Senior Advocate of Nigeria, Festus Keyamo, has appealed to citizens to elect Tinubu as president for his role in June 12 election and to compensate Yoruba feelings.
Newsonline reports that Keyamo, who is the Minister of State for Labour and Employment, stated that among all the aspirants for the position of president come 2023 general election, only Tinubu for the country’s democracy when June 12 annulment happened.
Keyamo, All Progress Congress, APC, Chieftain, stated that most Youba believed that the election of ex-president Obasanjo in 1999 has not assuaged their feelings.
According to Keyamo, election of Bola Tinubu, All Progressive Congress presidential candidate will compensate for the feelings of the Yoruba.
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Keyamo recounted how the presidential candidate of the opposition party, Atiku Abubakar, and former president Obasanjo benefitted in the June 12 saga, even when they did not join the struggle like Tinubu.
Keyamo said, “No Presidential candidate today had ANYTHING to do with the June 12 struggle (which is the foundation of democracy we are enjoying today) except BAT and (to be honest) Sowore as a student leader, but BAT was more pivotal from exile. Atiku was one of the first to abandon June 12.
“Keyamo stated After the June 12 struggle, ‘strangers’ emerged from nowhere and hijacked the democratic train at the center; OBJ who opposed June 12 became the greatest beneficiary of the struggle. The election of BAT in 2023, a true hero of June 12, will largely address this anomaly of 1999
“Some feel the Yorubas weren’t compensated by the election of OBJ in 1999; he wasn’t the choice of the Yorubas because he betrayed the cause of June 12, hence they rejected him at the polls in 1999. The election of BAT in 2023, a June 12 hero, will largely assuage that feeling.
The former Minister of State Niger Delta Affairs said, “Talk is cheap; you value something more if you made sacrifices for it. Those who have no history of making sacrifices for our democracy and freedoms and our unity have NO BUSINESS trying to lead us. Hence, in the USA, it’s an offense to dodge a draft into the Military in times of war
Keyamo said his authority to speak on the contribution of Tinubu in the June 12 annulment arose not only from his defense of NADECO in court which Tinubu was part of, but also, his youth movement and the troubles they went through in defending democracy.
“I can speak on these because, apart from defending NADECO leaders in court with my late boss Gani Fawehinmi, on Oct. 1, 1994 we launched the National Conscience movement to fight for June 12 & on June 11, 1995, I along with other comrades were arrested by the DSS and detained.
“When I left Gani Fawehinmi late in 1995, I started a youth movement to prevent the self-succession bid of Abacha & to oppose Kanu who was promoting that bid. We were collecting signatures on the streets to petition the UN when we were picked up by the military junta & detained,” Keyamo said.
