Former Jigawa State Governor Sule Lamido has accused President Bola Tinubu of attempting to “reconstruct history” around the June 12, 1993 democratic struggle, insisting the president played no active role in the early fight for Nigeria’s democracy. In remarks loaded with criticism and recollection, Lamido said, “Tinubu ran away. He was not in the country. He only came back after the whole thing was over… very, very clear.”
Lamido, who said he was in the middle of it, challenged Tinubu’s claim to democratic credentials. “He was part of those people who were supporting Babangida and the June 12,” he said, referencing Tinubu’s political alignment before the election annulment. He added that Alhaja Mogaji was organizing Lagos marching women to come to Abuja to pledge support for Babangida. Stressing that his intention was not to “embarrass” the president, Lamido said, “I mean no disrespect. I’m simply saying what happened during that time.”
According to Lamido, real activists like himself, Bola Ige, Iyiochia Ayu, and other key opposition figures remained to confront the military, while “Tinubu became our so-called activist of June 12” only after Abacha took power and NADECO was formed. “We stayed behind. We fought June. We fought Abacha,” Lamido stated, recalling his own detention. He described those claiming democratic legitimacy now as “people who had no political pedigree, no political history,” and said, “It’s so laughable.”
Criticizing what he sees as opportunism, Lamido added, “They are more concerned with the bathwater rather than the baby… They only picked the product. The process which produced the product, they are not part of it.” He also noted that Tinubu and others are simply “riding on to reinvent history in Nigeria,” stressing, “What is happening today is something very, very laughable.”
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