Posted by Sade Williams
President Bola Ahmed Tinubu has been advised to consider late Chief Moshood Kashimawo Olawale Abiola also known as M. K. O. Abiola,s family in appointing Ministers for the Federal Republic of Nigeria.
Giving the advice in Lagos on the choice of persons that will move the nation forward, Managing Director of GeeRay Nigeria Limited, Mr. Godwin Rewane, extolled Tinubu for a job well done in the last one month, adding that he needs good and competent hands that willl aid his agenda for development of the nation.
Godwin Rewane is the son of late Alfred Rewane, financier of National Democratic Coalition, NADECO, a pro democracy organisation advocating for a democratic Nigeria during late general sani Abacha era to which he was assassinated in the struggle in 1995.
He said “I am very happy with the performance of the new president. Not only because of all the steps he has taken as a president so far but also because he spoke highly of Moshood and Kudirat Abiola in his Democracy Day speech. He spoke of their sacrifice as well as other martyrs and linked their sacrifice to today’s democratic stability.
Rewane’s position follows the news making the rounds that President Tinubu has concluded plans to appoint one of the children of the late MKO into a position in his cabinet.
“I also learned from a very reliable source that he is about to appoint one of the children of the late Kudirat Abiola into an executive position in this administration.. President Tinubu has proven that he is not like other politicians who just mention the great woman and fail to appoint any of her qualitied children into a key position.. It will be impossible for such a good man to fail in his efforts to make Nigeria great”.
Also speaking, National Coordinator of Noah’s Ark, an international Non Governmental Organization (NGO), Ambassador Prince Korieocha said appointing any of Abiola’s children will be a healing balm to the events of the past, especially as it concerns the treatment given to, not just Abiola but to that of his late wife, Kudirat Abiola.
Explaining further, Ambassador Korieocha said “Honestly, you can’t talk about democracy in Nigeria without mentioning Chief MKO Abiola’s name. So if President Bola Tinubu wants to give his children political appointment, it’s a well deserved one”.
Korieocha emphasised that, the President appears ready to move Nigeria to the next level of industrial development, expressing the hope that he will rebuild the nation and deliver good governance to Nigerians.
The duo noted noted that Tinubu’s eulogy on MKO Abiola in his Democracy Day speech shows the pride of place the President holds Abiola family in his heart.
“We can easily recall the sacrifice and martyrdom of Chief MKO Abiola, the custodian of the sacred mandate that was so cruelly annulled. He sacrificed his life in unyielding, patriotic defense of the ideals of democracy as symbolized in his choice, by his fellow countrymen and women, as their duly-elected President. There was an easier choice for him. It was to forgo the justice of his cause and opt for the path of ease and capitulation in the face of the tyranny of power. To his eternal credit and immortal glory, Abiola said no. He demonstrated the time-tested eternal truth that there are certain ideals and principles that are far more valuable than life itself.
“Everyday, on this day, down the ages we will recall the several other heroes of democracy such as Kudirat Abiola, wife of Chief Abiola, who was brutally murdered while in the trenches fighting on the side of the people”, Tinubu had said.
Recall that Tinubu’s predecessor, ex-President Muhammadu Buhari, had declared 12 June as Nigeria’s Democracy Day and post-humously awarded Nigeria’s highest honour, GCFR, to late Abiola.
