You Awarded Abiola GCFR Out Of Ignorance, Ex-CJN Tells Buhari

“It is not done…it is for people living,” said a former Chief Justice of Nigeria (CJN) who declared President Muhammadu Buhari’s conferment of GCFR honours on late MKO Abiola as an act of ignorance.

Quoting Nigeria’s 1963 National Honours Act, Alfa Belgore, who was the country’s CJN from 2006-2007, said it was aberrant for President Buhari to confer the GCFR award on the dead.

Speaking with Premium Times, Belgore said, “The only thing they could do is to name a place after him, but national honours award, no.”

Meanwhile, in his announcement of the posthumous honours on Wednesday, President Buhari said:

“For the past 18 years, Nigerians have been celebrating May 29th, as Democracy Day. That was the date when for the second time in our history, an elected civilian administration took over from a military government. The first time this happened was on October 21st, 1979. But in the view of Nigerians, as shared by this Administration, June 12th, 1993, was far more symbolic of Democracy in the Nigerian context than May 29th or even the October 1st.

“June 12th, 1993 was the day when Nigerians in millions expressed their democratic will in what was undisputedly the freest, fairest and most peaceful elections since our Independence. The fact that the outcome of that election was not upheld by the then military Government does not distract from the democratic credentials of that process.

“Accordingly, after due consultations, the Federal government has decided that henceforth, June 12th will be celebrated as Democracy Day. Therefore, Government has decided to award posthumously the highest honour of the land, GCFR, to late Chief MKO Abiola, the presumed winner of the June 12th 1993 cancelled elections. His running mate as Vice President, Ambassador Baba Gana Kingibe, is also to be invested with a GCON.

“Furthermore, the tireless fighter for human rights and the actualization of the June 12th elections and indeed for Democracy in general, the late Chief Gani Fawehinmi SAN is to be awarded the GCON.

“The investiture will take place on Tuesday June 12th, 2018, a date which in future years will replace May 29th as a National Public Holiday in celebration of Nigeria Democracy Day,” Buhari said in a statement released by the Presidency.