people.

“It is commendable that for 25 years, we have witnessed an uninterrupted season of electoral politics. It is an unprecedented epoch in our history.

“It is worthy of celebration and commendation must go to the people of our great country. I must also congratulate the political class for having embraced the rectitude of nurturing a democracy, as well as the civil society.

“It is important that all stakeholders continue to do their bit to ensure the sustainability of our democracy.

“But our democracy is not yet virile if it continually fails to deliver the promises of prosperity and liberty to the people,” the former vice president said.

However, he said “the past nine years has thrown up a regime of extreme hardship manifested in excruciating poverty and unprecedented levels of violence and insecurity upon our people. Sadly, the ruling All Progressives Congress is to blame for bringing forth this dawn of gloom.

“But the opposition political parties are even more guilty than the ruling party for the seeming lack of capacity to come together and galvanise a coalition that will retire the ruling party and articulate a plan of good governance that will earn the conviction of Nigerians.

“Today, the failings of the opposition parties to uphold the functionality of their existence is the major threat to our democracy.

“The earlier they realise that the fortunes of Nigeria lies in their forging a coalition, the better it will be for our country and the people.”