Sv: USA Africa Dialogue Series - Today's Quote

​Atiku would not become President, Atiku would not win the case because there would be kangaroo judgements - Chidi Anthony Opara.

​Atiku can still embrace the Abiola option if the Courts give kangaroo judgements - Chidi Anthony Opara

​Abiola, who took the extreme and anarchist option of declaring himself as President, is even recognized today as President and ''symbol of Democracy - Chidi Anthony Opara.

​Chidi Anthony Opara regarding M. K. O. Abiola as an extreme anarchist for declaring himself the president must have been out of his historical aloofness or total ignorance of recent Nigeria's history. May I recall that there was Presidential election on 12 June 1993 which was conducted by the then known National Electoral Commission (NEC), headed by Professor Humphrey Nwosu. The two candidates in that election were M.K.O. Abiola who contested on the platform of Social Democratic Party (SPD) and Alhaji Bashir Tofa who contested on the platform of Republican Party. Prior to that, elections to the National Assembly, and all the 21 states gubernatorial and House of Assemblies had been conducted. However, late in the night on the eve of presidential election, 11 June 1993, an Abuja Federal High Court, presided over by Justice Bassey Ikpeme (now dead), restrained the National Electoral Commission (NEC), headed by Professor Humphrey Nwosu, from conducting the election. The court order was sequel to the motion brought before the court by a group called Association of Better Nigeria (ABN) led by Arthur Nzeribe. Since it was a midnight court order, NEC was not served in time to prevent the  presidential election from going ahead as planned. By Tuesday, 15 June 1993, NEC had declared election results from 14 states whereby M.K.O. Abiola (SPD) had won 4 million,364 thousands and 993 votes while Alhaji Bashir Tofa (Republican Party) won 2 million,393 thousand and 303 votes.

​On Wednesday, 16 June 1993, an Abuja High Court under the Federal Capital Territory's Chief Judge, Justice Dahiru Saleh, issued an order indefinitely restraining the NEC from announcing the rest of the presidential election results following an application brought by Arthur Nzeribe's Association of Better Nigeria. Later on Monday, 21 June 1993, Justice Dahiru Saleh voided the June 12, 1993 presidential election on the ground that the election was illegal since it was held contrary to the midnight court order of 11 June 1993. From the already declared results, a total of 6 million, 758 thousand and 296 Nigerians had voted for either Abiola or Tofa and as narrated above just one Nigerian Judge abusing his judicial power declared the votes of almost 7 million Nigerians illegal. That might be classified as a kangaroo judgment from a kangaroo court but it would be incomparable with Atiku's present political lottery chance taking.

​It is ahistorical and extremely unintelligent to assert that Abiola took an extreme and anarchist line in proclaiming himself president when neither Ibrahim Babangida nor Arthur Nzeribe contested in the Presidential election and indeed did not possess Nigerian peoples' mandate to annul the election. Ibrahim Babangida stepped aside and installed an unelected civilian and interim government under Ernest Shonekan who was overthrown by General Sani Abacha some months later. In the case of Abiola, the electoral umpire, Professor Humphrey Nwosu, was not only stopped from releasing the final results of the Presidential election, but was also arrested and imprisoned without trial. As for Atiku, the electoral umpire Mahmood Yakubu, had declared 15 million, 191 thousand and 847 votes for Buhari and 11 million, 262 thousand and 978 votes for Atiku. Only an inverted brain would say that 11, 262, 978 votes is greater than 15,191,847 votes and a court that disagrees with that is delivering a kangaroo judgment. After blaming Abiola for taking extreme and anarchist option in delaring himself president, Chidi Anthony Opara volte faced to insinuate that Atiku may act like Abiola if the courts should accept the presidential results announced by INEC. Should Atiku declare himself President of Nigeria on the basis of his imagined majority votes in the last presidential election without proof, he would be committing treason. Abiola refused to renounce his victory at the polls as announced by NEC and insisted to the point of death in claiming the mandate given to him by the electorate. That is why he will forever be a symbol of democracy in Nigeria and only a cray-fish-head person will equate going to court because one has received less votes than the opponent in an election as a symbol of democracy.

​S. Kadiri

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Från: usaafricadialogue@googlegroups.com <usaafricadialogue@googlegroups.com> för Chidi Anthony Opara, FIIM <chidi.opara@gmail.com>
Skickat: den 7 mars 2019 08:05
Till: USA Africa Dialogue Series
Ämne: Re: USA Africa Dialogue Series - Today's Quote

 

Adeshina,
If Abiola can be "symbol of democracy", and accepted as such by your intellectual class, anyone, including Atiku, can be!

CAO.

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