June 12: Another Perspective

By

Max Gbanite

NEW JERSEY, USA

maxgbanite@hotmail.com

 

Tuesday, June 22, 2004

 

It is very disturbing to me and a great number of Nigerians that the issue of June 12 has become so ingrained in the minds of some nonchalant writers, to the extent that  some of them, in an attempt to obfuscate the history of Nigeria to suit their personal egos, have even resorted to sensationalism and wicked interpretations and in most cases have even resorted to using serpentine venoms to describe their fellow human beings.

 

Without prejudice, I do not begrudge those holding holistically to June 12. However, there are those of us, and this writer in particular, who feel very differently about the same June 12 and its attendant sagas. For me, January 15th 1966  is a day that will continue to be the genesis of the volcanic changes that have besieged our dear nation and eclipses the so-called "June 12." Major Ademoyega (a Yoruba) and his co-travelers, including President Obasanjo’s best friend -- the late Major Chukwuma Kaduna Nzeogwu (Igbo-Delta)  -- went on a senseless and barbaric murdering spree of our leaders (both civilian and military) and,  above all,  destroyed a democratically elected government led by Prime Minister Alhaji Abubakar  Tafawa Balewa  and President Dr. Nnamdi Azikiwe.

 

I have not seen nor heard that any of the victims' family members is  agitating for a national monument to be erected in honor of their kith and kin.  They have, instead, surrendered everything to the Almighty God. Then on July 29th 1966, another significant date in the annals of our national history, a reprisal killing was enunciated and carried out by the late General Murtala Ramat Muhammed and General T. Y. Danjuma, under the leadership of General Yakubu Gowon, culminating in the killing of so many officers of Eastern extraction in the military, including the Head of State, the late General J. T. U. Aguiyi-Ironsi. As if that wasn’t enough, a calculated genocidal killing was carried out within the North by uninformed elements to further the decimation of Ndiigbo for the act associated with their sons in the January 15th 1966 killings. The saga led to the Nigeria-Biafra  War that lasted for three year,  costing millions in lives and material and financial resources. In spite of these events, I haven’t seen any of the victims' family asking to be recognized nationally, or for the names of their dead heroes to be immortalized. It is important to note that many of the actors of the July 29th 1966 killing spree and the attendant war are still very much alive and are part of government of the day, and have yet to apologize to the nation, Ndiigbo, or the victims' families because both parties and the nation in particular have left all that happened to the Almighty God. Therefore, June 12 pales in significance to July 29th 1966 .

 

Then came the forceful removal of Alhaji Shehu Shagari in 1983 by General Buhari-led group. This act alone is far more superior to that of June 12. President Shagari was reelected and sworn in to continue his second term, whereas June 12 was inconclusive. Therefore, the comparison clearly indicates that democracy was usurped, stolen, and maligned by the military. Yet, President Shehu Shagari and Vice-President, Dr. Alex Ekwueme, and the entire National Assembly -- though upset -- took their removal in stride, while surrendering their fate to the will of the Almighty God.

 

They had a choice to constitute their own opposition group that could have sought the reinstatement of their mandates. And even now the constitution we operate does not say that Shagari cannot come back and demand his mandate. However, the acceptance of what happened by the entire cabinet of National Party of Nigeria (NPN) --  as they were called then, showed patriotic maturity. The train of government has since moved on and those interested in boarding have equally done so.

 

Granted, June 12, like January 15th and July 29th 1966 , did happen. But should June 12 alone be made sacrosanct? The answer is simply no. Those writers who would like us to believe that it is indeed an important date should please attempt to convince the governors in the Southwest states to name all their stadia after Chief M.  K. O.  Abiola, or even set the June 12 aside as a public holiday for themselves only. Any observer of the just-passed, so-called anniversary will notice that nothing significant happened in any of the Southwest states, Abiola's home region.  However, the protagonists succeeded in voicing their position through the papers; the much-anticipated March was never seen. If the date is still significant, I am sure it will be celebrated by the whole nation and not just by Chief M. K. O.  Abiola’s families, friends , and some NGOs looking for welfare packages from international donors.

