June 12: CSOs in Osun demand presidential entitlements for Abiola’s family

By Deborah Oladejo, Osogbo

The Osun Civil Societies Coalition on Thursday staged a Democracy Day rally in Osogbo, calling on the Federal Government to pay all entitlements due to the late Chief Moshood Kashimawo Olawale Abiola as a former President of Nigeria.

Members of the coalition and the Take It Back Movement held separate peaceful rallies across Osogbo under heavy security presence. The coalition’s procession began at Ayetoro Junction and passed through major areas including Igbona Market, Old Garage, and Olaiya Junction before ending at Ogo-Oluwa. The Take It Back Movement marched from Olaiya through Station Road and Oja-Oba, carrying placards with various inscriptions.

Chairman of the coalition, Comrade Waheed Lawal, commended the Federal Government for declaring June 12 as Democracy Day and posthumously recognizing Abiola. However, he stressed that the government must go beyond symbolic gestures.

“Chief MKO Abiola paid the ultimate price for the democracy we enjoy today,” Lawal said. “He was the rightful winner of the June 12, 1993 election and should be treated as a former President. The government must pay all entitlements due to a President to his family. This would be an act of national gratitude and a step toward healing our democratic wounds.”

Lawal also called on the Federal Government to compensate others who were detained or killed during the June 12 struggle.

General Secretary of the National Association of Nigerian Students (NANS), Zone D, Babatunde Aboke, used the occasion to demand urgent reforms in the education sector. “We are demanding free and accessible education. The current situation is disheartening. Education should not be a privilege but a right,” he said.

Chairman of the Coalition for Concerned Nigerian Citizens, Musa Abdulsalam, urged the Federal Government to address the worsening economic crisis in the country, warning that failure to act could worsen citizens’ hardship and erode public trust.

State Coordinator of the Take It Back Movement, Comrade Victor Lijofi, lamented that the essence of democracy has been lost amid rising poverty, insecurity, and restrictions on free speech. “Democracy should be about the people’s welfare,” he said. “But today’s economic hardship clearly shows we are far from where we should be.”