"There is no democracy in Nigeria today; Nigeria is not a democratic country. Let's stop telling ourselves lies." - Peter Obi.

Today in History - The Throne That Was Never Sat On

M.K.O. Abiola went to the street on June 11, 1994.

Not just any street, but Epetedo, the beating heart of Lagos Island, where dust rises with every footstep and the people speak truth without fear. He went not with an army, but with a mandate. Not with guns, but with courage.

It was the eve of the first anniversary of June 12, 1993, the day Abiola won Nigeria's freest and fairest presidential election. Running under the Social Democratic Party (SDP), he secured 58.36% of the votes, winning 20 out of 30 states and uniting a country divided by tribe, tongue, and faith.

Nigerians chose him.

The world watched and cheered.

But the military had other plans.

General Ibrahim Babangida, then Head of State, annulled the election without warning. He crushed the voice of the people with silence. Chaos followed. Students marched. Journalists fought censorship. Human rights lawyers resisted. Out of the fire came NADECO, a movement born to demand democracy.

Babangida, under pressure, stepped aside and installed an interim government led by Chief Ernest Shonekan. But it was a name without power. And by November 1993, General Sani Abacha swept in like a storm and took control by force.

The country held its breath.

But Abiola refused to vanish into the shadows.

On June 11, 1994, he rose again. In the streets of Epetedo, surrounded by the very people who gave him their votes, Abiola declared himself the democratically elected President of Nigeria.

That same evening, the regime struck.

Two hundred police vehicles stormed Lagos like thunder. Abiola was arrested, charged with treason, and locked away. The man with the loudest democratic mandate in Nigeria's history was silenced, not by the people, but by power.

He never came out alive.

Four years later, on July 7, 1998, just before his expected release, M.K.O. Abiola died in detention, under suspicious and bitter circumstances.

But what he stood for never died.

*SOME NIGERIAN NEWSPAPER HEADLINES+, 12/06/2025*

Democracy Day tension: Protesters mobilise as Tinubu addresses NASS

JUNE 12: Police, CSOs agree on peaceful protest, single venue in Lagos

Nigeria records N5.17 trn trade surplus in Q1

Floods ravage 180,000 farms across 30 states

Mokwa flood: NHRC seeks enhanced disaster preparedness, IDPs’ protection

OPS pushes for refinery sell-off after $2.4bn wobbly repairs

Plateau Attacks: 8 killed, dozens of homes razed in Mangu

Air Peace extorting Nigerians, Oshiomhole speaks on airport incident

UN flags 138 million kids in global child labour crisis

Protests spread across US despite Trump threats

Nigeria defaults in UN contributions, pays only 36%

Ethiopia, Turkey deny owing ground rent in Abuja, pledge cooperation

US court jails Nigerian for deadly sextortion of teen girl

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*DID YOU KNOW?*

* If you live in the northern hemisphere, then June 21st is the longest day of the year. If you live in the southern hemisphere, then the 21st is the shortest day of the year.

* All clown fish are born male and can become female later in life.
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Tinubu woos Wike to join APC

Tourism has potential to enhance local entrepreneurship – Shettima

National Assembly mulls extension of 2024 budget capital vote

Democracy strongest when people are involved, says Abbas

Natasha: Appeal Court strikes out Akpabio’s motions, imposes N100,000 fine

Court orders Eko Disco to restore power to Lagos hotel

11 to face trial for Internet fraud in Kaduna

Insecurity: Police arrest 42 armed herders, bandits in Benue

Federal Civil Service to go paperless by December 2025, says FG

Blackout alert: FG commences crucial grid servicing

Fed Govt reviewing legislations to address child labour – Minister

N5bn oil-backed deal with Aramco has not collapsed, says FG

No extension of BDC recapitalisation deadline – CBN

FCCPC inaugurates joint market monitoring task force

Container congestion: NPA enforces use of holding bays

CBEX remains banned in Nigeria – SEC

UBEC raises quality assurance matching grant to 5%

NIHOTOUR enforces certification law, targets non-compliant hotels in Lagos

ABUAD secures N480m research equipment boost

Abiola Ajimobi Technical University secures full NUC accreditation for all six programmes

UNILAG, Bakare’s CSG launch leadership diploma, slash tuition

Democracy declining under APC — PDP, Afenifere, Ohanaeze, ACF, others

Southern Kaduna leaders demand judicial probe of El-Rufai over alleged abuses

Civil rule has come to stay, says Falae

Democracy Day: Utomi urges Nigerians to reject ‘thugs masquerading as leaders’