 

The most wicked and misleading act of journalism or write-up for that matter is an article  published by This Day on Saturday June 12, 2004 , titled “Remembering June 12 and IBB’s role.” The sad part and the false ingenuity of the writer, Mr. Joe Igbokwe, is the bombastic lies credited to General Ibrahim Babangida, GCFR, as the one responsible for the deaths of many people without any scintilla of evidence or authentic empirical records. As a matter of fact,  I will not be perplexed to read someday from the same writer that all the people who died in Nigeria from January 16, 1966 to date were caused  by the late Major Chukwuma Kaduna  Nzeogwu, or that General Olusegun Obasanjo must be held responsible for the deaths of all the people who died at the war sector he commanded during the war, during the time he was head of state, all the deaths in Niger-Delta ethnic killings, the deaths on all the roads, all the religions killings, and air-crash accidents that occurred in Nigeria since he took over in 1999 and up to 2007!

 

The same author claims to have chronicled the accounts and records of General Babangida’s era in a book titled “2007: The IBB Option” written by him and his co-traveler. As brilliant as the chronicled tales disguised as history might appear, it would be delightful to know if they could sell a copy had the title not mentioned Babangida’s name. Like I once posited, anything with the name "IBB," "Babangida,"  and "Ibrahim Babangida" will be an instant hit  -- whether the story is true or false.  I wonder why such self-acclaimed, brilliant, and ebullient writers waited eleven years after General Babangida left office to write such a book. My good friend who read the book  simply called the writers intentions, “profit, profit, and nothing but profiting from General Ibrahim Badamasi Babangida bashing." [See: Profiting from Babangida bashing   ]

 

The author’s attempt to denigrate the good virtues of General Ibrahim Babangida by linking him to corruption and the killing of Dele Giwa, amongst other accusations  without any evidence,  must lack in intellectual and judicial wisdom. He seems to have forgotten that one thing all the successful coups in the country since 1966 have in common  is the disdain of the plotters for corruption. I am sure if the writer researches his information he will find that the coup plotter’s principal reason is corruption. Therefore, Babangida could not have invented, institutionalized, nationalized, politicized, academicalized, journalized and Nigerianized corruption! Corruption is synonymous with our culture as a result of  "Dash me," "Ranka Dede,"  and "Dobale Baba" mentality.

 

Take a good look at some members of the current National Assembly and some of these antagonistic writers, you will find corruption in their DNA, and the same could be said of some ministers. Even prayers that are meant by God to be offered free of charge by both mullahs and pastors are no longer so. And all these had been happening before Major Nzeogwu’s coup, during all the subsequent administrations, and they are still happening eleven years after General Babangida.

 

Regarding the death of Dele Giwa, the writer must read “In Thy Hands O’ God,” a book written by Rev. Dr. Chris Omebem, the former DIG of Nigerian Police force who investigated the death, or read my take on this issue.  [See Dele Giwa: The silent fact.]  Otherwise, kindly keep your pen down. Only the Almighty God knows to whom these hired and sponsored writers will credit the deaths of Bola Ige, Harry Marshall, Dikibo, Uche Ogbonnaya, and many other political deaths!

 

Other issues raised will be addressed in due course, I will not waste my time on non-issues at this time. However, suffice it to state without apologies to Joe Igbokwe, his co-travelers, and hidden sponsors that if General Ibrahim Babangida decides to enter the race for the presidency of Nigeria in 2007, there is nothing they, their books, and their sponsors can do to stop him from winning (God willing), and they must know that even their kith and kin would vote for Babangida en-masse, and any attempt to dissuade them from voting for the man they so dearly love would be cataclysmic.

 

And as far as June 12 is concerned, all I can say to future celebrants is to please be kind to others who have suffered greater injustices than you. As you insist in keeping the flag of that era flying, kindly make room for others who do not share your  views. If you are truly sincere to yourselves, you will reckon that the another perspective of June 12 is that January 15th 1966, July 29th 1966, and December 31st 1983 are superior and more important significant dates to our dear battered but rebuilding nation.