Nigeria worse off than in 1993 – Abiola’s son, Abdulmumuni laments

Son of the late Chief MKO Abiola, Abdulmumuni Abiola is not impressed with the President Muhammadu Buhari led government despite the honours bestowed upon his late father, the acclaimed winner of the annulled June 12 1993 election, by the president. He is lamenting about the state of Nigeria since 1993.

President Buhari on Monday signed into law, the Public Holiday Amendment Bill, making June 12 a public holiday and country’s official Democracy Day, replacing May 29. But Abdulmumuni says June 12 should be a day of national sober reflection for Nigerians as things are worse than it was in 1993. He lamented that the education and health sectors had collapsed. He, however, expressed hope that things will get better but lamented about the increasing rate of poverty.

Abdulmumuni said this at the National Centre for Women Development in Abuja on Tuesday where he received an award on behalf of his late mother, who was inducted into the Nigerian Women Hall of Fame alongside 21 others.
He said: “The recognition of June 12 as Democracy Day will get people thinking. I don’t think it should be a day of celebration.

“It should be a day of reflection of where we are as a country and where we are going. It is important that we should know that for the decisions we make today, there are consequences. This is because those who made the decisions to truncate the Nigerian people’s yearning for democracy in 1993 would now see that sometimes when you make certain decisions, you must see the consequences.

“The country is worse off than it was in 1993. My father was trying to address certain issues like poverty eradication and free education. But what is going on in the country now? The education system is dilapidated. The health care system is nothing. People are getting poorer and the rich are getting richer. The poverty rate is increasing. I think the idea is that June 12 should be a day of reflection and I believe we can get out of this situation.”