Minister of Art, Culture, Tourism and the Creative Economy, Hannatu Musa Musawa, has urged Nigerians to preserve the history and sacrifices associated with June 12, warning that younger generations should not grow up knowing the date merely as a public holiday.
Musawa spoke at the national premiere of MKO, a film on the late Chief Moshood Abiola, at the Wole Soyinka Centre for Culture and Creative Arts in Lagos as part of activities marking Nigeria’s 66th Independence anniversary.
She said the story of the June 12, 1993 presidential election represented an important chapter in Nigeria’s democratic development and should remain part of the country’s national memory.
According to Musawa, democracy did not emerge without struggle and sacrifice, and the creative industry has a responsibility to ensure that future generations understand that history.
“For too many young Nigerians, June 12 is simply a public holiday,” she said.
Musawa said the film provided an opportunity to remind Nigerians about those who fought for the June 12 mandate and the restoration of democratic government.
She also praised President Bola Tinubu for his involvement in the pro democracy struggle and his period in exile during military rule.
The minister said film and other branches of the creative economy could serve as powerful instruments for documenting Nigeria’s history.
“A nation that forgets its past loses its way to the future,” she said.
Director of the documentary, Ose Oyamendan, said the production was conceived as a tribute to the men and women who participated in the struggle for democracy.
He described Abiola as a central figure in that history and said Nigeria must continue to remember those whose sacrifices contributed to the return of democratic government.
The premiere attracted President Tinubu, First Lady Senator Oluremi Tinubu, Senate President Godswill Akpabio, Speaker of the House of Representatives Tajudeen Abbas, Chairman of the Nigeria Governors Forum AbdulRahman AbdulRazaq, Chief of Staff to the President Femi Gbajabiamila, governors, ministers, lawmakers and other dignitaries.
Abiola was the candidate widely regarded as the winner of the June 12, 1993 presidential election, which was annulled before the official conclusion of the process.
The date has since become one of the most significant symbols of Nigeria’s struggle for democratic government.
