Nigeria Worse Off Than In 1993. — MKO Abiola’s Son

Abdulmumuni, son of the late Chief MKO Abiola, has bemoaned the lack of progress in the country since 1993 .

Speaking on the June 12 ( Democracy Day ) the late Alhaja Kudirat Abiola ’s son lamented that the education and health sectors had collapsed .

President Muhammadu Buhari on Monday signed into law the Public Holiday ( Amendment ) Bill , making June 12 a public holiday in the country .

It also becomes the country ’s official Democracy Day , replacing May 29 , which hitherto was a public holiday.

The President took the decision to honour the presumed winner of the June 12 , 1993 presidential election , MKO Abiola.

But Abdulmumuni said June 12 should be a day of national sober reflection for Nigerians as the “ people are getting poorer and the poverty rate is increasing ” .

Abdulmumuni , who was at the National Centre for Women Development in Abuja on Monday to receive an award on behalf of his late mother , who was inducted into the Nigerian Women Hall of Fame alongside 21 others , said, “ The recognition of June 12 as Democracy Day will get people thinking .

“ I don ’ t think it should be a day of celebration . It should be a day of reflection of where we are as a country and where we are going . It is important that we should know that for the decisions we make today, there are consequences .

“ This is because those who made the decisions to truncate the Nigerian people ’ s yearning for democracy in 1993 would now see that sometimes when you make certain decisions , you must see the consequences .

“ The country is worse off than it was in 1993 .

 My father was trying to address certain issues like poverty eradication and free education.

 But what is going on in the country now ? The education system is dilapidated. The health care system is nothing . People are getting poorer and the rich are getting richer . The poverty rate is increasing . I think the idea is that June 12 should be a day of reflection and I believe we can get out of this situation . ”

The Director - General of the NCWD , Mrs Mary Ekpere -Eta , said the objective of the induction was “ to showcase the unique and immense productive capacities of Nigerian women and make their achievements more visible in national development records” .

The late Dr Stella Adadevoh , Senator Oluremi Tinubu , Senator Binta Garba and Mrs Folorunsho Alakija were among the inductees .

#PUNCH.