My father would have betrayed Nigerians if he gave up his mandate, says Abiola’s daughter

Rinsola Abiola, one of the children of late M.K.O Abiola – acclaimed winner of the June 12 1993 election– has said the death of her father laid the foundation for democracy in Nigeria.

Rinsola, who was so young that she “had very faint memories of her dad” at the time he fell out with the military after declaring himself president, said she is proud that her father “did not betray” Nigerians by giving up his mandate in exchange for freedom.

“Growing up was more of the things I heard about him,” she told TheCable.

“You know how it is when you are a child and you can’t even know for sure whether something actually happened or it was a figment of your Imagination.

“For me, being his child is about trying to live up to some form of expectations because he was a kind man, he was a good man, he was someone who earned a lot of respect. Till date, I come across people who say ‘Oh! You are MKO Abiola’s daughter, sorry about what happened’. I believe it was the event of his death that produced this democracy.”

Asked if she would have had her father give up his mandate so that she would have had the privilege of a daughter-father relationship, she said Abiola did the right thing, as giving up in exchange for freedom would have amounted to a betrayal of millions of Nigerians fighting for his cause.

“It’s actually something to be proud of. Talking about your father and you know he gave his life for democracy. He knew he had to use his life as the ultimate sacrifice; he did it and today we are free.

“It was a national struggle; I don’t think it would have been proper for him to leave all those millions of Nigerians who came from every corner of the country  to bargain for his own release, which he wanted. He just could not, because he would have betrayed them by doing that.

“Surely, it would have been wonderful to have my father around but I think what he achieved by giving up his freedom is probably what he couldn’t possibly have done if he had not given up.”

Recalling some moments with the democratic icon, Rinsola said: “There’s this side of him that people don’t know. When you needed dad, he could postpone whatever plans he had ahead just to be there for you.

“Daddy wasn’t just daddy to me and all the children he had, but to Nigerians. He wasn’t just about his wife, his health, his household, about his children but the country.”

She expressed enthusiasm about Nigeria’s democratic progress between 1993 and now, saying: “To a very large extent, I believe that the event of the last election is going to mark a new beginning in Nigerian democracy.

“When you take someone from somewhere who benefits from what they did not contribute to, why will you expect them to value it? You can’t really expect the person to value it. This is why it is good that the likes of Bola Tinubu and Kayode Fayemi who were part of the 1993 struggle are where they are today.

“Looking at all the intrigues during this election, how people were worried and how they reacted, oh my God, we would have had another June 12 if they had cancelled the election or if they refused to hand over power.”

She described the emergence of Muhammadu Buhari as an indication that Nigerians have the power to determine who their leaders are.

“That President Buhari is in power now shows that yes, to a very large extent, we are on the right track,” she said.

“People like Tinubu, who was present during M.K.O’s struggle, people like Fayemi, who even led the movement of the struggle through radio Kudirat. are those who have fought for the country. I really believe we will not stand idle and let what we fought for be tarnished.”