May we NOT FORGET!
I was 13 during the January 6, 1999 incursion; my late father held my hand while scampering to safety under a thick cloud of bullets and descending bombs. At one point, my father tumbled down, ripping his bag keeping our little possessions. I stood over him weeping, transfixed but unafraid of the bullets—love had toppled every ounce of the fear of death. My father, a poor teacher who did not participate in the governance of the state, was bearing the brunt of the breakdown of law and order. That particular scene to this day plays in my head and reminds me every time of my duty to stand up and challenge similar governance wrongs which caused our senseless hostilities.
We should never forget those who paid the ultimate price for our democracy. Our many compatriots whose lives, limbs and destinies were lost. Those whose trauma and violence to the integrity of their persons to this day cannot be calculated or described in any human language. May we remember Abass-the toddler (now adult) whose limb was chopped off and who became the poster child of our war. May we remember the Julius Spencers, Alie Banguras, and Hannah Fullahs, who risked their lives in undercover journalism and all those whose mediation efforts helped to hew out our democracy. May we remember Umaru Fofana, who was shot in the leg for reporting the truth of our senseless war. May we also remember Gen. Maxwell Khobe and other foreign brothers and sisters who left their countries to fight to restore our peace and democracy. For all these people and many more, we must always commit to peace, justice and good governance. As a lawyer, my dedication has been to speak up and speak out against incidents of bad governance. I did it loudly against the APC government and I am committed to this cause in the present dispensation. My activism is not against a particular political party. It is against bad governance and violation of the rule of law regardless of whom has the reins of power.
I believe that we cannot build a solid nation on bad governance. I believe that injustice does not make a nation. I believe that peace is utterly destroyed by bad governance. I also believe that good governance is possible and adherence to democratic principles is a sure route to good governance. I believe that we all have to play our own part to make a nation that caters for everyone regardless of their tribe, creed or political persuasion. I am not a political party member—I have never been. I am a lawyer committed to making a nation to honour those men and women on whose lives, bodies, limbs and destinies our democracy was restored. I believe that leadership is a privilege given to lead, build, make, reconcile and to unite us. May our leaders never forget how far we have come for our democracy and how high the price was to achieve it.
Now this generation has the duty not to erode the gains but to scale up and leave an even more democratic, fair, equitable, united and prosperous nation. May we not and never forget!