Jamiu Abiola, son of late democracy icon Moshood Kashimawo Olawale (MKO) Abiola, has said Nigeria’s economic trajectory would have been significantly more prosperous had his father been allowed to assume the presidency following his 1993 electoral victory.
Speaking during Channels Television’s June 12 Special Forum, held to commemorate 26 years of uninterrupted democratic governance in Nigeria, Jamiu reflected on the missed opportunity that year represented.
He remarked that Nigeria could have been in a far better position had circumstances been different, emphasizing that 1993 was a particularly opportune moment globally. According to him, the period coincided with a worldwide economic upswing, and if his father had assumed office at that time, the country might have been able to harness that global momentum for national advancement.
His remarks highlighted not just the enduring legacy of MKO Abiola’s struggle for democracy, but also the lingering questions about what might have been—economically and politically—had the historic June 12 mandate not been annulled.
“So, we could have tapped into that. But what did we get in return? We got a Kleptomaniac as head of state. I am not going to talk about (Sani) Abacha because he has his problems wherever he has found himself,” he said.
The special event was tagged ‘Nigeria’s Democratic Journey: An Inter-Generational Conversation On Building A Better Nation’.
Thirty-two years after the election was annulled and 25 years after MKO’s death, Jamiu, who is Senior Special Adviser to President Bola Tinubu on Linguistics and Foreign Affairs, believes some people were hellbent on erasing his father’s name from Nigeria’s history.
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He said, “I wrote a book in 2015 because I came to realise that my father’s name was becoming like a memory that was becoming distant and people were hellbent on rewriting the history of Nigeria without him.
“People would come from abroad, foreign presidents, they would mention Yar’Adua and others and they would not mention Chief MKO Abiola.
“Some people wanted to bury his name. Like my father would say: they wanted to shave his head in his absence.
“So, I now wrote a book in 2015, ‘The President Who Never Ruled’, so that his name cannot be forgotten.”
Jamiu Abiola, son of the late democracy icon MKO Abiola, expressed profound appreciation to President Bola Ahmed Tinubu for posthumously conferring the title of Commander of the Federal Republic (CFR) on his mother, Kudirat Abiola.
Speaking at the June 12 Special Forum, Jamiu reflected on the sacrifices made by both of his parents in the struggle for Nigeria’s democracy. He recalled that while his father—believed to have won the annulled 1993 presidential election—had been posthumously awarded the Grand Commander of the Order of the Federal Republic (GCFR) in 2018 by then-President Muhammadu Buhari, his mother’s role had remained a particularly emotional and powerful chapter in Nigeria’s democratic history.
He noted that Kudirat Abiola, who was assassinated in 1996 for her opposition to military rule, had now been formally recognised for her activism and leadership within the June 12 movement.
Describing her assassination as a deeply traumatic event, Jamiu said the national honour was not only significant for his family but also a powerful acknowledgment of her place in Nigeria’s democratic journey. He pointed out that it was especially meaningful that the honour had come from President Tinubu—someone he described as one of MKO Abiola’s most loyal allies during that turbulent period.
He remarked that the gesture served as a reminder that sacrifices made for democracy are not forgotten, and those who stood firm for justice and freedom are eventually remembered.