- There were over 30 democratic heroes on Tinubu’s list during the June 12 Democracy Day event
- However, the president named only one woman
- Let’s look at other women whose contributions to Nigeria's democracy deserve to be celebrated
Nigeria's Democracy Day is observed on June 12 this year for the fifth time; it was formerly observed on May 29, which was the date the country transitioned from military to civilian control from 1999 to 2017.
During the celebration, the president mentioned only one woman among the over 30 democratic heroes on his list, including MKO Abiola.
This has led us to examine the contributions of other women whose efforts should not be forgotten, not only the late Kudirat Abiola whom the president mentioned.
1. Kudirat Abiola
Kudirat Abiola was killed in June 1996. She had lost her life defending her husband's mandate. Her husband, Chief MKO Abiola, the most significant symbol of our democratic struggle, was the rightful winner of the June 12, 1993, presidential election. Chief MKO Abiola and his wife gave their lives to the cause of this movement.
2. Ayo Obe
Ayo Obe is a hero of democracy [Tribune Online]
Obe has spent several years at the forefront of Nigeria's democratic reform movement. The story of Nigeria’s democracy cannot be complete without mentioning her.
She led the charge to actualise the late MKO Abiola's 1993 presidential election victory as president of the Civil Liberties Organisation. Obe's passport was confiscated in March 1996 when she was travelling from Nigeria to New York for a United Nations Human Rights Committee meeting.
Obe presided over the Transition Monitoring Group, a collection of non-governmental organisations in Nigeria that monitored elections and promoted democracy, from 1999 to 2001. From November 2001 until November 2006, she worked with the Police Service Commission (PSC) as a human rights NGO representative. Obe presently oversees a law firm.
3. Josephine Okei-Odumakin
Joe Okei-Odumakin deserves to be honoured as a hero of democracy. [The Continental]
Josephine 'Joe' Okei-Odumakin is another significant figure who contributed to the return of democracy in 1999. When Okei-Odumakin first became involved in human rights activity, the Babangida dictatorship was flexing its muscles by silencing opposing viewpoints. She became one of the administration's targets after she was taken into custody and arrested at least seventeen times in various places, including Ilorin, Abuja, and Lagos.
Nonetheless, she was not daunted. In 1994, when the fight against the annulment of June 12 had grown so intense, she became the assistant general secretary of the Campaign for Democracy (CD). On July 29, 2006, Okei-Odumakin was elected president of the group.
In addition, she serves as the president of Women Arise for Change Initiative, the chair of the Citizen Forum Task Force, the executive director of the Institute of Human Rights and Democratic Studies, the spokesperson for the Coalition of Civil Society Organisations, and the president of the Center for Change in Community Development and Public Awareness (CDP).