Senior Advocate of Nigeria, Ebun-Olu Adegboruwa, has criticized President Bola Tinubu’s recent June 12 Democracy Day speech, calling it a mere recounting of history without addressing the current issues.
Speaking as a guest on Channels Television’s Morning Brief, Adegboruwa expressed disappointment, stating that the speech failed to tackle the pressing challenges bedeviling Nigeria’s democracy.
“I listened to the speech of the president, unfortunately, I am unable to agree that anything has changed,” Adegboruwa asserted.
He argued that despite commemorating the significance of June 12, which marks the annulled 1993 presidential election believed to have been won by MKO Abiola, the government has not made tangible progress in upholding democratic principles.
“I am sorry, I am not impressed in anyway at all by the speech of the President, in the sense that it is just rehearsing history” the Senior Advocate remarked, stressing that more is expected from a person like Tinubu who was at the forefront of the democratic struggle and who now is at the helm of affairs.
“For me, looking at the past one year and indeed, our collective history from the time we started agitating for democracy, things have gotten worse, nothing has changed at all,” the rights activist buttressed.
The Human rights lawyer stated that the June 12 struggle was borne in a bid to see that the 1993 election annulled by the military was recognized. He added that along with this was also a fight to ensure that Nigeria enjoys true federalism.
According to him, the dream was to make sure that subsequent elections will practically be better than what took place in 1993, a dream which he argues has for too long now been deferred, seeing that even the polls which brought Tinubu into power had various questions, some still unanswered one year one.
Adegboruwa said he expects that “on a day like this, all Nigerians who are being held in custody wrongfully should be released”. He added that on a day like this, constituent units of the nation should be engaged to ascertain if truly what Nigeria practices are the principles of a true federation.
The Senior Advocate noted that the June 12 occasion should give Nigerians a road map of steps to be taken to achieve true democracy, a fundamental part of the day’s commemoration which he opines that the president failed to reflect in his speech.
The rights lawyer’s comments reflect a growing sentiment among citizens and activists who believe that beyond ceremonial speeches, substantial changes are needed to address the deep-rooted issues affecting Nigeria’s democracy and development.