Tomorrow will not be a public holiday in Nigeria despite June 12 being declared Democracy Day

FEDERAL government officials have declared that tomorrow will not be a public holiday in Nigeria despite June 12 being declared Democracy day by President Muhammadu Buhari and the late Chief MKO Abiola being given the nation's highest national honour post-humously.

On June 12 1993, Chief Abiola soared to victory in Nigeria's presidential elections but the polls were annulled by the military regime of General Ibrahim Babangida. Chief Abiola was subsequently jailed for declaring himself president and later died in detention, leading to widespread riots across the country.

Last week, President Buhari, seeking re-election next year offered an olive branch to Chief Abiola's supporters, declaring June 12 Democracy day and conferring the title of Grand Commander of the Federal Republic on the late tycoon. Senators have asked the government to go a step further by recognising Chief Abiola as a former president of Nigeria and according him all the ensuing rights.

Contrary to speculation, however, the government has revealed that the presidential order declaring June 12 Nigeria’s Democracy Day stated that the date will in future years replace May 29 as a national public holiday. According to the government, in 2018, the day will not be granted as a public holiday.

Already, the opposition Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) has accused President Buhari and the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC) of seeking to use the gesture to claim democratic credentials. Kola Ologbondiyan, the PDP publicity secretary said President Buhari’s gesture of bestowing a posthumous national award on Chief Abiola, had not made him a democrat.

Responding for the APC, Adams Oshiomole, the former Edo State governor and an aspirant for the party's chairmanship position, said the president’s gesture is altruistic and shows his strength of character. With tomorrow not a public holiday, the debate about the motives behind the gesture looks set to get fiercer.

According to Mr Ologbondiyan, the PDP fully supported any honour done by the nation to the memory of the late Chief Abiola and all that he stood for. He added. however, that the party rejected the inclination by President Buhari to use the occasion to posture as a democrat in a desperate bid to garner votes ahead of 2019 presidential election.

He added that the PDP's opposition to President Buhari’s posturing is based on the fact that his presidency had unapologetically violated and was still violating all democratic tenets for which Chief Abiola suffered, died and was being honoured. According to Mr Ologbondiyan, President Buhari has not yet proven himself to be a democrat.

Mr Ologbondiyan added: “Nigerians still hold that President Buhari has not considered it necessary to apologise for staging the military coup that destroyed democratic governance on December 31, 1983, suspended our 1979 constitution, foisted a siege mentality on Nigerians and set the stage for a long despotic military rule for which Chief Abiola, his dear wife, Kudirat and other democratic martyrs ended up paying the supreme sacrifice to restore. Rather than apologising for his roles in those dark ages, President Buhari recently boasted of violation of human rights during his regime as military head of state including locking up citizens in prison without trial, the same injustice which Chief Abiola later suffered under General Sani Abacha.