Encomiums for Kudirat on 18th death anniversary

Dr. Joe Odumakin, the president of Campaign for Democracy (CD), and Admiral Ndubusi Kanu, the chairman of the National Democratic Coalition (NADECO) were among the dignitaries who assembled at the 18th-year wreath laying ceremony for late Kudirat Abiola.

Kudirat Abiola was killed while struggling to actualise the mandate of her husband, late Chief MKO Abiola, the acclaimed winner of the 1993 presidential election that was annulled by the military administration of Ibrahim Babangida.

Speaking at her graveside, Odumakin lamented that it was unfortunate that issues relating to death and terror are still challenges in Nigeria, long after Kudirat’s  murder.

She urged Nigerians to unite in order to make the country a better place to live in.

“It is disheartening that Nigeria is yet to rid itself of terror, brutal murders and kidnaps,” she said. “We must remain vigilant and rise in unison to say enough is enough.”

Odumakin described Kudirat as a heroine of pro-democracy groups who displayed uncommon courage during trying times.

Admiral Ndubuisi Kanu showered encomiums on Kudirat, also lamenting the “regrettable” problems of the country despite the sacrifices of people like Kudirat.

“Nigeria is one, blessed with human and material resources that must be harnessed through a structure that will be more beneficial to all the federating units,” he said.

“All of us in government and out of government must go back to the road we have abandoned. The strength of Nigeria is in the diversity of its people, and ignoring this will be detrimental to the unity of the nation.

“It is not geography but the spirit that makes a country. We must all ensure that Nigeria is not drowned by the myriad of problems bedevilling it as a nation.”

Kudirat’s daughter, Hasfat Costello, urged Nigerians to remain courageous like her late mother in the face of insurgency, corruption and poverty.

She also urged the government to match words with action, because people have been waiting for too long.

“We need to stand for the country, fight for the country and do all we can to make it better,” she said.

Kudirat was murdered by assassins on June 4, 1996, but her killers have not been found.

Hamza al-Mustapha, the man who spearheaded the military regime’s Special Strike Force Unit, was initially convicted for the crime and sentenced to death by hanging in January 2012 by a Lagos High Court sitting at Igbosere.

But he was discharged and acquitted of the crime by the appeal court, Lagos division, in July 2013.