Amaechi slams Tinubu’s policies in fresh outburst

₦39bn ICC renovation misplaced priority — Peter Obi

June 12: Bode George urges Tinubu to reinstate Fubara

Eno defection illegal, says A’Ibom PDP chieftain

2027: Anti-Tinubu’s coalition will fail, Wike declares

Sanwo-Olu unveils housing estate, 400m road in Ibeju-Lekki

Rivers 2025 budget plans for Fubara’s return – Ibas

Nasarawa not involved in Benue killings – Sule

Our intervention on Benin-Abuja highway reduced travel time, says Okpebholo

Makinde approves N1bn gratuity for retired LG staff, others

Nigeria not where it should be – Niger gov

Delta commissioner bags Kwame Nkrumah award

Cross River plans new airport to boost tourism

LASG slams N20m fine on unlicensed electricity firms

Jigawa, Kano, Katsina join forces against polio

Anambra 2025: Govt agency imposes N50m on 16 governorship candidates

Anambra CP orders detention of three policemen over corruption

Katsina suspends NURTW chair over road closure alert

Kaduna vows crackdown on criminal gangs

New 7.5kv solar power system inaugurated in A’Ibom community

Anioma group donates 50 solar streetlights to Delta community

Edo community protests removal, appointment of new king

Lamentation as night fire destroys goods in Rivers market

Two killed, one injured in Kwara hotel collapse

Petrol tanker catches fire near NASFAT camp on Lagos-Ibadan expressway

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*TODAY IN HISTORY*

* On this day in 1964, Nelson Mandela was sentenced to life in prison. The South African anti-apartheid activist spent 27 years in prison. In 1993, he received the Nobel Peace Prize and one year later, he became President of South Africa.

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If there is no struggle, there is no progress. – Frederick Douglass

Happy Democracy Day


*Compiled by Hon. Osuji George [email protected], +234-8122200446*

Tinubu delights in poor people queueing up in front of his house to get N2K or few cups of rice. This is why he’s creating more poverty in Nigeria to increase the number of such beggars who worshipped him. Tinubu will never fix the Nigerian economy. Never.
@shehusky

Vanity and Waste Tinubu’s N39bn ICC Renovation and the Shame of Extravagance

At a time when Nigerians are groaning under the weight of inflation, food insecurity, joblessness, and decaying infrastructure, President Bola Ahmed Tinubu’s decision to spend ₦39 billion renovating the International Conference Centre (ICC), Abuja, and then renaming it after himself is a stunning act of self-indulgence and tone-deaf leadership.

The ICC was originally constructed in 1991 by Gen. Ibrahim Badamasi Babangida at a cost of just ₦240 million. Adjusted for over three decades of inflation, the cost of building a brand new, state-of-the-art conference centre today would be between ₦25 billion and ₦30 billion. That the government spent ₦39 billion merely to renovate the old one without major expansion or technological overhaul exposes just how bloated and questionable the expenditure truly is.

More insultingly, Babangida never named the centre after himself, even though he initiated and completed it. Tinubu, however, after refurbishing it, decided to stamp his name on it converting a national landmark into a personal monument. It reeks of egotism and disrespect for public trust.

The ICC project is only one in a disturbing pattern of vanity-driven and excessive spending under this administration.

The Lagos to Calabar Coastal Highway, an ambitious 700-kilometre project, is has been awarded at staggering costs of ₦15 trillion, with only about 30 kilometres completed so far. It has displaced communities, triggered public outrage, and remains a drain on already overstretched national resources.

Adding to the spree, the presidency recently acquired a new Airbus A330 aircraft for $100 million, despite an already oversized presidential fleet. At a time when the naira is battered and millions cannot afford transport fare, the government is buying luxury jets.

Other wasteful allocations include:
   •   ₦5 billion to renovate Dodan Barracks, the President’s Lagos residence
   •   ₦4 billion for the Vice President’s Ikoyi residence
   •   ₦21 billion to complete the new official residence of the Vice President
   •   ₦5 billion for a presidential yacht, smuggled into the 2023 supplementary budget

To the government’s credit, the minimum wage issue has been resolved, and workers are receiving their new pay. But this gain is overshadowed by a mountain of unpaid pensions, leaving retirees in penury, and the unfulfilled agreement with ASUU, which remains a bull in a china shop threatening to plunge the university system into fresh chaos.

The administration claims to be building a legacy. But legacy is not about plastering one’s name on public buildings or cruising on billion-naira yachts. True legacy lies in reviving industries tackling insecurity and building new legacies anchored on inclusion, accountability, and shared prosperity.

At a time like this, every naira must count. Nigeria cannot afford to spend like a wealthy nation while borrowing to survive.

This is not responsible leadership.
It is reckless indulgence.
And Nigeria deserves better.

Babangida built the International Conference Centre in 1991. He did not ascribe his name to it. It’s for Nigeria. The International Conference Centre in Abuja was built in 1991 under General Ibrahim Babangida for approximately ₦240 million, equivalent to about $30 million at the time. Some sources mention ₦24 million, but this seems unlikely for such a project, and ₦240 million is more consistently reported.

Tinubu used N39b to renovate it, removed cobwebs and named it after himself in 2025.

Scam!

Did You Know?

Renowned writer, Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie, rejected the CFR national award from the Buhari administration in October 2022.

She did so in protest against the political, social, security and economic ineptitude in Nigeria.

Share to educate someone

"i disagree with the people that says,the problem of Nigeria is colonial masters,our problem is Nigeria masters,"

Mr. Peter Obi

President Bola Tinubu has cancelled the previously scheduled nationwide broadcast in commemoration of Nigeria’s 26th Democracy Day anniversary.

I lost 100% of my business for criticizing Nigerian pastors,  I have not gotten a show from 2019 till date -- Daddy Freeze.