Jamiu Abiola, son of the late Chief MKO Abiola and Alhaja Kudirat Abiola, yesterday, reflected on the emotional weight of losing his parents to the democracy struggle in Nigeria.
Jamiu also revealed that the pain was exacerbated by the many years it took before the Nigerian authorities began to acknowledge his parents’ sacrifices.
MKO Abiola won the June 12, 1993 presidential election, an event seen as a turning point in Nigeria’s democratic development. He died in detention in 1998 after years of political persecution. His wife, Kudirat Abiola, was assassinated in 1996 for her vocal support of the pro-democracy movements.
In a television interview, Jamiu credited former President Muhammadu Buhari with breaking the silence in 2018, when he declared June 12 as Nigeria’s official Democracy Day and conferred the highest national honour, Grand Commander of the Federal Republic (GCFR), on Abiola.
“That was a moment of truth. It corrected a long-standing omission and finally placed my father’s legacy where it belongs in the national memory,” Jamiu said.
“For a long time, it felt as though history was being written without my father’s name,” he said. “It wasn’t just painful as a son, it was painful as a Nigerian. Because the truth was being left out.”
This year, under President Bola Ahmed Tinubu, Kudirat was also posthumously recognised with a national honour(CFR) for her role in the struggle.
For Jamiu, this signifies a meaningful continuation of the effort to fully acknowledge the sacrifices made by his two parents.
“President Tinubu has always stood with our family, even before it was politically convenient,” he said. “He was the first to publicly honour my mother as governor of Lagos in 1999. What he’s doing now is consistent with that history.”
Still, Jamiu reflected on how, for many years, the narrative around June 12 became increasingly regional, despite MKO Abiola’s pan-Nigerian electoral appeal.
“My father won the majority of votes across the country, north, south, Muslim, and Christian. But after the annulment, the broader national recognition faded, and it was mostly the Southwest that remembered. That was difficult,” he said.
Now serving as Senior Special Assistant on Special Duties, Linguistics and Foreign Affairs to the President, Jamiu emphasises that while the path to national recognition has been long, it is not about personal validation.
“This is not just about the Abiola family, it’s about the integrity of our national history. When a country remembers its true heroes, it sends a message to future generations that sacrifice, courage, and service to the nation matter,” he said.
Madukwe B. Nwabuisi is an accomplished journalist renown for his fearless reporting style and extensive expertise in the field. He is an investigative journalist, who has established himself as a kamikaze reporter.
